Ever since Huang Chongde embraced Wang Yuan, his career has been booming.
He harvested cotton in Shandong, sold cotton cloth in Hebei, and worked as a salt merchant in the south. Now he has become one of the shareholders of the top ten tooth shops in Hangzhou. His son became a disciple of Wang Yuan, and also married the daughter of the Xu family in Jiangyin.
Guide to Zhili Cotton Cloth Trade.
From Hebei to Zhejiang and Zhejiang, Huang Chongde's business is everywhere!
This guy gathered a group of Jianghuai businessmen, bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Renhe County, and built a three-story luxury building. He wanted to ask Wang Yuan to move in and use the building as a temporary governor's palace. After Wang Yuan left Zhejiang, it could be changed into
"JAC Club".
Who dared to mess around in the place where Governor Wang used to work?
By then, the "Jianghuai Guild Hall" will have become a special existence, and even the officials of the Third Division of Zhejiang will have to give it some slack.
"I appreciate your kindness," Wang Yuan neither exposed nor cooperated. He only reminded with a smile, "Don't make wrong ideas in the future."
Huang Chongde smiled awkwardly: "Master Ruoxu is really incorruptible."
Huang Xu and Xu Qin, the young couple, stood aside obediently after paying homage to their mentor.
This Xu Qin is the eldest daughter of the widowed Yang family. She originally wanted to give her to Wang Yuan as a concubine, but was led by Wang Yuan to marry his student. The two got married a few days ago and obeyed Wang Yuan's call. Both the dowry and the betrothal gift were given to her.
I didn't have much money, and the wedding was not a big deal. After the wedding ceremony in Huizhou, I came to visit the teacher.
"How is Jingguang's homework?" Wang Yuan asked.
Huang Xu greeted his disciple and said: "I have mastered mathematics, I am studying physics, and I have not missed the Four Books and Five Classics. The disciple... plans to return to his hometown to take the Boy's Examination the year after next, and maybe he can be admitted as a student."
Wang Yuan nodded and said: "With your talent and learning, if you had not gone to the capital to become a disciple, you would have become a scholar long ago. If you want to pursue an official career, becoming a teacher will not stop you, but remember not to put down physics."
Huang Xu bowed and said, "Disciple, please remember this."
In the main hall of Tutu Temple, there are also the widow Yang and her three sons.
The eldest son, Xu Zhi, is not a candidate for the imperial examination. He has already entered the Industrial and Commercial College and is currently getting along with Fang Lingxi and Ouchi Yoshitaka.
The second son Xu Qia, Xu Xiake's grandfather, has now gained a reputation as a scholar. The youngest son Xu Zhan is also smart, and it is estimated that there will be no problem in taking the exam in two years.
After Wang Yuan finished speaking to the Huang family, the widow Yang knelt down and said: "Please, sir, accept Qia'er and Zhan'er as disciples!"
Wang Yuan must take care of his business partners in Jiangnan. He promised: "I can accept disciples, but I don't have time to teach them scriptures and meanings. Your Xu family has abundant financial resources, and there is no shortage of money to hire a gentleman. Let's do this
, wait until they pass the examination and then go to the capital to find me, and I will personally hire a master for them."
"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Yang!" This is what Yang wants.
Once the two sons become Wang Yuan's disciples, no one will covet the Xu family's property, and the Xu family's orphans and widowers will be able to live in Jiangyin.
Xu Qia and Xu Zhan served tea as gifts on the spot and presented them with an ancient inkstone and a writing brush as gifts respectively. Wang Yuan also gave them gifts as gifts in return.
After doing all this, the others retreated, leaving only Huang Chongde in the main hall.
"Has he been found?" Wang Yuan asked.
Huang Chongde replied: "I spent a lot of money to hire people to search for more than half a year, and finally found a ninety-year-old master who once participated in the construction of Fengzhou. In addition, I also found more than a dozen old shipwrights, all of whom were over five years old.
ten days."
"Very good, I will remember you." Wang Yuan was very happy.
Huang Chongde said: "When doing things for Mr. Ruoxu, I dare not take any credit."
Wang Yuan asked: "Where are they now?"
Huang Chongde said: "We all stayed at the inn in Hangzhou, staying in the upper room of Tianzihao. We were provided with good wine and food, and we didn't dare to show any neglect."
The construction data of various ship types of the Ming Dynasty are well kept, and there are even drawings of the fifty-seven-meter-long Zheng He treasure ship.
