The eldest grandson of Emperor Ming Dynasty!

Chapter 739 Zhu Yuanzhang wants to expand the territory of Ming Dynasty
The news of the Dinghai ship quickly reached the ears of Zhu Yuanzhang in the palace.

When Zhu Ying just returned to the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was already waiting.

Naturally, Zhu Ying also rushed to the Qianqing Palace to tell the old man the good news.

"It was really made, and it went into the water?"

There was some expectation in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. Although the eunuch had passed the news, Zhu Yuanzhang still wanted to hear from his grandson himself.

Zhu Ying nodded with a smile and said, "I just watched from the side. After launching, the steam engine also started to move. Without the help of wind, our first steam iron-clad ship in Ming Dynasty was really built."

"The steam ironclad ship is of great significance. Even if it is just started, without the assistance of wind power, it will far surpass other fast ships. This is similar to what my grandson thought."

"Grandson gave this first ship a name, Dinghai Ship, which means that once this ship leaves, the world will be settled."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly when he heard the words: "Okay, what a Dinghai ship, and on the surface of the sea, our Dinghai ship must be the strongest."

"Since the first ship has been built, it will be much easier to follow. We will issue an order to the Ministry of Industry, ordering us to build [-] ships before the end of this year."

Zhu Ying was drinking tea, hearing these words, almost spit out.

Three hundred ships, the old man really dared to think about it.

"I'm afraid it can't be done." Zhu Ying shook her head and said.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly: "What's the matter, it's only three hundred ships, can't even this be produced in a hurry?"

Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding ability is very strong.

For now, if it is built with all its strength, it is not a big problem to build thousands of ships a year.

There are more than 30 state-owned shipyards controlled by the government alone.

Today, there are hundreds of private shipyards, large and small.

When necessary, Zhu Yuanzhang can directly requisition private shipyards to manufacture official ships.

Zhu Ying explained: "Steam iron-clad ships are quite different from ordinary ships. Although the main body is made of wood, it is similar to our Fu Chuan, and it is quick to build."

"The main key points of a steamable iron-clad ship are the steam engine, iron gears, propellers, and outer iron armor."

"It's much faster to build a steam engine now. The Scientific Research Department has more apprentices. It's not a problem to produce a dozen or so a month. If the iron gear is well molded, it won't affect production."

"Only the propeller, the outer iron armor, is a very troublesome matter."

"The propellers used in iron-clad ships can only be made by master craftsmen with superb craftsmanship. After a hundred forgings, they need to be polished for a long time. It takes half a month just to form them, and then they need to be polished."

"Although the metal suit is simpler, it is also a time-consuming and labor-intensive effort."

"Many craftsmen are out of business now. Except for the Jingshi Shipyard, it is difficult for other shipyards to build. They need to study here in the Jingshi before they can start."

"Even so, Sun'er estimates that there will be thirty or forty ships by the end of the year, which is already pretty good."

Zhu Yuanzhang understood the problem when he heard the words.

Then he nodded and said: "Didn't Dasun set up a craftsman school before, take advantage of this time, recruit more students to train, and open more schools."

"In a few years, there will be more people, and the construction will naturally be faster."

"At that time, thousands of ships will be built, and the scale of the navy will be expanded. Our Ming Dynasty's territory should also be expanded."

I heard there was a territorial issue.

There was a light in Zhu Ying's eyes.

In fact, although the current Ming Dynasty is powerful, it has never declared war to expand its territory.

It is one aspect of recuperating and having no excuses.

Another aspect is the concept of territory.

In Zhu Yuanzhang, or in this era, the concept of territory is very vague, even the definition of boundaries is very vague. After all, there is no technological means of later generations, and there will be no clear boundary lines.

From the point of view of the people of Ming Dynasty today, the territory of the Ming Dynasty was as vast as the Han and Tang Dynasties.

One is population.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, at the peak of the population, there were about 6000 million people.

In today's Ming Dynasty, there were more than 6000 million people in the early years of Hongwu.

Over the years that Zhu Ying entered the palace, she has continuously absorbed refugees and foreigners, including the immigration of people from other areas, such as Tubo, and grasslands. Now the official household registration book has a total of more than 8000 million people.

The second is about the definition of territory.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, there has been a saying that in the whole world, it is the land of the king, and the shore of the land is the subject of the king.

This is why the kings in the Central Plains believed that the whole world belonged to the Son of Heaven.

