Before the effect of the flowering shells could be seen, the target ship sank, which is a bit ironic.

"Lord Chen, what should we do?" The gunner asked Chen Jinnan for instructions.

"Then find a random target! So, hit that grove over there, and I'll see the effect. "Chen Jinnan Road.

The gunners turned the cannon and aimed it at a grove three hundred paces away, the shells were loaded, and the gunners with torches lit the redcoat cannons.

"Boom" a shell smashed into the grove.

But there was no exciting explosion, but like a solid cannonball, it smashed a branch, bounced a few times, and then it didn't move again. No, because the charge of the propellant is small, and the weight of the shell is also lighter than that of a solid shell, and the effect is not as good as that of a solid shell.

"It didn't explode again!" Everyone was disappointed.

Chen Python looked at Wang Xinyu with disappointment: "Brother, can you do this flowering cannonball?" ”

Before Wang Xinyu could open his mouth to defend himself, everyone gathered around, talking sarcastically and sarcastically, and Wang Xinyu was not allowed to have a chance to defend himself.

"This flowering cannonball is beautiful, isn't it?"

"What's the use of this, it can only be used as a solid cannonball."

"Wrong, it's better than a solid cannonball, a solid cannonball can still kill a piece!"

"It's not worth it to spend so much silver on this kind of thing! Is it good to take that money to buy wine for the brethren? ”

"Quiet! Everyone is quiet! Chen Python shouted to help Wang Xinyu break the siege: "Okay, everyone stop arguing!" Although Brother Wang's flowering cannonballs were unsuccessful, you have also seen that his new gunpowder, chain bullets and shotguns, were not very successful? Let's give him a chance to improve again, okay? ”

"But this flowering cannonball is too unreliable, right?" A gunner named Wu Haodong asked.

Chen Jinnan was still a little insightful: "Brothers, don't worry, even if it is the flowering cannonball of the Taixi people, only three or four out of ten can explode, and the others have no effect, and the test firing has not been completed yet, everyone should wait patiently and see the results." ”

Wu Haodong asked: "Lord Chen, in this naval battle, the hit rate is not high, and only three or four out of ten can hit the enemy ship. And this flowering shell, only three or four out of ten can explode, so that only one of the ten shells can have an effect, no more than two, it's too wasteful, right? ”

Chen Jinnan replied: "The naval battle is originally a salvo, and if the flowering bomb is close to the fight, the hit rate can be increased to four or five out of ten, and the flowering shell can explode three or four out of ten." For example, if we have 20 guns on a ship and fire a salvo at an enemy ship, almost two shells can explode on the enemy ship in one salvo, and according to the power of these shells, a ship of seven or eight hundred materials can be sunk with just two rounds. Isn't such a power much stronger than a solid cannonball? Let's take another look and see how powerful it is. ”

The person in charge of the red-coated cannon was the sailor gunner, and after listening to Chen Jinnan's words, he felt that it was very reasonable. Next, the test firing continues, and the key is to see how powerful the shells are.

The gunners cleared the chamber and reloaded again.

The fourth shell was fired, and I saw a flash of fire in the woods in front of me, and in the violent explosion, billowing white smoke rose up, and several large trees with thick bowls slowly fell in the explosion, and a large open space was blown out of the woods.

"It worked! It worked! The crowd cheered.

Someone ran to observe the effect of the explosion of the shell, and when he returned, he reported: "The flowering cannonball is extremely powerful, much more powerful than our 10,000 enemies and oil tanks!" In the woods, the trees fell within a hundred feet, and the branches were still burning. If an enemy ship is shot, I'm afraid it can be turned into powder with a single shot! ”

Next, the remaining sixteen flowering shells were all test-fired, and everyone found that the explosion rate of this flowering shell was not too low, a total of 20 shells were fired, except for the first two failed shots at the target ship, the later fired 18 flowering shells, a total of 10 shells exploded, so that the explosion rate has reached 56 out of ten.

Chen Jinnan smiled with satisfaction and patted Wang Xinyu's shoulder: "Not bad!" This flowering cannonball of your own making is better than that of the Tessians! Our prince Yanping also wanted to find the Taixi people to buy flowering cannonballs, but those red-haired ghosts were too expensive, not to mention, and refused to sell them, so we had to find a way to get the porcelain from the official kiln to exchange. In the past, when the old man was there, he had a way to get the official kiln porcelain and official silk from the officials, but now that the Tartars have occupied Jiangnan, the prince has no place to get the official kiln porcelain and official spinning silk, and the red-haired ghost refuses to sell us flowering shells. ”

Jingdezhen official kiln porcelain is much better than private kiln porcelain, because the quality is good and difficult to obtain, and official kiln porcelain is a luxury enjoyed by the aristocracy in Europe. Originally, the porcelain of the official kiln was a tribute and could not be sold to the outside. However, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, financial revenue was difficult, and Chongzhen allowed the export of part of the tribute originally provided to his palace to alleviate financial difficulties. At that time, Zheng Zhilong had the means to get a small amount of porcelain from the official kiln and silk from the Jiangnan official workshop and sell them to the Portuguese in exchange for the weapons he needed. However, a small amount of official kiln porcelain and the income from the sale of silk from the official workshop basically fell into the hands of officials, and Chongzhen couldn't even see a copper plate. After the Qing army occupied Jiangnan, it banned the outflow of porcelain from the official kiln in Jingdezhen, and established three weaving in Jiangnan to manage the silk of the official workshop in a unified manner, and absolutely prohibited the outflow. So now Zheng Chenggong can't get those high-quality tributes at all, and it is difficult to get the high-power new weapons he wants from foreigners.

