Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 281: Mobilizing Forces in the South China Sea to Plot at Sea (Part 2)

The development in Southeast Asia is really important, because they are currently in a period of frantic shipbuilding and are desperately short of timber.

This ship is the key to dominating the seas, therefore, the problem of timber supply is the most urgent issue to be solved at this stage.

To ensure the smooth development of Southeast Asia, Zhu Jue specifically ordered Lu Xiangsheng to recruit Zhu Youzhen, the top military scholar of the Wuchen year, to lead the troops.

He had originally thought that Zhu Youzhen, who was stationed in Zhenbao, would take at least two or three days to get back, but to his surprise, the boy came back the very next day.

The next morning, around 7 a.m., he had just arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace and was about to review the memorials when a voice announced from outside: "Zhu Youzhen is here to see me by imperial decree."

That kid came back so quickly!
Zhu Jue paused for a moment before announcing loudly, "Summon them."

Soon, Zhu Youzhen strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask curiously, "Youzhen, why are you back so soon?"

Zhu Youzhen explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the General's Office of Zhenbao Town was originally located in Baoding Prefecture. I had just finished inspecting the defense line and returned to Baoding to take up my post. Therefore, I rushed over as soon as I received the imperial edict."

Oh, so you happen to be on duty in Baoding Prefecture.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How is the situation in the southwest of Beizhili?"

This is a bit strange.

Zhu Youzhen explained in detail: "Your Majesty, I have ordered my men to investigate thoroughly. It seems that most of the rebels are gathered in the area of ​​Liaozhou City, Qinzhou City, and Yushe City, which are close to Taiyuan Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture. No large groups of rebels have been found in Pingshun, Heshun, and Pingding Prefecture, which are closer to Beizhili."

The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou were terrified of Pan Yunteng.

It seems these guys won't let Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong cause trouble again by coming to Beizhili to get beaten up.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "Youzhen, I intend to have you lead the army to recover the South Seas. After the recovery, you will also have to lead the army to guard the area and assist the officials of the inner court in developing the South Seas."

Uh, retake Southeast Asia?

Zhu Youzhen thought carefully for a moment before cautiously asking, "Your Majesty, I am foolish. Does the meaning of 'recovering the South Seas' mean driving out the European colonial invaders and recovering the colonies they have occupied, or taking over the entire South Seas?"

Hmm, not bad. As expected of the top scholar, he knows so much about the situation in Southeast Asia.

In those days, there was no television or internet, and Southeast Asia was extremely far from the Ming Dynasty's mainland. Ordinary people had no idea what the situation was like there.

Zhu Youzhen's knowledge that European colonial powers were attacking and occupying colonies in Southeast Asia proves that he was quite familiar with the situation there.

This saved him a lot of trouble.

Zhu Jue nodded with satisfaction, and then explained in detail: "The meaning of recovering Nanyang is to drive out the European colonial bandits and recover the colonies that they have occupied."

I have already reached an agreement with the Spanish, and they have agreed to sell us their colonies in Southeast Asia. You only need to lead your troops to take over.

Therefore, our main enemy in Southeast Asia is the Netherlands, the current maritime hegemon. They have already conquered Java and seem to be expanding wildly to other places.

Your main task this time is to reclaim Java and drive the Dutch colonial robbers out of Southeast Asia.

As for the vassal states of Southeast Asia, apart from Brunei in Borneo, the other vassal states need not be concerned for the time being. Brunei need not be attacked either; you only need to send someone to tell them to send envoys to the capital to pay tribute. I will speak to them.”

Oh, so you're going to drive the Dutch colonial bandits out of Southeast Asia, right?

Zhu Youzhen nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

There are still many things you don't understand.

Zhu Jue then ordered Wang Chengen to bring a map of Southeast Asia, spread it out on the desk, and then stood up and pointed to the map to explain in detail: "This time, we mainly want to develop the area along the Luzon, Brunei and Java lines."

We urgently need timber for shipbuilding, and the islands along this route have plenty of timber, but we simply don't have enough manpower to harvest it. I have already ordered Xiong Wencan to conscript 100,000 able-bodied men, and when you lead your fleet through Dongfan this time, take them with you to the South Seas.

