The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 252 Completely Changing the Ming Dynasty
It's already a bit hot in Jiangnan in May.

The strong sun can sometimes make people sweat profusely.

Although Longjiang Island is better, it is still so hot during the day that you have to wear light clothes.

At this time, the craftsmen were working as hard as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

The twenty-four new docks had been built, and the first batch of finalized keel frames and planks were almost dry.

There were crisp knocking sounds in all the docks, and the hulls on each land slipway were taking shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

They heard that there would be extra wages for each ship built, so they worked like crazy from dawn to dusk.

They seemed to feel that producing 300 octopus boats in two months was not enough, because while the dock was processing them, the next batch of materials could be shaped and dried in the greenhouse in the middle at the same time.

In other words, shaping and drying and assembling the hull can be carried out at the same time. Since there are so many people, there is no problem in dividing them into two or even three groups.

A group of people here took a month to build the hull, launch it and complete the work. At the same time, another group of people were drying and shaping the keel and planks in the shed in the middle. Next month, the batch of ships to be built can continue, and there is no need to wait for the materials to be finalized. This means that one batch can be built in one month!

This is not all. There are 24 new dock ponds being excavated next to the new dock pond.

They can build 600 octopus ships and 300 centipede ships a month, which is not a problem. If they add giant ships weighing more than 1,000 tons, the extra wages can be distributed and everyone can get an extra one or two taels of silver per month.

When Wanli heard their idea, he naturally agreed without hesitation. He was in need of ships at the moment, so the faster the ships were built, the better.

There is no need to worry about shipbuilding. As long as enough money is given, the craftsmen will think about how to build the most ships as quickly as possible.

The navy officers and soldiers were also gradually gathering here. Together with the original 10,000 troops and the first batch of 10,000 retreating grain troops, 50,000 soldiers would soon be gathered.

The next thing to consider is the navy’s weapons and equipment.

Early in the morning at about noon that day, Wanli summoned Xu Weizi, Wang Chengxun, Deng Zilong, Zhang Zhen, Yu Zigao and others to the meeting hall of the thousand-ton giant ship.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, he solemnly said, "Yun Qing, what kind of weapons and equipment do you think the navy should be equipped with? This time, we need to consider not only transporting food, but also naval warfare."

Naval battle?
Deng Zilong pondered, "The situation in a naval battle is different from that on land. Once two fleets encounter each other, it will be a chaotic battle. We are among the enemy and the enemy is among us.

In this case, whoever has more means of attack will have the advantage.

Therefore, the more weapons and equipment for naval warfare, the better. Long-range muskets and cannons are absolutely essential, and medium-range rockets, kerosene, thunder bombs, etc. are best equipped. For close-range weapons, grappling hooks, billhooks, spears, swords, etc. are recommended. It is best if everyone has a set."

Naval battles these days are indeed a bit chaotic. There is no way around it. The artillery at this moment is not very powerful and the firing rate is not fast. If the number of ships on both sides is not much different, it is unlikely to overturn the enemy in one go.

Therefore, if a naval battle these days wants to determine the winner, the two sides will generally rush forward and engage in close combat on the boarding board. You can imagine how chaotic the scene would be.

In this situation, the more means of attack, the better. The problem is that other weapons are okay, but the thunder bomb doesn't seem to be of much use.

The thunder bomb actually existed in the Song Dynasty. However, the gunpowder at that time was not very powerful, and the thunder bomb seemed to only cause superficial injuries and had little impact on the battle situation, so he did not order people to produce it in large quantities.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Yunqing, the Sky-shaking Thunder can only injure the flesh, right? What's the point?"

This is it.

Deng Zilong explained carefully, "Your Majesty, there aren't many medicines that can reduce inflammation and remove toxins right now. If we use enough thunder bombs to blast the enemy's body full of wounds, their wounds will surely fester and they might even die."

Oh, wound infection is really a big deal these days. There are anti-inflammatory drugs but no antiseptic drugs.

Wanli nodded slightly and said: "Well, then we can make more thunder bombs. The Northern Tartars have less medicine, so it is not bad to consume their young and strong men.

As for muskets and cannons, I'll have Wang Guozhang increase production when I get back. Cold weapons won't be a problem, I can guarantee everyone has one. As for kerosene, I'll figure it out for you. Just tell me how to stock it."

This is simple.

