Chapter 312: Borrowing Troops to Aid in Suppression

Finally, Sun Yuanhua boarded the Type 901 gunboat, the Daishuang.

Although the hull of the Daishuang was not much larger than the largest special service boat, its shape, equipment, and rigging were completely different from those of the special service boats, which were derived from Chinese civilian ships. In particular, the rigging—the Type 901 used a Barquentine rig, not the modified mixed Chinese-Western rig of the special service boats. Sun Yuanhua looked at it for a long time and felt that the ship’s form and rigging were somewhat similar to the European sailing ships that the missionaries had shown him, but it looked lighter and more beautiful than the European ships.

Although Sun Yuanhua did not know the saying “a high-performance aircraft must be beautiful,” he instinctively felt that the Australian ships were far superior in performance to the European ships.

What left the deepest impression on him was the 130mm Gruson “giant cannon” on the Daishuang. When the canvas was removed and the bottle-shaped, shiny cannon was exposed to his sight, Sun Yuanhua suddenly realized that all the “vital military assets” he had ever seen seemed so pale and powerless.

The 68-pounder carronade had certainly given him a great shock, but with his knowledge of artillery, he also knew that while a shorter barrel could fire a large projectile, the range would not be very far.

But the “giant cannon” before him not only had a large caliber but also a long barrel, combining both power and range. What amazed him even more was that the seemingly very heavy cannon could also be easily rotated—even without manual labor. At Lu Yang’s command, several sailors ran to their positions on the gun. Someone with a brass rod turned a handwheel, and a strange, low hum came from the deck below the cannon. Then the heavy gun barrel began to rotate.

Suddenly, thick white steam shot out from under the deck and from the gun carriage, startling Sun Yuanhua. A sea breeze blew, and the water vapor quickly dissipated. He could clearly see the cannon, operated by a few sailors, rotating left and right, and elevating and depressing with the nimbleness of a chopstick.

This one warship was worth ten of the navy’s capital ships! Sun Yuanhua thought to himself, no wonder the Australians can dominate the seas!

“Such a giant cannon, without manpower, how can it be moved so freely?” he asked.

“This is the power of water and fire,” Lu Yang said, briefly explaining the principle of the steam engine. He used the explanation from A Hundred Thousand Whys—explaining the power of steam through the common phenomenon of steam lifting the lid of a pot when boiling water.

Sun Yuanhua listened very attentively. The principle of the steam engine was actually very simple, but it was not a simple matter to convert this principle into usable power. So he did not ask how the power of steam moved the cannon—it must be the Australians’ secret art, which they would not easily show to others.

“What is this?” Sun Yuanhua came to the huge smokestack in the middle of the hull. The smokestack was wrapped in fishing nets and tarpaulins.

“A smokestack.”

“A smokestack?” Sun Yuanhua said in surprise. “Such a large smokestack?”

Any large ship had a stove, but he had never heard of a stove so large that it needed a smokestack.

“Indeed,” Lu Yang said. “Since the power of water and fire is used, this smokestack is also necessary.”

“So you are saying that below this deck is a huge furnace?”

“You are right, sir. It is a huge furnace, and a pot of water.”

This further aroused Sun Yuanhua’s strong curiosity. He could not imagine how a huge furnace could be built in such a swaying environment on a ship, and how a pot of water could be placed on it. Wouldn’t the water overflow as soon as the ship moved?

While he was puzzled, he saw a small boat, emitting black smoke and white steam, sailing in the bay.

There were large patches of floating ice in Longkou Bay. The Hafa-class landing craft was transporting laborers to the ice to break it manually and keep the channel clear.

Sun Yuanhua suddenly noticed that this small boat sailing in the bay had no sails or oars, and he was greatly surprised. He had long heard that the Australians’ ships could sail without sails or oars, and now he was seeing it with his own eyes. Looking at the black smoke and water vapor constantly rising from the small boat and the smokestack on it, he suddenly understood and asked:

“This boat moves freely on the sea. I’m afraid it also uses the power of water and fire that you mentioned, Mr. Lu?”

“You are right, sir,” Lu Yang said, secretly admiring him.

“This ship, although it has sails, can also move without them, right?”

“Yes,” Lu Yang said. “The power of water and fire can not only move cannons but also propel ships, and it can do many other things.”

Sun Yuanhua sighed, “Truly a skill of gods and ghosts!”

“Aren’t you the one who is most proficient in the study of things, sir?” Lu Yang said. “The way of water and fire is also the study of things.”

On the way back to the stockade, the words “borrowing troops to aid in suppression” suddenly jumped into Sun Yuanhua’s mind.

The other party had openly shown him their warships and cannons. He naturally understood that this was a deliberate hint.

After being captured in Dengzhou, he had originally despaired for his future. Given the emperor’s usual way of doing things, even if Kong Youde, out of old affection, released him, he would probably not escape death even with the help of his teacher and Grand Secretary Zhou.

