To Chong Wang Zhu Youfan, Zheng Zhiwan could only be regarded as a passer-by and broker here. He helped and earned money, but he wanted to take root in Kamchatka.
For no other reason than for the two-foot-long salmon, hand-long prawns, extremely tender mussel meat and other seafood, he was unwilling to return to Runing, a shabby place surrounded by disasters. .
It turned out that only salmon and giant crabs were caught. As large-scale fishing began, the people of Chongguo and the sailors of the fleet discovered that this sea area was simply a seafood treasure, with an extremely large amount of various aquatic products.
Deer, pigs, tigers, bears, wolves, foxes and other animals that are native to the Ming Dynasty are also found here. All kinds of seafood that are not found in the Central Plains are countless here. Only 200,000 kilograms were caught, and the rest are unknown. How many.
When he was in the capital, the prince once said that as long as Chongguo Yumin’s annual catch does not exceed 10 million jins, which is equivalent to nearly 30,000 jins (about 18 tons) per day, Chongguo will not be hungry for seafood in the short term. Decrease and worry.
Without resorting to extermination fishing, various animals in the sea can be allowed to recuperate and recuperate. Moreover, they do not only need to catch fish, but can also catch whales, seals, sea lions and other fatty prey.
The fishing waters must also be changed frequently. You cannot fish to death in one place. This large area of sea with a radius of thousands of miles is owned by Chongguo. As long as you go to sea when the wind is nice and the sun is bright, it is almost impossible to return with an empty boat. .
Thirty thousand kilograms of seafood are caught every day. After the shells and bones are removed, there is at least twenty-five thousand kilograms left. After deducting the portion left by one vassal prince and two county princes, it is averaged to Chongguo Zimin, and each person can at least get a share. to two pounds.
In the Ming Dynasty, this determination was unimaginable. Not to mention ordinary people, even the landlords and wealthy gentry in prefectures and counties were reluctant to eat meat every day with their families.
Regardless of men, women, old or young, if each person eats two kilograms a day, then he still feels distressed to death?
When he first arrived, he was able to provide everyone in his Zimin with meat to eat, and the food they ate was seafood that was out of reach in the Central Plains. This move gave Chong Wang Zhu Youfan a great sense of accomplishment.
The common people also knelt down and kowtowed to thank this extremely wise prince, who was at least much better than the local one. Not only did they not collect taxes, but they also gave themselves meat to eat. Following King Chong to this place was definitely the right choice.
In the eyes of the people, Prince Chong has risen to a status similar to that of the Crown Prince. He is a good prince who is considerate of Min's feelings. He just needs to put an incense burner in the tent to worship...
Zhu Youfan was very satisfied and pleased with the people's response, because before he left, the prince said that if there was no invasion from outside, but the country perished due to the removal of Min, then he would have no one to blame.
In this regard, Zhu Youyi deeply believed that what the prince had done before was also out of consideration to appease the people. As long as the people in the pass would not make trouble, then the Ming Dynasty would naturally be as stable as Mount Tai.
However, the rice brought this time is limited. If it is distributed in large quantities based on head count, it will soon bottom out. As long as the food is exhausted, the current situation in Chongguo will be unstable.
Regarding this point, a certain prince had already thought of a countermeasure for Zhu Youfan. Before boarding the ship, no matter how much food commitment Zhu Youfan made to his subordinates, he could "replace" it when he arrived in Kamchatka.
"Substitution" means exchanging two pounds of fish for one pound of rice. In terms of weight, it is definitely a good deal for the people, and the energy provided by meat is definitely higher than that of grain.
Zhu Youqi will not exchange all the money. He will at least leave twenty kilograms of food for each adult, and half the supply for the elderly and children.
In this way, there will be no food crisis in the Chongguo court, and at the same time, the promise made by Zhu Youfan will be fulfilled.
An adult should have enough food for a month if he has twenty kilograms in his hand, and eighty kilograms in four months.
According to this calculation, the five thousand people in Chongguo will eat 400,000 kilograms of grain in four months.
Considering the total amount of food transported and the large amount of seafood caught, it is completely feasible to persist until the fleet docks next time.
It doesn't matter if there is not enough food to eat. At worst, Zhu Youqi calls on the people of Chongguo to eat less and eat more meat!
This is similar to who came up with Emperor Hui of Jin's wise move. You can figure it out for yourself...
Chongguo is rich in seafood. Whether you accept it or not, this is the actual situation!
According to the "Kamchatka Peninsula Guide" written by a certain prince, the winter in the southern part of the peninsula lasts for nearly 140 days, which is equivalent to four and a half months.
