Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1357 Looking from afar
Yuan Xi spread out the bamboo slips on the table. Bu Lianshi and Cao Jie leaned out one on the left and one on the right. This was a report on how the Ministry of Works' Civilian Cao had organized dozens of craftsmen to develop the water pump that Yuan Xi mentioned over the past year. They had made seven or eight samples and then conducted comparative tests.

Yuan Xi asked aloud: "Where is the sketch?"

Cao Jie thought for a moment and said, "It should be placed in your Majesty's room."

She walked to a few boxes on the side, rummaged around for a while, then took out a roll of linen, spread it out and saw that there were indeed seven or eight sketches.

Bu Lianshi smiled and said, "The girl is very familiar with the things in the King's House, and even I am not far away."

Cao Jie blushed, and quickly pointed to the numbers on the corner of the linen cloth, saying, "When the draft was delivered, the order was a bit messed up. This is the number I made, which corresponds to the order in the bamboo slips."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "The advantage of bamboo slips and linen is that they are easy to preserve, but they are too inconvenient."

"Unfortunately, paper is not easy to preserve nowadays. According to tests, paper can only be preserved intact for a few years before the handwriting becomes blurred. We need to improve the oil immersion technology to preserve the paper for hundreds or even thousands of years."

"Remember to urge the Ministry of Industry to speed up the reform."

After hearing this, Cao Jie quickly took note of it, and watched Yuan Xi spread out the sackcloth and carefully read the advantages and disadvantages written on the bamboo slips one by one.

The principle of pumping water is not difficult. China already had the relevant technology at that time. During the Battle of Yecheng, the Jin army used steam water pumps to put out the fire.

But these pumps are not strictly speaking sealed water pumps, but are achieved through the rotation of a kickwheel or water wheel.

However, this type of pumping system is complex in structure and prone to problems. It is also difficult to maintain and hard to repair when it breaks down. It is also inefficient and cannot be used for long periods of time.

The importance of water pumps in the Age of Discovery has been greatly overlooked. It can be said that for ocean voyages, sealed water pumps are as essential as navigation instruments such as compasses.

There is no other reason. When sailing in the ocean, one must face a problem that is dispensable for the fleet near the coastline, but is a matter of life and death in the open sea.

The boat is leaking.

If a near-shore vessel is leaking, it only needs to sail to a port on the shore and then enter the port for repairs. However, if an ocean-going vessel is leaking, it can only drain the water while sailing rapidly to an unknown direction, trying to find land within a limited time.

But this time could be a few days or several months, so how to prevent the ship from sinking during this period became the primary problem in the Age of Discovery.

There are two ways to deal with this. One is to strengthen the ship's structure as much as possible, and the other is to equip the ship with drainage devices in case of leakage.

The former can only be done during shipbuilding. In addition to using trees containing oil, ocean-going ships in the Age of Discovery would also wrap the bottom of the ship with a whole piece of copper plate for waterproofing, with brass being the best.

But this would require a large amount of copper. Yuan Xi had previously planned to replace copper coins with gold and silver currencies, so he laid the groundwork in advance, and therefore mined the copper mines in the Wa Islands on a large scale.

However, these measures could not completely prevent ships from running aground due to storms or other accidents, as well as water ingress caused by natural wear and tear. No matter what measures were taken, ships in the Age of Exploration in the 16th century could not completely prevent ship leaks. In fact, most of the time, ship leaks were the norm, and there were almost no ships that did not leak during ocean voyages.

At this time, a reliable device that can continuously drain water is needed, which requires not only a high drainage capacity but also reliability and durability.

During the British-Spanish naval war, a British warship was leaking and the water level in the cabin was rising at a rate of one meter per hour. After all drainage methods were used, the ship survived until the end of the battle and was able to return to the port, proving the necessity of drainage devices.

However, this drainage device is supported by the technology of the Industrial Revolution. In this era, there are still many problems that are difficult to solve. Yuan Xi only has these seven or eight devices, which have some limitations.

In order to combine the advantages of these seven or eight devices and create a comprehensive one, several difficult problems need to be solved. For example, the sealing problem requires rubber from Southeast Asia. This is why Yuan Xi was eager to open up a route from Quanzhou to the south.

Of course, the ships of the Age of Discovery did not have the watertight bulkhead technology that China had since ancient times. This technology was more complicated, and problems were difficult to solve. Water ingress would still affect the ship's speed, so the best way was to combine the two, which was naturally a huge project.

Everything is interconnected and cannot be achieved overnight. Many technological advances in later generations require hundreds of years of accumulation. It is quite difficult for Yuan Xi to complete such a leap in a limited time, and it is even a bit hasty.

But he had to be anxious. The sooner he set out on his ocean voyage, the sooner he might find what he wanted.

After listening to Yuan Xi's story, the two girls couldn't help but sigh at Yuan Xi's long-term vision. Many of the things he did were actually related to each other!

Cao Jie couldn't help but ask, "What on earth is that overseas land that Your Majesty is talking about?"

"Gold, or elixir, or even immortals?"

After hearing this, Yuan Xi couldn't help laughing, "There are no elixirs or immortals, but there is gold, but it is not my main purpose."

He stood up, took out a sea chart from the bookcase, and said, "This is what China and the outer sea look like."

