Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Dagu Fort?"

Zhang Shikang showed a strange expression on his face when he heard this.

He remembered that when he was studying modern history in junior high school, he heard the history teacher tell the story of Dagu Fort.

Two hundred years later, the Qing Dynasty built a fort here, and now Mo Wu also suggests building a fort in Dagu, which shows the importance of the geographical location of Dagukou.

"Yes, Marshal. Dagukou is located on the south bank of the Wei River. It is the throat to Beijing and the barrier to Tianjin.

In addition to Dagukou, Beitang is also a location where it is very necessary to build a fort.

If we have these two artillery groups, we can protect the naval port and shipyard we built, making it difficult for the enemy to land easily."

Mo Wu said again.

“Both sites need to be built, so I’ll leave this to you. First, estimate roughly how many guns are needed and how much it will cost.

Remember, if you want to build something, build the best. But the money must be spent wisely. After evaluation, list the plan and the corresponding cost in a document. I will discuss it with the Ministry of Revenue. "

Zhang Shikang thought for a while and said.

Save where you should and spend where you should; national defense is the real backing. Even if the Minister of Finance Hai Zhongqi becomes a miser, he will have to take out the money for the artillery.

After talking about the current progress of the project and the fort, the two chatted for a while. Mo Wu suddenly remembered something and frowned slightly and said to Zhang Shikang:

"General, a few days ago, a few red-haired barbarians came here, they were sneaky and seemed to want to see you.

But his subordinates were worried that they were up to no good, so they did not bother the Marshal.

Now that the Marshal is here, I think I should inform you."

The Zheng family and the Dutch are mortal enemies. After all, Mo Wu once worked for the Zheng family, so he has no good feelings towards the Dutch.

"The Dutch are looking for me? Um... I guess that's right." Zhang Shikang showed a strange smile on his face when he heard that.

"They seem to be merchants from Japan, but perhaps they are worried about being discovered by the Zheng family's patrol ships, so they are sneaking around wherever they go," Mo Wu added.

"It's okay to meet them. Go and find them." Zhang Shikang said casually.

The Dutch came to him simply for trade. The title of Dutch coachmen is not for nothing, as these people will do anything to do business.

Regardless of whether they were the Dutch or the Portuguese, who wouldn't be jealous of such a vast market like the Ming Dynasty?

After sending Mo Wu away, Zhang Shikang continued to take Zhu Cilang and his sister to patrol near the port, and later went to the shipyard.

Mo Wu is indeed a talented person. Even though the shipyard is still under construction, he has not stopped training shipbuilders.

There were even quite a few shacks built near the shipyard, and a considerable number of the owners of those shacks were shipwright apprentices brought from the Guangzhou Shipyard.

There were also teenagers from poor families recruited from the local area. Mo Wu asked several of his capable shipwrights to teach them shipbuilding knowledge.

Although the conditions were simple, the teenagers studied very hard. Zhang Shikang consoled them and even had lunch with the group of apprentices in the evening.

Of course, what he ate was the same as the apprentices. Zhang Shikang not only ate himself, but also let Zhu Cilang and his sister eat as well. While eating, he chatted and laughed with the boatman and his apprentices.

On the way back to his residence at night, Zhang Shikang asked Zhu Cilang meaningfully:

"Xiao Zhu, did you realize anything this afternoon?"

Zhu Cilang tilted his head and thought for a while before saying:

“Those apprentices had a hard life.”

"Oh? Why do you think so?" Zhang Shikang asked again.

Zhu Cilang replied without hesitation:

“Their food is terrible.”

So Zhang Shikang had a very dark face, he was still just a little brat after all.

“You must remember, from now on, you must treat the craftsmen well, especially those with superb skills, as they will be the treasures of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Agriculture is important, but industry is also important.”

Zhang Shikang taught Zhu Cilang a lesson.

As he spoke, Zhang Shikang arrived at his residence, which was a military camp not far from the naval port.

Of course, the military camp was also newly built, and it was the base of the Ming Navy.

As soon as he arrived at the military camp, Ma Tong, deputy admiral of the navy, came to greet him, but Zhang Shikang sent him away with a few words.

After traveling all morning and patrolling around in the afternoon, Zhang Shikang felt as if his legs were not his own.

Zhu Cilang was reading a book. Zhang Shikang admired the boy very much because no matter how busy he was during the day, he was always full of energy.

He was not feeling well anymore. He sat on the recliner and didn't want to move. He used his right hand to massage his legs.

Princess Kunyi sat beside Zhu Cilang in a daze.

She seemed to be in a daze, but she was actually pretending. Her eyes kept drifting in the direction of Zhang Shikang, and her brows were sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, as if she was struggling with something.

After a while, Princess Kunyi stood up as if she had made up her mind, moved her small stool and walked to Zhang Shikang and said.

"Master Zhang...Master Zhang, Kunyi...Kunyi will help you massage your legs." Princess Kunyi stuttered in a low voice.

Zhu Cilang, who was reading a book nearby, dropped the book on the table when he heard this and looked at his sister in confusion.

The two were only one year apart in age and had grown up in the palace. They were not spoiled, but they had never suffered any hardship.

Zhu Cilang remembered that his sister seemed to have only massaged his father's legs.

But he was only surprised for a moment and then turned his attention back to his book.

"Oh, little princess, you can't do this. If your father finds out, he will scold your teacher." Zhang Shikang was not surprised, but just joked.

But although he said this, his body was honest and did not move. On the one hand, he was really tired, and on the other hand, he wanted to see what tricks this little girl was going to play.

"I... I'm not a child anymore." Princess Kunyi sat on a small stool, and then she began to seriously massage Zhang Shikang's legs, massaging his calves and pinching his thighs.

At this moment, she only felt her heart pounding. She had indeed only given her father a leg massage.

Whenever his father sat on the dragon throne and sighed after a hard day's work, Princess Kunyi used this method to relieve his father's fatigue.

But apart from her father, Princess Kunyi has never had any contact with other men.

No, except for her master who always says weird things.

Thinking of the scene when Zhang Shikang clamped her around the waist, Princess Kunyi's pretty face turned red again unconsciously.

Zhang Shikang felt so comfortable that he almost fell asleep when he closed his eyes.

Although if Brother Chongzhen knew about this, he might really scold him, after all, this is his little cotton-padded jacket.

But Zhang Shikang changed his mind and realized that he had worked so hard to teach these two students, but they were so stupid that they required explanations for everything they did.

After a tiring day, it’s not too much to enjoy a massage service from students, right?

After beating for a while, Zhang Shikang felt that the little princess's movements were getting slower and slower, and weaker and weaker, so he opened his eyes and looked at Princess Kunyi.

"My little princess, why did you hit your face so hard that it turned red?"

……