Zhong Jinwei shook his head and said, "What's so good about this? You just have to look at it."
When Sun Chengzong heard this, he wanted to speak, but Zhong Jinwei preempted him: "I have never seen this kind of artillery fired. Let them try it."
It was business that mattered, let's not argue with the supervisors for now. Thinking of this, Sun Chengzong turned around and ordered: "Test the artillery."
After receiving the order, Gongsago turned around and directed his men to prepare for the test of the artillery. Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde asked Sun Chengzong and Zhong Jinwei to avoid an observation point in the back to prevent them from standing too close and being injured by possible explosive cannons.
.
As soon as the Portuguese gunner received the order, he began to take action quickly, using musket gauges, musket rulers and calipers to measure, load, and calibrate. Finally, he waited for the order to launch.[
After all the gunners were ready, Gonsargo ran over to salute Sun Chengzong and asked for permission to fire.
Sun Chengzong took a monocular telescope and looked at the gun target, and then gave the order to launch.
Zhong Jinwei also had a monocular telescope in his hand. He was not used to seeing with one eye. He put down the telescope and watched the gunners operating.
After the order to fire was conveyed, the gunners began to light the fuses of the artillery one by one, then covered their ears and hid aside.
There was a loud "boom, boom, boom" sound that startled Zhong Jinwei, and at the same time, a puff of smoke rose up, blocking his view.
The sound of this artillery is too loud, Zhong Jinwei said to himself.
Sun Chengzong caught sight of Zhong Jinwei's frightened expression from the corner of his eye, and he felt relieved. After all, Zhongxing Hou had never seen anyone firing an artillery piece, so he didn't know that the sound was as loud as thunder and had earth-shattering power.
The artillery was fired one by one, and every time it was fired, I felt an earthquake. After the firing, a gust of wind happened to blow the smoke towards Zhong Jinwei.
Zhong Jinwei quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hands, while everyone else, including Zhong Jinwei's guards, all acted as if it was the case. Although no one said anything to Zhong Jinwei, they probably secretly despised Zhong Jinwei.
Because of the wind, the smoke went away quickly. Sun Chengzong and Zhong Jinwei both picked up monocular telescopes to see the actual launch effect.
When Zhong Jinwei saw that the artillery target was still in his field of vision, he couldn't help but said: "It's too inaccurate for so many cannons to miss!"
When Sun Chengzong heard this, he put down the telescope he was using for observation, turned to Zhong Jinwei and said: "Young man, don't talk nonsense if you haven't seen it before. Take a closer look. Although the artillery target missed, many cannons have plowed around it."
But within a few feet, this is pretty accurate."
As soon as Zhong Jinwei heard this, he realized that with such a small range and such a large error, even if it was very accurate, it seemed that the artillery in the late Ming Dynasty was indeed not as powerful as imagined.
Seeing Zhong Jinwei's mute expression, Sun Chengzong and the people around him thought that he didn't know the traces of running before, but now they understood what Sun Chengzong meant and were stunned by this precise bombardment.
After a while, Gongsar came over to report that the firing was completed. Sun Chengzong was very satisfied with these artillery, and the test firing effect was very good. He especially noticed that these gunners were very skilled, and the accuracy rate was so high because of the skill of these gunners.
Operations are inseparable.
He handed the monocular telescope to Wang Zunde beside him, and then asked Gongsar: "Yes, if our country allows you to stay and teach our soldiers how to fire artillery, would you be willing?"
For this test launch, Gonsar had already told his subordinates to perform well. Now that their performance satisfied the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty, he was also very proud. Because he knew that only in this way can he sell well.
Price.
Gonza did not mince words and said directly: "My lord, as long as the price is right, we are willing to teach these artillery skills to your soldiers."
The gunners of the Ming army are notoriously bad. During the Battle of the Capital a few months ago, Man Gui, his own commander, was accidentally injured by firing a cannon. Although this example is quite extreme, it can also be seen from one aspect of the artillery fired by other gunners.
The accuracy won't be that high.[
"How much do you want?" Sun Chengzong asked.
The people around him, including Zhong Jinwei, all looked at this Westerner to see what price he would offer.
"I ask for a salary of three hundred taels per year, plus an additional thirty taels per month. The rest of the people will receive an annual salary of two hundred taels, and an additional twenty taels per month for food. If your country agrees, I and I will
My subordinates are happy to serve your country." Gongsar held his head high and tried to show a strong spirit.
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he thought it was so expensive. What a money grab! Just when he was about to speak, he saw Sun Chengzong shaking his head and said resolutely: "It's too expensive. Your monthly salary is more than the monthly salary of a second-grade official in our country. It's impossible to give it."
.”
Gonsar was originally a lion's mouth. It would be best if the officials of the Ming Dynasty could agree. If not, they could discuss it again.
Now seeing that the high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty really disagreed, he said: "You want us to have good relations with each other, and I am willing to make friends with you. Therefore, I am willing to make concessions. I only need a salary of one hundred and fifty taels per year.
