A few days after defeating Yi Sun-sin, Zhou Qingfeng stayed in Pyongyang. His daily work was to let his staff officers and officers make their own plans. The task of attacking Seoul was not difficult but trivial, so he left it to the North Korean Front Army and the North Korean puppet government. As for the requirements of Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix, the two sides were still wrangling.
North Korea seemed barren and remote, but its geographical location was quite important. If Japan controlled North Korea, it would be a springboard to enter the mainland. If the Central Plains regime controlled North Korea, it could easily threaten the Dongying Islands. Although Japan's territory was poorer and more chaotic than North Korea, the gold and silver production in their territory was high.
Knowing that North Korea was about to be completely controlled, the Administrative Department of the "Revolutionary Army" began to think about going to Jeju Island to raise horses. After more than a month of collection, many of the horse breeds that Zhou Qingfeng wanted had been collected. Moreover, steam power would not be able to replace animal power in the next few decades, so it was necessary to develop horses well.
The trouble of raising horses was the feed, not the location. If the horses wanted to run, a few hundred meters of track was enough for them to run. The key was that horses had high requirements for feed. The Central Plains could not afford to change farmland to pasture. So it was necessary to choose a place with open terrain and not too cold in winter to raise horses.
Just as Zhou Qingfeng was preparing to continue to prepare to go to Dongying, in a business house in Hirado, Nagasaki, a British businessman named Richard Kirkes was writing a letter to Sir Thomas Roy of the British East India Company.
"Dear Sir Roy, your servant sends you cordial greetings from the far east. I want to report some recent events to you and His Majesty King James I. I hope you can listen to some of my suggestions in your busy schedule.
You know that Japan is ruled by a shogunate. Since last year, His Excellency Tokugawa Hidetada has implemented a series of orders to ban the spread of Catholicism. This ban was originally aimed at the damn Spaniards. But it is very frustrating that Nihonese can hardly recognize us westerners, which makes our trade in Nagasaki face great difficulties.
In this far east, trade can always bring huge profits, but it is also accompanied by huge risks. A few years ago, two Portuguese cargo ships sailed from Haojing, China to Malacca, but were intercepted and captured by the Dutch. The ship's wealth was auctioned in Amsterdam for six million guilders. A medium-sized Galen ship returned to Europe from the Far East and earned millions of dollars.
Every ship sailing in the Far East seemed to be full of gold and worth our efforts. But now the Far East is dominated by the Spanish and the Dutch, and even the Portuguese are stronger than us. Now that the Japanese market may close to us at any time, we must find new ports, new sources and new markets. "We need more support from you."
Fortunately, the Ming Kingdom in the Far East is the best trading partner God has given us. Their naval forces were very weak, and the products they produced were surprisingly popular. Originally, the emperor of the Ming Kingdom refused to trade with us. However, they are now in a very bad situation. A powerful rebel army is trying to seize control of this ancient kingdom.
In Nagasaki, there was a Ming businessman named Li Dan. He told me about the Ming government's current predicament. "Qing, I said." Ming, the Ming King merchants in the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor's Ming. In Korea, a Ming merchant in King merchants in Ming. "Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for us. We should participate.
Reverend sir, if you could send a fleet from Goa in India to the Far East, we could take part in this war. Our Ming friend Li Dan is willing to provide the port of Quanzhou for the fleet to dock and resupply, and the Ming officials have promised to facilitate it. I am personally willing to serve on this expedition. I would be honored to have your trust. "
At the end of the letter, with a quill pen, Richard Kirkby rolled it up, tied it up, and sealed it with clay. He gave the letter to his servant and had it sent to India as quickly as possible. He was confident that he could persuade the honorable Sir Thomas Roy, because the letter was accompanied by an armed cargo ship full of silk and porcelain.
This ship of goods was provided by the Ming merchant Li Dan, and its value would definitely make Sir Roy seriously consider the feasibility of sending a fleet. In history, among the empires where the sun never set, Spain and the Netherlands were the first to rise. They had divided up all the markets and sources of goods in the known world. As a latecomer, England was eager to open up a new situation.
Now was the beginning of the European Age of Navigation, but the shipbuilding industry of the European countries was already very developed. On the basis of the 'Caravel Ship' and the 'Clark Ship', the Great Powers transformed the epoch-making 'Garen Ship' in a short period of time. This was an enduring ship type in the Age of Sail.
The 'Garen Ship' had high speed, easy control, and excellent seaworthiness. Since its birth, it had been widely welcomed by the European countries. The light 'Garen Ship' had a displacement of more than 100 tons. This was the largest ship in the Daming Navy of 2,000 tons. The medium 'Garen Ship' was 500 to 800 tons, and the large one or two thousand tons. It could have seven decks and easily cross the Pacific Ocean.
Battleships were slowly developed from the 'Garen Ship' type.
