Chapter 1251: Sea Route
Chapter 1251: Sea Route (Additional Chapter 6 for Alliance Leader Yu Yuanchuyu)
The remaining stars have not yet faded, but the stone pavement of Dingdingmen Street is already covered with frost.
Today is only the tenth day of leap October, but it's already extremely cold.
The driver sat in the front, sleepy-eyed, whipping the mule intermittently.
The escorting soldiers were in high spirits, but they were all eager to return home as soon as possible to get their rewards. The one-year tour was about to end, and the next visit to Luoyang or Bianliang would be three years later.
Several carriages soon arrived outside the Tixiang Gate of the Bianliang Palace.
The night watch torches on the corner tower were emitting green smoke, which entangled with the smoke from the cooking fires not far away in the air and finally dissipated in the cold wind.
The Zuo Changzhiwei soldier guarding the gate checked them carefully and let them in. By then, it was already dawn.
The convoy finally stopped outside the Dragon Scale Palace.
In the morning light, a group of warriors were practicing lance fighting.
The leader was the Daliang Emperor Shao Xun. With a wave of his arm and a flick of his wrist, the heavy lance shot out like a dragon and pierced deeply into the elm wooden stake. The tassel exploded into a ball of scarlet in the morning breeze at dawn.
Dozens of young people followed him.
The muscles on his cheeks were constantly rolling, the sweat on his palms had already soaked through the spear shaft, and his shoulders and back were trembling slightly from holding the long spear for a long time.
A moment later, with a loud shout, the young men in the front row took a bow step forward, shouted "Kill" in unison, and thrust out with their long spears.
Then came the second loud shout, and the young man in the back row raised his spear and swept it horizontally, with the tassels flying all over the place.
The boys in the third row picked up straw men one by one.
The boys in the fourth row shook their wrists rapidly, simulating the act of knocking down the lances or spears in the hands of the enemies...
"Stop!" Shao Xun shouted.
The four rows of young men stopped fighting at the same time, leaning on their spears and panting.
"You are all descendants of heroes, and I have high hopes for you. Practice well and don't be lazy." Shao Xun handed the rifle to Tong Qianjin, waved his hand, and said, "Go away, go back and wash up, and review your lessons after breakfast."
"Yes, sir." Dozens of young men responded in unison, then divided into four rows and walked away.
"Cao Qing." After seeing the white hair flying in the morning breeze, Shao Xun smiled and said, "You came so early? Are you unable to sleep?"
"When people get old, they sleep less." Cao Yi, the Junior Official of the Imperial Household, smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know how much I envy young men who can sleep for four or five hours at a time."
Shao Xun laughed and asked, "Is it ready?"
"I don't know if it suits your majesty's taste." Cao Yi waved his hand, called a young official, and handed over something.
Shao Xun took it and looked at it, then asked, "Is this the model of the seagoing ship made by Wenma Shipyard?"
"That's right." Cao Yi said, "It's better than any other boat I've seen in Qingzhou."
"The ships made by southerners are definitely much better than those made by northerners, but..." Shao Xun looked over and over for a long time and said, "Why is the bottom of the ship so flat (shallow draft)? The hull (center of gravity) is so high?"
Cao Yi replied: "It has always been like this."
Shao Xun said nothing.
The three major shipbuilding bases of the Eastern Wu were Hengyu Ship Tun (Linhai County), Wenma Ship Tun (Jin'an County), and Fanyu Ship Tun (Nanhai County). The former built inland ships, mainly supplying the Yangtze River Navy, while the latter two built seagoing ships.
But there is actually not much difference between inland river ships and sea ships. To put it bluntly, the sea ships of the Eastern Wu have a strong flavor of inland river ships.
He sighed, perhaps the requirements were too high, this was the level of technology in this era.
Irresponsibly speaking, the Malays were able to cross the Indian Ocean and colonize Madagascar by canoeing with coconuts and rice, while the Vikings went to the Svalbard Islands to hunt whales in boats weighing more than 10 tons. So what if more boats capsized? It's just a few more shipwrecks, right? It's okay...
You want to improve shipbuilding technology, eliminate the legacy of inland ships from seagoing ships, and minimize shipwrecks and deaths. Your request seems to be too high. Sailing is a life-and-death act that requires you to put your head on the belt. A thousand years later, it will be the last way for desperate people to make money.
