Today's steamships are sailing on the river. There are many people on both sides of the river, but even those who are far away can't see clearly. Even if they see a ship that is still sailing despite the smoke, they are surprised.
After docking and disembarking, Zhu Di looked back and glanced at the steamship. After experiencing it personally, he became more determined to develop steamships in the Ming Dynasty.
"Zheng He, all craftsmen involved in the manufacture of steam engines must be in charge and the drawings of the steam engines must not be leaked."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Steam engines need to be developed and shipping needs to be reformed. Zhu Di said to Zhu Gaochi enthusiastically: "How about it, Prince? Steam ships are easy to use."
Zhu Gaochi, who had just not boarded the boat and was ordered to stay on the shore, felt helpless, but said respectfully: "Your Majesty is blessed."
"Go and order Chen Xuan to return to Beijing as soon as possible. I want to reorganize the rules of river transportation and sea transportation."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will send someone to deliver the order now."
Chen Xuan has been in Jinan recently, and it will probably take a few days to come back.
Zhu Di visited the shipyard again with satisfaction and was about to return to the palace. Before leaving, Zhu Zhanchen took Zheng He and whispered: "The next development of steam engines does not need to be copied and described by Li Xianyu. The steam engine factory will step up construction."
"Your Highness, this..." Zheng He didn't quite understand what he meant.
"Just do as I say, and the government will secretly send someone to watch Li Xianyu's actions to see if he has interacted with anyone outside."
Zheng He noticed something. He was worried about Li Xianyu. But since he was worried, why did he let Li Xianyu do the excerpting work in the first place?
Although he didn't know clearly, he knew that Zhu Zhanzhen must have had his own considerations in doing so, and nodded to express his agreement.
This was Zhu Zhanzhen testing Li Xianyu. No matter how you think about the reasons Li Xianyu said on the flower boat, they felt a bit unreliable. Zhu Zhanzhen was willing to take her in. He said without hesitation that the true nature of a man accounts for 99% of the reason.
But it is very dangerous to keep such an unknown person around, so he needs to let Li Xianyu go through a period of testing to ensure that she is harmless to him.
She was raised in Zheng He's house instead of outside because if she was really a spy, it would not be so easy for her to contact other people.
Zheng He's house was full of Zheng He's people, so it was difficult to spread the message. She was a hired servant who was unfamiliar with Zheng He's house. It was impossible for Zheng He to send information without Zhu Zhanyi's instructions.
Let her go out of the house privately, and Zhu Zhanchen will be informed if she comes into contact with people outside the house.
It has been almost two months since she arrived at Zheng He's house. During this period, Zhu Zhanzhen did not let Zheng He have any special surveillance on her. He gave her a relatively relaxed living environment, gave her opportunities, and also gave her important information.
If she is really a spy from another country, she will definitely find a way to send out the news about the steam engine and conduct a long-term investigation of her from now on.
If she is not a spy, then it is definitely the best. She can keep a good husband outside with peace of mind. When the time comes, she will be taken to the feudal territory. Of course, she should be the only one. A good man is in the fourth room.
If she is really a spy, Zhu Zhanzhen felt that she was a Japanese spy because of her messy words before, so it would be a good time to see who is standing behind her and follow the clues to catch these restless Japanese pirates.
As for the reason why Zhu Zhanzhen dared to let Li Xianyu see the drawings of the steam engine and other information, it was also very simple. One guessed that she was a spy, so she had to give her enough information to take risks. The other was that even if the drawings of the steam engine were given to them, they wanted to
It doesn't happen overnight.
I came here with modern knowledge, and I had to work with so many top craftsmen over and over again to achieve this point. The productivity level and basic manufacturing level of foreign countries are not as good as those of Ming Dynasty. How much do they need to achieve this level?
time.
By the time he is finished, our Ming Dynasty's strong ships and cannons will have arrived at every door.
He prayed very much that Li Xianyu's story about the conquered princess of Goryeo was true, at least so that she was not a spy and they could be together with peace of mind.
…
Three days later, Chen Xuan, the commander-in-chief of water transportation, rushed back on horseback, dragging his tired body directly into the palace to meet the saint.
In the first year of Yongle, Chen Xuan welcomed Zhu Di across the Yangtze River and ascended the throne and became the chief water transport officer. In the past 13 years, he has reformed the water transport system and built the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, with outstanding achievements.
His main achievement was the connection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and its surrounding water systems. His achievements were of great benefit to the present generation. Later generations, the Ming and Qing dynasties, all enjoyed the benefits of his dredging of the Grand Canal.
It was also because of the connection of the water system of the Grand Canal that Zhu Di was able to move the capital to Peiping. After all, through the Grand Canal, millions of tons of food from the south of the Yangtze River could be delivered to Peiping.
Chen Xuan is a strong man, with the body of a military general and the face of a civil servant. His appearance is very good. He has such a dignified and honest look that everyone who meets him has to praise him.
"My lord, Chen Xuan pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Get up quickly. The messenger has told you everything."
"Yes, but Your Majesty, now that the river will be opened, it will be fully open to navigation. Before, we decided to stop sea transportation and switch to inland water transportation. Why did we suddenly change to reviving sea transportation?"
Chen Xuan was puzzled. Although the messenger talked about steam engines and steamships, the messenger himself had never seen these two things. The description was vague. Chen Xuan heard it even more vaguely. He didn't know what happened.
What is the steam engine that suddenly appeared?
Zhu Di has been in a good mood these past few days. There has been good news from the bank and the issuance of food stamps has gone smoothly, so he always has a smile on his face.
"Haha, you will know when you see the steamship. Will the river be opened to full navigation or it will not be stopped? I want both sea and canal transportation to be carried out. You go back and have a good rest today. Let your people be responsible for the Grand Canal for a while."
"Your Majesty, minister..."
"Don't worry, you've done a good job in opening the canal. This is not to relieve you of the errand, but to have a bigger errand waiting for you. Go back today to refresh yourself, and tomorrow go to Zheng He's shipyard to see the steamship with your own eyes, and then
Go to the Prince's East Palace, the Prince's fifth son is also waiting to see you."
"Your Majesty the Fifth?" Chen Xuan was a little surprised. His Majesty the Fifth, who had done nothing before, seemed to have become famous recently.
"Your Majesty, small groups of Japanese pirates often harass our coastal fishermen. This is why you designated inland waterway shipping as the main one. This..." Chen Xuan was still puzzled.
"Don't worry, the Japanese pirate ships can't catch up with our Ming Dynasty steamships, and the Japanese Japanese pirates have harassed me at sea for many years in the Ming Dynasty. I want to focus on shipping. If I find an opportunity, I will sail on the sea in the near future to see what's going on.
What kind of place is Japan in the east?"
Chen Xuan was surprised. Zhu Di was interested in conquering Japan, but it was too risky to leave his homeland to fight in Japan where the location was not clear. There has never been such a precedent in China.
"Your Majesty, Japan..."
"Needless to say, the barbarians from the north are harassing our northern borders of the Ming Dynasty, and the Japanese Japanese pirates are harassing our eastern coast. I, Yongle, have no reason to let them be arrogant."
"You go back and have a rest. You will go see the steamship tomorrow. If you feel something is wrong, come back to me."