Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Lin and asked slowly, "The place is corrupt. I'm also very anxious, but I often hear that there's gold and silver overseas. Do you know about it?"
Zhu Yijun didn't ask Chen Zhao to come here to listen to him talk about these things. There was no way to investigate these old things.
Zhu Yijun was also very clear about the corruption in the place. He was also very anxious.
But Zhu Yijun knew that the current situation was that if you killed a batch, it would still be the same for another batch.
This was the atmosphere in the court from top to bottom. It wasn't something that could be solved by killing a few corrupt officials.
Chen Zhao had to build up the foundation bit by bit. He had to train the officials he needed as much as possible.
This was also why Zhu Yijun wasn't very excited even though there was hope for the cultivation silver.
It was even more difficult to implement the cultivation silver in the local areas. Without Zhang Juzheng's land clearing and the current Fish Scale Register, this policy would be meaningless.
The hidden fields in the local areas were enough to make one's head hurt.
Although they had already investigated, Zhu Yijun believed that there were still quite a number of hidden plots of land.
Hearing the emperor ask about the gold and silver overseas, Chen Zhao's heart jumped. He was from Shaozhou in Guangdong, so he naturally knew if there was gold and silver overseas.
Having been in the southeast for so long, he knew that there were many rich people there who relied on sea trade.
Chen Lin was sure if there was gold and silver overseas. Of course, there was.
But Chen Lin didn't know what the emperor wanted to do, so he wasn't confident!
Looking at Zhu Yijun, he asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"I want to establish a navy, the Great Ming Imperial Navy. I will pay for all the money for this navy. I will pay for the construction of the warships and the soldiers' salaries.
Of course, all the warships will be built and the soldiers will be recruited. "
"For now, I want 100 warships and 20,000 soldiers on the warships. I want you to be the commander of the royal navy."
Chen Lin was stunned by Zhu Yijun's words. A hundred warships, twenty thousand soldiers, this was a huge sum!
He was very clear about the cost of building a ship. The emperor really wanted to do this, but would it work?
"Your Majesty, this …!"
Actually, Chen Lin really wanted to ask, Your Majesty, do you have that much money?
Zhu Yijun didn't look at Chen Lin. Instead, he pulled over his small blackboard and hung a piece of paper on it.
On the paper was a drawing of a strange-looking warship.
"We have named this ship the Yellow Warship. It is specially made for battle, so we have named it a warship."
Zhu Yijun took his small wooden stick and pointed at the ship. "This will be the first warship of the Daming Royal Navy."
As a member of the BB faction and a believer of the Dota Divine Religion, Zhu Yijun naturally played with battleships.
More powerful armor, more powerful main cannons, more secondary cannons, longer firing range — these were all things that Zhu Yijun wanted.
In reality, the ship that Zhu Yijun had drawn was definitely the most advanced warship in the world.
"Yellow Warship, two gun decks, 50-56 cannons, a crew of about 350 people, and two thousand pieces of material.
"Each ship costs 250,000 taels of silver. We are preparing to build ten ships in advance. Because it is a trial build, We are preparing to allocate three million taels of silver." Saying this, Zhu Yijun took off the paper and hung another drawing.
"This is the Black Warship. Each ship costs 4,000 pieces of material, three gun decks, 80 cannons, and 720 soldiers."
Glancing at Chen Lin, Zhu Yijun directly said, "I will show you these two first. We are preparing to build a new shipyard in Tianjin and transfer craftsmen from all over the country who know how to build ships to build these warships here."
In reality, before this matter started, Zhu Yijun would send people to investigate the shipyards in various places.
Although most of the shipyards in the Daming had been abandoned, there were still many that could be used. Zhu Yijun was prepared to conduct a thorough investigation.
Those that could not be used would be shut down and skilled craftsmen would be transferred to Tianjin.
Although the Daming had not built a ship for many years, the Daming craftsmen had been passed down from generation to generation. They had a lot of experience that could be used.
These people were Zhu Yijun's treasures. There might be some errors in his drawing since it was obtained online in the future, but Zhu Yijun believed that the Daming craftsmen would definitely be able to solve these problems.
"Your Majesty, invest three million taels of silver in the beginning?"
Seeing that Zhu Yijun had put away the drawing, Chen Zhao came back to his senses and asked subconsciously.
"You don't have to worry about the shipbuilding. I'll have people do it. What you need to do is recruit and train a navy for me."
Looking at Chen Lin, Zhu Yijun said, "Recruit five thousand people first. In the beginning, we'll use the banner of the Longwu Right Guard."
Ever since he'd organized the Four Guards Battalion into the Longwu Left Guard, there was still no sign of the Longwu Right Guard after so many years.
"I'll equip them with the best firearms and give them sufficient rations and pay. You'll train the soldiers for me," Zhu Yijun said. "I'll give you all the people in the Daming Imperial Martial Lecture Hall.
