"It's land!"

The sailor who was watching shouted loudly, and another old crew member hurriedly climbed the mast, and after confirming it, shouted: "It's time for the country of Qi!" ”

The sailors on deck cheered as the untraveled voyage was finally completed. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info neither lost in the sea, nor encountered a reef and sank.

Soon, several ships of the Qi Kingdom approached, and Jian Chen had the flag of the concession trade raised.

After getting closer to the inquiry, it was only sixty miles away from the destination, and it was only necessary to go a little south to reach the real place to go.

Everyone on board was convinced this time, including the captains who had sailed many times.

What latitude and longitude that Jian Chen deduced from the book could really reach the Qi country, and the first voyage was only sixty miles away! This can already be counted as a miracle.

Nothing could be more convincing than the truth, and for the first time those who believed it were truly convinced that the shadows of the sun, the stars, and the hourglass could really guide the ship so accurately.

Not only that, but it also shortened the trade time that used to be island hopping, and there was no longer a need to pass through the pirate-infested island.

Jian Chen also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, this time he was lucky.

He was sure that he would be able to reach his destination, otherwise there would be no need to circumnavigate the world or sail in this era.

It's just that because he took a different island-hopping route than before, this time he can only succeed and not fail to determine his prestige.

Fortunately, the weather was good, and the wind was generally in the right direction, and although we went around in circles, we were still much faster than usual with the help of ocean currents and trade winds.

When we turned south and approached the port, we caused some minor disturbances.

The strange hull of the Purple Quartz and the time when Jian Chen's fleet arrived made Qi Guo's side feel a little strange, and they checked it very carefully.

Coupled with the uniform uniforms of these sailors, even if it is weird, if more than 100 people wear the same clothes, it is still very imposing, and people have to guard against it.

The next day, when they arrived at the port, Chen Jian gave some money to the sailors and crew, and there were already all kinds of hawkers or fancy women waiting on the shore.

I measured the latitude of this place at night, calculated the time, and corrected the latitude here by seven points.

According to the mean longitude converted from the prime meridian time of Mincheng and the time of Turtle Island, it is about 14 degrees east longitude.

So many days of sailing, whether it is an hourglass or a timed incense, there will be a big error. After the average, it is an hour ahead of Mincheng time, and fifteen degrees of longitude should be no problem.

After this voyage, it was determined that the route of the mouth of the big river could go directly to the Qi State Trade Port.

Judging from the direction of the wind, if free trade is allowed in the future, the best route is to go north from Mincheng to the city at the mouth of the big river and complete a trade. Then sail directly to the east from the mouth of the big river, stop for supplies through Turtle Island, and arrive at the Qi State Trade Port. Then from the Qi trade port to the south, enter the northeast trade wind belt and return to Mincheng with the help of ocean currents and trade winds.

It was a perfect triangular trade route, and as soon as it became widespread, merchants from all over the coast would want free maritime trade.

Anyway, the purpose of the embargo on Qi at the beginning was to block the Qi State that was in danger of defeat, and if the situation in Qi had stabilized after so many years, this embargo would basically be useless.

Especially last year's athletic conference, Qi sent envoys to participate, Chen Jian felt that this might be a signal.

For a country, although industry and commerce are always linked together, in fact, sometimes the two are in conflict.

Merchants, especially those who monopolize trade, do not care whether the domestic handicraft industry will be affected, as long as they can make money. If it were possible, they would like the country's handicraft industry to go out of business.

And the handicraft industry is also two-sided, when the level is not as good as others, it will definitely shout about trade protection, and once the counterattack is completed, it will shout for trade freedom.

The cargo in Chen Jian's fleet does not need to worry about the entanglement of interests in this regard. Flat glass, silver mirrors, steel ingots, and the like are all things that are much beyond the level of the handicraft industry here, and there is no point in talking about them if they are too bad.

The merchants in the port were like sharks smelling blood, and quickly surrounded Chen Jian, all of which were some sought-after commodities, and huge profits were inevitable.

It will take at least two or three months to get the goods back on the ship, and Jian Chen is not in a hurry, and there is time to complete what he has to do.

A few days later, he held a novelty fair like in the capital, popularized the photographic method, and once again performed a hot air balloon, which caused a huge sensation under the name of Mr. Xuemiya.

In the huge sensation, Chen Jian coped with it, and at the same time asked the largest textile merchant here, and sent out a greeting post.

