Chapter 421: Damn Yan Shaoting
The persistence in the huge ship.

It's not that Yan Shaoting is being too picky.

Rather, the development of the times and the development of firearms technology will inevitably give birth to warships that focus on firepower.

at this point.

Changping Forging Plant is doing just that.

Last year on Jiashan Mountain, a batch of artillery pieces provided firepower suppression for the Mongols who had infiltrated the capital.

In addition to models that are improvements on the original artillery, there are also models that attempt to equip warships with more artillery.

I probably won’t see an ironclad ship in my lifetime.

This kind of product that transcends industrial level takes a long time to develop.

However, relying on larger hulls to carry more artillery for use in naval warfare is an inevitable development path.

Think about it.

When the Ming Dynasty's new warships were sailing on the ocean, they encountered an enemy or pirate warship in front.

The Ming warships turned sideways when encountering the enemy.

Lined up in a row, dozens or even a hundred black gun muzzles were pointed at the enemy warships.

Such Ming warships formed a long snake formation on the sea.

The general gave the order.

The artillery fired in unison.

I'm afraid that at that time there will be no need to board a ship and fight, as the firepower alone can completely suppress the enemy and make them unable to raise their heads.

Things that can be directly covered and attacked with long-range firepower.

Why did the men of the Ming Dynasty have to engage in such seemingly impressive but extremely dangerous boarding operations?

But when faced with Yan Shaoting's questioning again.

The shipbuilder became completely mute.

It's a huge ship.

That's something I dare not even think about.

Even though Qingjiangpu Shipyard is the largest shipyard along the canal.

I'm afraid that even if it is really made by copying the original, it will fall apart once it is put into water.

But I have to reply to my superior’s words.

The shipbuilder hesitated for a long time before hesitating and saying, "Governor, ten thousand materials...even if...even if it can be built, this canal...can't hold it."

Between reality and dreams.

The shipwright chose the size.

Anyway, I am just a shipbuilder at Qingjiangpu Shipyard.

Even if this God of Wealth in front of him could persuade the imperial court to build a huge ship that could carry tens of thousands of tons, that would not be the job of the Qingjiangpu Shipyard.

"Oh?"

Yan Shaoting smiled mysteriously: "That means that the Longjiang Shipyard should be able to build it?"

Longjiang Shipyard is located on the Yangtze River in the northwest of Nanjing City.

The shipbuilding dock is directly connected to the Yangtze River waterway.

No matter how big a ship is, as long as it can be built, it can be put into the Yangtze River waterway, and then go down the Yangtze River and out to the sea at Songjiang Prefecture.

The shipbuilder was completely dumbfounded.

Looking at this God of Wealth, it seems that he really wants to build a huge ship.

What else can I say?

But at this time, an old foreman of the shipyard who had been accompanying Yan Shaoting and his party with the shipwright raised his hand cautiously.

Yan Shaoting's eyes immediately lit up.

He walked forward with a smile on his face: "Old man, do you have anything to say?"

The old foreman nodded, then shook his head with fear.

Zhu Qi frowned immediately: "In front of the governor, if you have something to say, just say it. It's okay even if you're wrong."

When the old foreman heard this, he looked at Yan Shaoting again.

Seeing this young noble nodded.

The old foreman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he glanced at the shipbuilder, but saw no one to stop him.

The old foreman finally spoke in a low voice: "Your Excellency wants to build a ship of 10,000 tons, but it may not be done in a day. Although Qingjiangpu cannot build one, Longjiang Shipyard still has some foundation. We can try to build the treasure ship and Fu ship of 5,000 tons first, and then build the 10,000-ton ship you mentioned after we have the experience."

As the old foreman spoke, Yan Shaoting quickly glanced at the old man.

The old foreman was not dressed very well, only slightly cleaner than the ordinary craftsmen in the shipyard, but his hands were covered with calluses, and there was a strange red-purple color between his fingers.

This is due to the paint used in shipbuilding.

You can tell at first glance that he is a shipbuilder all his life.

Yan Shaoting immediately asked with a smile: "I also know about Longjiang Shipyard. It started to build ships for the court during the reign of Emperor Taizu, and even built treasure ships and Fu ships of 5,000 tons during the reign of Emperor Chengzu. But those blueprints have long been lost. Can they still build them now?"