However, there is a serious shortage of senior shipbuilders. The treasure shipyards have stopped building treasure ships since the Xuande period, and all the shipbuilders involved in manufacturing treasure ships have long since died. During the Jingtai period, a large number of official shipyards were abolished. In addition to building sealing ships for the canonization of overseas vassal states, there were no other projects.
Rebuild any large sea vessel.
A large number of shipbuilders have fled, and a large number of shipbuilders have changed careers. China's shipbuilding technology is still there, but the talents who are skilled in these technologies are withering away.
Huang Chongde was entrusted by Wang Yuan and spent a lot of money to search for more than half a year to find a master who had built Fengzhou. It was just his luck. The master was already over ninety years old. If he had delayed the search for another one or two years, he would not have been able to find him.
We can only find his grave.
"How many veteran navy masters are there?" Wang Yuan asked.
Huang Chongde said: "There are seventeen in total."
Wang Yuan immediately called Zhang Mu, an official in the governor's palace, and ordered: "Prepare seventeen sedan chairs, no matter how expensive or beautiful they are, just make them comfortable to sit on, and the bearers must be able to serve people. Also prepare seventeen sets of brocade robes, and they must be
It's warm and comfortable. I'll use these things tomorrow morning. I'll give you enough money. Can you prepare them tonight?"
"If you are not ready, you will not be able to see the governor again." Zhang Mu said, patting his chest.
Zhang Mu used to be a local gangster in Hangzhou. Because of his reliability and relatively disciplined methods, he was quickly promoted by Wang Yuan and became the leader of the local officials in the Governor's Mansion.
It's very easy to use. If he doesn't make mistakes, Wang Yuan will consider bringing Zhang Mu back to the capital to serve him when he steps down as governor.
The next morning, when Wang Yuan got up, Zhang Mu had already delivered the things to the Governor's Mansion.
Wang Yuan forgot to ask for boots, so Zhang Mu thought carefully and got seventeen pairs of new shoes on his own initiative, and got seventeen big hats by the way. He also took the initiative to find Huang Chongde and went to the inn to measure the measurements of seventeen old shipwrights.
I don’t know what method he used, but he got everything ready overnight, and the clothes and shoes generally fit him.
Early in the morning, I saw Governor Wang riding into the city, followed by seventeen large sedan chairs.
People gathered around to watch along the way, and some even followed him, wondering what the governor was up to.
The seventeen veteran captains had already received the notice and got up early to wait at the door of the inn. When they saw Wang Yuan coming, they immediately knelt down and worshiped collectively.
Wang Yuan stood up and dismounted, personally helped the ninety-year-old captain up, and bowed to them: "I want to build a big treasure ship, please give me your help, elders!"
"I don't dare take it seriously!" the old sailors returned the salute one after another.
Seventeen sedan chairs were lined up, and seventeen soldiers held out brocade robes, shoes and hats.
Wang Yuan said: "Elders, please put on new clothes and take a sedan chair to the shipyard."
Among these seventeen people, the youngest is over fifty years old. With the shipbuilding industry in decline, their lives are very difficult. They are chased around by others all the year round, and are even treated as ordinary carpenters.
Now a high-ranking official asked them to build a ship, and they were well served all the way to Hangzhou. Not only did the governor salute in public, and he also got a sedan chair and brocade clothes. This treatment instantly brought tears to the eyes of the old masters, and they wanted to sacrifice a handful of old bones.
To Governor Wang.
Not long after, all seventeen old masters changed into their brocade robes, new hats and new shoes, and stood at the door of the inn in high spirits.
"Elders, please get on the sedan!" Wang Yuan bowed and said.
The people watching were in an uproar. They had only heard that Governor Wang was arrogant and domineering, but how had they ever seen Governor Wang treat him so courteously and courteously?
The old captains were both grateful and extremely proud. They smiled heartily and sat tremblingly in the sedan chair.
Before it was all over, Wang Yuan himself rode on horseback to clear the way and led these old masters to the shipyard.
As early as the Yongle period, the number of shipyards in Zhejiang ranked first in the country, but few large ships were built. At that time, Zhejiang Coastal Guard almost had its own shipyards, but unfortunately they were all abolished during the Jingtai period.
The shipyard built by Wang Yuan is located near Qianhusuo, Haining.
