The advantages he had originally gained from his rebirth had already almost completely vanished, yet he still wouldn't behave? He couldn't be trying to seek revenge, could he?
Fu said, "He said he has news that could help the Great Ming send troops to Japan, but he has a request: he wants to become the Great General of the Expedition to Japan and, at the same time, erase the existence of the Emperor of Japan."
Zhu Ci??
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Where on earth does he get that kind of confidence? I wish I had that kind of confidence too. A cat resting its chin on its paws in confusion. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM
Chapter 299
Zhu Ci was momentarily dazed upon hearing this request.
First of all, he was bewildered by whether his vigilance against Japan had become common knowledge. He felt as though he had never shown hostility toward Japan in public.
Even if he occasionally let some slip, he could use the excuse that he had encountered Wokou in the past; even if those sea bandits had nothing to do with the Wokou at the time, he could claim there were others and no one would know the truth.
But why was Alna so certain that he would send troops to Japan?
Secondly, where did Alna get the confidence that he would hand Japan over to him? They were not in a relationship where they could entrust things to one another.
It would be better to maintain the status quo than to hand Japan over to him!
After being dazed for a moment, Zhu Ci looked at Fu and asked, "Do I look like such a magnanimous person?"
Back then, he and Alna could hardly wait to personally stab the other to death.
Fu also fell silent for a rare moment; he didn't know where Alna's confidence came from.
His so-called information was utterly worthless. To put it bluntly, if he wanted an excuse, could Fu not manufacture one?
When he fought in Tibet back then, he manufactured an excuse. Although it was later popularized by Li Zicheng, wasn't the original reason for the military expedition one that Fu created?
If they truly wanted to send troops, they could just have a few people go missing in Japan.
Anyway, the merchant caravan's ships would all dock in Japan when they returned. Although Japan was isolationist, they only prevented them from disembarking; it was still possible for the Japanese to bring supplies up to them while they were docked.
After Fu fell silent, he seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, it seems he has one more thing he wants to tell His Majesty."
“What?”
He said that he holds no deep hatred toward His Majesty, he hopes His Majesty will be magnanimous and allow him to serve as His Majesty's blade.
Zhu Ci sneered, "There are plenty of people who want to be my blade; he doesn't even make the list."
However, he thought for a moment and said, "I can give him a chance."
Fu was somewhat surprised. "Give him a chance?"
Zhu Ci said, "Counting it up, Japan has only been free from war for about forty years. As far as I know, the rule of the Edo Shogunate does not seem to have fully stabilized yet. If he can plunge Japan back into war, his requests are not impossible to grant."
Fu Lue nodded. "I understand."
After he finished speaking, he asked curiously, "Does His Majesty not wish to send troops directly to Japan?"
Zhu Ci shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't want to do it now. Right now, our ships are simply too few."
The Great Ming's warships had actually developed quite well, but unfortunately, much of them had been destroyed by wars, the various factions lacked the time and resources to build large ships, so in previous years, they had been relying on the Great Ming's existing stock.
By now, the Great Ming's fleet had only three pitiful Red-coated Cannon ships and five Large Fuchuan, with the rest being various small and medium-sized vessels. This was the entire country's total holdings, which was simply too meager.
Moreover, the Red-coated Cannon ships were already outdated. If any were to be built now, they would certainly be built according to the dimensions of the Dongfeng Bronze Cannon, which basically meant they would have to be redesigned from scratch.
Fu asked with some surprise, "Do we really need that many ships to fight Japan?"
The Japanese Navy's naval warfare and fire attack tactics are indeed quite good, but overall, they cannot even compare to the Dutch, especially after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's failed foreign expansionism; now that the Edo Shogunate has turned toward isolationism, its naval strength has essentially stagnated.
Zhu Ci glanced at him and said, "Who said we are only dealing with Japan?"
He looked outside and said, "This is the Age of Discovery; whoever conquers the sea and possesses a powerful navy will stand at the pinnacle of the world."
He finished speaking and laughed, "Of course, saying 'conquer the sea' is a bit of an exaggeration."
Fu looked at him with extremely tender eyes; he loved Zhu Ci's ambitious appearance most of all. He said in a gentle voice, "If His Majesty wishes to conquer the seas, he surely shall."
Zhu Ci leaned in and gave him a kiss, saying, "You're so sweet, but this is certainly no easy task."
Before he traveled through, technology had already developed to a level that ordinary people could not even comprehend, no country or research institution dared to claim they had conquered the ocean.
Never mind conquering it; there are still many unsolved mysteries within the ocean, let alone now.
Fu reached out to wrap his arms around the Emperor's waist to deepen the kiss, but he was quickly pushed away by Zhu Ci.
Zhu Ci said with slightly uneven breath, "Didn't you say you were going to show me the way? Let's not waste any more time."
Fu felt a sense of regret upon hearing this.
Zhu Ci said, stroking his slightly pale lips with his right hand, "We won't be coming back tonight; we'll stay at your manor. We have a day off tomorrow, anyway."
