Iron ore is not valuable, copper ore is the big head, and at this time, Yinghua's demand for copper has changed from the past coins and utensils to machinery, vehicles and ships, and guns, and the consumption has soared. Compared with coal, the income from copper mines is more obvious, and Zhong Shangwei, who was engaged in black mining in the early years, is familiar with this industry, which is also a key reason why they chose Coral State.

Coral states do have copper mines, and today's expedition companies have basic mineral exploration techniques, and falsification in this matter will only affect the credibility of the expedition companies. But how much, whether the mining cost is low or high, the exploration company is not responsible for answering. Wang Li Zhong and the others took the opportunity of transiting in Dili to find out further information with Xiong Mazi, a local snake who has been dealing with exploration companies all year round.

After getting the basic news, the three of them didn't stay too long, and after entrusting Xiong Mazi to purchase vegetables, fruits, fresh water and other supplies, they went directly to the docks, as Zhong Shangwei said, time is silver......

On the way back to the dock, there was a lot of shouting.

"Close your eyes and know the land, the star map is full, and the inheritance of the century-old pilot family is only thirty taels!"

"Three years of experience in the second pair, ten dragon coins in a month, I like to take it directly!"

"I understand everything about the sail control and steering, the musket and cannon are not sparse, I don't eat rice if I don't drink wine and meat, I am Zhao Zilong on the sea!"

The Mandarin is full of foreign accents, but the words are quite elegant, and they are obviously born in response to needs. Most of the financiers who come and go to Dili are Chinese businessmen, and it is naturally better to use advertisements that Chinese people can understand and think are elegant.

Squeezed through these foreigners who were shouting and begging for work, got on the pedal, and the money bag on his waist that he had always pinched was not taken away, Zhong Shangwei breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and spat on it, and said in his heart that he would dare to use you foreigners only if he was bold and anxious.

Their Coral State Company is naturally not comparable to ordinary Chinese businessmen, relying on the name of the colonial company and abundant silver, they have recruited enough Chinese sailors as early as Eagle Yang Harbor.

The company that can take over the colonial affairs is by no means an ordinary force, and it is not something that can be done with money alone. The colonial companies had to apply for a charter from the Zhongshu Province, and the legal principle behind it was to expand the land for the emperor, that is, for the Anglo-Chinese country, so seniority, fame, and status were very important. Zhong Shangwei and others also hugged Liang Boyu's thighs in order to register a colonial company and take over the colonial business of Coral State alone.

Similar to Zhong Shangwei and others, there are also An Jia, Shen Family, Lan Family, Lin Family, Zheng Family, and even Shi Family, a military tycoon Xiao Sheng, and so on. This is not to say that colonial affairs are all family businesses, but only to use these people as banners, colonial affairs are complicated, and interests are complex, and they are no longer a business that traditional families can operate independently.

Ordinary people are more engaged in exploration, shipping and other trades, that is, they work for colonial companies, and cannot afford too much labor, so they have to recruit local seafarers, most of whom are foreigners. Whether it is the cost of communication or the management of risks, it is much higher than that of its own Chinese.

Originally, there were foreigners who persevered in chasing Zhong Shangwei and others, and it can be seen that several people got on this thousand-ton ship, and they all knew that there was no hope, so they had to retreat in a huff. //

This sea-going ship is chartered, eight years old, 2,000 materials, and can run 134 knots at the fastest. Originally, Wang Zhiyan also wanted to rent a new wind-chasing boat in the country, but Zhong Shangwei felt that the price was too painful and did not agree, and now he really regrets it.

The Coral State Company also has its own sea vessel, but it is not so big, after all, such a sea ship can operate a business of tens of thousands of taels of silver a year, and it is too uneconomical to only transport supplies to the colonial company. Shipping is another field, Zhong Shangwei and others have no experience and have no intention of participating. This time, I had to rent a large ship because I had to transport advanced supplies and personnel.

