Chapter 330 Longjiang Shipbuilding Factory

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty regime in Yingtian (now Nanjing), Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, unified the country, paid attention to adopting a peaceful and friendly foreign policy to develop friendly exchanges and economic and cultural exchanges with overseas countries. He once said: "I am afraid that future generations will rely on China to be prosperous and strong, be greedy for temporary military achievements, and raise troops without reason, which will hurt lives. Remember not to." In order to develop foreign exchanges, Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Di attached great importance to the development of shipbuilding and shipping, among which the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing is the most prominent.

According to the "History of Ming Dynasty", in the first year of Hongwu (1368), Zhu Yuanzhang "Ministered Tanghe to build sea ships". The most famous shipyard for building sea ships was the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing, also known as the Du Shipyard. According to the "Shangjiang Two County Chronicles" of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, "Du Shipyard is located in Yifengmen, which is the Bao Shipyard." The factory was built in the first year of Hongwu and was affiliated to the Dushui Department of the Ministry of Works. It is located in the Xiaguan and Sanbanhe areas, covering a total area of ​​3,942 mu. It is the largest shipyard in the country in the early Ming Dynasty. According to the "Longjiang Shipyard Chronicles".

"In the beginning of Hongwu, the open space in the northwest corner of the capital was opened to build ships. The area reached the moat in the east, the military and civilian ponds of Qinhuai Street (the west), the civilian base of Yifengmen (138 z. wide), the base of the right guard camp in the south, the head of the Ministry of War in Nanjing and the Pengcheng Bo Zhang Xiongtian (354 z. deep)." It is west of the line from Dinghuai Gate to Xingzhongmen, and the Huimin River (formerly Qinhuai River).

In the second year of Yongle (1404), Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, "was sent envoys to the Western countries". In order to meet the large number of ships needed to "voyage to the Western Ocean", the Longjiang Shipyard carried out a large-scale expansion, and the expansion range crossed the Qinhuai River to the south and extended to the Sanfan River area. Here, the Qinhuai River is lying in the east and the Jiajiang River to the west, and the river canals, ports and ponds are intertwined, which is an excellent place for manufacturing large sea ships. According to the "Jingding Jiankang Zhi", the factory was opened here during the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, which was at that time.

The most famous shipbuilding place. This is also the location of the "Treasure Shipyard" marked on the Zheng He Navigation Chart. Because "Zheng He voyages to the West" and "Treasure Shipyard" became a famous place name in this area. "Treasure Shipyard", "Treasure Shipyard" (Get Off the Treasure Ship", "Treasure Ship" (Get Off the Treasure Ship", "Treasure Ship" (Get Off the Treasure Ship), "Treasure Ship" (Get Off the Treasure Ship), "Treasure Ship Beach" and so on have been called. Today, the place names such as Zhongbao Village in the west of Nanjing City are from this.

At that time, the expanded Longjiang Shipyard took Tianfei Palace in Zhongbao Village as the central axis, and to the north it was "Touzhutang", "Twozhutangs", "Threezhutangs", and to the south it was "Fourzhutangs", "Fivezhutangs", and "Sixzhutangs". There were also "Sevenzhutangs" north of the original "Threezhutangs". Each pond was 300-450 meters long and 35-60 meters wide, and was separated by 30-50 meters between ponds. These orderly arranged pond relics reflect the huge scale of the Longjiang Shipyard at that time.

In addition to the Zoutang, the expanded Longjiang Shipyard also has seven workshops: wood workshop, crock workshop, iron workshop, poncho workshop, paint workshop, rope workshop, and cable workshop. These workshops are supporting projects of the shipbuilding industry, and each workshop has a considerable scale. There are 60 workshops, which specialize in the manufacturing of ship tents, and there are about 400 craftsmen who have been engaged in shipbuilding for generations and work in the Longjiang Shipyard, plus mail, temporary laborers, and military workers who regularly participate in production labor. The number of people working in the factory all year round is more than 1,000.

