Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

The king pointed directly at the southern barbarian who walked into the hall and introduced him solemnly: "This man is called Antonio Damoto, a French merchant and my trading partner in Shuangyu. When he heard that I was going to visit Wakasa, he insisted on coming with me to see if there were any business opportunities suitable for them."

The so-called French people were a mixed term used by the Ming people to refer to the Spanish and Portuguese. Yi Zhong saw that this man was seven feet tall, with a high nose, deep eyes, cat eyes, an eagle beak, a fair face, curly hair and a red beard, which fit the image of a European in his mind.

"To show our sincerity in trade and to thank Your Highness for your hospitality over the past few days, we discussed it last night and decided to present this item to Your Highness." After saying that, Wang Zhi winked at the French man named Damoto, who understood and handed the wooden box in his hand to Xiaoxing, who then passed it to Yizhong.

Under the curious gaze of the crowd, Yizhong slowly opened the long wooden box, and what came into view was a wooden stick-like object about two or three feet long. Yizhong took it out of the wooden box and examined it carefully. He saw that it was straight inside and outside, closed at the bottom, with a curved rod on one side and a small hole next to it. The shape was very strange.

At this time, the retainers of the Takeda clan also came forward to see what it was. Yoshishige passed the item to everyone, but no one had seen it before. However, due to its exquisite structure, it still aroused the admiration of these retainers.

Others couldn't tell what it was, but Yoshishige recognized it at first sight. This was the weapon used by the Portuguese to conquer various places - the matchlock gun, which later became known as the "teppok" in Japan.

"Normally, this thing will not flow into Japan via Tanegashima until three years later. I didn't expect to get a taste of it." Yoshishige was somewhat excited about the arrival of the iron cannon. After all, this thing will shine in Japan in the future. If he can get it before other daimyo, he will seize the initiative in the war.

But at this moment, he still pretended to know nothing about it, and asked Wang Zhi in a puzzled manner: "Excuse me, sir, what is this?"

"This thing is called a 'bird gun' in our country. You can see there is a hole next to it, which is the way to fire. Just put some magic medicine in it, add a small ball of lead, and then set up a target on the shore. The archer will aim and shoot. The fire will be like lightning and the sound will be like thunder. One shot can destroy a silver mountain and penetrate an iron wall."

As Wang Zhi proudly introduced the weapon, all the generals of the Takeda clan listened in amazement. No one had expected that such an unremarkable thing could have such tremendous power.

"Since this thing is so powerful, could you demonstrate it to us on the spot?" Although Yoshishige knew the power of the arquebus from books and Taiga dramas, he didn't know its accuracy, range, and destructive power in actual operation. Therefore, he hoped that Wang Zhi could operate it on the spot. If it was really as he said, it would be a good promotion to avoid resistance from the samurai in his family later.

"Damoto, please demonstrate it to the adults!"

Under Wang Zhi's order, the Frenchman took the musket from Yi Zhong, walked to the corridor outside the palace, looked around, and finally found a wooden stake in the courtyard about thirty rooms (about 60 meters) away from the corridor, which was just suitable for a target. He asked Yi Zhong if he could shoot him.

Yi Dian nodded. This wooden stake was originally used for his daily sword practice. It was also suitable as a target for testing the gun.

After getting Yoshishige's approval, the Franco-Robots began a series of complicated operations:
He first took out a small bag from his waist and poured gunpowder into the barrel. Then he stuffed a bullet into the barrel and compacted the gunpowder and bullet with a long cleaning rod.

Next, pour primer into the fire bowl at the rear of the gun and close the lid on top of the fire bowl to prevent accidental firing.

After fixing the fuse on the fuse clip, light the fuse and open the lid.

The last step is to aim at the target, pull the trigger, and fire!

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, as the matchlock ignited the primer, a "bang" sounded, a puff of gunpowder slowly rose, and in a flash, the bullet flew out of the barrel, and under the huge impact, the bullet was deeply embedded in the wooden stake. To be honest, compared with the power of the bullet, the puff of gunpowder and the crisp sound were more shocking. The retainers of the Takeda family who were originally surrounding the French took several steps back unconsciously at the moment of the gunshot, which showed that they were indeed afraid of this new thing.

After the smoke cleared, the retainers came to their senses. Some hurried to the wooden stakes to check the results, while others took the muskets from the French and examined them carefully. It was obvious that many people had become interested in this item.

"Reporting to the lord, the bullet hit the target!" The most active one was Hirai Toshimasa. He was the one who brought the people here, so if they could achieve some results, he would be proud of it.

"This is incredible. How can the distance be nearly thirty rooms? And it can still hit the target at this distance. It should not be underestimated." Muto Mitsuyuu, the leader of the Makai group, was quite surprised by the performance of the musket.

"It's really unusual. The bullet is deeply embedded in the wooden stake. If it were a real person, it would have pierced through it directly." Even Yamamoto Shigeyuki, who has traveled all over the world and is always knowledgeable, was amazed at the power of the matchlock gun.

However, some retainers still held different opinions on this item, and some even expressed disdain.

"You don't even see how long this process takes. In that time, I can shoot several arrows." As the family elder, Yamagata Hidemasa did not think highly of such "strange and tricky" things as the matchlock gun. In his opinion, archery, horseback riding and archery were the foundation for samurai to gain a foothold in troubled times.

"Shimono-no-kami is wrong. Although the operation of this thing is cumbersome, once you master it, the time should be significantly shortened, and it can cause great damage to medium and short-range targets. It can be used as a supplement to bows and arrows." Shirai Mitsutane, who is the "first family elder", is similar in age and qualifications to Yamagata Hidemasa, but he is very receptive to new things.

As everyone was expressing their opinions on the matchlock gun, Yizhong approached Wang Zhi and praised him, "This thing has great power and a long range. It is indeed extraordinary. However, calling it a 'bird gun' is a bit stingy. I think we should call it an 'iron cannon' from now on."

"Iron Cannon..." Wang Zhi pondered for a moment and smiled: "If this thing can be called a 'cannon', then what should the several 'Flange Cannons' on the ship be called? Haha, well, it's a gift to Your Highness anyway, you can call it whatever you want."

"Flange gun?!" Yizhong was stunned. "You have such a good thing on your ship?"

"Why, Your Highness, have you heard of this thing?" Wang Zhi asked back.

Yizhong nodded slightly: "I have heard that it is very powerful and can destroy a city with one shot."

"Destroying a city? That's not that exaggerated, but knocking down the city wall shouldn't be a problem." Wang Zhi smiled, "Why, Your Highness is interested in these firearms?"

"Indeed, after seeing the power of the iron cannon today, I thought that if I could form a iron cannon team, it would be the best thing for my Takeda family."

As soon as Yi Zhong said this, Wang Zhi reminded him: "Your Highness, this cannon is a gift from me to you, so I don't charge you for it. But you should know that this thing is very expensive." (End of this chapter)