Chapter 1103: Too Many to Maintain
While Gao Family Village boldly advanced into the southwestern regions, Former Shaanxi Governor Lian Guoshi, after a long journey, dealing with entry procedures, finding a house, moving into a new residence, and a myriad of other troublesome affairs, finally arrived at the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue.
It was time for him to officially start work!
Walking into the Ministry of Revenue's "office," Lian Guoshi immediately felt the resigned glances of his bureaucratic colleagues, signaling, "Ah, another unlucky soul has arrived."
Lian Guoshi offered a full, deferential bow to everyone. "Hello everyone," he said. "I am Lian Guoshi. From now on, I will serve as the Left Vice Minister of Revenue here. I hope for your continued guidance and instruction."
"Oh!" a reading official responded. "I am the Right Vice Minister. We'll be one on the left and one on the right, like twin guardians. Let's work well together in the future."
His words were indeed fair and impartial, with nothing inherently wrong, yet his eyes remained fixed on the book in his hands. He didn't even raise an eyebrow, clearly paying no attention to Lian Guoshi.
Lian Guoshi secretly glanced at the book title in the man's hands. The cover read "Slapping the Table in Amazement" – a collection of vernacular stories that had only become popular in the last decade.
During working hours! Was this truly what a dignified Right Vice Minister did?
Lian Guoshi almost wanted to complain aloud when he heard someone call out from behind a nearby desk: "I am the Minister of Revenue, Minister Lian. I've long admired your reputation! Although you are the Left Vice Minister and I am the Minister, let's not bother with those petty formalities of rank. We're like brothers, let's just enjoy ourselves together."
Drawing during working hours? Was this truly what a dignified Minister of Revenue did?
He then swept his gaze over the other officials: some were writing, some painting, some humming tunes, some drinking tea...
Lian Guoshi had long heard that the Six Ministries in Nanjing were places for officials to retire, but only now, seeing it firsthand, did he truly understand the prevalent atmosphere.
Lian Guoshi asked, "Gentlemen, is our Ministry of Revenue truly so leisurely?"
The Minister of Revenue happily added another stroke to his drawing, seemingly quite pleased with his work. Without lifting his head, he said, "There's really nothing for us to manage, Minister Lian. You're new here, so it's understandable that you're full of vigor. I remember when I first arrived at the Ministry of Revenue as Minister, I was far more excited than you. But... alas, I simply couldn't find anything to do. If you don't believe me, feel free to try. Do whatever you wish to do, we certainly won't stand in your way."
Lian Guoshi was speechless.
"So, I can do whatever I want, right? You said so yourselves."
Lian Guoshi chuckled to himself and began to sift through the Ministry of Revenue's documents.
Soon, he discovered information related to Gao Family Village among the records...
Near Nanhui Fangcheng, an emerging market had appeared, recorded by the Ministry of Revenue as the "Nanhui Mouth Maritime Merchant Market." That area was slowly but surely becoming a crucial junction for trade between north and south.
Inland goods transported from the Yellow River and Yangtze River, along with trade goods arriving by sea, converged there in vast quantities. Ming merchants, Westerners, and Nanyang traders all conducted business, silently catching up to Quanzhou Port.
However, Nanhui Mouth was not an ideal location for building a port or dock. Its coastline wasn't naturally suitable for a deep-water harbor; the sea was shallow, making it prone to ships running aground... Merchants were currently searching for a more suitable place to anchor their vessels.
Lian Guoshi reviewed the documents, a clear strategy already forming in his mind.
These so-called merchants were, in fact, people from Gao Family Village, weren't they? They were looking for a better deep-water harbor.
Since Zhoushan Dinghai Port was being developed as a military harbor, there was naturally a need for a commercial port. Locating this commercial port in Shanghai would clearly be better than on Zhoushan Island.
"Heh heh, the first thing I need to do here is to help the Heavenly Lord, that venerable old man, establish a proper trade port. One where ships from Gao Family Village, Western ships, and Nanyang ships can easily dock and conduct trade."
"In the Heavenly Lord's words, we must learn to 'exploit foreign markets.'"
"Alright, I'll get it done."
Lian Guoshi took the documents concerning Nanhui Mouth and placed them on his own desk, ensuring they wouldn't attract the attention of other officials. Though... it probably wouldn't matter even if those good-for-nothings did notice; nobody here seemed to care about anything anyway.
Lian Guoshi suddenly realized that working with a bunch of incompetents wasn't so bad after all. No one would hold him back, and he could do whatever he pleased—
Huangpu River, Shanghai Port, Ming Navy Camp.
Cui Weihua, the Military Preparations Commissioner for Suzhou and Songjiang, was inspecting his fleet.
Indeed, a fleet!
Just a few years ago, Cui Weihua clearly remembered his forces consisting of 402 militiamen, 400 Zhejiang soldiers, 1,003 sailors, seven Fujian Cangsashan ships, thirty sand ships, five paddle boats, and sixteen Hu boats.
Among this collection of vessels, only the Cangsashan ships were somewhat larger, considered decent warships. All the others were wretched, unsightly old wrecks.
Their combat strength was pitifully weak.
But now, as he counted, he felt something was amiss.
Twenty junks, eighteen Red Seal ships—these were all large vessels, no smaller than his Cangsashan ships. Adding in various small cargo ships, armed merchant vessels, and a host of other craft, the total numbered over two hundred.
This could already be called a "super fleet."
Cui Weihua scratched his head. "I have this many ships now? Since when?"
A subordinate reported: "On an unspecified date, Lord Shi Kefa's subordinates sent you five small boats captured from Huangmei water bandits."
"On an unspecified date, Imperial Merchant Tie Niaofei gifted you four junks captured from pirates."
"On an unspecified date, Imperial Merchant Tie Niaofei gifted you five Red Seal ships captured from Japanese pirates."
"..."
Cui Weihua hadn't usually bothered to count. Whenever gifted ships arrived, he would happily instruct his sailors to take them over and train. But now, taking an overall tally, he realized something was quite wrong.
Cui Weihua asked, "With so many ships, can we afford to maintain them all?"
The subordinate wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Minister Cui," he said, "I was just about to discuss this with you. We have too many ships, and we're nearing the point where we can't sustain them. Our sailors are only so numerous; with the increase in vessels, each ship requires a crew, leaving us severely short-handed."
"Furthermore, each ship that arrives requires repairs and refitting, which also incurs considerable expense."
"Moreover, every so often, we need to scrape barnacles and other growth from the ships' hulls. In the past, with fewer ships, the sailors could manage it easily. But now, with so many, we simply can't keep up; several vessels are already covered in barnacles."
Cui Weihua's eyes widened in alarm.
"Confound it!"
No sooner had the words left his lips than a subordinate rushed over, announcing loudly, "Report! The newly appointed Left Vice Minister of Revenue, Lian Guoshi, has arrived, stating he wishes to inspect the coastal situation."
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