Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 282 Sending Troops to the South Seas to Plot at Sea (Part 2)

The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, Bingchen day, is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Originally, this was a day for family reunion, but Zhu Jue left Empress Zhou and Empress Zhang behind and came to the Haihekou Wharf.

This is because the American fleet is returning today, and the Southeast Asian fleet is already ready and waiting to set off.

By this time, the Haihekou Wharf was already teeming with ships. There were over a thousand small Weiyuan warships and small Zhiyuan merchant ships, more than two thousand medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships, and over eighty huge tower ships and gunboats.

The densely packed docks couldn't hold all the ships, and the harbor, which was over fifty miles wide, was almost completely filled on both sides, leaving only a narrow passage several miles wide in the middle.

Around noon, when the sun was high in the sky, Zhu Juena, along with Lu Xiang-sheng, Zheng Zhi-long, Zhu You-zhen, and others, arrived at the dock in the middle of the harbor where the Zhenyuan warship was moored.

On either side of them, the towering Zhenyuan warships, several meters high, stood like mountains, giving the impression of blotting out the sky.

Fortunately, the sunlight was blocked by the Zhenyuan warships standing on both sides, so it wasn't too hot for them to stand on the dock.

Zhu Jue held up his binoculars and scanned the area for a long time. Finally, the American fleet merged into the middle channel and headed towards the dock. The more than a thousand ships filled the middle channel like a wedge. From the dock, it was full of ships, stretching as far as the eye could see.

At this time, the number of ships in the entire port had exceeded five thousand, and the number of ocean-going giant ships had exceeded four thousand.

The scene was truly magnificent, and it was the largest gathering of ships in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's navy was finally taking shape.

Zhu Jue was overjoyed to see this, and the civil and military officials present were filled with excitement.

After more than two hundred years, the Ming Dynasty's navy has finally become as powerful as it was during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns.

The flagship of the American fleet slowly docked at the pier. Zheng Hongkui quickly leaped down from the first-floor cabin, strode forward, and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

To be honest, he was completely shocked.

Originally, the fleet he led was already quite large, because when he set out, most of the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going ships had been mobilized to his command.

Who would have thought that upon his return, the thousands of ocean-going ships he led were like a child among a group of adults. The number of ocean-going ships on both sides of the harbor was far more than a thousand, and there were more than a thousand small Weiyuan warships as well.

Seeing his shocked expression, Zhu Jue smiled slightly and said, "Hong Kui, I didn't lie to you, did I? This time, I will not only provide you with another 1,500 medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships, but also a full complement of 1,000 small Weiyuan warships."

Does this mean my fleet of ships will more than double in size?

What a massive fleet that was!

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hongkui was taken aback for a moment before quickly cupping his hands and saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "These ships are nothing. You still don't have enough ships. We are short of timber right now. Once we don't have timber, I will equip you with at least 10,000 medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships and small Weiyuan warships."

Tens of thousands of medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships and small Weiyuan warships!

Zheng Hongkui was stunned upon hearing this.

It seems a bit premature to say these things at this time; it might be too much for people to process.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue simply asked, "So, how much timber did you bring back this time? And how much refined copper ore, raw rubber, saltpeter, and fertilizer did you bring back?"

When I went there this time, logging hadn't started in the Americas yet.

Zheng Hongkui said cautiously, "Your Majesty, this time I only managed to gather enough timber to bring back two hundred ships, as well as two hundred ships of refined copper ore, saltpeter, and fertilizer. Only raw rubber was more than enough. It not only filled two hundred medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships, but also filled more than one hundred small Weiyuan warships."

That's only two hundred boatloads of timber.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Liangfu, are two hundred ships of timber enough for the Beijing Shipyard to start full-scale operations?"

How do you say this?

Wang Zheng asked cautiously, "Hongkui, how long are the pieces of timber you brought back this time?"

