The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 274 The thief is found

In March, all things come back to life and the Beiyun River thaws.

More and more ships are coming and going at the Tongzhou Canal Wharf, and long lines of exhaust are forming on the surface of the river.

This is the situation with water transportation in the north. Due to the influence of the season, water transportation is cut off in winter, and land transportation is also affected, and many things cannot be transported.

Therefore, every time the North Canal is unblocked, the Tongzhou Canal Port is particularly busy.

When Wanli saw this busy scene, a look of relief appeared on his face.

There are already many grain transport ships traveling here, and with the addition of the navy's express ships, the Tongzhou grain transport terminal is almost catching up with the freight terminal in Jinling City.

The navy centipede ships he brought this time were only about a hundred, but the total number of ships here was more than a thousand.

It seems that it won’t take long for the capital to catch up with the prosperity of Nanjing.

The reason why he came here was because Yongnian Earl Wang Wei sent a message that he would come here today to install naval guns on the thousand-ton giant ship docked here.

This was a big deal, so he set out from the palace early in the morning at around 5 a.m. with tens of thousands of imperial guards.

It's not even morning yet and the sun hasn't even risen yet. I didn't expect there are so many ships coming and going here.

Fortunately, the thousand-ton giant ship stands proudly among thousands of ships like a city wall. There is no need to look for it, it can be seen at a glance.

After a while, the centipede boat he was on docked at the pier next to the thousand-ton giant ship.

He was quite impatient to take Li Xuancheng, Shan Sinan and others to the dock and walked directly to the giant ship.

At this moment, he was still wearing the military uniform of the imperial guards, so ordinary people couldn't tell.

Wang Wei, the Earl of Yongnian on the deck, recognized him at a glance.

The old father-in-law was about to salute, but he kept waving his hands to signal him not to say anything.

When Yongnianbo Wang Wei saw this, he was stunned and didn't know what to do.

Wanli smiled slightly and said, "Father-in-law, how many naval guns have been transported here?"

You said to bring more.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei said carefully, "Twenty guns were brought here this time."

Wanli walked up to a naval gun and examined it carefully, then asked, "Where is this usually mounted?"

You can install it wherever you want.

Yongnianbo Wang Wei explained: "This is usually installed behind the side of the ship. If it is installed at the bow and stern, the top deck and cabin brackets must be reinforced."

Then install them all so that you can hit from all directions and save the trouble of turning around.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "How many doors are usually installed on the back of the ship's sides?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei said without hesitation: "At most ten."

There is no way. This thousand-ton Fu ship was not built in the style of a tower ship or a gunboat. The decks of tower ships and gunboats are all built with several layers to equip cannons. The middle section of the Fu ship is just one deck, and there are no multi-layer cabins to install cannons.

Wanli thought about it and said simply: "Okay, install ten guns on both sides of the ship, three guns in the front, and two guns in the back."

Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei quickly arranged for people to reinforce the front and rear cabins, and at the same time measured and calibrated the positions for the artillery installations behind the sides of the ship.

After they marked the position, they did not directly nail the thick iron plate at the bottom of the gun mount to the deck. Instead, they drew holes with charcoal and then moved the gun mount away.

Then they used a hand drill to drill a circle of holes on the deck that were the same as those on the thick iron plate.

Only at this time did they lift the gun mount back and have someone nail a special rivet on it from the bottom.

This type of rivet has a large cap on the top, a cylinder in the middle that is the same size as the round hole, and a square cone at the bottom.

After the rivets were nailed in from below, the cylinder was flush with the surface of the thick iron plate. A craftsman then broke the square spike with a hammer, and then hammered it towards the edge until the spike was tightly attached to the surface of the thick iron plate, with a small part of the front end exposed. Then he hammered the small part down until it was tightly fastened to the edge of the thick iron plate.

This fixing method is really strong enough. The rivets are like hooks that hook tightly on the thick iron plate, hooking on all sides. The gun mount seems to be integrated with the deck.

The reason they didn't use big nails was probably because they were afraid of creating cracks in the deck.

If cracks appear on the deck due to nailing, it will be troublesome. As long as the guns are fired, the cracks will get bigger and bigger. When the cracks become bigger, the nails will become loose, the gun mount will become unstable, and the deck will be ruined soon.

