Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 150 Disagreement
After Zhu Jing'an annihilated the main force of the Qing army led by Fulongan in the Battle of Shaoguan.

The Ming army had created a huge space for strategic detours and a strategic window period.

It is precisely because of this that Zhu Jing'an is prepared to use this precious strategic window period to solve Ming's worries.

That is, those foreigners!
Originally, Zhu Jing'an was naturally very wary of foreigners because of China's century-long experience of decline in later generations.

After the Ming Dynasty captured Henry and his party on the battlefield in Shaoguan, this wariness was raised to its peak.

Now that the foreigners have made the decision to side with the Manchus and become enemies of the Ming Dynasty, don't blame Zhu Jing'an for taking the initiative.

……

Macao!

George, the director of the British East India Company, Charles, the commercial representative of the French East India Company, Sardanye, the governor of Macau, Felosa, the captain of the Dutch East India Company, and others gathered together again.

The conference room of the Macau City Hall was filled with smoke. George was frowning, with half a cigar in his mouth. As he breathed, the cigar flickered brightly and darkly.

Charles held the ultimatum sent by someone from the Ming Dynasty in his hand, and while reading it, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

The Dutchman Felosa also frowned, wondering if his arms business was going to be completely ruined...

But among them, the one who was most restless was actually the Governor of Macau, Sardanye.

Because, for the other three people, the worst and worst outcome is that Macau is recaptured by the Ming army and trade is temporarily cut off.

But they can get on the boat and run.

With the current navigation capabilities of the Chinese, there is no way to enter the open sea to pursue them!
But Shadanye had nowhere to run even if he wanted to.

There are thousands of Macanese people here in Macau. They have settled in Macau for hundreds of years, so where can they go?
"Things have become difficult to handle. When Henry and his party went to contact the imperial envoys of the Qing Dynasty, they were directly captured by the rebels. The leader of the rebels was extremely angry and asked us to explain this and give up Macau."

"It seems that he is really determined to use force against Macau."

George said with a solemn tone.

Now Britain and Portugal are traditional allies with a close relationship. Especially after the decline of Portugal, the relationship between this alliance has become unbreakable.

Although Macau is in the hands of the younger brother, the Portuguese, the boss, the British, can also use it.

Once the Portuguese lose Macau, it will not be a good thing for Britain.

But France and the Netherlands are a little gloating!
During the American War of Independence, both France and the Netherlands chose to side with the United States to create obstacles for Britain.

Therefore, the two countries and Britain are now in a state of opposition.

When they can gulp down the benefits, they may be able to reluctantly achieve the same principle with their own agendas.

But when the situation becomes passive and they are about to be beaten and suffer losses, the first thing they think about is definitely not to support each other and tide over the difficulties together.

But how to add insult to injury to the other party!
Shadanye said with a solemn expression.

"Mr. George, Britain's most loyal ally, Portugal, now needs all necessary help from Britain."

"Help us protect Macau and tide over the current difficulties."

Felosa pondered for a while and then spoke.

"How about we send someone to Guangzhou to see if there is still the possibility of negotiation on this matter."

"The worst case scenario is that we agree to the rebels' demands and just want to keep Macau."

Felosa still hasn't given up on the idea of ​​being an arms dealer.

In fact, Felosa's purpose was very simple from the beginning. He just wanted to make money as an arms dealer.

As for those unequal treaties and the attack on the Ming Dynasty together with the Manchus, Felosa was coerced by Britain and France and was forced to participate.

Hearing this, Ciel spoke.

"I agree with Felosa."

Now, as the Ming army achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Shaoguan and annihilated hundreds of thousands of Qing troops in one go, Shire's position also changed.

But when George heard this, he said extremely firmly.

"No, we don't need to negotiate with the rebels. In the worst case, we can just let them fight."

"We must have confidence in the forts and bastions in Macau, and we must also have confidence in our fleet."

George is not willing to surrender to Ming now.

He was going to use his strong ships and cannons to have a collision with Ming Dynasty.

Because Britain does not want to lose Macau, the only stronghold of this Western country on the coast of China.

The first person to raise objections was Felosa.

"Mr. George, I refuse to join the war."

"The main purpose of leading a team to Macau this time is to dispose of a batch of old arms from the Chinese, not to participate in a meaningless war."

