I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Under the North Tower, Zhang Anshi and others straightened their backs with resentment and looked at Weiyang Palace.

And above Danqi, which they couldn't see, the emperor also looked at them coldly.

The two cannot see each other, but they know that the other is in that direction.

Compared with the unobstructed Beique Square, Danqi to the north of Weiyang Palace is naturally much higher.

So much so that the setting sun seemed to be much shorter in the west, and it could only cast the shadow of the high eaves of the palace feebly at Liu He's feet.

It's too cold at high places, so I dance to clear my shadow.

Standing here, Liu He didn't feel very hot, but felt a little cool.

At this moment, he held a memorial letter in his hand, which Prime Minister Wei had just sent from Luoyang County.

In the memorial, what happened in Luoyang County in recent days was clearly stated.

The turmoil and changes made Liu He immersed in the situation.

After Wei Xiang arrived in Henan County, he would give Liu He secret information every day and tell the truth about what happened that day.

There is a wide and straight road from Chang'an to Luoyang County, and it can be delivered in two days and three days at a fast pace.

Compared with Zhang Anshi and others who were kneeling in Beique Square, Liu He would know the movements in the direction of the three counties one day and one night in advance.

At this time, there were only two people behind Liu He, namely Dai Zong and Yu Wuyou.

The rest of the guards, Chang Yilang, followed dozens of steps away - the Weiyang Palace was strictly forbidden, and Liu He no longer had to worry about being assassinated.

Liu He took the letter into his arms and temporarily forgot about Beique Square and Henan County. He had some other things to arrange today.

"Yu Wuyou, has the cotton been planted?"

"Two months ago, we planted a few acres in Shaowu County, Jiuquan County on a trial basis. The harvest will be ready in July," Yu Wuyou said.

"Very good, expand it as soon as possible. I hope that the people of Han Dynasty can wear cotton clothes as soon as possible." Liu He nodded.

"only!"

In the Han Dynasty, which lacked large-scale transportation tools, whether it was land trade routes or sea trade routes, the goods traded between them could only be high-value goods.

For example, silk, tea, spices, porcelain, colored glaze, gemstones, silver, etc.

Cotton is not qualified to be the protagonist of transnational trade.

However, cotton cloth can change people's livelihood. While improving the quality of people's lives, it can save part of the labor force to produce more valuable things.

In today's Han Dynasty, wealthy people naturally wear various kinds of silk and satin.

However, there are only a few people who can afford to wear silk and satin.

A piece of silk [two feet wide, two feet long, and forty feet long] costs 400 yuan, and it takes a whole piece of cloth to make a composite robe for autumn and winter. Calculating, the cost price of a silk composite robe is exactly 400 yuan.

A piece of linen of the same size only costs 100 yen, so the cost price of the linen robe is 100 yen.

Four hundred dollars can already buy an acre of middle land. Of course, it is not something ordinary people can afford.

Therefore, in the Han Dynasty, at least 90% of the population wore clothes made of Gebu or linen.

Clothes made of gebu or linen are indeed cheap, but they have two disadvantages.

First, the material is not good. Too many fine fibers will pierce people's skin like fine needles, and they will not feel comfortable when worn.

The second is that the yield is too low. After working hard for several months, although the yield of kudzu and flax grown is not low, there is very little fiber that can be used for weaving.

Take kudzu as an example. One acre of land can produce 10,000 kilograms of kudzu, but after processing, only 200 kilograms of kudzu fiber can be used to spin cloth.

[One Chinese pound ≈ 258 grams] [One Chinese acre ≈ 0.3 acres]

It takes sixteen pounds of kudzu fiber to weave one piece of kudzu cloth. In other words, the kudzu fiber produced in one acre of land can weave up to twelve and a half pieces of kudzu cloth.

In terms of flax, although one acre of land can only harvest 360 kilograms of flax, the fiber produced can reach 72 kilograms.

Three pounds of flax fiber can weave one bolt of linen cloth, and the hemp fiber produced in one acre of land can weave twenty-four bolts of linen cloth.

In comparison, for the same acre of land, the profit of growing flax is much higher than that of growing kudzu.

Therefore, in today's Han Dynasty, linen has gradually become the mainstream, and Gebu is only woven in places with hot climates.

Although flax is good, the yield is still not high enough, while cotton produces higher fiber.

Based on Dahan's current planting level and light and heat conditions, Liu He is confident that the cotton yield per acre will reach 180 kilograms.

