At the secret base of Bengang, several Dutch shipbuilders were quietly brought over.

When they arrived at this remote and secluded base, they were stunned by what they saw. In front of them, several brand-new ships with the distinctive shape of Western-style ships stood quietly in the dock.

A few Dutch master shipwrights, who were accustomed to dealing with sea vessels, could tell at a glance that these warships belonged to the Portuguese style of Clarke, although Clark sailing ships were already second- and third-rate sea ships in Europe, but in the Far East, these sea ships were still advanced and practical.

It's just that to the surprise of the Dutch craftsmen, on this remote ancient country in the East, on this isolated island that has not been developed much, there will be a dock, and three European warships are being built in the dock!!

"Welcome to your arrival, my name is Yang Zhi, I am the director of this base, if you need anything in the future, you can come directly to me!" Standing in front of several Dutchmen was a young Oriental boy who received them warmly with the help of an interpreter.

With Yang Zhi's leadership, several Dutch master shipwrights soon visited the base: in fact, this base is not large, just a dock, a warehouse built to store shipbuilding materials, and a playground for drying logs.

In the base, more than 100 skilled craftsmen climbed up and down on the three Clark ships, and they didn't know what they were busy with.

"Our hall master sent all of you here, and he also liked the craftsmanship in everyone's hands, so before he came, he also ordered, but if you can help us build these seagoing ships of you Westerners, and make it meet the standards of seagoing ships of the same specifications in the West, we will not be stingy!" After a few Dutch master shipwrights had settled in the base, Yang Zhi summoned them to his office that morning and revealed to them the reason for bringing them here.

As he spoke, Yang Zhi pulled out a heavy box from under his desk, and then opened the lid of the box, and suddenly a snow-white silver light shone out of this box.

Several Dutch craftsmen were shocked by the light reflected from the neatly stacked silver coins in the box in front of them, and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking at this beautiful picture in distraction.

Why did these Dutchmen go to the far east to go to the far east, isn't it because of their wealth?

From the performance of these Dutch, Yang Zhi has a kind of confidence in his heart, it seems that this foreigner looks different from our Ming people, but it is quite consistent in the pursuit!

"As long as you can help us build a qualified warship, our hall master will give you a reward of three hundred taels of silver each." The specific figures given by Yang Zhi made several Dutchmen even more dumbfounded, even in their hometown, such a huge salary, it was at least their income for a few years.

But looking at the Clark sea ship that has a rough appearance now, and the raw materials that have long been placed outside, I am afraid that it is more than enough to build ten sea ships. In this way, these few people can each get hundreds of pounds of silver, and even if they don't do anything in the future, I'm afraid it will be enough for all of them to be rich at home!

The only thing that worries them is whether this group of Orientals will really be as trustworthy as they say, and they will let them all go back when the time comes. If it is really after all of them have built the sea boat, these people will cook a rabbit and a dead dog, then they will be wronged and panicked!

"Of course, please rest assured, we Hongtang are a trustworthy person, and before you work, we will also sign a contract with you, which is what you Westerners say, as a guarantee. Moreover, we have also found a guarantor, and after you have agreed to our offer, we will send you to another base of ours, and you Jesuit missionary priests in the West will sign this deed as a guarantor. Before they came, Li Tianyang had already thought about how to persuade this group of foreigners, and they also knew the concerns of these people.

"Is it really the Jesuit priests who vouch for it?" A Dutch shipwright dared to ask.

"Yes, it's true, this priest was introduced to us by Father Julius to preach in Stupid Harbor, his name is Felix, I don't know if you have heard of it?" I didn't expect that one day I would be able to use this group of priests who traveled between Bengang and Jilong Harbor to preach, but when Yang Zhi said the heel of this priest as a guarantor, these Dutchmen were even more excited.

"We are very unfamiliar with the name of this priest, but we have heard of the name of Father Julius." There are Dutchmen who think about it for a moment, and don't think about it with certainty.

"I remember hearing of the name of Father Julius, who was said to be a priest officially canonized by the Holy See, and was responsible for preaching in the Ming and the Japanese kingdoms in the East." With the lure of a huge amount of silver and the guarantor from their Europe, the Dutch were ready to move.

In the end, under the temptation of Yang Zhi's bitter words and practical interests, all seven Dutch shipwrights finally agreed to the request of Li Tianyang and his team to build sea ships.

And with the participation of the Dutch craftsmen, the problems that have been plaguing the Ming craftsmen in the secret dockyard have also been solved under the inspiration of these Dutch craftsmen, and the progress of the three imitation foreign ships that Li Tianyang and they stole from Macao is also approaching the stage of completion.

When this news was transmitted back to Jilong Port by Yang Zhi from the secret base of Bengang, Li Tianyang was excited in his heart, and even this made him happier than when they defeated the Dutch and captured so many prisoners.

No matter how many Dutchmen were captured, even if they could bring enough benefits to Li Tianyang and his team in the future, these were not as good as their own team being able to build a complete and qualified warship.

In the final analysis, since Li Tianyang's ocean-going fleet was established and on the right track, coupled with the development of Qixintang and the output of its workshops, and the continuous output of the Jilongshan mine, to be honest, the future of Li Tianyang's team will no longer be as lacking in gold and silver expenditure as before, unless they do the same again as this time, directly tie up Bengang Jilonggang and destroy most of the two strongholds.

But the construction of foreign ships is successful, and Hongtang will no longer have to look at the faces of foreigners in the future, and at the same time, when they grow to a certain point, even if it is the Ming government, they can compete with it, instead of being as empty and euphemistic as now.

(End of chapter)