One month after the meeting, even local officials far away from the capital basically returned to their yamen offices. Fei Hong, the governor of Sichuan, started to work on the tea and horse trade. In the past two years, the imperial court had obviously made great efforts in local governance. At the same time, some areas The prosperity of commerce makes the transportation of goods more frequent.
From this, the demand for horses must be strong.
Wang Shouren followed Wang Hao to Hangzhou first, and they were going to take away the six newly built 400-material fortune ships at the Qingzhengyuan Shipyard where Meiji belonged. The so-called material is a unit of measurement at that time.
Later generations studied the history of the Ming Dynasty and found only an approximate figure for what a material was, that is, a material should have a displacement of about 0.33 tons.
A 400-material warship is a ship with a displacement of about 130 tons.
Converted to length, it is about twenty meters long and four to five meters wide.
A boat of more than 20 meters is actually not small. Of course, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the great ancestors could also build a large boat of 4,000 materials, which is the so-called Fengzhou.
Historical records record that after the Jiajing period, some officers and soldiers went to Ryukyu in Fengzhou and made four or five trips without any accidents. This shows that such ships are safe enough to sail on the sea.
But Fengzhou is at least 47 meters long and 12 meters wide, and the height above the sea is also more than 12 meters high. It is as high as three or four stories. It is really a huge thing.
There are "nine masts and twelve sails" on it. If it encounters an anchorage on the shore, it has reached the point where "it takes two to three hundred people to do it", which can be said to be unparalleled in the world.
Because Fengzhou is so big, it is certainly possible to build it and send it as an envoy to other countries to promote the martial arts of the Celestial Kingdom, but it is really inconvenient to operate. It is said that after Fengzhou arrived in Ryukyu, it lost power due to lack of wind. In the end, it was 50 Multiple rowing boats towed it into the harbor.
In this case, the ship is big, but clumsy.
For Wang Shouren, he knew what kind of warship he needed after a little research.
Moreover, four hundred materials is not small. It is three to five meters tall and is as tall as a building. It can accommodate a hundred people walking on the sea.
Mei Kejia was not an expert in shipbuilding. He hired experienced shipwrights.
Although there is a shortage of ships now, with Wang Hao's status as the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian and Wang Shouren's qualifications as a popular figure in the imperial court, it is not a problem to get the ships in advance.
"This ship is equipped with two sails and masts, and a total of four floors above and below the cabin. The bottom floor is uninhabitable and is made of earth and stone to prevent it from being light. There are two or three floors above, and the sides are protected by boards. Bamboo stands upright like a wall; the uppermost layer is a terrace, which must be climbed up by a ladder from the third layer of caves. The wings on both sides are like railings, people lean on them to attack the enemy, and the cannons that lose stones are fired overlooking them. If the enemy's boat is small, it will be plowed when it encounters it. If it sinks, it will be difficult for the enemy to attack from above, so it is a powerful weapon in naval warfare."
The group of people, led by the chief shipbuilder, listened and talked up and down.
Wang Shouren looked carefully inside and outside, and said beside Wang Hao: "This ship can accommodate a hundred people. It is big enough, but it does not have enough firearms. All the court can provide is a few Bird guns, gunpowder arrows and crossbow arrows, I still want some powerful artillery."
Mei Kejia, who was beside him, was well-informed and said, "I heard that there are powerful French cannons used by the barbarians in Southeast Asia."
Boarding a sea ship, traveling on the sea, even on the river surface, you can realize the importance of firearms. After all, the water is wide and there is no place for people to step on it. If you don’t rely on firearms to shoot at each other, who can fight with you with a knife?
"Your Majesty insists on restoring the Shenji Battalion, and it seems that he has foreseen this." Wang Hao patted the railing on the deck, "Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty does not have this kind of Fran cannon, so now it can only be like this. The imperial court has ordered, From now on, the imperial court will spend money on whoever makes good firearms, so if you wait for a while, you will have something."
Wang Shouren had no choice, and he was still a little dissatisfied with the ships. He asked, "There are only six ships and there can't be more?"
