typeface
large
in
Small
Turn off the lights
Previous bookshelf directory Bookmark Next

434 Entering Beijing

I heard Emperor Chongzhen ask Song Yingxing: "How is the transformation of that steamship going?"

After Liu Weichao mentioned the idea of ​​​​steam ships before, Emperor Chongzhen could no longer restrain himself and asked Song Yingxing to do it.

Steam engines are already in use and driven by paddle wheels. This modification is the simplest.

As for the paddle wheel drive method, in fact, during the founding of the Ming Dynasty, during the Battle of Poyang Lake, there was a type of small speedboat that used paddle wheels, but they were driven by human power. It is said that this type of boat first began in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Now for Song Yingxing, it is just a matter of changing the human power drive to a steam engine drive.

At this time, Song Yingxing listened and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the steam ship must be modified from a large ship. Such a huge steam engine will not overload the ship. This test has been done twice and is now in Tianjin.

There are secret experiments in the shipyard in the port, including the steam engine room, how to store coal, where the paddle wheel is more suitable to be placed on the ship, the steering of the ship, etc., but the results have not yet come out."

One embarrassing point is that among the existing ships, there are not many that are suitable for retrofitting with steam engines. Because the imperial court did not pay attention to the navy before, the destruction of the Denglai Navy only exacerbated the shortage of ships.

Ships were able to be requisitioned in the Battle of Ningyuan because of the needs of the war. In peacetime, if the court lacks anything, it can just requisition it. What is the difference between that and banditry?

Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly after hearing this, and then told Song Yingxing: "On the other side of the ocean, there is something called a rubber tree, which has a very wide range of uses and plays an extremely important role in promoting the application of electricity. However, it is too far away

Yes, and this steamer will be a good thing to travel across the sea. You first let them study electric lights, and then go to Tianjin yourself and take out this steamer as soon as possible. I estimate that I will use it in about half a month!"

When he heard that time was so tight, and Song Yingxing had not been to Tianjin for a month, he didn't know how the progress there was, so he quickly said: "Wei Chen will set off immediately!"

If in the past, for civil servants, going to Tianjin was considered a long trip, now it is just a night's sleep away, no different from the suburbs of the capital.

For people in this era, many ordinary people spend their entire lives just living within a hundred miles of their birthplace. The emergence of steam trains and the laying of cement roads have greatly improved human activities.

scope.

No, with the steam train, Song Yingxing would have no problem going to Tianjin.

This matter has just been settled.

About half a month later, Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen, accompanied by Zheng Hongkui, finally arrived in the capital.

Because of Zheng Sen's meritorious service in presiding over the Jiangnan Purchasing Office, Emperor Chongzhen decreed that he be appointed as the commander of the Imperial Guards, and he came to the capital to see him to express his gratitude.

As for Zheng Hongkui, he waited for the Zheng family and his son at Tianjin Port, and then accompanied them to Beijing. Of course, this was done under orders. Otherwise, how could he, a deputy general of Denglai, leave the station without permission!

From these things, Zheng Zhilong also felt the signal that Emperor Chongzhen sent to him. At the same time, he also understood very well that it was because he had the most powerful navy in the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Chongzhen happened to need it very much, so he had

Such a courtesy.

Otherwise, Zheng Zhilong probably wouldn’t be taken seriously by the emperor of today!

After meeting Zheng Hongkui and learning about the affairs in the north, Zheng Zhilong had already guessed that when the emperor summoned him, it was not just about the procurement of Yamen in Jiangnan, but it was probably related to the Denglai Navy.

Because Zheng Hongkui had already told him that as the vice-admiral of the Denglai Navy, he had almost no warships at his disposal. And if Dongjiang Town was to be rebuilt, the navy would have a very big enemy, the North Korean Navy, which must be killed or destroyed first.

Only by conquering it will Dongjiang Town be safe.

The original destruction of Dongjiang Town was really because Jianlu had the help of the North Korean Navy and was able to attack Pi Island and wipe out the soldiers and civilians on the island.

And now, North Korea has recognized Jianlu as its suzerainty. If Dongjiang Town is rebuilt, the possibility of dispatching the navy at Jianlu's request is very high!

Knowing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but feel a little headache.

Although it is said that the navy under his command is indeed the strongest along the coast of the Ming Dynasty.

However, if he is asked to take the navy to the north and go to North Korea to find the North Korean navy for a decisive battle, it is unlikely to gain much benefit. This kind of laborious and non-profitable thing is really difficult to do!

Don't look forward to collecting Doujin in the future. It's only on the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty, and there are many ships at hand, so the cost of feeding them will be high.

If he went to North Korea to find a decisive battle with the North Korean navy, he would not worry about winning or not. He was worried that it would take a year to go back and forth, and it would be a bit mysterious to maintain his dominance on the southeastern coast.

Some people may not be willing to buy the flag.

A very prominent example is that Hongyi, who occupies a large position, is afraid of his navy, so he has to buy the flag. Once he knows that the main force of his navy has left the coast of Fujian, he probably will not pay this money.

