Great Ming National Teacher

Li Yunya and Zhu Youjian asked Zheng Zhilong about overseas affairs. When it came to Japan and North Korea in the north, Ryukyu in the east, Java, Siam, Champa, Chenla and other countries in the south, Zheng Zhilong knew all about them.

Zhu Youjian was also very interested in these things. He mainly asked about the customs and customs of various countries, including land area, population size, and political conditions. He also asked about the strength of the army and what the people do for a living, etc. Zheng Zhilong answered them one by one.

Most of these are the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Youjian has seen the corresponding materials, but most of them were left when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country and when Zhu Di sent Zheng He to the West. Later, the countries sometimes paid tribute and sometimes stopped paying tribute. , There is very little data. With the change of the times, the actual situation of various countries is also different from the old data records in the past. Zhu Youjian took a pencil and made a form on paper, and asked Zheng Zhilong while making records. The situation of each country is written above.

Li Yunya asked about Luzon, which is the later Philippines, and learned that Luzon was captured by the Spaniards as early as the Longqing period, and now the country has already been destroyed.

China used to be the richest and most developed region on earth, and occasionally lost due to wars and other reasons, but after the country is reunified, it will soon be able to come back.It completely lagged behind the West until the period when Li Yunya lived and did not catch up, mainly because of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it was fine in the early Ming Dynasty. When Zheng He sailed to the West, China's shipbuilding technology surpassed that of the West by two In the next generation, the largest ship is equivalent to a small aircraft carrier. Unfortunately, it closed its doors and was quickly surpassed by the West. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, even the artillery had to be imported from the West. Naturally, the ships began to be inferior. When the Qing Dynasty fell behind, it was even faster. more.

Today's world is undergoing a huge change, that is, the legendary age of navigation. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, these maritime powers have risen one after another. They bypassed Africa to the east, crossed the Indian Ocean, and entered the Pacific Ocean. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the west and discovering the American continent, they massacred and enslaved the natives everywhere, and transported tons of gold and silver, jewelry and diamonds, and various resources back to the country, and started a crazy colonial trade all over the world.

China is still troubled by foreign invasions and peasant uprisings. The country is riddled with holes. According to normal history, the Ming Dynasty will completely perish in less than 20 years, and it will be replaced by the more closed-off Qing Dynasty until after the two Opium Wars. At that time, the strong ships and guns of the Europeans severely smashed the locked door of China, and the Chinese nation began a century-long misery.

Li Yunya asked about the situation of Western countries in detail, and he had a rough idea of ​​the strength of each country, and finally asked about rubber.

Zheng Zhilong recalled for a long time: "No, I have been to various countries in Southeast Asia. Even if I have not been there in person, I am used to hearing what the merchants say. There must be no tree that can ooze a lot of white pulp when the bark is cut, as the national teacher said. It’s also the first time I’ve heard the term rubber tree.”

How could it not?I remember that rubber is produced in Southeast Asia!Li Yunya wondered: "Think again?"

Zheng Zhilong smiled wryly: "The national teacher asked me, how dare I not try my best to think about it, there is really no one, I dare not lie." In fact, with his temperament, it is common for him to follow the train and make up nonsense to make people happy. What's more, if there is, it would be bad if the national teacher asked him to get it, so I can only tell the truth, "I have never heard of it. After I go back, I will send people to search for it in Nanyang countries, and then ask those Western countries The red-haired devil must ask the national teacher to find out."

This is the only way to go, Li Yunya sighed helplessly, without plastic, there are still many things that cannot be made!

Li Yunya asked Zhu Youjian to appoint Zheng Zhilong an official, Zhu Youjian thought for a while, and named Zheng Zhilong the Boss of Jinghai. At this time, the official titles granted by the imperial court are still very valuable, unlike the real history of the last years of Chongzhen, or even the Nanming period , All kinds of generals, uncles and princes emerged one after another, and now there are not many who even have the title of general. Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed when he was awarded the title, and once again took his son to thank the emperor for his kindness.

After giving the benefits, you have to ask for things. First of all, the sea charts. The Ming Dynasty also had sea charts. From Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas, and not long ago during the Wanli Three Marches, the Ming Dynasty helped North Korea fight against Japan. The navy was in Luliang During the naval battle, he teamed up with the North Korean Navy to wipe out the Japanese fleet. However, sea charts are no better than maps. Where there are islands, where there are hidden reefs, and where storms are prone to occur, only those who hang out at sea all the year round can know the details. Zheng Zhilong has been traveling to and from Japan and Taiwan all year round In the first generation, the charts he produced were not only larger than those held by the imperial court, but also more detailed in content. In order to show his sincerity, Zheng Zhilong asked his subordinates to copy a box of charts and send them to Li Yunya for seven consecutive days.

Zheng Zhilong lived in the capital for half a month, and finally returned to Quanzhou happily with Zhu Youjian's reward and Li Yunya's gift.

Before leaving, Li Yunya pointed out that Zheng Sen had a predestined relationship with him and wanted to take him in as a disciple. Zheng Zhilong had long been prepared and realized that he would keep his son in the capital as a hostage, so he agreed without hesitation, ignoring his son's tearful pleading, and resolutely After leading the crowd to leave Beijing, Li Yunya personally sent him to Tianjin, where he boarded a ship and left the shore.

