Chapter 228 Qinghe Shipyard

Tang Hao returned to the Dongguanting camp.

Zuo Yidao appeared again and brought back those precious materials.

In fact, he rushed back to Shandong after confirming that Tang Hao would be fine.

After all, the Ming soldiers returned with nearly a thousand craftsmen from the Ryukyu Kingdom, and these people have not been arranged yet.

Shandong Beiqinghe Shipyard, this is a famous shipyard in the Ming Dynasty, as famous as Nanjing Longjiang Shipyard and Huainan Qingjiang Shipyard.

The shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty can be said to have developed to the peak of ancient Chinese shipbuilding industry.

Shipbuilding workshops are spread all over the country along the river and the coast, especially in Jiangsu, Fujian, Huguang, Zhejiang and other places. In addition to privately run, there are also government-run ones, which can be said to be a hundred flowers blooming.

During the Hongwu period, the imperial court stipulated: "If a new sea-going vessel is to be built, it is necessary to measure the wood and water production and send people to build it."

In addition, during the Yongle period, the wise and capable Emperor Yongle sent Zheng He to the sea to promote the Yongle New Deal, which led to a climax of the development of the shipbuilding industry in the Ming Dynasty. A large number of government-run shipyards appeared in various places, among which the largest ones were the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing, the Qingjiang Shipyard in northern Jiangsu, the Qinghe Shipyard in Shandong, the Tainan Shipyard in Fujian, and the Jilin Shipyard in the northeast.

The largest and most efficient one is the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing, which is affiliated to the Dushui Division of the Ministry of Industry and covers an area of ​​8,100 acres. The Longjiang Shipyard has a Gongfen Division in charge of supervision; a Tizhu Division in charge of shipbuilding business; and a command hall to command production.

The production organization of the factory imitates the Fangxiang organization of urban residents in the Ming Dynasty, and is divided into four compartments according to professional nature: the first compartment makes wooden shuttles and oars; the second compartment makes ship wood, iron parts and cables; the third compartment repairs old ships; and the fourth compartment makes palm sails and other items.

The rational organization of production and the strict division of labor promoted the improvement of productivity, which made Longjiang Shipyard a typical workshop-style military shipyard at the end of the 14th century. The ships produced included antique-style tower ships, Mengchong, Zou Ge, and Dou Jian. The newly created ships included 400-ton warships, 400-ton patrol ships, 200-ton warships, fast ships, three-plank ships, floating bridge ships, etc., which created Zheng He's invincible fleet for the voyage to the West!

However, the good times did not last long. With the end of Zheng He's last voyage to the West during the Xuande period, the maritime expedition of the Chinese Navy came to an end. Since then, the Ming Dynasty court has implemented increasingly strict maritime ban policies, the shipbuilding industry has shrunk rapidly, and the development of the Ming Dynasty's maritime power has also shrunk comprehensively.

In order to combat pirates and private smuggling trade, the Ming Dynasty government paid more attention to light ships suitable for use in the near sea. Large ships were gradually eliminated and dismantled, and transformed into this kind of ocean-covering ship and shallow-water ship, which was specially used for inland waterway transportation.

For example, the Qinghe Shipyard in Shandong mainly builds ocean-covering ships and shallow-water ships, which are specially designed for inland waterway transportation.

To be honest, the best choice at the moment is undoubtedly the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing. However, the Longjiang Shipyard is located in Nanjing, and the situation is too complicated. Tang Hao is too lazy to go to Nanjing to massacre again to establish his prestige. Instead of doing so, it is better to use the Qinghe Shipyard.

Moreover, the soldiers will go out to sea directly from the Qinghe Shipyard in the future, and will not be interfered by any other forces. Shandong is the only territory controlled by Tang Hao and Zhu Houzhao now.

"My Lord, Shandong has been settled. The old craftsmen of the Qinghe Shipyard have returned with their families after hearing that the court is about to restart the Qinghe Shipyard. According to statistics, there are 2,000 craftsmen who can build ships!"

"2,000 people?" Tang Hao shook his head, "This is far from enough!"

The route has been mastered, so the next step is to seize the time to go out to sea to carry out ocean trade. The earlier the ocean trade is carried out, the earlier the profit can be accumulated.

