Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 117 Pirates and Treacherous Officials Collude (Part Six)

The Governor-General of Zhejiang, Zhili and Fujian, Xiong Wencan, led a large army and defeated the allied forces of the Dutch and the pirate Liu Xiang in one fell swoop.

He not only captured thousands of pirates and hundreds of Dutchmen, but also rescued thousands of civilians who had been captured by the Dutch to build fortresses, plant sugarcane, and raise deer.

Immediately afterwards, he led tens of thousands of troops and thousands of warships of various sizes to Keelung.

The Spanish only had a few galleons and a few hundred men, and they hadn't even built a foothold. They were surrounded in the harbor and couldn't escape, so they had no choice but to surrender.

With this, the Dongfan region was completely recovered, and the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty was no longer harassed by pirate and colonial raider fleets.

He was just pondering whether to lead a fleet to bring Xu Guangqi to Dongfan when, unexpectedly, Xu Guangqi and Zheng Zhibao, the official left behind, arrived in a huge wheeled boat.

What is going on here?
He looked through his binoculars at the rapidly approaching wheeled boat and at Xu Guangqi, who stood at the bow, looking rather excited, and couldn't help but feel bewildered.

It turned out that during the few days he had been traveling from Dayuan to Keelung, Wang Yingchao had already traveled along the coastline to Quanzhou Prefecture and found Xu Guangqi.

Upon hearing that Wang Yingchao was also on his way to Dongfan to deliver an imperial edict, Xu Guangqi simply gave his disciples some instructions and then followed Wang Yingchao over.

When they arrived at Tai Yuen Port, Xiong Wencan had already led a large force to Keelung. They had no choice but to have Zheng Zhibao lead the way to Keelung.

Soon, the wheel-wheeled boat docked at the temporary pier where the flagship was moored.

Xiong Wencan quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Brother Zixian, what brings you here?"

Xu Guangqi returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said, "Tai Meng, I came with Eunuch Wang to convey His Majesty's oral decree. I was just afraid you wouldn't recognize Eunuch Wang by His Majesty's side, so I specially brought him here."

He wasn't actually familiar with Wang Yingchao; he had only met him a few times in the palace.

However, he knew this wheeled boat very well.

The greenhouse in the imperial city was right next to the dock waterway. Back then, when he was cultivating sweet potato and potato seedlings in the greenhouse, he would go to see Wang Zheng whenever he had free time to check on the progress of the ship's development.

It can be said that he knew every part of the ship very well, and he also knew how important the ship was to the Ming Dynasty.

The fact that the current emperor could send over a hundred elite imperial guards to escort Wang Yingchao over by ship undoubtedly means that it was to deliver an imperial edict.

He was worried that Xiong Wencan might become suspicious, so he made a special trip over there.

Upon hearing this, Xiong Wencan immediately cupped his hands and said, "Eunuch Wang, what are His Majesty's orders?"

Wang Yingchao respectfully cupped his hands towards the north before solemnly saying, "Convey His Majesty's oral decree. Go and relay this decree to Xiong Wencan, instructing him to immediately rebuild the Penghu Patrol Office after recovering Dongfan. He is to have small boats patrol the southeastern coast and large ships patrol the southeastern sea lanes, and to intercept the cargo ships of Zhejiang merchants and wealthy families transporting tea and raw silk outwards."

After the cargo ship was intercepted, all the goods were confiscated, and the crew members were severely tortured to find out whose goods they were. Once they revealed the truth, Li Chaoqin, Wang Chaofu, and Li Yongzhen were ordered to lead men to raid their homes and execute them.

Upon hearing this, Xiong Wencan immediately cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

After solemnly conveying the oral edict, Wang Yingchao said politely, "Lord Xiong, His Majesty said that from now on I will be in charge of conveying oral edicts. If you have anything to report, you can hand it to me to take back."

This was my first time navigating the waterway, so I was a little delayed. I'll come here every seven or eight days from now on. You can also tell me what you want to bring; my ship can carry tens of thousands of kilograms of cargo.”

You're in charge of relaying imperial edicts, aren't you? Those are His Majesty's trusted confidants.

Xiong Wencan quickly cupped his hands in a fawning manner and said, "You're too kind, Eunuch Wang. I'll be relying on you from now on."

Wang Yingchao waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Lord Xiong, you are too kind. It is only right that I do this for His Majesty. Is there anything you would like me to take back to His Majesty? I spent an extra day traveling between Quanzhou and Dongfan this time, so I must hurry back."