A treasure ship and a lucky ship worth five thousand materials.

That was the ship that eunuch Sanbao took when he sailed to the West.

At that time, the shipbuilding and shipping industries of the Ming Dynasty were at their most prosperous.

When the old foreman heard Yan Shaoting say this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was lost in reminiscence.

after all.

Back then, the Ming Dynasty was able to build treasure ships and Fu ships that could transport 5,000 tons of cargo.

As for why it cannot be built now, those who have been shipbuilders for a lifetime naturally know it.

For them.

This is actually a thorn, a deep pain.

After a while.

The old foreman seemed to have finished his recollections.

He slowly said, "Your Excellency, you may not know that my family has been building ships for generations. Back then, my ancestors also built treasure ships and blessing ships for the Sanbao eunuch fleet in Nanjing!"

Talking about family past.

The old foreman's face was suddenly filled with pride.

The shipbuilder also nodded in agreement.

It can be regarded as a recognition of the identity and origin mentioned by the old foreman.

The old foreman continued, "At that time, our Ming Dynasty did not have treasure ships and Fuzhou ships of 5,000 tons at the beginning. At most, we could only build some ships of 2,000 to 3,000 tons. Didn't we build treasure ships and Fuzhou ships later? The old man thinks that as long as..."

To the end.

The old foreman looked up at Yan Shaoting with fear again.

then.

The old foreman took a deep breath and said, "As long as the court orders it and the government is willing to work hard, we might be able to build a treasure ship or a Fu ship of 5,000 tons if we give it a try!"

Yan Shaoting immediately asked: "Is it okay without the blueprint?"

The old foreman had already spoken out, and he was less timid now, with a smile on his face: "When Emperor Chengzu sent Eunuch Sanbao to sail to the West, there were no blueprints for treasure ships and Fu ships at first."

The shipwright hurriedly said, "Stop talking nonsense!"

The old foreman refused to give in. "When we first built the Fu Ship and the Treasure Ship, there were indeed no blueprints. We built those 5,000-ton treasure ships and Fu Ships by trial and error!"

The shipbuilder became anxious.

For him, it was not a question of whether he could build a treasure ship and a Fu ship of 5,000 tonnes, but rather that he should not speak carelessly and make promises without thinking.

Yan Shaoting reached out and stopped the shipbuilder's anxiety.

He narrowed his eyes, scanned the old foreman's face, and looked at the flatland inland waterway vessels being built in the shipyard.

Under the gaze of everyone.

Yan Shaoting smiled and said slowly: "Yes, weren't the treasure ships and the Fu ships also built in the past?"

Perhaps it was not the case as the old foreman said that the treasure ship and the Fu ship were built without any blueprints.

But it is certainly impossible that the Ming Dynasty’s shipyards knew how to build treasure ships and Fu ships from the beginning.

Back then, the Ming Dynasty was able to build that huge fleet that shocked the world for Eunuch Sanbao from scratch. There is no reason why people today cannot do the same.

And the most important thing here is not actually the drawings.

Liu Daxia's burning of the treasure ship drawings was actually just the appearance of an event.

This phenomenon is precisely the dissatisfaction of the local forces of the Ming Dynasty, or the forces outside the imperial power, with the royal family's monopoly on overseas livelihoods.

after all.

The huge profits from eunuch Sanbao's voyage to the West were held in the hands of Emperor Taizong from beginning to end, not the imperial court, let alone the people.

And it was after Liu Daxia allegedly burned the treasure ship drawings that Ming's overseas smuggling began to flourish. Yan Shaoting would never believe it if there were no twists and turns.

After thinking about this.

Yan Shaoting finally walked out of the Qingjiangpu Shipyard with satisfaction.

The shipbuilding task will definitely not fall to the Qingjiangpu Shipyard.

After all, it is just as the shipbuilder said.

Even if a large ship of 5,000 or even 10,000 tonnes could be built, this small canal would not be able to accommodate such a large ship.

The final destination is the Longjiang Shipyard outside Nanjing.

After understanding and clarifying the shipbuilding matter.

