1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 526

Of course, the complaints belong to the complaints, and Dong Yanyun also understands how important this new proposal put forward by Hai Han is.

Since reaching a cooperative relationship with the Haihan people, Xu Xinsu has attached great importance to the various advanced weapons imported from Haihan, and has been trying to expand the quantity and types of purchases.It's just that this kind of effort has been consciously suppressed by Hai Han, making it difficult for Xu Xinsu to get her wish even if she has money.

Two years earlier, when the two parties first started working together, Xu Xinsu sent people to bring cash to Shengli Port several times to buy arms, but each time Haihan refused because of insufficient production capacity.After a few more visits, with Xu Xinsu's shrewdness, he can naturally see the way - the Haihan people are not incapable of production, but are consciously controlling it.Especially in terms of ammunition supplies and various weapon accessories, Haihan's control is extremely strict. The ammunition reserves of the artillery unit under Xu Xinsu's command have even been maintained at a very dangerous level for a long time. If "Eighteen Zhi" Launch an attack on its garrison without hesitating casualties, then this army can maintain a defensive position for at most two or three days, and it will be declared that it will run out of ammunition and food.

Of course, "Eighteen Zhi" does not have so many troops that can be used to make sacrifices regardless of cost. As long as the attacking troops have a casualty rate exceeding a certain percentage, they will inevitably be defeated, and Xu Xinsu's troops will run out of ammunition. It would take thousands of lives to fill it. Zheng Zhilong couldn't afford such a casualty rate, so the possibility of being beaten to the brim by the "Eighteen Zhi" is basically only a theoretical existence.

But in Xu Xinsu's view, without sufficient ammunition, no, before mastering the technology of making Haihan weapons and ammunition, it is difficult to talk about a sense of security.Although Xu Xinsu also hired many craftsmen and spent a lot of time secretly researching the purchased original products, but he could not complete the reverse development, and the experimental products produced by the craftsmen were far from the original version.

For the rifles produced by Haihan, the same model can have the same caliber, and the bullets and parts are completely common. However, it is difficult for Xu Xinsu to find craftsmen to make imitations to such a level of sophistication.Although the shooting accuracy in the effective range is not much inferior to the Haihan rifle, Xu Xinsu also understands that this kind of rifle, which takes many days for craftsmen to build, cannot be mass-produced on a large scale, and the cost is too high. It exceeded the price purchased from the Haihan people.Taking a step back, even if mass production can be achieved, the bullets and parts cannot be used in common, and the power it can exert on the battlefield is far less than that of the Haihan rifle.

Not to mention artillery, the casting technology of traditional artillery is doomed to have a far lower yield than that of Haihan, and its cost has no advantage compared to the purchase price, and it is also comparable to Haihan artillery in terms of accuracy and performance There is a certain gap.This gap is not very obvious on the shooting range, but on the battlefield, the impact of the shells is only a few feet away, and the result is completely different.Most of Zheng Zhilong's artillerymen died on the coasts of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou during the two-year battle.

There is another technical problem that craftsmen cannot overcome, which is Haihan's unique gunpowder.Regardless of gunpowder or gunpowder, Haihan's original gunpowder is more powerful than the craftsmen's imitation, and this is reflected in the combat, which is the increase in the effective range of the weapon.With the same amount of charge, the difference in range between the original and counterfeit products is very obvious. The difference between the muskets is about one-fifth, while the range of the artillery has reached an astonishing one-fourth. This is enough to affect a battle on the battlefield. victory or defeat.

And there is another technical obstacle on the artillery that craftsmen cannot overcome, and that is the pull-type ignition tube.This firing device made of simple chemical principles greatly facilitates the operation of artillery and greatly increases the success rate of firing.In some humid climates, artillerymen no longer need to worry about the problem of moisture in the fuse.

