Shanghai Port, wharf. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Several steam-powered transport ships came slowly from afar, each carrying a large number of things, mainly grain, in addition to some textile raw materials such as cotton and linen.

Two 3,000-material powered transport ships, four 1,000-material powered sea vessels, a total of six seagoing vessels, this is the ship of the Oriental Ocean Trading Company.

The two 3,000-gauge carriers were newly built, and the four 1,000-gauge sea-going vessels, which were previously navy, were now transferred to the Oriental Ocean Trading Company to act as both transport ships and escort vessels.

This was the first business of the Oriental Ocean Trading Company, and twenty days ago it had left for the Ryukyus with a load of cloth, soap, glassware, and other things, in exchange for a ship full of grain, textile raw materials, and other things.

The basic construction of the Naha military port in the Ryukyus has been completed, not only a huge wharf has been built, but also a huge military base has been built, and now there are 2,000 strong soldiers stationed at the Naha base, and the person in charge is Wang Jinsheng.

The entire Ryukyus were completely under the control of Zhang Feng, the Japanese completely withdrew from the Ryukyus, the last naval battle of Naha Bay, the naval strength of the Satsuma Domain was greatly reduced, and the strength was greatly damaged.

The first stop was to choose Ryukyu, which was very successful, back and forth, more than 20 days before and after, bringing back several times the profit.

No, as soon as he came back, Xu Liangyi came back to report to Zhang Feng.

The General Soldier's Palace, the back hall.

Xu Liangyi looked happy and said excitedly: "Lord General Soldier, I didn't think that our ocean trade is so profitable, we ship all kinds of industrial products, and then exchange them for grain, as well as industrial raw materials, it is simply several times the profit!" ”

Zhang Feng knew that ocean trade made money, and historically, Western capitalist countries did just that, exporting their own country's industrial products in exchange for gold, silver, and industrial raw materials, etc., of course, the process of capital accumulation in Western capitalist countries included colonization.

Several times the profit!

Zhang Feng thought happily, did not think about it, so profitable, it seems that it is necessary to vigorously develop ocean trade, but the pattern of Ryukyu is a little small, the limitations are too great, if you want to make a lot of money, you must open the markets of Japan and Korea, and in the future, the maritime strength will be further enhanced, and you can go south, and even go to Thailand, India, Africa or Europe is also possible.

Of course, all this is only an idea at present, and if it is to be realized, it must have a strong maritime power, and in the future, it will be faced with Zheng Zhilong who is closer, and the first is the great powers of various countries, and at this time, the East India Company can be established long ago, and Western countries have begun to colonize everywhere.

Zhang Feng got up slowly, walked to the huge world map hanging on the wall, pointed to the location of the Ryukyus, and said slowly: "The Ryukyus are too small, you can run to North Korea next time." ”

Zhang Feng chose North Korea with the purpose of testing the waters, mainly because he liked the North Korean market, which was much larger than the Ryukyu market, and could dump a large amount of industrial products and bring back a large amount of gold, silver, grain, or industrial raw materials.

But the risk is not impossible, Korea has been out of the control of the Ming Dynasty, no longer a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, but under the control of the Manchu Qing.

In addition, the Eastern Ocean Trading Company was equipped with a large number of smoothbore flintlock muskets, and the four thousand-material ships that were retired from the navy and delivered to the Eastern Ocean Company could also be used as warships, equipped with 70 mm guns that were more advanced in this era.

Xu Liangyi is also very discerning, knowing that the market structure of Ryukyu is too small, and if you want to make more money, you naturally have to go to North Korea or Japan, and you can make a lot of money from these two countries.

It's just going to do business, not to kill people, there will be a little risk, but there shouldn't be a big problem. Thinking so in his heart, Xu Liangyi said happily: "Lord General Soldier, then we will go to North Korea next time, establish a trade transit station there, and open the market there." ”

Zhang Feng said: "Ningbo Shipyard will have two more 3,000 material transport ships to be delivered in half a month, and these two ships will be delivered to your Oriental Ocean Trading Company." ”

Two more 3000 transport ships!

Xu Liangyi was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Lord General Soldier, we will definitely succeed in this trip to North Korea, and you will wait for our good news." ”

Zhang Feng said: "Go, let go of your hands and feet, don't have any worries, everything will be supported by me behind you." ”

Zhang Feng's meaning is obvious, this time I went to North Korea, if I encounter any problems, you can use force, I will carry any problems, and I will find you a place to return if you suffer a loss.

Xu Liangyi naturally understood what Zhang Feng meant, happily left the General Military Mansion, and began to prepare for all the matters of the next trip to North Korea.

………

In the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the autumn has just begun, but the weather is still relatively hot, and the Songjiang Fu Railway Station is lively, it is simply crowded and hot.

Today is the day when the train is officially opened, and it is naturally lively.

Today will surely go down in the history of the world's industrial development, and the first steam-powered train in history will be sent from here, and many people are curious to try what it feels like to ride a train.

