The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 484 There is no strongest, only stronger

Around noon, the sun is at its highest point.

In the waterwheel workshop on the banks of the Chaobai River, Wanli was still discussing with Yongnian Earl Wang Wei how to use the power of the waterwheel to press the iron plate.

At this time, the emperor's second son, Zhu Changxu, could not help but touch his stomach and said, "Father, I'm so hungry."

You kid, you only know how to eat.

Wanli shook his head and smiled, then said, "Father-in-law, why don't you go have dinner together? We can talk while we eat."

How dare I not go when your Majesty invites me?

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Wanli took them directly to the outside of the workshop, called on his personal guards to mount their horses, and then rode straight to the Miyun Palace.

At this moment, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan was already waiting outside the kitchen of the palace.

As soon as she saw her precious son coming back, her face immediately showed joy.

At this time, she seemed to have transformed from a good wife to a good mother. Before, she only had Wanli in her eyes, but now her eyes were mostly on her precious son. This precious son was in the period of growing up, and she was afraid that Zhu Changxu would be hungry.

She hurriedly went forward, exchanged greetings with Wanli and Yongnianbo, then took her precious son and walked towards the kitchen.

Wanli invited Yongnian Earl Wang Wei to go in and see that Zhu Changxu had picked up a roasted leg of lamb and was ready to start eating.

He shook his head helplessly and smiled, then invited Yongnianbo Wang Wei to sit down, and then raised his hand and said: "Okay, eat quickly if you are hungry."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changxu started eating immediately, holding the lamb leg and chewing it fiercely.

Upon seeing this, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan hurriedly scooped him a bowl of soup, blew on it hard, took a sip, and when she felt it was almost done, she immediately raised her hand to pry open the leg of lamb from Zhu Changqi's mouth and fed him the soup.

When Yongnian Earl Wang Wei saw this, a hint of complexity appeared in his eyes.

He must be thinking of his daughter and grandson.

He couldn't help but think about this.

The Mountain Resort is only a hundred miles away from the capital, and the ice and snow have melted long ago. Not only does the Emperor not return to the capital to see his daughter and grandson, he even strictly forbids them to pass the news back. What does this mean?

It turns out that there was a rumor in the capital that His Majesty was extremely fond of the Imperial Concubine, and now it seems that it is absolutely true.

His Majesty always takes the Imperial Concubine with him wherever he goes.

At this moment, His Majesty has not even mentioned the matter of appointing a crown prince. Is it true that the dispute over the throne of the country will not really break out?

As soon as Wanli saw the expression on Yongnian Earl Wang Wei's face, he knew that his father-in-law might have misunderstood him.

He personally filled their glasses with wine, drank them all, and then asked, "Father-in-law, are Xi'er and Xun'er all right?"

Why is His Majesty suddenly asking this again?

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "They are all fine."

Wanli explained in detail: "Father-in-law, there is a reason why I did not return to Beijing.

You should know that some civil servants claim to be working for the country and the people, but in reality they are fighting for power and profit. What's worse, they can even collaborate with the enemy and sell out the Ming Dynasty for the sake of profit.

If these civil servants are not cleaned up, they will lead a group of officials astray. Once there are too many such officials, the Ming Dynasty will decline. This is a lesson left behind by the succession of dynasties.

Therefore, we must find a way to eliminate these civil servants, and if we find any, we must kill them.

The problem is that if I kill too many people, they will be afraid. When I was in the capital, many civil servants like this were pretending and hiding very deeply.

For example, the three great families of Puzhou at that time, Yang Bo, Wang Chonggu, and Zhang Siwei, all of them had great power in the court and the country, and they had countless relatives, friends, and students.

However, as soon as I started to deal with them, many of their relatives and friends disappeared as if they had vanished into thin air, and most of their students and old acquaintances also went into hiding.

If this goes on, this hidden danger will always exist and cannot be eliminated. I can suppress them, but can Xun'er suppress it? Can Xun'er's descendants suppress it? Once there is one who cannot be suppressed, the Ming Dynasty may be finished.

When I am not in the capital, they will not be so afraid. As long as they relax their vigilance, they will reveal clues, and then I will be able to follow the clues and clean them up.

