I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 152 The Donglin Party's Biggest Bargain is Gone

Chapter 152 The Donglin Party's Biggest Bargain is Gone

The members of the sand barge gang were once part of the Ming Dynasty's system, but they ended up as unregistered individuals without proper status. In the Ming Dynasty, unregistered individuals without status weren't even considered human. Their descendants couldn't attend school, participate in the imperial examinations, or work within the Ming Dynasty's system. Although the political status of artisans in the Ming Dynasty wasn't high, the point was that even if their status was low, they were still people who enjoyed retirement benefits, just like employees of state-owned enterprises. Even at their worst, they were still a million times better off than unemployed vagrants. In the Ming Dynasty, unemployed vagrants had an official name: hooligans.

The more than 30,000 members of the Sand Boat Gang have lost their identities for over a hundred years. Many of them have made a lot of money through their skills. However, the problem is that Shen Huai'an, who has no worries about food and drink, dreams of working within the Ming Dynasty's system. Moreover, Chen Boying's move was a trump card: a fifth-rank official position. This is not a favor; it's not just a stroke of good luck for the Shen family, but a fire.

It's important to understand that the Shen family, starting from the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, had a record of nine generations, with the highest official position being only an eighth-rank supervisor in the Nanjing Construction Bureau. They wouldn't even dare to dream of a seventh-rank position, let alone a fifth-rank one. In fact, if the Donglin Party were willing to give the Sand Ship Gang members a proper background and an opportunity to work within the Ming Dynasty's system, would it be difficult for them? Actually, it wouldn't be difficult at all. Giving Shen Huai'an a fifth-rank position, or even a fourth-rank or third-rank military post, would be a simple matter of a word. They could even do it more easily than Chen Ying; it would be a matter of a single sentence. Unfortunately, they didn't treat the Sand Ship Gang members as equal partners, but rather as lowly people whom they enslaved and manipulated.

Forget about giving them special treatment; they even have to kneel during conversations. This is the pride of their scholar-official class. Some organizations have been detached from reality for too long and have forgotten who they are.

The artisans of the Ming Dynasty were among the best in the world, but unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty did not give them the treatment they deserved. They created many world-class miracles. With the production technology of the Ming Dynasty, they built the world's largest and most powerful super warships. Compared to Zheng He's treasure ships, Columbus's ocean-going fleet was just a small fishing boat.

Chen Ying was very clear that he had taken advantage of the military households of the Guide Guard's Horse Herding Hundred Household Office, as well as the folk craftsmen, and relied on the Tianqi-type and Huimin-type seed drills to enter the sight of Sun Chuanting and the Tianqi Emperor from an ordinary military household. He not only rose to the rank of second grade from an ordinary registered military household, but also became a famous general of the Ming Dynasty. All of this was a miracle created by him and the craftsmen under his command.

Chen Ying did not forget his roots. No matter how much silver he had or how many soldiers he had, the craftsmen under his command received the best treatment in the Ming Dynasty. Craftsmen under Chen Ying could not only become officials, but also be allocated land. Their children could also go to school for free, and their families could enjoy free medical care and various other benefits. Chen Ying was actually modeled after state-owned enterprises in later generations.

From the moment an employee joins the company, the company takes care of everything from weddings and funerals, the birth of children, and schooling to old age and death. Not only did he give Shen Huai'an a fifth-rank supervisor, but he also gave him more than thirty blank official certificates ranging from the ninth to the sixth rank, allowing Shen Huai'an to arrange core members of the Shachuan Gang. Even ordinary members enjoyed the same treatment as the workshops in Shahewei, had assessment standards, and could receive various rewards such as land and silver.

When Shen Huai'an ordered all departments not to resist, there was still some discontent on the ships. After all, the righteous are often the butchers, while the treacherous are often the scholars. The members of the sand ship gang had also received favors from the Donglin Party. If it weren't for the Donglin Party giving them money and food, they wouldn't have survived. They felt that Shen Huai'an was being dishonest by betraying the Donglin Party. It wasn't until Shen Huai'an completely conveyed the welfare benefits of the employees of the Lushun Shipbuilding Bureau of the Da Ning Commandery to everyone that the situation changed.

After learning about the treatment they were about to receive, the members of the sand barge gang quickly sprang into action. The more than 500 ships, carrying over a million shi of grain, two million taels of silver, and military equipment, all docked at Lushun and were unloaded onto the dock box by box. At the same time, the incorporation process also began.

