The people of Yimin's "Western Land" mainly engaged in farming and fishing, and a small number of men would join officially organized hunting teams.
Then there is the opportunity to make money by mining, but in mining areas most people work as drivers, supervisors or technical workers, and very few people work hard.
All things like swinging shovels and pickaxes were done by captured slave miners.
Zheng Zhilong was not as violent as Fahe. Any chief who was willing to come over for mining or voluntarily surrendered, and the men of his tribe could work as free miners, using the dug ores as wages in exchange for various local commodities of the Ming Dynasty.
After defeating the tribe that resists to the end, all the men will be used as slave miners.
The Zheng army, equipped with airships and tanks, had no pressure at all against the indigenous tribes armed with spears.
Landing from Durban and pushing all the way to Johannesburg, there were only less than 300 casualties, which was not as many as those who were acclimated.
After repeated measurements with a sextant to confirm that they were correct, Zheng Ju stood at the designated position and ordered people to hang up the Zhenbeicheng sign.
Then just wait...
He also sent people to inquire about the gold produced here, and also found a lot of gold nuggets from surrounding tribes.
However, King Zhenhai wants to mine this gold mountain on a large scale, and the gold collected is not enough to fill the gap between Zheng's teeth.
After professionals conducted on-site inspections, a big problem was discovered.
The deeper they dug, the higher the gold content per ton of ore.
Calculated based on the increasing rate of gold content, a surprising conclusion was drawn.
That is, the depth of truly high-gold-containing ores may reach ten miles, which is two thousand feet underground.
There are only two ways, either dig a super big pit ten miles deep, or dig a hole ten miles deep.
This surprised Zheng Zhilong. The difficulty of mining this gold mine was far beyond his imagination.
Fortunately, there are iron, manganese, and chromium mines northwest of Johannesburg, which gave him some comfort.
Zheng Chenggong knew that steel mixed with a certain amount of manganese and chromium metals is alloy armor.
For those who are not very poor in money, this is actually not much worse than mining gold.
What's more, it's a third of the way from Durban to Johannesburg.
The remaining two-thirds is a huge coal mine belt.
According to Master Zun's estimate, the reserves are as high as more than 30 billion tons.
Having coal and iron means that there is no need to worry about the raw materials for starting a steel plant.
In addition, the difficulty of mining vermiculite, zircon, fluorite and phosphate is relatively low.
In other words, except for the three most valuable metals, gold, silver, and copper, which have not been mined for the time being, all others have been found.
After Zheng Zhilong heard the news, he didn't know whether he should cry or laugh. Anyway, he couldn't say that the emperor deliberately used the gold mine to trap him.
By the thirty-seventh year of Haojing (1680), the gold output in the West was still far from the expected standard.
It can only produce two to three hundred thousand taels of gold and platinum every year, which is ten times the price of silver.
For other families, this may be an incredible achievement.
But Zheng Zhilong's annual income from sea trade is about 100 million silver coins, and he doesn't care about this little money.
From the net profit of one silver coin from his subordinate Zimin, more than two million Zimin can also pocket more than two million silver coins.
It was the transaction amount with the Ming Dynasty that made Zheng Zhilong feel gratified.
These two semi-finished products, manganese and chromium, were eaten in large quantities by Emperor Haojing.
On the one hand, it is used to make military armor, and on the other hand, it is used to produce a large number of stainless steel daily necessities.
As soon as stainless steel washbasins, cups, and kitchen utensils were released, they immediately became a hot commodity in the market due to their resistance to rust.
There is no shortage of iron ore in the Ming Dynasty, but there is a shortage of rare metals for making stainless steel.
Zheng Zhilong transported the manganese chromium ingots to the mainland, which meant that Emperor Haojing's big business was officially launched.
Strong, durable and not easy to rust, it is a must-have item for newlyweds. This is a dowry that the mother-in-law will definitely prepare.
Coopers don’t have to worry that the emergence of stainless steel will squeeze their business or even make them unemployed.
Whether the oil barrels containing oil are still wooden barrels, if they are replaced by steel containers, a spark will be wiped out after the collision, which may destroy an oil tanker!
The emergence of stainless steel kettles directly won an order of 500,000 yuan from the Ministry of War.
If there are no major problems, more than one million kettles will be purchased in batches in the future.
Not only the Ministry of War, but also the Ministry of Medicine also placed huge orders. After foreign businessmen saw such good things, they naturally placed large orders.
It is not that there were no stainless steel products in the past, but due to the limited quantity of raw materials, the cost could not be reduced.
After having South Africa's local specialties, Emperor Haojing can open them up and sell them...
It is estimated that the annual global stainless steel market sales may reach 800 to 13 million silver coins.
