Travel to the distant South East Continent to find a narrow and dry desert, find and transport saltpeter from the desert, and then transport it back thousands of miles away. This is a whimsical and difficult thing to accomplish no matter how you look at it. It's just that as long as there is the slightest possibility, the young Hongmu will lead his subordinates to find a way to complete it.

Fortunately, crossing the Pacific Ocean is no more dangerous than going up the river from Yingdu to Panyu Port; It is no more dangerous than going out of Kuhara County, crossing the grasslands and seas, and reaching the Mediterranean. The Yue people followed the path opened up by their ancestors, Meng Yi followed the northern trade route often taken by the Sogdians and Persians, and Hongmou followed the existing route of the Spaniards in another time and space.

In Ji Yin's incoherent speech, Xiong Jing knew that Hongmu had rushed back before the summer storm, which was good news, and the bad news was that he brought back very little saltpeter, less than fifty tons - more than a thousand miles of desert is not difficult to find, and saltpeter with a purity of 95% is not difficult to find, the problem is how to transport heavy saltpeter from the desert to the port?

On the way to Zhufang Port, he heard that Hongmu only had one ship back and only brought back more than forty tons of saltpeter, so Xiong Jing naturally remembered this problem. Later, Chile built a railway after discovering saltpeter, and now there is no railway and no horses, and it is estimated that the entire fleet from the captain to the sailors carried it on the shoulders of the ship.

In the past, the small Zhu Fangyi has become a prosperous and lively harbor, Yigang Wharf, Xiong Jing Wang Zhou, Hong Mou, Wu Jiheng, and Shaoji Yin Jijun stepped forward to salute, and Hong Mou said loudly: "The minister has seen the king." The ministers did not disgrace their mission, and this trip won the stone of Dongzhou! ”

Several pieces of saltpeter were presented by Shaoji Yin Ji, which was not a collection of nitrate from the island's nitrate fields, but pure crystals of white and purple. Looking at these crystals, Xiong Jing forgot to let Hong Mu and the others be exempted, but took out one of them and looked at it carefully. Natural things always have some imperfections, and the pure crystals are not so pure when you look at them from a distance.

Although Shaoji Yin had tested the purity of saltpeter with the sulfur and charcoal he carried, everyone still looked at Xiong Jing and waited for his evaluation. It's a pity that Xiong Jing's understanding of saltpeter is also on paper, he just licked it, and said 'good' without feeling any saltiness.

Hearing that the king said with a smile, Hongmu and others were overjoyed, and the hard work of 40,000 kilometers was worth it.

"Pure nitrate." Gong Yin Dao also looked at the saltpeter carefully, and nodded frequently after licking it.

At the beginning, he went to make paper and was arranged by Xiong Jing to purify the nitrate soup, and licked the saltpeter like Xiong Jing, and finally the saltpeter was swallowed by him, and he also said happily: "This nitrate is pure, better than nitrate." ”

The three of them all licked and tasted saltpeter, and after eating it, they all said that it was good, thinking that it was Zhu Zhu who was in the valley of Dongzhou, swallowed his saliva in private, and secretly wondered if he would steal a piece for his wife Qi Ling to try.

"Excuse me." Hongmu and the others were still saluting, Xiong Jing smiled and spoke, and said specifically to the left and right two histories: "Remember, Hongmu, Wu Jiheng, and Shaoji Yin Jijun went to Dongzhou to find gems, which is the foundation of my great Chu and prosperity." ”

Leaving a name in the history books is more precious than rewarding gold and silver silk, after all, the nobility values honor rather than profit. Hong Mou and Wu Jiheng were still excited after such an experience, and Shaoji Yin Jijun couldn't help but tremble, until the big room retreated and others talked about the details of saltpeter, and he was still a little stammered when he spoke.

"The ministers are not, not in the bend, the port of the crescent moon," Jijun was anxious, "the ministers are, they are, they are in, they are in the ...... Bend... North of the Port of the Moon, North ......"

"Your lord, the sand sea is quite long, and the minister is equal to anchoring two hundred nautical miles north of the port of the crescent moon," prospecting is a matter for Ji Yin, and Shao Ji Yin stammered, and Hong Mu had to speak on his behalf. "The minister sees the quicksand on the sea, and there are saltpeters all the way to the east after landing on the shore, but the best ones are dozens of miles away. There is no rain or snow in the land of quicksand, there is no river, the ministers and other four sea boats, the boatmen, sailors, and soldiers are only more than 200, and more than 200 people pick and transport for half a year, and only get more than 40 tons of saltpeter. ”

Worried that Xiong Jing was worried that there was too little saltpeter, Hong Mu said: "The saltpeter is transported too far, and the voyage is too urgent, if there are more than 1,000 people, and then set up a railway, you can get more than 1,000 tons of saltpeter a year......

Hongmu came back with a sea boat, mainly to ask for people and things. He anchored in the port of Iquique, 400 kilometres north of the port of Antofagasta, where it was natural to find saltpeter in the desert, and about 40 kilometres inland was the main saltpeter mine. Later, more than 10,000 Taiping troops revolted here and helped Chile defeat the Bo-secret coalition army.

