"So this is Guangzhou Prefecture." A few days later, the Hope finally docked at the Guangzhou Pier. At this time, Guangzhou was still the largest trading port of the Ming Empire. Although the Ming and Qing dynasties had always implemented the policy of maritime ban, and even the Qing Dynasty implemented the policy of seclusion, but even if it was seclusion, it could not be said to be a complete blockade. There is a little bit of communication with the outside world. At the very least, Guangzhou has always been a treaty port in the Huaxia region, or even the only treaty port.
Since the Northern Song Dynasty established the Shipping Department in Guangzhou, Guangzhou has always been a gathering place for merchants from various Southeast Asian countries. Now with the advent of the Age of Discovery, a large number of Westerners have also poured into Guangzhou to carry out cultural and trade exchanges between the East and the West. .
Guangzhou has long been accustomed to ships like the Hope coming from the Netherlands. Even at the moment the Hope docked, there were several ships that were not known to be French, English or other Westerners. The ships are also preparing to dock.
Standing on the deck, Gao Heng looked at the prosperous scene of Guangzhou Mansion and felt a little dazed for a moment. A few months ago, he came to Daming, but whether it was Tuo County, Yuan County, Lang Son Prefecture, Xin'an Port, including Qiongzhou Prefecture, which he had just visited, the size of these counties and cities was not large, with a population of only tens of thousands. It was similar to a larger town in later generations, which did not resonate with Gao Heng.
But when you arrive in Guangzhou, everything is different. Whether in the Ming Dynasty or in later generations, Guangzhou has always been a prosperous city. Not only the descendants of Yan and Huang, but also businessmen from all over the world are active here. Even in the late Ming Dynasty, in Before the war spread to Guangdong and Guangxi, Guangzhou still maintained the appearance of an international city.
This allowed Gao Heng to find the feeling of the city of later generations. Perhaps only in this way could he feel that he had not lost contact with future generations and had not gone too far.
"General, general, we are here, we can disembark." Pudman's words pulled Gao Heng out of his thoughts.
Gao Heng reacted and said: "Oh, oh, okay, let's go down together."
Pudman put down the trestle and led the way. Sun and Ding followed Gao Heng. Everyone was wearing casual clothes. Annan's casual clothes were a little weird, but it didn't matter. There were all kinds of people in Guangzhou. When they got off the boat, they blended directly into the crowd.
Guangzhou Prefecture Pudman has been here once before with others, but it was only that one time, so he was not familiar with the terrain here, but it didn't matter, Guangzhou's business was developed, and when they got off the boat, several Ya people gathered around them. , to introduce business to them.
Yaren is actually a Yar firm. In fact, a firm or middleman who negotiates deals with buyers and sellers in the market, introduces transactions, and collects commissions is the same as the middlemen of later generations. Their business scope is very wide. The main reason is that foreign businessmen come here because they are not familiar with the place and it is inconvenient to do business. Having a middleman to connect them is a good thing for both buyers and sellers.
Pudman is a red-haired and blue-eyed Dutchman. People like this are very welcome in the Ya, because Dutch businessmen usually come to import goods. You know, the porcelain tea of the Ming Dynasty is a luxury that can only be used by nobles in the West. Good product, very profitable.
The Yaren can also make a lot of money from these red-haired ghosts by reselling supplies. In the eyes of the Ya people, Gao Heng and the others were more like Pudman's Nanyang followers.
As soon as the people came up, they started introducing their goods in a flurry, and everyone praised their goods to the extreme. Pudman thought for a while and said: "Hello, that's it. We naturally have to import the goods, but before that, I want to meet the prefect of Guangzhou. I wonder if any of you can find a way to introduce him? one time?"
"What did you say?" Several Ya people were startled, and then looked at Pudman as if they were a fool. Their expressions seemed to be saying, is this red-haired ghost crazy? Who is the prefect? Maybe the red-haired ghost can see him whenever he wants.
Sun Heding immediately stepped forward to rescue him and said: "Guys, that's it. We are from Annan. This is our master, a local nobleman from Annan. I came here this time because I have something to do and want to see the prefect. It doesn't matter if we can't meet. I'm here There is a letter, if you have a way to deliver it to the prefect, I am willing to pay fifty taels of silver."
