nucmednet Chapter 57 Visiting Sun Yuanhua
Chapter 57 Visiting Sun Yuanhua
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The voyage proceeded smoothly, and after stopping overnight in Quanzhou, the "Yuanhang" sailed north along the coastline, passing through Fujian and Zhejiang.
Relying on the unparalleled speed of the Yuanhang, Liu Ye and his party entered the Yellow Sea in just six days. Along the way, they passed through the two garrisons of Andongwei and Lingshanwei. Ahead was Weihaiwei. After passing through here, they would have bypassed the Shandong Peninsula, and Dengzhou Prefecture would be within reach.
After calculating the time, Liu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. They had set off on September 22nd, and it was now the end of September. Even if they were delayed in Dengzhou for a month or two, they shouldn't encounter the historically significant Dengzhou Mutiny. Although he had boasted to Liang Xiaoming that he would change the course of history and prevent powerful weapons like the Hongyi cannons from falling into Huang Taiji's hands, he was still uneasy once he arrived in Dengzhou. Ultimately, preserving his life was the most important thing. Infiltrating the rebel ranks amidst the chaos of war and changing the minds of their leaders was far more difficult than he had described. Finding the coal mine would be a success.
However, after finding the coal mine, how to ensure smooth mining without being obstructed by the local government, and how to ensure the coal was transported back to Lingao amidst the tug-of-war between the government troops and the rebels in the event of a mutiny, were all extremely troublesome issues. They could only take it one step at a time.
Dengzhou Prefecture was actually a military stronghold. The imperial court established the Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor-General there to train the navy, defend against pirates, and also to be responsible for the transfer of provisions to the northern front. The current Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor-General, Sun Yuanhua, also established a firearms-equipped unit in Dengzhou, which was considered advanced for the time. The Portuguese were responsible for teaching artillery firing. Later generations referred to Dengzhou at this time as "the western learning fortress on the eastern border".
Upon docking at Dengzhou Port and entering the city, it was discovered that Dengzhou resembled a large military camp. Inside and outside the city, soldiers speaking various accents were everywhere, many of them from Liaodong. Inquiring with passersby, it was learned that most of the Liaodong soldiers in Dengzhou were former troops of the Dongjiang Garrison. After Yuan Chonghuan forged an imperial edict to kill Mao Wenlong, the general of Dongjiang Garrison, in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the garrison was leaderless. The newly appointed general, Huang Long, was arrogant and unable to subdue the people of the Dongjiang Islands, leading to numerous mutinies. Generals such as Kong Youde led their troops to defect to Sun Yuanhua, who appointed them cavalry adjutants.
Looking at these Liao soldiers, Liu Ye felt complicated. They were the main force behind the impending mutiny. They should have been fighting the Later Jin on the Liaodong battlefield, but for various reasons, they became a scourge in Dengzhou, causing widespread suffering in the Dengzhou-Laizhou area. He knew this, but he was powerless to stop it. His personal strength was too weak to stop the wheels of history from turning.
After entering the city, the group searched for several inns, but most were full. Left with no other choice, they found a local temple, donated ten taels of silver, and stayed in the inner courtyard.
Liu Ye had already planned ahead on his way here: first, he would try to communicate with the government and get the local authorities' approval for the coal mining project.
After all, Dengzhou is different from Qiongzhou, and Longkou is different from Tiandu. In Qiongzhou, where the population is sparse and the government's control is extremely weak, it is possible to develop iron mines by bypassing the government. But this is completely impossible here. Longkou Town is right under the nose of Dengzhou Prefecture. Such a big operation as coal mining cannot be kept secret from the government.
As for which level of government or which official to communicate with, based on the current situation and historical knowledge, Liu Ye decided to try his luck with Sun Yuanhua.
At this time, before the chaos of war, Sun Yuanhua was not a down-on-his-luck official waiting to be rescued by a time traveler; he was still the Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, overseeing local military affairs. He held absolute power over both political and military matters in Dengzhou and Laizhou, making him the most influential figure in the region. Crucially, influenced by his mentor Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua had been baptized and joined the Catholic Church. If one were to feign Catholicism, the chances of gaining his favor would be far greater than with ordinary officials.
For Liu Ye, who dared to storm into the county government office right after his transmigration, seeking an audience with the governor was not a big deal. He was just a high-ranking official at the provincial or ministerial level. In his previous life, he had met and befriended many officials of this rank. Although the governor at this time was not comparable to the provincial or ministerial officials of his later life, the governor was a local official second only to the governor-general. His status and power were far higher than the traditional three offices, namely the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Administration Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission. He combined administrative and military power, equivalent to a provincial party secretary and military commander.
The group arrived at the governor's yamen. The Dengzhou governor's yamen, newly established during the Tianqi era, was quite impressive: a large sedan chair with a green awning stood before the gate; several vermilion tall plaques with official titles and honors written in gold-leaf Song-style script hung beneath the screen wall; and a dazzling array of banners hung throughout. Further inside, two rows of armed guards stood from the main gate to the front hall, along with several third- or fourth-rank military officers.
Seeing this, Liu Ye knew that if he rashly approached, he probably wouldn't even be able to get a word in. So he immediately stepped aside, took out his calling card, and asked someone to go up and present it. He also handed over a small gift of one tael of silver. The calling card read "Liu Ye, a Christian from Guangdong, bows in reverence." He had no religious beliefs, so this Christian was obviously fake. It was also inconvenient to write that he came from Lingao, as it was too remote and the governor probably hadn't heard of it. Anyway, Qiongzhou Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Guangdong.
Liu Ye was lucky. Not long after his visiting card was handed in, a follower came out holding it and called out, "Which one of you is Mr. Liu from Guangdong?"
