Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 172 Who Will Be the Dog When Xianzhong Walks His Dog (Part 1)

Zhu Jue is preparing to build ships like the Dutch, the "carriers of the sea."

With such a small population and such a small place, the Netherlands can build at least five hundred ocean-going warships every year.

With such a large population and vast territory, if the Ming Dynasty were to unleash its potential and build ships at an unprecedented pace, how many ocean-going vessels could it produce in a year?
Nobody really knows this, because the Ming Dynasty in history never went this far.

The Ming Dynasty only experienced a small surge of power during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, during which it built a number of large ocean-going warships, and as a result, it became invincible at sea.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty did not intend to make money through overseas trade. The maintenance of the invincible fleet and the cost of personnel on board became a huge burden. Therefore, once it became invincible, it was no longer interesting and a waste of money, so they stopped building it!

Things are different now; the Ming Dynasty's navy is no longer invincible.

Zhu Jue, however, still hoped to use the money earned from overseas trade to solve the problems of the Little Ice Age disaster and the Jurchen invasion.

If the Ming Dynasty's navy cannot dominate the oceans, then fleets of merchant ships will be sent to be robbed. Forget about making money; it would be good enough if they didn't go bankrupt.

There's no other way but to unleash our potential and build ships like crazy.

He even pulled in the infantrymen of the Beijing garrison to dig waterways and build shipyards.

Within a radius of about twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers) on the north bank of the Tonghui River, close to the inner city, there were countless people. Including the artisans providing guidance, there were nearly tens of thousands of people in each li.

The riverbanks were dug out like a comb, with neat waterways extending northward, and the huge docks were rising at a visible speed.

There were even more people in the western part of the inner city. More than 100,000 artisans from Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan, along with their families, were working frantically in an area that was more than 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.

Those wide streets are taking shape, and those huge factories are springing up like mushrooms after rain.

The craftsmen and their families were truly fighting desperately, because they had all experienced hunger. They had experienced hunger to the point of weakness, dizziness, and even eating grass roots, tree bark, and clay.

They never wanted to experience that terrible feeling of hunger again.

Nowadays, they only have one thought in their minds: they need to work and they need to eat. If there is work, there will be food. The opportunity is right in front of them, so they naturally work hard.

Of course, some people pretend to be working hard, but their minds are wandering to other things.

Indeed, the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou had planted spies among these artisans, and there were quite a few of them.

The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party knew perfectly well what the young emperor was assigning these artisans to do.

This kid is like a madman, building shipyards and waterways like crazy, and building weaving workshops like crazy. The West City is such a big place, it can accommodate at least hundreds of thousands of looms!
Everyone knows why the young emperor did this.

This kid has seized almost all the profits from overseas trade. He built ships to transport raw materials and goods, and he built weaving mills to weave silk and cotton cloth.

They initially thought the young emperor was just fooling around like Tianqi, but now it seems they underestimated him.

This kid has done countless things behind their backs that are detrimental to them. If they continue to let him do this, they're doomed.

They certainly wouldn't sit idly by and wait for the young emperor to deal with them.

Therefore, early that morning, around 5 a.m., Han Kuang, Feng Quan, Wen Tiren, and Zhou Yanru gathered again in the cabinet office and sat in a dark corner to discuss things in hushed tones.

The reason they chose to hold their secret meeting in the cabinet office was that gathering outside to hold a secret meeting would be more likely to arouse suspicion. This is similar to why Zhu Jue did not stay in the Imperial Study in the Qianqing Palace to handle memorials. There was a reason for that as he would be constantly harassed by officials from the outer court in that place, while it would be difficult to find officials from the outer court in the Yuxi Palace.

This time, Han Kuang didn't pretend to be asleep.

This was all because the young emperor had done something really bad to Huang Taiji in Liaodong, and Huang Taiji was starting to lose his temper.

He slowly scanned the room, then said in a serious tone, "Yu Sheng, I've heard that the young talents in the Fushe Society are quite impressive."

