Tao Chengdao followed Lao Zhu all the way to the south and north, so he naturally knew what the arrows in the army were like.
After thinking about it, Tao Chengdao frowned and said, "If there were no arrow feathers, the arrow would roll in the air."
Han Du immediately smiled and nodded, and said: "That's right. This is not a problem for the army to shoot. Anyway, it is full coverage of the shooting, and it has no impact. But for our fire dragon, it is not possible.
. Ten thousand households also saw what happened just now. Since the gunpowder has not been burned out yet, if it rolls over, it will fall directly."
Tao Chengdao nodded slowly, "Do you have a way to solve this problem?"
"It's very simple, just like an arrow, just add 'arrow feathers' to this thing." Han Du replied immediately.
Tao Chengdao clicked his tongue and nodded in agreement: "Okay, just tell my disciples what you need to do, and they will listen to you."
After finishing speaking, he turned back to the disciples and said, "You can do whatever the Marquis of Zhenhai tells you to do, do you hear me?"
"Yes, Master."
Tao Chengdao was quite satisfied with the reaction of his disciples. He glanced at the thing stuck in the soil and waved his hand: "Come here, take this thing back to me."
Several apprentices stepped forward, hugged the iron pipe and shook it, but the iron pipe did not move at all.
Han Du took one look and knew that this thing must be buried deep in the ground. He shook his head and said: "Forget it, this thing is useless anyway, just let it stay here."
Following Tao Chengdao's instructions, several people immediately stopped after listening to Han Du's words.
Tao Chengdao looked at Han Du in confusion and asked, "Why, don't you take this thing back to see?"
"It's not necessary." Han Du shook his head lightly, pointed to the edge of the tube mouth and said: "This thing is made too thick. Although it is guaranteed not to be exploded by gunpowder, it also increases its weight. It is definitely not possible to make it so thick.
Yes, we have to find a suitable thickness after we go back, so that it will not be exploded by gunpowder and can be made as thin as possible to reduce weight. Therefore, this thing is of no use to me."
Tao Chengdao nodded and said to his disciples: "Then go back."
Returning to Tao Chengdao's house, Han Du first found the apprentice who was casting steel pipes, drew some drawings for him, and asked him to follow the instructions to make the thing.
But the man only took one look at the blueprint and frowned: "Master Hou, you want me to make the steel pipe as thick as a minute. I'm afraid I won't be able to do this if I'm young."
"What is so difficult?" Han Du's attention was not on this person, nor did he hear clearly what he said. But after hearing his voice, he looked up and saw that he was still standing in front of him.
The man sighed and pointed to the drawing and explained: "The thickness of the steel pipe is only one minute. Is it really impossible to do something small?"
"Why can't it be done?" Han Du frowned, not thinking that this was a difficult task.
The man had no choice but to take Han Du to the forging workshop and Han Du understood immediately that they really couldn't make a steel pipe that was only one minute thick.
Even Tao Chengdao heard about it and hurried over and said to Handu: "It is really impossible to hammer the steel to be so thin and have to make it flat."
So Han Du in turn took Tao Chengdao to the coal stove workshop. When he saw thin, wide iron sheets being rolled out from between two huge fine steel pillars, like dough,
I can't even move my eyes away.
After the iron sheets were cooled, giant steel shears were used to straighten the uneven edges, and a square iron sheet was ready.
He raised his hand and pointed at the iron sheets that were being continuously produced, and stammered: "You kid, how did you do this?"
Han Du put his hands behind his back and said in a matter-of-fact tone: "First cast the molten steel into a plate, and then roll it out bit by bit while the steel plate is still at high temperature and has not solidified."
Tao Chengdao immediately rubbed his hands together in excitement, and said with a sheepish expression: "Well, I wonder if I can ask them to help me make steel pipes? Don't worry, I will pay and won't treat them badly."
Han Du smiled and shook his head lightly and said: "Why are you causing so much trouble? I made this thing. Can't I just go to Wanhu's house and make another one later?"
