Seiwa

Dias had never felt that death was so close to him.

Abandoned by a big food merchant ship, overturned by the Ming army, and fell into the sea, he always believed that he would survive and that God would take care of his people.

At this moment, he was not sure.

The cold blade was in front of him, and blood seemed to flash across the blade.

Dias' hands and feet were cold, and he wasn't sure if the death scythe had been aimed at his neck.

He didn't even dare to open his mouth to beg for mercy, so he could only tremble with his hands, holding up a few pages of blueprints in his hands, hoping that the killing god in front of him would be merciful and spare his life.

Shen Xuan looked at Dias coldly, raised the long knife horizontally, as long as he handed it forward, his blood would splatter on the spot.

To kill, or not to kill?

Slightly squinting his eyes, he finally picked up the blueprint that Dias was holding high with the back of his knife, let him stand there trembling, put the knife back into its sheath, and flipped through it page by page.

The drawings are very simple, and most of the labels are in Portuguese.

Shen Xuan frowned while watching.He could see that what was painted on the Ming paper was artillery, and it was very different from the artillery equipped in the frontier army.It is somewhat difficult to fully understand.

The interpreter, who was left behind by Dias, finally followed up, saw Shen Xuan sitting in the hall, and immediately saluted, "Greetings, Duke."

"Excuse me." Shen Xuan looked at Tong Yi, then at Dias, and said, "These days, have you been looking at this barbarian?"

"Master of Returning Country, that's right."

"Have you read everything on the paper?"

The interpreter boldly poked his head and said, "Your official has indeed seen it."

Shen Xuan pointed to the ghost-like Portuguese writing on the paper, "Do you know what these mean?"

"Grandpa, let the officials be unrestrained." The interpreter took a few steps forward, took the blueprint, asked Dias, and took out the carbon strip that he carried with him, wrote down the contents of the notes on the blueprint, and handed it to Shen Xuan.

During the period when Dias was drawing the picture, the interpreter had been reading Marco Polo's travel notes, so he could ask Dias for help when he didn't understand.It took two months and nearly three months to master Portuguese to a certain extent.Writing is still a bit laborious, but communication is not a big problem.

When Meng Qinghe learned about it, he repeatedly sighed that Zhao Tongyi was definitely a language genius, and it was worth the effort to lure him from the Beijing branch and offend many people.

After comparing the translation and looking at the blueprint in his hand, Shen Xuan's expression finally changed.

The interpreter stood aside with his head bowed, ready to do further translation at any time.

Dias' feet were weak, and when Shen Xuan looked down at the blueprint, he almost turned around and ran away.

When he meets Meng Qinghe, he can still dream of getting rich.Seeing Shen Xuan, the gold and spices became illusory. His instinct told him that this oriental nobleman was very dangerous, and if he was a little careless, he might lose his life at any time.

Fortunately, Shen Xuan didn't intend to kill anyone today.

Meng Qinghe mentioned Dias in his letter. At first, Shen Xuan didn't think that Dias could come up with anything good, but now he changed his opinion.Hou Erdai really did not like a certain red hair, but with this blueprint, a certain red hair is safe for the time being.

"Zhou Rong."

"I'm humble."

"Go invite Xingningbo."

"Yes."

After the guard left, Shen Xuan picked up the blueprint again, and Dias was slightly relieved to hear the familiar address.

Although the noble lord had threatened to throw him into the sea, compared with this one, he was the embodiment of mercy.

In the east wing of the third hall, Meng Qinghe had just taken his medicine and was looking through the official documents sent by Dushi.

The guard's voice sounded outside the door, "Uncle."

"What's the matter?"

"Ding Guogong invites you to the second hall."

"Now?"

"Yes."

Meng Qinghe put down his pen, walked out of the wing room, saw Zhou Rong waiting in the corridor, and asked in surprise, "Zhou Qianhu? The Duke has something important to do?"

"Back to Uncle, the Fulang robot in Uncle's mansion took out a few blueprints. After the Duke had seen them, he sent a humble official to invite Uncle."

drawing?Could it be the blueprint of the artillery?

Meng Qinghe's eyes lit up instantly.

"go immediately."

I came here to call him, probably because I am convinced that this blueprint is of great use, right?

Meng Qinghe walked quickly, and Zhou Rong followed behind with a puzzled face.It was the first time I saw Uncle Xing so anxious, could it be that the blueprints in Hongmao's hand are really good things?

In the wing room, Shen Xuan pointed to a drawing and asked the interpreter to ask Dias how to load the shells from the rear of the artillery.