At this moment, there was an insurmountable gap in the sailing ability of the East and the West. This was also the greatest guarantee that Richard Kirkby was confident that his plan would work — the current Eastern countries really did not have any decent naval forces. Southeast Asia was completely a playground for Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and other countries. They could do whatever they wanted.
After the letter was delivered, Richard Kirkby walked into the reception room of the merchant house. Li Dan, a sea merchant dressed in Japanese clothes, was sitting cross-legged on the tatami. He looked at Richard Kirkby and said, "When will your fleet arrive?"
"In two or three months." Kirkby said casually, "Sir Roy is currently touring India on behalf of His Majesty James I. Even if he makes a decision immediately, there is no way for the fleet to fly over. Li, you need to be a little patient. "
Li Dan was from Quanzhou and had always done business in Japan. He was the leader of the Chinese merchants. This time, he was not actually appointed by the Daming Imperial Court to instigate the British. It was the cloth merchants and salt merchants in Jiangnan who could not stand the 'Revolutionary Army's' civil and military attacks and were desperate to find helpers to deal with Zhou Qingfeng.
Li Dan was a sea merchant and a pirate. He had a fleet of hundreds of Fu ships under his command and made a living by trading between the southeast coast and Japan. Although the power of the 'Revolutionary Army' had not yet reached Jiangnan, their aggressive posture made many people uneasy.
He Zhuo led troops to invade Shandong, and the fierceness of the offensive was completely beyond the imagination of the officials of Daming. The huge Shandong was beaten up by a few thousand people, and the tens of thousands of militia following behind them were completely washing the ground, washing the land of Qilu clean. Millions of commoners were mobilized, and land reform was carried out everywhere. It was a grand and spectacular scene.
Seeing that the 'Revolutionary Army' was going to dig out the roots of the officials and even the Kong family was punished, the rich families in Jiangnan could not sit still anymore. But they had nowhere to run, and there was no other way but to fight to the death. It seemed that they could not defeat the 'Revolutionary Army' on land, so they could only think of a way to attack from the sea.
As one of the few major forces in the southeast coast, Li Dan was naturally sought out by the officials of Jiangnan. Li Dan was also very wary of the 'Revolutionary Army'. After all, other forces focused on the land, but the 'Revolutionary Army' liked the sea. Several 500-ton steamships had already been launched in the direction of Lvshun. Although Li Dan had not seen it with his own eyes, he was also afraid.
The huge sail ships of the Taishi were already powerful enough, and now there was a big ship that sailed without any wind. How could the people who ran to the sea to make a living survive? Therefore, Li Dan looked for allies everywhere, and soon found Richard Cox, who was also troubled by the shrinking business. The two hit it off and wanted to drag the British East India Company into the water.
Richard Cox said that the British fleet would come in two or three months. Li Dan thought about relaxing the deadline, and they should come in three or four months. It was already August, and autumn and winter were about to come. He was worried that the north wind would blow south in winter and affect the navigation of the ships. However, Richard Cox said that the British 'Galen ships' could sail against the wind, and did not have to worry about the direction of the wind.
"If your country's fleet can come, I can not only arrange for a port to dock, but also send a fleet to attack the north." Li Dan thought for a moment and said, "The strongholds of the rebels are in Lvshun and Tianjin. As far as I know, they have only risen in the past two years. Most of the ships are newly built, and there are no regular warships. As long as we fight our way there, we will definitely win.
Tianjin is extremely rich now, and the production of all kinds of goods is extremely rich. As long as we take Tianjin, we can rob it and make a lot of money. "
Li Dan had lived in Nagasaki for a long time, and his understanding of the 'Revolutionary Army' came from the Jiangnan officials seven or eight times. He did not tell Richard Cox about the 'steamship', and the Jiangnan officials did not tell him the real situation in Tianjin. In fact, with the current speed of the 'Revolutionary Army's' development, it was already difficult for outsiders to grasp its power — it was really the case of 'a scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes'.
Zhou Qingfeng was completely unaware of the British's plan. He was still in Pyongyang, using Jia Gang's divine sense clone to make a request to Zhao Ze in the distant Jinzhou. "We encountered the North Korean tortoiseshell ship this time, and we relied on a commuter boat to support the naval situation. When will there be a real standard warship? "
"Building a warship is not like a hen laying eggs. Do you still want to build one a day? We are now launching a steamship a month, which is already very fast. At present, there is not enough wood drying kilns, and the hardwood for shipbuilding has become scarce. Don't think too much about it. "Zhao Ze hated Zhou Qingfeng's nagging the most.
"What about my spring steel?" Zhou Qingfeng went to bother Shi Dong again.
"No." Shi Dong threw out two words and added, "Don't bother us if you have nothing to do."
"I have something to do right now."
"What else can you do?"
"Fire Phoenix said she can help refine steel and even help build a ship."
"Oh … You've dealt with that Phoenix? She is a master of playing with fire. Let her come to us quickly. Agree to any conditions she wants. "
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