Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 159 Frozen World, Rebels Rise Suddenly (Part 2)

The Little Ice Age disaster did indeed do the rebels a great favor.

Historical records indicate that during the Chongzhen reign, once winter arrived, the ice on the river would be at least three feet thick.

With ice this thick, let alone getting past people, even running a horse wouldn't be a problem.

Taking advantage of the frozen river, the rebels repeatedly jumped around and ran amok. No matter how many troops Chongzhen gathered, they could not be surrounded or suppressed.

More importantly, the ice on the river was over three feet thick, so you can imagine how cold it was.

It seems that the only way for the disaster victims in the Northwest to avoid starving and freezing to death is to follow the rebels and start a rebellion.

Therefore, during the Chongzhen reign in history, the number of rebels only increased with each suppression, eventually exceeding one million!

Although the situation wasn't that serious yet, Zhu Jue was powerless against the rebels using the frozen river to run rampant everywhere.

The river is not just a little long, but thousands of miles long. Could he possibly fill both sides of the river, which is thousands of miles long, with men and horses?
This is naturally impossible.

He truly had no way to stop the thieves from using the frozen riverbed to run rampant.

If there's no other way, then let's just ignore it and let the rebels run wild!
He actually ordered Yang He and Yang Sichang to strictly guard Tongguan and the three important border towns, and not to pay attention to those rebels who were running around everywhere!
Is this what you call a countermeasure?

Yang He and Yang Sichang were both dumbfounded.

Time flies, and the New Year holidays are over in the blink of an eye.

Although the capital was still covered in ice and snow during the first month of the lunar calendar, Zhu Jue went to the shipyard every day.

This is because the Spanish cargo ships will definitely arrive in Dongfan before February. By then, they will have money, copper, and rubber, and they can fully unleash their potential to vigorously develop industry.

The primary issue to be addressed in developing industry is transportation, and the faster this 1,600-ton ship is built, the better.

Wang Zheng also wanted to build the new type of ship as soon as possible. He wanted to test the effect of simply and crudely doubling the size of the ship. If the effect was good, he planned to double the size again and build a ship with a capacity of more than 3,000 tons!

This amount of about 1,600 liters is roughly equivalent to a 100-ton ship, and more than 3,000 liters would be a 200-ton ship. If we can build them, transportation will no longer be a problem.

If the transportation problem is solved, there will be no bottleneck in the industrial development of the Ming Dynasty.

Once the Ming Dynasty's industry develops, natural disasters like the Little Ice Age and the Jurchen Jurchens will no longer be a problem.

Zhu Jue felt full of energy, and after reviewing the memorials every day, he would spend almost all his time at the shipyard.

Around 9 a.m. that day, he led Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, and others on horseback straight to the shipyard.

At this time, the huge keel frame in the shipyard had been assembled, the ship plates had been shaped, and the bottom and sides of the ship could begin to be assembled.

Wang Zheng was directing the craftsmen as they carried heavy wooden planks and worked there.

Zhu Juena couldn't help but lean in and ask with great interest, "Liangfu, will this new ship be launched at the end of February?"

Wang Zheng nodded repeatedly and said, "There shouldn't be much of a problem. There are only two ships in this dock, and hundreds of craftsmen can be sent to work on each ship. The progress is much faster than building fifty ships at the same time."

That's a problem too.

If a dock can build five ships, then ten docks can build fifty ships in one batch.

Nowadays, a single dock can only build two ships, and ten docks can only build a total of twenty ships at a time.

An 800-ton ship is equivalent to a 50-ton ship, so 50 ships would have a carrying capacity of 2,500 tons. A 1,600-ton ship is equivalent to a 100-ton ship, so 20 ships would only have a carrying capacity of 2,000 tons. If you calculate the carrying capacity, building a batch of 1,600-ton ships seems to be about 20% less than building a batch of 800-ton ships.

If the transport capacity is insufficient, then we must make up for it with quantity.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Liangfu, we need to build new docks and waterways as soon as possible. This time we need to build them in batches, continuously, to quickly increase the production of ships. How many docks and waterways do you think are appropriate to build in one batch?"

Naturally, the more the better.

The key is to have enough artisans.

Wang Zheng thought for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, that depends on how many craftsmen you can bring in to build docks and waterways, and how many craftsmen you can bring in to build ships."

If the dock waterways are to be built quickly, each one would require at least a thousand craftsmen to construct, in addition to shipbuilding craftsmen. Given the scale of these dock waterways, each one would need at least five or six hundred craftsmen to manage.

