prosperous age

When Wei Guangde first established the navy, he was also clumsy. He simply asked Yu Dayou to extort money from various provinces and build a large number of sea ships.

Wei Guangde really didn't understand the difference between Ming ships and Western-style ships. He thought that all he had to do was install cannons on the ship, build the ship, and then just cram the cannons in.

Afterwards, Yu Dayou wrote a letter saying that it was easy to place artillery, even heavy artillery, at the bow and stern of Ming Dynasty ships, but his proposal to place a large number of gun positions on the sides was impossible.

If they really did that, the ship would almost fall apart after a few salvos.

This involves the problem of the hull structure and there is no solution.

Another reason is the limitation of the space in the hull. Once the cannon is stuffed in, it is basically fixed and cannot be used.

Of course, if you just want to set up the falconet, there will be no problem.

As a result, the navies of the four Jiangnan provinces that Yu Dayou had merged and a large number of hastily built Fujian ships have now become useless to the South China Sea naval force.

It would be natural to transfer some of them to the East China Sea Navy.

Now that he heard that the nobles needed ships and had set their sights on the South China Sea navy, Wei Guangde was secretly delighted, as he had finally gotten rid of a burden.

As long as the ships are traded at a discount based on actual usage, at least the South China Sea Navy will not suffer a loss.

As for raising the price, forget it. If you really do that, the nobles and relatives will show off their power and might even rob you openly.

Seeing Wei Guangde's agreement, Xu Wenbi thought of the money to buy the boat, and felt a pang of pain in his heart, so he asked in a low voice: "Can Shandai negotiate for a discount on the boat price?"

"Master Xu, I think you should pay the cost of the ship, and the navy will give you a discount based on its usage.

Don't worry about that little bit of money. As long as the big ship goes out to sea, the extra money can be earned back quickly.

There are some tricks that I cannot explain, but you will understand them once you try them out, and perhaps the merchants you work with will also understand them.”

Seeing Xu Wenbi and the others still frowning, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Here, I'm giving you discounts based on usage.

For those who come later, I will not give them a discount according to the ship price. I will also raise the price when the time comes. See if those merchants are willing to pay a high price or wait for two years to prepare materials before rebuilding the ship and going out to sea. "

This time, Wei Guangde plans to clear out all the remaining Dafu ships of the South China Sea Navy.

Otherwise, it would take up too much of the navy’s limited funds.

The Ming Dynasty court actually provided limited support to the navy and could only guarantee the payment of basic food and wages for the navy officers and soldiers.

Shipbuilding mostly relies on funds from the Ministry of Works and various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.

The ships given to the nobles will be cheaper, as a favor.

Later, no matter whether it was the government offices in the capital or the provincial governments or chambers of commerce who came to him, Wei Guangde would definitely open his mouth as high as possible and take a big bite of the profits.

He only needs to let the Ministry of War and the Navy strictly guard the timber checkpoint. The Ming Dynasty now has a lot of timber for shipbuilding, but most of it is ordered by the South China Sea Navy.

As long as the Ministry of War and the Navy do not give in, no one else can take the wood away.

To be precise, to build a large Fuchuan ship, if it is a medium or lower model, it only takes three months to complete the task step by step.

However, if it is a large-scale Fu ship, or even an extra-large Fu ship like a tribute ship, it would take at least five or six months to build.

This is under the premise that the wood has been prepared long ago. In fact, the construction period from material preparation to construction and completion is generally two to three years.

For businessmen, they absolutely cannot bear to wait for two years in vain, and paying more silver is their last resort.

Moreover, only the shipyard of the Ministry of Industry can build large ships.

Private shipyards only make inland fishing boats.

However, there are limitations on craftsmen. Even if the imperial court allows these shipyards to build large ocean ships, they do not have the technical support in this regard.

It can be said that the natural monopoly nature of the household registration system at this stage determined that the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War under the influence of Wei Guangde directly strangled the throat of maritime trade, that is, the supply of sea vessels.

"Well, thank you for your kindness. We may try to negotiate with them a little more. I think they will definitely be willing to pay more money to buy the ship."

Xu Wenbi was also very cunning and guessed what Wei Guangde meant at once.

Although these nobles no longer have as much power in the court as before, they still have clear information.

The exclusive business of the South China Sea Navy can now be supplied by Fujian ships.

Looking at Jiang Zhi next to him, he understood what Wei Guangde meant.

"Then it's settled. We'll send someone south as soon as possible to select a ship."

Xu Wenbi had made the final decision. "Shandai, give the go ahead."

"That's right. In fact, many of them are still new. The navy has only used them for less than two or three years. You will know when you go there."

Wei Guangde smiled and said that he was in a good mood as he was able to deal with the hot potato.

Now that we have the timber for shipbuilding and have sold the extra Fu ships, we have enough silver for shipbuilding. The next step is to build more new gunboats.

