prosperous age

Chen Lin had just discovered that the position of the cannons on the Golden Deer was the same as Yu Dayou's idea, with guns mounted on both sides to facilitate concentrated firepower to attack the enemy.

Before this, both the Ming army and the Spaniards were accustomed to placing cannons at the bow and stern of the ship, with fewer cannons on the sides.

Little did he know that at this time, the navies of various countries generally still placed cannons at the bow and stern of the ship, even on merchant ships.

There is only one kind of people who mount guns on both sides, and that is pirates.

Pirates will not charge at the fat sheep head-on, but will use their speed advantage to slowly catch up with the target from the side and then forcefully board the ship.

If you come from the front or the back, there is only one point of intersection and the time is very short. Once you miss it, it will be difficult to catch up.

Therefore, by placing the guns on the side, the cannons on the ship can fire a shot before approaching, causing damage to the enemy ship or even scaring it, making it easier to operate afterwards.

In fact, most naval officers of this era still followed the army's combat model and liked to place cannons on the bow of the ship and bombard enemy warships head-on.

If you cannot repel the enemy, then you can engage in boarding battle, forcibly land on the enemy warship, capture the enemy directly, and get a complete large ship and the supplies on the ship.

As for why Yu Dayou did not have such views as traditional generals, it was due to the influence of his combat experience in both the north and south of the Ming Dynasty.

The battle formations of the Ming Dynasty were all traditional, that is, facing the enemy head-on. This evolved into the traditional model for naval warships, with cannons placed at the bow and stern for bombardment.

However, on the grasslands, it was rare for Mongolian cavalry to directly attack the Ming army. They would only start chasing and killing after defeating the Ming army.

When facing the Ming army in formation, the Mongolian cavalry usually cruised around the Ming army formation, continuously attacking the Ming soldiers in the formation with rain of arrows, destroying their morale to resist.

Once the morale is broken and a deserter appears, the entire Ming army formation will collapse in an instant.

Then they could slaughter these soldiers at will.

The Mongolian cavalry's circling tactics had a great influence on Yu Dayou's formation of the current naval warfare model.

Because the Ming army's formation was limited by the amount of long-range firepower, it could often only target one side or a limited three sides.

After all, if you want to attack all sides at the same time, the firepower will be dispersed too much.

Therefore, this tactic would be very passive when facing Mongolian cavalry.

It is very difficult to change the military formation, and if you are not careful, the formation may be dispersed.

Therefore, when the Mongolian cavalry cruised to the rear of the army, the Ming army was almost unable to counterattack the enemy and could only passively bear the damage.

This is also the reason why the small-scale Ming army was simply unable to resist the Mongolian cavalry.

If you only care about the head and not the butt, sooner or later you will be defeated by the rain of arrows.

Yu Dayou simply imitated the Mongolian cavalry and cruised around the enemy ships. At this time, it would not work to place cannons at the bow or stern of the ship because the firepower was too weak. If the cannons were placed on the side of the ship, the striking power would be greater.

Of course, this was also inspired by seeing the foreign merchant ships.

Although the foreign merchant ships also had cannons placed at the bow and stern, they also had gun ports on the sides of the ships, which was a necessary response to the pirates' tactics.

However, in Yu Dayou's eyes, it seemed as if he saw the shadow of cavalry combat.

At this time, the naval generals of the traditional powers on the European continent had just ended the debate on whether the bow cannon needed a longer range.

Yes, in their eyes, if the range of the cannons on the warship is long enough, then when approaching the enemy and engaging in a fierce boarding battle, the bow cannon can fire one more round of shots, which will also be a kind of damage to the enemy.

In fact, in their history of battles, the bow of the ship could often only fire two rounds of artillery before immediately engaging in a fierce boarding battle.

This is not only because the range of artillery in this era is limited, but also because artillery is slow to reload and it is difficult to carry out multiple rounds of attack.

More than 20 years ago, the Venetian naval commander proposed in the combat manual to the captains of his warships the idea of ​​avoiding attempts to fire continuously at long distances and instead launching a decisive salvo at close range.

But even so, such tactics are also chosen under the traditional combat mode.

The more advanced tactic of arranging the fleet in a column to launch broadside attacks was actually still immature, either in the Ming Dynasty or in Europe.

Based on the Ming army's huge fleet of Fujian ships, Yu Dayou's combat plan only arranged the gunboats into a formation similar to the Ming army's cavalry, cruising outside the Ming army's formation mainly composed of Fujian ships, and attacking the enemy warships with broadside guns.

In fact, it is a variation of cavalry tactics entering naval warfare, playing a harassing and destructive role.

The final victory was determined by the boarding battle between the Fujian ships and the enemy ships.

This was also somewhat influenced by Wei Guangde.

