In the palace, after some exchange of drinks, Zhao Kuo put down his kuaizi and waved his hand. The palace maid leaned over and retreated. Everyone looked at Zhao Kuo.
"What do you think of the more envoys visiting my country, Zhao?" Zhao Kuo asked loudly.
"The country of Zhao has a vast land, abundant resources, and rich people. It is a hundred times better than our country of Yue." Chang Yang said with cupped hands.
He didn't mean to compliment him, he really felt that the Zhao State was a hundred times better than the Yue State.
"If the envoy is willing to stay in the Kingdom of Zhao, I am willing to treat him as a minister." Zhao Kuo said sincerely.
The State of Zhao now has no shortage of generals, and any one of them can take charge of his own duties, but it is in urgent need of navy generals.
Compared with Yuan Hua, a young boy, Chang Yang is obviously more sophisticated and experienced. As long as he is given enough support, he will be able to support a naval army in a short time.
Of course, Zhao Kuo was also very satisfied with Yuan Hua. He was talented, ambitious, and daring to venture and fight. He took the initiative to come to Zhao from the Yue Kingdom just to win the slightest opportunity.
But it is too young and cannot grow up in a few years.
"The king has started again." Yan Xiong lowered his head and whispered to Gai Nie next to him with a smile.
"How do you say it?" Gai Nie had just joined this circle and didn't quite understand.
Yanxiong told Gai Nie that Zhao Kuo would always find ways to poach envoys from other countries every time he met with envoys from other countries. Gai Nie was stunned when he heard this.
"Your Majesty... you are really thirsty for talents..." Gai Nie could only say this.
"My king treats me very well, and I can't bear to betray him."
It would be a lie to say that he was not interested. Not to mention the position of minister, even the officials of Zhao State were ten times better than the ministers of Yue State, but Chang Yang still refused.
"Sir, you are really a loyal and righteous man." Zhao Kuo praised him without forcing him.
"I dare to ask your Majesty, I wonder... Zhao Guo promised me the three thousand gold and ten thousand spears and ten thousand spears from Yue Guo. When will I be able to..." Chang Yang hesitated for a moment and said with his hand.
"The Yue envoy will stay in Handan for a few more days. I will collect the gold and weapons within five days. However, in order to prevent them from being seized by the Chu State, I, Zhao, will divide these gold and weapons into multiple batches and send them to the Yue State.
Please also ask the envoy to send someone to explain to the King of Yue. At the same time, the family members of these shipwrights and sailors will be bought by me at the same price." Zhao Kuo said.
"Thank you, King Zhao." Chang Yang said gratefully.
He was already prepared to be embarrassed by Zhao Kuo, but he didn't expect Zhao Kuo to be so easy to talk to.
"I heard that there are not many ships left in the Yue Kingdom?" Zhao Kuo asked again.
"I dare not hide it from your Majesty. Our Yue Kingdom only has six large ships left, which are slightly less than the large ships sold to Zhao State." Chang Yang sighed.
I recall that when the Yue Kingdom was at its peak, there were thousands of warships, thousands of good generals, and 100,000 armored men. Now there are only six warships left, the number of good generals is less than one hand, and the total number of common people is only more than 100,000.
"Since the Yue Kingdom no longer builds sea-going ships, I wonder if the timber left over from the past can be sold to my king. We, the Zhao Kingdom, can exchange it for soldiers and armor," Zhao Kuo said.
Fresh wood cannot be used to build boats as it is easy to crack. It must be dried in the shade for about three years and is not insect-eaten before boats can be built.
In other words, even if Zhao State obtained Yue State's shipbuilding technology and had craftsmen and sailors, it would have to wait until three years at the earliest before it could build a ship.
But if we can get the wood accumulated by Yue, we can start building ships immediately, and maybe they can go to sea next year.
"We do still have some timber in the Yue Kingdom. If the king does not dislike it, the foreign ministers can decide to sell it to the Zhao Kingdom." Chang Yang said.
As Zhao Kuo said, it is useless for the Yue Kingdom to keep these timbers. It is better to exchange them for some soldiers, armor and money.
"In addition to wood, tea, sugar cane, silk and other items from the Yue Kingdom can also be sold to our Zhao Kingdom. Our Zhao Kingdom can buy them with money, or exchange them with grain and soldiers." Zhao Kuo said.
