Chapter 615: The Great Ming Imperial Navy

After leaving the Centurion's office, Zhu Youxiao returned to the inn and then summoned Wei Chao.

Zhu Youxiao said, "Send someone back to the capital immediately, find the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and have them investigate this Ma Qiandao."

"Also, go ask Xu Xianchun and tell him that he should personally oversee the investigation into matters here in Xianghe. I want to know the results."

"Ma Qiandao's words can't be dismissed, but they can't be fully trusted either. If he says local officials and those great households are colluding, there's no guarantee the Embroidered Uniform Guard isn't doing the same. So we can't let our guard down."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant understands." Wei Chao hurriedly agreed.

After arranging this matter, Zhu Youxiao said nothing more and did nothing more.

He no longer planned to stay long in Xianghe; he needed to rush to Tianjin.

Early the next morning, the party did not linger and headed straight for Tianjin.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few refugees again.

This time, Zhu Youxiao did not pay them much attention. However, when he came across refugees who were truly in poor health or unable to walk, he would have people give them some dry rations; if someone was seriously ill, he would also have the accompanying imperial physicians treat them.

In this regard, Zhu Youxiao could still lend a hand, but nothing beyond that.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao had also sent an edict to the capital, ordering them to send people to receive these refugees.

This weighed somewhat heavily on Zhu Youxiao's heart.

If things were like this even near the capital, what must it be like elsewhere?

Although this was a border garrison with many troops and thus more escaped households, what about other places? Were there any places where the Ming army was sparse?

What about Nanjing and Jiangnan? How severe must the situation be there?

Zhu Youxiao was moved to make another trip to Jiangnan—he couldn't rest easy without seeing it for himself.

But this matter would have to wait; Tianjin was the more urgent priority.

Besides, if he went down to Jiangnan again, the journey would take considerable time. The distance was so great that whether by water or by land, it would take a very long time. Even if he rushed there without pause right now, he might not make it in time.

The party hurried all the way to Tianjin without any major incidents.

When Zhu Youxiao arrived in Tianjin, people were already there to welcome him.

Tianjin in this era was not like later generations. In later times, Tianjin was a municipality directly under the central government, but in this Ming dynasty period, it was merely Tianjin Guard—a place where only troops were stationed, with few commoners living there.

A few years earlier, Zhu Youxiao had established the Great Ming Imperial Navy in Tianjin, and after several years of planning and infrastructure development, the place had gradually grown.

Tianjin had large shipyards and vast military camps. All these people needed food, supplies, and wages, and every merchant who transported materials here also had to lodge and eat. This drew people from the surrounding areas to gather here, and a town began to form.

Moreover, Tianjin Guard had always had its own small walled city—it was just rather small. After these years of development, a large area had already expanded beyond the walls.

Clearly, the town of Tianjin was growing larger and larger.

As the party walked inward, Zhu Youxiao looked around.

This place now belonged to the Great Ming Imperial Navy; even Tianjin Guard had been placed under the Imperial Navy's jurisdiction.

The one who came to welcome Zhu Youxiao was Yu Zigao of the Great Ming Imperial Navy.

In the original history, Yu Zigao's reputation was not particularly high—far inferior to his father Yu Dayou.

Zhu Youxiao had spoken with Yu Zigao; the man was highly insightful, with unique ideas about naval training and combat, and was very capable.

Zhu Youxiao himself was not one to believe in bloodline determinism. Although he had inherited the throne because of his bloodline, he was after all a transmigrator and knew how unreliable bloodline could be.

But this was, after all, not the later age.

In later times, there was universal education, and everyone could learn to read and write; often a father's son was not necessarily a worthy man.

In this Ming dynasty era, it was different—educational resources were not available to everyone, and even when they were, they were not fair. The value of a family's scholarly tradition was sometimes no joke.

The common folk had a saying: "Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a mouse's son knows how to dig holes." On one hand, this spoke of bloodline; on the other, it spoke of inheritance.

In this Ming dynasty era, inheritance truly mattered. A family's scholarly tradition largely represented the quality of their education.

Yu Zigao was Yu Dayou's son, having followed his father into battle since childhood—one could say he was steeped in it through constant exposure.

As for Yu Zigao being unable to defeat Zheng Zhilong, Zhu Youxiao was not surprised.

What equipment did Zheng Zhilong have? What equipment did the Ming navy have at the time?

It would be a miracle if the Ming navy could win.

In the Ming era, Zheng Zhilong basically dominated the entire eastern seas.

For Yu Zigao to fight Zheng Zhilong, their equipment wasn't even on the same scale.

Although Zhu Youxiao wasn't very knowledgeable about naval warfare, he understood very well what strong ships and powerful cannons meant in a sea battle.

If your ships weren't up to par, you wouldn't even have a chance to board and fight—you couldn't even get close to the enemy.

Moreover, in the Ming dynasty, civil officials were likely to command operations; but when a battle was lost, the military officers took the blame. This was perfectly normal.

