Zhu Yuanzhang immediately issued an order regarding shipbuilding, and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works cooperated to begin this great undertaking in coastal cities.

Building these treasure ships will take time, especially since they are large-scale vessels, and there will be more than one ship.

Therefore, this is a huge project, and it will take at least one or two months to complete.

Zhu Yunwen stopped paying attention to this matter for the time being.

After dismissing Ma Sanbao, Zhu Yunwen spoke privately with Zhu Yuanzhang before returning to the Eastern Palace.

After returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunwen ordered the eunuch to summon the Minister of Revenue.

At this moment, Zhang Shan, the Minister of Revenue, has been working diligently and conscientiously in his position since being promoted by Zhu Yunwen, and he has done a very good job in the Ministry of Revenue.

But now Zhu Yunwen has a task to assign to him.

When Zhang Shan met Zhu Yunwen, he was very polite and respectful. After Zhu Yunwen asked him to sit down, he said to him:

"How is the Ministry of Revenue doing its work?"

Zhang Shan immediately said:

"I dare not fail His Highness the Crown Prince, therefore I have been extremely careful in many matters. I should be able to withstand the test of His Majesty and the Crown Prince."

Zhu Yunwen smiled with satisfaction and said:

"Very good. You were promoted by me, so don't embarrass me. Otherwise, not only will it be difficult to explain to my grandfather, but I will also lose face in front of the court officials."

Minister of Revenue Zhang Shan immediately gave a solemn guarantee:

"Your Majesty, I understand. I will never disgrace Your Highness."

Zhu Yunwen nodded in satisfaction, and then said:

"By the way, you knew that treasure ships were being built along the coast, right?"

Zhang Shan immediately said, "Your Majesty, I know, and I've also heard that this matter was proposed by Your Highness, so it seems you're about to do something big."

Zhu Yunwen said seriously, "Yes, it is a big deal. But the reason I called you here today is to tell you that I hope you will have your men control every expense."

All the money must be spent on the construction of the treasure ships. There must be no cutting corners or corruption.

Regarding this matter, since you are responsible for providing the funds and the Ministry of Works is responsible for providing the labor, you should make sure that the funds are transparent and that the labor provided by the Ministry of Works is commensurate with the money.

I know that if the Ministry of Works were to supervise the construction themselves, there would likely be some instances of deception and cover-ups. After all, the money would end up in their own pockets, and things might not go smoothly.

So they're building treasure ships, you have to keep a close eye on this and make sure you keep a close eye on how much money is being spent. Do you hear me?

Zhu Yunwen's concerns were very reasonable, just like when Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of the Wu Prince's Mansion.

The Ministry of Revenue reported 230,000 taels of silver, but only tens of thousands of taels were actually used.

Did they even deliberately send Zhang Shan to supervise the construction?

Of course, unlike last time, the Minister of Revenue sent Zhang Shan to supervise the construction so that he could do a poor job with less money and complete the task.

But now Zhu Yunwen's requirements are completely different; he wants every penny spent on a name to be used wisely.

In fact, Zhu Yunwen was not only worried that so much silver might be embezzled, but his main concern was that the workmanship might be shoddy and there might be problems with the construction of the treasure ship.

After all, it is a sea voyage. Not to mention the shipbuilding technology of ancient times, even many large ships in later generations may be destroyed and people may die if they encounter some extreme weather at sea.

Therefore, in ancient times, when shipbuilding technology was not as advanced, it would inevitably be more dangerous.

In this situation, there is even less room for cutting corners in shipbuilding technology and materials.

Otherwise, the consequences would be enormous.

Zhang Shan understood Zhu Yunwen's meaning, and then spoke seriously:

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will have the person I trust most supervise this matter. They will strictly control the money, materials, and procedures, and oversee all the work of the Ministry of Revenue. If there is any mistake, I will cut off the money and report it to you and His Majesty."

Zhu Yunwen nodded in satisfaction; this was the advantage of having his own people.

After all, Zhang Shan was someone I had promoted, and he was absolutely loyal to me, so I could rest assured entrusting these matters to him.

After this matter was resolved, Zhu Yunwen let Zhang Shan leave.

Then he had someone summon the Minister of Works.

When Minister of Works Shen Jin Nian arrived at the Eastern Palace, he appeared somewhat nervous.

After all, the person in front of them was the Crown Prince, who was ruthless and very capable, and had already removed two ministers from their posts.

They even brought down Zhu Yunwen, who had always been favored by the emperor.

This demonstrates Zhu Yunwen's strength.

Seeing that Minister Shen seemed a little nervous, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said:

"Don't be nervous. You haven't done anything wrong, so why are you nervous?"

Minister Shen nodded and said to Zhu Yunwen:

"I wonder what business Your Highness has with me?"

Zhu Yunwen said, "I would like to ask you whether it is possible to mine coal on a large scale."

Minister Shen frowned and asked, "What does Your Highness want to do with mining coal?"

Zhu Yunwen sighed and said, "Now that it's deep winter, this coal can be used to start a fire and keep the people warm."

I think if it could be mined on a large scale, then we should definitely mine it. Making use of it would be a good thing.”

The Minister of Works shook his head and said:

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. This coal is toxic and very difficult to mine."

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