I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 395 Steam battleship?

In October of the fourth year of Jianwu.

Into winter.

It finally snowed this year, but it wasn't very heavy and it didn't even accumulate snow.

But it doesn't matter. This at least means that there won't be too much drought next year, and of course it won't mean that the weather will be smooth.

After all, strictly speaking, it is still the Little Ice Age in the late Ming Dynasty, but it is almost over and the temperature is rising year by year.

20 years ago, Taihu Lake could freeze, and it would snow in June in the south.

At this time, the people of Guangdong were both happy and unfortunate because they had the opportunity to see snow. The bad news was that famine broke out in Guangdong almost every year.

Even though the Ming Dynasty had taken over Guangdong, it could not avoid natural disasters.A small-scale famine broke out here only a few months ago, thanks to the fact that Guangdong is a newly occupied province.

Having just suffered from the war, the newly arrived governors and local officials of Guangdong did not have the courage to commit corruption in Guangdong. There were censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate everywhere.

After the Jiangxi case, some more pervasive Jinyiwei spies appeared.

The Guangxi Army had ceased fighting before winter. It was not because the weather had turned cold that it was difficult to continue advancing, but because the entire Guangxi Province had been beaten by Xu Jin's Third Army.

Two Zhuang concubines selected from various tribes of the Zhuang ethnic group in Guangxi officially set off a month ago to go to Nanjing to meet the emperor.

The emperor's decree to give Tong people a new name, Zhuang, has already been issued. Now all Tong people and Ma people in Guangxi will be renamed Zhuang in the future, and the original names will be abolished.

The name Zhuang not only gives more respect to these Zhuang people in Guangxi, but more importantly, Zhu Yijiong himself also likes it.

As the Zhuang people of Guangxi brought their concubines to meet the emperor, the overall situation in Guangxi was basically decided, and the remaining villages and counties were impossible to resist, even relying on the terrain.

Because as long as the marriage between Zhuang and Han is successful, the emperor accepts and marries the two strong concubines, and the court implements new policies, these strong people can quickly be transformed into the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in Guangxi.

With these strong soldiers who are famous all over the world and are familiar with the mountainous terrain of Guangxi, how can the chieftains who are still stubbornly resisting resist?
Even if they want to resist, as long as the policy is pushed forward and they have the guarantee of their own clansmen, whether these chieftains can recruit troops is another matter.

……

Nanjing City.

Although there was a winter snowfall just two days ago, even though the snow has melted away, it can no longer cover the residential buildings in Nanjing.

Many shops are open early in the morning, and there are scattered vendors selling breakfast and snacks, rubbing their hands and preparing ingredients.

On the streets and alleys, there are sparse people taking to the streets from time to time. Seeing that the weather is not too cold, the vendors and footmen are all wrapped in winter clothes and ready to go out to find some work.

"Tea eggs, freshly boiled tea eggs!"

"Freshly fried glutinous rice cakes and steaming hot porridge."

"Selling fried dough sticks..."

As more and more people came and went, the hawking sounds in the streets and alleys of Nanjing gradually began to become noisy, and there was an unmistakable prosperity in the noise.

Of course, eggs in the Ming Dynasty could not be sold for ten taels of silver each. Anyone who dared to sell them for one tael of silver would have his head chopped off by the emperor.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The bell and drum tower of the Meridian Gate sounded three times, and the emperor's chariot drove out.

Before the imperial driver could drive out of the Forbidden City, the cabinet ministers and heads of various ministries had already been waiting outside the Forbidden City for a long time.

When this procession of monarchs and ministers passed by, many Nanjing people saw this and followed the procession, obviously to watch the excitement.

Passing by the Imperial College, Ruan Fuyue and Pu Zheng, students from Annan and Korea, were also curious, what was the emperor doing?

It was winter, and the Imperial College was on holiday. They looked at it from a distance and found that the emperor's army did not drive the people to follow them, so they followed them out of curiosity.

The team came all the way to Qingliangmen in the west of Nanjing City. There is Qingliang Mountain here, and there is Qingliang Temple on Qingliang Mountain.

Did the emperor come to Qingliang Temple to worship Buddha?

But didn’t the emperor hate Buddhist and Taoist teachings?
Before the onlookers, Ruan Fuyue, Pu Zheng, and other foreign students studying abroad could react, the emperor's chariot left the city.

The onlookers and Ruan Fuyue hurriedly followed them out of the city. Only then did they see a naval warship docked on the Qinhuai River outside.

