Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Chapter 739 Qian Qianyi is impassioned
"The Hongyi people coveted me in the southeast of Ming Dynasty before! Guangdong and Guangxi are not mentioned, and they have tried to occupy Xiaoliuqiu overseas several times!"

"Now that my overseas business in Daming has improved, I want to hinder my development in Daming."

"Mere barbarians, disrespectful to the country, if you don't use thunderous means, how can you show my majesty tomorrow?"

Above the court, Qian Qianyi was impassioned, and he felt like returning to the spirit of a hot-blooded teenager to show off Fang Qiu.

After several days of fermenting public opinion, the matter of the Hongyi people blocking the Ming Dynasty's merchant ships from going out to sea in the southeast waters finally broke out in Zhengshang.

Compared with Qian Qianyi, Zhang Haogu, who is now a young man, looks like an old man, with his eyes slightly closed, shaking the jade wat in his hand, as if he fell asleep.

The Great Emperor of Apocalypse and the only Naren Dahan Zhu Youxiao of the grassland people sat on the dragon chair with a serious expression, but if you look carefully, his eyes seem to be fixed on a book on the imperial table.

This is a rare and rare scene. The emperor who has been committed to the southern and northern wars and the expansion of the territory did not say a word. The Donglin Party and those old parties who cried out that they could not go against the ancestral system of the imperial court to open the sea and strictly prohibited merchants and fishermen from going to sea made a bold statement here and wanted to fight the Dongyi people to the death.

But considering the actual situation, this is not surprising at all. After all, the most affected people are the wealthy businessmen and gentry in Jiangnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian. These are the sites of the Donglin Party and the old Party. If the Donglin Party doesn't say anything, it is estimated that not many people will support them.

"Your Majesty, I ask for an order to use thunderous means against the Southeast Sea bandits, and at the same time expel all the Hongyi people in the territory, so that they will know how much they have offended our great tomorrow!" Qian Qianyi finally stated his purpose.

Well, let the imperial navy destroy the Hongyi people who occupy the southeast first, and then drive out the Hongyi people in the territory. At that time, all the business will be done by their own people. As for whether it is the Hongyi people or the Huangyi people who are expelled, Is it important?

Zhang Haogu knew what those people were thinking even with his eyes closed.

"Your Majesty, I believe that it is feasible to pay the pirates in the southeast sea, but it is not possible to expel all the Hongyi people in the territory. Now that I have opened the ban on the sea for the first time, and all nations have come to the dynasty, it is time to show our ambition. If all the people are expelled, what is the court's tolerance?" A censor stood up and retorted.

Another person stood up and retorted: "This statement is wrong! Your Majesty, the Hongyi people have already made an open fight against our court. I think that if we don't strictly clean it up at this time, how will the various nations respect my Ming Dynasty and how will they reflect the court's heavenly power? No. If we kill one to serve as an example to others, can those benevolent people still be respected by the barbarians?"

However, another spokesperson stood up: "If the imperial court's majesty is demonstrated by expelling some innocent people, how can it be respected by other countries? Those pirates broke the law and punished the pirates. How can other innocent people be involved? Forcibly convict all Hongyi people, so what do merchants from other countries think? Where is the court's tolerance and laws?"

Zhu Youxiao's eyelids twitched, didn't he talk about whether to punish those pirates, why did it involve other businessmen.

But this is normal, after all, what these officials are best at is to involve one thing with another, rambling about, and going around in circles, so that there is nothing useful to discuss at all. .

"Ahem, everyone, let's get down to business. Whether to punish other Hongyi merchants is not what we are talking about right now. What we are talking about right now is whether we should pay those Hongyi pirates." Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but speak out.

Qian Qianyi said: "Of course it must be cleared, and it must be wiped out as quickly as possible; it is to declare thousands of miles away and teach the world that those who offend our great tomorrow will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

At this time, a group of speech officials and censors followed suit: "Yes, those who openly offend our great tomorrow will be punished even if they are far away!"

"The dignity of the imperial court cannot be violated, and these barbarians must be wiped out!"

Zhu Youxiao finally said, "Yes."

Qian Qianyi leaned over excitedly and kowtowed: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

The emperor confirmed the dispatch of troops, and the cabinet was naturally responsible for dispatching troops to quell the bandits.

