"Pass!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open. It was Fucha Fulongan, a first-class Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, the Crown Prince's Taibao, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Works. He was a first-class Duke of Sincerity and Bravery, and he was the assistant Grand Scholar, Minister of Civil Affairs, and Military and Political Affairs Officer, Zhang Jia. Ah Gui and Yu Minzhong, the Grand Scholar of Wenhua Hall, entered the hall with their backs bent.
When he got close, he knelt down and shouted three times.
"Stand up. Why did the three beloved ministers come to see you in the middle of the night? Is there an urgent matter?”
Qianlong asked with a serious expression.
Ah Gui and the other two stood up. Fu Longan reported with a serious expression,"Your Majesty, we have read through a large number of files and received a report from the governor of Fujian, Yang Kui.”
Have you found out?
Qianlong was overjoyed!
Three days ago, Qianlong received news from the western countries. He was shocked and immediately asked the Military and Political Affairs Office to investigate the background of the Ming Dynasty. He thought it would be difficult to find out. After all, it had been too long and he had never heard of the news of Zhu Ming's remnants establishing a country overseas. It was the first time that the huge ship that bombarded London had appeared.
"Quick, tell me the details!"
Fu Longan opened the memorial in his hand.
"Li Taimin, 1515 AD, born in the 10th year of Zhengde, Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty. His ancestral home is Quanzhou, Fujian Province. His family has been engaged in maritime trade for generations and has a rich family fortune.”
" In 1540, in the 19th year of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, Li Taimin's father passed away. He then inherited the family business and used all his family property to build an ocean-going ship. He sold tea, porcelain, and silk to the West and earned a huge fortune.”
"In the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing, due to the huge amount of property, it was coveted by Fujian Admiral Wang Zhen. Overnight, the entire family fled overseas. Wang Zhen sent a navy to search and kill them, but to no avail.”
"In the third year after the Li family escaped, there was a local rumor in Quanzhou that when Li Taimin went to Ou Zhou to trade in his early years, he found a paradise in the Atlantic Ocean and built a house on the island as a foothold. That's why the Ming navy couldn't find him!”
" Later, the Li family's fleet sneaked back many times to buy food and goods, taking away many coastal people. During the Chongzhen period, natural and man-made disasters continued. The current head of the Li family, Li Chengkang, even brought the fleet back openly to trade.”
"By the time Baoming was destroyed, the Li family had already taken away nearly seven to eight thousand people.”
" The governor of Fujian, Yang Kui, found a businessman who lived on Li Family Island for half a month forty years ago. According to him, Zhu Cihuan, the son of Zhu Youjian, the Ming Emperor, fled to Li Family Island and ascended the throne under the support of the remnants of the Baoming Dynasty. He also conferred the title of the current Li Family's head as King Zhennan. The emperor forty years ago was Zhu Zhenglong, and his name was Hongwu.”
" What's strange is that there's nothing special about the Li Family Island. It's not big, and it's rich in resources. However, the population is less than six thousand. They can barely survive. It's impossible to build iron warships that weigh tens of thousands of tons…"
？？？
After listening to Fu Longan's report, Qianlong's head was in a daze and he was full of question marks.
Forty years ago, there were only a few thousand people on the island and they were so poor that they could not even afford to eat. Forty years later, they could build steel warships that weighed tens of thousands of tons?
Impossible, only a god could do it!
"Has the Li family returned in the past forty years?”
Fu Longan shook his head." No. The Qing Dynasty implemented the emperor's wise policy of one-port trade. Only Guangzhou was open to the outside world. No one else was allowed to go out to sea to do business or trade with the outside world. The Li family has never returned. However, there are records of the Li family's fleet activities in Nanyang.”
Hearing this, Qianlong was even more confused.
How could a few thousand people build a steel warship that weighed tens of thousands of tons in forty years?
Qianlong didn't believe in immortals, so he ruled out the possibility that an immortal had descended to help Zhu Ming's remnant.
"Is there a possibility that Zhu Ming's remaining evil forces have territories elsewhere?”
Yu Minzhong said in a deep voice," Your Majesty, the westerners sent another letter two hours ago. They stated in detail that Zhu Ming's remaining evil spirits had never appeared anywhere in the world. Those giant ships seemed to have appeared out of thin air. No one had seen them before."”
" The westerners 'words are highly credible because their ships are spread all over the ocean, and their footprints have stepped into every corner of the world. Steel warships that weigh tens of thousands of tons are so conspicuous that it's impossible to hide them.”
？？？
Qianlong was completely dumbfounded. Could it really be that the gods were helping Zhu Ming's remnant?
"Do you think there are immortals in this world?”
Uh.
Agui, Fulong, and Yu Minzhong didn't know how to answer.
If there were no immortals, then where did Zhu Ming's steel warship come from?
There were immortals…?
Thinking about it carefully, he denied this guess.
If there was an immortal, he would have just struck the Forbidden City with a bolt of lightning and solved the problem from the root. Would there be a need to go through so much trouble?
After a long silence, Fu Longan said in a low voice,""Your Majesty, all talk of gods and ghosts is false…"
"Zhen knows!"
After racking his brains, Qianlong could not figure it out, so he simply gave up.
The Qing Dynasty, which was rich in resources, did not want to have any contact with the world anyway. They were self-sufficient and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
They had just pacified the big and small Jinchuan, and it was the time when the army was at its peak. They defended the coastal areas. Zhu Ming's remaining forces were strong in the navy, so how could the huge cannons reach Beijing?
After consoling himself, Emperor Puxin Qianlong regained his confidence and felt that he had lost face.
Three days ago, when he received news from the westerners about the steel ship that weighed tens of thousands of tons and was as huge as a mountain, he was really frightened. In front of all the civil and military officials, he panicked and wanted to move the capital to Luoyang because Beijing was too close to the coastline and was not safe.
Now that he thought about it, Qianlong, who cared about his face, could not help but blush. He was a little angry from embarrassment.
"Pass down the decree, order the governors of the coastal provinces to strengthen their vigilance and send ships to patrol the South China Sea. Once they discover the ships of Zhu Ming's remnants, report immediately!”
After giving the order, Qianlong felt that it was not safe. After thinking for a long time, he decided to send the Eight Banners elites south.
"Ah Gui, Fu Longan, the two of you take 100,000 Eight Banners disciples, each with 50,000 to guard Fujian and Guangdong.”
"At the same time, order the garrison generals to transfer another 300,000 troops to the coastal areas, under Ah Gui's command.”
"The capital…"
Qianlong looked in Meng Gu's direction.
"Send a decree to the Menggu tribes to gather 100,000 people to guard the northern coastal areas under Hailancha's command. Tianjin is the most important and must be heavily guarded.”
Yes!
Ah Gui and the other two knelt down to receive the decree.
After arranging the garrison, Qianlong suddenly thought of the most important problem.
Firearms!
In the past, firearms were controlled and Han people were not allowed to develop and forge firearms. The main reason was that the previous emperors knew the terrifying lethality of firearms. The Qing Dynasty had just entered the pass, and the Han people were not convinced. If they did not ban firearms, it would definitely affect the rule of the court.
There was nothing they could do now. Zhu Ming's firearms were powerful and sharp, scaring the entire Ou Zhou. One could imagine how terrifying they were.
The rule of the Qing Dynasty was already very stable. The national treasury was full, and there were countless skilled craftsmen among the people. It was time to let go of the restrictions on firearms and let the Eight Banners children use firearms and cannons first.
"Grand Scholar…"
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