Chapter 17 Setting Sail (Part 2)

"Zhenyuan, you have a courageous spirit, strong power in the country, and you are gentle and kind to the four barbarians. Such a good name is as easy as you can pick it up. I admire you a little for my brother," Zhu Biao said with emotion. Looking at Zhu Di's childish but rigid face, a warm current softly surged in his heart. He stretched out his hand and gently patted Zhu Di's shoulder: "Fourth brother, you have really grown up."

"Big Brother", Zhu Di's heart was also hot. He looked up and saw that he had not seen him for a long time. The face of Prince Zhu Biao was much darker by the sea breeze, but compared to the weaker style in the palace, it added a bit of an emperor's attitude. "You have changed too."

"How can it not change? In the past, I only knew how to find answers to things from books. Now I have been in charge of maritime affairs and know a lot of things, which are very different from what the book says. For example, at first, I thought that I had established a customs and collected money. Later I realized that the personnel had to be allocated, and the tariffs were as follows: there were a lot of knowledge, different goods, and different customs, and the details of which were ever-changing."

"How can I guess whether it exists without seeing and hearing things in person? In the past, I only thought about how to raise 100,000 soldiers and dominate the world. How could I think that refining soldiers is not a simple matter. Soldiers have to eat, officials have to pay wages, armor and equipment, and they are even more rewarded with white silver. Well-trained soldiers can be picked up as soon as they have not been trained. No matter how many soldiers have not been trained, they are all scattered in a fight. If you want the soldiers to work hard, you have to share the joys and sorrows with them, respect them, and understand their needs." Zhu Di, who has suffered from "poverty", now has a deep understanding of the difficulties of governing.

"Indeed, I never thought that water battles were better than warships, not the number of warships. A few months ago, I realized that with a good ship, not only did I have different military power, but my morale was also very different. Everyone was willing to fight a battle of victory. A few days ago, the clutches of the coastal guards came to report the victory. General Xu and General Shao and the other seven ships chased over more than 40 ships in the South China Sea, and copied the pirate's nests without any damage. Even Tang and such veterans could not have expected these, which was really eye-opening."

"If our brothers are still in the palace, I might be trying to mess around with you. Although the brotherhood is good, it is not like this. There are many topics. I have learned a lot in the past six months, and my brother must be the same."

"Yes, it turns out that our brothers can only talk about brotherly friendship, but now we can guide the country together. You are no longer my younger brother who needs to be taken care of, but how can you describe it like mine? My arm, no, half of my body." Zhu Biao looked up and looked around, with indescribable generosity in his heart, "One of you and my brothers is on the sea and the other is on the land, all of the Mongols, Goryeo, and Japanese pirates, go to the ghosts. My Ming Dynasty, I was born to be destined to pay homage to the four barbarians."

"Yes, we are brothers here." Zhu Di was also infected by the prince's tone and waved his arms excitedly. "With these tens of thousands of soldiers, these giant ships and cannons, in the future, as long as the cannons are available, it will be the boundary of the Ming Dynasty."

The two stopped talking. Although the brothers are in good terms, they have never been so close to each other as they have been together today. Everything in front of them, the flowing clouds in the sky and the white gulls in the blue sea all look different.

"How about it, Brother Wu, this ship didn't disappoint you." Not far from the prince and the King of Yan, Cao Zhen couldn't wait to pull Wu Anguo and Guo Pu to see his treasures.

"It's not just not disappointing, it's simply unexpected." Wu Anguo looked at the giant ship not far away and admired sincerely. "It's a little better than I thought at the beginning, and it's better than any sailboat I've ever seen." This is the truth. Before he came to the Ming Dynasty, he had only seen a sailboat model, but never saw a sailboat at all.

"Brother Wu has won the award. This ship is made of silver, which is more than three times more expensive than the star-rated warship I told you in the letter I had previously said." Although that's the case, it's not difficult to hear the pride. For more than half a year, Cao Zhen, the commander of the Shanhaiwei, has hardly stayed at Shanhaiguan for a few days. As the prince's arm, he has participated in almost all the work of the navy. In his eyes, these ships are like his son, and of course they are willing to listen to people's praise. Guo Pu's few words of just the right praise made him feel floating and indescribable.

"I think it's a double-layer gun deck, you have arranged two-layer guns." Wu Anguo asked in disbelief. If that is the case, the power may be higher than the Spanish sailing ship he remembers.

