Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

The production capacity of several shipyards in Daming is still quite good.

Since the Ming Dynasty broke through the technical threshold for building sail battleships, relying on the Ming Dynasty's abundant manpower and material resources, the shipbuilding capacity of the shipyard has begun to increase.

Nowadays, Longjiang Shipbuilding alone can build more than 30 sailing battleships in one year.

And this output is still increasing year by year!

Moreover, this is the reason why Longjiang Shipyard wants to allocate part of its production capacity to traditional Chinese ships such as Fuzhou Shipyard and Guangzhou Shipyard.

Otherwise, the output will only be higher!
"General, the soldiers are ready and ready to leave at any time."

An officer climbed up the watchtower, came to Gan Changsheng and said.

Gan Changsheng heard this and nodded slightly.

"Very good, pass on the order and the army will set off immediately!"

"In this battle, we should regain Ryukyu, expel the Japanese pirates, and promote the prestige of our Ming Dynasty!"

When the officer heard this, he immediately clasped his fists and left.

Gan Changsheng continued to look at the sea for a while, and finally got off the observation tower and prepared to go to the dock to board the ship.

As the naval admiral of the Ming Dynasty's East China Sea Fleet, this time the Ming army mobilized troops to regain Ryukyu, he naturally had to personally lead the troops to command the battle.

Gan Changsheng was about to board the ship, but at this moment, there was a noise outside the water village.

A messenger rushed all the way to Gan Changsheng and said.

"Admiral-sama, the King of Ryukyu has arrived."

Since the last time he came to Beijing and finalized the annexation with the Ming Dynasty, Ryukyu King Shang On stayed in the Ming Dynasty.

This time the Ming army was going to conquer Ryukyu, and Shang Wen took the initiative to write to the court, requesting to accompany the army.

There is no other reason. After the Ming Dynasty regains Ryukyu, Nao On wants to have a good... talk with Satsuma Domain's Zaiban who stayed on Ryukyu Island! talk! Heart!

Didn't you bully me before because I had the support of Japanese pirates?

Now you try to bully someone again! !

Let’s see which one of us has a stronger backing now.

And the reason why the Ming Dynasty agreed to let Shang Wen return to Ryukyu with the army to show off.

This is because Ryukyu is a newly attached territory after all, and the people inside may be unstable.

Letting Nao On, the king of Ryukyu, accompany the army to Ryukyu can stabilize the situation in Ryukyu to the greatest extent.

The Shang family has been the king of Ryukyu for hundreds of years, and still has prestige among the people.

Besides, Shang Wen has kowtowed so many times in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, so we can’t let him kowtow in vain, right?

Shang Wen just made a simple request to go back to Ryukyu and show off, and there was really no reason for Daming to refuse.

When Gan Changsheng heard this, his expression immediately changed, and then he spoke.

"Let's go, all the generals, come with me to greet His Highness the King of Ryukyu!"

After Ryukyu was annexed to the Ming Dynasty, in recognition of Ryukyu King Shang On's obedience, the Ming court raised his title by one level.

From the original title of a county prince, he was promoted to a prince, and his living conditions were comparable to those of several princes of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the throne given to the King of Ryukyu by the Ming Dynasty was not a downgraded hereditary noble title, but a hereditary noble title that could be replaced and retired with the country.

There is no other reason than buying horse bones for thousands of dollars!

Since Shang Wen took the initiative to choose to submit to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will definitely treat him well.

Gan Changsheng led the team to the outside of the water village. At first sight, he saw the Ryukyu King Shang On, who was wearing a python robe and holding a guard of honor. He looked very impressive.

After seeing Shang Wen, Gan Shangsheng took the initiative to take a few steps forward and bowed.

"Admiral Gan Changsheng, the admiral of the East China Sea Fleet, pays homage to the prince!"

Seeing this, Shang Wen didn't really let Gan Changsheng kneel down. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, supported Gan Changsheng, and then spoke.

"Admiral, there is no need to be polite!"

"This time when I return to Ryukyu, I still need the admiral to take care of me. Doesn't the admiral's salute like this mean that he is out of touch?"

Although Shang Wen is a prince, he knows that his prince does not actually have any real power.

They are just exquisite ornaments used by Ming Dynasty to decorate the facade.

Although his status is not low, it is best not to offend those important officials of the Ming Dynasty who really hold real power.