Yan Shaoting looked at the entire Qingjiangpu. In the distance, on a section of the bank near the canal, there was a complex of buildings that was not a city but better than a fortress, quietly stretching out on the land.

"That's Changying Warehouse, which is under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of the Grand Canal, located in Qingjiangpu."

The one who spoke was Zhu Qi.

Yan Shaoting went all the way south, and he was in charge of all external affairs.

And on the other end.

Wang Ting and Li Youzi, who had agreed to ride on the same boat, hurried with their men, but in the end they still lagged behind Yan Shaoting and arrived at the Qingjiangpu Shipyard.

Looking at the shipwright who was waiting for them at the door.

Li Youzi, the prefect of Huai'an, is still a very powerful official.

"I want to ask you, where is the strict supervisor?"

"Didn't you say we were coming to your Qingjiangpu Shipyard?"

Facing the questioning of the Lord of the Mansion.

The shipbuilder first looked at Wang Ting, and then at Li Youzi.

"Reporting to the Lord, Yan... Supervisor Yan did come to the shipyard, but he just went to Changying Warehouse not long ago..."

On ordinary days, the county magistrate’s shipbuilding officer is rarely seen in a year.

Today is Alexander.

We had just seen off the young nobleman from the capital.

Now the Governor of Grand Canal and the Prefect of Huai'an have arrived.

Li Youzi heard clearly where Yan Shaoting was going, and immediately turned around to look at Wang Ting, his eyes flickering.

After driving away the shipbuilder.

The two of them walked outside for a while.

Li Youzi then stamped his feet fiercely: "I told you! I told you! He was heading for the Huai'an warehouse!"

Wang Ting, who was not very sure about Li Youzi's remarks at the beginning, was now extremely nervous.

Wang Ting looked towards Changying Warehouse and murmured, "Is he really going to check the accounts at Huaian Warehouse?"

Li Youzi glanced at Wang Ting, then immediately turned around and said to his staff, "Write another letter, stating that Yan Shaoting came to Changying Warehouse in Qingjiangpu today, catch up with the people ahead, and deliver both letters to Nanjing!"

The aide nodded in agreement and took out an ink pen and a booklet from his pocket.

Li Youzi was already pulling Wang Ting towards Changyingcang to catch up.

Changying warehouse.

The warehouse was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Grain Transport, and had the same management and operation model as other large warehouses in the imperial court.

In addition to the soldiers who guard the warehouse, there are also officials from the government office who manage the warehouse.

The reason why Yan Shaoting brought his men to Changying Warehouse was because his main job during this trip south was to be the general manager of the money and grain storage affairs in the six provinces of Jiangnan.

The money and grain of the six provinces refer to the tax items of the six provinces.

The warehousing naturally refers to the various large warehouses under the jurisdiction of the six provincial government offices that store the court’s money, grain and goods.

There are county warehouses, prefecture treasuries, and large warehouses in various provinces. Of course, this large warehouse located on the canal and under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of the Grand Canal Transport is also included.

Arrived outside Changying Warehouse.

Zhu Qi spoke again: "The imperial court has to transport 5 million dan of grain from the south every year, and set up large warehouses in important places along the canal. There are more than ten large warehouses in Huai'an, and Qingjiangpu is under the jurisdiction of Huai'an Large Warehouse. Every year, no less than 500,000 dan of grain can be stored, taken out and transported."

Listening to Zhu Qi's introduction, Yan Shaoting looked surprised.

“So much food?”

Zhu Qi nodded and said, "The warehouses in Huai'an have different uses. Qingjiangpu is an important place for grain transport. The Qingjiangpu Shipyard that the guests visited earlier today builds more than 500 grain ships for the court every year. I heard that when the eunuch Sanbao sailed to the West, most of the ships were built by the Qingjiangpu Shipyard, except for the treasure ships and Fu ships. It is for this reason that the storage of grain and grass here is the largest in Huai'an."

And after hearing Zhu Qi's new introduction.

Yan Shaoting's eyes twitched.

It doesn't matter how many stones of grain are stored in Changying Warehouse.

What he cared about was the sentence after Zhu Qi mentioned the number of ships built by Qingjiangpu Shipyard every year.

Most of the ships in Eunuch Sanbao's fleet that sailed to the West were built by the Qingjiangpu Shipyard!

