Listening to the real praise of the two, no matter how thick-skinned Zhao Gongzi is, he can't be at ease. He turned his head away, embarrassed to look at his men's expressions.

"Childe said that this Tamna Island was also formed by a volcanic eruption." Jinke suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Then why are there no minerals here?" ”

"Maybe, this is life......" Zhao Hao sighed, and said in his heart, how do I know, why are they so unlucky?

Science can indeed deduce the location of mineral deposits, but Zhao Gongzi said that he can use geology to find minerals, which is pure nonsense. Naturally, he used the most unscientific mastery of science-the Great Prophecy.

In another period of history, Sado Jinshan was discovered in Xiangshan in 1601, that is, in the 29th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, by the prospecting master of Hezi Yinshan on Sado Island.

At its peak in the 17th century, it was the world's largest producer, producing 400 kilograms of gold and 40 tons of silver per year, and was the financial backbone of the Edo shogunate for 300 years. The reason why Ieyasu old turtle has the confidence to close off the country is largely because of this additional source of wealth, and there is no need to rely on foreign trade to make money.

After the fall of the shogunate, Sado Kanayama also provided strong financial support for the Meiji Restoration. It was mined by the Japanese government with modern machinery for more than 100 years, and it was not until the nineties of the twentieth century that it dried up. During this period, a total of 78 tons of gold and 2,300 tons of silver were produced, equivalent to 74 million taels of silver. So it's worth it no matter how much it costs to occupy it!

And controlling Sado Gold Mountain and Iwami Silver Mountain is equivalent to pinching the lifeblood of Japan, what general Guan Baitian, all have to call Zhao Gongzi Dad!

~~

"The establishment of a detachment on Sado Island is not just to defend the island's gold mountain." Zhao Gongzi looked farther to the north and said, "We still have to control the Tsugaru Strait, which is eight hundred miles northeast of Sado Island. ”

"Isn't the Tsugaru Strait the northernmost point of Japan?" Jinke Wang Rulong has completely listened to the stupid, they see that their son is so conservative about Tamna Island, and they think that their son is obviously very strong but too cautious. Who knew that after listening to his Japanese strategy, he knew that Zhao Hao had gone to the sky.

But it's not a wave, and you can't dream of building the Seven Seas Fleet......

Since Zhao Gongzi intended to carry out a punitive operation against the Hirado Domain, the two generals naturally had to collect information in advance. Understanding the map of Japan and the distribution of various forces is a minimum. Of course, Japan had too many military leaders at this time, and one island of Kyushu was enough for two people to be busy, and there was no time to understand the situation in Honshu.

However, Japan is divided into five and seven provinces, and the northernmost Higashiyama Road is bounded by the Tsugaru Strait, and the two still know it.

The two of them said in their hearts, Zhao Gongzi is going to punish the Hirado Domain, this is simply to sweep Japan from south to north!

Wang Rulong's face was full of excitement, there is a lot to do, there is a lot to do!

Jin Ke was worried, lest the son's steps would be too big and he would hit the balls.

Zhao Hao asked the two of them with a relaxed expression: "Do you know what place is north of the Tsugaru Strait?" ”

"It's Ezo." Jin Ke immediately replied: "I heard that the Japanese emperor is not in power, and he is the regent of the general Zhengyi. The so-called 'Seiyi' is the Ezo people of the conquest. ”

"Yes, but Ezo is a contemptuous term for the aborigines." Zhao Gongzi Zhengse said: "Their correct name is 'Ainu', and they originally lived on all the islands of Japan, and half of Honshu was theirs at that time. However, for hundreds of years, the Ainu people were driven away by the cruel persecution of the Japanese people, and were forced to move north to cross the Tsugaru Sea and move to the bitter cold island where they now live. ”

"Yes......" Jin Ke nodded, knowing that Zhao Gongzi must have a deep meaning, so he listened quietly.

But the Japanese still did not give up, and actually wanted to kill them all. Keep sending armies across the sea to conquer the Ainu! Fortunately, the island was a little bigger, and it was covered with primeval forest, so the Ainu people could rely on the protection of the forest to get by. Zhao Gongzi said with a look of pity:

"Since the Han Dynasty, the Ainu people have paid tribute to the Celestial Empire, and have always accepted the canonization of the Celestial Empire, and they have been an inseparable part of our great destiny since ancient times. How can we sit idly by and watch them being enslaved and oppressed by the Japanese invaders? We must uphold justice for them, let Ainu Island escape from the clutches of the Japanese Invaders, and bathe in the glory of the great tomorrow! ”

"Uh-huh." The two Jin Wang kept nodding, but their hearts became more and more confused, and they didn't know what Gongzi had taken a fancy to the Ainu people, so much love was overflowing.

Zhao Gongzi's words are actually reasonable, and Ezo has indeed never been in Japan's territory. It was only after the monkeys unified Japan that they conquered Ezo for the first time. However, it was not until the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century that Japan finally annexed Ezo and renamed it Hokkaido.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty and even later generations, Japan is only Mishima. Kaishin Gong also published an article entitled "Japan's sovereignty does not extend to Ezo Island", emphasizing that Japan's territory is limited to Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu Island.

Regardless of the arguments of later generations, at least in this era, it is true that Ezo is not the territory of the Japanese.