Meng Qinghe arrived in a hurry, just in time to hear this sentence, his smile was extremely bright immediately.

Rear-loading smoothbore gun, that's right, it's a Franc cannon.

Historically, the Frang cannon was introduced to Daming through the Frang machine sea ship in the late 100th century and the early [-]th century.If Dias's blueprints are really usable, the time when Daming built breech-loading guns will be nearly [-] years earlier than in history.

Compared with the artillery that is loaded by the muzzle, the heat dissipation is slow, and the firing interval is long, the Franc machine gun is loaded with sub-cannons, which has the characteristics of fast heat dissipation and rapid fire. artillery.Although the range is not as good as the later Hongyi cannons, it still has obvious advantages compared with contemporary artillery.

The technology and creative thinking of craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty were extraordinary. With Dias's blueprints, it is not a problem for the Fran cannon to come out in advance.It is not certain that artillery with better performance can be built.

With giant ships and cannons, will the era of ocean belonging to Ming Dynasty be far behind?

It is at least half a century before Europe explores new sea routes and begins the age of great voyages. The Ming Dynasty fleet has enough time to seize the lead.

Owning the hegemony of the sea, shocking the Western countries, reaching as far as Africa, and discovering the Americas, the footsteps of the Chinese people will travel to every corner of the world!

Meng Qinghe knows that dreams are still far from reality.

However, as long as the first step is taken, someone will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.As long as the progress of the Chinese nation is not cut off halfway, as long as the barbaric invasion does not happen again, his wish will come true one day!

"My lord."

With tears in his eyes, Dias seemed to have seen a savior.

It's a pity that Meng Qinghe didn't have time to talk to him, let alone comfort his wounded heart.

It's not that he has any objections to this red-haired man, it's just that the people who met Ding Guogong for the first time had basically the same reaction.

There is no need to comfort, just get used to it when you are scared.

He still needs to use Dias in many places, and he will definitely see Shen Xuan frequently.If you are not very courageous, you will faint when you meet, which is more or less a trouble.There's nothing wrong with exercising ahead of time.

Meng Qinghe walked to Shen Xuan's side, and the two met head to head, studying the blueprint of the artillery together.

Meng Qinghe asked more questions than Shen Xuan, asking in great detail about the material, weight, composition of the cannon, shells and gunpowder used, etc.

When Dias was asked urgently, he could speak Portuguese, and the interpreter was translating while quickly recording in the booklet he carried.Everything you don’t understand must be recorded and replaced with Dashi language to facilitate communication.

"Using wrought iron...mainly the barrel and barrel, and sub-cannons...can shoot gunpowder projectiles continuously..."

"The projectile is solid."

"The artillery can be mounted on a vehicle, but whether it can be used on a warship is still unknown."

During the question and answer, Meng Qinghe piled up a thick stack of drawings in front of him, most of which were drawn with reference to the artillery drawings and Dias's answer.

Meng Qinghe is not a professional, he only knows certain principles of composition, and the cannons he draws are still much more intuitive than the simple lines drawn by Dias.

Shen Xuan spread out the drawings separately, thought for a while, and started to draw.

As the pattern on the paper gradually took shape, Meng Qinghe was hit again by the second generation of Hou of the Ming Dynasty.

He looked at Shen Xuan suspiciously, is he stupid or this one is really too smart?

Shen Xuan put down the pen, dried the ink on the paper, turned his head, raised his eyebrows, Meng Twelve Lang continued to stare until his eyes were dry, and finally lost the battle.

Drawing pictures is not as good as staring.

Who said that the protagonist must be the protagonist after time travel, domineering and invincible?

Absolutely kick the past!

Present the blueprint, and Dias's "confinement" is temporarily lifted.

"After working hard for several days, Mr. Dias might as well go for a walk in the city and look around." Of course, Zhao Tongyi must be brought along.

Meng Qinghe smiled very cordially, and asked people to present two bolts of cloth, one bolt of silk, and a pair of copper coins, which should be regarded as the reward for Dias for producing the blueprint of the cannon.

According to the prices at that time, this remuneration was not small.Although it can't be compared with Emperor Yong Le's big money, it is still enough for Diashi to live comfortably for a period of time.

Dias was not very interested in copper coins, but he grinned while hugging the silk cloth, and kept praising God.

The corners of Meng Qinghe's mouth twitched, and in the end he was very kind and offered him a bolt of silk.

Dias was so grateful that he once again swore allegiance to Meng Qinghe in the name of God.

With the previous experience, the red-haired Fulang robot learned to be good, and did not hold Meng Qinghe's hand again, otherwise, the end would definitely be a hundred times more miserable than being kicked by the guards.

