Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 283 4.79 Second Uncle Has Made a Bigger Artillery
Volume Four

4.79 Second uncle has already developed a bigger artillery
After hurriedly cleaning up and checking again and again to confirm that there were no obvious loopholes, by the time Zhou Yang came to the door to greet the three people in the second room of the Xue family in person, nearly a cup of tea had passed. Fortunately, everyone was on his own, so he took the lead in apologizing. At least there won't be any estrangement.

It's just that Wang Shuying was so "used" that she couldn't even get up at this time, so she had to report "slight discomfort" and did not go out to meet the guests again. Fortunately, Mrs. Xue Xun was not in good health and did not come with her this time, otherwise she would have Due to the "equal reception" rule, things may not be easy to handle.

"My little nephew knows that the second uncle is busy. Have you sorted out the affairs on the island?" After greeting each other all the way, there was no need to continue "going through the procedures" when entering the living room. Zhou Yang went straight to the topic, "I just didn't expect that you guys would come back. He arrived so quickly that he was delayed by some trivial matter and could not greet us in time."

"You're welcome, Ziyang." Xue Xun interrupted him with a smile. Just seeing that his appearance and temperament were much better than when they first met, we knew that he had made great progress these days. The so-called " "Nurture the body and move the energy", that's what it means. "As for the things on the island, it's all thanks to Ziyang."

"Second uncle, just now you said that the whole family doesn't talk to each other, and now you are being polite to your nephew?" Zhou Yang also interrupted him with a smile, "It happens that I haven't seen Brother Tao and Sister Qin for a while. This time It’s not easy to see her, my wife has already ordered someone to prepare a family dinner, and we will have a few drinks by then."

"Thank you, Brother Zhou, for the meal." Xue Biao, who was sitting under Xue Xun, quickly stood up and said with a smile.

It's quite interesting to say that now the four of them are sitting in the main hall of the Xue family's old house, and they are all the masters. However, no one is qualified to sit in the main seat. So now in the living room, Zhou Yang is sitting in the main hall as the master. In the guest seats on the west side, three people from the second room of the Xue family sat in the guest seats on the west side from high to low, while the two main seats were all empty.

"Brother Zhou, why don't you see Sister Bao here?" The three elders were obviously too stiff and needed someone to lighten the atmosphere. Is it quiet?"

"Sister Bao is busy handling the accounts at the end of the year. I'm afraid her feet are too busy to touch the ground right now." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "When I went to pick you up just now, I had already sent someone to report it. I believe she will be there soon." will come."

"Speaking of these accounts, I have been traveling all over the world to do business, but I never thought that one day I would be able to make as much money as I do now." Xue Xun took over with a smile, "I also brought the account books this time. When the time comes, send them all to Bao Yatou."

"Second uncle was joking. My niece was just forced to put herself on the shelf. She had no choice but to take over the trouble. How could she have the courage to embarrass herself again?" Just as he was talking, he saw Xue Baochai supporting Ying'er and coming from outside the door to make money. , naturally sat down next to Zhou Yang, "Baochai has met his second uncle, brother Tadou, and sister Qin!"

"Hehe, that's Sister Bao, she can really see it. My little sister never cares about all the troubles at home." Not to mention that Xue Baoqin stood up with a smile and returned the greeting, Xue Baoqin had already smiled and threw herself into her cousin's arms, "No matter what, This time I’m going to make some noise at my sister’s place, so don’t bother me!”

"Naughty!" Xue Baochai lightly tapped her cousin's forehead. When she raised her head, she found that Xue Xun and his son were looking at her seat with strange expressions. Their cheeks suddenly turned red. She had no choice but to raise her head and give someone a hard look. , "Niece Meng Lang, don't bother your second uncle and brothers. If anything happens, just send someone to tell them. Sister Qin and I will go back first."

In the feudal era, men and women were guarded against each other. Even if they were close relatives, there was no reason for men and women to sit together and chat. Xue Baochai came and left faster this time. On the one hand, he was really ashamed. On the other hand, he was concerned about the etiquette and rules. He came here for a walk. "Procedure" is fine; just took the opportunity to drag Xue Baoqin away, leaving only three family members in the living room, which can be regarded as helping to "clear the venue".

"It's a pity that my eldest brother has just left. Otherwise, I would have made the decision to arrange a happy event for you." , I heard that you did great things there, and the news spread to Jinling. I really didn’t expect you to be so capable."

"It's just a bunch of rabble. My nephew also took advantage of it, thanks to the firearms sent by his second uncle." Zhou Yang smiled and said modestly, "I believe that on Miyako Island today, regardless of the military strength or firepower, it should be It’s much better than this thing in my nephew’s hand, right?”

