Redding couldn't help but be slightly dumbfounded, even though the matter of digging canals was nothing new in Egypt.
Historically, the Egyptians dug canals to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The earliest excavation history can be traced back to the twelfth dynasty of Egypt, when Pharaoh Senusert III ordered the digging of an east-west canal to connect the Red Sea and the Nile in order to conduct direct trade through land-based flat boats. It is still there today.
There are some remains of this canal, which was said to have been in use until the time of Ramses II before it fell into disuse.
In 600 BC, another pharaoh wanted to dig a canal, but in the end it was not completed due to the huge amount of work on the canal.
In the following more than a thousand years, the rulers who ruled Egypt wanted to dig canals to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea many times, and they continued to excavate, improve, destroy and rebuild on the original basis.
It was completely abandoned during the period of Caliph Al-Mansur during the Arab Empire.
There have been many people in history who wanted to dig canals, but so far no one has been able to actually dig a usable canal.
The main reason for this is that the amount of canal excavation work is too large.
The closest distance between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea is less than two hundred miles. In the eyes of later generations, the distance of two hundred miles is simply insignificant. With large-scale construction machinery, it can be dug easily at any time.
But this was in ancient times, there were no construction machinery, everything had to be excavated by manpower, and the amount of work would be very large.
And Egypt, despite its great reputation as an ancient civilization, has a special geographical climate. Except for the oases in the Nile River Basin where people live, most of the land is desert and sparsely populated.
In the surrounding area, the situation in the Middle East to the east is similar, not much better. To the west, North Africa is the vast Sahara Desert, which is also a desert.
This means that Egypt's population is very small, which means there is no way to easily recruit hundreds of thousands of people to carry out major projects like the big countries in the east.
Because if hundreds of thousands of people don't farm and produce, the entire country may have big problems, and a large number of people will starve to death. Moreover, there are deserts everywhere here, and drinking water is a big problem.
This is also an important reason why Egypt has been unable to build a canal in ancient times. In comparison, the distance from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is simply trivial for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
"It is more than 200 miles from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. How many people and how many years of digging will it take to dig through it?"
"The amount of the project is too large, and the funds required are too huge."
Redding said the same thing and couldn't help but shake his head.
"What's two hundred miles?"
"Our Ming Dynasty's Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is more than three thousand miles long, running through the north and south of our Ming Dynasty. We Ming people can dig through it. This mere two hundred miles is nothing."
When Liu Yangzheng heard this, he immediately laughed.
It's only two hundred miles. What a big deal. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was dug over three thousand miles in the Ming Dynasty. Two hundred miles is nothing.
To be honest, this was not a wild idea, but he really thought that if a canal could be dug here, he would be able to collect money in the future.
In Liu Yangzheng's view, the distance of two hundred miles is very close, and it can be dug out with only one hundred thousand people and a few years of digging.
After the excavation is completed, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea will be connected. I don’t know how many ships will pass through here. Each ship will collect a toll of 100 taels of silver. How much money can it collect this year?
A minimum of 10,000 ships a year is considered a minimum. This collection of tolls can collect a million taels of silver, and once the canal is built, it will basically be a collection of money. This business is definitely a big money-making business.
"this……"
Hearing Liu Yangzheng's words, Lei Ding was immediately speechless.
He also knew a lot about the Ming Dynasty and knew about the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
The three-thousand-mile Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was once the most important river transportation waterway in the Ming Dynasty. It is said that it was built during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, when Egypt was still in the Arab Empire.
If you think about it carefully, the people of Ming Dynasty could even build the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is three thousand miles away. It seems that this canal, which is only two hundred miles away, is really not difficult for them.
"If this canal can really be built, then we can really make money from there."
"Now alone, the trade between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea is very booming. If there is a canal and ships can pass through, it will really make a fortune."
"The people of the Ming Dynasty have strong technology, funds and strength. There will definitely be no problem if they let the people of the Ming Dynasty build this canal."
Redding thought carefully in his mind.
"I need to discuss this matter with our great Sultan. I think our great Sultan should support it."
"But our country, Egypt, is small and weak. If we really want to start building such a canal, I'm afraid we will still need the support of Ningguo and even Ming Dynasty."