It's definitely impossible to develop all the islands along this line this year. You should first lead 100,000 soldiers from the Beijing Garrison to take over the Spanish colony in Luzon, and then lead these able-bodied men to build ports, wharves, and fortresses along the Luzon and Zheng He Islands.

After the port, docks, and fortresses are built, you send your Jingying soldiers to guard them, and have the able-bodied men go to the port, docks, and fortresses to cut timber.

After I reach an agreement with Brunei, you can begin developing Borneo. There, you will first construct ports, wharves, and fortified cities. As for the locations, go and scout them out; build wherever there is an abundance of timber for shipbuilding.”

Oh, so it was to harvest timber.

Zhu Youzhen nodded repeatedly, saying, "This subordinate understands."

This is not over yet.

Zhu Jue then solemnly said, "As you should know, the southern part of Southeast Asia is unbearably hot. Therefore, I have specially ordered people to build a batch of equipment for making ice and fertilizer from saltpeter, and it also comes with boilers and water-cooled fans."

You can use the ice water made from saltpeter to cool off in the summer, as well as fertilizer. You can cultivate the land nearby and grow some grain to ensure self-sufficiency. As for further development, we can talk about that later.

This equipment is very simple to operate. You just need to have the soldiers of the Beijing garrison learn from the craftsmen who assembled it, and they'll know how. The key is the steam engine that drives the fan. You must assign someone to guard it closely, preventing unauthorized personnel from approaching, and absolutely no one is allowed to disassemble it to look at it.

Oh, and there's also equipment for making ice with saltpeter.

What about the saltpeter?
Using saltpeter to make ice for cooling off would require a lot of saltpeter. Even if we only used ice water, it would probably take 200,000 catties of saltpeter a day for 200,000 people.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youzhen thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, have any saltpeter mines been discovered in Southeast Asia?"

No nitrate deposits have been found in Southeast Asia.

Saltpeter was transported from the Americas.

This was indeed something I forgot to arrange.

Zhu Jue pondered, “Our saltpeter is all transported from the Americas, and coincidentally, the shipping routes from the Americas pass through Luzon.”

You can order the construction of a large port on the east side of Luzon, specifically to receive saltpeter shipped from the Americas. You can also transport some of the mined timber there, so that the fleets from the Americas can unload the saltpeter, load the timber, and bring it back to the capital.

The American fleets are almost back, and this time you certainly won't have time to build ports and docks for them to dock and unload their cargo. I will send someone to Dongfan to tell Hongkui to unload some saltpeter and store it there. When you lead your fleet to pick up the people, just take the saltpeter with you.”

Was the saltpeter brought over from the Americas?
Zhu Youzhen thought about it carefully again, and then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that 200,000 people would probably consume more than 200,000 catties of saltpeter a day. Can the Americas bring over that much saltpeter ore?"
And this fertilizer made from saltpeter—if we produce over 200,000 catties a day, we probably won't be able to use it all. This is because the grain yield from fertilization is generally more than ten times that of the fertilizer itself. Shouldn't we transport this excess fertilizer back to the Ming Dynasty?

The consumption of saltpeter is not large. 200,000 catties a day, that's only 6 million catties a month, and more than 20 million catties in four months. That's enough for 100 medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships. Even if it doubles, it's only enough for 200 medium-sized merchant ships.

However, this extra fertilizer definitely needs to be brought back.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "You don't need to worry about the saltpeter. Even if it consumes 400,000 catties a day, it's no problem. As for the extra fertilizer, we will definitely bring it back in time."

"When the time comes, take the extra fertilizer to the port on the east side of Luzon as well. Timber only takes up space; it's not very heavy, especially after it's dried. You can mix the fertilizer and timber and transport it back."

If there's enough saltpeter, then there's no problem.

Zhu Youzhen nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

There shouldn't be any problems after that.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then waved his hand and said, "Well, go and discuss the matter of sending troops with Jian Dou."

Zhu Youzhen quickly bowed and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)