"I heard that the eldest brother is now in charge of six hundred households. Congratulations to the younger brother." Xue Biao smiled and cupped his hands and said, "If we talk about the number of people on the island now, there should be nearly three times the number of eldest brothers. But when it comes to combat power, the younger brother doesn't dare. To say the least, at least in the face of the thousands of people of the Ye family in Daye, I only bring the scraps on the island, and I am afraid I can’t say that I can be as clean and efficient as the elder brother."

"Brother Tao is so humble." Zhou Yang replied with a smile and didn't mention it further.

The composition of the military's combat power is complex and can generally be divided into people and equipment. The equipment level on Miyako Island is equivalent to that of Daye Senhu, but the gap in personnel training cannot be explained in a few words, at least they can't. Play "three-stage shooting"; if they were to fight against the original Ye family, they would indeed be unable to lose based on their numerical advantage, but the casualties would never be less than [-], or even more. "Speaking of which, I would like to thank Ziyang for the reminder. Otherwise, even if the island's foundation was not lost a few days ago, it would definitely have suffered heavy losses." Xue Xun sighed softly and said with a complicated expression, "It's enough. Thousands of pirates suddenly attacked, and there was no news beforehand, if it weren't for the cannons on the forts, the result would have been different."

"Oh? The second uncle has already developed a bigger artillery?" Zhou Yang said in surprise, "As for the pirates, my nephew believes that the island will never care. Let alone a thousand people coming, what if it is doubled again?"

"That's true, it's just more casualties." Xue Xun still had some confidence in this.

"Brother Zhou, after you left last time, your younger brother urged his craftsmen to cast heavy cannons. In the end, it was thanks to those red-haired men from Haojing." Xue Biao said with a smile, "A total of twenty five thousand catties. The cannons are divided into four forts and guarded all over the island. Relying on the protection of cement boulders, they were very popular last time."

"Five thousand catties?" Zhou Yang was really confused.

"There is no way. The iron material is better and the manpower is not bad, but it cannot meet the requirements of those Haojing red-haired people." The one made is nearly a thousand kilograms lighter and can be mounted directly on a warship, but we can't do it, and no ship can bear the five thousand kilograms of cannons we made."

That's just over two tons, and it can be loaded onto a warship. If there's no surprise, those Haojing red-haired people should be talking about the famous "24-pound naval gun" in the history of Western naval warfare. Don't talk about this thing. It is the current Great Zhou Dynasty. In history, until the sailing warships were eliminated, no Chinese dynasty could catch up with them.

"Step by step, how can you become a fat man with one bite?" As long as they are still developing new artillery, Zhou Yang will only encourage, "Anyway, now that we have a solid foundation, we might as well build something smaller first, for example, I heard that the Westerners used to use the so-called 'twelve-pounder cannon' on land. You might as well ask about it when you go back."

"Oh?" The Xue family father and son looked at each other without any intention of continuing the discussion. Xue Xun smiled and said, "I also heard that Ziyang showed off his skills with those firecrackers. Listen, Are you talking about using volley fire to make it impossible for Ye Jiaminzhuang to get close?"

"Not bad." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "Actually, the rate of fire of the matchlock gun is still too slow. It takes about thirty breaths to fire a row. If it is replaced by the flintlock gun commonly used by Westerners now, it will take less than twenty breaths. You can do a round of volleys, and that's the real weapon."

"Brother Zhou, what is a flintlock gun?" It was obvious that the investment in the research and development of heavy artillery was huge, and neither the Xue family nor his son thought too much about it, especially since they had twenty [-]-pound shore defense guns to suppress the situation. Without the security threat, they were even less interested; But they have already seen the advantages of the matchlock gun, and they have not invested much in the research and development of this type of weapon. Xue Biao immediately took over.

"The so-called flintlock gun uses flint as the source of fire." Adhering to the idea of ​​"it's okay if there are no fish or shrimps", Zhou Yang happily explained the principles of the flintlock gun in detail, especially the current matchlock gun. It is to replace the flint of the historical "Brown Bess Rifle" with a lit match. In theory, it can be replaced. "You can figure out the advantages of this thing yourself, as long as it can be produced."

"Many disadvantages of the match rope can be avoided." The match rope has been basically eliminated, but I have never figured out how to do it. Now that I know it, I will naturally urge the craftsmen to make it as soon as possible."

"Second uncle, it's good if he has his heart." Zhou Yang smiled and nodded.

"You guys, when I talk about business matters, I can't stop talking about it. I'm afraid I even forget to eat." Just as he was talking, Wang Shuying's greeting came from outside the door, "I have already arranged the family banquet, please wait and see. I didn’t see you leaving, so I had no choice but to come over and be a villain myself, and drive you to the dinner table to talk about it!”

The three men looked at each other, stood up and greeted each other, and stopped the conversation by the way.

(End of this chapter)