Chapter 985 The Dutch and the Japanese colluded

(0985)

【Today's first update is delivered!】

Zhang Zhun's life in Sado Island was mainly about understanding the production of gold and silver mines. With Shen Kunshan, he spent five days traveling all the main gold and silver mines on Sado Island. He also had a deeper understanding of the mining industry.

The gold and silver of Sado Island are placed underground. As long as you have the ability to dig it out, it belongs to you. It is no longer easy for you to dig it out from the ground. It is even more difficult to dig it into gold or silver.

The silver refining method adopted at that time was mainly the "sort blowing method". In silver ore, the content of silver is generally very low, and it is very difficult to directly refine. Because lead and silver are completely soluble and have a low melting point, lead was added when refining silver in ancient times, so that silver was dissolved in lead and achieved silver enrichment. Then, air was blown to oxidize the lead, and into the furnace ash, so that the silver was separated.

The basic principles of the soot blowing method are the same, but the effects may be very different when actually being made, which involves many details. A skilled silver smelting worker may extract three cents of silver from several silver ores. However, if a silver smelting worker may only extract about two cents of silver from the same amount of silver ore from the same origin, and even, it may be just a little more than one cent.

Excluding the factors of silver ore itself, these detailed technologies are seriously related to the output of gold and silver. Don’t look at the difference between three cents of silver and two cents of silver. The difference is very small, and over time, the quantity will be very large. Zhang Zhun calculated that if all technical workers can reach a high level, the monthly silver output of Sado Island can be increased by at least 30%. Therefore, it is very important to encourage the progress of refining technology.

Zhang Zhun implemented the same set of the Hu Ben Army in Sado Island. Technical inventions will be rewarded. His daily production is also strictly calculated according to the output. At the same time, every refining worker can extract a certain proportion from his own labor results. These measures greatly enhance the labor enthusiasm of skilled workers.

To be honest, Zhang Zhun is very eager for money at present. He basically won’t consider whether lead poisoning is safe for mining. The only thing he needs is yellow gold and white silver. He told Shen Kunshan without any concealment that he must try his best to hollow out all the gold and silver on Sado Island as fast as possible.

The Hu Ben Army has enough manpower and material resources to expand more troops and produce more warships. The only thing that is lacking at present is sufficient financial resources. Most of the original wealth of the Hu Ben Army was obtained by looting. Now, with the expansion of the Hu Ben Army's control area, basically, the rich areas have been controlled. Even if the areas you enter will be robbed, they will not be able to grab much money.

By this time, it is very important to establish a stable and legitimate financial system. In addition to the tax of 40 kilograms per mu of land and the vigorous encouragement of the development of industry and commerce, the Hu Ben Army should consider more about how to plunder the silver from overseas.

For the time being, it is impossible to accumulate wealth in the world by doing business. The only feasible thing is a violent means. This violent means is to control the world's main gold and silver mines in your own hands.

At Sado Island in its heyday, 10 million taels of silver could be excavated every year. Of course, Zhang Zhun could not let go of such a money tree. If it weren't for the difficulty of controlling Shimiami Yinshan, Zhang Zhun would have to take action against Shimiami Yinshan.

"We need to invest more manpower!"

“More equipment needs to be installed!”

"We need to invent more technology!"

At the end of the inspection, Zhang Zhun said seriously to Shen Kunshan.

Zhang Zhun was basically satisfied with Shen Kunshan's current work attitude. In the first month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Sado Island's gold output reached more than 3,400 taels; silver output reached more than 48,000 taels. If gold was exchanged for silver, it would be close to 100,000 taels. Such mining volume was already quite good for the Hu Ben Army that had controlled Sado Island for a short time.

However, the situation faced by the Hu Ben Army is quite complex, the opponents are becoming stronger and stronger, and the challenges faced are becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, Sado Island must play a greater role. Zhang Zhun hopes that in the next few years, Sado Island's monthly gold and silver production can be increased to about 200,000 taels.