Vermiculite, zircon, fluorite, and phosphate can be used to make fireproof materials or to make optical lenses. Although they are inconspicuous, they are not useless and are quite useful.
In October of the thirty-seventh year of Haojing, Zheng Zhilong led 22 iron-clad ships and 888 merchant ships to Tianjin Port and unloaded a large amount of Westland local products from the ships.
Regardless of the wind direction, the ironclad ship can sail at a constant speed on the sea. The time required to travel from the West to Tianjin is less than one and a half months, which is much shorter than the previous wooden sailing ships.
The speed of merchant ships is slower. Since they sail in groups without the protection of armored ships, it is not a big problem unless the second, third, and fourth people in the world do not plan to follow the Ming Dynasty for a living.
Zheng Zhilong took his "Zhenhai" level 4 ironclad ship, escorted by a level 4 ironclad ship and two level 3 ironclad ships, to arrive at the mainland first.
His younger brother Zheng Zhifeng took another fourth-level ironclad ship to escort the fleet together with other ironclad ships. Therefore, his journey was slightly slower, but he could reach the destination within two months.
Zheng Zhilong is not in a hurry to leave this time, but will stay in the country for two years before bidding farewell.
Because in the summer of the next year, the four level five ironclad ships purchased by me will be launched at the Tianjin Shipyard.
Naturally, Zheng Zhilong couldn't miss such an important thing. This was the first generation of the Ming Dynasty's 10,000-ton armored ship.
According to Emperor Haojing, this class of armored ships will be named the "Taizu" class!
This will be a brand new beginning. Not only does the hull adopt alloy armor, but the main gun is also replaced with a large-caliber breech gun.
A brand-new steam engine was installed, and the power output could enable the ironclad ship to reach a maximum speed of twelve knots.
Although the tonnage is only 3,000 tons more than that of a fourth-class ironclad ship, its overall combat effectiveness is about twice that.
It can be said that this is a battleship with thick armor, fierce firepower and fast speed, which will definitely surpass the fourth-level ironclad ship by a large margin.
Zheng Zhilong spent 50 million silver coins on these four ships, with an average price of 12.5 million, which was quite expensive.
Of course, Zheng Zhilong feels extremely proud when he thinks of the price of the three-level ironclads purchased by France...
The construction of this fantastic warship took up to six years. Before arriving in Beidu, Zheng Zhilong went to the Tianjin Shipyard to see it with his own eyes.
Although the shape of the battleship has been taken shape, the ant-like workers working under the huge steel body are still working intensively on the construction.
There is one more important thing to do when coming to the northern capital to meet Emperor Haojing, and that is to implore the emperor to give him the elixir. This is something Zheng Zhilong attaches great importance to.
Even if he cannot live forever, he still hopes to prolong his life and live to be around a hundred years old, so that he can see his vassal country develop and grow with his own eyes through the efforts of his children and grandchildren.
By the way, let's take a look at the development of Beidu, bring some local novelties and local specialties back, and then go to the shipyard to pick up the completed steam-armored merchant ship.
In the future, the route from the West to the mainland will gradually be operated by these new merchant ships.
"Aiqing came at the right time. If it had been later, we might only be able to see it in the spring of next year!"
When Emperor Haojing saw Zheng Zhilong, who had come all the way, he took him to the artificial lake and showed him his "big dragonfly".
"What do you think, Aiqing?"
Emperor Haojing asked the Air Force to dispatch four fighter planes to perform a flight demonstration for Zheng Zhilong and his party.
Even though it was just level flight and large-radius circling, with no other additional movements, the guests were stunned.
"This thing is faster than an airship! It's quite sharp!"
Zheng Zhilong didn't know what to say for a while, and his brain was still in a state of extreme shock.
"I will give Aiqing four five-level iron-clad ships, each equipped with two seaplanes. The eight seaplanes will be given to Aiqing free of charge. If Aiqing is interested, he can also purchase aircraft that can take off on land. Each of them will be equipped with two seaplanes. Twenty thousand silver coins.”
The cost of aircraft is not high. After mass production, the cost of each aircraft is only 5,000 silver coins.
What's so expensive about it?
Fall a lot!
Every time you fall, the initial investment disappears...
It can be said that four hundred aircraft are approximately equal to the cost of one Zhiyuan.
But before the Zhiyuan, which can serve for fifty years, is retired, all four hundred aircraft may be lost.
Zheng Zhilong can enjoy preferential prices. To the outside world, sorry, even if you have money, you can’t buy it!
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I am willing to buy one hundred aircraft..."
"airplane!"
"I am willing to purchase a hundred aircraft, and I hope that your Majesty will send someone to teach my subordinates how to fly this aircraft!"
"That's natural. Not only does it include teaching and skills, but it also comes with spare parts, weapons and ammunition, which will definitely make Aiqing return satisfied."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zheng Zhilong's mind was still in a state of confusion, and he didn't know whether he bought more or less.