Take Gan Changsheng in front of you, for example!

As the naval admiral of the East China Sea Fleet, he followed the Ming Dynasty's Conglong minister in Guangxi.

Even though he only has an earl title, he can speak to almost everyone in the court and the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army.

Shang Wenruo wanted his family to better integrate into the Ming Dynasty's system and become his true family members.

We must not offend an important person with powerful connections like Gan Changsheng.

Otherwise, once the other party is determined to cause trouble for him, Shang Wen actually has no good way to deal with it.

When Gan Changsheng heard this, he felt very comfortable in his heart, but he still insisted on worshiping and then spoke.

“Rituals should not be taken lightly!”

"It is the final general who needs more care from the prince."

The two of them entered the water village one after another while talking, and then walked towards the dock.

Shang Wen, along with Gan Changsheng, boarded the Ming Dynasty's East China Sea Fleet.

Subsequently, various Ming army units began to line up to board the ship. Groups of Ming soldiers were arranged in strict formations on the dock according to different organizational systems.

On the not too big pier, nearly ten thousand people lined up to board the ship, but there was no chaos at all.

At the same time, boxes after boxes are being transferred to the supply ship.

This mouthful of boxes is filled with various ordnance supplies.

Such as cannonballs, gunpowder, firearms, food, medicinal materials, etc...

When the supply ship completed its supplies, all Ming army units lined up to board the ship.

With a deep sound of horns, the fleet pulled anchor and set sail.

The sailboat hunted into the wind, and the sailors adjusted the sails skillfully.

The sea breeze blew up the sails of the ship, and it headed towards the direction of the rising sun in the east.

On the warship as big as a mountain, the twelve-pointed sun and moon flag of the Ming Dynasty was flying, looking majestic.

……

Chongming is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

As the busiest golden waterway in the whole of China, the navigation volume of the Yangtze River is self-evident.

Today, the Yangtze River Estuary is as always full of ships of various sizes, including Ming Dynasty's own ships and many Western-style ships.

The flags hanging are even more diverse!
But without exception, these ships are all parked in place, waiting to be inspected and docked at the dock.

In order to ensure the coastal defense security of the Ming Dynasty, all merchant ships need to be inspected before entering the dock, and all weapons on the ship must be sealed and handed over to the Ming Dynasty for safekeeping before they can be opened to navigation.

Otherwise, several coastal defense forts installed by the Ming Dynasty at the mouth of the Yangtze River have the right to fire directly and sink it.

Under the Stars and Stripes, James stood on the deck of the ship, looking in the direction of Chongming Island in the distance, looking at the huge fleet on the sea, his eyes full of sighs.

"The Eastern Empire's national power is really strong. How long has it been since they founded the country? They have actually built such a large fleet."

"I hope that the new United States will one day have a fleet of the same size!"

Although the United States has not officially signed an armistice agreement with Britain, the intensity of the war on the North American continent has significantly reduced.

James still has some confidence in whether the new America can continue.

And this time he traveled thousands of miles and crossed the ocean to come to China with the purpose of doing business. His fleet hauled several ships of cotton, preparing to use America's flagship product in the export market to open up trade routes to the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the goods exported by Ming Dynasty these days are popular products that only one company has.

As long as the trade routes can be opened, there is no need to worry about not being able to sell the goods once they are obtained.

As long as tea, porcelain and other products can be brought back to the United States, the profit will be at least ten times higher.

This is the charm of sea trade in this era!
In addition, James is also tasked with finding ways to establish diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty and get the United States to be recognized by Ming Dynasty.

Well, this one task is the focus!
China in this era has a halo in the eyes of the world.

The mysterious Eastern Empire has always been synonymous with power and civilization.

The newly born United States urgently needs the support and recognition of such a powerful country.

So that you can gain a better foothold!

"Captain, it's almost our turn to be inspected."

Just when James was drooling as he looked at the Ming fleet, the first mate on the ship reminded him.

When James heard this, his expression changed, and he immediately spoke.

"Good, I understand."

After saying this, James ordered someone to fetch a glass mirror, and he began to straighten his appearance in front of the glass mirror.

Not long after, a small boat was seen leaning against the side of James's ship.

A rope ladder was immediately lowered on the deck.

Soon, several Ming officials boarded the deck.

