After Yang Fan met with the craftsmen at the shipyard, he followed the usual practice of giving rewards to everyone. Yang Fan was more generous. The master craftsman of each work was given two coins of pure copper, the master craftsman was given one coin, and the worker was given five hundred coins.
In addition, each person is given a piece of strong and durable coarse cloth.
They were all of one color and type. We hired a dozen tailors from the town to sew new clothes for everyone.
Yang Fan's purpose is to get everyone to uniform their work uniforms and increase their sense of belonging to the factory.
A piece of cloth in the Ming Dynasty was four feet long (forty feet) and three feet wide. The open ruler is 33 centimeters, and the approximate length is 13.2 meters. One piece of cloth is enough to make a new set of clothes for the whole family.
After the benefits were distributed, meals were arranged for everyone in the shipyard and their families.
I bought three pigs weighing more than 200 kilograms and killed them, and cooked them all into braised pork. I also stewed a large pot of tofu and stir-fried five large pots of vegetables.
Rice and steamed buns are enough.
The situation has been getting worse over the years. Everyone from craftsmen to family members have been reluctant to eat meat for several years. Some children have never eaten meat since they were born. I can't even afford rice and white flour, so I usually eat multigrain porridge to cope with it.
When the aroma of braised pork wafted out from the big pot, both adults and children cried with greed.
The craftsmen and their whole families came over one by one to kowtow to Yang Fan, and the place was completely dark.
Yang Fan was at a loss, and he tried to persuade him no matter how hard he tried.
I bought fifty jars of liquor from Tanggu Ancient Town. The distillation technology in the late Ming Dynasty had matured and could make liquor below 70 degrees. What Yang Fan purchased was Qiulu liquor produced in Shandong. Probably around fifty degrees.
Yang Fan feels that liquor is still highly delicious.
The wine of this era had no flavors or additives and was made from pure grains. After Yang Fan tasted the Qiu Lu Bai, he liked it very much.
Fifty jars are enough, so on average each craftsman has a bowl of wine.
This time, Yang Fan came with 300 regiments and more than 100 workers. More than 70 servants also ate with the boatmen, craftsmen, and family members, a total of more than 400 people.
There weren't that many tables and chairs, so we sat in a circle on the floor, with several pots filled with vegetables, rice and steamed buns in the middle. The dishes and chopsticks are all brought from home.
The scene of thousands of people eating together is very spectacular.
Yang Fan was very happy looking at the beaming crowd.
Either the Ming Dynasty was bad, or its unreasonable system and distribution methods suppressed people's enthusiasm. As long as these are adjusted well, the vitality and creativity that will burst out are unmatched by any country in the world. After all, one-third of the world's population lives on this land.
Let's start with building merchant ships for our own navigation career. After accumulating technology bit by bit, we can build warships when the merchant ships mature.
In fact, the technologies are all the same. The difference between merchant ships and warships is the ribs and hull.
On merchant ships, ribs are placed one foot apart, and the planks of small boats are overlapped. The planks of large ships are seamed, but they are not thick, and the thickness is generally only one to two inches.
The ribs of the warship are very thick, made of the strongest hardwood, with a rib spaced one foot apart.
The outer ship boards are made of corrosion-resistant hardwood, usually four or five layers, half a foot to a foot thick.
The outer hull plates of Western sailing battleships were made of oak, beech or even teak from Burma. It can block direct attacks from eighteen-pounder spherical bullets at a distance of thirty meters.
At present, his products are mainly steel products and soap. These are small and high-value goods that do not require large cargo ships, such as Spanish galleons. Yang Fan's main considerations are efficiency and speed.
A round trip between Nagasaki and Tianjin takes ten days, or a round trip from Tianjin to the southeast coast and the Yangtze River coast within half a month.
The demand for ironware in the Ming Dynasty was huge, as was the demand for Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. The primitive smelting methods of this era determined the scarcity, high price and poor quality of ironware. In this era, ironware is definitely a seller's market, and any amount can be sold.
The speed of the clipper ship can be considered even if it is used for high-speed commercial passenger transport. In this era, even the longest commercial distance to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) can be returned within a month.
Yang Fan envisioned a future where thousands of miles of sea would be filled with fleets flying the flag of the Ming Dynasty, and he was a little drunk even before he drank.
Many people came to toast, and Yang Fan was also happy today. The glass was dry and he was drunk and unconscious after a while. Being supported by Zhang Gada and Ming Yan, they returned to the inn to rest early.