But the temperature is not too low, even less than ten degrees below zero. Compared with the Central Plains where temperatures are often ten or even twenty degrees below zero, this is already considered a relatively warm place.
Even though the upper limit of temperature is not very high, it only lasts for less than half a month when it is above 20 degrees above zero on the coast, and it can last for nearly two months inland.
Zhu Youfan did not plan to move inland, because if he settled on the shore, it would be easier to get supplies from the fleet, and secondly, it would be easier to move local products to the ship to facilitate trade.
There were very few livestock brought during this trip, and most of the time they had to be carried on people's backs and shoulders. Therefore, Zhu Youfan wished he could build his palace on the shore.
The landing site chosen by Zhu Youfan was near an active volcano (Kambalinaya Volcano) near the southernmost tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula, but it was not at the foot of the volcano, but some distance away.
The main reason is that he is afraid that the volcano will erupt again if it is unhappy, and the noble city he finally built will be buried by volcanic ash.
The prince said that most of the active volcanoes in Kamchatka Peninsula are dormant, which means that most of the time, they only emit heat and do not erupt.
Just in case, Zhu Youfan decided to set up camp at the southernmost tip of the peninsula.
If something happens, go north and go inland to take shelter.
Going south, you can punt to reach the Thousand Islands on the other side.
As long as you cross the Thousand Island Strait, you can reach the islands on the other side.
That is Zhu Youqi's alternative place of governance. As long as he is fine, he can make a comeback after the volcano is finished.
Why does Kamchatka Peninsula look like a world of ice and snow, but in fact the temperature is not too low?
It is because the entire peninsula is covered with active volcanoes. These volcanoes are like a large group of furnaces, providing heat to the peninsula.
This is also the reason why some people in Chongguo are eager to get land. The land at the foot of the volcano is too fertile.
Since volcanic ash itself acts as fertilizer, the land near the volcano does not need to be fertilized at all for plants to thrive.
After Zhu Youqi led a group of people to conduct an on-site inspection, he decided to sow potatoes on a large scale next year.
Judging from the fertility of the land, one acre of land can yield at least fifty kilograms!
This is just a conservative estimate, and no one knows how much can be harvested.
However, according to the Ming Dynasty's local land standards, the land closest to the volcano is undoubtedly high-quality farmland, and one acre of land is worth at least twenty taels of silver.
This kind of thing also costs ten taels, and at worst it can be worth five taels. Considering that even the volcanoes on the island belong to him, Zhu Youzhen will not argue with the people about the enclosure of land.
Everything has pros and cons. Although the land near the volcano is extremely fertile, farming is also very dangerous. This matter must be explained to everyone before the land is divided.
Once Mr. Huo Huo is unhappy, you have no place to reason.
If I don’t bury you alive, consider yourself lucky!
However, the land here is really fertile. Even a certain prince ordered Zheng Zhiwan to transport the volcanic ash back if no sulfur was found, and he could cash in. Fortunately, it was not an empty ship.
Volcanic ash is the best pure natural fertilizer, but it is transported over long distances. The freight is too high. For Daming, it can only be regarded as a drop in the bucket.
Since Zheng Zhiwan's fleet could not dock on the coast of Chongguo for a long time to catch a good harvest at sea, the day after the big banquet, Zhu Youfan personally went to the volcano to mine.
According to the label given by the prince, the altitude of the volcano closest to the Sublime City is less than three thousand feet, which is very suitable for climbing and mining sulfur.
As for whether there is sulfur, it depends on whether the volcano is an active volcano or an extinct volcano.
How to judge?
Identify with the naked eye!
What is steaming is alive, what is out of steam is naturally cool...
Fortunately!
This volcano is still steaming. Although the breath is weak, it is still alive after all.
Year-round mining may not be possible, but if enough sulfur is found, it should be possible to fill a fleet.
sulfur!
According to the literal meaning, it is a yellow thing.
It is a by-product of volcanic eruptions, especially in volcanoes in a quasi-eruptive state (which only flows magma but does not erupt).
A vassal king of Chongguo and two county princes summoned nearly two thousand people to search for sulfur. It can be said that they mobilized an army and mobilized a large number of people.
Zhu Youza, Prince of Huai'an County, and Zhu Youcai, Prince of Heyang County, also had to learn how to prospect for minerals before leading their troops to their new territories.
There may not necessarily be sulfur mines in places with volcanoes, but the presence of sulfur mines means that real money can be made, so this thing is extremely attractive to the two princes.
Since it has not yet snowed, the volcano is covered by vegetation in the distance, and the area near the crater is covered with volcanic ash. It is difficult to detect traces of sulfur with just your eyes.
Fortunately, the people all brought tools such as shovels, pickaxes, hammers, and hoes. Since this was King Chong's territory, they could dig everywhere after getting King Chong's permission.