"My lord, you are so generous!"

Dias hugged the silk, bubbles of happiness floated on his head, and he went down with a fluttering footsteps.

This piece of silk can cover all his expenses for leaving his hometown and coming to the East.With the addition of silk cloth and the porcelain obtained during his stay in the Bofu, he will definitely become a rich and rich man when he returns to Portugal.Maybe even get a title.

Dias smiled dreamily, and Zhao Tongyi didn't say a word, let alone remind him that as long as his uncle doesn't let him go, his dream may be difficult to realize.However, as long as he does things for the uncle wholeheartedly, even if he doesn't return to Flangji and stays in Daming, he can still become a rich man.

From Dias, Zhao Tongyi has a certain understanding of the current Europa. His first instinct is, who said the Tartars are barbaric?Compared with these European kings and nobles, Oara Tauryanha can be classified as a civilized person.

Before, Zhao Tongyi had some interest in Europa, but after Dias explained it, all interest suddenly vanished.

He never wanted to see such an exotic style in his life!

It's a pity, when I think about it, when the "selfless" Uncle Meng was thrown on a long-distance ship, the only thing Zhao Tongyi could do was to lie on the side of the ship, looking at the distant land, and shed tears into the sea .

protest?It doesn't work at all.

Angry growl?With Ding Guogong here, Zhao Tongyi didn't want to court death yet.

In May of the third year of Yongle, Jin Yiwei flew from Daning to Nanjing with a secret performance.

Before long, Emperor Yongle directly issued a decree without going through the cabinet, and Xu Daning made artillery.

The eunuch Bai Yan, chief of the Beijing Military Warfare Bureau, received a secret order from the emperor, personally ordered more than a dozen craftsmen to go to Daning in the starry night, stationed in the Daning Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, and supervised the manufacture of new artillery with Ding Guogong.

The ambassadors and deputy envoys of the Daning Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau were full of energy, and the skilled craftsmen who were called did not dare to slack off at all.

Xing Ningbo made it clear that the Son of Heaven attached great importance to the new type of artillery, and whoever dares to make a problem at this time, the whole family and even the whole family will suffer.

Because the frontier army urgently needed a large number of fire mines, the Beijing Ordnance Bureau was so busy that it had no time to compete with the Military Warfare Bureau for the time being, and only waited for the artillery to be built.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu visited Daning on the occasion of border patrol, with only one purpose, to ask for a knife.

The long knives made by Daning are extremely sharp, and can even cut off the scimitars in the hands of Tartars in battle.

Before coming to Daning, Zhu Gaoxu went back to the Xuanfu, discussed with Zhu Gaosui, and wrote two expressive letters to his father in Nanjing.Zhu Di's reply was quick, and Zhu Gaoxu got the letter of approval, and immediately brought people to Daning.

With Dad's approval, even if the official wanted to intervene, he wouldn't be able to find any charges.

Leave the station, father will.

Blackmailing... No, asking Uncle Xingning for help is also approved by the old man.

Looking at the heroic King of Han, but his behavior was really rascal, Meng Qinghe gritted his teeth, and gritted his teeth again, but in the end he couldn't drive him out.

"Your Highness, five hundred long knives are really too many, at most one hundred."

"Can't you accommodate me?"

"It's not that I'm not accommodating, it's really impossible." Meng Qinghe shook his head, "Your Highness has also seen the current situation of the Daning Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau. Most of them are busy making artillery, only the Japanese workshop is still casting. One hundred is already the limit."

Zhu Gaoxu frowned, not enough manpower?There should be only such craftsmen in the Daning Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, right?

Meng Qinghe sighed, counting with his fingers, "His Royal Highness and His Royal Highness Zhao Wang will leave a group of craftsmen in the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, and His Majesty ordered to transfer some of them to fill the Beijing Military Bureau. A few days ago, the Beijing Armament Bureau also There are no less than [-] important people, including masters and apprentices."

Zhu Gaoxu touched his nose and fell silent.

Meng Qinghe continued to complain, "Daning has many military households, few civilian households, and few artisan households. Other guards have replacement staff every ten days, but Daning can only go out and not enter. Especially the artisan households, when the ministers arrive In Daning, there were no less than three hundred households, and there were many acquaintances, but now, there are probably less than a hundred households."

"This one……"

Zhu Gaoxu was choked.

People's hearts are fleshy, and the Tian family is ruthless, but Zhu Gaoxu remembers how much Meng Qinghe has helped him since they met.If it were someone else, he would have been angry, but Meng Qinghe, he couldn't do that.