Liu Ye stepped forward and replied, "That's me."
"Your Majesty, please see me."
"Yes. Please lead the way."
The others waited where they were, while Liu Ye, led by his entourage, walked inside.
The governor's yamen was quite large, and its imposing presence was evident throughout the journey. Upon arriving at the entrance of the main hall, a servant had already opened the curtain, gesturing for him to enter.
Upon entering, Liu Ye saw a sharp-looking middle-aged official in plain clothes sitting on a mahogany kang table in the center of the flower hall. Liu Ye knew that this man was probably the famous Sun Yuanhua.
He composed himself slightly, then lifted his robe and bowed respectfully: "This humble one, Liu Ye, greets the Governor."
"Oh, so you're a fellow believer from Guangdong?" Sun Yuanhua's eyes were quite authoritative. Although he was a civil official, he had served in the military in Liaodong for many years, and the authoritative demeanor he had developed over the years made Liu Ye feel a slight sense of pressure.
The man before him was the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, a high-ranking official of the court who held eight seats and commanded a large army. With a single order, someone could lose their head. Liu Ye had to deal with such a person carefully and not make any mistakes. He secretly organized his words and prepared his response.
Fortunately, Sun Yuanhua had a good impression of Liu Ye: he was tall, handsome, and had a graceful demeanor, displaying both humility and confidence. Most importantly, Liu Ye, like himself, was a Catholic.
"Since you are a fellow believer, please don't be bound by worldly status. Please sit down."
"Take these words with a grain of salt," Liu Ye said, thanking the servant. He found a stool and sat down, still keeping his back straight and his gaze fixed on Sun Yuanhua. A servant placed a covered bowl of tea on the tea table beside him.
"Judging from your accent, you're not from Guangdong."
The time for responses began. Liu Ye perked up and carefully replied, "My ancestral home is Liaodong. My ancestors settled in Guangzhou as merchants." His fluent Mandarin didn't sound like that of a Cantonese speaker at all; it was closer to the Liaodong dialect. So he made up a reason.
"Oh? There are quite a few Liaodong soldiers in Dengzhou City right now, and they're from the same hometown as you?"
Liu Ye smiled and agreed.
"If you're a merchant in Guangzhou, why have you come to Dengzhou?" Sun Yuanhua was quite puzzled. Dengzhou was a military stronghold, but it wasn't a commercially developed place like Guangzhou or Suzhou. What business opportunities could there be?
Liu Ye had prepared numerous prepared statements to deal with officials at various levels he might encounter, but he hadn't expected to meet Sun Yuanhua so smoothly. Moreover, posing as a church member had garnered Sun Yuanhua a very good attitude, so he had to revise his prepared statements on the spot and rely more on his improvisation skills. He used the business negotiation skills he had honed in his later years, thinking and fabricating as he went.
"My ancestral home is Liaodong. Although I live in Guangdong, my heart is always with my homeland. At present, the Jurchens repeatedly invade the territory of our Great Ming, plundering wealth and abducting people. The imperial army suffers more defeats than victories. I believe that the problem lies in the inadequacy of our firearms. If we could manufacture excellent muskets and cannons, we could definitely turn the tide..."
Sun Yuanhua's eyes lit up. He had initially thought the man was a businessman seeking his help, and out of consideration for their shared Catholic faith, he figured he might as well lend a hand. However, upon hearing these words, he realized that the man's ideas about "firearms" resonated with his own.
He and his mentor Xu Guangqi were both dedicated to introducing Western weapons and technology. They not only commissioned foreigners to cast cannons but also hired them as instructors to train a new army. He seemed to have found a kindred spirit and couldn't help but interrupt Liu Ye: "You think so too? Do you have any expertise in cannon casting?"
"Reporting to the Governor, I believe that while the cannons used by the imperial army are indeed powerful, they have two drawbacks: firstly, they are too cumbersome, suitable only for defending cities but not for field battles, weighing thousands of pounds and inconvenient to transport; secondly, they are prone to barrel explosions, with the risk of exploding after firing only a few dozen shots."
Sun Yuanhua nodded repeatedly, these two points were precisely the unavoidable flaws of the Hongyi cannon.
The Hongyi cannons were modeled after Western naval guns, but Ming Dynasty craftsmen clearly only learned the superficial aspects of cannon casting, achieving a resemblance in form but lacking in spirit. For the same weight, the cannonballs fired by the Hongyi cannons were less powerful than those of the Westerners. Increasing the power seemed to require increasing the caliber, which greatly increased the risk of barrel explosion. The only solution was to thicken and enlarge the barrel, resulting in cannons weighing several thousand pounds, making them difficult to transport in the field and causing delays in battle. He hadn't interrupted this time, indicating that the fact that he had raised these two points meant he must have a solution. He felt a sense of anticipation and excitement.
"I spent a lot of money to search for talented people everywhere. Heaven rewards those who persevere, and I finally found a remarkable person who is obsessed with iron smelting and cannon casting. The solution lies in the pig iron used for casting cannons. The pig iron refined by this remarkable person is hard but not brittle, and easy to cut. When used to cast cannons, it can reduce the weight of the cannons and prevent them from bursting."
Sun Yuanhua slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "What a wonderful phrase, 'hard but not brittle'! So that's the secret!" This phrase vividly illustrates the difference between white cast iron and gray cast iron. Sun Yuanhua naturally did not understand metallography, but he was well aware of the shortcomings of cast iron used for casting cannons: it was hard and brittle, difficult to process, and would crack after repeated firing.
He excitedly ordered his servant, "Please invite Brother Liu to sit on the kang!" This was a sign of escalating courtesy. For the governor to invite a commoner to sit on the kang opposite him was a great honor.