The Macao Fortress is the largest of the many forts in Macao and is the core force.

It was built in 1617 and completed in 1626.

It is located in the high mountain area in the central part of Macao, which is the most important military area of Macao, and forms a military protective wall with Songshan Fort and A-Ma Fort, plus Wangxia Fort to form an advantageous military terrain that can protect the interests of Portuguese merchants.

There is a secret passage underneath it that leads to the Pine Hill Fort, where Macau's last military installations are located.

It covers an area of about 10,000 square meters, in an irregular quadrilateral, with a side length of about 100 meters, and the four corners of the wall protrude out to become a bastion, and the northeast, southwest and southeast walls of the fort are built on a 3.7-meter-wide granite foundation, and the wall is built with rammed earth masonry and plastered with oyster shell powder as plastering, which is very solid, and the wall is about 9 meters high, and narrows to 2.7 meters wide.

The parapet is about 2 meters high, in the shape of a pheasant, and can erect up to 32 cannons!

There are pillboxes at both corners of the southeast wall.

In the northwest wall facing the Ming Continent, it is mainly made of granite masonry, and the parapet wall is relatively low and has no cannon muzzle, which mainly shows its defensive role overseas and its friendly attitude towards the Ming officials at that time.

Its gate faces south, and the entrance is a gunpowder storehouse.

In the center of the upper floor was a three-story tower, each of which was armed with artillery.

There are four other rows of houses next to it, which are the barracks for the governor and the officers and soldiers, and there are steps on both sides of the dormitory to connect with the entrance of the lower floor.

The Macau Fort was equipped with a pool and a munitions depot, which was well stocked to withstand a two-year siege.

All in all, this fort is now the core of the entire defense system of Macau, and can form a wide artillery defense network covering the east and west coasts.

As mentioned above, when the Han Tang Group eliminated the main power of the Dutch East India Company in the Far East, the East India Company in Macao ushered in a golden age of development.

Less than two years later, they discovered that this golden age was only a golden age for Portuguese merchants, and that it was not as useful for the development of Macao as it was for the Dutch pirates everywhere on the sea.

Portuguese merchants have moved their shops to what is now the Red Fan district of Re-Chi Dacheng, which is twice the size of the whole of Macau!

There's a lot of room for growth - but there are still nasty Protestants and Muslims out there!

Of course, businessmen still have to make money, and all this can be endured.

Macau is now becoming more and more warehouse-oriented, and the main role here has begun to serve inventory.

Especially when the annoying Ming merchants joined the brigade of Haimao, this phenomenon became more and more obvious.

They also quickly became familiar with the sea route to India, and they were able to transport their goods to Persia along the way.

Of the four richest places in the world, they have also come into contact with three!

Finally, is it still far from the day when they will come into contact with the fourth, the princely families of Europe?

Portuguese businessmen had to speed up their business progress and lost the comfortable days of doing leisure for half a year in the past!

Relying on the new schooners that the Han and Tang groups also sold to the Portuguese merchants, everyone had to start trading with the Ming merchants who traded more often and who ran farther.

The Portuguese merchants found that it was impossible to endure hardships compared to the Ming merchants!

They are better than Dutch peddlers, and they can calculate.

After that, some Portuguese merchants returned to the Goa region of India and started to work as second-hand dealers with peace of mind, concentrating on doing business from India to Europe.

But if you don't mean that the merchants are annoying, follow their caravans with a dead face, and go to Europe together!

With or without it? Can you not bring it?!

After all, they also brought themselves relatively cheap goods, not to mention traditional goods, such as snow candy, which is as white as snow; Pepper is cheap, but also easy to carry and use; There are also various perfumes, dyes.

The most important one is a kerosene lamp and kerosene.

This place has a few more words, it's not off-topic.

After kerosene lamps and kerosene came out of the product, all the residents, except for those who used electric lamps, were an idea and had to buy them.

After all the merchants saw it, it was an idea that they had to buy it.

All the seafarers who saw it, it was an idea and had to buy it.

The reason is simple, the first one is that it is far brighter than a candle and there is no black smoke.