After the replenishment in Dili, the information learned from Xiong Mazi also proved that the information given by the Xianzhou Company was not too outrageous, Zhong Shangwei and others traveled all the way east, and seven days later arrived at Jinghai Port in Dongmingzhou, which was the location of the Dongmingzhou Colonial Company jointly established by Xiao Sheng and the Shi family. …,

Jinghai Harbor is actually Port Moresby in Li Shi's previous life, and it was not until 1873 that the Britons discovered and occupied it. But in this time and space, Yinghua ushered in the Age of Discovery, and this place naturally could not escape the eyes of explorers.

The earthen wall wraps a large area of crooked wooden houses, and more than 1,000 acres of fields can be seen outside the wall, and in the center of the "city" inside the wall, there is a large wooden house with stilts, and the top of the flagpole in front of the wooden house flutters the fiery red double dragon flag, which is the poor Baba Governor's Palace.

The three of them looked at each other, the humble scene in front of them surprised them, the Shi family has been running Dongmingzhou for six or seven years, why is it declining like this?

"It's bitter, the grass here is dense and the trees are high, and the rivers are crisscrossed, so it's hard to go deep inland. In the past few years, I worked hard to open a spice garden, but the spices have long been worthless, and it is difficult to sell them whether they are foreigners or middle schools. After that, they were going to plant rubber trees instead, but rubber trees were planted in Luzon, Funan and Boni, and the directors did not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. ”

"Now? Now they can only eat in the harbor, and the expedition ships that go further east and south can come two or three a month, and they can also make some money by repairing the masts and repairing the sails. The land was planted with hemp, rice, and fruits and vegetables, which were used to weave canvas, and the rice, fruits and vegetables were eaten by themselves and sold to ships calling at the port. Now there are about 200 households in the port, seven or eight hundred people, and they can't talk about making money, so they can make do with it. ”

"Later? In the future, we will have to rely on the three general directors, and if Coral State can prosper, we will have hope in Dongmingzhou. ”

The governor of Dongming Prefecture received them very warmly, and also beckoned the lord Bo and other officials who came to Jinghai Port to accompany them for a discussion. When it comes to Jinghai Port, they are full of emotion, and when it comes to Coral State, they are full of expectations.

This is very natural, Dongmingzhou now has little output, almost relying on the "service industry" for a living. As the only way to Coral State, Coral State is developed, and Dongming State can naturally follow suit.

Listening to the meaning of the governor and officials, it is more for the benefit of Jinghai Port itself, and even hopes that the more local residents there are, the better, Wang Zhiyan and others do not understand this line of thinking.

Zhong Shangwei said directly: "It's just that I can make do with it, so why do I need to squat in such a place?" It's time to look for more products. We sailed thousands of miles in order to make a fortune! It's like buying stocks, you guys are locked up right now, and you should consider cutting your flesh・・・・・・"

Zhong Shangwei's words were the consensus of the upper echelons of the colonial company, who bought industries thousands of miles overseas not to feed the population, but to make a fortune. Colonial companies sprang up all over the land in search of goods that could be sold in the country.

In the past few years, everyone's thoughts have been more direct, that is, local specialties, including minerals such as gold, silver and copper, as well as medicines, gemstones, spices, and other heavy goods. After more than ten years of operation, everyone has also seen a little further and started to buy slightly longer-term industries such as spices, rubber or rosewood plantations, taking advantage of the climate and water and soil of the South Seas.

The situation of Jinghai Port was by no means what the colonial companies wanted, and it was simply an example of failure. Without production, it fed 10,000 people, and it was not very profitable for the colonial company.

Directly persuaded by Zhong Shangwei to sell the territory, the governor and the officials all smiled bitterly, they had stayed in Jinghai Harbor for too long, and between the interests of the colonial company and the interests of Jinghai Harbor, they were more inclined to the latter. Moreover, in their view, the industrial and commercial tax rights of the trust land belonged to the colonial company, and the more prosperous the place, the greater the interest of the colonial company.

It was a long-term investment, and it was in the interests of the local community, and it was actually a long-term plan for the colonial policy set by the emperor and the imperial court. But for Zhong Shangwei and others, it was not their purpose to colonize the coral state. The industrial and commercial tax right sounds glamorous and tempting, but it may take a hundred years to reclaim the land from scratch in a wilderness thousands of miles away. If you can't find a local specialty, it's not worth the toss. …,

The governor and the officials were all underneath the people, and the vision and thinking of investment decision-makers like Zhong Shangwei naturally did not coincide, so the two sides changed the topic and talked about the details of the colonization.

