Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 23 Two Treacherous Officials and One Capable Man

Zhu Jue took a stroll around the West Garden and was in a great mood.

Although the money and grain that Wei Zhongxian obtained were not enough to save the Ming Dynasty from its demise, they were enough to resolve the Liaodong mutiny, and he also had the capital to start his own power.

As long as there is no mutiny in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty will not be in danger for the time being. It will have one or two years to develop its industry. Once the industry is developed, the Ming Dynasty will become stronger and stronger. At that time, not only will it be able to deal with the Jurchens, but it will also be able to solve the problem of the Little Ice Age disaster.

He was full of vigor and ready to make a big splash, but a memorial to the throne made him feel like he had swallowed a fly, disgusted to the core.

Around 7 a.m., he arrived at the Imperial Study on time and began to review the memorials.

As soon as he opened the first memorial, his brows furrowed again.

Zhou Yingqiu, the Minister of Personnel, submitted a memorial stating that Lai Daozong, the former Minister of Rites, had already joined the cabinet and had no intention of supervising the Ministry of Rites. The cabinet then sent a document to the Ministry of Personnel to recommend a replacement.

That's not a big deal. If the Minister of Rites doesn't insist on concurrently holding the position of Minister after entering the cabinet, then someone will definitely be found to take over the position of Minister.

The problem lies in the selection of the person recommended by the Ministry of Personnel to succeed the Minister of Rites.

The Ministry of Personnel surprisingly recommended Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru!
These two were notorious traitors.

Historically, the Chongzhen reign lasted only seventeen years. Wen Tiren served as Grand Secretary for three terms, totaling nearly nine years, while Zhou Yanru served for almost three years in total.

These two guys really screwed over Emperor Chongzhen. They ignored the fact that the Ming Dynasty was in constant warfare and only cared about fighting for power and profit, thus pushing the Ming Dynasty into the abyss of destruction.

Now these two guys are trying to trick him again!
Zhu Juezhen is disgusting.

You guys are disgusting, aren't you?
Come on, I'll have Wei Zhongxian kill you all!

The problem is, if the Minister of Rites can only choose one person, who should be sent to their death?
Zhou Yanru and Feng Quan were lovers and in-laws through their children's marriage. The cabinet's document ordering the Ministry of Personnel to recommend a candidate for Minister of Rites was definitely intended to select Zhou Yanru.

Who is behind Wen Tiren?
He thought about it carefully, then asked, "Ruoyu, do you know where Zhou Yingqiu is from?"

What does this batch of memorials have to do with who is from?

Liu Ruoyu recalled, "Zhou Yingqiu seems to be from Zhenjiang Prefecture in Southern Zhili, but I can't remember which county he's from. Should I have someone check?"

There's no need to check this. Wen Tiren was a member of the Zhejiang faction, while Zhou Yingqiu was from Southern Zhili and had a good relationship with Feng Quan, so he definitely wasn't a member of the Zhejiang faction.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and asked again, "Where are you from, Lai Daozong?"

Hmm, looks like I'll have to memorize the hometowns of these court officials from now on.

Liu Ruoyu recalled, "Lord Lai seems to be from Hangzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang. Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I really can't remember which county he was from."

It turns out that the Daoist sect was promoting Wen Tiren!

Lai Daozong may not necessarily be a member of the Zhejiang faction, but it is highly likely that he will help his fellow townsmen.

That's how it was during the Wanli era. Yu Youding, Wang Jiaping, Zhao Zhigao, and others weren't from the Zhejiang faction, but when they promoted their fellow townsmen, they promoted Shen Yiguan!
It is estimated that the Zhejiang faction in the court asked Daozong for help in making room for Wen Tiren, and Daozong readily agreed.

In other words, Lai Daozong voluntarily relinquished the position of Minister of Rites, while the Zhejiang faction in the court wanted Wen Tiren to take over.

Feng Quan, however, wanted Zhou Yanru to take over!

These two groups have actually started a covert struggle.

well.

I'll let you fight it out.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Let the cabinet organize a court discussion on this matter."

They were reviewing memorials when a voice suddenly announced from outside, "Wang Zheng requests an audience."

Wang Zheng is here!

The inner palace is finally about to open.

Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "Send it."

Soon, Wang Zheng strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue was taken aback when he took a look.

Wang Zheng is at least fifty years old; his hair and beard are all white.

This person probably won't last many more years!
Nowadays, the average lifespan of ordinary people is only in their forties, and very few live to their fifties. Officials live a little longer, but most of them only live to their sixties.

Is there any value in training someone at such an advanced age?

He thought about it carefully, and then asked, "Liangfu, I heard that you have figured out a way for fire ships to move on their own. Is that true?"

You haven't read my book, yet you know that a steamship can move on its own?

Wang Zheng quickly explained, "Your Majesty, that is a machine described in my humble work, *Illustrated Explanation of Newly Made Implements*." *Illustrated Explanation of Newly Made Implements*?
Self-propelled fire ships are just one type of machine!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue asked in surprise, "What other machines are mentioned in your book, 'Illustrated Explanation of Newly Made Instruments'?"

This is too much.

