The ship is only that big, but it has a lot of cargo.
In order to make profits, some businessmen extremely reduced their living expenses and added cargo regardless of the danger. The ship had not yet left the port, and the draft had reached a dangerous level. Once there was a strong wind, the ship would be in danger of capsizing if it tilted slightly.
Although the role of the Ming Navy was only to clear the way to prevent merchant ships from being attacked by pirates, whether they would sink in the violent storm actually had little to do with Zheng He.
But Zheng He had experienced war and knew the fragility and value of human life, especially when the fallen soldiers were sent home, their families cried bitterly and despaired.
When one person dies, a family is destroyed.
Although they are not soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, they are also citizens of the Ming Dynasty. Although they pursue profit and forget danger, they still have parents, wives and children behind them.
Zheng He would rather offend those businessmen and let them find connections to impeach him than see countless family members crying for the names of their sons, husbands and fathers.
"Before sailing, the Daming Navy will send people to board the ship for inspection. Those who pass the ship will be issued a waist card. Those without a waist card will not be allowed to leave the port."
Zheng He put down his last words and turned to leave.
We can no longer stay in Taicang Prefecture. The emperor wants to see off the sergeant on the Yangtze River. This is a great honor. We dare not waste time. It is time to return to the capital.
Returning to the treasure ship, Zheng He looked at Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng who were lying in the chairs, stepped forward and saluted, and said: "Two princes, the treasure ship is about to return to the capital."
Zhu Geng became a little fat after eating, patted his belly, glanced in the direction of the port, and said: "Brother Fifteen, are we still going back to Beijing?"
Zhu Zhizi took a sip of his drink and enjoyed it comfortably: "Go back to Beijing. If you don't go back to Beijing, how can you make the emperor fulfill his promise? We spent money on the treasure ship at the beginning. We can't compete with the largest treasure ship, but there is at least one of the other three treasure ships." It can only be named King of Liao."
Zhu Geng smiled, showing his white teeth: "The King of Liao and the King of Min are very good. I heard that Brother Thirteen has found a lot of coal mines in Shanxi, so I'm afraid he won't be able to go with us."
Zhu Zhi stretched out his hand and felt the north wind. When he saw Zheng He and others walking away, he said: "Calculating the time, King Yan and King Ning should be arriving at the Huaihe River soon. We can't get together when we arrive in Beijing. But, no I know how the emperor will arrange the seventeenth brother."
Zhu Geng's eyes were a little worried as he said: "Taizu divided the kings into confederates, but more than two years after his death, the emperor made a clear decision to cut down the vassals. He almost wiped out all the vassal kings in the world. This move is a bit too big."
Zhu Zhi rested his head on his arms indifferently, with an inexplicable smile on his lips: "Now I can see through it. Taizu can control his sons, but the emperor cannot control his uncles. Unless the eldest brother is still there, who will sit here?" In that position, the vassal will be cut. It is better for us to start business first and leave tens of millions of wealth to our family than to be demoted to a common people and lose face. If the seventeenth brother does not know what is good and what is good, and continues to want to be a prince outside the customs, haha..."
Zhu Geng shuddered, and his laughter was very permeable, as if he was saying that if the feudal king rebels, he will die miserably, and if he does not cooperate with the court and cuts down the feudal clan, he will also die miserably.
Zhu Zhi stood up, grabbed a handful of red dates from the fruit plate on the table, walked to the side of the ship, looked at the blue sea and said, "With the fourth brother here, the seventeenth brother should be able to see the situation clearly."
Zhu Geng spit out the date pits into the sea and said calmly: "With tens of thousands of people not making waves, who can still clearly see the situation?"
Zhu Shu's death itself is no deterrent, but the fact that he died so quickly and so tragically is the real deterrent. A few big treasure ships can kill the "naval force" that King Qi has been planning for many years. Who can compete with them?
Besides, there is more than one treasure ship in Longjiang Shipyard. One of the reasons why the imperial household department is so struggling is that too much money has been allocated to Longjiang Shipyard.
Now it seems that the money was not wasted.
The treasure ship under its feet can completely become a weapon to defend the Ming Dynasty. No one can easily shake it regardless of any external enemies or internal strife.
On the water, there is no enemy.
"Retract anchor!"
"Yang Fan!"