The Sand Ship Gang had over 800 ships of more than 1,000 tons, of which 102 were combat-ready warships. However, their warships were equipped with very few cannons and were severely lacking in ammunition. More importantly, these warships also lacked gun emplacements, and their cannons were mainly outdated bowl-shaped cannons or small tiger-squat cannons. They could still put up a fight against pirates, but they were completely powerless against the Dutch East India Company led by the Dutch, including Spanish or Portuguese warships.

To be fair, from a technical standpoint, the Ming Dynasty had fallen behind in shipbuilding and naval warfare. Fortunately, its foundation was still intact, and there was no generational gap. More importantly, Chen Boying possessed advanced artillery technology and a large reserve of artillery. After arriving in Lushun, the members of the Sand Ship Gang also orchestrated a mysterious escape for their families on Chongming Island and other warships and transport ships.

In just half a month, more than 30,000 members of the Sand Boat Gang disappeared from Chongming Island. They migrated as a whole to Lushun, but more than 1,000 elderly, weak, sick and disabled people were unwilling to leave, which was unavoidable.

After phasing out old ships, the more than 800 ships of the Sand Ship Gang were reorganized into the Vanguard Battalion of the Daning Navy. The Vanguard Battalion now has a total of 22 warships of more than 600 tons, 53 warships of 400 tons, and as many as 78 warships of 200 tons.

All of these warships arrived at Dalu Island for repairs. The first step was to replace the old cannons with the three-inch cannons produced by Chen Ying. As for the four-inch cannons, they could not be installed yet. More than 4,600 able-bodied men from the Sand Ship Gang were recruited into the navy. Together with 8,000 new recruits, Chen Ying now possessed 78 warships and 600-700 transport ships, making him the individual with the strongest transportation capacity in the north.

On the north bank of Lushun Port, on a desolate mudflat, Chen Ying led Shen Huai'an and dozens of experienced sand barge workers, trudging through the mud. The sea wind howled, whipping up fine sand that stung their faces. But Shen Huai'an was oblivious, his eyes fixed on the newly unfolded blueprint in Chen Ying's hand, his pupils dilated.

"Here, build Dock No. 1, which is 40 zhang long, 18 zhang wide, and 6 zhang deep, with concrete pouring and steel reinforcement. Inside, you can build seagoing ships with a capacity of 6,000 liang, and outside, you can repair four ships at the same time."

Shen Huai'an gasped. Six thousand liao! The largest ship his ancestors had ever built at the Nanjing Shipyard was only three thousand liao. Zheng He's treasure ships for his voyages were from the Yongle era; the blueprints had long been lost, and the craft had been extinct. Yet Chen Ying casually mentioned six thousand liao, as if it were just a casual remark about what to eat that day.

"General, a ship with a capacity of six thousand liters, can we—can we build it?"

Chen Ying turned around, looked at him, and smiled: "Director Shen, that doesn't sound like something a leader of the Sand Ship Gang would say. Your ancestors could build treasure ships for voyages to the West, so why can't you?"

Shen Huai'an smiled wryly: "General, that was over a hundred years ago. Few of the craftsmanship has been passed down, and the blueprints have been lost—"

"I have the blueprints."

Many people believe that the Ming Dynasty burned the blueprints for the treasure ships, but that's not true. The Forbidden City still has backups of these blueprints. The problem the Ming Dynasty is facing now is similar to that of the Great Britain in later times: the blueprints are still there, but the skilled craftsmen are gone, and they don't have the money. Even if they did have the money, they wouldn't be able to build them.

Shen Huai'an arrived at the archives room, a room of over 100 square meters filled with blueprints and documents. Among them was an extremely detailed ship drawing, marked with densely packed dimensions, data, and structural information. The length of the keel, the spacing of the ribs, the thickness of the hull plating, the height of the mast, the area of ​​the sails—everything was included, even the placement of the cannons was clearly drawn.

"This—this is—" Shen Huai'an's hands were trembling.

Chen Ying said calmly, "I spent two years collecting blueprints. In some places, they may differ from the treasure ships of the Yongle era, but I can tell you that this ship is stronger, faster, and has more firepower than the treasure ships. The keel is made of double-layered nanmu wood with steel plates sandwiched in between. The hull plating is made of Liaodong red pine, covered with copper for corrosion protection. The masts are made of Korean fir, which can withstand gale-force winds. The cannons are breech-loading rifled guns with a range of ten li and an accuracy far exceeding that of muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons."

Shen Huai'an was dumbfounded. He had been making ships his whole life and had never seen such a crazy design.

"General, how much silver will this ship cost?"

"Not counting the cannons, the hull alone costs about 34,000 taels. Add the cannons, ammunition, sails, and equipment, and a ship costs at least 80,000 taels."