That's it for now. If it's a big deal, I'll spend money to make up for the gap later. Anyway, I have to make the emperor satisfied with my performance.
Two million silver coins were spent so quickly, but everyone in the entourage felt it was not worth it.
The speed of the airplane is so fast, it is small and flexible in the air, and its speed is much faster than that of the airship.
Anyone with a brain will realize that this thing will definitely be the natural enemy of the airship.
Now France, the Netherlands, Austria and other countries have all equipped airships, and Ming Dynasty has better aircraft, which is interesting...
The other party bought the goods for two million silver coins. After excluding the cost of the aircraft, parts and ammunition, the Academy of Sciences and the factory jointly made a net profit of millions.
It is of course no problem for Emperor Haojing to give Zheng Zhilong a tube of elixir, given the contribution Zheng Zhilong makes to himself every year.
Not to mention one tube, ten tubes, or even twenty tubes can be used!
If one tube sells for one million silver coins, three hundred and sixty-five tubes of elixir would be worth a whopping three hundred and sixty-five million!
Emperor Haojing really decided to reward Zheng with twenty tubes of elixir, accounting for about one-eighteenth of the total, which would not affect other people's shares.
If these people live one more day, Fujian people will be able to move a few more boatloads of people to South Africa.
If you live one more year, you can move at least 200,000 yuan to the west.
Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhiwan can drink it first, and then drink it after Zheng Zhifeng, Zheng Zhipeng and others arrive.
Since the production is extremely limited, if Zheng Zhilong drinks it today, Zheng Zhiwan will have to drink it tomorrow.
Zheng Chenggong is still young. As long as he has no physical problems, he and his brothers of the same age can wait ten years before drinking.
If Zheng Zhilong thinks this medicine is very good, there is no problem in drinking it every year.
It's just that I have to stay in Beidu for half a year, just in time to experience the beautiful life in the colorful world.
Beidu and Xidi are two worlds on the same planet, one is extremely prosperous and the other is extremely desolate.
The men brought by Zheng Zhilong wanted to buy everything when they arrived in Beidu. As long as they still had a silver coin in their pocket, they would want to spend it.
The plan was to purchase airships during this trip, so Zheng Zhilong's pilots would now be put to use.
You can be a candidate to become an airplane pilot. As long as your reaction is not too slow and your physical condition is up to standard, you can enter the training stage.
There is no need to consider the eyesight at all. It is impossible for people with myopia to qualify for boarding an airship.
First, we need to conduct airsickness and turbulence training. The former is to use rollers and spiral ladders for tumbling training, and the latter is to use a large fan to simulate turbulence in the air and blow the pilot away.
Next, you need to remember the purpose of all the instruments and mechanisms in the cockpit, and you must answer it within three seconds without making any mistakes, otherwise it will be equivalent to making a wrong response after going to heaven.
This is nothing, the real danger is actually flying into the sky.
But these are all courses for next year. Generally, rookies start from seaplane, because it is easier to save their lives by ditching on water.
Emperor Haojing has considered sending some of his pilots to South Africa for training and actual combat if Zheng Zhilong's airship troops succeed.
There are no actual combat opportunities in the Ming Dynasty, and the role of fighter jets is not much different from that of reconnaissance aircraft.
Zheng Zhilong suddenly realized the importance of this thing after watching videos related to the flight training of the Ming Dynasty Air Force.
With ironclad ships, one's own side has control of the sea.
With tanks, one's own side has land control.
With airplanes, we have air superiority.
This is the legendary "Holy Trinity of Sea, Land and Air"!
After the cockpit has been improved, the pilot already has a glass canopy.
The disadvantage is that you have to lift the canopy first when skydiving, which may take about three seconds.
Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty Air Force can decide whether to install a canopy on its aircraft based on the pilot's preferences.
If anyone wants to fill their stomachs with cold air, they are definitely saving money for Emperor Haojing...
A month after Zheng Zhifeng's fleet arrived in Tianjin, it snowed in the Jifu area.
The fleet has completed unloading and loading, and can set off back to South Africa under the protection of twenty ironclad ships.
Zheng Zhilong asked Zheng Zhiwan, who had finished drinking the elixir, to command the entire fleet. He would naturally not refuse after receiving benefits.
Zheng Zhifeng and Zheng Zhipeng accompanied their eldest brother to stay in Beidu to celebrate the New Year, and the year after next they took four armored ships before sailing back.
Even with four "Taizu"-class ironclads in hand, Zheng Zhilong felt that he could return home without any worries.
The power of these four battleships is no less than twenty level three ironclads. Who, including France and the Netherlands, would dare to have a conflict at sea with a fleet of twenty level three ironclads?
