The Great Sailboat

Chapter 115 The Great Sailboat

Although Lu Ruohan was expelled from Japan, he still had many old acquaintances there.

He even corresponded with Tokugawa Ieyasu, thus learning a great deal of news from Japan:

With the assistance of Miura Anjin, an Englishman who had become a Japanese citizen, the Edo Shogunate attempted to build two European-style sailing ships.

In the 37th year of the Wanli reign, a Spanish galleon sank after encountering a storm off the coast of Japan, and more than 300 people were rescued.

Among them was the Governor-General of Luzon in Spain, who met the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada in Edo.

After discussing it, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada decided to lend each other one of their trial-built European-style sailing ships and also provided them with travel expenses.

The Spanish successfully crossed the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the Americas aboard the 120-ton San Buenaventra.

In the 40th year of the Wanli reign, Spain sent an envoy to thank Japan, who returned to Japan with the ship and travel expenses.

With the assistance of the Spanish mission, the Edo Shogunate built a galleon in the Sendai Domain, which was named Date Maru.

It is 178 feet long, 36 feet wide, and has a displacement of 500 tons.

Three guns, three decks, sixteen gun emplacements, capable of mounting up to 24 cannons.

It took 45 days, during which the Edo Shogunate conscripted 800 shipwrights, 700 blacksmiths, and 3,000 carpenters, spending 24000 taels of silver.

The delegation, headed by Hasekura Tsunenobu, a retainer of Date Masamune, the lord of the Sendai Domain, and assisted by a Spanish captain, [O]

It took three months to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach Acapulco, Mexico, in the Americas.

This is the starting point of the Spanish "galloping ship trade".

Approximately two million taels of silver from the Americas were transported annually to East and Southeast Asia via this route.

Afterwards, Hasekura Tsunehatsu changed ships and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Spain in Europe, where he went to Madrid to meet King Philip III.

He then traveled to the Papal States and met with Pope Paul V in Rome.

Hasekura Tsunehatsu is still in the Americas, but Date Maru has already crossed the Pacific Ocean twice.

It also encountered a storm during the period, losing many crew members, but it did not sink.

In Zhang Kun's view, since Japan's shipbuilding technology is more backward...

With the assistance of the Spanish, they could all build galleons capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean.

With its superior shipbuilding technology and overall national strength, the Ming Dynasty had no reason not to be able to build it.

Building a ship with 30,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 taels of silver is meaningful.

One jin in the Ming Dynasty was about 600 grams, so 500 tons would be 830,000 jin.

Ten thousand catties of goods departed from Liujiagang in Taicang Prefecture, Suzhou, and traveled along the Grand Canal to Dingzigu in Tianjin.

On average, the freight cost was about six taels of silver; taxes depended on the type of goods, taking Songjiang cotton cloth as an example.

On average, it cost about 200 taels, totaling 260 taels, and took 60 days to complete.

The land route costs approximately 620 taels and takes 100 days; the coastal route costs approximately 80 taels and takes 20 days.

It costs about 40 taels of silver and takes ten days to travel overseas.

In other words, compared to the more common canal route, shipping overseas saves about 220 taels per 10,000 catties.

The 830,000 catties of the large sailing ship is worth 18000 taels of silver!

Even if it costs 10 taels of silver to build one ship, the profit from just six trips can cover the cost!

The profits are exorbitant, no less than those of the tampons business, and even less likely to be manipulated by all sorts of shady characters!

Back on the ship.

"I've spoken with the Gao family twice; the Xinshengzhou ship will cost approximately 70000 taels of silver."

Zhang Kun lay down beside Cheng Wenqing, pointing to several numbers written on the cardboard booklet, and explained in detail: "Xinshengzhou Company has 100,000 shares, each worth one tael of silver, while the Gao family's original dry shares are counted as 50,000 shares."

They offered us 20,000 shares for 20,000 taels each as compensation for relinquishing 70% of the shares in Shengzhou.

The remaining 50,000 shares and 50,000 taels will be used as funding for the construction of the new Shengzhou ship...

