On the stand, I found a ruler to determine the angle and range of fire, and I was amazed by the fine scale engraved in it. In my impression, the Ming people were very inadequate in the application of mathematics, especially in the military. Their craftsmen were reluctant to do their work seriously because they were in a state of slavery, and the civilian officials with command tasks were almost completely ignorant of military affairs, and even those officers who had to fight to the death were ignorant of the operational opportunities of mathematics in military affairs, and almost the entire idea and guiding principles of warfare were still stuck in Roman times.

It is precisely for this reason that the Ming State will become increasingly weak militarily, so that it has repeatedly lost to the barbarians. Even the advanced cannons they had purchased from the Portuguese were so diminished that they could not perform their proper role because they could not be used so skillfully that they could not perform their proper role.

And the ruler on this cannon vividly told me that there were still some people in the Ming Kingdom who applied the popular mathematical tools of Europe to the war. When relying on the sights on the gun carriage to set the height and direction division and distance, the gun body can reach the firing position by matching the gun body pointer and the ruler pointer, so that only a certain amount of training is required, and an artillery member can exert the full power of the shell.

After scrutinizing it, I left the cannon and walked over to the other cannons to take a look, and found that they were equally well-made and well-maintained.

Not only that, but I found that the ratio of the barrel and caliber of these cannons was very reasonable, and like in Europe, they were completely designed according to the actual effectiveness of the battle, which constituted a clear counterexample to the pursuit of some high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty that the bigger the cannon, the better.

Seeing these cannons, I have no doubt about the bright future of Zhao Jin's forces.

"Well, you see?" The veteran still looked at me with that ostentatious expression, "I said you would be amazed at the sight of these cannons...... Now you've confirmed, right? I'm not saying big things, technically I can assert that my employer now has a world-leading artillery factory! ”

I lowered my head and acquiesced to his words.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind - with the help of a group of Europeans, Zhao Jin now has the same sophisticated weapons as the Europeans, and will have even more in the future, so will he use these forces to threaten the Europeans in the future?

The idea may seem strange, but it's been on my mind ever since.

Perhaps, in addition to spreading the glory of the Lord, trying to eliminate the conflict between Zhao Jin and Europe is also one of my missions given by God? I suddenly thought again.

While we were still talking, I suddenly noticed a group of people walking towards us.

The group of men, dressed in uniform khaki cotton clothes, lined up in an equally neat line, and their faces were very stern, and they looked a little like soldiers.

"Oh, it's all about time!" Just when I was still wondering, the veteran next to me shouted.

Then he told me that it was time for the artillerymen to train.

And these cannons were specially taken out of the warehouse today to prepare for test firing.

I have no way of speculating on the level of discipline and training of the artillerymen here, for I was quickly driven away by the polite, but unquestionable, manner of the stern-faced soldiers.

However, judging by the rhythmic roar of my departure, there is no doubt that the artillerymen here have mastered the combat skills they should have mastered.

Accompanied by the incessant rumbling of cannons, I couldn't help but recall the qiē I had experienced since I entered the sphere of influence of the Zhao Jin group.

Well-managed villages, full of workshops, well-laid out and maintained commercial networks, and meticulously trained soldiers...... and the last of the vast and well-organized gun factories seen here.

This qiē has far exceeded my original understanding of the Ming Kingdom.

In other words, whether it is in terms of personnel or equipment, Zhao Jin has a strength beyond the Ming court, but the scale is smaller than the court, and according to my experience from Europe, elite soldiers can defeat several times the enemy - so I even began to think that Zhao Jin is a behemoth that the Ming court could not destroy even if it used all its strength.

At the same time, a strange question suddenly occurred to me.

Will this seemingly huge Ming court face the most terrible fate in the near future?

It's definitely not my crankiness.

In the northeast of the Ming Dynasty, it is said that a group of barbarians who were once under the rule of the Ming Empire have launched riots, occupied a large area of land that originally belonged to the Ming Empire, and defeated the Ming Empire's army many times, and recently it is said to have occupied a provincial capital of the Ming Dynasty.

