Chapter 824 About to set sail to Dongsheng Shenzhou
As the Ming Dynasty became active in world maritime trade, the Age of Discovery has begun in advance.
More and more people want to buy a ship and join the maritime trade.
For all merchants who entered maritime trade, Daming was the starting point of this trade.
As long as you buy enough goods in Daming and resell them elsewhere, you can make huge profits.
The great nobles in Europe have been investing in Zhao Yuanhong in the past few years, with this idea in mind.
Although there are not many ships directly between Europe and the Ming Dynasty, there are now stable routes, but it has taken a little longer.
Because the Suez Canal has not yet been opened, it will take about two years if it is a direct ship.
A round trip takes four years.
However, from the perspective of many European nobles, four years is definitely worth it.
Because they have dozens of large ships, and if they are filled with luxury goods from the East, they can definitely make a lot of money, even comparable to the wealth of a country.
It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it is not an exaggeration.
In history, that is, 300 years later, there was a ship called Gothenburg. It was owned by the Swedish East India Company and was the company's second largest ocean-going merchant ship. The length of the ship was 58.5 meters, the width was 11 meters, and the water surface height was 47 meters.
The draft is 5.25 meters, the total sail area is more than 1900 square meters, and the displacement is 1150 tons.
Relying on the strong westerly wind, the Gothenburg bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean. The continuous southerly wind brought it to Java, Indonesia. It was already August 29 of that year.
Because she missed the monsoon, the Gothenburg had to stay in Java for eight months.
After resuming sailing, the merchant ship docked at Huangpu Pier in Guangzhou.
Swedish businessmen purchased 700 tons of goods, including 370 tons of tea, accounting for 52.86%, 100 tons of porcelain, accounting for 14.28%, as well as silk, rattan and other commodities.
However, when the Gothenburg was fully loaded with cargo and returned to a place 900 meters offshore, it accidentally entered the "Hannibadan" reef area. The merchant ship violently collided with the reef. The hull ruptured, seawater poured in, and the hull began to tilt and sink.
Other ships that came to greet the merchant ship saw the situation and immediately launched rescue operations. All the crew members escaped, but unfortunately all the goods on board fell into the water.
The value of the goods carried by the Gothenburg was estimated at 250 million Swedish silver coins, equivalent to Sweden's gross national product for one year at the time. After the merchant ship sank, the Swedish East India Company organized manpower to salvage 30 tons of tea, 80 bolts of silk and a large amount of porcelain.
, accounting for only 8% of all products.
Even so, after the auction, the proceeds not only made up for all the shortfalls, but the company's shareholders also received a 14.5% dividend.
And this is the discounted price after the product is soaked in water.
Therefore, it is reasonable for the European nobles to support Zhao Yuanhong.
Because of the strong relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, there were many regulations and restrictions on foreign exports. These restrictions once spread to the world through Di Bao, but everyone engaged in maritime business also knew this.
It takes two years to reach Europe by boat, but by boat and horseback riding, you can get from Europe to Daming in less than a year.
For European aristocrats, Zhao Yuanhong's status as a Ming aristocrat could naturally avoid many export restrictions, allowing them to make sufficient profits.
Although Zhao Yuanhong has developed Constantinople quite well in recent years, it is obvious that he has barely given the Byzantine Empire a breath of fresh air.
In Zhao Yuanhong's heart, he wanted to use Constantinople as the bridgehead of the Ming Dynasty.
Because in his opinion, the Ming Dynasty will eventually enter Europe, and the existence of Constantinople will make it easier for the Ming Dynasty to enter Europe.
Therefore, Zhao Yuanhong thought that Ming Dynasty could send some troops through the combined fleet of these European nobles.
For the Ming Dynasty, which has a population of nearly 10 million, it is easy to send an expeditionary army of tens of thousands. And these tens of thousands of troops are not a small number in Europe. They can definitely affect the overall situation of Europe.
Zhao Yuanhong felt that His Highness the Grand Sun would definitely support his idea.
——
If Zhu Ying knew what Zhao Yuanhong was thinking, he would naturally support it.
For Zhu Ying, the development of Europe was inevitable, and tens of thousands of soldiers were really not many for the Ming Dynasty.
Jingshi Shipyard.
Zhu Ying came here for inspection, because at almost the beginning of spring, the Ming Dynasty's fleet bound for Dongsheng Shenzhou was about to depart.
Because they have to carry out ocean-going operations, the bottoms of these ships will be reinforced.