Not to mention whether they would become obsolete if too many were built, Wei Guangde had already inquired about it. After these modified bird boats were fired more than ten rounds, the hull structure was not damaged. They are considered to be the most suitable sea vessels for modification among the Ming Dynasty ship types.

Even if it is used for near-shore patrols, it can be used for another hundred years.

In fact, the worst that can happen is to replace the guns with newer ones.

Of course, new ship types must continue to be developed. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to rely on a group of small gunboats to guard its coastal borders.

After the ship transaction was negotiated, Xu Wenbi achieved the purpose of his trip. After sitting for a while, he stood up and said goodbye.

When Wei Guangde saw them off, he saw a long line of carriages and sedan chairs outside the mansion.

"Good loan, you'll be busy tonight."

Xu Wenbi said happily.

They all came to build relationships and gather information. Some were from the same hometown as officials in the capital, and some were shop owners doing business in Beijing. They all came for the ship.

"hehe."

Wei Guangde smiled and didn't respond.

After seeing them off, Wei Guangde returned to the mansion, and Zhang Ji came over with a stack of visiting cards in his hand.

"Master, you can see outside, there are so many visiting cards."

Zhang Ji smiled bitterly.

It's true that he is very powerful outside, but he can't hit someone who smiles at him. If someone comes to him with a flattering attitude, he can't just chase them away without reason.

If they really do this, it will be difficult for the Wei family to survive in the streets of Beijing.

If someone actively offers it to you and you don't accept it, they will just go to someone else.

Don’t think that the minister is so great. He needs the support of those below him. Otherwise, how can he become a high-ranking official? He often represents not only himself, but also him and a group of people below him.

This is a faction, a party.

When the power of the cabinet ministers was magnified, the so-called prohibition of forming factions for personal gain became a joke.

Wei Guangde took the name cards and flipped through them, picked out some people's cards and said, "That's all for tonight, and we'll talk about the others tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Go and say hello to them and arrange your time accordingly. Don’t all swarm at the gate, it will have a bad impact.”

"Yes, sir, I actually told them, but they didn't want to leave."

Zhang Ji was also helpless. He had said everything he needed to say, but the other person refused to leave. What else could he do?

"Okay, let's make arrangements."

Wei Guangde returned to the flower hall, and soon Zhang Ji arranged for someone to bring a visitor over.

And he was still busy receiving people outside.

Those Wei Guangde wants to see will stay, and the others need to be allocated time and asked to come back the next day or two.

After meeting all the guests, Wei Guangde returned to the backyard. Zhang Ji came over and handed him a piece of paper with small words written on it.

After returning to the backyard, Wei Guangde opened the form and took a look under the candlelight. It showed the situation outside each household in the capital tonight, and recorded the names of many officials and chambers of commerce.

In fact, according to this list, we can basically identify the officials and factions supported by every household in the capital.

"What did you write?"

Xu Jianglan came over and asked.

"Nothing, just someone who came to the mansion tonight to ask for a meeting." Wei Guangde said casually and put the note into his sleeve.

"I've asked someone to boil some water, go and wash yourself."

Xu Jianglan said very gently at this moment.

Wei Guangde is not actually a germaphobe, but he does like taking a bath.

There is a small room next to the bedroom with a huge wooden barrel inside. It is very comfortable to soak in it when it is cold.

What's more, there are maids who constantly change the hot water, which makes it even more comfortable.

After several days of noise in the capital, the news of Songjiang Prefecture's opening to the sea finally calmed down.

Although there are still people operating privately, hoping to get a ship license, even if it is by forming a partnership with others.

But in fact, arrangements had already been made for the ship guides for the nobles and relatives.

That is, the ship permits allocated by the six ministries and major government offices in Beijing, and many chambers of commerce are still fighting openly and secretly.

This is also the benefit specially reserved for them by the cabinet. Although the grand residence of the cabinet minister is no longer there, the Chamber of Commerce has never stopped privately entertaining officials from various departments.

"Shandai, I received a reply from Zhang Ke."

That night, Wei Guangde was reading in the study when Lao Kan strode in from outside the door.

"Ren Zhi is here, sit wherever you want."

Wei Guangde welcomed the man in and sat him down, then said with a smile, "I saw it when I returned home today. I didn't expect that he finally figured it out and was willing to come out."

Yes, today not only Lao Kan received Zhang Ke’s reply, but Wei Guangde also received it.

Is there any better condition than directly arranging him to serve as the Minister of War?
Zhang Ke was unwilling to serve as an official during the Jiajing period and also refused to serve as an official during the Longqing period. In fact, a big reason for this was that he was disgusted by the Kedao.

He was wholeheartedly working for the public, but in the end he was attacked.

The imperial court knew the reason, but it tried to smooth things over and let him stay at home without work.

Such an experience naturally made Zhang Ke feel unwilling.

Without full say, he was unwilling to be an official again.

Who knows when someone will jump out and call a horse a zebra and make random accusations.

The situation is very different now. Wei Guangde has entered the cabinet, Lao Kan has entered the Censorate, and the Gan Party has already established a firm foothold in the court.

