At the mouth of the Yangtze River, a treasure ship transformed into steam engine power and three steam engine Dafu ships beat the waves and plunged into the sea like dragons.
Luo Guanying hated Shen Wei, Zhao Shiyu, and Yuan Yichen. Just because of these three guys, his injuries never healed!
Shen Wei came over with a bowl of dark soup, placed it in front of Luo Guanying, and said with a smile: "You too, you know clearly that no one can touch Wang Zhen's name, but you insist on knocking out his teeth. The censor has no idea." He deserves twenty sticks if he loses his teeth, not his life." Luo Guanying gritted his teeth. The censor was scolding each other so unpleasantly, how could he bear it?
People who are used to being free on the sea, when they can't stand it, even God dares to fight against it, pull out the knife and see who lives and who dies!
Being pointed at and scolded by a group of old men and half-old men, it was already considered a favor to the emperor if he didn't kill him.
"Drink the medicine and get up quickly. It's just twenty sticks. What a big deal." Before leaving, Shen Wei gave him a slap.
Luo Guanying was so painful that he broke into a cold sweat and roared: "Shen Wei, wait, I won't even be a marquis if I don't throw you into the sea." Shen Wei doesn't mind if you live like a marquis, anyway, your marquis It was also false, the salary he received was still the salary of a navy officer... Zhao Shiyu finished reading one document and picked up another document. Yuan Yichen also had a stack of documents in his hand.
Shen Wei climbed from the official hall to the command hall, the highest helm building, and said to Liang Dafang, who was studying the chart next to the star board: "Hang up the map." Liang Dafang agreed and took out a wax-coated copy from the box. Maps were hung up. The maps were mainly about the East China Sea of the Ming Dynasty, Korea and Japan.
Shen Wei stared at the map and asked: "Japanese spies have frequently entered Korea, and the imperial court has also sent reminders to the king of Korea. Doesn't Li Fangyuan have the slightest sense of crisis?" Zhao Shiyu put together a document and said solemnly: "From what I have learned so far, Judging from the intelligence, Li Bangyuan did not think that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu would attack North Korea, and the navy of Jeolla Province did not go on guard."
"This is the way to die!" Luo Guanying limped in, glanced at the map and said, "Li Fangyuan is still too conceited." Yuan Yichen leaned on the back of his chair and said with a smile, "No wonder Li Fangyuan is too conceited. , if it weren’t for this pile of intelligence, I wouldn’t believe that Japan would dare to take action against North Korea. Although Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is somewhat ambitious, he is old and cannot even control some places in the country. Who would have thought that he would cross the sea at this time? Northern Expedition?" Luo Guanying glared at Shen Wei fiercely, and then said to Yuan Yichen: "When the imperial court reminded Li Fangyuan, he should believe it and immediately raise the navy's alert and send additional heavy troops to Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province. You guys After reading so much confidential information, have you seen any news about the mobilization of North Korean troops?" Yuan Yichen and Zhao Shiyu shook their heads.
Shen Wei looked at the map and said bitterly: "North Korea is our vassal state, but Li Fangyuan's military deployment still reflects a high degree of vigilance against the Ming Dynasty. According to the information provided by Liaodong Dusi, Li Fangyuan's main troops are deployed in Jianzhou Ping'an Road outside, and Fenghai Road including Songjing." Luo Guanying shook her head helplessly: "It's going to rain, and my mother wants to get married, let him go." Yuan Yichen and Zhao Shiyu understood Li Fangyuan's arrangements and concerns very well.
Daming told Li Fangyuan that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is going to attack North Korea, and you must prepare early. Li Fangyuan took a look and said, I don't know whether Ashikaga Yoshimitsu will come, but your Ming Dynasty has been increasing its troops in the Northeast, and it is also a large-scale immigration to the Northeast. If I mobilize the army to go south, wouldn't the northern defense line be even weaker, in case the Ming army comes in force? After crossing the Yalu River, why don’t I go to Jeolla Province to feed the fish?
If we do not mobilize our troops, we must not mobilize our troops. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is nothing. He dares to invade North Korea. They don't even have a few naval forces. If they invade, the top ten will only have hundreds or thousands of people. The soldiers of Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province can completely deal with it.
Being a vassal state does not mean that there is no defense against the suzerain state. Luo Guanying walked to the desk and picked up a document: "How is the construction of the port and warehouse on Jeju Island?" Zhao Shiyu pulled out a document and handed it to Luo Guanying: "The port has not been completed, and the treasure ship can still only be anchored outside. But the warehouse has been basically completed. It is estimated that when we arrive, a lot of material reserves will be in place." Luo Guanying looked at it carefully and said with satisfaction: "The Donghai Navy is well done, and it has done a great job without making a fuss."
"There is another piece of information here." Yuan Yichen looked solemn. Shen Wei, Luo Guanying, and Zhao Shiyu gathered around. The content of the intelligence was very simple: the Donghai Navy arrived near Kyushu Island on August 15th, and had to turn back due to a storm. Although the fleet had no casualties, it failed to complete its assigned mission.
Luo Guanying looked at this rough intelligence, frowned and said: "Who wrote this intelligence? It should be thrown into the sea." Shen Wei and others agreed.
It didn't say the purpose of the battle, nor did it say who would lead the team, how many ships there were, or how many troops there would be. What kind of intelligence was this?
"The emperor has written a letter of credence, threatening Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to cede Kyushu Island if he does not give out the silver on August 25th, and then send troops to seize Kyushu Island. This operation should be to implement the content of the letter of credence." Yuan Yichen analyzed.
Shen Wei agreed: "Looking at the date of the operation, it should be so." Luo Guanying snorted coldly: "The storm is indeed a trouble, but this thing cannot escape every day. There are many opportunities." Yuan Yichen and others nodded.