"So, you go to the palace and tell His Majesty to mobilize all the craftsmen of Nanjing Longjiang Shipyard and Huainan Qingjiang Shipyard to go to Shandong Qinghe Shipyard, register them, and they will be the craftsmen of Qinghe Shipyard in the future. They don't have to bear any corvée or taxes, and they only need to focus on shipbuilding!"

"Within three months, this marquis will see enough pointed-bottom sea ships, including tower ships, Mengchong, Zou Ge, Dou Jian, etc. The more they build, the more rewards they will get. Of course, they also know the consequences of making up the numbers!"

Hearing this, even Zuo Yidao couldn't help but be shocked by the generosity of his own marquis.

Is this to gather the strength of the three major shipyards and build warships with all their strength?

But the question is, where does the silver for shipbuilding come from?

You should know that the cost of a warship of 400 materials is as high as 75 taels of silver. Zheng He's treasure ship has about 5,000 materials, which is much more expensive than a small boat. Each ship costs about 2,000 taels of silver. On average, the cost of building a ship is about 2 taels of silver per material!

This is just the cost of building the ship, not including the labor costs and other expenses. It must be three taels of silver per material. If you want to build a fleet of 100 warships starting from 400 materials, it will cost at least 100,000 taels of silver, including the construction cost and labor costs!

"My Lord, this money..."

Tang Hao rolled his eyes at Zuo Yidao and said angrily: "You go ask His Majesty for money! Why are you asking me?"

"Aren't there another group of corrupt officials who are going to be investigated and confiscated? It's just 100,000 taels. You underestimate the ability of these corrupt officials to make money!"

Hearing this, Zuo Yidao also smiled.

This is really strange!

No wonder the Lord did this in the morning court today.

It turns out that it is to raise money and food for building a fleet!

Zuo Yidao saluted and prepared to leave, but Tang Hao suddenly stood up and followed him.

"Forget it, I'll go with you to see the emperor. There are some details to explain to His Majesty."

The two hurried all the way and went straight into the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao still had some anger left.

Although he had long known from Tang Hao that the horse administration was not much better than the salt administration.

But the problem is, how dare you call me a "tyrant" in public?

You yourself are corrupt and accept bribes, and I investigated you according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but in the end I became a tyrant?

Where in the world is there such an unreasonable reason?

It really makes me angry!

When Zhu Houzhao saw Tang Hao, he immediately roared: "You damn savage, why didn't you speak up in the court?"

"That damn Wu Tinghuan dared to call me a tyrant, and you were watching the show?"

"Don't you understand the principle that the master humiliates the minister and the minister dies?"

Tang Hao heard these words and shook his head speechlessly.

"Your Majesty, what can I do? Can I just kill that idiot with a knife?"

"That's in the court. If he openly commits a crime and hurts someone, it will be unacceptable!"

Zhu Houzhao was still furious, and he scolded Tang Hao indiscriminately again, and finally vented his anger.

Tang Hao also asked for it. I don't know if he will come to see the emperor again later. Now, he has become Zhu Houzhao's punching bag.

The emperor was tired of scolding, so he sat down in his seat angrily and drank tea.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I brought back a group of shipbuilding craftsmen from Ryukyu and settled them in Shandong Qinghe Shipyard!"

"According to our plan, this Qinghe Shipyard will be the navy's headquarters in the future. What I mean is to directly send all the craftsmen from Nanjing Longjiang Shipyard and Huainan Qingjiang Shipyard to Shandong Qinghe Shipyard, register them, improve their treatment, gather the strength of the three major shipyards to build a fleet as soon as possible, and then start ocean trade!"

After these words came out, Zhu Houzhao didn't care about being angry anymore, and immediately became interested.

"But I heard that since Xuande's comprehensive contraction of the defense line, these shipyards stopped building sea ships and instead built canal ships. Canal ships and sea ships be different, and so much time has passed. Can these shipyard craftsmen build a sea fleet?"

Tang Hao smiled and shook his head, saying: "These are not problems. Have you forgotten the valuable information left by Zheng He? There are detailed drawings of various warships and sea ships in it. As long as they are handed over to experienced shipbuilders, they can learn in a short time and then build these warships and sea ships!"

Zhu Houzhao finally felt relieved after hearing this.

Praise Sanbao eunuch!

