"Fight with me, you're still a little tender."

As a veteran driver with excellent driving skills, Wang Xiao said that not to mention the two sisters, even if they are sisters, he can easily settle down.

"Prince, why are your legs shaking?"

Xu Bin, who was in the secret room, was immediately frightened when he saw Wang Xiao's face pale and his legs weak. He also thought that Wang Xiao was poisoned or something.

"I'm fine!"

Wang Xiao heroically supported his back with his hand and straightened up, "It may be that I have a bad stomach at noon, don't worry about this little thing." ”

Xu Binxin said that if he really had a bad stomach, then the eunuchs from the imperial dining room to the eunuchs who bought the ingredients would have to be unlucky.

Although Wang Xiao's house is in the East Palace on the surface, it seems that he does not pay the slightest attention to the outside world. But in fact, he never relaxed the outside surveillance.

Since the orphans of Jing Nan who were exiled outside the customs have all returned to the gate, Xu Bin and the others have completely lost their hearts to Wang Xiao.

Sun Ruowei is the crown princess, because of this relationship, these orphans have become Wang Xiao's irons.

Zhu Gaosui, the king of Zhao, had been sent to the distant mountains and forests to take up the domain, and the Jinyi Guard he had previously controlled fell into Wang Xiao's hands.

Jin Yiwei didn't give it to Yu Qian, this guy is not a secret spy at all, he was sent by Wang Xiao to the Hanlin Academy to compile a book.

Wang Xiao handed over the brocade guard to Xu Bin's hands.

Xu Bin has a flexible mind and quick thinking, and is the best candidate to take over Jinyiwei.

"This is a list of courtiers who have been in close contact with King Zheng, and there are no more than six grades."

Xu Bin handed over a piece of paper, which was written on the list of people he had drawn to the past who had taken the initiative to get closer to King Zheng after he gradually became active.

"Although they are just small people, they are all ambitious people." Wang Xiao quickly browsed it and handed the list back casually, "Keep it on file, and then dispose of it after the matter is over." Those who know each other will be sent overseas to preach and educate, and those who don't know each other will be able to do it. ”

"General Ma Bao has been writing lately, hoping to start the matter of going to the West again. However, the emperor does not seem to have such plans. ”

Xu Bin next mentioned a hero that Wang Xiao values very much.

Zheng He, who had completed his sixth trip to the West, was leading his army to the West to guard Yingtianfu at this time, and he was also the first eunuch to guard Yingtianfu.

Zheng He wanted to go to the West seven times, but Zhu Gaochi refused his request on the grounds that the treasury was empty.

Zhu Gaochi did not lie, the more than year-long battle of Saibei almost squeezed out the last financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty. Even the later bereavement work has not yet been completed.

At this time, there is no doubt that it is absolutely impossible for Zhu Gaochi, who has always been known for picking doors, to spend at least millions of taels of silver to build a fleet.

For Zheng He, who has spent his whole life on the sea, not being able to go to sea is the biggest pain.

Wang Xiao got up and walked to the world map he had drawn hand-drawn on the side, and carefully observed the map above.

Expansion by sea is inevitable, but Wang Xiao's choice is different from the views of experts at the later forums.

Of course, he knew that the Australian continent was rich in minerals, and he also knew that there was a lot of oil on the island of Java, and that the New World was a place that countless predecessors dreamed of.

But the problem is that Wang Xiao is now in the fifteenth century, not five hundred years later.

In terms of the level of science and technology in this era, even if you send people to the Australian continent full of poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, poisonous scorpions and crocodiles, you can even really find those mines.

But then what?

With the level of technology in this era, how can those minerals buried in the ground be excavated?

Even if it can be excavated, how can it be transported?

Even if it can be transported away, how can it be smelted?

It is true that a large number of iron tools are in demand in this era, but this large amount is relative. Far from the astronomical demands of the later industrial era.

The demand for iron tools is mainly to make agricultural tools, make weapons and armor, iron nails for daily life, and so on.

In the 22nd year of Yongle, the population of Daming was 53 million. Even if each person has an iron hoe, how much iron can be used with a set of armor in one hand.

Although China imported iron ore on a large scale in later generations, in fact, China did not really lack iron ore, but only high-grade iron-rich ore.

With the output of Daming at this time, there is no need to go to Australia to mine.

Australia wants to occupy, but it is by no means the main target.

Not to mention oil, before the advent of the internal combustion engine, before the start of synthetic chemicals, the use of oil was to make a Greek fire.

If nothing else, it is absolutely impossible for Wang Xiao to see the oil industry in his lifetime.

Of course, the Nanyang Islands can also be occupied, but they are not the main target, like Australia.

As for the New World, I have to say that it is definitely a good place.

The area is large enough, the products are abundant enough, and the geographical environment is superior and incomparable.

Not even a decent country, it feels like it can be conquered easily.

Of course, Wang Xiao wanted to plant the Ming Dynasty's sun, moon and dragon flag on the new continent in his lifetime. But he was now on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, not the east coast of the Atlantic.

You may not feel it on the map, but in fact, from the west to the east of the Pacific Ocean, the distance is close to 20,000 kilometers!

This distance is a suffocating figure, even in later generations when transportation was extremely developed.