Cheng Wenqing wasn't listening to what Zhang Kun was saying at all; she was just quietly looking at his face through the sunlight streaming in through the boat window.

"I still have 80000 taels in my account."

Zhang Kun pleaded with Cheng Wenqing with a fawning expression, "But I have many expenses, and I can only come up with 50000 taels, otherwise it will be difficult to cope with the emergency."

The Sun family and Matsuura Yasunobu each contributed 10,000 taels, and asked the elder sister to contribute 10,000 taels as well, to first establish the Shengzhou Society.

Then the Shengzhou Society invested another 70,000 taels into the Shengzhou ship... Sister?

"You little rascal!"

Cheng Wenqing reached out and touched Zhang Kun's chin, sighing, "It must have been a sin in my past life to have offended such a nemesis as you—alright, I'll pay the ten thousand taels."

Anping.

The widening project of the Qinglong Bay waterway is one-quarter complete.

Zhang Kun instructed Ding Zhongju, the manager in charge of the River Works Bureau, to hold a reward event for the "local militia" of the River Works Bureau and the laborers in the labor camp.

The reward standard was the same as that of the original river engineering camp, with each person receiving a full bowl of braised pork with only meat.

White rice without any grains, and stewed cabbage and tofu, all you can eat!

Since the project doesn't need to be rushed, we can rest tomorrow. The river works bureau has plenty of rice wine and fried small fish to go with the drinks.

There was no such thing in the hard labor camp, since they were rebels who had fought against the enemy, and the treatment on both sides could not be completely the same.

"Gentlemen!"

After drinking three bowls of light wine at the River Works Bureau, Ding Zhongju, accompanied by his guards, walked to the labor camp.

Reaching a high point, he cleared his throat twice, picked up the storyteller's skills from his hometown in Hejian, and loudly proclaimed: "Today is a good day! It's the day that Zhang Rong and Zhang Diwan of the Song Dynasty defeated the Jin army at Suotou Lake!"

This Zhang Diwan was not originally from a respectable family; he was a newly emerged hero of Liangshan after Song Jiang accepted the imperial pardon.

The so-called "hero" is someone who rows you to the middle of the lake and asks you whether you want wontons or sliced ​​noodles.

Zhang Diwan decisively defeated the Jin army at Suotou Lake and was rewarded by the emperor with the title of Right Martial Grand Master, Defense Commissioner of Zhongzhou and Prefect of Taizhou!

His 4,029 brothers also went to the palace to receive rewards, bringing glory to their ancestors!

This shrunken lake was renamed "Victory Lake" by the emperor's own handwriting, and the name has been passed down to this day.

When future generations mention Desheng Lake, they will think of Zhang Rong, also known as Zhang Diwan, a true hero who reformed himself!

The laborers, who usually had little entertainment, all gathered around to listen to the story.

After listening to another "Water Margin story" specially chosen by Ding Zhongju, some people were dismissive, some were moved, and some just treated it as a story.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that this tiger is still howling in autumn."

After drinking the water, Ding Zhongju cleared his throat and said loudly to the laborers, "In a few more days, the weather will turn cold. Even the strongest man can't stand living in this straw shack!"

The commander-in-chief has said that if you perform well, you will be granted a ten-day leave to build houses for the winter!

After you build your winter shelters, you are entitled to one day of rest every ten days!

Hearing about these tangible benefits, many of the disdainful laborers began to smile.

No matter how hard life is, if there is some hope, then you can endure it.

"Come on, come on!"

Ding Zhongju summoned more than a dozen soldiers guarding the labor camp and brought over a dozen jars of rice wine.

Then he summoned out several dozen foremen from among the laborers and poured a bowl of wine for each of them.

Holding a bowl of wine in his own hand, he raised it high and shouted, "A toast to Zhang Rong, who fought against ten thousand men; a toast to the four thousand and twenty-nine heroes—a toast to the heroes!"

"Salute to the hero!"

The atmosphere stirred the emotions of the laborers, who began to shout along, many even bursting into tears.