"Let me ask first, what kind of boat would you like to buy?" asked DePis, noncommittally.

"First buy a steamship of more than 1,000 tons, two small steamships of less than 600 tons, and then two wooden sailing ships of more than 1,000 tons, it should be enough in the early stage.

The rest of the barges or something, you can use Chinese sailboats. ”

"Do you know how much these ships, plus the money to build the shipyard, will cost?" asked DePis, surprised.

"I hope to invest about 400,000 silver dollars in the early stage, that is, about 80,000 pounds, I don't know if it is enough?"

"Well, it's barely enough for so much money. It's just that with so much investment, it may be difficult to recover the cost of carrying passengers or cargo on regular cruises alone. ”

"The steamship industry is a long-term investment, and the return on investment is slow, but the overall return is okay.

Now that the trade situation is so good, I think it should be able to pay for itself in five or six years. Zhao Dagui replied confidently.

"It's still a bit reluctant to rely on normal business. Debys said thoughtfully.

Depi was a sophisticated person at the time, and felt that Zhao Dagui wanted to get so many ships, in fact, he had to take advantage of his special status as a Chinese to engage in more smuggling or opium trade, and only such a highly profitable business could support such a large investment.

As a veteran official, Depi naturally opposed smuggling or anything, but considering that this only harmed the interests of the Chinese government, Depi did not mean to stand up for the Qing government at all.

"I can send the right people to do the necessary technical support, help train sailors, buy equipment and recruit technicians, and even help you contact the navy and comptoirs to help buy old ships or something.

However, what is always required is to do a good job of management on your side, after all, this industry is not just about having money.

In addition, I can grant you some land near the port in Hong Kong, to make docks and warehouses, that is, to make shipyards or something, just charge a little land transaction fee.

I can introduce you to a Major Stark, and you can contact him for many specific things. DePi finally said.

"Thank you very much for your help. Zhao Dagui said.

After a while, Deberie called a naval lieutenant named Robert Stark, gave a brief introduction to the two, and then let the two of them discuss it themselves, Zhao Dagui naturally said goodbye to the governor, and then followed Major Stark out.

However, when he came out of Debeo's office, Zhao Dagui was a little puzzled, Bafur clearly said that Depi had a suitable steamship in his hand and wanted to introduce it to himself to buy, but Debeo did not mention it at all, I don't know why.

Major Robert Stark, as a British naval officer, did not have the seriousness characteristic of ordinary soldiers, and was much more cynical, like a gentleman and a playboy, far more than a soldier.

After Stark and Zhao Dagui for a while, he took him to the port and asked him to see a steamship of more than 1,000 tons first.

After seeing this ship and going to the ship to investigate again, Zhao Dagui couldn't help but lose his mind for a while--- this ship is too advanced.

The ship that Major Stark took Zhao Dagui to see was 63 meters long, 10.3 meters wide, with a displacement of 1,154 tons, a ship power of 740 horsepower, a speed of nine knots, a capacity of 600 tons of coal, controlled by a crew of 82, and a capacity of 115 passengers and 225 tons of cargo.

(Note: Refer to Cunard Steamship Company's wooden-hulled paddle steamer RMS Britannia; to make it more enjoyable, the ship in this book is an iron-hulled propeller steamer, which theoretically performs better than a wooden-hulled paddle steamer.) ）

In comparison, warships such as the Nemesis and the Medusa are like toys, after all, both ships have a displacement of less than 600 tons, and the horsepower is only 280 and 350 horsepower respectively.

The furnishings on the ship are quite luxurious, but that's not the point, the point is that the technology used in this ship is incredibly advanced:

The hulls of the ships of this era, whether sailing or steaming, were made of wood, but this ship used iron for the first time, and its appearance looked swarthy, with the cold light peculiar to metal;

In addition, as a steamship, the ship does not use the usual paddle wheel propulsion system, but the most advanced propeller propulsion system.

As far as Zhao Dagui knows, although iron-hulled shipbuilding technology and propeller propulsion technology have existed in this era for a long time, they are both very advanced technologies, and ships that really use this technology are rare.

In other words, how could such an advanced steamship be pulled to China for sale.

"How about this ship, it's windy, it's the best steamship in the world.

Use it for a ride on the sea, it must be comfortable, and the effect of the sister is first-class. Stark said with a knowing expression.

"It looks okay, but I don't know how much it will cost to sell?" Zhao Dagui asked.

"Such an excellent iron-hulled propeller steamship is worth the amount of money, but for the sake of the friendship between the two of us, how about charging you two hundred and fifty thousand silver dollars?" Stark said confidently.

"I see. Zhao Dagui replied expressionlessly, turning around to find a way down.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Stark hurriedly grabbed him.

"Go and see the next ship, do you think I can afford such an expensive ship, or do I have the word fat sheep written on my forehead?" Zhao Dagui said with a sneer.

"Don't worry, aren't you Chinese the best at doing business, can you cut the price first, maybe I'll be happy and give you a preferential price." Stark said with a grin.

"I just bought a battleship, equipped with seventy or eighty guns, and it would be 150,000 yuan to die. Zhao Dagui was not fooled.

The price of ships in this era varies greatly according to the material, style, service life, etc., but there are traces to follow.

According to the East India Company's 1830 report, the construction cost of a Chinese sailing ship with a cargo capacity of 8,000 quintals (476 tons) was 7,600 yuan in Thailand, 16,000 yuan in Chancey (I don't know where), and about 21,000 yuan in Xiamen.

Considering that the displacement of a Chinese ship with a cargo capacity of 476 tons should be around a thousand tons, it can be considered that the construction cost of a Chinese ship with a displacement per ton is 7.6 yuan for Thailand, 16 yuan for Chauncey, and 21 yuan for Xiamen.

During the Qing Dynasty, China's timber prices gradually increased, and Fujian, to which Xiamen belongs, was the richest and cheapest place to have timber resources, but it was still nearly twice as expensive as Thailand.

As for Western merchant ships, the price is more expensive, and it is generally believed that the price of an ordinary wooden soft sailing ship is about ten pounds per ton of displacement, which means that the price of a wooden ship of about a thousand tons is ten thousand pounds, which is thirty thousand taels of silver or forty-seven thousand Spanish silver dollars.

The ship that Zhao Dagui saw, if it was a wooden ship, according to its displacement, would be 13,400 pounds, that is, more than 40,000 taels of silver or about 63,000 silver dollars, and if it was an old ship, it would have to be depreciated.

The world's first iron-hulled propeller steamship was the Great Britain built by the Great Western Steamship Company, with a displacement of 3,400 tons and a construction cost of 117,000 pounds (originally estimated at 70,000 pounds), but after two or three years of operation, it was sold for a low price of 25,000 pounds.

Generally speaking, the price of a steamship is 20 to 30 pounds per ton of displacement, which is reasonable, so it is more appropriate to calculate the price of this steamship at 24,000 to 36,000 pounds, according to the fact that one pound is equivalent to three taels of silver or five silver dollars, that is, 120,000 to 180,000 yuan.

When buying a steamship in China, the price can rise a little, but it suddenly rises to 250,000 yuan, which is still outrageous.