On the ninth day of the first month of November in the first year of Taichang, Shen was six o'clock in the afternoon......

The intermittent heavy snow continued again, and the carriage that Zhu Youzhen drove out of the armor factory had just returned to the Qingong Palace.

At the same time, the Wenhua Hall can be said to be filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The officials of the five major political parties, led by the Zhejiang Party, and the officials of the Donglin Party do not talk to each other, and all rely on officials without party affiliation to act as a mouthpiece.

At such times, officials without party affiliation have become a group of people who are tired.

But fortunately, because of the existence of one thing, they can warm up when they sit down.

"The honeycomb coal and coal stove made by His Royal Highness are really good, boiling water to make tea, warm up without ashes, although there is some smoke when lit, but after burning, there will be no more, it is really good."

"That's it, it's too indecent."

In a side hall of the Wenhua Palace, during the lunch break, several Wenchen sat on their chairs, and in the middle was a honeycomb coal stove.

After boiling water, it warmed their bodies.

"And these things, it's too bad......"

One of the ministers sighed and spoke, and the person next to him also looked at the side hall where the cabinet minister worked, and then shook his head.

"Stir it up, stir it up, stir the Ming Dynasty into a muddy water, I'm afraid they will be happy."

One person spoke boldly, while the person next to him was silent.

Seeing this, he didn't bother to say anything.

But they didn't say it, but the side hall of the cabinet minister's office clashed.

"Jingcha reform, I'm afraid only Shechen will be happy......"

Yao Zongwen sat under Sun Ruyou to help deal with some of the slack, and sneered at Yuan Huazhong, who was sitting opposite him.

"Hmph......" Yuan Huazhong didn't bother to pay attention to this villain, and took care of the notes he had at hand, and at this time, a note from the Ministry of War also arrived in his hands.

He opened it and took a look, then frowned and handed it over to Liu Yixiu.

Liu Yixiao frowned at him, and was also curious to open the note, and then after seeing the content, he also frowned and put his pen, and after writing down his opinion, he put it on the pile of notes that the emperor needed to deal with.

In such a pile, soon these piles were sent by the eunuch of the celebrant to take them away.

However, when this music was taken away, the eunuch of the celebrant eunuch deliberately took out the music of the military department and handed it to another person: "Take it to the Miaoqin Palace." ”

"Yes......" Seeing this, the little eunuch walked out of the Wenhua Hall with all the military departments that had been handled by the cabinet, and then led people to take the other six departments to the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing this, Liu Yixiao could only say to Yuan Huazhong next to him:

"During this time, long live the military department to be handled by the Fifth Highness, how can a ten-year-old Huangkou child deal with it? What if the Fifth Highness is a little older in the future? ”

"It's not for nothing that the prince has dealt with the slack." Yuan Huazhong comforted Liu Yixiao and said:

"When Emperor Jing helped Yingzong deal with it, when he was filial piety, he would occasionally let King Xing deal with it, and push it forward for more than ten years, and Shenzong also asked King Lu to deal with it."

"I, the Prince of Daming Liujing, is not a melancholy, so Brother Ji Hao doesn't have to worry too much."

"What's more, when the first emperor died, it was also the support of the Fifth Highness to succeed to the throne, and the Fifth Highness was also a virtuous king."

Yuan Huazhong's view is the view of most civil officials today.

Although they all felt that Zhu Youzhen was in charge of the military again, and he was consulting the military department, such a move was a bit excessive.

However, due to the fact that the old Zhu family has done too many predecessors in this regard, not to mention it, but to talk about Emperor Wanli and King Lu.

Back then, King Lu became a vassal, and without going through the military department and the cabinet, and Emperor Wanli, he directly mobilized the soldiers and horses along the road, which was a big sin.

But when the ministers impeached King Lu, Emperor Wanli turned a deaf ear and disappointed everyone.

Zhu Youzhen can be said to be much better than King Xing and King Lu.

Neither stripping the people of fat nor balancing the people, nor finding guilt for civil officials, except for some times when he came forward to participate in the government politics, other times he was accompanied by Zhu Youxiao's younger brother to deal with the slack.

The only thing worth criticizing is the incident of the seven guards and one battalion in the Yanshan camp.