The sea ships manufactured by the Longjiang Shipyard played a great role in the development of foreign relations. During the "Zheng He's voyage to the West", the Longjiang Shipyard built a large number of giant sea ships. According to Volume 27, 71, 75 of the "Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty", Zhu Di "ordered Jingwei to build 50 sea ships" in the second year of Yongle (1404); in September of the fifth year of Yongle, he ordered Wang Hao to transform 249 sea ships to be transported to Western countries; in the first month of the sixth year of Yongle, he ordered the Ministry of Works to build 48 treasure ships. In the four years from the second year of Yongle to the sixth year, he ordered the Ministry of Works and Jingwei to build 98 sea ships and transform 249 sea ships. Longjiang Shipyard made great contributions in the "Zheng He's voyage to the West".

In addition, Longjiang Shipyard also manufactured many other ships. For example, in the seventh year of Zhengtong (1442), it participated in the manufacture of 350 foreign ships. These foreign ships were more than one thousand hu (material), and were huge sea ships. Later, warships less than four hundred hu were manufactured, yellow ships, patrol ships, lake ships, fishing boats, etc., were successively manufactured. However, since the end of the "voyage to the West", the scale of the shipyard has gradually shrunk. By the fifteenth year of Jiajing, it mainly manufactured warships less than four hundred hu, yellow ships, patrol ships, lake ships, fishing boats and other five categories, 29 specifications and models of inland ships in five categories, including 29 specifications and models.

Unfortunately, such a majestic shipyard suddenly fell.

The subsequent sea ban policy of the Ming Dynasty completely abandoned the Longjiang shipyard.

If the Longjiang Shipyard had not been abandoned, how could there be no Chinese in the age of sailing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries? How could the fleets of Western powers be qualified to wander around the South China Sea? Maybe the fleets of the Ming Dynasty could all control the Mediterranean first.

Under the guidance of Zhang Haibin, Fuhai and Ninghai slowly entered the Longjiang Shipyard.

Zhang Zhun looked around and found that there was indeed a wasteland. All the ponds (i.e., the docks) had turned into mud ponds. Since they had not been cleaned for many years, the original ponds had been blocked by mud. The water surface was full of weeds and lotus everywhere. From time to time, unknown water birds flew up. In the cold winter, the plants on the water surface were particularly vigorous. The water surface was dark green, and whirlpools of all sizes could be seen from time to time, and I don’t know what was hidden below.

The water level is very shallow, and Fuhai, which has a deep draft, obviously cannot drive in, so he can dock outside helplessly. Fortunately, Ninghai, which has a relatively shallow draft, can barely drive in. Zhang Zhun and others turned to the top of Ninghai and continued to move towards the depths of the mud pond. Since the road has been abandoned for too long and various debris often appear, even the Ninghai Fuhai ship must be operated carefully before it can slowly come in.

Zhou Zhengyu woke up his spirit and was fully focused on manipulating the ship, fearing that it would not come out of the mud. To be honest, it would be quite troublesome if it was really stuck in the mud. Even if it was used to pull it with Fu Hai, it would be useless. Fortunately, Zhang Zhun left the Gu family's time and space and basically cleared the supplies on the ship. Otherwise, Fu Hai and Ning Hai would not have been able to drive in.

Ninghai slowly moved forward, Zhang Zhun raised his thousand-mile mirror and slowly observed the surroundings. At this time, it was already setting sun, and the sky and earth were dim. At the ruins of the Longjiang Shipyard, I felt so moved that I saw the setting sun. How glorious this place was. Brand new ships were launched here, and then they entered the sea along the Yangtze River and flew on the oceans of the world. What a magnificent view!

Now, it has become like this. You can vaguely see the huge things on both sides of the mud pond that look like slide rails in later generations, which should have been used when the ship was launched. However, it was only used by small ships. The largest treasure ships were built directly in the dry dock, and then slowly released the water in to float the ship.

"Huh? There's someone over there!"

Suddenly, Zhang Zhun discovered that there were still many families in the basil on both sides of the strait.