There is a boundary between Yi and Xia here.

In other words, in the eyes of the emperors of the Central Plains since ancient times, especially Qin Shihuang.

He believes that there is only one country and one dynasty in the world, and that is the dynasty he leads.

Other remote areas are all uneducated barbarians.

As for the definition of territory, if there must be a specific definition, it should be the Central Plains Civilization Circle.

Any place that has been enlightened by the civilization of the Central Plains can be regarded as the territory of the dynasty.

As far as the territory directly ruled by Ming Dynasty today is less than 350 million square kilometers, only Zhu Ying thinks so.

In fact, including Zhu Yuanzhang, as well as all ministers and scholars, they don't think so.

For example, the commanding department of Uzbekistan is tantamount to controlling the entire Tubo and Western Regions.

For example, Jiji, etc., are all under the direct jurisdiction of Ming Dynasty.

Then there are Annan, Champa, Goryeo, these places influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, all belong to the Ming Dynasty.

The same is true of Japan.

The whole world surrenders and all nations worship, this is the truth.

The kings of all other places can only be kings, and only the Central Plains Dynasty can be emperors.

When communicating with Daming, he can only call himself a minister.

Otherwise, it is disobedience to education.

Including Timur, he also claimed to be a minister in the correspondence of the national letters.

All the countries in Southeast Asia can only call themselves ministers when facing Ming Dynasty.

Now what Zhu Yuanzhang meant by expanding the territory is to expand the influence of Ming Dynasty to farther places.

According to the current standards set by Zhu Ying, the most basic thing is that all people should learn Chinese.

"Grandpa said that the territory of our Ming Dynasty should be expanded. Those places that were once difficult to reach by sea can avoid most of the risks at sea after the steam iron-clad ship is built, and the speed is faster than before. It can be reached several times faster."

"It used to take dozens of days, but now it only takes ten days. After this, the people on those islands can already bathe and become kings."

Zhu Ying said with certainty.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little turbulent in his heart. After all, when he made a bold statement at the beginning, he thought it could not be realized. Unexpectedly, Dasun's steam iron-clad ship made the impossible possible.

"Next, Dasun Dang Duoduo supervises the completion of the construction. Let's take some time tomorrow so that we can go and see this iron-clad ship." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Ying replied: "My grandson has already given the order. Three days later, my grandson and his grandfather will board the ship together to feel how fast the ship is."

"The operation of a steam ironclad ship is supplemented by sails and mainly steam, so the operation is a bit more troublesome, so let the sailors get familiar with it first."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Okay, let's do as Dasun said."

When we returned to Kunning Palace, it was almost dinner time.

For today's dinner, Zhu Ying specially ordered Guo Zhong to call all the concubines together.

He wanted to tell the concubines about the construction of the steam ironclad ship.

Eating is like sleeping.

Whether it is Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Ying, they eat alone every day.

Because Zhu Ying is close to Zhu Yuanzhang, he often goes to Qianqing Palace to eat together.

But with Ye Yueqing, the great grandson, it was almost impossible to have a meal together for several days.

One is the etiquette system of the palace, and the other is the relationship between the meal sharing system.

Now that Ye Yueqing is like this, it will be even more difficult for the other concubines.

That is to say, Zhu Ying has a solid body, and there are not many concubines now. On average, she can see Zhu Ying in a few days.

Like the kings of other dynasties, there are tens of thousands more, and hundreds less.

Compared with tens of thousands, three thousand beauties in the harem are not enough.

In this case, many of them are nominal, and you may not have the opportunity to sleep with them once in your life, or even just once in your life.

If you can't conceive the dragon species, you will be miserable in your old age.

Today, there is no such concept as a later restaurant.

Zhu Ying called all the concubines to have dinner together in the main hall of Kunning Palace.

It's not about setting up a big table and eating together, but everyone has a separate place and their own table.

After Zhu Ying's order was passed on, the eunuchs would notify Guanglu Temple.

Then you will get a recipe from Guanglu Temple.

Before each concubine comes, a recipe will be delivered first.

In addition to entertaining the officials in the court, the family members don't know how to make big pot meals.

Each concubine can order individually according to her favorite taste.

Guanglu Temple here.

Senior cooks will specialize in certain royal family members.

Like Zhu Yuanzhang, there are more than a dozen cooks who only cook for him.

Zhu Ying is similar.