The second is that it is so safe, and it is said that even if it is dumped, no kerosene will be spilled!

And the brightness is adjustable.

The third is that it has large and small shapes, and it is easy to ignite, after loading kerosene, as long as you turn the wheel on its oil pot, you can hear the sound of "bang, bang", similar to the lighter produced by the Hantang Group, it will ignite the wick - it is a metal oil pot and base, you can directly smash walnuts, of course, it is all silver, it is too expensive.

Hantang Group has not yet been able to popularize electric lights, which is mainly due to the problem of power capacity.

However, there are some special areas that can still be used, such as those that are either close to the power plant, or have a special home with a horse ticket.

Lucky enough to move from Xiamen to the Hantang Group's control, he happened to live next to a biogas power plant, and he could apply to pull a wire and use an electric light like the rich.

But the bar master will never apply!

His son was extremely angry, there was an electric light in the house, and he said that he was like a rich man in our family, and he had a lot of face.

"Daddy, haven't you ever seen an electric light?!"

"Laughing, why haven't you seen it? Isn't the Carrefour supermarket all lit at night? ”

"How bright the lights are—"

"What's the use of laughing and talking, to be so bright? Can it be bright, medium, and small? If we can do that, we'll use it. ”

"-- The kerosene lamp smells strange!"

"Laughing, I really like the smell, if your electric light can also be emitted, let's pull it up."

"It's not safe to use kerosene lamps!"

"Joke, I've seen 'Beware of electricity!' on every telephone pole I saw. If you can find a sign that says, 'Beware of kerosene lamps!' Let's pull it up. ”

"--The lights are easy to use!"

"Laughing, my kerosene lamp can be taken around, and I don't need to buy a flashlight, your lamp must drag the wire, and you don't let it go privately, who is convenient?"

The son's tears were about to come out, and he said, "Electric light is a scientific performance!" ”

"My son, using a kerosene lamp is the real thing to talk about - what kind of word does the people of the Han and Tang groups often appear in the newspapers - art, otherwise the Han and Tang groups will also recruit some people who can carve stone and paint oil paintings.

Art, I can pick all kinds of beautiful styles to make people look - art!

Your lights are all in one place! What kind of art?

The "Han and Tang Times" wrote: When we develop science and technology, we must not forget to improve the artistic accomplishment of the entire nation, especially the exchange development of art between the East and the West.

A good kerosene lamp is a work of art when placed on a bogu shelf, and your electric light is temporarily placed there when it is used up when it is placed on a bogu shelf! ”

Gang Ye's son burst into tears and said, "Do I have to use a kerosene lamp for the rest of my life?!" ”

Gong Ye comforted his son and said, "Son, think about it." The life of the electric light is short, maybe it will be burned out as soon as the power is turned on, it is extremely unreliable, doesn't it say that the best can be used for half a year?

Kerosene lamps are long-lasting, extremely reliable, and can be used for generations—not a lifetime, but a lifetime—"

The son finally couldn't help it anymore and went out crying.

Gong Ye looked at his son's back and wanted to call him back, but he knew that he would definitely go to the bookstore to read books, where people could try them out, and there was no time limit.

My son is good at this and knows how to save money on reading.

Those books are too expensive, expensive to buy, and they make you read for nothing, how good.

My son, do you know how expensive the lights of the Hantang Group are?

Pull a wire and you're 50,000 horse tickets!

What about a light cannon?

What about a month's electricity bill? If you don't order it, you have to pay 8,000 horse tickets!

Let's not talk about pulling a line, let's not talk about pulling a line, calculate just one line, and the cost of a month is four percent of our family's income!

In reading, you are very smart at calculating small accounts, why don't you settle accounts with this big one?

My son, these are the three major pieces, the new three major pieces, Daddy is late here, isn't this saving money for you to get married?!

In fact, no one cares about the stories of ordinary people like this.

Where do the real rich care about this?

In the residences of the Zheng family and the Pan family, I heard that even the concierge room has electric lights, and if the house is not brightly lit at night, it must be a power outage.

