People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 737: Navy training shocked envoys from various countries!
The pirate was killed, and the capital was shocked

Before the morning mist had dispersed, the streets and alleys of Jinling City were already bustling with activity.

"Have you heard? Yesterday, the Wucheng Army captured a group of pirates at Longjiang Wharf!" At the tea stall, a porter slapped the table, his voice was very low, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

The cloth merchant at the next table widened his eyes and said, "Pirates? Isn't that something that happened in Southeast Asia? How dare they come to the emperor's feet?"

"Hey, that's right!" The porter took a sip of coarse tea and wiped his mouth, saying, "I heard from the brothers at the dock that those thieves were mixed in with the Javanese envoys. They wanted to take advantage of the transaction between the imperial court and the Southeast Asian merchants to cause trouble, but before they could do anything, they were caught by the navy!"

The tea drinkers around were in an uproar, and some of them gasped: "This is too bold!"

"More than just bold," another person interrupted, "My second uncle works for the Military Affairs Department. He said that the pirates also found a map of our Jinling City's coastal defenses on them, which even clearly marked the patrol times of the navy!"

Everyone fell silent and looked at each other. After a while, someone spat, "These damn bastards deserve to be chopped up and fed to the fish!"

……

Outside the Five Military Commandery.

A group of soldiers escorted several heavily-tied men through the long street. The pirates were dressed in rags, with foreign tattoos on their faces, but now they looked as pale as death.

"Look! Those are the pirates!" Old man Wang, who was selling pancakes on the street, pointed at the team with a trembling voice.

The crowd suddenly became agitated, and some children picked up stones and threw them at the soldiers, but were stopped by them.

A pirate suddenly looked up and swept his sinister eyes over the people, scaring several women so much that they stepped back.

"What are you so arrogant about!" A sturdy man rolled up his sleeves and cursed, "It's fine if you act violently on the sea, but you dare to act wildly in Ming Dynasty. Do you really think our swords are not sharp?"

Before he finished speaking, a group of scholars suddenly rushed out from the corner of the street. The leader held up the "Maritime Mathematical Manual" and shouted angrily: "You foreign thieves who stole our coastal defenses should be killed with all your clans!"

The people were inspired by these words and started shouting. The pirates finally panicked and some of them struggled to kneel down and beg for mercy, but were kicked down by the soldiers.

……

In the same hall.

The Javanese envoy huddled in a side room, listening to the curses coming from outside the window, with cold sweat on his forehead.

"Sir, will we...will we be implicated?" the attendant asked tremblingly.

The envoy clenched his sleeves and gritted his teeth, "What are you afraid of? We are an official delegation. If pirates sneak in, what does it have to do with us?"

Having said that, the scene of yesterday emerged in his mind - the Ming navy surrounded the dock like a ghost, and when torches illuminated the night sky, the pirates were nailed to death in the cabin by crossbows before they could even scream.

"The Ming Dynasty... is so terrible..." he murmured.

The Siamese envoy in the next room was even more restless. He whispered to his companion, "Write a letter back home quickly. In the future, do business honestly and go through customs. Don't have any evil thoughts!"

……

The side hall of Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Biao handed the battle report to Zhu Yuanzhang and whispered, "Father, there were 46 pirates in total, all of whom were killed. The secret letter seized by the navy showed that they had planned to burn down the Longjiang Wharf in three days and rob the treasury in the chaos."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and tapped the table with his fingertips: "The remnants of Chen Zuyi are still thieves."

Chen Han bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we were able to quickly suppress the bandits this time thanks to the new navigation instrument made by the Institute of Physics. The pirates' palm leaf route map is exactly the same as our calculations, so the navy was able to set up an ambush accurately."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and said, "I heard that the female workers in your women's workshop can even recite the "Maritime Mathematical Manual" by heart?"

Chen Han smiled and said, "Yes. They use the new digital method to check the accounts, which is three times faster than the old officials in the Ministry of Revenue."