In the face of the censor's officials clamoring to send troops immediately to quell the bandits and to teach those Hongyi people a lesson, Lu Xiangsheng sneered: "These officials, who don't know what the military is all about, are talking about it here, and they send troops immediately. It doesn’t take time to dispatch soldiers, or it doesn’t take time to mobilize logistics, food and salaries. If these people ruled the country, the court would have been in chaos long ago.”

Qian Qianyi listened to Lu Xiangsheng's words with eyes and nose, nose and mouth, as if he didn't know that he was secretly talking about those gentry and aristocrats in the south of the Yangtze River and himself behind them.

Sending out troops is not that simple. If you make an order today, you will send out troops tomorrow.

The transfer of warships and soldiers there, supplies along the way, firearms and ordnance, etc., all aspects need to be followed up, otherwise the Ministry of War will not need so many divisions.

Zhang Haogu took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Fighting is definitely going to happen, but the enemy's situation is unknown, so I think you all know the result of rashly sending troops. Over the years, the imperial court has won many battles and won many battles. Kou, if the decision cannot be made in one battle, the court's prestige will definitely be damaged."

"Do you have any information about the Red Barbarians entrenched in Southeast Asia?"

Although this was said to everyone, Qian Qianyi knew that the merchants from Jiangnan and Guangdong and Guangxi who had been in contact with those Hongyi pirates these days were asking him to provide information.

Naturally, Qian Qianyi would not refuse this request: "When the imperial navy sets out to march, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River and Guangdong and Guangxi must eat pots of pulp to welcome the royal army."

Nodding slightly, Zhang Haogu continued: "Naturally, the imperial court's navy in the south is not weak. But this battle is not only determined by one battle, but also deters all countries. Therefore, this battle must be won beautifully. Generals, what do you guys think?"

As for the generals, Qian Qianyi looked at Huang Liji, and when he saw that Huang Liji didn't speak, he also knew that the new army of the imperial court is now in the hands of the new party. As for the new navy, it is naturally the new army generals. Lord, there is no one to recommend here at all.

"Commander, of course it depends on Yuanfu's opinion." Qiao Yunsheng said.

Qian Qianyi nodded: "That's right, I'm not good at fighting, and I have no one to recommend this good general."

Zhang Haogu sighed slightly, he really hoped that someone like Qian Qianyi could recommend a good general in naval warfare.

After all, it is common sense that the north is good at cavalry and the south is good at water warfare. There are many good water warfare generals along the southeast coast.

But now it is 1632, which is the 12th year of the Ming Dynasty. Where can I find a good water station general in this year?

Without talents who are proficient in water warfare in the south, Zhang Haogu can only choose someone from the northern navy.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Haogu said: "In this way, the Ministry of War ordered Qi Mingguang, the general of Laizhou, to be the admiral of the navy, and general Zhaoyi to lead the fleet to the south."

With the reform of the new policy and the establishment of the new army, there have been many changes in the military. Although the general is a third rank, it is not the same concept as the admiral of the navy. The admiral of the navy is in charge of a navy independently and is the commander of the navy.

The mention of Qi Mingguang to this position is also because Zhang Haogu has very few naval personnel.

After confirming the chief admiral of the navy, the rest of the arrangements are simple. Dispatch the fleet, arrange supplies along the southeast route, and order after order is issued from the cabinet. After these orders with the seal of the cabinet, the machine of Daming began to run slowly again. .

In Laizhou, Qi Mingguang knelt on one knee in armor, and he was welcoming the edict.

As a new official robe with a ribbon was sent to Qi Mingguang, the Minister of War said with a smile: "General Qi, you are now the first naval admiral in Ming Dynasty."

Qi Mingguang took a deep breath, and solemnly took over the seal of the official robe: "The lowly position must live up to Yuanfu's high expectations!"

Putting on a brand-new official robe and hanging a seal, Qi Mingguang, the admiral of the Northern Navy of the Ming Dynasty, boarded his flagship, the first steam warship of the Ming Dynasty, the Weiyuan, and looked around at the warships that were loading luggage. There was undisguised joy on his face.

He is 40 years old this year. In his forties, becoming the admiral of the court's new army navy is much better than being a general in Laizhou.

