Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 326 Who is this person?

As thick smoke billowed from the two large chimneys, the behemoth seemed to come to life.

"Come on, come up with me and have a look!" Li Wei said excitedly.

This kind of large warship is full of the atmosphere of later generations. The cabin style on it is also designed by him according to the style of later generations. A large number of glass, steel, etc. are used on it.

Jiang Quan hesitated when he heard this and advised: "Master Marquis, why don't you let the sailors test the sea first before you board the ship."

It was the first time he built such a huge thing, and he was really afraid that it would accidentally sink into the river. Li Wei was an important person, and it would be terrible if something happened.

Li Wei waved his hand indifferently: "It's okay, there are still people following in a boat. If something happens, they can be rescued in time, and there will be no problem."

It was his first time to build this kind of armored ship, so he was of course a little unsure, but this time he was fully prepared.

Jiang Quan was still hesitant, but Li Wei had already walked over first.

This big ship is more than three feet high. When you walk under the ship and look up, it looks like a steel city wall.

Jiang Quan breathed a sigh of relief and responded respectfully.

Jiang Quan looked up in the direction he pointed, and then whispered back: "It should be the patrol or the guards checking the smuggling ship."

Li Wei had long talked with Zhu Yuanzhang about opening up sea trade. Now that he saw this person investigating smuggling, he couldn't help but want to know the specific situation of sea trade now.

Li Wei stood on the bow deck, feeling the river breeze, and let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing Li Wei coming, several people were about to put down their work and bow before him. Li Wei waved his hand to stop them and asked them to continue their work.

On the river bank, many craftsmen at the shipyard watched the giant ship sail out of the shipyard, filled with shock and pride. Only Li Wei, the god in their minds, could lead them to create such a magnificent creation!

The watertight compartment at the stern of the ship is also isolated separately. The huge drive shaft spans it like a beam, and water leaks from the shaft seal.

"What's going on ahead?"

Li Wei was surprised and said that he built this ship to conquer Japan, so of course it had to be tested at sea.

Standing on the deck and being condescending is like standing on a majestic city, but now this majestic city is a movable sea fortress!

“Don’t we bring enough coal to go to sea?”

The sealing used here is made of natural iron pear wood. This kind of wood is not only wear-resistant, but also expands slightly when exposed to water, which can basically ensure the sealing. However, with the rapid leakage, if no one takes care of it, it will not last long. This section of the warehouse also had to be flooded, so sailors needed to watch it all the time and drain water out.

"Okay, let's keep walking forward. We'll go back when we're almost done."

After a while, Jiang Quan reminded: "Master Hou, it's getting late. Do you think it's time for us to return?"

After standing at the bow of the ship for a while, Li Wei ordered Jiang Quan to slow down a little. There were many small boats accompanying him, so he had to wait for them, and he also had to check the situation on the ship again.

Li Wei asked, pointing to the dozen ships in the distance.

Jiang Quan didn't think much, so he called for people and gave instructions.

The armored ship went down the river all the way to the mouth of the Yangtze River. The ships that it occasionally encountered along the way were frightened and stayed away when they saw this fast-moving steel behemoth, for fear that they would accidentally be hit and sunk.

"Yes."

Li Wei frowned slightly. Yes, there were guard posts along the river. Without documentary evidence, it was impossible to let him go to sea.

"Yes."

In fact, this speed is not too fast. If an ordinary sailing ship goes with the wind and the current, it can sometimes even exceed this speed. However, the advantage of the steam engine is that it does not rely on wind and water power. As long as there is coal burning, it can always be this fast!

Seeing Li Wei frowning and saying nothing while staring at the leak, Jiang Quan, who was accompanying him, spoke out to comfort him: "Master Hou, don't worry. You just need to order people to guard the place day and night and drain the water in time, and it won't be a big deal."

Jiang Quan was slightly startled and said with a wry smile: "Master Hou, it takes more than 800 miles to go to sea from the capital. Even if our ship is very fast, we can only get there after dark. Moreover, we did not prepare relevant citations for our first trial voyage. , the guards along the river will not let us go to sea."

"Send the order and let the sailors start trial sea trials." Li Wei ordered.

