Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

On the coast of Jiangnan Road, the Mingzhou Shipyard stands majestically.

This shipyard was once run by the imperial court. It was located at the place closest to Japan, like a strong arm of the Tang Dynasty reaching out to the East China Sea.

Outside the shipyard, Mingzhou Port has flourished, with the water rippling in the harbor and the sight of thousands of sails competing can often be seen.

The imperial court once sent skilled craftsmen to carefully calculate the long sea route from Mingzhou to Japan using astrology and nautical charts as guidance, just to ensure that all voyages would be smooth and worry-free.

In the past, whenever the spring was bright and beautiful or the autumn was clear and crisp, Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty would board ships from Satsuma Port in Japan and arrive at Mingzhou Port with longing in their hearts.

At the same time, the Tang Dynasty's envoys to the Tang Dynasty also happened to return to Japan. They learned the advanced culture of the Tang Dynasty and brought it back to develop Japan.

At that time, no one expected that Japan, which obeyed the Tang Dynasty, would show its fangs to China in the future.

When Tang officials returned to visit Japan, they also set out from Mingzhou Port. The fleet was huge, demonstrating the national prestige and style of the Tang Dynasty.

If we cast off the boat from here and, with the help of the monsoon and ocean currents, we can see the coast of Satsuma, Japan in just about ten days.

Because of this frequent traffic, Mingzhou Port became an important starting point of the Maritime Silk Road at that time, attracting attention from all over the world.

Merchants from all over the world heard the news and flocked to Mingzhou Port.

The dock was bustling with people and very noisy.

Spice merchants from Persia, jewelry dealers from India, silk merchants from Silla, etc. all gathered here.

Some foreign merchants were even more creative. They set up stalls on the street not far from Mingzhou Port, filling the tables with a dazzling array of rare treasures, and hawked their wares along the way in their broken Tang dialect.

The exotic goods and unique shouts add a different color to Mingzhou Port.

Before Li Chengqian, Mingzhou Port was undoubtedly a property under the name of the imperial court.

But now it’s different. Mingzhou Port belongs to the imperial court, but also to Li Chengqian personally.

Qianyu Chamber of Commerce intervened strongly.

Huge amounts of wealth were used to carry out large-scale repairs and renovations on the three key ports of the Tang Dynasty: Mingzhou Port, Yangzhou Port, and Dengzhou Port.

At Mingzhou Port, the docks have been widened and reinforced, the warehouses have been renovated, and various facilities have become increasingly complete.

Shipbuilding has also taken on a new pattern, with shipyards near these three ports carrying out the work in full swing. New ships are being sent directly to the sea and into the ocean.

At this time, the Mingzhou Shipyard was in unprecedented busyness.

The factory is full of busy figures, craftsmen working day and night, and the sound of hammers and chisels is endless.

The problem of staff shortage persists.

The primary reason was the imperial edict issued by His Majesty: whoever could lead an army to conquer Japan first would be granted a fifth-rank official position.

As soon as this order was issued, the fighting spirit of those vassal small countries was instantly ignited.

Even though the Minnesota Shipyard increased its shipbuilding costs fivefold due to the surge in orders, it could not cool their burning desire.

The fifth-rank official status of the Tang Dynasty is like a talisman to the rulers of those small countries.

If small countries do not have the protection of the Tang Dynasty, they may be swallowed up by other countries at any time and become nothing more than the rulers of small and unknown countries.

Once you become a fifth-rank official of the Tang Dynasty, everything will be completely different!

Others would not dare to offend them easily. They would become loyal and steadfast followers of the Tang Dynasty and enjoy peace and tranquility.

As a result, all the vassal states came out in full force, almost emptying their national treasuries, just to raise funds to build warships and recruit warriors in order to defeat Japan in one fell swoop.

The reality is that the dilemma is very difficult.

As of now, the progress of Mingzhou Shipyard in completing orders is worrying. Only half of them have not been completed, and the ships built are barely enough to transport 20,000 people to Japan.

The shipbuilding industry in the Tang Dynasty was still in its initial stage of exploration, with relatively backward technology and craftsmanship. The ships built were of limited size and could not carry a large number of troops and supplies.

At this time, news came from the Chamber of Commerce that His Majesty had ordered skilled craftsmen to devote themselves to studying and drawing blueprints, determined to build an unprecedented giant sea ship.

This ship will be the culmination of the Tang Dynasty's highest shipbuilding technology and become a giant on the sea.

This undoubtedly added another heavy burden to the already heavily pressured Mingzhou Shipyard.

There are not enough people!

Lin Shuangquan, the person in charge of the shipyard, has been extremely worried these days.

The originally thick black hair turned a lot whiter after these few months of suffering, and the wrinkles on the forehead became deeper.

"Director, Director, something terrible has happened!"

Zhu Dayong, the shipyard manager, stumbled into the house with a terrified and mournful look on his face, his voice filled with despair.

"A large number of people have poured in from nowhere and have surrounded our shipyard completely!"

Lin Shuangquan was sitting at his desk, scowling at the shipbuilding blueprints piled on his desk. Upon hearing this, he suddenly jumped up from his seat, his face filled with shock. He muttered, "Are the people of Mingzhou going to rebel too?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Dayong hurriedly shook his head and gasped, "They weren't rebelling! They didn't kill anyone! They were just like crazy, obsessed with stealing money and ships!"

When Lin Shuangquan heard that they were robbing money and the boat, his face turned pale and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

These are all important orders from other countries, which are related to the reputation of the Tang Dynasty. If there is any mistake, the consequences will be unimaginable.

You will inevitably be reprimanded by your superiors.

This is all the results they have achieved in the past six months!

He instinctively wanted to send someone to report to the authorities, but he suddenly came to his senses and realized that in this special period, there were no officials here who could come to help.

Feeling nervous, he tiptoed to open the window upstairs, stuck half of his head out, and carefully took a look down.

Outside the shipyard, people were surging like a tide, shouting and cursing in a chaotic mess.

His heart tightened and he quickly closed the window again, fearing that the people below would notice.

"Dayong, quickly pass the order down and have everyone in our Chamber of Commerce hide. We must not engage in a head-on confrontation with this group of frenzied people."

"If they ask for something, do your best to satisfy them. Don't be stingy with money. Money is something outside of your body. If you lose it, you can always get it back."

Lin Shuangquan forced himself to remain calm, took a deep breath, and said to Zhu Dayong.

"Once this matter has settled, I will go to the Booksellers Association and will compensate everyone for their losses. But I must warn everyone to save their lives and not lose them for money!"

Zhu Dayong's eyes welled up slightly when he heard Lin Shuangquan's words. A warm feeling welled up in his heart, and he said gratefully, "Yes, Director! I will spare no effort to pass this message on to everyone!"

"But this! All the progress we've made over the past six months is gone! Director! If the higher-ups blame us, I'm afraid they'll take their wrath out on you, Director!"

Lin Shuangquan just shook his head.

"Don't say anything! Go!"