My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 792 Bumpkin

In the wide river, shirtless slaves worked hard to dig out the accumulated soil in the river, and then transported it bit by bit to the river embankment.

Basa sat in the carriage and looked at the slaves working in the river through the window, with a somewhat worried expression on his face.

The story of the Han and Osman digging this canal has long been spread. After all, there is no way to keep such a large project secret. For Osman, they need a sea route to the east, and for the Han, Why don’t they want to reach the Mediterranean directly by sea?

Today's Mediterranean coast is already full of forces. As a spoiler, Osman is slowly changing the situation in the Mediterranean. The first one to bear the brunt is Venice, which is blocking the way. If a more powerful man joins in in the future, Barcelona can't help but Worried about the future fate of his mother country.

The carriage went along the flat road along the canal. I heard that this kind of road was called the official road by the Han people and was built by people sent by the government. The road condition was obviously much better than that of the Ottoman side, and there were many regular roads along the way. I saw various large trucks carrying goods, most of which were destined for Hezhongbian City.

Looking at the busy scene on the road, Barcelona also had a more intuitive understanding of the power of the Han Dynasty. The business alone was so prosperous, and this was not the hometown of the Han Dynasty. No wonder they were able to defeat the powerful Timur Empire.

After several days of galloping, the carriage finally arrived at the Port of Suez, which was the landing point for the Han Dynasty to send troops to Egypt. It is also the current capital of the Han Dynasty in Egypt, and most of the governors and troops are stationed here.

In addition, the Port of Suez is also the starting point of the canal. The geographical location here will be more important in the future. Therefore, after occupying this port, Zhang Zhong and Zhu Yong immediately expanded the port and the city. After Zhu Zhantan came here, he also took over the expansion work.

So when Barcelona came to Port Suez, what they saw was a city under construction and reconstruction everywhere. The roads were being widened, the city walls were thickening, and the buildings in the city were springing up like mushrooms after a rain. New buildings were completed almost every day.

Barcelona drove into the city and saw for the first time some Han-style buildings and Han people everywhere on the streets. Compared to the newly opened Hezhongbian City, there are more Han people here in Port Suez. The style of the entire city He also slowly moved closer to the big man.

Barcelona first found an inn to stay at, and then went out to find a restaurant under the banner of Dahan. He went in and tasted Dahan's delicacies. This was also his habit. Everywhere he went, he liked to taste the local specialties. Food to better integrate yourself here.

Because it was not yet dinner time, there were not many people in the restaurant. While Basa was enjoying the food, he looked at the scenery on the street through the window.

Finally, when we were almost done eating, Barcelona called the waiter to pay the bill.

"Sir, you spent a total of one hundred and thirty-four Wen. After you erase the zeros, you can just give me one hundred and thirty-four Wen!"

The waiter was very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He looked similar to a Han Chinese, but his eyes were slightly green. He was probably of other ethnic origins.

"This is one hundred and fifty coins. The extra money will be treated as a reward for you, but I want to ask you something."

Barcelona very generously took out two Chinese yuan, stuffed it into the opponent's hand and said.

"You can ask, sir, and I will definitely tell you everything!"

When the waiter saw how generous this guest was, he immediately said with great joy.

"I'm going to Dahan to buy some goods, but I don't know how to get there. Can you tell me how to get to Dahan?"

Basa asked directly, this restaurant is so big, and this guy is Han, he must know how to get there.

"It's easy!" The clerk immediately smiled relaxedly after hearing this, and then asked again: "If you are not in a hurry, you can go to the dock. There are fleets going to Dahan almost every day. Of course, these fleets usually pull cargo. Yes, but as long as you pay a sum of money, you can take a boat to Dahan, and you can usually arrive at Beizheng Port in Dahan within a month."

"What if I'm in a hurry and want to go to Dahan early?"

Basa asked, he wanted to go to Dahan as soon as possible. After all, Miss Helen's whereabouts are unknown now, and she might not be found again one day later.

"If you're in a hurry, it's easy. We have a special steamship that leaves the port every two days, and it's specially designed to carry people. This kind of ship is extremely fast and can reach the North in ten days. Conquest of the port is just because the shipping fee is too expensive.”

The guy replied again.

The first long trip of a steam ship was from Beizheng Port to Suez Port. Later, with the increase of steam ships, this route was fixed. Steam ships would shuttle between the two ports every other day. Mainly It was to transport passengers, which also greatly strengthened the connection between the Han Dynasty and Egypt.

"Steam ship? What kind of ship is that? It's so much faster than ordinary ships?"

Barca was also shocked when he heard this. Just now, the guy said that it would take a month to reach Dahan on someone else's fleet, but the steamship could arrive in ten days, which is three times faster than an ordinary ship.

"This... I can't explain it to you, but when you get to the pier, you will know that the steam ship has no sails and only a big chimney. It is easy to recognize."

The guy was young and had limited knowledge. He really couldn't explain what a steamship was, so he could only suggest that Barcelona go to the dock to take a look in person.

This also successfully aroused Barcelona's curiosity, so after leaving the restaurant, he went straight to the pier.

When Barcelona arrived at the pier, he saw a strange ship without sails in the most conspicuous position of the pier. Not only did it have a large chimney, but there were also two huge wheels on both sides of the ship, half buried in the In the water, it seems that it relies on these two wheels to move forward.

"With such a big wheel, if you want it to move, you have to have at least dozens of slaves working together, right?"

Barcelona couldn't help but sigh while looking at the wheels on both sides of the ship.

Their Venetian merchant ships inherited from Rome. When Rome was strong, many warships were rowed. The advantage of this kind of ship is that it does not need to rely on wind power and can turn more flexibly. The disadvantage is that it consumes too much manpower and the speed of the ship cannot be sustained, so later the Venetians Improved Roman warships, now generally sail-driven ships.

"Another bumpkin!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as Basa finished speaking, a person passing by sneered, glanced at him, and walked past.

Although it was just a word and a look, the contempt contained in it made Barcelona blush. Although he didn't know where he was wrong, he must have said the wrong thing, otherwise he would not be laughed at.

(End of this chapter)