After reviewing the entire campaign, Zhu Youxiao had actually formed this suspicion. Yu Zigao had very likely been made the scapegoat, so Zhu Youxiao was willing to give him a try.

Of course, there was another matter—Zhu Youxiao simply didn't have any suitable candidates.

If he had Zheng Chenggong on hand, he wouldn't need Yu Zigao. If Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang were still alive, would he need their sons?

The Ming would have taken off long ago, exploding straight into the stratosphere.

But they weren't, so he had to make do with what he had.

Yu Zigao was also anxious, knowing that this opportunity had come to him entirely through his father's legacy.

If he did well this time, he would naturally not disgrace his father and might even rise to great heights; but if he displeased the Emperor and was judged to have performed poorly, he would lose face tremendously.

Glancing at Qi Yuanbi standing beside him, Yu Zigao asked with some helplessness, "Aren't you nervous at all? Not afraid?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuanbi glanced at Yu Zigao and said, "Nervous about what? Afraid of what? This isn't your first time seeing His Majesty. His Majesty is so benevolent—why should you be afraid?"

Yu Zigao looked at Qi Yuanbi and said with great helplessness, "You're something else."

Qi Yuanbi shot him a glare and said nothing more.

In truth, Qi Yuanbi was also a bit nervous inside, though indeed much less so than Yu Zigao.

This wasn't Qi Yuanbi's first time seeing the Emperor. As Qi Jin's son, the three brothers could be said to be greatly favored by the Emperor.

Qi Yuanfu served in the Imperial Guard Corps, Qi Yuangong was His Majesty's personal guard, and Qi Yuanbi now served in the Great Ming Imperial Navy.

Of course, that was not a reason for Qi Yuanbi to dare ignore the Emperor.

In Qi Yuanbi's view, Yu Zigao was being a bit too anxious about gains and losses. The two of them had been working here for so many years, and they both knew very well in their hearts that the two of them had done a fine job.

The drilling of the soldiers, the building of the warships—everything was proceeding very well. The exercises in several tactical subjects, such as beach-landing and island-capture operations, naval combat, and also live-fire drills of shipboard artillery, all had excellent results.

Qi Yuanbi felt there was simply no need to worry. The current Emperor was wise and martial, benevolent and accomplished—how could he possibly go looking for faults where none existed?

The two of them just needed to do their work well and wait to receive their rewards. Yu Zigao was simply frightening himself.

Qi Yuanbi also had no way to explain it to Yu Zigao—the two of them thought from different angles.

Although Yu Zigao was quite old, of the same generation as his father, it was still different.

Over these years, his father had been deeply trusted by the Emperor, and had single-handedly built the Imperial Guard Corps for His Majesty. It could be said that his contributions were immense and his reputation illustrious.

Under such circumstances, his three brothers had also received consideration—three generations of their family serving as generals. With that kind of situation, he naturally had confidence in his heart.

But what about Yu Zigao?

Over these years, Yu Zigao had been wasting away his time. Now that he finally had an opportunity, his heart naturally was not at peace, afraid that if anything went wrong and landed on him, the opportunity would be gone.

Qi Yuanbi could understand this, and so he did not ask for anything, nor did he even bring it up with Yu Zigao. After all, their fundamental situations were different—if one cannot truly empathize, then naturally there is nothing to say.

Zhu Youxiao stepped down from the carriage and saw Qi Yuanbi and Yu Zigao at a glance.

Qi Yuanbi and Yu Zigao hurriedly came forward, respectfully saluted Zhu Youxiao, and said: "Your ministers pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live, ten thousand years!"

"Rise." Zhu Youxiao glanced at the two men, a brilliant smile on his face, and spoke in a gentle tone.

Hearing this, the two men quickly stood up from the ground.

Glancing at Qi Yuangong beside him, then looking at Qi Yuanbi standing beside Yu Zigao, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "The two brothers haven't seen each other in quite some time?"

Qi Yuangong quickly replied: "To answer Your Majesty, indeed it has been quite some time since we've met."

"Then let it be for now." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said casually: "Today we'll enter the city and lodge there, and not handle any affairs. You two brothers can also catch up on old times."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qi Yuangong quickly agreed.

Although the words were said that way, Qi Yuangong did not dare slack off in the slightest—after all, this concerned the Emperor's safety.

Qi Yuangong led his men to clear the grounds, arranged all the guard work completely, and only came out after Zhu Youxiao had eaten dinner and gone to rest.

Of course, he certainly had not left Zhu Youxiao's field headquarters, but rather met his younger brother Qi Yuanbi at the entrance.

"Elder brother." Qi Yuanbi said with a smile.

Qi Yuangong nodded, a smile also appearing on his face as he said: "You've been waiting for a while, haven't you?"

"Not that long." Qi Yuanbi said with a smile: "Second brother is guarding His Majesty, so naturally he must arrange everything properly. Your younger brother understands—brother need not worry about it."

Qi Yuangong nodded and said: "Good that you understand. How are things over here?"