A month after the Imperial Meeting, even the local officials who were far away from Beijing basically returned to the Yamen station, and the governor of Sichuan, Fei Hong, began to deal with the tea and horse exchange market.

As a result, the demand for horses must be strong.

Wang Shouren followed Wang Wei to Hangzhou first, and they were to drive away the six 400 ships that had just been built at the Qingzhengyuan Shipyard to which Mei Ji belonged. The so-called material was a unit of measurement at that time.

Later generations studied the history of the Ming Dynasty, and there is only an approximate number for what the concept of a material is, that is, a material should have a displacement of about 0.33 tons.

A warship of 400 materials is a ship with a displacement of about 130 tons.

Converted to length, it is about more than 20 meters long and 4 or 5 meters wide.

A ship of more than 20 meters is actually not small, of course, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the great ancestors could also build a large ship of 4,000 materials, which is the so-called sealed boat.

Historical records record that after Jiajing, there were officials and soldiers who took a sealed boat to Ryukyu, and there was no accident four or five times back and forth, which shows that such a ship is safe enough to sail on the sea.

But the boat is at least 47 meters long and 12 meters wide, and the height of the exposed sea is also more than 12 meters, which is as high as three or four stories, which is really a behemoth.

There are 'nine masts and twelve sails' on it, but if it encounters anchoring on the shore, it has reached the point where 'no two or three hundred people can move', and it can be said that it is unique in the world.

It is said that after the boat arrived in the Ryukyus, it lost power because of the lack of wind, and finally more than 50 rowing boats dragged it into the port.

In this case, the ship is big, but clumsy.

For Wang Shouren, he knew what kind of warship he needed after a little research.

And four hundred materials are not small, and the height of three or five meters is also as tall as a building, and it can accommodate 100 people on the sea.

Mei Kejia was not an expert in shipbuilding, he had brought in experienced shipwrights.

Although the ships are now tight, with Wang Wei's identity as the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian and Wang Shouren's qualifications as a celebrity in front of the emperor, it is not a problem to take the ship in advance.

"This ship has two sail masts, and the cabin has a total of four floors, and the lowest floor is uninhabitable, but it is solid earth and stones, so as to prevent the trouble of light drifting; Set up the second and third floors of the building on the top, and its side are all guarded plates, protected by thatched bamboo, erected like a wall; The top floor is a terrace, which must be climbed from the third layer of cave stairs, and the wings on both sides are like railings, and people lean on it to attack the enemy, and the lost stone artillery is overlooked. When the enemy boat is small, the plough sinks, and the enemy is difficult to attack on the back, and the weapon of the sea battle is also. ”

Under the leadership of the chief shipbuilder, the group listened and talked up and down.

Wang Shouren looked at it carefully, inside and out, and said beside Wang Wei: "This ship can accommodate a hundred people, which is big enough, but there are not enough firearms, all the court can provide is some birds, gunpowder arrows and crossbow arrows, and the lower officials still want some powerful artillery." ”

Mei Kejia on the side is well-informed, "The villain heard that the Franc cannon made by the Yi people in Nanyang is not small. ”

If you board a ship and sail on the sea, you can appreciate the importance of firearms even on the river. After all, the water surface is wide, and people don't even have a place to set foot, so if you don't rely on firearms to shoot at each other, who will fight you with a knife?

"Your Majesty's insistence on restoring the Shenji Battalion seems to have foreseen this." Wang Wei patted the railing on the deck, "It's a pity that Daming doesn't have this kind of Franco cannon, and now it can only be like this, the imperial court has ordered that whoever makes a good firearm in the future will spend money to buy whom, so wait for a while, there will always be one." ”

Wang Shouren couldn't help it, and he was still a little dissatisfied with the ships, so he asked, "Can't there be more than six?" ”

Mei Kejia was helpless, "Wang participated in politics, mainly because the time was pressing, before the opening of the sea order, every shipbuilding had to apply to the government, and it was only a few months after the opening of the sea order, and my workers worked day and night, and six ships were really the limit." ”

"It seems that this is the only way to go...... Okay, let's pay the money. Wang Shouren couldn't see that Mei Kejia was cheating, and being able to get six ships was enough for him at present.

"Good. It's all ready, please, it's still windy on the boat. ”

Anyway, I watched it,

Then receive the goods.

At this time, the cost of the 400 material ship is about 800 to 1,000 taels, and if someone else comes to ask for it, Mei Kejia will continue to increase the price on this basis.

But Wang Shouren's purchase of the ship represents the official,

These ships also did not belong to individuals, but to the imperial court.

The silver is actually the left pocket to the pocket, and it makes no sense to calculate it too clearly. After Wang Shouren spent the 350,000 taels of silver, he still had to stretch out his hand to the court.

Therefore, these ships are all according to the normal price, one thousand taels, a total of six thousand taels.

With the silver, he could also give some bounties to his shipbuilders in Qingzhengyuan.

I don't know why, the emperor actually allowed the Eastern Shipyard to belong to Shaofu to poach his workers at a high price, what is this called?

Everyone is doing things for the imperial court, isn't this fighting with each other and wasting money?

But His Majesty the Emperor just allowed it. Not only is it allowed, but this special idea is given to Gu Zuo by the emperor!

Mei Kejia was puzzled, Qing Zhengyuan had been in business for two years, everything was on the right track, and it coincided with the high demand for ships, and it was the time to make money, but as a result, many workers were poached, and some things were delayed!

Moreover, there was no ban on private merchants from setting up their own shipyards, and those who had even fewer shipbuilders were offered more attractive prices in order to start work.

Therefore, Mei Kejia also took the plunge to collect money from the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian.

Fortunately, Wang Wei is not a person with a very heavy official frame, anyway, Wang Shouren received silver, six thousand taels is actually a small amount of money.