Zheng Hongkui replied without hesitation, "They are all over ten zhang long, but none are more than fifteen zhang long, because they are too long for a medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ship to fit in." Fortunately, they are all over ten zhang long.

Wang Zheng estimated, "Your Majesty, this amount of timber should be enough to assemble the hulls of five hundred small Zhiyuan merchant ships and five hundred medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships."

Yes, it would be good if full-scale construction could begin.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "How long does it take to assemble the hull, and how long does it take to complete the ship after the hull is assembled?"

It’s hard to say.

Wang Zheng said cautiously, "Your Majesty, it will take about half a month to assemble the hull. After the hull is assembled, it should be completed in a little over a month. However, we need enough wood. If we don't have enough wood, we don't know when it will be completed."

Today is the 15th of August, and in another half month it will be September, and in a little over a month it will be around mid-October.

The timber in Southeast Asia needs to be harvested quickly, otherwise, it will be difficult to complete the third batch of small and medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships this year.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Youzhen, after you lead the fleet to Luzon, first send all the able-bodied men to Luzon Island and Zhenghe Island to cut timber, and let the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison build the ports and docks."

As for the cities, factories, and fields, you can decide based on the situation. In short, gather enough timber for a thousand small Weiyuan warships and medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships as soon as possible and haul it back quickly. We can't stop here.

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

Timber is in real short supply this year, but things should get better after this year.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Hongkui, you must have brought back more gold and silver this time than last time, right?"

Zheng Hongkui nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, the cost of the timber this time wasn't calculated, but I brought back nearly 100,000 taels of gold."

Well, this amount of money is enough.

Zhu Jue then explained in detail: "Hongkui, we have reached an agreement with the Spanish to buy their colonies in Southeast Asia for 20 million taels of silver."

When you go there, deduct this money from their accounts. Let's just say it's two million taels of gold. We don't mind taking a small loss; they'll use the extra money to buy things from us anyway.

Uh, you can actually pay money to buy someone else's colony?

Zheng Hongkui was taken aback for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "This subordinate understands."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "How much saltpeter did you unload in Dongfan this time?"

Without hesitation, Zheng Hongkui replied, "Your humble servant unloaded one hundred ships of saltpeter in Dongfan, totaling approximately two million catties."

Well, the 200,000 troops stationed in Southeast Asia these past few months should be barely enough. If they're not enough, it doesn't matter. The fleet will keep bringing timber here anyway, and the cargo from Southeast Asia is far from a thousand ships per trip. We can also have them bring back some saltpeter.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully again, and then instructed: "Hong Kui, after this time I have equipped you with 1,000 Weiyuan warships and 1,500 medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships, you will have more than 3,500 ships under your command."

With these 3,500-plus ships, you must bring back at least 500 ships of saltpeter on your next trip. As for copper concentrate and raw rubber, depending on the situation, first fill the ships with timber, then with raw rubber, and finally with copper concentrate.

Every time you come back, you'll have to go to Luzon first to unload some saltpeter and bring back some timber and fertilizer from there. As for the specific location on Luzon to unload it, you and Youzhen can discuss that.

Zheng Hongkui nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Zhu Jue glanced at the sky again, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's have a reunion dinner together, we can chat while we eat, and after the reunion dinner, Youzhen and the others should also set off."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly followed him toward the massive medium-sized Zhenyuan warship.

This medium-sized Zhenyuan warship is truly enormous. The command room at the front of the third deck is two or three zhang long and five or six zhang wide, covering more than a hundred square meters. Dozens of people could easily have a meal inside.

At this moment, the huge long table inside was also filled with wine and dishes, with all kinds of delicacies from land and sea.

More importantly, the arched glass window offers a panoramic view of the entire harbor.

Looking at the densely packed ships that stretched as far as the eye could see in the harbor, Zhu Jue couldn't help but feel a surge of heroic pride.

The day when the Ming Dynasty will dominate the seas is fast approaching!
(End of this chapter)