Chen Jinnan was very satisfied with today's test gun, and hosted a banquet for Wang Xinyu and Chen Peng and his party at noon.

The banquet was held in Chen Peng's mansion, all the expenses were funded by Chen Jinnan, and he borrowed Chen Peng's territory to be the east, and he himself brought Feng Xifan and two cronies to the table, Chen Peng called his master and a cronie, only Wang Xinyu was alone.

During the banquet, everyone talked and laughed, Chen Jinnan, who was wearing a scholar's green clothes, Feng Xifan, who was strong in martial arts, and two personal guards, as well as Chen Peng, the master and his cronies, were all wearing wide-sleeved robes, obviously belonging to the upper class, and the biggest hero, Wang Xinyu, was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, which was incompatible with these upper-class figures. In this scene, Wang Xinyu felt like he was on pins and needles, and he was very embarrassed. Although Feng Xifan admired him very much and always showed his closeness, Wang Xinyu still felt that he couldn't intervene at all.

The dishes on the table are all southern seafood, including Tong'an fried crab, Xiamen oyster fried, Tong'an sealed meat, salted prawns, boiled prawn crickets, fried conch slices and other delicacies.

The seafood delicacy of this era is pure natural wild food, which can be said to be a world of difference compared to those artificially cultivated in later generations, and even pork is not comparable to later. Although MSG had not yet been invented at the time, the chef's dishes using dashi as a condiment were much more delicious than those that followed.

Wang Xinyu just let go of his appetite and eat, this is the first meal he has come to this world! After more than two months of hard life, the bird has faded out of the beak.

Chen Jinnan didn't blame him for being too ugly, but said: "Today, Mr. Wang is a great hero, eat more, anyway, the official is the east, you can eat whatever you want!" ”

When he was eating, he heard Chen Jinnan say to Chen Peng: "There is such a talent under General Chen, it is really my great blessing!" This kind of talent is just a small soldier, and it is indeed a condescending talent! When the official went back, he applied to the king of Yanping and gave Mr. Wang an official body. However, Mr. Wang is under the command of Mr. Chen Qian, and Mr. Chen Qian also has merit in this matter, and the official will declare it together! Also give General Chen a credit! ”

Chen Peng hurriedly clenched his fists: "Thank you, Lord Chen!" ”

After the banquet, Chen Jinnan wanted to say goodbye and go back to Gulangyu.

Wang Xinyu sent Chen Jinnan out, and when he arrived at the gate, Chen Jinnan asked Wang Xinyu to accompany him for a while longer, and Wang Xinyu agreed to come down.

When he was far away, Chen Jinnan pulled Wang Xinyu and whispered in his ear: "This official has been to Mr. Wang's house, and Mr. is really poor!" The official sent a thousand taels of silver. Don't worry, this silver is not the official's, and the official can't take out so many silver taels, this is the reward given to Mr. Wang by the prince of Yanping. ”

Wang Yu wanted to kneel down to thank him, but was softly stopped by Chen Jinnan: "Don't be too public, don't be too public, you will also go home to meet your family in the afternoon." ”

"Thank you, Lord Chen!" Wang Xinyu said apologetically.

Chen Jinnan finally left Wang Xinyu a token of his own, so that he could go to him if necessary. As long as you go to the opposite side of Gulangyu Island in the southeast of Xiamen Island, show the token to the sailor Xiaoqi at the wharf, and you can send it to the other side.

Bidding farewell to Chen Jinnan, Wang Xinyu hurried home.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw a petite figure standing at the door. It was his sister, who seemed to have received the news that his brother was coming home, and had been waiting at the door early.

"My brother is back!" The younger sister turned back and shouted into the house.

Wang Xinyu looked at his thin sister and wanted to pick her up in distress, but the little girl shy away from it.

"Little sister, what are you afraid of, didn't your brother hug you when you were a child?" Wang Xinyu said with a smile.

"That was when I was a kid, and now I'm older."

Wang Xinyu gently knocked on his sister's head: "Little girl, how old is it, just say that she has grown up." ”

"Your sister is not young anymore, the girl from the old Zhang family next door is a month younger than your sister and is already married!" Mother Wang didn't know when to welcome out.

Walking into the courtyard and closing the courtyard door, Wang said to Wang Xinyu: "Yu'er, someone sent a thousand taels of silver to the house in the morning, saying that it was rewarded by the king of Yanping, and let us not let others know." How did you get the prince's appreciation? ”

"Mother, you can rest assured! The son relied on his own ability to get the reward of the king. In the future, my son will earn more money for the family! ”

Wang took his son into his house and pointed to a heavy box under the bed: "The silver rewarded by the prince is here, we have so much silver, we can consider finding a daughter-in-law for each of your two brothers, and the younger sister can also marry a good family." ”

"Mother, you're here again! The son is still young, and he is not in a hurry to find a daughter-in-law. Wang Xinyu replied.

