Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Regarding this strange situation, Zhao Qian also raised his own question on the spot, hoping to get an answer.

The director of the shipyard obviously had a plan in mind. After hearing Zhao Qian's question, he immediately said with a smile: "His Royal Highness does not know, the main task of our East China Sea Fleet is to manage the overseas territories of Fusang." , and the words over there are all natives, it is impossible for them to have the strength to confront our warships.

Therefore, our top priority is to build more transport ships to transport the various resources from Fusang back to the mainland of our Great Han Kingdom. This is why most of the surviving ships today are transport ships, not warships. "

After hearing these words, Zhao Qian suddenly realized and understood.

It is indeed true that the reason why the Han Kingdom wants to conduct overseas expeditions is to obtain some resources in other places that the Han Kingdom does not have or is not rich in.

As far as Fusang is concerned, this place is rich in silver, and the Han Kingdom itself is a place that lacks silver, which is why the Han Kingdom has always used copper as currency.

In history, the Chinese nation really used silver as currency in the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty happened to be a dynasty with very developed overseas trade. A lot of silver flowed into the Central Plains along the overseas trade route, which made the Central Plains government There is enough silver to be issued as currency.

Now that it has a steady stream of silver production in Fusang's overseas territories, the Han Kingdom can use silver as currency earlier, which is definitely a very good thing.

Compared with bronze, silver has some advantages. To put it simply, bronze is also a very scarce resource in Dahan. If a modern person googles it on the Internet, he will find that modern China has every year. More than [-]% of copper is imported from outside.

The reason why copper is used instead of silver is only because the domestic reserves of copper in Dahan are still more than silver. However, these coppers were barely enough in ancient times, but they are nothing in modern times when productivity is very developed.

So Zhao Kuo's goal is very simple, first use silver to replace copper, and then slowly wait until the papermaking technology comes up, and directly produce banknotes, and when the time comes to promote banknotes as currency, it will truly be realized and modernized. It's on track.

There is a saying that goes well, you have to eat food one bite at a time, and you have to do things step by step.

Of course, Zhao Kuo also wanted to push the Han Dynasty into a modern society at once, but this is obviously unrealistic, as if you can't let a child change from crawling to running like flying all at once.

As the prince of the Han Kingdom, Zhao Qian did not understand Zhao Kuo's deepest thoughts, but after all, he had received a lot of education from Zhao Kuo, so he understood some of them. key stuff.

So Zhao Qian also nodded, smiled and said to the factory manager and officials in front of him: "Your approach is very good. My father often said that everything should be realistic and do it according to actual needs." is the real official.

But, I actually have some suggestions, that is, can we also mobilize the power of the people? "

After hearing Zhao Qian's words, the director of the shipyard was obviously stunned for a moment, and then said with some doubts: "Please forgive me for being stupid, and I ask His Highness the Crown Prince to make it clear."

Zhao Qian smiled and said to the director of the shipyard: "At present, I feel that the ships of our Dahan Kingdom are still not enough. You said that if we let go of private ships to and from the Central Plains and Fusang casually, will it be the case? Will there be more ships coming and going?"

Now the sea route from the Central Plains to Fusang is actually only allowed to pass by official ships from the Han Dynasty.

After hearing this question, the director of the shipyard was obviously lost in thought.

After a while, the factory manager said: "To tell you the truth, if you really want to do this, it is not impossible. After all, there are several craftsmen in our factory. Relatives, if you teach them the technology, they can definitely build some smaller ships.

However, there is a problem now that the quality of these small boats cannot be guaranteed. After all, they are not made in our factory, so they may also encounter very large risks when they go to sea.

If the mountain road on the sea opened by the government puts the common people at risk, it may cause the common people to complain about our government.

What's more, Xiaguan is a little worried that if the people are really allowed to build ships privately, will some people use this as a business for bandits? "

After listening to the words of the factory director, Zhao Qian also fell into thinking.

I have to say that this factory manager is indeed worthy of being a related practitioner. His vision is very broad, and many of the questions he raised were questions that Zhao Qian himself hadn't thought of.

