Chapter 507: From now on, ride the long wind and break the ten-thousand-mile waves!

Although Zhu Yijun's travels were simple, no one would underestimate His Majesty; the Great Ming Army was Zhu Yijun's greatest face!

Thirty thousand Capital Battalion troops and thirty thousand naval troops—just ask, who would dare to underestimate them!

In the eyes of the foreign envoys, everyone was filled with fear—truly fear. The five-masted ocean-crossing ships were still within the realm of understanding, and the *Youlong* was already hard to comprehend, but now that the Great Ming Navy could fly, it had completely shattered their imagination.

Toys that were completely useless were, in the hearts of the foreign envoys, invincible! They were true heavenly soldiers and generals!

It was simply bullying the foreigners for their lack of knowledge.

Even Shah Buyamaiti had lingering fears. With such formidable naval power, if Great Ming truly launched an expedition against the Mughal Empire, it would not be an impractical fantasy. Fortunately, based on what Shah Buyamaiti understood, Great Ming loved peace, and currently, the Mughal Empire and Great Ming were friendly nations; the Mughal Empire colonized India and sold cotton to Great Ming, and Great Ming sold cotton cloth to Akbar.

Emperor Akbar looked forward to the arrival of Great Ming horse-ships at the port every day. He could take the goods from the ships and act as a middleman to earn a great deal of money. As long as one did not act foolishly, Great Ming rarely launched external attacks.

The existence of the Great Ming Navy was to protect Great Ming's maritime borders and ensure that Great Ming's maritime rights were not infringed upon or challenged.

After Chen Lin had finished changing into the crown and belt of a Marquis of Shuri, Zhu Yijun walked briskly to the pier at the port, waiting for Commandant Zhao Tishuai to perform the final safety inspection. The Emperor of Great Ming was to board the ship; this was a procedure that had been decided long ago.

The Emperor was already somewhat impatient and wished he could rush up immediately, but the Commandant still had to inspect.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! It all relies on the Emperor's intelligence and wisdom, successfully rivaling the beauty of Tang and Yu; your civil and martial virtues are divine, and your flourishing virtues are even greater than those of Tang and Wu. Only then could Great Ming have such a strong army. The rites and music of Great Ming will surely spread their teachings across the world! Your Majesty's holy grace will surely spread benevolence and kindness throughout the universe! The barbarians and the Xia are peaceful, and gods and men celebrate together!" After the fleet review ended, Li Chengliang immediately ran over, and upon arriving, he unleashed a torrent of flattery that left one feeling dizzy!

"Who wrote these words?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Although Li Chengliang had read a few books, he definitely could not write such words. He, who usually used common language and characters in his memorials, had also started to chew on words and phrases.

"Your subject truly spoke from the heart!" Li Chengliang looked left and right, then said in a low voice, "I will not hide it from Your Majesty, Hou Yuzhao wrote these words for me. I was afraid that others would submit congratulatory memorials, and I would only be able to say 'Your Majesty is mighty,' which would be too embarrassing. I am, after all, the Marquis of Ningyuan; I cannot lose face."

Although Old Li was uncultured, Old Zhao was not. He had prepared several sets of words for Li Chengliang to ensure that he would not lose face in any aspect.

"Having one 'Your Majesty is mighty' is enough." Zhu Yijun said with a face full of smiles, "How has Liaodong been recently?"

Li Chengliang now had no intention of becoming a warlord at all; he followed the imperial court's lead in everything. Now, he was single-mindedly determined to be a loyal and patriotic Marquis of Ningyuan. Li Rusong was His Majesty's vanguard, the Deputy Regional Commander of the Great Ming Capital Battalion, and a student of Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang; the most elite cavalry battalion was in Li Rusong's hands.

If Li Chengliang truly rebelled, that would be something abandoned by both men and gods, intolerable to heaven and earth.

Li Chengliang said with an excited face, "Speaking of this, your subject has something to say. This year, your subject plans to expand the territory by another three hundred *li*. What did Old Zhao say? Oh, he said to develop the mountain goods of the Great Xianbei Mountains; mountain ginseng, wood ear mushrooms, *maojian* mushrooms, furs, and so on are all very valuable. While mining the mountains and forests, we will settle the people migrating to Liaodong. In such a cycle, your subject does not understand those things, but Old Zhao is good. With Old Zhao here, what is eaten will not be lost; it can only be spat out exactly as it was."