But after working for an hour, I didn't find anything. Instead, I dug holes all over the place, which greatly affected the scenery around the volcano. I don't know if the land master here will be angry because of this...
Since the entire fleet, including Zheng Zhiwan, was waiting, Zhu Youfan had no choice but to order his servants to form an expedition team to go to the extremely dangerous crater.
According to the booklet on the Prince, the closer you are to the crater, the more sulfur you can find, because liquid sulfur is close to blood color, while semi-solidified sulfur will cool to orange, and solid sulfur is light yellow.
Once a color change is found, it must be sulfur, because the magma turns black when it is cold.
I heard that there would be poisonous gas near the crater, so the members of the expedition team all wore masks to cover their mouths and noses, and they were moistened with water.
A member walking at the front of the team had a rope tied to his body, a helmet on his head, and a hammer in his hand, constantly testing the surrounding landforms.
If a large amount of sulfur could be knocked out, there would be no need to get close to the crater. Unfortunately, the weather did not go as planned, and everyone had no choice but to bravely brave the crater.
In their opinion, this kind of errand is more dangerous than going into the mountains to hunt tigers. God knows whether this will anger the mountain gods and cause a volcanic eruption.
But no one dared to disobey the prince's order. If a sulfur mine was discovered, not only could one save his life, but one could also receive a reward.
When they climbed to the top of the ring, they could see the picturesque green lake. Everyone felt relaxed and happy. They didn't expect that the scenery of the crater would be so beautiful.
The descent was not very steep, so everyone headed towards the steamy place until they found some solidified blocks on the edge of the lake, which they felt very strange.
After breaking it open with a hammer, they discovered the yellow substance they had been expecting - sulfur!
While everyone was cheering, they hurriedly looked around and saw similar objects everywhere.
Knock them open one by one, and without exception, there are lumps of sulfur inside.
No one knows how much such a large area contains.
However, it should be possible to calculate it by weighing it after transportation.
These are sulfur that cooled down by the acidic volcanic lake, but were wrapped in dust and dried, turning into something else.
Even the ground beneath their feet is made of solidified sulfur, just like a group of people standing on the ground paved with silver, because sulfur can be cashed out.
The captain immediately sent people to send out fireworks to announce the good news to the prince. It would take too long to send people there and back, so it was most convenient to use signal bombs.
When King Chong Zhu Youfan saw the signal sent from the top of the mountain, he was immediately overjoyed. This place seemed desolate and desolate, but in fact it was rich in resources. Whether it was land or sea, it could bring him great surprises.
Zhu Youqi immediately sent five hundred people to the top of the mountain for mining, while the rest were waiting halfway up and at the foot of the mountain for transportation and loading.
Zhu Youfan had been prepared for bad luck before, and planned to take a boat north with Zheng Zhiwan to explore other volcanoes after searching here to no avail.
Unexpectedly, the nearest volcano would be harvested, which is really great, because this volcano is not far from the sea, and loading is very convenient.
Since there is not much vegetation on the volcano and the surface is relatively smooth, the sulfur mined from the top of the mountain can roll a long distance by simply throwing it down, saving a lot of manpower.
Of course, it's not just throwing it away casually. According to the operation process, the accumulated sulfur can be thrown down once every quarter of an hour, so that the people below can collect it safely.
Even if each ship carries one thousand kilograms, the total of seven hundred ships will reach 700,000 kilograms. Counting some large ships, the amount will be less than one million kilograms. Mining is of course very difficult.
But now that the sulfur mine has been discovered, Zheng Zhiwan is not busy leaving. He would be a fool if he doesn't make money.
What's more, when you have nothing to do, you can let your men go fishing and shrimping, and the sailors are also happy to eat and drink here for free.
Zheng Zhiwan had already brought the silver to buy sulfur, because he also knew that the prince said that Kamchatka Peninsula was rich in this product.
However, since he made a lot of money, he purchased the sulfur at the place of origin, so the price was naturally very cheap.
Even if it is loaded with one million catties, the amount of silver required is only ten thousand taels.
When it arrives in Tianjin, the imperial court will spend 50,000 taels of silver to buy it.
Zheng Zhiwan then used the money he earned to purchase various items needed by the vassal state. When they were shipped to Zhou and Chong states, they would be able to obtain local products worth more than 100,000 taels.
Within one year, with a capital of 10,000 taels, he earned ten times as much money. I am afraid that after his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong finds out, he will also look at Zheng Zhiwan with admiration.
If they really do big business, maybe the maritime trade with many vassal states in the "Northland" will be a new business for the Zheng family in the future, with a total amount of no less than one million taels of silver.