This means that since the Fushe Society has fooled so many naive young people, why don't they make a move?

Zhou Yanru was not a member of the Donglin Party, nor did he like the Donglin Party.

This is because most of the Donglin members were hypocrites who appeared virtuous, while he was a petty person. He was the kind of corrupt official that the Donglin members criticized. It would be strange if he liked the Donglin members.

He said in a rather sarcastic tone, "Most of the young talents in the Fushe Society are still only scholars or even licentiates, and they still need our help to guide them."

This means that most of them are only successful candidates in the provincial examinations or even the county-level examinations, and there are very few who have passed the imperial examinations. How much of a commotion can I expect them to cause?

If you want them to make a big splash, you have to train them to enter the officialdom and take power.

This guy, all he knows is wanting, wanting more and wanting more!
There is no shortage of tricks and strategies!

Han Kuang nodded slightly and then asked, "Changqing, how's business lately?" You're making it sound like I come from a merchant family, just like you.

what business?
Where can we find business to do?
Wen Tiren said with some helplessness, "The Zheng family pirates are too powerful, and we can't do business in the Southeast."

They're so powerful, don't you know you should hurry up and think of a solution?

Han Kuang suggested, "If all else fails, the navy can invite some righteous men to quell the rebellion."

What kind of righteous person?
You mean the pirate Liu Xiang, right?

Liu Xiang's abilities were nothing compared to Zheng's fleet.

Wen Tiren shook his head slightly and said, "Your Excellency, the sea is different from the land. Naval battles require ships, muskets, and cannons. Relying solely on righteous men is useless."

This title of Grand Secretary was not given lightly. What he meant was, "You have such great power, yet you only ask us to take action. Why don't you take action yourself?"

Han Kuang pretended not to understand and continued, "We can find a way to build ships, and we think we can buy muskets and cannons, right?"

Are you sick?
Where can we build a ship now?
Are muskets and cannons free?
I'll buy more.

The price the Dutch are asking will shock you.

Wen Tiren shook his head slightly and sighed, "Your Excellency, that's a losing proposition, we can't do it."

Why do you keep calling me Grand Secretary? Do you think I haven't done anything?

Can I tell you about the things I did?

You bunch of useless bastards!
It seems the old saying is absolutely true: it's better to rely on yourself than on others.

I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you guys.

Han Kuang nodded slightly and said, "Well, let me think of another way. Everyone, let's not just sit here doing nothing. Political affairs are important. As officials, we must be diligent in our duties and care for the people."

After saying that, he actually got up and left.

Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, and Feng Quan couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Feng Quan thought for a moment, then sighed slightly and said, "The Grand Secretary is right. As officials, we must be diligent in our duties and care for the people. You can think of another solution. I need to go and deal with the memorials."

After saying that, he got up and left.

Zhou Yanru thought for a moment and then stood up, saying, "Changqing, we should think of a solution."

After saying that, he left.

Wen Tiren sat there alone, frowning and deep in thought for a long time. What other solutions could he come up with?

Around 7 a.m., just as Zhu Jue entered the main hall of Yu Xi Palace, Fang Zhenghua strode in, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Is something wrong?

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "What's wrong?"

Fang Zhenghua cautiously said, "Your Majesty, early this morning around 5 a.m., Han Kuang, Feng Quan, Wen Tiren, and Zhou Yanru held a secret meeting in the cabinet office for about a quarter of an hour."

Are these guys up to no good again?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue frowned and asked, "What did they do after their secret meeting?"

It seems like they didn't do anything this time.

Fang Zhenghua slowly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, they seem to be doing nothing wrong. Han Kuang, Feng Quan, and Wen Tiren are handling memorials in the cabinet office, and Zhou Yanru has also returned to the Ministry of Personnel to take his duty."

Do you think these guys will just sit around doing nothing?
It's unlikely.

Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Let them do whatever they want; developing our own strength is the most important thing.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then waved his hand.

Fang Zhenghua quickly clasped his hands in greeting, bowed, and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)