Duncan ruthlessly shattered Yellowstone's vision: "General, with all due respect, it is unrealistic to cast an eighteen-pounder cannon on Immortal Island now, I'm afraid it will be a long, long time later." ”

"Why? How long is it?"

Duncan shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands helplessly: "Our army must start with one pound and three pounds first, train mechanics and familiarize themselves with raw materials, and then six-pound and twelve-pound guns, how can this take a year, and then eighteen pound guns can be cast." ”

Huang Shi fell silent for a moment, but Duncan was an expert in this area, and it was impossible for him to refute the expert opinions of this era: "Everything is difficult at the beginning, I understand it, but let's start casting cannons as much as possible." ”

Seeing that Huangshi's face was uncertain, Duncan hurriedly added: "General, first of all, it is still a field artillery, as long as the field battle can be won, what castle will not be taken? If the field battle is lost, any siege cannon is useless." ”

These words made Huang Shi nod, and Duncan, who was full of confidence, added: "Then, I still need blacksmiths and carpenters, if these people have to be trained from scratch, I am afraid it will take another year." ”

Huang Shi pondered for a moment, this problem should be solved: "No problem, by the way, Mr. Duncan, there are already dozens of Catholics on Eternal Life Island, should the Jesuits also consider helping us." ”

If those people can be considered Catholics...... Duncan slandered in his heart: "Yes, there are many technicians in Macao and other places, and the Jesuits can help introduce them, so I will write a letter to Beijing." ”

Duncan hesitated as if he had something else to say, and Yellowstone motioned to him, but it didn't hurt.

"General, I am a soldier first, and I am a very qualified artillery officer, casting cannons is just a necessary military quality for me, and based on my contributions in the army these days, I think I am fully qualified to be an officer. Of course, Duncan's name would not be on the list of people Huang Shi had to promote to the imperial court this time, which made him a little indignant.

This dissatisfaction surprised Huang Shi a little, and he hurriedly explained to this foreign friend: "Mr. Duncan is my Huang Shi's personal staff, if I remember correctly, Mr. Duncan is still Scottish, not above my Ming household registration or military registration. ”

Not wanting that this explanation could not eliminate Duncan's displeasure in the slightest, he argued angrily: "There is no reason at all for this, according to our Tessie's habits, I can be regarded as a mercenary officer, and I can lead the troops alone, and the general does not give me a specific position, which is a contempt for my professional qualities." ”

"Mr. Duncan is Scottish, isn't he?"

"Of course, but that doesn't stop you from hiring me as an officer. ”

"My Ming army must be handed over to the command of the officers of the Ming Dynasty, there is no mercenary officer to say, this is the rules and laws of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Then can I join the Ming Army?"

"It depends on whether Mr. Duncan is willing to give up his Scottish nationality, and if he wants to join the Ming Army, he must change his Chinese surname and use his Chinese name. ”

Duncan was speechless, Huang Shi smiled, walked over and patted him on the shoulder to comfort: "Mr. Duncan, I regret it, but I don't recognize dual citizenship. ”

......

After the New Year's Day of the fourth year of the Apocalypse, Shandong's grain ships sailed to Changsheng Island.

Huang Shi, who was once again wearing a black gauze official robe, respectfully invited the Dengzhou grain officer who got off the escort ship at the dock: "Lord Zhen, you have worked hard all the way. ”

The 2,000 soldiers of Changsheng Island, the true color of a year is 24,000 stone meters and 6,000 pieces of cloth, as well as 15,000 taels of silver, although the Dongjiang River wants to take away 5,000 taels, but this time there are also internal coins for the level reward and the imperial reward, and there should be a total of 20,000 taels of silver.

"This is the signature of the true color and the folded color, General Huang has accepted it, please accept it. "Zhen Yucun was born in Jinshi in the 42nd year of Wanli, and is now the head of the Dengzhou Mansion Grain Station from Liupin.

Huang Shinuo said, and invited the grain official into the Changsheng Mansion to serve tea, and Yang Zhiyuan hurriedly led people to move the materials into the warehouse.