Next to the platform, a steam train has stopped there, and the front of the steam locomotive, with black as the main color and red, is basically the same as the old-fashioned steam powered locomotive seen in film and television works in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Behind the locomotive were six green carriages, with a row of glass windows on either side of the carriages, and a row of wooden chairs, which were slightly shorter than modern train carriages, but a carriage with sixty or seventy seats.

The train is ready and just waiting for the time to come.

In the waiting hall, there are hundreds of people, and it is lively, and when you meet acquaintances, you will inevitably chat a few words, and the topic is naturally trains.

"Uncle, you also take the train, where are you going?"

"Our family went to Balipu to have a look, and our hometown is Balipu."

"Balipu, oh, I know this station, you get off there and go directly to Balipu Town."

"Where are you going?"

"When we went to Shanghai County, I heard that it didn't take an hour to get from Songjiang Mansion to Shanghai County, and it used to take a day's work."

“……”

"Ladies and gentlemen, the train from Songjiang Station to Shanghai Station is about to start, please line up to check in and get on the train." A staff member wearing a red armband, holding a tin horn, was shouting loudly.

Soon, everyone began to line up and began to board the bus.

Zhang Feng was also in the crowd, Zhang Feng was dressed in casual clothes, like a young boy, and there was a beautiful woman next to him, which was naturally Chen Yuanyuan.

Zhang Feng wanted to experience the feeling of taking the train, and he did not move the crowd, but was so low-key that he only took Chen Yuanyuan to travel, and the two also bought train tickets and lined up to get on the train.

Through the ticket gate, he came to the platform, found the No. 5 carriage he was taking, and Zhang Feng took Chen Yuanyuan's little hand and got on the train.

Chen Yuanyuan is different from Zhang Feng, it seems that everything is novel, take a look here, take a look there, full of curiosity.

In the carriage, there was a bustle, and the staff with red armbands were loudly maintaining order, "Everyone is seated, please sit down, don't mess around, everyone has a seat." ”

Because it was the first train, in order not to make a mess, there was no sale of station tickets, all tickets, everyone had a seat, Zhang Feng easily found his seat, five positions in a row, the middle is the aisle, two positions on one side, three positions on the other side, Zhang Feng and Chen Yuanyuan's positions are connected together, it is one seat and two positions.

In later generations, Zhang Feng took a green car, air-conditioned express, and even bullet trains, high-speed rail, etc., I don't know how many times, naturally he was familiar with the car, there was no difficulty, and he was not as novel as others.

In Zhang Feng's view, although the train box is simple, it is clean and bright, because it is a train box with a standard gauge. Most of the carriage materials are wood, such as wooden chairs, wooden boards, and even the floor of the carriage is thick wooden planks.

Opposite Zhang Feng, there was a group of middle-aged couples, and the middle-aged couple was a little restrained, I don't know if it was because of Zhang Feng and Chen Yuanyuan, or because it was the first time to take the train.

"This position is mine."

"No, it's mine."

Next to Zhang Feng, two people quarreled over seats, Zhang Feng couldn't help but smile slightly and stood up, "Show me your tickets." ”

The two took out their tickets, Zhang Feng took them and looked at them, and said with a smile: "Brother, this is the fifth carriage, your ticket is the fourth carriage, you went to the wrong carriage." ”

"Is this the fifth car?"

Zhang Feng pointed to the conspicuous word "Wu" at both ends of the carriage, and said loudly: "Look, this is the fifth carriage, you are going to that end, and that end is the fourth carriage." ”

"Oh." A young man who had just argued took his ticket and walked towards the No. 4 carriage next to him.

Chen Yuanyuan sat by the window, opened the window, fanned it with his hand, and said, "Brother Feng, this carriage is really a little hot." ”

It's not an air-conditioned cabin, it's late summer and early autumn, and it's naturally a little hot. Zhang Feng said, "I'm going to drive soon, and the car will be cool as soon as it starts." ”

A few minutes later, the train whistle blew, and then, the train started slowly, clanging sound, first slowly, and gradually speeding up.

"Wow, that's cool!"

"Look, look, the trees outside are falling backwards!"

"It's a lot faster than riding a horse!"

“……”

As the train started, the car was lively, and everyone was full of novelty, even Chen Yuanyuan, who was also shouting excitedly.

"Brother Feng, look over there, that's the Oriental Textile Factory!"

It didn't take long for the train to leave the urban area of Songjiang Prefecture, and after leaving the city, it went east, passing by the Dongfang Textile Factory, and when he saw the textile factory, Chen Yuanyuan shouted happily.

Zhang Feng couldn't help but smile, and thought to himself, when he was a child, the first time he took the train was like this.

When the train reached a normal speed, Zhang Feng estimated that the speed should be more than 20 kilometers per hour, and it certainly did not exceed 30 kilometers.

This speed has surprised many people, and the common people are accustomed to walking, horseback riding, boat and other modes of transportation, where can the speed compare to the train, even if it is this low-speed steam-powered train.

………