Li Wei nodded slightly. He could only do this for now. He would consider oil seals when technology and materials have improved in the future. Moreover, when the motor technology matures soon, he could change the hand pump to an electric pump.

Although this is considered a big flaw, compared to the huge iron-clad ship made of all materials, it is still a flaw!

At Li Wei's insistence, the armored ship sailed for another two hours. It was not until it approached Tongzhou that Li Wei agreed to return under Jiang Quan's continuous persuasion.

After sailing into the Yangtze River, the ironclad ship was completely freed from the constraints. Driven by the powerful power of the steam engine, the propellers rotated rapidly. The speed of the ironclad ship quickly increased, five miles, ten miles, and twenty miles. The speed became faster and faster, until it reached The speed stabilized at forty miles per hour.

After dealing with a few people, Li Wei came to the leaking area of ​​the tail shaft and took a look.

In fact, water leakage occurs in all ships, and it is the same in modern ships of later generations. It's just that someone can leak a bucket of water in a long time, but he can do it in a short time.

After the order was given, the giant ship began to slow down and prepare to turn around, but at this moment, Li Wei saw a dozen ships parked on the riverside in front of him from a distance.

Several craftsmen and sailors were busy in a hurry, some carrying buckets, and some using hand pumps designed by Li Wei to pump water out.

"Send someone to ask about the situation." Li Wei ordered.

Li Wei returned to the deck again and rode the giant iron-clad ship through the waves.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty prohibits private maritime trade. Once inspected by the inspection department, not only will the goods be confiscated, but also a felony will be imposed.

Jiang Quan responded and passed on the order. With a loud sound of the air whistle, the armored ship finally moved slowly and sailed out of the dock.

Although there is a steam engine on the ship now, it can also be equipped with a generator to generate electricity, but since it has no motor and no electric lights, there is no need to install it.

After leaving the bow, he went to the stern first. Since the propeller needed to be penetrated into the water, the leakage problem at this location was his biggest concern.

Li and Wei came under the ship and boarded the ironclad ship along the gangway.

"Yes!"

A small boat was hoisted down, and one of Li Wei's guards took the sailors in the boat and rowed towards the ships.

Ahead, Fukuyama Guardsman Qianhu Shijun intercepted these dozen ships and was questioning them. The leader of these ships was a man with dark skin and tattered clothes, but his voice was a bit special and shrill. of.

"Your Majesty, I am indeed an envoy sent to sea by order. These ships are all treasures set out to sea by His Majesty's orders. They are not smuggled goods. I hope you will understand clearly!"

The man struggled to explain.

Shi Jun looked him up and down. The clothes on his body were so dark that he could no longer see their original appearance. He was still the best among them. The others were barely covering their bodies with rags.

"You said you went to sea under an order, but where is the document? Where is the imperial edict?" Shi Jun asked with a frown.

"This..." The man was speechless and said helplessly: "We traveled across the ocean and encountered many winds and waves. Many items have been lost, including the documents and the sacred mandate."

"Hmph, you dare to lose even the imperial edict. Even if you are not smuggling, it is still a crime of disrespect!" Shi Jun said coldly.

The man also sighed when he heard the words, that's what he said, but he had sailed tens of thousands of miles away, and his survival was already blessed by God, so he couldn't care about this.

"Your Majesty is right. I will apologize to Your Majesty when I return to the capital. I hope you can make it easier for me."

Shi Jun frowned after hearing this. This man's voice sounded like a eunuch in the palace, but he didn't dare to believe it.

"Sir, look!"

While Shi Jun was wondering, the subordinate beside him suddenly pointed behind him and screamed.

Shi Jun turned his head in confusion and saw a huge figure slowly approaching on the river. The gray steel reflected the cold light under the sunlight, and the two giant pillars above were still smoking.

"This is... a ship?"

Shi Jun's eyes slowly opened wide, looking at the giant iron-clad ship in horror.

"Yes...right!"

His men were also a little unsure and stammered in their answers.

They had never seen such a huge ship, and it was also a ship covered in iron armor.

The man who was being questioned was also looking at the giant ship with dull eyes, feeling extremely shocked. If there was such a ship for him to ride the wind and waves, even if he sailed tens of thousands of miles, he wouldn't be as miserable as he is now!

