4339 (AD 1642), January 15th, the Lantern Festival.
King Zhao Su Xiong invited three princes, including his younger brother Su Hu, and the steward of the Dahua Ocean Shipping Fleet to have lunch to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Wei Wang Su Hu and others, after more than a day of busy work, they also took everyone in their fleet to the shore to rest.
King Zhao Su Xiong specially opened a temporary camp near the dock for these people to rest.
He also sent doctors from Zhao State to treat people suffering from diseases.
Just to prevent it, these people brought the plague into Zhao State.
The State of Zhao only allows a small number of people to enter the Golden City after going through quarantine.
Zhao's current citizens, including the indigenous captives, only numbered over 100,000, and they simply could not bear the blow of the plague.
The Lantern Festival is a festival for family reunions. While waiting for the dishes, they talk about the good times with their families.
When Zhao Wang Su Xiong saw that all the dishes had been served, he said politely: "The State of Zhao is prosperous with all its waste, and the dishes at this state banquet are not very good.
I know you don’t want to eat fish right now, not a single seafood-related dish was served.”
When everyone looked at this state banquet, poached eggs were considered a dish.
But being able to enjoy a sumptuous banquet in North America, thousands of miles away from my hometown, has proved that Zhao State is developing well.
King Xiang Su Li was the first to speak: "These dishes are already very good, beyond our expectations.
We brothers have never tasted any delicacies from the mountains and seas, and this simple and plain dish can further prove the friendship between the brothers."
They said a few simple words and began to have a formal meal. During the banquet, everyone discussed the future development.
King Zhao Su Xiong raised his wine glass and said: "It is my honor for you all to come to the Kingdom of Zhao.
During these days in Zhao State, I will entertain you seriously."
King Su Hu of Wei and others drank all the wine in their glasses.
During the banquet, they talked about the prosperous years when they were young and led troops to fight in wars. Everyone showed a look of reminiscing.
When the banquet was about to end, King Su Shan of Qi and King Su Li of Xiang signaled Wei King Su Hu with their eyes.
Wei Wang Su Hu understood the meaning of these two companions.
He raised a glass of wine and toasted his eldest brother Su Xiong. After drinking the wine, he asked: "Brother, you have established a huge country in this barbaric land.
My little brother is about to build his own country. I have some questions that I would like to ask my brother. Please give me your advice."
The real core issue was when they secretly met before.
King Su Hu of Wei has asked his eldest brother for advice, and he has gained a lot.
He is saying this now because he received requests from Qi Wang Sushan and Xiang Wang Su Li and couldn't lose face, so he made the request to his elder brother.
King Su Hu of Wei also believed in his elder brother Su Xiong and understood what he meant.
After Zhao Wang Su Hu heard his brother's words, he immediately reacted and then burst into laughter.
"Brother, you don't need to say such refined words.
Of course, big brother, I hope you can succeed, and I will teach you all the precautions for founding a country.
Today is the Lantern Festival. I don’t have any important state affairs, so I will take you to visit the Kingdom of Zhao.
I hope you can absorb Zhao’s experience and avoid taking some detours.”
When Wei King Su Hu heard his eldest brother's reply, he knew that Su Xiong had understood what he meant.
Before he could reply, King Su Shan of Qi and King Su Li of Xiang hurriedly toasted and said: "Brother Su Xiong is very generous, and my virtuous brother is ashamed of himself.
In the past few days, we will harass Brother Su Xiong."
…………………………
After the luncheon, Wei Wang Su Hu and others, along with their confidants, followed Zhao Wang Su Xiong to visit various places in the Zhao Kingdom.
People were walking around the streets of Golden City. This city was comprehensive and well planned.
It is divided into four areas: industrial area, residential area, commercial area and government office area.
King Zhao Su Xiong specifically warned: "The indigenous tribes here in America are not strong in fighting ability.
Most of the tribes I met used weapons made of stone and bone. These tribes were uncivilized and showed no signs of civilization.
But there are also some indigenous tribes that have migrated from distant places. They use iron weapons and are very skilled in cooperating with each other.
Although the indigenous tribes here in the Americas did not form a country.
But the alliance formed by large tribes is also very powerful.
When this king first arrived in America, he did not build any city walls.
We are preparing to imitate domestic open cities to improve land utilization and facilitate the entry of industrial raw materials into the city.
Due to the extraction of raw materials and open farmland, conflicts between us and indigenous tribes are bound to occur.
We have always had the upper hand with weapons, and these indigenous tribes have united under pressure.
Zhao State was jointly attacked by local indigenous people. If it weren't for machine guns and artillery, these indigenous people would have been scattered and fled.
Zhao will suffer heavy losses in the early stage.