"What, how can this be so embarrassing?" Tao Chengdao was really embarrassed. If anyone had such a thing, why wouldn't he treasure it and hide it? But Han Du agreed and made another one for him directly.
"Then, I would be disrespectful to reject it." If it were something else, Tao Chengdao might not accept it at all. But this huge machine really has the heart of a person who likes to develop firearms in mind, and he can't say no at all.
With the experience of doing it several times, Han Du asked Lin Mo to make another set, which only took a few days. Lin Mo even improved this set himself to make thinner and flatter iron sheets.
Tao Chengdao's house originally had an iron-making furnace, but Han Du thought his furnace was too backward, so he just dismantled his original furnace and built a new small blast furnace for steel-making.
>
When Tao Chengdao saw Han Du dismantling his iron-making furnace, he was heartbroken. However, after Han Du repeatedly promised that he would build a better steel-making furnace for him, Tao Chengdao reluctantly endured it.
But he followed Han Du closely, preparing to settle the score with Han Du as soon as possible if Han Du broke his promise.
Tao Chengdao's apprentices were directed to assemble the machinery, wait for the blast furnace to smelt the steel, and then start making steel sheets.
In the end, the steel sheets had to be made into steel pipes. Since he did not have welding technology, Han Du had to ask Tao Chengdao's apprentices to use the connection method. Fortunately, Tao Chengdao's apprentices were very skilled in craftsmanship, and the joints were hammered tightly and extremely smooth.
, almost the same as welding.
After finally making the steel pipe, Han Du ran out of time before proceeding to the next step of production.
Lao Zhu has sent someone to convey the order, asking him to take the navy to prepare to escort the prince on a patrol.
For this reason, Han Du had no choice but to leave the drawings to Tao Chengdao and leave all subsequent production to him. As for what he could make it into, Han Du didn't know.
Han Du rushed to the East Palace. When he saw Zhu Biao for the first time, he quickly bowed and asked: "Your Highness, why did the emperor agree so quickly this time?"
Seeing that the matter of his going to sea had been decided, the prince felt quite happy. He smiled and shook his head and said: "I don't know, but when my father raised it in the court today, no officials objected, so my father raised it in court today."
Then I issued the order directly.”
No one objected. Han Du was stunned for a moment. But then he remembered that Lao Zhu had just killed Zhan Hui and executed everyone in his family. At this time, who dared to oppose Lao Zhu after eating the bear's heart?
Zhan Hui was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, and could be said to be a top figure among civil servants. But even so, when the emperor wanted to kill him, it was like crushing an ant to death, without even making a sound. How could other officials dare to object?
In this case, Han Du raised his hand and asked: "May I ask when your highness is planning to set off?"
Zhu Biao glanced at Han Du in surprise, "You must have a lot of things to prepare when going to sea, right? Are you ready?"
"The navy has been prepared for a long time and can set off at any time. Please give me your permission." Han Du nodded.
"Why so fast?" Zhu Biao said in surprise.
Han Du smiled and said: "Nowadays, all cargo is loaded and unloaded using machinery, which is hundreds of times faster than the manual loading in the past. Naturally, the speed is very fast."
Zhu Biao nodded slightly and said with admiration: "In the past, you said that machines can help people with great power, but I was still doubtful. Now it seems that you are right again."
"In that case, let's send someone to Qintian Prison to find an auspicious day to set off."
Zhu Biao sent people to the Qintian Prison to reply. Two days later it would be an auspicious day for travel.
On the day Zhu Biao set out for his patrol, Lao Zhu, Queen Ma and Han Jingyun, including Princess Anqing and Han De, came to see him off.
Except for Han Jingyun, no one knew the inside story of Zhu Biao's voyage. Lao Zhu and Queen Ma thought that Han Du took Zhu Biao to sea to cure his hysteria.
Queen Ma held Zhu Biao's hand, while Zhu Biao acted a little dull. Seeing Zhu Biao's appearance, Queen Ma felt even more uncomfortable. She forcibly blocked her tears and said: "Biao'er, Han Du has done it many times.
