Summer rainstorms come and go quickly. The noisy sound of rain has disappeared, the world has returned to tranquility, and only the silent drizzle is left in the sky, fluttering in the breeze.
Outside Hongwu Gate, a procession of carriages and horses gradually appeared, and a huge procession of ceremonial guards took to the streets. The Jinyiwei generals, the escort cavalry, and the civil and military officials all came out of the city. The large group of people and horses headed south to Zhengyang Gate.
The streets and buildings were very wet after the heavy rain, and water had accumulated on the road surface, flowing into the gutters and drainage canals like streams. Horse hooves stepped on the brick floor, splashing water everywhere.
Emperor Zhu Gaoxu did not ride in a carriage, but rode a horse surrounded by people of all kinds. Eunuch Wang Jinghong, as a close attendant, also rode a horse.
Wang Jinghong was a high-ranking eunuch. He not only often
There are dozens of generals in the Ming Navy, and there is no problem in selecting them. They are all experienced generals in the naval fleet. At present, there is still a lack of a general to take charge of the overall situation to assist the envoy Wang Jinghong and make tactical decisions. This kind of person is even more needed during landing operations.When appointing generals, they are usually recommended by the most respected ministers in the court, and then the emperor makes the decision.But Zhu Gaoxu sometimes does not let others recommend him, but directly selects people himself, and this time it was the same.When the imperial court hearing in the morning was about to end, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly called the name "Chen Xuan". For a while, it seemed that most people had immediately guessed what was going on. The most important event of the Gein court recently was the deployment of the navy to the south; and Chen Xuan had served as a naval general many
Everything was ready, and the Ming navy fleet set sail in May.Most of the ships set out from Taicang, east of the capital, and only a small number of them set out from Longjiang Port. After all the ships are out to sea, the entire army will form a large fleet of 200 large and small ships. When they are on the move, the fleet will occupy a wide area of about 20 miles in radius.The officials from the Ministry of War picked a good day, with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.Liu Ming and his companions performed some etiquette on the shore, bidding farewell to the emperor and his court colleagues who had come to see them off in person. Then they boarded a small boat and followed the soldiers to row the boat towards a treasure ship.The magnificent treasure ship on the river was extremely dazzling in the sun. The solid hull looked as stable as a mountain, and the hull was very thick and solid; the only shortcoming of this large flagship-level treasure
On the calm sea, Liu Ming felt most of the time that the boat was not moving at all, as if it was just quietly resting on the boundless water. This was probably because there were almost no obvious reference points around, and the nearby ships also maintained almost the same speed, so it looked more like it was stationary.Only by paying attention to the bulging sails above the deck or carefully observing the water below can people feel that the ship is moving forward.These are all laymen's perceptions; in fact, the soldiers on the ship can still estimate the speed, even if the treasure ship seems to be not moving.Liu Ming also had a rough understanding of it. The method was to release a buoy from the boat, and let the buoy continuously drag a long rope from the stern; then use an hourglass to measure the time, and then calculate the length of the rope dragged during the voyage over a period of time.The fleet's speed has been measured, and it is app
"Here we come." Tang Jing's voice said.Liu Ming subconsciously wanted to ask what was coming, but he felt as if something was blocked in his throat, and finally he couldn't make a sound. Besides, the questions were probably unnecessary, because the ups and downs of the ship's hull and the rough waves outside the stern had already told people what was coming.Tang Jing's previous guess was correct. After a storm, the treasure ship arrived in the "eye of the storm", and the wind and waves only calmed down slightly for a while. The second storm is coming.After a while, amidst the roar of the huge wind and waves, shouting came from a wooden hole upstairs. Then a head leaned on the top of the cabin and shouted, "Big waves, five degrees to the left, one hundred and twenty feet!"The voice of the reporter was very decisive. Although it was impossible for people to measure the distance accurately and they could only estimate it with their eyes, they still re
The bright sunshine suddenly penetrated Liu Ming's eyes and penetrated into his mind. He felt an inexplicable panic and fear, and his body subconsciously struggled to find a place to hide. At this time, a man with a goatee and a robe came over and said, "Master Liu, you are awake."Liu Ming leaned against the bulkhead, avoiding the sun, and it took him a while to calm down. He quickly remembered that he was on a treasure ship and was on a voyage, but he couldn't remember why he was lying here. Pain in his forehead and pain in his limbs also followed.He looked back at the cabin and found that there were some people lying around, with cloth bandages on different parts of their bodies. He also quickly understood that this was the hospital building on the treasure ship."Goatee" handed over a cup of water, and Liu Ming immediately took the iron cup and drank."Slow down, slow down."Liu Ming drank a glass of water and asked , "What's wrong with me?"
According to the calendar, it was now the turn of summer and autumn, but the weather in the capital didn't seem to be much cooler than in midsummer.Zhu Gaoxu felt the heat early in the morning when he sat on the throne in Fengtian Gate. Perhaps it was because of his neat clothes. Since he was holding court, the ministers below made various suggestions, all of which were related to the recent disasters in various places.In the past few days, urgent reports have been received from Jiangxi and Zhejiang about floods; the coastal areas of Fujian have been hit by hurricanes, and the number of houses collapsed and the number of casualties among people and animals is incalculable. This is a time of trouble.The Minister of Personnel Jian Yi requested an imperial decree and ordered officials to issue official reports, advocating that officials from all regions cultivate virtue and observe etiquette. He also sent censors to the provincial inspection offices in Jiang
Zhu Gaoxu didn't do much all day long, but he felt particularly tired at dusk. Perhaps he was in an impetuous mood and had too many thoughts, which wasted a lot of energy in a useless way.There is no news about the navy.It is normal. Things that happen thousands of miles away cannot be reported back to the capital in a short while. He left the court and returned to the harem. When leaving the Rouyi Hall, he did not forget to tell the eunuch Wang Gui, "No matter what time it is, if there is news about the navy, report to me immediately."Wang Gui hugged the fly whisk and bowed in agreement.Today Zhu Gaoxu should go to see Yao Ji. He followed the order and ordered the eunuch carrying the sedan chair to go to the Xianfei Palace.The main building of Xianfei Palace is similar to other palaces in East Sixth Palace and West Sixth Palace. It's just that some of the small pavilions, corridors, flowers, grass, rocks, etc. are different; each concubine
At dawn in the early morning, Yao Ji, neatly dressed, had sent Zhu Gaoxu to the gate of Xianfei Palace. The heavy rain last night didn't last long, but it started to rain again one after another. In the morning, the brick floor was still very wet. Zhu Gaoxu saw that the hem of Yao Ji's long skirt was already wet.A large sedan chair was waiting outside the door, with some eunuchs holding simple ceremonial objects in front and behind, as well as palace maids carrying lanterns.A lantern was moving towards this side quickly. Zhu Gaoxu waited for a while, and then saw that the person coming was the eunuch Wang Gui. Wang Gui hurriedly walked to Zhu Gaoxu, bowed, and handed something to him with both hands. Wang Jinghong's memorial.Wang Gui stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, when the memorial was brought into the city, the gates had not yet been opened. Because it was urgent, someone was sent in a basket. The official on duty at the Tongzhe