When Wang Chengen heard this, he thought that Zhu Youzhen was going to drive him away again, although he didn't dare to say anything, he was very sad in his heart.

Unexpectedly, what Zhu Youzhen said later: "Although you can't enter the palace, you can still do things for me and serve the court." In this way, you have been a eunuch with a pen, and there is no problem in writing and ink. I intend to rectify the clan, but there are too many people in the clan, many people are not on the jade, and the court can't figure out the truth. You go to the Zongren Mansion to be a special steward, sort out the jade, and try to count as many of the sect children as possible who have not yet been registered. Although you don't have an official position, you don't have to be tired, and you don't need to deal with outsiders, which is very suitable for you. I will still have a place to use you in the future. ”

This is undoubtedly a good errand for a person who used to be a eunuch but can no longer enter the palace, you must know that the vast majority of eunuchs who "go out of the palace and raise honors" can only stay at home and sit and eat. In addition to income, what Wang Chengen values more is that he is still useful to the emperor, rather than a waste that can be discarded at will, and this psychological satisfaction has already made him grateful.

After Wang Chengen knelt down, Zhu Youzhen asked Huang Degong and Weng Yu in detail about their infiltration into the White Lotus Sect shipyard. He was very interested in the White Lotus Sect being able to build such a huge fleet, although this fleet was almost completely wiped out by the North Sea Fleet because it still only had outdated combat methods, but the ability to build ships was still worth paying attention to. The White Lotus Sect can build so many ships, why can't the imperial court?

He was especially interested in the shipwright named Shen Lang, and he heard that he also had shipbuilding drawings for the treasure ship!

When it comes to his profession, Shen Lang is not as honest and scared as he was just now. While respectfully dedicating the treasured drawings to Zhu Youzhen, he introduced: "The villain is a native of Hangzhou, who has been a shipwright for generations. During the Yongle period, the ancestor went to the Western Ocean several times with Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, and was responsible for repairing ships and keeping large and small ship maps. Because the cost of going to the West was too great, it was opposed by many ministers, and after Zheng He's death, the imperial court no longer organized to go to the West, and we shipwrights were idle. At that time, the Ministry of War collected all the ship drawings and archived them, and my ancestor kept an eye on it and secretly copied it. In the Zhengde period, I heard that all the archives of the Ministry of War were scattered or destroyed. ”

"yes!" Zhu Youzhen said regretfully, "As soon as I ascended the throne, I sent someone to the military department to check, and all the drawings related to shipbuilding were gone. I heard Yuan Gong, the secretary of the military department at the time, say that it was Liu Daxia, who was the then official of the military department of the Zhengde Dynasty, and he was afraid that Wuzong would return to the West, so he deliberately hid the drawings, and then disappeared. This damn Liu Daxia dares to abolish national affairs because of his own opinion! Fortunately, your ancestors still have a copy, which can be described as a great achievement. ”

"But the drawings never came in handy." Shen Lang continued, "During the Jiajing period, the widow gradually rose, and the villain's ancestor Shen Cheng felt that the imperial court would pay attention to the sailor, so he dedicated the drawings to Gong Jing, the Qianhu of the Hangzhou Guardian Water Division, but I didn't expect Gong Jing to ignore it at all. Gaozu was poor all his life, and he could not display his shipbuilding skills, so he could only make a living by making furniture for the eunuchs. But he never gave up these boat diagrams, and told future generations that they must be passed on from generation to generation, and maybe when the imperial court will use them.

"I don't want to pass it on to the villain's generation, the court didn't look for a villain, but the White Lotus Sect came to the door. The villain was deceived by thieves at first, but later refused to cooperate with them to build a treasure boat after learning the truth, and was locked up in Poyang Lake by them. ”

"Can you build a treasure ship?" Zhu Youzhen looked at the sky-like ship map, frowned and asked, "I have seen Zheng Zhilong's treasure ship, which has 8,000 materials, and its tonnage is far better than that of Portugal and other countries. Even the Spaniards and the Dutch did not dare to start a war with Zheng Zhilong, so he was able to survive on the island of Taiwan to this day. ”

"Long live back, villains can make it!" Shen Lang was so excited that his voice trembled a little, "Long live, please look at the boat map, Zheng He's treasure ship, that is, the largest treasure ship, is forty-four feet long and four feet long, eighteen feet wide, nine masts and twelve sails, and ten thousand and eight hundred materials." It is necessary to use more than 10,000 pieces of fine wood two zhang long and one foot thick, and 300 shipwrights to create it in three years. The medium-sized treasure ship is thirty-seven zhang long, fifteen zhang wide, and seven thousand five hundred materials, and the Zheng Zhilong treasure ship said by Long Live should be this kind of medium-sized treasure ship, which can be completed in two years and six months. ”

The enthusiasm that Zhu Youzhen had just ignited was instantly extinguished by these few words: The cost of building a treasure ship is too high! Even if you don't consider the cost, you can't afford to wait. In addition, although the treasure ship is large, the speed is not as fast as that of Western sailing ships, and even if it is built, it must be combined with Western shipbuilding technology for targeted transformation. In addition, shipbuilding also requires a large number of technical personnel, but it is a pity that when the White Lotus Sect was rescued by Zheng Zhilong, it took away those shipwrights, which cannot but be said to be a big loss.

The next day, Zhu Youzhen left Changchun Garden and secretly rushed to Shanhaiguan. The main purpose of going to Shanhaiguan was to listen to the face-to-face reports of Qi Xianzong and Li Yunhao and understand the strength of Zheng Zhilong's fleet, and second, to inspect the Shanhaiguan Shipyard. Of course, you can also inspect the border troops stationed at Shanhaiguan by the way to learn about the movements of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

But he didn't go on his own. In addition to the escort Teng Xiang right guard and the Jingying of the Jiesheng special faction, Zhu Youzhen brought all the concubines, as well as Herzhe and the Red Lady. They have been in the high walls of the deep palace for a long time, and it is rare to have such an opportunity to come out and relax; In the past few months, Zhu Youzhen has focused on the battle of counterinsurgency, and he has stayed in the Heart Cultivation Hall almost every night to review the recitals, and it is inevitable that he will snub them, and this trip can be regarded as a kind of compensation for them.

In addition, Zhu Youzhen also brought Huang Degong, Weng Yu and Shen Lang. Huang Weng's second general, Zhu Youzhen is interested in cultivating them and wants them to have a long experience; As for Shen Lang, Zhu Youzhen planned to arrange him at the Shanhaiguan Shipyard, which was where he could show his talents.

There is one more person who cannot be missing, and that is Princess Anna. Previously, Zhu Youzhen negotiated a loan with Portugal, but due to Anna's persuasion, João IV gave up three harsh additional conditions and promised to lend 3 million taels of silver to Daqing at an annual interest rate of 15 percent, as Zhu Youzhen said. As the ambassador of Portugal, Princess Anna naturally attended this important handover ceremony.

To reach a loan agreement with Portugal, Zhu Youzhen is of course very excited. Although one million taels is really not much, as long as this new road can be passed, the Ming Dynasty will be able to continue to obtain valuable "blood transfusions" in the future, which is of great significance.

But the importance of the trip to Shanhaiguan doesn't stop there. Accompanied by the Portuguese, there are also a few special guests, and a multilateral meeting that can go down in history is about to be staged!