You have a wealth of experience in going to sea. After you go to sea, you must follow Han Du's advice and never make decisions without authorization."
"My son, I have recorded it." Zhu Biao couldn't bear to see his mother reluctant to leave her. But now that the arrow was on the string and had to be fired, he had no choice but to harden his heart and endure this discomfort.
Lao Zhu did not give any instructions to Zhu Biao. He knew that it would be useless to give more instructions in Zhu Biao's condition. He turned to look at Han Du and said in a deep voice: "I will hand over the prince to you, and you must take him out in full."
, you must bring them back to me in full and complete form. Otherwise"
"If His Highness the Crown Prince is injured in the slightest, I am willing to die to apologize!" Han Du immediately knelt on one knee in front of Lao Zhu, raised his head and swore an oath.
"Okay! Let's go." Lao Zhu agreed directly without being polite to Han Du.
Since ancient times, no prince or prince of a country has ever stepped into the sea. If Lao Zhu hadn't been too strong and had reasons that the civil servants couldn't refute, it would certainly not have been so easy for Zhu Biao to go to sea.
Just when Han Du and Zhu Biao turned around to board the ship, Tang He and Tang Ding came running from a distance on fast horses.
"Up on top"
Hearing Tang He's shout, Lao Zhu glanced back. After Tang He came to him and dismounted, he quickly asked: "Brother Xian, why are you here? How old are you for riding a horse? You can ride such a fast horse."
, if something goes wrong, will you risk your life?"
As he spoke, his face darkened and he shouted angrily at Tang Ding
: "What do you do for food? Why didn't you stop your father?"
"I acknowledge my guilt." Tang Ding smiled bitterly and quickly knelt down in front of Lao Zhu and lowered his head.
Tang He gasped for air, and after calming down for a while, he quickly smiled and comforted Lao Zhu and said: "It's us who want to ride the horse, he's not the master yet, so he can't stop us."
Zhu Biao held Tang He's arms with both hands, helped him up, and sighed softly: "Brother, you are still a few years younger than me, how come you have become like this? I ordered you not to ride a horse again in the future, but I still
I hope you can live a few more years and be able to stay with me and talk to me and reminisce about old times."
"We all listen to the superiors, and we all listen to the superiors." Tang He is indeed too old, and he stands with Lao Zhu. Although Lao Zhu also looks old, his hair is only gray. And Tang He's hair and beard,
His eyebrows are completely white, and his face is covered with age spots, giving him the impression of a hero in his twilight years.
Tang He had always loved and cared for him, but how long had it been since he had visited him? Thinking of this, Han Du felt ashamed.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, it was not appropriate for Han Du to go forward to greet Tang He, otherwise Han Du would definitely have gone over to greet Tang He.
Seeing that Tang He finally recovered, Lao Zhu asked: "Brother Xian, is there something urgent that comes in such a hurry?"
Tang He held his cane, bent down and bowed to Lao Zhu and said, "I want to ask for a favor from the emperor."
"Between us brothers, what kind of kindness can we say? What do you want? Just say it, it doesn't matter." Although Lao Zhu's face did not change and his tone was peaceful, his hands let go of Tang He, and it was obvious that he was still worried.
suspicion.
Tang He smiled and did not pay attention to the small actions of the superior, and said directly: "I want to show mercy to the superior, and I will allow Tang Ding to escort His Highness the Crown Prince."
Upon hearing Tang He's request, the doubts in Lao Zhu's heart disappeared instantly. He did not expect that Tang He actually asked Tang Ding to go to sea together to escort the prince.
Seeing that the superior did not agree, Tang He continued: "Although Tang Ding is not as good as Han Du in naval battles, he has gone to sea several times and experienced large and small naval battles. Moreover, he is also a fierce general who leads troops into battle. With him going to sea together, I will also
Don't worry."
