Now Yan Zhenzhi had something to say. He was full of confidence. "Your Majesty, the late Duke En and his entourage have made great contributions, especially in opening up sea routes. However, sea routes are mostly coastal voyages, which are not comparable to those that require entering the heart of the ocean to reach Southeast Asia."

Now Zhu Yunying didn't know what to say, because he knew that what Yan Zhenzhi said was basically true.

When Zhang He and his men transported grain and fodder from Tianjin and other places to Liaodong and other areas, it was indeed by sea, but they often sailed close to the coastline. This is quite different from crossing the ocean.

Yan Zhenzhi continued, “Your Majesty, the court needs a large number of ships. Although shipyards are being built in Fujian and Guangdong, it will take some time. Even if the court’s shipyards build ships at full capacity, the shortage is only getting bigger.”

This may seem very unusual, even a little hard to understand, but it is the truth.

The imperial shipyards were working hard to build ships, and many people saw new ships being delivered continuously. The shipyards did indeed appear to be a bustling and prosperous place.

It's true that there are more and more ships, but putting aside the losses caused by capsizing and other accidents, the sheer number of places that need ships is creating a growing shortage.

Zhu Yunying couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He had high expectations for the Ministry of Works and had indeed given it a considerable amount of resources. But to be honest, the Ministry of Works was indeed a master at spending money.

Leaving aside other engineering projects and such, the sheer number of ships alone was enough to put Zhu Yunying under pressure. However, these matters could not be ignored.

After all, navigation cannot rely on swimming or the like. Without a large ship, there's nothing more to say; a large ship is the most fundamental tool.

Zhu Yunying glanced at Yan Zhenzhi, then at Yu Xin, and quickly said, "Minister Yan, go to the Wuying Hall after court, and I will ask you in detail. There are still many political matters to attend to in court, so please do not obstruct other ministers from reporting."

Yan Zhenzhi was momentarily speechless. He still had a lot of grievances to pour out, but he couldn't continue now. He could only keep them to himself for the time being and obediently return to his seat. Even if he wanted to continue complaining, he couldn't go against the emperor.

Moreover, based on Yan Zhenzhi's understanding of Zhu Yunying, he believed that even if His Majesty wouldn't accept all of his suggestions, His Majesty would certainly not be stingy when it came to important matters.

This can be said to be a tacit understanding between the emperor and his minister over many years. Yan Zhenzhi was one of Zhu Yunying's trusted confidants and one of his most valued ministers.

The Minister of Works was naturally an important official, but throughout history, he was also the lowest-ranking of the six ministers.

In the Ming Dynasty prior to this, at least during the Hongwu reign, the Minister of Works clearly did not hold a as prominent position as the other ministers. However, during the Ying Shi reign, it was evident that the Minister of Works' status was steadily rising.

Yan Zhenzhi could be said to have always controlled the Ministry of Works. Ever since he helped Zhu Yunying build the capital city of Beiping, he had been constantly taking over the Ministry of Works. It is no exaggeration to say that when Zhu Yunying went to Beiping to build the capital city, he had already begun to place his own forces in the six ministries of the court.

The Ministry of Works was indeed the first ministry that Zhu Yunying controlled, and many people know how much Emperor Yingshi valued it. The Ministry of Works was no longer a thankless task, but rather a highly valued ministry with abundant resources, and it seemed easy to achieve merit.

Yu Xin was frustrated at this point. He had originally planned to follow Yan Zhenzhi's lead and start pouring out his grievances. However, His Majesty seemed to be deliberately trying to put him in a difficult position, interrupting Yan Zhenzhi in time, which prevented Yu Xin from making any further moves.

Zhu Yunying glanced at Yu Xin nonchalantly and said nothing more. He clearly wasn't going to let Yu Xin get away so easily. Even if Yu Xin wanted to leave the court, it should be according to Zhu Yunying's script.

Yu Xin may have his little schemes, but they are nothing more than petty schemes that can't be brought to the table.

Since Zhu Yunying holds great power, many things naturally need to be done according to his script.

Others, including Yu Xin, who was the Minister of Revenue, could only swallow their anger and passively accept the emperor's arrangements at this time. This was the normal order.

As Yan Zhenzhi returned to his post and Yu Xin, who had a lot to say but couldn't continue, the morning court proceeded in an orderly manner, seemingly no different from usual. This was the typical state of the morning court.

Zhu Yunying was quite satisfied with this. As an emperor with a strong desire for control, he did not like things to be out of his control. In fact, he did not particularly like so-called surprises.

For Joo Yoon-young, the best outcome would be to proceed in an orderly manner and according to plan.

Yu Xin was frustrated. He had made many preparations and thought of many solutions, but it felt like he had punched cotton, with no chance or space to make any moves. It would be strange if he wasn't frustrated.

Even if he's frustrated, he can only bear it for now. Making a scene wouldn't work either; that would be too deliberate and might backfire.

All he can do now is wait passively. He can't figure out whether Emperor Ying Shi has simply overlooked something or is deliberately giving him a warning.

All of this made Yu Xin even more uncertain, and her heart was pounding with anxiety. But she could only passively wait and see what might happen.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!