The wires of the Hantang Group can't be bought, and I heard that they don't have enough for themselves.

So kerosene lamps sell well, and of course, kerosene also sells well.

When it came to buying such products, the Portuguese merchants living in the Hongfan area showed their superiority, the Spanish merchants threw silver, and the Dutch and British merchants waited in line, but they did not have an advantage because they cooperated directly with the Ming merchants!

Have the right to get the goods first!

Therefore, I can only take Ming Shang to Europe - can I not take it?!

The first batch of goods like this must be sold to the royal family and princes, and the price cannot be lower, otherwise it will be an insult to them; The second group is the nobility, and the price must be lower, otherwise it will be an insult to the royal family and the princes; Finally, there are the big merchants -- at this point, the profit is about the same, because it is likely that the obnoxious Protestants will follow and traffick, and then we can wait for other products.

The Portuguese merchants also had to exchange their experience in this kind of ocean trade with the Ming merchants.

But the merchants really understood and nodded in agreement.

A Ming merchant said: "When you go out, you are brothers in the four seas!" When the Maritime Security Brigade had time to spare, and when they thought of the European ocean-going training, everyone still set off together-"

The hearts of the Portuguese merchants were tightened, and by that time you had rushed up again.

So, now hurry up and do sea trade!

It's stupid to buy the goods of the Hantang Group with a horse ticket! It's the same with spending gold and silver!

Hantang Group likes to exchange goods for goods, and can get priority, which is the best way in addition to cooperating with Ming merchants.

For example, in the demand form written outside the customs of Hantang Group, there is a need for tung oil.

The city of Guangzhou was suddenly closed to the sea, which cut off the business opportunities of the few commercial houses in Macao.

It is possible to stock from the front gate by land, but that would be too little to be enough!

Just as the remaining Portuguese merchants were discussing the solution, three large sea ships came from Guangzhou City at once!

Not to mention the traditional best-selling goods above, the three hundred barrels of tung oil alone made the eyes of Portuguese businessmen brighten!

My God, if this is delivered to the Anjiang Shipyard, they may directly supply 300 iron barrels of kerosene!

Of course, this can't be calculated in terms of volume and weight, only Hantang Group will have kerosene, so the iron bucket is smaller, really smaller, but it's worth it.

A Portuguese merchant went up to the sea boat and asked them to open a barrel of tung oil more than half a person high, without speaking, to see that the viscous appearance was enough, and the color was also positive, pure brown color, this is the best pure tung oil, it is the tung seed fried and squeezed out of the oil directly!

Okay, I want it, I can pay for horse tickets, gold and silver.

If you want artillery - yes, but not in Macau.

Actually, you'd better ask for artillery, I've heard that someone can ask for as many artillery as they want, you know.

The owner of the Akito ship seemed a little stupid, and said, "I don't want artillery, I want a horse ticket!" ”

The Portuguese merchant was a little annoyed and said, "The city of Guangzhou is closed to the sea, you can still come out to trade by sea, don't you want artillery?!" Don't worry, after you hand over this batch of goods, I will immediately arrange for someone else to hand over to you in the open sea, and the Speaker of the Macao Council will not know-"

"Hehe, I just need a ticket!"

This Portuguese businessman is actually the director of the Macau Bugarao Cannon Foundry, others can go, but he can't go, because the Bugarao Cannon Foundry is here, how to go?

He thought angrily, damned Speaker, this is the way he has to decide!

He had to pay the horse ticket, but fortunately, the speaker allowed him to be the first to talk about business.

The deal is struck.

How to say this is also a happy thing, he may have priority to get the kerosene of the Hantang Group, although it is definitely a small keg, but ten times the profit, it can subsidize the loss of the Bujialao Foundry.

He was delighted to see barrels of tung oil rolled onto the dock one by one by the Ming sailors.

The Macao soldiers who had been on guard all dispersed, and even the gunners on the gun emplacements walked away.

It was a successful business and a good start.

Thanks to Xiao Xiang, Book Friend 5876144, Xiaoguo Rice Wine, Qing 1 Color, cmd19764 for their support.

I know, December is scrapped.