Halfway out of Cork City, Marin looked at the boundless sea and felt that he had very few ships. This time when we landed in Cork, dozens of small fishing boats were used because there were no big boats. It looks mighty, only carrying 1,000 people and 100 horses in total.
Of course, if it is beach landing, small fishing boats also have the benefits of small fishing boats. For example, the smaller the boat, the easier it is to get close to the shallow water area on the coast, which is convenient for landing on the beach.
However, if it is transported remotely, it is very inconvenient. For example, on the way to Cork this time, two small fishing boats were almost capsized by wind and waves.
So, after thinking about it, Marin decided to buy a few big ships. The so-called big ships are actually ships of the 200-ton class. In future generations, it must be a small boat. Even in the 16th century decades later, 200 tons would still be considered a small boat. Because such a small boat can run well in the North Sea, but its ability to resist wind and waves is a bit weak when it runs on the Atlantic Ocean.
Of course, Marin doesn't need a big ship now. Because, his sphere of influence extends to the island of Ireland at most. Moreover, on the island of Ireland, Cork is regarded more as a trade transit point. Before he had enough strength to challenge Henry VII, Marin did not intend to fly his own banner.
Even if the Irish princes such as the Earl of Desmond are easier to deal with than the Earl of East Frisia, Marin does not plan to go to Ireland for the time being. Because the East Frisian County is an isolated country in Germany, and Marin went to attack it, and no one would help East Frisian. Although the Earl of Desmond is at odds with the King of England, he is a British prince in name after all, and moving the Irish princes is tantamount to slapping Henry VII in the face. Henry VII, as the British monarch, has no problem using tens of thousands of horses. Therefore, Marin is not an opponent at all now, and it is more practical to engage in the County of East Frisia.
However, for Cork, Marin does not intend to give up. Because Cork City is the number one trade gateway of the entire island of Ireland, mastering this place is equivalent to mastering most of the foreign trade of the island of Ireland, which is very profitable. Moreover, when Marin is strong enough to wrestle with England, Cork will be the bridgehead for Marin to attack the entire island of Ireland, and its position is important.
To secure a firmer grip on Cork, a fleet of ships would certainly be needed. After all, to control most of the foreign trade of the island of Ireland, the transportation volume is definitely not small. The ships needed are by no means a matter of three or two ships. At least a dozen ships are needed, and they must be armed merchant ships.
And a 200-ton armed merchant ship costs one or two thousand gold coins. 10 boats cost 20,000 gold coins. This is only the cost of the ship. In addition, it is necessary to hire a large number of sailors, as well as highly skilled captains and first mates.
In addition, several forts need to be built in Cockle Bay to prevent pirates and other forces from coveting this place...
All in all, to restore Cork City's status as a major trading port, tens of thousands of gold coins must be spent first...
Marin was not too worried about the money issue. Not to mention that opening up the trade route of the Teutonic Knights will bring huge profits. It is Venice, there are still 250,000 gold coins to withdraw...
"Oh, why did you forget this one?" Marin patted his head.
Last year, in Venice, although the Venetians were playing tricks, they still agreed to take another 250,000 gold coins. Marin was so busy this year that he almost forgot to withdraw money...
Last year, after withdrawing the money, Marin signed a document with the Venetian, agreeing to withdraw 500,000 gold coins in two years. Then, the other 250,000 gold coins are counted as commodities and craftsmen, and 60,000 gold coins have been consumed.
In other words, when Marin goes this time, he can directly get 250,000 gold coins in cash, and can buy goods or craftsmen worth 190,000 gold coins.
After returning to Texel Island, Marin thought about it, and decided to let Kohler lead the team, take the remaining two warships, and go to Venice by sea to withdraw money. Along the way, Marin lined up the most reliable 100 fighters to escort the ships.
Because of the death of Charles VIII, the French blockade at sea has been automatically revoked. Therefore, now Marin can safely send ships to Venice by sea.
