coobybook Chapter 469 Artillery Battalion
Chapter 469 Artillery Battalion
Chapter 469 Artillery Battalion
"Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao, come here, your husband wants to have a good talk with you." Of all the babies who had given birth to sons, Zhang Jiao was the easiest to fool, so Wang Wenzhou wanted Sun Xiaohua to marry Dorgon's daughter.
Zhang Jiao pouted and said aggrievedly, "Husband, Jiao Jiao will listen to you, but you can't bully Jiao Jiao!"
"Come here!" Wang Wenzhou hugged Zhang Jiao tightly and whispered, "It's like this, this is good news. Dorgon promised that whoever marries his daughter will become a prince of the Qing Dynasty. Jiaojiao, even though we're in the Ming Dynasty, what if the Qing Dynasty destroys the Ming Dynasty one day? We need to have a way out, right? Would I harm our little Sun Xiaohua?"
"Hmm..." Zhang Jiao frowned, unsure whether she should agree.
Wang Wenzhou continued to deceive her, saying, "Jiaojiao, you can't follow Ruru's example. Liu Xiaohua is already the Duke of Zhongyi, so of course he can choose not to marry. We, as husband and wife, should at least get a title for Sun Xiaohua. It's difficult to do so in the Ming Dynasty, but even in the small Qing Dynasty, he's still a prince."
"Okay!" Zhang Jiaobao was convinced.
"Sigh..." Liu Rushi sighed softly. Since Li Mei's daughter wasn't Wang Wenzhou's child, she felt embarrassed to continue targeting Li Mei. Mainly, she had already promised Wang Wenzhou that she wouldn't interfere with his actions in the future. However, Liu Rushi couldn't understand why Wang Wenzhou always favored the Tartars, even believing that the Tartars would eventually replace the Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, Wei Yongfu and Fu Xingping arrived.
Wang Wenzhou had already trained his sailors, all of whom were former labor camp veterans and whose loyalty was absolutely guaranteed. The reason for emphasizing loyalty was that the sailing warships Wang Wenzhou built were the product of cheating, and wouldn't appear for at least another 100 years. In this era, that would be considered cutting-edge technology, and it absolutely could not be leaked.
Wang Wenzhou instructed, "Fu Xingping, take the sailors to Liaodong to set sail and meet me in Dengzhou. The Hanshan Supermarket in the capital will be temporarily managed by Zhu Yi."
Fu Xingping quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your subordinate obeys."
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Wei Yongfu, you take the Iron-Blooded Anti-Traitor Battalion and come with me to Korea. If there's a chance, I'll take you to Japan for a visit."
"Your subordinate obeys!" Wei Yongfu quickly replied.
"Alright, you all go and get ready," Wang Wenzhou said.
After Wei Yongfu and his companion left, Wang Wenzhou held a family meeting with the babies.
Wang Ying and Chen Yuanyuan also rushed back from Tian Wan's residence. Liu Rushi, Sheng Lan, Qi Siyan, Zhang Jiao, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Liu Hanxue, and Zhang Rong, a total of ten babies, and Li Mei and Mu Yiyun, two babies, attended the meeting.
Looking at his naked babies, Wang Wenzhou felt both happy and frustrated. He said with a wry smile, "Babies, babies, we've finally reunited as a family, but the Emperor has sent me on a mission to Korea. With great power comes great responsibility. For the future of the country and the hope of the nation, I have no choice but to sacrifice my family for the greater good."
Liu Rushi rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou. This guy's mouth is really something; he can come up with a whole set of arguments for everything he says.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Babies, Korea is so much fun! This time, we can pee on the top of Mount Baekdu, or we can have sex at the Korean palace in Seoul. In short, let's treat this as our honeymoon."
Liu Rushi said, "Wang Wenzhou, it's not that I don't want to go with you, but the key is that Liu Xiaohua is too young. It's such a long journey, and we have to take a boat. What if Liu Xiaohua gets sick from the long and tiring journey?"
Wang Wenzhou said with a mournful face, "Ruru, we've finally reunited as a family, are we going to have to separate again?"
Liu Rushi retorted sarcastically, "You're the one who sacrifices your own family for the greater good, aren't you? Don't worry, I'll take good care of our son while I'm at home."