I also want to rest assured. After Lao Zhu came to his senses, he immediately laughed, stretched out his hands to pat Tang He's arms, and sighed: "My dear brother and I have always been of the same mind. Okay, I'm sure."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tang He quickly bowed to thank him, then turned back and shouted angrily at Tang Ding: "Why don't you thank Your Majesty for your kindness? You must protect His Highness the Crown Prince well when you go. If His Highness loses a hair, you will die.
Go outside, there is no need to come back, just treat me as a useless son without you."
"I thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Tang Ding first bowed to Lao Zhu, and after Lao Zhu signaled him to excuse himself, he stood up again and said to his father: "Don't worry, dad, the child will not embarrass you.
.Even if I risk my life, I must protect the Crown Prince."
Lao Zhu looked at Tang Ding with a smile on his face and nodded, praising: "Like your father, you are loyal to me. I believe you will return safely. Go."
"I obey!" Tang Ding bowed to the emperor and walked towards the prince and Han Du.
Tang Ding came closer and bowed to Zhu Biao: "I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
"No courtesy, get up." Zhu Shou's tone was calm, and even when he saw Tang Ding, there was no change at all.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Tang Ding straightened up, looked at Han Du and said dissatisfiedly: "Brother Han, you are so shameless. You didn't even tell us about such an important matter? You should let dad hear the news before he becomes anxious.
Bring us here in a hurry."
Faced with Tang Ding's complaining tone, Han Du smiled flatteringly, not knowing how to explain it to him. If Zhu Biao's hysteria had not recovered and he really needed to go to sea for treatment, then Han Du would definitely take the initiative to invite Tang Ding to go to sea with him. But Zhu Biao
The subject's hysteria was feigned. He didn't say he wanted to take Tang Ding to sea with him. Han Du couldn't make the decision for him, right?
Moreover, Zhu Biao's feeling for Han Du now is a little different from before. I don't know if he has experienced some changes after this incident, or if he has changed because of what he said to him.
Anyway, Han Du just felt that Zhu Biao had changed a bit and had his own beliefs and ideas. He was no longer as kind-hearted and kind as before. He always thought about others and almost never thought about himself.
However, the feeling that Zhu Biao now gives to Han Du is that he is beginning to think about himself. Zhu Biao used to feel kind and gentle, but now he has a soaring spirit.
The momentum is a bit domineering.
"The auspicious time has arrived~"
Following a loud shout from the Qin Tian Jian officials, Zhu Biao, Han Du and Tang Ding turned around and boarded the ship without hesitation.
The boat left the plank road little by little, and both the people on the boat and the people on the shore looked at each other reluctantly, until they were getting further and further away and could no longer be seen.
This time when he went to sea, Han Du brought a total of 80 latest warships and 40 grain ships.
The entire navy, fifty thousand men, was mobilized in full force.
Of course, the grain ship does not carry much grain, and Han Du is planning to go to Nanyang to replenish grain and other supplies. Anyway, a large part of Nanyang's grain has to be transported to the capital every year, so it is better to go directly there to load it, which can also save the freight.
Save it.
In addition to the navy, Lao Zhu also left two thousand personal troops to Zhu Biao, all of which were equipped with revolvers and divine thunder guns. It can be said that Lao Zhu gave Zhu Biao all his family resources.
, now it is a question whether Lao Zhu still has two thousand pro-army troops with such equipment.
According to Han Du's estimate, there should be none. There is no shortage of revolvers, but there is a huge shortage of divine thunder muskets. According to Han Du's estimate, the Ordnance Bureau has not produced four thousand divine thunder muskets so far.
"What? Your Highness pretended to be sick and went to sea?"
As soon as the fleet sailed to the sea, Zhu Biao called Han Du and Tang Ding to the bow of the ship to blow the sea breeze. At the same time, he briefly told Tang Ding what had happened.
Now that he has arrived at sea, Zhu Biao stopped pretending and showed off his cards!