Zhao Qian smiled, and said: "Actually, I'm not going to hide this from you. I just thought about it, so I'll discuss it with you. I'll write a memorial and go back to my father later to see what my father thinks about it." What kind of idea will this be, and then let the emperor make a decision."

Seeing that the last dock has been visited, Zhao Qian originally thought that today's visit should be over, but he didn't expect that the factory manager would lead them to go on and walked into a place, looking extremely vigilant Fortified place.

Zhao Qian couldn't help asking curiously, "What is this place?"

The factory manager smiled and said: "This is the latest warship we are building. According to the confidentiality level, you and His Royal Highness Prince Zhao Zheng can come in and watch it."

After Zhao Qian heard the factory director's words, his heart was suddenly filled with strong curiosity. What is this new type of warship under construction?

A few minutes later, they walked into this place and found that it was actually a huge dock, but there was only one new ship docked in this dock, and it could be seen that this ship was actually a semi-finished product. A lot of things are not done.

But even so, Zhao Qian couldn't help but gasped when he saw the ship.

The reason is also very simple, not because of how huge this ship is, in fact this ship is the same size as Yuhuang battleship.

The most important thing is that this battleship is actually a battleship made entirely of steel.

For Zhao Qian, all the warships he has seen in his life, including large and small boats and even canoes, are all made of wood. It is obvious that such things as steel can be used to make warships. It was beyond Zhao Qian's imagination.

The factory manager was obviously a little proud, and said to Zhao Qian: "Your Highness, please see, this is a project we are secretly carrying out under the order of His Majesty, to build steel ships.

Not only that, according to His Majesty's instructions, this steel ship will be powered by a steam engine, so that in the future we will be able to get rid of the need for wind power, and we will be able to sail in the sea at any time regardless of the wind direction. "

Zhao Qian was even more shocked after listening to the director's introduction.

Using steel as the material and the latest steam engine as the power is definitely the most advanced shipbuilding concept in the world. It is conceivable that if the ship is built, it will definitely cause a sensation in the whole world.

At this moment, a voice sounded from Zhao Qian's side.

"Steam engines and steel are very heavy things. Are you sure that ships made of these things can float on the water?"

The person who spoke was Zhao Zheng who was standing next to Zhao Qian. It was obvious that Zhao Zheng was very suspicious of this so-called steel ship.

The factory manager smiled, apparently also thought about facing such doubts, and said, "To tell you the truth, His Royal Highness, in fact, we had such doubts at the beginning, but those who came from After the masters of the Ministry of Science and Technology showed us, we firmly believed.

If His Royal Highness is not at ease, His Highness can come and take a look after it is manufactured in the future. At least from the current theory and various small experiments, there should be no problems. "

Zhao Qian patted Zhao Zheng's shoulder with a smile, motioning his brother not to speak first, then turned his head, smiled and said to the factory manager in front of him: "Then you guys have to work hard, I'm I believe in you very much, I hope you can show this new type of ship as soon as possible, so that our navy of the Great Han Kingdom can be improved to a higher level!"

When he said these words, Zhao Qian's heart was really full of expectations.

As a young man, what Zhao Qian likes most is of course those brand new good things that can make people feel that the world is changing with each passing day. At present, although the steel ship has not been built yet, it is undoubtedly Belongs to such a good thing.

Seeing the world is constantly getting better is definitely something that anyone will feel happy about.

Chapter 1253 Arrive at Fusang

For Zhao Qian's words, Zhao Zheng obviously didn't take it seriously, and this kind of disapproval even showed on his face.

As far as Zhao Qian is concerned, he obviously rarely sees Zhao Zheng like this, so he smiled and said to Zhao Zheng: "Actually, it's really rare for me to see you be so direct, and write distrust on your face." .”

Zhao Zheng said calmly: "I'm not saying that I don't believe what my father said, I just think it's too wasteful to use some kind of steel to build ships.

