Mu Ying is very depressed, why do you two just live in broad daylight without shame or impatience every time you come here?
Gu Zhengchen took out the carved dragon ruler and chased people away. Damn it, why do you never pick the right time every time you come? Oh, Mao Xiang is here too. You have something to say. Wait a minute and let me beat Mu Ying up. Besides...
The five soldiers were holding their swords and watching the excitement. What they were holding was the emperor's ruler. He, a little guard, did not dare to block it.
Zhang Pei, why are you laughing? Are you looking for training?
Let's go, let's sign and sign.
Zhang Pei tilted his neck, and the knuckles of his fists crackled: "That's exactly what I meant."
Mao Xiang was a little confused. Over there, Gu Zhengchen was chasing Mu Ying, and over here, the five soldiers were beating Zhang Pei. This was a county government office, not a martial arts field. How could it be decent...
Mu Ying looked at the panting Gu Zhengchen, grinned and said, "The prince knew I was coming, so he asked me to bring you something good."
"silver?"
Gu Zhengchen put the ruler behind his waist. He couldn't hit anyone anymore, and he couldn't catch up with him. Mu Ying deserved to be thrown into the ravines of Yunnan Mountains. He was just like a monkey.
Mu Ying shook her head: "It's better than silver. Do you remember the tiger sent to Jinling? A jar of wine, fine wine..."
Gu Zhengchen took out the ruler again, what do you mean?
Don't run!
The sergeants were shocked by the scene in front of them. A county magistrate actually chased the commanding magistrate of the Governor's Mansion. Seeing Mu Ying running fast, Gu Zhengchen turned to look at the group of meddlesome sergeants and roared: "This is the county government. It’s not a military camp, why are you all staying here? Go and camp outside Jurong Guard!”
Bearing his innocent anger, Mao Xiang arranged for Qianhu Chen Dayue to take the sergeants to go outside the Jurong Guard Camp first.
Noisy is noisy, business still needs to be done.
Zhang Xiwan didn't plan to come out to see the gift, and even stayed at the county government office on the grounds that the tailoring compound needed to be rushed. Gu Zhengchen was extremely depressed. Looking at the situation, he would have to sleep with Mu Ying tonight. It was the leisure day that he had finally longed for...
Mu Ying and Mao Xiang sat down, and Gu Zhengchen drove away Sun Shiba, Zhang Pei and others who were waiting, and then asked: "What do you want to do in Jurong at this time? Don't you know I'm very busy?"
"His Majesty asked us to come."
Muying picked up the tea bowl.
Gu Zhengchen's Adam's apple twitched, and a smile appeared on his face: "In such a busy season, you have come all the way to Jurong. You must have important responsibilities. Welcome, welcome..."
"The speed at which you change your face is hard to match even the imperial censor."
Mu Ying was filled with contempt.
Mao Xiang smiled lightly and did not interrupt.
Mu Ying said seriously: "You also know that the officials of the Municipal Shipping Department have submitted a letter. Not only the Ningbo City Shipping Department, but also the Guangzhou and Quanzhou City Shipping Departments are all suffering. Even the Coast Guard is facing small groups of pirates. I feel powerless despite the constant harassment. Your Majesty sent me here to ask you for the blueprints of an unsinkable sea fortress."
Gu Zhengchen frowned slightly: "In the final analysis, an unsinkable sea fortress requires strong power to protect it. The power here refers to naval officers and firearms who are good at fighting. At present, the improvement of firearms has not been completed. Even if the drawings are taken out, It is also impossible to control and deter large areas of sea, and it is impossible to completely suppress pirates."
Mu Ying sighed: "I know so. Marquis of Jinghai Wu Zhen has also consulted with Your Majesty, but the documents about pirate attacks sent to Jinling from the southeast coast from time to time will disturb Your Majesty every few days. This has been like this for many years. How can Your Majesty Can you calm down the sea without anxiety and anxiety?"
Gu Zhengchen looked down at the tea soup.
The pirates were like guerrillas, grabbing one place and then another, with uncertain manpower.
Sending out too few sergeants at the guard station might not be able to kill these desperate pirates. Sending out too many sergeants at the guard station might lead to empty defenses in other places. Maybe even a false shot would cause a commotion here. , turned around and ran to grab a handful elsewhere.
Although the pirates did not cause any big trouble, nor did they occupy land or threaten the rule of the Ming Dynasty, they always made trouble like this. Not only did the imperial court lose face, but the people along the coast also suffered from it and lived in fear.
This is not in line with the normal situation of a unified dynasty. Stability and peace, being able to live a stable life without worrying about anyone kicking in and taking away one's food, property and relatives, are the normal conditions under a unified dynasty.
Lao Zhu established the Ming Dynasty, and naturally he longed for the people of the Ming Dynasty to return to a peaceful life. Only in this way could he feel that the world was in great order and he became a successful emperor.
Gu Zhengchen understood Lao Zhu's mood and looked at Mu Ying: "The drawings will take a few days, but the court may not agree."
"Why?"
Mu Ying asked doubtfully.
Gu Zhengchen said bitterly: "The sea fortress is a ship."
Mao Xiang added: "It's just shipbuilding. It's not like our Ming Dynasty doesn't know how to build ships. There are many ships in the Yangtze River, and there are many shipwrights in Longjiang Shipyard."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Mao Xiang and asked, "How much money does it cost to build the Dafu Ship at Longjiang Shipyard?"
