Chapter 1612
Going to Sanya
Chapter 1612 Going to Sanya
Qiu Yuan's boast made Fei Cexian feel a little bit excited. Daming is also the most powerful country in the east. How could it be impossible to build such a ship in another 100 years? Thinking about when the Sanbao eunuch went to Nanyang, those huge treasure ships came from It fell from the sky?Of course, Fei Cexian had to admit that even those treasure ships that conquered the whole of Nanyang might not be able to beat a warship like Haihan with powerful firepower and amazing speed if they really wanted to fight at sea.
Qiu Yuan went on to say: "Master Fei may think that I am bragging, but this is the fact. Haihan's superiority in weapons and equipment, no matter whether it is Ming or other countries, it is impossible to catch up. Perhaps Lord Fei thinks Shipbuilding is a simple matter, but building warships is a different concept from building ordinary civilian ships. After arriving in Sanya, if the executive committee arranges a visit to the Shengli Port Shipyard, Mr. Fei should have a deeper understanding of this. "
Shengli Port Shipyard is also a special existence to the outside world. Anyone who has been to Shengli Port will be impressed by the large iron ship moored in the harbor. Over time, this large iron ship has become the flagship of Shengli Port Shipyard. billboard.Those who know a little more about the inside story know that almost all the main combat ships of the Haihan Navy are built in the Shengli Port Shipyard. Its shipbuilding scale and technical level are indeed far superior to those of Ming Dynasty. Get a false name.
Apart from the Haihan Navy, there are only a few customers who can order combat ships from the Shengli Port Shipyard, such as Annan and Fujian Navy. Of course, there is also a Dutch East India Company that has recently received an order. .The Shengli Port Shipyard's technology transfer to the outside world is limited to the "Explorer" class, the smallest tonnage warship in the naval combat system, and the slightly larger "Explorer" class is not included here. As for the "Majestic" A super warship is a special existence that even money cannot buy.
However, with Fei Cexian's knowledge, shipbuilding is really unfamiliar to him, and it is difficult for him to imagine what the top level of the shipbuilding industry is like.It's not as intuitive as shooting a gun. If you don't know anything about shipbuilding and navigation, it's hard to understand how big Haihan's technical advantages in this field are.Just like before going to the battlefield, no one would think that the Haihan army is really invincible, and only in the battle of life and death can we compare whose warship is more powerful.
What made Fei Cexian feel a little regretful was that Qiu Yuan didn't arrange for him to sail on a warship, but just walked around on the deck for a while, and then got off the ship.This made his plan to get a glimpse of the Haihan Navy's combat power basically in vain, but he couldn't show it too clearly in front of Qiu Yuan. After all, his identity is too sensitive. If he shows too much thirst for knowledge, the other party may There will be misunderstandings.
Of course, diplomatic envoys are tasked with collecting military and political intelligence. This is something both sides know well, and they will tacitly refrain from exposing the truth.Haihan arranged for Fei Cexian to visit the military camp in order to show him his force, and this kind of display went so far as to prevent him from collecting more critical military intelligence.
In the next two days, Qiu Yuan still arranged local tours and visits for Fei Cexian.Although Haikou is not as prosperous as Sanya, as the former political and economic center of Qiongzhou Prefecture, the economic situation here is actually not bad. After Qiu Yuan took office, he has been working hard to build Haikou into a major trading port in the northern part of Hainan Island. So far, This is indeed the right direction of development.Since here is only separated from Daming by the Qiongzhou Strait, shipping is very convenient, so many raw materials shipped from the mainland will use Haikou Port as their destination.And Haikou also made full use of its geographical advantages and built a lot of deep processing workshops locally to digest these raw materials shipped from the Ming Dynasty.
There is a water vein of Nandu River in Haikou, so most of these processing workshops are built along the water, making full use of water conservancy conditions.Some workshops with an official background will also be equipped with steam engines as power to improve processing efficiency.This is another novel experience for Fei Cexian.
Before Fei Cexian came to Haihan, he had heard about the existence of steam engines, but no matter how detailed the description was, he still couldn't beat the shock he felt when he saw the operation of this mechanical device with his own eyes.
