Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2322: Fengshan (XIX) Tianjin Port Business District (Part )

In fact, Gao Youshi's words were a bit of a rhetorical trick, because if we only look at the statement "tens of thousands of crew members of the Two Oceans Fleet", Gao Youshi did not lie, but this statement does not really reflect the true strength of the Two Oceans Fleet.

According to current statistics, the total tonnage of the Beiyang Fleet's active warships is 59700 tons, equipped with 2580 light and heavy artillery of various types, and a full staff of 17204 sailors; the total tonnage of the Nanyang Fleet's active warships is 120800 tons, equipped with 5240 light and heavy artillery of various types, and a full staff of 34816 sailors.

But please note that the above data are all "active warships", which means that only two types of pure combat ships, battleships and cruisers, are counted, and the armed transport ship fleet, which is far larger than the existing warships, is not included.

So, what is the size of the armed transport fleet of the two ocean fleets? First of all, it should be pointed out that the armed transport fleets of the North and South Oceans are defined as "reserve fleets", which means that they will only be given the mission of participating in the decisive battle at sea when a large-scale war breaks out and Gao Youshi directly orders the two ocean fleets to form their own or a joint "large fleet".

This is not surprising. The management model of the two-ocean fleet has a certain "self-financing" attribute, so only pure combat ships can maintain a level of armament that is ready for combat at any time for a long time, while armed transport ships are mainly used for trade. They will determine the level of armament of their ships based on the danger situation of their respective trading areas and trade routes.

Normally, only after receiving orders to join the "grand fleet" to participate in the decisive battle at sea, the relevant armed transport ships will temporarily replenish their artillery and other weapons. Usually, they are only equipped with about half of the artillery - this is mainly because the pirates in the East China Sea and the South China Sea have been basically wiped out in recent years.

After all, the pirates are gone, so who are you going to defend against with your full-strength artillery? You know, the so-called Empire of the Sun, Spain, is now fighting with Portugal in Europe, and they are also unable to threaten the Jinghua Fleet that controls the East Asian sea power.

In contrast, the fleet of Beijing and some civilian boatmen of the Ming Dynasty continued to expand their business westward. Not only did they return to the Arabian Sea again after Zheng He's fleet, but some radical and daring guys even followed the Portuguese route to East Africa and started doing business with some local indigenous kingdoms and tribes.

  Back to the topic of the real strength of the two ocean fleets, specifically, the total tonnage of the Beiyang Fleet's reserve fleet is as high as 112000 tons, with a theoretical full complement of 3820 guns and 25200 sailors; the total tonnage of the Nanyang Fleet's reserve fleet is as high as 224000 tons, with a theoretical full complement of 7640 guns and 50400 sailors. [Note: The artillery is usually not fully staffed, as mentioned above.]

That is to say, the ratio of the reserve fleets of the Beiyang and Nanyang fleets is 1:2, and the size of the reserve fleet of the Nanyang fleet is twice that of the Beiyang fleet. Of course, the size of the combat fleet is also about the same ratio.

In terms of the number of crew members, the total number of crew members of the battle fleet and the reserve fleet of the two ocean fleets at full strength is as high as 127620. However, this is still not the full strength of the two ocean fleets, because the "crew members" mentioned here do not include a large combat organization - the Marine Corps.

Because of the different combat objectives and methods, the organization of the Jinghua Marine Corps is different from that of the Garrison Army, but there is no need to go into details here. Just talking about the number of personnel, the Marine Corps currently has about 1.7 people assigned to the Beiyang Fleet and about 2.4 people assigned to the Nanyang Fleet, a total of about 4.2.

In addition, at Jingang, the Marine Corps headquarters, 8 people are kept as the general reserve. In other words, the total strength of the Jinghua Marine Corps is currently 5. Considering that the Marine Corps is actually the "cannonball fired at the land" by the two ocean fleets, it is not an exaggeration to regard them as the strength of the two ocean fleets. In this way, the two ocean fleets can actually be regarded as having a scale of about 18 people.

This is the real strength of the two-ocean fleet, and it is definitely not just the "tens of thousands of crew members" that Gao Youshi claimed. The "tens of thousands of crew members" obviously only counted the full complement of the combat fleet - you can't say he lied because he can explain that this is a different definition.