Add an additional fifteen taels per month, and the rest of the people will receive an annual payment of one hundred taels, and an additional ten taels per month for food. At this price, if it were less, my men and I would rather return to Macau."
When Gonsar said the last word, he spoke categorically in his not-so-fluent Chinese, showing that no further negotiation was allowed.
When Sun Chengzong heard that the Westerner had reduced the asking price by half, he was silent for a moment, and then looked at the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, wanting to consult their opinions.
Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde saw Sun Chengzong looking over and nodded slightly. They had more dealings with Westerners in Guangdong and Guangxi, and knew that the price offered by Gonzawa was similar to the current market.
When Sun Chengzong saw that the two governors who knew the details of Westerners best nodded, he felt that the price was about the same, so he was ready to agree.
Who knew that just when he was about to speak, a voice sounded: "Are you robbing money? It's so expensive! The soldiers who asked you to come here to train our soldiers think highly of you and give you a living. Don't think that you are the only ones who can do this."
When Sun Chengzong heard this voice, he knew it was from Zhongxing Hou without turning around.
As soon as Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, he immediately became the focus of the scene, and everyone looked at him.
When Gong Sasha heard the words of this young high-ranking official from the Ming Dynasty, his face suddenly darkened. He went too far and even said that he was just making a living for himself. He suppressed his anger and said to Zhong Jinwei: "If you can
, you still want us to teach you? Don’t pressure me with big words, no matter how big your words are, I won’t lower the price.”
He believed that the aiming skills of artillery were much better than those of the Ming Dynasty. People in the Ming Dynasty would definitely not know the usage of those gun gauges, gun rulers and squares.
Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde didn't know the details of Zhong Jinwei. In addition, Zhong Jinwei's previous performance made them think that the Supervisor was a dandy, not academic. He only got the position of Supervisor if he had the Holy Favor. Now that things are happening like this, they can't help but feel a little bit.
worry.
And Sun Chengzong was also afraid that things would become deadlocked. It would be bad if these Westerners walked away and went back. After all, after buying the artillery, you still need to be able to use it. Only by being able to shoot accurately can it exert its greatest effect.
He cleared his throat and prepared to speak.
When Zhong Jinwei heard Sun Chengzong clearing his throat, he knew that he wanted to persuade him. Without waiting for him to speak, he directly said to Gongsa: "You say I am talking big words? If I am not talking big words, what do you say?"
When Sun Chengzong heard this, he held back the words as soon as they reached his throat. He thought to himself, could he really know how to fire off cannons?
Gonzago didn't believe in the Ming Dynasty's high-ranking officials in the capital at all, and a young high-ranking official could know the new aiming methods of using those tools. After hearing what Zhong Jinwei said, he was not willing 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 ask for whatever you want, and there will be no counter-offering."
"Okay, it's settled?"[
“It’s a deal!”
When the people around saw that the supervisor had made a bet with this Westerner, they no longer thought of persuading Zhong Jinwei, otherwise it would be bad for the supervisor's face.
"The most important thing about artillery firing is to know how far away the target is, right?" Zhong Jinwei asked Gongsa.
Gongsargao originally stepped aside to invite Zhong Jinwei over to test the cannon. But now after hearing what he said, he turned back and replied, "Yes."
After receiving his affirmative reply, Zhong Jinwei smiled and said, "You can point to any place. I can tell how far away it is without any tools."
Sun Chengzong never knew that Zhong Jinwei had this ability. Could it be that he was gifted? He was very curious.
Gong Sasha heard what Zhong Jinwei said was very similar, and his demeanor was so calm, he couldn't help but feel a little unsure. But the matter had come to this point, and he couldn't admit defeat, so he pointed to a tent in the distance and said: "I dare to ask
Lord Supervisor, how far is that place from here?"
Zhong Jinwei looked at the camp, smiled, and then said, "Wait until I figure it out."
Note: Xu Guangqi once said in his article (The Chou captives are temporarily preparing for the east, it is advisable to write down the first words urgently to prepare for war) written in the third year of Chongzhen (1630):
Teaching and playing the big gun... all the preparations and displays are secretly taught. For example, use a telescope to see far, and use a measuring board to measure. It is not easy to learn, and it is not suitable for everyone to be able to use it. The so-called sharp weapon of the country cannot be shown to others. Minister
After careful consideration, I thought it would be best to teach the ministers of the world to learn from it, and to honor the descendants of Qi and the military ministers of the capital and the capital, and select those whose aspirations, actions, trustworthiness, wisdom and courage are sufficient to teach them.
Xu suggested that its principles could only be passed down to ministers, and as for the actual operation methods, good deeds should be chosen from among the descendants of the honorary clan or the military ministers of the capital and Wei who were both wise and courageous.
And teach them. It can be seen from this that it was very rare to be able to use auxiliary tools to accurately fire cannons at that time, and basically no one in the Ming Dynasty could do it.