As a person who has been wandering on the sea for several years, he has a deeper understanding of waves and storms, and has lost his initial fear.
Facts have proved that as long as a big storm does not hit the treasure ship directly, the treasure ship can completely withstand wind and waves. With the blessing of steam engines and the blessing of treasure ships and large fortune ships, they are more powerful in terms of power. With the help of telescopes, lookouts and other assistance, the navy can completely avoid the eye of the storm and ensure combat effectiveness to the greatest extent.
"I heard that Wan Qinglin went to Jeju Island?" Luo Guanying asked. Shen Wei nodded: "Wan Qinglin is in charge of four steam-powered iron ships, and they should be moving goods to the Jeju Island warehouse at this time. Wang Jinghong is in charge of three ships, and they have gone to Daliuqiu Island, and they are probably unloading the goods as well." Luo Guanying laughed. : "We have sailed to the end of the world without gunpowder carriers. Now we have specially set up such ships. It seems that my brother-in-law is planning to use firearms to completely eliminate Japan." Shen Wei, Yuan Yichen, and Zhao Shiyu showed cruel smiles on their faces. , the emperor prepared large quantities of gunpowder, I am afraid this is the plan, no matter how it is, damage will inevitably occur in close combat, and long-range attack is the way to go.
Capital Division, Second Artillery Bureau. Lu An, the chief of the Gunpowder Department, Deng De, the chief of the Artillery Department, and Tang Jia, the chief of the Fire Guns Department, all gathered together and knelt down to receive the order.
The chamberlain took out the imperial edict: "My order is to add 100,000 gunpowder and ammunition for the Divine Machine Cannon and 500,000 for the Tiger Crouching Cannon. To ensure safety, the sooner the better. I appreciate this." Lu An, Deng De, and Tang Jia accepted the order. .
After the eunuch announced the order, he bowed and left. Deng De and Tang Jia looked at Lu An and asked at the same time: "Is the imperial court going to war?" Lu An looked confused: "I don't know..." Deng De and Lu An said with a smile: "You don't know who knows. , Your nephew Lu Yuan is as famous as Tao Zengguang and Hu Yuancheng. He even received an award from the emperor a few days ago. I can hide anything from you." Speaking of Lu Yuan, Lu An's face was full of pride. This nephew is indeed good. A few days ago, When I was playing with the telescope, I suddenly had the idea of miniaturizing the telescope and modifying it to the fire gun, which greatly improved the shooting accuracy of the fire gun.
But Lu Yuan did not tell him that the imperial court was going to war.
"After the Wang Zhen incident, the Navy Commander's Office was ordered to transfer a large number of firearms from the Second Artillery Bureau. Eight hundred of the Tiger Crouching Cannons were taken away. If there is a war, it should be related to the Navy." Lu An analyzed road.
Tang Jia was a little confused. No one in the East China Sea could threaten the navy. Besides, Zheng He and the navy had only been home for a long time. It was impossible for the navy to sail again. Why did the navy mobilize a large number of firearms?
Lu An said solemnly: "The Emperor's order, the Second Artillery Bureau does not need to ask about the reason. It must be carried out resolutely. Let's divide the work and cooperate." Deng De and Tang Jia nodded, each took the task and gave it to the craftsmen of the Second Artillery Bureau.
The expansion of gunpowder ammunition production itself means that armaments are in progress. However, due to the closed nature of the Second Artillery Bureau, with two financial lines: the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Royal Family, the internal situation of the Second Artillery Bureau was not known to the outside world.
Civil servants still scolded whom they should scold and did what they should do, and many military generals did not smell the breath of war.
However, due to the frequent mobilization of the Navy, Zheng He, Zhu Neng, Luo Guanying and other people were directly driven into the sea, which still attracted the attention of many people.
Yang Rong and Tie Xuan had already seen through Zhu Yunwen's plan. Xu Huizu and Zhu Di also understood Zhu Yunwen's arrangement. Even Xuan Qingshu, Gao Zhongguang and others who were studying in the Imperial College were keenly aware of the strangeness.
But these abnormalities were drowned out by news of a bumper corn harvest and a bumper potato harvest. According to reports from Henan, the yield of corn is two stones and five bushels per mu, which is slightly more than that of wheat.
Shandong reported that the potato yield was more than 18 shi per mu, creating the largest harvest after sweet potatoes. Taking advantage of the high yield and bumper harvest of the new improved varieties, the imperial court announced to the world that September 26th would be the Harvest Thanksgiving Day every year to celebrate the harvest and commemorate the great achievements of Zheng He's naval officers and soldiers.
Although there was a bumper harvest of sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes, it was still far away from large-scale sowing. The limited grain seeds were simply not enough to support large-scale sowing, so all these things were sealed and used as grain seeds to prepare for the next sowing.
Amidst the peace, the Security Bureau went out day and night, calmly, and successively eliminated the Yin soldiers and White Lotus cultists in Yunnan and Guizhou. With the help of Bai Yiyi, the Yin soldiers in Fengyang Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and Huai'an Prefecture were eliminated. Catch all the White Lotus cultists in one fell swoop.
Since the White Lotus Cult and the Yin Soldiers had implicated sixteen people in the government and the guards, Zhu Yunwen ordered that all of them be escorted to the capital and handed over to the Criminal Punishment Bureau, Feng Jin, Deng You, and Qi Ning for interrogation.
Although the Security Bureau's actions were secretive, more and more people were missing. Yang Wushan still received the news and prepared to go into hibernation to eliminate possible crises.
Winter is coming and venomous snakes are going to hibernate.
