Chapter 384 Guns, Germs and Glass
When Lorenzo woke up, a man in a white Hanfu robe with a white mask on his mouth said to him in Ottoman: "Are
you awake?"
Although Lorenzo was not He had seen doctors from the East, but this man's strange attire was very similar to the Black Death doctors in Venice who wore beak masks and black robes. Lorenzo also smelled the smell of herbs in the air, and he guessed that this should be a clinic in the southeast.
The doctor frowned, and when he saw Lorenzo didn't respond, he changed to Latin and asked: "Are you not an Ottoman?"
Lorenzo said in surprise: "You can actually speak Latin?"
The doctor said proudly: "I once worked with Li Shizhen. When I was studying in medical school, Governor Su asked Francois to teach Latin classes, and my Latin score was only third in the class."
Lorenzo got up from the hospital bed and said in fear: "I have no money now. Pay for your treatment. My name is Lorenzo, a businessman from Venice. I will definitely repay you when I have money." The
doctor waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, you just fainted and were sent here, I haven't I'm here to treat you."
"My name is Cao Wang, and I'm a doctor."
Cao Wang looked at Lorenzo and said, "A few days ago, the port officer reported that the Black Death was found on several foreign ships. Fainting in the market caused panic, and he was sent to the port hospital." "
But I checked that your physical condition is very normal. Can you tell me why you fainted?"
Lorenzo quickly explained the reason for his fainting. After hearing it again, Cao Wang nodded and said: "Then I'm sure it's not the Black Death."
Lorenzo also became nervous when he heard about the Black Death.
The horror of the Black Death was the most serious plague recorded in Venetian history, which reduced the population of Willis by half.
Although there has been no huge plague in the Middle Ages in recent decades that could cause the destruction of a city, you can still hear news about the ravages of the Black Death. For example, if the Black Death appears on a certain ship, the entire ship will be infected. All the crew members became ill and died.
The Black Death remained a terrible disease.
Cao Wang continued: "There is nothing wrong with your body. Your fainting is a mental problem. I am very sorry for your experience."
Cao Wang knew that many glass workshops have been established in Guangzhou, and Guangzhou's glass products have already It began to be sold overseas, and some foreigners like Lorenzo brought foreign glassware to Guangzhou, and in the end they lost a lot of money.
Lorenzo lowered his head. This time he came to the southeast as a desperate move. If these glassware could not be sold, he would not be able to buy the goods from Guangzhou Port, and he would suffer a big loss when he returned.
Lorenzo covered his face with his hands and said: "My Jessica is still waiting for me. She mortgaged the ring her mother left for her. If we lose again this time, we will go bankrupt." Cao Wang looked at this
and The Westerner, who was about his own age, thought for a while and asked,
"How many languages do you speak?"
Lorenzo immediately said, "Sir, I can speak Italian, Latin, and a little bit of Ottoman and Portuguese."
Cao Wang nodded slightly and said:
"I can provide you with a job, but this job is very dangerous, but the salary is considerable. Are you willing to do it?"
Lorenzo immediately said: "I do, I do! God, you must be God Sent to save me, right?"
Cao Wang frowned and said, "Please don't try to preach to me."
Lorenzo remembered that the crew had mentioned the conservative attitude towards religion in this Eastern country, and he quickly said, "Sorry, sorry."
Cao Wang Wang said: "You'd better keep this in mind. According to the decree of the Metropolitan Government, anyone who tries to preach in the southeast will be expelled. We in the southeast respect your beliefs and will not discriminate against anyone because of their beliefs, but please also abide by our rules." Religious prohibition."
Lorenzo nodded quickly.
Cao Wang then said: "In that case, you come with me."
Cao Wang took Lorenzo to the official office of the Municipal Shipping Department. After a lot of work, Lorenzo completed the certificate of temporary residence.
Then Cao Wang led Lorenzo to sign a temporary employment contract and a confidentiality contract, and then said to him:
"Okay, now I can tell you what this job is." "
A foreign ship that arrived in Hong Kong last month The Black Death was discovered on the cargo ship."
Lorenzo covered his mouth in horror.
Cao Wang continued: "Fortunately, the ship was discovered when it entered the port for inspection. The entire ship was blocked at sea, and the Black Death did not spread to the port." "The Black Death of that
ship The disease has been controlled. Your job is to board the ship regularly, deliver supplies to the ship, burn and clean up the corpses of humans and rats on board."
Lorenzo covered his mouth, he finally knew why the salary of this job So high.
This is really exchanging lives for money!
"Can the Black Death really be controlled?"