It looks like half as much as flax, but cotton has the highest proportion of fiber.

One hundred and eighty pounds of cotton can produce fifty-four pounds of cotton fiber.

Moreover, one pound of cotton fiber can be used to weave one piece of cotton cloth. In this way, the cotton fiber produced in one acre of land can weave fifty-four pieces of cotton cloth.

Comparing the three, the same acre of land can produce 12 and a half pieces of Gebu, 24 pieces of linen cloth and 54 pieces of cotton cloth respectively.

The advantages of cotton are obvious.

Let’s not talk about the fact that cotton is more comfortable to wear on the body than linen and gebu. Just looking at the output, cotton has already won.

Moreover, compared with kudzu and flax, cotton is much less difficult to process, and the time and labor that can be saved in this step can be regarded as a benefit.

The labor saved can be used to raise silkworms and weave silk, burn porcelain and grow tea, which can then be sold to Europe to make money.

In this way, under the same time and labor intensity, cotton cloth has more economic value.

Substituting cotton for flax would not only increase the harvest of self-sufficient people, but also encourage profit-seeking businessmen to invest in it.

At that time, there were "sheep eating people" in Europe, and it is not necessarily impossible that "cotton eating people" would not happen in the Han Dynasty.

Dahan has a large enough market and a large enough population that it does not need to be dumped abroad, and it is very likely to trigger new social changes.

Capital comes into the world, from head to toe, with blood and filth dripping from every pore.

But compared with feudal society, it still needs to be much more civilized and progressive.

And it is almost the only way to move to the next social stage.

Even if the final change does not happen, it is still a good deed to allow people to obtain more comfortable clothes at lower prices and with easier labor.

That's why Liu He was so interested in this cotton.

"What kind of firearms have been trial-produced now?" Liu He asked again.

"Crossbow powder arrows, bow powder arrows, caltrop cannons, leather cannons, and muskets have all been trial-produced." Yu Wuyou replied.

This progress is much faster than Liu He imagined. It is unrealistic to build aircraft and tanks, but it is still possible to build some guns.

Just like the musket, although its structure is very primitive, it is of epoch-making significance and already has the basic structure of later rifles.

According to original historical records, the maximum range of this firearm can reach 300 meters, and the effective range is a full 100 meters.

Moreover, although it is not very powerful, its structure is similar to that of a cannon. It is easy to make a cannon after making a musket.

Of course, the Han's current enemies are the Huns on horseback, and there is no fixed city, so whether it is gunpowder arrows, muskets, or even cannons, they will not be of much use. However, these firearms are very good weapons for dealing with aristocratic families who dare to resist.

In Henan County, didn't Chang Yilang use two simple gunpowder barrels to blow open the door of the Lu family's house?

Moreover, in the near future, the Han army will go to Europe in the west and the sea in the east. These firearms are necessary equipment.

"Can the production of iron keep up?"

"Wei Chen ordered that new iron smelting workshops be opened in various counties in the Kanto region, and new blast furnaces will be used. The output of iron will not be a problem."

"Okay, the more iron there is, the stronger the man will be!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

After a moment of silence, before Liu He asked, Yu Wuyou spoke first.

"Your Majesty, I have come to the palace today to say goodbye to Your Majesty."

"Huh?" Liu He looked at Yu Wuyou. This young man, who was a few years older than him, seemed to be much tired from the vicissitudes of life.

"Your Majesty, I am going to Kuaiji County."

Thousands of miles to the south?

Liu He was stunned for a moment, but he soon understood.

Yu Wuyou is not going to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, but to do another big thing.

"Shipyard?"

"Your Majesty is holy."

The Han Dynasty not only had an army, but also a navy, called Lou Chuanshi.

If you have a navy, you must have a ship. After all, you can't just ride a horse on the sea.

Liu He had long known from Sima Mansion and Da Sinong Mansion that all the counties along the coast of the Han Dynasty had boat warriors capable of water warfare.

The total number of these ship warriors was at least more than 100,000, and during the period of Emperor Xiaowu, the number was even greater, reaching 200,000 at one time.

Emperor Xiaowu even ordered people to dig the Kunming Pool outside Chang'an City in order to train the boatmen.

Under the impetus of this emperor of all ages, the Han Dynasty boatmen went south and north, and together with the Han cavalry, they opened up territory for the Han Dynasty.

Today, the Han Dynasty already has several maritime trade routes, and the merchants and people of the Han Dynasty can move freely on the sea.

