Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 785 Depressed Catherine
Sweat dripped from Yan Yingyuan's forehead... It's a good thing for a pie to fall from the sky, but it would be a tragedy if a one-ton pie fell, and it would kill people—although he is very serious about the Heluo New Army I don't know much about it yet, but I have seen the fighting power of the Heluo New Army. I know what it means to command 1 such elite soldiers. If he dares to swallow this super big pie in one bite, his life may be ruined in the future. Very sad!He bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, Lord Hou, for your kindness. It's just that I don't have much knowledge and know nothing about military affairs. It's really hard for me to take on this important task!"

Yang Menglong hiccupped, and said carelessly, "I say you can do it, so why be so polite?"

The sweat on Yan Yingyuan's forehead became denser... This is to put him on the fire and roast him!He said sincerely: "Master Hou, I hope that I can start as an ordinary soldier and rely on military exploits in exchange for promotion, so that I can convince everyone!"

Yang Menglong thought for a while and said: "That's fine... Well, when you return to Nanyang, you can study with Old Man Qi for a while, and then wait until you are familiar with military affairs. Anyway, this regiment is still far away from officially becoming an army. Quite a while, no rush.”

Yan Yingyuan breathed a sigh of relief.He was really afraid that this idiot would continue to make mistakes, so he would be forced to fly in to be the commander of the legion that offended the public.A person with no qualifications at all is suddenly promoted to a high position on par with famous generals such as Xue Siming and Han Peng, that is simply hanging himself up and letting others beat him!

Yang Menglong raised his glass high and shouted: "I am very happy today. Come on, let's drink this cup. I wish our new army flag a victory! Let go of your stomach and drink. If you want to drink again next time, you have to wait until you take down Xiamen." drink!"

All the generals agreed with a loud bang and raised their glasses to drink.

Yang Menglong drank a large glass full of wine in one gulp, then swung the glass vigorously, smashed the glass to pieces on the ground, raised his fist and laughed loudly: "Happy, happy! His grandma, what kind of bullshit is the king of the sea? He Zheng Zhilong He is the king of the sea, Lao Tzu is the king of kings, and he is the king of kings! Han Peng should be approaching Zhangpu now, and we will set off in two days, go straight to Fuzhou by sea, and then attack Xiamen together with Han Peng by water and land! That bastard Zheng Zhilong Dan still owes us a beating, so we can’t let him off lightly!”

The generals shouted in unison: "I will obey the general's orders!"

The red lady quietly walked behind Yang Menglong, ready to help him.

Yang Menglong didn't realize it, and continued: "Zheng's fleet, there is nothing to be afraid of! Their warships seem to be many, but most of them are just armed merchant ships. The number of warships that can really be pulled out for a dignified battle is not much more than ours. , as long as everyone doesn’t carelessly underestimate the enemy and gives him a chance, we will soon be able to take down Xiamen, and then—”

Yan Yingyuan was pricking up his ears, waiting for his bold words, but saw the guy leaning back straight, unconscious, if the red lady hadn't helped him in time, the back of his head would have had the closest contact with the floor !
Shen Tingyang smiled wryly: "It's still three cups!"

Xue Siming said: "Yes, after so many years, there is no progress at all!"

There are two most despised shortcomings of Yang Menglong, one is his drinking capacity, and the other is his fear of women. These two weaknesses have almost become his cover, and he cannot be corrected no matter what.

The red lady helped Yang Menglong go down to rest. This unreliable guy was drunk, but everyone was not drunk yet, so they continued to drink.It's just that the bastard made such a fuss, and the atmosphere became a little subtle. Everyone toasted frequently, but intentionally or unintentionally alienated Yan Yingyuan, especially Zhong Ning and Li Yan, who were faintly hostile to him.Yan Yingyuan sat there, leaving and not staying or not, quite embarrassed, and gradually, he also became a little unhappy.He knew why, wasn't it because Yang Menglong wanted him to be the commander of the third army?These two obviously wanted to climb to that position, so they regarded him as an enemy.He said in his heart: "The more you look down on me, the more I want to be the commander of this legion. I will use my solid military exploits to make you take back this contemptuous attitude, hum!"

On the other side, Catherine was chatting with Netherlands.According to her agreement with Yang Menglong, Netherland stayed in the Heluo New Army last year and served as an instructor of the Denglai Navy. He did a very good job. The troops quickly formed a strong combat effectiveness, and in the first battle, Zheng Zhibao, a veteran who had traveled across the sea for more than ten years, was beaten to the ground.The two haven't seen each other for more than a year, so naturally they have a lot to say, don't drink, don't talk, after a few glasses of wine, Nedland seems to be fine, but Catherine can't hold it anymore, her snow-white cheeks are stained with temptation. His face was flushed red, his nose dusted with beads of sweat, and he felt a little dizzy.She put down her glass and said: "Everything is good in Chinese wine, but it's too overbearing. I can't stand even this kind of wine with a relatively low alcohol content. I think barley beer or wine is more suitable for me."

Netherland said with a smile: "Miss Catherine, you should drink more Chinese wine to improve your drinking capacity. Chinese people have a bad habit of not doing business at the wine table. It seems that the more you drink, the less friendship you will have. The deeper you get, the harder it is for you to blend in with them without a good capacity for alcohol." Thinking of the tragic situation when a group of heroic sailors were knocked unconscious every time on the ship, and almost vomited out his stomach, he With lingering fear, he fought a cold war.