"Ouch!" Everyone was shocked again. Good guy, he sent a letter for fifty taels of silver. He was indeed an Annan noble, and his move was extraordinary.
Everyone looked eagerly at the money bag and envelope in Sun Heding's hands. In fact, the envelope was a letter written by Sun Heding. As long as Song Yingsheng could see it, he would definitely invite them to see Song Yingxing.
However, although Yaren was a middleman, the social status of businessmen was low. Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants were ranked at the bottom. It was not easy to get on the line with Song Yingsheng. Although several people were salivating, the matter could not be accomplished and they could not get the money.
Suddenly one of the tooth men pointed at the leader and said, "Boss Wu, isn't your second aunt's third son working as an errand in the government office? Maybe we can clear things up." The leader slapped his forehead and said, "Fuck! You kid, why didn't I? think."
After saying that, he immediately changed his smile and said: "If you trust me, I will try it now, just, just."
Gao Heng took out a small gold ingot from his arms and said: "This is one tael of gold, which is regarded as a deposit and used to smooth your relationship. There are forty taels of silver left. If you finish it, come and get it. We are here." Find a hotel nearby to settle in."
The Yaman smiled happily, took the gold ingot and hurriedly put it into his arms, and then said: "The hotel is easy to find, leave it to me. I will ask someone to take you there, and only charge half of your money. Give me three days, and you will definitely be able to get it." information."
Early the next morning, after a good night's sleep, Gao Heng and others, led by Pudman, strolled on the dock to learn about Guangzhou's customs and business conditions. The main reason is that Gao Heng wants to see what kind of trade prospects Lang Son Province currently has.
It is definitely not possible to remain complacent. You must communicate the resources you control with the outside world in order to generate greater economic value. For example, for Gao Heng, what he can do best at present is food. As long as the population is enough, they can open up more fertile land to produce food. What the Ming Dynasty lacks most is food. If they can open a food shipping channel, they can open up more fertile land to produce food. Energy sources continue to transport food out in exchange for more funds.
This is the first, and the second is what Gao Heng has been thinking about. Although Annan has coal, iron and other resources, the most and best resource should be rubber.
In fact, people in the Ming Dynasty have been exposed to rubber since Zheng He's voyages to the West. However, ancient people did not know how to use rubber to produce more practical things, which means that the application of rubber was not popular. If Gaoheng can develop rubber well, it will also be a good export project.
As a soldier from later generations, Gao Heng knew that anyone who was good at chemistry in high school basically knew the principles of rubber production. Separate the skin of the rubber tree, and the rubber liquid will naturally flow out. Then use a sieve to filter out the impurities in the liquid, and then put formic acid in it, but there should be no formic acid at this time, but it doesn't matter, oxalic acid also has a certain effect.
Oxalic acid is easy to handle and can be obtained through various methods, such as the bamboo shoot method. Boil the peeled bamboo shoots for a quarter of an hour, then filter the bamboo shoot pieces to leave the liquid containing oxalic acid. Put the liquid in a container and let it sit for a few days. Oxalic acid crystals were obtained. Clean the impurities on the surface and dry it to get pure oxalic acid.
Formic acid is actually a substance extracted from oxalic acid. After it is mixed into the rubber liquid, the rubber liquid will turn into a paste. After drying it to remove excess water and beating it repeatedly to dry, you get the rubber sheet. Then the surface impurities are cleaned, and after multiple purification processes, the rubber raw materials can be obtained. With the raw materials, it is not difficult to produce shoes, gloves and even tires.
I just don’t know if people today can realize the huge value of rubber products, so that they can generate huge economic value by selling rubber products.
While walking along the pier, suddenly, Fan Yu, who was staying at the hotel, ran over and said: "General, let me find you easily. It turns out you are here. Go back quickly. There is a letter from the prefect's Yamen. Someone is waiting for us. "
Gao Heng was stunned, so fast? It seems that this person is very efficient at work.
Everyone immediately rushed back to the hotel and found a man in casual clothes, but with an appearance and temperament that looked like an official, waiting for them in the lobby of the hotel. He was followed by several people in smart clothes who looked like they should be government servants.
The person standing next to the official was the Yaren from yesterday. As soon as Yaren saw them coming in, he said to the official: "Sir, these are the ones who said they have something urgent to do with the prefect."
The official nodded, went up to him and said, "Hello everyone, I am the head of the government office. I have been entrusted by Mr. Song to invite some of you to the government office for a talk."