And in the Ming Dynasty, the sea route across 40,000 miles went to the end of the sea, far away. If Wang Xiao really gave such an order, it is estimated that Zheng He would sincerely ask him, "Brother, are you serious?" ”

Wang Xiao wanted large-scale immigration, not a fleet expedition like Magellan's.

If you want to send hundreds of thousands or even millions of people across tens of thousands of miles of ocean to the other side, it is indeed difficult for Da Ming at this time to be a strong man.

All Wang Xiao could do was to keep sending expedition fleets to find relay islands in the general direction he remembered. Establish a transit base and slowly march towards the distant shore.

Therefore, the New World is a secondary target for Wang Xiao.

And his real goal, or what he can really achieve in his lifetime, is on the South Asian subcontinent.

India, an ancient name.

Once one of the four great ancient civilizations, it has brilliant cultural achievements and once invented Arabic numerals.

Well, the numbers invented in ancient India are not called Indian numerals but Arabic numerals, and that's because there were no heirs in ancient India.

These are stories from thousands of years ago.

Ancient India was conquered by the ancient Aryans, and then the caste system made the land a paradise for the nobility and a hell for the serfs.

Now this land is millions of square kilometers, more than half of which is suitable for cultivation, and there are hundreds of large and small princely states and small states.

The Britons were able to conquer India with a few thousand guns, and there was no reason why the Ming couldn't do such a simple thing.

The benefits of targeting the Indian continent are clear, with a lot of land suitable for cultivation and rainfall from the Indian Ocean trade winds, making it a great place to start agrarians.

Moreover, these lands are different from the Nanyang Islands, which are full of primeval forests, the uninhabited Australian mainland, and the new continent that has not yet been explored. The land here has been developed for thousands of years, and it is like a ripe fruit that can be plucked and eaten.

Zheng He passed through India many times when he went to the West, and he was very familiar with the situation there.

The fleet traveled along the coastline and could quickly and massively send immigrants to the land.

The last point is the issue of resistance.

In Wang Xiao's opinion, the local princes had no power to resist in front of the Ming Dynasty.

It is impossible for the inferior people who have been enslaved for thousands of years to fight with the Ming Dynasty, and for them, at most, it is just a change of master.

Having occupied India, it can also be used as a springboard into the Middle East, an ocean of oil, and then from the Middle East to the Mediterranean.

As for Africa, let the blacks sing and dance there.

With so many benefits, it is natural for Wang Xiao to regard this place as his preferred target.

If God doesn't take it, that's a sin.

"You write a letter to Zheng He in my name."

Wang Xiao, who had made up his mind in front of the map, officially began his preliminary preparations.

"Tell him not to be impatient, that he belongs to the sea, and that he will not live on the bed all his life. Believe me for sure that things will continue in the West. What he has to do now is to train a large number of excellent sailors, guides, translators. I also have to supervise the shipyard, and I need better ships for ocean voyages. ”

Wang Xiao turned around and came to the cabinet, opened the cabinet with the key, rummaged through it, and found a thick stack of sailboat drawings that he had drawn from memory.

"Give it to him, and let him try to make it with a clever shipwright."

Wang Xiao did check the relevant information before he came, and he recorded it on the paper as soon as he came.

But after all, a long time has passed, and Wang Xiao, whose memory is beginning to blur, is not sure whether these things are useful.

Xu Bin took the drawings and saluted, "Xia Guan understands." ”

"Wait a minute." Wang Xiao stopped Xu Bin, who was about to leave, "Tell your companions, if you still have three melons and two dates in your pocket, go to the deep mountains and old forests in the northeast to hire locals to cut down trees, send those big trees that can be used for shipbuilding to the yellow mud pool, and then tie them into wooden rafts and transport them along the sea route to the south." You can make money by keeping you. ”

Xu Bin looked at Wang Xiao in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"I will vigorously carry out sailing operations in the future, and countless ships will be built. You orphans who have been martyred in preparing dry wood in advance can make a lot of money. It's a little bit of compensation from me. ”

Xu Bin understood now, and solemnly bowed to Wang Xiao.

"The past is over, and the prince doesn't need to dwell on it anymore. The events of that year had nothing to do with the prince, and the prince didn't need to take too much care of us. ”

"Don't slap a swollen face in front of me."

Wang Xiao stretched out his hand and pulled Xu Bin up, "How are the orphans who came back from outside the Guan, you wrote a report to me." I deliberately took care of them for the sake of Ruowei's face, don't let them eat bran for the sake of your own face. ”

Xu Bin smiled gracefully, "The prince misunderstood, and the lower official just expressed his gratitude." It is not to refuse the prince's kindness. ”

"And what are you still standing here for?"

"His Royal Highness the Prince." Xu Bin saluted sincerely, "Not long after the orphans returned to the Guannei, they only had warm clothes and rough food on them. Where can I get the money to go to the deep mountains and old forests to cut down trees. ”

"Although we and others have a small amount of savings, we have already spent all the money to help those orphans in the past."

Wang Xiao felt a feeling of uneasiness in his heart, and he slowly retreated quietly, "What do you want to say?" ”

Xu Bin looked at Wang Xiao with sincerity.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, please borrow money."