These words made Du Guangyuan a little disappointed, and he replied sullenly: "On the other side, my lord, what is the place on the other side---- Leizhou, the most degraded in the world!" The degrading of the Ridge is a heavy punishment akin to the death penalty for the minister, so what interest would the officials there have come to us to see?

My lord, although it is customary to patrol this part of Hainan every five years, and every five years an official will be sent to inspect it, but they all regard the sea as a daunting path, and at most they will land in Qiongzhou County, which is closest to the mainland, and call the officials on the island to inquire about the situation---- What is the situation in Hainan, it is not that we casually talk about it.

My lord, this island is not even self-sufficient in food, and it has to rely on the mainland for food and drink. The grain ships from the mainland encountered the slightest wind and waves, and the officials on the island were going to starve. The Qiongzhou Mansion across the sea is a little better, and there are only a few hundred households in other prefectures and counties...... If he really dares to come, will the adults let him go back alive?

Our bay is not a serious trade route, it is hidden in the mountain col, the cliff in front of it stretches for more than 30 miles (20 kilometers), if you don't pay attention to it, even if the boat sails by the shore, it is difficult to find that there is such a big bay hidden behind the cliff, and there is such a large foundation hidden in the bay.

Hehe, speaking of which, the officials of the Great Song Dynasty are not as bold as the merchants, and we have also detained more than ten merchant ships that drifted down the river or ventured in recent years, so this place has become a sea route with no return, and after a long time, word of mouth, how can any merchant ship dare to venture again. Therefore, although you can rest assured, no one pays attention to our port---- and now you don't have to worry about it, your Excellency thinks that you will be an official in Quang Nam. It's not easy to cover it up......"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Ten years of development, Hainan should also show its face, I plan to slowly relax the ban and allow businessmen to wash their feet and land, but." Gotta pick a good time......"

Du Guangyuan didn't say anything about it just now, the land traffic in Hainan is not smooth, and it can even be said that there are no roads. Nearby Danxian County, Changhuajun and winding paths lead to Qiongzhou County, but this wharf area was originally just a barren beach. In real history, it didn't take off until the 21st century to get a boom in development. When Zhao Xing developed the area, he deliberately did not build roads, and officials would not discover the hidden Palembo until they were willing to take a boat to inspect the island's coastline.

But it's hard to get officials to patrol the coastline by boat. It is rare to find such a bold person in hundreds of years. For example, after the Portuguese occupied Macao, for hundreds of years, the court officials were vague about the conditions of Macao---- they did not want to know about it.

"Is the island now self-sufficient in food?" Zhao Xing asked again.

"Still can't!" Du Guangyuan replied: "Although the adults have brought some Nanyang slaves in recent years. He also summoned the local Li people to open up the wasteland, but the adults were not there, everyone wanted to act in concealment, and the Li people on the island did not summon too much. More than 10,000 people build ships here, and Uncle Pu (Pu Yi'an) intends to control people's hearts with food, so there is still not enough food on the island, and ten boatloads of grain need to be transported from Vietnam every month to be self-sufficient. ”

"It will be fine in the future, I plan to strive for the military strength of Hainan to be included in the jurisdiction of my Guangnan East Road, and when I return, I will formally request the establishment of a naval supply port in Hainan. In the future, we can develop here in a big way......" Zhao Xing replied. After a pause, he added: "I have ordered a hundred iron-ribbed ships from the port, and it may be a little busy here this year." Don't run around, just wait in the docks to meet the officials. ”

Du Guangyuan was overjoyed, and even asked: "My lord, can I move the official office to the dock area?" The original Changhua Army's broken yard was not repaired at all in order to hide people's eyes and ears. Dilapidated and unbearable......"

"Whatever you want", Zhao Xing replied casually, and then boarded his own boat.

On the boat, Shuai Fan looked at Du Guangyuan on the dock. smiled and said: "The people are afraid of officials. With your words, he can command the people in the dock area to build him a luxurious official office. ”

Zhao Xing asked casually: "How is the recruitment?" ”

Shuai Fan replied: "The adults want to recruit people from good families, and they require industry." But that's the case now. Soldiers need to have tattoos on their faces to prevent them from fleeing, how can a good family be willing to be a soldier...... By the way, Cheng Xian listened to Su Gong's words and planned to repair the barracks, but I stopped him. At the beginning of the year, the armies could not bear it and were ready to make trouble, so I took the opportunity to dismiss most of the sergeants, and now the armed forces in the entire Quang Nam are only the family members we brought over, what are you going to do next? ”

Zhao Xing glanced at the family members on the boat, smiled and said: "The soldier's face is tattooed, that is the imperial court's law, but I plan to go to the imperial court and allow the Guangnan sailor not to tattoo his face." In addition, the soldiers on land, when the tattoo on the face ---- I can also forget it. But this cannot be said officially.

