The gate of Dinghai City is in name only. It is easy for foreigners to come in and just give them benefits. There is no need for guidance at all.
Dinghai Guard Station has a registered capacity of more than 1,300 people, but the actual number is less than 600. It is completely abandoned. It has never trained troops in more than ten years. There are hundreds of people who have never trained troops! It is simply unbelievable!!
Wei Shilei went out to take a look. The warships passed down by the navy from the previous dynasty were in dilapidated condition, and the iron sheets on the ships had been pried clean. It was really... unbearable to look at.
But Jin'an Prefecture had the largest salt field in the Daqing Dynasty, and the entire Minzhou officialdom was enjoying the benefits of the salt field.
The only good news is that there are still a few maritime merchants here, mainly engaged in the spice business. The lives of the poor are not valuable. If a group of sailors are recruited, only one of them will come back alive, so the prices of these spices are very expensive.
At the same time, there are also several shipyards here, most of which are small in scale. The largest one is called Dinghaifu Shipyard, which is also a first-class royal spice merchant. It is said that someone in the court... I checked that this person is Wang Shenxing. The family of this company
The owner's name is Wang Huaizhi, a brother of Wang Shenxing.
This was easy to explain, so Wei Shilei wrote a letter directly, relying on Wang Shenxing's relationship, and then secretly contacted them, using Dinghaifu Shipyard as a base to start building ships at all costs.
The name of this shipyard is Fu Shipyard, and it mainly makes Fu ships.
The Fu Chuan is a type of ship, which is said to be "as tall as a building, with a pointed bottom, a broad top, and a high head and mouth." It "only benefits the ocean, otherwise it will be glued to the shallows." It can carry tens of thousands of stones. It is a very large ship.
It is a very stable boat and is very suitable for ocean voyages. It has a high chance of surviving in extreme weather.
Whether it's the navy or shipbuilding, it's extremely expensive. Anyway, the newly accumulated treasury has no money to allocate.
But Wei Shilei still reported it, and when the time came, Yan Baiwei would only transfer the navy's money. The money for the shipbuilding was directly given by Tang Shijin, and Wei Shilei made the accounts alone.
A large sea-going ship costs at least four to five thousand taels of silver, and because the old master has never built such a large sea-going ship, many areas need to be tested and explored. If it is sailed out and sunk, then these silvers will be the real
It's in vain.
But it has to be.
Moreover, Wei Shilei led many people, many experts, and there were people in the court, so he was not afraid that these officials were entangled in the situation. Once he understood the situation, he immediately started to make drastic changes.
Ships are being built here, and naval forces are being recruited there.
The guards of the Daqing Dynasty were in the form of a military camp. Soldiers coexisted and could be summoned and hereditary. They had their own farmland, and military pay and other farmland settlements were equivalent to self-sufficiency.
This is actually a very troublesome military system with many disadvantages.
Because these soldiers will not actually farm the fields themselves, it is equivalent to them becoming "landlords" and giving the fields to farmers to cultivate. They make money by relying on the output of these fields, the exploitation of salt, etc.
.
In a word, these guardsmen are a bunch of waste who do not engage in production or training.
But it's also simple.
The private guards and secret guards given by the old prince are all good soldiers. They have not been on the battlefield for so many years, and they are all exhausted. Isn't it just a joke to deal with these people?
Can't you bear the sin?
Then get out!
Well practiced,
Then reward it!
Carrot and stick, simple, crude and effective.
Anyway, after practicing for a month and killing a few chickens for them to show, these people were all docile and had no problems whatsoever.
Wei Shilei trains with them every day.
He has been practicing boxing and kicking with Tang Shijin since he was a child. In the morning, he basically never broke a set of punches, so he was in good health. Later, when the intensity became more and more intense, he could keep up. He didn't do anything special at all, but it made a big difference to these people...
...I never expected that this No. 1 scholar, who reached the rank of Six Yuan, would actually be a hard-nosed man. He was indeed a descendant of the Emperor Wei family.
In a place like the army, this is the most common thing. He takes the lead. These people really have no emotion at all.
The noble prince of this family can bear it, why can't you? Are you more delicate than others?
While Wei Shilei was training his troops, he also had to worry about the progress of shipbuilding.
By the time the first Dafu ship was built, it was already four months later.
Nowadays, shipbuilding is mostly done in docks, which is equivalent to a puddle where sea water comes out.
Because today's ships are nailed together with iron nails, they cannot be pulled hard or lifted. Therefore, the gate between the dock and the sea is closed first, and the ship is built in the dock. When the ship is completed, it is
Open the gate, bring in the sea water, and moor the big ship out.
Wei Shilei came over in advance and watched them open the gate and release the water from a distance. Wang Huaizhi, the owner of the Fu Shipyard, slowly walked over and said: "Your Majesty."
Wei Shilei turned around with a smile on his face: "Brother Huaizhi."
Wang Huaizhi coughed twice and said: "Master, there is a saying that ordinary people don't know whether to say or not?"
Wei Shilei said: "Brother Huaizhi, just say it."
Wang Huaizhi said in a low voice: "The Crown Prince is building ships and training troops. The imperial court must have some ideas. Now that the ship has entered the sea, does the Crown Prince want to... go farther?"
Wei Shilei always had a humble expression on his face and said: "Let's test the voyage in the offshore area first, and then of course we have to go farther."
Wang Huaizhi hesitated for a moment, then said: "I wonder if the Master has ever heard of the Old Dragon King?"
Wei Shilei's expression changed slightly: "Brother Huaizhi, do you know where this person is?"
Wang Huaizhi nodded, came over and whispered a few words in his ear. Wei Shilei cupped his hands to express his thanks and hurried away.
Maritime merchants have been operating here for many years, and there are many experienced sailors. One of them is said to be able to read the weather and be proficient in star-finding. He has gone to sea more than ten times and returned safely. No matter how bad the weather is, he can save his life, so
There is a man nicknamed Old Dragon King.
Star-pulling is a technology that uses astronomical stars to determine the position of ships. The star-pulling board used is composed of twelve large and small square wooden boards, with a rope running through the center of the board. It uses the North Star and Vega.
Waiting for the stars, you can measure the height of the stars where the ship is located, and then calculate the geographical latitude and determine the specific course of the ship. The principle is actually the same as a sextant.
This star-pulling technique is still a secret technique that has not been passed down to others. Anyway, apart from this old Dragon King, I don’t know anyone who knows it.
So Wei Shilei has been asking about this old Dragon King, but he has not been seen for seven or eight years. Even Changmu Feierlou has not found his whereabouts. Many people say that he is dead.
Unexpectedly, far away but right before his eyes, this Old Dragon King was the owner of a shipyard he had visited before, named Xu Wanghai.
Wei Shilei took the people to the Longwangbao Shipyard.
Xu Wanghai greeted him with a smile, served him tea, and said, "I wonder what orders Mr. Wei has when he comes here?"
Wei Shilei looked at him and said: "The imperial court wants to ban the sea, want to know the country on the other side, want to be able to fight a hundred battles without danger, and have a prosperous age."