However, my dignity made it difficult for me to make the decision to take off my priestly robe, so I had to stand there hesitantly.

I wanted to ask someone for help and ask about something I was curious about, but the craftsmen who were constantly coming and going next to me were walking around. They were all very focused on their work, as if I, a weird-looking foreigner, didn't exist. This was not the case.

It makes me feel very strange, because from what I have seen along the way in the land of Ming Dynasty, craftsmen are very discriminated against. Not only do they have low incomes, but they also have no social status. Sometimes they are even used as slaves. Therefore,

They often lack the energy to do things - this careless attitude towards craftsmen has only one result, that is, this nation that once created a glorious civilization and creations is now making very crude utensils that can only be

Learn how to make guns from us Europeans.

But here, the spiritual outlook I saw is completely different. These craftsmen are very motivated, dedicated and diligent.

Why is this? How did Zhao Jin improve the enthusiasm of these craftsmen? Another doubt came to my mind. However, no one answered me or even looked at me.

After a while, my state of being ignored was finally lifted.

A person in charge here approached me.

Perhaps it was because I had been numbed by too many surprises recently. When I found out that he was a European, I was no longer particularly surprised.

He was about forty or fifty years old, with gray and white hair, a simple, weathered face, a very kind attitude, and a very controlled manner. He gave me the impression that he looked more like a soldier than a craftsman.

.

Thankfully he knows some German, so we were able to communicate quickly.

From his mouth, I learned that he was originally a Spanish. After serving the king for a long time, he was rescued by De Rocheford due to injury in the Netherlands, and then followed him around the world for many years.

Finally, we came here together to serve Zhao Jin.

I admit that I was very surprised at the time - I didn't expect that such a domineering de Rocheford would be kind-hearted, let alone that such a kind person would hang out with him.

I hope God can forgive me for my prejudice against him because of our first meeting.

After this kind veteran told me his experience, in return, and perhaps as a way to vent, I also told him about the difficult situation I was facing now, and implicitly revealed that I hoped to get his help.

He kindly listened to my confession, and then told me that he understood my pain, but suggested that I better cooperate here and work for Zhao Jin's workshop first, and then find ways to find opportunities to go out.

"But I am a priest? I came to China to preach, not to stay here in obscurity as a craftsman. I am not very good at machinery..." I answered with pain.

"You'd better put aside your priestly dignity here, no one will care about this. You'd better figure out how to do the job assigned to you. Only in this way can you make our employer recognize your value. After all,

Now he only recognizes cannons and not God." This is how he answered me.

His answer shocked me. Then, I thought about his words carefully,

In a sense, he is right. People like Zhao Jin must be absolute utilitarians. He will not easily believe in our preaching. Only when he gets definite results first will he believe in and accept the Lord's teachings.

Glory.

Then, at his suggestion, I changed out of my heavy priest's robe and put on a short coat commonly worn by the craftsmen here.

The style of this short coat is very strange. It seems to be specially designed for the convenience of work. It has no sleeves and there are some logos on the front and back of the chest, indicating which part of the workshop is responsible for which process.

The short coat I got is red, and the craftsmen here generally wear red short coats. It seems that this means that I have officially become a craftsman here. By the way, he is wearing a green short coat, and he

The main assistants-the senior craftsmen and apprentices wear blue short coats.

After putting on this short coat, I felt that it was not so stuffy inside the workshop, and then I took a tour of this large workshop under his leadership.

This workshop is very large and is used to make gun barrels. The craftsmen are standing or walking around everywhere, and no one cares to look at us.

Since I had decided to help Zhao Jin's people cast the cannon first, I watched these craftsmen at work carefully.

From that strange-looking furnace, the cast copper was melted into slurry, and then two layers of slurry were brushed on the inside of each flap of the clay mold. Finally, the metal slurry was poured into the mold. After the mold was poured,

, it will slowly cool and form. The craftsmen immediately peel off the mold in order, gradually revealing the smooth gun body. After the final cooling, it becomes the gun barrel, and then is carefully washed by the craftsmen, and finally is used as a product.