"It's painful!"

Eating something and being unable to digest it, only to have to spit it out—only those who have suffered from stomach ailments can understand that kind of pain. Previously in Liaodong, Li Chengliang was in a situation similar to this "eating and spitting," which truly disgusted him.

Previously, the predicament in Liaodong was comprehensive; the defensive line was simply too long, and as for offensive expansion, it was a case of "however it was eaten, it was spat out."

Previously, the Liaodong Regional Military Commission had three passes: the first was Fushun, the second was Tieling, and the third was Guangning. Guangning had to deal with the Tatar suzerain, the Great Khan Tumanhan, while Tieling had to deal with the Outer Khalkha and the Haixi Jurchens. In the direction of Fushun, one had to face the Jianzhou Jurchens. As for the fighting, it all relied on Li Chengliang's three thousand guest troops, who could only exhaust themselves running around, fighting continuously. Previously, the Regional Commanders of Liaodong had died in battle several times in succession, which had a great deal to do with this kind of field maneuvering.

This wretched fighting Ma Deli Chengliang's head ache.

The best defense is always offense, but Liaodong could not launch an offensive, not only because of the resistance from the imperial court but also because of the civil education. Previously, Li Chengliang was unable to support the situation alone in Liaodong; he was indeed very good at fighting, but what was the use of being good at fighting?

A great victory outside the pass, killing some people, only to have to return inside the pass—it could only provide temporary relief, but it treated the symptoms and not the root cause.

After conquering it, there was no one to defend it, or rather, there was no way to engage in garrison farming.

Li Chengliang was actually also capable of garrison farming, although he was far inferior to Hou Yuzhao. Previously, he had settled sixty-four Battalion Commander in the Six Forts of Kuandian, totaling over two hundred and fifty thousand people. That was something Zhang Xueyan and Li Chengliang had done together, but the result was that in the imperial court, memorials were submitted one after another impeaching him, Li Chengliang, for wanting to be the An Lushan of Great Ming. Ever since then, Li Chengliang had been unable to engage in garrison farming.

And after Hou Yuzhao arrived in Liaodong, this situation was finally thoroughly alleviated. Hou Yuzhao's specialty was none other than garrison farming.

"No, why is the Marquis of Ningyuan called Old Zhao, and not Old Hou? Isn't his surname Hou?" Zhu Yijun asked in confusion.

Li Chengliang was a bit embarrassed for a moment and said in a low voice, "It is a nickname your subject gave him. Hou Yuzhao is actually quite cowardly; he dares not do this, and he dares not do that."

Zhao Song, Zhao Cowardly—Zhu Yijun laughed directly. This Li Chengliang was truly something; he was very capable at fighting, but when it came to giving people nicknames, he had one set after another.

"I heard that the Marquis of Ningyuan, in Liaodong, leads yellow dogs on the left and holds falcons on the right, wearing a brocade hat and sable fur, with a thousand riders rolling over the flat hills; he is truly very dashing." Zhang Xueyan also met his old partner and teased him. Li Chengliang's days in Liaodong were extremely dashing; taking his hawks, hounds, and retainers to hunt everywhere, it was truly a carefree life.

"Not dashing, not dashing, it was all for the sake of expansion, for the sake of expansion." Li Chengliang was full of talk about expansion, but in reality, the situation was about the same as what Zhang Xueyan said. When not fighting, Li Chengliang was the king of hunting in Liaodong. Sometimes Hou Yuzhao could not find Li Chengliang for half a month in a row.

The furs sent to the Inner Treasury were the evidence. Li Chengliang would send a batch of fine furs to the Inner Treasury whenever he had nothing to do; they were all hunted by Li Chengliang himself, focusing on reciprocity. Every time he expanded the territory, His Majesty would give generous rewards, and Li Chengliang sending furs was a return gift.

Li Chengliang looked left and right, then said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, can our Capital-Liaodong post road be built to Jilin? If there were a post road to Jilin, that would truly be wonderful. Your Majesty, that place is all black soil! Black soil! How many people could that support? How much land could be planted?"

"The common people could reach Jilin directly via the post road. Tsk tsk, that would be extraordinary, truly extraordinary!"

"No money!" Zhang Xueyan said irritably.