In his letter to Yu Dayou, Wei Guangde proposed deploying a large number of artillery on the sides to quickly carry out concentrated fire attacks on enemy ships.

This idea is simple, but to make it a reality with the current shipbuilding technology is not something that can be decided on a whim, especially with the shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with the large number of Fujian ships in the Ming navy, it was difficult for Wei Guangde to make the navy accept such tactics.

After all, the structure of the Fujian ship determined that it was more suitable to place cannons at the bow and stern.

However, even so, Yu Dayou still found a bird boat that was suitable for arranging cannons on the side among the various ship types of the Ming Dynasty and made it a reality.

The use of cavalry tactics is also related to the fast speed of the bird ship.

It should be said that the Ming army generals had a strong learning ability.

When Chen Lin noticed that there were more than ten cannons arranged on the side of the Golden Deer, which had never appeared before, he thought of the gunboat plan promoted by Yu Dayou. He can be said to have a keen sense of smell.

"Sir, should the letter from the Queen of England be sent to the capital as soon as possible?"

The report should have been made step by step. Chen Lin should have first handed the letter to Yu Dayou, who would then report it to the court.

But now, even though Yu Dayou is on a diplomatic mission to the West, it is estimated that it will take at least a year for him to return.

But this letter from the country is a bit hot to hold in my hands. I can't delay sending it to the capital for a year.

Rubbing his forehead, Chen Lin finally made up his mind.

Although Chen Lin was very happy when he received the letter from the Queen of England at first, thinking about the far-reaching reputation of the Ming Dynasty, even a tiny island country in Europe knew about it, but what to do now has made him rack his brains for the past two days.

"Send a gunboat to deliver the letter to Zhejiang, and then report it to the capital."

Feeling the importance of the letter, Chen Lin did not choose to send the centipede boat with better speed and adaptability, but decided to send a gunboat to deliver the letter.

Using gunboats to send messages not only has little impact on speed, but most importantly, it is safe.

As I said, although large groups of pirates have been eliminated in the South China Sea, small groups of pirates still exist, and Chen Lin does not dare to take the risk.

"Yes, I will arrange it right away."

The general behind him bowed hurriedly.

"Master, there is a letter from Ganzhou."

Lu Bu walked quickly into the duty room and whispered in front of Wei Guangde.

"Oh, let me see it." Wei Guangde looked up and said.

Lu Bu handed a sealed document to Wei Guangde with both hands. He just glanced at the seal, which was stamped with the official seal of the Governor of Gansu, and then he tore open the seal and took out the letter inside.

After taking out the letter and taking a look at it, Wei Guangde couldn't help but exclaimed softly.

The letter was not written by Gansu Governor Hou Donglai, but by Sonam Gyatso.

A quick glance at the contents of the letter revealed that Sonam Gyatso was going to Ganzhou to spread Buddhism, and Hou Donglai paid him great respects and offerings, which made Sonam Gyatso flattered.

Sonam Gyatso then wrote a letter from Ganzhou, expressing his blessings to Emperor Wanli, his hope to maintain tributary relations, and his willingness to persuade Altan Khan to withdraw from the Qinghai region.

Obviously, Hou Donglai's idea was partially realized, and Sonam Gyatso responded well to the Ming court's goodwill.

In the documents, there was also a report from Gansu Governor Hou Donglai. Wei Guangde also took a look at it and a look of joy appeared on his face.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Guangde took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote, "He has worked hard on his journey to the west, and the opportunity to subdue the enemy chieftain has come. I hope you will be loyal and do your best to defend the border for the court."

After writing a note, Wei Guangde took out a quick ticket and wrote, "The Tibetan monks' request for tribute is a good opportunity to control the chieftains. I will report it to the Lord as soon as I receive it. He has already approved it. All the gifts in return will be sent to the inner treasury after review. The Lord's virtue and kindness to distant places are all inclusive."

At this moment, Wei Guangde had no interest in continuing to read the memorials from various provinces on the desk. He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

After thinking about it, he picked up the letter from Gansu and his draft, stood up, and said to Lu Bu, "I'm going to the Prime Minister. If there is anything, you can go there and let me know."

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bu bowed and waited until Wei Guangde walked around the desk and left the duty room before following him out of the room.

Wei Guangde walked quickly to the room where Zhang Juzheng was standing and said to the clerk at the door, "Go in and report it."

"Please wait a moment, Lord Wei."

The clerk bowed hurriedly, then turned around and walked quickly into the duty room.

After a while, the clerk came out and invited Wei Guangde in. Wei Guangde strode into the Prime Minister's duty room.

"Shandai, are you here for something?"

Although he knew that Wei Guangde must have something to ask when he came here at this time, Zhang Juzheng still said something polite.

