Chapter 645: The Imperial Household Department and the Staff Office Fight Over Ships

These really are fine ships!

These really are fine cannons!

Who would have thought the Great Ming actually had ships and cannons this good!

I'd long heard that the Imperial Navy's ships and cannons were something special, built by the Ming Emperor at great expense. People assumed they were just a bit bigger than ordinary ones—and upon seeing them, they did indeed prove larger—but who could have imagined they were this different inside?

The firearms in the hands of the soldiers nearby also drew Zheng Zhilong's attention.

Zheng Zhilong's men used firearms too, but they were still at the matchlock stage—they hadn't even gotten their hands on flintlocks.

But looking at the guns these soldiers carried, they were clearly different from what his own men carried; they must be extraordinarily powerful.

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help marveling inwardly—this Emperor of the Great Ming was truly a remarkable figure. Just the ships and equipment alone—how much money must all this have cost?

Zheng Zhilong was certainly envious, but he also understood another thing: the imperial court was not to be trifled with.

On the other side of the ship, meanwhile, another group came up from below.

At their head was a eunuch, not very old in years, with a smile on his face and a kindly, amiable appearance. Yet no one dared to underestimate this eunuch.

Fang Zhenghua—the standout among the younger generation of eunuchs in the Great Ming. Apart from the few bigwigs in the Directorate of Ceremonial, this Fang Zhenghua was also extremely, extremely trusted by the current Emperor, which was why he could represent the palace here with the navy.

Besides Fang Zhenghua, there was also a military officer, around forty-something in appearance, named Zhang Changzhong, the military supervisor of the Staff Office.

Behind these two was a fat man in his fifties, with a big belly thrust out, a plump face and big ears, looking rather simple and honest. Shi Laifu, a man from the Imperial Household Department.

All three were rather special figures within this fleet.

After boarding the warship, Shi Laifu said with a smile: "This ship really is excellent—every time I see it, I'm overcome with envy. I wonder when our ships will be finished being built? When they are, we'll be able to sail them right out to sea."

"Don't even think about ships like this." Zhang Changzhong said with a smile: "The Imperial Navy's warships are never going to be handed over for you to do business with. Your ships certainly won't be like this."

Glancing at Zhang Changzhong, Shi Laifu said irritably: "I know that. Can't I even imagine it, then? You people in the Staff Office spend all day hogging the shipyards—what's the use of building so many warships? What's wrong with building us a few merchant ships?"

"Without warships, you'd get robbed by pirates the moment you went out." Zhang Changzhong glared at Shi Laifu.

"But you can't just keep building warships forever." Shi Laifu glared back: "We people provide you with all kinds of money and supplies every single day—what's wrong with you building us a few merchant ships?"

"Only with merchant ships can there be money, can there be supplies, and only then can you build more warships. This is a good thing all around, but you people just stare at warships all day long—can't you think about anything else? Are you all a bunch of blockheads?"

Hearing Shi Laifu say this, Zhang Changzhong gave a cold snort and said: "That's only after we have enough! How many ships and cannons is this so far? Nowhere near enough. Where's the shipyard to build ships for you?"

Fang Zhenghua, standing off to the side, smiled amiably and said nothing—this argument between the two was hardly the first time, and he had no interest in it at all.

Or rather, it wasn't really an argument between these two men, but between the Imperial Household Department and the Staff Office.

This matter had gone on for a long time, and Fang Zhenghua stood on the palace's side—it wasn't fitting to favor either party.

The Imperial Household Department felt the Staff Office was going too far, hogging the shipyards and building warships for the Staff Office every day, while the Imperial Household Department couldn't even build a few merchant ships. It wasn't as if the money the Imperial Household Department earned wasn't given to the Staff Office—over the years they'd provided so much money, grain, equipment, and supplies, and those Staff Office people had not a shred of conscience.

And once they got merchant ships and earned more money, the Staff Office would get a bigger share too, and could build more warships. Why couldn't the Staff Office understand this reasoning? What was filling their heads?

A bunch of stubborn blockheads!

The Staff Office, meanwhile, felt warships were the most important thing, and merchant ships didn't matter. Without warships, how could they fight?

Going to sea to fight without warships, they couldn't defeat those pirates—even if they went out to trade, they'd either be robbed or killed. Only with good warships, and more warships, could the merchants be protected.

The Imperial Household Department felt they already had enough—such a large fleet, and still not enough?

The Staff Office felt it wasn't enough—this was nothing yet! There were far too few ships. Not to mention anything else—with a thousand sails competing in splendor and ten thousand vessels racing forward, what did they count for?

A bunch of stubborn blockheads—how much money would that take?

We don't even have the money to build for you, and you won't let us earn some?

So the conflict between the two sides arose—they argued back and forth endlessly, with no result. In the end, the matter was pushed up to the palace, to see how His Majesty would resolve it.

In the end, His Majesty initially stalled as well, not bothering with them at all, letting the Staff Office continue building warships.