After the walls of the Golden City were built, the indigenous tribes formed a larger force and wanted to attack us.
More than 10,000 natives attacked the city, but were easily dealt with by more than 1,000 defenders.
After this defeat of the indigenous tribes, there will no longer be blind indigenous tribes who take the initiative to provoke Zhao."
Wei Wang Su Hu and others listened to Zhao Wang Su Xiong's story.
They all made up their minds that the first issue in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China was to build the city wall.
Just rely on the strength of the indigenous tribes here in America.
As long as the reinforced concrete structure of the city wall is built.
Even if there are hundreds or thousands of new soldiers defending the city, they can defend ten times more enemy attacks with the help of the city walls.
Immigrants in the city will also feel safer.
Immigration is too expensive, so try to reduce accidental deaths as much as possible.
As they walked onto the street, they saw a group of soldiers escorting dozens of indigenous men wearing simple cotton clothes and walking out of the city.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong saw the confusion in everyone's eyes.
He introduced: “These are the young adults of the indigenous tribes that we captured.
There is a lack of large livestock here in the Americas, and cattle and horses are reluctant to plow the land. Their main function is to reproduce the population and give birth to more calves and ponies.
The main crops, potatoes and corn, do not require intensive farming.
Farming in Zhao mainly relied on manpower. Even if the Han immigrants were illiterate, they could still do more delicate jobs such as carpenters and masons.
Heavy manual labor such as farming mainly relied on slaves here in the Americas.
Women captured by indigenous tribes were distributed to immigrants who had made meritorious service.
This also fulfills our promise of assigning wives."
Wei Wang Su Hu and others looked at these indigenous prisoners.
This will be their main source of cheap labor when they build their country.
The looks of these people are not much different from them.
According to Dahua's domestic experience, prisoners with similar appearances, especially those without cultural heritage, are captured.
Except for a small number of people, it is difficult for the first generation prisoners to integrate into society.
But the second generation, especially the mixed-race second generation, can easily integrate into society.
They learn Chinese culture and become true Chinese people.
As long as we can survive the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, things will get better and better after that.
The existence of indigenous tribes is both a challenge and an opportunity.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong led everyone to the military camp.
Zhao's troops were wearing armor, with shiny steel knives on their waists, and were practicing the accuracy of their flash cap guns.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong reminded: "The army is the guarantee for us to settle down and live in this strange place.
The country can be poorer and grit its teeth and get through it.
The food can be less, at least two meals a day, and more fish and wild animals can be hunted.
Only the military must be taken seriously.
A cowardly army cannot survive here."
After Zhao Wang Su Xiong finished speaking, he chuckled and said: "You are all generals, so you will definitely attach great importance to the army.
I wonder if King Zheng, a civil servant, could survive there when he went to Africa."
Wei Wang Su Hu and others saw that the Zhao army was neat and disciplined, and the soldiers' marksmanship was very accurate.
These people are no longer new recruits, they are all very skilled veterans.
The skilled veterans and the restless recruits who have been on the battlefield, these battlefield veterans, can be distinguished at a glance.
King Su Hu of Wei looked at the equipment of Zhao soldiers and he could understand the flash cap gun.
The processing technology required for bullets is too high-end. With Zhao's industrial strength, there is no way to manufacture bullets.
The next best thing, the manufacture of flash caps only requires the most basic chemical industry.
They can recruit college students trained by Dahua at a high price.
As long as there is no shortage of raw materials, a simple chemical product like a flash cap, even if produced manually, can supply a small army.
The flash cap gun is also a low-end breech-loading gun, and its rate of fire is higher than that of the muzzle-loading gun.
Wei Wang Su He couldn't understand the situation. How could Zhao's soldiers put on their armor again?
He followed Emperor Suhe since the uprising, except in the early days when he wore armor.
Matchlocks are widely used in the army, but armor is not used in the army.
King Su Hu of Wei asked him the doubts in his heart.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong smiled and explained: "This matter is very simple.
The cost of armor is extremely high, and its ability to protect against firearms is not strong.
We do not equip ourselves with armor in China because our opponents also have firearms and it is easier to recruit new soldiers.
The indigenous tribes we are facing now, their most advanced weapons are only bows and arrows.
Thousands of years of war have proven its practicality as armor protects bows and arrows.
It is very difficult to replenish the army under our command, and it will be extremely heartbreaking for us if one of us is killed in battle.
Armor can protect soldiers from attacks by indigenous tribes.
Wearing armor is extremely cost-effective, so of course you need to equip a lot of armor.”
These words of Zhao Wang Su Xiong made Wei Wang Shuhu and others realize that their past experiences could not be applied to America.
Strategies and tactics must be adjusted in a timely manner based on the actual situation here.
