Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 1873, Whale Sea Whaling Industry
In the sea area of ​​the Whale Sea, accompanied by howling cold winds, three large ships headed towards Vladivostok from east to west on the sea.

Traditional sailing ships are difficult to sail in such weather, but the new large ships have no problems at all, and are enough to easily overcome the harsh sea conditions and sail on the sea.

"Your Majesty, this Hokkaido fishing ground is one of the four largest fishing grounds in the world. The confluence of cold and warm ocean currents here brings a lot of nutrients, making this world-renowned big fish ground."

"However, because this place is far away from Daming, the fishing industry has not been developed all the time. That is to say, in winter, fishing boats come here to hunt whales, catch pine leaf crabs and some seafood, and take advantage of the cold weather in winter and the characteristics of easy preservation to transport them to Beijing. Sales in Tianjin area."

Inside one of the large ships, Liu Jin and Emperor Hongzhi were drinking tea leisurely, talking about the Whale Sea and the Hokkaido fishing grounds.

Naturally, this has nothing to do with us in future generations, because the land in the Outer Xing'an Mountains was ceded to Maozi, and there was no estuary. There was a place only a few tens of kilometers away from the estuary, but it was regrettably lost in the end. took this land.

This is an extremely rich and fertile land.

The land in the Heilongjiang River Basin is very fertile, and a large number of fertile fields can be reclaimed casually.

The forestry resources, mineral resources, and fishery resources in the Waixing'an Mountains are also extremely rich.

Of course, the most important thing is the estuary of the Whale Sea area and the many islands. If these islands are in our hands, we can control a large area and sea area, and the situation will be completely different, without being trapped in the island chain. middle.

In addition, the fishery resources in this sea area are very rich, such as herring, saury, pine leaf crab, salmon and other resources. If they are in our hands, we don't need to import these things.

Of course, this is a pity for future generations.

Now this vast area is under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Province of the Ming Dynasty. Although the current development level is still limited, it is still an indispensable land for the Ming Empire, and its huge resources are gradually being developed.

Naturally, Liu Jin must share with Emperor Hongzhi the resources and importance of this piece of land. Daming owns this piece of land and has such huge resources, so he must cherish it, but he must not use this fertile land lost.

"Whale, Matsuba crab?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the map and listened to Liu Jin talk about the richness and fertility of this land, and he also became very interested.

At this moment, someone hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, I found a whaling ship hunting at sea."

"Say Cao Cao Cao Cao will be here, let's go, let's go and have a look."

"I haven't seen a whale for a long time."

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately regained his energy. He quickly put on thick warm clothes and a mink coat and walked on the outer deck.

Liu Jin also hurriedly followed out, whaling, this is a good project not to be missed, but I didn't expect to meet him at sea.

When I came to the deck, I took the binoculars and looked forward. I saw several whaling ships chasing a group of whales in the sea not far away. The whales have to come to the water surface to breathe from time to time. Huge water columns exposed them position, attracting whalers to follow them.

The people on the several whaling ships were also extremely busy. The whaling industry was extremely developed in Daming. From Liu Jin who took the lead in whaling until now, whales have become an extremely important part of the lives of Daming people.

Whales are full of babies.

Needless to say, whale oil has many uses. It is the first choice for the lighting of big families. Even though it is expensive, it is still in short supply. It is the choice of ordinary families to use kerosene lamps. Big families like to use whale oil, which is smokeless and tasteless. Very bright.

Whale skin is one of the best materials for making boots. It is sold well in all parts of Ming Dynasty, and everyone likes to wear it.

Whale meat is comparable to beef. One whale is enough to reach hundreds of cows and thousands of pigs. The quality of the meat is very good, cheap and delicious. People in Beijing and Tianjin love to eat whale meat.

Therefore, whales have always been the favorite of Daming people, and the whaling industry is also very developed, but now whales in the Bohai Sea are rarely seen. The Ming government is also considering banning whaling in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. This is to maintain the number of whales in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea.

Whaling has gradually moved to other places, and the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Whale Sea have naturally become the places where everyone catches the most whales.

At this moment, the whaling ship penetrated here, and the mechanically pulled crossbow shot heavily at a huge whale, deeply piercing into the whale's body, and the sea was immediately stained red with blood, and the whale began to flee desperately. struggle.

But the more he struggled, the faster he died. The huge ship was dragging firmly, and there were also bed crossbows shooting over one after another.

