Quanzhou Shipyard may not be the largest shipyard in the Great Song Dynasty, but it is definitely the largest shipyard in the Great Song Dynasty to build sea ships.

Standing in front of the huge finished and semi-finished warships, Zhao Hong felt like an ant at the foot of an elephant, incomparably small.

When these big ships are in the middle of the ocean, they seem to be small.

"Zhao Qing, Wu Qing, it is urgent for the imperial court to vigorously develop the navy. In your opinion, how much can I build a 1,500-material sea ship in a year? How many warships can be built with 3,000 materials? ”

Zhao Hong frowned and asked in a deep voice.

He went south from the coastal road in eastern Zhejiang, and the water villages in the southeast coast were all sluggish and in ruins, which also verified the necessity of his establishment of the Sailor Academy and the rectification of the navy.

1500 materials, displacement of about 500 tons, and the size of the main warships of the Age of Discovery, should be suitable for the needs of naval warfare in this era.

As for the 3,000-material warship, it can be supplied to the navy in small quantities, one is for combat power needs, and the other is purely for deterrence.

"Your Majesty, in Quanzhou and Guangzhou alone, more than 200 warships can be built with 1,500 materials. As for the 3,000-material sea vessels, 50-60 a year, it should not be a big problem. ”

As the envoy of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Shanxiang is still quite familiar with these basic operations.

"Your Majesty, the Jin and Tatar sea forces are insignificant. How many warships there are, whether it is necessary to do what you can. Moreover, the expansion of the navy also requires a large number of sailors to be recruited and trained for several years. ”

Wu Qian stubbornly discouraged Zhao Hong's impatience.

Zhao Hong nodded lightly, and he was also proud in his heart.

The sea ships made in Fujian and Guangdong are familiar with durability and are the first choice for the Great Song Dynasty sea ships. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the whole world was using the sea ships made in the Great Song Dynasty, and the quality was naturally not a problem.

Across the ocean, Da Song's hardware facilities are complete, it depends on the software.

"Wu Qian, do you think I just want to go north, not south?"

Zhao Hong told the truth and didn't beat around the bush at all.

"Next year, I will send 3,000 naval soldiers and a dozen warships to Champa, which is the first step. Therefore, sailor, you must train me! ”

Zhao Hong said as he spoke, his eyes fell on the huge warship, and he hesitated again.

From next year, perhaps from this winter, he is ready to start the development of a steam engine. With the strength of the whole country, if the steam engine is successfully applied to new warships ahead of schedule, will it be a waste of warships that have been mass-produced in recent years?

Whoever controls the seas controls world trade and, by extension, world wealth.

Zhao Hong's heart unconsciously flashed this sentence.

"Your Majesty, the Coastal Preparation Division is recruiting sailors, and by the beginning of next year, about 20,000 sailors and soldiers will be able to complete their training and wait for Your Majesty's dispatch at any time. If His Majesty wants to send sailors overseas, he will need to continue to build ships loaded with artillery. Just the 3,000 soldiers who occupied the city, and 1,500 warships, had to be more than ten or twenty. If you add the flow and the newly built warships, you will get at least more than 200 warships of all sizes. ”

Zhao Shanxiang thought about it and interjected.

The 20,000 sailors of the Coastal Control Division alone had to be hundreds of warships. Not to mention the flow and the need to occupy the city.

"Zhao Qing, I will issue an order to Fujian and Guangdong, asking them to build 100 ships of 1,500 materials and 30 ships of 3,000 materials every year, and the Coastal Preparation Department will send special personnel to inspect them from time to time."

200 ships with 1,500 materials and 60 ships with 3,000 materials will not be difficult for Fujian and Guangdong.

At this time, Zhao Hong's brain was completely sobered up.

To become a maritime power, to be granted freedom of movement at sea, 4 conditions must be met:

1. As a commodity-exporting country, it is necessary to produce enough products for export and exchange goods.

2. Must have a transport vessel as a means of marine transportation.

In other words, even if these warships produced today are not suitable for ocean-going warfare, they can be used as merchant ships to cross the seas.