"Master Fei, what you are seeing now is a new era, which our country calls—the industrial age!" Qiu Yuan proudly introduced to Fei Cexian a steam engine for oil extraction in front of him: "Use this The steam engine is used to extract oil, and the efficiency is fifty times that of manual oil extraction! Twenty times that of animal power! The amount of oil that used to be squeezed out in a month can now be processed in only one or two days."
Fei Cexian said: "But it seems that this product is not easy to manufacture, and it requires continuous use of coal. The cost should also be included in the oil, right?"
"That's right." Qiu Yuan affirmed Fei Cexian's question: "If the processing volume is the same as in the past, the cost of using a steam engine must be much higher, but we have increased the processing volume per unit time by dozens of times." A lot, even if the operation, depreciation, and maintenance costs of the steam engine are all included, it is still much more profitable than in the past. Mr. Fei, productivity is everything, can you understand this truth?"
Fei Cexian could understand every word, but he half understood the meaning. The amount of processing, cost, productivity... It was really not easy for him, a civil servant who only knew a subset of classics and history and diplomatic norms, to understand.However, Qiu Yuan claims that this production method can earn more profits than the traditional method, which does not sound like bragging. At least the processing efficiency is obvious to him. If all walks of life in Haihan enter this The so-called "industrial age", that would indeed be a terrible gap.
Fei Cexian suddenly thought that Haihan, with a population of only a few hundred thousand under his rule, was able to rise to the coast of the South China Sea in just a few years, and it might be related to this "industrial age" that can greatly improve production efficiency. .But can Daming follow this model?Fei Cexian thinks it's impossible. Daming can't build a steam engine that improves efficiency alone.Moreover, Haihan has extremely strict control over this, even exceeding that of weapons and equipment, and they are not allowed to export at all.
In fact, no matter whether it is official or privately equipped, all steam engines are registered and recorded, and there will be special personnel to regularly check the operation status of these machines.The Ministry of Industry even set up a special inspection office in charge of this work, directly connected with the Ministry of Security.Even if a machine is scrapped, it must be recycled by the Ministry of Industry, and even if a part is missing, a written report will be issued.Under such strict control, no steam engine has been lost to the outside world so far.So even though many countries are aware of and covet Haihan's technology, they have not been able to obtain real objects for imitation.
Of course, in addition to these deep processing workshops, Qiu Yuan will naturally not forget to ask Fei Cexian to visit the plantation with the most Haihan characteristics.This special farm model is different from the landlord class in the Ming Dynasty. The land is all state-owned, and the owners just sign an agreement with the Haihan government to lease the land for operation.Due to the stable income and very long payback period, the plantation became a major investment project of Ming merchants in Haihan.At present, there are hundreds of plantations on Hainan Island, more than half of which are invested and operated by Ming businessmen, which can be regarded as a model of operation by borrowing chickens to lay eggs.
After seeing a few plantations, Fei Cexian understood that the production efficiency of this business model was indeed much higher than that of Daming's landlord economy.These plantations often use a large number of foreign slaves as labor, and the planting projects are mostly cash crops. The input-output ratio is very high, even far exceeding the return of buying land and growing grain in Daming. It is no wonder that many Ming businessmen I will bring money to Haihan to invest in agriculture.
Fei Cexian stayed in Haikou for a few days, and after visiting various local projects according to Qiu Yuan's arrangement, he finally embarked on the voyage to Sanya.On the way, we stopped at Wanning County for an overnight rest, and then continued south to Sanya the next day.
Even though he had heard various descriptions of Sanya's prosperity before coming here, Fei Cexian was still shocked when he saw this place, which is known as the No. [-] port in the South China Sea.The boat he was on was arranged to dock at Shengli Harbor. The boats coming in and out of the harbor continued one after another, and even lined up at the mouth of the bay. It was more prosperous than the Pearl River Wharf he saw when he was in Guangzhou, regardless of the northern part of the Ming Dynasty. of those ports.
