"Honorable Lord, you came back from the New World. How is it there?"
Zheng Zhilong squinted his eyes and looked at Shi Lang who was invited to his home for a drink. He smiled and asked a question that surprised Shi Lang.
Shi Lang came back from Japan with the Henan. According to the original plan, the Henan will undergo maintenance after its return, and the entire crew will also get three months of leave. However, the crew members on the Henan were lucky enough to encounter the Great Battle of Kagoshima Bay as soon as they returned, so they all went along to gain another share of the credit.
Now that the war in Japan's direction has come to an end for the time being, the Henan has returned to Hong Kong for vacation. Although Shi Lang was from Fujian, he settled in Pukou because he had served as an officer in the Eastern Fleet for a long time. The educational resources here in Pukou were excellent, including famous schools, and it was easy to communicate with the future emperor, prince, and county. The kings and princes became friends from childhood to adulthood, so officers of Shi Lang's level all wanted to squeeze in to Pukou, and he was certainly no exception.
Today, when he was teaching his three-year-old son Shi Shize how to recognize the 26 French letters at home in Pukou, a steward from the Quanguo Duke's Mansion came to invite someone with Zheng Zhilong's post.
Zheng Zhilong wants to treat him to dinner!
Of course, having dinner with Zheng Zhilong was more important than teaching Shi Shize French, so Shi Lang quickly dropped the French alphabet, mounted his horse and headed to the Duke of Quan's Mansion in Tangquan Town. When they arrived at the gate of the palace, they saw Zheng Zhilong's sixth son, Zheng Xi, who was studying at Pukou Polytechnic School, and Zheng Laoliu stood at the gate to greet him - Zheng Xi was a famous scumbag in Pukou Polytechnic School, and he was originally unable to pass the exam ( The tradition of despising industry and commerce is not easy to change, so Pukou Institute of Technology is far less popular than Taixue, Jingxue, Jiangwutang, and Naval Academy, but it is still difficult to pass). In the end, it was Zheng Zhilong who donated 30,000 taels of silver. Let Zheng Xi go in and study. But it still can't change Zheng Xi's nature as a bad student. He ranks last in every exam, which is really worrying...
But no matter how scumbag he is, he is still the uncle of the Ming Dynasty, the son of the richest man, and Zheng Zhilong is Shi Lang's former master.
So Zheng Xi went out to greet him in person, which still made Shi Lang feel polite.
Shi Lang was a little flattered by the treatment he received when he had dinner with Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Xi and his son in a Western-style building in the back garden of the Duke's Mansion.
He originally thought that Duke Quan was going to have a banquet for guests, but he didn't expect that he was the only guest tonight. Could it be that Duke Quan had something to do on his own?
While Shi Lang was thinking about it, Zheng Zhilong had already asked the question.
"New World?" Shi Lang was stunned, "The New World is big. Xiaguan has only been to the American Gulf area."
The Gulf of America was the area that later became Seattle, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. Zhu Cixiang regarded it as a "Greater Bay Area" and also as the fundamental place of Ming Dynasty in the New World.
"Let's talk about the Gulf of America. How is it?"
"Sir," Shi Lang shook his head, "This American Bay is too big, and I just walked around it like a quick tour. It was basically a circle around an island that is slightly smaller than Taiwan Island. It's about 2,000 miles.
In addition, there is a large inner bay in the Gulf of America, which is also two to three hundred miles deep... It is a good place. There are many islands in the bay with dense trees, flat land, and the climate is relatively mild with a lot of rainfall. , the land is even more fertile!
So our first stronghold in the American Gulf was at the bottom of the inner bay, near the mouth of a wide river, and we built a village named Peanut Village. "
"Why is it called Peanut Village?" Zheng Xi asked.
"That's because the first batch of villagers brought various seeds with them. After landing, they opened up a few pieces of land and conducted trial planting. The first ones to sprout were a few peanuts, so that area was called peanuts. Tuned in."
"Oh." Zheng Zhilong nodded, "Are there any indigenous people there?"
"Yes, there are some," Shi Lang said, "But I haven't seen them before. The Marine Corps has seen them and fought against them."
Along with the first batch of 31 families (and one family being a village chief), a company of marines landed on American soil. Their task was to "clean up" the area around the colonial point and help the colonists establish villages. If there is no major threat, they will return with the Henan. Before returning, flintlocks were left with the villagers so that they could deal with the small indigenous tribes.