The textile merchants in the port have also been shocked by the many new things brought by Chen Jian in the past few days, and many people hurriedly went to take a few photos.

and knew that Chen Jian's ship was full of fiberglass ingots and mercury and the like, they never expected that such a popular figure would come to visit them.

Basically, there were no merchants who imported cotton cloth from the Qi country, and the technical level of the two sides was about the same, so there was not much profit at all.

When these textile merchants received Chen Jian's greetings, they felt flattered, and hurriedly set up a banquet and invited Chen Jian.

There is almost no difference between the language here and the other side, at most there is a difference in accent, so there is no need for interpretation.

Chen Jian took the shuttle loom that had been transported thousands of miles from the opposite bank and swaggered to the banquet.

As the saying goes, a businessman who does not sell arms to an enemy country is not a good businessman, and the same is true for machines.

Under true classical freedom, the private banks of the Netherlands could lend money in a steady stream to enemy countries fighting against the Dutch; Krupp's artillery fuses were used by the British, and after World War I, royalties were calculated according to the number of German heads killed and wounded in the middle of the guns...... The freedom of capital has no borders, and this is also the freedom that capitalists want most, and it is also the goal that every capitalist strives for.

There may be a lot of changes that a new machine can bring, but this change has not yet been taken seriously and no one is going to think deeply.

Chen Jian brought a few shuttle looms made by craftsmen, and after the banquet, he immediately attracted the attention of these textile chambers of commerce in Qi country, and he couldn't help but admire.

To be precise, the shuttle loom is not a machine, it can only be regarded as half a machine, and it does not free hands, but only makes the hands that were originally used to throw and catch the shuttle become a rope.

This is a semi-automatic loom with the only advantage over the original loom being the ability to weave wider cloth. Doubling the width of the cloth with the same length doubles the yield of the cloth.

Although the efficiency improvement is not high, the intrinsic meaning is huge, and this is a power that can be improved and can eventually be applied to non-human hands, and this is what it means.

Two to three times the efficiency of the same time, which means more profits.

The textile merchant looked at the slightly bulky machine, gasped and said, "Mr. Chen, has this kind of loom already started to be used over there?" ”

It seems to them that this is obvious. Once this was widely available, the weavers in the workshop soon became able to use the loom.

Now that the machine had crossed the ocean to this side, it was evident that it was already in use near the water, but they had not heard of it.

Jian Chen shook his head and said, "Don't worry, this thing has just been made, and the textile business opposite has not been used." I'm just a little conflicted with the textile guild in Mincheng, and I don't want to let them benefit. Sell to you rather than sell to them. After all, across the sea, it is not so easy for them to learn. ”

Several merchants pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "If this is the case, this is indeed a good thing, but I don't know about it...... How is Mr. Chen going to sell it? ”

"This one is for nothing. Not only for free, but also for a full set of drawings. As long as you find a better carpenter and blacksmith, you can make it. ”

The businessmen swallowed their saliva, they couldn't believe Jian Chen's words, and said in their hearts, where could there be such a kind businessman?

always felt that there was something strange in it, and Jian Chen simply reassured them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I have said, I have some contradictions with those textile merchants in Mincheng, and my industry is no longer in the textile industry. The so-called interlacing is like separating mountains, and it is good not to set foot in it. ”

The merchants smiled, shook their heads, and said, "It's said that it's not profitable to be early." Mr. Chen wanted to bring down those people and give these looms to the textile merchants in the rest of the counties. ”

"Eventually, this thing has to be used by people. Where can a weaver hide secrets? In other counties, it will take less than half a year for those people in Mincheng to know. You are different, after all, across the sea, when the time comes, you will produce, and I will transport some back to Fujian City for profit, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? The cloth is wider than before, and the price is cheaper than before, so isn't there a profit in that? ”

Jian Chen explained, and everyone felt that it seemed to be the case. These people may not believe it for any other reason, but if they add their own interests and say such a thing, these merchants will believe it.

Moreover, since it is a free drawing, the simple structure does not cost much money, and there is no trap no matter how you look at it.