Praise Emperor Yongle!

Praise Liu Daxia... No, kill this guy!

"Speaking of which, the old guy Li Dongyang is pretending to be sick again. What about his son and those clansmen? Can he really kill them?"

When Zhu Houzhao thought of Liu Daxia, he thought of Li Dongyang.

Li Dongyang has been claiming to be ill since the morning court meeting. It is a rare thing for the cabinet chief minister to stay at home while sick.

If you are not in good health, you should retire early and return home to leave a decent life for everyone.

Now you have to force the emperor to take action against you, and you don’t even want the last bit of dignity?

When Tang Hao heard this, his eyes flashed.

“Send Chen Dayong to go there in person, bring two imperial doctors, and test this old fox in the name of seeing a doctor.”

“Tell him that his son Li Zhaofan can’t stand the torture and is about to sign and seal. Ask him how he feels!”

Zhu Houzhao immediately gave him a thumbs up. When it comes to killing people and breaking their hearts, you have to look at the savages!

If Chen Kuan does this, even if Li Dongyang is not dead yet, he will probably be angry to death!

"If he says it's okay, let him come back to work and do his job as the cabinet's prime minister. He's just a clay prime minister anyway, there's nothing to be afraid of. Instead, we can disgust him from time to time!"

"If he doesn't care about Li Zhaofan's life or death, then we have to find a way to get rid of this old fox as soon as possible. Such a cold and cruel person may cause trouble in the future!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded in agreement and approved of this test.

Then the monarch and his minister talked about the shipyard for a while, finalized some details, and ended the conversation.

But just as Tang Hao was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something.

"Your Majesty, how is the Shandong Garrison?"

"The situation is not bad!" Zhu Houzhao replied immediately, "Wang Ao is a capable and competent person. Under his leadership, Shandong fields have been cleaned up, and all military settlements have been cleared out and returned to the Garrison, and the Garrison soldiers are responsible for planting."

"In addition, according to your previous suggestion, the tax on Shandong military settlements will be reduced to 10% from now on, and the rest will be used for military construction. However, due to the strong opposition from the civil officials and gentry, it has not been implemented!"

"Heh!" Tang Hao sneered, "Of course they will oppose!"

"Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is just a pilot for the reform of the Garrison, and it will be promoted to the whole world in the future. A 10% tax is simply a death sentence for them. Such treatment will attract more and more civilians and refugees to become military households, and then the tenant labor of these gentry and gentry will become less and less!"

"Furthermore, the army is getting stronger and stronger, which is not a good thing for the gentry in itself. It will cause their control over the countryside to decrease, and it will also make His Majesty's authority more and more powerful, until they are finally liquidated! "

Zhu Houzhao nodded as if understanding.

But he still understood one thing, that is, these gentry and gentry wanted to go against him, Zhu Houzhao!

A bunch of people without a king or a father, they really deserve to be killed!

"Why do civil servants have a hand in military affairs?"

"So what if they don't agree? Do they still dare to ask the guard sergeant to collect taxes?"

Tang Hao sneered and said: "Let's do this. Your Majesty will give me the title of Imperial Envoy, and I will go to Shandong to take charge of this matter. I would like to see what other clowns dare to jump out!"

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao was a little hesitant.

"Why are you going to Shandong again?"

"The first is for the affairs of the garrison. This pilot of the garrison is related to the issue of military power in the future. We cannot help but ignore it!"

"The second is for the shipyard's affairs. Qinghe Shipyard does not have any other yamen. The war soldiers are directly responsible for taking over. In the future, no officials are allowed to interfere randomly. I want to personally direct the construction of the shipyard and build a batch of warships as soon as possible. Build a fleet!"

"Thirdly, there is the Jeju Racecourse. Soldiers like Yumu are still staying at the Jeju Racecourse. They are a bit overqualified. They can just move a military household to guard the Jeju Racecourse. Anyway, North Korea has surrendered now, and they don't dare to be so crazy as to attack and kill them. I’m a guard sergeant!”

But when Zhu Houzhao heard this, he seemed even more confused.

"Savage, let me stroke you first!"

"We are going to restructure the guard station and restore the combat effectiveness of the guard army by improving the treatment of the guards' officers, right?"

"Then why do you want people to go to sea? Isn't this a waste of money and food?"