These families are very dilapidated, all of which are thatched huts, and the outside is pitch black. Some of them can even see holes from afar. In a vague way, some skinny old people can be seen walking around numbly. They rarely see young people and children. Occasionally, they see a few, their expressions seem a little weird, as if they are different from normal people. Some of them are even without clothes in such a cold winter weather.

Zhang Zhun asked slowly: "Zhang Haibin, who are they? Why are they still here? In such cold weather, why don't you even wear clothes?"

Zhang Haibin said sadly: "They are all descendants of shipwrecks in the past. They just because they have no work to do and cannot leave, so they can only stay here. This mud pond is where they rely on for survival. Some lotus roots are produced in the mud pond, and they rely on planting lotus roots to make a living. Sometimes, they will also get into the mud and touch loaches or lice. It would be fine if they touch loaches or lice, but if they touch water snakes or other things, it would be bad."

He said with a sad expression that because the life of the boatmen was so bad, fewer and fewer women were willing to marry them. By their generation, there were very few who could marry a wife. Among the ten people, only two or three could marry a wife. Without a wife, there would naturally be no descendants. As the saying goes, unfilial piety is three, and no descendants are the greatest. There is no way, so the boatmen had to go outside to find some unhealthy women to come back and reproduce.

Of course, the boatmen want to change their lives, but in the face of such a bad environment, how many women are willing to marry them? Even if a few of them occasionally get married, they are not sound, either because they are not sound in good condition, or because they have mental problems. It’s okay if they are not sound in good condition, the children born are at least sound, but women with mental problems have a considerable chance of giving birth to children, and the children will also have problems.

The ones Zhang Zhun saw who were not wearing clothes and walking around were mentally ill. They were fools since they were born. As time went by, more and more fools were around the mud pond. Perhaps, in a few years, this place would become a mad village. Because of these fools, fewer people outside came. Over time, this place would be isolated from people. If Zhang Haibin had no relatives here, he would not have come to this mad village. It was so miserable that he would not have seen such a scene.

“It’s really too miserable.”

Zhang Zhun nodded speechlessly.

Sad.

It's so sad.

If we only see the prosperity of Nanjing City, who can see that behind the gorgeous prosperity, there are such tragic villages. They are a microcosm of the Ming Dynasty. Science and technology are the primary productive forces. When a country's craftsmen and technicians have fallen to such a level, how can this country have a future? Can garbage like eight-legged essays save the country? The whole country's atmosphere only wants to be an official and make money. It is impossible for such a country to not perish. God will not allow it!

The more Ninghai goes inside, the slower the speed. From time to time, you can feel something at the bottom of the ship is blocking the progress. Obviously, the bottom of the ship has touched the mud. However, the mud here is still soft, and Ninghai is also a brand new big ship that can knock the mud and continue to move forward. However, there is no doubt that Ninghai can no longer move forward. Fortunately, soon, the mud pond will basically end.

Zhang Haibin pointed to the front and said, "Sir, the drawings mentioned by my subordinates are in that pagoda village."

Zhang Zhun said in confusion: "Stupa Village?"

He looked in the direction Zhang Haibin pointed out and saw a broken pagoda, about ten feet high and three or four feet wide, with a pointed circular pagoda structure. The surface of the pagoda was dim and there were many dead branches and leaves hanging on it. Such pagodas can be seen in many temples. However, when they appear here, they seem a little abrupt.

Then I realized that because the ancients did not have modern navigation knowledge, they attributed many rare phenomena in nature to the influence of gods. Such as the operation of the sun, moon, stars, typhoons, hurricanes, trade winds, monsoons, waves and tides. Before doing big things, they must first ask Gods to worship Buddha and pray for success. Before each ship starts construction, they must worship Gods and worship Buddhas. Under the working conditions at that time, casualties are very normal. Praying for the blessing of Gods and Buddhas in the sky is to pray for smooth work and not casualties. This prayer psychology is actually the same as asking the sea gods for protection before sailors go to sea.

In fact, within less than half a year after Xue Zhidie's shipyard was established, two workers had accidentally fallen from a high place while working and were seriously injured. The minor injuries caused by other situations were more numerous. Basically, one or two casualties were required every month. The craftsmen of the Longjiang Shipyard specially built a pagoda here, hoping to eliminate all adverse effects, which is understandable.

