Borrow the day to change the day

Zhong Jinwei shook his head and said, "What's so interesting about this, you just have to look at it."

As soon as Sun Chengzong heard it, he wanted to speak, but Zhong Jinwei preempted him: "I have never seen this kind of artillery launch, let them test the artillery."

It's still important to get down to business, let's not bother with the supervising army, Sun Chengzong thought of this, turned around and ordered: "Test the cannon."

After receiving the order, Gonza turned around and directed his subordinates to prepare for the cannon test, while Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde asked Sun Chengzong and Zhong Jinwei to avoid an observation point at the back, so as not to stand too close and be injured by the possible bomb blast .

As soon as the Portuguese gunner received the order, he began to act quickly, using gun gauges, gun rulers, and moments to measure, load, and calibrate.Finally wait for the command to fire. [

After all the gunners were ready, Gonza ran over to salute Sun Chengzong and asked whether to fire.

Sun Chengzong took a monocular and looked at the gun target, and then gave the order to launch.

Zhong Jinwei also has a monocular in his hand, and he is not used to seeing it with one eye.He lowered the binoculars to watch the gunners at work.

After the order to launch was communicated, the gunners began to ignite the fuses of the artillery one by one, and then covered their ears and hid aside.

A loud "boom boom boom" startled Zhong Jinwei, and at the same time a puff of smoke rose up, blocking his sight.

The sound of the artillery is too loud, Zhong Jinwei said to himself.

Sun Chengzong caught sight of Zhong Jinwei's frightened expression from the corner of his eyes, and felt relieved.Hou Zhongxing had never seen a cannon fire before, and he didn't know that the sound was like thunder, and it was earth-shattering.

The artillery was fired one by one, and every time it was fired, I felt an earthquake.After the launch was over, a gust of wind blew the smoke towards Zhong Jinwei.

Zhong Jinwei hastily covered his mouth and nose with his hands, while the others, including Zhong Jinwei's guards, acted as if it happened.Although no one said anything about Zhong Jinwei, they probably despised Zhong Jinwei secretly.

Because of the wind, the smoke goes away quickly.Both Sun Chengzong and Zhong Jinwei picked up the binoculars to see the actual launch effect.

Zhong Jinwei saw that the cannon target still appeared in his field of vision, and couldn't help saying: "It's too inaccurate to miss so many cannonballs!"

When Sun Chengzong heard this, he put down the binoculars he was using for observation, turned his head and said to Zhong Jinwei: "Young man, don't talk nonsense if you haven't seen it before. Take a closer look. Although the gun target missed, many guns have already plowed through its surroundings." But a few feet away, it’s pretty accurate.”

As soon as Zhong Jinwei heard the words, with such a small range and such a large error, it was considered very accurate. It seems that the artillery in the late Ming Dynasty was indeed not as powerful as imagined.

Sun Chengzong and the people around looked at Zhong Jinwei's speechless look, only as if he didn't know the running marks before, but now he understood what Sun Chengzong said, and was stunned by the precise shelling.

After a while, Gonzasha ran over to report that the launch was complete.Sun Chengzong was very satisfied with these artillery, and the test firing effect was very good.He particularly noticed that these gunners are very skilled, and the high accuracy rate is inseparable from the skilled operation of these gunners.

He handed the binoculars to Wang Zunde who was beside him, and then asked Gonza to shake hands: "Yes, if our country allows you to stay and teach our soldiers to fire artillery, would you be willing?"

Gonzawa had told his subordinates to perform well for this test shooting.Now their performance satisfied the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also very proud.Because he knows that only in this way can he sell at a good price.

Gonza did not beat around the bush, and said directly: "My lord, as long as the price is right, we are willing to pass on these cannon-firing skills to the soldiers of your country."

The gunners of the Ming army are notoriously bad. During the battle of the capital a few months ago, Man Gui, the coach who fired cannons and accidentally injured his own coach, was an example.Although this example is extreme, it can also be seen from one aspect that the accuracy of other gunners' firing will not be so high. [

"How much is your asking price?" Sun Chengzong asked.

People around, including Zhong Jinwei, looked at the Westerner to see what price he would offer.

"I ask for a salary of 300 taels per year, plus 30 taels of additional expenses every month, and the rest will pay 200 taels a year, and another 20 taels of food money per month. If your country agrees, my subordinates and I will be very happy I am happy to serve your country." Gonza raised his head and chest up, trying to show a capable spirit.

When Zhong Jinwei heard it, it was so expensive, stealing money!Just when he was about to speak, Sun Chengzong shook his head and said resolutely: "It's too expensive. Your monthly salary is more than that of a second-rank official in our country. It's impossible to give it."

Gonzawa originally opened his mouth like a lion. It would be best if the officials of the Ming Dynasty agreed. If they disagree, they can discuss it again.