"Yes, according to the length of this ship, the artillery could have been arranged about thirty more guns. Later, considering the endurance, it did not place so much. It was left to load food and the living environment of the sailors could also be improved. In fact, the star-level warships are enough to dominate, and this moon-level warship is more suitable for expeditions. I also put a mechanism on this ship. Brother Wu, take a closer look at what's special about this ship."

Wu Anguo looked at it as he said, the warship that was about to go out to sea was floating on the water like a sleeping dragon. It was not so much a Spanish sailboat, but rather a mixture of Western ships and Eastern ships. In proportion, the bow and stern of the ship were too low, and the deliberately lowered side greatly reduced the enemy's aimable area. But the hull was much longer, which also meant that the speed was faster and the turn was more flexible. Thinking of the mechanism, the strange collision angle at the bow of the ship attracted his attention. No, it could not be a collision angle. Cao Zhen would not be willing to let his treasures collide with other people's ships.

"I saw it, Ziyou, the corner bump on your bow is a lie." Wu Anguo and Guo Pu said in unison, which made Cao Zhen laugh.

"The two heroes have the same view. I will not be stupid enough to collide with people. That is your artillery from Peking. I set up a cannon at the bow of the ship. In order to make a place for it, the boatmen have tried their best to make it. Remember the gears and bearings I ordered last time, I matched them with the shaking handle of the lifting sail you made for me. This cannon can rotate, that is, it rushed from any angle in front of me, and don't expect me to not be able to hit it. I also wrapped a layer of steel plate on the turret. Even if I accidentally hit it by the other party, it will not cause an explosion."

"But there is really you. I didn't expect that you, a hero, will still be so great when you arrive at the sea." Guo Pu sincerely praised.

"Without award, when it comes to naval battles, what is really great is Fang Mingqian. Fang Xiaohou grew up on warships since he was a child and is an absolute master of water warfare. Almost all the navy system comes from his suggestions. Wherever the warship goes, the captain must record everything that happened that day and leave it to the later generations as a reference, which is his invention. There is also a suggestion that water war does not record the war merits by beheading, but rather the evaluation criteria for completing pre-war purposes. It is indeed foresight. The provision that gunships must maintain formation during warships and cannot fight on their own is also from his hands. This person is not only extraordinary in terms of knowledge, but also free and polite in his soldiers. He is definitely a good general who is rare in a century."

"You don't have to be too humble. I see that many places have the shadow of you, Cao Ziyou. Recently, did you suggest that the prince write the memorial to sell boats to the people and raise boats with boats?" Guo Pu asked with a smile.

"Yes, to fight naval battles with Japanese pirates, star-rated warships are enough. These moon-rated warships are better for flagships. If you look further and compete for the entire ocean, you need moon-rated or larger ships. However, we do not have better navigation equipment and cannot determine the location more accurately, so we can only wander around at home. I am currently paying a lot of money to ask people from Peking Academy to study tools that indicate directions better than compass and quarter-pointers. Before the equipment comes out, star-rated warships will be the main force. I now ask craftsmen to try their best to maximize the potential of star-rated warships and continuously improve their structure, and suggest too

Zi encourages the construction of ship docks in various coastal areas. Once this type of ship is widely adopted by the people, it will transport goods faster and promote sea transportation. In addition, it is easy to cultivate suitable sailors. If there is something at sea, you can only recruit good sailors to join the navy. It saves a lot of money for training sailors. More importantly, my shipbuilding skills in the Ming Dynasty will become higher and higher. When the Liaodong incident occurs, the prince, Fang Mingqian, Chang Mao and I are preparing to fund Feng Ziming to go to sea to let the little guy fulfill his wishes. At the same time, I also explore whether the legendary land on the map east of Japan exists on the sea. Regarding the future, Cao Zhen undoubtedly thinks very far.

Wu Anguo secretly thanked that he could still find such a clear mind and sober partner in this dynasty. Whether it was Guo Pu or Cao Zhen, he had a broad mind. Perhaps as he once read a book, the Chinese nation once had a few times to take off, which was the Ming Dynasty when he had just overthrew the Mongolian dynasty. At that time, people's thinking was mixed with the Han people's conscience and opening up of the Mongolian people. Just like the early Tang Dynasty, it was the most pioneering. Unfortunately, a habit destroyed all this. He remembered the story of Zheng He's sailing and kindly reminded: "Let Feng Ziming be self-sufficient as much as possible. He can run a fleet like we run a company in Huairou, and use the charts and specialties that sail to various places to exchange for financial support. In this way, more people will support him and support will last."