.

Of course, Zheng Zhilong is a smart man and did not only see this point. Otherwise, he might have understood the situation in Tianjin and immediately turned around and returned to Fujian.

When he understood what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to do with him, he naturally also learned about the great victory at Ningyuan. The imperial court had another great victory over Jianlu, and also captured a higher-level slave chieftain, who had just been cut to pieces in the capital. And

, and the leaders of the Jianlu surrendered to the imperial court. These things are enough to show that the affairs in Liaodong began to be under the control of the imperial court. The imperial court's military power became more and more powerful!

Once the imperial court becomes powerful and he fails to cooperate, anyone who is not stupid can definitely guess what will happen next.

If the world was in chaos before, then there would be no problem if he quietly made a fortune in Fujian!

But now, today's emperor not only knows that he is making a fortune, but also that the imperial army has become stronger and has quelled the rebellion in the Central Plains. The two largest groups of thieves have been oppressed in Jiangxi, southern Huguang and Guangxi. It is foreseeable that there will be

In a few years, the rebel rebellion is expected to be completely quelled, and Liaodong will be restored.

The strength of the imperial court at that time may be as strong as that of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

No matter how arrogant Zheng Zhilong is, he would not dare to be arrogant enough to start a war with such a court. Not to mention, he is actually not arrogant at all, and he still likes Gou!

Of course, it's not that he doesn't have a bottom line when negotiating terms, that is, on the water, or at sea, at least in the years that can be seen, he is always the strongest. If there is really no bottom line, he will be pushed to the edge and occupy

The rebellion on the island was enough for the imperial court.

Based on this, Zheng Zhilong had some idea in his mind, so he went to Beijing to see what the emperor had to say.

When he got on the steam train, because it was his first time seeing it, even though he already knew about the existence of steam trains, he was still very surprised.

Even an old fox like him is like this, let alone Zheng Sen. Sitting on the train, watching the scenery flashing by outside the window, and drinking tea, he couldn't help but praise: "Your Majesty is really amazing!

"

Zheng Hongkui, who has been in the north for the longest time, heard this and nodded in agreement: "Since Emperor Taizu appeared, your majesty has become more and more powerful. If you are often in the capital, you will feel it even more."

Having said this, he looked at Zheng Zhilong who was silent and said sincerely: "Brother, if you stay in the capital for more time, you will feel it. There are some things that cannot be known by talking about them. It is better if you experience them yourself.

I feel it! The fact that the imperial court was able to turn around from a precarious situation to the current situation is really due to your Majesty’s own efforts."

After hearing what his son and brother said, Zheng Zhilong had some confidence in his heart, but he felt that this confidence was getting less and less.

The more powerful the emperor is, the less confident he is, that's it!

Seeing that he had not yet spoken, Zheng Hongkui continued: "Brother, please look, the ground outside is a cement road. This cement material was also invented by His Majesty, and can also be used to build water conservancy projects. In this year, since the defeat of

After the establishment of the captives, the bandits were suppressed in the south. I dare say that the people's livelihood in the north will be restored soon!"

He was afraid that Zheng Zhilong would not believe it, so he continued to tell Zheng Zhilong the news he had heard: "This year, there is no drought in the north, and there are actually natural disasters. However, there is no major turmoil like in previous years; there is also a plague

, that same pimple disease happened again in the Central Plains where the Yellow River flooded, but according to the measures announced by His Majesty, it was quickly eliminated. If this happened in the past, I don’t know how many people would have died..."

In previous years, people's livelihood in the north was more difficult, but now according to Zheng Hongkui, this year is much better than in previous years. And from the comparison of various things, it can be expected that the next year will be even better!

In other words, the world's troubled times are coming to an end, and an era of great governance is about to begin. And these are all due to the changes made by Emperor Chongzhen.

If we talk about these things normally, none of them would seem to be impossible. But now, they are all becoming facts one by one.

After listening to Zheng Hongkui's introduction for a long time, and Zheng Sen's repeated exclamations from the side, Zheng Zhilong felt increasingly uncertain about this trip to the capital.

He didn't like this feeling. What he had to do was within his expectation and within his control. This was the reason why he had grown step by step from an ordinary pirate to the pirate king he is today.

In the second half of the night, seeing Zheng Sen already sleeping soundly, and listening to Zheng Hongkui's loud snoring, Zheng Zhilong was also a little sleepy. He sighed in his heart and said: "Forget it, just take it one step at a time. Life can't always be as you wish.

, after all, I am the co-owner of the entire world, so it’s not too much to ask for, so let’s do it!”

After all, the emperor has treated his Zheng family well so far. The legendary method of confiscating the family's property has not been used on the Zheng family, but he has been more generous. Not only did his son become a royal guard and command Tongzhi, his fourth brother also became a vice-admiral of the navy.

Thinking like this, he fell asleep in a daze, and when he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived in the capital.


This chapter has been completed!
Previous Bookshelf directory Bookmark Next