The reason why the Mi family is so concerned about this issue is very simple.
Nowadays, the Mi family is in charge of the Moutai and perfume business.
Relying on these, they make a lot of money.
Mi Zhu and Mi Fang were afraid of Yang Ling's determination, so they took out Moutai and perfume and handed them over to the Chamber of Commerce for management.
Fortunately, Yang Ling's next words dispelled their doubts.
“The first industry that the Chamber of Commerce started operating was white sugar.”
When everyone heard this, they immediately looked at each other.
As early as the Warring States Period, people had already tried to process sugarcane and extract sugarcane pulp for use in sacrifices.
By the Han Dynasty, sugarcane juice could be boiled and concentrated, and the sugar produced was also brown sugar.
Everyone present has naturally eaten such jaggery.
But so-called white sugar was unheard of.
Yang Ling chuckled and nodded to the entourage on the side.
The attendant walked up holding a small jar knowingly.
When he opened the lid, everyone looked around and were surprised.
The jar was filled with crystal clear, well-defined fine sugar. Its color was almost exactly the same as the snowflake salt invented by Yang Ling!
"This is the white sugar invented by Gu. What do you think?"
Upon hearing Yang Ling's words, Mi Fang reacted first and said with surprise,
"If it can be promoted, it will definitely be popular!"
"Not bad! Compared with jaggery, it looks much better!"
As Zhen Yao spoke, he carefully dipped a little sugar into his mouth, then his eyes lit up,
“It’s also much sweeter than other sugars!”
While everyone was rejoicing, Mi Zhu frowned slightly.
"Having said that, I'm afraid it's a little difficult to make a lot of money from this, right? After all, ordinary people can't afford sugar."
As he said, sugar is a necessity for human beings to maintain life. However, in ancient society, due to underdeveloped skills, sugar was a rare luxury product and ordinary people were generally reluctant to consume it.
It was not until the mid-Qing Dynasty that with the development of the sugar industry, sugar completely entered the homes of ordinary people and became a daily consumer product.
Seeing everyone's doubts, Yang Ling waved his hand and said with a smile,
"You don't have to worry, the sugar making method invented by Gu can easily produce a large amount of white sugar."
"As long as the price of white sugar is brought down, why worry about people not being able to afford it? Then there will be a steady stream of wealth!"
Produced by Yangling, it must be a high-quality product!
After listening to his words, everyone immediately gave up their doubts and began to fantasize about making a lot of money in the future!
"White sugar is extracted from sugar cane and sugar beet, and these two crops are most suitable for cultivation in the south."
"We will first promote the planting of sugar cane and sugar beets in southern areas such as Jiaozhou, Yangzhou, and Yizhou."
Yang Ling ordered.
"Here!"
Everyone responded one after another.
"In addition to white sugar, Gu will also provide other research inventions. As long as everyone unites as one, there is endless money to be made."
Yang Ling smiled.
"His Royal Highness the King of Qi invented something that shocked the past and the present. He is really extremely clever!"
Mi Fang hurriedly offered her a flattery.
After Yang Ling heard this, he felt very satisfied and smiled with satisfaction.
"Oh, by the way, I hope you can form a fleet!"
"fleet?"
Mi Zhu was stunned for a moment and said doubtfully,
"His Royal Highness King Qi wants to transport goods by ship?"
"If this is the case, our respective chambers of commerce have many ships that can be donated."
"yes."
Others also echoed.
Yang Ling shook his head,
"You have misunderstood what Gu means. Gu wants you to build a... fleet capable of sailing far to sea!"
Everyone was stunned.
Most of the ships in the world are mainly used for inland navigation.
Even in the Jiangdong region, where the shipbuilding industry is most developed, all they build are inland river ships.
The weather at sea was unpredictable and navigation skills were low.
In addition, there was no need to go to sea, so no one was willing to buy and build ships that could travel long distances to sea.
"Do you know what is beyond the vast sea?"
Yang Ling asked with a chuckle.
Everyone, look at me, and I'll look at you.
It was Mi Zhu who stood up and said in a deep voice,
"As early as the Qin Dynasty, Xu Fu wrote to the First Emperor, saying that there were fairy mountains in the eastern sea where gods lived."
"So the First Emperor sent him east across the sea to seek the elixir of immortality."
"Could it be that His Highness King Qi wants to imitate the First Emperor and send people to the Immortal Mountain?"
"No, no! I don't believe in ghosts and gods!"
Just kidding, as a well-established young man of the 21st century, how could I believe in immortality?
"Speaking of long voyages to the sea, I remembered that as early as the time of Emperor Wu of the previous dynasty, Emperor Wu had organized a fleet to try to reach the Western Regions from the sea."
Zhen Yan slapped his forehead and remembered this matter.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty originally wanted to join forces with the Dayue clan to fight against the Xiongnu.
However, the Xiongnu controlled the Hexi Corridor, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty could not contact the Western Regions at all. He was very eager to find a new passage to the Western Regions.
So Zhang Qian was ordered to send an envoy to the Western Regions. Although he failed, he discovered silk, bamboo sticks and wolfberry sauce from Sichuan and Sichuan from the Daxia Kingdom at that time.
After inquiring, Zhang Qian learned that these were traded from India in the southeast of Daxia.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty learned about this poem, he sent people to form a fleet and planned to reach the Western Regions by sea.
This fleet set out from Hepu in Jiaozhou, passed through today's Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and other places, sailed to Huangzhiguo (now Kanchipuram, India), and finally arrived at Chengbuguo (now Sri Lanka) and returned.
Although he did not reach the Western Region as expected, he unexpectedly opened a trade channel to overseas.
Unfortunately, the risks at sea are too high and the costs are too high.
Not to mention ordinary people, even the imperial court could not afford it.
Therefore, the shipping matter has gradually been stranded.
"Just wait and see."
Yang Ling signaled his followers, laid a map on the table, and called everyone to his side.
This map was drawn by Yang Ling based on later world maps.
Although the painting is a bit rough, the general situation of the world is also marked.
Looking at the world map in front of them, everyone could hardly believe their eyes.
They have been exposed to the idea that the sky is round and the earth is round, and China is the center of the world.
But on the map Yang Ling showed, the world seemed to be a circle!
Outside of China, there is a vast world!
This undoubtedly brought them a huge impact!
"This...how is this possible?"
"Is His Royal Highness King Qi joking with us?"
Seeing everyone's expressions of disbelief, Yang Ling understood very well.
After all, this overturned all their cognitions and thoughts. It was difficult for them to accept it for a while, but it was normal!