Especially the Dutch's blocking made Zhang Zhun feel a lot of pressure. It is indeed too difficult to defeat a giant like the Dutch. The only way to defeat the Dutch is to have a fleet that is stronger than the Dutch. There is no other way. However, it is not easy to surpass the peak state of the Dutch in terms of combat effectiveness of the fleet?

As the Hu Ben Navy continued to move south and the control area continued to expand, the information about the Dutch began to be exposed to was increasing. From the captured Zheng family fleet sailors and the Hu Ben Navy obtained a lot of valuable information about the Dutch. The more information you contacted and the more you learned about the Dutch, the more you would feel the strength of the Dutch fleet.

Not to mention the number of warships, the number of giants from the Dutch East India Company, with a large number of displacements of more than 1,500 tons, is a headache for the Hu Ben Navy. It should be noted that the largest warship owned by the Hu Ben Navy currently has a displacement of only more than 600 tons, which is not on the same level as the other party. What's more, in the Netherlands, there are super giants with displacements of more than 2,000 tons. When necessary, they will also come to the East to support it.

Every time he thought of a decisive battle with the Dutch, Zhang Zhun wanted to have 100 million taels of silver overnight, and then it was converted into a continuous warship. Money! Money! Zhang Zhun's mind was full of money!

...

When Zhang Jun inspected the production of gold and silver mines on Sado Island, the Japanese army did not launch a second attack. The Tiger Army Marines were vigilant every day and closely monitored the movements of the Japanese army. However, the Japanese army did not move. After Maeda Ryota retreated, there was no news for the time being. Originally, there was no news for the second echelon of Sato Ryota. All the Japanese army seemed to have stopped and stopped moving.

However, it is certain that the Japanese army will definitely launch a second large-scale attack. The Japanese shogunate will definitely not give up easily for Sado Island, the strategic location of Treasure Island. I guess Ryota Maeda, who has been in a bad mood, will not give up easily. Therefore, the Tiger Ben Marines dare not take it lightly at all. They prepared more thunder cannons and more mines to welcome the arrival of the second wave of attacks of the Japanese army.

This time Zhang Zhun arrived, he did not bring any troops, but only brought enough black gunpowder. As he arrived, he was super-large merchant ships transformed with three-masted gunships. Each merchant ship transported more than 400 tons. In total, there were ten large merchant ships. The black gunpowder alone transported more than 1,000 tons. In the end, it was more than 2 million kilograms.

One of the benefits of the Hu Ben Army's control of Liaodong was that all kinds of raw materials for black gunpowder could be fully supplied. Needless to mention, charcoal was everywhere. Glauber's salt could effectively gather through a large number of farmers. Sulfur was found, and there were a considerable number of sulfur ores around Guangning City.

With enough black gunpowder, Fang He and Liu Dong had the capital to squander. It was natural that a killer weapon like the flying thunder cannon was created desperately. No matter how many people came to the Japanese army, thousands of explosive packs were thrown out, which was enough for the Japanese army to drink a pot.

"Sir, there is emergency information."

Wang Junyu suddenly arrived and whispered in Zhang Zhun's ear.

"explain."

Zhang Zhun responded calmly.

"Sir, the Dutch fleet appears in Hiroshima."

Wang Junyu whispered.

Zhang Zhun's face changed slightly.

The Dutch fleet actually drove to Hiroshima? What did they come to Hiroshima for?

"Is the message accurate?"

After pondering for a while, Zhang Zhun asked in a deep voice.

"exact."

Wang Junyu said obscenely.

Zhang Zhun subconsciously looked at the Japanese map on the wall, and his face looked a little bad. As the commander-in-chief of the Hu Ben Army, Zhang Zhun had developed the ability to not show his emotions in front of his subordinates. He would not panic even if he had big things. Being a superior person is one of the basic psychological qualities.

However, the news reported by Wang Junyu did make Zhang Zhun's expression change a little. There is no other reason, the consequences involved in this news are very serious. If you want to go deeper, you will find that all aspects involved in this matter are even more troublesome. This may also have a significant impact on the future strategy of the Hu Ben Army.