This naturally exists.

Xiong Wencan hurriedly said, "I am writing a memorial to His Majesty to report the victory. The memorial is not finished yet, please wait a moment, Eunuch Wang. Also, this time we seized gold and silver worth hundreds of thousands of taels and a lot of goods from the Dutch and Spanish."

Please take this gold and silver back, Eunuch Wang. I will make a list of the goods and attach it to the memorial. His Majesty, please instruct on how to dispose of them. By the way, the Spanish also want to discuss trade with us. I dare not make a decision on my own. Eunuch Wang, do you think it would be possible to take the Spanish envoy back to the capital with you so that His Majesty can make a decision?"

This is not okay.

Wang Yingchao shook his head slightly and said, "His Majesty has instructed that only officials of the inner court and their confidants are allowed to board the ship I am on, and no other unauthorized personnel are permitted. I will go back and report this matter to His Majesty, and see if His Majesty wishes to meet this Spanish envoy."

Oh, so you can't just take people on this boat, right?
Xiong Wencan nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, I'll go write the memorial right away. Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. Zhihu, have someone move the captured gold and silver over here and put it over there. Don't let anyone board the ship."

Having said that, he cupped his hands in greeting and hurried back to the flagship.

At this time, Zhu Jue was unaware that Dongfan had already been recovered, but these past few days had been filled with good news.

Song Yingxing had already produced a prototype of the large spinning machine, and Wang Zheng had also produced a sawing machine. There were more and more machines of all kinds, and the Ming Dynasty could be said to have embarked on the road of industrial development.

Around 9 a.m. that day, after he had finished reviewing the memorials, he led Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua straight to the shipyard in the eastern part of the city.

At this time, the shipyard was already piled high with giant logs about ten feet long, and all kinds of craftsmen were busy working in groups, creating a bustling scene.

Wang Zhengna was also busily working in a large open-air timber processing shed, gesturing wildly.

Inside the open-top, sawdust flew everywhere, and machines roared; it was incredibly noisy. He didn't even notice the group of people riding by on horseback.

Zhu Jue went over and saw that the guy was ordering someone to push a piece of wood about a foot thick to saw planks.

This saw seems to have some problems. Several craftsmen have to stand on both sides of the timber, pushing it forward a little and then quickly pulling it back a little, as if it's stuck.

He glanced at it briefly, then walked over and asked, "Liangfu, what's wrong? Is the steam engine too weak?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng turned his head and quickly cupped his hands in greeting. He then explained in detail, “Your Majesty, the power of this steam engine is indeed a bit small. I have already told Chang Geng to build a larger one as soon as possible. He said that building a larger one is no problem. With a boring machine, he can build any size. The key issue is that there isn’t enough copper, so he can’t build many more.”

We need to resolve this copper issue quickly; I wonder how things are going with Xiong Wencan's side.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then pointed to the craftsmen who were pushing the wooden beams back and forth and said, "I'm afraid this won't work. Don't damage the gears inside by pushing them back and forth like that."

Wang Zheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, it's alright. They're all skilled and won't damage the gears below. Besides, I've already asked someone to make new saw blades."

Your humble servant did not consider the power of the steam engine at the time. All the saw blades were made with teeth cut at the angle of the saw. Such teeth can saw a few inches of timber very quickly, but they are a bit difficult to saw a one-foot plank.

"It's okay, the new saw blade has a smaller tooth angle, so it'll cut a bit slower, but it won't get stuck like this."

Oh, so you had someone make new saw blades.

That's no problem.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "With the saw, shipbuilding is much faster, isn't it? How long does it take to build a batch, and how many ships can be built in one batch?"

Shipbuilding isn't just about sawing timber and planks, which takes time.

Wang Zheng estimated, "With the saw, shipbuilding is indeed much faster. However, the time for shaping and sealing cannot be saved. I estimate that it will take at least four months to build a batch. Moreover, the shipyard has ten docks and waterways, and each dock can only build five ships at the same time, so a batch can only build fifty ships."

This shipyard is indeed not big enough.

However, it is not advisable to build too many small steamships with a capacity of 800 liters.

His goal wasn't just a small boat of about fifty tons; with steam engine power, they would build large ships of at least several hundred tons.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Well, you build some of these 800-ton ships first, so that the craftsmen can get familiar with them. You should also think about it carefully. Next year, we will build a large shipyard and build large ships with a capacity of over 1,000 tons."

(End of this chapter)