Jijun means to quickly send more people to the desert, and the more people there are, the higher the production of saltpeter; At the same time, it is necessary to lay railroad tracks, just like Liuyi iron ore, so that the transportation of saltpeter can get twice the result with half the effort.

"How many prisoners are still captured by the Qin army?" After the Wei State surrendered to the State and came up with a counter-plan, they were free, they could return to the Wei State, or they could move their families into the Chu State. Xiong Jing's first thought was that he was a prisoner, a prisoner of the Qin army.

"I don't think it's appropriate." Gong Yin Dao was the first to speak out against it. "Saltpeter is the secret of my Chu country, how can I let the Qin people know."

"The minister also thinks it's inappropriate." Ji Zhi followed closely, he instinctively didn't believe in the Qin people like Gong Yin Dao. "If these Qin people can return to the world in the future, the Qin people will know my secrets."

"So what?" Across the Pacific Ocean, forty or fifty thousand miles each way, Xiong Jing wanted to laugh, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was not good to use the Qin army to capture him, so he had to throw the problem to Jizhu and Gongyin Dao.

"You can send a thousand people to build a mansion." Gong Yin Daodao, after the integration of some craftsmen of Qi this year, the scale of the mansion is getting bigger and bigger, "The minister thinks that the weight of this mine is more than Mount Tai, so they should all send Chu people." ”

"Since it is mining, it is not necessary to send craftsmen to build the government, and to be slaves. You can choose more than 1,000 strong people to go to the copper mountain and iron ore. "The collection is more concrete." And the land is so important that the king should order men to guard it, so that the saltpeter should not be taken by others. ”

"If ......you order someone to keep it, who should keep it?" Xiong Jing asked naturally. Soon, everyone's eyes were all on Shaoji and Yin Jijun. Jijun had not yet recovered from the excitement of the famous history books, and he didn't look at his father when he heard the words, so he opened his mouth and said: "Tell the king, the minister is willing to go to the other place to guard it." ”

"Would you like to ......" Forty or fifty thousand miles away from the Chu State to guard a desert, this is probably only possible for a courtier who has lived his life without dishonoring the king's life. Looking at Jijun's still somewhat excited face, Xiong Jing wanted to speak and stopped.

"Wishing too." Jijun prays. "Saltpeter is the main medicine of gunpowder, and without saltpeter there is no gunpowder. There are so many saltpeters in the sand sea, just like the millet of Aocang. If you don't keep it, you may get it for others, and you will want to guard the saltpeter land for the king. ”

There are Chu people and Yue people among the sea pawns, and what others in everyone's mouth are talking about is the Yue people. The Yue people also have sea boats, and maybe one day the Yue people will find the desert, get saltpeter, and prepare gunpowder. The most important problem of the Yue people before was internal disunity, but the Ao system is an effective mechanism to unite the tribes, and now the Yue people are becoming more and more united, even if there are any disputes, they will be resolved in the way the Chu people resolve disputes-

The first is to fight a lawsuit, and the essence of a lawsuit is to find a person who everyone is convinced (such as a village elder) to evaluate the reasoning. Public security and law are the preserve of the government only in countries governed by officials, and in feudal countries, courts can be run by private individuals. If a private court judgment convinces the plaintiff and the defendant, more and more people will come to the door to litigate, in short, judgment is a long-term business.

If the judgment is not recognized by both parties or one party, then the plaintiff and the defendant can stand up (or ask someone to represent them, but the Yue people rarely do this, which will be despised by the clansmen), and fight openly under the watchful eyes of the notary, relatives of both parties, and clansmen. If you lose, then you are lying, so the god of thunder does not protect you; If you win, it will be the god of thunder who blesses you, so it must be the other party's fault.

As for the general source of the contradiction between the Yue people: headhunting in the coming-of-age ceremony, it is also in accordance with the war principle of Zhou Li, and all tribes must comply with etiquette when headhunting. As long as it is a ceremonial headhunter, then this act is not guilty, and the family of the deceased can avenge it in their own name, but not the whole tribe to start a war to retaliate, as before; On the contrary, all the tribes discuss together.

The changes of the Yue people Chu people saw it in their hearts, so they secretly watched for it. Xiong Jing did not object to this, he was also wary of the Yue people, and the sea boat to Dongzhou did not have the Yue people. Looking at the great worship of Jijun, he said: "In this way, the widow has named you the king of Dongsha, and the feudal province is the port of anchoring, and the craftsmen and slaves are all the people of the feudal town, so as to govern the land of quicksand and all the land on the sea side. Annually intake... Fifty tons of pure nitrate, and the rest will be purchased by the royal court......"

The desert is about 1,000 kilometers long and more than 100 kilometers wide, and the coastline is more than 1,000 miles long. Such a large piece of land was given to a little-known Shaoji Yin who had no military merits, and everyone present was shocked.

