Daiyu of the Red Chamber raised a cat

Seeing the businessman from the Western Regions approaching, Zhou Hang inspected it, pointed to the muskets on the table, and asked, "Did you bring these things?"

Although the merchant is a foreigner, he is quite familiar with the etiquette of the Central Plains because he often travels and does business in the Central Plains. When he first came in, he saluted Zhou Hanghang according to the rules. The official said: "If you go back to His Royal Highness, these muskets were brought by the villain."

"Where did you bring it?" Zhou Hang asked again.

"Returning to His Royal Highness, when the villain was in the Western Regions, he often did business with Frangji merchants. These muskets were bought from them. According to them, the origin of these muskets is Frank. They brought a few of these in total, and the villain took them all. Before they could sell them, they were discovered by this Mr. Sang, and they bought them all as gifts to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The so-called Frangji Zhouhang in the world of Red Mansions investigated it, and it was Portugal later.

Today, the era of great voyages in the West has begun, and old colonial countries such as Portugal and Spain have begun to expand and seize colonies.Among them, Portugal has expanded to its own country, taking the sea route, plus an island off the eastern coast of the invasion, not a particularly important place.The imperial court sent a large army to drive him away and then withdrew the troops, which did not attract much attention.At this time, their superiority in weapons has gradually manifested. If their own side does not work hard, sooner or later they will fall into a situation where they will fall behind and be beaten.

No, no!

Since he, Zhou Hang, is here, he will never allow him to fall into such a fate!

Thinking about it, he stared at the Western Region businessman and asked, "Have you ever been to Frangji?"

The man quickly shook his head and said: "I haven't been there, but I have several friends who are businessmen of Frangji, and I often hear them talk about Frangji, so I know something about it."

"Oh?" Zhou Hang raised his eyebrows, "You know everything, it doesn't have to be Francois, other countries, like Frank, England, etc., tell me!"

"Obey, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" the man said.

So he began to explain to Zhou Hang all kinds of western countries he had heard from his friends.

He traveled between the Central Plains and the Western Regions for many years, knew countless businessmen from the East and the West, and heard countless rumors.This talk went on for two hours, and tea was refilled five or six times.At the beginning, he was still standing, but later Zhou Hang asked him to sit opposite him and talk like an old friend.

Zhou Hang also learned from him that muskets are very popular in Western countries.

It is used by nobles and ordinary people alike.

The gun he got was not very good in Frangji, and it could be used by ordinary nobles.The aristocrats at the top of power no longer use such musketeers, but use a newly invented revolver, that is, the barrel of the barrel is hit with a grinding wheel that can be cremated by friction, breaking through the arquebus can not be fired and it is raining. Unusable restrictions.This kind of revolver not only has a wrench, but also has equipment similar to the bullet clips of later generations. It can fire three bullets in a row, and its lethality is also greatly improved. It kills today's domestic firearms in seconds.

Moreover, according to businessmen from the Western Regions, a small number of domestic factories in Frangji have begun to use steam engines for production, and the production efficiency has been greatly improved, and many workers have lost their jobs.

It has developed to such an extent!

This was slightly beyond Zhou Hang's expectation. Next came the widespread use of steam engines, the rapid development of firearms, and then the wanton colonial expansion. Those backward countries will suffer, and they will be beaten if they are backward...

It is not difficult to imagine that, perhaps in less than a hundred years, in just a few decades, our own country will be left far behind.

Fortunately, it is only the initial stage of industrialization now, and it is not difficult to catch up.

You can no longer rest on your laurels!Zhou Hang decided to go out from here and enter the palace immediately. The first emperor Lao Tzu applied to send a mission to the west as soon as possible, and let the courtiers and common people see what it looks like outside, so they can't honestly immerse themselves in comfort.

Didn't the ancients say that one must take precautions to live in sorrow and die in peace.

So after coming out from Li Xu and Sang Sheng, Zhou Hang didn't go to Lin Mansion, but turned a corner and went into the palace.Throwing the muskets in his hand on the imperial case with a "slap", Zhou Hang asked directly: "Father, are you willing to be a sinner through the ages?!"

Li Zhaozheng buried his head in the pile of official documents, did not see Zhou Hang approaching, and was taken aback by his sudden slap on the table, just about to get angry, when he looked up and saw Zhou Hang, he suppressed the two eyebrows that had just been erected, and waited. Temperamentally said: "What happened?"

Zhou Hang was straightforward: "Father, there is one thing, if you don't do it, you will become a sinner forever!"

What kind of words are these?

Rao Li Zhaohan took good care of him and doted on his only legitimate son, so he couldn't help but get angry.

As a junior, have you ever asked a father like this?

As a courtier, have you ever patted the table and asked the king if you want to be infamous forever?

What kind of words!I really dote on him!

Hmph, you can slap the table, can't I! ! !

Thinking about it, Li Zhao also slapped the table, and before saying anything, he was surprised to see Zhou Hang tremble suddenly, and swallowed the words again.After a while, he panted heavily, gritted his teeth and said, "What is so important, if I don't do it, I will be a sinner forever?"