The artisans are indeed a problem. Artisans from Shanxi and Shaanxi certainly cannot be allowed to participate in shipbuilding, and even artisans from Henan cannot participate, because at this time, rebels are rampaging in the three northwestern provinces, and many of their relatives and friends have joined the rebels.

There are also spies sent by the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou, which must be guarded against even more.

If all else fails, then we'll have to recruit artisans from other places. Zhu Jue pondered for a moment, then asked, "Liangfu, there should be quite a few shipbuilding artisans in Shandong and Southern Zhili, right?"

That's right, the three major shipyards of the Ming Dynasty were located in Shandong and Southern Zhili.

Wang Zheng nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, there are indeed many shipbuilding craftsmen in Shandong and Southern Zhili, but those craftsmen all build and repair cargo ships."

The wear and tear on these tens of thousands of cargo ships is considerable. At least a thousand new ships need to be built each year, and at least three to four thousand need to be repaired. All of this requires a large number of skilled craftsmen.

With steamships, why would we need to build cargo boats? They don't even need repairs anymore; we can gradually phase them out and replace them with steamships.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Then let them stop building and repairing cargo ships, and come here directly to build steamships."

We're building one hundred docks and waterways simultaneously. With artisans from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan working on each dock, there will be over a thousand able-bodied men per dock. Add to that those recruited from Shandong and Southern Zhili, and we estimate each dock will have at least two thousand able-bodied men. Construction should be quite fast.”

Uh, build a hundred docks and waterways at the same time!

Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng was filled with shock.

He paused for a moment before cautiously reminding him, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, this will require a lot of money. Not only will the construction of the docks and waterways cost a lot of labor, but there is also the cost of purchasing materials. Building docks and ships both require a lot of money to purchase materials, not to mention the labor involved in shipbuilding. For a hundred docks and waterways, the monthly labor cost will be at least 100,000 taels."

What's this little money?
Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "It's alright, we'll have money soon. Once the river is unblocked, the money will come."

How much money is that?
Wang Zheng was oblivious to everything else, focusing solely on shipbuilding.

Zheng Zhilong, however, knew very well how much money he would make from this bet.

That's over twenty million taels!
Money is definitely not a problem.

However, there is still a problem.

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment, then carefully reminded him: "Your Majesty, these more than one hundred docks and waterways can build more than two hundred ships of 1,600 liang each."

"Such large ships would require at least dozens of people to operate them in shifts. And even if we're not in a rush to load cannons, we still need to equip each ship with at least a hundred musketeers to make them any real fighting force."

The manpower situation is indeed a problem.

The Ming Dynasty was not short of manpower, but it was difficult to find someone who could completely keep secrets.

It seems that for the time being, they can only be selected and trained from among the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison.

In this way, the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison could not withstand such consumption. Each 1,600-ton steamship would require at least 150 or 160 men. Two hundred ships would require more than 30,000 men. With each batch of more than 30,000 men, the annual consumption would be 60,000 to 70,000 men. In three years, all 200,000 soldiers of the Beijing Garrison would have to be on board.

No, this is without the fact that they are not equipped with cannons. If the ships were equipped with cannons, the number of people on each ship would probably double.

In other words, the existing Beijing garrison troops may not be able to hold out for three years!

He still had to expand the Beijing Garrison, recruiting young and strong men from the Beijing Garrison, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and even the Imperial Guard, expanding it like crazy.

This involves money again.

How much money will the Spaniards actually bring him this time?

As he was pondering this, another rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out outside.

Has news from Dongfan arrived?

A moment later, Fang Zhenghua came quickly with a memorial in his hand, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

Why is it this disgusting guy?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and glanced at it; his eyes widened in surprise.

Hong Chengchou reported that, according to the scouts, the two bandit leaders, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, each had more than 100,000 men under their command, and there were also several other bandit groups with tens of thousands of men. He then added, "Your Majesty, 30,000 men are really not enough to resist so many rebels. We need at least 100,000 men."

This has all turned into resistance!
Have the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou gone mad? Expanding the ranks of rebels so frantically, don't these rebels need to eat?

This sum of 100,000 plus another 100,000, plus a few shares worth tens of thousands, adds up to at least 300,000 to 400,000.

Something feels off.

These traitors rose to power far too quickly.

As for Hong Chengchou's plan to recruit another 100,000 troops, he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention. Wouldn't it be better to use the funds to recruit another 100,000 soldiers from the Beijing garrison?
(End of this chapter)