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"China was perhaps the first country in the world to invent real gunpowder, and as early as the end of the 14th century, they overthrew the Mongols with cannons." President of the Royal Historical Society, Paul Brown. Kennedy said so in the opening chapter of "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers."

The Ming Empire, which drove out the Mongols and inherited and restored the scientific and technological heritage of the Song Empire, embarked on the road of large-scale armament with firearms almost from the day it was founded. A variety of historical data show that the firearms of the Ming Emperor's ** team have accounted for as much as one-third of the total infantry. What's more worth mentioning is that the Shenji Battalion of the ** Brigade of the Ming Emperor was about a century earlier than the professional musket unit created by Spain in the early 16th century.

However, we can also see that after more than half a century of brutal Mongol rule, China during the Ming Dynasty was far less scientifically vigorous and enterprising than the Song Dynasty a few hundred years earlier. Coupled with the overly totalitarian monopoly of the imperial manufacturing industry, the innovation of firearms technology has been greatly restricted, and the development of firearms in China has been in a state of stagnation for more than 200 years in the Ming Dynasty.

When Portugal discovered a new route to the East, the East lost its centuries-old peace. After the artillery conquest of Malacca (Malacca), a vassal of the Ming Empire, in 1511, Portugal established its first commercial foothold in Asia. Since then, the Portuguese have had more and more unfriendly contacts with China.

In order to gain a foothold on the coast of the Ming Empire, Portugal even sent people to Beijing under the guise of Ma Tingjia envoys. This dramatic behavior led to a unilateral misunderstanding of the Ming Empire for a long time, thinking that the "Franco-Rang Country" was the "Hainan Fan Country", without knowing that it came from distant Europe.

"The History of the Ming Dynasty" records: "The Buddha Lang machine, near the Manchurian Raja." In Zhengde, according to Manraka. Chase its king. In the thirteenth year, he sent an envoy to pay tribute to the end of the Bidan and other tributes, please seal it, and know its name. The edict is given to the straightness of the party and returned. His people stayed for a long time, robbed the travelers, and plundered children for food. ”

In 1521, the first confrontation between the Europeans and the Ming Empire finally broke out, and although the "Battle of Tuen Mun" ended in a difficult victory for the Ming army, Yuan Guang, the emperor's ** team in Dongguan, who guarded thousands of households, was killed under the artillery of the Portuguese. It was the first defeat of the Imperial ** team in the confrontation with European firearms.

The European Francophone cannons and arquebuses were officially displayed before the eyes of the Reich, and the bureaucrats of the Reich discovered that the performance and power of these imported products were superior to those of the local firearms, which had to be said to be a sad thing for the toothache.

But just two years later, the "Battle of Xicaowan" broke out again, and this time the Daming Emperor's ** team won easily. But the significance of the heavier dà is not in the victory itself. Because in this battle, the imperial ** team captured the legendary "Franc machine" cannon from the Portuguese fleet, and the entire imperial top brass was like a treasure.

This iron breech-loading smoothbore gun was the most advanced artillery weapon in the world at that time, which was greatly superior to the artillery equipment level of the Ming Empire at that time. However, two years later, the skilled craftsmen of the Ming Empire completed the imitation and large-scale production process of the Fran cannon, and quickly became the standard equipment of the emperor's ** team.

The Franc cannon not only brought China's firearms manufacturing technology back to the world level, but also completely changed the combat mode of the imperial army. The original cold weapon combat was completely transformed into a hot weapon mode, and the famous Ming Empire general Qi Jiguang called the Fran cannon "a fine weapon".

Someone once made a classic assessment of this period of history: "The Portuguese are like a violent Santa Claus, if the gift the Japanese get from Portugal is an arquebus, then the gift that the Chinese get is a Franco cannon." ”

……

January 20, 1629. On Saturday, the twenty-seventh day of the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Empire, it was cold.

