In June of the 30th year of Chengshun, inside the Songjiang Naval Shipyard.
The huge shipbuilding industry was busy, with more than twenty shipyards of various sizes building various ships.
More than half of them are various warships, and some are civilian merchant ships.
On one of the large dry docks, a large ship is under construction. This ship is a large ocean-going passenger and cargo ship ordered by Jiangnan Shipping Company: Jiangnan!
A dozen people stood on the third-floor balcony of the Songjiang Naval Shipyard headquarters, looking at the Jiangnan ahead.
This ship is also the largest ship built by the Chu Empire's shipbuilding industry: its full load displacement reaches 10,500 tons.
This is also the first 10,000-ton ship in the Da Chu Empire.
Although this is only a civilian ship and the technical standards are far less stringent than those of warships, Wusong Naval Shipyard still conducted a series of technical research in order to build the ship and paid a heavy price for it.
However, such a ship, with a full load displacement of tens of thousands of tons, can carry thousands of passengers on ocean voyages, and while ensuring the comfort of passengers, it can also run up to 12 knots. Once built, it will have great impact on the shipbuilding of the Chu Empire. It has a huge impact on industry and shipping.
Although this is just a civilian ship, the power system on the ship is not much worse than that of a battleship. At the same time, because it is a high-speed passenger ship, the decoration is also extremely luxurious, which also results in an extremely high overall cost.
This ship is a major investment project of Jiangnan Shipping Company in order to compete for the ocean, especially the Nanyang shipping market. Jiangnan Shipping Company also paid a lot of money for this. The cost of the entire Jiangnan ship reached more than 800,000 yuan. huge.
This is the cost of the latest first-class battleship in the Chu Empire.
This also shows the ambition of Jiangnan Shipping Company!
They want more market share in ocean passenger transport, especially to compete with Liuhe Shipping Company in the Nanyang shipping market.
Liuhe Shipping Company, a small company that started out as an ordinary civilian shipping company, continued to prioritize steamship orders after the advent of the steamship era. It served a large number of steam passenger ships of various types and seized a large number of ships. Shipping market share.
During this process, Liuhe Shipping Company also carried out multiple financings. The financing included a number of investment funds under the control of government capital, as well as large industry-related enterprises such as Guangzhou Shipyard, Wuhu Iron and Steel Company, Luohua Shipyard, etc., and many large-scale Financing not only allowed Liuhe Shipping Company to obtain a large amount of cash, but also broke the ceiling and gained huge room for continued growth.
As a result, Liuhe Shipping Company was out of control. First it almost monopolized the shipping business in the Pearl River Basin, and then got involved in the Yangtze River shipping business and the local offshore shipping business.
And with the financial advantages accumulated from domestic inland waterway shipping and offshore shipping, it has successively built more than ten ocean liners of three to four thousand tons and put them into various routes in the East and Southeast Asia.
This thousands-ton steam passenger ship has won unanimous praise from passengers for its fast speed, comfortable and safe sailing experience, and has thus squeezed out the ocean-going passenger transport business of other shipping companies.
With the largest number of customers and the largest profits on the route from mainland China to Singapore, Liuhe Trading Company accounted for 56% of the passengers on this route during the 28th year of its peak Chengshun.
I dare not say that one company is the only one, but it still occupies more than half of the market share.
The rapid rise of Liuhe Trading Company also made other shipping companies feel threatened and saw the benefits of large-tonnage steamships.
In the past few years, major shipping companies have concentrated investment in building a number of thousands of tons of merchant ships, among which high-speed steam passenger ships have been the focus of investment by major shipping companies.
Safety, speed and comfort have become key words in contemporary shipping passenger transport business.
What is safe? In these days, people's concept is very simple: the larger the tonnage of the ship, the safer it is.
This is actually true. If you take a boat of several hundred tons on an ocean voyage, the probability of dying on the road is not small... It is actually more dangerous to take a ship of one to two thousand tons if it encounters strong winds and waves, but after the tonnage reaches three to four thousand tons, it is actually more dangerous. , then the ability to resist wind and waves will be much stronger.
