My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 761 Qidong Port

"Is this a steamship? It's faster than what the big brother said in the letter!"

On the bow of the steamship, Zhu Zhanqi stood on the deck, feeling the sea breeze whistling past him. Behind him, Beiwang Port retreated rapidly. This speed was simply too surprising.

"Your Highness is unaware that the steam engine has just started and the speed has not increased yet. The speed will be faster later!"

A middle-aged man who looked like a craftsman next to him reported to Zhu Zhanqi that his name was Yan Huo. He had been a craftsman for generations. He later regained his freedom after going to Dahan. Moreover, he was very studious and learned the maintenance of steam engines in Dahan. , this time was also assigned to Zhu Zhanqi by Zhu Zhanhe to be responsible for the maintenance of the steam engine on the ship.

"It can be faster!"

Zhu Zhanqi was even more surprised when he heard this. Now the speed of steamships has far exceeded that of ordinary sailboats. If they were faster, wouldn't they have to fly?

Of course, it was impossible for the ship to fly, but as the steam engine heated up, the speed did speed up a lot. Zhu Zhanqi couldn't help but grab the side of the ship with both hands, for fear of being thrown out.

At the speed of a steamship, Zhu Zhanqi left Beiwang Port and arrived in the eastern part of Losos Island in just a few days. This place is not only suitable for living, but also rich in seafood, especially the giant lobster here. Unfortunately, this thing is not It is durable in storage, otherwise if it is shipped to Ming Dynasty or Han Dynasty, it will definitely be a big gift.

The steamship soon arrived at a place called Qidong Port. Before Zhu Gaoxu proclaimed himself emperor, Zhu Zhanqi's title was Qidong County Prince, so the port was directly named after Zhu Zhanqi's title.

Later, Zhu Gaoxu proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhu Zhanqi's title was also changed to King of Qi. However, the name of the port had already been decided, so it has not been changed.

Qidong Port is a natural and excellent port. The port is surrounded by two peninsulas, which can protect it from storms. Moreover, the water in the port is very deep and can dock large ships. When Zhu Zhanqi came to Losos, he fell in love with it at first sight. Here, and then established a port here, became their first settlement in Roos.

The arrival of the steamship also caused a commotion in the port. After all, this ship was not only fast, but also looked strange. It didn't have a sail, but it also kept spitting out black mist. It was like a legend. Like a monster.

Therefore, when people in the port saw such a strange ship arriving, they were all on alert. Even the guards at the port rushed out, their muskets ready to fire.

Fortunately, Zhu Zhanqi was standing at the bow of the ship, so people at the port immediately lifted their alert after seeing him.

Then the steamship arrived at the pier. Before it stopped, two people were seen running towards Zhu Zhanqi on the pier. They shouted at Zhu Zhanqi on the bow: "Zhanqi, where did you get this strange ship?" Boat?"

The two people who came up from the pier, one short and fat and the other tall and thin, were Zhu Zhanqi's two good brothers Zhang Chang and Chen Ning. When they saw Zhu Zhanqi sitting on this strange smoking ship, they were also very interested. , at this time, he was also looking at the boat up and down.

"This is not a strange ship, but a steamship newly developed by my eldest brother. It can travel thousands of miles in a day. I set out from Beiwang Port and got here in only five days!"

Zhu Zhanqi stood on the bow of the boat and boasted to the two brothers with a proud look on his face.

"Five days? Zhanqi, are you talking in your sleep because of a fever?"

Zhang Chang asked with a suspicious expression, and Chen Ning next to him also didn't believe it, because it would take half a month at the fastest for them to go to Beiwang Port, and sometimes it was normal to go for a month.

"Everyone on the whole boat can vouch for me. If you don't believe me, just ask anyone!"

Zhu Zhanqi once again said proudly that although the boat was given to him by Zhu Zhanhe, he felt honored that his elder brother could invent such a fast boat.

Hearing what Zhu Zhanqi said, Zhang Chang and Chen Ning finally gave up their suspicions. At this time, the ship's planks had been set up, and they were eager to board the ship. They wanted to see what the secrets of this ship were.

Zhu Zhanqi had already understood the steamship thoroughly on the way, so he also acted as a guide at this time and took two friends around the ship, especially the core boiler room. When the two saw the burning boiler, When they saw the huge steam engine inside, they were all shocked. They never thought that someone could build such a complicated machine.

"No wonder this boat can run so fast. It turns out there is such a big iron thing in its belly!"

After Chen Ning saw the steam engine in the cabin, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I remembered, the last time I corresponded with my cousin, he once mentioned that Dahan invented a steam-driven machine, which is extremely powerful. I guess it is this kind of steam engine!"

Zhang Chang suddenly clapped his hands and shouted.

He was Zhang Zhong's cousin. The two had a good relationship and often exchanged letters, so he also heard Zhang Zhong mention the steam engine.

"This kind of steam engine can not only be used on ships, but can also be used in textile and other workshops. With this kind of machine, manpower can be greatly saved!"

Zhu Zhanqi said excitedly again.