On Yan Xiaosong's bookcase, there was a letter sent by Li Guozhu at this time. The letter revealed. A number of well-known and well-known maritime merchants in Guangzhou had already launched a "demonstration" against the Liangguang Governor's Mansion in Zhaoqing, and a large number of local gentry including the Guangzhou Governor's Mansion, Chaozhou Mansion, and Leizhou Prefecture had already launched a "demonstration." He also made a roundabout statement to Wang Zunde's left and right bureaucrats, expressing his dissatisfaction with Wang Zunde's behavior of "punishing his own people for other people's mistakes".

It seems that Li Guozhu's action has not yet been fully launched, and a large number of local maritime merchants have begun to organize themselves, and I think that on the Fujian side, the maritime merchants in Fujian and Zhejiang, who have been suppressed by Zheng Zhilong for too long, will also exert pressure on Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian. As long as Li Guozhu's meticulously prepared large-scale petition is launched to add another fire, it is estimated that the situation can be resolved.

For Xiong Wencan and Zheng Zhilong, Yan Xiaosong also carefully prepared a bigger backhand, and with the cooperation of Li Guozhu's running box, it should be clear in a few months.

However, the contents of the letter and the current progress of the matter did not make Yan Xiaosong happy, because just half a month ago, a telegram from the headquarters of the Pearl Island Expeditionary Fleet brought a shocking bad news to Yan Xiaosong, who was stationed in Macao.

The outbreak of falciparum malaria postponed the expeditionary fleet's scheduled sailing plan indefinitely, making Yan Xiaosong, who was waiting for the situation to change, fall into passivity. In Yan Xiaosong's view, the overall rhythm of his careful layout of gradually opening the net in the east has been disrupted, and the actions of Zheng Zhilong and the Yan family must also be greatly adjusted, and there may even be some unexpected changes because of this sudden change.

Thinking that there are also opponents of the Oriental business layout in China, especially Su Zining, who is rarely opposed to his own position, will he also use this matter to "stumble" himself? Yan Xiaosong had to imagine the worst first.

Katerina's belly is getting bigger and bigger day by day, it seems that if she continues to delay like this, her third child will be born in Daming, and the veteran old housekeeper Qiao Kuan even asked his daughter-in-law to find a few old mothers and little maids to serve around him. If you put aside the burden on your body, approaching the Lunar New Year, this kind of day of being served by someone is indeed very comfortable, which makes Yan Xiaosong feel a little bitter and happy.

There was a knock on the door, a very professional sound, Yan Xiaosong put down the letter paper and sat down steadily.

"Your Excellency Deputy Minister, there is a message from China." A Department of Homeland Security agent in charge of the security of Yan Xiaosong's family in Macau appeared in front of the door with a blank face.

A coded message, written almost entirely in Arabic numerals and received by the Weiyang Palace that remained in the port, appeared in front of Yan Xiaosong in this way. The study was quiet again.

The sender's cashier said that it was jointly signed by Foreign Minister Su Zining and Minister of Homeland Security Liu Yun, and the transit recipient was Zhang Chunrui, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary fleet based on Pearl Island. was so solemn and solemn, which made Yan Xiaosong a little curious.

Looking at the header mark of the coded message, which was impressively written with five consecutive A letters, Yan Xiaosong knew that this was the highest level of encryption, so he took out the domestic Chinese publication "Soul Broken Blue Bridge" that he carried with him from the drawer, and then began to translate the message.

An hour later, the entire text was translated. After reading the final code translation, Yan Xiaosong's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

The Cabinet has approved a long-term covert intelligence operation, with a time frame marked as "undecided", carried out by the "Asian Intelligence Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense Military Intelligence as peripheral auxiliary units.

"If Fan Li is in charge of setting up the Asian Intelligence Division. And who will take over on the European side? Su Zining didn't have any objections...... This time I was lucky, my brothers are helping me. ”

Silently muttering to himself, the letter paper gradually burned to ashes, and Yan Xiaosong raised his head. All the DHS agents who were with them had been summoned in the study, and when they saw that the undersecretary of foreign affairs had burned a coded letter, they knew that there must be a top-secret mission, and the agents all straightened their backs.

