Maybe Lu Renjia doesn't understand how much benefit the opening of the sea has for the next day, and he can't understand why Lu Zhen has to put so much effort into this matter, and even does not hesitate to offend a person like the Kong family who has the right to speak. But just like the choice just now, since Lu Zhen had already made a decision, he could only obey and dare not raise objections.

On the surface, this is a sign of his confidence in his owner, after all, what Lu Zhen has always asked him to do is right, and he has gained a lot after he has become a success. But in the final analysis, this is a manifestation of his clear understanding of his identity. In front of Lu Jin, he, Lu Renjia, will always be just a helper, how can he do something that oversteps his bounds?

Lu Zhen was naturally very satisfied with his approach, even if he could only take out 80,000 taels of silver for a while to help the government repair the port. Of course, 80,000 taels of silver is actually a lot of money, which is about 30% of the profits they have accumulated by transporting grain and selling salt in the past few years, which shows Lu Renjia's attitude.

This is also all he can take out at this time, because the other tens of thousands of taels of silver will be used to buy various Ming products in the Jiangnan area, and the rest will have long been used to buy grain in exchange for salt and salt, and these funds will naturally not be returned for the time being.

"Coupled with these 80,000 taels of silver, the cost of repairing the harbor should be enough. It's just that I want to build a sea ship next, but there is still a shortage of silver. After Lu Zhen sighed, he remembered a little more and said: "By the way, this time you went to Jiangnan to ask my father-in-law to look for the old man who had been in the coastal dock or had followed the eunuch of Sanbao to the sea in the southeastern provinces. If you can find someone, no matter what method you use, be sure to bring them in. ”

It is obviously impossible to really build a big ship and sail to sea only by relying on the local craftsmen and boatmen in Shandong who don't know anything about navigation, so Lu Zhen hit the idea on these people who have gone to sea and built boats.

Even though it has been decades, he believes that some of these people are still alive. If we can get their help and guidance, we will definitely be able to grasp the matter of opening the sea this time. The situation at sea can only be understood by those who have actually been to sea, and at the same time, they can make the most correct judgment when encountering accidents.

"The villain wrote it down." Lu Renjia nodded hurriedly in response.

"It's going to be hard for you this time. But don't worry, as long as it is done, your credit will be indispensable, and I will explain everything to the court, at least so that you can have an official position, so that it will be more convenient to do business in the future. Seeing that he was so cooperative, Lu Zhen mentioned this.

These words made Lu Renjia's face excited, and he didn't excuse himself, and said again and again: "Thank you for your support, I will do my best to do things well." ”

The temptation of this matter is indeed too great for him, as a businessman who is not actually of high status, Lu Renjia will always encounter a lot of difficulties and problems. Although he has long been accustomed to this feeling of inferiority, if there is really a chance to turn over, he will naturally seize it. And judging from Lu Jin's past performance, this matter is obviously certain to a certain extent.

"Then you go. After the spring of next year, I think this first sea ship will be able to go to sea from Shandong, bringing new hope to my Ming Dynasty. Lu Zhen also said with confidence.

Lu Renjia left Jinan with hope, and he was busy next. And Lu Jin, although he is full of confidence, is actually still a lot of problems in the matter of opening the sea.

For example, building sea ships is not something that these craftsmen in Shandong can comprehend. Although they knew how to build ships and built many large ships, there was a great difference between a ship at sea and a ship that sailed on a river. Even if he took out the shipbuilding drawings that he had obtained from Yu Qian and left behind by Zheng He, it would still take them a long time to learn and understand the tricks.

At the same time, the various materials required for shipbuilding are also a big problem. As far as those craftsmen say, the selection of the keel alone is very particular, at least it must be hardwood that is more than 100 years old, and the other materials required are cumbersome enough to make a long list.

And this is just the demand of one ship, if you want to really go to sea, you have to have a fleet of more than five or six large ships. When he knew that this was the case, Lu Jin gasped unconsciously, and then he realized that he had thought about things simply before.

It is no wonder that Zheng He made such a big disturbance when he went to the West, and he was even more written about by later generations. In the final analysis, it is not entirely because Emperor Yongle loves to show off, but also because it is impossible to go to sea smoothly and go thousands of miles away. Such a big gesture can indeed only be done by the imperial court with all its might.

But now it is obviously impossible for him to have these backings, and the emperor can't come up with so much silver to support himself - if he can really come up with this silver, he will not risk being opposed by countless courtiers and agree to open the sea.

