prosperous age

"Lord Zhang, according to what you've said, it's no longer possible for the imperial court to establish Daming City near the Western Red Sea."

Shen Shixing, who was sitting at the head of the table, looked at the head of the Ministry of Works and asked seriously.

Now that he is the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty, he has to take on some responsibilities.

One of his tasks is to clean up the mess left by his predecessor as soon as possible.

The construction of the Daming City in the West was originally entrusted to him by Wei Guangde for discussion, but it has been delayed for a long time.

Now, he intends to reject the decision outright.

Since it's no longer possible, there's no need to waste time and energy continuing to initiate projects.

"The geological conditions along the western Red Sea coast are extremely poor, making it impossible to build a large city."

Even if a water fortress were built, getting water would still be a problem.

It would be impossible to achieve this without moving south.

However, moving south would run counter to the court's plans and be highly inappropriate.

When Zhang, the head of the Ministry of Works, was invited to the cabinet for questioning again, he was no longer as apprehensive as he had been the previous two times, and instead appeared poised and dignified.

"Lord Jiang, Lord Zhang, what do you think?"

Shen Shixing looked at Jiang Zhi and Zhang Xueyan, hoping to hear their opinions.

The two exchanged a glance, both understanding Shen Shixing's plan. However, they would not stop him, but they would also never help him out of his predicament.

"The Ministry of Revenue has no objection; the Cabinet's decision shall prevail."

After Zhang Xueyan finished speaking, Jiang Zhi also spoke up: "The Ministry of Works also holds this view. This matter was originally discussed between the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites with the Anelians, so naturally the Cabinet's opinion shall prevail."

Shen Shixing's expression was quite interesting. In fact, he hadn't agreed to this matter; it was Wei Guangde who negotiated with the Yi people. The Ministry of Rites had merely orchestrated their meeting.

However, as the successor, he cannot shirk responsibility.

"Since it's not suitable, I don't think I expected it to turn out this way when I agreed."

In my opinion, let's leave this matter aside for now.

Shen Shixing remained silent, but Yu Youding, who had been promoted to the position of Second Assistant Minister, spoke up.

"In addition, the cabinet has also discussed the possibility of using the port of Daman in the Persian Kingdom as a transit point."

Persia is a vassal state of our Great Ming Dynasty, so I think they would be happy to accept our Great Ming merchants.

As for the trade with the Anelians, security can be transferred there.

Finally, our Ming Dynasty merchant ships transported the goods to the Western Red Sea, and then transferred them overland to Mediterranean ports for shipment to Europe.

In this way, the maritime merchant can also earn another freight fee.

"I wonder if the Ottomans, knowing that the goods are being transshipped from Persia to our Ming Dynasty, will interfere."

Yu Youding continued.

The idea actually came from him, but the most troublesome one was the Ottoman Empire.

The struggle between the Ottoman Empire and Persia, besides the Ottoman Empire's unique expansionist ambitions, was primarily about controlling the westward passage.

Over the years, they have reaped enormous profits by controlling the Eurasian-African land bridge and its trade activities.

Nowadays, apart from the Spanish galleon trade routes, all goods from the East that were transported back to Europe passed through the hands of the Ottomans, who took a significant cut of the profits.

Even Portuguese merchants with shipping routes preferred to pay taxes to the Ottomans to transport Eastern goods back to Europe via the Mediterranean for sale more quickly, in order to save time and costs.

In recent years, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire has almost entirely revolved around the eastern Mediterranean coast, and this was the purpose behind it.

Controlling this area would allow us to block potential trade routes to the greatest extent possible.

In fact, a few years later, the northern coastal cities of Egypt and Libya would fall under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

They cannot control the whole of Africa, but by blocking a few ports and increasing the cost of land transportation, they can force merchants engaged in Eurasian trade to submit.

The Ming Dynasty knew all this, but it was impossible for them to take any action.

Unless the Ottoman Empire attacks Ming merchant ships, there might be some action.

But in reality, the distance of thousands of miles was enough for the Ming Dynasty court to realize that their influence was not as great as they thought, and that they could not truly command all the feudal lords.

After he said that, everyone in the room turned their attention to Zhang Ke.

He was the Minister of War, and the only authority he could hold was the Ministry of War.

You can't exactly send the Ministry of Rites to reason with the barbarians, can you?

Although, this also seems to be the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites.

"You flatter me, Grand Secretary Yu. If the Ottomans interfere, there's really nothing the court can do."

Our country is too far away from them, beyond our reach, and there are no naval ports along the way for our army to rest, resupply, or transport supplies.

Zhang Ke revealed the truth: the Ming Dynasty had no way to send troops over such a long distance.