From the appearance of these ships, it is not difficult to tell that they come from different countries and regions. There are not only the most common Fuchuan ship in Ming Dynasty, but also European-style galleons, and Arabian dhows in the Middle East.Haihan claimed to have a wide range of trade routes all over the world, and it was not without reason. When Fei Cexian boarded a ship at Wei Dagu Port in Tianjin and headed south, there were no foreign ships docking there.In terms of foreign trade, Daming has lost completely.
Of course, Haihan claims to build a country based on commerce, and all people are commerce, so it is reasonable to manage such a situation.Although Fei Cexian was a little envious in his heart, he still did not forget to examine the prosperity of Shengli Port with a critical eye—businessmen value profits over righteousness, and of course the Haihan people are not much better, they are all philistines who fall into the eyes of money .
But soon Fei Cexian noticed the densely packed coastal defense forts on both sides of the harbor channel. This scene also reminded him that the foundation of Haihan's country is not only business, but also strong military means as a solid backing.If Haihan can't achieve their goal by commercial means, then they actually have another option to choose from, and it may be more direct and effective than commercial means.
The sailboat sailed into the harbor of Victory Harbor. As described in the intelligence, the east side of the harbor is a military port, and you can see many warships moored on the dock from a distance.In the direction of the Tiandu River to the north of the military port, you can see the rumored Haihan iron ship parked on the shore. Although it is far away, its conspicuous silhouette can still allow Fei Cexian to judge the size of the ship. It is indeed astonishingly large, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a small mountain.
"Seeing is better than hearing a hundred times!" Fei Cexian fixed his eyes on the big iron ship in the distance, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.On the one hand, I got my wish and saw the wonders of the world, and on the other hand, I admired Haihan's advanced shipbuilding technology.Can Daming build such a big iron ship?At least not at the moment. As for whether Daming will not be able to catch up with Shanghai Han's shipbuilding level in another 100 years, as Qiu Yuan said, Fei Cexian is not sure now.
On the west and north sides facing the entrance of the harbor are the wharves responsible for passenger and cargo transportation.Fei Cexian looked over at a glance, and there were at least hundreds of ships moored on the shore, and this is only one of the two ports in Sanya. It is said that Sanya Port is located a few miles west of Shengli Port. It was built a few years later, but its prosperous scene is not lost to Victory Port.
When the ship got closer to the shore, Fei Cexian suddenly discovered that there were warships of the Daming Navy among the sailboats docked on the shore, but he immediately figured out the key point.The Ming garrison in Fuzhou and Guangxi had close contacts with Haihan. Haihan participated in the equipment and training of the Fujian Navy, and it was even called "Little Haihan". The navy from these two places came to Sanya to engage in certain activities. Not surprising.Fei Cexian still felt a little unacceptable just to drive the Ming army warship so ostentatiously through the market.
However, this is indeed due to Fei Cexian's lack of understanding of the situation in the south. If he knows that the Ming army participates in Haihan's cross-country military exercise held every year on Hainan Island, then he doesn't know how he should feel.For Haihan, the sporadic ships of the Daming Navy came in and out of Shengli Port. These ships had been reported in advance and would not cause any unnecessary misunderstandings. It was already a matter of routine.
After the sailboat docked, this time Fei Cexian didn't use any airs to drag him off the boat. He knew that Haihan had a communication method called telegram. His performance in Haikou must have been sent back by Qiu Yuan via telegram. Here in Sanya.If the old tricks are repeated again, I'm afraid the Haihan people won't save themselves any more face.So after the gangplank was set up, Fei Cexian disembarked immediately without delay.
It was Ning Qi who greeted Fei Cexian on the pier today. After the two sides exchanged their identities and exchanged a few words of pleasantries, Ning Qi invited Fei Cexian to board the carriage and head to the guest house to settle down first.Although Fei Cexian knew that Haihan had not arranged any kind of welcome ceremony as requested, he was a little disappointed to see such a deserted scene after disembarking.Fortunately, the officials sent by Haihan to meet him were of a very high grade, already equivalent to the level of a cabinet bachelor of the Ming Dynasty, which slightly made up for Fei Cexian's vanity.
Fei Cexian and his group successfully checked into the Sanya Guest House. Fei Cexian was basically impeccable about the accommodation arranged by Haihan. Whether it was the environment or the service, it was at a level he had never seen before.
