Han Yike, Yu Tongyuan and other senior officials of the Municipal Shipping Department rushed back to Nanjing without stopping after receiving His Highness's order to urgently recruit people to Beijing.
Deng Duo, who went to greet them, did not take them into the city. Instead, he came to the treasure shipyard northwest of the city.
"What are you doing here?!" Yu Tongyuan and the Wu brothers were incompatible with each other, and naturally they were not interested in their territory.
"Hahaha, this is my king's territory!" From the top of the city, His Highness King Chu's arrogant laughter came.
"Your Highness!" Everyone hurriedly dismounted and paid homage to His Highness.
"No, no, come in quickly." Zhu Zhen greeted everyone with a smile to come into Bao Shipyard.
~~
On the watchtower in front of the pond, His Royal Highness the King of Chu pointed at the giant ships sitting in the pond, and looked at Han Yike, Yu Tongyuan and others and said to Han Yike, Yu Tongyuan and others: "These are all our ships!"
"Really, that's great!" Yu Tongyuan and others immediately became angry. "With these ships, we can avenge our shame!"
"Isn't this the imperial court's ship?" Han Yike could never change his habit of speaking quickly.
"The Bao Shipyard is now owned by the Municipal Shipping Department." Lao Liu rolled his eyes, and Teacher Luo hurriedly explained.
"Then you can't misappropriate the imperial ship." Han Yike still shook his head.
"Of course it costs money." Lao Liu said angrily: "I have to thank the big brother on the list for swiping the captain."
"That's it..." Although Han Yike didn't quite understand His Highness's nonsense, he remembered that His Highness said at that time that he would ask big families in Suzhou to donate money.
"In short, this shipyard will be under your control in the future." Lao Liu immediately assigned him a task: "The director of the factory just died, and the rest are also guilty. You must resume work and production as soon as possible, and you must
Guarantee quality and quantity, do you understand?"
"I understand." Han Yike, instead of scratching his head, was actually a little excited.
For nothing else, just for a thrill. And His Highness has already tried his best in Suzhou. How to deal with all the evil people, he just needs to take the medicine according to the prescription and make some slight improvements.
~~
That day, Yu Tongyuan and others worked tirelessly to inspect all the boats in the pond, without even bothering to eat.
Early the next morning, Nan'an Hou reported the inspection status to His Highness with a pair of dark circles under his eyes.
"Why, not optimistic?" When Zhu Zhen saw Yu Tongyuan's face, there was no longer much joy.
"How should I put it, it's a mixed blessing." Yu Tongyuan said with a wry smile: "The ten completed warships are in pretty good condition. If they are carefully maintained and repaired, they should be ready for battle."
"But what?" His Royal Highness the King of Chu took a sip of lotus leaf porridge.
"But those ten semi-finished products will take at least half a year to be launched into the water." Yu Tongyuan said with a wry smile: "Bao Shipyard shipbuilding is about slow work and careful work. The ships are indeed better than elsewhere, but they are also slower than elsewhere."
"Half a year, it's too late..." King Chu put down the porridge bowl, took the handkerchief from the palace maid and wiped his mouth. He picked up a large envelope on the table, handed it to the other party and said, "I just received it."
Yu Tongyuan saw the stamp of "Six Hundred Miles Expedited" and the delivery time on the envelope, and knew that the letter was sent yesterday and was delivered to the capital overnight.
He quickly took out the letter and looked at it, and immediately turned pale.
Liao Dingguo also came up to him out of curiosity, and his expression also changed after seeing it.
The letter was written by several people, namely Wang Dayuan, Yu Tongjiang, and Liao Dingguo's younger brother Liao Weiguo.
One thing these people have in common is that they were all on the four captured ships.
He knew why Yu Tongyuan was anxious. It was because the captured sailors on the four ships, as well as Wang Dayuan and Yu Tongjiang, were now serving hard labor in the pirates' lair.
Just a few days ago, the pirates sent letters written by Wang Dayuan, Yu Tongjiang and others to Shibosi Yamen. They were ordered to pay a huge ransom within a month, otherwise they would kill one person every day until they were finished.
until……
The people from the Shibo Department did not dare to neglect the letter after receiving it, and quickly used their highest authority to send these letters to the capital.
This made the matter suddenly become more urgent - if the ship was rebuilt for the first half of the year and then the officers and soldiers took over the ship, it would have to take a few months, right? By then, all the captured personnel would have been killed before the expedition was launched.
There are many brothers in the Chaohu Navy, father and son soldiers. After suffering like this for more than half a year, the pressure is too great. I am afraid that if I don't survive until then, the morale of the military will collapse.
Zhu Zhen knew that by helping Yu Tongyuan and the others and rescuing their captured brothers at this time, he could completely gain the loyalty of the Chaohu Navy, instead of being just their last resort like now.
So he took this matter on his shoulders from the beginning.
"So, we can't count on these semi-finished products?" Zhu Zhen asked in a deep voice: "Let alone those materials."
"Of course it will be of great use in the future, but water from a distance can't quench your thirst nearby." Yu Tongyuan said in a seductive voice.
"These are the ten boats that are suitable for use." Zhu Zhen muttered: "Two boats cost four thousand materials, eight boats cost two thousand...is there something missing?"
"It's much less." Liao Dingguo sighed.
"In the previous battle alone, we saw that they had twenty-four two thousand materials, and seventy or eighty large and small clippers." Yu Tongyuan also sighed: "The difference in strength is too big, we cannot defeat His Highness.
Let’s use this little money to add fuel to our family.”
"Tell the truth, do you want to use these ten boats to rescue people? Don't worry about what I think." Zhu Zhen stared at Nan'an Hou with bright eyes.
"..." Marquis Nan'an hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily and said, "I think!"
"If the brothers just died in the battle, there's nothing to say. The earthen pot will inevitably break at the edge of the well." Then his eyes turned red and he choked: "But now they... Oh, if they don't give it a try, it will make people unable to sleep and eat well.
!”
"Okay." Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "I approve."
"Your Highness..." Marquis Nan'an and Liao Dingguo made a sound, knelt down on their knees, and said with tears streaming down their faces: "If we are lucky enough to come back, we will go through fire and water for Your Highness in this life, and we will not hesitate to do so!"
"Of course you guys want to come back safely!" Zhu Zhen said decisively: "Before you came, I thought about it - we are outnumbered, but the two enemy armies - Fang Bu and Chen Bu, ourselves
The conflict is very deep, and the latter even wanted to annex the former. They should not always be together, and should usually be separated!"
"That's right." Nan'an Hou's eyes lit up when he heard this. Before, they were only shocked and didn't expect this at all. "If we divide them and annihilate them, they still have a little more big ships than us, so we can still win."
call taxi!"
"In addition." Zhu Zhen said in a deep voice: "I have another way to improve combat effectiveness, but it may subvert your cognition. I wonder if you are willing to listen?"
"Yes, of course I am!" The two nodded vigorously. "As long as we can save our brothers, we will listen to anything!"
"Okay, my suggestion is that when engaging the enemy in the future, face the enemy from the bow instead of facing the enemy sideways!" Zhu Zhen said in a deep voice.
"Blank to the enemy?" The two of them couldn't help but be disappointed. What kind of bad idea was this? Are you waiting for others to use the bow of the ship to ram their own hull?