"Besides, they are businessmen. When they are on someone else's turf, it doesn't seem wrong for them to act in accordance with their laws."

Zhang Ke continued.

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. The plan for Daming City in the Western Red Sea will be put on hold for the time being."

Shen Shixing then spoke up decisively, interrupting their conversation.

He worried that things might go wrong if this continued.

Creating a conflict would have a negative impact on him.

In the capital's official circles, some people are already privately speculating that the three of them form a small group within the cabinet.

Wang Xijue hasn't spoken yet. If Zhang Ke's words prompt Wang Xijue to fire back, who knows how much gossip will spread about them in teahouses and taverns tonight.

"The Ministry of War previously reported its intention to rent a pier from Ceylon, and the Cabinet had previously discussed and approved it."

The Ministry of Rites should arrange to contact the Ministry of War as soon as possible and send someone to Ceylon to explain the matter.

Shen Shixing's words at this moment were not without their own hidden agenda.

Zhang Ke didn't say that the imperial court hadn't established ports and fortresses along the Western coast; now the cabinet is starting to make arrangements.

Wei Guangde had already almost finished handling this matter; all that was left was to finalize the written document.

Of course, Wei Guangde, who was in charge of promoting this matter, was delayed by family matters, so he did not complete the final step.

Now that they've said this, it's clear that the cabinet intends to submit a memorial, along with the previous memorial from the Ministry of War, to the Qianqing Palace.

Next, the cabinet discussed the collection and remittance of summer taxes and autumn grain by the Ministry of Revenue this year, and Zhang Xueyan agreed to all of them.

Shen Shixing was just as concerned about the court's finances as the emperor, and the summer tax and autumn grain were undoubtedly the court's largest source of revenue, which could not be ignored.

Moreover, this is his first year as prime minister, and the financial situation absolutely cannot be allowed to go wrong.

Zhang Xueyan naturally tried his best to meet the cabinet's demands.

This was also Wei Guangde's earlier intention: there was no need to lose his official position.

These people remaining in the court will greatly benefit his future return.

"General, Tokyo Bay should be just ahead."

The previous exploration fleet landed near what would later become Vancouver and established a base, which was called Dongdu.

However, when the news reached the Ming Dynasty, Dongdu was renamed Tokyo, and the large island opposite became Tokyo Island.

The bay was also named Tokyo Bay as a result.

Due to manpower shortages, the Ming army that reached the Americas could only explore limited areas, namely the area around British Columbia in southwestern Canada and Washington State in northwestern United States.

It simply outlines the terrain, landforms, and collected resources.

Timber and stone are plentiful, so there's no shortage of materials for building a city.

However, they still face a shortage of manpower.

All of this was only alleviated after Li Chengliang's troops arrived.

The Ming fleet slowly sailed toward the entrance of the bay. Li Chengliang stood on the deck, holding up his telescope and peering toward the land.

"Attention, there are people on the island."

Just then, a shout came from above.

"On the island?"

Li Chengliang was taken aback, then shifted his telescope to look at the island. Sure enough, he saw three people rush out of the woods, waving at them and seemingly shouting. "General, they might be scouts left here by the expedition team."

The adjutant beside him whispered, "According to Liu the Bandit, they have deployed spies around Tokyo Island and Tokyo City to monitor the movements of the Westerners and prevent them from discovering them."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengliang nodded slightly in agreement.

"The fleet has entered the bay; this time we should be on the right track."

The people on the shore were all dressed in the style of the divination, which was actually the standard attire of the Ming Dynasty navy.

Although the sailors of the navy were issued military uniforms, the cotton armor was not convenient for them when they went to sea, and they still preferred short shirts and shorts.

Therefore, unless it is a major event, naval officers and soldiers generally do not wear standard military uniforms, but are instead issued short-sleeved shirts and shorts to wear on the ship.

A couple of days ago, the fleet also saw a place that looked like a bay, but after entering it, they realized they had gone to the wrong place and had to turn back.

"Make a note of this. We will build a lighthouse here in the future and station a team of officers and soldiers to guide ships in and out."

Li Chengliang gave the instructions.

His order was quickly recorded by a clerk.

In such bays, it's essential to build some landmark structures, otherwise ships at sea can easily miss them and lose their way.

By building lighthouses, ships arriving at these locations would know they had reached their destination and would not go astray.

“Send a small boat over there and bring them some wine and food as a reward.”

Immediately afterwards, Li Chengliang gave another order.

This was not complicated to carry out and did not take much time. The ships lined up in a row and slowly sailed into the bay.

On the shore, the three Ming soldiers finally cried out that they were tired.

Just as the lieutenant said, they were sentries placed here as covert agents.

Even after more than a year and multiple rotations, they remained constantly on edge.