Having figured out this verse, the merchants rejoiced, and said some words of thanks at the banquet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are all big workshop owners here, and you have seen the profits. Sooner or later, this thing will spread, and the sooner you get involved, the better. When others want to get involved, they will either be squeezed by you, or they will be too late to drink some of the remaining soup. ”

"Cotton cloth is also a consumable, and the annual consumption is huge. Your efficiency has increased, your costs have decreased, and your cloth is wider, so you can say that you are invincible. ”

After a few words of bewilderment, plus this is a real benefit, everyone present no longer has any worries, praised again and again, and said that if Chen Jian sends cotton cloth back in the future, they will definitely give priority to preparing it for Chen Jian.

However, Chen Jian didn't say that he had to transport the cotton cloth back, anyway, the cotton cloth would not be sold here, so these people didn't care, and they were full of thoughts about making a lot of money in the future.

Promises without contracts, those promises are meaningless and only morally binding. Whether Chen Jian wants these cotton cloths or not will not affect these people to adopt new machines, cotton cloth is a mass consumable, and it can be sold no matter what.

For more than half a month after the banquet, Chen Jian stayed in the port, and the goods on the ship had basically been sold, leaving only the goods when he returned.

It's not something that can be prepared in a day or two, and Jian Chen is not in a hurry.

There is an endless stream of people who come to take pictures and see hot air balloons every day, and some people come to Chen Jian.

With the name of a Mr. Xuegong, some experiments in the capital last year also spread to Taixue here, and many people came with an attitude of learning, and Chen Jian did not hide his selfishness, and answered all questions one by one.

Soon after the feast, the shuttle loom was already being manufactured on a large scale, and the weavers were still the same weavers, but the machines were changed.

After the new cotton cloth was spun by those weavers, the quality was almost the same as the previous one, the cloth surface was wider, and there were not too many technical requirements, so it was very easy to promote.

This thing really can't be hidden, and after the new cotton cloth is produced, the loom quickly spreads to other places.

……

At the end of June, in the palace of the capital of Qi in the upper reaches of the river.

Several young court nobles stood on either side of the current Marquis of Qi, and there were some things on the table.

The current Qi Hou was very curious and played with the telescope he got through some channels, and couldn't help nodding.

In addition to the telescope, there are several black-and-white photos, a photo of a hot air balloon flying in the air, and some Mincheng style buildings.

A flintlock pistol with a bayonet inserted in firing was in front of it, and a record of the somewhat strange sailing ship had just been sent.

In addition to these, there are also materials about some of Jian Chen's experiments in the Academy Palace, as well as many things that have spread here, all of which are on the desk.

Qi Hou, who is in his forties, has a wide range of knowledge, although he can't understand some things, he is not ignorant, he has dabbled in various disciplines, and he knows very well the effect and function of these things written on paper.

A few months ago, he knew about what was happening in the school palace on the other side, and he had heard from the messenger returning from the other side about the hot air balloon last year.

He really didn't expect that a person who was staring at Mr. Xuemiya's name would come to do business in person, and he didn't expect that there would be such things as binoculars and flintlock pistols.

It always takes some time for news to spread, and when Jian Chen's ship arrived at the trading port, it only caused a stir in the port city.

As the sensation became more and more shocking, naturally someone sent these things here, and due to the problem of time, Qi Hou had just learned about it.

After a while, he put down his binoculars and asked one of the people beside him, "Did you hear accurately?" This Chen Jian didn't take the normal route, didn't jump the island or take the northern route, but went straight to this side? ”

"Yes. According to what the sailors said, it was like this. Chen Jian set out from Mincheng on May 6, rested for three days on an uninhabited island, and arrived at the port on May 23. After removing the three days of the break, it only took 14 days to get here. Several sailors said this, supposedly by what latitude and longitude. ”

"Latitude and longitude?"

The person next to him explained briefly, this is something that is very easy to understand, Qi Hou glanced at it a little and nodded: "This is not a novelty, it is nothing more than a star pulling technique, but it is more accurate." The first time I tried to sail, I could go straight to it, and it can be seen that the navigation skills over there are already a little higher than ours. After all, we are narrow-minded and have few people, no better than the homeland of China. ”

Then he looked at the telescope, flintlock pistols and photographs, and shook his head, "These things are really exquisite, really amazing." ”

After thinking for a while, he finally said, "In this way, send someone to invite him here." One is my personal invitation, and the other is also the invitation of Taixue students. It's only been a month, and it will take some time for the goods he has traded back to be ready, so he shouldn't have left yet. ”

"Yes."