What we are facing now is a shortage of manpower, especially senior officials in the court.

It’s not that there are really few officials from Jiangxi. Zhang Ke actually understands that there are not many people who can be trusted by Wei Guangde.

One has to work for him for several years before gradually gaining his trust. For example, Jiang Zhi went from Nanjing to Beijing and worked for Zhu Heng for many years before he got the support of Wei Guangde and was promoted to the position of Minister of Works.

"Tomorrow you go talk to Lord Tan about this matter and ask him to send someone to transfer someone."

Wei Guangde couldn't write a note directly to Tan Lun about this matter, so it would be best to let Lao Kan do it.

"Okay, I'll go to the Ministry of War tomorrow and tell Lord Tan.

By the way, do you think you should mention the matter of transferring Hai Rui to the Prime Minister? "

Lao Kan suddenly whispered, "Lord Chen has made up his mind. A secret report came from Nanjing that some of the censors in the southern provinces have embezzled money, which greatly disappointed Lord Chen."

Before this, Chen Wei had not been able to make up his mind to employ Hai Rui, and the main reason was because of the face of the Censorate.

If it were revealed that all the censors were corrupt, would he still be able to maintain his reputation as the Left Censor-in-Chief?

The Censorate was originally an agency responsible for punishing corruption, and it itself was not clean.

Censor, a month ago, the Censorate in the capital sent two official documents to the Censorate in Nanjing and the Censors of various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, emphasizing this matter.

But judging from the results, it seemed to have little effect, which finally made Chen Wei determined to use drastic measures to treat the patient.

"Master Chen nodded?"

Wei Guangde hesitated and confirmed.

Lao Kan nodded and said, "Corruption in Jiangnan officialdom is more serious than expected, and Lord Chen feels powerless.

If we don't want to cause a big stir, it would be best to let Hai Rui come back and give those people a warning."

"It should have been so long ago."

Wei Guangde nodded and said with a smile: "Then I will discuss this matter with Uncle Da tomorrow, and Master Chen's memorial will be submitted the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go talk to him about this after the roll call tomorrow."

Lao Kan agreed.

There are some skills in submitting memorials. If there are some difficulties, it is best to exchange opinions with senior officials in private before submitting them to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Given the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui, if he rashly submitted a memorial to the emperor, Zhang Juzheng would probably think that the Censorate was slapping him in the face.

If Wei Guangde had gone and said something first, the situation would have been different.

"This is a copy of the Jiangnan secret document. Take a look at it first."

Lao Kan took out two pieces of paper from his sleeve and handed them to Wei Guangde. Wei Guangde took them, glanced at them quickly and frowned.

Most of the records above are about the welcoming and seeing off of the inspectors and local gentry officials, and even about the acceptance of gifts.

This kind of thing has become semi-public, which shows how weak the supervisory role of the Censorate over the various regions in the south of the Yangtze River has become.

"It's really hard to talk about this."

Wei Guangde sighed and said that the secret document in his hand belonged to the confidential documents of the Censorate, so it would not be convenient to show it directly to Zhang Juzheng.

"No problem. This afternoon, after receiving the confidential letter, the Lord summoned me and Zhao Jin to discuss the matter. We both think that Hai Rui can be promoted to the position of Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate to rectify the Jiangnan Censorate."

Lao Kan whispered.

“Zhao Jin also supports it.”

Wei Guangde couldn't help but feel a toothache. It seemed that Zhao Jin was not trusted by Zhang Juzheng.

"Don't talk about this anymore."

Wei Guangde reminded in a low voice.

"clear."

Lao Kan nodded in agreement.

Zhao Jin was from Zhejiang. When he was in the Ministry of Justice during the Longqing period, he had a conflict with Gao Gong because of Gao Gong's ban on teaching. This time Zhang Juzheng went even further and banned teaching and academies, which led to a complete fallout with Zhao Jin.

However, as the Deputy Chief Censor, it was not easy for Zhang Juzheng to replace him directly.

On the second day, Wei Guangde entered the cabinet and walked into Wenyuan Pavilion at the same time as Zhang Juzheng.

"Shan Dai, I am quite fast. I saw you walk into the palace gate and I couldn't catch up with you no matter how hard I tried."

Zhang Juzheng laughed.

"Haha, I really didn't notice."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"A friend gave me some Tieguanyin yesterday. Do you want to go to my place and try it?"

Zhang Juzheng laughed.

"New tea, as I wish."

When Wei Guangde heard that Zhang Juzheng had new tea, he naturally wanted to taste it, so he followed him into the Prime Minister's duty room.

Someone made tea and the two of them sat down and chatted.

Wei Guangde felt that the opportunity was good, so he interrupted Lao Kan's words and said them out loud, and also gave the secret document to Zhang Juzheng to read.

"The Jiangnan Censor is so corrupt."

Zhang Juzheng frowned. (End of this chapter)