If the war is profitable, Felosa doesn't mind getting in on the action.

Just like the last time George suggested that they stand on the side of the Manchus and help the Manchus put down the rebellion, Felosa did not refuse.

Because he felt that the battle was profitable.

Moreover, the main force was also the Qing army, and they played only side drums at most.

Even if there is a loss, it is within the acceptable range.

Moreover, if they sided with the Manchus, their post-war interests would still be guaranteed.

However, now that the Qing army's southern expedition has been completely wiped out, the Ming army rushes to Macau to question the crime.

The situation has become that they have to face the Ming army alone!

Felosa will only continue to mix in when she is full and full.

Why should the Dutch fight against the Chinese for the benefit of the British and Portuguese?
Obviously, Felosa was not the only one who thought so, Ciel on the side also spoke.

"Mr. George, Governor Shadanye, I'm sorry, we in France are not prepared to participate in this matter."

"I will actively seek negotiations with the rebels and strive to resolve the dispute through negotiation!"

How to put it, anyway, the current Henry who was captured by the Ming Dynasty was an Englishman, not a Frenchman.

The French still had some room for change in front of the Ming Dynasty.

At worst, just admit that you are a coward!

Make money, don't be ashamed!
Seeing that both France and the Netherlands stated that they would not participate, the expressions of George and Shadanye on the side instantly darkened.

The two people's eyes met, and they could see the solemn look in each other's eyes.

Shadanye looked at George with pleading eyes, as if begging the British not to abandon them.

Seeing this scene, George took a deep breath and said.

"The Governor can rest assured that Portugal is Britain's most loyal ally."

"We will stand firmly with you!"

Seeing this, Shadanye breathed a sigh of relief and said confidently.

"Send someone to rebuff the rebels' ultimatum."

"Just say that Macau is the hometown of the Portuguese. No one can force us to leave our hometown. God will bless the brave Portuguese."

After hearing this, the attendant bowed and left, preparing to reject Ming's ultimatum.Charles and Felosa also said goodbye and left.

After leaving Macau City Hall, Felosa spoke up.

"Your Excellency Charles, if I remember correctly, there are many French soldiers hired by the Ming Army to fight for the Ming Army."

"Can we contact the Ming Dynasty through those French soldiers?"

Felosa asked.

Ciel nodded.

"should be okay!"

"I'm going to send someone to try it now."

"Let those damn British guys face the wrath of the Ming army alone."

……

Foshan Town, Foshan Arsenal!
After Zhu Jing'an returned to Guangzhou, he took a short rest and rushed to the Foshan Arsenal for inspection.

The old man Guo Dashan was transferred from Jintian Town to Foshan and was still responsible for the construction of the arsenal.

Although Guo Dashan's ability is not enough to serve as the Minister of Industry of the Ming Dynasty, his character is serious and he is meticulous in his work. He is more than enough to serve as the steward of the arsenal.

It was precisely because of his character that Zhu Jing'an entrusted him with the task of establishing the Foshan Arsenal.

"Grand Governor, the Foshan Arsenal currently has a total of 200 people, and has several production lines for muskets, artillery, rockets, breastplates, bayonets, gunpowder, grenades, fixed ammunition, etc."

"Each has designated production workshops and factories!"

"Under the worker training mechanism of bringing the old with the new, the Foshan arsenal now has a large number of skilled workers, and its production capacity in ordnance has exceeded that of the arsenal in Jintian Town."

Guo Dashan reported next to Zhu Jing'an.

The Ming army captured Guangzhou in early July.

After the fall of Guangzhou, Zhu Jing'an immediately asked Jintian Town to send manpower to support the construction of the Foshan Arsenal.

At the end of July, the manpower dispatched by Jintian Arsenal arrived in Foshan, and then began to set up the Foshan Arsenal.

In three months, the Foshan Arsenal has been established and a large number of skilled workers have been trained.

The production capacity has completely exceeded that of Jintian Arsenal and has become the largest source of ordnance for the Ming army.

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly to express satisfaction, and then asked.

“What is the current monthly production capacity of the Foshan Arsenal?”

Guo Dashan took an account book and reported the report.

"If I go back to the Governor, the Foshan Arsenal can now produce about 14 Type [-] flintlock rifles per month."

