New Shun 1730

After the farewell on the second day, the ship set sail.

When it sailed to the Shandong Peninsula, it was night, and the big lighthouse made of rapeseed oil and whale oil mixed with whale oil emitted a fire at night, guiding the ships passing by.

The cold wind was chilly, and the flickering light of the lighthouse made people feel at ease.

Shi Shiyong looked at the fire in the distance on the deck and asked, "I don't remember if there was such a lighthouse here?"

Things like lighthouses have long existed in China. There is a mound lighthouse at the mouth of Liuhe River. Shi Shiyong left Weihai for several years and wanted to see what Weihai has become.

"This lighthouse is newly built. There are several islands around Weihai. One is to guide the navigation ships, and the other is to instruct them not to enter the vicinity of Liugong Island. It is already a military port, and ordinary ships are not allowed to approach it and need to bypass it."

After a brief explanation, when the next day dawned, two warships were cruising nearby with sails set. They saw Liu Yu's ship from a distance and came over to escort it.

The two Western-style soft-sail warships made Shi Shiyong feel very relieved, but thinking about Japan, he was a little worried.

"Sir, if this is the case, even if civilian ships do not enter the port, I am afraid that people with ulterior motives will know that our dynasty is building a navy."

Liu Yu smiled and said, "How much news have you heard from Westerners in Edo? Dutch ships often go to Nagasaki, but I have never seen Japanese build ships. As for those who went to Nagasaki to submit Tangfeng storytelling, how many of them know the difference between warships and merchant ships? How many of them know the power of Western warships? The Japanese know, but they just want to change, how can it be so easy? They have to start from scratch to operate the ship and control the sails. I let them learn, but they can't learn it within ten years."

"I spent a lot of money on this, and the court also showed goodwill to France, and the shipbuilding craftsmen from France presided over it. The Japanese can find the Dutch, but the Dutch build merchant ships here. It's OK. If we want to build warships, we have to go to Europe to find people. Whether it is allowed or not, it will take several years to go back and forth. "

"I prepared for six or seven years in advance, and I just managed to make a few ships? A few officers? A few sailors?"

"In the era of great contention, one step faster, every step faster. Brother Heisei can rest assured."

Shi Shiyong also smiled and said: "I am assured of Ying Suobo's decision. Your Majesty is assured, why should I be worried? I am just a little worried. Since Ying Suobo said there is no problem, then it's okay. Ying Suobo is right. The Japanese have seen Western warships a long time ago, and they have never copied them. "

After turning across the fjord, a new warship was about to be launched. The dock was busy there, and there was another warship that was basically completed inside.

The current situation is that people board the ship, not the ship waiting for people.

At this time, they could not compare with the two or three thousand French naval officers, but Liu Yu had trained more than three hundred trainee officers and non-commissioned officers before. Relying on the previous training ships and the earliest French warships, many of them had become masters.

A 64-gun battleship with a displacement of about 1,200 tons was also under construction. This was a French design, which was a bit like taking a big advantage as a guinea pig.

The French Navy had reached a helpless dead end. It had no money and its tonnage was falling sharply. As the Minister of the Navy, Count Maurepas insisted on abandoning the previous super-heavy three-deck battleships in order to save money and quickly narrow the gap with Britain, and instead designed a battleship with 74 guns as the main gun.

This helpless move, on the contrary, made the French battleships achieve a wonderful balance in terms of speed, firepower, and protection, and the cost-effectiveness was the highest.

However, the latest French design would not be given to Liu Yu, but Liu Yu would choose to build a 64-gun or old 74-gun battleship.

Considering the situation around Dashun and future wars, Liu Yu still chose to use 64 guns for the first battleship, which at least runs faster and has more mature technology.

If the French delegation talks happily in the capital, they can spend a lot of money to buy the blueprints of the new 74-gun battleship directly, which is a genius work that makes the British exclaim that their warship design is outdated.

If it can be bought, it can cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and it will not be outdated for at least decades.

If the talks are not so pleasant, they can only learn from the outdated design and keep improving it.

It is estimated that the 74-gun ship will not be used for the time being, just let the craftsmen practice their hands first.

The scene of several warships being built at the same time made Shi Shiyong very excited. Although he did not understand the difference, he knew that the warship was very large. Based on what he saw in Edo, the Japanese warships were definitely not opponents.

After getting off the ship, a group of newly recruited sailors were training on the shore, and there was also a group of recruited marines. The naval officers who had been training for several years but still had not been assigned to warships were bored and had nothing to do. It was not a holiday, so they had to train these sailors on the beach for fun.

A coal ship had just arrived at the port. The Newcomen engine with huge consumption and low power was a monster that ate coal. If it were not for the purpose of training the officers and soldiers here to get familiar with this magical power as soon as possible, it would be much cheaper to use cattle or manpower to pump water purely from an economic point of view. After all, this is not a coal mining area.

Sure enough, Shi Shiyong was shocked by this "monster" that was pumping water with black smoke, and asked Liu Yu a lot of strange and funny questions.

Liu Yu had answered these questions to others dozens or even hundreds of times before, so that he could answer some questions before Shi Shiyong finished asking them.

