In a sea area of the East China Sea in the north of Ryukyu Island, a large ship is sailing south.
"Woo~"
Accompanied by bursts of whistles, billowing black smoke spewed out from the chimneys, the sails were inflated by the strong wind, and the ship moved very fast, chopping through the waves.
"We can arrive at Ryukyu Castle today!"
In the captain's room, the captain of the Kunpeng, Lu Yang, was carefully calculating the ship's position and the time it would take to arrive at Ryukyu Island.
As a regular captain who graduated from Tianjin Maritime University, he has extremely rich navigation experience. Calculation is simply a child's play. He soon put down the pen in his hand with great confidence.
When he came to the deck of the ship and felt the speed of the ship moving on the sea, he couldn't help but nod his head.
"In the past, it would take at least about ten days to get from Tianjin to Ryukyu, even in the best of times and with a favorable wind. And that's when everything goes well."
"If there is a headwind, it will take even longer."
"It's good now. With this steam engine, we will reach Ryukyu in just five days. This speed is more than twice as fast."
"The speed is much faster, but it requires enough coal, which takes up a lot of storage space."
Lu Yang calculated silently. He used to travel between Tianjin and Nanyang all year round. He was very familiar with this route and knew clearly the time it took, the places and islands he passed, etc.
"Dang~dang~"
At this time, bursts of bells came from the lookout hand on the mast.
"Captain, I saw land, it should be Ryukyu Island!"
Soon, the lookout's voice came.
"Haha, we will reach Ryukyu in five days. In these ten days or so, we can go back and forth."
When Lu Yang heard this, he immediately laughed happily.
Sailing on the sea is the happiest thing.
The position of the ship can be calculated accurately, and it can reach the destination as planned every time, which gives him a great sense of accomplishment.
"This steamship is incredible~"
"It's just the beginning now. It will definitely become more advanced and faster in the future. I'm afraid it won't even take five days to travel to and from Ryukyu in the future."
Lu Yang carefully touched the guardrail on the deck of the Kunpeng. It was a very honorable thing to become the captain of the first steamship.
Just before sunset, the Kunpeng arrived at Ryukyu City very smoothly and anchored in the river port outside Ryukyu City.
The port in Ryukyu City's river bend was almost overcrowded by the Kunpeng. After all, it was just a river port, not as good as a deep-water seaport. This was Ryukyu City's biggest headache right now.
"This Ryukyu Castle is getting bigger and bigger. The original walls have been demolished."
Lu Yang looked at the Ryukyu City in front of him and saw that it had changed a lot.
The original Ryukyu Castle also built a city wall because it wanted to guard against the indigenous people on Ryukyu Island.
However, with the rapid development in recent years, the city wall has obviously restricted the expansion and development of Ryukyu City, so it had to be demolished.
Of course, the indigenous issues on Ryukyu Island were also resolved. The imperial court came forward to peacefully resolve all the indigenous tribe issues on Ryukyu Island through negotiation.
All indigenous people can obtain the status of citizens of the Ming Empire. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty fully guaranteed the interests of the indigenous people and set aside a large number of private lands on the island.
The private land belongs entirely to the indigenous people on the island. The Ming Dynasty court and immigrants are not allowed to set foot in it. Everything outside the private land is carried out in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
This method is still rare for the current Ming Empire.
With the powerful force of the Ming Empire, it is not difficult to conquer this place. In addition, in the past few years, the Ming Dynasty's external expansion has basically relied on hard-line methods of iron and blood. Problems that can be solved with cannons will definitely not bullshit you.
Among them, Liu Jin believed that the indigenous people in the Ryukyu area were most likely the former Baiyue and Minyue people, and they had a long history with the Ming Dynasty people and had a close relationship.
In fact, to put it simply, it means that they can be regarded as one's own family. There is no need to use force. If you can talk, just have a good talk.
Liu Jin believed that as long as they were willing to negotiate and their interests were protected, no one would be willing to go against the powerful Ming Empire. What's more, becoming legal citizens of the Ming Empire would also bring many benefits to them.
At least, they can rely on the deerskin, camphor, wood, etc. in their hands to exchange for the food, cloth, ironware, salt, tea, etc. they need from the cities on the Ryukyu Islands, thus suddenly entering a civilized society.
, there is no need to live the life of a primitive tribe.
"Lu Yang, you are so fast. It has only been one day since I received the letter, and you are already in Ryukyu?"
After receiving the news, Li Yuanshan hurried to the dock and found his old friend Lu Yang. He looked at the giant creature in front of him in disbelief.
"Is this a steamship?"
"It doesn't look much different from other ships, it just has two more chimneys."