The money, the receipts, the signatures, and the six ships sailed away together, and the matter was settled.

But the rest is not yet done,

Wang Shouren is also not polite, what is six thousand taels of silver, he is not enough for the ship now.

"Mr. Mei, Qingzhengyuan's factory can continue to supply ships, Your Majesty wants me to recruit those bandits, drive ships on the sea, and promote the prestige of the country, to do so many things, these six ships and six hundred people alone are not enough."

Mei Kejia was embarrassed, "The ministry and the king participate in politics, it's not that they don't help." In fact, after the opening of the sea, the demand for the people of Zhejiang to go to sea has increased greatly, not only Mei Ji's business, but also some princes, Mrs. Decree and so on are also involved in the sea trade, some of them want ships, there are no ships to take a ship to ship, Mei Ji is now lacking at least 30 ships, and the shipbuilding needs to lay keels, and it is not enough to have manpower alone......"

Wang Wei raised his hand, "Let's give some time, half a year, and after half a year, please be sure to provide six more ships with four hundred materials." ”

"Ministry, six months......" Wang Shouren was still a little dissatisfied.

"There is also a shipyard in Shaofu, there is really no way, and the official can only sell this old face."

What else?

The 'ship' dies before the master,

Nowadays, going to sea is not a problem, but it ends up stuck on the ship.

When Mei Kejia sent these 'big masters' away, he turned around and gave an order to the shipyard, "Price increase!" ”

The chief shipbuilder who introduced the ship's situation today is surnamed Xu, and he was very happy when he heard the price increase, because part of the price of each ship was to be rewarded to them, "The price increase is good!" Owner, you say, how much will we rise? ”

"Double up! And the one who pays off the silver first is the first! Waiting for us to hand over the ship and pay the silver taels, let them all lean back! ”

"What a good thing!" But Chief Engineer Xu thought for a moment, "Is it the same over there?" They paid only six ships. ”

Mei Kejia was helpless, he patted this person on the shoulder, "You, hurry up and study how to build a better boat, without this craft, I don't know which bowl of rice you can serve."

It's all nonsense, this rule applies to other people, can it be applied to the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian?!

All right

Now Hangzhou's Qingzhengyuan Shipyard is an instant hit, and the sea trade is making money, and many people don't have a ship to go to sea!

So thousands of silver poured into the shipyard, and Mei Kejia was willing to spend money when he had the silver, and he searched for the monthly salaries of the shipbuilders in other shipyards, and he was all on par with others.

For a time, the shipbuilders became fragrant!

When the news came back to Beijing, no one had been interested in guiding the able-bodied workers of the right age to learn shipbuilding skills, and as a result, it became difficult to find a place overnight.

This is the power of silver.

The power of silver also plays a role in Datong.

After the court meeting, Zhou Shangwen also rushed back to Datong.

According to the court discussion on the resumption of the set of cases at the great court meeting, from Datong to Gansu, it is necessary to unite to carry out the action of suppressing the set.

In fact, it is mainly Datong, because the Tatars outside the Great Wall of Gansu suffered a lot of losses in the battle of Huamachi, and now they tend to move north, but the main force of Dayan Khan faced by Zhou Shangwen was not damaged.

But the beginning of April is the season for the pasture warbler to fly.

The grassland is warm, and cattle and sheep graze.

It is a good time to make meritorious contributions.

At the beginning, the eight of them had made an oath in front of the king.

And as the earliest eight first-class guard commanders, they are also one of the few generals in the emperor's lineage who really have actual combat experience.

Therefore, the emperor's reuse of them is even more different from ordinary people.

Zhou Shangwen is also the fastest rising, and he is now the commander of the Datong General Army and the Ming Cavalry.

The post of chief soldier was just adjusted after the Great Imperial Conference. At that time, the civil officials were intensively adjusted, so it was not only allowed to be promoted by civil officials, but not to be promoted, right?

The reason for his promotion was that he took the initiative to lead the troops to patrol the border in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, and went out to meet the enemy, although he killed hundreds of enemies in a year, and there were Wenchen in the court who said irresponsible things, saying that his leadership was unstable.

But it is still the emperor who speaks, and if the emperor likes it, then he will be promoted.

And the eight people at the beginning also said that they were rewarded a little, but Tan Wenyi and Shi Dahuai were in Zhejiang, Yu Zichu was in Fujian, and those who followed Zhou Shangwen to Datong were Sun Xilie, Chang Dacheng, Liu Jiangjie, and Xu Zhenan.

These four people, Chang Dacheng, have the most stable personality, so Zhou Shangwen did not put him in the Ming cavalry, but asked him to take Liu Jiangjie to guard Datong.

Sun Xilie and Xu Zhenan each led a guard of cavalry.

The other two commanders were Ma Yihuai and Yan Xingkui, both of whom were originally used by Yang Shangyi. When Zhou Shangwen first came, of course, these two people were a little strange.

However, Zhou Shangwen's style was more radical than Yang Shangyi's, and the general's prestige was established in the victory on the battlefield.

By April of the first year of Zhengde, Zhou Shangwen ordered that there was no longer any problem with them.

And the first thing he did after returning to Datong was to convene all the commanders and envoys to discuss the matter.

Because they didn't go to the court, so Zhou Shangwen wanted to bring the will of the court, he was dressed in a military uniform, and his tiger eyes swept over the generals, "After Your Majesty ascends the throne, the main government of the imperial court for a year is proposed in the form of a big court meeting, and the seven-day court meeting, the resumption is the topic of the first day, and for the resumption of the set, Your Majesty has agreed that our army will implement the policy of suppressing the set in the spring." ”

Everyone was shocked, "Spring? Isn't it the moment? ”