(End of this chapter)
Qiu Yuan's boast made Fei Cexian feel a little bit excited. Daming is also the most powerful country in the east. How could it be impossible to build such a ship in another 100 years? Thinking about when the Sanbao eunuch went to Nanyang, those huge treasure ships came from It fell from the sky?Of course, Fei Cexian had to admit that even those treasure ships that conquered the whole of Nanyang might not be able to beat a warship like Haihan with powerful firepower and amazing speed if they really wanted to fight at sea.
Qiu Yuan went on to say: "Master Fei may think that I am bragging, but this is the fact. Haihan's superiority in weapons and equipment, no matter whether it is Ming or other countries, it is impossible to catch up. Perhaps Lord Fei thinks Shipbuilding is a simple matter, but building warships is a different concept from building ordinary civilian ships. After arriving in Sanya, if the executive committee arranges a visit to the Shengli Port Shipyard, Mr. Fei should have a deeper understanding of this. "
Shengli Port Shipyard is also a special existence to the outside world. Anyone who has been to Shengli Port will be impressed by the large iron ship moored in the harbor. Over time, this large iron ship has become the flagship of Shengli Port Shipyard. billboard.Those who know a little more about the inside story know that almost all the main combat ships of the Haihan Navy are built in the Shengli Port Shipyard. Its shipbuilding scale and technical level are indeed far superior to those of Ming Dynasty. Get a false name.
Apart from the Haihan Navy, there are only a few customers who can order combat ships from the Shengli Port Shipyard, such as Annan and Fujian Navy. Of course, there is also a Dutch East India Company that has recently received an order. .The Shengli Port Shipyard's technology transfer to the outside world is limited to the "Explorer" class, the smallest tonnage warship in the naval combat system, and the slightly larger "Explorer" class is not included here. As for the "Majestic" A super warship is a special existence that even money cannot buy.
However, with Fei Cexian's knowledge, shipbuilding is really unfamiliar to him, and it is difficult for him to imagine what the top level of the shipbuilding industry is like.It's not as intuitive as shooting a gun. If you don't know anything about shipbuilding and navigation, it's hard to understand how big Haihan's technical advantages in this field are.Just like before going to the battlefield, no one would think that the Haihan army is really invincible, and only in the battle of life and death can we compare whose warship is more powerful.
What made Fei Cexian feel a little regretful was that Qiu Yuan didn't arrange for him to sail on a warship, but just walked around on the deck for a while, and then got off the ship.This made his plan to get a glimpse of the Haihan Navy's combat power basically in vain, but he couldn't show it too clearly in front of Qiu Yuan. After all, his identity is too sensitive. If he shows too much thirst for knowledge, the other party may There will be misunderstandings.
Of course, diplomatic envoys are tasked with collecting military and political intelligence. This is something both sides know well, and they will tacitly refrain from exposing the truth.Haihan arranged for Fei Cexian to visit the military camp in order to show him his force, and this kind of display went so far as to prevent him from collecting more critical military intelligence.
In the next two days, Qiu Yuan still arranged local tours and visits for Fei Cexian.Although Haikou is not as prosperous as Sanya, as the former political and economic center of Qiongzhou Prefecture, the economic situation here is actually not bad. After Qiu Yuan took office, he has been working hard to build Haikou into a major trading port in the northern part of Hainan Island. So far, This is indeed the right direction of development.Since here is only separated from Daming by the Qiongzhou Strait, shipping is very convenient, so many raw materials shipped from the mainland will use Haikou Port as their destination.And Haikou also made full use of its geographical advantages and built a lot of deep processing workshops locally to digest these raw materials shipped from the Ming Dynasty.
There is a water vein of Nandu River in Haikou, so most of these processing workshops are built along the water, making full use of water conservancy conditions.Some workshops with an official background will also be equipped with steam engines as power to improve processing efficiency.This is another novel experience for Fei Cexian.
Before Fei Cexian came to Haihan, he had heard about the existence of steam engines, but no matter how detailed the description was, he still couldn't beat the shock he felt when he saw the operation of this mechanical device with his own eyes.
