flstandardbreds Chapter 162
Chapter 162
After these days of tidying up and repairs, Tang Bohu's house was no longer as desolate as before. Before coming, Zhou Chu gave Tang Bohu two thousand taels of silver notes so that he could buy some servants after returning home. In Zhou Chu's mind, Tang Bohu had not returned home for many years, so the Tang mansion must have fallen into disrepair and desolation.
Tang Bohu was also very happy to see Zhou Chu. This was completely different from being in the capital. Suzhou was, after all, his home. He immediately sent his servants to invite Wen Zhengming. After Wen Zhengming arrived, Tang Bohu had someone bring him a few bottles of wine.
"Hengqi, come and try our Suzhou Shaoxing wine."
As Tang Bohu spoke, he placed one of the bottles of wine in front of Zhou Chu. As Zhou Chu's teacher, he naturally wouldn't pour wine for Zhou Chu.
Huadiao wine is the most famous type of yellow wine. The renowned Nu'er Hong wine is actually made from Huadiao wine. In the Jiangnan region, yellow wine is the most commonly consumed beverage, followed by rice wine.
Zhou Chu didn't stand on ceremony and immediately drank heartily with Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming, but he held back to avoid getting drunk and making mistakes.
Soon, Tang Bohu was slightly tipsy.
"Hengqi, I'll take you to see the brothels in Suzhou later. They're much better and more refined than those in the capital."
With his eyes glazed over from drunkenness, Tang Bohu extended an invitation to Zhou Chu.
Zhou Chu shook his head. Going to a brothel with Tang Bohu and the others at this time might mean they would be poisoned in their drinks, which would endanger his two teachers.
Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming were both natives of Suzhou and held high positions in the literary world. No matter how much people in Jiangnan wanted to deal with them, they would not take action against them. This was an unspoken rule. If someone were to take action against an important figure in the local literary world without any reason, they would be unacceptable to the people of Jiangnan.
But Zhou Chu didn't want to be accidentally hurt because he was with her.
"Teacher, there are too many people in Suzhou Prefecture who want me dead. I can't be too conspicuous, otherwise I will implicate you two."
Zhou Chu said.
Finally, after much persuasion from Zhou Chu and Wen Zhengming, Tang Bohu gave up the idea of going to a brothel with Zhou Chu.
Seeing that they had drunk enough, Zhou Chu got up to say goodbye. For Zhou Chu, the best way to protect Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming was to stay away from them.
Both Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming had impressive local connections, and as long as they weren't with him, no one would bother them.
After returning, Zhou Chu went to the shipyard to check on the progress of the first treasure ship.
"My lord, this treasure ship will be ready for sea trials in five more days."
"This is what Wu Yan, the person in charge of the dock, said respectfully."
Zhou Chu nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.
When selecting these 800 new recruits, we mainly looked at their household registration, focusing on those from coastal areas. About half of these 800 recruits were good swimmers, and these people will be the cornerstone of the future navy.
Time flew by, and five days passed in the blink of an eye. The day for the treasure ship to be launched finally arrived, and Yun Jin and nearly half of the Xuanwu Army members came.
Previously, Zhou Chu had promised to give these soldiers a designation. The soldiers who were about to go to sea were assigned a separate designation, the Xuanwu Army, while the other half were planned by Zhou Chu to form the foundation of the army, named the Tiger Legion.
On the treasure ship, Xuanwu Army and Yun Jin were both present. After the successful trial voyage, Yun Jin would lead these people to the coastal area to recruit more new soldiers and expand Xuanwu Army. The final size of Xuanwu Army was tentatively set at around 5,000 people.
However, Yun Jin was still young, and it was inevitable that she would feel a little lost when facing this situation alone for the first time. Zhou Chu asked Fang Hong and Xiao Dao to go with her.
It wasn't that Zhou Chu expected Fang Hong to be of any use; the main purpose was to give Yun Jin a pillar of support. With a pillar of support, Yun Jin could do things very well, and Zhou Chu had never doubted this.
The trial voyage was a great success without any setbacks, but Zhou Chu was not in a hurry to send everyone south.
The flintlock muskets and cannons that should have been equipped on the treasure ship were not yet in place. If it went to sea like this, it would be difficult to fight back if it encountered pirates.
After waiting for about another month, the second batch of craftsmen from the Southern Garrison, totaling nearly two hundred people, arrived in Suzhou Prefecture. Their arrival greatly accelerated the production speed of flintlock muskets and breech-loading cannons.
The first batch of guns and cannons has been successfully test-fired. It must be said that the craftsmen of the Southern Garrison Command have top-notch skills and produce first-class guns and cannons.
Zhou Chu ordered thirty of the cannons to be mounted on the treasure ship, leaving twenty for contingencies. As for the flintlock muskets, they were all given to Yun Jin's men, as flintlock muskets were particularly crucial in naval warfare.
The attempt to enter the sea via the Suzhou Prefecture's docks would certainly alarm the locals, who are particularly keen on matters concerning ships entering the sea, as it involves their fundamental interests.
Zhou Chu was well aware that Yun Jin and his group were very likely to be attacked by Japanese pirates on this trip. However, this was also a good opportunity to train their troops. At present, the Xuanwu Army was far superior to the Japanese pirates at sea in terms of both guns and the quality of its soldiers. Most of the Japanese pirates did not even have guns, since these things were strictly controlled and no one dared to equip them with such things on a large scale.
The first treasure ship was named after the Xuanwu Army's designation, Xuanwu.
When the Xuanwu set sail, it still alarmed many people. This was almost inevitable. If you wanted to reach the southeast coast quickly, the sea route was the fastest, more than twice as fast as the river route. The treasure ship was extremely fast at sea, averaging about 130 nautical miles per day, and could reach more than 200 nautical miles at its fastest. One nautical mile is equivalent to 3.6 li. When the treasure ship was at full speed, its speed was comparable to that of a real steed.
It only takes six or seven days to sail from the pier in Suzhou Prefecture to the vicinity of Tuen Mun Island.
Yun Jin's destination was Tuen Mun Island. Firstly, she wanted to completely eliminate the Frankish people on Tuen Mun Island, take over the island, and establish a base there. Secondly, she wanted to recruit soldiers along the southeast coast.
The southeastern coast has never lacked fishermen, and these people are all good candidates for the navy.
Less than a day after Yun Jin and the others set sail, Zhou Chu received news from Chu Huizu that the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce had finally lost its patience and was preparing to mobilize the Japanese pirates hiding in the Kunshan Marsh.
These pirates were genuine Japanese pirates, and their leader was a Japanese man named Inoue Saburo.
As a flood control area in the Jiangnan region, Kunshan is almost entirely submerged in water year-round. As a result, the people of Kunshan have been displaced, losing their land to cultivate and becoming refugees. Some went to Suzhou to work, while others went to other parts of Jiangnan. Very few remained in Kunshan.
The endless stretches of water in Kunshan became the perfect hiding place for Japanese pirates.
"Chunfu, wouldn't it be interesting if the family of the prefect of Suzhou were wiped out by Japanese pirates?"
Zhou Chu looked at Shen Lian and revealed an innocent smile.