It was only at this time that Lu Jin realized how difficult it was to open up the situation after a hundred years of forbidden sea, and it was far more difficult than he thought before. Originally, with the permission of the Son of Heaven, and then withstanding the pressure and criticism from all sides, the matter of opening the sea could be done well. But now it seems that that is just the basics, and there are still too many details that need to be achieved one by one.

But since I've already started doing it, there's no way to give up. Five or six big ships will definitely not be built for the time being, so let's build one or two first, plus some small boats to make up the number. Just pick the season when the weather at sea is better, and send a ship to the sea. Moreover, they don't have to travel thousands of miles like Zheng He, they only need to transport goods to the neighboring Wa Kingdom and other places for trade, and the situation can be regarded as open.

Lu Jin believes that everything is the most difficult at the beginning, as long as there is a successful overseas trade and enough attractive profits, there will naturally be people who follow their own footsteps to go to sea. At that time, there will be no need to bother thinking about how to build a ship, and there are people in the world who are willing to take the risk to go to sea.

However, before that, how to build the first sea ship as soon as possible has become the most critical issue. With the construction of the port, the silver in his hand flowed straight out like flowing water, and even if there was a surplus in the end, it was obviously not enough to build a large ship.

Not only him, but also those subordinate officials were well aware of this, so at a meeting, someone put forward an idea: "My lord, it is better to let those merchants help us build ships with money." ”

"Those merchants are willing to spend their money on this?" Lu Zhen asked with some hesitation. As far as he had seen, both the merchants and the gentry were opposed to the opening of the sea. It's too unrealistic to let them take out the money now.

"Xia Guan thought that this matter was indeed possible." He Yuan pondered and said: "Merchants have always sought profits, and this time we have opened the sea, in fact, it is also for the purpose of making profits, they should be able to understand. What's more, the government has spent a lot of manpower and material resources on the construction of the port in the past few days, and they naturally know about it, and they can also understand how determined the government is in this matter. That being the case, involving them at this time will only benefit them. ”

Gao Qianzhong and others also nodded in agreement, agreeing that the merchants of Shandong could be allowed to invest in shipbuilding, and then when they went to sea for trade, they would be allowed to participate in the shares.

Lu Zhen could see that these people tried their best to persuade themselves to use the merchant's money to build ships, in addition to sharing their own worries, but also out of their own considerations. Because they were afraid that once Lu Jinzhen was worried about money, he would hit them with the idea and knock them out.

However, since everyone felt that this matter was feasible, Lu Zhen had no intention of objecting, and immediately decided to let the businessman help the government fund the repair of the ship. However, he still made a charter, and the merchants could not interfere in the repair of the ship, otherwise if they made the quality of the ship not up to standard in order to save money, the consequences would be serious.

The subsequent facts showed that these officials were right, and that there were indeed discerning businessmen in the world. Within two days of the notice that the government wanted businessmen to fund and assist in shipbuilding, a dozen or twenty businessmen arrived one after another, indicating that they were willing to pay.

And for the government's request, they are also full of promises. Obviously, after seeing that the governor not only did not hesitate to make enemies of the Kong family for this matter, but also invested a lot of manpower and material resources, some shrewd people thought that this was indeed an excellent way out.

Moreover, even if this incident is really ruined because of failure, this is also an opportunity to quickly close the relationship between himself and the governor, isn't it? Governor Lu is already in such a high position in less than thirty, and his future prospects must be unlimited, and it is very possible to enter the cabinet and become a marquis. So being able to befriend him at this time is a profitable deal.

So, in just a few days, the problem of shortage of funds, which was a headache for Lu Jin, was perfectly solved, and nearly 300,000 taels of silver were in hand, and as long as time permitted, more than five large sea ships could even be built.

Then, throughout November and mid-December, the whole of Shandong revolved around the opening of the port and shipbuilding, and countless craftsmen and men rushed to Weihai, where large swaths of forest were cut down, and a steady stream of timber was transported to Weihai, and huge ships were built in the newly built docks.

Although he is in Jinan, Lu Zhen can still learn about the progress of the project through uninterrupted official documents every day. By mid-December, the construction of the port was in its final stages and the ships were taking shape.

After getting the news, Lu Zhen did not hesitate much, and planned to rush to Weihai to take a look. After all, this is his hard work, and he can't always stare at the description on the official document and then imagine it in his mind......