Trained craftsmen hauled away.

All the work is so orderly, it looks like the entire factory is running as a whole.

"Sir, what do you think?"

With a bit of the smugness of a veteran, he asked me kindly.

It was obvious that he was getting my praise for his performance, so I told him that I thought the cannon casting here was very fast, and it was obvious that the workers were very skilled and serious. This was a very efficient artillery factory, at least I was there.

The Ming Empire had never seen such a good artillery factory.

"Not just the Ming Dynasty!" He shook his head. "I dare say that this is one of the most advanced artillery factories in the world. It's just smaller in scale than those of the King of Spain."

For the sake of politeness, I did not refute his words, but he had already seen my reservations.

Perhaps because of his military pride, he suddenly became very serious.

"Sir, please don't doubt my words. I served in the Spanish army and fought in Italy and the Netherlands. I think I have more authority to speak on this issue than you!"

Then, he waved his hand in a heroic manner, and several craftsmen who were obviously apprentices gathered around him, and then they took me out of the factory together.

I thought he would punish me for being disrespectful, but I soon discovered that I was wrong again. He just took me to the large open space we passed just now.

Then, he took me to the center of the open space, and then walked to a patch of dead grass. Strangely, these patches of grass were covered with gray-yellow cloth.

Then, he made a gesture, and an apprentice craftsman walked up and peeled off the pieces of cloth.

Only then did I realize that there were actually many cannons placed here.

These cannons come in all kinds, ranging in caliber from large to small, and some can be seen to be purchased products. Even after careful observation, I found that the cannons I brought from Macau were all placed

here.

Seeing that the precious cannons we donated to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty were placed here by these people without any hesitation, I suddenly felt some silent heartache.

At the same time, I also understood that the large open space I saw just now, in addition to separating various workshops, should also be used as an experimental production area.

Then, these apprentices pushed several cannons out from the grass.

At this time, I suddenly discovered something that surprised me even more - the mounts of these cannons were completely different from the mounts I had seen before, whether they were European or Asian.

"Have you seen it? What a wonderful thing this is!" With an air of showing off and boasting, the veteran pointed at these cannons and shouted to me, "It is simply better than what I saw on the European battlefield.

It’s okay!”

After getting his permission, I walked in front of these cannons and looked at them carefully.

The first thing I looked at was a cannon. It was fixed on the gun carriage. The barrel was short (but a little longer than the mortar) and the caliber was relatively large. It could be seen that it was a field gun that could fire grenades. This kind of gun

It was mounted on a two-wheeled gun carriage and could be fired with artillery shells at a shooting angle of 12 degrees to 30 degrees. I stretched out my hand to touch the green gun body and found that it was very smooth and obviously well maintained, as if

It can even be dragged directly to the battlefield.

After careful observation, I came to the conclusion that this cannon is Europe's leading in terms of production technology and maintenance level. This veteran is not exaggerating. Compared with it, I would like to contribute to the Ming Dynasty.

The gift from the court is nothing more than a defective product.

What interests me even more is the mount and carriage used by this cannon.

This is a wooden gun carriage, made of fine and thick wood. The wooden wheels look a little black, and the axle is very high, almost as tall as the cannon. In the middle of the gun carriage, there is a movable wooden frame.

, the cannon is chained to a fixed bracket in the middle of the gun carriage, and can then move with the movement of the gun carriage.

Although this kind of gun carriage looks a bit strange, practice has proven to be a very ideal design - its structure is very exquisite, the gun carriage and the gun carriage can move freely, and relying on this kind of gun carriage, even if it is a heavy copper

The artillery can also be flexibly maneuvered on the battlefield under the operation of several artillery units, arriving at the battlefield where it is needed in time.

This kind of sports car is more sophisticated and advanced than what I have seen in Europe.

As a result, I moved my hands from the gun body to the bracket, and then carefully inspected the gun carriage.

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Chapter completed!