The opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty undoubtedly gave the East and the West a platform for the exchange of culture and goods.

And now what Qin Fan wants to build is also such a trade route.

"The Silk Road had limitations, but the maritime trade routes avoided all the shortcomings of the former."

"Maritime trade routes?" Hearing this, Li Shimin was surprised.

"Yes, sea trade routes."

"I gave the Ryukyu Kingdom a blueprint of a fishing boat before."

"And in my hands, I still have drawings of giant merchant ships and battleships. These two can be used for maritime trade. ”

"Merchant ships make a lot of money through transportation and trade, and warships escort them all the way."

As he spoke, Qin Fan took out the drawings of the other two types of ships.

"Why do you think I sent the drawings of the small fishing boat to the Ryukyu Kingdom?"

"Naturally, it's because I'm better here!"

"Merchant ships are made of the best, toughest, and lightest wood, and under the condition of ensuring that the hull structure is strong enough, they also need as much grain land as possible to increase the volume of cargo."

"And the most important thing for a battleship is speed and strength."

"At that time, merchant ships were used to transport a lot of cargo, and warships were used for cruising and fighting pirates."

"After all, the value of such a large shipload of commodities must be amazing!"

Qin Fan said, and said to the two who were stunned: "How about it, this plan is good!" ”

Hearing this, Li Shimin came to his senses.

"Brother Qin means to use merchant ships to build a maritime Silk Road?"

Qin Fan nodded.

"The Maritime Silk Road has many advantages that the land Silk Road cannot match!"

"And the most critical points of maritime commerce."

"On the one hand, it's about knowing what goods are most valuable and what makes the most money in trade. I have already told you this. ”

"The second aspect is the route of transportation and the ships of transportation, which need to be smashed with silver."

"And the crucial point is that you need a shipboard of crew!"

"A large merchant ship is like a small system, and every crew member on board needs to do their part to run smoothly. _o_m ”

"And the battleship also needs to be ordered and banned, and the various weapons on the battleship also need to be practiced and familiarized."

"All in all, it takes a lot of practice to recruit people!"

Li Shimin nodded: "Manpower is not a problem, there are many talents in the Tang Army!" They are familiar with the nature of the water and can become excellent crew members with a little training. ”

Qin Fan shook his head again: "Not only these, but also professional businessmen." ”

Hear the words. The eldest grandson Wuji was stunned for a moment.

"What is a professional businessman?"

"A professional businessman is one who is proficient in the prices of various commodities and can judge what to buy according to different trends."

"With good contacts and connections, you can use words to bargain, reduce the purchase price as much as possible and increase the selling price, to put it bluntly, it is to increase profits."

Li Shimin nodded.

"In this case, the merchant must at least learn a foreign language, otherwise he will not be able to communicate, let alone trade."

Qin Fan gave a thumbs up: "Boss Li is right!" Communication is indeed the premise and foundation of everything, and qualified communication ability is the most basic ability of a businessman! ”

Li Shimin nodded: "This is also easy to do!" My Datang has a lot of strategists, most of these people are proficient in human nature, and they may have become lobbyists or messengers of national warfare in the past, but now, deploying them as businessmen is completely a killing knife, which is enough. ”

Qin Fan nodded: "Indeed, in terms of communication and language arts, it is completely enough to let these strategists go. ”

"But first of all, we need to make sure that they can learn a foreign language, and secondly, language is the foundation of everything, but it is not everything."

"After they have established their own network, they need to understand the changes in the market in a timely manner and know the rise and fall of various prices, so that they can achieve no losses and higher profits."

Li Shimin nodded: "These do require a certain amount of practice and training. ”

So, Qin Fan continued to tell:

"Solve the problem of manpower and routes, then left.

It's about dealing with the risks at sea. ”

Li Shimin bowed his head: "I want to hear the details." ”

"Why did I send the blueprints of the fishing boat to the Ryukyu Kingdom? One reason is that fishing is risky. ”

"Not only that, but when Moser returns, I plan to send him the drawings of the whaling ship."

"Whaling ships?" The eldest grandson Wuji was a little confused.

"Whales are what you call kun." Qin Fan opened his mouth to explain.

"Whale meat can satisfy hunger, fish skin can be used to sew clothes in Yong'anli, whale baleen can be used to make tools, and whale oil is a good raw material for candles."

"It's the poop pulled out by the whale, and it's also called ambergris! It can be said that whales are full of treasures. ”

Hearing this, the eldest grandson Wuji was puzzled: "Since this kun is so valuable, why don't you let the people of the Tang Dynasty go to catch it?" ”

"Naturally, it is to avoid risks at sea!" Qin Fan said.

"First of all, the whale-infested sea area is some distance from Datang, but it is suitable for the Ryukyus. Therefore, it is more suitable for the Ryukyu Kingdom to go to catch kun. ”

"Secondly, the safety of the fishing is not mentioned for the time being, just sailing on the sea, there are many risks, and if you are not careful, once you get lost, you will lose your life."

"Or maybe the whale that was hunted was so ferocious that it hit the boat. If the ship is rammed and sunk, then there is no way for the sailors and crew of the whole ship to live! ”

"Moreover, we have shown grace to the Ryukyu Kingdom and have earned a great deal of silver through trade."

"At this time, many of the whales' products are bought directly from them with silver! It's just a drop in the bucket. ”

Qin Fan waved his hand.

Indeed, if the Maritime Silk Road can be established, then the value of a few whales is indeed a drop in the bucket compared to the money earned from a sea trade.

"Although the sea trade is long and long, it can transport a large amount of goods in one trip, which is enough to fill the bowl!"

As he spoke, Qin Fan pointed to the drawings of the merchant ship and said, "If it is filled with three ships like this." The porcelain and silk tea leaves needed were worth hundreds of thousands of taels. And when the ship traveled back and forth on the sea, the hundreds of thousands of taels multiplied twenty times. ”

The sale of transported goods has increased tenfold, and the sales of returned spices in Datang have increased tenfold!

"With such a round trip, you can earn 10 million taels a year!"

When the eldest grandson Wuji heard this, he couldn't help frowning and said, "Since there is such a profitable thing, why didn't you take it out earlier?" ”

Qin Fan pouted: "Aren't you without a problem?" ”

The eldest grandson Wuji was angry: "You! ”

Qin Fan coughed lightly and explained: "The main thing is that even if I tell you these things, it will be difficult for the previous Datang to build such a merchant ship. ”

"The main thing is that the silver is tight, and the cost of this move is nearly a million silver, and the treasury can hardly afford it."