In our Great Han Kingdom, there are still many places where he has not been able to obtain usable equipment, and many soldiers do not have brand-new firearm equipment. Under such circumstances, such a huge amount of steel has to be wasted. It is obviously not necessary to build this so-called warship. "

Zhao Qian did not intend to continue the stalemate with Zhao Zheng on this issue, so he said with a smile: "Anyway, this kind of thing is for the father to worry about. As for the two of us, we should make preparations and go tomorrow. It’s about the Fuso Colony.”

Zhao Zheng reminded Zhao Qian.

"His Royal Highness, from now on, we should all be called overseas territories."

This is also a change in the name announced by Zhao Kuo not long ago. After all, the word colony sounds too straightforward, and the word for overseas territory will appear softer and easier to be accepted by others.

Zhao Qian patted his thigh and said with a smile: "It really is, I almost forgot if you didn't tell me.

Alright, alright, don't talk about this, go back quickly, I'm hungry. "

As the sun sets, the figures of the two teenagers gradually elongate in the afterglow. For them, the two of them have actually taken on the pressure of growth too early, but this pressure can actually promote them to mature faster. To be the mainstay of the future of this country.

This is why people often say that what is lost must be gained. If you lose something, you will gain something else. As for whether this loss and gain are good or bad, that is a matter of different opinions.

In the early morning of the second day, the two of them also got up early in a rather excited mood. After washing up, they had breakfast and boarded the fleet to Fusang.

This is a team specially waiting for Zhao Qian and Zhao Zheng. At this time, there are hundreds of large ships in the team, which is already the largest in the East China Sea Fleet. With the addition of 1 Musketeers, the strength is extremely strong of.

Looking at this scene, Zhao Qian couldn't help expressing emotion, and said to Zhao Zheng: "Now our Han Dynasty's navy is indeed very powerful, and I don't know if there are other countries in this world that can be as powerful as The main reason we are so strong is that we all have a well-matched naval battle together, which is probably a very happy thing."

Zhao Zheng gave the answer almost without thinking: "If it is based on the conclusions that His Majesty has already drawn, there should be no country in this world that can compare with our Han Kingdom in terms of technology alone. .”

This answer obviously made Zhao Qian a little disappointed, but soon this disappointment turned into a smirk, because the ship was found to have started earlier, and with the start of the ship, Zhao Zheng's face was also visible to the naked eye , became bad.

Zhao Qian knew very well that Zhao Zheng had an old problem of seasickness.

But seasickness is back to seasickness. Since Zhao Zhengdu has chosen to follow Zhao Qian this time, this is the price he needs to get used to and pay.

After the ship started, Zhao Zheng returned quickly, and went to the room. It is foreseeable that Zhao Zheng will spend the rest of his life in his own room until he arrives in Fusang.

Zhao Qian stared at the vast sea in front of him, and for some reason, a very excited emotion suddenly surged in his heart.

When Zhao Qian was very young, when Zhao Kuo returned from the battle, he liked to play with the children like Zhao Qian and tell them many stories.

Among these stories, Zhao Qian's favorite is the one called One Piece. At that time, he had imagined countless times that he would one day be like that Luffy and become the man who would finally inherit the title of One Piece.

It's just that fantasies belong to fantasies. In fact, for a long time to come, Zhao Qian didn't think this fantasy would be realized.

But now it is obviously different, everything is different, the navy of the Han Dynasty has become so powerful, Zhao Qian's fantasy is no longer a fantasy, but has become a real reality.

He can really command an extremely powerful fleet to sail on the endless ocean, to conquer new lands, to obtain new wealth and population.

Is there anything more exciting than this?

Is there anything more happiest than this?

Is there anything more joyful than this?

Thinking of this, Zhao Qian finally couldn't restrain the excitement in his heart, and burst out laughing.

After laughing, Zhao Qian subconsciously looked back at the West.

There, the land has drifted away.

"Thank you, father, thank you for giving this son a chance to challenge himself, and I promise that he will never disappoint father in the future."

Zhao Qian made up his mind.

