Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 189: The Gold Devouring Beast, the Ming Navy
After confirming the candidates for the draft, Zhu Zhanjun became busy again.

Most of the time every day, in addition to helping my father reduce his workload, I go to Tiangong Workshop to inspect the speed of gun assembly.

"Prepare!"

At the shooting range, twenty soldiers were loading their weapons quickly.

"Fire!"

"Bang bang bang..."

As a cloud of smoke rose, most of the pottery jars hanging more than 100 meters away were shattered.

"Second round, fire!"

Gunshots rang out again and again, and pottery jars were broken one after another.

From the original 100 meters, to 150 meters, 200 meters, and finally to more than 250 meters, they stopped shooting.

"Clap clap clap..."

There was a burst of warm applause.

In particular, the officers of the Shenwei Battalion's reserve battalion were so excited when they saw the extremely long range of this rifled rifle.

Everyone was thinking about how to persuade His Highness to replace the reserve battalion's guns with new weapons.

“How much is in reserve now?”

Zhu Zhanjun took the rifle, looked at it, and asked Xu Shou who was beside him.

"Your Highness, since all the materials have been prepared, I have mobilized 2000 people to assemble them. We currently have 35000 rifled guns in stock, which is enough for our troops to replace them."

"As for smoothbore muskets, we have more than 80,000 in reserve. The Ministry of War has sent people to take a look and plans to purchase all of them. However, they do not have sufficient funds and are asking Your Majesty what to do."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded.

In fact, Zhu Zhanjun knew the answer without even asking the old man.

How could that old man have any money? It all came from Zheng He's voyages to the West, or the gold and silver mines collected from Japan.

Zhu Zhanjun estimated that the old man would most likely exchange his share of the gold and silver mines for these guns and weapons.

Zhu Zhanjun and the old man had agreed that the profits from the gold and silver mine would be split 50-50 between them.

Originally the old man wanted a 3:7 ratio, with the old man taking 7 and Zhu Zhanjun taking 3.

Zhu Zhanjun expressed strong dissatisfaction and threatened to quit the job, so the old man agreed to a 50-50 split.

"What about artillery?"

Throwing the gun to Xiaohu beside him, Zhu Zhanjun asked about the situation of weapons such as artillery.

"In addition to the artillery purchased by the court, we still have 60 pieces in our warehouse, including 40 light artillery pieces and 20 heavy artillery pieces."

"Forty light artillery pieces will follow His Highness to the south."

"A swarm of bees, and other weapons reserves, there are also quite a few stored."

"Especially the palm bombs for jungle warfare. We have stored more than 8 of them, which is enough for your use in the next battle in the south."

"In addition." Xu Shou flipped through the book in his hand and said to Zhu Zhanjun with a smile: "Your Highness, the Tianji Arrow that you are most concerned about has also made great progress."

"At present, they have been able to stabilize the flight path, and the maximum error in attacking the target will not exceed 20 meters."

Hearing these results, Zhu Zhanjun nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"In addition to military production, we have also made great progress in the production of canned military rations and other aspects."

"After many tests, we can guarantee that canned food will not rot within one year, and fast food such as compressed biscuits can be guaranteed to last for 2 to 3 years."

"We have currently stockpiled 400,000 copies, and are still increasing production, which is enough for our military to use in emergencies."

Zhu Zhanjun was delighted when he heard the results one by one.

The trees planted a few years ago are finally bearing fruit.

"Send all the necessary military equipment and supplies to Chenjiagang Wharf as quickly as possible and have them load the ships as soon as possible so as not to delay the journey south."

Zhu Zhanjun did not plan to travel by land, but rather by water, going directly to Jiaozhi.

During dinner, Zhu Zhanjun informed his mother and Zhu Pangpang about his plan to go south.

Upon learning that her son was leaving, Zhang was reluctant to let him go, but she also understood that he was leaving for national affairs, so she could only urge him to be more careful.

Zhu Pangpang didn't say anything else.

Children grow up and have their own ideas and decisions.