The warships used by the Han Dynasty were named Louchuan because they were tall and wide, and looked like tall buildings.

Building ships can be tall or short, and several floors of shipbuildings will be built on the deck according to the size and purpose of the ship. Looking at each other from a distance, they look like a castle on the water.

There will also be a three-foot-high female wall built around each floor of the ship to defend against attacks by enemy weapons.

Arrow holes and spear holes will be opened on the female wall, allowing boatmen to shoot arrows and throw spears at the enemy.

There are oarsmen in the cabin at the bottom of the building to provide power when the wind is against the wind, and flags are erected on the top floor of the building to enhance the military power.

At the same time, there are also gold, drums and flags here for the command and communication of the fleet.

In the original history, the "Feiyun" and "Gaihai" building ships built by Soochow in the Three Kingdoms had a total of five floors and could carry more than 3,000 people at the same time.

In addition to the main building ships, the Han Dynasty Navy also had warships of different sizes and functions such as stern ships, battleships, scouts, xianden and red horse boats.

During the Yuanding period (113 BC), Emperor Xiaowu sent 10 sailors on an expedition to South Vietnam, which shows how powerful the Han navy was at that time.

Because this ship has a "high building" and is suitable for both long-range and close combat, it was the main ship type in ancient Chinese water warfare for a long time.

However, because the hull is too high, the center of gravity of the building ship is unstable, and it is not suitable for leaving the coastal rivers and sailing into the ocean.

This time, Yu Wuyou went all the way to Kuaiji County, not to build a building ship, but to build a sailboat - a square-rigged caravel.

This kind of sailing ship is the type of ship used by the Europeans in the early and middle stages of the geographical discovery. Its tonnage ranges from tens to hundreds of tons, and it has extremely strong ocean voyage capabilities.

The Caravel sailing ship took the Europeans around the world, discovered the New World, and occupied the ocean.

It will also lead the Han Dynasty to complete a circumnavigation of the world, discover new continents, and occupy the oceans.

Of course, when Liu He taught the Henggan Caravel to Yu Wuyou, he changed its name to Henggan Penglai.

According to Dahan's current shipbuilding capabilities and craftsmanship, and with the drawings and ideas, it was only a matter of time before he could build a square-sailed caravel.

Once such a sailing ship was built and equipped with gunpowder-using cannons and a sextant for finding directions at sea, the size of the Han Dynasty was not limited to land.

This great change and beginning must be completed by Yu Wuyou.

I don’t know if this young man’s thin shoulders can shoulder this important task.

Of course, in addition to Yu Wuyou, there will be countless good men who will contribute to it, and even die in the ocean.

But it's all worth it.

Human life is like an ant, only by dying together can it have meaning and value.

Although Liu He stood at the top, he was still just an ant, just an ant that walked faster.

Other ants can die, but Liu He, the ant, can of course die calmly after completing his leading mission.

"How long will it take this time?" Liu He asked harmoniously.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it can take as short as half a year or as long as one year."

Renovating the shipyard, selecting wood, training craftsmen, making sails and ropes, training sailors... there are so many things to do, and even half a year can only complete the beginning.

Fortunately, Emperor Xiaowu had the foresight to lay the foundation for building ships for the Han Dynasty. Otherwise, it would have taken many years to build this horizontal-sailed Penglai sailing ship.

"Within three years, I want to go on a long voyage on a big man's sailboat." Liu He said with a smile.

"We are willing to issue a military order and serve His Majesty at the helm again within three years." Yu Wuyou replied.

Liu He nodded happily and reached out to pat Yu Wuyou on the shoulder.

The monarch and his ministers reached an agreement silently.

“Take care along the way!”

"Your Majesty, you value it."

Liu He did not waste Yu Wuyou's time. He knew that the latter had many people to say goodbye to and many things to explain, so he asked him to leave the palace immediately.

Looking at Yu Wuyou's retreating back, Liu He felt a little relaxed and comfortable.

If Yu Wuyou and the others hadn't kept moving forward, what would be the point of Liu He's fight with the wealthy family?

After Yu Wuyou's figure completely disappeared, the softness in Liu He's eyes changed to decisiveness. He looked at Dai Zong beside him and motioned for the latter to come over.

Yu Wuyou is the bright side of Liu He, and Dai Zong is the dark side of Liu He.

"Look at this memorial." Liu He took out the secret envelope sent by Wei Xiang from his arms and handed it into Dai Zong's hand. (End of chapter)