I was sleeping soundly when I felt someone shaking me.
Yang Fan turned over irritably and continued to sleep.
Suddenly my ear hurt and someone pinched it.
"Ouch!" Yang Fan turned over and sat up. Just as he was about to get angry, he felt something was wrong in the atmosphere. He wiped his eyes and saw that it was a girl.
"Damn pig, why are you sleeping in broad daylight? Get up quickly." Xiao Niangpi scolded angrily. "You drank so much, and the smell of alcohol stinks to death."
After saying that, he pulled Mingyan over and cursed: "What are you doing standing there stupidly? Why don't you wake up your master?"
Mingyan quickly went to get a basin of cold water and wiped Yang Fan's face.
Yang Fan felt a headache suddenly caused by someone, so he calmed down. Seeing that it was late afternoon, he said, "Why are you here at this time?"
With a frosty look on her face, the little girl turned to Mingyan and said, "Go out and watch from the outside. Don't let anyone get close to the room."
Yang Fan sat up, put on his coat, and gave his wife a cup of tea. Feeling that I was very thirsty, I held the teapot and drank a lot of tea regardless of it, and then I felt relieved.
Seeing the disgusting look on Yang Fan's face after drinking the water and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he curled his lips.
"How many people do you have in your hands now that you can pull out to fight?" The girl's beautiful eyes stared at Yang Fan, her big eyes unblinking.
"Why are you asking this? I didn't prepare to fight when I came out this time."
"Stop nagging, just speak human words." The little girl glared at him.
"Zhang Gada led a regiment of 300 people and three squadrons. They were equipped with nine-round fire portal guns. The ammunition was carried with a base number, about fifty-four rounds per person. Mo Zuo led my servants of 75 people. Equipped with a three-shot handgun, each person has a Miao sword and a rattan shield. There are also one hundred and fifty workers who came here to carry the goods this time. They also all have waist knives and have been trained a few times, but They have never fought in a war or been on a battlefield. There are about five hundred and twenty people."
After Yang Fan finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Niangpi to see what she meant.
"There is an urgent mission. Yesterday, intelligence reported that an army under the control of the Governor-General of Water Transport went north to the capital on its own without orders from the Ministry of War. It took a boat from Yangzhou to Linqing before being discovered. After being reprimanded by the Ministry of War, it was ordered to return to Yangzhou. However, There is another unknown armed force, about 3,000 people, who was discovered to have arrived at Yangliuqing Town at noon today, and their destination is also the capital."
Yang Fan said in surprise: "What do these people do? Who let them enter Beijing?"
"There is information that these people are mainly domestic servants kept by salt merchants. It is not clear who instigated them. These people are fugitives, thugs, scum in prison, villains who are smuggled in salt, and have lived a life of knife-edge all year round. In the days of licking blood, the combat effectiveness is not comparable to those of the guardsmen."
"What does this have to do with us? We are in Tanggu, a full 120 miles away from Yangliuqing." Yang Fan asked in surprise.
"Chen Ke Fei Ge sent a message in Beijing, ordering all factory guards in Tianjin to try to prevent them from entering Beijing."
"Who issued this order, or who did we listen to?" Yang Fan had wanted to know this question for a long time.
Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, and the influence of Nine Thousand Years Old is pervading both the government and the public, he must find out who he is on the right side. This is a big issue of right and wrong and cannot be confused.
Xiao Niangpi was not surprised that Yang Fan asked this question. It was a matter of time. There was a small fight in Zunhua before, so Yang Fan didn't have to ask. Although Yang Fan is now dragged into the whirlpool of the struggle in the capital, he must give others an explanation.
Xiao Niangpi hesitated for a moment and said, "My father had a relationship with King Xin back then."
You don’t need to say too much, just one key sentence is enough.
Yang Fan also breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that Tu Shanyong was a nine-thousand-year-old man. After all, the nine-thousand-year-old had great power, and Dongchang was his root.
Xiao Niangpi seemed to understand what Yang Fan was thinking, and said: "Chen Ke has always been loyal to His Majesty, no matter who is sitting on that chair. Although Duke Wei is powerful, only Zichou Yinmaosi is completely controlled by his cronies. Just a few grains. The reason why we obey his orders is only because he represents the emperor. He himself knows it too. Dongchang has never been his private organization."
Yang Fan suddenly thought of Lin Yueru and asked, "What about Lin Yueru, the stall owner of Yinke?"
"Duke Wei is her adoptive father."