For example, a relatively thin iron plate should be installed in the wading area to prevent small impacts from destroying the hull.
Of course, the ships here at the Jingshi Shipyard are only a small part of the fleet, and other ships are being reinforced and repaired in other shipyards at the same time.
In addition to reinforcement and repair, these ships also carry propellers, but they are not propelled by steam, but by manpower.
At the bottom of the cabin, there are two rows of bicycle-like structures, which are the source of power for the propellers.
Twenty crew members can work together, just like riding a bicycle in later generations, by pedaling to provide power to the propeller.
Naturally, this power cannot be said to be as fast as a steam engine, but with this additional design, if the propeller and sail exert force at the same time, the speed can still be much faster.
And it won’t be complicated to switch to a steam engine in the future.
"Your Highness, the seventeen small fortune ships from the Capital Shipyard will be launched in two days."
"At present, all aspects have been overhauled and reinforced, and it has passed three inspections. Now we are mainly waiting for the soldiers and war horses."
Listening to the report from the shipyard officials, Zhu Ying nodded slightly.
In addition to sending troops to Dongshengshenzhou this time, it is also used to measure the route.
If the sailing distance is within the range that the steam ironclad can bear, for example, a load of coal can reach it.
Then at the port of Dongsheng Shenzhou, a charcoal station will be established to supplement the steam ironclad ships.
According to this situation, it would only take more than a month to arrive at Dongsheng Shenzhou from Daming at the speed of a steam ironclad.
In this way, Ming Dynasty will more easily develop the entire Dongsheng China.
"Your Highness, will these ships go to Dongsheng Shenzhou in a few months?"
The speaker was Xu Miaojin. This time out of the palace, Zhu Ying and Xu Miaojin would also go to the Zhongshan Palace.
"Of course, they will definitely reach Dongsheng Shenzhou. If everything goes well, they will return to Daming again before winter this year."
"By next year, maybe our maritime steam ironclads will be able to pass."
Zhu Ying said with a smile.
Xu Miaojin's eyes sparkled.
"It's great, I don't know if I can go there too." Xu Miaojin sighed subconsciously.
Xu Miaojin has been living in the palace since she got together with Zhu Ying. This life is similar to her previous life, but as time goes by, she feels a little bored.
Because of the development of trains in Daming, tourism has become popular among wealthy households in Daming.
When it comes to tourism, Zhu Yingke really didn't interfere at all. It was a completely sudden craze.
The price of taking the train may seem expensive, but in fact it is a very low price considering the cost of travel.
The most important thing is that it is relaxing. Even if it is a far away place, it is basically enough to sleep on the train. Naturally, it will attract more people to join this way of traveling.
In order to relieve the boredom of the palace, Zhu Ying would have newspapers from various places delivered to the palace every time.
These newspapers from various places will contain many local customs and customs, including some interesting things happening at the moment, which can also help people relieve their boredom and understand what the Ming Dynasty is like now.
Tourism is not uncommon in newspapers from all over the world. Many cities with few people want to drive the economy through tourism.
With the first person to eat the crab, more people will naturally participate.
For local officials, people's livelihood economy is one of their political achievements that they attach great importance to.
If the income of local people increases, the possibility of promotion will be greater.
As Zhu Ying's concubine, Xu Miaojin naturally wanted to travel. She grew up in the capital and had rarely been to other places.
Zhu Ying naturally heard Xu Miaojin's voice, even if it was a little small.
Only then did he realize that except for that trip to Annan, he didn't seem to have been out much.
When I went out that time, my concubines were very happy.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying turned around and grabbed Xu Miaojin's hand and said, "There will be a chance."
Zhongshan Prince's Mansion.
As the heir, you, Xu Huizu, are currently fighting in Tianzhu with Lan Yu, and this time you came here obviously because of the relationship between Xu Yingxu and Xu Zengshou.
Xu Yingxu and Xu Zengshou have a very good relationship with their eldest sister Xu Yihua, so they also have a good relationship with Zhu Di.
Xu Yingxu liked martial arts, and Xu Zengshou liked writing.
The two of them are Qian Shi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army Governor's Mansion, and Qian Shi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army Governor's Mansion. Of course, these official positions were both granted by Yin.
"Fourth brother, do you think my grandson will come over today? It's almost noon, why haven't I seen the person who informed me?"
"Is it possible that my great-grandson changed his itinerary temporarily and decided not to come over?"
In the lobby, Xu Yingxu looked at the sky and said to Xu Zengshou impatiently.
