Daming: From the Son of Heaven to the Leader of Comprehensive Martial Arts

Zhu Qizhen put down the memorial and asked.

"Your Majesty Qizuo, I don't know about other lowly ministers, but only in Fujian province, there are only twelve artillery warships, and they are all small boats. The big ships of Zheng He's navy back then have long been abandoned and rusted, and they are docked in the bay..."

Zheng Chenggong reported the truth, feeling a little heartbroken.

Hearing Zheng Chenggong's reply, Zhu Qizhen frowned.

In the majestic Ming Empire, the number of naval personnel is so small, and the warships of the Daming Navy have only twelve battleships.

If the enemy attacked from sea, wouldn't Ming's coastal defense line collapse immediately?

Of course, Zhu Qizhen knew well that it was not because the Ming Navy was unwilling to expand the number of warships, but because it was extremely expensive to build warships, train the navy, and maintain warships.

Zhu Qizhen’s Lao Tzu, Zhu Zhanji’s dynasty, the empire’s navy only had 20 taels of military expenditure a year, which also included the navy’s salary and military pay.

With so little appropriation, it can be said that it is a miracle that the Ming Navy still exists.

For the great affairs of the empire, everything is inseparable from silver!

If the Ming Empire wants to build a powerful navy that can cross the sea, it needs a strong comprehensive national strength to support it.

Otherwise, everything can only stay on the lip.

The civil and military officials didn't say a word, they just listened and watched quietly.

Everyone knows that the emperor's announcement of Zheng Chenggong's ascension to court is related to the construction of the Ming Navy, and they all want to see His Majesty's intentions from it.

"The Great Ming Navy has declined to such a point?"

Zhu Qizhen raised his eyebrows slightly, he was very clear that Zheng Chenggong was definitely not trying to scare people, so he asked: "Now, among the navy, are there any large ships that can go to sea?"

"Your Majesty, the biggest battleship of my Ming Dynasty was the main ship of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean. It was called the Shenlong. It is in disrepair and can no longer go to sea to fight."

As an admiral of the navy, as a person who loves warships, Zheng Chenggong can't help but sigh when he thinks of the Shenlong, and he still has a grudge in his heart.

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"If you want the Shenlong to launch into the sea, how much silver and how much time will it take?"

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

Chapter 41 A military order worth 3000 million taels of silver, do you dare to issue it?

"When will my giant battleship Shenlong go to sea?"

Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon seat and stared at Zheng Chenggong.

"Your Majesty Qizuo, I only need 100 million taels of silver. Within a month, I can repair the Shenlong battleship, and let this largest battleship of our Ming Empire go to sea smoothly."

Zheng Chenggong swore a guarantee.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were in an uproar.

No one thought that the current naval ships are not as good as the ships of decades ago.

Currently, under the regulations of the Navy of the Ming Empire, all ships are twelve feet long. Not only is their firepower inferior to that of the Shenlong several decades ago, but their size is also several times smaller.

However, it does not mean that the bigger the battleship, the better.

In many cases, these twelve-foot ships are lighter and faster.

Of course, the main reason is to save money.

Zheng Chenggong's eyes were burning, and he didn't hide it, showing a longing expression.

He loves the navy, longs for giants at sea, longs for giant artillery, and longs for the Ming Empire to reproduce the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West.

However, Zheng Chenggong knew very well that the larger the warship, the construction cost and subsequent maintenance and repair costs were extremely expensive compared to small ships.

This is not simple addition and subtraction!

Instead, it doubled several times!

Inevitably, according to the current regulations of the Daming Navy, to build a ship twelve feet long and nine feet wide, only 3 taels of silver are needed.

And to build a huge battleship with a length of 48 feet and a width of 36 feet is not sixteen times that of a small ship, but at least three million taels of silver, which is as high as one hundred times.

Because to build a giant battleship, it is not a simple addition of materials.

The materials must be more sophisticated, and the technical problems are the key factors!

If in the eighth year of Zhengtong, when Zhu Qizhen had just crossed over, the tax revenue of the treasury for the whole year was only 800 million taels, and the officials had to be paid salaries, the water pumps of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River had to be repaired, and disaster relief had to be done...