The longer the time went by, the greater the unease became among the soldiers.

With no Ming ships in sight for a long time, it's hard to say how long this army can hold out if things continue like this.

Once a person despairs, the consequences become unpredictable.

This time, the three of them had only been on duty for three days when they saw the arrival of a fleet that was clearly from the Ming Dynasty navy. Overjoyed, they didn't even have time to send anyone back to relay the message. Instead, they ran to the beach and shouted to vent the frustration they had been holding in for the past two years.

They can finally return to the Ming Dynasty.

"The imperial court hasn't abandoned us, sob sob sob."

A young soldier, exhausted from shouting, couldn't help but sit on the ground and weep bitterly.

The feeling of being abandoned is truly unbearable.

Fortunately, the imperial court did not abandon them.

Such a huge fleet has been sent to bring them home.

"Oh no, I forgot to send a message to Commander Li."

One of the three soldiers suddenly exclaimed.

He was overjoyed to see the Ming Dynasty ships earlier, but only now did he realize what was happening.

"Forget it, if I get punished when I get back, I'll just have to bear it."

Another person spoke up.

“This time the situation is different. The navy has arrived, and they will see it soon.”

The man continued.

"A small boat is coming."

Just then, they saw a small boat being launched from a passing Fujian ship, with two Ming soldiers on board rowing towards them.

"How many ships are there? And there are so many more behind them."

The man who had spoken earlier was still staring at the ships behind him.

Seven or eight warships had already gone in, but there were even more warships queuing outside.

"Haha, the more the better."

His companion laughed loudly.

When the small boat docked and they heard familiar voices, the three of them became excited and asked all sorts of questions.

"Don't ask anymore. The Earl ordered some food to be sent to you. Take it."

The sailors on the small boats weren't as sentimental as they were. Although this voyage was tough, they had so many boats together and hadn't experienced the worries that the sailors had.

A package of food and a jar of wine were handed directly to them.

"We're leaving now. I reckon someone will come to relieve you soon. Don't get drunk and get caught and beaten with military rods."

The sailor chuckled and said something before rowing away.

Drinking was not prohibited on the ship, but getting drunk was not allowed, especially for officers.

The bay wasn't very big, and they had already entered it all in half a day.

However, at the entrance, four gunboats were anchored and moored, with their gun ports pointing towards the mouth of the bay.

However, they did not send anyone to contact the Ming officers and soldiers on the shore.

Once the fleet entered the bay, news quickly reached the eastern capital.

The warning signals have been relayed back layer by layer.

Although the first outpost forgot to send a message, the Ming troops behind it did not fail in their duty.

Finding them was easy, after all, two damaged Fujian-style ships were still moored at the makeshift dock.

After more than a year of repairs, although it can go out to sea, it cannot withstand strong winds and waves and can only operate in the bay.

Naturally, they simply left it idle.

This place naturally served as a landmark, and once the lookout spotted the dock, he immediately guided the fleet in the right direction.

The fleet lowered its sails in the bay and slowly came to a stop, except for the huge junks that continued to fan their sails and adjust their course toward the dock.

At the bow, sailors used long bamboo poles to continuously probe the underwater depth to determine whether the large ship could continue moving forward.

We were unfamiliar with the surrounding waters and didn't know if we could just approach them.

The reason they dared to enter the bay entirely was because the reports indicated that the bay was deep enough to accommodate a large number of ships.

But once you get there, you naturally don't want to avoid something going wrong.

After all, this was a sealed ship, the largest warship of the Ming Dynasty, which was incomparable to gunboats and Fujian ships.

The pier was very simple, with only one boardwalk leading into the sea.

In the past, there were only two Ming Dynasty warships here, so they were built like this, and they weren't even built with stones.

However, the location is good, with a spacious area around it, enough to build at least ten causeways extending into the sea and berth twenty large ships.

Unfortunately, the walkway was not long. When the massive ship Fengzhou approached, it could only extend about halfway before having to stop.

The officers and soldiers on the ship threw down the mooring ropes, which were then secured by soldiers on the shore. The gangplank had also been delivered, and the gangplank was quickly erected.

"Go, get down."

Li Chengliang, who was on the upper deck, had already come down and was on the deck.

Once the ship was docked, he led his deputy and personal guards, strode onto the gangplank, and disembarked.

"You're Li Dong, the guerrilla commander?"

On the plank road, all the Ming army officers who had remained in the city had gathered and were now respectfully welcoming their superior's arrival.

"This humble general, Li Dong, greets Your Excellency."

Li Dong hurriedly bowed in greeting.

"This official is Li Chengliang."

After a brief introduction, Li Chengliang walked across the boardwalk and finally set foot on American soil for the first time. (End of Chapter)