"From now on. Your status has been transferred to the Asian Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and your immediate supervisor will be on hand in a few months. Before that, you have an important task to carry out in advance, to find out all the non-ours intelligence organizations scattered in Macao......"

……

Half an hour later. Yan Xiaosong left the study and just walked to the living room, seeing that Liu Yaoyu was already waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, I read the book just now." Yan Xiaosong smiled. sat down beside Liu Yaoyu and picked up the teacup.

Zhao Mingchuan settled the family. has gone to Panyu, Guangzhou, and is responsible for taking the lead in coordinating the trade matters of those Daming maritime merchants to and from Pearl Island, so at present, the Daming consultant around Yan Xiaosong has become Liu Yaoyu.

"Brother Yan, are you still worried about the Nanyang miasma? According to my brother's opinion, there are many people who are good at treating this disease in Fujian, Guizhou and Guangdong, and the land of Youqiongya has been rampant with miasma since ancient times, and many people have a family tradition to eliminate it. You can send people to hire them with a lot of money and go to Nanyang for treatment. ”

Seeing that the other party seemed to be in deep thought, Liu Yaoyu, who had become Yan Xiaosong's adviser to another Ming Dynasty, saluted with his hands at this time, and seemed more calm: "Zhao Youheng, the prefect of Qiongzhou, is talented, he is the son-in-law of the Liu family, Yaoyu is regarded as the elder brother of the family, and the younger brother is willing to go to Mr. Yan to seek medical advice." ”

What a lovely scholar of the Ming Dynasty, do you think falciparum malaria is a cold and cold? The Ming doctors, who don't even know what Plasmodium falciparum is, can find a way to control the epidemic in a short period of time, which is basically unreliable, and they may have to take their own lives.

Just smiling slightly, Yan Xiaosong politely refused: "General Zhang, who stayed on Pearl Island, has already sent an urgent message to China, and now the medicine should already be on the way." You may not be able to get to the doctor faster than our transport ships. ”

"The epidemic is only half a month, and it can be known in China and the United States, thousands of miles away?" Even though he has long vaguely understood that China and the United States have many unbelievable "skills", Liu Yaoyu still doubts Yan Xiaosong's self-confidence.

"The owner, there is an envoy from the Franco Institute who asked to see him, and invited the owner to the academy as a guest, saying that there is something important to discuss."

Yan Xiaosong was communicating in Liu Yaoyu's study when suddenly the old housekeeper walked in and brought an invitation letter that surprised Yan Xiaosong a little.

Whether it is Yan Xiaosong or Liu Yaoyu, they have a very good relationship with the Portuguese Council of Macau and the Convent of São Paulo, such a mysterious attitude is not quite the habit of the Portuguese, and the two can't help but look at each other.

"Liu Yaoyu, let's go and have a look."

After thinking about it for a while, Yan Xiaosong went out decisively.

……

With the Portuguese opening up the Eastern Route, Catholicism also entered the Eastern Empire, propelled by the westerly winds of the Great Navigation. But unlike other "new lands" in the world, the East, a society that was more precocious than the whole of Europe, had a deeper and stronger civilization and traditional culture that missionaries could hardly have imagined.

After losing the high position of religion and culture, any missionary activities that tried to challenge the Eastern culture were ruthlessly rejected and attacked, and even all the Europeans who appeared in the East were regarded by the literati in the East as a kind of "ridiculous barbarians", such as "Francos" itself is a derogatory term.

Against this backdrop, very few insightful missionaries have engaged in deep introspection and adherence to the belief of "spreading the gospel." He chose the path of personal integration into this powerful civilization of the East, looked for the convergence of Catholicism and Eastern cultural thoughts, and used Western scientific knowledge as a stepping stone to infiltrate the Eastern literati class.

