Chapter four hundred and eighty fifth battle between vehicles and ships
On the 21st day of July in the third year of Chu Li, at noon, Bai Tuzheng, Xia Houjuan and Lu Lingqi were having lunch together. Bai Qing and Lu Yan were accompanied by their wet nurses.
The "Royal Chef" of the Chu Palace has recently developed a new dish - braised lion head.
"Old Zhao's craftsmanship is getting better and better. When his apprentice brings him out, let him be sent to Hefei to open a new store!" Bai Tu said after he was very good at cooking.
"Well, looking at the seven branches of Baiyanlou, the net profit of a new store in a year is at least hundreds of thousands." Lu Lingqi's eyes lit up when she heard this, and then she saw Xia Houjuan on the side acting indifferently, so she added: "Quite a bit.
Yu Xiaojuan’s royalties for several years!”
Xia Houjuan:......
The purchasing power unit of Chu coins is still very strong. Although the weight is about the same as that of Han five baht coins, the purchasing power of Chu coins is at least three times that of five baht coins. Even if Liu Xie hesitated for this and banned the circulation of Chu coins in Guanzhong, it would change.
Not this.
As for the "big money" mentioned by Lu Lingqi, it means "worth ten Chu coins". The face value is ten, and the copper is ten times as much. It is called "big money" among the people.
For example, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, one stone of rice cost more than 200 yuan. Now the price of food in Chu State has been raised to more than 400 yuan due to the Pan-Zhenqi Project. However... in terms of Chu coins, it only costs 150 yuan.
Up and down, only Chu coins circulated within the Chu State.
In terms of "ten big bucks", the salary of a high-ranking member of the Central Government, a master craftsman of the Ministry of Industry, and a doctor of medical school is theoretically only a few hundred dollars a month.
Zhang Chunhua, who was eating a "working meal" on the small table, curled his lips when he heard this - compared with Emperor Huan, King Chu was really "money-seeking"!
Not to mention the level of a palace, which is also a mansion, the training mechanism of "imperial chef" is that after the training is mature, a few apprentices will be brought out, and then... they will be released to serve as the head of a restaurant owned solely by the Chu Palace?
Generally speaking, imperial chefs should not strive for excellence. How come they got here from King Chu and became the leader of a foreign restaurant?
But the effect is really good. Firstly, it is the royal chef released from the Chu Palace, and the craftsmanship is indeed unique. Secondly... there is also the reputation of "Chu Palace" and "Royal Chef", and it can easily become the most famous and highest brand (
A restaurant that sells stalls (customers) and does not worry about any malicious competition.
It’s really a lot of money!
Because Zhang Chunhua's "Shang Shulang" is already at the level of a life assistant, she can feel that Bai Tu is serious about saving money for future generations. In other words... Bai Tu is very interested in "just in case".
The promise is indeed serious.
only……
The dignified King of Chu always feels like a food tester? The royal chef has just been trained and sent out?
Such fragrant braised lion head is probably not available next month, and we have to wait for the next batch of royal chefs to mature - Zhang Chunhua's working meal is actually the same dish, just divided.
In addition... the restaurant and so on are just Bai Tu's own small business. The Chu State has recently had a "big business", which has also begun to be implemented.
That was the sea-going ship transaction with Wei State. Finally, Liu Ye was no longer playing ball. Chu State agreed to pay the first batch of ships in advance, which accounted for about 20% of the total transaction volume.
What the Wei State valued was originally the "sample", not the quantity, so... the Chu State was so cruel that it made Wei State pay 80% of the payment first!
After all, the ironclad ship project has been launched. Although wooden ships will still be produced, especially iron-clad wooden ships, the new ships will definitely be driven by infuriating energy.
Bai Tu naturally didn't mind trading the old sail warships to the Wei State - for the 200 million Chu coins, the Wei State sold a lot of resources, and even...indirectly "sold" a lot of its population.
Now Bai Tu has also understood that the reason why the Wei State is so wealthy is that it mobilized aristocratic families to "subscribe".
At the same time, large-scale transactions of Chu coins also further consolidated the legal status of Chu coins. Especially after the rise of maritime trade in the Wei State, many wealthy families in the Central Plains and Hebei began to exchange part of their hoarded gold and silver for Chu coins.
The habit of hoarding.
Although the Wei State restricted the direct circulation of Chu coins in the country, the Wei State was unable to supervise the transactions between the noble families.
As the Chu State grew stronger and stronger, the Chu nobles gradually overwhelmed the nobles in other regions in terms of financial and material resources, which made other princes' resistance to innovation much smaller. The local nobles could also feel that the gap between themselves and the powerful families of the Chu State was widening.
!
However, the fundamental principle is that everyone still cares about his own interests and cannot sacrifice his own interests to promote innovation.
In contrast, the Chu State used its development rights to "loan" part of the private rights of each family at the beginning of its development, so that the current government decrees are smooth. Although there are also risky private transactions,
At least in the Chu State, the court was really investigating and cracking down, unlike other princes who had to turn a blind eye and close a blind eye.
The two hundred million from the far north also loosened the start-up funds for the Chu State's Zhenqi Ship and Zhenqi Train plans.
After Bai Tu took the courtiers to "experience" it, the opinions of all parties actually had quite a lot of differences - after all, this was different from testing guns and cannons.
