The most powerful patriarch in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 114 Once glorious

Lian Jiangshui and the village drying field, Lu Changle frowned and looked at the members of the militia training on the field.

On the training ground, some people practice sparring, some lift stone locks, and some use long spears to practice assassination.
Everyone worked hard during the training. Many people felt that their clothes were in the way, so they took off their shirts and practiced with bare arms.

Lu Changle looked at Yang Xuan next to him, and asked, "Guard Yang, from your point of view, how is the training going?"

I have to say that Yang Xuan is very well dressed today. Her delicate face is slightly powdered and tied up with a horse tie, which gives people a youthful, beautiful and energetic feeling. The close-fitting dress perfectly outlines her uneven figure. Especially those two long, round and straight legs, which arouse endless reverie every time I see them.

This is a treasure girl who can be salty or sweet, pretending to be small and refreshing, and pretending to be a queen.

I can't move for a while, but I feel good looking at it.

Yang Xuan pretended not to see Lu Changle's fiery gaze, thought for a while, and quickly said, "Not good."

"Oh, what's wrong?"

"It's like a group of strong peasants, without the energy and spirit of elite soldiers, and they are just a show of nothing."

These brave folks in front of them are worse than the Yang's children before training,
Like Lu Changle's problem, Yang Xuan had already thought about it when he rescued the Min'an Wang family.
I thought that the Yang family's children performed well and could earn money for themselves, but they didn't expect to lose completely in the competition with the Lu family's rural protection team.

Lu Changle said helplessly: "Military defense is a voluntary principle. Many things can only be persuaded, not forced. Just like today's training, according to the roster, there should be more than [-] people training. Looking at the present, the actual number of people who have arrived, even It's less than a thousand, and I gave them the training process of the Lu and Yang clans, and they didn't like it, so they can practice as they want, it's difficult."

The militia joint defense is just a voluntary organization and has no binding force.

Lu Changle really wanted to turn them into a brave and disciplined army, but they just didn't cooperate.

"With such an attitude, I really can't count on anything, let's think of a way," Yang Xuan advised.

Lu Changle nodded, turned his horse's head and said: "Come on, let's go to Min'an to see the goods sent by Cheng's firm, and take a look at the progress of the shipyard."

Many things are like this, knowing that you are not doing enough or that there is room for improvement, but others just don’t listen to you,

Lu Changle knew that this kind of thing couldn't be rushed, so he could only find an opportunity to break them up and reorganize them.
It is already a great improvement to be able to gather them together for training on a voluntary basis.

When Lu Changle and his party arrived at the wharf of Min'an Town, they saw a huge wheeled ship about [-] feet long and [-] feet high parked on the sea from a distance, and two medium-sized tank boats were leaning on the wharf to unload cargo.
"I didn't expect Cheng's firm to be so strong, and there are ships escorting it." Lu Changle said with a look of surprise.

The shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty reached a very high level. During the Yongle period, Zheng He led the fleet to sail to the West. The largest treasure ship at that time was 151 meters long and 60 meters wide. This was the largest sailing ship in the world at that time, and it could carry The weight is as high as 800 tons, and it can accommodate thousands of people at the same time. It can be said that the shipbuilding level is world-class.

After several decades, the ship that the famous European navigator Columbus took to sea was only 35 meters long.

lame.

Yang Xuan looked at the flag on the bow of the boat and said: "It's a boat from the Canghai Gang. You can tell from the flag on the bow that Cheng's Commercial Bank has a cooperative relationship with the Canghai Gang. Our Yang family has also hired Canghai Gang's ships to deliver paper many times. I won't remember it wrong."

It turned out to be like this, Lu Changle nodded, and said while riding the horse: "Come on, let's go and have a look."

To transport goods by land, you can find chariots and escorts, while sea transport is monopolized by various gangs.
Lu Changle of the Canghai Gang has heard of it. Its headquarters is in Suzhou, and it owns more than [-] ships of various types. It is a powerful gang.

Seeing the huge wheeled ship, many little pirates who wanted to make a fortune could only look at the ship and run away.

"Patriarch, you're here." Lu Changwei saw Lu Changle and rushed to meet him.

Lu Changle looked around and asked casually, "Why are you the only one here, Uncle Qing?"

"Uncle Qing is checking the goods, look, it's over there." Lu Changwei pointed to the pier.

Lu Changle looked along the place he pointed, and sure enough, Lu Jinqing was directing the Lu family's children to carry the goods, and he was extremely busy.

This batch was sent by Cheng Liye, it was not included in the payment, and there was nothing interesting about it. Lu Changle walked to the side of the tank boat, and asked a man who seemed to be the leader: "Boater, who is responsible for this transportation from the Canghai Gang?" Team?"

"Your Excellency is"

"Fuzhou Lu's Lu Changle"

The boss of the ship with a Chinese face and a burly figure hurriedly saluted: "It turns out that it is the head of the Lu clan. In the next section, Yifeng, the rudder master of the Canghai Help Hangzhou sub-rudder, this time was entrusted by Cheng's firm to deliver this batch of goods to Min'an Wharf. If there is any problem with the goods, Duan will be responsible to the end."

According to the agreement, if there is any problem with the goods during the delivery, the Canghai Gang will be responsible.

"Master Duan, don't be nervous. There is no problem with the cargo for the time being. Lu is just curious, how does your gang have such a big wheel ship."