After Yang Zhiyuan handed over the list, Huang Shi looked at it carefully, and then secretly pulled Yang Zhiyuan over and whispered a few words, Zhen Yucun ignored it, just sat there and drank tea quietly.

"Lord Zhen," Huang Shi leaned together with a smiling face to Zhen Yu Village, and cautiously pointed to the list and asked, "The silver is fourteen thousand taels here." ”

Zhen Yucun didn't look at the list, and gently spit out two words: "Drifting." ”

Huang Shi hurriedly nodded violently: "I see, the last general knows," and his finger moved down: "That rice is also 17,000 stones, which is exactly missing thirty percent." ”

"Drift. ”

"I see, it's been a really hard journey. ”

The cloth on the list is also no more, no less, and thirty percent has been removed, and it is also "floating" when I think it is "floating", and Huang Shi didn't dare to ask again.

"General Huang can give the actual collection, right?"

"Of course, of course. Huang Shi hurriedly signed 20,000 taels of color and 24,000 stone meters and 6,000 cloths.

Blowing and blowing to send away the Dengzhou grain officials, Huang Shi hurried to inspect the craftsmen who came with the ship, Wu Gonggong said good things to the palace for Huang Shi, and the Emperor of the Apocalypse gave the Ministry of Industry instructions, asking them to transfer a group of craftsmen from Shandong to Changsheng Island.

The twenty carpenters and blacksmiths stood in front of Huangshi's eyes, and after saluting, they waited blankly for the arrangement, anyway, they were all untouchables, and they were all working hard and tiring lives.

"Now that you have reached immortality, are you willing to join Dongjiang Town and become a military household?" Huang Shi asked loudly to the hundred or so men and women.

The military household was a little taller than the craftsman household, and the crowd below was in a commotion, and they couldn't believe that there was such a good thing, and they all hesitated a little in their eyes when they looked at Huang Shi, worried that there was something waiting for them.

"I won't let you go to the battlefield, you are still a craftsman on Changsheng Island, intermarriage, children are exactly the same as other military households, and ......" Huang Shi smiled and dragged out his tone, he hoped that these craftsmen would work more actively, and not always feel that their ancestors were slaves all day long: "If you do a good job, you will have rank merit and promotion, and you can also get the hereditary land of Dongjiang Town." ”

......

Although Duncan whined the conch, few people were willing to come to the remote island of Changsheng Island, and in the end only one Dutchman arrived, a broken sailor who had been begging in Macau to survive, eating and waiting to die.

"Dutch?" Yellowstone looked at his resume in surprise, "Aren't the Dutch all Protestants?"

This wealth of knowledge startled Duncan, and he hurriedly drew a cross: "May God save their souls." Then he closed his eyes and pretended to pray in order to speak, and when he opened his eyes, he was already confident: "After he wandered to Macau, he was inspired by God to confess his past sins to the Jesuits." ”

"Like you?" Yellowstone vaguely remembered that Duncan had said of himself.

"Yes, the same as me. Duncan drew another cross: "Praise God." ”

(End of Section 27)

(End of chapter)

Gaiden

Excerpt from "The Famous People of the Netherlands":

Stevenson Van Rosenford...... In 162o AD, the Rosenford brothers chose a very different path, one by sea ship to the west, and finally reached New Amsterdam (then named) of the new big 6. Stevenson, on the other hand, traveled eastward, circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope to China, where he met Stonethegreat four years later...... The Rock Emperor's pioneering and supportive of science and technology was clearly influenced by Stevenson, and this spirit of praism is characteristic of Protestantism, not of the decadent and antique Catholic mode of thinking...... The fact that the Rock the Great was able to pull his feet out of the quagmire of Jesuit superstition shows that we Protestants in the Netherlands have done a great job...... Throughout the life of the Rock the Great, the Protestants' acceptance of science and their disdain for superstition can be seen everywhere. We are convinced that it is this Protestant imprint that is deeply rooted in the Rock Emperor that has brought more scientific ideas and miraculous scientific and technological progress to China.

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