The first thousand and forty-nine chapters enter Hong Kong
On the third day of May in the twenty-sixth year of Chongzhen, the northern hemisphere had entered early summer, and the steamship "Covenant" slowly entered Dagu Port, Tianjin.
King John IV stood on the forecastle of the Covenant, his face full of disbelief.
So here we are? On the other side of the world, China?
Starting from Lisbon, Portugal, Li Zhi's steamer took two months to reach Tianjin. This speed was absolutely lightning fast for Joao IV. You must know that for sailing ships of this era, such a journey was at least
It takes six months.
Some slow-moving sailing ships even took two years to make a round trip to the Far East. They sailed to the Far East in one year and returned to Europe in the second year. In other words, Li Zhi's steamship reduced the sea transportation time by three points.
Two, at least two-thirds.
King Joao IV looked back at the two large chimneys on the ship and shook his head.
Although this kind of ship has transported key supplies to Lisbon countless times, taking a ship for two months to experience the true speed of this ship has a huge impact on the worldview of the passengers.
This is a completely revolutionary vehicle that completely changes the rules of the game in this world.
Why was such an advanced machine invented by the Ming people in the Far East rather than by the scientifically prosperous and technologically advanced Europeans?
King Joao IV proposed to the captain of the ship three times to visit the engine bilge, but he was rejected outright by the captain on the grounds of confidentiality.
Raphael was very dissatisfied with this and issued diplomatic ultimatums to the captain three times, but in the end the captain never changed his mind, and John IV and his party were helpless.
John IV also sent a guard disguised as a Han man to sneak into the lower deck at night. But he couldn't see anything in the dark. Before the spy was caught, the only thing he was sure of was that the huge machine driving the ship was burning wood.
of.
Later, the captain strengthened the security on the lower deck, so that John IV's people could no longer sneak in.
John IV understood that all the secrets of this steamship lay in the use of fire. This is the power of steel and fire. This power will change the entire world and break all old systems and powers. And Europeans are currently not interested in this power.
It can be said that I know nothing.
This kind of ship completely changed the geopolitics of the world. It was this kind of ship that launched strategic transportation from Tianjin to Lisbon on the other side of the world, which allowed Brazil, the third end of the world, to remain within the Kingdom of Portugal.
John IV suddenly felt that the self-proclaimed advanced European civilization was eclipsed.
It is no exaggeration to say that Europeans have lagged behind the world.
It was precisely because the Europeans began to fall behind that the British and Dutch coalition lost to Li Zhi in the Far East and lost the entire Far East.
King Joao IV looked at the ship's chimney that was spewing thick smoke, his eyes full of greed.
Raphael bowed to the king and said: "Your Highness, we should explain to Li Zhi that we in Portugal also need steam engines to transport between Europe and the New World to maintain the connection between Brazil and the country."
Joao IV looked at Raphael, but felt that Li Zhi would not agree to this request. João IV had a hunch that Li Zhi would not teach Portugal the technique of pressing the bottom of the box.
He looked ahead, looking at Dagu Port, which was getting bigger and bigger in his field of vision.
The huge harbor wharf made John IV take another breath of cold air.
In this era, Dagu Port has become a world-class port.
After more than ten years of development, Tianjin Town has become an industrial center in one town and nine provinces. Most areas in one town and nine provinces are not far from the coast, such as North Korea and Japan, so the main form of long-distance transportation is sea transportation. Although railway
Some transportation has been diverted, but it has not affected the main position of shipping.
The outskirts of Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Acropolis are now covered with industrial areas, and every day a large amount of industrial products are transported to other agricultural areas in one town and nine provinces. These products are loaded on ships in Dagu and loaded onto large and small private transportation companies registered in Fanjiazhuang.
by steamer, and then transported to Shandong, the three northeastern provinces, Jianghuai Province, North Korea, Japan, Luzon and Indochina.
Even not only the industrial products from Tianjin Town, but also some industrial products from other places in one town and nine provinces are often transported to Dagu Port for exhibition, sale and trade.
So what John IV saw was an extremely busy port full of berths and busy sailors.
In Lisbon, this famous port in Europe, the Portuguese only have more than 300 berths. Those ship berths are enough to support the Portuguese Kingdom, which has many colonies around the world. Sailing ships transport goods from all over the world to Lisbon, making Lisbon a
A world-renowned prosperous city.
But at this time, João IV stood on the forecastle of the ship and found that the ship berths in Dagu Port stretched from south to north, with no end in sight. All kinds of ships, big or small, were nervously waiting on the pier.
Loading and unloading goods make the entire terminal look extremely busy.
Not only are there berths close to the coastline, but man-made land protruding from the coastline has also been built in many places in the waterway, and berths have been built on both sides of these lands. Joao IV roughly estimated that there are at least a thousand berths in this field of view.
indivual.
This scale is not only inferior to Lisbon, but may even exceed that of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
However, the Dutch are sea coachmen who sell goods all over the world. Li Zhi's trade in Dagu mainly sells industrial products to overseas colonies. Therefore, every ship on this pier represents a ship's carrying capacity of industry.
ability.
Just looking at the size of this dock, you can feel how terrifying Li Zhi's industrial production capabilities are.
John IV's face turned a little pale.
This Dagu Port gives people the feeling that it has surpassed this era.
The ship slowly moved forward and gradually approached Dagu Port. John IV suddenly saw two large gray ships coming out of the pier.
Those two large ships were larger than the ship that John IV was on. Not only were they big, but they were also very heavy, and their hulls barely undulated in the waves.
John IV raised the telescope and took a closer look. His face suddenly turned pale, and then turned red with excitement.
Yes, this is the legendary ironclad ship that swept across the Far East.
The two outer hulls are all made of riveted iron plates and look extremely strong.
Alves held up a monocular and observed the two approaching iron-clad ships. His face turned pale and he said: "Lord, there are really iron ships in the world that can sail on the water."
Raphael also opened his eyes wide.
The last time he came to Tianjin, he was not able to see this legendary armored ship with his own eyes.
Although Raphael had long known that such a terrifying war machine existed in Tianjin, Raphael was still so frightened that he lost his sense of control when he saw this steel lump that could sail on water.
Subconsciously he felt oppressed and frightened.
"Your Highness...Your Highness...The steel ship is coming...Your Highness..."