"That's it." Shao Xun said, "I have never built a ship, so I won't judge it. There is only one rule, after you build it, try to stick to the coast and don't go to the deep sea."
"Yes." Cao Wei replied.
"Let's go and have dinner." Shao Xun said.
Cao Yi thanked him and went to the side hall of the Dragon Scale Hall with Shao Xun.
The chef quickly brought breakfast, which was very simple: cakes, all kinds of cakes.
"Shu Guangwei once said that in winter, 'soup and noodles are the best way to replenish the body and relieve stress.' I practiced martial arts in the morning, so I like to have a bowl of soup and noodles." Shao Xun greeted.
In addition to soup noodles, there were many other noodles on the table.
Compared with the era when Shu Xi lived, there were more pork skin cakes, chicken and duck cakes, sliced cakes, paste rings, etc., almost twenty or thirty kinds of cakes. Shao Xun liked to eat chicken cakes (egg cakes), so there was a large pile of them at this time.
"Yesterday, someone from the Imperial Household Department said that if you grind the wheat from Anding with a mill from Luoyang, add onions from Hedong, sheep from Fuhan, cattle from Longxi, pepper from Qiuchi, salt from Jibei, and chicken from Xinfeng, and make meat patties, and fry them in a golden pan, they will be delicious." After finishing the soup pancake, Shao Xun picked up another pancake and said, "You can try this."
Seeing this, Cao Yi also picked up a pancake and ate it, finding it delicious. After swallowing it, he wiped his mouth and sighed, "Today I finally understand the beauty of the imperial family's feast."
Shao Xun laughed and said, "I don't want you to envy me. The world is not in trouble because there is no money, but because there is no one to share it. If we can export the products of various states to other places, so that the people of various states can share what they have, then the royal family will not be the only one to benefit. In the past, our ancestors only ate millet rice, seasoned with salt and plums, and the taste was bland. Now we have many cakes, sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce, and wine. Isn't it a world of difference?"
"For example, Funan's sugarcane has 13 sections and can be used to make a lot of sugar. If it can be widely exported to the north, the people can also eat it. Isn't it a great compliment? Thirty years ago, even the scholars in the north wanted to eat sweet things, but they could only eat malt and honey. If we can get sugarcane, it will definitely be in short supply."
Upon hearing this, Cao Yi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is thoughtful and far-sighted. I admire you very much." Shao Xun waved his hands and said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Now the first step has not been taken yet. It's too early."
In fact, Shao Xun didn't know how much sugar could be extracted from Funan sugarcane, and the sugar yield was probably very low.
The sugar yield of sugarcane in later generations was very high, but that was due to breeding. When Europeans sailed to Tahiti, they found that the sugar yield of sugarcane there was extremely high, which was much higher than all the sugarcane varieties discovered at that time, and it was much higher than that of all the sugarcane varieties discovered at that time, so they introduced it to various places. The sugarcane in the 21st century basically has the bloodline of Tahitian sugarcane.
But - make do with it.
Even the beets grown in cold regions (formerly sea beets, which had spread from the Mediterranean to West Asia at this time) were more like vegetables rather than economic crops that could be used to extract sugar, and their sugar yield was pitifully low.
Without breeding, hybridization and bloodline purification, nothing will work.
"I have many ideas to benefit the people of the world, but there are many obstacles." Shao Xun said: "After thinking about it, there is only one way to make it happen. I heard that Cao Qing and his sons have no intention of pursuing a career in politics, but only want to make money. Is it true?"
Cao Yi's heart skipped a beat. What did this mean?
He had many sons, but only the eldest son was an official. The others either studied at home or managed the business.
Did the emperor accuse him of harboring resentment and not wanting the sons to serve in the new dynasty?
"Cao Qing, don't think too much. Whenever I see someone, I advise them to develop their business." Shao Xun said, "Have you ever been to Jiangnan?"
"I have already sent someone to Jianye." Cao Yi said a little embarrassedly, "In the past, the descendants of Liu and Qu from Donglai followed Su Jun to the south. Now they are willing to sell their farms. We should discuss the price now."
"You are quite kind." Shao Xun said with a smile.
"We are all from the same village, so we can't do anything too ugly." Cao Yi said.
"Where is the manor?" Shao Xun asked.
