At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 581: Zhang Pijiang and the boomerang that disrupts order

June 35, 3rd year of the Han calendar.

Ptolemaic Empire, Alexandria.

This was a city that enjoyed the first wave of dividends from the great voyages of discovery. However, Ptolemy IV's stupidity put the entire country in a shaky state.

But because the sea merchants came to Daqinzhou, the Red Sea was the nearest route, and the Suez Canal was not opened, which led to the Han Dynasty's only way to dock in advance and sell goods to Ptolemy's merchants or enter the Mediterranean by land. Alexandria, located on this route, was originally a trading city. Now it has taken over the trade interests of the Silk Road terminal, making Ptolemy's nobles, monks, and merchants earn a lot of money. The country has money, and the whole country is in a state of revival. Alexandria has become the most prosperous city in the entire Mediterranean.

But when Zhang Pijiang entered Alexandria, his brows were still frowned.

Because he found that the profits brought by maritime trade belonged only to the Ptolemaic State, to Ptolemy's monks, nobles and big merchants.

Ordinary Ptolemy people did not get any dividends at all. Even for Zhang Pijiang, the living conditions of the people in Ptolemy were very bad. The streets were full of naked people, who only used rags or rags to cover their private parts. The local people were as black as coal balls under the scorching sun.

This made Zhang Pijiang couldn't help but shake his head. He had seen many poor places and countries, but even the indigenous countries in Southeast Asia had a few animal skins to cover their shame. He had never seen a capital city like Ptolemy where the people were so poor.

"Ptolemy really didn't live up to the history of his ancient civilization." Zhang Pijiang had also learned about Ptolemy during this period. The origin of its historical civilization even surpassed that of the Han Dynasty, which made him extremely amazed. He was even more surprised to know that this country had built a huge pyramid thousands of years ago.

But compared with the brilliant history, the gap between reality is even more shocking. Instead of becoming their wealth, Ptolemy’s long history has become their shackles.

Zhang Pijiang did not conduct any field investigation, but from his daily contacts with Ptolemy, he knew that most of the country's fertile land was occupied by monks and nobles, and the people were in extreme poverty. They lived in simple thatched huts with bare walls and no food.

Suffering from heavy exploitation and extreme poverty, the gods they believed in became a poison that paralyzed them.

At this time, Zhang Pijiang was a little fortunate that the Han Dynasty had been connected to heaven and earth since the Five Emperors period, and the imperial power had overwhelmed the divine power. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to imagine how the Han Dynasty would develop if it was controlled by a group of charlatans.
Anyway, judging from the countries he has experienced, none of these charlatans can govern the country well, except for paralyzing the people.

At the same time, Ptolemy's vision was also alerting Zhang Pijiang that if a civilization cannot get rid of the old and embrace the new, and forge ahead, the so-called history will only become an old burden.

The Library of Alexandria houses books from civilizations throughout the Mediterranean and is also one of the academic centers for communication among scholars from all walks of life in the Mediterranean.

Zhang Pijiang was also responsible for the construction of the Grand Canal. He had to collect geographical information about the canal in advance. I wanted to find this information, so I naturally had to go to the Library of Alexandria.

Zhang Pijiang spent a pound of spices to find information about the librarian's geography book on the Red Sea.

Faced with such a generous son of the Duke, the librarian not only helped him find the latest paper books and materials, but also found papyrus, parchment, and even clay tablets. He also took the initiative to help him translate Ptolemy's texts, Greek texts, etc.

Through these data, Zhang Pijiang discovered that there were no mountains or rivers blocking the way from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, so it would not be difficult to build a canal. More than 400 miles was naturally an unattainable dream for an ordinary small country, but it was nothing for the Han Dynasty.

In particular, he discovered through these historical facts that the Ptolemaic Empire was still in the history of ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. At that time, their monarchs had dug this canal, but due to lack of maintenance, it could no longer be used normally after 500 years and was gradually submerged by wind and sand.

This piece of history was an unexpected surprise for Zhang Pijiang. Since there was already an ancient canal site, even if it had been buried by sand, the Han Dynasty could greatly reduce the workload by simply digging along the site again.

