After two months of being busy in the capital, Gao Junshan decided to go to Jinling.

Dong Xiaowan heard that Gao Junshan was going to Jinling, and she wanted to follow along.

"Your Majesty, when you go to Jinling, can you bring your concubines with you?" Dong Xiaowan took advantage of Gao Junshan's visit to Chu Xiu Palace and asked Gao Junshan.

"The ninth sister is still young, and you can't go out of the palace yet." Gao Junshan refused.

How can a mother not love her children? Not to mention parting. So as soon as Gao Junshan mentioned the ninth sister, Dong Xiaowan's idea of returning to her hometown was dispelled, which mother's patience to let go of her child under the age of one and stay away thousands of miles away?

Gao Junshan promised her that when she came back from Jinling, he would definitely bring her some Jiangnan specialties.

Since he had made the decision to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, Gao Junshan had made preparations early this time, and he still decided to take the waterway this time, because he was mainly going to inspect the Jinling Longjiang Shipyard.

After receiving the notice, the Admiralty transferred "Xiangyang No. 1" to the Caoyun Wharf in the east of the capital to wait for orders.

In 1648, the New Year's bell had just rang, and Gao Junshan boarded the "Xiangyang No. 1" under the protection of Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu.

Liu Wenxiu is now the boss of the Cao Gang, so it is safe to sail on the Beijing-Shanghai Grand Canal, and it is safe for him to protect it.

Gao Junshan did not make a big splash when he went to the south of the Yangtze River this time, so there were not many civil and military officials who came to the dock to see him off, only Bai Lisha, Liu Hongru, Tian Wenju, Tian Fang, Li Busi and Bai Wenxuan.

Bai Wenxuan had just returned from North Korea, Gao Junshan hadn't seen Bai Wenxuan for two years, although he really wanted to take him with him, because the garrison in the capital could not do without a commander, so he could only hurriedly explain some things to Bai Wenxuan, and then boarded the ship to say goodbye to everyone.

Among the top ten generals of Gao Junshan, there are only four who are known for their combat bravery, one is Cao Wenzhao, one is He Renlong, one is Ma Yuanli, and the other is Bai Wenxuan.

He asked Ma Yuanli to supervise the Jurchen tribe, because he took a fancy to his fierce character, and to deal with the fierce enemy, he must have ten times the fierce generals of the enemy to be able to subdue the enemy.

For Bai Wenxuan, he had already planned to transfer him back to use, but he was not given a volatile battlefield for a while, and the purpose of putting him in the earthquake field in North Korea had been achieved, and the North Korean side no longer needed so many troops, so he was transferred back to serve as the defense of the capital.

After bidding farewell to the civil and military forces, Gao Junshan boarded the "Xiangyang No. 1".

When you go up to the fourth deck, you can see that the towering chimney already indicates that the battleship has been converted into a steam engine warship.

"Xiangyang No. 1" is the first big ship launched by the Xiangyang Shipyard in Gaojun Mountain - a three-masted gunboat, this three-masted gunboat can accommodate 500 people, 25 zhang long, equipped with 12 Hongyi cannons, 50 thousand catties of Buddha Lang machine, because it was built in Xiangyang, so it was named "Xiangyang No. 1".

Now the position of the mast has been replaced by a large chimney, and the chimney is billowing green smoke.

Gao Junshan easily entered the rest cabin and came to his private room.

As soon as he sat down, the rumbling sound of the machine came up from the bilge, and with a long whistle, the "Xiangyang No. 1" shook and gradually left the dock.

Gao Junshan pushed open the porthole and looked out at the wharf, which had been renovated, with many large ships docked on the wharf, and stevedores busily moving goods, some loading and some unloading. Since the destruction of Zhu Youxiang's small court in the south of the Yangtze River, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has become even busier.

"Wenxiu, look at the scene of this river, you have made a fortune." Gao Junshan jokingly said to Liu Wenxiu beside him.

"Father, you can't talk about making a fortune, but with the development of shipping, Caoyun has also developed." Liu Wenxiu said.

Gao Junshan asked: "How many people have you developed to now?" ”

"Back to my father, there are 100,000 people."

"You didn't oppress the people, did you?" Gao Junshan became serious.

"Don't dare. We are in strict accordance with the instructions of our father, and each of our banknotes is based on the tenet of enthusiasm and initiative, smiling and charging. ”

"You didn't overcharge the ship's money, did you?"

"Back to my father, each boat only charges 400 wen for the whole journey."

Gao Junshan said: "Your transportation of 100,000 people is a limit, you can't increase the number of people, and you must ensure that the channel is unblocked!" This waterway is our lifeline, we must protect it! ”

"Obey!"

"Okay, I'm tired, I want to rest for a while, you all retreat!"

Liu Wenxiu and Sun Kewang both withdrew from the private room.

……

The purpose of this southward trip is not to go to the mountains and rivers, as a traverser, Gao Junshan is no longer interested in playing, Jinling City before the crossing is more prosperous than now I don't know how many times, he has also been to many times, so the current Jinling he has not planned to go in, his destination is Jinling's Longjiang Shipyard.

Zheng He's treasure ship to the West was built at the Longjiang Shipyard. Treasure ship, also known as big ship, giant ship, giant ship, giant boat, sea boat, treasure boat, jewel boat, treasure boat, dragon ship, sea ship, etc. Among them, the large treasure ship is 44 zhang 4 feet long and 18 zhang wide, and the medium treasure ship is 37 zhang long and 15 zhang wide. It can be seen that the shipbuilding technology of Zheng He's voyage to the West has reached the peak of the wooden sailing era at that time.

The sea ships built by Longjiang Shipyard not only have a huge displacement, but also are strong and reliable, and have undergone severe tests in the Western Ocean seven times.

The scale of the Longjiang Shipyard is large. Its range reaches Chenghao in the east, Qinhuai Guards in the west, Yifengmen First Carriage Residence Guanlangfang Base in the northwest, the right guard barracks base in the south, and the alfalfa land of the Jinling Military Department and Pengchengbo Zhangtian in the north. It is 138 zhang wide from east to west, and 354 zhang long from north to south. It covers an area of more than 500,000 square meters.

Of course, there is more than one Longjiang shipyard in the south of the Yangtze River, the Ming Dynasty has four large factories in Huai'an, Jingwei, Weihe, Zhongdu and Zhili, a total of 80 branches, the factory area stretches along the canal, the total length is 23 miles, it can be seen that the scale of the shipbuilding industry in the south of the Yangtze River is grand.

Because Longjiang Shipyard has the ability to build large treasure ships, Gao Junshan, who is bent on developing the maritime industry, naturally focuses on the Longjiang Shipyard.

The modified "Xiangyang No. 1" reached a speed of 12 knots and the speed of the river, so this voyage arrived in Wuchang five days earlier than the previous Gao Junshan "Xiangyang No. 1".

He did not get off the ship at Gaojun Mountain in Wuchang, and met with Li Guo, the highest military governor in the south of the Yangtze River, on the ship.

It was not the first time that Li Guo had taken the "Xiangyang No. 1", he boarded the deck of the "Xiangyang No. 1", and went directly to the top floor and came to the private room of Gao Jun Mountain.

"It's such a pleasure to see you!" Gao Junshan said politely when he saw Li Guojian.

Li Guo hurriedly saluted and said, "The emperor has arrived, and the end will be far away, please forgive me." ”

Gao Junshan said: "You are my sworn brother, these etiquettes on the table will be waived, I want you to follow you with the boat this time." ”

Li Guo thanked him: "Obey!" ”