Shi Jun swallowed hard. Back then, he also participated in the Battle of Poyang Lake with His Majesty. He had seen Chen Youliang's three-story giant ship. However, that kind of ship was only more than ten feet long. It was not as long as the three-story ship in front of him. Compared with the giant iron-clad ship that is more than ten feet tall and three to four feet tall, it can only be regarded as a child that has not grown up.

As for the armored ship in front of me, not to mention hitting it, just running it over would crush them to pieces and bury them in the river.

Fortunately, at this time, the ironclad ship had already decelerated over a long distance and stopped advancing a few miles away from them.

In the horrified eyes of everyone, a small boat came quickly. Li Wei's guard came to Shi Jun and others, raised his hands and said loudly: "I am the personal guard of Marquis Jiangdu. Marquis Jiangdu ordered me to come to inquire. You are here." What's going on?" Li Wei is now a marquis, and even his guards are proud of him. He is neither humble nor arrogant in the face of Shi Jun, who guards thousands of households.

Li Wei had been a Marquis for some time, and Shi Jun naturally knew it. Hearing his name announced by the guards, he did not dare to neglect, and quickly held his hands in the same hand and said: "I am here to intercept Shi Jun, who is guarding Qianhu in Fushan." There is a group of merchant ships suspected of smuggling and we are investigating."

"My lord, I am not a smuggler, but an envoy from the inner palace who has been ordered to go to sea to hunt for treasure. I hope you can report this to Marquis Jiangdu!"

The man also shouted.

Shi Jun frowned and glanced at him, but didn't say anything to stop him.

Li Wei's guard nodded, bowed his hand to Shi Jun and returned by boat.

After a while, the escort returned to the armored ship and came to Li Wei.

"Master Marquis, in front of you is Fushan Guard Qianhu, checking the smuggling merchant ship." The guard said respectfully.

Li Wei glanced at Jiang Quan and smiled: "You really guessed it right."

Jiang Quan bowed humbly.

"However, the intercepted man insisted that he was an envoy sent to sea on an order and not a smuggler," the guard added.

Li Wei's smile suddenly froze when he heard this: "An envoy who went to sea with an order?"

"Yes, that's what the leaders on the ship said."

"Xiao Dezi!"

Li Wei immediately shouted in surprise!

After three years, this name was somewhat unfamiliar to him. Occasionally, when he thought of it, he would think that this little eunuch should have been buried in the sea. He did not expect to hear news about him today.

"Quick, take me there!" Li Wei shouted excitedly.

Xiao Dezi went to sea with a mission. In addition to looking for potatoes and sweet potatoes, there was also the more important rubber, which he had specially told.

The four major raw materials for the development of industry, steel and coal, are already available, and it is not difficult to fractionate petroleum. The key is the output. The most lacking thing now is rubber. If Xiao Dezi brings this thing, then the road to industrial development will be It's a smooth sailing!

At Li Wei's order, several more canoes were hoisted from the big ship. Li Wei led some guards and hurried over.

Shi Jun, who belongs to a thousand households along the Yangtze River, was also arrested due to the Japanese pirate attack in Yangzhou. He was released only after Li Wei begged for mercy. Now that he saw Li Wei in person, he immediately paid his respects to him.

"Shi Jun, the lower official, has met Marquis Jiangdu."

"No need to be polite."

Li Wei waved his hand casually. Shi Jun remembered him but not Shi Jun. Now he just wanted to see Xiao Dezi as soon as possible.

After dealing with Shi Jun, Li Wei scanned the crowd attentively, looking for Xiao Dezi, but he searched for a long time but could not find the familiar figure.

"Li...Master Li!"

The leading man looked at him and shouted tentatively.

When Li Wei heard the voice, he also cast his eyes on him and recognized him after looking carefully.

"Xiao Dezi? Why are you... so dark!"

The little Dezi used to have a pale face, but now, if he hadn't taken the initiative to open his mouth, Li Wei would have almost missed him.

Xiao Dezi's nose felt sour and he almost cried.

He left Beijing in the thirteenth year of Hongwu and wandered at sea for more than three years. He experienced countless hardships, the hardships of which were truly unspeakable. Now that he finally saw an acquaintance again, he couldn't help it.