When Tang Ding saw Zhu Biao smiling and nodding in the affirmative, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Han Du opposite him. He wondered how courageous Han Du had become, to dare to trick His Highness the Crown Prince into pretending to be ill, just to be able to go to sea?
Han Du laughed dryly and did not explain to Tang Ding.
But when Zhu Biao saw Tang Ding's expression, he knew what he was thinking, so he explained: "It's none of Han Du's business, it's Gu who wants to go to sea."
Seeing that Zhu Biao was speaking for Han Du, Tang Ding naturally stopped complaining about Han Du and turned to Zhu Biao and said, "Why does Your Highness want to go to sea?"
Zhu Biao nodded after hearing this and said calmly: "Han Du is right. The territory of the Ming Dynasty is not only one capital and fourteen provinces, as well as Liaodong and other places, but also these tens of thousands of miles of sea territory. Isn't it okay to patrol the sea territory as the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty alone?
Should it?”
Tang Ding lowered his head and smiled and said: "Of course you should. However, His Highness wants to patrol the sea and has made it clear to the Emperor. Why should he pretend to be sick as an excuse? If people know this, it will be terrible."
"So, of course, no one else can know about this matter." Zhu Biao looked at Tang Ding in a matter-of-fact manner, "Only the three of us know about this matter. If it leaks out, it will definitely be a good thing you did.
When the time comes, I won't be able to spare you."
Tang Ding was shocked when he heard this, and quickly defended: "Your Highness, why is he a minister? Doesn't Han Du know about it too? What if he leaks it out?"
"He is the instigator, do you think he will leak it?" Zhu Biao glanced at Han Du and said lightly.
Well, okay, among the three people, he is indeed the only one who is likely to leak it.
Tang Ding quickly pointed to the sky and swore: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will never leak it. From now on, I will forget all what Your Highness just said."
Zhu Biao and Han Du both looked at Tang Ding, smiled and nodded.
Tang Ding glanced at the two of them and didn't know what their smiles meant. He simply coughed twice and changed the subject and asked: "Where are your Highness planning to go during this trip?"
Zhu Biao had already planned it, and he said it directly after hearing the words: "Since Gu has come overseas, of course he must first go and see his second brother. Since his second brother was transferred to Annan, Gu has never seen him again. It's very strange."
miss."
"Then I want to take a trip around Nanyang to see what kind of treasure land it is that can provide countless supplies to the Ming Dynasty every year."
Tang Ding nodded, these were the proper meanings, and said nothing more.
With Tang Ding's assistance, Han Du commanded the fleet with ease, and the fleet arrived in Annan calmly.
Anping Port is now even bigger, with merchant ships coming and going like forests of masts and sails like clouds, and it is even more prosperous than before.
The governor here has been replaced, and he is Huining Marquis Zhang Wen.
Han Du heard that this man was relatively close to Lan Yu, but Han Du had never heard Lan Yu mention it, and he didn't know whether the rumors were true or false.
After all, as one of the only three Dukes of the Ming Dynasty and the uncle of His Royal Highness, Lan Yu has a bright future. It is not surprising that there are people who want to take the opportunity to cling to Lan Yu.
Upon hearing that His Highness the Crown Prince was arriving in person, Zhang Wen immediately arranged for people to evacuate the maritime merchants and clear the place so that His Highness the Crown Prince could dock and disembark.
When the merchants heard that His Royal Highness was patrolling the sea, not only did they not complain at all about Teng moving away, but when the flagship passed by, they all bowed down to the warship with smiles on their faces.
"The common people pay homage to His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness is a thousand years old and a thousand years old."
The sense of smell of maritime merchants is naturally much more sensitive than that of ordinary people. Perhaps in Zhang Wen's opinion, His Highness is just patrolling the maritime territory and does not mean anything.
But in the eyes of maritime merchants, this is a sign that Ming Dynasty has truly incorporated the entire Nanyang into its territory. After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's inspection, Nanyang has officially become the territory of Ming Dynasty, and it can no longer be easily abandoned.