Just as Zhang Pijiang was delighted with this discovery, a maid saluted and said, "Messenger from the Han Dynasty, our princess wants to see you."

Zhang Pijiang nodded and said, "Please lead the way."

Under the guidance of this maid, Zhang Pijiang came to a teahouse.

He looked at the two Chinese characters "Teahouse" written on the plaque and had an idea of ​​how to complain. This place where ordinary people went to chat and gossip had become a place for scholars to communicate with each other under great pressure.

He had also experienced several such academic exchanges. After all, his father was also an academic master, and Alexandria was the place with the most scholars in the entire Roman region. Naturally, he also wanted to communicate with scholars from another civilization and absorb advanced experience.

Soon he arrived at the meeting place. There were dozens of people here, some sitting or lying down, looking relaxed. There were countless servants around serving them.

Zhang Pijiang's arrival immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the audience. First, because of his identity as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, second, because of his identity as the son of a duke, and third, because he was also a scholar with broad knowledge. These three identities made him accepted by the Ptolemaic upper class and even welcomed by the academic community in Alexandria. They all wanted to learn about the Han Dynasty through Zhang Pijiang.

Of course, no one can be welcomed by everyone. Soon, someone asked in a questioning tone: "You are also a noble aristocrat. Why do you treat those slaves so well? Now all the free people of Alexandria have been attracted away. You are destroying the order of our country."

Zhang Pijiang was confused. Did this person know what he was talking about?
At this time, a Ptolemy scholar who was familiar with Zhang Pijiang said, "You are so generous that even the free people of Egypt are attracted away. His family's papermaking craftsmen have come to work on your construction site."

Zhang Pijiang then suddenly realized that his interests had been damaged.

"Papermaking is a very profitable job in our Han Dynasty. Have you ever reflected on whether you paid too little?" Zhang Pijiang said.

Ptolemy's papermaking industry has only flourished in the past few decades, and this is not due to the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants. They would rather sell paper than sell formulas.

The main driving force for the spread of papermaking was the Xiongnu Kingdom. The Xiongnu Kingdom and Confucianism replaced the religion of the Mesopotamian Valley. The demand for the Analects of Confucius in the Xiongnu Kingdom was so great that it greatly promoted the development of the papermaking industry. As a result, the papermaking technology spread from the Mesopotamian Valley to the Mediterranean line. Of course, for the Mediterranean today, papermaking is considered a high-end technology, and craftsmen who know papermaking are considered technicians. Such people would also come to their own craftsmen to ask for favors, which Zhang Pijiang had not expected.

When the scholars present heard Zhang Pijiang's words, they burst into laughter. No one would like a profiteer.

The Ptolemaic scholar Otaydotus was worried: "Your preferential treatment of slaves will eventually bring great conflicts to Ptolemy."

Zhang Pijiang said: "If there is a conflict, we should solve it. Our Han Dynasty has no slaves, but it is the richest country in the world. Ptolemy has slaves everywhere, but I don't see how rich you are. In the history of our Han Dynasty, the wealth created by slaves is not as good as that of farmers, and the wealth created by farmers is not as good as that of craftsmen. Ptolemy must get rid of its backward slave system, so that it can prosper again."

Zhang Pijiang's move aroused a discussion among scholars about whether slavery should be abolished.

At the dock of Yanzhou Governor's Mansion, a large group of people were watching an extremely large warship appear outside the dock. This caused a huge commotion among the dock workers, but the garrison commander of the Han army laughed and scolded: "What are you afraid of? This is the warship of our Han Dynasty."

It's no wonder that these Ptolemy craftsmen were afraid. The warship was too huge. To the craftsmen near the dock, it looked like a moving hill. This warship was the flagship of the Tianzhu fleet, the Daqin, and the largest of the four flagships of the Han Dynasty. It had a tonnage of more than 5000 tons, five main masts, five layers of plywood, 180 Trinity guns, and densely packed muzzles. It was the most powerful warship at the time.

