Although lighters look cool, the technical threshold for making this thing is much lower than that of making matches, especially safety matches.

The principle of gear ignition is the same as that of flintlock ignition, and the construction is not difficult. However, the cotton core and lighter fluid are a little more technical.

The former uses absorbent cotton, which is a piece of cake after caustic soda can be produced. In addition, the emergence of glycerin is also due to caustic soda, so it is said that three acids and two alkalis are the mother of the chemical industry. As long as enough time is given, anything can be produced.

As for the most important lamp oil, kerosene is naturally the best, but the petrochemical technology tree has not yet been opened. Fortunately, volatile fuels such as alcohol can also be used as a substitute. The disadvantage is that the fuel evaporates too quickly and needs to be added in time, but it is still much more convenient than taking a lamp.

And the key is that it is cool...

Ximen Qing immediately fell in love with this thing. He imitated the young master in lighting a cigarette and started to play with the nurse's lighter as if it were a treasure.

Yes, Nurse Lighter! Zhao Hao decided to use this name when he came back from the hospital. He also planned to carve a swallowtail cap on the shell as a trademark.

After hearing the young master's plan, Ximen Qing sat even more excitedly and almost forgot about the main business.

When he was about to leave, he slapped his head and took out a letter from his briefcase and said, "This was found in the Governor's residence. Chen Yongquan said it was a letter from the Red-haired Governor to their Vice-President. It is also a copy of a letter that has already been sent. It is necessary to present it to you for your review."

"Do you think I can understand it?" Zhao Hao laughed and scolded, "None of my staff can understand Spanish. Ask that guy to translate it for me."

Although some people who know Portuguese can roughly translate it, but since there are people who know Spanish, why bother to guess?

~~

Two hours later, Chen Yongquan was taken to Zhao Hao's beach lounge.

It's on the beach, with parasols made of oilcloth held up by bamboo poles.

Under the parasol, there were a few bamboo chairs and a wooden table, which was filled with tropical fruits in ice trays, soda and beer, as well as cigarettes and cigars.

Master Zhao, wearing only a pair of shorts and big sunglasses, was lying comfortably on a bamboo chair, drinking cold beer and bragging to Tang Baolu and the others.

Chen Yongquan was still wearing ordinary people's clothes. Only the red scarf tied around his neck could show that he was a soldier. He was a world apart from the coast guard officers and soldiers who were dressed elegantly from head to toe.

But he still stood straight and gave a standard military salute.

"Report, Chen Yongquan, the commander of the fourth company of the third battalion of the second regiment of the first division of the Luzon Army, has been ordered to report!"

"Yongquan, don't be so nervous. Now is the time to relax after the war." Tang Baolu was wearing a small jacket that was so tight on his body that it squeezed out his accessory breasts.

Apparently, the weight I lost before has grown back even faster in the past two months.

"Haha, that's right. On a tropical beach, you have to have some fun. It's a pity there are no girls in bikinis, only a bunch of hairy-legged guys. Come, sit down and talk." Young Master Zhao asked someone to bring him a chair and said with a smile, "How is it, are you satisfied with being the company commander?"

"Not satisfied." Chen Yongquan said, sitting upright, "I think the term 'sons and daughters of the army' sounds nice, but in fact they are just rural militiamen and bumpkins, and are extremely boring."

He said with a flattering smile: "I still want to join the Coast Guard, even if I can be a private."

"You guys, your soldiers have a bright future." Tang Baolu said with a smile as he handed him a coconut candy.

Chen Yongquan chewed some candy and muttered, "Anyway, I just want to be a coast guard..."

"Let's see how your translation is first." Zhao Hao stretched out his hand without comment.

Chen Yongquan quickly handed over a stack of manuscript paper. Zhao Hao took it and looked at it, then smiled and said, "The handwriting is good."

"That is..." Chen Yongquan was about to brag to raise his own status, but he saw that the young master's attention was quickly attracted by the report.

It was a long letter written by the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, Sander, to the Viceroy of Mexico, Marshal Luis Velasquez, in April of this year.

The first page of the letter stated clearly that this was "a report on intelligence gathering on the Kingdom of Ming, as well as a memorandum of certain suggestions, in accordance with the orders of Your Highness."

The report alone contains 11 sections and 97 articles, which provide a detailed description and analysis of the Ming Dynasty's military, economic and social conditions.

At that time, it was still two months before the Jiannei Massacre, and Zhao Hao's fleet was nowhere to be seen. However, this can more objectively reflect the Spanish attitude towards the Ming Dynasty, which is very valuable for reference.

First, Governor Sander clearly believed that the Ming Kingdom was vast, with abundant food and products, and prosperous commodities and markets. "According to God's will, this is sufficient reason for us to enter and conquer this country."

Because you are beautiful and rich, that's why God let us invade you.

Then, based on the intelligence he had obtained from missionaries and businessmen in Macau, Guangzhou, Japan and other places, he gave a detailed introduction to the situation in the Ming Dynasty. Although it might be like a blind man touching an elephant, it was still a wake-up call.

He said, "The strength of the Ming Dynasty lies in the large number of towns and a large population. The population registered in their royal books is 60 million. It is said that this number was when they founded the country. In the past 200 years, without war or major plague, the population has not increased at all, which shows that their poor people cannot even guarantee the most basic survival."