Recruitment to recruit good children, to have a guarantor, to have an industry, this is an iron law, there is constant production of those have perseverance, no permanent production of those have no perseverance, this is a simple truth. Our sea trade will make huge profits in the future, so we must recruit some good people to be insured.

In this way, we will start with the clothing of the soldiers, and whoever joins our army will be given a good garment, and he will be given a day off every ten days, and he will be allowed to go home and save his family. Slowly, over time, the soldiers will find that I don't tattoo their faces, and the clothes I wear are beautiful and well-paid, and there will inevitably be more and more. Don't be anxious, the Great Wall was not built in a day. By the end of the year we were able to assemble a fleet of thirty large ships, and I was satisfied. ”

Shuai Fan nodded and said: "The navy will have to train for at least three years, no matter how many people are recruited this year, our family is the main force." Don't worry, I will train them well. ”

Zhao Xing smiled and shook his head: "Anyone who has done it himself, he doesn't understand management, you have to let your subordinates help you manage." After the navy has formulated a training plan, let the subordinates do other local affairs. The key is the Army. I have bought a monastery in Guangzhou, and I plan to open an army academy there, the key is that we must hand over what Huanqing has learned to the soldiers under us, and you will go back to preside over the army academy and teach a group of soldiers who know how to fight. ”

Shuai Fan mustered up the courage and asked again: "My lord, I heard that Huanqing finally allocated a batch of muskets, and I also heard that adults are good at using gunpowder to attack, can we develop musketeers in Guangnan." ”

Zhao Xing pointed to the opposite continent. "Let's go to Hong Kong, where I have two factories on a small island, and I'm going to have a look there," he said. ”

At a location roughly equivalent to Causeway Bay, modern Hong Kong, Zhao Xing saw the three brothers of Dihuang, and as soon as he saw Zhao Xing, he excitedly held an iron pipe. Shouted: "Dalang, we succeeded, we finally succeeded." We made the barrel of the gun that the big man said. Dalang take a look, this is all iron. ”

Zhao Xing took the two-meter-long subway pipe in his hand and observed it carefully. The iron pipe was made, which meant that the age of gunpowder had come, and he was very excited, but what he said was an understatement: "How to do it?" I've thought of a lot of ways to do this......"

"Stamping, Dalang. We looked at the press and suddenly thought of the kind of winding and stacking method you mentioned, so we tried to wrap a thin rolled steel plate around a hard iron bar. Wound into more than a dozen layers of extremely dense steel pipes, in the heating under the forging hammer constantly forging and stamping, in the middle of the middle of the wrought iron rod constantly pulled out, replaced with a thinner model, but also to the core of the outside of the brush again and again with graphite powder lubrication...... After repeated beatings, it finally became a seamless iron pipe that Da Lang said. Then use a super-hard iron boring rod to round the inner muzzle...... No, this is the barrel we made, we have already tried, and it can shoot 2,000 shots in a row and still not blow up. Dalang, we plan to continue to try. See how many shots it can hit at most. ”

"No need to try," Shuai Fan interjected next to him: "The central iron core is lubricated with graphite powder, which is equivalent to soaking the inner chamber of the barrel with charcoal." The barrel made by such a winding gun will not explode if it hits 20,000 shots. ”

"Still have to try", Zhao Xing continued to add, after speaking, he looked at Shuai Fan again, and asked curiously: "Have you tried such a musket before, how do you know that this gun will not explode after 20,000 shots?" ”

Shuai Fan's eyes dodged: "My lord, you often say that things have to be logically analyzed, you think." This iron is wound in layers. Bonded together by hot stamping, each layer of subway is equivalent to an iron hoop. In order to explode the barrel in this way, how much force is needed to break through these hoops, according to this reason, the gunpowder we are using now is not explosive enough, and it is completely impossible to blow up such a barrel, isn't it? ”

Zhao Xing nodded, and asked Huang Da again: "How many barrels like this can be made every day?" ”

Huang Da replied: "Before such a gun is formed, it has to go through hundreds of stampings, and its chamber wall has to be rounded...... If the machine is enough, we can make ten barrels a day. ”

Zhao Xing shook his head: "It's not enough, the output of ten barrels per day is far from enough, I need at least a thousand per day." If you want coal, I will pull it for you, if you want a steam stamping machine, if you want manpower, I will adjust it for you, and you must achieve an output of 1,000 per day. ”

Zhao Xing paused, and then said: "This island belongs to Hong Kong County, I have registered in Hong Kong County, half of the land on this island belongs to you, and you are the owner of this island." The other half of the island belongs to my wife, who runs a glass workshop on the island. From now on, it is forbidden for people to land on this island at will, and it belongs entirely to you two field workers, to you and me. The three of you brothers are going to split up one of you and form a convoy on the island, and my wife will send you some men. Huang Da, from now on you are an official resident of Hong Kong County, Da Song, and you own this half of the island under your name. This is a treasure land, and if you want to keep this inheritance, you can make me more muskets and artillery.