Ye Yueqing usually has three cooks.

Like Zhu Ying's other concubines, every cook is also fixed.

In addition to the cook, the number of dishes is also particular.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang had 48 dishes for each meal, while Zhu Ying had 36 dishes.

For example, Ye Yueqing, as the grandson concubine, has eighteen dishes.

Ordinary concubines also have eight to twelve dishes according to their grades.

The main hall of Kunning Palace.

When Zhu Ying came, Ye Yueqing and other concubines were already in place.

Under Zhu Ying's nod.

The eunuch began to summon the dishes.

The serving of dishes is also very particular, first Zhu Ying's dishes are served first, then Ye Yueqing's, and the other concubines are served almost together.

In fact, the dishes are already ready.

It has to be said that in the palace, the ritual of eating a meal is very strong.

"It's a good thing to announce that all the concubines are called to have a meal together today."

"Just today, our Daming Jingshi Shipyard successfully built the first steam iron-clad ship."

"This steam ironclad ship is powered by a steam engine in addition to the sails. The speed of the ship is several times faster than before."

"For example, Na Fei's hometown in Champa, from Fujian, it took ten days to arrive with the wind, but now it's a steam iron-clad ship, and it only takes two or three days to get on the ship, regardless of the wind or not."

"There is no need to turn to Fujian in the future, and we will start directly from the capital, and the total time will be five or six days."

Zhu Ying said.

Many of the concubines were from ordinary families. News spread that the steam armored ship was in the palace very early.

Ananya exclaimed: "Then I can't go home often."

Zhu Ying smiled and nodded, "That's right, it will be much more convenient to go to Zhancheng later."

Sultana also said: "Chenla is close to Champa, if I go back to Chenla, it will take an extra day or two."

Sultana's eyes lit up as she spoke.

She thought of more aspects.

This means that Ming's dominance will completely spread to the entire Southeast Asian coast.

At the same time, it will also allow his child Zhu Wenzhen to gain more support from Daming.

Thinking of this, Sultana asked directly: "Your Highness, is this steam iron-clad ship available now? I want to go back to Chenla to have a look."

Sultana's character is relatively straightforward.

Zhu Ying shook his head and said: "It's not that fast. We only built the first one now, just for reference."

"If Concubine Dan wants to go home to visit relatives, she has to wait until the end of the year, when dozens of ships have been built, and then she can go to Chenla."

Speaking of this, Zhu Ying said with a smile: "You will not go alone at that time, everyone can go out for a while, and I should also be together."

With the steam armored city, it will be much more convenient for Zhu Ying to travel. .

First, it is fast, and second, it also has a great guarantee in terms of safety.

Hearing that they could hang out together, everyone's expressions became very happy.

No matter at any time, travel is a refreshing project, especially before travel.

Below, Xu Miaojin chatted with Chen Muyue.

In terms of relationship, Xu Miaojin and Chen Muyue are obviously better.

Now we are discussing what fun places like Champa and Chenla are.

Anania chatted with Sultana.

Although Zhao Xiangxi was also a little happy, her expression was a bit lonely.

This is because of some previous incidents between her and Ye Yueqing.

Zhao Xiangxi is not the princess of Goryeo, she is canonized in name only.

And on the way to Daming, Ye Yueqing once worked as Zhao Xiangxi's maid.

The identity of Princess Goryeo was also blocked by Ye Yueqing.

It was nothing after all, but Zhao Xiangxi had a gap in his heart.

Because of his relationship with the Gunpowder Department and the confidentiality of firearms, it is difficult for Zhao Xiangxi to return to China.

In fact, up to now, there has never been any news from the Zhao family in Fengyang. Zhao Xiangxi knew that he might have been expelled from the family.

Xiangzi, the princess of the Japanese kingdom, is quiet.

This is probably out of character.

Although there was joy in his eyes, he didn't show it.

Ye Yueqing was smiling.

When she was in the name of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, she traveled to many places. Although she was young, she was not so eager to travel around.

Being by Zhu Ying's side is the happiest thing she feels now.

Zhu Ying could see the expressions of all the concubines.

For Zhao Xiangxi and Xiangzi, I feel a little more pity.

In the past, maybe she was emotionally flat, but after all these years, she is her own concubine and has children, so she should be somewhat loving.

At that moment, Zhu Ying picked up the wine glass and said, "This is a great event, let's have a drink together."

(End of this chapter)