This is why I don’t return to the capital, and why I don’t want people to know I’m here. After all, this place is too close to the capital.”

Oh, I see. Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I understand."

At this point, he finally felt relieved and had an appetite. He even started to pick up food with his chopsticks that had been idle all this time.

Wanli invited him to eat a few mouthfuls of food, then sighed slightly and said, "Father-in-law, you don't know that there are officials like this hiding in the court. I try my best to block the news of everything I do, for fear that these officials will know and tip off the enemy.

For example, Japan has been conquered, and Luo'er has become a vassal in Musashi Province, Japan. I have held the military examination and the palace examination there, and also granted titles to thousands of dukes and nobles.

Before I take action to deal with the Tatars and the Jurchens, I have to keep all this secret from all the officials in the court, because the three major families in Puzhou are in cahoots with the Northern Tartars.

You said, isn't it disgusting that such things are hidden in the court? Now I don't need to hide these things, but I am too lazy to tell them. "

The current Ming Dynasty court is really a bit disgusting.

Many officials are not on the same page with the Emperor. These guys are so selfish that it seems as if the officials in the court must oppose the emperor.

This kind of court really needs to be cleaned up.

However, this is not my business, so I'd better not worry about it.

Yongnianbo Wang Wei sighed secretly and then asked, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you what the purpose of building a machine specifically for pressing iron plates is.

If this kind of machine is built, the output of iron sheets will surely be quite astonishing. Am I going to use all of it to stamp iron barrels? I don’t know how many iron barrels I can produce in a day.”

I just came up with this machine suddenly. I haven't even thought about how to build an ironclad battleship.

Wanli thought about it carefully, and then explained: "I actually want to use this pressed iron plate to build ironclad warships.

An ironclad warship is one that has its decks and sides filled with iron plates, making it difficult for enemy shells to damage our warship.

What I said about increasing the thickness from one inch to half an inch is actually just an approximate size. The final thickness and shape of the battleship's armor still need to be tested.

If we consider the warship's carrying capacity, the thinner the armor, the better. However, our armor must at least be able to withstand the bombardment of a 500-jin artillery piece."

Oh, so it’s to build ironclad battleships.

The battleship is extremely large, and the amount of iron plates required is extremely large.

The thinner the iron plate is, the better, because iron itself is heavy. A half-inch thick iron plate, even if it is half a foot long and wide, will weigh at least two or three hundred pounds, and two people may not be able to lift it.

They not only have to consider the carrying capacity of the warship, but also the convenience of installation. If two people can't lift it, it will be a bit difficult to install. It would be best if one person can carry it.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei was still pondering, but Zhu Changxu couldn't help asking, "Father, why do we need to build ironclad warships?

It seems too troublesome to build an ironclad battleship. The machine you just mentioned makes me dizzy. I can't even imagine how such a machine can be built, let alone an ironclad battleship.

Don't we already have Fuchuan warships? If we build more of them, wouldn't they be just as invincible? Why should we go to all this trouble to build ironclad warships?"

You don't know the cruelty of the jungle yet.

This is not okay.

Wanli patiently taught: "Xu'er, we can't stand still.

There are many unreasonable countries in this world. They only care about strength. They think that if they are stronger than others, they can plunder, bully, and even destroy others at will.

The colonial bandits in Europe now have this kind of thinking. They have destroyed countless countries, and they have been jealous of the Ming Dynasty for a long time.

If we stop moving forward, we will be overtaken by these guys. The consequences of being overtaken by them are very serious. At the very least, we will be robbed and bullied, and at the worst, our country will be destroyed. Do you know?
Therefore, we cannot be satisfied with the status quo and stand still. We must continue to become stronger.

There is actually no secret about ironclad warships. Even the Japanese knew that installing iron plates on warships could protect them from artillery shells, and the European colonial bandits must have known it as well.

In other words, ironclad battleships will be built sooner or later, and now it just depends on who builds it first.

If the European colonial bandits built it first, we would be in big trouble and we would definitely be beaten, do you know?
So, we have to build it first, so that we can beat them instead of being beaten."

Oh, I see.

Zhu Changxu nodded, not quite understanding, and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)