Of course, the future ships will mainly use the 3,000-jin model. When the Ming navy has larger and stronger warships, they will also use the 5,000-jin heavy artillery.
At that time, Portugal had been defeated by the Netherlands and Spain and could not compete at sea. It was highly dependent on the Ming Dynasty and tried its best to meet the Ming Dynasty's requirements, and the cost of artillery was very favorable.
At least this year or next year, Zhu Youxiao estimated that even if the imitation was successful, the cost of the artillery would be more expensive than purchasing it directly.
Only by achieving mass production can the cost of artillery be reduced. Only by thoroughly understanding and mastering the artillery casting technology can we achieve technological innovation and surpass the original.
To this end, when the Arsenal of Gunpowder was first established, Zhu Youxiao established a reward mechanism and used treasury funds to encourage craftsmen to innovate and create.
The amount of reward ranged from twenty to two hundred taels, which was a huge sum of money at the time that was enough to make ordinary people excited and crazy.
But in Zhu Youxiao's view, silver is nothing. Even a very small technological innovation and progress will create hundreds or thousands of times more value in the subsequent production process.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao believed that this reward, which surprised Xu Guangqi and others, was definitely worth it.
After making the final decision, the young emperor ignored the officials' whispers about the accident and summoned Shen Yourong back to the palace.
………………
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Taiwan was called "Island Barbarians"; during the Qin Dynasty, it was called "Yingzhou"; during the Three Kingdoms Period, it was called "Yizhou"; and from the Sui Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, it was called "Liuqiu".
After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the people used many names for Taiwan, such as "Jilong", "Beigang", "Dayuan", "Taiyuan", and "Taiwowan", while the official name was "Dongfan".
As early as the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan sent people to retake Taiwan, and Emperor Yang of Sui also sent people to station in Taiwan. The Southern Song Dynasty had already controlled Taiwan in its hands, which shows that Taiwan has been Chinese territory since ancient times.
Shen Yourong went deep into the island three times, killed and expelled the Japanese pirates, and rescued hundreds of fishermen. This was an important military action of the Ming Dynasty to demonstrate its hegemony and sovereignty, and it is worthy of being recorded in history.
What made Zhu Youxiao feel regretful was that the government did not station troops in the "Dongfan", which left a future problem.
It is never too late to mend.
The Dutch invaders were driven back by Shen Yourong when they first occupied Penghu, but they will soon make a comeback; and Yan Siqi, the "King of Taiwan" in history, is still doing well in Japan with a group of younger brothers.
As the saying goes, one step ahead, you can gain everything.
Zhu Youxiao had already tasted the sweetness of foresight in the Battle of Guangning, so how could he not continue to expand his advantage? With a flick of his golden finger, he crossed thousands of mountains and rivers and reached Fujian.
Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, had replaced Shang Zhouzuo, the former governor, because he had failed to pacify the maritime situation. Shortly after taking office, a letter from the Ministry of War and an imperial envoy arrived.
The Ministry of War appointed a special guerrilla officer and immediately sent 3,000 troops to Penghu to build a city and fort to protect it for a long time;
The Penghu garrison rank was upgraded from "Southern Route Control" to "Deputy General and Assistant Defense Officer," which increased the Penghu garrison's military decision-making power.
Increase military pay, prohibit withdrawal of troops during flood season, and maintain a permanent garrison in Penghu;
The Ministry of War appointed a special guerrilla commander from the East, who, within a month, led 500 soldiers to garrison Beigang; within three months, the number was increased to 1,000.
A yamen was built in Beigang, and a prefect was appointed, along with other officials such as the assistant prefect, judge, and clerk.
Avoid conflicts with the indigenous people in Dongfan, appease them and coexist peacefully;
Survey and determine the safest shipping route to ensure smooth navigation from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Jinhua, and Xiamen to Dongfan;
Send a ship to Zhaoqing to transport ten red-haired cannons to strengthen the defense of key coastal areas;
Nan Juyi was a little confused. What was going on? The Ministry of War issued such an urgent document and even set a deadline. Was something big going to happen?
As soon as he received the letter from the Ministry of War, Nan Juyi knelt down to receive the secret order. After reading it, Nan Juyi almost understood that this was the emperor's intention, which was why the Ministry of War was urging him so urgently.
In the secret decree, Zhu Youxiao emphasized the importance of Penghu and Dongfan, and reminded Nan Juyi that the red-haired barbarians might not give up after withdrawing from Penghu, and might even gather ships and troops to attack.
Similarly, Zhu Youxiao also strictly ordered Nan Juyi to speed up the deployment, the sooner the better. The garrisons in Penghu and Dongfan should be elite and equipped with more firearms.
"Dongfan is a desolate island in the sea, dominating the southeast. The land is fertile and the population is sparse. We should first seize the land and continuously relocate people to open up wasteland and cultivate it..."
In the secret decree, Zhu Youxiao also gave Nan Juyi the power to recruit people to go to Taiwan, which means that Nan Juyi can flexibly formulate some preferential incentive policies.
What surprised Nan Juyi even more was that the young emperor took out 200,000 yuan from the treasury to cover the expenses for various arrangements, which showed how anxious he was.
The sooner the better. There will always be brave men when there is a big reward. Nan Juyi was relieved from his initial embarrassment.
Things get done more easily if you have money. As long as the money is in place, sending troops will not be a problem.
After the imperial envoy finished his announcement, he did not immediately go down to rest, but sat down and said to Nan Juyi: "I am here to carry out my mission under the emperor's order. Lord Nan, you must also be loyal to the state and hurry up to complete all the instructions given by the emperor!"
Nan Juyi hurriedly bowed and said, "Rest assured, Imperial Envoy. I will call a meeting right away and assign the work. I am sure His Majesty will be satisfied. Please return to the capital and report to His Majesty..."
The imperial servant waved his hand vigorously, interrupting Nan Juyi and speaking in a shrill voice, "That won't do. The Emperor sent me and these two Jinyiwei brothers here, firstly to convey the Emperor's order to escort the silver, and secondly to wait in Fujian. Only after everything is done will we dare return to the capital to report."
After a pause, the imperial envoy emphasized, "If Lord Nan fails to complete the work or exceeds the deadline, the emperor has ordered us to jump into the sea directly and not return."
Nan Juyi blinked and grinned, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Please, Lord Nan." The imperial envoy stood up and bowed to Nan Juyi, saying with a bitter face, "Thank you for your hard work. Please hurry up and finish it as soon as possible. Don't let us jump into the sea and feed the turtles, okay?"
"You are too kind, Imperial Envoy." Nan Juyi hastily returned the greeting, practically patting his chest as he repeatedly assured, "I will arrange it right away and will definitely complete it ahead of schedule. I will definitely not make things difficult for the Imperial Envoy."
The imperial envoy felt a little relieved, but he was not completely at ease. He stared at Nan Juyi and asked, "I don't know what the emperor's secret decree said. Lord Nan, you won't lie to us, will you? If I foolishly return to the capital to report, the emperor will..."
"No, no, absolutely not. Please rest assured, sir." Nan Juyi felt that this was unbecoming of his status, and without swearing, he could only make up a lie to send the cowardly envoy away. "I am a Buddhist and never lie. Those who do so will go to hell and have their tongues pulled out."
Oh, the imperial envoy blinked his eyes and went down to rest hesitantly.
Nan Juyi sent off the imperial envoy and the accompanying Jinyiwei, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head.
Poor thing, I don’t know how strict the emperor is, but he scared this eunuch so much that he almost went crazy.
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