After Shen Tingyang visited the Qingjiang Shipyard, he thought that although the Qingjiang Shipyard was large, no one would make a ship suitable for sea navigation. And the officials in charge of the shipyard are just a group of incompetent people who only know how to withhold money and food. Therefore, he did not follow Chongzhen's order to transfer personnel from the Qingjiang Shipyard.

He wrote a letter directly to his family, and transferred several shipwrights from the shipyard run by the clan, and several clansmen who managed the shipyard.

After Shen Tingyang sent someone to deliver the letter, he quickly rushed to Jinling City to take over the Longjiang Shipyard. He first went to meet Cao Huachun, the eunuch guarding the town of Nanjing, and borrowed the guards of Nanjing from the hands of this great eunuch, and cleaned up the three ponds of 4, 5, and 6, that is, the docks, which had not been dredged for many years in the treasure shipyard.

Subsequently, when the clansmen who managed the shipyard arrived in Nanjing, the management organization of the Longjiang shipyard was adjusted.

Shen Tingyang first abolished the shipyard head system, as well as the workshop system, to ensure the right of these craftsmen to personal freedom. Then he laid off some of the old and unskilled craftsmen and gave them land on which they could sustain their lives.

Subsequently, at the suggestion of the clansman Shen Lejia, in addition to the main raw materials for shipbuilding, other unimportant raw materials and workshops were all subcontracted to individuals.

In the end, Longjiang Shipyard only retained 579 shipbuilders and 927 handymen. The craftsmen of the originally impoverished Longjiang Shipyard finally regained some vitality.

After the Nanjing Guards were mobilized, shortly after entering February, the No. 4 dock was first cleaned up, and the waterway to the Yangtze River was re-communicated. The remaining docks No. 5 and No. 6 will be cleared by the end of the month, and the next step is to prepare for the actual shipbuilding business.

Seeing that the No. 4 dock in front of him had returned to a clean and spacious appearance, Shen Tingyang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. To build a sand ship with a load of 1,000 stones, it takes about 2,000 workers, that is, it can be launched in about 2 months.

Dock 4 is about 100 zhang long and 10 zhang wide, which is enough to accommodate 10 medium-sized ships at the same time. Of course, Shen Tingyang didn't plan to build so many ships in the first place.

Less than a few months after going to Beijing, he was personally promoted by Chongzhen to undertake the preparations for the reconstruction of Longjiang Shipyard and Jiangnan Shipping Bureau, which made Shen Tingyang, who was just in his early 30s, suddenly full of spirit.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians followed his instructions and restored the old appearance of the treasure shipyard little by little, and this sense of accomplishment was difficult for outsiders to feel.

Just as he was standing above the dock and sighing to himself, his brother Shen Lejia hurried to his side and said to him with a little joy: "Ji Ming, the fifth uncle is here, you should go back quickly." ”

"Oh, someone is coming to the house so soon? So let's go back first. Shen Tingyang glanced back at his clan brother with some surprise, and hurriedly replied.

After Shen Tingyang returned to his apartment in Xicheng, Nanjing, he saw his fifth uncle Shen Pei talking in the living room with his wife and brother.

Shen Tingyang chatted with Shen Pei for a few words, and then he couldn't wait to get to the point, "Fifth uncle, what is the opinion of the clan on investing in Longjiang Shipyard?" ”

Shen Pei suddenly said with some disapproval: "It is naturally a good thing to invest in a large shipyard, but Your Majesty wants to price the Longjiang Shipyard for 1 million taels, and this estimate is also a little darker." With such a large scale, Qingjiang Shipyard only ships 8 or 90,000 taels a year. This Longjiang shipyard has long been broken, how can it be worth a million taels? Unless the valuation is cut by half, it's about the same. ”

Shen Tingyang suddenly said with some anxiety: "After the opening of the sea ban and the establishment of the Shanghai Free Port, shipbuilding will definitely become a business that everyone is eager for." How can our Shen family's small shipyard on Chongming Island be compared with Longjiang Shipyard?

This is the place where the Three Treasure Eunuchs went to the West to make treasure ships, and the 6 ponds alone are more than 100,000 taels of silver. Not to mention, Longjiang Shipyard can rely on the name of the government to purchase all kinds of ship materials in various places, and there is no need to worry about the local government being in the way. ”

Shen Pei gently blew the tea in his hand, and he thought for a long time before saying, "Ji Ming, you are the eldest son of our Chongming Shen family, and the future of this Shen family is indeed up to you."

But this investment in Longjiang Shipyard is related to most of the assets of my Chongming Shen family. If this is invested in the silver in vain, and finally becomes the money in the pockets of those corrupt officials and corrupt officials, our Shen family will be greatly damaged.

Nor is the opening of the sea ban a new policy that we have heard about today. The imperial court will ban the sea for a while, open it for a while, and the court order will be changed more than once. We put the money into it, is the imperial court willing to give the shipyard to our Shen family to manage? How long can the imperial court's policy of opening up the sea ban last? ”

Shen Tingyang lowered his head and thought for a while, then said bluntly: "Longjiang Shipyard will soon change its name, and it will no longer be just shipbuilding. After all, overseas trade has not yet become popular, and most businessmen will not think of customizing sea vessels, so it is difficult to recover the cost of shipbuilding alone.

