The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The implementation of the new policies and the reform of taxation will quickly replenish the empty national treasury, enough to support the current situation and restore stability to China.

However, after achieving basic unification, Chen Wang never wanted stability.

During the Tang Dynasty, China had a population of just over 50 million. Even if you include the unregistered households in various regions, the number would be at most 20 to 30 million more.

However, the Tang Dynasty was able to occupy the entire land of China, with its territory encompassing the Gobi Desert and extending westward to present-day Central Asia, covering a vast area of ​​thousands of miles.

Even after years of war and natural disasters, China still has a population of over 100 million.

So why limit ourselves to our homeland of China?
The gentry and commoners paid taxes together, the tax revenue was returned to the public, and the poll tax was integrated into the land tax, which could make the country prosperous and the tax revenue could support future construction.

However, the new policies implemented through these means at most supplied the Western Regions, which had been expanded to the present day, and at most restored the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

But that's still far from enough, far from enough!
Maritime trade and commerce are the real sources of tax revenue.

The Song Dynasty became incredibly wealthy thanks to its maritime trade and commercial prosperity, and the late Qing Dynasty also relied on these same methods to persist until the early 20th century before finally collapsing.

The future of the seventeenth century lay in the sea.

European countries were riding the wave of the Age of Exploration, sailing far and wide, and growing stronger through continuous conquests.

What this land needs is not to remain stagnant and complacent, but to look outward and explore.

Geographical destiny dictates that China could never become a purely maritime empire.

With its vast land territory constantly facing threats from the north and west, China has had to devote most of its energy to protecting its land power.

However, as the flames of war on land gradually subsided and the borders were stabilized, an empire possessing strength on both land and sea became possible.

Now, the time is gradually ripe.

Chen Wang's gaze shifted to Sun Shenwu.

"How is the navy's training going?"

Sun Shenwu lowered his head slightly and said respectfully.

"After returning to Nanjing, the navy began to gradually transform."

Now that the domestic war has been initially settled, there is absolutely no need to maintain such a large navy.

However, these sailors, who had experienced the ravages of war, all possessed the ability to handle sails and navigate ships, which was an invaluable asset.

At the same time, Chen Wang ordered the conversion of ships in the naval port, converting one-third of the inland river warships into coastal warships.

"As previously arranged by the Duke, only 5,000 soldiers will remain in the inland waterway navy, along with 20 centipede boats, 20 silk-draped boats, a total of 40 main warships, and various small and medium-sized boats, totaling more than 300 vessels, to maintain the defense of the river in various places."

"More than 10,000 sailors are undergoing training for ocean navigation. There are five large Fujian ships, fifteen No. 1 Fujian ships, thirty-six No. 2 Fujian ships, thirty-one silk-carrying ships, a total of eighty-seven main warships, and a total of two hundred and two medium and small ships."

Sun Shenwu glanced at Huang Fei sitting beside him, and then said thoughtfully.

"After two months of training, and three months of overseas training, it should be sufficient to form combat capability."

The open sea is not like an inland river; the winds are strong and the waves are high, and only experienced veterans can navigate it.

These data were all conclusions reached by Sun Shenwu and Huang Fei, the admiral of the outer seas.

The timeframe given by Sun Shenwu is the most conservative estimate.

Chen Wang tapped his index finger lightly. The inland river navy of the Southern Kingdom has been training for more than a month now. It is now mid-July. In April, it will be around the end of this year, around December.

This time is not considered late.

Although galleons, originally designed for ocean-going vessels, were undoubtedly more suitable for modern naval warfare and long-distance voyages in terms of their upper limit.

However, building a fleet of soft-sailed warships requires a large number of cannons, a large number of skilled sailors, and still excellent captains.

These are precisely the things that the Jingnan Army is currently lacking.

Limited by the limited production capacity of the Ordnance Bureau, artillery could not be deployed quickly. Ten new soft-sail warships have been launched so far, and a second batch of new soft-sail warships is about to be launched, making the shortage even greater.

Even with Bo Jue's management and the acquisition of all the artisans at the Haojing Cannon Factory, it was still impossible to build a combat-ready soft-sail fleet in just over a year.

While sailors could recruit coastal sailors skilled in operating soft-sail warships and hire European sailors and pirates as instructors, it would still take time.

Excellent captains can only be forged in the crucible of war.

Relying solely on soft-sailed warships would make it difficult to quickly build up combat power, completely overwhelm Zheng Zhilong, and establish hegemony in the overseas seas.

