Adam, William and others looked at each other and were all surprised by Emperor Jianwen's vision. He was not a closed monarch. He only knew about the Ming Dynasty. He also knew about Venice beyond the Ming Dynasty, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mamluk Dynasty.
If you think about it carefully, you can feel relieved.
The westernmost territory of the Ming Dynasty is Tashkent, which is not far from Samarkand of the Timurid Kingdom. The Ming Dynasty also opened the Silk Road, and merchants from the Timurid Kingdom will bring news. What's more, there was Zheng He's voyage fleet. They arrived at the Red Sea, learned about Western countries and oceans, and presumably informed Emperor Jianwen.
Adam recalled the pain and fatigue he had gone through, and sighed: "Back to the great emperor, we first recruited crews from Venice, took a boat to the mouth of the Nile in the north of the Mamluk Dynasty, and then moved countless goods down, recruited clerks and The common people, together with the crew, took two months to transfer the goods to the Red Coast, where they spent a lot of money to rent ships and reload the goods. Then they set sail southward and eastwards. Along the route of Zheng He's navy, there were no surprises. Arriving at Daming with great difficulty."
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly: "Two months?"
Adam nodded heavily, yes, it was two months.
Although that section of the road is less than 400 miles, the transfer of goods takes a lot of time. In addition, it is a long journey in the desert, and the daily travel is not far. The most troublesome thing is the destruction of the Mamluk Dynasty. They do not want Venice Merchants used this route to sail long distances unless they paid a price that satisfied them.
Zhu Yunwen knocked on the table and said softly: "It takes too long, which delays the voyage and makes the voyage longer."
Adam nodded repeatedly.
Not only will the goods be transferred, but you will also need to change ships midway and accept heavy taxes from the Mamluk dynasty. If you can get around it, everyone will want to get around it. But there is no way around it. If you want to enter the Red Sea, you have to pass through the Mamluk Dynasty.
Zhu Yunwen pondered, wondering whether to tell Adam about another route. At this time, guiding European countries south to Africa and entering the East via the Cape of Good Hope would be beneficial or harmful to Ming Dynasty?
Ning Wang Zhu Quan has agreed to go to Africa. He has enough strategy and wisdom to deal with complex situations. Letting the Europeans run out at this time would somewhat cause trouble for King Ning.
Forget it, Venice will decline after knowing that route, and will be replaced by Portugal and Spain. Now Venice still has value. If the Ming Dynasty wanted to promote the development of primary industry, it would need a lot of resources and capital. Without a smooth road, it would be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to dump high-quality and low-priced goods into Europe and open up a market.
Only by completely destroying various industries in Europe can they be reduced to a market for Ming products, strive to serve Ming, continue to accumulate wealth and materials for Ming, and then become vassals.
In order to open up the European market, Ming Dynasty needed a river that connected the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. But the current Mamluk dynasty does not have the Suez Canal.
Zhu Yunwen's eyes became firm and he said seriously: "I hope that Venice and other Western countries can enjoy the same life as the people of the Ming Dynasty, allowing silk, ceramics, tea and all kinds of goods to flow smoothly. But Always changing ships to transfer goods is not an option..."
Adam was bitter.
William said helplessly: "Your Majesty, we don't want to change ships or transfer goods. But without rivers, we can't sail."
Zhu Yunwen raised his glass and drank it in one gulp, and said leisurely: "Since there is no river, can't we open a river? The Grand Canal of the Ming Dynasty is nearly 4,000 miles, and the closest point from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean is less than 400 miles. How to open a river? Come on, can’t your ships enter the Red Sea directly?”
"Create a river channel?"
Adam was shocked.
William and others did not dare to speak for a while.
If you think about it carefully, what Zhu Yunwen said is not unreasonable. If there is no river, then dig out one. Wouldn’t the problem be solved?
Just because it makes sense doesn't mean it's feasible. The Ming Dynasty has a large population, a vast land and abundant resources, and it can be opened just by opening rivers. But Venice couldn't open a river channel even if it wanted to, because it was the territory of the Mamluk dynasty. If they didn't agree, who could open a river channel?
Zhu Yunwen guided and said: "After you go back, you can tell the Governor of Venice, you can tell the dukes and kings of other countries. If you want the Ming Dynasty's trade profits and endless wealth, the best way is to persuade the Mamluk dynasty to join the Red Sea and A north-south canal was dug between the Mediterranean Sea.”
"Once the canal is unblocked, there will be no obstacles to ship traffic. You will not need to spend time transshipping goods, nor will you need to change ships. You only need to pay the tax to cross the river, and you can start a long voyage. The benefits and benefits of this, I believe you can Can you see clearly?"
Adam naturally knew how great this idea would be once it was realized. Many countries trapped in the Mediterranean would have the most convenient access to the East, with costs reduced and profits naturally high.
But the problem is that the Mamluk dynasty may not agree.
Zhu Yunwen naturally knew that the Mamluk dynasty would not agree, but this idea must be conveyed. It does not matter how much trouble it will bring to the Mamluk dynasty. What matters is that this matter will consume the energy and attention of Western countries, and even bring about contradictions and conflicts.