Speaking of which, it has a closer relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Because Ezo Island is less than a hundred miles to the north, it is Sakhalin Island, the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Sakhalin Island, known as Kuyi Island in the Ming Dynasty, belongs to the Nurgan Dusi, and there are three guards on the island. Among them, the Polo River Guard is mainly used to scare people.

Frightened is the name given to the Ainu by the Ming Dynasty...... Well, not very polite either. Passionate about e-books

The Ainu on Sakhalin and the Ainu on Ezo were very closely connected, and when Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent people to attack Ezo Island, the upper Ainu of Sakhalin Island also crossed the sea to help in the battle, but they were only wiped out.

Therefore, Zhao Gongzi wants to help the Ainu people, and he has no excuses at all.

~~

"Son, what benefits can we get?" After listening to Zhao Gongzi's talk about the ancients, the two finally couldn't help but ask, "Why are we?" ”

Although they firmly believe that Childe is a partner of justice, they are even more convinced that Childe will never do anything that is not beneficial.

"Isn't it Ezo...... Oh no, there are gold mines on Ainu Island? Wang Rulong boldly guessed.

"Hehe......" Zhao Hao said with a look that made you guess: "Of course, it's not small." ”

Of course, Zhao Gongzi did not lie, the Hongzhimai gold mine in the northeastern coast of Hokkaido is the third largest gold mine in Japan. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Sumitomo Foundation mined 73 tons of gold and 1,200 tons of silver, or about 44 million taels of silver, in 50 years.

The two gold mountains of Hongzhiwu and Sado can provide Zhao Gongzi and Jiangnan Group with 118 million taels of silver, which seems to be a lot, but in fact it is only half of the "Treaty of Shimonoseki".

So it's not enough! It is necessary to dig up all the stone and silver mountains and the Lingjia gold mountain, so that Zhao Hao can feel a little more comfortable in his heart.

In that year, the Japanese relied on the compensation of the Treaty of Shimonoseki to complete the modernization of the navy and army.

Now, it is very reasonable for Zhao Gongzi to rely on Japan's gold and silver mountains to build his own Seven Seas Fleet.

It's just a bit of a sword from the Qing Dynasty to behead the officials of the Ming Dynasty......

No, this is called the son repaying the debt to the father, rightfully brother!

~~

"What this son values most about Ainu Island is not the gold and silver, but their wood." I only heard Zhao Gongzi sigh for a long time: "The so-called ten-year army and hundred-year navy. To build an invincible fleet, money alone is not enough, there must also be enough wood. ”

"Wood?" The second monk Wang Rulong was puzzled and said: "We don't lack this thing, how many we want." ”

"Of course, we have enough wood to build ordinary ships, but the wood to build giant ships is only available in the southwest and northeast." Zhao Hao explained lightly: "Building a Galen ship and a larger sail battleship requires very harsh timber. The pine and fir used in traditional shipbuilding are too soft, easy to deform when absorbing water, and easy to be eaten by insects, so they cannot be used on large warships. As for the wood that is too hard, not only is it difficult to process, but after being shelled, the flying sawdust is easy to hurt people - don't underestimate the small sawdust, in the future naval battle, the biggest casualties of officers and soldiers will come from this! ”

"So our choice is actually very narrow, only oak and teak." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice: "Teak is the best material, but it is only produced in Siam, Myanmar and other places, which is too far away from us, and the quantity is relatively small. Only oak trees can meet our needs - a Galen ship needs to cut down 2,000 oak trees that are more than 100 years old, and in the future we will need 5,000 to 7,000 hundred-year-old trees to build even bigger sail battleships! ”

"Hiss......" When the two Jin Wang heard this, they gasped, and then they understood why the cost of the Galen ship was so high! Hundred-year-old giant trees, those are all pillars of talent. What is the concept of using thousands of trees at a time? Build the Forbidden City for the Emperor!

The palace didn't cost so much either. The British king's Buckingham Palace only cost 100,000 pounds even to buy and renovate, and it was not enough to build a battleship......

But it can't be helped. In this Age of Discovery, for any country that aspires to compete on the sea, it is to starve to death and die of poverty, and it cannot be left behind in the naval arms race. Therefore, forests are more precious strategic resources than gold, silver, copper and iron.

For a country, the absence of forests means the loss of sea dominance. And it takes at least a hundred years for a forest to form!

The so-called '100-year-old navy' comes from this.

Portugal, Spain and other countries, which dominate the ocean, finally declined and quit and made wedding dresses for others, a very important reason is that the trees were cut down.

And even if their trees are not cut down, they will gradually fall behind. Because the quality of the oak produced in the temperate zone is very average, it is no problem to beat the furniture, but the shipbuilding is really almost interesting. If you want to build a high-quality warship, you must use oak from high latitudes.

Therefore, the Baltic Sea was the key to the hegemony of the European powers in the Age of Discovery, for no other reason, and by mastering the Baltic Sea, they could monopolize the timber trade with the Nordic countries.

After the Dutch defeated Spain for independence, Spain lost access to sourcing oak from northern Europe, and the empire fell into decline.

The Dutch monopolized the timber trade in the Baltic Sea and became the sea coachmen who ruled the seas.