On the other side, the construction of Shihe City did not stop, and Liu Fan specially invited Tang Ruowang and other Westerners to participate in the construction in order to make the defense of Shihe City more perfect. These missionaries are proficient in mathematics and physics, and have personally seen all kinds of Lingbao in the West, which has helped a lot in the design of Lingbao, with the help of Western missionaries such as John Tang, the construction and planning of Lingbao also tend to be formalized, the construction speed of the outer city wall of Shihe City has gradually accelerated, to the middle of June, after a year's time, tens of thousands of workers have worked non-stop, using the most advanced and scientific construction methods in contemporary times, the main body of the outer city wall of Shihe City has been basically completed, and the city wall of Shihe City after completion is 10 meters wide at the top and 12 to 14 meters wide at the bottom. The average height is eight meters, the circumference is about 20 miles, there is a moat of 20 meters wide and 10 meters deep outside the city, the wall is wrapped with blue bricks, glutinous rice lime mortar is filled, thick and solid, the defense is very strong, the city gate is opened on all sides of the east, west, north and south, the city wall adopts a typical Lingbao type plan, the city fortress is a concave polygon, and multiple strikes can be carried out by crossfire when defending, in this era of gunpowder weapons, it is almost an unfortungeable fortress.

Leisure time always flies very fast, in a blink of an eye has entered the end of June of the sixth year of Chongzhen, with the gradual rise of temperature, the hot weather makes people feel anxious, in this era of no air conditioning and no refrigerator, summer is very difficult. Especially in order to maintain the image and majesty, you can only dress neatly, which makes you feel even more unbearable.

In fact, in ancient times, there were ice cellars in the homes of large families, especially the royal family, even a simple emperor like Xiang Chongzhen had a lot of cold food to enjoy in the hot summer. Liu Fancai came to Daming for two years and lacked the background, he did not have the accumulation of generations, although a large number of landlords in Jiaozhou were confiscated, but most of those houses were sold for cash after such a long time, and the distance was too far, so he couldn't send people to transport ice back from Jiaozhou City or Jimo and other places! That's too extravagant. Fortunately, Liu Fan has the knowledge of later generations and knows that the simplest and most low-tech ice-making method is to use saltpeter, and because the arsenal wants to make gunpowder, the most important thing is saltpeter.

Making ice from saltpeter is actually very simple, dissolve sugar and a little spice in water, then put the water in the jar, take a large plate, fill the dish with water, put the jar in the pan water, and constantly add saltpeter to the plate, as a result, the water in the jar becomes ice. This avoids direct contact between saltpeter and drinking water, and allows for a large amount of ice. Occasionally, Liu Fan would take his daughters to the beach in the evening to play, have a barbecue or something, and use the summer sea breeze to drive away the heat. With the improvement of status, Liu Fan's requirements for the quality of life are getting higher and higher, in the past, he was in the development period, and a little hardship was still bearable, but now unlike in the past, Liu Fan is also a family person, it's okay to suffer by himself, he can't let his women suffer too!

On a hot afternoon, Liu Fan was lying on a special chair in the gazebo at home while enjoying the iced sour plum soup made by Zhang Yao himself, while looking at the official document in his hand, the melodious sound of the piano came from his ears, and from time to time, Xiaozhu Xiaohe personally sent some fresh fruits into Liu Fan's mouth, and the life was so chic and comfortable. At this time, Fan Liang's voice came from outside, saying that there was something to report. Liu Fan put down the official document in his hand and ordered the maid to lure Fan Liang over, Fan Liang hurriedly gave a salute and said, "My lord!" What a happy event! That missionary Bella is back! I also brought a large fleet with me, and I heard that there are many Westerners who are now ashore, do you want to send them to meet you? ”

Liu Fan stood up with a "poof" and exclaimed, "What? Plaira? That Portuguese missionary? ”

"Yes! My lord! "Really? So what are you waiting for! Walk! Go to the beach! After speaking, Liu Fan stepped out of the pavilion and strode towards the front hall, Fan Liang saw this and hurriedly trotted to follow!

It didn't take long for Liu Fan to come to the beach with his personal team, and at this time, this small wharf on the seaside was already crowded with busy workers. The first thing that caught Liu Fan's eyes was three huge three-masted battleships, more than ten meters high and fifty or sixty meters long behemoths gave people a huge visual impact, Liu Fan This is also the first time to see the ancient sail battleship, compared to the various albums seen in the picture, the real ancient warship is more shocking.

Just as Liu Fan was sighing, a group of Westerners appeared in front of Liu Fan in a separate crowd, and Bai Laila saw Liu Fan and stepped forward excitedly, saluting and saying, "Respected Lord Liu!" Bella is back! Fortunately, it is not disgraceful! I've done everything you've ever explained! ”

Liu Fan was very happy in his heart, gently helped Bai Laila, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay!" Good! Good! I've seen that it's well done! Didn't disappoint me! ”

At this moment, several blonde and blue-eyed Westerners who came with Plaira said in a somewhat strange tone, "Plaira! Is this the general of the Ming Empire you are talking about? ”

Looking at these strange Westerners, Liu Fan asked Bai Laila with some doubts, "Who are these?" ”

Bai Laila calmed down and introduced to Liu Fan, "Lord Liu! This is the envoy of the Governor of Macao, Shi Luobao, and the member of the Ruling Committee of Macao, Jia Xiuli. These are Fleet Commander Menezes and his captains! They're here to visit the adults! ”

After Bai Laila's introduction, several people hurriedly gave Liu Fan a Western salute, and said, "Portugal and Macao Jia Xiuli (Menezes) have seen the general!" ”

The Portuguese in Macau? What are they doing here? Liu Fan had some doubts in his heart, but he also knew that now was not the time to ask this, so he endured the doubts in his heart and smiled, "No need to be polite!" It's a guest from afar! Welcome to Shandong, since you are friends of Bellala! That's my friend! This is not the place to talk, let's go into the city and talk about it! ”

After Liu Fan finished speaking, Bai Laila hurriedly translated for a few people, in fact, these people only know some simple Chinese, and they can't understand complicated things, far worse than Bai Laila, who has lived in Daming for five or six years, for the convenience of communication, can only be used as a translator. Hearing Liu Fan's words, Jia Xiuli, who was the leader, said, "Thank you, General!" We have come here on the orders of the Governor to discuss trade with the Shogun! ”

Liu Fan smiled: "Trade is a big deal!" I need to discuss this matter with my subordinates, and I also need to inform the prefect and His Majesty the Emperor, after all, I am only a military attache now, and I have no rights to trade. I can't answer you yet! It's rare for you to come to Shandong once, I will send someone to arrange a place for you first, and you will also have a good taste of our Ming Dynasty, and I will give you an answer in a few days! ”

When several people heard this, they had no choice but to agree. Liu Fan sent someone to arrange them at the post station, and he took Bai Lai back to the garrison mansion. (To be continued.) )