After Zheng Zhilong saw the salute, Emperor Chongzhen said to him with a smile: "Qing has given birth to a good son, and he has made a lot of contributions to my Ming expedition to Mumbai." In a few years, when the Ming Dynasty attacked the Persian Empire, it is estimated that it will make another military exploit and go to the next level. I estimate that it will be better than the blue! ”

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong was of course overjoyed, and hurriedly thanked Tian'en, and immediately replied: "The dog is thanks to His Majesty for bringing it to the capital in his early years, and now he has this achievement, and it is also given by His Majesty, and the last general will not dare to take credit!" ”

At this time, in his heart, he was quite satisfied with the choice he made at the beginning, choosing to belong to the imperial court and listening to the emperor's words, this move was really not wrong! The Zheng family, today's Ming Dynasty, how many people can be worth? Not to mention anything else, the knighthood of his son is definitely a matter of time.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be a little concerned in his heart. Thinking about his day, he has no title, but his son has a title, if he goes home to worship his ancestors, what should he do?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Emperor Chongzhen smile and say to him again: "This family letter, when I returned to China, I brought it to Qing by the way, Qing will take a look!" ”

When Emperor Chongzhen returned to China, he brought a letter from the expedition to the Mughal Ming army. Among them, most of the family letters were sent by the courtiers. Zheng Chenggong's family letter, he was going to give it to his father in person.

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he was a little surprised, and when he saw the waiter handing over the letter from home, he immediately took it respectfully.

Originally, no matter how anxious he was, it would definitely be after the palace's resignation. But the emperor had already made it clear, so he immediately opened it and looked at it according to the emperor's words.

Needless to say, Zheng Chenggong expressed his thoughts in the letter, and then told about his situation in Mumbai, and expressed his determination in the letter that he must defeat the combined fleet of the British and Dutch, and raise the prestige of the Ming!

Seeing this, Zheng Zhilong remembered what the emperor said at the beginning, to let the banner of the Ming Dynasty be planted at the end of the ocean. That's what my son is doing!

When he was a little envious in his heart, he heard Emperor Chongzhen say to him: "I don't know how Qing's body is?" What I promised at the beginning, can I still practice it now? ”

As soon as he heard this, Zheng Zhilong was immediately overjoyed.

When he was ordered to meet him, he actually expected it and felt that the emperor was going to send him a mission. But what I didn't expect was that the emperor would give a letter to his family first, so that he could understand his son's situation first.

Hearing this, he immediately clenched his fists with both hands, and in a categorical voice, he replied categorically: "Your Majesty, the last general is still young!" This body is very good! No matter how much you say that you can kill a cow with one punch, you can at least beat a few soldiers, but it's no problem! ”

"Huh!" Emperor Chongzhen smiled when he heard this, pointed his finger at Zheng Zhilong and said, "Qing said so, I am relieved." In this way, Qing formed the Second Expeditionary Force and went to the Americas to reinforce Sun Qing! ”

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately replied: "Don't hide it from Your Majesty, the last general has been waiting for this day for a long time to plant the banner of the Ming Dynasty at the end of the ocean!" ”

After finishing speaking, seeing that the emperor smiled, he continued: "Your Majesty, I wonder if the soldiers who went on an expedition to the Americas can enjoy the same treatment as the soldiers on the Mughal side?" ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, and thought to himself, isn't the treatment of my Ming soldiers the same, why did Zheng Zhilong also propose to treat the soldiers on the same side as the Mughals?

As soon as he thought of this, he suddenly understood, could it be this matter of marrying a daughter-in-law?

Sure enough, Zheng Zhilong saw that Emperor Chongzhen didn't answer immediately, as if he still didn't understand a little, so he hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, that's the case. There are many singles in the army, and it is a big deal to marry a daughter-in-law and pass on the lineage. If you go on an expedition to another country, you don't know when you will be able to return, and if you can solve the worries of the officers and men in the army, the last general believes that there must be a lot of soldiers who are willing to go on an expedition to the other side of the ocean! ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled and said, "Zhun Song, just do it!" ”

Originally, the Mughal side did this, and other places did not do it, there is no specific statement. Now that the emperor has a golden mouth, it is a certainty.

When Zheng Zhilong heard this, he was immediately overjoyed. In this way, he can be sure that when he goes back to recruit and form an expeditionary force, it will definitely be very hot.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen also delineated the scope of Zheng Zhilong's expeditionary force, which was generally drawn from the coastal guards army and the southern guards. Because the expedition to the Americas was mainly fought in the south, soldiers who could adapt to the hot weather and the sea were given priority, so they could avoid the problem of water and soil adaptation as much as possible.

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen's decree was made, the Ministry of War, the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, and Zheng Zhilong himself immediately became busy. For these details, Emperor Chongzhen no longer worries.