"Alas......" Thinking of this, Liu Yixiao sighed and continued to deal with the music, and at the same time, Zhu Youzhen, who had just returned to the Qinqin Palace, had just sat down not long before he saw the little eunuch who had sent the military department to the palace.

"Your Highness, this is today's military department's note, please read ......"

The little eunuch handed out the note at the door of the main hall of the Qinqin Palace, and Wang Chengen also subconsciously wanted to take it, but Zhu Youzhen suddenly said:

"I won't eat in the palace today, will the imperial brother have dinner?"

"Banzai hasn't eaten yet, but the imperial dining room has already made dinner." The little eunuch responded honestly.

"Then drive to the Qianqing Palace, go to have a meal, and just deal with the music." Hearing this, Zhu Youzhen smiled and asked Wang Chengen to prepare the chariot.

Seeing this, Wang Chengen put away the recital of the military department, and then asked someone to prepare the chariot.

After Zhu Youzhen changed into the prince's scarlet clothes, he got into the chariot and rushed to the Qianqing Palace with Wang Chengen and the little eunuch of the celebrant eunuch.

Two quarters of an hour passed, and when the chariot arrived at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youzhen was obviously aware that the number of net troops on both sides of the palace gate was a little more than before.

He turned his head, looked at the little eunuch and asked:

"Why is there more pure army at the Qianqing Palace Gate?"

"Back to Your Highness." The little eunuch saluted:

"After the Wei palm seal was promoted to the Dongchang palm print by Banzai, he advised Banzai to add another 3,000 people to the net army of the inner court."

"Therefore, not only the Qianqing Palace Gate, but also the palace guards in the inner court have a few more people than in the past."

"Hmm......" Hearing this, Zhu Youzhen frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

As the door of the Qianqing Palace opened, Zhu Youzhen also got out of the car and walked into the Qianqing Palace with Wang Chengen and the little eunuch holding the music.

As soon as the group walked through the long road of Qianqing Palace, they heard the sound of planing wood.

In this palace, the only one who dares to cut wood at this time is a good royal brother.

Thinking so, Zhu Youzhen walked directly into the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, and said loudly towards the Heart Cultivation Palace:

"Brother Huang, I'm here!"

As soon as Zhu Youzhen's voice sounded, the sound of planing wood stopped, and then there was the sound of squirming and dressing.

Zhu You, who was wearing an overcoat, walked out of the Heart Cultivation Hall in the middle coat in the school and said with a smile:

"How? How's it going at the armor factory? ”

He walked out, took Zhu Youzhen's hand, and asked Zhu Youzhen what the result was after he went to the armor factory in the morning.

Zhu Youzhen could only smile when he was asked:

"I emptied the armor factory last time, and now I have to train the army again to know that it turns out that it is so expensive to equip a soldier."

"Hehe, it's nothing compared to military pay." Zhu Youxiao smiled and said something that made him feel a little helpless.

Yes, military salaries......

There are only less than two months left before the New Year's Pass, and after the New Year's Pass, the military salary for the first half of the first year of the Apocalypse will be paid again.

At present, there is still a shortage of more than 2 million taels, and with the military salary in the first half of next year, it will be more than 7 million taels.

I can't take out so much silver and internal money at all, so I can only squeeze to see if I can delay it any longer, and first send out the arrears of this year.

Extreme Soul Chaos

"Brother, don't worry, I will definitely help my brother find a way to make up part of the military salary when I am next year."

"What can my brother do? However, if the Imperial Horse Supervisor recruits more soldiers and horses, I will ask Wang An to allocate military salaries to my younger brother from the inside......" Zhu Youxiao comforted Zhu Youzhen.

Zhu Youzhen could only explain with a helpless smile: "I use that honeycomb coal to prepare to do some business with the Beiyu Mutual Market, and when the time comes, I will sell the cattle and horses in the Mutual Market to the Central Plains, and I think I can make a lot of profits." ”

"Honeycomb coal? The one my brother sent? Zhu Youxiao felt curious and said:

"How much money can you make from such a small thing?"

"Brother, don't underestimate him." Zhu Youzhen grabbed his hand, walked into the Heart Cultivation Palace, sat on the chair, and said carefully:

"Brother, do you know what are the items that Beiyu lacks for a year?"