Although he didn't understand it at all, this strange machine still gave Shi Shiyong great confidence. This confidence was based on the helplessness that the skills he had learned were outdated.

From time to time, I could hear the sound of gunners practicing firing, which was indescribably pleasant to the ears.

"Brother Heisei, if you are interested, you can walk around in a few days."

Shi Shiyong shook his head and said: "Let's forget it. The more I look at it, the more heartbroken I feel. I haven't been to the Japanese country for a few years, but when I come back, I will look like a bad person from Nan Ke Yimeng. Everything has changed. I guess I can't understand it even if I look at it. , it’s better not to read it.”

While joking, Liu Yu led him to see Kang Buyu, asked him to help polish the translation, and then asked Shi Shiyong to rest first.

As soon as Shi Shiyong left, Kang Buyu asked directly: "How do you want the young master to translate?"

Liu Yu smiled slightly and replied with two words.

"Gong Fire."

"I understand. By the way, while the young master was going to Songjiang, news came from the Whale Sea. It was said that the Rakshasa people were catching sea lions in Kamchatka. The fur was excellent and there were a lot of them. But the transportation was difficult. I hope I can leave. Heilongjiang Shipping. I also hope to buy some grain from us. This is Jinghai’s business, and I have to take care of it.”

"Well……"

This can be regarded as the first time that Liu Yu, the Jiedushi of Jinghai, has dealt with the government affairs of cats and mice. Although Jinghai is big, there is really almost nothing to take care of.

"I think it's okay. However, the Rakshasa people's ships can't go through Heilongjiang. Let them change the goods at the mouth of the river, and our ship will transport them to the east for a toll."

"Grain can also be sold. Even if it is sold, how many people can they have? Maybe they are tired of eating meat? They can't grow food, but it is suitable to grow rye on both sides of Heilongjiang. If you want it, then sell it and exchange it. Just exchange the leather for silver."

"Just follow my instructions and write an official letter. When the ice age is over, ask someone to send it to you. Just in time, I am also ready to fulfill Bering's dream."

Kang Bunuo smiled and said: "My lord, this is not to fulfill Bering's dream. This is a toilet bag. Throw it away after use. Now that the navy has begun to take shape, Bering's skills are better at navigational drawings, not battle formations." But this is good, and it saves him from nagging every day.”

Liu Yu also smiled, nodded towards Kang Buyao and said: "That's probably what I mean. You can arrange these things first, and I will choose the list of expeditions. There is one more thing..."

"After the Chinese New Year, the emperor seems to be forty, right? On his birthday, I want to go back to the capital. Prepare some more glass for two thousand yuan. I will pay the original price. Prepare some more wooden boxes and The framework is to advance the emperor's approximate dividends for next year, and I will post 30,000 taels as a gift, and prepare a few boxes of cigarettes, short muskets and so on."

"Uh... Young Master, isn't this gift a bit vulgar? The glass is fine, why don't you just give me money?" Kang Busha was quite surprised by the gift Liu Yu prepared for the emperor's 40th birthday. He had never heard of giving gifts directly to the emperor. Giving money.

"What hasn't the emperor seen? What would he be most happy to give? It must be money. It's a bit vulgar, but it makes me feel comfortable. Giving glass means that if you want to take it, you must give it first. The emperor is afraid that people will say he is extravagant. , or I am reluctant to use large glass windows for fear of contributing to the extravagant trend in the world, but I guess I definitely like the light-transmitting ones, which are definitely better than window paper.”

"Send a bunch of them, the emperor will reward them, make the forbidden palace more secure, and lead the trend. There are many rich people in the capital, so let's make a dozen sales."

"As for money, the emperor may be non-committal, and may even reprimand him for not sending money in the future to prevent officials from following suit, but he must be happy in his heart. It is a military reform and immigration, and the internal funds must be short of money. The household government is We can pay some money, but we can’t let the household government pay for it, such as giving a leather coat to those stationed in the Western Region, or giving some leather hats to the Imperial Palace Guards.”

"If the emperor is willing to issue a bunch of fur hats to all the Imperial Guards, wouldn't it open up a market for the furs of Jinghai, my industry as the Jiedushi Envoy of Jinghai?"

"It's all business, no matter what."

What he said was already a bit arrogant, and he had no respect for the emperor. However, Kang Busao thought it was very unusual and started laughing along with Liu Yu.

"When it comes to fishing, you still have the ability."

Liu Yu shook his head and said: "What the hell? I'm just willing to lay the bait. Then you are busy, I will go find Bering and talk about exploring north to America."

Just as he was about to go out, he came back with a slap on the head, took out a lot of bills from his arms and threw them to Kang Bulao.

"You've been with me for so long, and it's troublesome to pay money every month. You hold these stocks. Before, you said you wanted to marry a talented woman because you were afraid you couldn't afford it. Now that you have money, hurry up and get your affairs done. All day long When I went to the fireworks field, I got a heart disease and died instantly. I was missing an arm."

After Liu Yu left the house, Kang Buyao looked through the pile of bills and found that they were probably worth 70,000 to 80,000 taels.

Putting these notes away, he nodded and said to himself in the empty room: "Of course."