"Fifty Type 65 field guns, thirty Type 90 field guns, twenty 120 field guns, twenty 120 siege guns, ten 150 siege guns, and three 165 heavy guns."

The Ming Dynasty's 165-pound heavy artillery corresponds to the foreign 32-pound artillery.

Ming Dynasty has now successfully overcome the technical bottleneck of the foreign 24-pound and 32-pound heavy guns.

Zhu Jing'an nodded with satisfaction, and Guo Dashan continued.

"In addition, we can produce twenty mortars per month."

Mortars were produced for the purpose of attacking cities. They could use curved projectiles to cause effective damage to the defenders on the city wall.

Even if it is used to attack a bastion, it can still play a very good role!

"Five hundred rockets of each caliber, two thousand hand grenades, three thousand single-sided breastplates, bayonets, gunpowder, and some fixed bullets..."

After listening to Guo Dashan's report, Zhu Jing'an nodded with satisfaction.

Then continue to ask.

"So what's the development process of the explosive shells used in the mortars?"

Hearing this, Guo Dashan said with some shame.

"We already have some ideas. The casting of the projectile and the filling of explosives have been solved. The biggest problem now is the problem of the fuse."

"If the problem of the fuse cannot be solved, the risk of using the explosive ammunition will still be too high, and I do not recommend equipping it with the troops."

These days, you can’t even think about triggering a fuze, because the processing technology requirements for triggering the fuze are too high.

It is impossible to do it with the technological level of this era.

Therefore, the explosive ammunition can still only be ignited with a fuse, and then inserted into the barrel of the gun for firing.

But in this case, the risk factor of using explosive ammunition is too high.

Once an operation error occurs, the explosive shell may explode prematurely in the gun barrel, and the explosion will directly take away the entire gun crew.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he pondered for a while.

"Then don't rush to equip the army and continue research and development."

"For the research and development of explosive bombs, this governor can provide you with an idea..."

Immediately afterwards, he ordered someone to get a pen and paper, and quickly drew a structural diagram of a blooming bomb carrying a wooden bullet holder and a wooden tube fuse.

Here, wooden bullet supports are installed on the artillery shells, using the top-heavy self-stabilizing principle of badminton to stabilize the ballistic trajectory of the shells and ensure the accuracy of the shelling.

The wooden tube fuse is used to improve the safety of the explosive ammunition.

Both ends of the wooden tube are made of wood, and the middle is hollow. Inside is placed a medicine pot with a very stable burning speed.

The wooden tube is marked with a scale in advance. When firing, the artilleryman will estimate the flight time of the cannonball based on the distance.

Then a hole is dug on the corresponding scale so that the powder can contact the gunpowder inside the cannonball, and then the wooden tube fuse is inserted into the cannonball.

After the explosive ammunition has a wooden holder and a wooden fuse, it is not necessary to ignite the explosive ammunition in advance when using it, but to directly ignite the artillery propellant.

After the propellant explodes, part of it will spray out from the gap between the shell and the barrel, directly igniting the fuse of the "explosive bomb", and then the shell will be fired.

This greatly ensures the safety and practicality of using explosive ammunition!
Facts have proved that Zhu Jing'an's casual reminder can play a great role in the Ming army's current firearms research and development.

Many times, it’s not that people can’t innovate, they just lack that flash of inspiration.

Guo Dashan looked at the drawings Zhu Jing'an drew casually, with an expression on his face that was obviously deep in thought.

After a while, Guo Dashan nodded and said.

"The Commander-in-Chief is wise, if you do this, the practicality and reliability of the explosive ammunition will be greatly increased."

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly.

"The arsenal will make a physical object as soon as possible, and then start conducting experimental verification."

"Also, the expansion work at the arsenal must continue!"

"Our army is expanding faster and faster, and the demand for ordnance weapons is also getting higher and higher. The current Jintian Arsenal and Foshan Arsenal are not enough to meet our army's demand for ordnance."

"Especially muskets and artillery, which are worn out very quickly during wars. The arsenal must ensure that it can meet the equipment needs of our army's new recruits and the replacement needs of old equipment at the same time."

"The scale of the Foshan Arsenal will continue to expand. At the beginning of next year, the number of employees in the Arsenal will be expanded to 5000 people. By the end of next year, this number must reach 1 people..."

(End of this chapter)