The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 241 The world has changed
Wanli was indeed prepared to take a tough approach.

That's just how he is, he likes to solve problems with force.

Now that the seventeen guards left behind in Jinling City are all safe, let’s get started and take over the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard first.

After he ordered his men to send Xu Bangrui, Duke of Wei, back, he prepared to set off.

This time he planned to take only the imperial guards with him, because the imperial guards brought war horses, but the Jinyiwei did not.

Jinling City is very big. If you bring the Jinyiwei with you, you may not be able to reach it in a whole day.

After summoning Shan Sinan and giving him some instructions, he asked directly, "Weizhi, is it convenient to get to Longjiang Treasure Shipyard from the Imperial Palace? How long do you estimate it will take?"

Xu Weizhi said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, it is very convenient to get to the Treasure Shipyard from the Imperial Palace. Just go through Xihua Gate and Xi'an Gate, cross Xi'an Gate Outer Street, Liu Junshi Bridge, Shichengmen Inner Street, and then cross the river at Shicheng Bridge. After walking about ten or twenty miles, you will reach the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard.

The total distance is only about thirty to forty miles, and there are imperial roads in the inner city's Xi'an Gate Outer Street and Shichengmen Inner Street. The outer city is not as crowded as the inner city. If I ride a horse, I estimate that I will arrive in about three quarters of an hour."

It’s different now with a local tyrant leading the way. He is very familiar with Jinling City.

He said he wanted to go to Longjiang Baochuan Factory, and people planned the shortest and most convenient route without even thinking.

It only takes about three-quarters of an hour to go all the way there, less than an hour to go back and forth. If you hurry, you can even return to the palace for lunch.

Wanli nodded slightly, then stood up and said, "Okay, let's set off now."

He led tens of thousands of imperial guards and cavalry out of Xi'an Gate and headed straight for the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard.

Although it was still around noon, the sun had just risen and the morning mist had not yet dissipated, the streets of Jinling City were already crowded with people.

Xi'anmenwai Street, Shichengmennei Street, including Chang'an Avenue, are the most prosperous areas in Jinling City. These streets are basically crowded with people and the flow of people is very dense.

Fortunately, there were imperial roads. Emperor Hongwu sometimes liked to abuse his power for personal gain. In order to facilitate travel, he drew many imperial roads in Jinling City, which also made it convenient for Wanli.

They were so arrogant that they even rode their horses at full speed on the imperial road. The people on both sides were really surprised.

However, when the common people saw that the leader was Xu Weizi, the prince of Wei, who was wearing a dragon robe, they knew that everything was fine and the people from the Five Cities Military Department did not dare to intervene.

The lineage of Duke Wei has continued from the Hongwu Dynasty to the present day, and there were only a few dukes in the Ming Dynasty, and the other dukes were not in Nanjing City.

Since the reigns of Renzong and Xuanzong, emperors basically stopped coming to Jinling City. It can be said that the Duke of Wei was the most honorable person in Jinling City.

Moreover, almost every generation of the Duke of Wei's family has served as a nobleman in Nanjing. Over the past hundred years, they have been one of the most powerful people in Jinling City. Their prestige among the garrisons is unmatched. Civil servants who come to Nanjing to serve basically dare not provoke the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

Xu Weizi, the prince of Duke Wei, had been managing affairs on behalf of his father for many years. There were not many people in Jinling City who did not know this powerful man.

Xu Weizi's face was indeed very effective. When they left the city gate, the soldiers guarding the city quickly drove the passers-by to both sides. There was no such thing as checking identities or asking why so many people were leaving the city.

After leaving the Stone City Gate, Wanli felt a little familiar with the place. He had passed through here yesterday.

Yesterday on the Qinhuai River, he didn't realize how big the Shicheng Bridge was. But today, when he passed by the Shicheng Bridge, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this bridge was really big.

The bridge deck of Shicheng Bridge is probably more than three meters wide and about thirty meters long, and its height from the water surface is estimated to be three or four meters.

At this moment, the mast of an 800-ton sailboat is only more than ten feet long, and the mast of a 1,000-ton sailboat seems to be only about two feet long. I'm afraid that a 2,000-ton sailboat can pass under the Shicheng Bridge!
You can imagine how high Shicheng Bridge is.

After crossing the Shicheng Bridge, you will reach the outer city. Although the outer city is not as crowded as the inner city, it is also quite prosperous and there are many people on the streets.

Fortunately, anyone on the street who was not deaf could hear the thundering sound of horse hooves coming, and they could see from a distance that the leader was a nobleman wearing a dragon robe. Anyone who was not mentally ill knew to quickly hide to the sides.

Their group of tens of thousands of cavalry actually arrived at the south of Longjiang Treasure Shipyard in about three quarters of an hour.