"I really want to go to war with Goryeo and block the reinforcements of the Goryeo people. Is there a little less ship count?" After listening to Cao Zhen's introduction, Guo Pu asked worriedly.

"Brother Guo only knows one thing, not the other. This type of ship has been mastered by several docks. Basically, two ships can be built at the same time, from placing keels, placing ribs, placing the outer plates of ribs, installing the masts and sail tools, to laying the cannons, it can be completed in three months. At present, Shanhaiwei, Tianjinwei, Weihaiwei, Shaoxingwei, and Quanzhouwei are all rushing to make it. What is lacking now is not a ship, a good sailor, and your artillery from Peking!" Cao Zhen obviously had some opinions on the supply of firearms, and took the opportunity to complain.

"It will get better. Now the steel is basically available. I won't cook without rice like before." Guo Pu was a little embarrassed and quickly explained. "But let's see if we can lower the tariffs on grain in the customs. We need to hoard some grain. In the past two years, fewer and fewer people have farmed in Peking, especially this year, after improving the loom, the profits of growing cotton are obviously higher than those of farming. I'm afraid that if there is a flood and drought, there will be problems with the grain."

"No problem, I try my best to recommend that the prince order a reduction in grain import tax and prohibit the export of grain. Brother Guo can ask the merchants from Peking to transport some rice from the south from the sea to prepare for emergencies." Cao Zhen agreed and talked about cooperation with each other, and the topic gradually turned to the agreement at the beginning of the year.

"The atmosphere in Peiping is very good now, and it is even more unrestrained than when you were there. Zhang Wu and other guys, once they know that they can enjoy some kind of power, they try every means to defend their power, for fear that others will rob it. Now there are too many transactions in Peiping, and everyone has more demands on fairness. Whether it is official or the people, remarks are very beneficial to us. Brother Guo's friend Bo Chen is now the leader of retro Confucianism, and he has become a sect leader. There are many great scholars in the north and south echoing them. Their regular activities are sponsored by the merchants in Peking, so of course they have to say a few fair words for the merchants. Although the two newspapers quarreled fiercely, they have to understand many principles. At least let the people know that they can think with their brains. This is not easy." Wu Anguo introduced to Cao Zhen.

"Is it? Brother Wu is full of hope now? I have always believed that the real strategy for a strong country is not military, but political. Brother Wu's method was implemented in Huairou, although the ancients had never said it, I think it is the hope of a strong country. In this situation, Brother Wu has been doing a lot of tricks in private. I don't think that those two newspapers, especially the "Peking Spring and Autumn", do not seem to be able to bear the profits and losses. I don't know which boss is the one who uses funds to support him?" Cao Zhen raised his voice and looked at Guo and Wu in a cunning manner.

"It's naturally not me who is planning to plan," Wu Anguo replied with a smile.

"Don't look at me, I will not support a newspaper that always causes trouble for me. I have long guessed who it is when I ask about our faults and secretly contributed to us. After all, the name of the Tie Dan Scholar is not called for nothing." Guo Pu also smiled and revealed the mystery in Cao Zhen's heart.

It was Li Shanping. Wu Anguo mentioned this name and his heart was always warm. This confidant who met him first and hit the ground at first sight, silently made up for his own omissions with his wise eyes and hid the handle that he might be caught. Although this man was powerless and disabled, with him, there was a little more safety behind him. Thinking of this, he said with some emotion: "It is enough to have a confidant in life. I, Wu Anguo, get three at once, which is really a blessing from God. Ziyou, be careful when you are a navy master. Some things need to be done step by step, and don't be too anxious."

"It's okay, I have my own sense of responsibility." Cao Zhen waved his hand and showed a knowing smile on the corner of his mouth. "The prince is a kind person and is very good to the people below. He is very influenced by corrupt scholars. Although this place does not create a big round table like in Peking, it is also smaller than the low-level concepts in other places. All systems are based on our original militia and are established relatively soundly. Do it slowly, I never thought it would be done overnight. Now I focus mainly on strengthening the army. As long as the military affairs rely on me, other aspects will naturally adopt my suggestions. I now wonder, will you businessmen in Peking encourage them to develop in other places?"

