After Zheng Zhilong saw the gift, Emperor Chongzhen said to him with a smile: "You have given birth to a good son. He has made a lot of contributions to the Ming Dynasty's expedition to Bombay. In a few years, the Ming Dynasty will attack the Persian Empire." When the time comes, it is estimated that he will achieve military success again and reach a higher level. I estimate that Huiqing will be better than his predecessor!"
Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was of course happy, and quickly thanked Tian En, and immediately replied: "Thanks to your Majesty, Quan Zi was brought to the capital in his early years. His current achievements are all given by your Majesty. I don't dare to take the credit." !”
At this time, in his heart, he was quite satisfied with the decision he had made. He chose to join the imperial court and listened to the emperor's words. This move was indeed the right one! How many people from the Zheng family can match today's Ming Dynasty? Apart from anything else, my son's knighthood is definitely a matter of time.
Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but feel slightly concerned. When thinking about the future, my father does not have a title, but his son does. What if he goes home to worship his ancestors?
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Emperor Chongzhen saying to him with a smile: "I brought this family letter to you when I returned home. Please take a look!"
When Emperor Chongzhen returned to the country, he brought a letter home from the expedition against the Mughal Ming army. Among them, most of the family letters were sent by ministers. He wanted to give Zheng Chenggong's family letter to his father in person.
Zheng Zhilong was a little surprised when he heard it. When he saw the chamberlain passing the family letter, he immediately accepted it respectfully.
Originally, no matter how anxious he was, he would definitely read it after the palace speech. But the emperor had made it clear, so he immediately opened it and read it according to the emperor's words.
Needless to say, Zheng Chenggong expressed his thoughts in the letter, and then described his situation in Bombay. In the letter, he expressed his determination to defeat the combined fleet of the British and the Dutch and promote the power of the Ming Dynasty!
Seeing this, Zheng Zhilong remembered the emperor's words that the flag of the Ming Dynasty should be planted at the end of the ocean. My own son is doing just that!
When he felt a little envious, he heard Emperor Chongzhen say to him: "I wonder how your health is? Can you still fulfill what I promised you back then?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was immediately overjoyed.
When he went to the audience with the order, he had already expected it and felt that the emperor was going to assign him a mission. But what he didn't expect was that the emperor would send a letter home first so that he could learn about his son's situation.
When he heard this, he immediately clasped his fists with both hands and responded decisively in a decisive voice: "Your Majesty, the general is still young! This body is very good! No matter if you kill a cow with one punch, you can at least kill a few. It’s okay to be a soldier!”
"Haha!" Emperor Chongzhen laughed when he heard this, pointed his finger at Zheng Zhilong and said, "I feel relieved when you say this. In this way, you will form a second expeditionary force and go to America to reinforce Sun Qing!"
After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately responded: "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, the general has been waiting for this day to plant the flag of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the ocean!"
After finishing speaking, seeing the emperor smiling, he continued: "Your Majesty, I wonder if the soldiers who went to America will be treated the same as the soldiers from the Mughals?"
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, aren't the Ming soldiers treated the same? Why did Zheng Zhilong ask for the same treatment as the Mughal soldiers?
As soon as he thought about this matter, he suddenly understood. Could it be about marrying a wife?
Sure enough, when Zheng Zhilong saw that Emperor Chongzhen didn't answer immediately and seemed a little confused, he quickly explained: "Your Majesty, it's like this. There are many bachelors in the army, and marrying a wife to carry on the family line is a big deal. If you go on an expedition to a foreign country, you don't know when you can do it. If we can solve the worries of the army officers and soldiers by returning, I believe that there will definitely be a lot of soldiers who are willing to go on an expedition to the other side of the ocean!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled and said: "Zhunzou, let's do it like this!"
Originally, there is no specific statement whether the Mughals did this and whether it was done in other places. Now that the emperor has made it clear, it is a certainty.
Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed immediately after hearing this. In this way, he can be sure that when he goes back to recruit and form an expeditionary force, it will definitely be very popular.
Of course, when Zheng Zhilong formed the expeditionary force, Emperor Chongzhen also defined the scope for him, which was usually drawn from the garrison troops along the coast and the garrison troops in the south. Because the expedition to America was mainly fought in the south, soldiers who could adapt to hot weather and the sea were given priority, so that problems of acclimatization could be avoided as much as possible.
As soon as Emperor Chongzhen issued this decree, the Ministry of War, the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army, and Zheng Zhilong himself became busy immediately. Emperor Chongzhen no longer worried about these details.
At this time, accompanied by the prince, he took the train to Tianjin again to visit the shipyard.
