xymnovel Chapter 69 Throw a punch to avoid getting punched back
Chapter 69 Throw a punch to avoid getting punched back
Chapter 70 Throw a punch to avoid a hundred punches
Chapter 69 What made Chen Ying happiest was that he now had horses, a total of more than 160. He had to admit that these horses were indeed very good, each one meeting the standards of a warhorse, exceptionally spirited, and he couldn't find any fault with them.
Not many people followed Chalun to Dalu Island, but it was a good start. Chen Ying finally understood why the Shanxi merchants had risen so quickly. The eight major Shanxi merchant families each had tens of millions of taels of silver in assets, mainly because it was too easy to make money from these tribes.
A few dozen kilograms of salt can be exchanged for a cow, while a sheep is only worth a small iron pot, weighing less than three kilograms. If you were to exchange it for cloth, a few bolts of cloth could be exchanged for a horse.
Dalu Island is too small to have enough space to raise sheep. If they were to exchange them for cattle, Chen Ying would be reluctant to slaughter them. Shahewei is short of cattle and still needs them to plow the fields.
These 1,600-plus sheep were quickly slaughtered, their hides sent to workshops for processing into leather clothing or shoes, some of the mutton was quickly cut up, and some was cured and dried using traditional methods with heavy salting.
The remaining mutton, blood, and offal were sent to a cannery, a newly established factory on Dalu Island, located by the sea.
Su Mei asked, puzzled, "My lord, why did you build such a complicated workshop?"
Chen Ying's positioning of the cannery was to sell this kind of food that could be preserved for a long time to maritime merchants. In fact, the general maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty did not have much need for canned food, since it only took a little over half a month to travel from south to north, and there were many ports along the coast where they could dock.
The problem is that the Spanish and Dutch needed this kind of strategic material the most. Ocean voyage is a technical job, and experienced sailors are more difficult to train than archers and knights.
Chen Ying believed that he could make ten times the profit from a single can of food, and that the Spanish would be eager to buy it. He also believed that the canning factory would be the main source of revenue for Da Lu Island in the future.
Chen Ying initially thought that canned food production was very simple, but the problem was that producing canned food in the Ming Dynasty was really too difficult. He initially wanted to use tinplate to produce cans, but the problem was that Chen Ying did not have a rolling mill at the moment.
Chen is very familiar with rolling mills. In fact, rolling mills can be understood as enlarged versions of noodle presses, and the core principles of the two are the same.
In later generations, there was a noodle factory that could manually operate gyroplanes. It sounds absurd, but many core principles of industrial production are actually common.
Chen Ying's biggest headache was actually the power source. The rolling mill required a lot of power and could not rely entirely on animal power. Otherwise, animal power would only be used for small-scale production, which would be very costly.
Of course, Europe at the same time had already produced machines similar to rolling mills; otherwise, it would have been impossible to produce silver coins. Chen Ying did not intend to buy them directly from Europeans, as he could also manufacture such machines.
Just like at the Yongcheng farm implement factory, molten iron is refined into molten steel, and then the molten steel is directly cast into rollers, and that's basically it.
Modern canneries operate on this model, where molten steel refined in a refining furnace is directly cold-cast into steel bars. These bars are about one foot long and wide, and about one finger thick. The still-cooled steel plates are then transported to the rolling mill via a water-driven production line, passing through rollers on the production line.
This type of steel plate is actually low-carbon steel, which has good ductility and processing performance. After cold rolling, it begins to stretch. After layer-by-layer cold rolling, it forms a thin steel plate with a thickness of two millimeters. Then, after pickling, it is galvanized to form tinplate.
Rolls of tinplate are extremely tough and easy to shape. The rolls of tinplate are sent to the next workshop, where they are unrolled on the assembly line and cut directly into equal-sized cubes by a hydraulic impact machine. Three equal tinplate cubes are placed into a mold and then directly pressed by the impact machine to form canned food boxes.
These boxes, along with their lids, are sent to the canning workshop. Workers in the processing plant pack the pre-processed meat into the boxes, close the lids, and send them to the impact machine via an assembly line. The impact machine presses the lids and the corner pieces of the boxes along the edges of the boxes, making them stick together tightly and impossible to break apart.
These cans are not finished yet. They still need to be sent over and steamed with high-temperature steam for an hour before a can is considered complete.
"Because it makes money!"
The overall technology of the Ming Dynasty is very fragmented. For example, galvanizing technology is very mature, cold rolling process is also very mature, and impact technology is also mature. It's just that no one has integrated these related technologies together.
Chen Ying only mentioned wanting to manufacture a cold-pressing machine, and immediately a craftsman pointed out that this was the machine used by the Armor Bureau to manufacture armor. Even Chen Ying thought that the armor of the Ming Dynasty was made piece by piece by hand, but that was not the case.
