People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 739: Delicacies from all over the world, jaw-dropping for the envoy!

Sumatra's throat tightened.

He recognized among the glowing islands several secret anchorages that eluded even Java's most experienced fishermen.

Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard the Malacca envoy gasp - the old man with a goatee was staring at the huge nautical chart hanging on the wall. The routes marked on the chart were densely covered with numbers, but the most eye-catching was the "π"-shaped mark circled in red in the Strait of Malacca.

"Your Highness, this is..."

"The Institute of Physics has just calculated the best route." Zhu Yunhuan took a brass compass from the attendant and drew a beautiful arc on the sea chart. "Using this formula, merchant ships can save 20% of their time."

He suddenly turned around and led everyone through the corridor. The objects displayed in the glass display cases on both sides became more and more bizarre: a model of a carriage that could automatically record mileage, and a loom driven by water power.

After turning around the corridor, the view suddenly opens up.

In the open-air test field, more than 30 students were debugging various strange devices. The most eye-catching one was the three-story steel giant in the center. It had eight spider-like iron legs and a copper furnace that kept spewing steam in its abdomen. As the chief craftsman waved the red flag, white mist suddenly spurted out of the joints of the giant, and it slowly raised one of its iron legs, easily crushing a half-man-high granite block.

"A steam hammer for mining." The prince's tone was as if he was introducing an ordinary farm tool. "It's more efficient than 500 miners."

The Javanese envoy's knees went weak. Their country's most elite elephant soldiers were like children's toys in front of this steel monster. Just as he was in a trance, he heard cheers from the sidelines. He saw several students pushing a copper tube with wheels, aiming the tube at an iron target three hundred steps away. As the fuse was lit, the tube suddenly vibrated violently, and the fireball that spewed out instantly melted the iron target into red hot metal.

"It's just a basic cannon." Zhu Yunhuan waved his hand, as if it was just a small gadget, "Let me take you to see the real treasure."

The last words made the envoys' hearts beat wildly. When they were led into the underground secret room, the Malacca envoy suddenly knelt on the ground - under the dim light, the entire wall was covered with various firearms design drawings, from palm-sized palm mines to siege cannons that required ten oxen to pull, and the corners of each drawing were marked with numbers accurate to the millimeter.

"These are just ideas." Zhu Yunhuan stroked the blueprints as if he was stroking his lover's hair, "This is what is truly completed."

The red silk in the center of the secret room was suddenly unveiled. What appeared before everyone's eyes was a giant streamlined metal crossbow, covered with precision gears, and the triangular arrowhead lying in the arrow slot glowed blue. The most peculiar thing was the transparent water tank behind the crossbow, in which the boiling liquid was constantly circulating through the copper pipe.

"Hydraulic crossbow." The crown prince turned the capstan himself, the sound of the gears clenching made people's teeth ache, "It can shoot twenty arrows at a time, and the arrows are made of fine iron from the South Sea." He suddenly turned his head to look at Sumatra, "I heard that the arrows of your country's pirates can penetrate three layers of leather armor? I wonder how it compares to this?"

The envoys were speechless. They certainly recognized the spiral pattern on the arrowhead - it was the "magic arrow" boasted in the pirates' secret letter, but now it was piled up in the corner like firewood. The Srivijaya envoy suddenly remembered something and pointed to another drawing on the wall with trembling hands: "That, that flying..."

"Hot air balloon? It's still in the experimental stage." Zhu Yunxun rolled up the blueprint nonchalantly. "Actually, this is the most practical one." He took out a palm-sized copper box from the wooden box and opened the lid to reveal a miniature sea chart. The pin-sized islands on the chart would change position as the box tilted. "A portable navigation device will be distributed to all merchant ships next year."

When they left the Engineering College, the setting sun stretched the envoys' shadows very long. Sumatra, holding the sailing model given by Zhu Yunhuan, suddenly knelt down in front of the carriage and said, "I dare to ask why Your Highness displayed these artifacts?"

The grandson was tidying up his cuffs wrinkled by steam. Hearing this, he chuckled, "Because they will soon no longer be divine tools." He pointed to the expanding West Suburb Workshop, where twelve blast furnaces were standing with thick smoke. "After mass production, these things will become as common as hoes."

Zhu Yunhuan then took these Nanyang envoys to the Agricultural College.

"Everyone, please look..." The prince pointed his ivory abacus at the strange farm tools in operation in the field. The iron tool was shaped like a centipede, with twelve pairs of iron claws turning the soil rhythmically as the waterwheel turned, and a wooden bucket that continuously sifted fertilizer was dragged at its tail. Several shirtless farmers squatted on the ridge of the field drinking tea, with bamboo baskets at their feet filled with newly dug sweet potatoes, each as big as a baby's head.

The Champa envoy suddenly stumbled to the edge of the field, and with trembling fingers he pushed aside the rice leaves: "This, this is the rice seeds we pay tribute to you!"

The heavy ears of rice bent the stalks, and the golden grains were much fuller than those produced in Champa. What shocked him even more was the arrangement of the ridges - the spacing between each row was so precise that it seemed as if it had been measured with a ruler, and some kind of legume with purple flowers was interplanted between the rice bushes.

"It is indeed Champa rice." Zhu Yunhuan took the bamboo tube from the old farmer and poured out a few grains of raw rice into his palm. "But we added some Siamese fragrant rice bloodline." The rice grains rolled in his palm, shining like pearls in the sunset. "The Institute of Physics has calculated that this hybridization can increase the yield by 30%."

