The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 283 I want an overwhelming advantage!
On the west side of the estuary of the lower reaches of the Minjiang River.

The Minjiang River naturally forms a turn here, and the river channel suddenly widens, so the flow speed of the river drops sharply here, but the water surface is very deep.

In addition, the ground on the north bank is hard and flat, and it is very close to Tianxing Mansion, so it is simply the best choice for building ports and shipyards.

Two of the original four berths on the shore have been demolished and are being expanded according to the model of Nan'an Shipyard.

Zhu Linmei looked up at the slipway in the distance, where a large number of craftsmen were busy constructing.

When he went to Yongbeili a few days ago, he used a map to compare the surrounding terrain, and only then discovered that there was a place called Mawei on the south side of Yongbeili.

Only then did he understand, no wonder he had never heard of such an excellent port, it turned out to be the famous Mawei Port!

It's just that due to the sea ban in the Ming Dynasty, Mawei is just a few fishing villages and a small port.However, from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Mawei was an extremely important military port.

It can accommodate ships of up to [-] tons daily, and with a little digging and reconstruction, it can be used as the home port for large ships of [-] tons.

In addition, Mawei is located at the bend of the Minjiang River, and setting up forts on the north and south banks can effectively protect the safety of the military port.

From the mouth of the East China Sea to Mawei Port, there are still sixty or seventy miles of water to go, which makes it even more difficult for the enemy to sneak attack here from the sea.

Therefore, Zhu Linmei immediately decided to use Mawei as the home port of the Daming Navy, so that they could directly attack Taiwan when they went east, retreat into the harbor, and defend the waterway of Tianxing Mansion.

It happened to coincide with his plan to build Yongbeili Shipyard.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Zheng Chenggong was wearing a coarse cloth shirt, and he looked like a craftsman in a shipyard. He approached and saluted. We ordered it together, there is absolutely no difference."

"Okay, so the construction of the School of Shipping and the Naval Camp can start." Zhu Linmei nodded and said, "The ship materials should also be prepared as soon as possible, because Yongbeili will consume a lot of wood in the future.

"By the way, send someone to notify the Ministry of War and ask them to send some coolies. There are too many things to be built right now."

The coolies he was talking about were the former Jianlu prisoners of war. He remembered that thousands of people were imprisoned in Youxi County.The heavy physical labor of building a pier is being used by those people.

"Subordinates obey."

Zhu Linming asked again: "Has the location of the School of Shipping and the School of Naval Engineering been decided?"

"Returning to Your Highness, we have bought a large house connected by four courtyards and more than 30 acres of open space behind the house in Yongbeili. There are more than a hundred houses, which should be usable in a short time.

"This place is only half a mile away from the Minjiang River, so it is very suitable."

"Since that's the case, let the craftsmen from Nan'an start teaching tomorrow. First, three or 400 local craftsmen from Yongbeili will be selected to enter the shipping school. All fees will be allocated by the imperial court, plus two meals a day. The reconstruction of the Beili Shipyard is completed, and they can participate in shipbuilding while learning."

Zhu Linmei frowned slightly when she said this, "It's just the Naval Academy, but it's hard to find suitable candidates to teach sailors."

Zheng Chenggong lowered his eyes and hesitated for a moment, and finally cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, I do know some available candidates, but..."

"Oh? Who?"

"Zheng Ni has controlled the Daming Navy for decades, and he has many officers who are familiar with water warfare." Zheng Chenggong said, "Before when Zheng Ni was rebellious, some people who were unwilling to surrender themselves did not follow him. Go. Or they can be re-enrolled into the Naval Academy.

"It's just that these people were all under Zheng Ni's command before, and there must be criticisms in the court..."

Zhu Linming waved her hand indifferently and said: "Zheng Zhilong used to be under the banner of the imperial court, but all naval officers and soldiers would not be under his command. And these people's unwillingness to surrender with him shows that they still have a heart for Ming Dynasty.

"Now is the time for employing people. If you don't care about the details, can Damu have a way to contact these people?"

He was not afraid of any disturbances caused by Zheng Zhilong's old department.When the Naval Academy starts to operate, there will be no need for Jin Yiwei to secretly monitor it, in case of the spy work of the Jiankui and the Dutch, and to "take care" of these people by the way.

"Returning to Your Highness, this subordinate is old acquaintance with several of them, but they have mostly avoided to the countryside because of Zheng Ni's incident, and this subordinate will go to look for it later, so we will definitely not miss a big deal."

"That's good," Zhu Linmi ordered again, "Leave the matter of recruiting sailors to Shi Lang.

"After the sailors are recruited, you can go to the Jian'an Infantry Academy to train the basic formation and discipline. You can find them before they return to Yongbeili."

"Yes!"

Zhu Linmei asked about the recruitment of sailors again.

Most of the people along the coast of Fujing live on boats, so it is extremely easy to recruit some sailors.

During this period of time, the Mission Office has been carrying out propaganda such as "A good man should serve the country in the army" and "It is glorious to join the army" along the coast of Fujing. The social status of soldiers has been greatly improved compared to before.

In addition, Zhu Linmi's military salary is quite generous, and there are various preferential policies for soldiers, so more than 2000 new recruits have been recruited in just three or four days, and there are still an endless stream of follow-up applicants.

Zheng Chenggong's side is also carefully selected, leaving behind skilled sailors, as long as they are taught to drive warships, and then practice water warfare for a period of time, basically they can go to sea to fight in a few months.

After Zheng Chenggong had finished reporting all the affairs, he bowed and resigned, preparing to find a teacher for the Naval Academy.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned back and said, "Your Highness, I have one more matter, and I should consciously or tell Your Highness to know."

"Oki, just say it."

"Your Highness, the Nan'an shipyard has a lot of manpower, and after you have rebuilt it, you can make a small plywood in just one year... Six or seven Galen warships, two other large ships, plus the existing fast boats, can handle it. There are more than enough Dutch barbarians.

"It is to prevent Zheng Nishui's army from going south. Adding two berths, more than half a year will be enough."

Zheng Chenggong turned his head and glanced at the several huge berths in Yongbeili Shipyard, and continued: "However, my subordinates can see the scene in Yongbeili, and they can build a large ship with [-] materials.

"This piece of board has not yet entered the water, and it has already cost 20 taels. When the ship starts to be built, it may cost more than a million dollars. My subordinates secretly think that it may not be necessary..."

Zhu Linmei smiled and said: "Da Mu is right, five hundred tons, oh, there must be a dozen Galen warships of seven or eight thousand stones, and dozens of small ships lined up in the northern Fujian area, enough to resist Zheng Zhilong's fleet. "

He changed the subject, "But in this kind of battle, our sailors will suffer a lot of casualties, but it's not what I want.

"What I want is an overwhelming advantage!

"The advantage that makes Zheng Zhilong daunting. Even if he dares to be an enemy, he will be blown up by my giant ship in a short time, and my navy will not be injured."

"But it costs..."

Zhu Linmi turned and pointed to the sea, "Do you know what's on the other side of the sea?"

(End of this chapter)