Duan Yifeng said with some pride: "The Canghai Gang is strong and has a strong enough backer. The world is not good, and there are many small boats on the water. Naturally, we need enough strength. There are three such wheel ships in our gang, Patriarch Lu. In the future, if there is any cargo that needs to be shipped by water, it is right to find the Canghai Gang."

Good guy, I just mentioned it, and this is an advertisement for myself.

Lu Changle said straight to the point: "Master Duan, this wheeled ship is not bad, do you want to sell it? The price is easy to negotiate."

The coast of Fujian is well-developed in shipping. If there is such a large wheel ship, it is good for transporting troops, and it can also sail out to sea in times of crisis. Lu Changle immediately fell in love with it.

Duan Yifeng was obviously taken aback, he didn't expect Lu Changle to ask him to buy a boat,

After regaining his senses, he said quickly and firmly: "Patriarch Lu, I'm sorry, this boat is not for sale, it's not about the price."

What a joke, the boat is the guy who eats for the Canghai Gang, who would sell the guy who eats himself.

Lu Changle was not discouraged, he cupped his hands and said, "Master Duan, you have a lot of people, do you know where you can buy such a big boat?"

There are only a dozen people in the shipbuilding workshop in preparation, and the materials and tools are not complete enough. It is no problem to build some small boats in the near future. It will take at least one or two years to build big ships like wheel ships.

Duan Yifeng hesitated, and quickly said: "This ship is from Fuzhou Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop. They can even build big treasure ships. Unfortunately, they graduated ten years ago. If Patriarch Lu can invite them to come out of the mountain, everything is possible."

Cheng Shaodong's family repeatedly confessed that the Lu family in Fuzhou is a distinguished guest of Cheng's firm, and they must not be offended.

It's just a piece of news, Duan Yifeng is also willing to sell Lu Changle.

Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop, Lu Changle remembered.

After a few words of politeness, Lu Changle quickly left to see the shipbuilding workshop he was preparing.

The shipbuilding workshop is located on the north side of Min'an Town by the sea. It used to be a small ship repair workshop of the Fujian Navy. After Zheng Zhilong led people to evacuate, Lu Changle took over.

When I arrived at the shipbuilding workshop, I heard the sound of clanging,
When I walked in, I saw that some craftsmen were busy cutting wood, installing dragon frames, and planing planks.
"Patriarch, you're here." Seeing Lu Changle's arrival, Lu Jinle, who was in charge of the shipbuilding workshop, hurried up to greet him.

Lu Jinle is a carpenter in the clan. He worked in the shipbuilding workshop for three years. He is the person who is most familiar with ships in the clan. Lu Changle entrusted the shipbuilding workshop to him.

Ability is definitely not enough, but loyalty is no problem. During the critical period, relatives are more important than virtuous.

Of course, this is only a transitional period, if a suitable person is found, Lu Changle will remove him.

"Uncle Le, how's the progress?" Lu Changle asked straight to the point.

Lu Jinle explained: "Patriarch, because we are short of manpower and timber, there are many places to expand and renovate here. Now we can only build some small boats, because the patriarch is in a hurry, and now we are building two Cangshan boats at the same time. The bottom boats and skeletons of the three sand boats have been built, and they can be launched one after another in about half a month."

There is still a month to go. Lu Changle was a little anxious, but he didn't show it. He nodded and said, "Don't be afraid of the wood. Five hundred square meters of wood will be shipped soon. Hold on tight. There is no boat, and many things will be inconvenient."

Changle went to Minxian County and Bianjiang had to cross the Minjiang River. There was no boat at hand, and it was inconvenient to rescue in an emergency.

"Understood, Patriarch, I'll make them more agile," Lu Jinle responded quickly.

Lu Changle suddenly asked: "Uncle Le, have you heard of Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop?"

"Of course I've heard that Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop was once the leading leader in Fuzhou's private shipbuilding industry. Even the imperial court had to spend huge sums of money to book a ship with it. It's really majestic," Lu Jinle said beamingly.

Lu Changle was a little surprised and said, "What else is there?"

The imperial court has its own shipbuilding workshop, which gathers excellent craftsmen from all over the Ming Dynasty. Need to order a ship from a private shipbuilding workshop?
Seeing that Lu Changle didn't seem to believe it, Lu Jinle quickly explained: "The imperial court wants to send envoys to Liuqiu. In order to promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, they will travel on a mighty and gorgeous Fengzhou. The captain of the Fengzhou is fifteen feet long and two feet six feet wide. It is one foot three feet deep, divided into 23 cabins, with five vertical masts erected at the front and rear, seven feet two feet long, and six feet five inches in circumference. Well, at that time only Yuanyi Shipyard had this ability."

"When Feng Zhou arrived in Ryukyu, the country bumpkins in Ryukyu were terrified when they saw this battle, and they all knelt on the ground and kowtowed."

"Is the Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop still there?" Lu Changle immediately asked the most concerned question.

Lu Jinle shook his head and said, "Ten years ago, a fire burned down the Yuanyi Shipyard. Later, I heard that the Yuanyi Shipyard was disbanded."

scattered?

Lu Changle's eyes lit up, it's just scattered, not destroyed, it doesn't matter if the shipbuilding workshop is gone, those craftsmen who can build ships are invaluable treasures.

"Uncle Le, where is the Yuanyi Shipbuilding Workshop? I'll go and have a look." Lu Changle will never let go of the opportunity to upgrade.

"Not far, just in Sanshui Village, Fuqing County"

　There are too many things these days, the update will only arrive later, not less
　　
　
(End of this chapter)