The production of armor during the Ming Dynasty was far greater than that during the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for a light armor to cost only four taels and four mace of silver. Even with only four taels and four mace of silver, officials were still able to embezzle a considerable amount of it.
Their armor plates are made by cold-rolling steel plates and then cutting them into equal-sized pieces using giant shears similar to a stamping press. After polishing, they are assembled, which is slightly more complicated than cold-cast armor plates.
Actually, there isn't much of a problem with using cold casting to produce plate armor, and it even has some cost advantages. However, once lamellar armor is cold cast, the cost is actually much higher.
The armor of the Ming Dynasty was not cold-cast from molten steel, but from wrought iron. Wrought iron has good ductility, but it is not hard.
Su Mei asked in bewilderment, "Sir, making such a box costs at least two qian of silver, plus one fen and five li of silver for a jin of mutton. So, the cost of one box containing one jin of meat is two qian and one fen and five li of silver, which is almost fifteen times more expensive than a jin of mutton. We need to sell it for at least two qian and three fen of silver to make a profit. Who can afford such expensive mutton?"
"So you need to use your brain!"
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Lamb can be used to make many dishes, such as lamb and radish, braised lamb, and half a pound of radish in a one-pound can of lamb?"
Chen Ying was well aware that many canned luncheon meats in later generations had no meat flavor at all and were just starch. Of course, the high cost of tinplate was because the technology was not yet mature and was still in the exploratory stage.
"That's too expensive. Most people can't afford it. Rich people can eat fresh mutton, but this kind of canned food won't sell!"
'
"You just don't understand!"
Chen Ying was full of confidence. He planned to reduce the cost of canned food. In the future, when the tinplate technology matured, he heard that the cost of canned food could be reduced to two cents. Of course, it would still be more expensive than fresh mutton, but in the middle of nowhere at sea, it was good enough to have meat to eat. What more could one ask for?
"If this kind of mutton can be stored for six months without spoiling, do you think it's worth buying?"
"Six months?"
"Six months is my conservative estimate; as long as it's kept in a cool, shady place, it won't spoil for ten months!"
Su Mei immediately realized the business opportunity. In the humid and hot southern region, fresh meat will smell bad after two hours unless it is pickled or salted.
When people slaughter cattle or pigs, they usually find buyers in advance; otherwise, the meat will spoil, and often they have to throw away the excess spoiled meat, which is a huge waste.
Even if it's a bit expensive, I can accept it, because it would be a greater waste if it went bad.
The Daludao Canned Food Workshop has just produced its first batch of finished products. Inside the steam-filled box, Chen Ying is picking up a still-warm can of braised mutton and carefully examining the seal.
Just then, Chen Yongren rushed in, his face ashen. "Godfather, something's happened!"
"What is it?"
"Our caravan heading north for trade—was robbed near Shuangchengwei!"
"What?"
Chen Ying slowly turned around, his face grim, and said, "Explain yourself."
"Yes, five days ago, our third caravan heading north was on its way to the new trading post agreed upon with the Ula tribe, passing through Shuangchengwei—"
The site, which belonged to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission in the early Ming Dynasty, is located near present-day Vladivostok. It has been abandoned by this time and is regarded as a buffer zone by various forces.
"The enemy had at least three or four hundred cavalry, all dressed as Haidong Jurchens, but they advanced and retreated with a clear strategy. Our guards fought desperately, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered and the terrain was unfavorable—sixty large carts, fully loaded with salt, iron, cloth, and tea bricks, worth nearly ten thousand taels, were all robbed. Of the one hundred and twenty-six guards and more than three hundred men who accompanied them, only nineteen escaped, and the fate of the rest is unknown!"
"What audacity!"
Chen Ying was furious, thinking he was easy to bully.
Su Mei hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My lord, please calm down! Shuangchengwei is a no-man's-land, a mixed bag of bandits, defeated soldiers, and small Jurchen tribes. The situation is complicated. I will immediately use the Jinyiwei's channels to contact the tribal chiefs who may be involved in this matter and see if we can mediate to ransom the goods and people—"
"redemption?"
Chen Ying coldly replied, "You robbed my goods, killed my men, and now you want me to ransom them? No way!"
"But, sir, the soldiers recruited by the Shahe Guard have only been trained for less than a month and are lax in their combat readiness—"
"Ninety-nine percent of the new soldiers recruited by Shahe Guard came from military households in various guards of Liaodong, or were from the border army. After more than a month of restorative training, they were almost ready!"
Chen Ying said calmly, "In this dog-eat-dog world, taking a step back won't lead to a brighter future; it will only make people think you're easy to bully, and then they'll take advantage of you. Today they dare to rob one of my caravans, tomorrow they'll dare to come to the shore of my Great Deer Island. Compromise? Mediation? That will only let everyone eyeing our piece of meat know that I'm a soft persimmon that can be manipulated at will!"