The sergeant moved in an orderly manner, and the treasure ship slowly left the outer port of Taicang Prefecture and headed for the capital.
Huai'an Prefecture, Yuntiguan Ferry.
Eight large fortune ships were anchored on the shore for supplies. Xu An, the prefect of Fengyang, Li Fangying, the left-behind officer of the Zhongdu Remaining Department, and Sun Yue, the governor's co-prefect, were waiting outside.
Zhu Di and Sun Quan walked out of the cabin and saluted neatly. Looking at the Fengyang officials who were kneeling in obeisance, Zhu Di raised his hands and said solemnly: "I and King Ning are just passing through here, why do you need to come in person? One trip.”
Before Xu An could say anything, Li Fangying took the initiative to step forward and said, "My uncle returned home after a great victory. Why did he choose the sea route instead of taking the land route? It's hard to rest in a bumpy boat. Why not settle down in Fengyang Mansion for a few days?" I can entertain my nephew for a while."
Zhu Di looked at the young man in front of him at a loss. Who is this? Looking for relatives, he couldn't help but ask: "Who are you?"
Li Fangying smiled and said: "My father, King Qiyang."
Zhu Di raised his brows and suddenly thought about it. He quickly stepped forward and said, "He is my cousin. I haven't seen him for many years. Unexpectedly, his appearance has changed."
It was none other than Li Wenzhong's third son, Li Jinglong and Li Zengzhi's younger brother, Li Fangying.
Zhu Quan was also a little surprised and said: "Since the 28th year of Hongwu when Taizu appointed you as the governor of Zhongdu, you have rarely returned to Beijing. I heard that you have been recovering from illness in the past two years. Are you fully recovered now?"
Li Fangying thanked Zhu Quan for asking, patted her chest, and said, "It's no problem. I'll have a banquet not far away, so we might as well reminisce about old times and have a brief chat."
Zhu Di nodded slightly and said: "It will take two hours to replenish supplies. In that case, let's have a drink."
Li Fangying hurriedly invited her with her hands, and Xu An and others hurriedly laughed with her.
Just as Liu Changge was about to follow him, someone stepped over and said in a low voice: "Qianhu Zuozhou of the Fengyang Prefecture Security Bureau has met Liu Qingcheng."
"Is something wrong?"
Liu Changge frowned slightly. His current identity was only from Daning Security Bureau, and he had nothing to do with Fengyang Mansion.
Zuo Zhou looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. He took out a document from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Changge. He whispered: "The emperor's secret order is that if Liu is not experienced enough to go to the capital, he will transfer to Mengcheng."
Liu Changge took the document, looked at Zuo Zhou deeply, then took him to the ship and read the document in the room. After reading it, he immediately asked: "Yue Sihai also went to Mengcheng?"
Zuo Zhou nodded solemnly: "According to reliable information, Mengcheng is most likely the core stronghold of the White Lotus Sect in Fengyang Mansion. Yue Tongzhi has already taken people to Mengcheng. However, Mengcheng is in serious trouble. If Liu Xianzhi is not in charge, I’m afraid the success will be in vain.”
Liu Changge looked at the document carefully. It was indeed written by Zhu Yunwen himself, and it also contained a secret code from the Security Bureau. It seems that the water in Mengcheng is very deep, otherwise it would not be so troublesome that even Yue Sihai would not be enough to reassure Zhu Yunwen.
"Where are the detailed information?"
Liu Changge asked.
Zuo Zhou shook his head and said: "The situation is urgent and top secret. Only important officials of the Capital Security Bureau know the details. The local government has no right to intervene. We can only cooperate with our best."
Liu Changge tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, then looked down at the documents and said, "Prepare four fast horses."
Zuo Zhou nodded, took out another document and said, "The horses are ready. Here is the list of magistrates, county magistrates, and gentry in Mengcheng, which may be of some help."
Liu Changge called Yang Shan and said, "Things have changed. If you want to return to Beijing to receive the reward, you need to postpone it for a while."
Yang Shan didn't care and agreed boldly: "Your Majesty has ordered me to do so, and I'll be totally devastated. I'll just leave the reward to my wife and children."
Liu Changge laughed and was very satisfied.
Yang Shan entered Hashiha's camp alone, fearless of life and death, and relied on his courage and wisdom to remind Hashiha to guard against Tatars, and only then did he take follow-up actions. Liu Changge admired Yang Shan and decided to take him to the capital.