At this time, accompanied by the prince, he once again took a train to Tianjin to visit the shipyard.

In the three years since Emperor Chongzhen left, under the leadership of the crown prince with all his might, the shipyard built a steam ironclad battleship for experimenting with various data, and then met the steam ironclad battleship in the Americas and returned to the sea.

These two ironclad battleships have only been built for a long time, and they are still in the process of sea trials to verify their performance. Before Emperor Chongzhen returned to Beijing, he had already sailed to Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and now, the observation posts along the way have reported that the ironclad battleship will return to Tianjin in the near future, so Emperor Chongzhen will personally come over.

When Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Tianjin, the two ironclad warships had not yet arrived. However, he was not in a hurry, so he inspected the Tianjin Shipyard, which had more than doubled in size.

Emperor Chongzhen found that the division of labor in the shipyard was more detailed than it had been three years ago. There are also more and more skilled craftsmen, and many auxiliary machines have been invented.

From Zhu Cihong's introduction, there are already many craftsmen in this shipyard who meet the professional craftsman titles stipulated by Emperor Chongzhen before. Even many of them are short of a work to prove that they can get the title of master. This work, in fact, is also available, which is an ironclad battleship powered by a steam drive spiral.

It can be said that such a battleship is really the crystallization of the highest craftsmanship in all aspects of the Ming Dynasty. From coking, steelmaking, artillery, steam engines, etc., every link is the best level of the Ming Dynasty, and it is the result of these years of hard work that can build an ironclad warship.

If the ironclad battleship succeeds and is affirmed by the emperor, then there must be a series of craftsmen who have mastered the technology to be affirmed.

In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen is very happy, he really has this level, and he will never spare this title.

About an hour in the afternoon, when Emperor Chongzhen was still inspecting the shipyard, he suddenly heard a commotion. Then, soon someone came rushing to say, "Your Majesty, you can see the ironclad battleship." The ironclad battleship is back! ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately perked up, and immediately waved his hand and said, "Let's go, go and see!" ”

Zhu Cihong, who accompanied Emperor Chongzhen, was also very excited, and immediately led the way in front.

The other accompanying officials, especially the craftsmen of the shipyard, were also extremely excited. With the emperor here, they didn't dare to make a sound, but the eyes they looked at each other were as bright as light bulbs, revealing the joy, which was really the same as a child waiting to receive the New Year's money during the New Year.

By the time Emperor Chongzhen arrived at the viewing platform, he could see the two ironclad warships more clearly without the help of binoculars, driving towards the shipyard one after the other.

But although they are unique, they know at a glance that they are their own. But the emperor was here, so a ship approached first, and the brocade guard got on the ironclad battleship, and then the ironclad battleship approached the viewing platform and slowly anchored to the dock to stabilize it.

The two captains of the ironclad battleship, with a group of sailors and a group of craftsmen, lined up to disembark and salute Emperor Chongzhen.

The arrival of the Ming Emperor means that once their achievements are affirmed, they will be rewarded immediately. Therefore, when this group of people came ashore, the excited smiles on their faces could not be concealed!

Seeing this scene, the craftsmen standing behind Emperor Chongzhen understood that this voyage to verify the performance of the ironclad battleship must be a success. Knowing this, they almost cheered.

Years of hard work have created miracles that I couldn't think of before, and today we will be affirmed and rewarded!

They didn't guess wrong, the captains of the two ironclad battleships reported the experimental data to Emperor Chongzhen on behalf of their own battleships, and the more detailed parameters were reported by the leaders of the craftsmen on the battleships. In short, there is only one conclusion, today's ironclad battleships are already suitable for long-distance operations.

Although the ironclad battleship in front of him was not a huge battleship, although the battleship was only equipped with spiral-rifled guns, and only two in the bow and stern, it was enough to deal with today's sail warships.

After listening to the proclamation, he personally went on the battleship to visit, and finally, Emperor Chongzhen solemnly announced: The first generation of ironclad battleships of the Ming Dynasty is finalized!

Needless to say, the entire shipyard was cheering excitedly, and even many people shed tears of excitement.

From the beginning of the steam engine to the ship, it can be said that this generation of shipbuilders, under the leadership of the prince, basically fought day and night, overcame countless difficulties, and today, finally succeeded!

It is undeniable that if it weren't for the prince taking the lead in building an ironclad battleship, he would never have succeeded so quickly. It can be said that the prince is here, and there is at least a shortening of five years.

For this reason, needless to say, Emperor Chongzhen gave the crown prince the title of "grandmaster", and the relevant craftsmen also got the title as they wished. The title of "master" alone has been rewarded as much as twenty-five at once, and the title of craftsman at the lower level is even more.

At the Tianjin Shipyard, the sound of "Long live, long live, long live" resounded throughout the world.