Bright Spring

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Liu Ming, a civil servant of the New Party, a few military generals and eunuchs, they generally didn't care much about government affairs|opinions.Zhu Gaoxu attached great importance to the New Deal, and they thought it was an important event, nothing more.Only civil servants care about national policy.

Zhu Gaoxu went on to say, "Chenla killed my envoy, Siam ignored Ming's appeal, and Mancijia realized the conflict of interests, and there were signs of allied countries fighting against Ming. Majesty, once you show weakness, the only awe that those countries have for Ming Dynasty will disappear! This battle has to be fought."

Liu Ming immediately clasped his hands and said, "The Holy Spirit is wise." Others also responded.

Zhu Gaoxu looked around, looked at everyone's expressions, and felt that they probably understood what he meant.These are the upper-level personnel of the navy, and it is necessary for Zhu Gaoxu to explain his thoughts.

"It's useless to say what you say when you've embarked on the path of leading troops. The key is military merit." Zhu Gaoxu's gaze stayed on Chen Xuan's face.

Chen Xuan clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty taught you the right thing."

Zhu Gaoxu said again, "Some warriors have a very bad reputation, and prosperity and wealth are not the same. General Chen doesn't care about the attitude and words of the ministers. If I don't make a decision, who can decide the future of the general?"

Chen Xuan thought deeply, and kept nodding.

Zhu Gaoxu said calmly, "I'll just look at the result this time. Whether it's Feng Hou or Feng Bo, it's all the luck of General Chen himself."

Chen Xuan's expression was suddenly a little surprised, he probably didn't expect that he could be knighted and become a nobleman.Zhu Gaoxu's words greatly aroused his emotions, Chen Xuan's face flushed, and he seemed a little excited.

He even got up from the bench, thumped and knelt down in the tunnel and said, "I will do my best to complete the great things of the Holy One, even if I am heartbroken. If you lose the battle, please come and see me!"

Zhu Gaoxu left the chair, walked up to Chen Xuan and said, "General Chen has such ambition, so I am relieved. But such an opportunity may only come once, you have to understand it in your heart."

After finishing speaking, he helped Chen Xuan up with his own hands, and said, "You should discuss with Wang Jinghong more about major military affairs decisions, and listen to Wang Jinghong in general." Then he turned to look at Wang Jinghong and said, "Discuss with General Chen more about everything. , he also has a lot of experience after all.”

The two bent down together and said, "Slaves and servants, take the order."

This establishes the upper-lower relationship.Zhu Gaoxu knows very well that sometimes there can be no power disputes, and there must be someone who can make a decisive decision.Far overseas, he still trusts eunuchs more.

Zhu Gaoxu sat back at the top, discussed some specific matters with everyone referring to the chart, and then disbanded.

The personnel of the navy is very complicated, including eunuchs, eunuchs, soldiers, a large number of civil officials, sailors and servants, doctors, doctors, alchemists, craftsmen, etc.In addition, of course, there are people from the Shouyusi and Jinyiwei, and there is also an undercover Jinyiwei who has not identified his identity.

Since the Song Dynasty, the organizational forms of all aspects of the court have become more and more complicated, and it has reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty.Even if the army is overseas, it is unlikely that a few people want to rebel or exceed their power.

end of this chapter)

Chapter 873 The Sunny Breeze

Everything was ready, and the Ming Navy fleet set sail in May.

Most of the sea ships departed from the Taicang area east of the capital, while a small number of ships departed from Longjiang Port.After all the ships go out to sea, the whole army will form a huge formation of [-] large and small ships. When marching, the sea area occupied by the fleet is about a wide area with a radius of twenty miles.

The officials of the Ministry of War picked a good day, which was sunny and breezy.

Liu Ming and others performed some etiquette on the shore to bid farewell to the emperor and court colleagues who came to farewell in person.Then they got into the small boat, rowed with the oars with the sergeants, and approached a treasure ship.

The magnificent treasure ship on the river is extremely dazzling in the sun.The solid hull looks as stable as Mount Tai, and the hull is very thick and strong; the only shortcoming of this flagship-level large treasure ship is probably the slow response.

The antique window lattices on the hull and stern glisten in the bright sun, as if they were inlaid with many precious stones.It is said that they are all decorative clamshells, and their main function is to reflect light into the cabin on the inner wall of the clamshell, so as to make the cabin better lit.

When Liu Ming boarded the deck, he saw that the commander Tang Jing had arrived first.Liu Ming immediately felt better, being in the same boat with acquaintances always made him feel more at ease.

Tang Jing greeted him and said, "Starting today, Liu Shijun and I will get along day and night."

Liu Ming bowed his hand in return.He thought to himself, if they spend a few months together on the boat and cannot go to other places, the relationship will definitely become more familiar.

When the treasure ship had just hoisted its sails and set off, the military appearance of the soldiers was still in order.All the troops lined up on the deck and waved the flag to say goodbye to the emperor on the distant shore.

But after the scenery of the capital became more and more blurred from sight, the atmosphere on the ship changed quickly.From the cabin came the brisk sound of musical instruments, as well as "hahaha" rough laughter.People were busy and noisy, and the crew who had just set off seemed to be in a good mood.

