Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 763 Daming's Sea Giant
Not long after Zheng Zhifeng went south under the order to discuss state affairs with the Putao people and returned to Quanzhou to visit his relatives, in the chill of late autumn and early winter, Zhu Youjian was surrounded by cabinet ministers Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, Chen Qiyu, Yang Sichang, and military officials. , Accompanied by the governors of the five army governors' mansions, they arrived at Tianjin Wei Wharf.

This is the first time Zhu Youjian has left the capital after crossing over. For this reason, he specially decreed that all travel should be kept simple, there will be no palaces along the way, and local officials do not need to go to the boundary area to meet and see them off.

Although Zhu Youjian was not willing to mobilize the crowd, but he was the lord of ten thousand chariots after all, and there were certain rules for many things in the Ming Dynasty, which paid attention to etiquette.

After receiving the emperor's intention to travel, the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Jinyiwei, Yongweiying and other relevant departments began preparations in advance. Although it was simple, it still took seven days to prepare until everything was arranged. Zhu Youjian left the palace from Zhengyang Gate in a super-large luxury four-wheeled carriage used by the imperial court.

The guard of honor of the Ming emperor when he left the palace was extremely magnificent. If the previous rules were followed, the booklet prepared by the Ministry of Military Vehicles would be very complicated, and the entourage would need to employ nearly 2000 people. This is not counting the inner and outer guards and accompanying The number of driving courtiers.

The halogen book has already appeared in the Han Dynasty. Cai Yong’s "Arbitrariness" records: "The son of heaven comes out, and the driving order is called the halogen book." Jiadun is the forerunner, and they are all called the book, so it is called the book of halogen."

The "halogen" in Lubo is a pseudonym for "lu" in ancient times, which means "big shield".The "book" in Lubu means book, which is a classic book that forms the "order of vehicles" and the scale, quantity, and level of security personnel, that is, equipment.

There are five meanings and functions of halogen books: one is to ensure the safety of the emperor and his entourage; the other is to show the emperor's supreme authority; piety.

The honor guard of halogen book flags and banners is an important means to set off the atmosphere and render the environment. Melon, Wuzhang, Yuzhang, etc., can dazzle everyone who sees it.

But to be honest, this whole set of procedures cost a lot of money. Although there is no exact data record, Zhu Youjian roughly estimated that it would cost at least a dozen or 20 taels. The money actually helped more impoverished families.

Whether it was the real Emperor Chongzhen in the previous life or the current Zhu Youjian, he didn't like extravagance. Therefore, he passed down an oral order that the Ministry of Military Vehicles prepared to keep the book simple. 1000 people in the battalion are responsible for the peripheral security.

Under such circumstances, this trip will cost a lot, which makes Zhu Youjian, who originally wanted to go out quietly, feel helpless.

Because the cabinet ministers expressed firm opposition to his habit of traveling in casual clothes.

With the growing national power of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor must have a certain sense of ritual when he patrols places. Simple is simple, but what needs to be prepared must be prepared. As for loess pads, clear water sprinkled on the streets, etc., it doesn't matter.

With the increase in cement production, the official roads from Jingshi to Tianjinwei have all been paved with cement. The spacious and flat road conditions make the ride very comfortable. The four-wheeled carriage is also easy and comfortable to run for a distance of more than 300 miles. The road was cleared, so Zhu Youjian and his party arrived in Tianjinwei three days later, and on the fourth day, Zhu Youjian and others arrived at Tianjinwei Wharf.

Zhu Youjian came this time for the newly built main battleship of the Ming Dynasty Beihai Fleet.

With the great assistance of the Dutch side, after more than three years of intensive construction by more than [-] craftsmen and apprentices in the Jinzhou Shipyard, three main warships of the North Sea Fleet of the Ming Dynasty were built and launched. Afterwards, Liu Guoneng, the admiral of the North Sea Fleet, reported to the Ministry of War, and Zhu Youjian agreed. Afterwards, Liu Guoneng personally led the main battleship of the Beihai Fleet to Tianjinwei Wharf, where he was inspected by Zhu Youjian and his courtiers.