Thanks to the Qianhu who was beheaded by Wang Yuan, although the shipyard here has been abolished, the dock has been in normal use for simple repairs of smuggling ships.
"For your humble position, please see Wang Zongzhi!" Man Zheng led his soldiers to greet him.
After being recommended by Wang Yuan and officially approved by the imperial court, Manzheng had been promoted two levels in a row, serving as the commander of the right guard of Hangzhou. He was also appointed as the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang Beiwa, directly in charge of the Qiantang Navy, and was also in charge of the training of the Qiantang Navy as an exception.
As for the post of Haining Qianhu, it was promoted to the position by Deputy Qianhu under Manzheng.
The Qiantang Navy is one of the two most elite naval divisions in Zhejiang. When Manzheng took over, there were only two to three hundred sailors left, and all other soldiers were just on the books. And there were not even medium-sized warships, but only small boats.
, no wonder it was defeated by hundreds of Japanese tribute missions in history.
Wang Yuan nodded and said: "Get up, these are the old captains I invited. They must be treated more favorably."
Man Zheng smiled and said: "I will serve them as my elders."
The old shipwrights had all alighted from their sedan chairs, and Wang Yuan said, "Elders, let's go visit the shipyard together."
Soon, the old masters were disappointed. The dilapidated shipyard here could not even build a battleship with 400 materials, let alone Zheng He's treasure ship.
Ninety-year-old Chen Baochang had bad eyesight. He stared at the dock for a long time and asked, "Are you building a bird boat?"
Wang Yuan explained: "For small bird boats, the boatman is not experienced enough, so we build some small bird boats to practice our skills."
History often mentions the "Bird Boat", which is a specialty of Fujian. There is also a kind of "Bird Boat" in Zhejiang, also known as the "Zhe Ship". It once served in Zheng He's fleet. It is about ten feet long, which is equivalent to the length of a treasure ship.
two-thirds of.
However, during the Zhengde period, the information on bird boats was well preserved, but no masters who could build bird boats could be found.
It was not until the Longqing switch was turned on that the "Bird Ship" information was uncovered and studied, and it was again seen on the maritime battlefield. "Bing Lu" records that the "Bird Ship" during the Longqing period was equipped with eight two-thousand-jin heavy cannons and twenty one-thousand-jin heavy cannons.
Dozens of small artillery pieces and sixty cannons can be called a giant oriental warship - Zheng Zhilong is equipped with a large number of such warships.
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, an upgraded version of the "Bird Ship" was produced, which was close to the length of Zheng He's treasure ship. Unfortunately, it gradually disappeared after the recapture of Taiwan.
Zhang Yue was thrown to Nanguan, Zhejiang, for tax collection by Wang Yuan. The main tax there was not silver, but all kinds of wood! After collecting the physical goods, part of it was shipped to build canals, and part of it was shipped to build leopard houses for Zhengde.
Wang Yuan was so courageous that he secretly withheld a large amount of wood suitable for building sea-going ships.
Unfortunately, the shipbuilders he recruited from the government had no experience in building large ships, so he could only let them build small bird boats to practice first. It was said to be a small bird boat, but it only cost four hundred materials, which was equivalent to the current Daming Navy.
The most powerful battleship.
And Zheng He's treasure ship has more than 4,000 materials!
Wang Yuan asked: "Old sir, I have prepared drawings of various ship types. Can you build Zheng He's treasure ship?"
Chen Baochang smiled and said: "My Lord Governor, the treasure ship is actually a Fengzhou. Even if it is not old and decayed, the shipyards in Nanzhili and Fujian can build it with more effort."
"The treasure ship is Fengzhou?" Wang Yuan was very surprised.
Fengzhou, a large ship used to seal overseas vassal states, could always be built in the Ming Dynasty. However, that thing was rarely used and the number was extremely rare. Basically, one ship was built every few decades, and every time a ship was built,
Need to rethink the research.
Chen Baochang said: "Zheng He's treasure ship is just a Fengzhou, but it is just larger than an ordinary Fengzhou."
"I see," Wang Yuan said, "I'll help you all."
Chen Baochang said: "When I was young, I participated in the construction of a Fengzhou. As long as I can get the blueprints, I will definitely build Zheng He's treasure ship!"
Wang Yuan thought for a while: "The treasure ship is too big, just build one, and the others can be made into bird ships."
Chen Baochang said: "I will definitely live up to the great trust!"