Looking around, the leading clerk saw James at a glance, strode to stand three meters in front of James, and asked.

"Ship registration, ship name, ship owner name, cargo type, cargo quantity..."

"Report it!"

The reason why this little official stood three meters away was certainly not because of any social etiquette.

It's because foreigners generally have body odor...

In addition, they have been floating on the sea for a year and a half in a boat without being able to take a bath, not to mention the smell.

Standing three meters away is purely for your own safety.

If he gets any closer, he's afraid that he won't be able to help but spit it out...

James heard this and spoke.

"The ship's registration is the United States, the name of the ship is the Bearded Paul, the type of cargo is cotton, the quantity..."

James responded to the clerk's questions one by one.

When the clerk heard this, he nodded slightly, and then motioned to a few people behind him to enter the cabin for inspection.

Seeing this, James stepped forward and gave a money bag to the clerk, saying very politely.

"It's a little thoughtful of you to make a special trip, Your Excellency."

The clerk took the money bag, weighed it, threw it back to James, and then spoke.

"Don't use these tricky tricks. There is no room for sloppiness in customs inspection."

As the person in charge of customs inspection, the clerk's salary is very generous.

A considerable portion of the annual customs tax revenue is returned to the customs as a reward for integrity at the customs level.

To be honest, he doesn't really appreciate such a small amount of money!
Although corruption will inevitably occur when Ming Dynasty does this, there is nothing that can be done about it.

As long as the essence of this world is still rule by man, corruption will be inevitable.

Because it is impossible for people to be completely selfless.

As for whether "rule of law" would be better?
How should I put it, it might be better, but only a little bit.

Because the essence of the law is also made by people, and the right to interpret the law is also decided by people.

Again, as long as you are a human being, you will have selfish motives.

There is no real rule of law. In the final analysis, people govern.

Even if AI is allowed to do the judging, as long as the AI ​​still has a backend to operate, it will still be rule of man rather than rule of law.

This is the same in both East and West!
In this era, all Ming Dynasty can do now is to strengthen supervision as much as possible, tighten the law, and increase the cost of crime.

Apart from this, other means will not have much effect.

Soon, several Ming officials who had entered the cabin for inspection returned. One of them walked up to the leading official and spoke.

"Captain, we checked into the cabin and found no problems. The type and quantity of the cargo are also correct."

"The only problem is that there are many Kunlun slaves chained up in the bottom of the ship..."

Obviously, this petty official regarded the Kunlun slaves as goods.

After all, in this day and age, no one in the Kunlun Slaves treats them as human beings.

In addition, those Kunlun slaves are still chained, aren't they just goods?

So, here comes the problem.

Since those Kunlun slaves were cargo, but James did not report it, what else could he be but smuggling?
Thinking of this, the leading clerk turned his sharp gaze directly to James and asked in a cold voice.

"There are Kunlun slaves in the cargo, why didn't you report it?"

"Is it possible that you want to smuggle?"

When James heard this, he was stunned on the spot for a moment, and said with a stuttering voice.

"Then...those black slaves are not cargo, they are servants on our ship."

The clerk didn't believe it when he heard this, he just frowned and said.

"servant?"

"Why are the servants chained and locked in the hold?"

James was speechless for a moment because he really couldn't explain it.

Of course, even if he explained that he was imprisoned because the black slaves wanted to rebel, Daming would have to believe him.

In desperation, James could only speak.

"I'm sorry, sir. It was my negligence. I am willing to accept Ming's punishment!"

When the clerk heard this, he stopped pestering him and just spoke.

"According to Ming Dynasty's customs management regulations, if the goods are concealed, the goods will be confiscated and double fines will be imposed."

"Do you have any objections?"

James couldn't help feeling a little distressed when he heard this, but he finally said it.

"As it should be."

"We violated the rules and made mistakes first. Although it was unintentional, we should accept the punishment and have no objection!"

When the clerk heard this, he nodded with satisfaction.

Then he ordered James and others to seal all the weapons on the ship and prepare to hand it over to the Ming Dynasty for management.

Then he got off the boat, got on the boat and headed to a boat next to him.

Not long after, other customs officers were notified and came to confiscate the goods carried by James and others on the ship.

After the black slaves were taken away, the fines were paid, and the weapons were sealed, James and others were issued a red flag indicating safety.

Only when the flag is hoisted can they dock... (End of this chapter)