Wang Zheng explained in detail: "Your humble servant has devised a total of twenty-four kinds of machines, which have been compiled into the 'Illustrated Explanation of Newly Made Instruments'. They are: the celestial sphere rotates on its own, the terrestrial chasm closes itself on its own, the sundial moves on its own, the moon rotates on its own, the waterwheel draws water on its own, the water leak rises on its own, the fire ship moves on its own, the fire and thunder roar on its own, the windmill rotates heavily, the windmill travels far, the cloud ladder ascends straight up, the cloud ladder flies obliquely, the air is sufficient to launch an arrow, the air is sufficient to transmit sound, the machine draws water from shallow to deep, the machine is small to rise and sink, the machine rotates and grinds constantly, the self-propelled chariot, the platform holds the cannon, the clamps hold the bell, the spiritual aperture generates wind, the wondrous wheel plays music, the flowing water is like the sea, and the divine power amazes the enemy."

You invented so many machines.
This person is incredibly capable!
Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "In the phrase 'sufficient qi to launch an arrow,' does 'qi' refer to steam? And does a fireship propel itself using a steam engine?"

You know about steam and steam engines!
Wang Zheng was taken aback for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, the 'qi' I mentioned in the book refers to steam, and the self-propelled fireboats are propelled by steam engines."

He's truly a remarkable person!
Age is no longer an issue; if all else fails, we can have him teach a few more apprentices.

Steamships.

If it can be built, the Ming Dynasty will surely become the maritime hegemon.

Zhu Jue asked with some excitement, "Have you managed to produce a prototype of the steamship?"

Steamship?

How do you say this?

Wang Zheng said somewhat awkwardly, "Your Majesty, developing steamships requires a lot of money, and I don't have that much. However, I have tried using wood and bamboo tubes, and I'm sure the steamship can move on its own."

You actually managed to make a simple steam engine out of wood and bamboo tubes, what a genius!

No, you're from Xi'an Prefecture. If there were no steamships, how could you have traveled such a long distance so quickly?

Zhu Jue asked with some curiosity, "Since you haven't successfully built a steamship, why did you arrive so quickly? Xi'an Prefecture is nearly two thousand miles away from the capital, isn't it?"

I came by boat.

Wang Zheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, I found a boat with the wind in my hometown and traveled downstream along the Jing River, Wei River and Yellow River. I arrived in Yanzhou Prefecture in less than two days. Then I hired a fast boat in Yanzhou Prefecture and traveled along the Grand Canal. I arrived in the capital in less than four days."

Oh, so your hometown is by the Jing River, which is right downstream, covering a thousand miles in a day.

That was really similar to boarding a steamship.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know how to build ships?"

I love tinkering with these things, and of course I know how to build ships.

Wang Zheng humbly replied, "Your humble servant only has a slight understanding of shipbuilding and cannot compare to those experienced craftsmen."

All you need to know is how to build a ship.

At this time, transportation was the main problem restricting the development of the Ming Dynasty. However, once steamships were built, this problem would no longer exist.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Alright, you first build the prototype of the steamship in the palace, and then find a large shipyard near the capital to mass-produce it. As for the money, you don't need to worry about it. I will give you as much money as you need."

Uh, it's not that simple.

Wang Zheng thought about it carefully, and then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, shipbuilding not only requires money, but also skilled craftsmen and a large amount of materials. Moreover, there are no large shipyards near the capital. The nearest large shipyard is in Linqing, Shandong."

Are there no large shipyards near the capital?
It's definitely not feasible to build steamships in Linqing, Shandong.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "If there are no large shipyards near the capital, we will build one. As for skilled craftsmen, you don't need to worry about them. I will recruit as many as you need."

Do you want to build a large shipyard near the capital?
Wang Zheng cautiously reminded him: "Your Majesty, the reason why there are no large shipyards near the capital is firstly because it is too cold here and the rivers are frozen for too long, and secondly because waterway transportation is inconvenient here, making it difficult to transport timber."

The three major shipyards under the Ministry of Works were all located in places with convenient water transportation. The Linqing Shipyard and Beiqinghe Shipyard in Shandong were close to the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, while the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing was located on the Yangtze River.

The three major shipyards have very convenient timber transshipment facilities. Even if timber is felled in Sichuan and Chongqing and transported downstream, it can be delivered to Nanjing in less than five days.

Transportation was indeed a major problem. The reason why the Ming Dynasty abandoned the development of its navy after moving its capital was probably because of the transportation issue. The emperor in the capital certainly did not want an invincible naval fleet to be built in the south.

However, with the advent of steamships, transportation was no longer a problem.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, but still insisted: "This steamship must be built near the capital, otherwise it will be easy to leak secrets. As for the transportation problem, it will not be a problem once the steamship is built."

Since you've said that, I wouldn't dare to be disliked.

Wang Zheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Let's leave those aside for now; the important thing is to get the steamship prototype built as soon as possible.

Zhu Jue said decisively, "Ruoyu, take Liangfu to the factory area and find him a factory near Taiye Pond. Then hire people to build the dock and waterways. Hire as many people as he needs."

Can a ship be built next to Taiye Pond?
Of course you can.

Apocalypse built a ship, and drowned himself!
(End of this chapter)