Although Chen Ying had never been to Shuangchengwei, the problem was that ordinary tribes would never rob caravans, because without caravans, they could not obtain external resources, and without salt and iron, they could not hunt.
Generally, tribes would rather trade than rob caravans. This is a very simple principle: if you rob a caravan, no more caravans will come to your area.
This indicates that someone is behind this. Chen Ying immediately thought of the people he had offended. He had offended quite a few people while trading in Liaodong, even though he did not trade with the Jurchens but only with the Jurchens.
But the interests of Shanxi merchants are likely to be harmed.
Su Mei said urgently, "My lord, please think it over! The Shuangcheng Guards are far from our control, the terrain is unknown, and the enemy situation is unclear. If we rashly send troops, what if—"
"There's no such thing as 'what if'."
Chen Ying interrupted Mei Dao, saying, "A single punch now will save you from a hundred later. I want everyone to see clearly what price they'll pay for messing with my people and stealing my goods! This battle won't just be fought, it will be fought hard, it will hurt, it will be etched into their hearts!"
"But this Great Deer Island—"
"They just want me to go, leaving behind an empty Dalu Island!"
Chen Ying initially discussed the conflict between the Shanxi merchants over interests, but the problem was that no matter how quickly the Shanxi merchants reacted, it was impossible for them to react in such a short time.
There are no telephones or internet now, so the Shanxi merchants couldn't possibly know what was happening in Liaodong so quickly. So the question is, who hates Chen Ying the most?
The answer is self-evident: Chen Ying had moved the wrong people, namely the more than 50,000 refugees from Ningyuan City. These 50,000 refugees were originally intended to annoy Sun Chengzong, but Chen Ying moved them to Dalu Island. Without these 50,000 refugees dragging him down, Sun Chengzong's pressure was greatly reduced.
So here's the question: are they going to deal with Chen Ying?
Dealing with Chen Ying was just a side effect; the main target was to disgust Sun Chengzong. As long as Chen Ying and his army were not on Dalu Island, Dalu Island would definitely be in chaos.
Chen Ying arrived at the training ground on Dalu Island. At that moment, the soldiers were training with muskets in hand, and the sound of muskets rang out everywhere.
The Shahe Guard should be the latest army established in the Ming Dynasty, having been formed just over a month ago. However, the problem is that this army is a nouveau riche army that is even inferior to the Imperial Guard.
Not only were all the soldiers fully armored, but their equipment was also extremely luxurious. The Tang Hengdao was a standard military sword, one for each soldier, which was slightly different from the various centurions. They were an overstaffed army.
Each squad has twelve men, and a general squad has five squads. Each general squad has sixty-one men, and a centurion has one hundred and twenty-two men. Every five centurions have a total of six hundred and ten men per division. Currently, the Dalu Island Garrison Command has four divisions and twenty centurion divisions under its jurisdiction, with a total of two thousand four hundred and fifty-seven men in the entire command.
"Chen Daniu!"
'
"Your humble servant is here!"
"Drummers, assemble!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers who were training immediately assembled and formed a huge square formation of 61 by 40. These soldiers stood tall and proud, with high morale.
"Greetings, Commander!"
Chen Ying looked at the assembled soldiers and said, "Do you know why I've called you all together?"
The soldiers were completely silent.
Chen Ying said calmly, "Because someone is disrupting our business. Our Shahe Guard is different from other guards. Other guards rely on farming to support their troops, while our Shahe Guard supports its troops through industry and commerce. The uniforms you wear, the food you eat, and the silver you receive are all made by the artisans in our workshops with their own hands. It is the caravan workers who sell their goods and exchange them for grain and silver. Our Shahe Trading Company is your provider. Now someone has robbed our Shahe Caravan of its goods and killed our people. What do you say we should do?"
Chen Daniu was the first to speak up: "Fuck them!"
"Yeah, fuck them!"
"First Division, step forward!"
Chen Ying looked at Chen Daniu and said, "Daniu, you stay on Dalu Island. The First Division and the five centurions, come with me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Two hours later, at the south pier of Dalu Island, battle flags fluttered in the wind.
Five hundred soldiers of the Shahe Guard stood solemnly at the bow of the ship, all clad in dark gray cotton-iron composite armor, wearing iron helmets and carrying packs. The arquebusiers carried the latest type of arquebuses on their shoulders, with improved range and reliability compared to the matchlock arquebuses, and had four thunder grenades (prototypes of hand grenades) and bayonets hanging from their waists; the swordsmen and pikemen were in neat formation; and there were also one hundred and twenty-two artillerymen hoisting ten linked thunder cannons onto the ship.