Luan Bu, the commander of the Navy, placed the most powerful warships of the Han Dynasty in the Indian fleet in order to intimidate the countries in the Mesopotamian region and the Mediterranean Sea, and to let them know that a warship of the Han Dynasty had more artillery than all the artillery in their country.

Compared to the frightened Ptolemy craftsmen, the Han soldiers kept cheering and waving at the warships. Including their march, these people had been away from the Han Dynasty for almost a year, and now they were extremely excited to see their comrades.

At this time, Zhang Pijiang and Fan Kang also received the notice and rode to the dock area. Zhang Pijiang carefully looked at the newest warship of the Han Dynasty. The warship of more than 5,000 tons looked thinner and narrower. Compared with the transport ships of the Han Dynasty, it was thinner in proportion and could not carry as much cargo as the ships. But although the warship looked thin, its plywood was three times thicker than that of the ships, so it could withstand more shells.

Fan Kang said enviously: "You really get what you pay for. A warship worth 2 million yuan is really majestic."

Zhang Pijiang said: "But the cost is also high. The annual maintenance costs are tens of millions. Adding the navy's salary, the court spends 3000 million yuan a year. The Han army is very dissatisfied with the navy's extravagant spending. General Ji Xin originally wanted to replace four battalions of Type artillery every year, but because the navy's expenses are too high, now only two battalions of Type artillery can be replaced every year."

As long as interests are involved, the Han Dynasty cannot avoid disputes between land and sea. And now it is the Han Dynasty's navy that has the upper hand, after all, the Han Dynasty has global interests to protect.

Fan Kang said: "I have to criticize General Ji Xin for this. The Han Dynasty has no enemies on land now. It doesn't matter if we have two more or two less artillery battalions every year. On the contrary, the navy is more important. The territory of the Han Dynasty is so vast. How can we protect the interests of the Han Dynasty without warships? Take our consulate general for example. If we don't have the support of the Tianzhu fleet, how can we, with such a small number of people, deter dozens of countries in Daqinzhou?"

Zhang Pijiang looked at Fan Kang with amusement. When he was in Chang'an City, he often complained that the navy of the Han Dynasty occupied too many resources, so that the Han Dynasty had new weapons and equipment but could not popularize them quickly. He even often talked to Li Ji and Liu Chang about the world map, saying that the Huns had evil ambitions and that they should not be allowed to expand their territory. Instead, the Han Dynasty should march westward, build a railway network on the World Island, and rule the entire World Island.

Naturally, Xu Aimin did not approve of their ambitions. The Han Dynasty had nothing better to do, and instead of going to the New World which was better developed, it wanted to integrate the central area of ​​the world island with countless ethnic groups. The industrialization of the Han Dynasty was completely different from that of the Niu Niu. The Niu Niu needed to compete for the market, so for them, India was the foundation of the empire, but the Han Dynasty had its own princes to develop new markets, and their efficiency was higher than those capitalists who liked to eat meat but not to gnaw bones. Therefore, the New World was a good place for the Han Dynasty.

Fan Kang's transformation was also very simple, because he was now the military attaché of the Mediterranean Consulate General. They wanted to exert influence in Daqinzhou, but the Han Army could not help them. Only the Han Navy could provide them with assistance.

At this time, the huge fleet docked, the planks were lowered, and the soldiers got off the ship one by one carrying their luggage. Soon Zhang Pijiang saw Yanzhou Governor Ding He and Captain Lu Yi, and Tianzhu Fleet Captain Liu Bi.

Zhang Pijiang walked over and said excitedly: "The three generals are finally here."

Liu Bi laughed and said, "Pijiang, you have done a good job in Daqinzhou. You have built such a good dock in just a few months."

Ding He looked at the city not far from the dock and said, "Ambassador Zhang has laid a good foundation for our Yanzhou Governor's Office. I will definitely report the ambassador's contribution to the emperor."

Ding He was indeed very satisfied. He had thought that he would come to a wild land, but Zhang Pijiang and his men had already built granaries and arsenals for them, and had even begun to construct the walls of the fortress. Having such a foundation could save them a lot of trouble.

Fan Kang asked, "How many soldiers did the general bring with him?"