And here, in the most heartfelt place of the Ming Dynasty, there has been a force that can completely compete with the imperial court, even more dangerous than the barbarians in the frontier.

After thinking about it for a while, I felt that the Ming Empire was already crumbling under the impact of such internal and external troubles, coupled with natural disasters, and it was very likely that in the near future, China would fall into unprecedented turmoil, and at that time, it might be time for another force to replace the imperial court.

"Now, you shouldn't have any other opinions, right?" After leaving the test site, he asked me with a smile, "Let's do what I have planned, work in peace for a while, and then leave when I have the opportunity." ”

I pondered for a moment, and finally agreed with him. I was impressed by the achievements of Zhao Jin and his men, and I obeyed their orders.

After two blows from his master and him, I now have no previous insistence and face reality. For it has become clear to me that even if the Imperial Court were furious at the hijacking of us and the Cannons, they would not be able to save us.

In this way, after a journey of thousands of miles and years of careful preparation, I set foot on the fertile land of the Ming Kingdom, but just before I could finish anything, I was forcibly taken away and became a craftsman.

Lord, could you be harsher on my trials?

After nearly a month of living as an artisan, I became unrecognizable. Although I am mainly responsible for some technical guidance, the continuous work and the hot and soot-filled environment still make my hands rougher, my face is a little darker, and my face has a lot of wrinkles.

Looking at me like this, how many people would still believe that I was a missionary who came to the Ming Kingdom to spread culture and faith?

Life during this period was monotonous and full of boredom, and there were few opportunities to talk to each other - perhaps because of the fear that we would connect with each other in private, our dormitories were separated as much as possible, and our conversations were constantly monitored.

The hard work also made us lose the interest in chatting every day - we would be woken up by the guards at dawn and then go into the factory with the other craftsmen to work until the evening, dragging our exhausted bodies back to the dormitory.

In this miserable life, we can only rely on praying to the Lord to support ourselves, may the Lord bless us!

One thing must be acknowledged, though. Compared to the factories we encountered in Europe and other parts of the Ming Kingdom, the food here was very good, and we could eat meat or fish and shrimp almost every day, which also kept my and other craftsmen's bodies from being destroyed by the hard work.

In my conversations with other craftsmen, I found that they were very grateful to Zhao Jin for having such an adequate livelihood, and these poor people had been living in hell and therefore cared more about survival than freedom.

Here, I also heard a rumor that I don't know if it is true or not, they said that Zhao Jin's surname is the same as the royal family name of a dynasty before the Ming Empire, and it is very likely that he is the remnant of the imperial family of the previous dynasty, but he has not recognized it because he is worried about the persecution of the imperial court.

I don't know if this rumor is true or not, but it is widely circulated here, not only among the craftsmen and administrators, but also among the soldiers stationed here.

I can see that, regardless of the facts, they at least want it to be true.

Because of this, they did not have the psychological burden of betraying the Ming court.

Just as I was getting numb in the midst of this unchanging day, and I began to adapt to this life and forget my original mission, the turning point that I had been longing for from the bottom of my heart finally came.

On a snowy day, I suddenly received a notice that I and a few of my colleagues were going to be received by the office. When I heard the news, my enthusiasm, which had almost been extinguished, finally rekindled.

I'm afraid I need to explain this title to you so that you can understand the significance of this meeting.

The artillery factory where we are located is operated under the management of the Craftsman's Office.

And this craftsman hall, like the agricultural reclamation hall and the trade hall I told you before, is an institution set up by Zhao Jin himself.

Although it may not seem to be as large as the first two institutions, it also has huge resources - under Zhao Jin's rules, the ironwork workshops, wineries, and even shipyards in Zhao Jin's sphere of influence are all under its management.

In addition to the huge power, what is even more awe-inspiring is the identity of the hall himself - the name of the hall is Xu Housheng, and he is Zhao Jin's brother-in-law!

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