Gou Zhenhuai was sent by the court, Wang Yining was sent by Yuan Keli, and there were also Jinyiwei from the departments of supervising military pay and reconnaissance. They were all spies, and one or several of them must have the right to make secret reports.
"If the Marshal is in trouble, please remove me from the military." Shen Shikui observed Mao Wenlong's expression and said, "If ordinary people are doing business, no one will talk nonsense and make trouble, right?"
This means he doesn't want to fight in the battlefield, but wants to make money to make a fortune. He just said he wanted to generate income for the Dongjiang Army, but now he wants to put it all in his own pocket.
Mao Wenlong glanced at his father-in-law, not wanting to elaborate further, so he perfunctorily said, "I am only in charge of military affairs. Regarding civil affairs, I still need the approval of Lord Wang."
After a pause, Mao Wenlong consoled him, "The people of Dongjiang Town are doing business and paying taxes normally. Lord Wang will probably not interfere. With your connections, it won't be difficult to purchase mountain products from the Liao people."
Shen Shikui was a little disappointed. He had thought that relying on his son-in-law's status in Dongjiang Town, he could avoid paying any taxes and do business with no capital.
Seeing that his father-in-law didn't say anything, Mao Wenlong had to speak more bluntly, both as a reminder and a warning, telling him not to mess around and implicate himself.
"Dongjiang Town has civil and military officials sent by the imperial court, as well as the Jinyiwei who supervise military supplies, conduct reconnaissance, and employ spies." Mao Wenlong emphasized his tone and bowed to the west. "Your Majesty is wise and has a clear understanding of this matter."
Shen Shikui blinked his eyes and began to understand what his son-in-law was worried about.
That’s right, although Dongjiang Town is remote overseas, it is under the control of the imperial teacher Yuan Keli, and has many spies, and it seems that their reports can even reach the ears of the emperor.
"I understand." Shen Shikui stood up and bowed, saying, "Then let's do as the Marshal wishes and go through the normal channels. Given the friendship between the Marshal and Lord Wang, how could he not take care of such a small matter?"
Mao Wenlong nodded, agreed, and stood up to see him off.
………………
The end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty was the final period when the sandbanks of Chongming Island merged and connected, which was also the final stage when Chongming Island tended to its complete form in later generations.
Because it is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, Chongming Island is also known as the "Gateway to the Yangtze River and Yingzhou of the East China Sea". It is the largest estuarine alluvial island and the largest sand island in China.
Although it has not yet taken final shape, most parts of Chongming Island are already flat and fertile, and have development value.
Building Chongming Island into a "land of fish and rice" is another plan of Zhu Youxiao, which is now being implemented.
With the arrival of warships led by Shen Yourong and large ships carrying Liao people, Chongming Island became bustling and busy.
Build houses, reclaim wasteland, and settle Liao people; set up camps and garrison troops, buy food and supplies, and recruit shipbuilders...
Shen Yourong's work is busy and fulfilling, but he is looking forward to the arrival of another official selected by the emperor.
On this day, dozens of large and small ships arrived at the dock, and Shen Yourong hurried to greet them.
"Your humble servant, Shen Tingyang, Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue and Supervisor of the Chongming Hudong Shipyard, is honored to meet Lord Shen." At the dock, Shen Tingyang spotted Shen Youkong from his clothes as he hurried over, and stepped forward to bow and greet him.
Shen Yourong looked at the young and rather heroic official in front of him, bowed and returned the greeting, and said with a smile: "Sir Shen, there is no need to be so polite. The young talents selected by the emperor are indeed full of vitality, which makes an old man like Shen very envious."
"I am humbled by your promotion, Your Majesty," Shen Tingyang said humbly, "I only wish to perform my duties with all my heart to repay your grace."
"Of course it is, of course it is." Shen Yourong glanced at the people who were getting off the boat with their families and asked, "Are these the shipbuilders recruited by Doctor Shen?"