"Is there anything unusual about Li Fangying?"
Liu Changge, who was preparing for action, suddenly asked Zuo Zhou.
Zuo Zhou shook his head slightly and said calmly: "Ever since he stayed in Zhongdu, he has acted in a measured manner. After the death of Taizu, he went to Beijing to attend the funeral. After returning to Zhongdu, he fell ill. He stayed in Fengyang and never went out. He also rarely sees visitors. After Li Jinglong was banned and Li Zengzhi was imprisoned, he did not take any action."
Liu Changge thought for a moment and asked: "So, the Security Bureau has rarely seen him in the past two years?"
Zuo Zhou replied seriously: "Although the Security Bureau has not seen him, it has been monitoring Fengyang City. We can be sure that he has not left."
Liu Changge didn't ask any more questions. He changed his clothes and dress, arranged for someone to replace him and Yang Shan, pretending to be still on the boat, then left the Dafu Ship, entered the dense forest not far away, took out the horse, and rode along the Huaihe River. Galloping out and heading straight to Mengcheng.
The Capital Palace, Yangxin Hall.
Zhang Yuchu, the Taoyuan and optimistic person who presided over the Tianjie Temple, Yao Guangxiao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the supervisor of Baoen Temple, Zheng Ci, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Yan Qiliang, the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, chatted until the chamberlain shouted "The Emperor has arrived", then they stopped talking and saluted Zhu Yunwen .
Zhu Yunwen sat down and waved his sleeves: "Everyone, please get up and take your seats. Today we have summoned the master and the real person to come here, just to come up with the strategy for the monument of heroes and martyrs and build it as soon as possible. What do you two think about the words passed down by the Ministry of Works earlier?"
Daoyuan looked at Zhang Yuchu and saw that he was holding a fly whisk and looked calm and composed. He pinched the Buddhist beads and stood up and said: "Tianjie Temple is the royal family temple. The emperor is also the lord of the world and the most respected person in the world. What he says is the decree of the heaven." The temple and the monks all obeyed and did not dare to disobey."
Zhu Yunwen was a little surprised. He glanced at Zheng Ci and Yao Guangxiao. It's not that Buddhism is very hard. Why did it become soft here?
Zheng Ci was secretly speechless.
Tianjie Temple did not have this attitude towards the Ministry of Works. They were so arrogant that they almost shouted, "We will stop working if we don't do what we do."
In the final analysis, the Ministry of Works is just a contractor. In the past, the imperial court provided money, and the contractors were very arrogant. Now that Tianjie Temple has the big head, they naturally have to be more arrogant.
However, arrogance also counts, and the Ministry of Works is arrogant. That is because although the Ministry of Works has a construction team, it does not have a demolition team after all. It cannot demolish the door of Tianjie Temple or burn down the temple of Tianjie Temple.
But the emperor is different. The dragon claw hand is so powerful. With one claw down and a breath of dragon breath, the Tianjie Temple will be gone. Besides, Zhu Yunwen is holding a degree certificate in his hand. Without this professional qualification certificate, the young monk cannot join the ranks of monks...
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhang Zhenren. Zhang Yuchu stood up. Although his voice was not loud, he said calmly and powerfully: "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, I am optimistic and should obey the emperor's will. However, the current plan given by the Ministry of Industry is optimistic and I don't agree with it. Its height is only three feet, and it is infinite." To show the majesty of the monument to heroes and martyrs.”
Zhu Yunwen admired secretly.
This Mr. Zhang has some backbone. He first said to listen to himself and then said not to listen to the Ministry of Works, so he kicked the trouble back. However, if there is really no solution, it will be difficult to end this matter.
"Bring it up."
Zhu Yunwen ordered Shuangxi.
Shuangxi shouted at the top of his lungs, and saw two chamberlains walking in carrying a large frame covered with yellow cloth. Zheng Ci, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up at Zhu Yunwen's signal, walked to the side, and suddenly pulled down the curtain, revealing a rendering of the monument to the heroes.
The eyes of Daoyuan and Zhang Zhenren were instantly attracted. A look of shock appeared on Yao Guangxiao Gujing Wubo's face, and he couldn't help but stand up and approach...
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