"Master Fei, what you are seeing now is a new era, which our country calls—the industrial age!" Qiu Yuan proudly introduced to Fei Cexian a steam engine for oil extraction in front of him: "Use this The steam engine is used to extract oil, and the efficiency is fifty times that of manual oil extraction! Twenty times that of animal power! The amount of oil that used to be squeezed out in a month can now be processed in only one or two days."
Fei Cexian said: "But it seems that this product is not easy to manufacture, and it requires continuous use of coal. The cost should also be included in the oil, right?"
"That's right." Qiu Yuan affirmed Fei Cexian's question: "If the processing volume is the same as in the past, the cost of using a steam engine must be much higher, but we have increased the processing volume per unit time by dozens of times." A lot, even if the operation, depreciation, and maintenance costs of the steam engine are all included, it is still much more profitable than in the past. Mr. Fei, productivity is everything, can you understand this truth?"
Fei Cexian could understand every word, but he half understood the meaning. The amount of processing, cost, productivity... It was really not easy for him, a civil servant who only knew a subset of classics and history and diplomatic norms, to understand.However, Qiu Yuan claims that this production method can earn more profits than the traditional method, which does not sound like bragging. At least the processing efficiency is obvious to him. If all walks of life in Haihan enter this The so-called "industrial age", that would indeed be a terrible gap.
Fei Cexian suddenly thought that Haihan, with a population of only a few hundred thousand under his rule, was able to rise to the coast of the South China Sea in just a few years, and it might be related to this "industrial age" that can greatly improve production efficiency. .But can Daming follow this model?Fei Cexian thinks it's impossible. Daming can't build a steam engine that improves efficiency alone.Moreover, Haihan has extremely strict control over this, even exceeding that of weapons and equipment, and they are not allowed to export at all.
In fact, no matter whether it is official or privately equipped, all steam engines are registered and recorded, and there will be special personnel to regularly check the operation status of these machines.The Ministry of Industry even set up a special inspection office in charge of this work, directly connected with the Ministry of Security.Even if a machine is scrapped, it must be recycled by the Ministry of Industry, and even if a part is missing, a written report will be issued.Under such strict control, no steam engine has been lost to the outside world so far.So even though many countries are aware of and covet Haihan's technology, they have not been able to obtain real objects for imitation.
Of course, in addition to these deep processing workshops, Qiu Yuan will naturally not forget to ask Fei Cexian to visit the plantation with the most Haihan characteristics.This special farm model is different from the landlord class in the Ming Dynasty. The land is all state-owned, and the owners just sign an agreement with the Haihan government to lease the land for operation.Due to the stable income and very long payback period, the plantation became a major investment project of Ming merchants in Haihan.At present, there are hundreds of plantations on Hainan Island, more than half of which are invested and operated by Ming businessmen, which can be regarded as a model of operation by borrowing chickens to lay eggs.
After seeing a few plantations, Fei Cexian understood that the production efficiency of this business model was indeed much higher than that of Daming's landlord economy.These plantations often use a large number of foreign slaves as labor, and the planting projects are mostly cash crops. The input-output ratio is very high, even far exceeding the return of buying land and growing grain in Daming. It is no wonder that many Ming businessmen I will bring money to Haihan to invest in agriculture.
Fei Cexian stayed in Haikou for a few days, and after visiting various local projects according to Qiu Yuan's arrangement, he finally embarked on the voyage to Sanya.On the way, we stopped at Wanning County for an overnight rest, and then continued south to Sanya the next day.
Even though he had heard various descriptions of Sanya's prosperity before coming here, Fei Cexian was still shocked when he saw this place, which is known as the No. [-] port in the South China Sea.The boat he was on was arranged to dock at Shengli Harbor. The boats coming in and out of the harbor continued one after another, and even lined up at the mouth of the bay. It was more prosperous than the Pearl River Wharf he saw when he was in Guangzhou, regardless of the northern part of the Ming Dynasty. of those ports.
From the appearance of these ships, it is not difficult to tell that they come from different countries and regions. There are not only the most common Fuchuan ship in Ming Dynasty, but also European-style galleons, and Arabian dhows in the Middle East.Haihan claimed to have a wide range of trade routes all over the world, and it was not without reason. When Fei Cexian boarded a ship at Wei Dagu Port in Tianjin and headed south, there were no foreign ships docking there.In terms of foreign trade, Daming has lost completely.