"Master Li, you are so stupid..."

"It's me, it's me! Haha, it's great to have you back!"

Li Wei walked up and patted Xiao Dezi, laughing.

Xiao Dezi has been at sea for more than three years. Although he looks thin, his body is much stronger.

"Oh, by the way, have you found the things I asked you to find?" Li Wei asked eagerly.

The rubber was too important and he had to hurry.

Xiao Dezi calmed down his turbulent mood and said respectfully: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. The grains your Majesty told me and the things you mentioned have been found, and they are on these ships."

When he first went to sea, Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly warned him that he knew the importance of these things, so after traveling all over America to find these things, he went through many hardships on the road and even lost the imperial edict without losing these things.

There were actually dozens of ships in the fleet when they went to sea before, but now only less than half of them have returned. These things can be said to have been exchanged for human lives.

"Okay, okay! Take me to see it quickly!"

Li Wei didn't know this, he just urged him happily, wanting to see those things as soon as possible.

"Okay, sir, please follow me." Xiao Dezi raised his hand to lead the way to the detained ships.

Seeing this, the soldiers guarding the ship turned their attention to Shi Jun. Shi Jun hesitated for a moment and then waved them away.

Although Li Wei's performance at the beginning was very exaggerated, it was in the eyes of insiders. Thousands of households along the Yangtze River like Shi Jun were still very grateful to him when they learned that they were released because of his kindness.

The ships Xiao Dezi used were not too small. Each one contained more than a thousand materials. It would not be a problem for each ship to transport fifty or sixty tons.

After the two boarded the boat, Li Wei saw those familiar things: corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers...

Xiao Dezi is very smart. Although he doesn't know how to grow these things, there are people who do.

When he left, he specially ordered people to kidnap some local indigenous people. Although they didn't understand the language, after a lot of gestures and guessing, as well as education with a steel knife on their necks, these indigenous people quickly understood what he meant and took them. These things should be dried, seeds should be dried, and seedlings should be cultivated. These things were transported to the Ming Dynasty after an arduous journey across the ocean!

In addition to these, there is also the rubber that Li Wei is most concerned about. These translucent squares solidified from natural latex are very soft and have good elasticity.

Of course, if you want to use it, you have to vulcanize the natural rubber and add carbon black or something. The processed rubber is tougher and more elastic.

Xiao Dezi not only brought some finished rubber, but also brought oak seeds. However, these things need to be cultivated from scratch, and it will take several years before rubber tapping can begin.

But it doesn't matter. Now that we have steamships, as long as there are shipping routes, it is not difficult to cross the ocean again to the Americas. It will definitely be no problem to go back and forth within a year. After the Japanese are defeated, we can just build a few more transport ships to go back and forth.

"Okay, little Dezi, you have made a great contribution. Your Majesty will definitely reward you well when you return!"

Li Wei smiled happily.

Xiao Dezi also smiled.

After reading these things, Li Wei took him off the boat, came to Shi Jun, and said: "Shi..."

"Shi Jun."

"Oh Shi Jun, that's it. This is indeed a minister in the palace. I can testify for him that these are indeed precious crops that were found at sea by His Majesty's order. I hope Master Shi will be convenient and allow them to follow me back to the capital. .”

When Shi Jun heard this, he hurriedly said respectfully: "Since the Marquis is the guarantee, I should obey my orders, and these people will be handed over to the Marquis for disposal."

"Thank you!"

"Your Majesty, you are so polite. This is what a lower official should do."

Li Wei nodded lightly and secretly wrote down Shi Jun's name. If he had the opportunity, he would not mind promoting this Qianhu.

After communicating with Shi Jun, Li Wei asked Xiao Dezi and others to regain control of these ships, and he was ready to return to the armored ship.

However, just as they were preparing to return, another group of people came galloping from the shore.

"What's going on? Stop right there!"

The person leading the team shouted loudly from a distance and stopped Li Wei and others who wanted to leave.

Everyone turned around and looked around.

"Who is this person?"

Li Wei frowned, looking a little unhappy.

Since he became a marquis, few people have dared to talk to him like this.

(End of this chapter)