The inspection of the commercial district in the afternoon was obviously not over yet. After walking a few steps, another store caught the emperor's attention. This "African Treasures" successfully aroused Zhu Yijun's curiosity with its unique style. The exterior design of this store combines the ruggedness of Africa with the refinement of the Ming Dynasty. The facade is decorated with various hand-carved wooden masks and strange totem poles, revealing a primitive and mysterious atmosphere.

As Zhu Yijun walked towards the store, he asked, "African Treasure House, it seems to be the place where Zheng He brought the 'unicorn' back then. It's the continent west of the Arabian Peninsula on your world map, right?"

Gao Fusi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, it is Africa. But about the 'Qilin'..."

"I know. You told me many years ago that the beast was called a giraffe and that it was a herbivore. As for why it was identified as a Qilin, to be frank, it was just something some officials did on purpose to please Emperor Chengzu. Although it was not a big mistake, it is not worth promoting."

Gao Youshi smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Then Zhu Yijun led the group into this African-style shop. The interior decoration was mainly earth tones, gray, yellow, or grass green. Totems and weavings from unknown tribes were hung on the walls, and various handicrafts with local characteristics were displayed on the display shelves, especially the eye-catching gold and ivory products.

The shop owner was a shrewd middle-aged man. When he saw the emperor and his entourage entering the store, he immediately took a deep breath, walked quickly forward to greet them, with a warm smile on his face.

"Your humble servant pays homage to His Majesty. Long live the emperor! Your Majesty's visit brings honor to our humble shop." The shop owner knelt on the ground and kowtowed respectfully.

Zhu Yijun looked around the store, showing great interest in the exquisite African handicrafts and treasures: "Stand up. These masks and...what are these called...are they all made by the native Africans? What are their uses or meanings?"

The shopkeeper stood up respectfully, bowed slightly and said, "In reply to your Majesty, Africa has a long tradition of making masks and wood carvings, which are probably related to the doctrines and myths of the local primitive sects."

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Is it similar to the Mongolian shaman rituals?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." The shopkeeper seemed quite talkative, and he pointed to the various masks in the shop and introduced them: "Your Majesty, please look, these masks can be roughly divided into general masks, mask tops, helmet-shaped masks, shoulder-loaded masks, and decorative masks. Most of them are in the shape of human faces, animals, or a combination of human faces and animals.

The images of these human faces vary greatly. Some have only eye sockets, bared teeth, and look extremely scary; some have their eyes slightly open, corners of their mouths slightly upturned, and look elegant and skilled; some have their eyes narrowed, seeming to smile, and look mysterious... However, there are also common styles that are rough, naive, simple, and concise.

Generally speaking, for the sake of convenience, these African masks are mostly made of soft wood, and are often carved into a round sculpture first, and then cut open from the middle to hollow it out. Some masks are dyed with plant or mineral pigments after they are completed. The dyed masks not only look more exaggerated and weird, but also facilitate long-term preservation.

According to Cao Min, in some local tribes, color is also a symbol of the function of the mask. For example, masks used in funeral ceremonies are often painted white, which symbolizes death and the underworld.

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction, and then asked about some strange black wood carvings nearby: "Is this carved from ebony? The shape is really... weird."

  The shopkeeper said hurriedly: "Your Majesty is right. This kind of wood carving is called 'Makonde ebony carving'. It is said to come from a country or tribe called Makonde in the southern interior of East Africa. We have not yet found a way to directly contact them. These ebony carvings have been passed around several times, so the purchase price is not cheap." [Note: The Makonde people have lived in the Ruvuma River area in southeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique in East Africa.]

Perhaps realizing that he had forgotten to answer the emperor's second half of the sentence, the shopkeeper hurriedly continued, "As for the strange shapes, I don't know the reason for them at present, but according to the African coastal merchants who sold them to me, Makonde ebony sculptures can be roughly divided into four categories: deity sculptures, cloud-shaped sculptures, group sculptures, and practical sculptures.

The sculpture of gods is the most artistic wood carving work of Makonde wood carving. It is also called the Siteni shape and is the most talked about type among collectors from all over East Africa.