Mei Kejia was helpless, "The main reason for Wang's participation in politics was that he was pressed for time. Before the sea-opening order, every ship building had to go to the government to apply. It was only a few months after the sea-opening order. Workers like me worked day and night. Six ships were really too big. It’s the limit.”
"It seems that's all we can do... Okay, let's pay the money." Wang Shouren couldn't tell that Mei Kejia was cheating. He could get six ships, which was enough for him at the moment.
"Okay. Everything is ready. Come on, it's still windy on the boat."
Anyway, I watched it,
Then take delivery.
At this time, the cost of building a large ship with 400 materials is about 800 to 1,000 taels. If someone else comes to ask for it, Mei Kejia will continue to increase the price on this basis.
But when Wang Shouren purchased the ship, he represented the official government.
These ships also did not belong to individuals, but to the imperial court.
The movement of money is actually from the left pocket to the pocket. It is meaningless to calculate it too clearly. Even after Wang Shouren spent all the 350,000 taels of silver he had taken, he still had to reach out to the court.
Therefore, these Meikejia ships are priced at normal prices, one thousand taels each, for a total of six thousand taels.
With the money, he could also pay some rewards to his Qing Zhengyuan shipbuilders.
I don’t know why, but the emperor allowed Dongfang Shipyard, owned by Shaofu, to poach his workers at a high price. What is this?
Everyone is working for the imperial court. Isn't this fighting with each other and wasting money?
But His Majesty the Emperor allows it. Not only was it allowed, this special idea was given to Gu Zuo by the emperor!
This made Mei Kejia puzzled. Qing Zhengyuan had been in business for two years and everything was on the right track. The demand for ships was rising and it was time to make money. As a result, many workers were poached, which somewhat delayed things!
Moreover, the imperial court did not prohibit private merchants from setting up shipyards on their own. Those people had even fewer shipbuilders, and the prices they offered to start construction were even more attractive.
Therefore, Mei Kejia also had to bite the bullet and collect money from the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian.
Fortunately, Wang Hao was not a very official person. Anyway, Wang Shouren received the money, and six thousand taels was actually a small amount of money.
Pay the money, receive the receipt, sign and pledge, and the six ships will sail away together, and the matter is settled.
But the future is not settled yet.
Wang Shouren was not polite, six thousand taels of silver was nothing, he didn't have enough money now.
"Mr. Mei, Qing Zhengyuan's factory can continue to supply ships. His Majesty wants me to recruit those bandits, sail ships on the sea, and promote the country's prestige. To do so many things, just these six ships and about 600 people are not enough. "
Mei Kejia was in a dilemma, "It's not because the ministers and kings participated in politics that they didn't help me. In fact, after the opening of the sea, the demand of people in Zhejiang for going to sea increased greatly. Not only Mei Ji's business, but also some princes, wives, etc. also participated in sea trade. Among them, some of them want ships, and those who don’t have ships have to take ships to ship goods. Meiji is currently short of at least thirty ships, and shipbuilding requires laying keels, which cannot be done with just manpower..."
Wang Hao raised his hand and said, "Give me some grace, half a year. After half a year, please be sure to provide six more large ships with 400 materials."
"Bu Tang, in six months..." Wang Shouren was still a little dissatisfied.
"There is also a shipyard in the Shaofu. There is really no other way. I can only sell this old face."
What else?
The ship died first before the victory was achieved.
Nowadays, going to sea is not a problem, but I end up stuck on the boat.
After Mei Kejia saw off these 'big men', he turned around and ordered the shipyard, "Raise the price!"
The chief shipbuilder who introduced the situation of the ships today is a man named Xu. He was very happy when he heard about the price increase, because part of the selling price of each ship is to be rewarded to them. "The price increase is good! Boss, please say something." , how much should we increase?”
"Twice the price! And those who pay off the silver first will be the first! Those who wait for us to deliver the ship before paying the silver, let them all stay back!"