In less than half an hour, this huge whale was completely dead and came to the surface. Suddenly, many crew members on board cheered.

Several whaling ships caught satisfactory whales one after another, pulled the whales to the side of the boat one by one, and quickly started to get busy. The whale oil in the whale's head is the most precious oil, the price is the highest, and it is the best to sell. This must be done first. Pack it up.

Other expensive and valuable whale products should be removed as soon as possible to prevent the smell of blood from attracting sharks and the like, and sometimes even the whales have to be discarded, throwing away the worthless parts directly.

"Lean over~"

Emperor Hongzhi watched with relish, and this was the first time he saw whaling at sea.

It is incredible that such a huge whale can be caught just by relying on the bed crossbow.

The three large ships approached the whaling ships slowly, and everyone on the whaling ships looked at them one by one.

Compared with the big steamers, their whalers are small, low and small.

"Where did the three big ships come from?"

Yang Genhe, the boss of several whaling ships, looked at the three large ships coming over and was very puzzled.

It is rare to see such a large ship on the Whale Sea, let alone three ships at once.

Generally, if this kind of large ship goes to the Golden Continent, it will go directly to the center route, passing through Hawaii and across the Pacific Ocean, and will not come to the Whale Sea.

The ships on this side of the Whale Sea all use the northern route. In summer and autumn, when the temperature is high and the ice floes are less, they only go this way in safer seasons. The rest are also whaling ships and fishing boats. The ship is gone, and there are still a few merchant ships going to Japan from Vladivostok.

"My fellow, what about whaling?"

At this time, Emperor Hongzhi greeted Yang Genhe with a smile.

The voice sounds like a Beijing accent, from the Beijing-Tianjin area.

"Yes."

Yang Genhe quickly replied with a smile, he is from Tianjin, and he makes a living by hunting whaling. He used to make a living in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, but now he has come to the Whale Sea.

"There are quite a lot of whales. You must have worked hard this winter."

Emperor Hongzhi asked with a smile.

"It's okay. There are more whales here than in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, but you can catch whales in winter, but not in summer. The weather is hot and they tend to stink."

Yang Genhe nodded and replied.

"Can you sell me some whale meat, I haven't eaten whale meat for a long time?"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded, thought for a while and said.

"What are you talking about buying? Since they are all fellow villagers, you can let them cut it yourself as much as you want."

"That won't work. You've worked hard too. You're all counting on making money in this winter's whaling. If you don't charge money, I don't want it."

Emperor Hongzhi was easy-going and smiling, and soon chatted happily with Yang Genhe.

"These three big ships belong to you?"

"Yes, do a small business to support the family."

"Hey, you are really generous. Just these three big ships can't be bought without a million taels of silver. This is still a small business."

"I made you laugh. This is the first time I have come to this whale sea. I heard that there are many specialties in this whale sea."

"That's right, I'm not telling you, this whale sea is not ordinary. There are a lot of whales here, and they are even bigger. There are also a lot of fish schools in the sea here. There are so many black herrings, salmon, saury, etc., that The whole sea is sometimes black because there are too many fish."

"Also, in Liaodong Province, you must not miss the fur, ginseng, deer antler, and tiger bone. You must buy some here in Vladivostok, but you must pay attention to it. Money people, that’s desperately asking for high prices.”

"Okay, okay, I must bring some with me when the time comes."

"I have heard about Vladivostok for a long time, and I have wanted to visit it for a long time."

"There is nothing to see in Vladivostok. It is far from our Tianjin and Beijing. It is just a small fishing port with a few shipyards, and there is nothing else. It is now connected to the train, otherwise , there are even fewer people in Vladivostok."

"That's right, how about the Matsuba crabs in this season? I heard they are very good."

"This season is too bad. The best season for pine leaf crabs is in October. At that time, the pine leaf crabs are fat and creamy, delicious, and they are out of season now."

"If you want to try something new, there are many other types of seafood. It's a pity that I'm a whaling ship. Otherwise, if there are some on board, I'll give you some."

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. It's rare for us Beijing and Tianjin masters to meet fellow villagers when we go out. We should help and help each other."

"Yes, yes, well said, we should help each other, and we Daming people should help each other outside."

Emperor Hongzhi happily chatted with Yang Genhe, learning about the lives of the common people, and by the way, learning about some situations around the whale sea.

(End of this chapter)