What kind of person was this? Just entered the pass and already asking for money; could these days still be lived? One Suiyuan post road was enough to cause a stir. Liaodong was very, very large; building from Liaoyang to Jilin would be at least eight hundred *li* at the very least. And unlike Suiyuan, which already had a main road, the official roads and post roads built previously could still be followed, but the entire hydrological and geographical survey of Liaodong was a huge task.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "It still needs to be built. There is no money, and conscripting corvée labor—Great Ming's strength is not yet that sufficient. Conscripting foreigners might prompt them to unite and resist Great Ming. Therefore, first draw up the hydrological and geographical maps along the way, find the path, and make preparations."

"The official roads and post roads of the former Nurgan Regional Military Commission are still sufficient for now."

"His Majesty is wise!" Li Chengliang was overjoyed upon hearing this. Who was His Majesty? The Emperor of Great Ming who kept his word! He either would not make a promise, but as long as he made one, he would fulfill it and never break his word. Now that he had agreed, it would definitely be built, and very quickly at that.

"Your Majesty, the check is complete, you may board the ship." Commandant Zhao Tishuai had conducted a comprehensive inspection of the entire *Youlong* before disembarking and reporting to His Majesty that he could board the ship.

"*Youlong*." Zhu Yijun took a step and walked onto the *Youlong*, which was nearly two *zhang* high. When standing below, one had to look up at the *Youlong*; upon boarding, one felt even more the vastness of this ship. With the sails neatly folded away, on the flat deck stood the Great Ming naval troops waiting for review, led by Assistant Regional Commander Wu Weizhong.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty! Your Majesty is mighty!" Seeing His Majesty board the ship, Wu Weizhong led all 500 troops on the ship to pay their respects together.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand with a smile and said, "In the winter of the tenth year of Wanli, the naval fleet filled the Bohai Sea, the masts and oars connected like mountain peaks, and the cloud-sails covered the sea and sky. Since the eunuch Sanbao received the imperial mandate to go to the Western Ocean to display our might in foreign lands, one hundred and forty-seven years have passed. Since the tenth year of Xuande, the winds of the sea ban have intensified, and the flourishing situation of the rites, music, and civilization shining upon the ten-thousand-mile maritime borders is no more."

"Today, the navy pierces the clouds and breaks through the mist. From now on, we shall ride the long wind and break the ten-thousand-mile waves! So that under the bright sky, there is no place that is not bathed in the moral transformation of civilization!"

"Great Ming Army, mighty!"

Zhu Yijun's words were spoken from the heart as he looked at the 571 ships. The formidable Great Ming Navy had finally stabilized Great Ming's maritime borders. The coastal people could finally catch their breath, the handicraft workshops in the southeast began to be built, and production was rapidly recovering and increasing.

Great Ming cannot lose the ocean.

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

The naval troops were all inspired. Their efforts were seen by His Majesty, and that was enough. Reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people below—although the naval troops had saved many common people, in this era, under the feudal imperial system, without His Majesty's affirmation, they lacked many things. In the hearts of the troops, there was always an emptiness, always a sense of urgency that the civil officials were going to harm them.

This sense of urgency was not paranoia; during the Yongle reign, such a large navy had simply vanished.

Obtaining His Majesty's approval, at least they did not have to worry about these recent years.

Wu Weizhong introduced this *Youlong*. Zhu Yijun boarded the ship at the stern. On the deck, he saw the captain's and the naval officers' living quarters. These two rooms were the most spacious places for the captain, but saying they were spacious, they were actually quite cramped, just having one more fixed bed than the ordinary troops, and four small shower rooms, about the size for a person to just squeeze in, where they could simply wash up.

These four shower rooms were shared by all the troops on the ship, not exclusively for the captain. They all took turns bathing, rotating once a month. Fresh water on the ship was extremely scarce; if there were no rainy days and no water could be collected, they would not be opened.

"What are these four hot air balloons here?" Zhu Yijun saw four small hot air balloons at the stern, much, much smaller than the ones he had seen before, with small hanging baskets that could only hold one person.

Wu Weizhong introduced the purpose of these four hot air balloons: "They are used for tethered flight for observation."

Just like flying a kite, the hot air balloons were released into the sky, mainly for observation. If they discovered anything unusual, they would communicate with flag signals. Different movements of the flags represented sounds, and in the command room, there were specialized personnel responsible for watching the flag signals on the observation balloons.