"The king must not!" Jijun's father, Jizhu, hurriedly dissuaded. "The erection is useless, how can this land of 5,000 miles be sealed? ! The king must not, never! ”

"You don't have any jokes. If the meritorious person wants to seal it in Dongzhou, the widow can also seal it. "Gong Yin Dao also wants to persuade him, but Xiong Jing has decided to seal this desert to Ji Jun alone." Hongmu, you have not yet been rewarded in the Valley of Dongzhou, are you willing to seal it in Dongzhou? ”

"Minister, minister, thank you." Dongzhou is vast, with a land of 5,000 miles and a desert, which does not make Hongmu envious.

"What about you—" Xiong Jing looked at Wu Jingheng again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wu Jiheng was not moved, he preferred the sea to the land.

"Hong Mou was ordered to go to Dongzhou to find the valley of Dongzhou, which is beneficial to the people; He was also ordered to find Dongzhou saltpeter, which was beneficial to the army and made great contributions. Feng Hongmu landed on the shore that year, as the Marquis of Vermilion Bird, and sealed the place for 500 miles; He was ordered to go to Dongzhou together, sealed in Mantis Bay, and was the king of mantis, and the place was fifty miles ......"

The place where Hongmu landed was about Vancouver in the later generations, and the seal was 500 miles because Hongmu had to be sealed further down, all the way to the boatswain and sailors; Praying Mantis Harbor is San Francisco, and the San Francisco Harbor District looks like a praying mantis standing on the back of the sea from the map, so it is identified as Praying Mantis Harbor on the map of Chu State.

Whether the fiefdom land is fertile or not is fertile, it is said that these two places are important lands on the west coast of Dongzhou. In particular, Suzaku Port, following the trade winds from Chu to Dongzhou, Suzaku Port is a must-pass place. The location of Mantis Harbor is a little worse, but San Francisco has gold just from the name, Xiong Jing specially sealed this place to Wu Jiheng, because he was afraid that Hongmu would have too much gold in the future, and he would not be pious enough, and people would learn badly.

Jun has no jokes, and the historian behind Xiong Jing worked hard to write. Xiong Jing's words now will be engraved on the golden tripod in the future, and the Taimiao will be given to the recipient along with other rewards when the temple performs the sealing ceremony.

After the historian finished writing, Xiong Jing said: "The matter of saltpeter is not urgent, two hundred tons are enough for the time being, and the first 100 tons are the most urgent." ”

Last winter there were 184 tons of gunpowder left on land, and now about 40 tons have been used, and there are 140 tons left; The gunpowder on the gunboats, minus the Red Flame fleet that was brought to the Mediterranean, and minus the Persians and Egyptians who remained in the Red Sea to deter the Persians, is estimated to be only a hundred tons.

The sulfur contained in these two hundred and forty tons of gunpowder could only be matched with one hundred and eighty tons of saltpeter. The quantity is small, but if the purity of saltpeter can really be improved to modern standards, one ton of gunpowder can be used as four tons of gunpowder, which is equivalent to suddenly more than 700 tons of gunpowder. It only takes 200 tons of saltpeter to divide and collect all the saltpeter in the saltpeter port, but in the long run, it is indeed necessary to send people to guard the desert earlier.

After the temple is given treasures, slaves, and property, how to build a feudal city is a matter for the people who are feuded, and then think of immigrating in the future, these three places must be planned and built in more than a hundred years rather than decades.

This is not Xiong Jing's business alone, this involves the Hong family, the Ji family, as well as the Fengren, the Great Sima Mansion, ......, all aspects of things. At the very least, these three places must be built into fortresses like those in the south of the city, and the saltpeter mines must be paved with horse-drawn horses or people-pulled light rails. The import of labor from Chu is underestimated, and the idea of the old Yin people (Indians) can only be beaten.

Speaking of the old Yin people, this reminds Xiong Jing of the smallpox virus. There was no smallpox in the pre-Qin period, but it was already in India and Egypt, and it was only after Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions that smallpox spread from the West to East Asia. The state of Chu has been connected to India and Xizhou for less than ten years, and the sea boat is heavily fortified, but it will be passed over after a long time, is it necessary to look for smallpox and experiment with cowpox vaccination now?

"Father, father, father......" Xiong Jingxia, who returned from Zhu Fang, was still thinking about cowpox, and Mi Xuan teased the child, taught him to call his father, and came out of the big room. A child who is a few months old can only laugh, and as soon as Mi Xuan teases him, he opens his mouth to smile.

"I'll hug you." Compared with holding a child, it is still easier to hold a sword, and Xiong Jing's movements are as light as a weight.

"Have you eaten?" The child opened his mouth and smiled in Mi Xuan's arms, but he was stunned in Xiong Jing's arms. The bearded Xiong Jing and the jade-like Qi Xuan seem to be two different creatures, and Xiong Sheng feels this way.

"Father." Mi Xuan nodded and smiled at the child, and the slender jade pointed at Xiong Jing and said, "This is the father, the father ......."

"Don't recognize me." The child was still stunned, and Xiong Jing smiled wryly. This is his species, but I don't know him.

"The king is busy with military affairs, and Sheng'er will recognize him when he is older." Mi Xuan also smiled, she is not a queen, and the child can take care of it by herself.

"This, that......" Xiong Jing smiled bitterly, and said another difficult thing at the right time. The queen mother, the queen mother wants to see Sheng'er......"

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