In order to change their image, Matteo Ricci and Luo Mingjian (both early Catholic missionaries who entered China) not only completely conformed to the aesthetic standards of the Oriental literati class in terms of clothing, but even insisted on calling themselves "Atlantic" in order to make themselves "more civilized", so as to distance themselves from Europeans such as "Franciscans", who were despised by Oriental literati.

In their opinion, as long as the literati of the East can accept them. Then the mission was more than half successful. This kind of missionary thinking, with a large number of compromises, was once vigorously slandered by the diehards of the Holy See, but it turned out that a group of missionaries led by Luo Mingjian and Matteo Ricci used this kind of personal integration and academic exchange as the carrier. Catholicism was officially introduced into the Eastern Empire.

In the whole process of Western learning to the east, it was Matteo Ricci who made great contributions to the spread of Catholicism, and it was Matteo Ricci who successfully won the shining gem of Xu Guangqi with his knowledge.

Now, Yan Xiaosong couldn't help but be very excited that this "first person to open his eyes to the world", who has devoted his life to the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western sciences and opened the door to modern development for Oriental science, actually appeared at the Convent of St. Paul's in Macau.

Not far away, people who had just finished a worship service were chatting and laughing relaxedly, and the figures of two old men wearing the costumes of Ming officials were particularly eye-catching.

"Since the death of Master Matteo Ricci. I often recall the scene of learning when I first climbed, and every time I think about it, I deeply regret it...... If the master is still there, "Geometric Original" should have the hope of the whole book. Oh. This is Fang Langzhong, a staff member of the Ming Military Department, Sun Yuanhua Sun, and a member of the Catholic. Master Sun supervised the manufacture of Taixi firearms, and now he is visiting Macao with the old man to seek talents. The first sun. Over the years, the imperial court has been captivating in the north and the east, and the results of cannon casting have been remarkable. However, the study of casting is not imitative, and this visit to Macao must also sincerely invite the gunner Bergaro to hire a technician. If you can organize the translation of the book into a text, the rules are round, and the credit will be in the future. ”

"The teacher does it himself, translates it as the essence of Western learning, benefits the country and the people, and students should follow the teacher's teachings!" Another Ming official, who looked slightly younger on the side, hurriedly surrendered his hand, looking happy to be taught.

The pale old man walked in the chapel of the monastery, and the Portuguese missionaries, including the abbot of St. Paul's Monastery, Mattos, were respectful. And Yan Xiaosong and Liu Yaoyu were still standing not far from the door because they arrived in a hurry, but Xu Guangqi's voice was still heard very clearly.

Sure enough, it's Sun Yuanhua! Yan Xiaosong's heart jumped again.

"Dear Lord Xu, don't worry, I, Mr. Bergarao, have always been the most famous cannon casting family in Portugal, and I believe that they will definitely make the best cannon in the world for the Ming Dynasty! The relevant employees will be ready for Master Sun and can set off at any time. ”

The abbot of St. Paul's Monastery, Mattos, hurriedly smiled all over his face, and swore an awkward official word.

"Lord Yuan, the governor of Liaodong, often remembers Ningyuan's 'Shenwei General Cannon' (Huamei 12-pounder cannon) is excellent and extraordinary, and it is said that it is from an overseas Huafan, I wonder if Macao can make it?"

When it came to the practical point, Sun Yuanhua looked at the old Portuguese missionary in front of him with a smile at this time.

"This ...... Monsieur Bergarau has been working hard for a long time, but I believe that even Portuguese artillery will be enough to defeat the invasion of the Tatars from the north. Let's dine first, and then we can dig deeper. Old Mattos blushed, and secretly glanced at a corner in the distance, and quickly changed the topic.

……

An hour later, led by a Portuguese missionary, Yan Xiaosong and Liu Yaoyu finally entered a study at the Convent of St. Paul's, where they saw Abbot Matos and the Governor of Macau, Lo Pao, looking through Western-style atlases.