"Iron pots, salt, tea, grain, firewood." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile:

"Of course, I know these things, but how much can I use this firewood?"

"Brother, don't underestimate this little object." Zhu Youzhen explained:

"There are more than 100,000 households in the north of the grassland and the north of the desert, and in the four seasons of the year, the spring, summer and autumn are slightly less firewood, but they also need to use more than a dozen catties a day."

"If you change it to honeycomb coal, it is at least ten catties to be enough."

"If it's winter, it's less than thirty pounds a day."

"This honeycomb coal, even if I exchange 1,000 catties for an inferior horse and sell it to the capital, I will make at least three taels of silver."

"If it is sold to the Central Plains as a horse, you can also earn eight or nine taels."

"This is still an inferior horse, if it is a medium horse, there will be five taels of silver in the capital, and the Central Plains can be sold for twenty taels."

"As for the high-class horses, they naturally stay in the royal horse supervision for breeding."

"According to what you say, in a year, that northern captivity will not be allowed to use six or seven thousand catties of your honeycomb coal?" Zhu Youxiao felt that his younger brother's things were simple, but Zhu Youzhen smiled and said:

"Naturally, there won't be so many, after all, if it's spring and autumn, the manure of grassland cattle and horses can also be used as firewood after drying."

"I have roughly calculated, anyway, each herdsman needs to use at least 3,000 catties a year, that is, three inferior horses."

"If it's really as my brother said, wouldn't my brother be able to earn a million taels of silver every year?" Zhu Youxiao used a teasing tone, obviously he didn't believe that this thing made so much money.

"Not really." Zhu Youzhen calculated the cost for the good royal brother and said:

"This pound of honeycomb coal is the cost of a penny, and 1,300 catties is a tael or three dollars."

"Even if an inferior horse is transferred to the Central Plains, and then the cost is deducted, the grass bundles on the road can only earn seven taels of silver."

Seeing Zhu Youzhen say this, Zhu Youxiao also smiled and said: "If the younger brother says so, selling 10,000 inferior horses will only cost 70,000 taels of silver?" ”

"It's ......," Zhu Youzhen cried with a sad face.

"You slippery head!" Zhu Youxiao smiled and patted Zhu Youzhen's shoulder, and then debunked:

"You speak only of inferior horses, but not of ploughing oxen and medium horses, and of sheep."

"Now in the Henan area, an ordinary cow can be sold for thirty taels of silver, and when a sheep arrives in Nanzhili, it can only be bought for four taels of silver."

"If your little thing can exchange a thousand catties for an inferior horse, then it can be exchanged for three or four sheep."

"Rao, no matter how you calculate, a sheep will net three taels of silver."

"That's not moving...... Zhu Youzhen cried and laughed:

"Even if it is sold to Songjiang and Suzhou by sea, it will take 15 days."

"On the fifteenth, I'm afraid I have to eat fifty catties of hay to not lose weight."

"Even if you use a big ship, a boat can transport 500 sheep at most, and 200 ships can transport 100,000 sheep, not to mention the cost of chartering a ship, even hay needs to eat 5 million catties."

"So much hay, at least fifty boats."

"The matter of the ship is simple...... Zhu Youxiao looked at a small eunuch next to him and ordered:

"Ask someone to see how many warships there are in the Tianjin Weishui Division and the Denglai Water Division."

"Brother wants to transfer the warship to me?" Zhu Youzhen's eyes lit up, if it was true that Zhu Youxiao transferred the warship to him, then he would have more things to maneuver.

"Let's see how many there are." Zhu Youxiao smiled evilly and sold a pass, and soon, the little eunuch also walked back quickly, and saluted Zhu Youxiao:

"Long live, there are twenty-eight warships of the Tianjin Weishui Division, thirty-two Dengzhou Wei, and forty-three Laizhou Wei."

"Although there are one hundred and thirty-five warships in the three places, there are twenty-seven warships of the four hundred, fifty-two warships of the three hundred, and fifty-six of the three hundred."

"So little?" Zhu Youxiao was a little surprised, but Zhu Youzhen was dizzy when he heard it.

He has never had time to study the Ming Dynasty's sailors, although he remembers that the Ming Dynasty's sailors had a record against Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Japan, but the specific situation is not clear to him.