Looking at the turbulent and boundless sea, Li Yunya's heart was wide open when he thought that he would start from here in the future and compete with the Western countries on the ocean. "a feeling of.

He came to Tianjin this time not just to send people off, but more importantly, to inspect the construction work of the Tianjin Shipyard and the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. Song Yingxing's steam engine locomotive has reached the final stage, and it is estimated that it will be built by March next year at the latest. Lay it out before then.

Li Yunya also spent a lot of money in the shipyard, mobilizing the best shipbuilding craftsmen in the country, and continuously transporting all kinds of materials needed to Tianjin. The shipyard project has been built for one third, and the shipbuilders They also started construction. Li Yunya first wanted to try his hand at building a warship based on the existing Fuchuan. He also brought in Sun Yuanhua, who was busy in his busy schedule, and brought a group of graduate students from the Academia Sinica. Performance, such as turning angle and range, recoil and other parameters, to design the most optimized warship.

It’s been another year of troubles. After four years in Chongzhen, Song Yingxing finally built the world’s first locomotive powered by a steam engine. The railway track was built as early as last year. Two tracks run in parallel. One runs from Beijing to Tianjin, and the other Driving from Tianjin to Beijing, the station is in Tongzhou, which is the most prosperous area for business and trade in Jingdong, where the north and south, land and water, all meet here.

The black-painted locomotive was led onto the rails, and the coal and water were filled in. Song Yingxing asked his eldest son Song Shihui to light the fire himself.

The coal fire in the furnace was burning hotter and hotter, and the steam in the boiler was gathering more and more. Song Yingxing bowed his hands to Li Yunya very excitedly, and then he was about to get on the train. Li Yunya grabbed him, even though the machine and the rails had been checked repeatedly. , but there is no guarantee that something will go wrong. In case something goes wrong, it doesn't matter if the train is scrapped. If you take the national treasure into it, you will lose big.

Li Yunya said nothing to allow Song Yingxing to get on the train. Song Yingxing had no choice but to reluctantly let Song Shihui be the first train driver in China. He went to the cab and prepared to drive. There was a long cry, and all the onlookers covered their ears in fright and fled in all directions, as if they were avoiding some kind of monster.

The wheels turned slowly, and with the empty sound of the machine running, the front of the car began to move forward and gradually accelerated.

Such a big iron lump actually walked forward by itself without manpower or oxen pulling. The crowd eating melons were all stunned and speechless. After a long time, they all knelt down like Worship to the locomotive like worshiping gods and Buddhas.

Since Li Yunya built extraordinary high-rise buildings and won Houjin with guns and cannons, his status in the eyes of the people in Gyeonggi has risen linearly, and his fairy spirit has become stronger and stronger, including the popularization of high-yielding corn and the spread of printed products. , and the sale of all kinds of strange goods, every time something new came out, the fairy aura in him became stronger.Now the appearance of the locomotive has once again refreshed his height in people's hearts. The people have completely believed that he is a god who came down from the sky, who can control Liuding Liujia and Babu Zhengshen, can call the wind and rain, and strike lightning. You can also let the ghosts and gods pull the cart...

In short, the more it spreads, the more people start to enshrine the ranking of the national teacher at home, praying for good weather and family safety, and they dare not say a bad word about the national teacher behind their backs. condemn them.

The carriage of the train has already been built, but Li Yunya did not let it be hung up immediately. Instead, he let the locomotive run along the rails twice a day to test the safety of the rails and the performance of the train. It was only then that the carriages were hung up. This most primitive locomotive can carry ten carriages, fully loaded with goods, and run at an average speed of 50 kilometers per hour. It is much worse than Li Yunya expected, but it is still satisfactory. , Seafood from Tianjin Port can be transported to Beijing by train, and it takes four hours to arrive, which is much slower than riding a horse, but the carrying capacity is large enough and stable enough. The fare booked by Li Yunya is 2000 taels of silver per car , Merchants from all walks of life are flocking to them, and they share the carriages in partnership. They travel twice a day, all of which are fully loaded back and forth, and [-] taels a day.

At the same time that the Beijing-Tianjin Railway was opened to traffic, Zhu Youjian issued an order to announce the start of the collection of commercial tax. He did not discuss this matter with the cabinet ministers, and he did not discuss it with the six ministries. He announced it directly, and handed it over to the Ministry of Public Security to collect the tax. In the future, the Ministry of Household Affairs will not be required.

The courtiers became anxious immediately after reading it, and all came to the house of the first assistant Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren was also surprised when he heard about this incident, and the teacups in his hands fell to the ground.His focus is not on how much tax the country can increase, or whether it will cause chaos in the world, nor the interests of the scholar-official class, but on his own official position and rights. I believe these ministers, especially after the donation incident, when the Ministry of Public Security was established, he was vigilant and asked the party members below to write to stop it, but failed. Today, the Ministry of Public Security has more and more power, and even started to collect taxes Well, the imperial decree clearly states that no shop is allowed to open without a license document issued by the Ministry of Public Security. Where should the six departments be located?Where are these ministers placed!