Although they are all third-rank officials, who doesn’t know that the original military system of the imperial court is being replaced by the new military system. These positions such as generals and generals will be completely banned soon, and they can become regular officials at this time. The admiral of the third-rank navy commanded a main navy of the imperial court, so the future of himself and his family would be guaranteed. If he could win this battle, his position would be stable.

"Report, report to the admiral, the supplies on each ship have been loaded and are on standby."

Listening to the servant's report, Qi Mingguang waved his hand: "Send the flag, all ships pull anchor and set sail!"

The Daming Fleet in Laizhou Bay started to set sail, and the fighting ships spread out like cavalry cruising around the periphery. The warship and Fu Chuan were in the middle, guarding the largest iron-clad ship Weiyuan, and there were some small boats around as sentinels. Parade, used as a messenger.

Dozens of ships from the entire fleet headed south, and there were sailors in Jiangnan and Guangdong and Guangxi waiting for them to meet up.

Although today's Daming navy is no longer the huge scale of more than [-] warships of various types in the Yongle period, it is still not something that the Hongyi people can provoke. The warship court has already launched into the water in batches.

Right now, this fleet is traveling south from Laizhou to Songjiang, and is mooring at the mouth of Songjiang Prefecture to join forces with the fleet here, forming a scale of hundreds of warships of various types.

Looking at the past from the coast of Songjiang Prefecture, hundreds of warships of various sizes surround the giant like a hill on the sea. The huge warship covered with iron armor, with two huge chimneys and four masts, represents Compared with the current naval power of the imperial court, those large and small warships, fighting ships, and lucky boats look so small, like a school of fish next to a giant whale, which makes people feel a lot of emotion.

"That's the imperial court's new warship? It's amazing and magnificent!" Shen Chao couldn't help feeling as he looked at the giant ship at sea.

"That's right, no one thought that the imperial court could manufacture such a large warship. Such a large warship must have hundreds of cannons, right?" the young master of the Hu family exclaimed.

But in fact, the Weiyuan ironclad ship only has 44 cannons, because it has other arrangements that have not been installed, and the many empty places on the deck are reserved for subsequent transformation.

After all, according to the original plan, this ironclad ship is to install four giant cannons on the deck. The current technology is not good enough, so for the time being, we will replace it with 44 large guns of three thousand catties and five thousand catties, and wait for the giant cannons to be manufactured. , that is when the ironclad ship is fully armed.

"The imperial court's new warship is really beautiful." Shen Yi, a naval general in the south of the Yangtze River, looked at and touched the iron-clad ship Weiyuan with an air of envy.

They are all generals of the new imperial army. Their Jiangnan shipyard is stronger than that of Shandong. It can be said that apart from the Fuzhou shipyard, the Jiangnan shipyard is the largest. However, the research and manufacture of this new type of warship was initially in Shandong.

But Shen Yi also knew that no matter how big the shipyards in Jiangnan and Fuzhou were, the court would not be able to hand over the new ironclad ship to Jiangnan and Fuzhou for manufacturing, because at that time, these places were still under the control of the Donglin Party.

Qi Mingguang said with a smile: "Brother Shen, why should you be envious? Didn't the court have a decree to allow you Jiangnan to start building this giant iron-clad ship?"

Shen Yi nodded: "That's right, commanding this giant iron-clad ship feels like galloping across the ocean."

Qi Mingguang laughed loudly: "Brother, you are hopeless right now, let's wait until later."

After the two fleets merged, they continued to head south. A fleet of hundreds of warships of various types sailed mightily on the sea, cutting through the waves and galloping across the ocean. Whether it was merchant ships from various countries on the sea, or the fishing boats of Ming Dynasty , I couldn't help being amazed when I saw this huge fleet.

Especially looking at the largest iron-clad ship Weiyuan, Weiyuan covered with black iron armor is like a small island on the sea, like a giant whale in the water, those merchant ships seem too small under such a huge ship, the dark Weiyuan The shadow cast by the ironclad was enough to obscure the sky above them.

For a while, the news of the dispatch of the navy of the Ming Dynasty spread among businessmen from all over the world. Everyone knew that the Ming Dynasty was going to attack the Dutch.