Shen Huai'an gasped. Ten thousand taels of silver! Eighty thousand taels per ship, ten ships would be eight hundred thousand taels, and a hundred ships would be eight million taels! Where did Chen Boying get so much silver?

Chen Ying noticed his confusion and smiled, "You don't need to worry about the silver. Didn't the Donglin Party just give us two million taels? And those grains and weapons, converted into silver, are worth over a million taels. Plus the output from the workshops on Dalu Island, Shahewei, and Yongning Port, I'm not short of money. Shipyards one through four will build 6,000-ton main warships. Shipyards five through eight will build 2,000-ton fast cruisers. In addition, on the east side of the port, sixteen small shipyards will be built specifically for building auxiliary vessels under 400 tons."

Shen Huai'an was completely speechless. The dozens of experienced craftsmen behind him were also incredibly shocked. Eight large dry docks and sixteen small dry docks—this scale was even larger than the Nanjing Shipyard at its peak!

"General, how many ships are you planning to build?"

Chen Ying held up three fingers: "Within three years, fifty capital ships of six thousand liters each, one hundred cruisers of two thousand liters each, and two hundred auxiliary ships. Within five years, double that number. Within ten years, the Ming Dynasty's fleet will surpass the combined strength of the Portuguese and the Dutch."

The old craftsman knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "General, I—I can die in peace knowing that the Ming fleet has set sail again!"

Chen Ying helped him up and said seriously, "Old man, you will not only be able to see it, but also build it yourself. I have already petitioned the court to grant official titles to all the craftsmen who participated in shipbuilding, according to their skill level. The lowest will be the ninth rank, and the highest will be the fifth rank. You brothers of the Sand Ship Gang will no longer be unregistered."

Shen Huai'an's eyes also reddened. He thought of his grandfather, who spent his entire life drifting on boats, and who, on his deathbed, kept saying, "When will our sandboat gang finally have a proper status?" Now, Chen Ying had given him that status.

"General," Shen Huai'an bowed deeply, "from this day forward, the 30,000 brothers of the Sand Ship Gang will follow your lead without question!"

Chen Ying helped him up and said with a smile, "It's not that you follow my lead, it's that you follow the lead of the Ming Dynasty. I'm just working for the court and sharing the Emperor's burdens. You're not loyal to me, you're loyal to the Emperor, you're loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

Shen Huai'an nodded repeatedly.

In the days that followed, Lushun Port was transformed into a massive construction site. Eight large docks were under construction simultaneously, concrete mixers roared day and night, and steel bar tiers moved about in droves. All 30,000 craftsmen from the sand barge guild were involved in the construction, along with more than 20,000 craftsmen transferred from Dalu Island and Yongning Port, bringing the total number of workers on the site to nearly 60,000.

Chen Ying transferred twenty blast furnaces from Shahewei and built a steel plant on the north bank of Lushun. Iron ore and coal transported from North Korea were continuously fed into the blast furnaces, and the molten steel was directly cast into keels, ribs, and hull plates. Red pines and fir trees felled from the primeval forests of Liaodong were floated down the Yalu River, retrieved at Lushun Port, and sent to timber processing plants.

Shen Huai'an and the experienced craftsmen of the sand barge guild worked day and night on the construction site. Following the blueprints provided by Chen Ying, they painstakingly built the dock and laid the keel piece by piece. The curvature of every rib, the thickness of every hull plate, and the spacing of every nail were all strictly in accordance with the blueprints, without daring to be careless in the slightest.

Shen Huai'an stood up, looking at the expectant faces around him. "Brothers, this is the first large ship our Sand Ship Gang has built. Anyone who dares to cut corners, I'll be the first to punish them!"

The craftsmen responded with a resounding roar.

Some news was actually kept under wraps. The disappearance of such a large fleet, coupled with the disappearance of the sand boat gang members from Chongming Island, caused an uproar when all the news reached the capital. More than 500 ships, over 1 million shi of grain, 2 million taels of silver, and countless weapons had all been looted by the "pirates."

With a fleet of over 500 ships and 70 or 80 escorting sand barges and warships, even pirates like Liu Xiang were avoiding it. How could they possibly hijack so many ships?

Qian Qianyi was so angry he vomited blood, repeatedly cursing "useless trash."

Some suggested sending troops to suppress the rebellion, but who should be sent? The Dengzhou Navy? The Dengzhou Navy said they hadn't received their pay for thirteen months and needed money. They managed to scrape together 80,000 taels of silver, but then added that their warships were old and needed repairs—

How could the Donglin Party not be stupid? How could they not know they'd been tricked?

What terrified the Donglin Party members even more was that the sand barge gang had collectively defected to Chen Ying. This meant that their biggest bargaining chip at sea was gone.