jdhmnovel Chapter 299 Yuegang Branch
Chapter 299 Yuegang Branch
Yu Liang raised his eyebrows: "Your sworn brother?"
"Yes, this ship was bought by my brother-in-law Min Xi and I with the money we earned in Europe. It is the latest model of galleon. We want to donate this ship to the Ming Navy. We hope that our Ming shipbuilders can observe this galleon and build a better ship than it." Yun Ji said sincerely.
Yu Liang nodded: "I understand. What procedures do we need to follow?"
Yun Ji said: "We will write a donation letter, and after receiving it, you can stamp it with an official seal for us, indicating that you have accepted this ship on behalf of the Ministry of War and the Navy. General Han can just be a witness for us."
Han Song readily agreed: "Of course! Lord Yu, I escorted the galleon to Longjiang Shipyard. Even if I have no credit, I have worked hard, so I hope that the first galleon built will belong to our Yongning Guard. It just so happens that we applied for two warships last year, and I estimate that we haven't been ranked yet. We are not in a hurry, and it can be delivered later. Give us the first galleon, we don't mind it being a test product."
Yu Liang smiled and said, "General Han, it may take our craftsmen three to five years to figure out and rebuild this ship."
Han Song's eyes rolled around: "Can you give us the ship once you figure it out? Two years should be enough for you to figure it out, right?"
Yu Liang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he heard this: "The official can't make the decision now."
Han Song held Yun Ji and said, "Boss Yun, you donated the ship to our navy so that it can shine. After the craftsmen have studied it thoroughly, it should return to the sea. It can't be left in the shipyard as a decoration, right? You worked hard to bring the ship back from Fulangji, but it would be a waste if you couldn't use it. We have worked hard to escort it here, and the soldiers have learned how to use it and have deep feelings for the Xiangyun. In the future, this ship will belong to our Yongning Guard, which means it will be one of the ships delivered to us by the shipyard. Do you think it is feasible?"
Yun Ji understood his thoughts, so he smiled and said, "If the shipyard has figured out how to build a galleon, it's understandable that the ship belongs to Yongning. But I've already donated the ship, so how it will be distributed in the end is up to the shipyard and the navy, so I won't interfere."
Yun Ji's words do not offend either side, so the next step will depend on the level of Yongning Guards.
Han Song said, "Master Yu, Boss Yun has spoken, did you hear it? Let's give this ship to us in the end."
Yu Liang could only bow and smile apologetically, neither saying anything good nor bad.
Han Song put one hand around Yu Liang's shoulders and the other around Yun Ji's shoulders: "Come on, Mr. Yu, Boss Yun, I'll treat you to Yingtianfu's special roast duck. Boss Yun, will you come back to Quanzhou with us later?"
Yun Ji naturally had to go back to meet Min Xi, so he said, "Yes, I still have to go back to Quanzhou."
Yu Liang pointed at the boat on the dock and said, "General Han, why don't you let Boss Yun introduce that boat to us?"
Han Song said, "Master Yu, you can wait until after dinner to introduce us. We have been sleeping rough for so many days, and you didn't even think of treating us to a good meal. Is this your courtesy as a host?"
"I am a slow-witted official. I apologize to General Han. Let's go. I'll treat you to dinner today," said Yu Liang.
Han Song laughed: "That's right."
Han Song had already found out about Yun Ji and Min Xi's trip to Europe on the way here, so Yu Liang naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it. Yun Ji and Min Xi's experience would be an adventure that could not be more bizarre no matter where they told it.
Yu Liang also listened to his experience with great interest and exclaimed: "Your experience is even more bizarre than the legendary storybook. But how did you come up with the idea of donating the galleon to the navy?"
Yun Ji said: "We went to Europe and realized that there is a world beyond the world. Although Europe is a small country, it can dominate the sea, relying on strong ships and powerful guns. The ships of our Ming Navy are indeed powerful, but compared with this kind of galleon covered with copper and equipped with gun turrets in the cabin, the disadvantage is still obvious. We hope that our Ming Navy will also have a whole fleet of warships that can rival the galleons, so that we can have enough deterrence to the covetous foreigners, and our merchant ships doing business abroad will have enough courage."
Han Song nodded in agreement: "We could break into the early galleons by drilling holes in the bottom of the ship, but later they were covered with copper sheets, so it was impossible to break them in by drilling holes in the bottom of the ship. We could only fight back with artillery fire. Unfortunately, their cannons have a longer range than ours and are more destructive. The main reason we can still hold on is that they are outnumbered, and we have the advantage of terrain, so we can win by numbers."
Yu Liang said: "General Han, rest assured. Now that we have Boss Yun's galleon, we will definitely capture it in the shortest possible time. When the time comes, we will replace all our Ming warships with galleons."
"Then I will wait for good news from Lord Yu." Han Song said with emotion.