There was a noise outside the hall.

A moment later, the envoy hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, the envoys from Malacca, Srivijaya and other six countries have jointly written to request that more tribute envoys be sent to learn the art of coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Are you scared now?" He stood up and said, "Tell those foreign nations that if they want to learn from you, they can do so in exchange for real money!"

……

Xuanwu Lakeside.

As the sun sets, Zhu Youwei leans on the railing and looks into the distance. The lake reflects the gorgeous sunset.

"I heard that the people in the capital are cursing the pirates today?" She chuckled.

Xiao Tao, who was standing beside him, clutched the shuttle and said angrily, "They deserve to be scolded! Those thieves want to harm the sisters in our workshop!"

Madam Liu nodded. "Isn't it? This morning when I went to buy yarn, the shopkeeper was so scared that he was shaking all over. He said he would never deduct the wages of the female workers again."

Chen Han walked over with his hands behind his back and raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "Oh? There is such a benefit?"

Zhu Youwei blinked: "The pirates' disturbance has made some people see clearly that the new rules of the Ming Dynasty cannot be overturned by a few sour poems."

……

The afterglow of the setting sun slanted through the carved window lattices of the Fengtian Hall, casting mottled light and shadows on the blue brick floor. Zhu Biao sat upright on the golden nanmu chair next to the dragon throne, tapping the armrest with his fingertips, startling the sparrows that had landed on the eaves of the hall.

"My dear ministers." The prince's voice was neither fast nor slow, but it made the entire court hold their breath unconsciously. "I'm sure you have heard about what happened at Longjiang Wharf last night?"

When the Minister of War Fang Xing stepped out, the hem of his official robe was still stained with dew: "Your Highness, all 46 pirates have been killed, and the secret letter seized has been handed over to the Ministry of Public Administration for translation."

Chen Han stood in the military officer queue, his eyes sweeping over the tense necks of the civil officials. Fine beads of sweat oozed out from under Zheng Qingzhuo's official hat, glittering in the morning light, like a quail with its neck strangled.

"I have a report to make!" Minister of Rites Qian Tang suddenly stepped out, his tablet trembling slightly in his hand. "How dare a pirate sneak into the delegation? This is extremely disrespectful! I request that the Javanese envoy be strictly investigated!"

There was an almost inaudible sneer from the corner of the palace. Tongzhengshi Yang Zhan twisted the thread on his sleeve and said, "Master Qian, I'm afraid you didn't read the translation of the secret letter? That group of pirates killed the real envoy on the way and impersonated him."

Zhu Biao suddenly raised his hand, and the hall fell silent. The prince took out an indigo handkerchief from his bosom. The "π" symbol embroidered on the corner of the handkerchief shone with golden thread in the sun: "This is the cloth dyed by the Women's Workshop using waste vouchers. The navy relied on this to distinguish the real and fake envoys last night." When the handkerchief was passed to Zheng Qingzhuo, the old scholar's fingertips trembled violently. He clearly saw the fine digital code woven into the fabric.

"Do you understand the principle of keeping the enemy alive to protect yourself?" Zhu Biao's voice suddenly turned cold. "If Lan Yu hadn't deliberately let Chen Zuyi's spies go, how could he have attracted these big fish to fall into his trap?"

The sole of Xu Duo, the Minister of Works, rolled over the gaps between the gold bricks. "Your Highness is wise! The pirate secret letter seized this time actually contains a tidal map of the pirates' lair!"

Chen Han stepped out at the right time, the copper rings on the mace at his waist jingling. "Your Highness, the Physics Institute has examined the pirates' arrowheads and found that they are made of Javanese iron. If they are not raising the pirates as bait, how can we catch the profiteers who smuggle arms?"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of orderly footsteps outside the palace. Eight Jinyiwei escorted a businessman who was tied up behind his back. The anchor chain tattoo on the man's right wrist was still bleeding.

"The second manager of Xuji?" the Minister of Revenue exclaimed.