The Longjiang Treasure Shipyard is also quite large. There are as many as twelve docks and waterways alone. A row of them is probably two or three miles long. Moreover, the docks and waterways are one or two miles long and more than ten or twenty feet wide.

However, the seven large docks and waterways in the south are now abandoned. The weeds around the waterways are taller than people. It is unknown whether the huge docks have been emptied or collapsed, leaving only a few broken walls, on which you can faintly see large characters taller than people.

Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai, the twelve dock waterways seem to be arranged from south to north.

Judging from the scale of the dock waterways, the four dock waterways in the north (Shen, You, Xu and Hai) should be used to build small boats weighing less than 1,000 tons; the four dock waterways in the middle (Chen, Si, Wu and Wei) should be used to build large ships weighing 1,000 tons; and the four dock waterways in the south (Zi, Chou, Yin and Mao) should be used to build giant ships weighing more than 2,000 tons.

Unfortunately, the seven docks and waterways, Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, and Wu, were all abandoned. There wasn't even a wall to the south of the Baochuan Yard, and only to the north could one vaguely see a circle of walls and a row of workshops.

Wanli stopped at the south side of the Treasure Shipyard and scanned it carefully with a telescope. Then he asked, "Which government office is in charge of the Treasure Shipyard now?"

Xu Weizhi said without hesitation: "The Baochuan Factory is now under the jurisdiction of the Baochuan Factory Branch of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry's Dushui Qingli Division."

Nanjing Ministry of Industry? Who cares? Even if it’s Nanjing Ministry of War, so what?

Wanli thought about it, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go and take a look."

After saying this, he rode his horse slowly northward along the road covered with weeds.

Upon seeing this, Shan Sinan immediately ordered the imperial guards to split into two rows and ride on horseback to guard the left and right.

There was actually quite a bit of land in the treasure ship factory. To the west of the road was the abandoned dock waterway, and to the east of the road were patches of land, not planted with crops but with something he didn't recognize.

He couldn't help but ask, "Danyang, do you know what's growing in this field?"

Peng Zungu nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, this humble servant knows that this is Yau Ma Tei, where jute and tung oil seeds are grown. Jute and tung oil are used in shipbuilding, and in large quantities."

It turns out that it is used for shipbuilding. No wonder there are so many of them planted here. I’m afraid there are hundreds of acres of them planted here.

The money spent on purchasing jute and tung oil must have been saved. It seems that the people who manage the Baochuan Factory also understand shipbuilding.

They continued heading north, and after passing Yau Ma Tei, there was a row of workshops. To the west was the relatively intact dock waterway, and it seemed that there were still people working in the workshops and the dock waterway.

When Wanli looked into the waterway of the Wei Zi Hao Shipyard, he was stunned to see a huge ship about ten feet high parked in the waterway, with its masts erected, at least two feet high.

This is a giant ocean-going ship weighing thousands of tons!

He reacted instantly because the 800-ton centipede ship and trough ship were not so tall or so big.

The Longjiang Bao Shipyard is actually able to build giant ocean-going ships weighing thousands of tons, and they are still under construction!
Is this made for pirates or Japanese pirates?
He was just in a daze when an official in a green robe suddenly rushed out from the northern wall with a group of strong men and shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Wanli glanced at him with disdain and was too lazy to talk.

Seeing this, Xu Weizhi hurried forward and shouted, "Who are you and what are you yelling about?"

He didn't know whether Wanli wanted to reveal his identity. After all, Wanli was still wearing the military uniform of an imperial guard officer.

So, he could only stand up and ask who the other person was.

Is there someone wearing a python robe among this group of people?
The official took a closer look and then, with a forced smile, bowed and said, "So you are the Duke of Wei's son. I am Pan He, the Director of the Nanjing Ministry of Works, in charge of the Treasure Shipyard branch. What brings you here, Your Highness?"

He has nothing to offer.

His Majesty probably wants to get started right away.

The problem is, he is not qualified to give this order.

Xu Weizi couldn't help but turn his head and look at Wanli.

Wanli seemed to be in a good mood. He thought about it for a moment, then pretended to be curious and asked, "Your last name is Pan. Who is Pan Jixun to you?"

Hearing this, Pan He couldn't help but get angry and said, "How dare you! Do you think you can call Master Pan by his name? Who am I to you? What does it have to do with you?"

Can't you see that I am with tens of thousands of troops?
It seems that the officials in Nanzhili don’t know what the world is like now.

In the past, sixth-rank civil officials could indeed act arrogantly in front of thousands of troops, and the military generals leading the troops dared not say a word.

However, the world has changed. Now it is no longer the civil officials who suppress the military generals, but the military generals who suppress the civil officials.

Okay, you don’t know yet, right? I’ll let you know later.

(End of this chapter)