The two women looked at the shapes of the land and ocean on the map and were both extremely surprised. "Your Majesty, are you saying that our world is like this?"

"Our country is actually like this. There is another piece of land across the sea?"

"How did your Majesty know?"

Yuan Xi had no way to explain, so he could only say, "I observed it from the stars." "This picture has some errors, but you can just treat it as a rough approximation."

He pointed to the Pacific Ocean and said, "I call this open sea the Pacific Ocean, but it is not peaceful. On the contrary, it is extremely violent, with strong winds and waves all year round. I am afraid that it will be difficult to cross it in the next few hundred years."

He pointed his finger upwards, "So the most reliable route is to stay as close to the land as possible."

"The northern route is from the Korean Peninsula or the Wa Islands. Go northeast and cross the strait to reach the vast continent. This can be said to be the shortest route. I call it North America."

"But what about that place? Apart from gold and silver, there isn't much that can be used. And in the next few hundred years, the gold and silver of the Japanese country will be enough. There's no need to rush."

“Because the place I really want to go is a place called Central America.”

He pointed southwards, "Go south from Quanzhou Port and you'll reach the Nanyang Islands. Further south is this largest island, which I call Ao Island."

"Go around the east side of this island and then go east, and you can reach the New Island and then South America. This distance is much shorter than crossing the Pacific Ocean. There are also examples of indigenous people migrating from Australia Island to South America. However, this distance is not short and is full of dangers."

"And what I want is in South America and Central America. Calculating the distance, the two routes are about the same distance. The northern route is closer to the land and safer, but there are more headwinds. Although the southern route has tailwinds, it requires crossing the ocean. With current navigation technology, both routes are risky."

Master Bu Lian couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is your majesty looking for?"

Yuan Xi said, "I said it was food, do you believe me?"

The two women were stunned. They went to so much trouble just to find food?
If the world is peaceful in the future and there is more arable land, people will probably starve to death, right?

Yuan Xi knew what the two women were wondering about, and sighed, "That being said, these kinds of food crops can all increase the population limit."

Corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes are all crops native to Central and South America. In addition to being used as food, they are also important sources of raw materials for the early Industrial Revolution.

In later generations, these things were introduced to Southeast Asia and then to China through the Age of Discovery. The route was much shorter. But in this era, Yuan Xi had no predecessors to pave the way for him, so he could only forge his own path with his own feet.

He and the two women analyzed seven or eight pictures, found the two most ideal ones, and discussed finding a craftsman to improve them tomorrow. Finally, Yuan Xi said, "Ocean voyages are sometimes more terrifying to people than being prisoners. Even if they are given very generous treatment, not many people will be willing to go."

"So many of the sailors are criminals. Otherwise, I can only negotiate with Xianbei and Goguryeo and ask them to send people. It's also a good time to see how loyal they are."

Bu Lianshi smiled and said, "Your Majesty will not do anything without profit. You seem like a careful and calculating businessman."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "If I can bring some benefits to the people of the world, there is nothing wrong with being a profiteer."

"It's getting late. You guys go and rest first. I still need to think about which route is more reliable. Tomorrow I will start to raise funds for building sea vessels. I think some of the Youzhou nobles have become rich too fast in recent years. It's time to scrape off the fat that's coming out from under their clothes."

After hearing this, the two women couldn't help laughing and said at the same time: "Then I won't bother Your Majesty anymore."

When the two girls closed the study door and went out, they turned around and saw Yuan Xi pondering over the drawings under the lamp. They could not help but look at each other helplessly. These days, Yuan Xi often stayed up late and slept in the study. When the two girls came in the morning, they often saw Yuan Xi sleeping on the couch in front of the table wrapped in a quilt.

After Cao Jie and Bu Lianshi walked away, he spoke up, "Madam should also persuade His Majesty. This is not an emergency military situation. Why bother with so much effort?"

Master Bu Lian smiled and said, "Why, does the girl feel sorry for His Majesty?"

"Then why doesn't the girl advise His Majesty in person?"

Cao Jie stamped his feet and said, "No, no, I don't feel bad at all!"

"Madam, please don't make fun of me. Who am I to advise Your Majesty? This is your job."

The smile on Bu Lianshi's face became even bigger. "No one in the mansion can see the girl's feelings, but she is so concerned about her reputation. This really makes us feel anxious for her."

"The girl won't say anything. Are you waiting for His Majesty to speak?"

Cao Jie was even more panicked after hearing this. "Madam, you are going too far. I won't say any more. I'm going to go back and rest!"

After saying this, Cao Jie quickened his pace and ran away like the wind. When Bu Lianshi saw this, she couldn't help but shook her head, thinking that this girl had wasted so many years in the mansion.

At this moment, he heard a light laugh. Bu Lianshi turned around quickly and saw Lu Lingqi walking with the child in her arms. She quickly stepped forward and said, "My concubine greets the Madam."

Lu Lingqi smiled and said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just happened to run into you."

"Cao Jie is just too obsessed with her reputation. If it were up to me, I would just strip her naked, tie her up, and throw her into the king's room. That would be more effective than anything else."

Master Bu Lian was speechless. The most imaginative person in this inner house was still Madam Lu.

(End of this chapter)