ATPnovel Chapter 111 Artillery Firing Table
Chapter 111 Artillery Firing Table
Chapter 111 Artillery Firing Table
"Commander, what are you recording?"
A middle-aged man with an Iberian appearance approached Zhang Kun and spoke respectfully.
This man, named João Rodriguez, was a rather legendary Portuguese Jesuit missionary:
He left his hometown at the young age of thirteen and came to Japan with Jesuit missionaries, where he stayed for 21 years.
Lu Ruohan received his education at Usuzaka and Funai Theological Seminary in Bungo Prefecture, learning Japanese and kana, as well as Chinese.
In the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign, the thirty-year-old Lu Ruohan met with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Because of his fluent Japanese, he gained the favor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
He was kept in Kyoto by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and served as a translator, known as "Nanban Tongci". During this time, he met many important figures in Japan.
He forged friendships with prominent figures such as Konishi Yukinaga, Maeda Gen'i, Honda Masanobu, and especially Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The Jesuits therefore promoted Lu Ruohan to the position of Deputy Treasurer of the Japanese District, responsible for the Jesuits' diplomatic work with Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu launched the Battle of Sekigahara, became the Shogun, and established the Edo Shogunate.
Lu Ruohan was appointed as a "trade agent" by Tokugawa Ieyasu:
Portuguese merchants in Nagasaki must go through Lu Ruohan to trade with Japanese merchants!
Because of his excessive power, Lu Ruohan was resented by many and was eventually forced to leave Japan, arriving in the Ming Dynasty in the 38th year of the Wanli reign.
He served as the assistant treasurer of Xiangshan'ao and participated in the Guangzhou Trade Fair multiple times, actively making connections.
Finally, in the 43rd year of the Wanli reign, he successfully met with the General of Guangzhou and the Censor-in-Chief of Guangdong, presenting them with a celestial globe and a globe.
In the original timeline, Lu Ruohan began in the 48th year of the Wanli era, after the Battle of Sarhu.
They continued to assist Xu Guangqi and others in purchasing cannons and recruiting artillerymen in Xiangshan'ao.
In the third year of the Chongzhen reign, Lu Ruohan, at the age of 69, personally led his troops north and repelled the Later Jin army with cannons in Zhuozhou.
He was personally received by the Chongzhen Emperor, presented many cannons, and went to Dengzhou to assist Sun Yuanhua in training troops.
In the Wuqiao Mutiny of the fifth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Lu Ruohan led Portuguese troops to hold out in Dengzhou until the very end.
He risked his life to jump off the city wall and escaped, but died in the sixth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign due to a recurrence of his injuries and illness.
"Artillery range,"
Zhang Kun handed the cardboard booklet to Lu Ruohan and smiled, "Do you know what a parabola is?"
Although he failed calculus in college, Zhang Kun could still figure out how to calculate such a basic parabola.
Western Europe also has artillery firing tables and tools such as protractors for measuring the muzzle angle.
However, because the mathematical model used in the calculation is incorrect, it relies heavily on actual measurements.
It wasn't until almost twenty years later that Galileo measured the acceleration due to gravity and introduced the parabola into his calculations.
Only then did the reliance of artillery firing tables on actual measurements decrease.
Zhang Kun went a step further than Galileo, adding air resistance, which was introduced more than 150 years later.
"Gonzalo!"
Lu Ruohan waved over the captain of the Portuguese gunners and showed him the cardboard booklet.
A gunner named Gongsha, the captain of Gonzalo Teixeira Correa's gunners, walked over.
After reading the contents of the cardboard booklet, he was extremely surprised and started chattering with Lu Ruohan.
After their conversation, Lu Ruohan respectfully asked Zhang Kun, "He asked you if you could teach him this calculation method?"
Because standardization was impossible, the firing tables for each cannon in the world had to be calculated individually.
Based on actual measurements, at least thirty rounds are needed, which is very costly.
But if we don't count, the hit rate will definitely be quite low.
"Can,"
Zhang Kun nodded to Gonzalo, pointed to the artillerymen of the field battalion, and made a request: "On the condition that he trains my gunners well first."
Lu Ruohan came with the intention of meeting important figures and promoting missionary work, and he paid for it out of his own pocket.