He had originally been prepared to die, but now he had been rescued. It had only been two or three days since the fall of Dengzhou, and neither the court nor the local authorities would have received accurate news…

A person in a desperate situation, as soon as there is a glimmer of hope, will immediately have a strong desire to live. Sun Yuanhua immediately realized that a great opportunity was presenting itself to him.

If he could lead troops to defeat Kong Youde and retake Dengzhou, even if he could not keep his position as governor, at least there would be a possibility of a comeback in the future.

As for the other party being “Kun thieves,” this was a matter of some concern. However, it seemed that the other party did not want to reveal their true identity, otherwise they would not have gone to such great lengths to build a village here under a false name to act.

Returning to the stockade, Father Jin Lige invited him to morning Mass. The Mass was held in a simple shed on the island, and the participants were mainly new converts among the refugees. Since Lu Wenyan was already a Catholic, he had to go to the service as well.

After the service, Sun Yuanhua had another conversation with Father Jin Lige. Father Jin Lige expressed his concern about his current state, saying that his failure in Dengzhou would not only endanger himself but could also be a very huge blow to the spread of the Holy Church in China.

Sun Yuanhua certainly understood what the church meant. The Jesuits’ missionary work in China relied heavily on the upper-class scholar-officials. But at present, there were not many scholar-official Christians who could be called “high-ranking officials.” His mentor, Xu Guangqi, was in his declining years and was exhausted from revising the calendar. He himself was the missionaries’ last hope.

Next, Father Jin Lige talked at length about the Australians’ devotion to the church and how the church had achieved unprecedented success in Hainan with the support of the Australians. He pointed out with great regret that if the leader of the Australians were a Christian, the Pope would certainly canonize him.

Under the guidance of the Jesuit priest, Sun Yuan already had the intention of “borrowing troops to aid in suppression.”

However, he still had many things to figure out. The first was how many troops the Australians could provide. Sun Yuanhua knew that Dengzhou and Liaodong were separated by the sea, and the local area was barren and impoverished. After Kong Youde occupied Dengzhou, he had food, pay, and weapons. As long as he raised a banner, he would have no trouble gathering tens of thousands of men.

Among these tens of thousands, the majority were of course people who wanted to find a way to make a living, but among them were many local ruffians and former Dongjiang soldiers.

Although these soldiers had won few victories against the Tartars, they were “strong troops” in the Ming army. In particular, Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, and others were veteran generals from Liaodong and had received training in Western firearms in Dengzhou. If a real battle broke out, if the court did not dispatch elite border troops from the Shanhai Pass area to protect the capital, a hastily assembled army would not necessarily be their match.

In particular, the large amount of firearms and gunpowder stored in Dengzhou city further enhanced their combat effectiveness. In addition, there were the warships in the naval base. This was what Sun Yuanhua was particularly worried about.

The fact that all the naval warships had fallen into the hands of the rebel army meant that they had the ability to move freely at sea. The Dongjiang army on Lüshun and the various islands in Liaodong could at any time respond to the rebel army in Dengzhou by sea.

At that time, the momentum of the rebel army would snowball, and if the rebel army could not hold out, they might also go to sea and surrender to the Tartars… The Deng-Lai defense line that the court had painstakingly built for more than ten years would collapse.

Faced with such a powerful enemy, Sun Yuanhua certainly could not expect his small force in Laizhou and Qingzhou to be able to suppress them. Even with the reinforcements sent by the governor of Shandong, Yu Dacheng, he had no chance of winning.

Sun Yuanhua did not expect the court to be able to send reinforcements quickly. The court’s military strength in the north was tight. To send an army to suppress them, even if the court council immediately approved it, would take at least three or four months.

His plan was to hold Laizhou and Qingzhou and prevent the chaos of the rebel army from spreading. He would ask the Australian navy to assist at sea, so that the rebel army could not connect with the former Dongjiang men in Liaodong.

If the former Dongjiang men could not cross the sea to reinforce Kong Youde, and they could not take Laizhou and Qingzhou, the rebel army would be trapped in Dengzhou. The food in Dengzhou could probably last for about half a year. As long as they were trapped for half a year, the rebel army would fall into chaos without a fight. At that time, whether it was to pacify them or for the court to mobilize a large army to encircle and suppress them, it would be twice the result with half the effort.

Sun Yuanhua did not have much hope for the Australian army—he had only seen militia on the island. Even if there were some Australian soldiers, there would be at most two or three hundred of them. Even with their legendary excellent firearms, the number was too small, not even enough to fill the gaps between the rebel army’s teeth.

In contrast, he had much more confidence in the Australian navy. The warships that the Australians had shown him could blockade Dengzhou with ease. Neither the Dongjiang navy nor the Dengzhou navy had warships that could compete with them. If a war really broke out, it would be like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

However, it was not easy to make this decision. After all, the Australians were “Kun thieves” who had fought against the court army. Although they had only been doing business so far and had not shown any ambition, their gratuitous display of goodwill towards him could not but make him suspicious.