"It is definitely possible to build such a canal, but the funds required will definitely be an astronomical figure. At least, it will definitely require tens of millions of taels of silver."
After hearing Lei Ding's words, Liu Yangzheng and Zhou Jingming also nodded in agreement.
"This will indeed require an extremely large amount of funds. Even our Ningguo cannot come up with such a huge amount of funds. I am afraid that we will still need to raise funds with many powerful firms and merchants in Ming Dynasty."
"But the premise is that we can reach an agreement on the benefits of the canal. Only with enough benefits can we attract the wealthy people of Ming Dynasty to invest in the construction of the canal."
Liu Yangzheng thought for a while and said.
He is no longer the down-and-out scholar he was in the Ming Dynasty. He is now the left prime minister of the Ning Kingdom and the right-hand man of King Ning.
After staying in Ningguo for many years, I have gradually become accustomed to some of the styles of doing things here in the west. I have to discuss the issue of profit distribution before starting.
Let’s talk about how to distribute the benefits first, and then talk about investment.
He also knew very well how powerful Ming's capital power was.
Tens of millions of funds is very huge for Ning Guo. Of course, this does not mean that Ning Wang does not have a lot of wealth. Most of Ning Wang's wealth is real estate, injected into land, commodities, minerals, etc.
There are not a lot of funds that can really be circulated, and the silver that can be taken out is also limited. It is very difficult for Prince Ning to get tens of millions of taels of silver.
But for the commercial banks and big capitalists of the Ming Dynasty, although tens of millions of silver is still a huge number, there are still many people who can take it out, and soon there will be investors like the First Bank of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how big it is.
Daming First Bank can also provide funds.
Ming Dynasty has plenty of money, but the key is that if you want to attract everyone to invest, you must have enough benefits.
"Well, this is indeed a problem~"
"I will go see our great Sultan as soon as possible and report this matter to him. I think if you are willing to invest in building the canal, a half-and-half split would be more reasonable."
Redding thought for a while and said.
Egypt's problem is that it does not have enough funds and strength to build the canal, so it needs Ming Dynasty's funds and strength. However, the land here belongs to Egypt, so it is more reasonable to divide it in half.
"Half and half? That's a pretty good suggestion."
Liu Yangzheng thought for a while and nodded, then thought for a while and said, "I will write to Liu Jin and Duke Liu, the official secretary of the Ming Dynasty, and explain to him the situation here."
"As long as Mr. Liu is willing to come forward, no matter how much money you have, there will be no problem."
"You can tell your Sultan that at this time, if it is indeed intentional and feasible, then we will discuss the matter in detail at that time."
"After we have discussed many things, we can actually start building the canal."
"It's only two hundred miles, and it requires 100,000 people. I think it will be almost completed in a few years. By then, it will be very convenient to travel from Europe to the Indian Ocean and to the Ming Dynasty."
"Based on the current number of ships, there will be no problem if 10,000 ships pass through it a year. And as trade becomes more frequent, more ships will pass through in the future."
"This is definitely a profitable business, and after repairing it, you can just lay back and make money."
"You must make this clear to your Sultan. I think he will agree. There is no reason to let money go without making money."
"Don't worry, I will report this matter to Sudan in detail."
"How this canal can be repaired is also a very important matter for us in Egypt and has extremely important significance."
Redding nodded solemnly.
To be honest, after silent calculation in his mind, he felt that this deal could be done and it was indeed a big deal.
It's just that this deal is so big that Lei Ding can only act as a liaison in it and cannot sit on an equal footing with Liu Yangzheng.
There is no way. Firstly, he does not have huge funds, and secondly, he does not care about coming to Egypt. If he can act as an errand, it would be good to hold a part of the shares in this canal in the future. At least, he can still pass on the news.
It goes on, and it can be said to be a hugely profitable business.
After the canal is built, future generations can collect money and live a good life.
"Okay, let's settle the matter like this for now. I will write to Liu Gong, the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, as soon as I get back. You are also going to visit your Sultan."
"I will stay here for a few days. If he is interested, we can discuss it carefully at that time."
"After Daming replies, I will come to your country again to handle this matter."