Looking at the chaotic scene in front of him, Liu Ming strolled on the deck for a while.At this time, Tang Jing, who had gone to arrange all the affairs, came to meet him again.The two stood on the deck and greeted each other.

Tang Jing said, "I am the commander of the five ships, and I am also the commander of the ship. We specially arranged a separate cabin for Liu Shijun, and I will take Liu Shijun there later."

Liu Ming cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry, General Tang."

The two walked side by side on the tens of steps long deck.Tang Jingyao pointed to the boats on the water and said, "Our commander has three Mengchong warships, a grain ship, and a treasure ship under our feet."

Liu Ming followed Tang Jing's instructions, looked at the sails on the water, and nodded in response from time to time.

Tang Jing said again, "There are officers and soldiers on this ship, 920 three people. In addition to scribes, officials, medical officers, servants and other people, the total number is more than a thousand."

After hearing this, Liu Ming exclaimed slightly, "It's like a military town."

Tang Jing smiled and said, "Isn't it?"

He then pointed to the wooden building at the stern and said, "The treasure ship has eight floors, four floors below the deck, and four floors at the stern. There are rudder cabin, medical cabin, official hall, and command building. The rudder operated by the rudder cabin is used The most important is the open-hole balance rudder, which is the latest rudder made after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

no problem.The general and Liu Shijun both live in the official hall, which is located on the second floor. I will take you up to settle down. "

When the two walked side by side, Tang Jing continued to say, "The hard sails we use, the skeleton and the canvas are very heavy. When encountering strong winds and waves, the center of gravity may not be stable and the boat will capsize; fortunately, we use sliding ropes to lift and lower the boat There is a great advantage to having a sail that is fast and can more easily avoid the wind. The soft sails used by the Persians are indeed lighter, but they require the sailors to climb up the mast, and the raising and lowering is very cumbersome. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.”

Liu Ming listened with great interest.I saw that General Tang got on the boat, his face was full of radiance, and his demeanor was different from when he was in Beijing.Perhaps, for some people, the wandering voyage is his destination?Just like a camel, it just likes the harsh and harsh desert.

Tang Jing leaned on the railing, looked at the ship's side for a while, and said, "This ship is equipped with 24 Hanwang cannons of the 'Tian' brand, two at the front and back, and ten on the left and right sides, and there are countless guns of various sizes. It will appear that if the enemy ships want to confront us head-on, the best way is to flee; after all, the treasure ships are heavy and the speed is really slow."

After he finished speaking, he laughed, his face full of confidence and boldness.

While talking, the two walked up the wooden stairs to the official hall.They came to the door of a room, Tang Jing pushed the door open.I saw a small room inside. Although the space is not large, it is very good to have a separate cabin on the ship.

After a while, four more people came to meet.Two sergeants, a handyman, and a scribe are all dedicated to Liu Ming's dispatch.

The room is fully furnished, and there is a wooden case next to the window lattice.Liu Ming walked to the side of the wooden case, and immediately sighed again.Next to the wooden case, the Four Treasures of the Study are arranged in a very delicate way.

There is a string at the end of a row of writing brushes, hanging on the pen stand and shaking slightly.The inkstone was replaced by a copper bottle with a cork, and a special bamboo pocket woven from bamboo strips was nailed to the ship's wall.Another marble paperweight is also fixed to the wall of the ship.

Tang Jing explained, "When encountering wind and waves, the things in the cabin will bump around everywhere, and the things must be fixed to avoid hurting people."

Liu Ming nodded and said, "I know, I have been on a sea boat before. It's just that I don't pay so much attention to the utensils."

Tang Jing nodded slightly.

In order to show that he has sailing experience, Liu Ming found a wooden box, took out tea from it, twirled a small poke with his fingers, handed it to Tang Jing's palm, and said, "Tea, please."

Tang Jing smiled knowingly, put it in his mouth to chew, and then took the cowhide water bag from the guard.He said, "Our life will be good at the beginning. There are a lot of seasonal melons and fruits on board. But after a while, we can only be jealous of pickled cabbage and bean sprouts. Generally, there is no fire on board. To raise the fire, the sand and gravel at the bottom of the ballast must be moved." Some up."

Liu Ming said, "Going out, that's the only way."

Tang Jing chatted here for a while, then left.Liu Ming sent it to the door.

In the evening, the boat became even more lively.The distilled liquor brought from the capital was distributed to the soldiers before dinner, and everyone was happier after drinking the wine.Liu Ming was in the cabin and heard the military music and flag drummers playing their respective tunes, and the boat was full of hustle and bustle.

He walked out of the cabin, stood by the railing and watched, and saw that the soldiers on the deck seemed to be celebrating a festival, some singing and dancing,

Some people are wrestling.There were also onlookers and booing soldiers, all shouting on the deck.In the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many Mongolians were surrendered in the army. Decades later, the members of the soldiers mainly became Han Chinese, but some Mongolian customs were also preserved in the army, and many soldiers liked to wrestle.

The people trained and prepared for a long time, and when they first sailed, they were very happy, and there was no low morale that court officials feared.But this is a protracted journey, and it may not be the same after a while.