All expenses are removed.

Thinking of taking out another silver tael to rebuild a giant fleet is tantamount to fantasy.

However, after the reform of the tax system, Zhu Qizhen now holds nearly 6000 million taels of silver in his hands, which can be described as rich and powerful.

Except for the construction of the Grassland Xiongcheng, which cost 1000 million taels, he still has 5000 million taels of silver to squander.

Moreover, after the establishment of the Daming Bank, money begets money, like a cash cow. From then on, he will not worry about money.

Listening to Zheng Chenggong's request like a military order and staring at Zheng Chenggong's fiery eyes, although Zhu Qizhen was a little moved, he still didn't directly ask the Ministry of Households to allocate funds.

He is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the monarch of the world, and he is responsible for the country and the country. He will think twice before acting in everything, and will not act rashly.

"If I want to revive the Ming Dynasty, restore the glory of the Yongle Dynasty, and reproduce the grand occasion of Zheng He's voyages, how much silver will I need?"

Hearing the emperor's question, Zheng Chenggong was a little surprised. It turned out that His Majesty's ambition was so lofty.

Feeling agitated, he made some calculations in his heart, and immediately clasped his fists in reply, saying: "Your Majesty Qizuo, if you want to reproduce the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West, you should probably..."

This is an astronomical number.

Zheng Chenggong is a sixth-rank petty official. Although he calculated the approximate figure, he had never dared to think about it before, and he dared not speak at this moment.

"Zheng Aiqing, you can do some careful calculation."

Zhu Qizhen saw Zheng Chenggong's concerns. Once he said the number, he would definitely shock the court, and asked instead: "How is the firepower of the Shenlong battleship?"

"Your Majesty, the Shenlong battleship's artillery is still a copper cannon decades ago. In terms of power alone, it is far inferior to the current artillery."

Zheng Chenggong handed over his hand and reported back.

Zhu Qizhen asked again: "If these cannons are replaced, how many taels of silver will it cost?"

"The military expenditure on the artillery is actually not a big one. I only need to add 100 million taels of silver. Not only can the firepower of the Shenlong battleship be updated, but also the artillery of other warships can be replaced with new ones."

Hear Zheng Chenggong's vowed assurance.

Zhu Qizhen hesitated slightly, nodded, and then asked: "Okay, my love, you can answer the last question, build an invincible navy, and reproduce the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West. How much silver do you need in total?"

Facing the emperor's questioning again.

Zheng Chenggong swallowed his saliva, knelt on the ground suddenly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty Qizuo, you need about 500 taels of silver!"

"Bold, Zheng Chenggong!"

"You are a little sixth-rank Fujian general, summoned by His Majesty, smoke is already rising from your ancestral tomb, the emperor's grace is mighty, above the court, you dare to open your mouth like a lion?!"

Zheng Chenggong's voice fell, and the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty shocked the scene.

They couldn't believe their ears.

500 million taels of silver!

It is they, the cabinet elders, the six ministers of the first grade, the officials of the court, and the officials of the frontier, can't even imagine it.

Now, it actually came from a sixth-rank official!

You know, in the depths of the desert, in the middle of the grassland, it only costs 1000 million taels of silver to build a grand town.

What surprised Wenwu of Manchao even more was that...

At this time, Zhu Qizhen suddenly stood up, and slapped the dragon case heavily with his palm. The majestic voice resounded through the Xuanzheng Hall and echoed in the ears of every court minister.

"What I want is not only to reproduce the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West! What I want is a Ming navy that can shock the world! What I want is a Ming navy that can conquer the world!"

"What I want is an invincible navy that dares to refuse, and will be punished no matter how far away!"

"Five million taels of silver is not enough!"

"Zheng Chenggong! Let me ask you, if I make you the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty Navy, the second rank of the official residence! Allocate 3000 million taels of silver to you, and I want you to build a Ming Dynasty navy that sweeps the world within one year! But, If you fail to do so after one year, you will be executed immediately!"

"Do you dare to issue this military order?"

After Zhu Qizhen's words fell, all civil and military officials were stunned, and everyone was dumbfounded.

My God, 3000 million taels of silver!