When he established a foothold in Luososi, what he lacked the most was manpower. After all, he did not have as much appeal as Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanhe. He only had a total of more than [-] immigrants under his command, and most of them lived in Qidong Port. There is no power to expand outward at all.

Zhang Chang and Chen Ning were very interested when they heard that the steam engine had such a great effect, and immediately gathered around Zhu Zhanqi again and asked many questions about the steam engine.

However, Zhu Zhanqi's understanding of steam engines was limited, so he finally called Yan Huo, the craftsman responsible for repairing steam engines, and asked him to help him answer questions about steam engines. Although Yan Huo was a craftsman, he came from the Han Dynasty and had gone to school to study. He was a literate craftsman and often read newspapers. Therefore, he not only knew the structure of steam engines very well, but also had a good understanding of the development prospects of steam engines.

Therefore, Yan Huo answered all the questions asked by Zhang Chang and Chen Ning, allowing the two to have a relatively comprehensive understanding of steam engines in a short period of time.

"Okay, brothers, don't ask anymore. We just came back and we haven't even eaten yet!"

Zhu Zhanqi finally rubbed his belly and interrupted Zhang Chang's question.

"Haha, we almost forgot. Let's get off the boat quickly. We have prepared a feast for you!"

Zhang Chang and Chen Ning also laughed loudly and immediately pulled Zhu Zhanqi off the boat. As for Yan Huo and others on the boat, there were naturally others to entertain them.

After leaving the pier, there is a small city behind. Because the population is limited, and Zhu Zhanqi and the others have not been here for a long time, the scale of the city is not large, and the buildings in the city also look a bit rough, but Zhu Zhanqi looked at this city, but he was very excited, because this place completely belonged to him, and in his heart, this was his home.

The three of them came to the city lord's mansion in the middle of the city. It was called a mansion, but it was actually a relatively large courtyard with some wooden houses built in it, mainly for Zhu Zhanqi, Zhang Chang, and Chen Ning to handle official business. , they don’t usually live here.

At the reception banquet, Zhang Chang and Chen Ning asked Zhu Zhanqi about his journey, such as whether the recruitment of immigrants went smoothly, etc., and Zhu Zhanqi also answered them one by one.

Finally, Zhu Zhanqi suddenly remembered something and asked Zhang Chang: "When I was in Beiwang Port, I heard Wang Hai say that you had captured a group of strange Japanese people, but they were not Japanese pirates. What on earth is going on?"

When Zhu Zhanqi asked about this, Zhang Chang and Chen Ning were shocked. After looking at each other, they lowered their voices and said, "Zhanqi, we may have caught the treasure this time!"

"Baby? What do you mean?"

Zhu Zhanqi was even more surprised when he heard this. It was just a group of Japanese people. Why was it related to the treasure again?

"It's still up to me..."

Zhang Chang drank the wine in one gulp and then told what happened.

It turned out that just a month ago, two very dilapidated ships suddenly came to Qidong Port. Someone recognized that these two ships were Japanese warships, so Zhang Chang and Chen Ning immediately led the fleet to move forward and take these two ships. Surrounded by boats.

The Japanese on the boat seemed to have traveled a long distance. Not only was the boat damaged, but the Japanese on the boat were also very thin. They had no strength to resist, so they were captured very easily by Zhang Chang and the others.

Originally, Zhang Chang and the others thought that these were just two Japanese pirate ships. Although Japan had been occupied by the Ming Dynasty and the problem of Japanese pirates along the Ming Dynasty had been completely solved, there were still many Japanese pirates wandering around the Nanyang area and coming out to plunder from time to time.

But soon Zhang Chang and others discovered that the Japanese on these two ships were very unusual. They insisted that they were not Japanese pirates, but Japanese navy, and that they were out acting under the orders of King Zhu Gaosui of Zhao. Therefore, strictly speaking, these Japanese They are considered subjects of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the Japanese on the ship also saw that Zhang Chang and others were Han, so they insisted that they were Zhu Gaosui's people, hoping to exchange for a chance to survive.

"Then did they say what Third Uncle sent them out for?"

Zhu Zhanqi was also surprised when he heard this, so he immediately asked.

"No, these Japanese people are very strict. No matter how we ask, they just refuse to tell us!"

Chen Ning also interrupted at this time.

"Yes, but even though they refused to say anything, we found something on their ship!"

Zhang Chang said, giving instructions, and soon saw someone walking in carrying several boxes.

Zhu Zhanqi was also very curious and went to open the box himself, only to see that there were small bags one after another inside.

Zhu Zhanqi reached out and picked up a bag. After opening it, he found that it was filled with yellow gold. He thought it was gold at first, but he felt the weight was wrong. He reached out and grabbed a handful, only to find that it was gold. The seeds, each about the size of a soybean, look very tempting.

"What kind of seed is this?"

Zhu Zhanqi looked at these seeds and couldn't help asking curiously. He had traveled overseas for many years and was well-informed, but this was the first time he saw such seeds.

(End of this chapter)