Li Yuanshan looked at the Kunpeng in front of him carefully, and said while looking at it.
"Haha, the difference is huge."
"The steam engine above can provide strong power. Even when the wind is not favorable, its speed is quite fast. If the wind is favorable and the sail is raised, the speed will be even faster."
"So it used to take ten days to arrive, but this time it took five days."
"If it hadn't been for a detailed inspection in Tianjin, plus it took a lot of time to load the goods, maybe I would have arrived here faster than that letter."
"Let's go, let's take you around the boat."
Lu Yang smiled and led Li Yuanshan around on the boat.
"This is my captain's cabin, does it feel different?"
"Just sit here and shout into each loudspeaker."
"This is a rudder control that can control the left and right steering of the ship. It is very convenient. It does not need to be as troublesome as before, and it does not require complicated manipulation of the sail to adjust the direction."
"This is the boiler room. Coal is burned in this boiler. Are you prepared?"
"I'm ready. I received the letter from the headquarters yesterday and started preparing."
"There is coal here in Ryukyu, so don't worry."
"However, Mr. Liu may have to wait a day if he needs the goods. He needs time to prepare. You guys came too fast. I only received the letter yesterday and you guys arrived today."
Li Yuanshan said helplessly.
Liu Jin asked Li Yuanshan to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables because the empress was pregnant and needed to eat more fruits and vegetables.
It is winter now, and snowflakes have begun to fall in the Beijing and Tianjin areas. Only Ryukyu and Nanyang areas still have vegetables and fruits, so we can only find a way to transport them to Ryukyu.
"You have to hurry up~"
"As you know, these fruits and vegetables are going to be sent to the palace for the Queen. This is our honor. The Queen is pregnant now. This is a great event that the entire Ming Dynasty will celebrate with joy."
"The emperor also gave this task to Liu Gong. When the vegetables and fruits are transported to the capital, they must be fresh. Although there are steamships, the time is still very tight."
When Lu Yang heard this, he also said anxiously.
"I know, I know. The main reason is that I just received the letter yesterday. I started preparing it yesterday. You can't just transport some fruits and vegetables on a big ship like this. I also have to carry other goods."
Everything has been arranged.”
Li Yuanshan nodded solemnly.
Now for Ming Dynasty, the top priority is the baby in the Empress's belly.
Since the Ming Dynasty Morning Post reported the news of the Queen's happiness, the entire Ming Dynasty was almost a nation-wide celebration, and fireworks and firecrackers were set off in many places to celebrate the event.
Emperor Hongzhi was a good emperor. The Ming Dynasty could be what it is today, and everyone could live a good life. All of this was inseparable from Emperor Hongzhi's love for the people, his diligence and frugality, and his courage to support Liu Jin in his reforms.
Therefore, Emperor Hongzhi was very loved and supported by the people, especially in Ryukyu City. People who immigrated to Ryukyu lived a good life, and many people even enshrine Emperor Hongzhi's shrine in their homes.
Everyone was naturally very happy to learn that the Queen was happy, and many people were praying constantly.
When Li Yuanshan received a letter saying that he was going to transport fruits and vegetables from Ryukyu back to Beijing and deliver them as tribute to the palace for the empress, he felt sad, but he was also very happy.
When the residents here in Ryukyu heard about this, they were even more excited and happier than the last one.
Vegetable farmers and fruit farmers were extremely excited, and they rushed to recommend the vegetables and fruits they grew to the county government here in Ryukyu City and Li Yuanshan.
It would be a great blessing for the Queen to be able to eat vegetables and fruits grown by herself.
Especially now that the Empress is pregnant, she has to eat more fruits and vegetables for the sake of the baby in her belly. Otherwise, given Emperor Hongzhi’s frugal character, he would never have been willing to spend so much manpower and material resources to transport vegetables from Ryukyu.
Fruit enters the palace.
"Other goods are not the most important. The most important thing is fruits and vegetables. You have to find a way to ensure that they are fresh enough when they arrive at the palace."
Lu Yang nodded slightly, knowing his main task.
"It's okay to say that fruit doesn't matter if you store it for a few days. Pick it when it's not very ripe and put it on the boat for a few days. When you get to the capital, it will be completely ripe, delicious and fresh."
"But this vegetable will definitely be stale after being stored for a few days. This is my biggest headache now."
Li Yuanshan touched his head and said worriedly.
"Let's not worry about it for now. I heard that Mr. Liu has people building some kind of greenhouse here in the capital. It is said that in the greenhouse, vegetables can be grown in winter. Then the vegetables will not need to be transported from Ryukyu."