He leaned close to Fu's ear and said, "I remember your manor has a lake enclosed within it. How about we go rowing and watch the stars?"
Rowing a boat to see the stars? Fu's throat bobbed; it seemed they really had never tried it on a boat before.
After Zhu Ci finished speaking, he stood up without waiting for an answer and said, "I am going to change my clothes."
Fu glanced at his first-rank crimson official robes and stood up, following His Majesty openly as he said, "I must change as well."
As a result, they could not leave the palace until an hour later.
Zhu Ci lay lazily in the carriage and asked, "How far was it paved?"
About three hundred zhang or so.
Zhu Ci did a quick calculation in his mind; it was about one kilometer long, which wasn't bad at all.
The road Fu brought Zhu Ci to see this time was paved with cement; although the Jaw Crusher was quite difficult to manufacture, it had been successfully made after all, the effect was quite good.
The only drawback is that this crusher currently can only rely on manual and animal labor.
However, once the first one is completed, the rest will be much easier; at most, ten crushers will be in operation at once.
Of course, crushing lime was only the first step; the rest required grinding and calcination. Zhu Ci did not remember the specifics, such as the exact degree to which they needed to be ground or calcined.
Perhaps it wouldn't be accurate to say he didn't remember; rather, he simply didn't know the precise steps. The fact that he could remember how cement was made was already a result of his extraordinary memory; as for the details, his subordinates would certainly have to figure them out through trial and error.
This time, the road being paved led from Fu Manor to the official road.
After descending from the official road, the carriage suddenly became steady.
Zhu Ci leaned his head out of the window to look down for a while, once he arrived at the entrance of the manor, he got down and walked a few steps.
By this time, the sky had already turned dark. Because it was in the outskirts, there were almost no light sources except for the stone lamps at the entrance of the manor, with only the moon hanging in the sky, casting down its clear radiance.
Zhu Ci stood on the road and looked up at the moon, the sounds of insects and birds chirping in his ears. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to the feeling of visiting his ancestral home in the countryside during summer vacations as a child.
He gazed up at the moon in a daze, while Fu Cai stood beside him, watching him.
After a long while, Fu spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it is stifling outside. Let us return."
Zhu Ci turned his head and suddenly said, "Why isn't there even a single crack in this road?"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Who among adults doesn't miss their carefree childhood? A cat lying on the roof admiring the moon. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
ps: Starting to wrap things up. After the previous plot holes are filled, some infrastructure development and subsequent plotlines will be placed in side stories~
Chapter 300
Fu was asked with a look of confusion: "What.. gap?"
“No, no.” Zhu Ci suddenly remembered something very important, he looked at Fu and asked, “Is this road paved directly across without any gaps left in between?”
Fu naturally did not know how the subordinates had paved the road, but he recalled the road he had traveled down and nodded, saying, "Yes."
"This won't work. Cement undergoes thermal expansion and contraction; if we don't leave space, this road will be ruined before long." Zhu Ci shook his head and turned to board the carriage.
The entrance of the manor is still a long way from the main courtyard; it's too hot to walk in this weather.
After following him into the carriage, Fu said thoughtfully, "Heat causes expansion and cold causes contraction; it is a constant law of nature."
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised: "Where is this recorded?"
Fu glanced at him and said, "It was mentioned by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han in 'Lunheng Bianxu Pian'."
Oh, he seems to have read this book before, but he has forgotten the specific details.
Zhu Ci was very calm, he nodded, saying, "I also seem to remember the ancients mentioning it."
Fu said, "It should be a craftsman's error, I.."
Zhu Ci waved his hand. "You can't blame them entirely; after all, this is a new material, so it is understandable that they haven't fully grasped its properties yet."
Under normal circumstances, the emergence of a new thing requires undergoing thousands of experiments. Once created, various tests are conducted to understand its various properties, only then can its advantages, disadvantages, potential uses be known.
However, because of Zhu Ci, these intermediate steps were skipped entirely. He provided the answers directly, the subordinates did not dare to disobey his words or question them, even if they had doubts, so it turned out this way.
Zhu Ci could figure it out for himself, so he had no intention of holding the subordinates accountable.
Anyway, this road isn't long, so it doesn't matter if it needs to be repaired again.
As Fu gave the orders, Zhu Ci added a sentence: "Remember to use natural asphalt for the filling in the middle."
Most asphalt used in later generations is a byproduct of petroleum refining, but in reality, there are natural asphalt mines.
Nowadays, a layer of natural asphalt is applied to the bottom of ships to prevent erosion from seawater and the attachment of marine organisms.
However, the cost of natural asphalt is not low; oil extraction and oil refining.. Zhu Ci decided to make arrangements for this matter as well.
Your Majesty, Your Highness, the ships are ready.
Just as Zhu Ci was wondering where else there might be large quantities of petroleum besides the Middle East, he suddenly heard those words.
He turned his head to look at Fu, whose face seemed to glow white in the hazy moonlight.
It was truly strange; even though they had known each other for a long time, he still seemed to feel his heart flutter because of Fu from time to time.