Xu Zengshou was holding a book. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Second brother, why are you so anxious? If His Highness the Grand Sun doesn't come, what can we do? We're just waiting for the next time."
"This time it was my little sister who spoke. His Highness Taisun is probably coming over. After all, His Highness Taisun has always been very fond of my little sister, or there may have been some delays due to matters at the shipyard."
Although Xu Zengshou grew up in a wealthy family, the house he lived in was filled with books. When he was free at home, he would invite wise men to his home and discuss classic stories about successes and failures throughout the ages, tirelessly.
In history, when Zhu Di raised troops to quell the disaster, Xu Zengshou was the most diligent and sincere, and secretly communicated with Zhu Di. After being reported, Emperor Jianwen imprisoned him. Zhu Di's soldiers entered the Jinchuan Gate, and Emperor Jianwen was about to self-immolate, so he killed Xu Zengshou.
Under Youshun's family, Zhu Di mourned the death of Xu Zengshou very much.
Although Xu Yingxu was the second brother, he didn't have any opinions. After listening to the fourth brother's words, he felt a little more at ease.
"Fourth brother, do you think we can make it this time? Although my great-grandson loves my little sister, Dongsheng China is now a hot commodity, and everyone wants to grab it."
"Whoever arrives first can grab a piece of land and build a family business."
"Eldest brother went to Tianzhu. According to this idea, it is very likely that a principality will be established in Tianzhu. If we go to Dongsheng China, I am afraid that His Highness Taisun will not allow it."
Xu Yingxu was somewhat worried.
Xu Zengshou listened to his second brother's question and simply put the book away.
"This banquet for His Majesty the Grand Sun seems to be to inquire about our trip to Dongsheng China, but in fact it is to help my brother-in-law."
"Now that the Japanese country has returned to the Ming Dynasty, my brother-in-law's vassal state in the Japanese country is naturally embarrassed. Before that, most of the vassal kings were going to Tianzhu. The place there is big enough and new vassal states can be established."
"It's just that according to the method of the Japanese state, if the Ming Dynasty occupied Tianzhu, the vassal state or the princely state would still have to move out. At least the situation will not change when Taisun is on the throne."
"However, Dongsheng Shenzhou is different. It is too far away and the territory is vast. Even if the imperial court wants to control it, it is powerless."
"The barbarians who have not been civilized and civilized are nothing more than people who drink their blood. It is now difficult for the court to educate them, so establishing a vassal state is the best choice. It not only guarantees the court's rule, but also does not cost the court too much burden."
"Therefore, my grandson's coming over, my brother-in-law's affairs, and our accompanying him there are generally no problem. Then the second brother will just have to enjoy his lunch quietly."
Hearing what his fourth brother said, Xu Yingxu felt a little puzzled.
"If that's the case, why does my brother-in-law have to go around so much and ask my little sister through us, and then entertain my grandson? Isn't this unnecessary?"
"Is it possible that my grandson still won't let my brother-in-law go to Dongsheng China?"
Xu Zengshou was quite speechless, but seeing the confused look on his second brother's face, he could only explain: "Second brother, please don't forget that there were some conflicts between my brother-in-law and my grandson back then."
"Even if it is said that these years have passed, who can say that the grandson will not remember it? This is a matter of hereditary inheritance. Of course, we must be more prepared."
After hearing this, Xu Yingxu reacted.
Not long after, someone in the front yard announced that His Highness Taisun was about to arrive.
The two men quickly led their servants forward to wait to greet them.
Zhu Ying brought Xu Miaojin over for dinner, which was considered a return to her parents' home.
It's just that Xu Da's wives and concubines were relatively short-lived, so Xu Miaojin's brothers and sisters have lost their parents. This is also the reason why Xu Yingxu and Xu Zengshou have a good relationship with their eldest sister.
Xu Miaojin was obviously very happy to return to Zhongshan Palace and went to her room first.
Even after she got married, she still kept the boudoir where she lived before.
During the meal, Xu Zengshou did not deliberately talk about Zhu Di, but only talked about common things.
The only one mentioned was the eldest sister Xu Yihua.
Some words don't need to be said explicitly, as long as the meaning is clear. If you really say it, you will be inferior. Xu Zengshou understands these worldly things much better than his second brother Xu Yingxu.
Besides, the grandson's thoughts are not something they can control. If he doesn't want Zhu Di to go to Dongsheng Shenzhou and Tianzhu, then no one can change it.