This is why major shipping companies like to use large-tonnage ships to perform ocean-going missions.
Speed, naturally, the faster the better. For ordinary freight business, the issue of sailing costs must be taken into consideration. Therefore, except for tea and other special goods that require timeliness, ordinary bulk cargo transportation is carried out slowly. , generally use sail power as the main power, which means that sails are still used as power during daily sailing, and steam engines are only used for emergencies.
But this is not the case with passenger transport. The sooner you reach your destination, the better.
Not to mention comfort, no one likes to travel in a small cabin without being able to take a shower and even eating is troublesome!
Especially some business travelers who travel by boat to various places. They don’t have money in their pockets. If you let them be transported to various places overseas like pigs and sheep like official immigrants who don’t have much money in their pockets, they will suffer. No.
Therefore, the requirements for comfort during navigation are also relatively high.
And sailing comfort also comes at a cost...larger living space requires larger vessel volume and more tonnage.
A better diet requires more fresh water and fresh food.
There is also a certain amount of entertainment and leisure space.
The three major needs of safety, speed and comfort have led major shipping companies to invest in the construction of passenger ships with larger tonnage.
This eventually led to the emergence of Jiangnan Shipping Company’s 10,000-ton passenger ship: Jiangnan!
Today, the personnel of Jiangnan Shipping Company came to inspect the construction of this 10,000-ton giant ship. This ship is related to their company's future strategic layout in the ocean shipping market, so they are very concerned about it and not only dispatched personnel to the Songjiang Navy The shipyard and its company executives also came over every three days to check on the construction progress.
"According to the current progress, it is expected that the hull construction and outfitting will be completed in another three months. If all goes well, all construction work will be completed and sea trials will be conducted in the spring of next year. If we hurry up, we will be ready in June next year. Being able to put this giant ship into commercial operation!”
The speaker was a middle-aged man among the crowd. Jiangnan Shipping Company will handle the trip to Tongxing.
Although he also has an official status, he does not wear the loose Confucian official uniform like many officials. Instead, he wears a new lightweight lapel overalls.
It's a bit similar to traditional leeks, but very different.
In the past, the traditional turban was basically the attire of the poor working people. The style is a top and trousers. The top has a right-fold collar, narrow sleeves, and a short hem. It only covers the waist and hips, and is tied with a belt.
There is a huge difference from the wide and elegant Hanfu that influenced many people in later generations!
In addition to economic factors, this is because working people have to work... and they can't work with large and flowing clothes.
In fact, the khaki brown worn by the common people in ancient times was similar to the military uniforms worn by soldiers at the same time, and could even be said to be of the same style.
The Dachu Empire was no exception. The military uniform style of the Dachu Empire in the early years, and the early military uniforms that continued during the Ming Dynasty, were all right-sided tops and trousers, but they were more slim-fitting, and the hem of the tops was shorter.
Therefore, for a long time, the overall style of the Chu army's military uniforms was actually similar to the Ming army's military uniforms, and similar to the tassel brown worn by ordinary people.
But later things changed.
For example, the winter coat of an officer was initially designed with a long lapel and double-breasted style.
Later, from the long double-breasted style coat, a medium-sized lapel right-hand single-breasted coat was developed, which was used as daily wear.
Eventually, it gradually evolved into the military uniforms of ordinary soldiers, and then the lapels of the military uniforms were buttoned to make it more convenient and practical for combat.
This is very different from folk dress style.
For example, the military uniforms of the Guards of the Dachu Empire are mainly dark blue. The autumn and winter styles are slim-fitting cotton-padded jacket trousers, the top is a round-neck double-breasted single-breasted lining, and the coat is a lapel-breasted single-breasted short cotton-padded jacket. For daily use Wear a black hard-topped cloth hat and thick cotton shoes with rubber soles.