Catherine smiled: "It seems that you are doing well in China, and the more you speak Chinese, the more fluent you are." Looking around, seeing that no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice and asked, "Have you served in the Chinese navy for so long? , Have you collected the information we urgently need?"

Nedland also lowered his voice and said, "Of course!" He took out a few drawings and handed them to Catherine.Those are the drawings and data of the naval guns. According to the data, the naval guns of the Denley Navy have a caliber of 120 mm, and some light ships are equipped with 85 mm cannons. They are all 28 times the caliber and have a long range.From this, it is not difficult to see that the Chinese cannon-casting technology is indeed very powerful. No country in Europe dares to adopt such a multiple-diameter ratio. Generally, it is 21 times the diameter, and very few can achieve 23 times the diameter.A longer barrel can increase the range and accuracy, but it will also put more pressure on the barrel. If the metallurgical technology is not good enough, doing this will only explode the chamber.

"The Chinese use steel to wrap the copper core to create a lighter, more durable cannon." Nederland said, "This iron-body copper-core cannon is far more reliable and lighter than the bronze cannon, and the cost is also lower. It is worthy of our imitation. The shells they use are designed in the shape of a jujube core. A copper shell is used to plug the warhead and the propellant together. When firing, the propellant is detonated, and the warhead flies out at high speed. Reloading is very fast, so the firepower of one cannon is equal to seven or eight ordinary bronze cannons, which is very powerful."

Catherine listened with gusto. If there were not so many people present, she would definitely have to write down these things with paper and pen.She said with satisfaction: "You have a thorough understanding of the performance and technical details of their naval guns. That's great! Tell me, what should we do to imitate this kind of naval gun? Even small-caliber ones are fine!"

Nedland's expression darkened, and he shook his head and said, "Miss, I didn't pour cold water on you. It is basically impossible to imitate Chinese naval guns!"

Catherine frowned: "Even if you guide me personally?"

Netherlands said: "I'm afraid not... We may be able to imitate the cannon, but we cannot imitate the powerful explosives! Without explosives, the cannons we have spent a lot of money to imitate are just a pile of rubbish. It is not as good as the original bronze cannon!" He gestured with his hands and said: "The propellant used by the Chinese is not black powder at all, but a new type of gunpowder that we have never seen before. There will be no residue left, so their gunners can bury their heads in the battle and fire without having to clean the barrel at all, we don't have such propellant!"

Catherine was startled: "New propellant? How much do you know about this new propellant?"

Netherland smiled wryly: "This is their core secret, and it is difficult for outsiders to get in touch... It is said that there are many factories that manufacture this kind of gunpowder exclusively for them. As for the craftsmanship, it is top secret, and only a few people know it. People who work on gunpowder don't know what the things they produce are used for."

This is indeed the truth.The factory areas of the military factories that produce gun cotton are strictly divided. The workers responsible for cleaning and degreasing cotton may think that this job is dedicated to washing and boiling cotton, while the workers in charge of soaking cotton with nitric acid also believe that this factory is dedicated to destroying cotton. In a word, everyone doesn't know what the work they have created is useful. They only know that the management is very strict and the craftsmanship is extremely demanding. It is almost impossible...

Catherine sighed, her excitement turning into frustration.She had to admit that she was too naive. She simply thought that as long as she got the various data and drawings of the naval gun, she could imitate it, but she never expected that the seemingly ordinary cannon was actually made by an industrial system. Crystallization, just concocting it is useless.

How to do?
It is already the limit for the Netherlands to do this. Even if he is willing to risk his life, he may not be able to obtain many secrets, so he can only find another way.However, is there any way for her to obtain these key technologies that are related to the future destiny of the Republic of Venice?Yang Menglong is not easy to deal with. This guy seems to be both greedy and lustful, but once these key technologies are involved, the magic power of beauty and money will be invalid. If you try hard to bully him, he just won't nod!Thinking of that abominable guy, Catherine was so filled with hatred that she could die if you sold me two new naval guns.I won’t miss your money!

In the room, Yang Menglong inexplicably sneezed several times in a row, rubbed his nose and muttered: "Don't make trouble, it's time to sleep..."

The laughter of the red lady came from the ear: "You are a pig, sleep when you are full..." Holding a piece of hair, he kept poking Yang Menglong's nostrils, making Yang Menglong sneeze again and again, poking and counting: " Are you embarrassed to pretend to be drunk every time you can't drink? How long are you going to play this trick?"

Yang Menglong didn't open his eyes, and said in a daze: "The eldest wife said, three glasses are good, don't get drunk..."

The red lady said: "Are you so obedient? Now, I order you, get up and drink with me!"

Yang Menglong threw the quilt over his head: "Don't do it, I want to sleep, and there will be a war in two days!"

The red lady said: "You know how to eat, sleep and fight. Can you have something new? Get up!" Pulling the quilt, Yang Menglong wrapped himself in the quilt like a silkworm cocoon, and couldn't pull it off at all. After trying several times She didn't succeed, so she immediately changed her strategy and poked Yang Menglong's armpits and ribs with her fingers. This trick really worked wonders. Yang Menglong laughed and struggled desperately. She also scratched the red lady's armpits with her hands, but the red lady was as scared Itchy, rolling with laughter!

Then the two rolled onto the bed together...

(End of this chapter)