Ding He said: "The first batch of 5000 soldiers, why do you want to fight here?"

Fan Kang smiled and said, "In this foreign country, without the support of the army, it is difficult for our consulate to stand firm."

Liu Bi and others burst into laughter when they heard Fan Kang's words.

After laughing, Liu Bi asked, "Have you dug a canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea?"

Zhang Pijiang shook his head and said, "The governor's residence has not been repaired yet, so we naturally take this as a priority."

Then he wondered, "Why is the court so anxious?"

Although the canal has not been dug yet, Zhang Pijiang has roughly surveyed the terrain. If you want to dig this canal, it will take about 5000 miles. This is naturally not a difficult task for the Han Dynasty. They were able to dig a canal of thousands of miles more than a decade ago. However, the canals in the Han Dynasty are all inland transport ships, and a thousand tons is a behemoth. For this canal connecting the main sea route, it is necessary to be prepared to be able to sail tons or even tons of seagoing ships. The amount of work is several times higher than that of the canal of thousands of miles. Such a huge project must be prepared and take several years or even more than ten years.

Liu Bi said: "The court is not anxious, but the Han Dynasty's sea merchants are anxious, and so are the princes of the New World."

Zhang Pijiang was stunned and said, "The sea merchants are anxious because they want their ships to enter the Mediterranean, but why should the princes of the New World be anxious? They have interests in Daqinzhou."

Liu Bi said: "How can there be no exchange of interests? After the Han Dynasty's sea merchants sold silk, some of them bought white slaves in Daqinzhou and continued to the west to the New World, selling these white slaves to the princes of the New World. If the connection between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea was dug, the sea merchants' voyage could be shortened by 1 miles."

Zhang Pijiang looked unhappy. He had been mocking the slavery system of the Ptolemaic Empire for some time, but now the boomerang had backfired on him. The Han Dynasty's maritime merchants were also purchasing white slaves, and they were being used in the vassal states of the New World.

Ding He and Lu Yi both looked unhappy. They were from the lower class and they were most disgusted by slave trade like this.

Liu Bi said helplessly: "Even the imperial court has to succumb to reality. In recent years, the imperial court has relocated millions of people to the New World, but among them, there are less than 100,000 women. A large part of the Han people in the New World married local women, but this caused dissatisfaction among the Mayans, because they also want to marry wives. The Han people have three wives and four concubines, so the Mayans will have millions less wives. Now the transportation of these people from Daqinzhou is also to balance the population. Moreover, Daqinzhou has no special products, and only white slaves are still useful. If the Han merchants do not transport these white slaves, then they can only transport gold and silver away, but everyone has not forgotten the matter of Tianzhu."

It is not so easy to establish a global trade market. The Han Dynasty is facing the same problems as those in later generations. The whole industrial chain ensures that the Han Dynasty has everything it needs. In fact, the advantages of the Han Dynasty are even greater than those in later generations. The Han Dynasty does not even lack raw materials, especially in this era when transportation costs are high. Many people regard things as specialties or minerals, which have no value for trade. However, trade can only be carried out in the long run if there is a give and take. If the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants only take away gold and silver, the accumulation of Daqinzhou for thousands of years will not last long.

In the land of Daqinzhou, their specialty products are really not much. Olive oil and wine are available in the Han Dynasty, and only white slaves are of some value. Therefore, most of the Han Dynasty's sea merchants will buy white slaves on their return trip. Now the price of white slaves is the highest in the New World, so they simply turn to the New World and buy precious luxury goods such as fertilizers, rubber, cocoa beans, peppers, etc. in the New World, and then transport them back to the Han Dynasty, thus forming a trade network across the world.

For the Han Dynasty's maritime merchants, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the land between the North and South New Worlds, became the biggest obstacles to their global trade. The sea routes at these two nodes were not opened, and they had to sail tens of thousands of miles more, which greatly consumed their profits and time. If canals were built in these two places, their sea transportation distance could be reduced by half, and their profits could be increased by at least 5%, and the global triangular trade could truly begin.

(End of this chapter)