In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 480 A big step towards industrialization
In the Chui Gong Hall, Zhao Yurui held a handful of rubber seeds with an excited expression. This is one of the important treasures for industrialization.

On the side, Pu Shougeng kept talking about the hard process.

They set out from Quanzhou in January of the seventh year of Yuanzhen. They traveled more than 40,000 miles to the American continent. They completely followed the route given by Zhao and Rui. It was quite easy in the early stage before reaching the Persian Gulf. They were all mature routes. Pu Shougeng himself had previously After starting a business, the rest depends entirely on exploration and experience.

But he remembered Zhao Yurui's words and followed Zheng He's example in his voyage to the West. Anyway, it was quite safe to go along the coastline and pass through Africa along the way. The biggest difficulty was to cross the Atlantic Ocean at the end.

Fortunately, his ships were relatively advanced. Thanks to the promotion and innovation of Zhao Yurui, they were already far superior to the fleet of Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty. They passed the Cape of Good Hope without any danger and successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

It took more than seven months to finally reach America. Fortunately, Zhao and Rui provided a rough map of the Americas, and the deviation was not very big. It took Pu Shougeng and the others nearly six more months to find the rubber tree.

They didn't lose many people at sea, only one ship, but they lost a lot of manpower during the half year of searching for rubber trees.

Finally, it was in February or March, when the rubber tree was in season, that I happened to see the tree full of seeds, and that’s when I found it.

At that time, Zhao Yurui and Pu Shougeng said that the white sap can be seen when the rubber tree is cut, and it is more sticky when it dries. This led Pu Shougeng to chop down trees whenever he saw them, and he cut down countless types of trees along the way.

As a result, it was only in February or March, when the seeds came out, that we discovered the real rubber trees when we saw the seeds.

He would also send a colonial fleet to directly occupy Brazil, conquer the indigenous people there, and cover the entire Americas under the Song Empire.

After the celebration banquet, Zhao Yurui announced the heavy rewards to them, which shocked the whole country.

He finally summoned Pu Shougeng alone and had a private chat with him: "What do Pu Qing think?"

Pu Shougeng brought back more than thirty thousand this time. There is no problem in getting a thousand plants.

Pu Shougeng was an official (eighth grade) in the Ship Division of Quanzhou City, and he was also an official of the imperial court.

According to the original statement before departure: "You will be promoted to two levels, rewarded with 50,000 yuan, 100 acres of grain fields, tax-free for 100 years, and your descendants will inherit your highest official position for five generations."

During this period, many people retreated, and even officials from the Intelligence Department wanted to return to the Song Dynasty, but Pu Shougeng actually withstood the pressure and had to do this well.

Pu Shougeng brought tens of thousands of seeds this time, and according to the emperor's wishes, on the way back, he stayed half in Hanzhou and half in Dayuan. Hanzhou and Dayuan would take the lead in breeding rubber seeds.

This man is willing to do anything for the sake of wealth, so he must be used.

In the end, Peng Yun chose to work as a guard in the local area. Tan Cong was a fierce man and was willing to return to America and stay for another ten years.

Zhao Yurui now has a relatively large territory. In addition to Hanzhou, Daguang can be planted, and the newly obtained Borneo Province is also suitable. With Pu Shougeng's successful experience, he will soon organize a second batch of larger fleets to get more With more seeds, the speed of promotion will increase exponentially.

The success rate of rubber seed cultivation is still relatively high.

Afterwards, Tan Cong reported to the emperor that many people wanted to go home at that time. Pu Shougeng encouraged them by saying that they had traveled tens of thousands of miles and worked hard for more than a year to get here. If they gave up so easily, wouldn't the previous hard work be in vain? After that, Pu Shougeng said again, add more money, give everyone more money, as long as you persist.

But it was not easy to promote this thing. It took Weikehan 40 years to vigorously promote it in Malaysia, Ceylon and other places, which ended Brazil's monopoly.

Tan Cong and Peng Yun struggled for a while. If they went to the local level, they could be county magistrates or Jinyiwei Baihu.

Pu Shougeng's bones were numb when he heard it. Although he didn't know what the rubber seeds were used for, the emperor valued it so much that he felt that all the hard work in the past was worth it.

And he also wants to use Pu Shougeng again.

But Zhao and Rui increased the reward, and Tan Cong and Peng Yun, two people from the Intelligence Department, gave them a choice. One is to be promoted by two levels and stay in the Intelligence Department, one is to be promoted to three levels and serve in a local area, the other is to be promoted to four levels and return to the American colonies (you can come back and be promoted again after ten years). At the same time, no matter what you choose, you will get a reward of ten Wan Guan, 200 acres of grain fields, tax exemption for a hundred years, the highest official position hereditary for five generations, and the title of nobility (full fifth grade viscount).

The Englishman Wei Kehan ​​brought back 70,000 seeds from Brazil and successfully cultivated nearly 3,000 saplings, which is about one-twentieth.