Currently, these sailors who were converted from inland waterways, as well as those modified hard-sail Fujian-style ships, remain an indispensable force in his hands.

Chen Wang's gaze shifted, turning to Huang Fei, who was sitting to the left of Sun Shenwu.

"What is the current situation of the East China Sea Fleet?"

When Huang Fei was urgently summoned back to the capital, he anticipated that Chen Wang would ask about the fleet construction, and had already prepared a detailed report.

Huang Fei bowed slightly, his voice steady.

"Reporting to the Duke, the East Sea Fleet currently has ten Class III sailing battleships and fifteen Class I Fujian ships, totaling twenty-five warships. The naval officers and soldiers number five thousand six hundred and seventy-three, all of whom have completed basic sea training."

"Each ship is equipped with a full complement of sail handlers, gunners and sailors. Last month, they conducted formation switching exercises in the open sea and achieved remarkable results."

Chen Wang slowly raised the teacup in his hand and took a sip of the lightly fragrant green tea.

With millions of taels of silver flowing in, the Haizhou Shipyard, with Chen Wang's full support, has gathered skilled craftsmen from half of China and expanded to an astonishing scale.

Although the shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty was still relatively immature compared to that of Europe, and it was difficult to build a giant warship with more than 100 cannons like the British "Sea King", it had successfully built a main warship with 50 cannons by investing heavily.

Although China's shipbuilding technology is still inferior to that of Europe, it is currently difficult to build a ship like the British Royal Navy, which can carry more than a hundred cannons.

However, despite Chen Wang's almost reckless investment, he still managed to build a mainstay sailing battleship with fifty cannons.

The specifications set by Chen Wang were mostly based on the standards of European warships in the mid-to-late 17th century.

There was only one ship that met the standards of a first-class sailing battleship, namely HMS Sovereign of the Sea, built by the British.

The Sea King had three decks, carried 104 cannons, and had a terrifying displacement of 1,500 tons.

At the same time in Europe, the main warships only had two gun decks and carried about fifty guns. By the standards of the late 17th century, they were only barely up to the standard of a third-class sailing battleship, but now they were proper main warships.

The first batch of ten sailing battleships launched by Haizhou Shipyard were built according to this standard.

Between level one and level three, there is level two.

However, the only second-class battleship in Europe today is also in British hands.

Apart from Britain, there were no other second-class sailing battleships in all of Europe. Only the flagship of the French fleet barely met the standard of a second-class ship.

Most of the European fleets today are composed of three classes of sailing battleships.

During this period, Britain was the true maritime hegemon.

Europe as a whole does not possess many sailing battleships.

In Chen Wang's memory, Europe at present only has forty or fifty third-class battleships.

The strength of European navies is naturally not limited to this; each country also possesses a considerable number of frigates with thirty or forty guns, or twenty-three guns, as well as armed merchant ships.

However, due to the impact of the Thirty Years' War, European countries focused most of their energy on inter-regional conflicts. Apart from Britain, which continued to develop its navy, other countries reduced their naval spending, leading to the current situation. This is good news, the best news imaginable.

"The Tianjin and Dengzhou shipyards are under renovation and expansion, and the timber used for shipbuilding is being transported urgently. It is expected that the two shipyards will be able to start production in October."

Dai Zhenglin, sitting on the right, lowered his head slightly and added.

"Technology is not a big problem; there is a group of experienced shipwrights in Haizhou's shipyard."

In Europe at the same time, it typically took nearly two years of careful planning to build a third-class battleship that would form the backbone of a fleet.

If well-prepared and with ample funds, the timeframe can be reduced to nearly a year.

Building a warship requires thousands of high-quality oak trees. The freshly felled timber must undergo a long drying process, usually one to two years, to prevent the hull from warping and cracking later on.

Using wet wood would greatly shorten the lifespan of a warship.

But this is Europe in this era.

In present-day China.

Once the technical difficulties are overcome, launching a third-class sailing battleship is no problem.

The issue of timber was a major concern, as the chieftains and government offices in the southwest needed to transport large quantities of timber for shipbuilding to the central government every year.

Chen Wang had already begun preparing timber for shipbuilding when he marched into Henan.

That's why Haizhou Shipyard was able to complete all the technical challenges and shipbuilding and launching projects in just over a year.

Chen Wang now has access to manpower and resources that are almost several times greater than those of the entire continent of Europe.