"Good, good, good!" Zhu Yijun circled the four hot air balloons at the stern, asking about this and that—what fuel was used, how long could they fly once released, had they played a role, what was the cost, could the Great Ming fleet use them universally, and so on.

What Zhu Yijun regretted most was that this kind of reconnaissance method, similar to the unmanned aerial vehicles of later generations, was unique to the *Youlong*, because the cost of hot air balloons was extremely expensive. Simply put, the lining was silk, because silk was the lightest, and in the West, silk was equivalent in value to gold.

Silk plus paper plus animal fat for sealing, hemp rope for hanging the light wood basket—it was very small, only holding one person and one oil drum. The fuel was light oil, the same light oil used for Zhu Yijun's lime spray lamps. The high cost was the stumbling block that prevented large-scale application.

This thing had played a role several times, because it had to be released every time they docked. In Ryukyu, it avoided a storm; on Keelung Island, it avoided running aground; crossing the Great Black Ditch, it discovered the traces of sea pirates; and it also discovered the migration of fish schools.

"What is this?" Zhu Yijun stepped on the wooden deck under his feet. Unlike other decks, the deck here was actually hollowed out.

"It is for ventilation and lighting for the lower deck." Wu Weizhong hurriedly explained. The *Youlong* had three decks in total. Both the bow and stern were equipped with ventilation boards, and in the middle of the ship, there were many light-transmitting boards that could be opened.

"Oh oh, I understand. That is to say, if the weather is fine, all the gun port covers above the waterline and on both sides of the hull will be opened, so that the entire ship can be ventilated as a whole. Very good, very good." Zhu Yijun felt that this design was simply wonderful. There were not always towering waves at sea; opening all the covers allowed for excellent circulation.

The *Youlong*, leaking wind on all four sides—this was not a derogatory term, but a complimentary one.

"Although I don't understand maritime affairs, I still know that the greatest enemy on this ship is disease. This design is excellent." After Zhu Yijun repeatedly confirmed with the Minister of Works, Wang Daokun, he determined that this was an innovation for Great Ming ships. Previously, it was because the structural strength required the deck to provide support, and for various reasons related to sealing, past ships all had sealed decks.

But now, a large amount of steel was used on the ship's keel and frame, which significantly enhanced the overall structure of the hull, and sealed decks had become a thing of the past.

Comfort upgrade.

Zhu Yijun walked two steps and saw a huge, claw-waving machine and asked, "What is this?"

"A winch, used for raising and lowering the anchor. Your Majesty, please look." Upon hearing His Majesty's inquiry, Wu Weizhong clapped his hands, and dozens of naval troops ran over, took the wooden sticks off the circular double-layered winch, and inserted them inside. They turned it forward once, then backward once, and the rope, thicker than a forearm, tightened and loosened along with the winch.

Wu Weizhong said quite proudly, "There are four layers of winches in total. If we are in a hurry to raise the anchor, all four layers exert force together, and we can complete the raising of thirty *zhang* of anchor within half an hour."

"Good, good, good!" Zhu Yijun walked up and pushed it, only to find that he could not push it. This thing required more than twenty people to turn it together; clearly, Zhu Yijun did not have that much strength.

He revealed a sunny smile and asked in detail about the structure. Wu Weizhong held a model, which was transparent and did not have the wooden boards representing the ship's sides. Wu Weizhong explained the design of the winch to the Great Ming officials in detail—the four-layer fixation and four-layer retraction made the speed faster.

"Previously, raising and lowering thirty *zhang* of anchor actually took two hours?" Zhu Yijun asked with extreme surprise.

Wu Weizhong said with certainty, "It might have been even longer."

Every few steps Zhu Yijun took, there was a question. Just as he walked to the middle of the ship, he discovered four things that looked like bellows and pointed to them, asking, "What about this? What is it used for?"

"For pumping water." Wu Weizhong picked up the ship model and introduced the Great Ming design. Next to the main mast was a water storage tank, which was also the lowest point of the ship. If it was necessary to collect rainwater, the skylight would be opened to let the water on the deck into the water storage tank in the ship's hold.

At sea, the most precious thing is fresh water.

If necessary, the four pipes of the skylight could pump water. The bellows were reciprocating water pumps. Eight troops sat down and pulled the bellows, pumping the fresh water from the bottom layer to the deck.

After Zhu Yijun understood in detail, he learned that all four layers had water pumps. After the rainwater settled, the sediments at the very bottom would also be pumped out, and then it would be boiled in the ship's boiler before being mixed with the imperial cellar wine for drinking.