Li Mizai of the Joseon Kingdom couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Such a huge warship and a navy of this size really deserve to be the fleet of the Shang Kingdom! The Shang Kingdom sent troops to crusade against the foreign barbarians and stabilize the sea area. The king's division will surely win the battle And return."

The people around echoed it one after another. These people were all businessmen from the traditional vassal state of Ming Dynasty, so they were naturally on the side of Ming Dynasty, and North Korea was a self-proclaimed Little China, a loyal vassal state of Ming Dynasty, its status was comparable to that of other vassal states. The country is much taller.

And North Korea also took the initiative to imitate Daming and start to form a new army and trade. Now the noble merchants of North Korea have followed Daming to make money, and all of them can't wait to call Daming's father, waiting for Daming to open the sea, and they follow to make money Woolen cloth.

The navy of the new army arrived in Guangzhou Bay and merged with the navy of the Southern Kingdom here, forming a scale of nearly [-] warships. This warship was enough to sweep away all enemies in the Eastern Sea.

As the admiral of the navy appointed by the imperial court, Qi Mingguang met with Yu Huaiming and Han Yunzhi, generals of the southern navy, and Shen Yi, a general of the southern navy, and the four discussed how to wipe out the pirates.

In the spacious captain's room of the Weiyuan iron-clad ship, a pair of nautical charts was placed in front of the four of them. Qi Mingguang, who was 40 years old and in his prime, was tall and strong, wearing an official robe inside and an iron armor coat. On the body, the whole person is even more mighty, and his appearance is not so much a naval admiral, but more like a land warrior with a spear and a horse.

Han Yunzhi pointed on the map: "Admiral, the pirates of the Hongyi people are now divided into two groups, one is located in Sanfa and Ma Dalan, and the other is entrenched in India. One controls the strait and the other controls the ocean. Not weak."

Qi Mingguang nodded: "How many ships does the Hongyi people have in Sanfa and Ma Dalan, and what is their strength?"

Shen Yi said: "According to the merchants, the Hongyi people have more than a hundred warships in Sanfa and Madalan, most of them are large ships with double decks and more than [-] guns, and there are several ships equipped with nearly [-] guns. A huge ship with two cannons, together with more than [-] pirates."

There are more than 1 pirates and hundreds of warships. This strength is very strong. It can be said that in this area of ​​East Asia and Southeast Asia, except for the Ming Navy, these Hongyi people really have no opponents.

Yu Huaiming looked at Qi Guangming and frowned slightly and asked, "What worries does the admiral have?"

Qi Mingguang nodded: "The imperial court has entrusted us with a heavy responsibility, and let me wait to pay the pirates to show the court's majesty."

"But right now our army is traveling, and it's hard to cover up our whereabouts. The Hongyi people must know that the imperial court is going to destroy them. If they hide, we will spend a lot of time."

Shen Yi sighed: "The court can afford to wait, but the people can't afford to wait. If I wait for a long time, those merchants and gentry will be in a hurry."

Qi Mingguang said: "When we came, the imperial court had an explanation, let me wait for the first priority to pay down the pirates, the public opinion does not need to care, the imperial court's meaning is already obvious, I have enough time to wait."

Yu Huaiming said: "But if we delay for too long, the imperial court may still have objections."

Hearing this, several people sighed again. This sea battle is different from land battle. In the vast sea, both sides may not see the enemy for three or four days. It is not easy to fight. If you want to run, it is almost impossible for you to wipe them out. Everyone is a wooden warship, and the speed is there. Moreover, the sea monsoon changes and the current changes. Often, naval battles can last for several days. In case of a storm Or something, the whole fleet is in trouble.

Han Yunzhi thought for a while and made a suggestion: "Admiral, if the imperial court doesn't urge us, we might as well send a small team to disguise themselves as merchant ships from other countries to find out information about the Hongyi people. Although some merchants have provided us with information, but Regarding Hongyi's intelligence, we still lack sufficient understanding, and it is safer to fight after fully understanding the enemy's situation."

Shen Yi objected to this: "Now our navy is going south in a big way, and the Hongyi people will get the news in a few days. If we don't take advantage of the fact that the Hongyi people don't know about our arrival, we will wait for the Hongyi people to know. The news is out, it won’t be so easy to fight again.”

"Admiral, strike first!"

(End of this chapter)