This kind of sculpture is similar to a kind of totem worship, where the sculptor reflects his love and hate, good and evil in the wood carving. Some of the wood carvings are exaggerated and grotesque, some have huge heads and big mouths, and some are completely ugly and impermanent, difficult to describe, but after looking at them for a long time, you seem to be able to detect a certain charm in them, which is very wonderful. "

Zhu Yijun chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "There are many people in the world who seek novelties, and this kind of statues are in line with their tastes." After a pause, he pointed to the goods on display in another part of the store and asked, "In addition to masks and wood carvings, how were those gold and ivory products transported to the Ming Dynasty?"

The shopkeeper replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, these treasures were transported by the merchant ships of the Jinghua Two Oceans Fleet. Our shop has two merchant ships, which sail with the Jinghua merchant fleet in different seasons. The Jinghua merchant fleet can currently reach as far as a small island called Zanzibar in eastern Africa.

Although Zanzibar Island is not big, it is a prosperous place for trade. Many specialty products from neighboring areas come here for trade. I will buy goods here, and when the merchant fleet from Beijing sets sail for the return trip, the ship from our store will also return with it. " Zhu Yijun turned to Gao Fusi and smiled, "It seems that your two-ocean fleet can indeed protect these sea merchants. But I am a little confused. Are there really pirates everywhere in this ocean?"

Gao Youshi sighed softly, "When people are in hardship and maritime trade is booming, there will always be those who are willing to take risks. In recent years, the number of pirates around the coast of our Ming Dynasty has greatly decreased. In addition to the timely elimination of pirates by the two ocean fleets, it is also because after the opening of the sea, the merchants who were originally forced to smuggle no longer form a de facto offensive and defensive alliance with the pirates. In addition, the court's effective policies have reduced the number of poor people in coastal areas, so they no longer have to rely on the sea for survival as in the past."

The emperor nodded thoughtfully, and after a while he came back to his senses and asked the shopkeeper again, "How are the sales of these African treasures in the Ming Dynasty?"

The shopkeeper replied, "Your Majesty, these African goods, whether masks, wood carvings, or gold and ivory products, are all very popular in the Ming Dynasty, but they are often not sold to ordinary people, but to wealthy families and wealthy merchants. Masks, wood carvings and gold crafts can not only be used as decorations, but are also often collected for different purposes. Ivory products are even more exquisite and rare, and have become treasures that the upper class are vying to collect."

Simply put, these things belong to the category of art, not for ordinary people to consume. In other words, these things are very expensive, mainly used to rip off those who have too much money to spend.

Of course, this also proves one thing from the other side: although the Ming Dynasty's treasury revenue has increased in recent years, it is really unnecessary to compare its wealth with that of the people. The people, especially the upper class, are ridiculously rich, otherwise how could these strange things sell so well?

  As the saying goes, antiques are valuable in prosperous times, while gold is valuable in troubled times. Antiques are actually a reference to works of art. Now that works of art are selling so well, doesn’t it prove that the “Wanli Prosperous Age” is worthy of its name?

Zhu Yijun also understood this point, and said to the shopkeeper with great satisfaction: "You have a unique business vision and have contributed to the prosperity of Tianjin Port. I hope you can continue to maintain this prosperity and contribute to the development of Ming Dynasty's commerce."

The shop owner knelt down excitedly and replied, "I will do my best to live up to the emperor's expectations."

Afterwards, the emperor walked out of the store and continued to look for the next inspection target. This time, he set his sights on a watch shop. The store's facade was decorated with golden clock patterns, and the tall windows displayed seven or eight table clocks of various styles, each as tall as a person. Each of these gorgeous table clocks was meticulously crafted, exuding the exotic beauty of European art.

Zhu Yijun led Gao Youshi and others into this European-style watch shop. The decoration inside the shop was elegant and exquisite, with oil paintings depicting European landscapes hanging on the walls, and various clock parts placed in the display cabinets. Every gear and every pointer seemed to reveal the ingenuity of the clockmaker.

The owner or proprietor of this shop seemed to be a man in his thirties with a scholarly temperament, but next to him was a blond Westerner with a hawk nose and deep eyes, wearing a green Taoist robe.

The shop owner was very proud to have introduced European clocks to the Ming Dynasty. When he saw the emperor coming, he immediately stepped forward to greet him, his face filled with excitement that could not be concealed.

"I am deeply honored to have the Emperor visit our store in person." The owner bowed deeply, his voice trembling slightly, and it was obvious that he was both excited and nervous about the Emperor's visit.