As for the pirates? That's not a problem. Although the two warships are not big, they are equipped with artillery, and with 100 veterans in charge, they can still deal with pirates.
After all, today's pirates are still small, with at most one or two pirate ships, and the tactics are to jump off the ship and gang up on them. In the face of artillery and professional troops, these pirates are scum. Only the British pirates who were later equipped with the "Red Barbarian Cannon" could really threaten warships. However, that kind of pirate was actually established with the secret support of the British royal family, and it was regarded as the British reserve naval force. Where can a real pirate get such a powerful weapon in naval warfare as the "Red Barbarian Cannon"
For now, because bronze cannons are popular and copper is so expensive, most countries rarely equip artillery, let alone pirates.
When I went to Venice this time, Malin specifically told Kohler that in addition to withdrawing money, he wanted to buy some urgent supplies...
For example, soda, which Venice has a lot of. Because Venice controlled trade in the central and eastern Mediterranean. Egypt is the famous origin of natural soda. Therefore, this thing is plentiful in Venice, and it is not expensive.
But, this stuff is important for glassmaking. Therefore, Marin is going to ask Kohler to buy more so that he can use it to make glass.
With glass, Marin can engage in glass greenhouses. Plus, glass windows can be promoted…
Now European glass is not cheap, so the ones that can really afford to use glass as windows are either noble castles or church buildings...
The Italian side is okay, close to Venice, the glass-producing area. Therefore, glass is used more. Like the larger churches in Italy, the stained glass produced in Venice is used as the windows of the church, which is very dazzling.
And Northwest Europe, because it is far away from Venice. And Venetian glass is made by hand, and the output is not much. Therefore, in the Beihai area, even if you have money, you cannot buy good glass.
There are also some glass craftsmen in Germany and England. However, the glass they make is of poor quality, and only green glass is produced...
Unlike Venice, which has mastered the technique of adding manganese dioxide to neutralize the green color. Therefore, in this era, whether it is colorless glass or stained glass, only Venice produces it. In other parts of Europe, only the most common green glass can be used. And, for lack of soda. The soda used to make glass in other regions is actually obtained by extracting plant ash water, and the cost is relatively high. Therefore, the price of glass in other regions is not low. Fortunately, the production capacity of Venetian glass is limited. Therefore, these craftsmen who produce high-cost green glass also have something to eat...
This time Marin sent Kohler to Venice. In addition to buying soda, another task was to buy pyrolusite. Pyrolulusite is mainly produced in Hungary and Romania in the Balkan Peninsula.
The manufacture of glass in Venice requires a lot of pyrolusite as an important additive to neutralize green. And Marin needs pyrolusite, not to make colorless glass.
In fact, Marin needs pyrolusite to make spring steel. For example, the most common 65Mn spring steel needs some manganese. As long as there is pyrolusite (manganese dioxide), Marin can let artisans extract manganese. Or, simply throw the pyrolusite directly into the steelmaking furnace and add a reducing agent, and then manganese steel can be obtained directly. Of course, if pyrolusite is directly added, the manganese content is difficult to control. Therefore, it is better to reduce manganese metal first, and then add a certain amount of manganese metal into the steelmaking furnace to obtain manganese steel with corresponding manganese content...
Of course, Kohler's task is not to ask Venetians to buy pyrolusite. Who are the Venetians? He is a profiteer...
If you ask the Venetians to buy pyrolusite, will they not be slaughtered? Marin's task for Kohler is to let him find a way to find businessmen who sell pyrolus ore in Hungary and Romania, connect with them, and buy cheaper and larger quantities of pyrolus ore...
With spring steel, it is convenient for Da Vinci to make clockwork and revolver guns... So, this matter is very important to Marin...
In other words, although Marin sent Kohler to Venice this time, although it was under the banner of withdrawing money, in fact, he still needed to buy a large amount of soda and obtain import channels for pyrolusite...