"It's not encouragement, it's creating conditions for them. As long as you make money, merchants will always run faster than us." Guo Pu laughed and added: "I think the scale of the academy needs to be expanded, so I won't just start a few more places in the right place. One is to cultivate talents, and on the other hand, when we get old, we won't be able to succeed. Hope is always the descendants, just like the two of them, they will definitely see further than us in the future." He thrust his chin on the beach in the distance. Cao and Wu followed his eyes. Jiang Ye and Zhang Zhengxin were twisting together. The carefree laughter made the beach in the sunset brighter.

On September of the 12th year of Hongwu, the prince met with King Yan in Tianjin and watched the giant ship into the sea.

Before dawn, the dock was crowded with people watching. Many people came in the middle of the night in order to find a good location. Those who could come here to see the giant ships going out to sea were all the leading figures from hundreds of miles around and those who had participated in the ship construction orders by the prince. There were also many people who came in with connections. The crowd was in chaos, and there were a little disturbance. If it weren't for the navy soldiers maintaining order, someone would have fallen into the sea.

The sky was still light blue, the clear light blue, as gentle as jade. Slowly, the floating clouds were inlaid with gold edges, and the sea water in the distance also turned golden red, jumping and getting closer. A ray of light was scattered on the battle flag hanging high on the masts, and instantly dyed it like a flame. The sun poked its head out of the water surface, making the water and sky brilliant. In the rays of light, accompanied by the horns, the prince Zhu Biao, the king of Yan Zhu Di, and the legendary heroes Wu Anguo and Cao Zhen, walked out of the passage blocked by the soldiers, towards Fubo, Dingyuan, and Zhenyuan.

"See Your Highness the Crown Prince", some officials took the lead in worshiping, and some "ritually" gentry followed closely behind. However, the crowded crowd could not make more places. With the ritual officials' voices of disgrace, everyone was happy to be disgraceful.

"Ziyou, come on," Zhu Biao took the wine jar with red silk handed over by the Sili Officer and handed it to Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen smiled and said ruthlessly: "Ziyou dare not, give it to General Tang, he is the founder of the Navy."

The veteran Tang He took the wine jar, his long white beard trembled slightly, and the golden flower hair dyed by the sunlight flew with the wind. He held the wine jar high and prayed to the sky, "God, please bless my Ming navy to travel all over the world and be invincible"!

"Everywhere in the world", as the navy soldiers shouted in unison, veteran Tang He dropped the wine jar on the main cannon of the Fubo. "Raising the anchor and raising the sail", he shouted with all his strength, and the crowd was cheering on the shore.

Fubo, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan raised the main sail and lost it to the port one by one. The white sails were like flames in the rays of the sunset, catching and "burning".

The official of the Si Li directed the soldiers to fill each of the generals of each ship with strong wine and drinking this bowl, which means that everyone is united and share life and death at the sea.

The head general of the Dingyuan, Fang Mingqian, raised his wine bowl, walked slowly towards the side of the ship, and poured the spirits in his hand into the sea, "Brothers, have you seen it? Our giant ship is going to sea, and there will be no Japanese pirates rampant at our doorstep, and there will be no brothers and Japanese pirates who will have blood and blood in the world."

This was obviously an act of usurpation. Without the order of the prince, no one could drink this wine first. But at this moment, no one blamed him. Everyone looked at the sea quietly. In the past six months, countless loyal and brave soldiers of the navy fought desperately with the Japanese pirates on civilian ships, and their blood was dyed red across the sea water, the deep Chinese sea.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Tang He, Wu'anguo, Cao Zhen, Guo Pu... The navy soldiers raised their glasses silently and scattered the wine into the sea. This first bowl of wine should be toasted to the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the rejuvenation of China.

"Why do you say you have no clothes? You are in the same comrade with your son. Wang Yu raised his troops and repaired my spear and shared his hatred with you!"

"Why do you say you have no clothes? You are in the same vein as me. The king of the army will be established, and I will build my spear and halberd, and I will work with you!"

"Why do you say you don't have clothes? You have the same clothes as you. The king of you will build your army and build your armor and soldiers, and walk with you!"

…………………………………………………………

The navy's war song rang at the bow of the ship, resounding throughout the blue sea.

"Sing the cannon, for..." Zhu Biao shouted loudly, his shouting drowned in the war song.

The sound of booming cannons sounded on the sea, alarmed the seagulls in the sky, awakened the sleeping fishing village, and awakened the harbor that had been intoxicated for thousands of years. A nation also woke up and rose up with the roar of artillery artillery.

"Ming Dynasty", the end of the first "Showing Sail" volume

drinker
Chapter completed!