"Honorable Lord Yan, that Venerable Lord Xu Guangqi is gone, but there is good news for us to share." Seeing Yan Xiaosong and the others coming in, Ma Duoshi quickly put down the book and greeted him warmly.

"Good news without any strings attached?" Mados was very familiar with it, and the governor Luo Bao, who had been dealing with him for more than two months, Yan Xiaosong had long been familiar with the character of this Portuguese bureaucrat, and he just smiled slightly. I sat down in a chair.

"You know, the Ming Empire is in dire need of your country's arms, but now that Macau is banned, there is nothing we can do." Governor Luo Bao shrugged his shoulders, but his expression was much more relaxed than before, "If he can convince the Governor of Liangguang, Lord Wang Zunde, then we can get through it." However, he hopes to obtain the technology to manufacture your country's cannons in Macao. ”

Luo Bao was still smiling, looking old and steady. But the greed in the depths of the gaze is fully revealed. The implication is that the Huamei cannon is expensive and scarce, and the Ming can only use imitation methods to equip a large number of them, and Portugal can also obtain huge benefits as a middleman.

Don't say anything else. A gorgeous 12-pound iron cannon, even if the supply has increased over the years and the price has continued to decrease, it is still at least $3,000 in Europe.

The Ming Dynasty itself could not afford much. Therefore, it can only be imitated, but a huge process threshold such as "inner mold water cooling", not to mention the English cannon casting technician with the highest level of cast iron cannon in the 17th century, no matter how old the Ming Dynasty craftsmen can not overcome. This gorgeous 12-pounder cannon has been named "Shenwei General Cannon" in the Ming Dynasty. If it can be copied in Daming, it will be extremely beneficial to the Ming war.

If it was a few years ago, maybe Yan Xiaosong would have excitedly agreed in a certain mood, but now it is different. Yan Xiaosong, who has a better understanding of the history and current situation of the Ming Dynasty, has to agree with Su Zining's view of "historical inertia". Problems of the Ming Empire. It is simply not something that one or two arms manufacturing technologies can solve. Before the Chinese and American capabilities are not enough to cut off the rolling torrent of history, any military technology that flows into the Ming Dynasty may allow the decaying "Ming Dynasty Transport Captain" to fatten all potential opponents, including Houjin, not to mention the secret technology that may still flow into Europe.

Soon after, the "Shandong Rebellion" is a typical example, Sun Yuanhua's hard work with the defection of Geng Zhongming and Kong Youde, so that the Ming Dynasty's absolute advantage in military ability was lost, and a large number of ** Ming troops who continued to surrender, and let the Later Jin quickly amplify the combat effectiveness obtained.

Prevent the occurrence of the Shandong rebellion and change history? This golden opportunity in Su Zining's eyes is an important historical node that Yan Xiaosong can use in the layout of Eastern immigration, not to mention whether he has the ability to do it, maybe no matter how angry people in the Congress are, they will not approve of the behavior of destroying the "good" of this history. What's more, butterfly wings of this scale cannot be flapped unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Unfortunately, this condition is unacceptable to us. On the issue of Macao, we are in a relationship of mutual assistance, not an obligation of our country. However, if Lord Xu Guangqi can persuade the Governor of Liangguang to lift the blockade of Macao, then I can present a batch of Chinese and American arms to Macao on behalf of the government...... It's up to you to do with it. ”

The implication is that this batch of free Chinese and American arms will be used to open up the situation in Macau, and the Portuguese only need to run errands, not a penny. When the bargaining was over, Yan Xiaosong picked up the coffee and drank it while secretly looking at the faces of the two old Portuguese foxes.

"I think that's a good idea!" Luo Bao's eyes lit up, it seemed that by using this kind of disguised arms transaction with no capital, he and Mados could get a lot of private benefits in the middle.

