Daming Yinghua

Chapter 113 She Is Not My Tethered Kitten or Dog
Wang Yuesheng told everyone that he was in Nanjing, where he met a Zen master from Dongying because of his piano.

Knowing that she also had some family knowledge in smelting and firearms manufacturing, the Zen master talked about the famous Nagashino Castle War that took place in Japan 30 years ago.

At that time, Japan was in the Warring States period, and there were conflicts among warlords.Takeda Katsuyori of the Takeda family surrounded Nagashino Castle of the Tokugawa family in order to establish his authority.Tokugawa's ally, Oda Nobunaga rushed to the rescue, and the Tokugawa and Oda allied forces faced Takeda in a wilderness with a difference in terrain.

The Takeda army tried to take advantage of the cavalry to charge, but was defeated by the [-] arquebus guns protruded from behind the fence by the Tokugawa and Oda allied forces.

This is the first battle in Japanese history in which firearms restrained cavalry.

After Wang Yuesheng finished talking about the Battle of Changxiao, he looked at the "Relic of Divine Artifacts" in Zhang Yanke's hand and said, "The sage Kong said that we should teach students according to their aptitude. Changes. Although Xunlei guns can be fired in five rounds, and axes and iron guns can also be used in close combat, they are suitable for large numbers of infantry like the Japanese pirates, as well as the hills in the south of the Yangtze River and the coastal tidal flats. You said that you made firearms because you wanted to invite Xu Hanlin to see it, presumably not to tell Xu Hanlin that Daming is going back to the past to fight Japanese pirates, right?"

Zheng Haizhu smiled at Wang Yuesheng, expressing his approval.

Her knowledge of Japanese war history was almost blank, but after listening to Wang Yuesheng's account of the whole story of the Battle of Changxiao City, she understood what the other party meant.

The Thunderbolt is not only bulky and inconvenient to carry, but also concentrates five barrels in the hands of an infantryman, which greatly reduces the mobility and the firepower of a single barrel.If you encounter cavalry, the two extra axes and the central axis iron spear, I am afraid that the cavalry has already rushed in front of you before they are removed.

However, the external military threat of the Ming Empire had already been put on the table. Whether it was slavery or bandits, it was the cavalry forces operating in the northern plains or mountains.

Zheng Haizhu couldn't help but look at Wang Yuesheng with admiration.

This brothel woman is not only a kind person who sympathizes with the low-level laborers, but also a wise person with insight and a keen mind.

Actually it is not surprising.

The Qinhuai Brothel in the late Ming Dynasty was adjacent to the Jiangnan Tribute Courtyard, and the men who greeted and sent them off were often the most powerful, wealthy, knowledgeable and insightful male groups in the empire.In Nanjing at present, Zen and Catholicism are very prosperous.

Only a brothel woman like Wang Yuesheng, who is not bound in the deep boudoir and strictly adheres to the so-called female etiquette, can form her own rich and complex world of knowledge through a large number of contacts with men who study, become officials, and eminent monks, and then export what she has forged. Insights and Information.

The objectification of the body is the tuition they have to pay.

If the sun and the moon and the world were changed, they could gain the influence of knowledge without sacrificing their dignity. How could they be as intelligent as they are compared to another gender group?
Zheng Haizhu sighed in confusion in his heart, and said with a look of approval on his face: "Miss Wang has good eyesight, of course we are not doing it for fun, but trying to do the best of the people of Ming Dynasty Xu Hanlin presented a firearm capable of restraining the cavalry of the Northern Lands in battle."

Wang Yuesheng put the qin that he was holding all the time on the stone table lightly, pointed to the tortoise shell-shaped pattern on the qin board and said: "Since this is the case, you can't spend a lot of trouble like making my patchwork qin. It’s only for Fengyue’s elegant sound, regardless of performance. So I said, it should be changed to a single-chamber combination gun, so that more soldiers can be assigned to the gun, and the method of dispensing medicine is more convenient.”

Lu Xiangsheng's eyes fell on Wang Yuesheng's qin.

He is proficient in both civil and military affairs, and he is no stranger to the literati's favorite musical instrument - Qin.

The patchwork qin is a more time-consuming and labor-intensive system than ordinary qin.

China has a long history of violin making. The accumulated experience of literati and craftsmen in the past dynasties is that for a good violin, the thickness of the panel must be more than three inches.It is very difficult for such a thick wood to meet the conditions of being large, dense, old, and free of insect scars at the same time.

Therefore, with the idea of ​​breaking out of the cocoon, the craftsman intercepted the best small materials from multiple pieces of wood, cut them into six-sided turtle-shaped shapes, glued them with large lacquer in the "shade room", and then polished them into smooth pianos. plate.

The surface of the qin made in this way resembles the patchwork cassock of monks, so it is named "patchwork qin".

Lu Xiangsheng looked at those slender jade fingers that were as slender as onion tubes, sliding across the grain of the qin board, and was in a daze for a moment.