It turned out that it was a coincidence that Na Yaren just went to his second aunt's house yesterday and found his cousin in the room. It turned out that his second aunt was not feeling well today, and his cousin asked for leave to go back and have a look, and they happened to meet each other. Yaren was overjoyed. His cousin worked as a yamen servant, Zaotou, and was considered a small leader. He could talk to Mr. Song for a few words on weekdays.
The tooth man showed the gold ingot in his hand, and his cousin couldn't sit still. Treating my mother was not as important as earning gold ingots. This was his income for half a year. He immediately rushed back to the Yamen without stopping and tried to find a way to hand over the letter. Song Yingsheng took a look and knew that the matter was not trivial. The person who wrote the letter was not an ordinary person. Immediately sent someone to invite Sun Heding and others to meet at the government office early in the morning.
When everyone entered the government office, they were taken into the back hall by the chief. As soon as they entered, they saw two sixty-year-old men with quite similar looks standing in the hall. As soon as Sun Heding entered, a slightly younger person came up to him, grabbed Sun Heding's arm, and moved his lips several times. Sun Heding looked very similar to Sun Yuanhua, and Song Yingxing could recognize him at a glance as long as he wasn't blind.
He then let out a long sigh and said: "It's good if I can come out alive, it's good if I can come out alive."
Sun Heding immediately knelt down and said: "Mr. Song, after all these years, Mr. Song still remembers us and his father. Please accept my respect!"
The person in front of him was Song Yingxing. Song Yingxing hurriedly helped Sun Heding and said: "My father died unjustly, and I feel bad. I can see his descendants today. I think it will comfort me to know that your father is under the spring." But after all, Strange, you are not in Qiongzhou. How did you end up here again?"
Only then did Song Yingxing notice that Sun and Ding were followed by several people, one of whom was a red-haired and blue-eyed foreigner. It seemed that their ability to escape from Qiongzhou Mansion must be attributed to the contributions of these people.
At this moment, Song Yingsheng invited everyone to sit down and everyone greeted each other. Sun Heding then made an introduction.
Only then did the Song brothers realize that after a long quarrel, the real owner was not Sun Heding, but the young man named Gao Heng behind them.
Because Gao Heng is the youngest among the group, even Sun He Ding is a middle-aged man in his forties. Gao Heng is only a twenty-year-old boy, but who would have thought that he is the real master and a lord in northern Annan.
Because of military reports, Song Yingsheng had heard something about Zhennanguan, but like the imperial court, he knew little about what was going on there. This was the first time he heard of Gao Heng's name. After listening to Sun Heding's introduction, they Only then did I realize that there was such a story behind the Zhennanguan victory.
Song Yingsheng said: "General Gao, let's call him this for now."
Gao Heng stood up quickly and said: "I don't dare. This general's title is just a self-titled title. It is just a title given to me by the officers and men in the army. In fact, I don't have any official position."
Song Yingsheng nodded, "General Gao, I don't know what your purpose is here, but you rescued Sun He Ding and others. Although I sympathize with their plight, after all, they are prisoners of the imperial court. You, a foreigner, interfered with the Ming Dynasty." There seems to be something wrong with the matter."
Song Yingxing stood up quickly and said, "Brother, how could you? Don't you know He Ding and the others?"
"There are state laws, family rules, and a clear distinction between public and private affairs. I sympathize with Mr. Sun Yuanhua's experience, but this does not mean that I think General Gao is right to do what he did." Song Yingsheng stopped Song Yingxing and said.
Gao Heng smiled and said: "Haha, your Excellency is right, but Lang Son Mansion is in urgent need of development, and development requires talents. Mr. Sun is exactly the talent we need. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't know that Mr. Song Yingxing is here." Guangzhou, to be honest, I came here just to ask Mr. Song to go to Lang Son to talk about it. The steam engine that Mr. Song painted is refreshing. I am willing to fully support Mr. Song to create this real object to benefit the country and the people."
"What steam engine?" Song Yingxing was a little confused.
Gao Heng took out the drawing and put it in front of Song Yingxing. He suddenly realized, "It turns out to be this. Although I have an idea for this thing, I haven't thought of a name. What the general said is very appropriate. Well, steam engine is a good name. , incidentally explaining how it works.”