This sentence came out very coldly, as if he was suppressing his anger.

The servants next to him were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and trembled. Even Wei Xing'an lay down on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

Zhou Hang didn't seem to be intimidated by the king's wrath, his expression remained the same, but his voice was softer.He pushed a few muskets in front of Li Zhao, and said, "Father, please take a look at this first?"

Li Zhao just glanced at it, but didn't pick it up: "I've seen this thing before!"

Zhou Hang: "Look carefully, these are different from the ones you have seen before."

Only then did Li Zhao reluctantly pick it up and look at it, but he didn't think it was so remarkable.This was also expected by Zhou Hang, the ancients had never seen the power of thermal weapons, so naturally they had no specific concept of the degree of harm these musketeers did.It doesn't matter, the thing is in hand, let him see it with his own eyes, won't he be dumbfounded?

So Zhou Hang ordered people to set up thick wooden boards on the open space outside the hall, and pulled Li Zhao out.

He tried the least powerful pistol first, and easily pierced through a three-inch-thick wooden board fifty paces away.

Li Zhao stared blankly at the burnt black hole on the wooden board for a long time before turning his head to look at Zhou Hang again.Oh, no, it's the pistol in Zhou Hang's hand. This small thing is much more powerful than a musket.

Zhou Hang could see that Li Zhao was interested, he raised his eyebrows and said, "This is still the least powerful gun!"

Then he showed Li Zhao several other ones, each of which was stronger than the other, and finally let Li Zhao try it himself.

Putting down the rifle in his hand, Li Zhao stared at the battered wooden plank in front of him, unable to recover for a long time.

Compared with bows and arrows, these firearms have many advantages, such as longer range, higher accuracy, and greater lethality. The key is that it is very convenient for soldiers to ride on horseback, and they can be operated with one hand, which is easy to use; unlike bows and arrows, It requires two hands to operate, and it is very troublesome to train soldiers. It takes at least three years of kung fu training for a qualified cavalryman.

If such a firearms battalion is built, will we still worry about not being able to win wars in the future?

No wonder, no wonder his crown prince repeatedly emphasized the power of firearms to him. He originally thought that firearms were firecrackers and the like, and set fire on the battlefield to frighten unsuspecting barbarians, and they couldn't kill anyone at all.It turns out...it turns out that there are such powerful firearms in this world!

Thinking of this, I can't help but think of my own wife. She also said similar things back then, but she didn't pay much attention to it. Was she particularly disappointed back then...

I really... I'm sorry for him.

The son still refused to disclose her whereabouts...

In fact, knowing that she is still alive, I am already very happy...

Just as he was thinking, Zhou Hang suddenly said, "Father, I want you to meet someone."

"Who?!" Li Zhao was suddenly agitated, it couldn't be...

"It's a businessman from the Western Regions. When you meet him, you'll know why I just said that about you."

Why do you say that if he doesn't do anything else, he will be a sinner through the ages?Li Zhaolue showed a somewhat wry smile weakly, so what does it matter...

After a while, he nodded and said, "Xuan come in."

Zhou Hang gave Wei Xing'an a wink, Wei Xing'an immediately understood, and raised his voice: "The merchants from the Western Regions have entered the palace—"

Not long after, a young eunuch ushered in a tall, thin man, still dressed in a Hu suit.

Zhou Hang looked at him and said, "Tell me everything you know."

So he basically said again what he said to Zhou Hang before.Of course, it’s not as detailed as when I told Zhou Hang, because the emperor has a lot of things to do every day, and he doesn’t have so much time to listen to long-winded speeches, so he omitted things like customs and legends, and the focus is only on the discovery of firearms in the West and the recent years in Western countries. aggression and expansion.

In the end, Zhou Hang concluded: "Although the small countries in the west are far less numerous than us, they have very powerful weapons, high combat efficiency, and rapid development. A few years ago, they invaded an island in the east of our country, although we beat it away. , but they also paid a considerable price. Although they are not our opponents now, ten, twenty, or fifty years from now, at this rate of development, one of their cannons will be enough to blow up a city of ours. If we don’t work hard to be strong and superb, we can only let ourselves be exploited in the future. The emperor had the opportunity to make us stronger, but missed it in vain. How will the people evaluate you in the future, and how will those foreigners think of you. Aren’t you a sinner in history? !"

Li Zhao was amused by his nonsense debate, raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "Then tell me, how can I not be a sinner in this history?"

Zhou Hang: "Naturally, I will send people to the west to learn their advanced technology and use it for me to become the strongest country and dominate the world!"

After finishing speaking, he looked at Li Zhao excitedly, only waiting for him to nod, who knew that he would not see him nodding after waiting for a long time, and did not say a word.Zhou Hang was secretly anxious here, but he slowly opened his lips and said, "Okay."

"Who is the father going to send?" Zhou Hang asked excitedly.

"Let's discuss it with the courtiers tomorrow morning."

"Why don't you let your son go?"