But he quickly recovered from his trance, and said sincerely: "It's Lu who is too lazy to talk about wars on paper. Indeed, making firearms is not making lanterns, and it may not be easy to cover everything. However, Miss Wang's comparison with the qin made Xiaoke Mosai suddenly enlightened. The lingering sound of the qin is long, the barrel of the blunderbuss should also be lengthened, the compatibility of ammunition should also be improved, and the range and potency of the medicine can be enhanced. When the qin plays high notes, the panel is more likely to drive the cavity at the low end to vibrate. This principle is also true for the mechanism drawn in the book, when the center is moved, the yin mechanism and the yang mechanism will move at the same time, the yin mechanism opens the fire door, and the yang mechanism pushes the snake rod, and they are also driven together, and the work is done in one battle."

Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, Oh my god, you are indeed a top student, with a great ability to comprehend by analogy, you can think of weapons from musical instruments.

She grabbed the "Sacred Artifact Book" in Zhang Yanke's hand, turned to the page of "Hybrid Gun" for a closer look, and immediately said with a smile: "I will answer this question, Mr. Zhao made the fire gate of this combined gun be blocked by a trick when it was not firing." Block it, are you afraid that the priming medicine will be blown away like pollen?"

Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Yuesheng approached at the same time, nodded and said: "It should be so."

Zheng Haizhu waved his hand that still had burn marks: "Let's do it this way, change it to a machine gun, and show it to Xu Hanlin at that time. Mr. Lu, the masters of the Ge family are all illiterate, so you have to be a good secretary. Handling the machine gun, the manual geometry of forging, the labor geometry of drilling the bore tube on the lathe, the wrought iron geometry and steel geometry used for the bore tube, the pig iron geometry used for other organs, and the gold and stone compatibility geometry used for priming and ammunition. , are listed."

Seeing that they were talking lively, Zhang Yanke just listened and watched silently.

It wasn't until the masters of the Ge family returned to Fuyuan with mung bean soup that Zhang Yanke stood up and said goodbye: "Today, I'm going to take the night boat back to Shanyin, and I'll go back to the inn to pack my luggage. Miss Zheng and Miss Wang live here teaching art. I'm counting on you."

Zheng Haizhu went to see Wang Yuesheng, although she stood up quickly and blessed her, but she lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Zheng Haizhu then said: "Mr. Zhang, I will see you off."

Turning to Wang Yuesheng again: "By the way, Miss Wang never brought a maid. My entourage named Dong Erya is very strong and is waiting at the door. Miss Wang just asks her to help you buy daily necessities."

Wang Yuesheng was like a mirror in his heart, picked up the piano, said "thank you", and took a step first.

Zheng Haizhu glanced at the mung bean soup on the table, smiled at Lu Xiangsheng and said, "Drink it all."

……

After leaving the school, Zhang Yanke was silent for a while, unable to hold back his anger, he stopped and looked at Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, my aunt, Mr. Lu came to your school, why didn't you tell me beforehand."

Zheng Haizhu stared at him, and smiled "chuck" after a while.

"Young Master Yanke, don't forget that it was your elder brother who gave me the idea to find more young talents and come to the library to read books. In the future, they will be my connections. Why? I just got a connection now , you don’t like it because you are whining and yelling? Even if you are the patron, you can’t make people feel at a loss as to what to do.”

Zhang Yanke choked and stared back: "You just have a big mouth, I can't beat you anytime."

After thinking about it, I added a dumbfounding sentence: "As long as Mr. Fannalu was born with a little head and a mouse, I won't worry about my brother."

Zheng Haizhu met his gaze, not annoyed, let alone begging for mercy, but said in a deep voice: "I'm talking straight to you, just because I know that you Yanke son is not really a fool. Let me ask you, she Wang Yuesheng The living person is not the cat or dog I tied to the school. Does she never see other men except your brother in this life? This has nothing to do with whether Mr. Lu is reading books and developing firearms in my school. It doesn't matter."

Zhang Yanke kept a straight face, and thought that Zheng Haizhu was telling the truth, but there was still an illusory anger on his mouth: "Everything you say is right."

Zheng Haizhu sighed: "You two brothers, I am really grateful for helping me open such a big school. I have seen that Miss Wang is a real person. She is a good woman. Everyone is in a different situation. I don't want to say anything more. Just one thing, she is free, and I, Zheng Haizhu, am not Qin Huaihe's mother, I don't have time, and I don't want to help you watch people."

Zhang Yanke's mouth opened and closed again, his breath became short of breath, and then he calmed down again.

Finally, he raised his hand to wipe his face, and said discouragedly: "Okay, whether my brother and her's dream of a couple can last forever depends on the fate of the two of them. I don't care about it."

Zheng Haizhu walked to a cold drink shop a few steps away, bought two bamboo tubes of sour plum soup, inserted straws, and asked Zhang Yanke to sit down.