Seeing Yan Shaoting suddenly silent.

Zhu Qi thought he had said something wrong, and couldn't help but whispered, "Does the guest have any doubts?"

Yan Shaoting shook his head: "It seems... I didn't think it through before..."

From the beginning.

Yan Shaoting has always believed that the ships in Zheng He's fleet that sailed to the West were all built at the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing.

So coming to Qingjiangpu Shipyard is just to ask, take a look and find out in advance.

But he forgot that although Zheng He's fleet at that time had treasure ships and Fujian ships of 5,000 tolls, there were more ships of 3,000 to 4,000 tolls or 1,000 to 2,000 tolls.

At this moment, he remembered what the shipbuilder had just said, that Qingjiangpu could also build ships of two to three thousand tons.

Although the canal is mostly used by ships of 1,000 tons, it cannot accommodate ships of 10,000 tons.

But it is entirely possible to build a ship of two or three thousand tons, launch it into the water, and sail it through the canal into the Yangtze River.

this moment.

The status of Qingjiangpu and Qingjiangpu Shipyard in Yan Shaoting's heart was once again elevated to an extremely high position.

He couldn't help but look up again and look at the towering warehouse wall of Changying Warehouse not far ahead.

Yan Shaoting immediately said: "Zhu Qi..."

……

Wang Ting and Li Youzi, who were at the shipyard and knew that Yan Shaoting was heading towards Chang Yingcang, were shocked and hurriedly took their men to catch up with him.

Finally, on the official road outside Changying Warehouse, we saw Yan Shaoting and his group outside Zhubu Warehouse from afar.

When I saw Yan Shaoting, he had not yet entered Changying Warehouse.

Wang Ting couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But that was at this time.

The two of them saw a Jinyiwei cavalryman riding a horse towards them.

The Jinyiwei cavalry stopped their horses when they were some distance away from the two men.

"Wang Duxian, Li Fuzun, the guests have been ordered to be strict."

The two men's shoulders trembled, and they looked at each other, seeing deep worry in each other's eyes.

Wang Ting and Li Youzi quickly dismounted from their horses.

Jinyiwei Tiqi said again: "The guests have orders. When we went south, we learned that the guards in Nanjing were short of many people, and the accounts of money and grain in various places were unclear. We ordered the Nanjing Five Military Governor's Office to send letters to the local areas, and work with the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue to check the population of each province and prefecture, and select qualified men to supplement the guards in Nanjing. The accounts of money and grain in Nanjing and various provinces and prefectures from the 40th year of Jiajing to the deadline of March last year were sorted out and submitted to Nanjing for the review of the guests, so as to sort out the taxes in various places for the court and train the soldiers and horses of the guards in Nanjing!"

this moment.

Wang Ting and Li Youzi almost couldn't breathe.

The two of them just felt a wave of fear.

Wang Ting quickly said, "Excuse me, your Excellency, this order from Governor Yan was sent to Nanjing, why did you let us know about it?"

The Jinyiwei rider on horseback smiled faintly.

"As ordered by the guest, Huai'an Qingjiangpu is an important town for grain transport, and also a place for the storage and transportation of the imperial court's money and grain. However, the White Lotus sect has committed crimes and treason, which shows that the local security is ineffective, which may endanger the important town of Qingjiangpu. We should first fill the vacancies. The guest has also written to the court, requesting the establishment of Qingjiangpu Station, and the Governor's Office of Taxes and Soldiers, and ordering the Governor's Office of Grain Transport and Huai'an Prefecture to first check the population of the prefecture, and select qualified able-bodied men to train them into a station."

After the explanation is clear.

The Jinyiwei cavalryman didn't care how Wang Ting and Li Youzi reacted, he just reined in his horse, turned around and rode away quickly.

Wang Ting and Li Youzi were left dumbfounded as they watched the horse gallop away.

After a while.

Li Youzi had an unsightly look on his face, and looked gloomily at Yan Shaoting and his group who had already entered Changying Warehouse in the distance.

at last.

Li Youzi could no longer suppress his anger. He stared fiercely at the group of people in front of him and cursed in a low voice with a distorted face.

"Damn Yan Shaoting!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)