At the beginning of this thing, it was sold with shells for one to five, that is to say, you need to buy five original shells before you can get one fire tube. However, the solid iron bullets have no technical content at all. Xu Xinsu's own blacksmith It can be done, but for him, this business is stretching his neck to be slaughtered by Haihan people, so he naturally feels uncomfortable.After a long time, Haihan opened up the separate purchase of ignition tubes, but the price was high, and the supply was limited. There is no doubt that this was another deliberate method of Haihan people.

If it was possible to find another arms dealer with the same technical level as the Haihan people, Xu Xinsu probably would not have been subject to this anger for a long time.However, whether it is the Dutch or the Portuguese, the comprehensive performance of the weapons they can provide has a certain gap with that of the Haihan people, and their supply volume is not as good as that of the Haihan people.So in the end, Xu Xinsu could only buy arms from Haihan, and his troops became more and more dependent on Haihan's armament.

In addition to guns, Haihan's warships were also one of Xu Xinsu's most interested purchase targets.Almost all the officers sent by him to study in Shengli Port have seen the new warships built by Haihan. This kind of artillery arrangement is similar to Western-style warships, but the ship shape is closer to traditional Chinese-style ships. The maneuverability is excellent, far better than the traditional Fuchuan Guangzhou Ship.Most of the military officers who study abroad will take this new ship once or twice to go out to sea to perform patrol missions. After having personal experience, when they return to Fujian, they all suggest that Xu Xinsu try to buy this powerful new warship.

However, the Haihan people once again indifferently rejected Xu Xinsu's envoy. Even though the money in front of the Haihan people had piled up into hills, Xu Xinsu was still unable to obtain permission to buy this kind of warship.The lack of a strong fleet is also one of the important reasons why Xu Xinsu has been unable to break through the Fujian Strait and attack the "Eighteen Zhi" lair on Taiwan Island.

In order to make sure that Maliko was not joking and fooling himself, Dong Yanyun tentatively asked: "Can I buy the [-]-style rifle?"

"Okay." Maliko nodded immediately.

"What about the Type [-]B artillery?"

"It's fine."

Dong Yanyun hurriedly asked: "Is there a limit to the quantity you can buy?"

"The quantity is not limited! But..." Maliko changed the subject: "These weapons, which were not originally in the trading list, can only be obtained through population exchange."

Dong Yanyun hesitated: "Then what Director Ma means... Can't these weapons be bought directly with money?"

"Your understanding is not wrong." Maiko nodded and said: "The purpose of us selling these weapons is to get what we want. It doesn't have to be silver, but it may also be a living person. I believe that whether it is silver Whether it's population, it's not a big problem for Mr. Xu."

Dong Yanyun took a deep breath, summoned up his courage and asked, "Then your warship..."

"Want to buy?" Maliko gave Dong Yanyun a meaningful look.

Dong Yanyun seemed to be relaxed when he heard Maliko's tone, and immediately nodded and said: "As long as you are willing to ask for a price, everything is negotiable!"

"Warships are not for sale..." Maliko intentionally teased Dong Yanyun, and seeing his face darkened, he continued, "...But you can exchange it with other items, Boss Dong, you understand!"

"Understood, understood!" Dong Yanyun would be an idiot if he still couldn't understand what Maliko was saying.

As a qualified staff member, Dong Yanyun knew to some extent the importance of population to the ruler.However, he knew better that his boss, Xu Xinsu, would definitely think that Haihan's warships were more important than population at this stage. As long as they could be exchanged for powerful Haihan's warships, what was a small population?
Of course, Dong Yanyun was not immediately blindly happy. To implement this matter, apart from the cooperation of the Haihan people, there must be an insider, and the most suitable candidate is Xu Xinsu.It was related to the population movement in Fujian, and Dong Yanyun didn't dare to make a decision directly, so he had to try to ask Xu Xinsu for instructions.

"Director Ma, there are detailed rules here. I will rush back to Fujian with the news, and ask Mr. Xu to make a decision!" Dong Yanyun made a decision, and immediately said goodbye to Maliko.

"Of course there are detailed rules." Maliko took out a document he had prepared: "Tell Boss Xu, we will organize the delivery immediately when the person arrives."