After dinner, they returned to the shipyard, and Yu Liang called the shipyard manager and the most experienced craftsman to board the galleon. In fact, before they came back, the craftsmen in the shipyard had already boarded the ship to take a look.
Yun Ji told everything he knew about the characteristics and advantages of the galleon, and also told some inside information he learned from the Setubal Shipyard. Min Xi noticed those details and asked Yun Ji to write them down with a pen.
Yun Ji handed their notes and the structural drawings drawn by Min Xi to Yu Liang: "This is our note, and the drawing was drawn by my brother Min Xi. I hope it can help Lord Yu and the shipbuilder, so that we can see our self-made galleon appear in our navy fleet as soon as possible."
Han Song couldn't help but sigh: "Boss Yun, you are really thoughtful."
Yun Ji smiled: "It can only be said that we have been planning this for a long time, and we also want to learn as much as possible about galleons so that we can help our Ming Dynasty craftsmen."
Yu Liang took the notes and drawings and looked at them carefully. They were definitely professional and not randomly drawn by an amateur. He handed them to the person in charge of the shipyard and said, "Look, they are really attentive. They even drew the composition for us. Take them and study them carefully."
"Yes, sir!" The two took it respectfully.
Yu Liang clasped his fists towards Yun Ji and said, "Mr. Yun, I have seen your sincerity. On behalf of Longjiang Shipyard, I would like to express my gratitude to you! When I submit a memorial to the court, I will definitely write about your story in detail."
Han Song patted Yun Ji on the shoulder and said, "Brother Yun, I am a rough man, but I respect you as men! On behalf of the Ming Navy, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"
Yun Ji smiled and said, "Thank you Lord Yu for your support. General Han will soon be able to sail on our self-built galleon and keep the Ming Dynasty peaceful forever."
"Then we must not let down the Yun family and your brother's patriotism!" Yu Liang said.
After signing the donation letter and resting for a night at the Longjiang Shipyard, Yun Ji returned to Quanzhou on the Yongning Guard’s navy ship the next day.
Han Song admired Yun Ji very much and began to inquire about his personal affairs, such as whether his parents were still alive, whether he had brothers and sisters, whether he was married, etc. Yun Ji vaguely said that he was already engaged, and Han Song gave up the idea of marrying his cousin to him.
A few days later, they returned to Quanzhou safely. Min Xi had already gone to Macau at this time, and he should be back in a few days, so he did not go to Macau, but went to Yuegang to check the situation of the Yuegang branch.
After he took over the Yunxiang, he knew that the Yunxiang had a lot of problems that needed to be rectified, especially the branches outside the capital. However, he was powerless at the time and could only entrust the Yunxiang to his cousin. All problems had to be solved after he returned.
Manager Xu of Yuegang was once one of the managers my father trusted the most, otherwise he would not have been given the branch responsible for imports.
But it is hard to say whether Manager Xu is still as loyal to him after his father left, especially since Yunxiao had taken over the Yunxiang for such a long time.
Min Xi and Diego both went to Macau, so Yun Ji called a guy named Li from the Quanzhou branch to accompany him to Yuegang.
They set out from Quanzhou Port in a small sailboat, a total of more than 200 miles away, and it only took one day to get there by water. After getting off the boat, Yun Ji and Xiao Li went straight to the Yunxiang branch. Shopkeeper Xu was not in the store, and it was unknown whether he had changed personnel or gone to do something else.
Yun Ji and Xiao Li pretended to be customers, looked around the store to see the quality of the goods, and asked Xiao Li to ask about the price. It must be said that the goods in Yuegang branch are quite good, probably because there are many merchant ships in Yuegang and the range of goods to choose from is wide, but the price is much higher than that in Quanzhou.
Yun Ji knew the bottom price. He knew that even if things in Yuegang were expensive, they wouldn’t be this expensive. He took a look around, said nothing, and walked out.
As soon as they left the house, the waiter couldn't help but curl his lips: "You look so poor, you can't afford foreign goods. You're not going to buy anything but you're asking questions. You're wasting my time!"
The voice was quite loud. Yun Ji turned around and glanced at the waiter, which made the waiter feel a little guilty, but he still couldn't hide the contempt on his face.
When Xiao Li heard this, he was furious: "Boss, that bastard is too outrageous. Even if the customer doesn't buy it, you shouldn't be so rude."
"It's okay, let's go to other stores to have a look." Yun Ji went to other stores and found that the prices were similar to those in Quanzhou, or even slightly cheaper. After all, there were many private ships in Yuegang, and it took nearly a day to sail from Yuegang to Quanzhou, so it was normal for them to sell at a low price.
Yun Ji deliberately asked a shop owner: "Your goods seem to be better than the one next door, why are the prices 10% cheaper?"
The shopkeeper asked, "Which store are you talking about?"
Xiao Li said: "It is the Yunxiang."
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "They have their own channels, so of course they don't need to sell to ordinary customers."
"Oh, does he have regular customers?" Yun Ji asked with interest.