In addition, they also have dress styles, which are mainly made of woolen materials, and come with slim woolen trousers, a medium-sized double-breasted woolen jacket with right lapels, long leather shoes, and a black hard-top hat with a small brim.
Then when they attend some formal occasions, they will also wear black leather shoes or something.
This is the clothing worn by ordinary soldiers in the Guards. For officers, the style is actually similar, but the materials are better. At the same time, officers' uniforms are often made by their own tailors, so they are more slim and fit.
On the whole, the clothing of the soldiers of the Imperial Guards of the Dachu Empire is actually similar to that of later modern times, probably at the end of the 19th century.
This style of dressing was originally initiated by Luo Zhixue.
Because Luo Zhixue loves to run around wearing a military uniform made of the material of a warlord leader from the original time and space!
The right lapel double-breasted long and wide woolen jacket... This thing was inspired by Luo Zhixue, and Luo Zhixue also likes to wear all kinds of woolen jackets.
Especially in autumn and winter, the Luo Zhixue you see is actually no different from the clothes of modern people. You can't even recognize that he lived in the seventeenth century...
But it's different in the summer. Luo Zhixue likes to wear large and elegant Confucian clothes in the summer. It's not the traditional black-edged white Confucian clothes... but cyan, sometimes bright yellow, etc., so If you see him at this time, you will think that he is no different from the ancient people.
This is how Luo Zhixue switches back and forth between modern times and ancient times...
Not only him, but also other people in the Chu Empire, especially the upper class.
After all, what goes up is good, and what goes down below is good.
Even the modern style of polished black leather shoes was the first thing Luo Zhizai asked craftsmen to come up with and wear, and then a bunch of people followed suit.
Well, the black leather shoes in the Dachu Empire are not the same as the aristocratic high-heeled leather shoes in Europe at the same time, but the modern leather shoe style directly created by Luo Zhixue.
The clothing changes initiated by Luo Zhixue among the upper class were first changed in the military, then in the civil service class, and then in the middle and upper classes of society.
And now, it has even affected the clothing of ordinary people to a certain extent.
Among ordinary people's clothing, if it is a ceremonial or formal occasion, the traditional Hanfu must be large and elegant... But the daily work clothes, especially the daily work clothes of the middle and upper classes, have become quite different. Variety.
They are decent gentry. If you ask them to wear the common people's tassels, that's impossible... But if they continue to wear large and elegant Hanfu, if they only do clerical work, then there is no problem. But many people are engaged in It's some technical jobs, like engineers or something.
Even managers need to go to the workshop to inspect things.
It is very dangerous to wear large and elegant Hanfu... If your clothes are accidentally caught by various mechanical equipment, you will lose your life in minutes.
This kind of thing happens a lot. The middle and upper class people naturally don’t wear large and elegant Hanfu when they work, especially when they go to the workshop. That would be irresponsible for their own lives, and what should they wear?
Wearing clothes similar to military uniforms.
Specifically, it consists of slim-fitting trousers on the bottom, a round-neck lining on the top, a double-breasted top with lapels on the right side of the jacket, or a single-breasted top with double-breasted lapels.
In the winter, I also imitated the officers and wore a long and wide woolen coat.
Basically, the military uniforms are brought over, but there are definitely not so many details. For example, the pants of other military uniforms have vertical lines of different colors according to different military branches, and ordinary people's clothes naturally don't have these. Variegated vertical lines are generally solid colors.
There are also a variety of colors, and there is no solitary black like in later generations. Except for yellow, which no one wears, there are basically other colors. There are more black, gray and other dark colors, and there are even many people wearing them. Red.
The red color these days is not a color reserved for women, and has nothing to do with sissies. It is the color of formal attire for officials from the fourth rank and above!
Red clothes are very serious in traditional Chinese society. Like yellow and purple, they have special political significance.