After martial law and cleanup, all kinds of commercial ships at the originally busy Tianjin Wei Wharf were moored in the open sea and waited. At the side of the huge wharf, three giant ships docked at the main wharf one by one. Thick cables were tied to the cast iron piles of the wharf. Slightly undulating with the waves of the sea.

"Liu Guoneng, the admiral of the North Sea Fleet, has an audience with His Majesty!

To report to the Holy Majesty, I was ordered to lead the North Sea Fleet to Tianjinwei, and they have all berthed. Please also invite the Holy Majesty to board the ship for inspection! "

Liu Guoneng, dressed in black armor, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists over the top and lowered his head, and said loudly, all the generals and soldiers of the fleet lined up on the side of the ship, and paid attention to Zhu Youjian and others on the pier.

"Get up without ceremony! Zhuqing will accompany me to board the ship and have a look!"

Zhu Youjian ordered solemnly, Liu Guoneng stood up with his arms folded, and then stepped aside sideways. Zhu Youjian stepped onto the ship plank with guardrails on both sides, and began to climb up the towering and tall battleship. Sun Chuanting and others followed one by one. go up.

What Zhu Youjian boarded was the flagship of the Beihai Fleet. It was also a first-class battleship that integrated various advanced technologies and equipment of this era. The total cost reached 35 taels of silver.

This battleship has double decks, the lower deck has a length of nearly sixteen feet, which is about 50 meters long, and a width of about four feet, which is about 12 meters. The maximum draft is about one foot five, and the displacement is astonishing. About 1000 materials, that is, [-] to [-] tons.

The ship's armament system includes twelve 36-pound guns (one pound is about one catty) placed at the rear of the lower deck, sixteen 24-pound guns placed in the middle front of the lower deck, 1 26-pound guns The artillery is arranged in the middle and rear of the upper deck, twelve twelve-pound guns are arranged in the front of the upper deck, and [-] six-pound guns are arranged on the gun mounts on the open deck of the forecastle and stern.

The upper and lower decks of this ship are designed with a continuous gun deck. Although the open deck has a long forecastle and stern building, they are not connected together, so the battleship still looks like a three-story battleship, but it is still a two-deck battleship. .

It is worth mentioning that the twelve 36-pound heavy artillery on the lower deck is almost the upper limit of artillery projectiles in this era. The cannon casting was successful.

While Zhu Youjian and others visited along the deck and the upper and lower floors, while listening to the relevant officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau introducing the detailed information about the ship, everyone felt a sense of pride spontaneously.

According to the official of the general bureau, the Dutch shipbuilding experts who helped design and build the ship couldn't help sighing after the giant ship was completed and launched: Only the Ming Empire had the strength to build such a warship. Few countries in this world can afford it financially.

According to those Dutchmen, this warship is the most powerful ship in the world. No matter whether it is the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and other naval powers, no warship can compete with it. As long as there are a few ships with smaller tonnage As long as the crew is familiar with various operations, the strength of the Ming Dynasty North Sea Fleet is enough to run across the oceans.

The only reason why the Dutch are willing to spend their technical background to help Da Ming build this most advanced warship is to get Da Ming's assistance.

Because the British government began to issue various laws and regulations to restrict and crack down on the global trade of Dutch merchant ships. The two countries have been arguing for several years. Judging from the current situation, the war between Britain and the Netherlands is inevitable.

Since the merchant ships of the Netherlands have taken away a lot of business from countries such as Britain, France, and the West, the Netherlands has no allies in Europe to support it. Once it goes to war with the powerful British navy, the outcome is unpredictable. If there is a strong ally to support it, the balance of victory will be achieved. There will be a clear inclination towards the Netherlands.

After personally naming the three warships, Zhu Youjian and his party returned to the Kunlun capital.

"Kunlun", "Bendian", and "Split Sky" left the pier, went south and then turned to Manila to advance.

　Thanks to Lan Shuyue and Venus for their graphics cards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)