The governor sighed: "The climate of Jinghai Port is similar to that of Lingnan, and there are many rare flowers and trees. It's a pity that there are curly hairs in the depths of the land, and there have been several major conflicts in recent years, and there have been many casualties among immigrants, which has scared others・・・・・・"

As the horn sounded, the local lieutenant rushed in and shouted, "Ikuban is here again!" Attacking the farmstead outside the city! ”

The governor and the others were shocked, and Zhong Shangwei hurriedly glanced at Li Shun, the gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall, let's hurry up......

Li Shun got up and arched his hand and said, "The lord is in trouble, and the guests have to help." We were accompanied by thirty men who could fight, many of them veterans, and they were well armed with guns. ”

Wang Zhiyan hurriedly covered Zhong Shang, who was vomiting blood, and also agreed to join hands, and the governor and officials bowed goodbye with great gratitude.

"Huh? Didn't you ask me to come forward, Master Zhong? ”

Taking advantage of the efforts of dispatching people, Zhong Shangwei grabbed Li Shun and was about to educate him, but was stuffed back into his stomach by Li Shun with a word. Goodbye Li Shun hehehe......hehe

The battle was soon over, and there were hundreds of intruders, armed with pike blowguns and rudimentary bows, arrows still sharpened out of stone, and they were live targets in front of hundreds of rifled guns, and they could not escape a few.

"There may be natives in Coral State, and this should be the biggest trouble."

Zhong Shangwei's face is very ugly, although he eliminated Shengfan very smoothly, he can't pull out the roots of these people, and Shengfan always attacks with cold swords, and immigrants will inevitably be killed and injured.

Wang Zhiyan said: "The grass and trees in Coral Prefecture are not so luxuriant, and if there are natives, they can find their nests and uproot them." ”

Zhong Shangwei's eyes lit up: "Don't kill them all, they are good miners・・・・・・

Li Shun and Wang Zhiyan looked at each other and smiled, they already knew very well how to appease and even encourage this timid old friend, who was as timid as a mouse but had an extremely fiery desire for profit.

After the visit to Jinghai Port, Zhong Shangwei and the others set off again, and the ship headed south.

Zhong Shangwei barely bothered to brace himself in Dili, but was pulled down by the local situation at Jinghai Port, and then suddenly fell to the lowest point in the next few days.

There was no longer a smooth voyage before, and God seemed unwilling to allow Master Zhong to reach his destination so easily, causing him and his companions to take him and his companions into a storm. Fortunately, I got the coastal hydrological data from the Xianzhou Company, and I could go to the bay near the land to take shelter from the wind.

After the storm, there was another trouble, there were too many reefs in the north of Coral State, and the route information of Xianzhou Company was not detailed to the point that it was necessary to appear, and the navigator was inexperienced, and the ship almost hit the reef several times. At the most dangerous time, the belly of the ship was rattling against the reef. At that moment, Zhong Shangwei pulled Wang Li and the others, shouting, Let's go back・・・・・・

At the end of the ordeal, the ship sailed to a place on the surface of the sea, and suddenly a magnificent world appeared in front of him. The emerald green reef and white sand beach are wrapped in turquoise waters, stretching endlessly.

Coral State...... Sure enough, it's the world of coral.

At this moment, everyone was fascinated, and there was a kind of satisfaction in their hearts that they could see this scene and this trip was worth it.

"A coral tree can be sold for at least ten taels of silver in Guangzhou, how much can be picked here? More than 100,000 plants! It's not coral at all, it's silver spread on the sea! ”

Zhong Shangwei's eyes were also straight, his arms were wide spread, and the corners of his mouth were sloppy, looking like he was eager to hold all these countless miles of coral reefs in his arms.

"Coral State, I'm coming!"

The previous depression was swept away, and at this time, the clock felt that the future was as bright as coral.