After Wang Hong received the edict, he ordered the craftsmen to dismantle three Franchi cannons from the Franchi ship and transport them to the Ministry of Works in Beijing via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Wang Hong divided the navy into three parts, Liaodong, Bohai, and South China Sea.
Each division had 30 battleships and 10 supply ships that patrolled the area they were in.
The defense of the Great Ming's coastal defense had increased by more than 10 times compared to Emperor Hongzhi's era.
The naval battle with the Franks had greatly shocked the pirates around Ming Dynasty.
After seeing the flag of the Ming Navy from afar, the pirates fled.
……
The craftsmen of the Ministry of Works were busy. The Minister of Works gave them a new task, which was to build an iron ship that could enter the water.
In the palace, when the Minister of Works saw the silver bowl floating in the basin, he firmly believed that the Ministry of Works could build an iron ship in a short time. However, an iron ship that could enter the sea would definitely not be built in a short period of time. The iron ship built by the Ministry of Works was only an iron ship.
……
Palace of Heavenly Purity.
After being busy for several consecutive days, they could finally take a breather today. The Ming Navy had already begun to take shape and had already defeated the so-called strongest naval fleet in the world.
This was enough to establish the Great Ming Navy's position as the world's number one.
Zhu Houzhao believed that in the near future, the Ming Navy would not only be large in scale, but also have many ships and powerful cannons.
Zhu Houzhao walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity as the spring breeze brushed his face.
The spring breeze had already blown the world green, and the spring plowing had already begun vigorously.
The cultivated land of the Ming Empire was covered with green seedlings.
There were several heavy snows last winter, so this year was bound to be another bumper harvest.
Zhu Houzhao strolled in the imperial garden.
A group of eunuchs and palace maids followed behind Zhu Houzhao, holding some fruits on trays in their hands.
Cining Palace.
Many of Jinling Pavilion's beautiful women were listening to the Empress Dowager's lecture in Cining Palace.
They had been in the palace for nearly five months, but they had not even seen the emperor once. Ling Long, who had entered the palace with them, had already been conferred the title of concubine.
How could they not be envious? In terms of talent and beauty, they were not inferior to Ling Long at all.
The female official also told them that in three months, the Empress Dowager would select another beautiful girl from the common people to enter the palace. At that time, they would not be able to see the Emperor even more. Perhaps they would never see the Emperor again in their lifetime.
The maid of Cining Palace walked to the Empress Dowager's side and whispered,""Reporting to the Empress Dowager, His Majesty the Emperor is currently admiring peach blossoms in the imperial garden.”
When the Empress Dowager heard this, her face revealed a happy expression.
"Concubine Long is not pregnant with a dragon heir, so it's time to urge the emperor. It's been more than a month since Concubine Long arrived, but she hasn't flipped the board again.”
The Empress Dowager glanced at the beautiful woman standing in front of her and muttered to herself,""These were all carefully selected by this widow to enter the palace, which one of them isn't a heavenly beauty? The emperor is not blessed at all."
"Empress Dowager, the Emperor has never seen them before. How would he know that they are so bright and lovely?" Second Mother said. Flipping a plaque is just looking at a wooden plaque. What fun is there to speak of? Empress Dowager, listen to me. Let all these beautiful women go to the Imperial Garden and walk in front of the Emperor. I'm not afraid that the Emperor will still be able to control himself.”
When the Empress Dowager heard Second Mother's words, she was overjoyed.""That's right, why didn't I think of it? Since the emperor doesn't want to flip the board, then why don't we send them to the emperor? We don't ask the emperor to visit many beautiful women in a day, as long as they give birth to an imperial grandson to relieve this widow's boredom.”
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she looked at the beautiful girls of Jinling Pavilion and said,""This widow will arrange for you to go to the imperial garden in a while. The emperor is there. You have stood out from hundreds of thousands of people, and this widow knows that you are beautiful, but in the five months you have been in the palace, only Ling Long has received the emperor's favor.”
"In three months, this widow will choose a beautiful woman to enter the palace. At that time, if you have not received the emperor's favor, then you will be a palace maid in the palace, serving the concubines that the emperor has visited.”
"It's not that this widow didn't give you a chance, but you have to cherish it.”
The beautiful faces of many beautiful women paled when they heard the Empress Dowager's words.
They lived comfortably in Jinling Pavilion. They had food, clothes, and people to serve them.
Sometimes, they would also have the illusion that they were no longer beautiful women, but the emperor's concubines.
However, the Empress Dowager's words today shattered their fantasies.
Three months later, if they still hadn't received the Emperor's favor, then they would change from the status of a beautiful woman to a palace maid, serving those beautiful women who had just entered the palace.
The competition in the harem was far crueler than they had imagined.
The Empress Dowager ordered the eunuchs of the Cining Palace to lead these beautiful women to the imperial garden.
After these beautiful women left, the Empress Dowager sighed.""This emperor is like his father, aijia is really afraid…"
"Empress Dowager, Zhao 'er is blessed…" Second Mother waved her hands.
"Yes, he's blessed with many children and grandchildren.”
"Little stool, go to the imperial garden and keep an eye on them. See if any of these beautiful women make the emperor look at them. At night, send them to Yang Xin Hall.”
The eunuch asked,"What if His Majesty takes a fancy to these beautiful women in the imperial garden, Empress Dowager?"”
The empress dowager smiled brightly when she heard the eunuch's words.""If the emperor likes it, then send it to this widow.”
"Yes, Empress Dowager."
……
Zhu Houzhao was admiring the peach blossoms in the imperial garden when a group of young girls appeared in the imperial garden.
These young girls all looked at the Emperor, displaying their allure.
When Zhu Houzhao stopped and turned his head to look, these young ladies were already walking towards him.
Before Zhu Houzhao could leave, these girls had already surrounded him. Wan Fu said,""Greetings, Your Majesty."
Zhu Houzhao sized up these twenty over girls. The silk they wore was completely different from the female officials and palace maids.
Furthermore, their looks far surpassed those palace maids. Zhu Houzhao immediately guessed their identities.
They were the young ladies who had been chosen to enter the palace last year and were temporarily staying in Jinling Pavilion.
Zhu Houzhao remembered that he had met them once in the Cining Palace last year.
However, at that time, they were shy and afraid with their heads lowered. Zhu Houzhao did not see their faces clearly. He only remembered their graceful figures and outstanding temperament.
This time, in the imperial garden, under the spring breeze, Zhu Houzhao saw the faces of these beautiful women clearly.
At this moment, a gentle and pleasant song suddenly resounded throughout the imperial garden.
Zhu Houzhao turned his head and saw a slim and elegant girl standing among the peach blossoms. She was dazzling and her singing was pleasant to the ears. Her lyrics were novel.
In order to attract the Emperor, this young lady had also put in a lot of effort.
Zhu Houzhao looked at these beautiful women and suddenly felt that each of them had a unique charm.
Perhaps he had really misunderstood them in the past.
Actually, everyone had their own unique life.
Everyone had their own personality and unique charm.
You can't use the word 'show girls' to describe them all.
Those eunuchs had sent over wooden tokens, which were cold and emotionless. When they appeared in front of Zhu Houzhao, they were no longer wooden tokens; instead, they had their own lives and destinies. They were outstanding figures who stood out from the crowd.
They were all dragons and phoenixes among men, and their beauty was unparalleled. Otherwise, they would not have been able to break through the village, town, county, prefecture, capital, palace, and other selections to finally stand in front of the emperor.
They had to compete in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, lyrics, dance, and music. In the end, they defeated everyone and took the top spot. When they stood on the Forbidden City, how glorious were they!
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