The Rise of the European Emperor

What was the most popular weapon and equipment during the Sengoku period in Japan? Not a samurai sword, but armor, armor with high protection. Because of good armor, it can ensure that soldiers will not be killed easily in battle, which is equal to more lives. In ancient China, it was always forbidden for civilians to own armor, but not for swords. Because, in a cold weapon war, the significance of armor is greater than that of weapons. Even Nurhachi's uprising relied on 13 sets of armor handed down from his ancestors, not 13 knives or 13 horses.

A warrior wearing armor can rush into the enemy's battle without fear. If you wear a T-shirt, would you try one? The reason why the Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to stand up is inseparable from the emphasis on armor. Although Marin doesn't think the Qing Dynasty is good, it is undeniable that the quality of Qing Dynasty's cotton armor is really good and beautiful. Compared with the ugly uniforms of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners armor is indeed very handsome. Of course, the armor of the Qing Dynasty was learned from the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, because the Japanese daimyo were too poor to make high-end armors, in the early Warring States period, many samurai armors were made of bamboo and wood chips. Nothing can resist this thing, it can only be used as a pretense.

Only the large armor worn by nobles has relatively high protection. But even the large armor worn by nobles is made of leather and iron sheets superimposed and mixed with each other, so there is no pure iron armor. Mainly, iron deficiency in Japan. What's more-the Japanese body can't wear pure iron armor...

As mentioned earlier, because Japan prohibits eating meat, Japanese people are generally short in stature. More than 1.5 meters is not short, and more than 1.6 meters is considered a great man. This height is equivalent to the level of the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school in later generations. If they were put on armor like that of the Ming army, which weighed tens of catties, they probably wouldn't be able to run.

Therefore, Marin wanted to sell a batch of European armor to Yu Mao's family on Sado Island, but the ready-made European armors could not be worn by the Yu Mao family's samurai. Also, the size is too big...

As a last resort, Marin could only arrange for a special batch of armor made by craftsmen to supply to Yu Mao's family. For this reason, Marin specially convened hundreds of craftsmen who are good at making leather armor to gather together to make armor for the warriors of Yu Mao's family.

According to the height of the Japanese in this era, Malin specially made a batch of small leather armor suitable for men in their early 1.5 to 1.6 meters. In addition, they were asked to nail a batch of iron armor pieces on the chest and other vital parts. In this way, the protective ability of Japan's most advanced large armor can be obtained.

As for what material to use, Marin first ruled out the most advanced rhinoceros leather. The Beihai army is in short supply of that stuff. Then, there is the cowhide. There is no shortage of this stuff Marin. After all, the North Sea country imports tens of thousands of cows from the Crimean Khanate every year and kills thousands of them. Naturally, there is no shortage of cowhide.

But the use of cowhide is also very wide. Not only can it be used for making clothes and shoes, but also various daily necessities need a lot of cowhide. Marin is a little unhappy to make armor for the ghost warriors of Yu Mao's family.

So, a craftsman proposed-why not use shark skin to make armor?

"Shark skin!" Marin's eyes lit up immediately.

There are a lot of shark skins in the North Sea country. The origin of these shark skins is related to the whaling policy vigorously promoted by Marin.

Why is it related to the whaling policy formulated by Marin? Because, in the eyes of fishermen, whales and sharks are the overlords of the ocean. The difference is that whales are much larger than sharks.

But whaling is very dangerous, because whales are very powerful and can easily tow the whalers' boats over. Therefore, whaling requires certain skills and skills.

Sharks, regarded as small whales by fishermen, have also become targets of hunting. Of course, fishermen don't hunt sharks for sharks' sake. They kill sharks purely to practice their whaling skills. After all, sharks have similar characteristics to whales, and they both like to eat small fish. But sharks are much smaller in size and strength than whales, so they are very suitable for beginners in whaling.

Therefore, sharks were unlucky enough to be targeted by the whalers of the North Sea State to train novices. The method used by whalers to attract sharks is very simple - kill a few fish and sprinkle the fish blood into the sea...

smell blood,

Sharks will come excitedly. But it is the whaling guns of the novice whaling that meet these unlucky sharks...

Although the novices are not very skilled and often let the sharks escape, in the long run, the whaling ships of the North Sea State have also used whaling methods to kill many sharks.

However, shark meat is hard to eat. This is mainly because sharks do not have urinary organs, and urine seeps out through the skin. Therefore, shark meat has been soaked in urine all year round, which naturally tastes unpalatable.