By the way, I allow the escort on your island to use muskets to kill anyone who lands on the island without a request, even if he is an official in Guangdong. ”

"Artillery, the most important thing is artillery", Shuai Fan emphasized: "Muskets are just ordinary weapons, and artillery is the god of war. ”

Zhao Xing touched his chin and replied: "Artillery warship, this is a new thing, we need to redesign the warship, and we must reconsider the center of gravity of the warship." ”

Shuai Fan smiled very treacherously: "I have seen all those warships of yours, using iron keels to make warships, the center of gravity of the ship is very low, it is not a problem to install twenty bronze cannons on each ship, if you change to iron cannons, you can load sixty, or even eighty." Sixty iron cannons are enough, it can already destroy the country. ”

Zhao Xing glanced at Shuai Fan, the two were stunned for a while, and smiled at each other understandingly.

By the time Zhao Xing returned to the mainland, it was already February, and at this time, Guangnan had been completely involved in the upsurge of land development set off by Zhao Xing, and the people of all counties were recruiting friends and busy developing wasteland. And Zhao Xing's employment from Shandong and Henan has reached 120,000. These people are scattered along the main road along Quang Nam, and the opening cannons are rumbling non-stop, and the road is frantically repaired.

In February, after completing the reshuffle of the court and starting the operation, he commanded the household department Shang Cai Jingshang to demand the restoration of the Qingmiao Law. Posthumously presented Cai as a master. Followed by. There was a strange earthquake in the Central Plains, and there were frequent earthquakes in the Suzhou area, although the magnitude of this earthquake was not high, but it ran through the entire farming season from summer to autumn.

The Chinese are particular about the sense of heaven and man, and whenever there is a disaster, they think that the wrong policy causes the anger of God, so the disaster descends. At the beginning, Wang Anshi stepped down because of a long drought and no rain, and now there are continuous earthquakes, which belongs to the lack of "soil morality". The Qingmiao Law happened to involve the land of the people, and although the ministers of the court were silent under the restraint of Zhang, there were many discussions among the people.

At this time. Zhang supported it strongly, and Zhao Xingshang, the envoy of Guangnan East Road, appeased Zhao Xingshang, and requested that the Qingmiao Law be implemented in Guangdong first, and proposed that the continuous earthquakes in the Central Plains would affect the harvest of the people, and asked the imperial court to allow Guangnan to recruit landless peasants from the Central Plains to Guangzhou, and then Guangnan East Road used the Qingmiao Law to lend to the people and let them reclaim the land and farm.

Zhao Xing pointed out in the recital: The climate in Guangnan is hot, and the rice crops three times a year, even if the people miss the farming season. When you arrive in Quang Nam, you can also grow a season of rice, and you don't have to worry about having a full stomach. When they had repaid the loans under the Seedlings Law, Quang Nam allowed them to sell the land they had been allotted at will. Freedom to return home.

Zhang is being scorched by continuous ground tremors, the treasury is now empty, he is a little powerless to help the refugees in the Central Plains, at this time Zhao Xing's superiors are simply a great support for him, he waved his pen, dismissed Fu Caiyuan from the post of transfer envoy, and made Zhao Xing concurrently serve as the transfer envoy of Guangnan East Road. Then he felt that Zhao Xing was so helpful that he couldn't let Guangnan give out all the money. The imperial court also has to make some efforts. He ordered that the landless peasants in Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang should be organized into an army. The whole ship and the whole team were sent to Quang Nam. The travel fee was paid by the imperial court.

After Wan Qiyong received the news, he hurried to Zhao Xing's mansion and congratulated Zhao Xing: "My lord, there is no need for adults to pay for the reclamation of Guangdong now, and the money we paid in advance can be repaid with the green seedling method, and in the future, the people who reclaim the famine will no longer be paid by us, and this entry and exit will save a lot of money." When Wan Qiyong came in, Zhao Xing was lying on the ground and was ridden by his son as a cow, the eldest son Zhao Yi (milk name) ignored Wan Qiyong beside him, still waving a whip to urge his father to climb quickly, and the younger son Zhao Min (milk name) was unsteady on the road, but he also ran with his father. Daughter Zhao Xiaofeng (milk name) is still holding in the hands of the nurse, giggling with laughter.

