The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 238 The Night is Quiet
The sun sets and night is about to fall.

The streets and alleys of Jinling City are crowded with people, making it even more prosperous.

The Qinhuai River Wharf south of Chang'an Avenue is extremely busy with ships coming and going.

The Qinhuai River runs through the city and can be said to be the main line of Jinling's water transportation.

However, the Qinhuai River is not very long within the city of Jinling.

The Qinhuai River enters the city from the West Water Gate near Sanshan Gate and exits the city at the East Water Gate near Tongji Gate. It passes through a small corner south of Jinling City. The river channel within the city is only about ten miles long.

The Qinhuai River, which is more than ten miles long, can accommodate large ships of 800 tons, but the tributaries of the Qinhuai River within the city, including the canal connecting to the Qinhuai River, cannot accommodate large ships of 800 tons.

Because there are many small bridges on other rivers, the height of those small bridges from the river surface is generally less than ten feet, and large ships of 800 tons or even 400 tons cannot pass through, only fast ships of 100 tons or 200 tons can pass.

Therefore, large ships passing through the city either unloaded their cargo at the Sanshan Street Wharf near Sanshan Gate or at the Chang'an Street Wharf near Tongji Gate, and then left the city directly from Dongshuiguan, going around the outer moat or the Outer Qinhuai River back to the main trunk of the Yangtze River.

The unloaded goods were then transported to other places via the city's water systems by express boats of 100 and 200 tons.

It is said that there are more than 2,000 such speedboats that can actually shuttle around the city, and delivering goods by speedboat has become a big business in Jinling City.

There are large ships unloading cargo and fast ships loading cargo. You can imagine how busy the Qinhuai River Wharf near Sanshan Street and Chang'an Avenue is.

The large and small ships coming and going on the river are as dense as the people on the street.

Such a busy dock is only found in Jinling City, and there is definitely no such thing as it in other places.

As it was getting dark, the fleet consisting of naval warships and grain boats finally arrived at the river port near Chang'an Avenue.

When Wanli saw the busy scene, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

There are many berths at the dock here, but there are even more ships. There are probably thousands of large and small ships traveling near this dock alone, while there are only a hundred or so berths at the dock at most.

They have 600 large ships, with more than 30,000 people on board. If there are not enough spaces, they may have to wait until tomorrow.

Deng Zilong couldn't help but frown when he saw this scene.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, how many berths should we take?"

If possible, of course we would take hundreds of them. In this way, more than 30,000 troops and the property they brought could be unloaded in less than an hour.

The problem is, this is obviously impossible.

It is impossible for them to drive away all the large and small ships docked at the dock and prevent people from unloading and loading cargo.

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then said decisively, "Let's occupy the twenty or so berths on the easternmost side. Let's have the Jinyiwei go down and take them. After your ship unloads the cargo, go find a dock near the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Then he quickly walked to the bow of the boat and started shouting.

There is no way, such a complicated command flag cannot be waved at all.

Soon, the large ship carrying the Jinyiwei slowly approached the dock.

Then there was a group of figures flying by. A captain of the Jinyiwei led a team of experts and leaped over the densely packed cabin roofs. They jumped onto the easternmost dock in a few whooshes.

This is Jinling. If it were any other thousand households, it probably wouldn't work. The thousand households of the Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards probably wouldn't work, not to mention the thousand households of the Garrison Guards.

However, the captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was very useful.

At this moment, the reputation of the Jinyiwei was once again known. Officials were afraid of them, let alone ordinary people. An ordinary Jinyiwei wearing a Feiyu uniform was already scary, let alone a Qianhu wearing a dragon robe.

The captain took out his badge and shouted, and the ships docked on the east side quickly rowed away as if they were escaping. Many of them even abandoned their cargoes on the dock.

Seeing this, Deng Zilong waved his hand and more than 20 navy warships quickly approached the dock.

Immediately afterwards, the Jinyiwei above rushed down like a tide.

This time, their business finally attracted attention.

Few people in Jinling City might recognize the new uniforms of the imperial guards and navy officers, but few people did not recognize the Feiyu uniforms of the Jinyiwei.

Why are so many Jinyiwei coming to Jinling City?

The Jinyiwei on the boat kept getting off, and many of them were even carrying boxes and bags, just like they were moving house.

The people around were becoming more and more surprised.