Shen Tingyang said, "These are the shipbuilders I selected from the Qingjiang Shipyard and the Longjiang Shipyard. There are 3,600 of them in total. They are all experienced and very hardworking. This is the first batch. The craftsmen recruited from Guangdong and Fujian will have to wait for a few days."
The state-owned shipyards of the Ming Dynasty included the Longjiang Baochuan Yard in Nanjing, Changle in Fuzhou, the Qingjiang Shipyard in Huai'an, and the Weihe Shipyard in Linqing.
Since the suspension of the voyages to the West, the demand for seagoing vessels has greatly decreased, and the business of Longjiang Baochuan Factory has gradually shrunk. Its position as the center of the shipbuilding industry has been replaced by Huai'an Qingjiang Shipyard, which specializes in building inland canal ships.
After the Qingjiang Shipyard merged with the 18 branches of the Weihe Shipyard, the annual shipbuilding output increased to more than 630 ships, making it the only state-owned canal shipyard in the Ming Dynasty.
The current Qingjiang Shipyard has four main factories including Nanjing Longjiang Shipyard, and 82 branch factories. It builds more than 500 ships annually, including about 55 ocean-going canal ships, and the rest are flat-bottomed inland shallow ships.
Although it seems to be large in scale, the Qingjiang Shipyard, like the closed Weihe Shipyard, is plagued by increasing corruption and is unable to change the long-standing malpractices of being directly operated by the state.
Moreover, the ability of Qingjiang Shipyard to build seagoing ships has become increasingly weak. Few of the so-called "ocean-covering ships" that were previously produced were of old type and could only barely sail in the near sea.
Faced with this situation, Zhu Youxiao simply started a new business, drawing skilled craftsmen from the Qingjiang and Longjiang shipyards, and then recruiting shipbuilders from Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang to build the Chongming Hudong Shipyard.
Chongming has a strong shipbuilding foundation, not just a poor town. The sand ship, one of the four ancient Chinese ships, originated in Chongming.
The sand ship has a long, flat, shallow and wide hull, a flat bottom, a square head and stern, a high stern, a low center of gravity, few deck structures, little wind resistance, and smooth sailing. Even if it runs aground, it will not be damaged or capsized.
With the combined operation of sails, rudders, and double-stringed dartboards, sand ships could also sail against the wind and zigzag, making them particularly suitable for coastal areas in the north. During the Yuan Dynasty, sand ships were often used for the Beiyang Canal transport.
Chongming was not only good at building sand ships, but also at producing sailors. Many Chongming sailors participated in Zheng He's voyages to the West.
Taking into account so many favorable conditions, Zhu Youxiao ordered Shen Yourong to move his base and selected Shen Tingyang to build a shipbuilding factory in Chongming, thus starting the attempt at sea transport.
As for Shen Tingyang, he can be regarded as a celebrity and hero in history. Even Zhang Mingzhen and Zhang Huangyan were his subordinates and had joined him in the uprising against the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, Shen Tingyang is now a lowly official, and he can only be grateful and work hard for the emperor who has promoted and reused him.
In fact, even Shen Tingyang, a student, did not expect that his self-recommendation and the "Petition to Initiate a Small-Scale Trial of Sea Transportation" would be taken so seriously by the emperor, who immediately promoted him to the rank of Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue and the fifth rank.
You have to know that Shen Tingyang was from Chongming and came from a merchant family. He once sailed with his father and brother on sand ships between Tianjin, Qingdao, and Dalian, making a lot of money. Such a background also led to considerable discrimination in the Imperial College.
But it was precisely because of this experience that he had a deep understanding of the sea routes, could see the benefits of sea transportation, and was willing to personally sail and test the route.
Moreover, when he was summoned by the emperor, he expressed his confidence: If it would cost the imperial court a grain of rice, he would be willing to serve as the Sikou. If there is no failure in the small test, he would dare to ask for a big move.
Zhu Youxiao simply handed over the important task of building large ships and experimenting with sea transportation to Shen Tingyang. This led to the meeting of the two Shens in Chongming, which marked the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's revival of its maritime prestige.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