"Still young? You're nineteen years old! Listening to the Lord Feng who came to deliver the silver today, he is twenty-one years old this year, and his daughters are four years old! Wang angrily tapped the floor with his cane and said.

"Lord Feng? Is it the one named Feng Xifan? He sat in our house for a long time? ”

"Boy, how can you speak out about Lord Feng's name?"

"Mother, Feng Xifan is now his son's eldest brother, and Master Chen asked him to help his son. Since it's the big brother, it's nothing to call him by his first name. Wang Yu explained.

Wang said: "Although you recognize this brother, after all, he is an official, and it is always inappropriate for you to call him by his name. However, this Lord Feng also came a few days ago, and he came with Master Chen. Today, I am an old acquaintance, and I sat down at our house for a while and chatted about some family life. He asked if you were married, and I said you weren't, and he said that his daughters were four years old. Master Feng also said that if you don't dislike it, he can help you find a good daughter-in-law. But what kind of eunuch are we looking for in rural areas? But I can also see that your mother recognizes you very much. Yu'er, you have to take advantage of this opportunity, strive to make more great contributions, and give our Wang family glory to our ancestors! ”

"Mother, don't worry! I will definitely give the Wang family glory to the ancestors! Wang Xinyu suddenly changed the topic, "What about my brother?" Why wasn't he there? ”

"Ah Shui can't come back in Kinmen. A few days ago, he went to Gulangyu, and it is said that Lord Zheng took a fancy to him and left him in the barracks to join the army. ”

"Lord Zheng? Which Zheng-sama? ”

"It's Marquis Zheng, Marquis Zheng of Jianping. Your brother also said that the Hou Ye kept him as a personal soldier. ”

"That's the cousin of the prince of Yanping!" Wang Xinyu was taken aback.

Some time ago, Wang Xinyu asked his younger brother to do something and go to the barracks in the south of the island to find someone. Who knew that the younger brother actually found Zheng Tai, and what was even more strange was that the younger brother was actually taken by Zheng Tai and was left to be a soldier.

Wang Xinyu is not very satisfied with such a result. He vaguely knew a little about the later history: after the death of King Yanping, Zheng Jing got rid of Zheng Tai in order to eradicate dissidents. If he and Zheng Tai are involved in anything, will Zheng Jing implicate himself when he eradicates dissidents in the future?

Forget it, don't think about it so much for now, let's talk about it later, and now develop your own strength first. When the strength is strong, if Zheng Jing really wants to clear himself at that time, then he has enough strength to fight against Zheng Jing, so he doesn't have to be afraid of what he will do to him. It's just that this younger brother has to find a way to get him out of Zheng Tai's side, after all, he is his own brother, and if he wants to be a cronie, he can only be his own cronies, don't accompany outsiders to give his life inexplicably.

That night, Wang Xinyu did not go back to the barracks, but took some silver to buy some white pork and a chicken, and asked his mother to make a delicious meal to improve the life of his mother and sister. Wang Xinyu was very moved by this mother, and his mother was reluctant to use the 1,000 taels of silver sent by Chen Jinnan, so she kept it all for herself. My mother and sister have also suffered too much, and now that they have money, we must first give them a good life.

When dinner was served, my sister saw that the table was full of delicious food, and she was as happy as a child celebrating the New Year. But she was originally a child.

After dinner, my sister pestered Wang Xinyu to tell her a story. It wasn't until the little sister fell asleep that Wang Xinyu gently covered her with the quilt and tiptoed out of the hut.

The next morning, Wang Xinyu returned to the barracks.

Under the guidance of Chen Shuijie and Feng Xifan, the craftsmen are stepping up to build houses. The foundation of the gunpowder workshop has been dug up, and the craftsmen are building the house on the foundation by pulling stones from a cart from a nearby hill. The blacksmith's workshop is a little more special, it is erected with stone pillars, and a low wall is built along the stone pillars, with a blast furnace in the middle, and the four sides are ventilated to ensure that it will not be too hot in summer. In winter, or when a typhoon comes, pull up the planks on the low wall to block the wind.

"Mr. Wang, in four or five days, we will be able to start work!" Feng Xifan said.

In the afternoon, the reward of the king of Yanping arrived.

The envoy read the reward: because of the improvement of gunpowder and the merit of making flowering shells, Chen Peng's garrison was promoted to the guerrilla of Right Tiger Guard Town; Wang Yu was promoted from a small soldier to a general ......

"I didn't expect Wang Yu to be promoted at such a young age!" Everyone looked at Wang Xinyu with envy and jealousy.

Wang Xinyu stuffed some broken silver to the messenger, saying that he was grateful to the messenger and the king of Yanping.

The envoy smiled and said, "Wang Gongzi, Lord Chen heard that Wang Gongzi is not yet married, and intends to be a matchmaker for you, so that you have time to go to Gulangyu Island." ”