"Uncle, take a look first."

Wei Guangde handed the memorial from Ganzhou and the letter from Suonan Gyatso to Zhang Juzheng and said, "Shandai has already made a draft. Uncle, please take a look and see if it is appropriate."

"it is good."

Zhang Juzheng agreed and quickly flipped through the document in his hand, with a look of joy gradually growing on his face.

"Hou Donglai's plan was successful. With Sonam Gyatso's voice, I think Altan Khan in Qinghai will return to the grassland soon."

Zhang Juzheng laughed.

"Should we start building the temple right away?"

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Next year, Sonam Gyatso should go to the grassland to preach Buddhism. He will build the three temples along the way and send the eminent monks selected from the capital to the grassland together with Sonam Gyatso."

The Ministry of Rites had already selected lamas from the capital and sent a group of them to the grassland. This time, Wei Guangde planned to send all the lamas who were willing to spread Buddhism to the grassland.

To be honest, at first Wei Guangde thought that these lamas would be unwilling to leave the prosperous capital and would not go to the grassland to preach.

What surprised Wei Guangde was that as soon as the Ministry of Rites conveyed the news to all lama temples, the lamas who had signed up to go to the grassland rushed to sign up, wanting to seize this opportunity.

After asking Lubu to inquire, Wei Guangde finally understood why these lamas would leave the peaceful Sijiu City and actively try to escape to the grassland.

It was not because of missionary work, but because by going to the grassland, I had the opportunity to meet the master, Sonam Gyatso.

For the disciples of Gelug school, Sonam Gyatso's status is undoubtedly the highest. In the eyes of the lamas, he is the true God living on earth. If they can be touched on the head and blessed, it seems to be the supreme honor they can get.

Even today, hundreds of years later, you can still see pilgrims kneeling and crawling in Tibet.

The kneeling and crawling pilgrimage process is called "body worship", which is one of the most pious ways of worship in Tibetan Buddhism.

Worshipers who perform the full-body ceremony usually walk in a straight line, kneeling and prostrating themselves on the ground with their hands stretched forward, their entire bodies showing a posture of complete submission and awe.

During the worship process, they will constantly kowtow and knock their heads to express their respect and prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattva.

This form of worship is considered the most pious and sacred, because it not only requires pilgrims to pay a huge physical and mental cost, but more importantly, it reflects the pilgrims' infinite respect and reverence for Buddhism and all living beings.

Just think about it, there were still such believers in later times when civilization was highly developed, let alone now.

Without any worries, Wei Guangde naturally waved his hand and anyone who was willing to go could sign up, but there were too many people to send them all to the grassland at once.

Now it seems that the opportunity has come. Sending these people to the border town, letting them welcome Sonam Gyatso along the way and enter the grassland with him can not only show the court's attention to Sonam Gyatso and Gelugpa, but also strengthen Sonam Gyatso's momentum and facilitate him to quickly increase his influence on the grassland.

Especially after these people arrived at the grassland, their living habits in the capital would have some influence on the Mongols.

In fact, the living standards of monks in temples at that time were very high, and they had no shortage of donations from wealthy people.

Without these people, Wei Guangde's plan to build a temple on the grassland would be difficult to succeed.

However, with these people, if they are asked to use the scale of the temples in the capital to demand the construction of similar temples on the grassland, once a scale is formed, it will not only consume a large number of young and strong people on the grassland, but also cost a lot of money.

Zhang Juzheng naturally understood that Hou Donglai and Wei Guangde's plan was on the verge of success, and all he had to do next was to guide them slowly.

"Okay, everything is fine."

Zhang Juzheng said happily that he had read Wei Guangde's draft and did not think there was anything wrong with it. Hou Donglai just needed some encouragement. As for Sonam Gyatso, the court would give him some rewards and let Wei Guangde write a reply letter to Sonam Gyatso.

“Shan Dai, since the master is so wise, it is only right for me to ask for some favors.

When the time comes, you will write a letter to Sonam Gyatso on behalf of the cabinet, and also pass a message to Hou Donglai, asking him to make sure Sonam Gyatso leaves for the grassland next year."

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Wei Guangde nodded and said, "Please inform the Ministry of Revenue, uncle."

"Don't worry, anything that can be solved with money is naturally better than bloodshed.

This is a matter of right and wrong, and everyone in the Ministry of Revenue understands it."

What Zhang Juzheng meant was that although the court spent money, it could avoid war, which was equivalent to saving money for the court, so it was not a loss no matter how you looked at it.

"By the way, Shandai, I have another memorial here, you can take a look at it."

After saying this, Zhang Juzheng handed a memorial to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde still had a happy look on his face, but after taking it and taking a look, his face changed slightly, "Shi Guanmin" (End of this chapter)