In the early Ming Dynasty, if a man's official rank was less than the fourth rank, he would not have the opportunity to wear red clothes except on the wedding day. Later, the official system was gradually relaxed, but few ordinary men would wear bright red clothes, after all, it was taboo.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was the dream of countless scholars to wear a crimson official robe dignifiedly. Well, today's Great Chu Empire is no exception.
Of course, the Great Chu Empire had very loose control over clothing and clothing colors. Even in terms of official uniforms, the Great Chu Empire had never formulated so-called regular official uniforms. It only formulated ceremonial official robes that continued the millennium tradition. In daily life, Official, you can wear whatever you like... I just don't know why, but all of them imitate Luo Zhixue and wear Confucian clothes... This also annoys Luo Zhixue.
As for ordinary people, it doesn’t matter. Wear whatever you like!
Well, there are exceptions to formal official attire... such as red official robes, which ordinary people cannot wear.
In terms of color matching, bright yellow is the emperor's special color and cannot be used by others. Those who are qualified to wear some yellow decorations are the clothes specially rewarded by Luo Zhixue.
Apart from these two points, the rest is basically ignored.
Generally speaking, there are very few taboos on clothing and culture in the Chu Empire. As long as you don't openly attack the royal family or the official government, basically no one will pay attention to you.
Even if you hide at home and wear yellow clothes, no one will care about you. Of course, it is rumored that you wander around the streets, or you are reported... But it will not be said that you are trying to commit rebellion. At most, you will be detained A few days, a fine or something.
As for the dragon robe...ahem, this is a big problem.
Based on the clothing etiquette of the Great Chu Empire, coupled with the deep-rooted traditional concepts, most ordinary people, even low-level officials, will not be able to wear red official robes in this life. Wearing a red Hanfu as part of your costume would be embarrassing and even a taboo for officials...
For example, the magistrate had to work hard for half his life to wear a crimson official robe... He could only wear it to show off in ceremonial occasions. On weekdays, he could only wear an ordinary blue Confucian robe and a badge.
Then you wear a red Hanfu that is similar to a scarlet official robe and dangle in front of him... Does the prefect feel happy after seeing this?
Be careful, the prefect will slap you to death!
So many people are aiming at new-style work clothes... Wearing a red woolen jacket is completely different from the traditional Hanfu. There is no problem in wearing a red one. And the superiors really don’t care.
Ever since...many people like to wear red woolen jackets.
This situation made Luo Zhixue feel weird when he saw it!
But people like this, and he doesn't bother to care!
The contemporary Chu Empire is a very special and complex era. It is not only a highly centralized centralized imperial dynasty, but also an industrialized country.
At the same time, the Chu Empire started from agriculture to industrialization, and the whole process only took thirty years. If we talk about the large-scale application of steam engines, it took less than twenty years in total, and it only took ten years to enter the era of trains and ships.
In such a short period of time, Luo Zhixue led a group of ancient people to rush from the agricultural era to the industrial era, which also brought countless violent collisions or fusions of tradition and modernity.
Eventually, it merged into what it is now like the Great Chu Empire...
You say it is an industrialized country, but at its heart it is still a feudal dynasty. Everything from education to imperial examinations to officialdom and so on are actually the same as those of the feudal dynasty.
You said it was a feudal dynasty, but they really traveled all over the world on ships and trains!
When working among the people, this is especially true in terms of living customs and cultural etiquette. Until now, in the orthodox education of the Chu Empire, students still learn classical Chinese. Students wear Confucian clothes, shake folding fans and open their mouths.
But, if you change the topic, they can talk to you about astronomy and geography, and seriously discuss mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
This may seem strange to future generations, but it is quite normal in the contemporary Chu Empire.
Learning the words of saints is for becoming an official, and learning mathematics, physics, and chemistry is also for becoming an official. Learning both at the same time is not conflicting for countless students in the Great Chu Empire...it is even a matter of course.
If you don't study, how can you take the imperial examination or become an official?
With the words of saints in one hand and mathematics and physics in the other, these are the contemporary students of the Chu Empire!