In fact, Zhao Qian also knew very well that the reason why he was able to go to Fusang this time did not mean that the ministers had no objections.

Many ministers will submit a memorial to question Zhao Qian's trip this time, because Zhao Qian is the Crown Prince of the Han Kingdom and the next emperor of the Han Kingdom, and these ministers do not want Zhao Qian to go to any risky places.

After all, the ocean is something that the Han Kingdom has just developed in the past few years, and the risks in it are still huge. Almost every year, many ships in the Han Kingdom disappear on the ocean due to various reasons.

Under such circumstances, it is a very worrying thing to let His Royal Highness such a delicate body go to Fusang, and still have to go back and forth twice.

And Zhao Kuo chose to respect Zhao Qian's opinion on this matter, which is really rare.

You must know that many fathers actually regard their sons as their own puppets. They do not allow their sons to have any autonomy and self. They want to control their sons in the palm of their hands for the rest of their lives.

Zhao Qian is really grateful to have a father like Zhao Kuo who is willing to let Zhao Qian go out and fight on his own.

Then let's do some real things for my father to see, and let him know that although I, Zhao Qian, am not yet an adult, the things I can do are definitely no worse than those grown-up Han officials.

Who made me the future emperor of the Han Dynasty, and who made me the son of Zhao Kuo?

With such belief, Zhao Qian arrived in Fukuoka very smoothly along the way.

Zhao Qian even saw a scene on the road that he hadn't seen before, that is whaling.

As we all know, whales are the largest fish in the sea.

The whole body of the whale is full of treasures, especially the scented oil of the sperm whale, which makes everyone crazy about it.

In this era, there is almost no development of the ocean, so no matter in any ocean, you can see a large number of whales cruising.

For a species of such a huge size as a whale, it basically has no natural enemies, so they have spread all over the world for so many years, and the number is very, very large.

Historically, Western whaling ships have been frenziedly fishing for hundreds of years, and these whales have become fewer and fewer.

When he saw the huge whale for the first time, Zhao Qian was actually very shocked. He couldn't believe that such a huge thing could be captured by humans.

But, it turns out it all.

As a kind of meat, although the taste of whale meat is not very good, in fact, it can have considerable nutritional value for people in this world.

You must know that in this world, it does not mean that everyone can afford to eat meat for every meal like modern Chinese people. In fact, meat is still a very difficult dream for people in this world. .

So when a whale is caught, just selling its whale meat is a very considerable income.

Moreover, the quality of whale meat is not good, so the nobles don't like to eat it too much, and it happens to be sold to those bottom fishermen near the port, or their families and so on.

In this way, not only will there be an income, but the ordinary people at the bottom will be able to eat more meat by the way, which is definitely a very win-win thing.

Standing on the land of Fukuoka, Zhao Qian looked at the city in front of him with a shocked expression.

"I didn't expect that this place has developed to this point in only two or three years."

As Zhao Qian's first foothold on the land of Fusang at that time, he was of course no stranger to this city. In Zhao Qian's memory, when he left, this city was actually just a huge land. just empty space.

But now, a brand new city has sprung up in front of Zhao Qian. If you don't identify it carefully, almost no one can see that this city has prospered in just a few years.

Zhao Zheng dragged his weak body and stood in front of Zhao Qian. As a seasickness patient, Zhao Zheng was definitely the one who most wanted to get off the ship immediately.

Looking at the Fukuoka Castle in front of him, Zhao Zheng said slowly: "The geographical location of this city is very good, because if we want to start from the mainland, this is actually a must pass, so now it has become It is the second largest city in the entire Fusang overseas territory."

Zhao Qian nodded and was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed.

A loud shout sounded from outside the city in an instant, and there was still thick smoke coming out. From above the pier, people ran back and forth, loudly warning.

"The slaves have started to rebel again, everyone pay attention, close the door carefully!"

"Don't go out, everyone is optimistic about their children, the outside of the city is now occupied by rebels."

Zhao Qian was stunned for a moment after hearing these words, and couldn't believe his ears.

Rebellion?