They visited the Zhao State military camp and absorbed the experience summed up by Zhao Wang Su Xiong with blood and tears.
They stayed in the military camp for a long time and left the military camp after having gained a lot.
A group of them rushed to Zhao Guo's dock.
The Kingdom of Zhao is still too small, with only one city: Golden City.
The most important place outside the city is the gold mine. King Zhao Su Xiong is not going to take people to visit the military mine. The dock is the second most important place.
They walked on the road and looked at the farmland on both sides of the road.
Soldiers guarded native slaves who were plowing the land with steel plows.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong reminded: "My place is relatively dry and there are relatively few rivers.
It is more suitable for growing potatoes and corn, which are our current staple foods.
I don’t know what kind of crops are more suitable for growing in your country.
I suggest you plant potatoes and corn first, and if there are more mountainous areas, add sweet potatoes.
These three crops do not challenge the soil. Even if there is a long period of drought, as long as people can survive, these three crops can survive.
Take out some plots, try planting some wheat and rice, and watch the yields of these crops.
Once you plant the wrong food at the beginning, you need to buy food from other places.
The price of food here in the Americas is priceless.
No matter how much money you spend, you can't buy food now."
They walked through the farmland area, with small hills in front of them.
On the hill, there is a greenhouse made of glass.
King Qi Sushan was very interested in this place. The place where he planned to found a country was full of hills and mountains.
He asked: "Brother Su Xiong, where is this place?
I have also seen greenhouses in Dahua, and they usually grow fruits and vegetables."
Zhao Wang Su Xiong said with a smile: "This is the most important food production base in our Zhao country.
How could I, the leader of a newly founded country, be so extravagant as to use a greenhouse to grow vegetables?
Since you are interested, I will take you to take a look."
Zhao Wang Su Xiong led this group of people into the greenhouse.
It's very warm inside the greenhouse, and you can feel the heat hitting your face as soon as you enter.
There is a stove burning inside the greenhouse to regulate the temperature.
There are a lot of sawdust wrapped in paper and dead wood piles.
They are covered with mushrooms of different sizes.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong introduced: "This is a greenhouse dedicated to cultivating mushrooms. Mushrooms are the main food of our Zhao country.
The main varieties are edible mushrooms such as fungus and shiitake mushrooms.
The biggest advantage of mushrooms is that they grow very quickly and do not require land.
When food is in short supply, you can also use this stuff to wrap your belly.
As for meat, it’s mainly eggs, rabbits and pigs.”
When Qi Wang Sushan saw these mushrooms, he also agreed that they were a very convenient vegetable to grow.
Only sawdust or dead wood is needed, and this vegetable can be specially grown on land where crops cannot be grown.
Qi Wang Sushan requested: "Brother Su Xiong, can we buy some mushroom seeds?
The place where I founded the country is relatively desolate. The land is mainly used to grow food, and the vegetable output should not be large. This kind of technology is very needed.
Fill the gap in domestic food with mushrooms.”
Zhao Wang Su Xiong said nonchalantly: "My technology is also a technology researched by Huaxia University.
Since you need it, I will ask someone to hand over this technology to your subordinates."
King Zhao Su Xiong agreed readily. It was impossible not to agree to such a convenient favor.
This is not the unique technology of their Zhao country, and they can't keep it secret even if they want to.
Why should he act as a villain and destroy the feelings of the newly formed alliance?
Zhao Guo's truly unique technology has long been hidden in the most secret places.
They will all be competitors from now on. King Zhao Su Xiong will not let these people watch at all.
They came to the dock, where a simple crane was unloading cargo ships.
Merchants began to trade the goods they owned near the dock.
Zhao Wang Su Xiong took the initiative to introduce: "Our customs does not collect customs duties for the time being.
Zhao State originally needs a lot of goods, and imposing tariffs is not conducive to merchants transporting goods.
Not only do we not impose tariffs, we also purchase goods from merchants at higher prices."
Wei Wang Su Xiong and others looked towards the merchant.
They saw officials from Zhao State carrying boxes full of gold bars and starting a large purchase on the dock.
Except for merchants who want to go to Cao State and other places to sell their goods at good prices.
Most merchants choose to sell goods.
The goods were sold out, and they followed Dahua's ocean shipping fleet, which was partially empty, and returned to Dahua's homeland.
In this way, they only need to take one route and make money easily.
King Su Hu of Wei and others saw this phenomenon, and they all made up their minds to reopen multiple routes.
On this northern route, the wealthy Zhao Guo intercepted a large amount of goods.
The subordinates of Wei Wang Su Hu and others were also learning from Zhao's customs management methods.
Their country will experience a zero-tariff era for a long time.