As for guns and cannons, the generals only need to consider which one is more practical and cost-effective. However, the Qi ship and Qi train plans are related to the development focus of Chu State and cannot be compared generally.
In the end, the result of mutual compromise was that the size of the initial ironclad ship was reduced a lot.
Bai Tu's original plan was to build a battleship and three cruisers first, and the others would be temporarily replaced by iron-clad wood destroyers, frigates, purely wooden transport ships, and gunboats to form a fleet together.
Battleships are also commonly known as "ironclads", with high tonnage, large-caliber weapons, and thick armor, which are equivalent to the evolved version of sailing main ships; cruisers are relatively smaller, have lighter firepower, and have thinner armor, but they can sail
It is faster and more suitable for long-distance voyages. This method of calling it was also used within the Chu Navy.
However, even a cruiser, as long as it is a Qi-armored cruiser, has a displacement two or three times larger than the current wooden main ship. It can be about 5,000 tons based on the Chu system. You must know that one ton made by the Chu system is equivalent to 2.5 tons in later generations...
...It just doesn't have the momentum of an "ironclad ship" that can easily displace 20,000 tons of water.
In the end, after some debate, even though the "fleet faction" had Bai Tu's support, they were still persuaded, and the number was reduced to "two cruisers, and the rest were replaced by iron-clad wood-infuriating ships."
In addition, the ministers who participated in the experiment had no objections to increasing the amount of steelmaking. They changed their previous objections and just wanted to invest more efforts in the railway.
Bai Tu also saw it, mainly because... everyone has selfish motives!
Although the benefits of the sea route are now visible to the naked eye in Chu State, the foundation of most noble families is ultimately inland.
Therefore, in terms of balance between the two, they hope that the railway will be laid, let alone any ocean-going project.
Regardless of the ocean-going plan or the railway plan, the party that benefits the most is definitely the Chu State’s treasury—accounting for more than half.
However, the difference is that apart from this, the revenue items and departments related to voyages are basically controlled by the Jiangdong Family.
Although Jiangdong is the place where the Chu Kingdom prospered, the dividends the Jiangdong family has received have long been coveted, so how can they be willing to continue to invest the power of the Chu Kingdom in the sea?
If you want to invest...you have to stretch out your hands and then invest!
Bai Tu did not forcefully correct this...
Although there are selfish motives, it does not harm the interests of the Chu State. It is just a matter of which area to develop first.
Including Lu Su, they also have shares in ships, but they also prefer to give priority to railways and connect the major cities in Chu mainland together first!
After all, at present, the income from overseas expansion is only a "fragment" of that for mainland Chu.
And more importantly, Lu Su saw the hope of breaking through the peak of the previous Han Dynasty from the railway and the Qi train!
During the Pre-Han Dynasty, they chased the Xiongnu to Mobei, sealed the wolf in Xu, and pursued the main force of the Xiongnu to the Lake Baikal area in later generations...
At that time, the territory of the former Han Dynasty also reached an unprecedentedly vast extent. However, with the decline of national power later, the army could only gradually withdraw it - after all, the climate in Heshuo and Mobei is not conducive to farming. When the national power was strong,
You can deploy food transportation lines and garrison troops, but when the national strength is slightly weaker, you can only give up unproductive land.
This was especially evident in the "broader" Han and Tang dynasties. The territory at its peak was completely different from its usual territory.
In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, even the "Western Region Protector's Palace" could no longer be maintained and was downgraded to the "Western Region Changshi's Palace". The map area seemed large, but in fact, the control over the Western Region was very limited - just look at the administrative level.
Understand that the Protectorate of the Western Regions is a subordinate of the Liangzhou Governor’s Department, and the Governor of the Western Regions is already a subordinate of Dunhuang County.
Moreover, whether it is the Duhufu or the Changshi Mansion, the greater role is not to directly rule the countries in the Western Regions, but to station troops here to stabilize the situation of the countries in the Western Regions, and to be the "grand leader" of the Western Regions with peace of mind, waiting for tribute.
Considering only the tribute and the military expenditure of the Changshi Mansion is definitely a loss-making business. However, the greater significance of the Changshi Mansion is to coordinate the countries in the Western Regions. In the short term, it ensures that Dunhuang can farm with peace of mind, and in the long term, it does not have to worry about the Western Regions.
What threat does China pose to the Central Plains?
However, in terms of influence, the "Qianliang" during the Northern and Southern Dynasties had a much greater impact on the Western Regions. At one time, they actually included a large area of the Western Regions into their own territory, called Shazhou, and even expanded official land in Dunhuang...
…
The reason is very simple. It’s not that Qianliang is stronger than Wei and Jin, but because Qianliang’s roots are in Liangzhou and Guanzhong!
Although Lu Su didn't know anything about the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, but based on his overall view, how could he not deduce the changes that would be brought about after the "Qi Train" "brings the distance" between various places closer?
At that time, the distance that originally took "months to go back and forth" became "a few days". Be it baggage or soldiers, they could easily be transported thousands of miles. Wouldn't it be possible to station troops everywhere... No! Not only
It is a garrison. If it is so convenient, it will become easier to move people to the border!
There is no need to worry about the situation of South Vietnam King Zhao Tuo.
What finally convinced Bai Tu was Lu Su's point of view - cruisers are sea fortresses for any princes now, and there is no need for stronger battleships for the time being. By the time battleships are needed, the benefits generated by the railway can already be built.