His Majesty meant that the Longjiang Shipyard would be renamed the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, and in addition to the Longjiang Shipyard, there would also be three branches: the Yangtze River Shipping Bureau, the Maritime Shipping Bureau, and the Textile Bureau.

Not to mention the Yangtze River shipping, a thousand-stone sea ship, the cost is only 4 or 5 hundred taels, as long as it can transport goods to the ocean, it is several times the profit. This is not a small business that our Shen family is secretly doing, but a big business related to the entire Ming Dynasty. ”

Shen Pei, who was drinking tea, suddenly choked, and he coughed violently for a while before he eased up.

For what Shen Tingyang just said, he was naturally tempted. Although the Shen family was engaged in overseas trade, they had to act secretly because they were subject to the ban on the sea, so the ships could never exceed three masts.

For merchants who traded by sea, the larger the ship, the more cargo it carried, and the more profitable it was on a single voyage. And on the sea, the ability of large ships to withstand wind and waves is also far greater than that of small boats.

In addition to these natural factors, the last thing that maritime merchants want to encounter at sea is the pirates who intercept the shipping lanes. But now, if there is a fleet of ships under the banner of the Ming Dynasty to transfer goods for these merchants, this must be a lucrative industry.

Shen Pei finally couldn't help but ask: "Although Your Majesty ordered Zhao'an, the pirates entrenched on the island of Taiwan, but the most vicious in the South Seas now are Western pirates, can they also obey Your Majesty's orders and not rob the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Shen Tingyang said with a relaxed expression: "Your Majesty allows the ships of the Naval Aviation Bureau to be equipped with self-defense weapons, and allows us to establish a firearms manufacturing bureau under the name of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to provide firearms equipment for our own ships.

I was about to ask my father to find a few Zhejiang craftsmen who could make bird guns and build firearms directly in Jinling. ”

Shen Pei's eyes suddenly lit up a little, "This, can the bird guns we make be sold to the Nanyang natives, or the Jiaozhi Zheng clan?"

Now the Nanyang natives are fighting with the Westerners, and the Zheng and Nguyen clans of Jiaozhi also went to war last year. Even ordinary weapons are three times more expensive than in the past, and firearms are even more expensive. ”

Shen Tingyang suddenly felt a little unhappy in his heart, how could a militaristic weapon like a bird gun be sold to overseas countries at will, sure enough, the fifth uncle has been in business for too long, and now he doesn't know the difference between home and country.

However, thinking that if he wanted to get the help of the clan, he still needed the support of this fifth uncle with outstanding reputation in the clan, and he had to deal with it patiently.

"This bird gun is a matter of military affairs, whether it can be sold overseas, and the nephew can't decide, so it's better for me to report to Your Majesty and listen to Your Majesty."

Shen Pei listened to Shen Tingyang's euphemistic refusal, and suddenly blushed a little. Only then did he realize that it was the court officials who were sitting in front of him now, not the juniors of the clan, and the question he had just asked was a little stupid.

Shen Pei hurriedly changed the topic and said: "This ship going overseas, in addition to being equipped with bird guns, it is best to bring a few Franc machines. The South Seas are not at peace now, and I am afraid that a few birds alone will not be able to ensure the safety of the ship. ”

Shen Tingyang nodded and said, "If this boat goes out alone, it will definitely be weak." Therefore, the nephew planned to sail in groups of three ships at a time, so that they could take care of each other, and that no one would flee with the cargo of the ship. ”

Shen Pei thought about it again for a long time, and then made up his mind and said: "Our Shen family has discussed it and is willing to take out 300,000 taels of silver, and the Lin, Xie, and Huang families also took out 300,000 taels of silver, for a total of 600,000 taels of silver.

However, after the four of us agreed on it, we decided to add a condition, and if His Majesty could accept it, we would do it. If you don't accept it, it's treated as if there is no such thing. However, as the concubine of the Shen family, you still have the right to transfer the limit of 50,000 taels of silver, and we will not stop you. ”

"Fifth uncle, please speak, nephew and grandson listen to me." Shen Tingyang suddenly asked with a solemn face.

Shen Pei, who had gray hair, was very satisfied with Shen Tingyang's attitude, he nodded and said: "This 600,000 taels of silver must be supervised by the four of us, if the shipyard has any money, it must first explain the purpose to us in advance, and allow us to send someone to check whether the money is spent on the content of the application." ”

Although Shen Pei's face was calm when he spoke, he was also a little panicked in his heart, not knowing if the emperor would turn his face with them when he knew the conditions they proposed.

Shen Tingyang's heart suddenly cooled, this condition was so harsh, he wasn't sure if the emperor would endure this breath.

After pondering for a long time, he said helplessly to Shen Pei: "I will write to Your Majesty, but Longjiang Shipyard is about to start buying ship materials to prepare for shipbuilding, and I want to ask the fifth uncle to allocate 50,000 taels to me first, so that the shipyard can be operated." ”

Shen Pei nodded happily, took out a waist card from his arms and put it on the table and said: "Anfu pawnshop in the city, you can use this waist card to withdraw 5,000 taels first, and they will hand over the remaining 45,000 taels to you in five days." ”