Lee Sun-sin was excited. Admiral Xiao's determination to fight was so firm. The restoration of North Korea was imminent, and the Japanese pirates in Pusan were nothing to worry about.
He had suffered at the hands of Wojo in Pusan and knew how powerful they were, so he did not dare to attack Pusan Harbor.
As he passed by the Ming Army's barracks, Lee Sun-sin suddenly saw the terrifying cannons of the Ming Army's artillery barracks. He was stunned. "Admiral, are those firearms?"
Xiao Ruxun looked at the artillery barracks' carts and nodded. "Yes, those are the carts and cannons that I ordered to be modified from Frank's guns. They move fast, have strong firepower, and can climb mountains. They were able to defeat the Japanese pirates so quickly. These carts and cannons deserve great credit. Why?"
"Frank's gun? Is … is it a new type of gun developed by the Celestial Empire? May I ask what its range is? How powerful is it? "
Faced with Lee Sun-sin's question, Xiao Ruxun was stunned for a moment, then he understood Lee Sun-sin's question.
At this moment, North Korea, which was basically in the medieval era, was extremely backward in terms of firearms. Their light and heavy firearms were still stuck in the era of Daming Hongwu and Yongle. There were short guns with copper bowls and slender small guns. Compared to cannons, it was better to call them ejectors. They had a short firing range and were not very powerful.
It could only be said that the Japanese pirates could only use iron cannons in naval battles. They could be said to be about the same as Lee Sun-sin's weapons and equipment. It was mainly Lee Sun-sin's personal ability and the superiority of the North Korean navy's warships that allowed them to win the previous naval battles.
Compared to the Ming Army navy, whether it was the Japanese pirate navy or the North Korean navy, they were all at the level of children. The Ming Army navy's mainstream firearms were all cannons. The Ming Army's ships had a deep draught and a large tonnage, so they could carry cannons with strong recoil.
Similarly, the North Korean navy, which had the same regulations as the Ming Army navy, had the ability to carry cannons. The Japanese navy was far from it. Their ships had a shallow draught and a small tonnage, so the recoil of the cannons was too great for them to bear. Even though they had cannons, they could not equip them.
The fact that Yi Shunchen was able to defeat one-third of the Japanese navy with his outdated firepower was enough to show how backward the Japanese navy was in terms of tactics and equipment. If their equipment was only iron cannons and a small part of it, it would not be difficult to defeat them. As long as the Ming navy gathered together and had a formal battle with the Japanese navy, they would not dare to say that they would be completely annihilated, but they would be able to defeat the Japanese navy in one battle and cause them to lose control of the sea.
In this day and age, there were no airplanes. Losing control of the seas was tantamount to losing the right to use the entire sea. What did the Wokou pirates in Pusan eat, use, and wear?
As long as they were forced to surrender after running out of ammunition, it would be Xiao Ruxun's victory, as well as Lee Sun-sin's victory.
"That's right, these are all new firearms. They have a range of several li and are very powerful as well. They can fire sparks and can also fire solid bullets. The Great Ming Empire obtained them from the Francs and then modified them to be equipped with the army. They are indeed very useful. Even the iron cannons of the Wokou pirates were learned from the Francs and then modified by the Great Ming Empire. It is indeed more powerful."
Lee Sun-sin looked at the new equipment, his eyes shining.
"Admiral, as far as I know, the Japanese pirates did not equip their warships with these Francs. They could only use iron cannons to attack us from afar. Then, they tried to get close to our ships for close combat. The firearms used by our navy are still very old firearms. They have a very short range and limited power. Even so, we were still able to defeat the Japanese pirates. I thought, if our warships could be equipped with these weapons, why would we have to worry about not being able to defeat the Japanese pirates?"
Lee Sun-sin's meaning was very clear. He wanted his fleet to be equipped with these Francs. They would definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese pirates. Xiao Ruxun did not doubt this, and he had this intention for a long time.
Among the surrounding vassal states, there were not many that were as obedient as North Korea. Therefore, it was not wrong that North Korea was ranked first in Daming's list of vassal states. It did not matter if the artillery technology and musket technology were given to the North Korean army. They could increase their strength and then go on an expedition to Japan. Moreover, when Xiao Ruxun returned, he would start to solve the problem of flintlock guns. He could upgrade the weapons of the Ming Army. At that time, the North Koreans would still not be able to do anything.
He had already asked Song Yingchang for a batch of cannons to be placed in the army. He planned to equip the remaining North Korean navy. Then, he would wait for the navy to cooperate with the Daming navy and land on Tsushima Island. Currently, the Daming army did not have enough military strength. They needed to increase the combat strength of the North Korean army. If necessary, they could be used as cannon fodder. The Ming Army could not suffer too much loss, otherwise, the pressure on the imperial court would increase.
The reason why the imperial court still had the upper hand until now was because he had won many battles and suffered few losses. The imperial court was in a good mood and supported him to continue the war. If the losses were too great, the anti-war faction would raise their heads. When the time came, they would withdraw their troops and negotiate for peace. At that time, would Xiao Ruxun cry loudly or bitterly?
Lee Sun-sin waited for Xiao Ruxun's reply. Xiao Ruxun smiled and pointed to the Francs. He said, "Actually, I have this intention for a long time. This time, I asked General Lee to come with some ideas. The firearms of the Japanese pirates are very powerful. If your country does not increase the strength of your firearms, I am afraid that it will be difficult to resist the invasion of the Japanese pirates. Therefore, I plan to build an ordnance workshop in Jeolla Province, specializing in the production of gunpowder, cannons, and shells for the use of the army."
Lee Sun-sin was overjoyed when he heard this.
Xiao Ruxun had already informed Liu Chenglong about the matter of building an ordnance workshop in North Korea. When Xiao Ruxun led the army to set off, Liu Chenglong had also returned to Seoul to report this matter to Lee Sun-sin. Of course, Lee Sun-sin was more than happy. He had long coveted the incisiveness of the Ming Army's cannons. However, if Xiao Ruxun did not mention it, he would be too embarrassed to ask Xiao Ruxun for it. This time, when Xiao Ruxun took the initiative to bring it up, he was very happy.
Therefore, he gave Xiao Ruxun the authority to do things at his own discretion. He could find a place in Jeolla Province to produce cannons and shells. As long as he had the manpower, he could use it.
However, he did not have the money.
Lee Sun-sin was also very pitiful. The three capitals were destroyed. The hard work of more than ten generations of North Korean people was destroyed in a day. The population also lost hundreds of thousands of people. This disaster had directly caused North Korea's national strength to regress by more than twenty years. Now, even the officials were almost unable to pay their salaries, let alone get the money to set up an ordnance workshop for Xiao Ruxun.
Because of this, Lee Sun-sin rejected Xiao Ruxun's proposal to set up a ordnance workshop. He said that they only needed the cannons of the Heavenly Soldiers. Ordnance was not practical, so it was better to forget about it!
Naturally, Xiao Ruxun did not object. He did not want it, not that he did not want to give it to him.
Lee Sun-sin had many people in his hands. They were refugees from all over the world who came to him for protection. They only had food to eat and no work to do. Lee Sun-sin could not support them even if he fought guerrilla warfare and robbed the Japanese of their supplies. Now that he had something to do, he might even be able to get some food subsidies from Xiao Ruxun. After this period of time, he could resume farming and harvest food next spring.
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