Of course, Haihan claims to build a country based on commerce, and all people are commerce, so it is reasonable to manage such a situation.Although Fei Cexian was a little envious in his heart, he still did not forget to examine the prosperity of Shengli Port with a critical eye—businessmen value profits over righteousness, and of course the Haihan people are not much better, they are all philistines who fall into the eyes of money .
But soon Fei Cexian noticed the densely packed coastal defense forts on both sides of the harbor channel. This scene also reminded him that the foundation of Haihan's country is not only business, but also strong military means as a solid backing.If Haihan can't achieve their goal by commercial means, then they actually have another option to choose from, and it may be more direct and effective than commercial means.
The sailboat sailed into the harbor of Victory Harbor. As described in the intelligence, the east side of the harbor is a military port, and you can see many warships moored on the dock from a distance.In the direction of the Tiandu River to the north of the military port, you can see the rumored Haihan iron ship parked on the shore. Although it is far away, its conspicuous silhouette can still allow Fei Cexian to judge the size of the ship. It is indeed astonishingly large, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a small mountain.
"Seeing is better than hearing a hundred times!" Fei Cexian fixed his eyes on the big iron ship in the distance, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.On the one hand, I got my wish and saw the wonders of the world, and on the other hand, I admired Haihan's advanced shipbuilding technology.Can Daming build such a big iron ship?At least not at the moment. As for whether Daming will not be able to catch up with Shanghai Han's shipbuilding level in another 100 years, as Qiu Yuan said, Fei Cexian is not sure now.
On the west and north sides facing the entrance of the harbor are the wharves responsible for passenger and cargo transportation.Fei Cexian looked over at a glance, and there were at least hundreds of ships moored on the shore, and this is only one of the two ports in Sanya. It is said that Sanya Port is located a few miles west of Shengli Port. It was built a few years later, but its prosperous scene is not lost to Victory Port.
When the ship got closer to the shore, Fei Cexian suddenly discovered that there were warships of the Daming Navy among the sailboats docked on the shore, but he immediately figured out the key point.The Ming garrison in Fuzhou and Guangxi had close contacts with Haihan. Haihan participated in the equipment and training of the Fujian Navy, and it was even called "Little Haihan". The navy from these two places came to Sanya to engage in certain activities. Not surprising.Fei Cexian still felt a little unacceptable just to drive the Ming army warship so ostentatiously through the market.
However, this is indeed due to Fei Cexian's lack of understanding of the situation in the south. If he knows that the Ming army participates in Haihan's cross-country military exercise held every year on Hainan Island, then he doesn't know how he should feel.For Haihan, the sporadic ships of the Daming Navy came in and out of Shengli Port. These ships had been reported in advance and would not cause any unnecessary misunderstandings. It was already a matter of routine.
After the sailboat docked, this time Fei Cexian didn't use any airs to drag him off the boat. He knew that Haihan had a communication method called telegram. His performance in Haikou must have been sent back by Qiu Yuan via telegram. Here in Sanya.If the old tricks are repeated again, I'm afraid the Haihan people won't save themselves any more face.So after the gangplank was set up, Fei Cexian disembarked immediately without delay.
It was Ning Qi who greeted Fei Cexian on the pier today. After the two sides exchanged their identities and exchanged a few words of pleasantries, Ning Qi invited Fei Cexian to board the carriage and head to the guest house to settle down first.Although Fei Cexian knew that Haihan had not arranged any kind of welcome ceremony as requested, he was a little disappointed to see such a deserted scene after disembarking.Fortunately, the officials sent by Haihan to meet him were of a very high grade, already equivalent to the level of a cabinet bachelor of the Ming Dynasty, which slightly made up for Fei Cexian's vanity.
Fei Cexian and his group successfully checked into the Sanya Guest House. Fei Cexian was basically impeccable about the accommodation arranged by Haihan. Whether it was the environment or the service, it was at a level he had never seen before.
(End of this chapter)