“It’s not waste, it’s expansion!”

Tang Hao said with eager eyes: "We are reorganizing the guard station to restore the combat effectiveness of the guard station. It is just because the guard station has been in decay for a long time and we cannot recruit elite soldiers in a short time. We have allowed some sneaky tricks. The soldiers are inside."

"When the various military offices in Shandong are completely new, and when they are familiar with this new military system, the next step is to eliminate these ruffians, old and weak soldiers, just like the selection of front lines by the Beijing army, leaving only the elite soldiers who can be used. It can also reduce military spending.”

"What about the sergeant who was eliminated in this way? What are you going to do?" Zhu Houzhao chased after him.

"Gather together and move overseas!"

Tang Haoyan gave a concise and comprehensive answer.

"Whether it is Jeju Racecourse, Ryukyu Kingdom, or Tsushima Island, we actually need soldiers to garrison it. After all, this is the first route we have opened, and our business is limited to these three countries!"

"Then, when everything is on track, and when the navy in our hands becomes stronger and stronger, we can detach a fleet to go south, recreate Zheng He's grand voyage to the West, and go to the Southeast Asian countries to trade with them. Then a large number of naval bases and supply points will need to be built along the way, as well as a large number of military ports and customs, which will also require guard sergeants to be stationed! "

Zhu Houzhao didn't take it seriously at first, but slowly his eyes lit up, and finally he looked at Tang Hao with a burning face.

What's this?

This is a fucking way to expand territory!

Military ports, customs, supply points, naval bases, whatever the Ming Dynasty likes, it belongs to the Ming Dynasty. Although those overseas islands are a bit smaller, they are still territory after all!

Just like this Jeju Island, when did the Ming Dynasty occupy this island?

Never had!

In a sense, Zhu Houzhao has completed a martial arts and expanded his territory!

Now listen to the meaning of Tang Hao's words. It's not just one Jeju Island, there are many, many islands. If you add up the little and gather the sand into a tower, occupying them one by one, isn't that a proper expansion of territory?

"Savages, let's do this, those civil servants and gentry..."

Although Zhu Houzhao was excited, he still remained rational.

How could those civil servants and gentry watch them develop overseas military power?

"They really can only watch!"

Tang Hao sneered and said: "If I hadn't taken care of these guys, I would have gone to Longjiang Shipyard to build ships. I would have directly used the ready-made foundation. There would be no need to move the craftsmen to Qinghe Shipyard. It's not because Qinghe Shipyard is under our control." ?"

"The shipyard is ours and the soldiers are ours. No matter how jealous they are, what can they do? Maybe the only thing that will restrain us in the end is the issue of cargo going to sea. We must be prepared for this in advance. Jiangnan side You have to support a spokesperson, you can think of it as a merchant who stocks goods for you!"

"By the way, there are many manufacturing factories in Jiangnan. Send a message to the guarding eunuch over there, select some wealthy businessmen who are good at business, and inform them to go to Shandong to meet me. Then I will set up a chamber of commerce and take them with me. Let’s make a fortune together!”

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he couldn't help but grabbed Tang Hao's hand with excitement.

"Savage, I am issuing an order now, you can do it with confidence and boldness!"

"No matter what kind of support you want, I will support you unconditionally. No matter how easy it is for you, I will also control the power of the local army..."

Zhu Houzhao was also completely willing to fight.

Even at all costs, we must build this sea-going fleet!

"Okay!" Tang Hao chuckled and said, "Don't do those empty things. First, allocate 100,000 taels of silver to me. The construction of the shipyard will cost money!"

"How much?" Zhu Houzhao immediately turned his face, "No money, no money!"

"One hundred thousand taels, you are asking for my life!"

"Do you know how much silver the Beijing army spends every day? I wish I could break a penny into two halves, and you still ask for 100,000 taels..."

"Without money, you can't build a shipyard. Without a shipyard, you can't build a fleet. Without a fleet, you can't open up ocean trade and make money!"

Tang Hao pretended to be sad and sighed: "Forget it, since your majesty doesn't want to, I won't say much, let's stop here!"

"Give it, give it!" Zhu Houzhao was about to go crazy. He was just waiting for the fleet to go out to sea to make money!

"Um, how about treasure notes?"

"Get lost!"

"..."