He also mentioned the Ming Dynasty's Tianxia system, 'Except for Japan, which has recently gained freedom, all neighboring countries pay tribute to the Ming emperor, so the Chinese are accustomed to think that they are the center of the world and look down on other countries. The surrounding countries are afraid of them because they can gather so many warships in an instant and intimidate the other side with the number of ships.'

Governor Sander changed the subject again, saying that the Ming was a paper tiger. "But the Ming people are just poor warriors, and soldiers are considered one of the four lowest classes among them. Almost all soldiers are criminals, sentenced to lifelong labor for the emperor. They are only fit to fight against thieves."

He also cited the example of the Japanese pirates invading Nanjing, which made Zhao Hao feel ashamed. As expected, good news never goes out, but bad news spreads far and wide. Now even the Spaniards know how shameful the Nanjing garrison led by Xu Pengju is.

"…In short, I think it is the most difficult thing in the world to regard the Ming people as warriors. They are lowly, courageless slaves, no more capable of fighting than women, and always ready to kiss the feet of anyone who bares his teeth at them. What is the use of having more soldiers like this? Our Indian soldiers in the Philippines are ten times better than them."

Then he focused on the navy of the Ming Dynasty, "It is hard to imagine that this country does not have a dedicated navy. Although when necessary, the governors of their provinces will build two or three hundred ships. But these ships can only sail a short distance in good weather, and they have to return when the wind blows. They have some small iron cannons, but no copper ones, which can only be used as salutes and cannot hurt our warships at all. Their matchlock guns are so inferior that the projectiles cannot penetrate ordinary breastplates. And they don't know how to aim. "

'But even with this inferior firearm, they were still ill-equipped. Their main weapons were bamboo spears, some with iron tips, and some just hardened bamboo with fire. They also had short and heavy scimitars and cotton or leather breastplates. It was common to see hundreds of Ming warships surrounding a pirate ship, but they could not win. And those pirate ships that controlled the coast and were so arrogant, dozens of them could not defeat a Portuguese galleon. The gap between them and us in the navy was simply incomparable. Especially under the premise that they had such a prominent reputation. '

~~

Obviously, because the Ming Dynasty was closed to the outside world and prohibited all foreigners from entering the country without tribute, it was very difficult for the Spanish to collect intelligence. Therefore, the intelligence they collected was greatly biased - the European missionaries and merchants who provided them with intelligence could only hearsay and could not enter the Ming Dynasty to investigate.

And I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but they only talked about the situation during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty when the troops of the southern garrisons were in disarray and were allowed to run rampant by the Japanese pirates.

However, the book does not mention how Hu Zongxian revitalized the military and replaced the hereditary military system with the recruitment system to become the main military force of the Ming Dynasty. It also does not mention how the Qi Family Army and the Yu Family Army formed later wiped out the Japanese pirates. This seriously underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

You know, after the anti-Japanese war and the reforms of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty's combat effectiveness was definitely not bad. The three major expeditions of Wanli were all wars of the whole country, and the army could not win without hard power. Especially now that Yu Long, Qi Hu, Zhang Yuanxun, Tan Lun, Yin Zhengmao, etc., a large number of famous generals familiar with the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong are here, it is really enough for the Spanish to drink a pot.

Obviously, those missionaries and merchants were extremely eager to use the powerful Spain to open the door of Ming Dynasty so as to realize the freedom of preaching and doing business. Therefore, they did not want the Viceroy in Mexico and Philip II in the Iberian Peninsula to know the true situation of Ming Dynasty, so they tried their best to use the image of Ming Dynasty more than ten years ago to illustrate the weakness of this country.

But we have to admit that the problems mentioned by others have existed, and many of them have not been solved yet...

After reading all the reports, Zhao Hao turned to Governor Sander’s memorandum of advice.

In the memorandum, the Governor General advocated with great enthusiasm, "We must recognize the continuity contained in the actions of Columbus, Cortes and Legazpi - in fact, they were all looking for China!"

Governor Sand strongly suggested that if they planned to occupy the golden country that Europeans dreamed of, they should either attack as soon as possible or simply give up, because the Chinese were becoming more and more vigilant. And their civilian maritime power was developing rapidly.

'A few years ago, we only needed the Philippine fleet to control the Chinese coast. But in recent years, a private armed group called the South China Sea Group has risen rapidly and even defeated the Portuguese. So for the sake of caution, we should withdraw the fleet from the west coast of America as soon as possible and go to Asia to eliminate all Ming maritime forces... The focus is on the South China Sea Group.'

'In short, if we had launched the invasion a few years ago, their huge country would have been crushed in one fell swoop. No effort, expense or casualties would have been needed; now there is something to gain and something to lose, but if we delay for a few more years, once they wake up, they may never be able to occupy Ming again.'

Therefore, Governor Sander asked the Viceroy to persuade His Majesty the King to approve the plan immediately. It will provide His Majesty with the greatest opportunity and the most magnificent result that can be given to a king in the world! What His Majesty will get is all the wealth and immortal honor that the human mind can desire! Only by conquering the Ming Dynasty can the Spanish Empire completely become the master of the world, and His Majesty can truly be crowned as the King of Kings! '

p.s. Keep writing.