Hearing this, Zhao Yurui couldn't help it anymore and reached out to pat Pu Shougeng's shoulder: "Okay, okay, Pu Qing has made great achievements this time and will definitely leave a name in history in the future. I will definitely let the historian record your name in the history." "In the annals of history."

According to this meritorious service, being promoted two levels in a row would be the seventh level, but Zhao Yurui obviously felt that it was not enough to commend his contribution.

Pu Shougeng was also a smart man. He knelt down without saying a word and said, "I am willing to return to America to open up new territories for Your Majesty."

The Pu family originally made a living at sea. This time they successfully returned to America. With experience, Pu Shougeng thought it would be much easier to go back.

What he said was high-sounding, and Zhao Yurui was delighted to hear it.

"According to Pu Qing, now that I have experience, how long will it take to go to America?"

Pu Shougeng took a lot of mistakes when he went there. Now that he has experience and has drawn charts along the way, it is of course much easier.

Moreover, the imperial court now has telescopes, which are even more powerful weapons.

"I think some sails need to be improved." Pu Shougeng is indeed a master at sea. After this experience, he put forward some suggestions for correction.

Zhao Yurui's ship already has fore-and-aft sails and transverse sails. It is the best and most advanced sailing ship of this era. However, the number of longitudinal sails and the number of transverse sails and how to match them are also key.

After traveling such a long ocean route, Pu Shougeng gained experience and knew when to use longitudinal sails and when to use horizontal sails, and made appropriate improvements.

According to Pu Shougeng, after the sea-going ship has been modified, it can set off in a suitable season. It is best to leave the port from Quanzhou in winter. There are more favorable winds on the way. Use the favorable wind to increase the speed. From Quanzhou to America, it will take up to four or five months. Of course, it will take up to four or five months to return. Time will slow down.

Moreover, Pu Shougeng suggested setting up strongholds on the coastline along the road, that is, on the coast of Africa.

Most of these places along the coast were barbaric and uncivilized lands. Not only did the Song Dynasty occupy them first, they could at least establish a stronghold first, which would provide convenience for ships coming and going in the future.

This statement is exactly what Zhao Yurui meant.

In order to go to Persia, Zhao Yurui sent people to set up a stronghold in Sri Lanka. Later, in order to go to America, he also had to set up strongholds in various places.

After preliminary calculations by him and Pu Shougeng, after coming out of the Persian Gulf, the Song Dynasty successively established five strongholds in Somalia, Mozambique, Cape Town, Angola and other places. Finally, it crossed the Atlantic near the Gulf of Guinea, which is the closest place to Brazil in the Americas. of.

Each stronghold is dispatched with a thousand troops and their families stationed there. Excluding the round-trip travel, the troops will be rotated back to the country after six years of being stationed in the local area. The troops will build bastions locally and grow food and fresh water to facilitate the supply and rest of the Song Dynasty fleet.

After returning to China after six years, you can directly choose to retire and return to your hometown, and the court will provide you with heavy compensation. You can also continue to serve in the military and retire after ten years.

These five strongholds are not for colonization, so there is no task of expanding the territory. The garrison general can freely choose whether to colonize nearby areas based on his own capabilities and the surrounding environment.

In addition, a colonial governor's office was established in America, with Pu Shougeng as the first governor. The Song Dynasty's first colonial settlement in South America was probably near Port Natal.

The first batch of the imperial court will send an army of 3,000 people, take their families to build a castle nearby, and then begin to conquer the local indigenous people.

After conquering the indigenous people, they planted sugar cane, manufactured sugar, built rubber factories, and built shipyards in Brazil.

In the future, the imperial court will gradually increase the number of soldiers and manpower in the Americas. In the future, they can set off directly from the Americas to do business and march to Europe for war.

If the imperial court can establish a foothold in America and build factories, merchant ships departing from America in the future will only need a month or two to reach all parts of Europe.

Whether doing business or sending troops to war, it is several times faster.

Pu Shougeng was very excited. Although he was living overseas, he was equivalent to a high official in the border areas. He was originally a small official doing office work and suddenly became a local governor. This shows that the emperor valued him.

Zhao Yurui also promised him that overseas governors would be rotated in five to ten years depending on the situation. If he wanted to come back in the future, he would at least be at the provincial envoy level.

Pu Shougeng left the palace very satisfied.

Zhao Yurui immediately began to make arrangements, deploying thousands of people from the navy to build strongholds overseas one after another.

The five strongholds plus the American Governor's Mansion require a total of 8,000 troops and family members, which is 30,000 to 40,000 people.

The amount of money, food and other materials invested is about one million guan per year.

This kind of investment is just drizzle for the current Song Dynasty, but the benefits that can be obtained in the future are immeasurable.

