Beijing in April is already a landscape of peach and willow green, and the West Garden is even more splendid, a scene of flowers in full bloom. Wang Huazhen, who had just returned to the capital, met the emperor in the garden near the lake in this West Garden, the closed doors of Xiaoxuan on all sides of the lake have been removed, and the bamboo curtains used in spring and summer have been hung, and the two of them sit in Xiaoxuan to enjoy the scenery of flowers and lakes, and there is a faint fragrance of flowers brought by the breeze between their noses, and even Wang Huazhen feels that if they can lie down and sleep here for a while, it is really a great joy in life.

On the wooden platform in Xiaoxuan, Chongzhen and Wang Huazhen sat opposite each other, and a pot of boiling water was warm on the small charcoal stove next to it. In front of the two of them, it is the Ming Qian tea produced in Jiangxi this year, the tea soup is clear and sweet. Wang Huazhen has been in North Korea for so long that he has almost forgotten what the taste of good tea is, but after two cups of tea, the taste in his memory has completely awakened.

In such a relaxed environment, Wang Huazhen quickly put away his sense of restraint and reported to the emperor in 1510 about his actions in the past six years in Korea, as well as his own perception and judgment of Donggang Town and North Korea.

After listening to Wang Huazhen's report, Zhu Youzhen pondered for a while and then said to him: "Wang Qing has really worked hard in the past six years, but the hard work is still worth it, and now Dongjiang Town has no misunderstanding for the imperial court. Mao Shuai also wrote to me before, quite reluctant to let Wang Qing go, he was afraid that I would send him an eventful official. ”

Wang Huazhen immediately explained: "Mao Shuai has an upright temperament, and he has always been unable to hide anything in his stomach. However, the minister thought that he only wanted to complain a few times in front of His Majesty, but he did not have any opinions on the officials appointed by the imperial court. ”

Zhu Youzhen smiled and said, "I know it in my heart, but other people may not think so. After all, Dongjiang Town is behind enemy lines, how can the generals fight if they don't agree?

The establishment of this Dongjiang governor was originally to help the imperial court understand Dongjiang Town, and also to handle the logistics and civil affairs of Dongjiang Town on behalf of the imperial court. If the governor of Dongjiang instead caused the estrangement between Dongjiang Town and the imperial court, it would be a matter of adding to the problem.

Besides, now the imperial court has only one point in Dongjiang Town behind enemy lines, but has established several town guards along the Whale Sea, and only one Dongjiang governor is set up at the moment, which is inevitably a little angry.

Therefore, I planned to abolish the post of governor of the Dongjiang River and set up the Beihai Metropolitan Governorate, which included the Sakhalin Town Governorate, the Yongning Town Governorate, the Beihai Town Governorate, and the Fusang Town Governorate. As for Dongjiang Town, there was a Dongjiang governor, and Mao Shuai was appointed as the governor. What does Wang Qing think? ”

Hearing the emperor's proposition, Wang Huazhen couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart. The emperor's move seemed to give Mao Wenlong more power, but in essence, it greatly reduced the status of Dongjiang Town. In the past, Dongjiang Town can be said to have the same status as Liaoxi Town, and because of his relationship as the governor of Dongjiang, he also indirectly controlled the civil affairs of Lushun, North Korea, and Jeju Island.

Now that the emperor has removed the governor of Dongjiang, Lushun has been assigned to the governor of Denglai, Jeju Island has been assigned to Jeju Province, and Joseon has been assigned to the minister in Korea, and Mao Wenlong, the governor of Dongjiang, can only manage a series of islands such as Tiesan-gun, that is, Phi Island. However, the warships in Dongjiang Town are under the management of the Donghai Inspection Department, and Mao Wenlong, the governor of Dongjiang, can only be a soil overlord at most in the future, and if he wants to threaten the imperial court at every turn like before, I am afraid it will not be possible.

Wang Huazhen's mind turned several times, but she replied calmly: "The minister thinks that Your Majesty's strategy is very good. Mao Shuai will also be grateful for His Majesty's kindness..."

Regarding Wang Huazhen's attitude, Zhu Youzhen is still very satisfied. Regardless of whether Wang Huazhen himself is willing or not, whether it is Dongjiang Town or other factions in the court, Wang Huazhen has already regarded Wang Huazhen as the representative of Dongjiang Town in the court. In this way, Dongjiang Town made up the last plank and became a military group in the system.

Previously, the border army system except Dongjiang Town had its own civilian representatives in the court, so most problems could be solved within the court. But only Dongjiang Town was just a group of remnants of the defeated army at the beginning, and the official who sent them was Wang Huazhen, the sinner of the Battle of Quang Ninh, so Dongjiang Town had to fight for everything it wanted, and could not rely on the civil officials in the court.

For the military group, it is always more effective to use force to coerce the civilian officials to play politics, so Dongjiang Town has always been regarded by the civilian officials as a military town that breaks the rules. For such an army, which is difficult to be controlled by civilian officials, it is natural to focus on suppressing and reducing its strength.