"Can you still light a fire on the ship?" Zhu Yijun saw the chimney of the boiler and asked with a face full of surprise.

"Yes, at the very bottom of the ship, we stored sixty thousand *jin* of coke. If we use it sparingly, it can last a long time. It is mainly for boiling water, not for cooking." Wu Weizhong explained. For people who lived on land for a long time, lighting a fire was for cooking, but at sea, it was not. Lighting a fire at sea was to boil relatively clean water—not distillation, just boiling. At this time, the diet at sea was still mainly cold food. Of course, hot food would also be made when fuel was sufficient.

"Sixty thousand *jin* of coal, not bad, truly not bad." Zhu Yijun looked at the distribution of coal at the bottom of the ship and nodded repeatedly.

This thing was used as ballast. In the bottom layer of ballast, there were also three hundred thousand *jin* of rice storage, packed and sealed in individual *Taiyue* boxes to prevent dampness. There were also large quantities of gunpowder and lead bullets at the very bottom. Each deck was equipped with a large number of fire-gun rooms, and the gun racks inside were full of fire-guns.

After Wu Weizhong finished introducing the structure of the bottom layer, he said with a smile, "The biggest difference between our ships and the ships of the West is probably that there are no rats."

*Taiyue* boxes were grain transport boxes. These things were used everywhere. If Zhang Juzheng wanted to collect patent fees, he could become the second richest man in Great Ming, a great tycoon second only to the Emperor. If he collected one *fen* of silver for each one, it would be enough for Zhang Juzheng to be the richest man in the world.

Zhu Yijun had once studied this matter with the Ministry of Revenue. Giving Zhang Juzheng one *fen* of silver for each grain transport box was really not much. The cost of this thing was two *qian* of silver each. It was quite expensive, but compared to a shipwreck, it was too cheap.

But Zhang Juzheng refused. This thing was just a clever idea; collecting money was a bit abstract. If Zhang Juzheng was after money as an official, he could just take a little from the New Policies, and he would be richer than Xu Jie. Zhu Yijun had no choice but to reward him generously.

The benefit of the grain transport boxes was that there were no rats. This thing was a stubborn disease of Western ships. Every time the Great Ming shipwrights cleaned the large Western sailing ships, they would curse the Western foreigners for not understanding etiquette and not even maintaining basic hygiene. They could clean out anything, and the rats were bigger than a person's forearm.

Zhu Yijun was like a curious baby, asking about this and that. He suddenly realized that he had asked too much and said with a slightly shy smile, "I am somewhat lacking in knowledge."

Wan Shihe immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, how can you say that? The ingenuity of the *Youlong*'s design is something seen for the first time in all of Great Ming. Everyone is seeing this thing for the first time; everyone is lacking in knowledge, and everyone is curious about why these things were designed."

Wu Weizhong hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, when your subject first boarded the ship, I was truly running up and down. It took me three or five days to figure out the whole ship. Just like Your Majesty, the Great Ming troops are all the same."

The navy was well-informed and had seen many ships, but upon boarding the *Youlong*, they were all curious babies, looking here and there, never seeing enough, pestering the master shipwrights of the shipyard with questions until the master shipwrights were annoyed.

"Haha." Zhu Yijun stood at the bow, patted the thirty-catty cannon, and smiled even more brightly. The Great Ming court officials all laughed along. This time, they had truly gained something; following His Majesty, they had seen the world.

The fast sailing ship *Youlong* lived up to its name. Next, the *Youlong* would embark on a long voyage, heading to the border of Great Ming's maritime territory, the Strait of Malacca, for trade, which was still a maritime survey, and to further improve the design.

There were five thirty-catty cannons at the bow, with specialized gun carriages responsible for turning the direction and adjusting the height. If these five cannons hit the target at once, they could directly sink a two-masted ship, severely damage a three-masted galleon, and even a five-masted ship would have a hard time.

The Capital Battalion felt that the thirty-catty cannons were too large and inconvenient to transport, but for the navy, they were just right.

Zhu Yijun went down from the deck to the second layer. On this layer, there were many, many hammocks hanging. Except for the captain and naval officers who could sleep in beds, everyone on the ship slept in hammocks. When needed, they were pulled out; when not needed, they were stacked neatly. What Zhu Yijun saw was orderly.