When the five strongholds in Africa and the colonial mansions in America are fully constructed in the early stage, it will be much more convenient and safer for the Song Dynasty's fleet to travel between Africa and America in the future. Zhao Yurui and his descendants can continue to migrate Song people to the two continents and expand their colony.

Of course, it would be too slow for the court to do these things alone.

Not long after, the imperial court began to publicize Pu Shougeng's overseas affairs.

It is said that Pu Shougeng went overseas and found Jinzhou (actually Africa) and Baozhou (America). Jinzhou was full of gold, Baozhou was full of gems, and the two ships that came back were loaded with gold, silver and jewelry.

Wow, when this news spread, the entire Song Dynasty was shocked. Many businessmen and fishermen along the coast were eager to try.

But in this era, it is too difficult to cross thousands of miles across the sea. Everyone needs safe and huge sea ships.

After Pu Shougeng crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the ocean wind gradually became popular in the Song Dynasty, and the shipbuilding industry became even more developed.
-
In Peace City and Peace Port in the Persian Gulf, a long fleet of Song Dynasty ships slowly sailed into the port.

On the two-thousand-material warship at the front, Liu Zheng was standing on the bow, looking at the newly built port with curiosity.

The Song army occupied the Persian Gulf about three years ago, and has been recruiting local civilians and craftsmen to build Peace City and Peace Harbor.

Nearly three years have passed, and Peace City has not yet been built, but Peace Harbor has been completed.

The approximate location of Peace Port is the later Bandar Abbas Port, north of the Strait of Hormud, and behind the port is the Peace City.

The Heping City has not been built for three years. The main reason is that as more and more Song troops and Song people came, the Heping City became bigger and bigger.

When Zhang Hui came in the early days, he only brought three thousand troops with the intention of building a small city.

Later, Song troops and Song people came over one after another. Currently, there are three generals and nine thousand people stationed in the area, as well as a large number of Song businessmen operating here. The Heping City is getting bigger and bigger, and it has not yet been completed.

The local garrison does not bring family members with them, and they rotate every five years. Many of the garrison troops are transferred from Dayuan and Hainan, and their families are all in Dayuan and Hainan.

There is a reason why Jinzhou and Baozhou do not bring family members here, because there are a large number of local Persians here, who can solve the physical problems of being a soldier.

There are only natives on Jinzhou and Baozhou, so Zhao and Rui asked the garrison there to take care of their families.

After Liu Zheng arrived, before the fleet even docked, people could be seen working everywhere along the coast, and a long row of dozens of forts could be seen on the shore.

The Song Dynasty started by forcibly conquering civilians here. Later, because of the good treatment, including wages, food, and salt and sugar, more and more local Persians were willing to work.

There is no need for forced recruitment later, as long as the Persian command is issued, civilians and even craftsmen will come to help from all directions.

When the Mongols ruled here, they recruited people by force, and there was no wages, let alone food. Now the Song people pay wages, and also distribute salt, sugar and other supplies every once in a while. This is very popular among the people. Some migrant workers come from hundreds of miles away. Come over here and work for the Song people.

At this time, the Mongols still ruled Persia, and their largest ruling center in Persia was the city of Rai (later known as Dehlan). Although Rai City repeatedly ordered Persians from all over the country not to work for the Song people, it was of no use at all.

The Mongols' rule in Persia still relies on the lords of various parts of Persia. Now the lords of various places are unwilling to provoke the Song people, so naturally their orders will not work.

As soon as Liu Zheng's ship docked, he saw a group of civil and military personnel standing on the shore.

Ruan Zi, the magistrate of Heping City, Zhang Hui, the commander of the local garrison, Luo Lei, a member of the Jinyi Guards, and Zhao Xiaofu, the officer of the Governor's Office in Heping City, all came to greet Liu Zheng.

Among them, Ruan Zi is a relative of Ruan Heng, the commander of the Hanzhou Navy. Heping City is mainly a garrison and there are not many people. He actually has nothing to do as the county magistrate. He is responsible for military logistics and Song business operations.

After everyone met, they greeted each other for a while. Many people at the scene didn't know what Liu Zheng was doing.

The imperial court will prepare to open a second front in two or three years, and the preliminary preparations will take two or three years.

Liu Zheng also came here to familiarize himself with the terrain and local conditions.

After meeting with everyone, they came to a room to discuss matters. Liu Zheng said that the imperial court wanted to build a palace in Persia, and Heping City wanted to be promoted to a capital city. It needed a larger site and more people. Some local Persians could be recruited. , the imperial court would also move Song people here.

A naval camp will be built in Peace Harbor to garrison more naval forces.

In just a few words, everyone also felt that the imperial court wanted to strengthen control here.

Liu Zheng said that it was mainly to prevent the Mongolian army from counterattack, and more troops and manpower were needed.

The current headquarters of the Mongolian army in Persia is in Rai City. He brought people to fight twice before he came to visit. Liu Zheng said that he should be on guard against the Mongolian army, so there was no problem at all.

(End of this chapter)