"Linhai County."
“If there is output, how to transport it to the north?”
Cao Yi hesitated for a while, and finally said: "Or it can be transported to Henan via the Han Canal and Sishui River."
“Wouldn’t it be more convenient to ship by sea?”
"As your majesty said, there is a worry that the boat will capsize."
It is human nature to worry about risks. This problem was not solved until the Ming and Qing dynasties. By then, navigation technology had advanced a lot, but because the risk of shipwreck in sea transportation was much higher than inland river transportation, and it was difficult to turn around once interest groups were formed, water transport still went through the Grand Canal.
Only the Yuan Dynasty was the boldest and had engaged in sea transportation of grain, but they passed the losses from shipwrecks on to the people in the south of the Yangtze River - I don't care how many ships you sink at sea, I only care how much grain I get. If a ship sinks, you can send me another one, after all, this is the tax-farming system of the Yuan Dynasty.
Shao Xun felt like he was stuck in a vicious circle.
Shipping by sea is risky, so we use inland rivers. It is always easier to travel by inland river, but the progress of navigation technology is slow...
Perhaps, only those places that cannot have inland river transportation can develop maritime transportation, such as Jiaozhou. And there must be goods with amazing profits to offset the losses of shipwrecks in maritime transportation, or you can simply start marine insurance, but the insurance industry is impossible in this era.
But there is another problem with Jiaozhou. Even if Jiaozhou produces sugar, how can you conduct trade? Do people need your products? Or do they need some, but not much. That is, Jiaozhou exports a sufficient amount of sugar, but you do not have corresponding products to balance the trade volume, and there is a long-term trade deficit. You can only export precious metals, but precious metals are in serious shortage. Over time, the business will not be able to continue - you can't impose a 145% tariff, right?
There is a way to break the deadlock, which is to simply engage in colonial plunder without considering the issue of trade balance, but this will create centrifugal force and cause it to break away from the rule of the Daliang Dynasty.
There is nothing simple in the world, there are too many things to consider.
Let’s start with the transportation of tribute.
There is a reason why Jiaozhou, this broken place, remained in a half-dead state until its independence during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
After seeing Cao Yi off, Shao Xun first recalled the types and quantities of tribute that Jiaozhou had presented to the Jin court in previous years, and then personally drafted an edict.
"Imperial edict to the governor of Jiaozhou."
"Your Highness: I have received the mandate of Heaven and have governed the world. I have led my guests from far and near to pay tribute. Jiaozhou is located in the southern sea, rich in natural resources, rhinoceros, elephants, pearls and shells, which are all considered rare and precious. I now order your state to follow the old system and pay tribute every year to show your loyalty."
"The tribute is as follows: 50 pairs of green feathers, choose the brightest and most beautiful ones, and do not use any indiscriminate ones;"
"Twenty pieces of ivory, to be more than three feet long, white and flawless;"
"30 jin of tortoise shell, choose the thickest one;"
"Ten hu of borneol, do not mix it with other incense;"
"The rattan mat has a hundred collars, and is woven with fine craftsmanship, not coarse;"
"Three hundred rolls of banana cloth, which must be woven finely and without any imperfections;"
"Fifty pieces of shark leather, choose the ones that are tough, thick and complete, don't use the ones that are thin and brittle;"
"Rhinoceros horn, jade, gold, silver, peacock tail, anaconda gallbladder, etc., as appropriate."
"The tribute must be delivered by boat to Donghai County before October of next year, and all counties along the way must escort it to the capital without delay. If anyone neglects his duty or fails to pay the amount, he will be investigated according to the law. The person in charge will enforce it."
After finishing writing, he blew on it gently and placed it on the desk. Someone would come to take it after a while.
He immediately stood up, breathed a sigh of relief, and put his mind at ease.
In fact, he knew that most of the tribute sent from Jiaozhou to Luoyang during the Jin Dynasty was transported by land. After all, the amount of tribute was so small that it would only take up a corner on the ship, so land transportation was entirely possible.
Now we are forcing them to take the sea route and see what the effect is.
At noon, Shao Xun left the Dragon Scale Palace and went to the Shaofu Weaving and Dyeing Office to check a batch of sheep that had just been sent from Hezhou, Guangcheng Garden, Zuoguo Garden and Tuoba Xianbei.
(End of this chapter)