He knows exactly how his body is doing.

Seeing that the old man is now full of energy and is ready to lead an army in person at any time, Zhu Pangpang even suspects that he will not live longer than his father.

He wanted to let his son go out and explore more while he was still alive, so that he could gain some experience and knowledge.

He just needs to take care of the household chores and not let his father and son worry about them.

After helping his father deal with today's memorials, Zhu Zhanjun stretched and just returned to his room, but when he saw the furnishings in the room, he was stunned.

There were red candles lit on the table, red silk was hung in the room, and wedding characters were pasted on the cabinets and mirrors.

Zhu Zhanjun took a step back, looked at the door, confirmed that it was his room, and walked in confused.

"Your Highness."

Qiu Xue and Qiu Yu, who had been called away by Zhang in the evening, came forward and bowed with a smile.

Zhu Zhanjun nodded, and looked at the woman sitting beside the bed in red clothes and a red veil on her head, and asked in confusion:
"What's going on?"

"This was arranged by the Crown Princess. She said that you have grown up and should understand some things."

Zhu Zhanjun was speechless. It turned out that his mother was afraid that he didn't understand anything, so she wanted to find someone to teach him in advance.

"Who is it, Quan?"

Zhu Zhanjun looked at the woman sitting beside the bed and thought it was Quan.

After all, the other party is his concubine, so such matters should naturally be handled by the concubine.

Little girl Qiu Yu shook her head.

"No, the Crown Princess said that this kind of thing shouldn't be done by foreigners."

"The Crown Princess called everyone around you and finally chose Miss Jinxiu."

"beautiful?"

Zhu Zhanjun still remembered this name, it seemed that it was the woman Xu Jingchang gave him. He did not accept it at that time, and the woman was smart enough to enter the imperial farm directly and was arranged to support Nurhaci.

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhanjun walked out of the house, stretching his back. His mother Zhang, who had been waiting for him, came over excitedly.

He first went into the house and took a look, then walked out with a smile on his face.

"Son, you must be tired. I made you a bowl of soup. Drink it while it's hot."

Zhu Zhanjun took it and took a look at the red wolfberries and the bones that looked like duck necks. He felt disgusted.

"You should save this for Dad. I don't need it for now."

As he spoke, he picked up a few bags on the table, said he would be back in the second half of next year, and left in a hurry with Xiaohu who was waiting for him at the door.

Seeing Zhu Zhanjun not even planning to bring his maid, Zhang frowned, walked into the room and said to Jinxiu who had just gotten up: "You should also pack up and go to the south with the crown prince."

After that, he turned to Qiu Xue and Qiu Yu who were carrying their luggage and said, "Take Quan with you to the imperial farm. If that brat asks, just tell him I told him to do it."

After that, he walked forward and stuffed a few medicine bags into the steady Qiu Xue's hands, and whispered: "Every time from now on, give them two a bowl to drink, just a pinch at a time."

Qiu Xue glanced at the room and nodded, stuffing the things into the package.

It took nearly three days to complete the transportation of Tiangong Workshop's weapons and equipment by ship.

This time no one came to see him off. Zhu Zhanjun boarded the ship heading south alone with his two concubines and two maids.

Looking at the coastline getting farther and farther away, Zhu Zhanjun felt a sense of emotion.

Although he has a lot of talented people under him, they are all busy with their own things and there is not even anyone following him.

Not to mention giving him advice, it would also be nice to chat with him, brag, or even go fishing with him.

The fleet sailed south and arrived at the naval base built in Qiongzhou in early October.

Qiongzhou is surrounded by the sea, and Zhu Zhanjun planned to turn Qiongzhou, the place where he was exiled, into a maritime trading city.

When returning from Japan, Zhu Zhanjun asked Zheng Zilong to lead the team here first.

With the help of Xu Da, construction started half a year in advance, and the basic prototype of Qiongzhou Port had already been taken.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhu Zhanjun and his men had just got off the boat and had been waiting for Zheng Zilong and Xu Da to come over.