"It is estimated that by the end of December next year, Haizhou Shipyard will be able to launch another thirteen third-class sailing battleships."

"Dengzhou plans to build three third-class sailing battleships, and Tianjin plans to build one."

"The three factories plan to build a total of thirty Class IV and V sailing frigates."

Dai Zhenglin now also serves as an adjutant, and he remembers all the important matters clearly.

"By the end of December next year, the navy will need to add 13,000 soldiers."

"According to the military plan, by the spring of the following year, the Pacific Joint Fleet will be initially completed, consisting of 27 third-class sailing battleships, 30 fourth- and fifth-class frigates, 5 large Fujian ships, 30 No. 1 Fujian ships, 36 No. 2 Fujian ships, and 31 silk-carrying ships."

"The main warships totaled 159, the near-shore functional vessels totaled 115, the combined warships totaled 274, and the sailors totaled 30,000."

Dai Zhenglin lowered his head and said.

"Once the fleet settles in, my Jingnan Army's fleet will become the most powerful fleet in the world..."

Dai Zhenglin served as Chen Wang's attendant.

Chen Wang did not conceal anything about the situation in Europe at that time, but instead told everything he knew.

Therefore, Dai Zhenglin knew more than the others present.

Chen Wang twirled the teacup in his hand, which was already nearly half empty.

"The year after next, in the spring..."

This was already a very short time, but Chen Wang was still somewhat impatient.

He didn't want to delay any longer regarding Zheng Zhilong's matter.

Moreover, it's almost time to stop delaying.

Chen Wang put down his teacup.

Zheng Zhilong's move to retake the island of Haojing this time indicates that he has likely received some advance warning.

Near the Haizhou Shipyard, the intelligence department arrested many suspicious individuals. After interrogation, it was revealed that they had all been sent to gather intelligence.

Zheng Zhilong had already sensed danger, and suspicions were beginning to form in his mind.

Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they will eventually sprout under the nourishment of suspicion and testing.

“Zheng Zhilong has become suspicious. We can’t wait until the spring of the year after next. Even if we do it at the end of this year, we may not be able to deceive the heavens.”

Chen Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice was deep, and his gaze swept over everyone present like a blade as he spoke, word by word.

"My mind is made up. I will take action against Zheng Zhilong."

Dai Zhenglin's expression was solemn as he pondered for a moment.

"Your Excellency is wise, but Zheng Zhilong has dominated the seas for decades, commanding thousands of ships of all sizes. According to intelligence reports, many of the desperados traveling between the East and West Oceans follow Zheng's banner, numbering no less than thirty thousand..."

"Without a foolproof plan, launching a sudden attack... I fear we might fail to kill the snake and instead suffer harm from it..."

Dai Zhenglin's brows furrowed, his worry evident.

Zheng Zhilong's strength is deeply entrenched. If he cannot be killed in one blow and is allowed to escape into the sea, he will surely return to the abyss like a dragon, and the entire southeastern coastal region will likely never have peace.

At that time, the entire southeastern coast will never have a peaceful day again.

"I know."

Chen Wang's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

"But the situation is now such that the arrow is already on the bowstring... and we have no choice but to release it..."

The things that Dai Zhenglin was worried about were naturally also within his consideration.

However, with the development of the navy, Zheng Zhilong has gradually become aware of the threat.

If Zheng Zhilong were to flee overseas, eliminating him would undoubtedly be a protracted and protracted struggle.

With the current strength of the navy alone, even with the addition of the inland river navy, it would be difficult to contain Zheng's fleet.

However, further delays will only allow Zheng Zhilong to soon discover the truth.

By then, even the last vestiges of superficial reconciliation between the two sides will be gone, and a major war will be inevitable.

Therefore, the sooner we take action, the better; now is the best time.

And you only get one chance to take action.

"Draft an imperial edict."

Chen Wang slightly raised his hand, and the clerk beside him immediately picked up the brush placed in front of the desk.

"Your Excellency Zheng Zhilong, the General Garrison Commander of Fujian, has long been loyal and righteous, and has guarded the coastal frontier for a long time."

"Recently, he led his troops to recapture the Hao region, displaying our imperial might in distant lands and calming the waves across the ocean."

"His merits have benefited the nation and his achievements are recorded in history; I am delighted, and the whole world admires him."

"Zitejin'er is hereby appointed Marquis of Jinghai..." (End of Chapter)