However, after Chongzhen ascended the throne, Wang Huazhen was released, and the Donghai Inspection Department was set up to divide the military power of Dongjiang Town, and finally introduced Dongjiang Town into the imperial court system step by step. By this time, the possibility of a rebellion in Dongjiang Town was almost gone. Maybe a few people in Dongjiang Town will have the possibility of rebellion, but for the organization of Dongjiang Town, the price paid for rebelling against the imperial court is already unbearable for the whole organization.

Wang Huazhen's statement can basically represent the attitude of Dongjiang Town, Zhu Youzhen was very satisfied with Wang Huazhen's attitude, and he continued: "Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of Zhili, contracted a cold last winter, and his health has not been very good since then, so he submitted his resignation to the imperial court. I want you to take his place, and the position of the Governor of Zhili is extremely important..."

On April 10, the eighth year of Chongzhen, the British fleet led by Weddell arrived on Hong Kong Island, exactly 32 days after their departure from Malacca City on March 8.

Because the Humen garrison stationed at the mouth of the Pearl River prevented British ships carrying weapons from entering the Pearl River, and only allowed the British to enter Guangzhou in batches on barges from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, this regulation once made the British officers and soldiers extremely dissatisfied. However, the Humen Fort built by Liu Xingzuo and the well-trained Humen garrison, coupled with the representatives of the British East India Company, finally did not break out into a fierce conflict.

Moreover, Weddell and other senior officers knew very well that Guangzhou was not the destination of the fleet's trip, but Beijing was. Their most important task was to see the Chinese emperor present his credentials, not just a one-off ocean trade. Therefore, in the end, Weddell and other officers decided to shorten their stay in Hong Kong and go north to the capital as soon as possible.

The fleet stayed in Hong Kong for seven days before heading north, and arrived in Shanghai on the 15th. Compared with the heavily guarded Guangzhou, the port of Shanghai is obviously much more tolerant of these foreigners. Although they were still confined to the foreigners' quarters between the pidgin and the Suzhou Creek, the bars and the abundance of barmaids from Japan were enough to relieve the pressure of the crew on the long voyage, which was undoubtedly a relief to the upper echelons of the fleet and the local officials in Shanghai.

The rapid development of the port of Shanghai also amazed the British merchants who came with the fleet. This is a completely different way of urban construction from London, where the expansion of the city is planned and rebuilt, rather than the landlord renting out the land to outsiders and letting those outsiders build it haphazardly, making the whole city chaotic and disorderly.

They also observed that the Chinese government was clearly more institutional than the British government, and the responsibilities of officials were clearer. Moreover, because of China's imperial examination system, the selection of local officials was more orderly, not hereditary by the nobility or according to the king's preference, as in Europe.

However, they also noticed that it was precisely because the Chinese government system was too complete that the emperor's power was too strong. It was difficult for the local nobility and merchants to openly oppose the emperor's will, which made it difficult for the imperial court to correct any anachronistic policies issued by the imperial court in a short time.

They also heard that in the Taihu Lake area, not far from Shanghai, the emperor sent a small number of troops and police to arrest the nobles and gentry in the area, and that the seemingly powerful nobles and gentry in this area did not even organize a decent resistance.

In this respect, they are extremely afraid of this centralized system. In the face of such a powerful imperial power, nobles and merchants will only be crushed to pieces. After careful discussion, these British businessmen believed that Britain should learn from China's examination system and select talents from merchants and commoners, but not from China's government system. Even if these merchants were royal parties close to the king, they did not want the king to have the power to trample on him.

Weddell's fleet repaired in Shanghai for half a month, and then set sail north again. Nine days later, the fleet arrived at Tsingtao, where they finally saw the Ming-class battleships, which resembled European warships, and then two Ming-class battleships escorted the fleet north to Tianjin, where the Weddell fleet arrived on 17 May.

After nearly ten days of sailing, Weddell and his men finally determined that the Ming-class warships owned by the Chinese were not only similar in appearance to European warships, but also had excellent performance. And the closer to Tianjin, the greater the number of Ming-class warships, and it is clear that the construction of this type of warship has already been mastered by the Chinese.

It was only at this time that Weddell and his men finally recognized that China was indeed a maritime power with the ability to cross the oceans. Unless the European countries gather the latest warships of more than 1,000 tons, it will be difficult for them to defeat an eastern power in Asia that can make Ming-class warships.

However, their estimates were soon shattered again, and while the fleet members stayed in Tianjin to wait for the emperor to summon them, Weddell and the others were invited to visit the Tianjin shipyard to evaluate and make recommendations on the Huhe-class warships under construction.

Looking at the two thousand-ton warships under construction in the Tianjin shipyard, Weddell and the others were moved again. Although the two 1,000-ton warships under construction still have Western-style soft sails, their appearance has changed dramatically, and it is clear that these Chinese craftsmen have changed the structure of European warships again.

The bow building was abolished and the stern building was lowered, and the British naval officers, led by Weddell, suddenly realized that the Chinese's method of rebuilding was equivalent to weakening the side battle, and counting on artillery to decide the victory.

Robert Black, 35, is still young, but he has been at sea and trading for more than seven years. Standing behind Weddell, he did not belittle the transformation of the Chinese like other naval officers, but felt that the warships rebuilt by the Chinese were more suitable for long-distance voyages and future naval warfare.