As the fleet passed outside the shipyard, people on board crowded the side of the ship, waving their hands and cheering loudly.
They didn't know that the figure standing on the dock was the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
After returning from a long voyage, they saw their hometown and the people on the shore, and they naturally felt friendly, so their cheers and their waves were towards this long-lost homeland.
Li Xingchen also smiled and waved to them.
Not only Li Xingchen, but also the ministers and everyone at the shipyard.
Welcome back these heroes who fought on the other side of the Han Dynasty.
Looking at the ships in the shipyard, it is conceivable that in the coming years, more such fleets will appear, sailing on the sea, covering Southeast Asia, Japan and other overseas islands under the influence of the Han Dynasty.
Under the threat of force and incorporated into the Han's business network, everything they did was inseparable from the influence of the Han, and they were eventually integrated with the Han.
Li Xingchen believed that in this era, there really was no one who could resist the joint export of trade and culture of the Han Dynasty.
If anyone can resist, let them taste the power of firearms.
After watching this huge fleet leave—usually their destination should be the docks at Jiankang Mansion or Jingkou on the river—Li Xinchen led his ministers along the embankment toward the huge work sheds.
The navy general responsible for ship acceptance introduced to Li Xingchen:
"Now we are mainly building two-masted sailing ships. The main requirements are that they can carry large amounts of cargo or weapons and can withstand sea storms, so that they can travel on the sea as two ships or even a single ship."
Li Xingchen nodded. Simply speaking of stability in ocean navigation, the horizontal sails and soft sails that Westerners are more accustomed to use are ultimately much better than the longitudinal sails and hard sails that China has inherited since ancient times. And the application of horizontal sails also means that
There is no need to maintain too many masts for a ship, and the size can be controlled.
For a medium-sized sea-going ship, whether it is for transportation or combat, two masts are enough. More masts will make the hull too large and difficult to maneuver.
More importantly, the Han navy now has no rivals on the sea. It makes little sense to spend so much money to build super large ships. If something unexpected happens, it will be a huge loss. Therefore, large ships with three masts or more
, the navy only retained four or five ships, and their main purpose was to patrol the islands in the Southeast Asia and declare to the world the Han Dynasty's control of the Southeast Asia.
Of course, the effect of swinging such a large ship around is quite good, and at least it can convince many Nanyang barbarians.
Li Xinchen believed that the ships in front of him, which were built in batches like dumplings, must be the ships that the navy built after years of exploration and countless lessons learned to best meet the needs of the current Han Dynasty, so Li Xinchen did not give much advice.
He just stretched out his hand to touch the artillery pieces that were ready to be hoisted to the ship at any time, and said in a deep voice: "I only hope that these artillery pieces can always face the sea, with their backs to the Han Dynasty, repel the powerful enemies of the Han Dynasty, and suppress the rebellious barbarians.
, let the whole world tremble under the cannons of the Han Dynasty, and the people of the Han Dynasty can live and work in peace and contentment under the protection of the artillery."
Several naval generals accompanying him saluted in unison: "I obey the order, and this is what the navy wishes!"
Li Xingchen was silent.
In fact, he had something else to say.
Only the rumbling sound of cannons that never dissipates in the sea and sky can always remind the people of the Han Dynasty that there are still powerful enemies outside. Although the navy is blocking and conquering, no one in China has arrived yet.
When you can be happy and forget your worries.
——————————————-
Li Xingchen did not stay in Songjiang for too long.
It was already the depth of winter and the new year was about to arrive. Li Xingchen had to go deep into the river as soon as possible.
He went south along the canal, but it was too late to go north at this time, because under the cold wind, thin ice had appeared on the canal, and it might be closed at any time.
Therefore, Li Xinchen's original inspection plan was to follow the river to Jiangling and other places, then abandon the ship and go ashore, and go north along the newly built Chidao between Xiangyang and Heluo.
When snowflakes were already flying on the river, Li Xingchen also arrived in Jiangling.
And this day is already the last day of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty.
New Year's Eve is tonight.
When His Majesty arrived in Jiangling, he naturally stopped at Jiangling Palace, which was the former Xiliang Palace.
The night was already dark, and Li Xingchen was leaning on the soft couch, turning over the memorial at random.
Outside the half-open door, the laughter of Chen Xuanhua and Yu Chizhen could be heard.
Li Xingchen couldn't help but smile and was in a good mood.
"Your Majesty's health has been much better recently than during the Northern Expedition." The person sitting on the side was Cai Rong. She had just taken her fingers off Li Xinchen's wrist and said with a smile, "He was obviously very angry at that time."
Li Xingchen stretched out: "The general trend of the world is on my shoulders that day. The outcome of the Northern Expedition is even related to when these three hundred years of chaos will end. How can I not be angry? Sometimes I look at the soldiers on the front line for a long time.
If you can't attack them, you can't wait to kill them with your own body, so let me see what's so hard about those bones?!"
When Li Xingchen said this, he naturally showed off his domineering attitude.
Cai Rong smiled softly, because she knew His Majesty's next reaction very well.
Although she has only been with His Majesty for a short time, she is already well aware of His Majesty's funny temperament.
As expected, Li Xingchen then turned over:
"As for now, it's so fun to be a salted fish."
Cai Rong couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle: "Your Majesty is in a good mood today."
"How can you feel bad when we meet again after a long separation?" Li Xingchen held her other hand before she could take it away.
When Li Xingchen left Jiankang Mansion, he left Shen Wuhua and Xu Su behind in Jiankang Mansion.
Sun Simiao plans to promote the reduction of medical expenses, or even medical insurance, and Li Xinchen will definitely use the power of the inner government to support it.
With Sister Shen and Xu Su coming forward, they can naturally stabilize some Jiangnan aristocratic families who may have objections. And Jiangnan, with its abundant local tax revenue, is obviously enough to support the investment in medical insurance, so Li Xingchen chose this place as a pilot project.
The biggest threat is naturally the Jiangnan Family.
Although the Jiangnan aristocratic family is far less than it was back then, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Many of them are still extensively involved in the industrial and commercial development of the Han Dynasty.
Li Xingchen had to admit that the sense of smell of these aristocratic families was indeed sensitive.
After they realized that the court would not allow them to continue to exist in their old posture, they actively began to transform. It happened that part of the wealth they still retained was used as the first pot of gold to enter industrial and commercial development.
Naturally, hospitals and academies are two important directions for their efforts, so aristocratic families have invested heavily in the hospital system.
After all, as long as a system is established for medicine, the cost of obtaining medicines will drop significantly, and the interest that can be obtained from them will naturally increase.