Therefore, most of the shark meat will be discarded, and no salt will be wasted to make salted fish. But it's a pity to throw it away like this. Therefore, fishermen in the North Sea country will soak the shark meat, bake it and dry it, and then grind it into shark meal, which is used as a feed additive for pigs and cattle.

But both the shark's fin and the liver Marlin had ordered to be kept, after all, shark's fin was a famous delicacy. And cod liver oil extracted from cod liver is also a good thing.

As for the shark skin, the fishermen also stay. Because, shark skin has an important function - as a scabbard...

Marin remembered that the Qianlong sword that he had heard about in his previous life used shark skin as the scabbard. Shark skin is very rough and hard, and it is used to make leather goods. It has a poor hand feel and is not soft.

However, its rough and hard characteristics are very suitable for use as scabbards. After all, the scabbard should not be too soft. The roughness of shark skin can just provide a certain amount of resistance to prevent the sword from slipping out of the scabbard.

Of course, the reason why shark skin is listed as the designated material for precious sword scabbards in China is that, apart from its excellent quality, there is another reason that shark skin has a very domineering alias - jiao skin! Jiao who, Jiaolong also! And the dragon is the most noble beast in China. Then, the value of shark skin, known as jiao skin, has naturally risen.

In addition, Marin has indeed heard that ancient Chinese people used rhinoceros skin and jiao skin to make armor. Marin asked someone to touch the shark skin, and it was stronger than cowhide. Although it is rough, it is suitable for making armor. Moreover, no one wants this thing except as a scabbard...

So, Marin ordered—let these 100 craftsmen who know how to make leather armor use the shark skin in stock to make 500 small leather armors, which will be sold to the Yu Mao family to equip samurai for them to fight against the Lord Honma. home confidence.

Even though Japan is also a big fishery country, it also has a tradition of whaling and can also catch sharks. However, Japan’s current fishing technology is backward. It has neither professional shark fishing nets nor professional shark hooks, nor does it know how to use whaling harpoons . Therefore, it is difficult for Japanese fishermen to catch whales or sharks. Therefore, an industry cannot yet be formed. Unlike Marin's North Sea State, because of the application of whaling harpoon technology, not only can obtain a large amount of whale products, but also obtain a lot of shark by-products.

Just like shark skin, the reason why it became precious leather in ancient China was because of the lack of scientific hunting methods in ancient times, which made it difficult to catch sharks, so it was naturally precious.

But in fact, in ancient times, because there were no trawlers all over the world, there were a lot of whales and sharks in the sea. As long as there are scientific and reasonable means, it is impossible to hunt and kill them.

Not to mention the 16th century, even after the end of World War II in the 20th century, the Japanese went out to sea to hunt whaling, and they also obtained a huge amount of fish. It is said that when World War II just ended, Japan's economy collapsed and food was extremely scarce. In order to keep the people from starving to death, the then Japanese Emperor MacArthur taught Japan to use modern fishing boats and whaling techniques to hunt and kill whales in seas around the world to obtain a large amount of whale meat...

In this way, the Japanese survived the most difficult years after World War II by relying on whaling. But then the Japanese became addicted to whaling, and the whole world banned whaling, and they continued to kill whales. Clearly, whaling has given them too much to eat...

But now, this sweetness is naturally exclusively enjoyed by the North Sea State, which has mature whaling technology. Marin has prepared dozens of whaling fleets, ready to kill enough whales to obtain a large amount of important supplies such as whale meat and whale oil. Since whaling can help Japan, which has a population of 60 to 70 million after World War II, survive the food shortage, Marin feels that these whale meats can completely provide enough meat for the population of Beihai.

As for the dozens of whaling fleets formed by Marin, except for the first few teams, the other teams all started from shark hunting. Therefore, there is a large stock of shark skin in the North Sea. Before, I couldn't find the use of shark skin, so I could only use it as a scabbard. But now, Marin suddenly realized that leather armor made from shark skin seems to work...

This kind of leather armor made of shark skin can not only be sold to the Japanese Sengoku daimyo, but also sold in large quantities to the Ming Dynasty. After all, shark skin had an incomparably famous name in the Ming Dynasty—Jiaopi...

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was even more tragic than Japan. Due to the long-term ban on the sea, fishermen in the Ming Dynasty had few opportunities to go fishing. Therefore, the amount of shark catches in the Ming Dynasty is very impressive. As a result, shark skin has naturally become a rarity.

If Marin made excess shark skin into leather armor or scabbards and sold them in the Ming Dynasty, the name "Jiao skin" alone would be very bluffing. In this way, the price will definitely not be lower...

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