Zhu Yijun was looking at the Westerner next to the shop owner, and the Westerner knelt down and saluted like the shop owner, but his tone of voice was a little strange: "Western foreigner, French monk Wang Dongxu pays homage to the supreme emperor of the Ming Dynasty. May God bless you forever."

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, and asked in surprise: "Since you are a Western monk, how come you have a Chinese surname and name?"

The Westerner knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, I am a Jesuit priest. My original name is quite difficult to pronounce when translated into Chinese. After learning Chinese, I took a Chinese name and surname with the guidance of Mr. Luo Mingjian."

"Luo Mingjian...Rixin, I seem to have mentioned this name?" Zhu Yijun turned around and asked.

Gao Guoshi nodded and said, "Your Majesty has a good memory. This person is one of the earliest Western missionaries to come to our court, and he is quite familiar with Chinese studies. He was able to recognize 15000 Chinese characters ( words) after arriving in Macau for more than two years. I admire him very much.

Unfortunately, when he returned to Rome twelve years ago to report on his duties, the Pope died. After that, several popes passed away one after another, causing his next trip to the East to be repeatedly delayed. Until he himself fell seriously ill, he had to return to his hometown and never came back again. I always regret this. "

"You two, please stand up." Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, his eyes falling on the precise clocks: "Rixin, I have seen this clock in your house. I heard that it is similar to the sundial, water clock, and hourglass of our Ming Dynasty. They are all used to calculate time, right?"

Gao Shishi said: "That's right."

Zhu Yijun then turned his gaze to the shop owner and the missionary who had just stood up, and asked, "Europe is thousands of miles away from our Ming Dynasty. Are all these clocks shipped from Europe?"

The shop owner replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, these clocks were indeed carefully selected and shipped from various European countries."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Is it possible that your merchant ship is also escorted by the Two Oceans Fleet this time?"

The shopkeeper bowed and said, "Your Majesty, yes and no. These clocks and other goods from Europe are usually shipped by Portuguese merchant ships from Europe, but can only be delivered to Longya City. After arriving in Longya City, due to the treaty, they can only be transported to the country by Ming merchant ships.

The same is true for my European clocks. Although I placed an order with the Portuguese in advance, I paid the full amount only after Longya City received the goods. Then they were shipped to Ningbo by the Jinghua Nanyang Fleet, and finally taken over by the Beiyang Fleet and shipped back to Tianjin Port for sale. "

The emperor was not interested in how the two ocean fleets were divided into different areas to transport goods, and he knew the "treaty" mentioned by the shopkeeper, which was the "Huang Zhiting Treaty" well known to people in Southeast Asia, so there was no need to ask any more questions.

"So, are these clocks accurate in timekeeping? How are their sales in Ming Dynasty?"

  The shop owner replied: "Your Majesty, these European clocks are almost as accurate as our water clocks, but they are more convenient to use. In addition, although these clocks are timekeeping devices, they are also of great decorative and collection value due to their exquisite craftsmanship. Although they are quite expensive, their sales are quite good." [Note: I will not introduce the water clocks. Those who are interested can search for information on their own.]

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, then turned to Gao Guoshi and said, "Rixin, does the Ming Dynasty need to study this skill?"

Gao Shishi said: "I have recruited European clockmakers, but I did not reproduce these clocks. Instead, I have been asking them to pass on their skills to the apprentices in the Beijing Artisan School. In my opinion, these clocks are still too large, and it is right to miniaturize them."

Zhu Yijun only nodded before he could say anything. The French missionary who called himself "Wang Dongxu" interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, I have a Nuremberg egg that I want to present to you. This is exactly what the Prime Minister has mentioned as a 'miniaturized table clock'!"

  After he finished speaking, he deftly took out from his pocket an egg-shaped object that looked like it was made of brass and was hollowed out and finely carved. It seemed that this was what he called the "Nuremberg Egg".
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Thanks to book friends "云覆月雨", "book friend 20200717131610975", and "book friend 20220821001502839" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!

PS: I originally planned to write about five stores, in addition to the four I wrote about above, there is also one that sells American specialties, but after thinking about it, I decided to leave this one out for now. Firstly, it takes up too much space, and secondly, according to the assumption, Gao Youshi is still instigating the Spanish to fight in Europe, so he shouldn't easily send the fleet to America to provoke them, so I'll leave the Americas section aside for now.