As soon as Liu Rushi finished speaking, all the mothers chimed in, wanting to stay home and look after their children. Wang Wenzhou was quite helpless, but thinking about it, it made sense; after all, the children were still young, so he decided to let them stay in the capital with their mothers.
Ultimately, it was decided that the baby, who did not yet have children, would go to North Korea with Wang Wenzhou.
Li Mei suddenly spoke up, "Lord Wang, I also want to go to Korea."
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, your daughter is so young, what if she gets sick on the way?"
Li Mei thought for a moment and then said, "Lord Wang, let her stay in the capital and be taken care of by your wives and concubines. I have been away from home for several years and miss my parents very much."
“Okay,” Wang Wenzhou nodded in agreement.
……
Two weeks later, in Dengzhou Prefecture.
Shandong Governor Li Maofang and Dengzhou-Laizhou General Chen Hongfan hosted a banquet to welcome Wang Wenzhou.
Li Maofang was also a member of the Donglin Party. He had long received a letter from a Donglin Party leader instructing him to treat Wang Wenzhou, this mad dog, well and send him to Korea as soon as possible to prevent further trouble.
Li Maofang understood that Wang Wenzhou was someone he couldn't afford to offend, so he accompanied Wang Wenzhou all the way from Jinan to Dengzhou.
Wang Wenzhou, with one arm around Wang Ying and the other around Li Mei, said, "Lord Li, I have a favor to ask of you."
Li Maofang quickly replied, "Lord Wang, you are an imperial envoy, and we are colleagues. Please feel free to give me any instructions. As long as it is within my power, I will do my best to assist you."
Wang Wenzhou took a sip of wine from Wang Ying's mouth and said with a smile, "I wonder how many cannons Dengzhou has?"
"Huh?" Li Maofang was very puzzled. Why was Wang Wenzhou asking about this?
Li Maofang was also unsure, so he asked, "General Chen, you've been in Dengzhou all this time and are quite familiar with its defenses. Could you answer Lord Wang's question?"
Chen Hongfan thought for a moment and then said, "When Sun Yuanhua and Lord Sun were in Dengzhou, they formed an artillery battalion with more than 400 cannons of various sizes. Later, Kong Youde and others rebelled, and Lord Sun was implicated and executed by the court. The artillery battalion was also destroyed as a result. Some of the cannons were taken to Liaodong by Kong Youde and others, and from then on, the Tartars also had cannons."
Wang Wenzhou nodded. The Ming Dynasty's demise, broadly speaking, was due to a confluence of factors. Sun Yuanhua's artillery battalion in Dengzhou employed not only Portuguese craftsmen but also Portuguese mercenaries. It could be said that Dengzhou's artillery technology at the time was not far behind that of the West. Moreover, legend has it that the Ming Dynasty even produced exploding shells, more than 100 years earlier than the West. But then, the rebellion of the "Three Miners of Shandong" allowed the Manchus to learn the Ming Dynasty's firearms technology.
Chen Hongfan continued, "Currently, Dengzhou only has about 50 cannons of various sizes."
Wang Wenzhou frowned and said regretfully, "Too few! No matter where these cannons are, unload them and load them onto the ship. I want to take them with me."
"Huh?" Li Maofang and Chen Hongfan looked at each other in bewilderment. Why did Wang Wenzhou, that mad dog, need so many cannons?
"Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly! I'll write a memorial to the Emperor right now and ask him to allocate funds to rebuild the artillery battalion. Moreover, you must work hard to research and manufacture artillery. Don't worry, there will be plenty of money, but the artillery must be built well for me!" Wang Wenzhou said.
Li Maofang and Chen Hongfan didn't understand why Wang Wenzhou valued artillery so much, but since there was money to be made, how could they not be willing?
Li Maofang quickly clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Lord Wang, for securing funding for us."
Wang Wenzhou smiled and said, "Lord Li, you're too kind! We're all serving the country, there's no need to thank me!"
Li Maofang smiled and nodded. He was a little surprised. Everyone said that Wang Wenzhou was a mad dog, but when he met Wang Wenzhou today, he felt that Wang Wenzhou was very friendly and easy to talk to.