"Take a sip and let your breath flow. Third Young Master, how do you look at my blunderbuss?"

Zhang Yanke bit the straw, and his eyes returned to the fox-like slyness: "I see, you are short of money."

Zheng Haizhu smiled: "I earn more, spend more, and have been short of money."

Zhang Yanke raised his eyebrows: "Didn't you want Xu Hanlin to go to court to get money to make firearms?"

Zheng Haizhu said: "That's right, the money is paid by the imperial court, and we make it. Who made firearms for the imperial court for nothing? Yes, I know, the previous practice was that various places paid tribute to the imperial court. The Military Bureau is unified, the Military Bureau, the Armament Bureau store, and the Internal Affairs Bureau inspects. In short, the masters of the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, and the eunuchs control this power. But I have already inquired with Eunuch Liu, because The craftsmen in Beijing and China are downsizing a lot, and the firearms they make are really bad. The censor keeps impeaching them. Just last year, the imperial court allowed Sichuan and Huguang to make firearms. It’s similar to the situation of Jiangnan No. [-] Weaving. The Han family can do the court’s cotton cloth business, why can’t your Zhang family do the court’s firearms business?”

Zhang Yanke swallowed the sour plum soup, but did not express his opinion.

Zheng Haizhu asked him in a harmonious voice, "How much did you pay for that Xuande stove that you played with last time and burned out by yourself?"

Zhang Yanke rolled his eyes: "200 taels."

"200 taels! My ancestors, 200 taels can make thirty or forty guns. You guys, what kind of porcelain incense burner are you playing with? Isn't the firearm fragrant?"

Zheng Haizhu rarely used an exaggerated tone, and added: "Your Shaoxing used to be the country of Yue, a place where copper and iron were cast and smelted."

Zhang Yanke was quite amused.

In just three sentences, Miss Zheng assumed the gesture of asking Jin for money, which made him happy.

Deep down in his heart, he had complicated feelings for Zheng Haizhu.

She made him feel novel, reassured him, and made him a little jealous.

This kind of feeling has already jumped out of Zhang Yanke's usual perception of women as "relatives, lovers, and passers-by".

Because of this, he likes to see her wanting more from him, which is much cuter than her teaching him a lesson.

Zhang Yanke chuckled: "You want to lure me into the gang? Do you regret not being more polite to me just now?"

Zheng Haizhu took a sip of the sour plum soup: "Sir, I'm not a porcelain dealer selling Xuande furnaces. You hesitate because I didn't wag my tail at you like a dog, right?"

Zhang Yanke smiled even wider, but his eyes turned away to the boats passing by on the Moon River.

After looking at it for a long time, he said again: "This matter is not as simple as opening a private school and being a good person. My father is also an antique master who made friends with princes and princes in the capital, and my uncle is also an aide in Lu Wangfu. You are not stupid." , understand what I am worried about."

Zheng Haizhu pouted: "You still need the court to nod first."

Zhang Yanke stared at her: "Don't I know your appetite? Do you still want to make cannons in the future? You can make machine guns, and you can say that they are for the family guards. If you make cannons, the court will not nod. How dare you build them?" Do I dare to make it?"

Zheng Haizhu remained silent.

On the contrary, I am glad in my heart.

I did not misread Zhang Yanke.

He is unrestrained in small things, but in big things, he has a clear mind.

You will benefit a lot from keeping in touch with smart people.

Zheng Haizhu then said sincerely: "You are right. However, I am looking for you to work together instead of the Han family and the Gu family. It's really not because I don't care about the safety of your Zhang family. They are also nephews of rich people, with different temperaments. Doing a good business is different.”

Zhang Yanke was slightly moved.

Of course he understood that this was actually a compliment to him, Young Master Zhang.

But he was not fascinated by this woman, and he was still worried that if he picked up this hot potato, it would be a disaster or a blessing to the Zhang family.

He lowered his eyes for a moment, took out a bank note, and handed it to Zheng Haizhu: "I dare not pay too much money. This 50 taels was originally going to buy a famous Zhangzi in Nanjing. With my sharp eyes, I saw that it was a Xibei product. This money was not spent in Nanjing. First, I will buy you a few machine guns to play with."

Well, fly legs are also meat, Zheng Haizhu took it without hesitation, and praised: "Thank you, Mr. Yan Ke, for your patriotic donation."

Zhang Yanke didn't care about the new words that the woman always popped up, and just warned: "It's best for you to buy the wrought iron and steel for forged gun barrels yourself. I don't think Mr. Lu looks very smart. Mo Teach people to lie."

Zheng Haizhu smiled: "So you also know how to blacksmith."

Zhang Yanke groaned, "What don't I understand?"

He stood up, dusted off his robe, and said softly to Zheng Haizhu, "Don't give it up, just wait, and treat me better next time. Every time I come back, I will quarrel with you, alas."

(End of this chapter)