In recent days, there have been frequent changes in Tatar and Oala, and frequent fires in the northwest.While patrolling the border, he encountered small groups of Tartar cavalry many times. With his long sword in Daning, Zhu Gaoxu hacked and killed two Tartar hundred households and one thousand households. Taking advantage of the shock of the Tartars, they managed to win more with less.

The strength of the two armies is equal in battle, and the quality of the weapons in hand can play a key role in the battle.This made him want to go to Daning to equip.

No, Meng Qinghe complained a lot, no matter how hard he prepared the words, his ears felt a little feverish.

Zhu Gaoxu blushed, Meng Qinghe also closed his mouth, and accepted it as soon as it was good.

The purpose of Zhu Gaoxu's sword is to arm the frontier army and guard the border.He could take out five hundred knives, but if they were given to Zhu Gaoxu, would Zhu Gaosui want them?

Liu Zhenmengshan from Liaodong, He Fu from Ningxia, Song Sheng from Gansu, King Jin from Shanxi, King Zhou from Henan, whoever has passed the message before, will you give it?

Yes, what does the Son of Heaven say?

If you don't give it, you will be offended all at once.

Give Hanwang five hundred, and the others don't even have five?Even if Zhu Gaoxu exchanged real money, Meng Qinghe couldn't do it.

The only way not to offend others is to give the sword to the emperor and distribute it by the court.Emperor Yong Le gave it to whomever he liked, no one dared to trouble the emperor for a knife.Of course, Duke Wei and Marquis Wuyang were exceptions.But Xu Huizu and Xu Zengshou are Zhu Di's brothers-in-law after all, and others want to follow suit, so they don't have the capital.

But in that case, the craftsman who made the knife would probably not be able to keep it.

No matter what you think, you are at a disadvantage.

Meng Qinghe didn't want to be at a disadvantage, and considering border defense, he couldn't refuse outright.

It is difficult to contribute to the country.

It is equally difficult not to want to suffer yourself.

In the end, Zhu Gaoxu let go of his mouth first, one hundred is one hundred, and the knife is not in vain. When he returned to Xuanfu, he immediately sent twenty horses to Daning.

"I will report Uncle Xing Ning's difficulties to my father." Zhu Gaoxu said, "This matter is not well thought out."

Talk to your father first, then discuss with your brothers, and if you speak to the north, others will have to weigh carefully if they want to find Meng Qing and make trouble.

Meng Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Zhu Gaoxu's message to Emperor Yongle is far more useful than his Shangshu.It would be even better if the emperor could feel a little "guilt" and recruit craftsmen from other places to enrich Daning.

In order to thank Zhu Gaoxu for "speaking out of righteousness", Meng Qinghe took the initiative to increase the number of long knives to 150, and gave him a chariot, fifty strong bows, and more than a hundred rockets for free.

"Uncle Xing Ning is like this, Xiao Wang is ashamed." Looking at the carriage covered with oilcloth, Zhu Gaoxu sighed, and clasped his fists and said, "Uncle Xie Xing Ning, a soldier under his command."

"I dare not."

Meng Qinghe was humbled in a hurry, but Zhu Gaoxu suddenly approached and clasped Meng Qinghe's shoulder with one hand, "There are not many lonely friends, and Uncle Xingning is definitely one of them. This thank you is naturally deserved."

"I am ashamed."

"One more thing," Zhu Gaoxu suddenly lowered his voice, "In June, the emperor will send someone to the west, and the leader of the team is the eunuch Zheng He."

Meng Qinghe's eyes widened suddenly, "Your Highness is serious?"

"I don't know the exact date, but the news will not be wrong." Zhu Gaoxu stood up straight, "Father Emperor Xu Gu has eight ships, and Gu can allocate three ships to Uncle Xingning."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"No need." Zhu Gaoxu took the reins with a smile and jumped on the horse. During the movement, the golden coiled dragon on the prince's uniform seemed to take off, with a handsome face and a heroic spirit, "I will leave now."

"Send it to Your Highness."

While waving his whip, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly turned around and said with a smile: "I have one more word, Uncle Xingning is busy with government affairs, so don't let your martial arts fall behind. So thin, it's really..."

Before he finished speaking, the horse's hoof was already raised.

Leaving behind a cloud of smoke and dust, the horse and its rider went away together.

Meng Qinghe stood where he was, and Zhu Gaoxu's words before leaving kept echoing in his ears.

Recalling the two words he vaguely heard, his face turned dark immediately.

Had he known this, he would never have been so generous!