Cheng Azhu saw Wan Qianyong coming over to ask for official information, and hurriedly instructed the maid to take the child away, Zhao Xing straightened his waist, lazily took the newspaper in Wan Qianyong's hand, and said with a smile: "Finally waiting for this day, I know that sooner or later he will implement the Qingmiao Law." Don't be afraid to borrow a lot of money, borrow land money this year and repay it with the money borrowed next year, and the interest will be paid back every year. Since we have the support of the imperial court, we might as well set a higher target for this year, and strive to relocate 2 million peasants. ”

Wan Qiyong was taken aback: "My lord, two million, this number is too high." ”

Wan Qiyong still doesn't know that modern farmers go out to work in the hundreds of millions every year. Zhao Xing planned to let the farmers in the Central Plains come to Guangnan to work, and the government provided land and labor tools, and the taxes were set very low, enough to repay the loans of the Qingmiao Law. Wait until the same farmer has been cultivating the same land for three years in a row, and then let them legally own the land.

"I'm very satisfied that about 30 percent of the two million farmers who went south to farm stayed in the country. If they want to develop this habit of working, it is better for us to open official flights between Guangzhou and Hangzhou, send ten fast boats every day, from Hangzhou to Guangnan continuously, at the beginning can be subsidized by the government, and when the people get used to it, they will naturally know that it is convenient to go back to the mainland, and they will be willing to come out to work", Zhao Xing asked Wan Qianyong with the newspaper.

Wan Qiyong agreed: "This method is good, as long as the flight is opened, our contact with the inland will only take ten days, and it only takes three or five days for the inland workers to travel from Hangzhou to Guangzhou, and it is easier to come and go freely than to work in the capital, and they will definitely be happy to come out." When my land in Guangnan is reclaimed, it will be fertile land, and the government can sell it for a high price when it is sold by the government. It is enough to repay the BIBS. ”

Wan Qiyong was talking. Chen Yiyi has already rushed over: "Found it, official, Qi 13 found a good clay for glass and ceramics in Huizhou, do you see whether we are building a factory in Huizhou or let them ship the clay to Hong Kong." ”

Zhao Xingshun said: "The roads in Huizhou are not passable, and the ceramics are not easy to sell even if they are burned, as for the sand." Or build a wharf in Huizhou and let them transport all the raw materials to Hong Kong. It is convenient to ship by sea there, and it can be shipped directly to Yangzhou when burned. ”

Chen Yiyi saluted Wan Qianyong, and suggested: "Official, how to settle the batch of porcelain workers we captured in Huanqing, it is better to place them in Huizhou, and each of them will be given a few hectares of land, so that they can settle down in Huizhou, and burn kilns in Huizhou by the way." ”

Zhao Xing shook his head. He said regretfully: "The kiln needs a lot of charcoal and charcoal, and Huizhou has a lot of clay, but in case the kiln factory is opened." Either they have to rely on the outside to bring in a large amount of coal, or they have to cut down a lot nearby, but the good scenery should not be moved, let them all go to Hong Kong, settle next to the glass factory, build a good house for each of them, take out the shares of the porcelain workshop and distribute it to them, so that they can settle in Hong Kong. ”

Wan Qianyong persuaded on the side: "Mrs. Chen, we want to set up a yamen in Hong Kong, and once the money casting division is set up there. The official road from Guangzhou must be repaired, and then the naval yamen must be set up there. When the navy yamen goes, it will gradually become prosperous. In the future, I plan to move the city to Hong Kong, and it is expected that Hong Kong will be more prosperous than Guangzhou in the future. ”

Zhao Xing patted his head: "By the way, Fu Caiyuan has been dismissed, we should go to the city to have a look, go now." ”

Wan Qiyong smiled and said: "Master Fu lost money this time, he only paid us 300,000 yuan, but I didn't expect to sit in the position for only a few months, so he was dismissed." That guy must be crying in the yamen. ”

Zhao Xing smiled. He proudly put on his official robe. hummed in his mouth: "This guy is gone, from now on we will cover the sky in Guangdong with one hand." ”

Guangzhou City. A tall white man with blond hair and blue eyes came to greet Zhao Xing in the official robe of the Great Song Dynasty, and this white man was Fan Chang. He was appointed by the Song court to manage the Tibetan people. The Great Song Dynasty stipulated: Overseas people from all over the world gathered, and the chief of Tibet was placed in charge of the official affairs of Goufang. The Song court did not explicitly stipulate the division of power among the maritime merchants, but the Arab maritime merchants and the white European maritime merchants still unconsciously chose their own territory---- there were few Arab maritime merchants in Guangzhou, and there were basically no white maritime merchants in Quanzhou.