"It's not too late, let's start here." Dong Yanyun seemed quite eager, and after getting the documents provided by Maliko, he almost left the room at a trot speed.

Dong Yanyun walked forward, and He Xi came out from the inner room on the back foot: "It was smoother than I imagined. I thought it would not be so easy this time."

"After all, Xu Xinsu just needs our weapons. If we don't supply them to him, where else can he buy them?" Maiko said triumphantly, "Whether we want people or money, Dong Yanyun will agree with this deal. He is very happy." Know how much his boss cares about our weaponry."

"Let's wait for the news!" He Xi nodded and said, "I think it's probably possible."

Dong Yanyun wasn't joking, after he left the Guangzhou Office, he didn't even return to his house in the city, so he went straight to the pier by the Pearl River, and took a fast boat that he specially used to return to Quanzhou.However, even though it is a fast ship, it will take five or six days at the fastest to complete the voyage from Guangzhou to Quanzhou.Therefore, Maliko had to wait ten days and a half months at the shortest before receiving a reply from Fujian.As for the real implementation, I'm afraid it will have to wait until 1631.

The issue of population demand is not the only one that needs to be solved urgently. After completing the actual occupation of the northern part of Hainan Island, how to gradually realize the local rule and block the interference from Ming Dynasty is also a very troublesome matter.

Haihan's most correct move was to directly uproot the local government agencies after occupying various cities.Officials above the seventh rank, as long as they refuse to cooperate honestly, will be shipped to Heitu Port for labor reform.Relying on this simple and crude method, the militias occupying the northern region successively sent more than 700 people to sea ships heading for the small coal mines in Annan.

After dismantling the local government agencies, Haihan interim management committees came into being in various places.Each county has a county committee, the prefecture has a state committee, and the prefecture has a Qiongbei management committee that governs the northern part of Hainan Island. The pyramid-shaped power structure was quickly rebuilt.

Of course, Haihan is still under the banner of escrow, and the Anmin notices posted on the gates of various cities are still stamped with the seal of the Ming government, but the Haihan temporary management committee of a certain area is added behind. signature.If someone questions this and thinks that Haihan people have no right to share the power of the Ming government, then they will soon be able to enjoy the treatment of free immigration overseas.

During this period, it is not that no one tried to use force to resist the forced rule of the Haihan people, but at present, the main force of the Haihan militia is concentrated in the newly occupied area of ​​Qiongbei. The assembled guards are no longer their opponents.As for the armed landlords who tried to use cold weapons such as spears and hunting knives against the regular army, they became the training targets of the militia army without any suspense.

"Fire!" Following an order, four small cannons rang in turn in the field, and immediately stirred up a piece of sand on the top of a section of the wall tens of feet away.

Attacking a certain landlord's manor in Chengmai County is the first battalion and fourth company of the militia army, the artillery company directly under the first battalion, and the cavalry company directly under the regiment headquarters.Although attacking this small manor with three arms is a bit of a fuss, the commander did not rush to order the infantry to attack immediately, but let the artillery be the main firepower output, the infantry covered the artillery, and the cavalry served as a mobile force on the periphery. Small fortified battles are being practiced as siege warfare.

"Look, we assume that the wall on the opposite side is the city wall, so within the range of the shot, we must use firepower to suppress the top of the wall, so as not to give the defenders a chance to fight back..." Yu Tiezhu followed behind him A group of recruits talked freely.After the Liaoyuan Project, he has been promoted to company commander by virtue of his accumulated military exploits, and he has received orders from his superiors to lead a group of recruits.

In the past, young men who had recently joined the militia were basically arranged for military training at fixed training grounds, and they would not be able to officially serve until two or three months at the earliest, and they would not be immediately assigned to the frontline battlefield.However, the situation of this group of recruits was a little special. Not only were they sent to the front line just after entering the militia, but they also arranged for officers like Yu Tiezhu to familiarize them with the battlefield environment and give them on-the-spot explanations of the combat situation.

To be able to receive such special treatment, the identities of this group of people are naturally somewhat unusual.

(End of this chapter)