What kind of navy does the most powerful man in the world want to build?

"My minister, Zheng Chenggong, thank you for your decree! Within one year, I will definitely build a Ming navy for your Majesty that can cross the sea and conquer the world! If I fail to do so, my whole family, young and old, will be willing to lead your Majesty!" Apologize to death!"

Zheng Chenggong knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times and kowtowed nine times, and resolutely accepted the decree.

His expression is serious and serious, his mood is agitated, and he can't calm down for a long time. His heart is like a big wave rushing in the sea, full of passion!

3000 million taels of silver, this is an astronomical figure.

You must know that the one-year appropriation of the Ming Navy is only 20 taels of silver in total, and now His Majesty has smashed down 3000 million taels of silver, which is equivalent to the appropriation of the Ming Navy for 150 years!

In the Xuanzheng Hall, some people were very excited about the emperor's decision, but some were worried, and some even wanted to cry.

The second assistant of the cabinet, the supervisory household department, the chief economic officer of the Ming Empire, Xu Jie, who is nearly seventy years old, almost vomited blood and fell down when he heard that His Majesty allocated 3000 million taels of silver to build the navy.

"Your Majesty, this job in charge of money is a beautiful job, but you should leave it to Yan Song, the chief assistant of the cabinet?"

"When you open your mouth, you need to allocate 3000 million taels of silver. A few days ago, 1000 million taels of silver were allocated for the construction of the North City of Xiongguan Town in the Grassland. Now the remaining silver in the household department is less than 2000 million taels. To establish the Daming Bank..."

"Difficult, the work of the cabinet minister is really too difficult."

However, above the court, most of the officials were still inexplicably excited and excited.

The emperor made a decree to re-establish the Ming Dynasty Navy and revive the glory of the Ming Empire Navy. The Ming Dynasty Navy is the supreme glory of the Ming Empire and represents the prosperity and splendor of the Ming Empire.

Every courtier wants to witness this moment that will surely illuminate the history books!

However, 3000 million taels of silver did shock all civil and military officials.

Such a huge amount of funding is not only the first time in the Ming Dynasty, but also the first time in all ages.

As for how to build warships and how to train the navy, Zhu Qizhen is a layman, he has no opinion, and Zheng Chenggong has full authority.

However, about the artillery on the battleship.

Zhu Qizhen was not satisfied with the power of the Daming artillery now.

In his eyes, Daming's artillery is obviously a little behind. The iron barrel is filled with gunpowder and loaded with marbles. This is the artillery.

This kind of artillery may already be lagging behind the West, even if it is not lagging behind, in the eyes of the well-informed Zhu Qizhen, this is not eye-catching.

This is not the image of artillery in Zhu Qizhen's mind.

The giant battleship and the giant artillery must be perfectly matched. The power of the artillery must be able to sink an enemy warship with one shot, which can satisfy Zhu Qizhen.

The power of the Daming Cannon is far from what he thought in his heart.

Zheng Chenggong led the order to return to the court. At this time, he was so excited that he wished to immediately take away 3000 million taels of silver from the cabinet, return to the Fujian Navy Construction Bureau, and start the repair work of the Shenlong Jumbo.

"Allocate 100 million taels of silver, and order the Ministry of Industry to convene craftsmen to devote all their efforts to the research and development of firearms, especially the research on ship-borne shells, which is listed as a primary research project."

Zhu Qizhen turned his head to look at the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and issued another imperial decree.

"The minister leads the order."

Firearms are the country's most important weapon, no matter how much money is invested in research, Zhu Qizhen will not feel bad.

Zhu Qizhen promulgated two imperial edicts in succession, both of which were in silver, and Xu Jie, the second assistant to the cabinet, had a bitter face, expressing the great pressure.

Chapter 42 The Ming Empire wants the world to understand two words: conquer!

"If you have a book, you will play early, but if you don't have a book, you will retreat."

Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, Wei Zhongxian shook his whisk and shouted loudly.

"Report to His Majesty, the old minister has a book to write."

Xu Jie, the second assistant to the cabinet, walked out of the court with a bitter face, holding an ivory slip.

"Quasi-playing." Zhu Qizhen said.