More than 100 years ago, King Charles I of Spain (clearly put forward the idea of digging a Mesoamerican canal, in 1534, King Carlos I of Spain ordered a survey of the Isthmus of Panama, and the Spaniards paved a post road through the isthmus with cobblestones along the ridge, which was considered to be in preparation for the excavation. It's just that this is obviously not an easy task, and neither technology nor manpower can complete this arduous task for a while.

Wang Zheng looked at this post road and sighed for a long time, the Spaniards did a good thing, so that the Ming army can now live directly on the opposite Atlantic coast from this post road, but this narrow post road is extremely small in the dense forest, and the road ahead cannot be seen from a mile away. If you really plan to dig a canal here, it will require a huge amount of money and manpower.

However, he has always been interested in machinery, and has been hired by the Ministry of Railways as a special expert to participate in the exploration and construction of many railways. In his eyes, if a railroad were to be built in this place, it would not take much effort, and the effect should be very good, because the goods carried by the ships of the ocean on both sides would not have to be turned to the southernmost side. And if the canal is ready to be excavated one day, it can also be used to transport people and supplies.

He just had such an idea, and then he wrote it down in his notebook, and prepared to report it to His Majesty the Emperor when he returned. As for whether His Majesty the Emperor will adopt this suggestion, it is not up to him to influence.

After the mission left Yongle City, it went west and returned to China in a straight line. Finally, I didn't encounter too much wind and waves, and the general wind and waves Daming didn't take it to heart, and finally returned to Quanzhou more than a year later.

After a short rest in Quanzhou, the fleet went north for a few days to Tianjin, and then everyone changed to a strange ship without sails and headed for the capital.

Wang Zheng looked at Zhu Shunshui, who came to pick them up, and arched his hand: "Congratulations to Junior Brother Zhu, you finally succeeded." ”

Zhu Shunshui said with a smile: "It is only with the help of everyone that we can succeed, and now it will not be faster to take the capital on a boat than on land, but Your Majesty said that I am worried that you have just taken a sea boat and are not used to the turbulence on land, and it may be better to take a river boat." ”

After the boat started, Wang Zheng looked at it for a while and said, "Twenty-five miles? ”

Zhu Shunshui said: "Twenty-eight miles of flat water, now the countercurrent is only afraid to be slower." ”

Wang Zheng smiled: "I really didn't expect that in the more than a year since I left, you have made such great progress." This ship should have 2,000 materials. ”

Zhu Shunshui said with a smile: "This ship is 1,500 materials, and now the largest steam ship in the Ming Dynasty is 4,000 materials, and it is undergoing sea trials on the seaside, and the speed of the empty ship can reach 20 miles, but the speed is only 12 miles after the cannon is installed." ”

Wang Zheng said: "Four thousand materials can travel twelve miles, and it is not affected by the wind and sea currents, if you add sails, it should be able to reach twenty miles." ”

Zhu Shunshui said: "Wang Qin's envoy is really a great talent, originally I also thought that this speed was too slow and had no effect." I don't want Your Majesty to say that the sail will be raised when the wind is downwind, and the steam power will be used at other times, so that the maneuverability of the warship can be enhanced, and it will have the upper hand in water battles, even if the steam power can only be one mile, it is much stronger than using the sail. ”

Wang Zheng said: "That's natural, there is wind with wind, coal is used without wind, the wind is used to save coal when sailing on weekdays, and the coal is used in wartime without relying on the weather, and the sail is lowered to facilitate better steering, and it can also reduce the attack range of enemy ships." This is equivalent to the time of the day is in my hands, and there is no reason to win. ”

The steamship went all the way to the capital, and the envoy disembarked and sent people to report to the emperor, who asked them to report the process of the mission to the cabinet and ministers at the next court.

The next day was the Great Court Meeting, and after all the ministers saw the emperor, they all sat down on chairs or futons. At this time, an internal official came in and said to the emperor: "Wang Zheng of Zuo Shaoqing, who sent an envoy to Honglu Temple in Europe, is waiting for His Majesty to summon him." ”

Zhu Youxiao smiled: "Xuan." ”

After Wang Zheng came in, of course, the first thing was to cry about the feelings of Sijun who was far away from his home and country, and after Zhu Youxiao comforted him with kind words, Wang Zheng began to tell the main itinerary of the trip.

When the ministers heard that Wang Zheng had been made a cardinal, they were overjoyed. The Ming people did not resist Catholicism, but those who understood the transcendent status of Catholicism in Europe did not think so, first, they were afraid that the Holy See would dictate the Ming Dynasty through the clergy, thus affecting the majesty of the emperor and the imperial court; Second, I am afraid that those who believe in Catholicism will no longer worship their ancestors and worship Confucius, which will impact the Confucian cultural system. Now that the Holy See's restrictions on the Ming Dynasty's missionary duties have been reduced, allowing believers to still be able to worship their ancestors and worship Confucius, there is no need to worry about this second point. And Wang Zheng was made a cardinal and became the highest clergy in the Ming Dynasty, which actually shows that the Holy See does not want or cannot pose a threat to the Ming court.

In addition to the conflict of ideas, the fear that Catholicism might affect the policies of the Ming court was also an extremely important aspect. Regarding the current practice of the Holy See, the ministers of the Ming Dynasty can be regarded as relieved. Even believers like Xu Guangqi actually don't want to see the clerical power above the imperial power, in fact, in his opinion, God's to God, and the king's to the king, is the best.

Wang Zheng went on to explain the process of establishing diplomatic relations with various countries, and many ministers still felt that the establishment of diplomatic relations with European countries was a self-surrendering status, but the emperor insisted on doing so, and everyone had no choice. When Zhu Youxiao heard that Poland and Sweden were willing to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty and jointly deal with the Rakshasas, he smiled and said: "You see, we don't have to take a single yuan out, we can get two allies to help us deal with the Rakshasas." When the Rakshasas are at odds with them, how can they take care of fighting us for land in the east? ”

Zhu Yanxi said dissatisfiedly: "We lent them five million yuan, if we can't recover this money by then, won't it be all lost?" ”

Zhu Youxiao laughed and said: "Shangshu, don't worry, if Poland pays back the money, we will lend it to them, and we will make it." If we can't pay the money, since we have already hit the Rakshasas, how much effort can we make to Poland? Five million dollars to buy an excuse, I think we have earned no matter what. ”

Wang Zheng said: "That place in Poland is a little different from the north of the North Sea, first, it is not so cold, and second, it is rich in products. There is a place called Ukraine in Poland, which has a suitable climate and fertile soil, and it is a big granary, and if Poland does not pay for it at that time, it is not impossible to use this place to offset it. It is definitely better for us to emigrate to Ukraine than to emigrate to the north of the North Sea, at least not so cold. Moreover, after the railway is repaired, the transportation is convenient, and it is integrated with the country, which is the best place for us to spy on Europe. ”