Zhu Youxiao saw his dizzy appearance, so he explained to Zhu Youzhen, and after explaining, Zhu Youzhen was speechless.

The so-called 400-material warship is just a tonnage of 130 or 40.

This almost subverted Zhu Youzhen's stereotypical image of the Ming treasure ship as an aircraft carrier, and Zhu Youxiao also explained embarrassedly:

"Since going to the Western Ocean, my Ming sailors have begun to be dismantled, and the total number of warships in Tianjin Wei and Denglai was less than thirty."

"There are more than 100 ships now, and they were still produced during the Korean war."

"......" Hearing this, Zhu Youzhen became even more desperate.

The Korean rebellion and that was more than 20 years ago, are you sure that these old antiques will not sink into the sea?

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen could only say with a sad face:

"Brother, can't you give my brother a new boat?"

"Uh...... This, Yingtianfu's Longjiang Shipyard can still be built, but there is not so much wood in the south of the Yangtze River, and with the craftsmanship of those carpenters, I am afraid that even a big ship of 500 materials will not be built. ”

Zhu Youxiao replied embarrassedly, and his heart was also very empty, but he still comforted:

"However, if I make a move, as long as there is enough wood, it is not surprising that I want to make six hundred materials."

600 materials are only less than 200 tons...... Zhu Youzhen was in a trance for a while.

With a two-hundred-ton ship, how could he play the game of ocean trade.

Zhu Youzhen was a little sad, but he didn't know that the main European warships of this era were only five or six hundred tons of Galen galleons.

However, since the problem has arisen, even if Zhu Youzhen doesn't know, he can only discuss it with the good imperial brother:

"If there is a big enough big wood, can my brother make a big ship of 3,000 materials?"

"Three thousand?" Hearing Zhu Youzhen's question, Zhu Youxiao's molars were almost crushed.

The treasure ships of the Ariake generation and 7,000 materials were already the pinnacle of craftsmanship, but even so, it was not until the 18th century that the West developed warships of more than 2,000 tons.

At present, Zhu Youzhen's words are almost to make Zhu Youxiao the most outstanding shipbuilding master in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to refuse, but looking at Zhu Youzhen's eyes, a sense of vanity suddenly rose in his heart.

It seems that since the death of the imperial examination, his good brother has been calm and witty, and he sometimes has to help him, but I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, this kid also has such a time......

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao almost made up the picture of building a big ship of 3,000 materials by himself, and then being adored by Zhu Youzhen.

"Of course...... No problem...... Finish...... Hehe, hehe......"

Zhu Youxiao gritted his teeth and said this, smiling by the way.

However, his smile was quickly broken by Zhu Youzhen.

"In that case, can my brother build a big ship according to the drawings I made?" A flash of inspiration flashed in Zhu Youzhen's mind.

He didn't know that the current good imperial brother didn't know how to build ships, but he just thought that this kind of thing was easy for the other party.

Therefore, he thought that although he had not seen the overall structure of Western ships, he had seen the shape, and maybe the good emperor brother could still design it, so that Daming's shipbuilding technology would lead the world again.

"My brother still wants to draw?" Zhu Youxiao suddenly felt a little weak, he was afraid that he would not be able to create what his brother wanted.

"I know how to paint, I've seen Matteo Ricci's Xiyi boats, and I've heard that their ships are fast and good at fighting, so I want to ask my brother to see if he can build them."

As he spoke, Zhu Youzhen looked around, then took a piece of paper from the table in the Heart Cultivation Palace, and then began to draw on the table where the good emperor brother painted furniture.

Although he has not seen real Western warships with his own eyes, he has seen movies.

He still remembered the Black Pearl when he saw the Pirates of the Caribbean in his previous life, so under his hard work, he immediately drew four outline drawings of the Black Pearl in front and back, left and right.

The good royal brother has been watching beside him, and when he saw that the drawings were finished, he blew the ink and said:

"Can this ship be armed with so many guns? And this sail, how did it puff up? ”

"Huh?" Hearing the words of the good imperial brother, Zhu Youzhen was stunned for a moment and explained:

"Westerners' boats are different from ours, their boats use soft sails, so you need to unfurl the sails for every operation."

"This soft sail is a bit windy, and it has a great advantage in speed and load, and it is safe if you encounter a small storm at sea."