The merchant knelt on the ground, his forehead resting on the cold gold brick: "I am innocent! Those fine irons were smuggled in by foreign merchants."

"Really?" Zhu Biao chuckled and shook out a blood-stained account book from his sleeve. "Then explain to me why the pirates' payment account has your Xuji's private seal on it?"

As the account book was circulated, Chen Han noticed that several civil servants' hands were shaking. The arms transactions recorded in Arabic numerals were written in dazzlingly neat handwriting, three times clearer than the official script of the Hanlin Academy.

"This old minister is stupid!" Zheng Qingzhuo suddenly fell to his knees, his official hat rolling far away. "The strategy of nurturing the enemy is truly a brilliant plan!"

All the civil and military officials in the court knelt down. Zhu Biao looked past them and looked at the gradually brightening sky outside the palace. The sound of looms in the women's workshop could be heard faintly in the morning mist, echoing the night watchman's clappers.

"Pass the order." The prince tapped the armrest with his fingertips. "Emissaries from the Southeast Asian countries will observe the navy drill tomorrow." He suddenly raised the corner of his mouth. "Remember to arrange the best seats for the Javanese envoys."

When leaving the court, Chen Han stopped Zheng Qingzhuo on the white marble steps. The back of the old scholar's official robe was wet, and he looked like a drowned chicken.

"Master Zheng." Chen Han took out a booklet from his arms, "The Institute of Physics has just compiled a new book called 'Introduction to Numbers'. Your granddaughter asked me to pass it on to you."

On the title page of the booklet, there was a line of crooked small characters written: "Grandfather, pi is much more interesting than "The Instructions for Women"."

Zheng Qingzhuo's face flushed red, but he stuffed the book into his sleeve pocket faster than anyone else. When he turned around, Chen Han clearly saw a piece of straw paper stuck on his official boots, with the number "7" drawn on it for practice.

Outside the palace gate, Zhu Youwei was leading the women workers from the Women's Workshop in a procession. The shuttle in Xiaotao's hand sparkled in the sun, and the women workers recited the "Navigation Rhymes" in unison, startling the sparrows in the tree.

"Three times seven is twenty-one, four times seven is twenty-eight"

Zheng Qingzhuo's sedan bearer suddenly stopped. The old scholar lifted the curtain of the sedan, and his cloudy old eyes followed the blue headscarves until they turned the corner. His dry branch-like fingers unconsciously stroked the booklet in his sleeve, and his Adam's apple rolled.

"Go to the women's workshop." He suddenly said to the sedan chair bearer, "I want to see the cloth."

When Chen Han climbed onto his horse, he heard the roar of a steam engine from farther away. The new loom at the Institute of Physics had started to operate again, and the sound was like the tides of the South China Sea, one wave after another, never stopping.

Zhu Biao appeared in the shadow of the palace gate without knowing when, and the golden thread on his dragon robe flowed in the morning light. "Chen Han, what do you think those envoys will think after watching the navy's drill?"

Chen Han looked toward the dock, where smoke from a rocket test was rising: "They will remember that in Ming, even numbers can be turned into weapons."

The prince's laughter startled the pigeons under the eaves. Their white wings flew over the chimney of the Women's Workshop, and turned into countless tiny points of light in the morning sun, spreading to the rivers, lakes and seas in the distance.

……

The afterglow of the morning glow slanted down on the gun platforms at Longjiang Wharf, coating the dark gun barrels with a layer of blood. When the envoys from various countries were led by the Jinyiwei through layers of sentries and arrived at the navy training ground, their calves were already trembling.

The Javanese envoy stumbled and almost tripped over the iron chain on the ground. He looked up and saw ten newly cast Hongwu cannons lined up in a row, with their muzzles pointed at the target ship in the middle of the river. Three shirtless gunners stood beside each cannon, their bronze skin shiny and their muscles undulating like waves as they loaded the ammunition.

"put!"