In the three years since Emperor Chongzhen left, under the leadership of the Crown Prince, the shipyard built another steam-armored battleship for experimental data, and then encountered the steam-armored battleship from America and returned. Comprehensive summary After the experience, two more steam ironclad battleships were built, not paddle-wheeled, but propeller-driven.
These two armored warships were built not long ago and are still undergoing sea trials to verify their performance. Before Emperor Chongzhen returned to the capital, he had already sailed to Chongming Island at the estuary of the Yangtze River. Now, the observation posts along the way reported that the armored warship would return to Tianjin in the near future. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen came over in person.
When Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Tianjin, the two armored warships had not yet arrived. However, he was not in a hurry and inspected the Tianjin Shipyard, which had more than doubled in size.
Emperor Chongzhen discovered that the division of labor in the shipyard had become more detailed than three years ago. There are more and more skilled craftsmen, and many auxiliary machines have been invented.
From Zhu Cixiang's introduction, there are already many craftsmen in this shipyard who meet the professional craftsman title stipulated by Emperor Chongzhen. Many of them even lack one work to prove that they can obtain the title of master. This work actually exists, and it is an iron-clad battleship powered by a steam-driven screw.
It can be said that such a battleship is truly the crystallization of Ming Dynasty's highest craftsmanship in all aspects. From coking, steelmaking, artillery, steam engines, etc., every link is the best level in the Ming Dynasty. It is the result of these years of hard work that can create an armored warship.
If the armored battleship succeeds and is recognized by the emperor, then there must be a series of craftsmen who have mastered the technology who will be recognized.
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy about this. If he really reached this level, he would never begrudge this title.
About an hour in the afternoon, while Emperor Chongzhen was still inspecting the shipyard, he suddenly heard a noise. Then, soon someone came excitedly to report: "Your Majesty, we can see the armored battleship. The armored battleship is back!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately became energetic, waved his hand and said, "Let's go and have a look!"
Zhu Cixiang, who accompanied Emperor Chongzhen, was also very excited and immediately led the way.
The other accompanying officials, especially the craftsmen in the shipyard, were also extremely excited. With the emperor around, they didn't dare to say anything, but the looks they looked at each other were as bright as light bulbs, and the joy they revealed was just like a child waiting to receive lucky money during the Chinese New Year.
By the time Emperor Chongzhen arrived at the viewing platform, he could clearly see two armored warships heading towards the shipyard one after another without the help of telescopes.
But even though they are unique, you can tell they are yours at a glance. But the emperor was here, so a ship came over first, and the Jinyiwei boarded the armored battleship. Then the armored battleship approached the viewing platform and slowly anchored to the dock.
Two captains of armored battleships, along with a group of sailors and a group of craftsmen, lined up to disembark and paid tribute to Emperor Chongzhen.
The arrival of the Ming Emperor means that once their achievements are recognized, they will be rewarded immediately. Therefore, when this group of people came ashore, the excited smiles on their faces could not be concealed!
Seeing this scene, the craftsmen standing behind Emperor Chongzhen understood that this voyage to verify the performance of the armored battleship must be successful. After understanding this, they almost burst into cheers.
Years of hard work have created miracles that I could not even imagine before. Today I will be recognized and rewarded!
They guessed correctly. The captains of the two armored battleships reported the experimental data to Emperor Chongzhen on behalf of their respective battleships. The more detailed parameters were reported by the chief craftsmen on the battleships. In short, there is only one conclusion. Today's armored battleships are suitable for long-distance operations.
Although the armored battleship in front of us is not a huge battleship, and although the battleship is only equipped with spiral-rifled artillery, and there are only two guns at the bow and stern, it is enough to deal with today's sail battleships.
After listening to the report, he boarded the battleship to visit in person. Finally, Emperor Chongzhen solemnly announced: The first generation of Ming Dynasty's iron-clad battleships has been finalized!
Needless to say, the entire shipyard cheered excitedly, and many people even shed tears with excitement.
Ever since steam engines were put on ships, it can be said that this generation of shipbuilders, under the leadership of the prince, basically worked hard day and night and overcame countless difficulties. Today, they finally succeeded!
It is undeniable that if the prince had not taken the lead in building the armored battleship, it would never have been successful so quickly. It can be said that with the prince's presence, at least five years will be shortened.
For this reason, it goes without saying that Emperor Chongzhen granted the prince the title of "Grand Master", and other related craftsmen also received the title as they wished. Just for the title of "Master", as many as twenty-five were awarded at once, and for the lower-level craftsman title, there were even more.
Here at the Tianjin Shipyard, the voice of "Long live, long live, long live, long live" resounded throughout the world.