"But I'll say this first. If you can't train the soldiers well, then find a place to slit your own throat!"
Hearing this, Chen Lin knelt on the ground and said loudly, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I'll definitely train a battle-hardened army for you. If I can't do it, I'm willing to die as an apology!"
"It doesn't matter if you die," Zhu Yijun said calmly. "I can't let my navy be bad!"
Chen Lin knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I'll do my best until I die."
Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Get up!
You can choose the soldiers yourself, zhen doesn't care, but there is one thing, don't put any random people inside. This is the Great Ming Imperial Navy, zhen's private army, not yours. "
"Oh, I'll send you two people to be your assistants. I believe you'll like them."
"I know what to do!" Chen Lin nodded. He knew that this was unavoidable and didn't feel any pressure.
Zhu Yijun nodded. "It's good that you know what to do. I've been honest with you. Stay in the capital for the next few days and think about how to train the soldiers. When it's time to use you, I'll send an imperial edict."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Lin agreed and turned to walk out.
Chen Lin left, but Zhu Yijun began to think about building ships. This shipyard needed a reliable person, and this person had to be capable.
Not only could he not waste money, but he also had to be able to build ships.
An outsider couldn't lead an expert. That would be the worst. It was best to find a civil official who was familiar with naval warfare.
This way, there would be fewer people. In fact, Zhu Yijun felt that Qi Jiguang was the most suitable, and Yu Dayou was fine too. However, Yu Dayou had been ill recently and probably couldn't do this.
Qi Jiguang was the head of the Ji Liao Army, and it was unreasonable for him to be in charge of a shipyard!
For a moment, Zhu Yijun really couldn't think of a good candidate. It seemed that he had to look through the information again.
However, this time, Zhu Yijun had a general direction. Basically, he would look for someone among the officials who had participated in the southeast war against the pirates.
At this time, a person suddenly came to Zhu Yijun's mind. This person was Xu Wei and Xu Wenchang.
Xu Wenchang had been in the southeast for many years, and his hometown was also there. At the same time, he had followed Hu Zongxian to fight against the pirates in the southeast for many years. He should know some suitable candidates.
Although it was getting late, Zhu Yijun couldn't wait any longer. He directly ordered Chen Ju, "Go find Xu Wenchang and tell him that I got a jar of high-quality Huadiao wine."
"This servant will go now!" Chen Ju answered, turned around and walked out.
As expected, not long after Chen Ju left, Zhu Yijun saw Xu Wenchang running in hurriedly. When he saw Zhu Yijun, he knelt down and saluted.
When he heard Zhu Yijun say that he didn't need to salute, he jumped up like a rabbit.
"Your Majesty, where's the wine?" After standing up, Xu Wenchang couldn't wait to ask.
Zhu Yijun helplessly glanced at Xu Wenzhang. He stretched out his hand and knocked on the wine jar placed on the desk. He smiled and said, "Do you see that? It's a flower carving, aged for ten years. This is good stuff!
But if you want to drink it, you have to do something for me. "
"This jar of wine, I'm going to reward it to the meritorious officials."
"Your Majesty, if you have anything, just tell me. I, Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang, will definitely share your worries!"
As he spoke, Xu Wenchang patted his chest, but his eyes never left the jar of Huadiao wine.
"I want to find a person, a civil official. He can't be too old, no more than 50 years old. He has to know military affairs. It's best if he knows water battles and is familiar with firearms." Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Wenchang and said with a smile.
After hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Xu Wenchang looked a little hesitant. He seemed to be wondering if he should say it.
"Your Majesty, I have a suitable candidate here, but I don't know if he's willing to be an official."
Xu Wencang finally said, "This person is called Wang Daokun. He's older than what Your Majesty said."
"Wang Daokun was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing. He was appointed as the county magistrate of Yiwu."
"I believe Your Majesty has heard of Qi Jiguang's Yiwu soldiers?
During the southeast war against the Japanese, Wang Daokun was the county magistrate of Yiwu.
This person is familiar with military strategy. He's a very talented person. "
"When I was in the southeast governor's office, I worked with Wang Daokun."
"He's a very talented person. At the same time, he's also a very capable person. He has a good personal relationship with me.
He also likes poetry, but I heard that he's recently fallen in love with opera. He writes his own scripts and lives a very happy life. "
"Right now, I don't know if he still wants to become an official. That's why I was wondering if I should recommend him."
"At the end of the war against the Japanese, Wang Daokun was already the governor of Fujian. He was highly regarded by Governor Hu Zongxian.
After Hu Zongxian's death, Wang Daokun was deeply moved by his fellow countryman. He wrote poems and wept for Hu Zongxian. "
"Because of this, Wang Daokun was also removed from office. As a result, he devoted his life to the mountains, rivers, and opera."