3. It is necessary to occupy colonies and bases that can protect and develop overseas trade and obtain great profits.

4. It is necessary to have a strong navy to protect overseas territories and the lines of communication between them and their own bases.

These are the four golden rules of the later "Theory of Sea Power", Zhao Hong secretly rejoiced, the books he read were too miscellaneous, and sometimes they were beneficial.

The four laws, which require the Great Song Dynasty to vigorously develop industrial production and occupy the global market with its own products.

At the same time, this meant that the Great Song Dynasty needed not only warships, but also a large number of merchant ships.

However, most of the land of the Great Song Dynasty was occupied, and the border defense was in danger, where did the colony come from? It seems necessary to take possession of the borderlands.

Australia, South Seas, Africa, South America, North America......

And a powerful ocean-going navy, the Great Song must have.

"Your Majesty means that 260 seagoing ships are built every year!"

Zhao Shanxiang was taken aback and unconsciously widened his eyes.

"Your Majesty, in this way, the shipyards along the coast, as well as the Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Division, are going to be busy! But so many sea vessels, isn't it too many? ”

Wu Qian's heart was beating wildly, and his eyes were also wide.

In this way, in less than five years, the number of sea ships in the Great Song Dynasty reached thousands. The number of seagoing vessels has increased, but what is the use of having so many seagoing vessels?

A 1,500-material warship carries 40 guns, which is thousands of guns per year, not including ammunition.

If you add the riverboat......

The emperor preached the invincibility of the Tatar army day by day, could it be that so many warships were built in order to flee south in the future?

"They are busy, and the expansion of the Great Song Dynasty is guaranteed! As for whether it is too much, time will tell. ”

Zhao Hong laughed, not without pride.

"Zhao Qing, Wei Qing, I plan to reduce export tariffs by three or four percent, what do you think?"

Just as Chinese manufacturing swept the world in later generations, the world in the Southern Song Dynasty also used the sea ships of the Southern Song Dynasty. The development of the shipbuilding industry in the Southern Song Dynasty can be seen.

The shipbuilding industry in the Southern Song Dynasty was developed, and the watertight cabin technology ensured the quality of the ships; Due to the widespread use of the compass, the long-distance navigation ability of the merchant ships of the Southern Song Dynasty was greatly enhanced, and private maritime trade was greatly developed under the encouragement of the Southern Song Dynasty.

In order to prevent the outflow of coins, the Southern Song Dynasty court ordered the exchange of silk and porcelain for foreign imports in the 12th year of Jiading (1219). In this way, the number and scope of Chinese silk and porcelain spread outward increasing day by day. More than 50 countries, including Japan, Goryeo, Boni and Dashi, were all trading countries of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the farthest point could even reach Africa.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable to call the trade routes of the Song Dynasty the Maritime Silk Road.

"Export tariffs will be reduced by three or four percent!"

Zhao Shanxiang and Wei Liaoweng were both taken aback.

"Your Majesty, in this way, won't the taxes of the imperial court be greatly reduced?"

Zhao Shanxiang asked suspiciously.

In the Song Dynasty, overseas trade was divided into two ways: government operation and private business operation, of which private foreign trade accounted for the bulk of the trade. If the tariff is reduced by three or four percent, it will be at least one million percent a year.

"The major exports of porcelain, silk, tea, and textiles are more than half of them produced by the imperial court. If you lower export tariffs and sell more, taxes will naturally come up. Not to mention, the soap, soap, swords and other items produced by the imperial court should open overseas markets and reduce tariffs, which will greatly stimulate exports. ”

During the Song Dynasty, the silk production and manufacturing industry in Europe has initially formed a scale, and the demand for silk in China has declined year by year, but because the quality and craftsmanship of European silk are not as good as those of the Song Dynasty, the silk exports of the Song Dynasty have declined, but they can still occupy the high-end market.