The Dutch fleet actually drove to Hiroshima, which was indeed a troublesome thing. The Hu Ben Army bullied Japan, and the Japanese did not have strong maritime power, and the Hu Ben Navy could *** them to the fullest. The Hu Ben Navy's navy shelled Navy and Hiroshima were clearly bullied by the Japanese without strong enough navy.

However, the arrival of the Dutch greatly made up for this shortcoming of the Japanese. Even this shortcoming became a sharp blade, which may pose a threat to the Hu Ben Navy. Zhang Zhun himself knew very well. The current Hu Ben Navy does not have any qualifications and directly challenged the Dutch. If the decisive battle between the two sides really occurs, the Hu Ben Navy will most likely suffer a loss.

Why did the Dutch collude with the Japanese? What is the reason? What factors make the two hook up? Is it the Japanese take the initiative or the Dutch take the initiative? This series of questions lingered repeatedly in Zhang Zhun's mind. These questions are very critical and must be clarified as soon as possible, especially the last question.

If the Japanese took the initiative, it would not be surprising. If you were beaten and you were unable to fight back, you naturally had to find a helper. On the sea of ​​East Asia, the only one who could help the Japanese vent their anger was the Dutch. As long as the Japanese were willing to pay a large enough price, you could still invite the Dutch. If you pay the money and I work hard, the matter was so simple.

However, if the Dutch took the initiative, the situation behind it would be more complicated. The Tiger Army shelled Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of last year. Today, only three or four months have passed. If the Japanese took the initiative to seek help from the Dutch, then the Dutch's reaction was really positive! He mobilized the fleet so quickly and entered Hiroshima.

The Dutch's abnormality is here. Logically speaking, such a major matter must be negotiated and decided by the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company. The seventeen shareholders of the Dutch East India Company are all big names in the Netherlands. They are usually very busy and basically only discuss major events once a quarter.

The East India Company needs to report what happened here to the Netherlands, and only after the Netherlands makes a decision can it be implemented specifically. Three or four months are not enough for sailing between East Asia and the Atlantic Ocean. Such a major decision will definitely be negotiated when it comes to the Netherlands. Such a major event cannot be decided without more than half a year or even a year.

Why did the Dutch respond so quickly? This can only explain one problem-the Dutch East India Company had a plan for Japan in the morning. The Japanese came to the door, and they immediately implemented the plan. It was even possible that the senior executives of the Dutch East India Company found that the situation in Japan had changed, so they took the initiative to come to the door.

So, why did the Dutch come to the Japanese? What kind of purpose do the Dutch want to achieve? No profit can be achieved. It is estimated that the Dutch are so proactive, I am afraid that they will intervene in the Japanese battlefield. Damn it, if they come early or not, but it is really a bit challenging to come at this time!

"Order Dorgon to investigate clearly as soon as possible."

Zhang Zhun said in a deep voice.

"clear!"

Wang Junyu agreed to go.

"Fang He!"

Zhang Zhun suddenly shouted again.

"arrive!"

Fang He arrived hurriedly.

"Things are a bit troublesome, the Dutch and the Japanese are hooked up."

Zhang Zhun said straight to the point.

"ah?"

Fang He's face changed slightly.

The strength of the Dutch Navy made him feel strong pressure. The key to the Hu Ben Army landing in Japan was the navy. After all, the Marine Corps still relied on the navy to fight. Only a strong navy could give birth to a powerful Marine Corps. The battle on Sado Island fully proved this point. The Hu Ben Army Navy completely overwhelmed the Japanese Navy and allowed the Marine Corps to fight without any worries.

At the beginning, the Tiger Army Navy gave the Japanese a little color in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The original purpose was to shock the Japanese and make the Japanese morale even more depressed. Now it seems that this shock seems a bit too much. The frightened Japanese shogunate rushed to find the Dutch to stand out.
Chapter completed!