Gonzalo is different; he's a mercenary, there to make money, and he's not cheap to hire.
After the test launch, Zhang Kun invited Lu Ruohan, Gonzalo, and the other Portuguese to dinner at the inn where he was staying.
To entertain them, Zhang Kun personally instructed his family's chefs to prepare several Portuguese-style dishes:
Tempura, a Japanese dish that later became popular, originated from Portuguese cuisine that spread from Xiangshan'ao.
Risotto made with olive oil, cheese, garlic, and scallions comes in two varieties: river shrimp risotto and duck risotto.
Portuguese roast suckling pig marinated only with salt, pepper, and garlic, as well as wheat bread and Shandong grape mash, etc.
Then come local delicacies such as braised sea cucumber with pork knuckle, dry-fried duck, stir-fried cabbage with pork slices and stir-fried pork kidney slices.
Lu Ruohan, Gonzalo, and the other Portuguese were flattered and deeply grateful.
They received a great deal of hospitality in Guangzhou and other places, and ate many delicacies from the Ming Dynasty.
But this was the first time someone had served them their hometown cuisine.
As for whether it's authentic or not, Lu Ruohan and Gonzalo have been away from their homeland for many years, so it's actually difficult to tell.
After completing negotiations with Long Tiandao at Matoudian, Wei Sengteng and Qin Jisheng rushed to Anpingdu to report to Zhang Kun.
"You did a good job."
After listening to the report, Zhang Kun nodded in praise to the two men and then advised Wei Sengteng, "Old Wei, I plan to set up a reconnaissance bureau in the guerrilla camp, and you will be in charge."
"We won't force you to clock in and out, and you'll receive your monthly salary according to the general rate, how about that?"
Wei Sengteng fell silent:
He was unwilling to become an official before because he was used to being free and didn't want to be constrained.
This job now has few restrictions, and the monthly salary is as high as 50 taels, plus an annual allowance of 100 taels per month.
Refusing Zhang Kun's offer would be ungrateful.
After all, he had just done Long Tiandao's job and knew this secret, so Zhang Kun couldn't possibly let him leave.
"Thank you, Commander!"
Thinking of this, Wei Sengteng had no choice but to agree to Zhang Kun, saying, "I will definitely run the Investigation Bureau well in the future."
"I believe in your abilities."
Zhang Kun nodded to Wei Sengteng, then looked at Qin Jisheng beside him and said gently, "Jisheng, how about you also be transferred to the Reconnaissance Division and serve as its chief sentry?"
I heard you haven't settled down yet. You could take over for Lao Wei at the Detective Division and find a wife and have a baby.
When Qin Jisheng was gathering information for Zhang Kun, he had come into contact with outsiders and knew the secrets, so he couldn't be let go.
If Wei Sengteng insists on leaving, Zhang Kun will at most place him under house arrest and ask Yang Desheng and others to come and persuade him.
But if Qin Ji insists on leaving, Zhang Kun will immediately turn on him and kill him!
"...Commander-in-Chief,"
Qin Jisheng's waist knife had been taken away. He slowly took off his shirt and frankly said to Zhang Kun, "I was once a successor of the Huaizhen Dao of the Wuwei Sect."
Zhang Kun and Wei Sengteng had already guessed this, so they were not surprised. They smiled and comforted him, saying, "It's alright. You have already turned over a new leaf and returned to the right path. Just hide the tattoo on your back."
"Commander-in-Chief!"
Upon hearing Zhang Kun's words, Qin Jisheng's eyes filled with tears, and he sobbed, "When I went to contact Huaizhendao before, I was forced by Huaizhendao to bring along a thief from Huaizhendao to do my job."
"I have committed such a grave crime, Commander, please act according to military law!"
Zhang Kun frowned and looked at Wei Sengteng, who then said to Qin Jisheng in a deep voice, "Is it that kid surnamed Chu?"
Seeing Qin Jisheng nod, Wei Sengteng recalled the details of the previous operation and said to Zhang Kun with a guilty expression, "Commander, it is my fault for not managing my subordinates strictly, but this Chu Hua has only worked for Qin Jisheng."
"I did not participate in any confidential matters previously handled by the Reconnaissance Division!"