Xu Guangqi, who was highly respected in the Ming court, and his friendly attitude towards Macao, coupled with the urgent need for arms imports, is the only bargaining chip that Macao can get hold of today. Yan Xiaosong had no intention of calculating the great man of the Ming Dynasty that he admired, but at present, this is the easiest step to speed up the lifting of the ban in Macau since Li Guozhu launched his activities.

……

The dirty deal with the Portuguese came to an end, and Yan Xiaosong returned to the Yan family's mansion with Liu Yaoyu, who had not spoken since he went out.

"Brother Yan, my brother wants to go to Qiongzhou and rebuild the Liu family's business! Although the Shandong business in the clan is declining, there are still some old people, if the brother can help, the brother will repay him! On the carriage, Liu Yaoyu suddenly raised his head, his voice was low, and his expression was stern.

Quietly looking at Liu Yaoyu, who had a stern expression, Yan Xiaosong knew that the other party finally couldn't sit still, and planned to defect to his cousin-in-law Zhao Youheng, who was demoted to Hainan Island as the prefect of Qiongzhou. This result is also something that Yan Xiaosong has been secretly looking forward to for a long time when he deliberately snubbed Liu Yaoyu for a period of time. Whether the country's national policy of "attaching equal importance to things and things" can "turn losses into profits" is likely to be an entry point for Hainan Island.

Hainan Island, the most remote and lowest-influential region in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, is the closest Ming Dynasty territory to Pearl Island, and it is also an important node that can form a "South China Sea Trade Circle" with Macao, Taiwan, Luzon, Malacca and Batavia.

Hainan Island is rich in resources and has a certain degree of basic development, and Ming businessmen like Liu Yaoyu can gain a foothold on Hainan Island with the secret support of Huamei, whether it is a future immigration plan or direct trade with the Ming Dynasty, it can create a strong mainland base that can be directly used by Huamei around the Ming Dynasty.

And a Ming bureaucrat like Zhao Youheng, the prefect of Qiongzhou, who was squeezed out of the remote frontier due to party disputes and was destined to be aspiring for life, is probably the key to finding a solution in the Ming bureaucratic system in China and the United States. The relationship between Liu Yaoyu's cousin-in-law has obviously become the most unexpected and valuable potential gain in the Oriental Agent Program.

"Liu Yaoyu, your business is my business, just mention whatever you need. In the future, if you feel tired, go to Huamei. ”

There is nothing to say, Yan Xiaosong just said a simple sentence, which made Liu Yaoyu's eyes red.

……

On Thursday, January 25, 1629, the second day of the first month of the second year of Chongzhen in the Ming Empire.

The sound of firecrackers during the Spring Festival is still ringing intermittently in the urban area of Nanshan Port in the southern hemisphere, except for the commercial streets that are racing against time to do holiday business, all walks of life in Nanshan City have entered the state of statutory holidays, but there is no slack on the dockside of the naval base.

Almost all black dock laborers, carrying coal-burning coal as black as they were. At noon, the Navy's transport ship Gray Whale and the large ocean-going sailing merchant ship Moongazer were ready to set sail for the last time. They were loaded with a large amount of medical or engineering supplies, a military medical team and some administrative staff, in addition to a small army special operations team that also accompanied Zhang Chunrui on board.

The second convoy will cross the Indian Ocean in the northeast monsoon with steam power, escorted by the frigate Dandelion, to a military frontier in the far east of the country on the shortest possible route, and then replace it with all pure sail clipping merchant ships.

The standard coal carrying capacity of the Dandelion sail frigate was not enough to complete such a long voyage, so the supply and transportation plan of the battleship was greatly adjusted. The coal load was almost twice as high as designed, and even empty spaces in many corners were stuffed with cloth bags filled with anthracite, and as a result, other logistical supplies were almost halved.

In addition to the Portuguese, the crew of the Ao Guang, who had already made a round trip to Asia, was also added to the fleet for piloting.