.
In the past, the land of Wuyue was the area with the most developed iron smelting technology in China, but now it has to rely on Zhao for support even for weapons, which has to be lamented.
"If we can sell it to Zhao State, then my Yue State will naturally be very happy. However, our Yue State and Zhao State are thousands of miles apart, and there are Chu State and Wei State in between. I'm afraid it's a bit..." Chang Yang said in embarrassment.
.
Establishing trade relations with Zhao State is more beneficial to Yue State than to Zhao State, because Yue State is smaller and needs Zhao State's support more.
As for the State of Zhao, one more State of Yue is not more, and one less State of Yue is not more. Chang Yang really wanted to facilitate this, but the reality is another matter. It is impossible for the State of Chu to watch the exchanges between the State of Yue and the State of Zhao.
.
"We can take the water route." Zhao Kuo said. "After the wood from the Yue Kingdom is transported to our Zhao Kingdom, our Zhao Kingdom will immediately start building ships. We will be able to build a fleet next spring. The Yue Kingdom should not be short of this.
time."
"Then the foreign minister will thank King Zhao." Chang Yang said.
…
After the banquet, Zhao Kuo met with Ou Yeshou and Yuan Hua alone and encouraged them.
"If you have any requests, tell me directly and I will grant them. I have only one request, which is to see a navy of three thousand men within a year." Zhao Kuo patted Yuan Hua on the shoulder.
Chang Yang did not want to stay in Zhao State, so Zhao Kuo had no choice but to choose Yuan Hua. If he could really build a fleet in one year, even if it was just a show, it would be enough to show his ability.
Zhao Kuo did not expect to be able to train into an elite naval force within a year.
"I will definitely complete it." Yuan Hua said solemnly.
Sure enough, Zhao State lacks naval talents, and anyone who comes to Zhao State will definitely be reused!
As long as he completes the first task assigned to him by the king, no one can shake his position in the future!
"By the way, there are still more than a hundred small boats left by Qi in Gaotang. You can take them to see them. If you can use them, take them all away. The few who can't use them will use them to make fishing boats." Zhao Kuo said.
After Lian Po defeated the Qi army, more than a hundred small broken boats were captured together with the Qi army.
Of course, this small broken ship is compared to the ships of Yue State. To Zhao State, these ships are still very big.
Later, Qi State took the prisoners back, but these small broken ships stayed in Zhao State.
Yuan Hua's eyes lit up. He thought he only had seven ships to use, but he didn't expect a surprise. Qi's shipbuilding technology was not inferior to Yue's. Even if these ships were inferior, they were enough for training.
"I promise to train three thousand navy troops within one year, otherwise I will come to see you." Yuan Hua said loudly.
"This king believes in you." Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty, a thief has been recruited." Liu Ping walked in quickly and whispered.
"They are Ba people. They rebelled against the Qin State a few months ago. All the tribesmen were arrested and demoted to vassals. A month ago, Qin Prime Minister Fan Ju sent people to find them and said that as long as they killed the king, all their tribesmen would be released.
"
"That old man is also from Ba?" Zhao Kuo didn't believe it.
From the appearance of others, it can be seen that they are quite different from the Central Plains people, but the old man is definitely a native of the Central Plains.
"The old man was once a member of my Zhao family. Later, he was captured by the Qin State. He was favored for his bravery and became a Qin member. He was also sent by Fan Ju. He must be old and plans to fight for future generations." Liu Ping said.
.
"Ask that Bahu if he is willing to surrender." Zhao Kuo said.
After all, he is a strong man in the extraordinary realm. If he is willing to surrender, he can forget about it.
"That Bahu... committed suicide..." Liu Ping whispered.
"It's a shame to be considered a warrior." Zhao Kuo sighed, and after a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Send all the corpses of the assassins to Qin."
"No." Liu Ping bowed and prepared to go down to make arrangements.
"Wait a minute." Zhao Kuo stopped Liu Ping, "Also, send a message to King Ji and Fan Ju of Qin: sending assassins to assassinate is the work of villains. If this happens to me again, the whole Qin Kingdom will be shaken.
All noble officials and their relatives are shrouded in fear."