Everyone knew His Majesty hoped to have more warships built.

But the Imperial Household Department couldn't accept that either—they cried poverty, saying they had no money.

Under such circumstances, the Emperor could only have another shipyard built in Shandong, specifically for the Imperial Household Department to build seagoing merchant ships, and only then was the matter settled.

But a new problem arose—the shipyard in Shandong would still take a long time before it could be put into operation.

This time, the imperial court and Joseon were jointly attacking Japan, which was a tremendous opportunity for merchants, and the Imperial Household Department naturally wouldn't let it pass. They very much wanted the Staff Office to give up the Tianjin shipyard first, to build a batch of merchant ships for them.

The Staff Office naturally was unwilling. The fighting was about to begin—why should I give you the shipyard?

I need ships right now, and if there are losses in battle, I'll need even more ships. Giving you merchant ships to build at a time like this—what are you thinking?

Eyes only on profit—a bunch of people with no sense of country!

And then the two sides went at it.

That was the whole story of the matter—Fang Zhenghua listened to the two of them argue all day long and couldn't be bothered with them.

Each gave a cold snort, and Zhang Changzhong and Shi Laifu both stopped speaking to the other—they simply couldn't reach an agreement, so no more talking; a bit of arguing was enough.

Shi Laifu glanced at Fang Zhenghua and asked: "Gonggong, what do you think they've called us here for this time?"

"What else could it be? They fired their cannons for so long earlier—they must have fought someone." Zhang Changzhong beside him said with a smile: "Probably something good."

"Dream on." Shi Laifu gave a cold snort.

Fang Zhenghua looked at the two men and said somewhat helplessly: "We're already here—let's talk about it once we meet them."

Having said this, Fang Zhenghua walked straight inside—he couldn't be bothered to get mixed up in the affairs of those two.

Regarding the struggle between the Staff Office and the Imperial Household Department, the palace's attitude was very clear: stay out of it. This matter could only be decided by His Majesty; no one else should take sides. That was for the best. Otherwise, if His Majesty found out, there would be no good outcome.

The group soon walked into the ship's cabin.

Here was a fairly spacious reception hall—or rather, a war room.

"Please, have a seat, gentlemen." Yu Zigao invited the several men to sit with a brilliant smile on his face.

Once they were seated, attendants brought up tea.

On a ship, tea was an indispensable thing.

After everyone was seated, Yu Zigao spoke: "I've invited you three here today mainly because there's a matter I need to discuss with you."

"You must have all heard the cannon fire just now, right?"

Fang Zhenghua and the other two nodded.

It was indeed related to yesterday's cannon fire.

"Yesterday our men discovered someone following us, and they followed us the entire way. Feeling that it was dangerous, we intercepted them, and a battle broke out between both sides. We sank several dozen of their warships." Yu Zigao said in a very calm tone.

Fang Zhenghua and the others were startled, exchanging glances with one another.

They had actually sunk several dozen of the enemy's warships?

Shi Laifu clapped his hands, speaking with some regret: "Commander, you can't do this. All these ships are fine goods—how could you sink them? Don't you know we're short on ships?"

"Your Imperial Navy isn't short, but we are. If you'd brought these ships back, we could have used them directly. Even if they weren't usable, the shipyard would only need to do a simple fix. This is simply a waste of heaven's gifts!" As he spoke, Shi Laifu wore a look of remorse.

Seeing Shi Laifu's expression, Yu Zigao hurriedly smiled and said: "Lord Shi, please don't be anxious. This isn't something we wanted to do either. You see, the enemy fleet had over two hundred ships—we had no choice. If we hadn't sunk some of them, they wouldn't have surrendered, would they?"

"But rest assured, although we sank several dozen of their warships, we've already taken count just now—over one hundred and forty remain, of which more than ninety are merchant ships. Not only that, they're fully loaded with cargo."

Upon hearing this, everyone expected Shi Laifu to be excited.

But Shi Laifu's face instantly turned extremely serious, his gaze fixed tightly on Yu Zigao as he asked: "Commander, who are these people?"

Hearing Shi Laifu's question, Fang Zhenghua and Zhang Changzhong also looked toward Yu Zigao.

They had also guessed that anyone capable of organizing such a massive fleet at sea was no ordinary person. What they worried about was not that this fleet was an enemy of the Great Ming. If it truly were an enemy of the Great Ming, then they could simply destroy it and be done.

What they worried about was that this fleet belonged to the Great Ming. If they had destroyed a Great Ming fleet at sea, that would be an extremely troublesome matter. Although there were many fine things among it, those things could not be taken. This was no longer a matter of hot potatoes—it was something that could directly get a man killed.

Upon hearing this, Yu Zigao hurriedly raised his hand and said: "Lord Shi, rest assured, this is not a fleet of our Great Ming—there will absolutely be no problem. They have already surrendered now. In a moment, you gentlemen can meet the fleet's leader and ask him yourselves."