The Cabinet.
Chief Liu Jian and Minister of Revenue Liang Chu discussed with Qi Jing to monitor the warships in Tanggu.
The Ministry of Justice had sent four famous arresters to investigate the White Lotus Society!
All sorts of events were complicated.
Fortunately, Tian Zi was mature and was not bewitched by the sycophants!
……
Yangxin Palace Hall.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, there's already some progress on the poison case in the imperial kitchen." Cao Zhengchun hurried over.”
Zhu Houzhao raised his eyebrows and put down the memorial in his hand. He said softly,""Speak."
Cao Zhengchun bowed as he recounted his investigation into the poison case in the imperial kitchen.
Zhu Houzhao's brows gradually furrowed.
"Cao Zhengchun, are you serious?"
"Your Majesty, if I speak a single lie, Your Majesty can behead this old servant.”
"If it's really as you say, then you can't act rashly. Without my decree, you can't act rashly!”
"Yes!"
……
The next day.
The sun was shining brightly, and Zhu Houzhao had morning court!
Golden Palace.
Qi Jingtong was ordered by the Emperor to go to Tanggukou to inspect the warships used by Zheng He when he went to the West.
When he returned to the capital today, the first thing he did was to report this matter to the Emperor.
In the palace, Zhu Houzhao was reading the memorial that Qi Jingtong had submitted with a deep expression.
Qi Jingtong stood where he was and cupped his hands." Your Majesty, according to my investigation, Zheng He used a total of 130 battleships when he went to the West. Among them, the main ship was 440 feet long and 180 feet wide…"
"The main ship has a total of sixteen cannons, eight on each side, with a range of six nautical miles.”
Zhu Houzhao was pleasantly surprised when he heard this.
The length measured in the Ming Dynasty was 2.83 meters.
He didn't expect that there were already warships that were more than a hundred meters long in that era.
"But…"
The change in his words caused Zhu Houzhao to look at Qi Jingtong with a puzzled expression.
"What is it?"
Qi Jingtong cupped his hands and said," Your Majesty, the imperial court did not issue any silver to repair the warship due to its age. As a result, the warship itself was seriously corroded by rats and ants after such a long time.”
"If we want to repair these ships, we'll need at least two million taels of silver, and I'm afraid they won't be used for long.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Jingtong buried his face deeply and quietly waited for the Emperor's decision.
All the officials in the court began to discuss in low voices.
From time to time, Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the cabinet, walked out of the court quickly and cupped his hands."Your Majesty, our Great Ming's treasury is lacking in silver, and we are unable to take out so much silver to repair the ships.”
"Moreover, even if it's repaired, it won't be able to be used for long.”
"Your humble subject's advice should be put on hold!”
With Liu Jian taking the lead to advise, the other ministers also walked out of the court to dissuade the Emperor.
Qi Jingtong's brows were deeply furrowed. He did not say a word and looked anxiously at the Emperor on the Dragon Platform.
He had waited for so many years, and today was finally here.
As a famous general who fought against the Japanese, Qi Jingtong knew very well how powerful an empire's warships were.
However, he also understood that his words carried little weight in the court.
However, he was not willing to give up so easily!
Just as Qi Jingtong was about to speak, Zhu Houzhao suddenly said,""The words of the pavilion elder are not without reason."
"This battleship has been in disrepair for a long time. Even if it is repaired, it won't take long to waste money.”
"Therefore, I have decided to rebuild the Great Ming Battleship!”
"I want to build an invincible naval fleet that far surpasses the ships Zheng He had when he went to the West!”
Originally, when Qi Jingtong heard that the Emperor had given up on repairing the warship, he felt extremely sad.
However, the Emperor's wise action gave him a new lease of life.
"Your Majesty, how much money will it cost to rebuild the new warship…"
The cabinet chief, Liu Jian, said in pain.
Zhu Houzhao knew that Liu Jian had good intentions, but his vision was too narrow.
When Liu Jian said this, Zhu Houzhao looked at him with a deep expression and instructed him in a tone like an elder,"Grand Elder, the money in the national treasury is just a pile of stones! It's useless!"
"However, if it is used in an important position, it will be able to play its proper role!”
"Don't wait until the enemy has already attacked our doorstep before thinking about building some ships to resist the enemy!”
"At that time, the entire Great Ming will be in a passive position!”
"And now, this is the most important position.”
"Where is the Minister of Works?"
When Li Sui heard this, he quickly walked out of the court and cupped his hands."Your humble subject is here!"
"Zhen has decided to transfer eight million taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue and order the Ministry of Works to immediately start building the Great Ming ships for a year!”
"During this period of time, Qi Jingtong will continue to be in charge of recruiting and training sailors.”
"A year later, I want to see a truly invincible fleet on the sea!”
Even though he had just finished speaking, the Emperor's words were like a clap of thunder that reverberated in the hearts of the ministers for a long time.
Transfer eight million taels of silver to build an invincible fleet on the Great Ming Sea!
What boldness, what generosity.
What kind of invincible fleet was the Emperor going to build?
However! In the entire court, the most excited person was Qi Jingtong himself.
In the hall, Qi Jingtong knelt down with an excited expression.
How many times had he fantasized about returning to the sea to fight against the Japanese pirates and raise the prestige of the Ming Dynasty!
How many times had he advised the Emperor that the restoration of the Ming Navy's salary had been rejected?
In the end, he was even assigned the position of deputy general of the Divine Arms Battalion.
Finally! He had finally met the Sage Monarch he had been waiting for!
The dragon flag and ships of the Great Ming Dynasty could be seen flying above the vast sea!
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. After a year, I will train a navy that will conquer the world for Your Majesty!”
"If I can't do it, I'm willing to die by a thousand cuts!”
Qi Jingtong was extremely excited and did not hesitate to issue a military pledge to the Emperor in the Imperial Court.
Eight million silver!
A total of eight million taels of silver!
This was more than forty times the salary of the Ming Navy in previous years!
It was also because of this that Qi Jingtong saw the importance the Emperor placed on the Great Ming Navy.
In the court, the civil and military officials were both happy and crying.
What made him happy was that if such a navy was built, what would it look like?
All the neighboring countries in the world would definitely bow down to the Ming Empire.
No one cried more than Liu Jian and the Minister of Revenue.
After all, Da Ming had gone through several generations and had finally saved up this little money.
Now, all of them had been taken away by the Emperor.
At that moment, Liu Jian and the Minister of Revenue almost fainted in the hall.
"Minister Li."
"Your subject is here."
"How's the progress of the new firearms that I ordered you to develop?”
When Li Tong heard this, he immediately understood the reason why His Majesty ordered him to research firearms.
If these warships were equipped with the new cannons, their power would definitely be like a tiger with wings!
"Your Majesty, I have already stepped up my research. However, this new cannonball vessel is not easy to manufacture. I'm afraid it will take some time.”
Li Sui's voice grew softer and softer, but his words aroused the curiosity of the officials and ministers in the court.
Aren't these cannonballs round? Why couldn't the Ministry of Works produce something so simple?
"Ministry of Works! Even if you gather all the craftsmen in the world, if you can't even do such a small thing well, then don't be the Minister of Works!”
"Hurry up and change someone else!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll definitely make the cannonball mold as soon as possible!"”
Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly and said in a clear voice,"Failure isn't scary! What's scary is that you deny yourself!"
"Although the Imperial Court doesn't have enough money, I have the money to spend on these matters!”
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