Cao Wang looked at him and said, "Of course, we in the southeast have done sufficient research. When I was in medical school, my mentor Li Shizhen proposed that the Black Death should be a It is an infectious disease. Governor Su directly proposed that the vector of the Black Death is rats." "
During this period, you will work in a special island camp, and my research laboratory will also be moved to that island. We are not allowed to leave the island until the disease is over."
"Before departure, you'd better take a shower. The poor hygiene habits of you Westerners are also the reason why the Black Death is raging."
Lorenzo lowered his head. At this time, he There was no way out, he could only follow Cao Wang to the island where the laboratory was located.
After coming out of the glass workshop, the guards at the next workshop were much stricter.
A large number of soldiers armed with muskets guarded the entrance and exit of the workshop. Even Tan Lun, the governor of Guangdong, was able to enter after strict inspection.
Large pieces of transparent glass were cut, and the factory was filled with the harsh sound of friction between grinding wheels and glass. Tan Lun covered his ears, but the magic sound still reached his ears. He suppressed his discomfort and asked: "How is the output of telescopes and microscopes
? Is it?"
The official in charge of the workshop immediately said:
"The glass using the new process has very good light transmittance. The first batch of telescopes ordered by the military have been produced, and the microscopes of the medical school are about to be shipped."
Tan Lun nodded with satisfaction. Whether it was a telescope or a microscope, these were products with high demand and high profits.
"Sir Governor, the lenses produced here are for civilian use."
"For civilian use?"
The workshop official immediately said: "Yes, these are reading glasses, and the other workshop is for myopia glasses." "
What new product is this? "?"
The workshop official said with a smile: "This is the product mentioned by Governor Su in "The Continuation of Tiangong Kaiwu". The first batch of goods has been shipped to Fuzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing Su Song for sale. It is very popular. The order can no longer be filled."
The workshop official handed a pair of processed myopia glasses to Tan Lun and said:
"Sir, this is for mild myopia."
After Tan Lun put it on, his eyes suddenly lit up. He had not had very good eyesight in reading since he was a child.
After putting on these glasses, Tan Lun felt a long-lost sense of clarity.
Amazing!
Tan Lun quickly asked: "Are these glasses expensive?" The workshop official immediately said: "Not expensive, not expensive. The output of transparent glass is very high. The main cost is the cost of manual polishing of lenses and wooden frames." "There is
another Frames made of tortoise shells are specially sold to the north and are very expensive."
Tan Lun nodded with satisfaction. Governor Su was indeed the reincarnation of the God of Wealth. His improved glass technology directly created a big industry in Guangzhou.
The workshop official then said: "Sir, there may be poisoning in the workshop behind. Please wear this and be extremely careful."
Tan Lun put on a mask and asked, "What about the safety of the craftsmen?
" The workshop official said: "Strictly in accordance with the regulations set by the Grand Governor, workers can only work in that workshop for two months before being rotated, and they basically use mechanical controls."
Tan Lun nodded, and they quickly arrived In a more rigorous workshop.
Tan Lun watched from a distance and saw only the craftsman using a crane to put the plate glass into a silver solution, and then began to add other chemicals.
Finally, Tan Lun saw the finished product, a mirror that could clearly reflect his appearance.
Tan Lun has used bronze mirrors before, but he has never seen such a clear full-length mirror that can illuminate the whole body so clearly.
Tan Lun could already imagine what kind of sensation such a product would cause.
Even a man like him can't resist the temptation of the mirror, let alone those women who love beauty.
"Is this thing poisonous?"
the workshop official said: "It is not toxic in normal use. The toxicity is only in the production process." "
It is said that Mr. Hu is already researching a new process that does not require the use of toxic mercury. "
It turns out to be mercury," Tan Lun nodded.
Through these years of publicity, the idea that lead and mercury are toxic has become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in the Southeast.
Tan Lun nodded and said: "When new technology is available, replace the toxic workshops immediately." "
I didn't expect that there would be such a clear mirror in the world. We in Guangzhou have another weapon that can make money!"
Glass Utensils, magnifying glasses, microscopes, telescopes, glasses and mirrors, these four glass-related products will definitely enable Guangdong to develop rapidly.
At the end of March, the Fourth Brigade's counter-insurgency campaign in Guangxi came to an end.
Tengxia Yao Village surrendered and was destroyed.
Yao King Pan'an and his men took advantage of the familiar terrain and finally fought their way out of Tengxia, and then immediately went south into the Annan area.
All the Yao people on Tengxia were resettled out of Tengxia, and Yu Zigao set up Anping Fort at the strategic point of Tengxia, with the garrison responsible for monitoring Tengxia.