It is said to be a warship because this large ship is flying the iconic sun and moon flag of the Ming Dynasty Navy. The ship type is also the standard blessing ship of the Ming Navy Navy, but it is an inland river model.

Moreover, there were no cannons set up at the muzzles, and the sails on the ship were furled, except for some extra pillars of unknown meaning.

"His Majesty!"

Tang Tongjiang, who had been preparing with the navy officers and soldiers on the shore when he saw the emperor's chariot, hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Everything is ready, the fuel is also ready, and we can start at any time."

Zhu Yijiong nodded slightly: "Well, let's start! Only success is allowed, failure is not allowed." "I obey the order!" Tang Tongjiang was filled with emotion and hurriedly went down to give orders.

The ministers who followed this time were all confused. Even Wang Li and the other important cabinet ministers did not receive any news.

I was just informed by the emperor that the chief officials of various ministries were required to gather in the Forbidden City this morning and travel with the emperor.

What is the emperor doing?
"Boom!"

There was a loud noise, like a bolt from the blue.

No matter the court officials, the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp, and even the people watching in front, were all startled by the loud noise.

"Rumble..."

However, before they could react, a loud noise like thunder echoed in the large ship docked on the shore.

Everyone was shocked by the loud rumbling noise.

"What is this sound? It's like a bolt from the blue. Could it be that God is angry?"

"God is so angry! It obviously came from that official ship."

"But why does the ship thunder? It must be that he has become a spirit!"

"It's possible, maybe the emperor is here today to collect monsters."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, he still collects monsters? Isn't this what Taoist priests do?"

"..."

The people watching were all stunned by this vision, and they were all chirping.The entire shore suddenly became like a vegetable market, and the focus quickly wandered away.

The courtiers were also surprised and confused, but their focus was different from the common people. They were not focusing on collecting the demons, but on the pillars on the ship.

Well, it's not so much a pillar as a chimney, with billowing black smoke constantly rising from the chimney along with a loud rumbling sound.

"Move... move!"

Chen Ji, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, discovered something strange about the warship. This warship... actually drove itself without wind. Not only did it fly without wind, but it also didn't even open its sails.

How can this be?

The four cabinet ministers were even more surprised and speechless.

At first, the warship was just crawling like a snail, and you couldn't tell it was moving unless you looked carefully. Gradually, the speed became faster and faster.

All right!It's not much in reality, but it can be clearly seen that the warship is moving, and it is moving without wind. The sails are not even opened, and it should not be able to move even if there is wind.

"Could it be...that this is what His Majesty wants to show me?" Wang Li murmured.

Zhu Chengxun also said: "The sound is like thunder. This is definitely the Portuguese steam engine that Your Majesty showed us before. These steam engines built by the Western Portuguese can actually drive warships away without wind?"

Liang Wenxuan said: "No wonder His Majesty insists on such strange and obscene skills..."

He had just observed that the ship not only had its sails furled, but there were no rowers at all.

Ruan Fuyue, who squeezed out from the crowd to watch, was also stunned by this scene. He was not an ignorant prince, so he could naturally see the terrifying aspect of the warship on the river.

The Ming Dynasty actually had such warships that could autonomously operate without wind, and they roared like thunder.

What a miraculous skill!

"Okay! Okay! Okay! This is my steam battleship!"

Zhu Yijiong was in a good mood now, looking at the Ming Dynasty's first steam warship, which was also the world's first steam warship, sailing at a turtle speed on the river.

This is why he brought these courtiers here to watch the ceremony today. Just a few days ago, the Ming Academy of Sciences announced that they had finally improved the prototype of the first generation steam engine.

In fact, because of Zhu Yijiong's explanation and drawings, they avoided many detours. The performance of this steam engine prototype was even better than the steam engine improved by the British Watt.

After all, Watt first improved the steam engine to pump water to the mines. Until he discovered the power improvement of the steam engine, it seemed a bit wasteful.

The steam battleship in front of me was temporarily seconded from the navy, and the Ming Academy of Sciences worked overtime to install a steam engine.

This was also the request of the emperor Zhu Yijiong. He had no other intention but simply wanted to see the steam battleship come out in advance.

This is not difficult. Historically, it only took 30 years from the advent of the Watt steam engine to the attempt to apply ship power.

Now, steam battleships can indeed sail without wind, which means that the steam engine has indeed succeeded, and its power is far more powerful than the power predicted by the Academy of Sciences.

(End of this chapter)