Mao Xiang frowned: "I'm not sure. It should probably not exceed nine hundred taels."
Gu Zhengchen picked up the tea bowl and took a sip: "A maritime fortress may require eight or ten times as much money as a Dafu ship."
Mu Ying and Mao Xiang were a little shocked.
The cost of building a ship is so high?
When it came to shipbuilding, the imperial court spent most of its money and food on building horse ships and grain ships, such as the Dafu Shiphui, which was only suitable for the ocean. However, it seemed to be timid. It still relied on ships from before the founding of the People's Republic of China as the main force, which could be repaired and used. That's right, the number of new Daifuku ships built every year can be counted in single digits.
You must know that building a Dafu ship is not just a Dafu ship itself, but also requires corresponding sergeants and corresponding equipment. It requires continuous supply of money and food before and after it forms combat power.
Mu Ying was a little embarrassed and looked at Gu Zhengchen: "The cost is so huge that the imperial court may not be able to make up its mind to do it. It will be difficult for the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works and the Zhongshu to pass it."
Gu Zhengchen was silent for a while and then said: "This account may not seem worthwhile, but the benefits it brings are immeasurable. To convince His Majesty to build a sea fortress, we need to calculate this account clearly first."
"How to calculate?"
Mu Ying looked at Gu Zhengchen expectantly.
Gu Zhengchen said seriously: "First of all, it is a fact that the cost of building a sea fortress is high. But the combat effectiveness of a sea fortress far exceeds that of ten Dafu ships. Calculating only by focusing on a single cost ignores the consideration of combat effectiveness and Inappropriate."
When Mu Ying heard this, her tense mood suddenly relaxed a lot.
It’s normal to have strong combat power but a high cost.
Since it can crush the big fortune ship, it seems that it is not unaffordable to be more expensive.
"Secondly, a sea fortress can accommodate two thousand sergeants. If the space is properly controlled and unnecessary configurations are eliminated, it can even accommodate three thousand sergeants!"
Gu Zhengchen said slowly.
Mu Ying and Mao Xiang looked at each other and were not surprised by the result.
You must know that Chen Youliang's big ship can also accommodate three thousand people. In this way, Gu Zhengchen's big ship seems not to be much bigger than Chen Youliang's big ship.
Gu Zhengchen saw what they were thinking and knocked on the table: "The Ming Dynasty's warships are not comparable to Chen Youliang's warships. Chen Youliang's warships were completely troop carriers, as long as people can fit in them. The Ming Dynasty wants to build The maritime fortress does not pursue the simple number of sergeants, but pursues combat power, using divine machine cannons and eight-niu crossbows as the main methods of killing enemies, rather than sergeants engaging in hand-to-hand combat!"
"Eight, eight ox crossbows?"
Mao Xiang's eyes widened.
Are you exaggerating? The Eight-Niu Crossbow is a powerful weapon when attacking a city. It can directly cut thick wood into the city wall. The soldiers can climb up the city wall along the wood. This thing is used for water fighting. What are you doing? It’s time to bully people...
Mu Ying was also a little shocked. There is a tradition of water battles with divine machine cannons. There are many divine machine cannons on Dafu ships now. Four hundred kilograms of coarse gunpowder is standard, but none of the ships are equipped with eight oxen crossbows. This thing Can we have a water fight?
Gu Zhengchen thinks it can. The Eight Ox Crossbow is so powerful. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as the crossbow arrow hits, an ordinary boat will be broken into planks in an instant. Even if it is aimed at people, it is still appropriate.
Of course, the power of the Eight Ox Crossbow comes at a price. The three bows equipped inside cannot be opened by one or two people. It requires at least a dozen people and a winch.
However, in Gu Zhengchen's opinion, the reason why the Eight Ox Crossbow is clumsy and difficult to use is that there is something wrong with the design. As long as the pulley is introduced, it can be simplified to a few individuals to operate. Considering the actual situation of naval and water battles, it is not necessary It needs to be used as a ladder and does not need to climb the city wall. It is not impossible to appropriately weaken the power of the 38% Ox Crossbow to achieve simple operation by two to three people.
As for the divine machine cannon on the Dafu ship now, Gu Zhengchen couldn't stand it. Not to mention the mess of models, just the simple stone bullets were a headache. If they hit the pirates, they would kill one at most and injure another. , you cannot kill or injure a boat of people.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Mu Ying and Mao Xiang and said with a smile: "Thirdly, no matter the pirates or overseas countries, they will not be afraid of the Dafu Ship. Even if these warships are much more powerful than their small fishing boats, They still won't be afraid. Because they still have the ability to defeat the Great Fortune Ship after paying a certain price. But the big ship of the Sea Fortress, haha, even if they gather all the ships, they may not be able to defeat it."
Mu Ying and Mao Xiang looked at each other and were shocked by the result.
Gu Zhengchen said bluntly: "The sea fortress is a kind of deterrent. It is an innate deterrent. It is like an important weapon of the country. As long as it cruises on the sea, the pirates can only flee and dare not peek at the Ming Dynasty. Give the pirates An invincible signal, this is the strongest message delivered by the sea fortress."
Mao Xiang was a little anxious: "Is there really such a warship?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty needs the peace of the sea, so he needs to invest more money and food. The current investment is for future output. I hope you also understand that blocking the sea will not solve the problem of pirates at all. . The enemy is coming, and will always come, and all Ming Dynasty can do is to become a strong navy master and dominate the sea!"