These Yao people were resettled in nearby counties, and some were moved to Liuzhou.
They dispersed and lived together in villages. Yu Zigao confiscated the seals awarded to these chieftains by the Ming court, abolished hereditary native officials, and dispatched floating officials instead.
However, for the sake of stability at the beginning, many of the official posts were selected from the Yao people, and only the official posts of the larger tribes were held by Han officials.
Sure enough, after the Tengxia rebellion was settled, other nearby Yao villages immediately settled down.
Wang Daokun, who had been troubled by the Tengxia Yao Rebellion, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the gate of Guilin City and welcomed the fourth brigade into the city.
Yu Zigao still respects Wang Daokun very much, and Su Ze has continued to appoint Wang Daokun as governor of Guangxi.
Yu Zigao announced the order of the Governor's Office, then handed the new seal to Wang Daokun, and continued to lead the Fourth Brigade to other parts of Guangxi to quell the rebellion.
At the same time, the Ming Dynasty's troops who entered Huguang to suppress the rebellion also quickly entered Jingzhou and joined forces with the rebel army organized by Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Xuzhou.
"Prefect Xu! You have done a great job in defending Jingzhou this time. I have already expressed my merit to the court in advance!"
Zhang Juzheng held Xu Xuemo's hand tightly and said.
Xu Xuemo had a look of vicissitudes of life. In order to resist the attack of King Jing's army during these days, Xu Xuemo dispersed all the money from Jingzhou's treasury, and even his servants and servants were sent to the city wall.
Xu Xuemo finally waited for Zhang Juzheng's reinforcements and blocked King Jing's army outside Jingzhou City.
"The imperial army has arrived, and I will inform King Jing of your Majesty's will. If King Jing gets lost and returns to the palace of De'an Fan, Your Majesty will still be able to care about the relationship between his flesh and blood. If he resists stubbornly, the king's army will definitely break through Wuchang!" Zhang
Juzheng These words were majestic, and Xu Xuemo said quickly: "The court is wise! Your Majesty is benevolent!"
But then Zhang Juzheng did not go to Wuchang immediately to put down the rebellion, but first returned to his hometown in Jingzhou to worship his ancestors.
Today, Zhang Juzheng joined the cabinet as a cabinet minister when he was less than thirty years old. Now he personally leads the imperial army to suppress the rebellion and serves as the commander-in-chief of the 50,000 imperial army.
How can we return to our hometown in fine clothes and travel at night in fine clothes?
Zhang Juzheng's grand ancestral worship attracted the attention of the entire Jingzhou.
Xu Xuemo was a little dissatisfied. Zhang Juzheng had not yet marched despite the urgent military situation. It was already April. Another day of delay in Huguang would delay a year's farming season. Huguang really couldn't afford to delay.
Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng knew that he had the overall situation in mind. After completing the ancestor worship ceremony, he immediately led the army eastward and attacked Wuchang, the seat of Huguang, along the Yangtze River.
Zhao Zhenji heard the news of Zhang Juzheng's advance and quickly led the army to retreat.
But King Jing raised his troops in a hurry and was unpopular in Wuchang. Although he claimed to have an army of 80,000, there were not many who could actually fight.
Since Zhang Juzheng's last defeat in Xuzhou, he has been training troops in Xuzhou, and the entire army has also used muskets.
Since the start of the Xinwu Movement, the Ming Dynasty has opened musket workshops in various places. Although the quality is still not as good as that in the Southeast, it is much better than in the past.
At the same time, the Mingting Navy in Xiangyang also moved eastward along the Han River, and together with the Jingzhou Navy, approached Wuchang from the waterway.
Zhao Zhenji did not have the ability to lead troops. He was first defeated in Huarong, and then led King Jing's army to withdraw to Chibi. He was defeated again by the Jingxiang Navy and fled to Wuchang with less than 10,000 remaining troops.
Zhang Juzheng led the land and water army into Jiangxia (Hankou), pointing at Wuchang City in the distance.
King Jing in Wuchang City finally began to panic. He pulled Zhao Zhenji, who had just led the remnant army to escape, and asked: "
Old Zhao Ge, what should we do now?"
Zhao Zhenji looked ashen, and he did not expect that the Ming court would face the southeast. He stretched his hips so much, but he was so cruel to King Jing.
If I had known that you were so powerful in the imperial court, I would not have speculated on King Jing!
Zhao Zhenji was about to cry but had no tears. He pulled King Jing and said,
"For the current plan, we can only delay and force the court to negotiate peace!"
But King Jing jumped up and said, "I don't want to negotiate peace!"
"No! I want to surrender to the southeast. !”
(End of chapter)