I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 522 Worry
This place in Foshan can be described as unique.

It is almost one of the heaven-sent heavy industry incubators.

In terms of the current forging steelmaking method, Foshan, which has a year-round ice-free river, has a huge advantage over the capital.

Moreover, Foshan has become one of the main bases of steel production since the Song Dynasty.

Whether it is skilled iron smelting craftsmen, or iron ore, coal mining and transportation, they all already have a complete system.

The construction of a large state-owned steel plant there seems to have become a necessary part of building a complete industrial foundation for Daming.

Do it if you want.

In Li Tian's hands now, he not only has a workshop that makes money every day, but also treasures from the Yuan Dynasty and millions of taels of silver from selling colored glaze.

To build a large steel plant, the initial investment is at most 200 million, which is just a drizzle for him now.

The two discussed and discussed. Seeing that Li Tian had strayed from eliminating pirates to building a steel plant, the more he talked, the further he went.

Zheng He coughed slightly in embarrassment,
"Your Majesty, the construction of the steel plant cannot be completed in a day or two. Let's talk about how to solve the problem of pirates today!"

In the eyes of outsiders, Li Tian is good everywhere, no matter in terms of ideas or execution ability, he is no different from Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Di, the great emperor of ZTE.

It’s just that the idea is sometimes too escaping, always thinking about something, and it’s all done overnight.

Others only think of the first two steps, but he often has already thought of the next five or six steps, or even eight or nine steps.

Today Zheng He just came to discuss with him about the elimination of pirates, but he didn't want Li Tian to be detoured to open a steel factory in Foshan all of a sudden.

Li Tian scratched his head in embarrassment when he heard the words.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Bao! I thought too far on a whim."

Zheng He bowed quickly, saying that it was okay.

Facing such an emperor, what can he do, he is also very helpless.

"It doesn't matter, His Majesty is able to worry about the world because of one matter, it's the blessing of the courtiers and the people of Ming Dynasty, it's too late for our family to be happy!"

After pondering for a while, Li Tian continued,

"The pirates who invaded this time are probably just standing in front to spy on the news. We don't know how many people are behind them."

"If they are just a loose organization, it will take time and effort to clear them up. We can only rely on the supply base to gradually clear them up."

"If they have developed to a certain level and have the ability to invade Daming's waters again, I'm afraid I will trouble Uncle Bao and you to lead the army to the sea to wipe them out."

Zheng He bowed again,
"Our family is duty-bound! Then our family will order people to go immediately and inform the fleet to prepare, and we will go to sea for inspection in a few days!"

Li Tian shook his head slightly and said,
"This matter is not urgent. According to the last information obtained, these pirates don't seem to intend to go further, but are wandering around Tongchi Island instead.

I thought they might meet Chen Hong and the others. If Chen Hong and the others could defeat them in one fell swoop and capture some pirates, they might be able to interrogate their real purpose. "

"There is no news yet, let's wait for two days to see the situation!"

Zheng He's expression was solemn, and he couldn't help thinking secretly with some worries in his heart,
"In this way, it's like putting all the heavy burdens in the hands of Chen Hong and others. I don't know if they can defeat the pirates as they wish."

Chen Hong is just the captain of an ordinary warship in his Western Fleet. He has fifty or sixty such middle-level officers under his command. Although Chen Hong is considered outstanding among them, he is too young after all and has not experienced a few times. naval battle.

He was somewhat worried.

Seeing Zheng He's worried expression, Li Tian relieved,

"Uncle Bao, don't worry, there are only a few hundred pirates in the area. With the strength of our Ming's treasure ship, it is not easy to defeat their few sampans."

Li Tian's self-confidence has its own reasons, and Zheng He's worries also have their own reasons.

Ming's warships are powerful, but not all pirates are vegetarians.

Zheng He once fought a big battle with pirates, and he still knows a thing or two about pirates' methods.

The warships of the pirates are generally relatively low, and with the height of the treasure ship, they naturally have a greater advantage in attacking from top to bottom.

However, if the pirates only hold the idea of ​​​​killing the treasure ship, there are still many ways to hurt the treasure ship.

For example, send a water ghost to chisel a boat.

For another example, use a lighted fire boat to hit the treasure ship and make the treasure ship burn.

The battle between the pirates and the regular army of the Ming Dynasty is not based on the combat effectiveness of the personnel, but on the huge number. No matter how strong your ship is, I will swarm you. You can only knock down one with a shot, and I will always find it Get close to your approach.

Li Tian had never experienced this kind of thing in person. Based on the way of naval battle in his memory, he only felt that his own ship was not only thick and heavy, but also had sharp artillery fire. One-on-three also had a great chance of winning.

But Zheng He personally participated in the naval battles of this era.

He knew that in the era when artillery fire had not yet reached its peak, boarding battles were the key to determining the outcome of a sea battle.

Seeing that Zheng He was still a little nervous, Li Tian comforted him here,
"It's useless to be anxious now. Tongchi Island is a few days away from the capital. Even if you send a fleet to support it now, it will take at least five days if the wind is smooth. No matter how you calculate it, it will be too late.

Now we have nothing to do but wait for the news.

Uncle Bao, Chen Hong is a subordinate you trained yourself. If you don’t trust him, don’t you trust yourself? Give them some information and give yourself some confidence. We can’t lose this battle! "

Zheng He forced a smile,

"Your Majesty is right, our family is indeed too cautious!"

……

As the saying goes, plans are always faster than changes.

If the crew and soldiers of the treasure ship are all ready, relying on the quality of the Ming fleet, it is really not a problem to defeat the three smaller pirate ships.

However, who would have thought that most of the personnel on the fleet were not on board at all at this time.

Just when Li Tian confidently thought that a few hundred pirates were nothing to worry about.

The dozens of people on the treasure ship were caught in an unprecedented bitter battle at this time.

The design process of Daming's treasure ships stems from the same line. The largest ship is basically the same as ordinary warships except for its size.

Treasure ships not only have the ability to rely on sails to advance, but also have a pedal wheel paddle drive method that far exceeds that of the same era.

This kind of paddle can not only keep the treasure ship sailing when there is no wind, but also allow the treasure ship to sail at a faster speed when it is docked on the shore.

(End of this chapter)