Now seeing that the senior official of the Ming Dynasty did not agree, he said: "You and our two countries have good relations, and I am willing to make friends with you. Therefore, I am willing to make a concession. I only need a salary of 150 taels per year, plus a monthly salary of 15 taels." 100 taels for an extra fee, and the rest will pay [-] taels a year, and another [-] taels for food every month. For this price, if it is less, my subordinates and I would rather return to Macau.”

When Gonzawa spoke to the end, he spoke firmly in his not-so-fluent Chinese, showing that no further discussions were allowed.

When Sun Chengzong heard that the Westerner had lowered the asking price by half, he was silent for a while, and then looked at the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, wanting to consult their opinions.

Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde nodded slightly when they saw Sun Chengzong look over.They had a lot of dealings with Westerners in Guangdong and Guangxi, and they knew that the price Gonzasha offered was similar to the current market.

Sun Chengzong saw that the two governors who knew the details of Westerners nodded, and felt that the price was about the same, so he was ready to agree.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to speak, a voice sounded: "Snatch money, it's so expensive! Letting you come to train our soldiers is to think highly of you, to give you a living, don't think that you are the only ones who know how to do this."

When Sun Chengzong heard the voice, he didn't need to turn to look to know that it was Zhongxing Hou who said it.

As soon as Zhong Jinwei's voice fell, he became the focus of the scene, and everyone looked at him.

When Gonza heard the words of this young high-ranking Ming official, his face darkened immediately. He said too much, and even said that he was making a living for himself. He suppressed his anger and said to Zhong Jinwei: "If you will , you want us to teach? Don’t use big talk to pressure me, no matter how big you talk, I won’t lower the price.”

He believed that the aiming technique of the artillery was much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. It is impossible for the people of the Ming Dynasty to know the usage of those gun gauges, gun rulers and gauges.

Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde didn't know Zhong Jinwei's details, and Zhong Jinwei's previous performance made them think that the superintendent was a dude, not academic.The position of supervising the army can only be obtained if there is a sacred favor. Now that this is happening, I can't help but feel a little worried.

And Sun Chengzong was also afraid that things would get stalemate, and it would be bad for these Westerners to throw their hands away and go back. After all, the artillery had to be used after all, and the ability to shoot accurately could play its greatest role.

He cleared his throat, ready to speak.

When Zhong Jinwei heard Sun Chengzong clear his throat, he knew that he wanted to persuade himself, and without waiting for him to speak, he directly shook hands with Gonza: "You said I was talking big? If I am not talking big, what do you say?"

When Sun Chengzong heard it, he choked back the words as soon as they reached his throat, thinking to himself, could he really fire a cannon?

Gonzawa didn't believe in the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty in the capital at all, and it was a young high-ranking official who knew the new aiming method of using those tools. Hearing what Zhong Jinwei said, he didn't want to be outdone and said: "If it is true as the supervisor said, If you want to reward us with a bite of food, then you can pay as much as you want, and you will never bargain."

"Okay, it's a deal?" [

"A word is settled!"

When the people around saw that the supervising army had made a bet with this Westerner, they no longer tried to persuade Zhong Jinwei, otherwise, it would be bad to hurt the supervising army's face.

"The most important thing about artillery firing is knowing how far the target is, isn't it?" Zhong Jinwei asked Gonza.

Gonza had originally stepped aside and was going to ask Zhong Jinwei to test the cannon, but now he heard what he said, turned around and replied, "Yes."

After getting his affirmative answer, Zhong Jinwei smiled and said, "You can point to any place, and I can know how far away that place is without any tools."

Sun Chengzong never knew that Zhong Jinwei had this ability, could it be because of his extraordinary talent?He was curious.

Gonsa heard that what Zhong Jinwei said was very similar, and his expression was so comfortable, he couldn't help but feel a little uncertain.But the matter has come to this point, and I can't admit defeat, so I casually pointed to a tent in the distance and said: "Dare to ask Lord Superintendent, how far is that place from here?"

Zhong Jinwei looked at the tent, smiled, and said, "Wait for me to figure it out."

Note: Xu Guangqi tried to say in his "The Ugly Prisoner Temporarily Prepares for the East" written in the third year of Chongzhen (1630):

Teaching and performing big guns... There are secrets for all installations.For example, to see far away, use a telescope, and to measure, use a scale. It is not easy to learn, and it is not suitable for everyone to be able to do it. The so-called sharp weapon of the country should not be shown to others.The minister thought deeply about it, and thought that it was only appropriate for the ministers of the world to learn it. From the sons of the honored relatives and the military officials of the capital, they should choose those whose aspirations and deeds are credible, wise and brave enough to teach them.

Xu suggested that the principle should only be handed down to the ministers. As for the actual operation method, one should choose the best from among the sons of honored relatives or the military officials of the capital who are commendable in their aspirations and deeds, wise and courageous.

And teach it.It can be seen from this that at that time, it was very rare to use auxiliary tools to shoot accurately, and almost no one in the Ming Dynasty knew it.