Ten thousand steps back, even if the Mamluk dynasty nodded, it would still take at least three to five years for the river channel to be built. By then, Zhu Quan would have already controlled key areas in Africa, and he might not be able to move north to hold on to this channel. , making it a channel for Ming Dynasty to dump goods to Europe.
National interests are above all else, and the strategic position needs the power of Ming Dynasty to dominate.
Whether it is colonization or semi-colonization, once this path starts, it cannot be stopped. It is like a stone rolling down a mountain, it will have inertia.
Adam and William didn't know how they left the palace. They only remembered that Zhu Yunwen was very happy.
When they woke up the next day, Huang Eryue and Chen Yu brought samples to discuss purchasing matters with Adam, Burley and others. Adam gave full play to his true nature as a businessman and hoped that Huang Eryue, Chen Yu and others would buy in bulk on the grounds of bulk purchase. I lower the price.
According to the market price in the Ming Dynasty, a piece of cotton cloth was 150 yuan, and a piece of silk was 600 yuan. Adam offered a price of 100 pence for a piece of cotton and 500 pence for a piece of silk.
Huang Eryue and Chen Yu fought repeatedly, and finally settled the deal at a price of 110 yuan for a piece of cotton and 520 yuan for a piece of silk.
Adam, Burley and others were very satisfied. This price was difficult to obtain on the market, and the royal family showed their sincerity. Huang Eryue and Chen Yu were also very satisfied and agreed to prepare the goods half a month before the voyage and help transport them to their ship.
Business matters hit it off immediately.
Adam and others brought goods for sale, and spent the money from the sales to purchase goods in Ming Dynasty. The goods were circulated, and the currency did not flow out. On the contrary, the gold coins and capital carried by Adam and others entered Ming Dynasty and became the international business of Ming Dynasty. of "surplus".
The optimization and improvement of the steam engine gradually deepened, and there were basically no problems with stability and practicality. Some easy problems were also avoided. The service life of the steam engine was extended, and its reliability was guaranteed. It began to play a huge role in the royal industry and imperial government offices. effect.
The Ministry of Industry spent 10,000 taels and purchased ten steam engines from the Craftsman College, which were used in making utensils. The efficiency was greatly improved for a while.
In order to benefit the people, the Ministry of Industry even proposed using steam engines to fetch water to alleviate drought and flood disasters, which made Zhu Yunwen a little depressed.
I don’t know how many steam engines the Ministry of Industry needs to purchase to solve the drought and flood problems in a large area. Besides, the use of steam engines is not cost-free. It not only requires maintenance and replacement of parts, but also requires the use of a large amount of coal. Coal also requires Money, it is difficult to rely on steam engines to solve droughts and floods.
Considering the high cost of iron shipyards, the Ministry of Revenue proposed to take out the steam engines and sell them to businessmen, especially the sale of steam engines and ships to increase the national treasury, but Zhu Yunwen flatly rejected it.
In Zhu Yunwen's view, the steam engine is related to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty and is the core of primary industry. When the primary industry has not laid a solid foundation, it is not suitable to be made public, let alone owned by businessmen.
Businessmen can run away, especially steam ships. Once they enter the West, they may cause Western imitation, which will then set off the industrial revolution and narrow the gap with the Ming Dynasty.
In order to support the operation of the iron shipyard, Zhu Yunwen had to bite the bullet and spend 300,000 taels from his own pocket. This made Ma Enhui very unhappy. When he came to Xia Yuanji's wife, he just scolded her, and her words were just to tell her. Don't always think about your own money, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, otherwise it will make him look good.
Xia Yuanji was helpless, but he didn't take it seriously. Zhu Yunwen was also helpless. His wife was ordered to be under the control of the queen, and he couldn't say anything. After all, it was her money.
News of the grand military parade marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China began to spread in early August. Jianwen Newspaper continued to publish the news, and even some remote areas heard about the military parade.
The pedestrian department was almost empty all of a sudden. A group of people followed the navy southward, preparing to inform the Southeast Asian countries about the military parade in the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, asking them to send important people to participate. If you dare to send an unknown person, wait and see.
Chieftains from Huguang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places were summoned one after another. The leaders of the Duoyanwei, Fuyuwei, and Jurchen tribes also received invitations. Either the tribal leader personally led the team, or the leader's son led the team.
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After hearing the news, Mahamu of Oara looked uncertain. Although faced with the threat from the Tatars, he finally decided to let Baltu Polo go to the Ming Dynasty again to see what the so-called military parade of the Ming Dynasty was like.
Benyasili, Arutai and others heard the news and ignored it at all. Whatever happened in the Ming Dynasty had nothing to do with the Tatars. The Tatars would not go south until there was no unification of the grasslands.
When the news reached North Korea, Li Fangyuan discussed with the ministers for many days, and finally made up his mind to order the prince to supervise the country. He personally led the team to the Ming Dynasty to meet the emperor of Ming Dynasty and see the power of the Ming Dynasty's military!