"Who won?" Zheng Zhilong asked again.
"Of course we win," Shi Lang said, "They are just savages who drink blood from their hair. It is said that they can't even use bows and arrows. How can they be the opponents of flintlock guns?"
"Is that so..." Zheng Zhilong was doubtful, "They don't even have bows and arrows, how can they hunt?"
"I don't know much about this subordinate." Shi Lang didn't stay ashore for a few days. During his time in America, he followed the Henan around the American Gulf.
"So..." Zheng Zhi asked thoughtfully, "Do you think the imperial court can establish a vassal state in the American Gulf?"
"Establishing a country?" Shi Lang pondered for a moment, "Xiaguan thinks that the water and soil around the Gulf of America can support a large population, and there are no strong enemies... If the Spaniards in the south don't send troops to go north, there should be no problem. ”
“How far did the Spanish leave the Gulf of America?”
"It's quite far, estimated to be more than 2,000 miles," Shi Lang said. "I don't know the exact number, because the Henan deliberately avoided Spanish territory when it returned."
"Then...do they know you have arrived in the Gulf of America?" Zheng Zhilong asked, "Will they send troops to rob you?"
"You probably don't know yet," Shi Lang said. "If you knew, you would probably send troops." He paused, "My lord, if the imperial court wants to establish a vassal state in the American Gulf, it must send people there quickly! At least! We have to send thousands of troops, bring horses and artillery, build a city, open a port, and set up forts in the Gulf of America, so that we can withstand the Spanish attack."
The number of Spaniards in the Americas is in the hundreds of thousands, while the population of the Ming Dynasty in the Americas is only a few dozen...
Zheng Zhilong asked again: "How was the wind and waves along the way? Can the Wanshi Big Bird Boat pass?"
The Wanshi Big Bird Boat is a cheap mass-produced product with reliable performance, easy to maneuver, and requires a small crew. A few dozen people are enough to operate it. If it is not equipped with artillery, the cost of the Wanshi Bird Ship can be reduced to five or six thousand taels (without artillery, the strength of the hull can be reduced).
If it is redesigned to increase the number of passengers, it is possible for a Wanshi Bird Boat to transport 200-300 immigrants one way. Even if there are 200 people, the price of the boat is spread over 200 people, and the average person is 25 taels. If we hire another 50 crew members, the average cost per capita is 50 taels, which is 2,500 taels, which is 12.5 taels spread over 200 immigrants. Then buy some rice wine, kimchi, noodles, seeds and farm tools, and add 12.5 taels to cover the sky.
In other words, just counting the cost, even if the Wan Shi Niao ship takes a one-way trip, the cost of 50 taels is enough for an immigrant to float across the Pacific...
"Did any of the first batch of immigrants die on the road?" Zheng Zhilong continued to ask, "Did anyone contract the epidemic while in America?"
"No one died," Shi Lang replied, "No one died when the official left... But this group of immigrants were specially selected. They are strong and not too seasick. We really need a large number of them. Transporting it, I’m afraid someone will die on the road.”
He paused and then said: "If the factor of shipwreck is added in, it would be great to have a delivery rate of 80% to 90%."
In other words, one to two percent will die...
Shi Lang added: "As for epidemics, there should be relatively few... because the climate in the American Gulf is relatively cool, about the same as that of Beijing. There are fewer epidemics when the weather is cooler!"
Zheng Zhilong said to himself: "Even if 15% drown and 50% die from illness, 80% will survive... much better than going to Nanyang!"
Traveling to Nanyang saves money on travel expenses, but there are too many deaths from diseases. After all, the cost of immigrating to Nanyang is more than a hundred taels! "
At this point, he slapped the table: "America can vote!"
Can I vote? What to invest in? Shi Lang was confused after what he heard. He was about to ask a question when Zheng Xi spoke first: "Sir, this is a deal worth more than ten million yuan. I just followed it without taking a look!"
"That makes sense!" Zheng Zhilong nodded in agreement, and smiled and said to his son, "Xi'er, my father is old and can't bear the roughness of the sea... You have always been very filial, and now is the time. Shouldn’t I step forward and travel to the New World on behalf of my father?”