The second is porcelain. Sea voyages require a lot of cargo ballast, and porcelain is no longer suitable. Longquan and Jingdezhen, which were close to the port, became important porcelain towns. Longquan celadon is sold to Nanyang, while Jingdezhen celadon is mostly sold to Islamic areas. Due to the natural advantages of porcelain, it surpassed silk and became the protagonist of the Maritime Silk Road.

As for tea, it is mainly exported to Japan and Korea, and a small amount has been sold overseas. As for the popularity of Chinese tea in Europe, it was still after the Age of Discovery, starting in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

If porcelain and tea could be sold in large quantities to Europe in this era, then the profits could be expected.

In addition, the glass, bone china, blue and white porcelain and other products being developed by the imperial court, once they are available, it is urgent to occupy overseas markets.

"Do you know how much industry development can be driven by the production of a sea vessel alone? How many people can be employed? ”

Looking at the artillery next to the warship in front of him, Zhao Hong suddenly asked.

A shipbuilding industry, plus a firearms manufacturing industry, drives all walks of life, and the number of people involved in employment, I am afraid that it is an astronomical amount.

The export and import driven by the shipbuilding industry, the so-called Tonghai Yuguo, made him look forward to it.

Most importantly, the huge benefits of overseas colonization as a result are immeasurable.

"Back to Your Majesty, just a casting artillery, iron ore, coal mine, copper ore, lead ore, sulfur ore, etc., along the way, transshipment, iron smelting and casting, eating, drinking and Lazar, this is incalculable."

Wu Qian shook his head and said it in estimation.

Not to mention anything else, iron smelting needs coal mines, and for coal mining, I don't know how many relevant personnel are needed.

"Your Majesty, there are already more than 3,000 craftsmen in a few shipyards in Fujian alone, plus helpers and people, no less than 10,000 people. Tens of thousands of people are tens of thousands of households, a total of 30,000 or 40,000 people. As for timber felling, transshipment, and iron nails, paint, etc., which are needed for shipbuilding. In total, it will take at least 60,000 or 70,000 people. ”

Zhao Shanxiang said it with a sigh of relief.

In the Song Dynasty, there were shipyards and shipyards in many places, especially Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Wenzhou and Hangzhou on the southeast coast, which were important bases for manufacturing sea ships, not only official shipyards, but also private shipyards. Even many of the ships that go to sea are civilian ships, and shipbuilding and ship repair have already used docks and slipways to launch them.

The government and the private sector together have three to four thousand shipbuilding volumes every year, and hundreds of thousands of people are engaged in shipbuilding, which is definitely a major industry.

"That's right, if the export tariff is lowered, more businessmen will engage in exports, more goods will be stimulated, and the production of seagoing ships and artillery, ironware, and other goods will flourish, forming a virtuous circle."

Zhao Hong gushed endlessly, saliva flying.

"From iron ore and coal mines, to swords and ploughs, iron pots and shovels, etc., in the end, they are not to be sold, and so on, and so on, often repeatedly. If the product is only sold in the country, this is just an internal cause, and the people are barely fed. If the Great Song Dynasty wants to be strong and prosperous, and the people want to live a good life, the Great Song Dynasty has to produce more and better products, not only to sell them domestically, but also abroad. Only by prospering all industries can we achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army. ”

Whether it is the navy or the army, expanding the territory and colonizing overseas is just to grab from outside and continuously nourish the Great Song Dynasty.

Like most of the Great Song scholars, they stick to the rules, do not want to make progress, only care about their personal interests, and only think about taking it from the common people, which is really a disaster for the country and the people.

Since the Ming Dynasty, the carelessness and slackness of Chinese overseas development have made Zhao Hong very helpless.

The sails were not allowed to go to the sea, and the country was closed to the country, which missed the era of navigation and the opportunity for the rise of the Chinese nation.

And the shame and bitter consequences brought by this can only be endured by future generations.