This white man belonged to the Jiupin Official, which was the official establishment of the Great Song Dynasty, and his rank was equivalent to that of Zhixian. The officials who served as the chief of the Song Dynasty were all elected by the Tibetan people, and they were often those who had settled in the Great Song Dynasty for many years and were proficient in the Song language. As soon as he saw Zhao Xing, he learned the etiquette of the Song people and bowed his hand: "I am deeply honored that Lord Zhao is here in the land, please be called Song Xiaobo, formerly known as Faulkner." ”

Faulkner wore rings on his hand, the most striking of which was a cat's eye, shining like a living creature. With the movement of his fingers, the eyes blinked.

In the Fan Pavilion, most of the Fan people are busy with their own affairs, Zhao Xing entered here, as if entering a British club, many Fan people are sitting at the Taipan table busy with their own business, seeing Zhao Xing come in, they put down the documents in their hands, stood up and bowed to Zhao Xing, each of these Fan people has a thick ring on their hands---- the ring on the hand of the Fan people, the Song people call it "ring".

Only one of the people at the table did not get up, they were sitting around a small square table, there was a game of chess on the table, a few people standing at the table to watch saw Zhao Xing come in and bowed and saluted, but the two chess players were addicted to the chess game and did not raise their heads.

Wan Qiyong came to Zhao Xing's side and whispered: "These two Fan people are gambling on chess, strange, the Fan people do not have a system of chariots and horses, only a few pieces of ivory, rhino horn, and Shen sandalwood, and move them in pairs on the chess game. I heard that this kind of chess also has a law to determine victory and defeat, which is completely different from our chess, and as for how to win or lose, I haven't had time to ask. ”

Zhao Xing replied casually: "This thing is chess, I heard that the Byzantine Emperor Alexis. Comnenius liked this pastime the most. Westerners regard it as one of the seven compulsory subjects in knightly education. ”

Faulkner's eyes widened, and he asked curiously: "My lord knows this kind of chess, this is the first time I have heard that the officials of the Great Song Dynasty know this kind of chess, and they also know the name of the Byzantine emperor, and they also know the seven compulsory courses of our knights. ”

Zhao Xing glanced at Fan Chang and found that he had a cross on his chest, and asked, "Before I came to Guangzhou, I read the notes of the Song people about you, so I know...... I have heard that the Pope is making an appeal for the Catholics to attack the Holy Land, and whether Mr. Faulkner intends to respond to the call. ”

Faulkner held the cross on his chest and nodded reverently: "My lord, we all have this idea here, but we haven't decided how to go back, I heard that there are a lot of pirates in the Abbasids, and we plan to gather enough strength and gather enough ships to break through the pirate-infested sea." ”

Zhao Xing casually found a table around and sat down, the two people who were playing chess in the distance were not affected by here, Zhao Xing glanced at the hall, bowed slightly to the other people standing, and these people immediately sat down and went about their own business. After looking around the Mansion, Zhao Xing suddenly asked Faulkner in Latin: "I'm surprised, how did you come to the Great Song Dynasty---- you passed through many dangers and came to this land, in my opinion, you are the most precious people in this era." Your worth is far greater than Jerusalem.

War is a long-term thing, and the crusaders set foot on that land, for what. Because that land is a hub of commerce between the East and the West. If you return home at the right time---- I don't know if you will be able to survive the Abbasid interception, if you will be able to survive the pirates. Even if a miracle happens, you do it, but there are no more people who are familiar with the Eastern Route. What is the support of the Holy Land, on the limited output of that barren land?

I think that the greatest support for the holy war is to stay here and wait for the outcome of the war, and if the war is won, you will send the goods from the East to the West, and transfer the goods from the West to the West, and this is the greatest support for that holy land. With a steady flow of goods, the land can survive on its own---- survive surrounded by powerful enemies. ”

At this time, the people who were playing chess were also attracted by Zhao Xing's words, and one of them slapped his face and interjected: "The speech is very beautiful. This lord reminds me of a Song Dynasty official described by Steele on the Somali Sea, and my lord is the lord of Kirimai Yu Village, a maritime merchant in Hangzhou, and an official in Mizhou, Lord Zhao...... I can't think of another person who knows us so well. ”

Zhao Xing clapped his hands: "You'd better drive out all the tongue people in the lobby, I have something to say to you in private." ”

The man stood up, bowed with aristocratic manners, and replied, "Glad to serve!" ”