Deng Zilong gestured, "Kerosene can be filled in fist-sized ceramic cans with wooden corks. Kerosene is actually most useful during naval battles. As long as we have enough kerosene cans and throw them onto the enemy ships, accompanied by rockets, the fire will be absolutely unextinguishable." Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Okay, each naval officer will be equipped with ten kerosene cans to start with, and we'll replenish them when they're used up."

what?
Kerosene is not cheap nowadays. It costs one or two taels of silver to buy twenty kilograms.

Although the kerosene tank is not big, one can hold about one kilogram. Add to that the cost of the pottery jars, and each of the 50,000 soldiers will be equipped with ten kerosene tanks, which would be 20,000 to 30,000 taels. Do they have to replenish them after they are used up?
Losing it like this is simply throwing money away.

You know, it only costs a thousand taels of silver to build a thousand-ton Fu ship. How can they just throw twenty or thirty Fu ships at the enemy?

Deng Zilong heard this and carefully reminded: "Your Majesty, kerosene doesn't seem to be cheap."

That's because most of the kerosene nowadays is refined from animal fats.

I plan to use oil to refine it!

He ordered his men to drill everywhere with large drills, which not only allowed them to find coal, but also oil. The surface features of coal mines and oil mines seemed to be similar, so those soldiers who drilled everywhere also found a lot of oil mines.

At this time, oil is still called oil.

There is a clear record in the "Dream Pool Essays" of the Song Dynasty that petroleum is produced in the sand and rocks in the north, mixed with spring water, and gushes out. There is petroleum in Fuyan. It is said in the old days that Gaonu County has fat water, which is this one.

Fuyan territory refers to the Fuyan Road during the Song Dynasty, which is roughly the location of the original Yansui Town.

That guy, the soldiers of the Beijing camp and the border army drilled so hard that black oil was oozing out everywhere. The former Yansui Town, Guyuan Town, Ningxia Town, including the inner and outer coats, many places were drilled so hard that oil was oozing out.

However, no one has thought of breaking this thing down yet. It is black and smelly, and the water in the stream is no longer drinkable. When it is burned, it emits black smoke, which makes people's heads and faces black.

Therefore, after the Beijing troops and border troops drilled for oil, they immediately dug ponds and built dams to block the flow and prevent the oil from flowing out.

As for burning it directly, that's a mental problem. If it burns for a day, the whole house will probably be blackened and people may be suffocated to death.

Wanli naturally knew that heating crude oil could be distilled into many different types of oil.

As for how to heat it and what temperature to heat it to get what kind of oil, he can ask people to try it slowly.

This oil is a good thing that completely changed the Ming Dynasty. Gasoline can be directly put into kerosene tanks and thrown onto enemy ships. As long as it is ignited by a rocket, it will definitely be inextinguishable. Kerosene can be used to light oil lamps and even make kerosene lighters. Asphalt can be used to pave roads, and paraffin can be used to make candles, etc.

By then, lamp oil will be cheaper, and people can choose to light candles at night, and their night life will become more and more abundant.

The navy could actually completely change the Ming Dynasty. As long as there were enough naval ships, the Ming Dynasty could set sail overseas to do business. The income from this alone would be tens of millions of taels every year.

As long as overseas trade develops, Ming Dynasty's manufacturing industry will flourish. At that time, the people's income will become higher and higher, and Ming Dynasty will enter a real prosperous era.

Now he wants to completely change the Ming Dynasty. Not only does he want to refine oil and develop overseas trade, he also wants to completely change the distribution of interests so that those parasites and vampires who are useless to the Ming Dynasty cannot snatch the interests of the Ming Dynasty. Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty become truly strong.

However, all of this is just an idea, and it is up to him to realize them one by one.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then sighed slightly and said, "I have to return to the capital. I won't be able to see the completion of the first batch of ships. Yunqing, you and Wuyang will stay and take charge of the affairs here. I will take Kemai back."

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

Wanli then gave detailed instructions: "Weizhi, I'm counting on your help here. You have to keep an eye on the shipyard and make sure no one messes up. You also have to take care of the business of Wanshengtang Pharmacy."

Xu Weizhi quickly bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Wanli then said to Wang Chengxun, "Chengxun, gather five hundred grain ships of eight hundred tons each and return to the capital with me."

This time, he truly became the Emperor's confidant.

Wang Chengxun nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)