"Actually, sleeping in a bed on a ship is a bit of a suffering. Your subject does not like the bed on the ship either; I like this hammock." Wu Weizhong complained about the design of the Songjiang Shipyard. The bed was designed to show nobility, and to make the captain sleep comfortably, a baffle was added, but the ship rocked, and it became a "bumper bed." Even when the naval officers rested, they ran to the second layer and threw themselves into the hammocks.

The things originally intended for differentiation instead made those enjoying the benefits complain.

Wu Weizhong explained the reason. That bed was indeed poorly designed. If you slept on it and there was a slight wind or wave, you would bump your head. But there was another reason: on a ship, it was different from on land. If you engaged in differentiation on a ship, the people below would be dissatisfied. Once they went out to sea, they would really throw the captain into the sea and then become bandits on the spot.

The Great Ming Navy had not had such an incident yet, but it had happened before. Preventing trouble before it happened, starting from small things—on the ship, one could see many egalitarian designs, such as eating from the same stove, living together, washing up together, and the use of imperial cellar wine, etc.

Zhu Yijun communicated with the Ministry of Works and learned that the differentiation was to show the nobility of the captain and naval officers. The bed was designed to be uncomfortable on purpose. This was experience. It could not be canceled, but it could only be designed to be somewhat uncomfortable, so that the captain would always know that at sea, the captain was the reliance of everyone, and every one of his orders concerned the life and death of the ship.

The captain was special; he had to be responsible for the whole ship.

There were many, many small water buckets hanging on the ship. Upon asking in detail, he learned that they contained water for fire prevention. The reason they were hung up was because of the wind and waves; if they were placed on the ground, they would sway from side to side, spilling everywhere.

Zhu Yijun had too many questions. The visit, originally planned for half an hour, was dragged out to an hour and a half. Because of this, he could not return to the capital today. The itinerary changed. Feng Bao left His Majesty's side for a quarter of an hour to arrange His Majesty's accommodation and other matters.

"We must be responsible to history. Great Ming cannot lose the ocean. Look at those small, insignificant countries in the West; just by relying on maritime trade, they have begun to have abundant materials, and even the Red-Haired Barbarians dare to call themselves the 'Empire on which the sun never sets'." When Zhu Yijun disembarked, he still patted the railing with lingering attachment and said to all the court officials.

"We respectfully obey His Majesty's holy teachings." The group of officials bowed their heads and accepted the order again.

Being responsible to history was a heavy topic. Because Great Ming promoted literature and suppressed martial arts, and calculated wind power, it lost the Beiping Regional Military Commission and the Hetao in the north, and defeats and humiliations followed one after another. And because of the winds of the sea ban, Great Ming lost a crucial one hundred and forty-seven years, and small, insignificant countries became honored guests of the Great Ming Heavenly Dynasty.

In the future, when judging the Spring and Autumn period, the sin of losing the Hetao would be pinned on Great Ming. Both the monarch and his subjects had to be responsible.

Setting seats for foreigners was because Great Ming needed silver; they were all big customers, and they were extremely generous in their spending. Similarly, the fact that the special envoys of the Western foreigners could cross the ocean to come here already explained many problems.

Ten years had passed, and the Great Ming large sailing ship trade route still had not been able to expand to the West.

When the large Western sailing ships first arrived at the port, everyone in Great Ming was shocked by the vastness of the ships. At that time, Zhang Juzheng clearly realized that Great Ming had lost its advantage in shipbuilding. Great Ming, which once possessed the world's largest navy, had lost its shipbuilding advantage—how heartbreaking this was!

If it were not for Yin Zhengmao leading the guest troops that could not be settled to launch a surprise attack on Luzon and capturing the ships of the Manila Shipyard, if it were not for Great Ming finding the old case files of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean from Mao Kun's home, archaeological-style scientific research, Great Ming would have completely lost the ocean, and every place along the southeast coast would have been a direction from which enemies invaded.

That would have been a miserable situation.

Being responsible to history—Great Ming had lost one hundred and forty-seven years; was it going to lose another one hundred and forty-seven years? This was the reason why Zhu Yijun insisted on coming to Tianjin Guard to review the navy.

Zhu Yijun returned to his accommodation and received a message: Wang Qian had pulled off a big stunt in the capital, carrying out targeted demolitions of several private trade fairs that had set extremely high thresholds—that is, those proprietors in the trading houses.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 508 =====