Wanli looked at the craftsmen installing the cannons skillfully and nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding technology has not been lost, but in the past hundred years, the Ming Dynasty has rarely built giant ships weighing more than a thousand tons. After such a giant ship weighing a thousand tons is equipped with fifteen cannons, its combat effectiveness is already quite good.

There are artillery bombardments at long range, muskets and rockets at medium range, and kerosene tanks and bombs at short range. As long as the enemy has no artillery, this giant ship is almost invincible.

He is not afraid of the enemy's artillery. He can also win by numbers. He can build hundreds of ships and rush forward to bombard them. At worst, a few or even dozens of ships will be sunk. Anyway, there are speedboats to rescue people, so there is no need to worry about heavy casualties.

If hundreds of such gunboats could really be built, the few warships and cannonballs that the colonial pirates brought to the Far East would be no match for them.

He was just pondering this when Yongnianbo Wang Wei suddenly came over and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, should we let those ten thousand-ton warships from Nanjing come over to load the guns, or should we send the guns over?"

This one.

It seems that the wind is still blowing from the north. I wonder how troublesome it would be if a huge ship weighing thousands of tons came over.

Wanli pondered for a while, then gave detailed instructions: "Send someone on a navy express ship to deliver it.

Also, tell Danyang that next year we're going to be mass-producing 1,000-ton ships, and we're also going to be preparing trial production for 2,000-ton ships. Have him quickly process the molds and plates."

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant understands."

If Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan wasn't about to give birth in the next two months, he would really like to go to Jinling to take a look.

This year he also wants to take over the territory of the Chahar tribe, so it seems that he can't go to Nanjing.

Next, he waited for Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan to give birth, and then led the army in person to conquer the Chahar tribe.

Unexpectedly, Luo Sigong came after a few days.

At about noon that day, he was reviewing memorials in the imperial study when Li Xuancheng suddenly poked his head in and said, "Your Majesty, Luo Sigong requests an audience."

Could it be that those civil servants are spreading rumors again, trying to stir up a dispute over the country's foundation?
Wanli frowned slightly when he heard this, then said loudly: "Announce."

Soon, Luo Sigong walked in quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he actually said with joy, "Your Majesty, the spies we sent to the Tumed headquarters have brought back news."

Very good, the counter-espionage finally worked.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "What news?"

Luo Sigong explained in detail: "They heard the news but didn't see it.

A general among the secret guards who was quite good at riding and shooting had gained the trust of a tribal chief. He pretended to like kumis and accompanied the tribal chief to drink it every day, and then talked nonsense after drinking.

After talking like this for a while, the tribal chief was no longer wary of him, and he finally got some useful information.

The tribal chief said that all the Wang family members of the three major families in Puzhou were on their side. Among them, Wang Chonggu's younger brother Wang Chongya was in their Tumed tribe, while the other Wang family members were scattered among the various tribes in the Northern Lu.

Humph, the three great families of Puzhou, you traitors who collaborate with the enemy and betray your country have finally revealed your true colors.

I will cut off the flaws you have revealed.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Can they find out where the Wang family is?"

Uh, this.

Luo Sigong slowly shook his head and said, "That seems difficult. The tribal chief said that the Wang family did not roam with their tribe. Only a few people like their Khan Chelike and Sanniang know where the Wang family is."

Then go find it.

Wanli thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Send a secret order. Instruct all the secret guards who have infiltrated the Northern Tartar tribe to secretly investigate the location of the Wang family. We must find a way to sever the connection between the three major families of Puzhou and the Northern Tartar."

Luo Sigong quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Wanli pondered again and said, "This Secret Guard General has done a very good job. He will be rewarded handsomely. His family will be rewarded with one hundred sheep, one stallion and one mare, and one hundred taels of silver.

Also, when you send the secret order, tell all the secret guards who have infiltrated the Northern Barbarians that whoever finds a member of the Wang family will be rewarded with one hundred sheep, one stallion and one mare, and one hundred taels of silver."

As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under a heavy reward.

The three great families of Puzhou, let’s see where you can run this time.

I must cut off your connection with the Northern Tartars.

This way I don't have to fight around like a crazy person every time.

(End of this chapter)