"However, the disadvantage is that the operation is complicated, requires a large crew, and takes a long time to raise the sails."

"Wouldn't it be possible to combine hard and soft sails, as my brother said, to reduce the complexity of the operation?" Zhu Youxiao looked at the drawings and began to ponder:

"Soft sails and hard sails are not a problem, the main thing is the cabin ......"

Zhu Youxiao had a headache, where would he make a boat, and now it seems that his younger brother doesn't know anything about boats, if he says it wrong, I'm afraid it will disappoint him.

Thinking of Zhu Youzhen's disappointed appearance, Zhu Youxiao immediately pretended to be hypocritical:

"This ship is not a big problem, and it is not very difficult, but it takes a lot of time to get wood, if there is suitable wood......"

Hearing this, Zhu Youzhen thought that building this ship was really that simple, and admired the good carpentry done by the good royal brother, and couldn't help patting his chest and saying:

"This is simple, my brother asked someone to tell the king of Siam to find a kind of tree in Siam that is more than ten zhang high, called rouge, purple teak, and blood tree, and then cut it down and send it to Guangdong, and ask the Guangdong sailors to transport it to the capital."

The annatto, also known as teak, is a world-famous and precious wood, it is the only board that does not bend and crack under the erosion of sea water and sunlight, and all the ships of Zheng He's voyage to the West were made of teak.

At present, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty is still there, as long as the King of Siam is transmitted, according to the respectful attitude of the Siamese Kingdom towards the Ming Dynasty, it should not refuse, and it may take this opportunity to pay tribute.

"Uh...... Good ......" Hearing that his younger brother had solved a problem, Zhu Youxiao only felt that he was afraid that he was really going to learn to make boats.

"Ahem! Okay, I'll ask the King of Siam to bring the purple teak you said, and it will take about a year to ship it......" Zhu Youxiao was a little weak-hearted, and then coughed again:

"Anyway, my brother just waits for it, isn't it just a Xiyi ship with 3,000 materials? It's just a small thing! ”

"Really?" Zhu Youzhen didn't expect the good royal brother to be so confident.

"Of course......" Zhu Youxiao continued to feel weak under the questioning, and only felt that if he was asked again, he might lose his majesty as a brother, so he hurriedly said:

"Okay, you don't have to spend so much time discussing this kind of trivial matter, let's eat first," Zhu Youzhen signaled someone to pass the meal.

As soon as he signaled, Zhu Youzhen had no chance to ask, and Zhu Youxiao also asked someone to bring a table and chair of eight immortals he made a few days ago, and constantly introduced his masterpiece to Zhu Youzhen.

However, it has to be said that the various pieces of furniture he made are indeed exquisite and unexpected.

Not only the tables and chairs, Zhu Youxiao also took out the drawings of the three major halls of the outer court, and said his thoughts to Zhu Youzhen.

This drawing was made by him one by one, which was very exquisite, and Zhu Youzhen was so happy to see him and was willing to be a listener.

However, before the specific idea of building the three major halls was introduced, dinner was put on the table one by one.

Pepper and vinegar shrimp, roast goose, fire ben sheep's head and feet, garlic and vinegar white blood soup, steamed fresh fish, roasted clams, fried fresh shrimp, field chicken legs, bamboo shoots and chicken breasts, and a dish is a dish of sea cucumber, anchovy, shark tendon, fat chicken, pig's trotter tendon into a dish, which smells very delicious.

"This is my own seafood stew, my brother can taste whether it is delicious or not."

Seeing the most important dish on the table, the good royal brother hurriedly swallowed his saliva, and then gave Zhu Youzhen a lot of dishes.

But Zhu Youzhen, looking at this table of meat dishes, didn't see a single green, and couldn't help but care:

"Although meat dishes are beautiful, my brother can't just eat meat dishes and not vegetables."

"What's wrong?" Zhu Youxiao was eating roast goose meat while muttering and asking.

Seeing this, Zhu Youzhen could only explain to Zhu Youxiao the problem of diet for people's life expectancy, and deliberately said:

"Although eating vegetables does not necessarily lead to a long life, most people who eat only meat have a short life."

When Zhu Youzhen said this, Zhu Youxiao instantly felt that the pig's trotter tendons in the bowl were not fragrant......