There is an old pier near the pagoda. Perhaps when the pagoda was built, the stones used were the best. This pier has gone through the distant years of wind and frost and has not yet collapsed. However, there is a lot of moss on the stone. It seems that in recent years, I have rarely come to worship the pagoda. At the same time, the pier looks intact. Ninghai slowly docked on the edge of the pier.

Zhang Haibin reminded: "Everyone, be careful..."

There was no sound, and there was a click there, and someone unfortunately fell into the water.

Zhang Zhun turned his head and found that Zhu Chengtai was very impatient. It turned out that when the ship was docking, Zhu Chengtai, who was impatient, could not help but go ashore. As a result, these trestles were already decayed due to disrepair. For safety, pedestrians traveled and walked a few newer wooden boards in the middle of the trestle. However, Zhu Chengtai did not step on these wooden boards, but on the rotten wooden boards next to it. So, the unlucky Zhu Chengtai unfortunately fell directly from the trestle and fell directly into the mud pond.

Everyone was secretly alert.

This pagoda village is full of such a broken lot, and there may be more natural traps. No wonder it is isolated from the world, there are also lunatics and traps. Who dares to come in? Isn’t this a cause for your own suffering?

"Damn it, it's me who is unlucky!"

"Damn! Why is there a loach?"

Zhu Chengtai finally got pulled up, and his whole body was already dirty. If he hadn't stood up, he wouldn't have seen the human figure at all. What makes people laugh even more is that after Zhu Chengtai was pulled up, a loach actually caught out from his military uniform's pocket. I don't know how the loach got into his pocket, and his movement was too fast. The barrel of his Hu Ben Gun Gun was already covered in black mud, which was temporarily unavailable.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhun brought a hundred Hu Ben guns for later use. Fortunately, although Zhu Chengtai was very embarrassed, he was fine. He just drank two sips of dirty sewage and felt like he was nauseous. Fortunately, there was no saying of glass in this era, and no one casually dumped the glass lamp garbage into the mud pond. Otherwise, he would be disabled if he didn't die.

Of course, in such weather, it is inevitable that it will suddenly fall into the water and be trembling all over by the cold. Fortunately, the soldiers of the Hu Ben Army are all in good physical condition. After getting on the boat, they quickly washed them clean and changed into dry cotton coats. That's all. Before they could enter the Fota Village, they gave everyone such a warning. You can imagine what everyone's impression of this Fota Village is.

With Zhu Chengtai's lesson, everyone was very careful when they got ashore. For safety reasons, Liu Dong and others placed the wooden ladder on the top of the trestle, and everyone walked over the top of the wooden ladder. Only one person walked at a time, and the force was evenly applied to ensure that there was no worry. As a result, everyone, including Zhang Zhun, seemed to be walking on stilts, with an extremely weird posture.

After finally coming ashore, I smelled a foul smell. The feeling was like Yangjiatun at the beginning, even a little worse than Yangjiatun. After all, the sea breeze blows from time to time, which can dissipate some of the stench. However, in this pagoda village, there is no wind, and the gathered stench can make the strongest nerves collapse. Even Zhang Zhun had to try hard to cover his mouth and nose. After working hard for a while, he could barely breathe.

There were a few people next to him who were ragged and dirty, looking at Zhang Zhun numbly, all with dull eyes and no expression at all. Someone was smirking at Zhang Zhun, but they didn't know what they were laughing at. There was also a woman showing her two drooping breasts and smirking at everyone. The Hu Ben Army soldiers who made her look weird, so she had to look away. No need to ask, you know that the nerves of these people are not normal. If you talk to them or expel them, you will become a fool.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhun was very good at picking up a large bag of pancakes from the boat and distributed them. Even fools had a natural pursuit of food, and even more so with the strong fragrance of pancakes. So, after the pancakes were distributed, they all obediently chewed the pancakes and never watched them again. Everyone was able to escape smoothly.
Chapter completed!