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

Zhu Zhanjun laughed so hard that the two stood up. Looking at the port that was still under construction, he asked, "When will it be completed?"

Zheng Zilong, who has taken over, reported: "It will be put into use around next year."

"However, during this period of time, many ships from Jiangnan have come here to dock."

"Has a ship arrived yet?"

Ever since Zheng He's return last year, Zhu Zhanjun has discussed with the old man about developing southern maritime trade, allowing merchants like those from Jiangnan to go out to sea with certificates.

After getting the old man's permission, Zhu Zhanjun asked the Veterans Chamber of Commerce to publicize the matter at the beginning of the year. He did not expect that a fleet would start trading so soon.

It seems that those Jiangnan families have been coveting maritime trade for a long time.

"You must be careful when it comes to taxes and inspections of various items."

"Once you find any smuggling ships, seize them immediately and sink any resistance."

Marine tax revenue will be an important economic source for the South in the future, and Zhu Zhanjun will not allow this money to escape from his pocket.

Zheng Zilong nodded, but then raised his own difficulties: "Your Highness, we have too few ships. Even if you add the fleet you brought, there are only more than 20 ships."

“It’s OK to control the port area, but it’s a bit difficult to control places further away.”

"We currently need to build ships, and they are various warships and patrol ships."

Zhu Zhanjun looked at him and asked, "How many ships do you think we need?"

Zheng Zilong seemed to have made preparations and handed over the notebook in his hand.

"According to my estimation, six large treasure ships are needed, at least 80 warships and gunboats are needed to assist in patrol operations, and at least 100 supply transport ships are needed."

"so much?"

Zhu Zhanjun couldn't help but take a breath.

Zheng Zilong smiled bitterly and said, "This is still my estimate of the minimum. If we want to increase the control area in the future, the number of ships will have to at least double."

Zhu Zhanjun took the other party's notebook and turned to the last page of statistics.

When Zhu Zhanjun saw the final statistical price, his teeth ached.

According to the court's quotation, the cost of building a treasure ship is about 4000 taels, plus some subsequent personnel, weapons, artillery and other equipment, the minimum price is 6000 to 7000.

Even if we use 6000 taels, six ships would require nearly 6 taels, or nearly taels of silver.

An ordinary warship costs about two thousand taels of silver, plus the corresponding artillery personnel, at least nearly three thousand taels of silver.

Zheng Zilong asked for 80 ships right away, which meant 24 taels, plus supporting transport ships and other types of ships. Although they didn't need to be equipped with so many cannons, the number was still there.

All in all, it would cost at least 50 taels of silver to build these ships.

But the problem is that for a fleet, this is only the initial cost; the subsequent maintenance and upkeep would be an astronomical figure.

Looking at the strings of numbers above, Zhu Zhanjun felt a pang of pain in his heart.

As expected, there is a saying in later generations that the navy is built with money.

I would like to tell all the bosses that I plan to end the daily ten thousand by the end of the month.

At the beginning, I told the bosses that the daily salary would be 10,000 yuan per month, but the situation has not kept up with the changes.

Originally there were two reasons. The first was that as we entered the summer vacation, our company's business increased. I used to be able to slack off and write in the afternoon, but now I have to work overtime. I used to get off work at 5:30, but now it has become 7 or even 8 o'clock.

The second reason: My typing speed is not fast, I can only write about 1 to 6 words per hour. For a content with more than 7 words, it will take me at least to hours.

I have to stay up late every day, and my body can’t take it. I have no energy at all every day, and my mind is empty every day. I have an outline, but I don’t know how to write it.

I know that what I wrote is almost shit. The bosses read this book based on the number of updated words.

If the daily subscription stops, many people will definitely stop watching it.

But there is nothing I can do. I really can’t bear it like this every day.

So I can only say sorry. Starting from the 1st of next month, there will be two chapters every day, six to seven thousand words, and each chapter will have more than 3000 words.

Sorry again!

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(End of this chapter)