As the flag officer chopped down the flag, the gunners pulled the fuse at the same time. In an instant, the ground shook, and ten water columns several feet high exploded on the river. The old ship in the distance that served as a target was instantly torn into pieces, and wood chips flew all over the sky like snowflakes.

The Siamese envoy's eardrums were buzzing, and he saw the Malacca envoy beside him opening his mouth to say something, but he could only make out the four words "God bless" from his lips. Even more ridiculous was the Srivijaya envoy, a nobleman who usually paid the most attention to his manners, who was clinging to the dock bollard tightly, not even noticing that his official hat was tilted to the back of his head.

"Everyone, please look this way." The voice of the Jinyiwei captain seemed to come from far away.

The envoys stumbled after them, and after passing the storehouse filled with cannonballs, they suddenly saw a clear view. Three newly launched treasure ships were anchored on the river. The rudder tower of the first ship was taller than the walls of Nanjing, and the sun and moon flags hung on the masts fluttered in the river breeze.

"This, this is a tower ship?" The Javanese envoy's voice trembled. The largest warship in his hometown looked like a child's toy next to this huge ship.

The Jinyiwei smiled but didn't answer. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Dozens of crossbows suddenly stood up on the deck, and the cold and gleaming arrows formed a silver wave under the setting sun. Even more terrifying was the secret doors on both sides of the ship, which revealed densely packed firing holes for muskets, and the black muzzles were like the eyes of poisonous snakes.

"Bang! Boom!"

The sudden volley of gunfire made the messengers collectively dwarf half a head. The straw men used as targets on the hillside on the opposite bank were instantly shot into sieves, and one straw man's head even flew into the middle of the river.

"The third demonstration." The Jinyiwei's voice sounded like he was reading a verdict.

The ground at the dock suddenly shook, and two teams of naval officers and soldiers ran in. The new-style muskets they held were oddly shaped, with a disc with scales under the barrel. Following the commander's order, the soldiers knelt on one knee, with the butts of their rifles against their shoulders in unison.

"preparation--"

The Malacca envoy suddenly discovered that the muzzles were aimed at the iron armor target 300 steps away. He was about to question the range of the muskets when he heard a burst of popping noises like frying beans. Sparks flew from the iron armor in the distance. When the smoke cleared, he saw that the half-inch thick iron plate had been pierced, and the edge of the hole was still glowing with dark red burn marks.

"This is impossible!" the Srivijaya envoy exclaimed. The best warriors in their country could only shoot through leather armor within a hundred steps with the best bows and crossbows.

The Jinyiwei took out a copper object from his bosom: "This is called a ruler. It was calculated by the Institute of Physics using pi." He handed it to the Javanese envoy, "Doesn't your country want a coastal defense map? This is more practical."

The copper piece felt heavy in the envoy's hand, with fine scales engraved on the surface and a rotatable "π"-shaped pointer. He looked at the treasure ship for some reason and suddenly found that each mast was equipped with a similar device, which glowed coldly in the sunset.

"Next is the boarding battle demonstration."

As the horn sounded, more than 20 speedboats suddenly appeared on the river. The shirtless water ghosts climbed onto the treasure ship like monkeys, and they could load the short guns on their waists with one hand while climbing. The most amazing thing was their coordination - three people in a group, jumping back to back, and wherever the sword flashed, the straw men who served as imaginary enemies were beheaded.

"Those knives..." The Siamese envoy narrowed his eyes. The short knives used by the water ghosts were of strange shapes, with fine spiral patterns on the blades, and every time they chopped, they made a strange whistling sound.

The Royal Guard smiled meaningfully: "It is made of fine iron from the South Seas, and the blade is sharpened using the patterns calculated by the School of Physics." He paused deliberately, "It is made of the same materials as the arrowheads used by pirates."

The envoys' faces turned pale instantly. Of course, they had heard the news of the pirates' demise, but they had never expected that the equipment of the Ming navy would be so terrifying...

(End of this chapter)