At first they thought there were only a few hundred Jinyiwei, but in the end, the number of Jinyiwei gathered near the dock soon reached thousands, and people were still getting off the boat.

Could it be that the Emperor has arrived?
The problem is, no one has heard of it, and not a single official from Jinling City has come.

The Jinyiwei had been raining for nearly a quarter of an hour, under the astonished gazes of the surrounding people, and the rain was still endless. Wanli, taking a look at the sky, said anxiously, "Yunqing, have the canal boats approach first and unload the Imperial Guards' horses. I'll go to the palace first."

It's almost dark now. He can't enter the palace in the dark, right?

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong immediately asked the flag bearer to issue an order.

Soon, more than 20 naval warships left the dock, and more than 20 grain ships approached.

This time, it was not the Jinyiwei who came down, but the imperial guards leading their war horses.

My God, even the war horses are brought here.

What is this going to do?
The people around couldn't help but exclaim when they saw the fully armed imperial guards pulling their war horses.

Soon, a buzz of discussion could be heard near the dock.

They were really surprised. These people looked like they were here to fight. Why didn't the patrol team come over to ask them?
The city of Jinling had probably been at peace for too long and had no defenses at all. Or perhaps, when they entered Xishui Pass, a captain of the Jinyiwei revealed his identity, and the garrison guards in the city of Jinling did not dare to intervene.

In short, there was not a single soldier patrolling the city near the dock at this moment.

Wanli couldn't care less about all these things, as it was almost dark.

Seeing that nearly a thousand Imperial Guards had disembarked, he decisively said, "Yun Qing, let's go ashore first and head to the Imperial Palace. You stay here and direct the Jinyiwei and Imperial Guards to disembark and unload the cargo."

what?
Deng Zilong heard this and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, isn't this number of troops too small?"

I am not wearing the imperial robe.

Wanli pointed at the Imperial Guards uniform he was wearing and said, "Don't you see how many Imperial Guards officers have already gone down? The people around here are just looking at me in wonder. Who can recognize me in this attire?"

That's true. A lot of the imperial guards have gone down, and no one will be able to recognize His Majesty among them.

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong immediately ordered his men to dock their boat.

Wanli's trip really didn't attract anyone's attention.

They basically wore military uniforms, except for Li Shizhen and Wan Bangning who wore the sixth-rank official robes.

There were countless officials above the fifth rank in the city of Jinling. In the eyes of ordinary people, a few officials in green robes were not as eye-catching as the Jinyiwei.

As they got off the boat, night fell quietly.

The city of Jinling is already ablaze with lights, just like the stars in the sky.

Even rows of lanterns were hung outside the shops on both sides of the street, lighting up the road in the middle.

When Wanli got on his horse and looked around, he felt like he was in a dream.

The city of Jinling is just like a prosperous metropolis in later generations. It is prosperous during the day and even more prosperous at night.

The streets are still crowded with people at this moment, and it seems that the nightlife in Jinling City has just begun.

Fortunately, there is an imperial road on Chang'an Avenue. No matter how dense the crowds on both sides are, no one dares to walk on the middle imperial road.

Wanli naturally didn't have to worry about these things, as the imperial road was meant for him to walk on.

Seeing that thousands of imperial guards had already mounted their horses and lined up, he immediately waved his hand and said, "General Shan, let's go."

Upon hearing this, Shan Sinan immediately waved his hand, led two rows of imperial guards and cavalry, stepped onto the imperial road, and escorted Wanli and his entourage to the Jinling Imperial Palace.

"Wow", there was an uproar all around.

These guys are so brave that they dare to ride their horses on the imperial road!

It seems that the Jinyiwei can't go onto the imperial road casually?

What's more, these people are not Jinyiwei!
The Chang'an Street Pier was not far from the Jinling Imperial City. They rode their horses in the northeast direction for less than a quarter of an hour before they saw the imperial city wall that was three or four feet high.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Don't you know this is the Imperial City?"

At this time, the guards of Jinling Imperial City had rushed up and shouted at Shan Sinan in front of them.

Shan Sinan said expressionlessly, "Imperial Guards, we are in Jinling Imperial City on official business. Please quickly invite Eunuch Tian over."

Wanli didn't want anyone to know he was coming.

He wanted to enter the palace quietly and go to the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)