"What a good thing!" But Engineer Xu suddenly thought, "Is it the same with the Ministry? They only paid for six ships."
Mei Kejia was helpless. He patted the man on the shoulder and said, "You, hurry up and study how to build a better ship. Without this skill, I don't know how you can serve a bowl of rice."
It’s all nonsense. This rule applies to other people, but can it apply to the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian? !
alright,
Now Qingzhengyuan Shipyard in Hangzhou has become an instant success. Sea trade is indeed profitable, but many people don’t have ships to go to sea!
As a result, tens of thousands of money poured into the shipyard. Mei Kejia was willing to spend money when he had money. He looked around for the salary of shipbuilders in other shipyards, and he all matched them.
For a time, shipbuilders became popular!
The news spread back to the capital. Previously, no one was paying attention to the Shaofu's guidance of able-bodied workers of suitable age to learn shipbuilding skills. As a result, it became difficult to find a place overnight.
This is the power of silver.
The power of silver also works in Datong.
After the Dachao meeting, Zhou Shangwen also rushed back to Datong.
According to the meeting of the DPRK regarding counterfeiting, a joint campaign to suppress counterfeiting should be carried out from Datong to Gansu.
In fact, it was mainly Datong, because the Tatars outside the Great Wall in Gansu suffered a lot due to the Battle of Huamachi and now tended to move north. However, the main force of Dayan Khan faced by Zhou Shangwen was not damaged.
But early April is the season for warblers to fly in the pasture.
The grasslands are warm and cattle and sheep graze.
It is a good time to make meritorious deeds.
The eight of them had sworn an oath before the king.
Moreover, as the first eight Class-A Guard commanders, they are also one of the few generals in the immediate line of the emperor who have real combat experience.
Therefore, the emperor's reuse of them is even more different from ordinary people.
Zhou Shangwen was also the fastest promoted. He is now the commander-in-chief of the Datong Army and the Ming Dynasty Cavalry.
The post of commander-in-chief was just adjusted after the Great Court Meeting. At that time, there were intensive adjustments to the civil service, so it was not possible that only civil servants were allowed to be promoted and military generals were not allowed to be promoted, right?
The reason for his promotion was that in the 18th year of Hongzhi, he took the initiative to lead troops to patrol the border and go out to meet the enemy. Although he killed hundreds of enemies in one year, there were still civil servants in the court who made irresponsible remarks, saying that his leadership of the troops was unstable. .
But it is the emperor whose words matter. If the emperor likes it, then he will be promoted.
And those eight people at the beginning all agreed to have some promotions, but Tan Wenyi and Shi Dahuai were in Zhejiang, and Yu Zichu was in Fujian. The ones who followed Zhou Shangwen to Datong were Sun Xilie, Chang Dacheng, Liu Jiangjie, and Xu Zhenan. Four people.
Of the four, Chang Dacheng had the most stable character, so Zhou Shangwen did not place him among the Ming cavalry, but asked him to lead Liu Jiangjie to guard Datong.
Sun Xilie and Xu Zhenan each led a cavalry guard.
The other two commanders were Ma Yihuai and Yan Xingkui, both of whom were originally employed by Yang Shangyi. When Zhou Shangwen first came, of course these two people were a bit unfamiliar.
However, Zhou Shangwen's style was more radical than Yang Shangyi's, and the general's prestige was established through victories on the battlefield.
By April of the first year of Zhengde, Zhou Shangwen ordered them to have no problem.
The first thing he did after returning to Datong was to summon all the commanders to discuss matters.
Because none of them went to the Great Court Meeting, Zhou Shangwen wanted to bring the imperial court's decree. He was dressed in military uniform and scanned the generals with his tiger eyes. "After your Majesty ascends the throne, he will propose the main affairs of the court in the form of a Great Court Meeting for seven days." The resumption of the attack was an issue on the first day of the meeting, and His Majesty has agreed that our army will carry out the strategy of suppressing the attack in the spring."
Everyone was shocked, "Spring? Isn't it now?"