The Malacca envoy was about to get closer to take a closer look when his nose suddenly twitched. A strange fragrance wafted from the fields. Two peasant women came out of the hut carrying a steamer, and the hot air was filled with the sweet aroma of rice. His stomach growled uncontrollably - since he set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty, those exquisite snacks had made him lose his appetite for the rough palm rice of his own country.

"Try it?" The prince casually lifted the lid of the steamer. The new rice was crystal clear, and the steam condensed into dewdrops between the rice grains, which was even more tempting than the best tribute rice in their country.

When the Javanese envoy Sumatra took the bamboo chopsticks, he found that the tip of the chopsticks was engraved with fine anti-slip lines - this was clearly a spiral line imitating the ruler of the Physics Institute. He picked up a bunch of rice with trepidation, and his pupils suddenly dilated when he took a bite. The rice grains were chewy but soft, and the aftertaste was accompanied by a faint floral fragrance, which completely overturned his perception of rice.

"How is it?" Zhu Yunxun looked at the envoys wolfing down their food with a smile, "This is only the harvest from the second-class fields."

"Second class?" The Srivijaya envoy almost choked on his rice ball. The best paddy fields in their country produced less than half of the yield of the experimental fields in front of them.

The grandson's counting sticks suddenly pointed to the straw shed in the distance that was emitting green smoke. Through the fence, he could see that it was full of humus. Several students were stirring the compost with scaled wooden sticks, and the temperature data was densely recorded in the account book next to them. "New composting method." He flicked the counting sticks with his fingertips, "Using bat feces shipped from Southeast Asia as a primer, the fermentation time is shortened by half."

As he was talking, the sound of a copper bell suddenly rang out from the field. Two strong yellow oxen were pulling an iron plow past, and the plow blade had sunk just to the red paint mark. The most amazing thing was the copper box installed on the plow handle, which kept making a clicking sound as the plow was plowing.

"That is……"

"Acre counter." Zhu Yunhuan took off a similar copper box from the old farmer's waist. "It makes a sound for every acre plowed, and the error is no more than half a centimeter." He deliberately shook the copper box, and the sound of the springs inside reminded the messengers of the precise gears in the Engineering College.

The Champa envoy suddenly knelt down on the ridge of the field, and the soil he held in his hands slipped through his fingers. This black soil mixed with humus was softer than the most fertile riverbed in his hometown. In a trance, he seemed to see the farmers in his homeland hunched over, using wooden sticks to poke holes in the hardened red soil and plant seeds. "Actually, the best thing is this." Zhu Yunhuan suddenly took a pottery jar from the servant. The jar was full of pores, and when it was opened, the earthworms wriggling inside were revealed. These worms were much thicker than ordinary species, and their backs were shining with a strange metallic luster.

"The 'earth dragon' cultivated by the Institute of Physics." The Grandson picked up one at random, "One can plow the field with the strength of three cows."

The Malacca envoy's Adam's apple rolled. He thought of the pearl rice presented to the Sultan last year. At that time, he was proud that it was a rare treasure in the world. Now it seems that it is probably not even as good as the pig feed of the Ming Dynasty farmers.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the people and cast them on the ridges of the fields, interweaving with the shadows of the precision farm tools into a strange grid. Zhu Yunhuan bent down and picked up a weed that was brought out by the iron plow. The fresh soil on the grass roots exuded a sweet and fishy smell.

"Agriculture is the foundation of the country." He casually inserted the weeds back into the soil, his movements as gentle as if he were treating a treasure. "Like these improved Champa rice..." The prince suddenly stepped on the ridge of the field, and the rammed earth made a dull sound. "The roots are deep, so they are naturally not afraid of wind and rain."

The messengers looked silently at the farmhouses with smoke rising from the distance. The silhouette of the looms on the window paper formed a strangely harmonious picture with the steam engine chimneys in the fields. They finally understood why the soldiers of the Ming Navy ate more refined military rations than the nobles of their own country, and why those craftsmen could forge artifacts day and night.

"Your Highness!" Sumatra suddenly fell on the ridge of the field, his forehead covered with mud, "I am willing to exchange three years of pepper harvest in Java for this farming method!"

The other envoys woke up from their dreams and knelt down to beg. Zhu Yunhuan's dragon robe swept across their trembling backs, and his voice was a little lazy: "This matter needs to be decided by Grandpa Huang. However..." He suddenly took a cloth bag from the old farmer, "You can take some seeds back first."

When the cloth bag was unfolded, all the messengers gasped - there were twelve neatly stacked small cloth bags inside, each embroidered with a different number pattern. The most eye-catching bag of Champa rice seeds had the mark "7.22" embroidered in gold thread.

"Oh, right." The crown prince seemed to suddenly remember something and took out a scroll of bamboo slips from the brocade box held by his attendant. "This is 'A Brief Introduction to Agricultural Policy', a special edition for the Women's Workshop." When the bamboo slips were unfolded, the messengers discovered that the text on them was actually printed with burnt rice husks, and the handwriting was as clear as a carving.

The Srivijaya envoy's hands were shaking as he took the bamboo slips.

He recognized that the writing format was exactly the same as that of the pirates' secret letters, except that the content had changed from a looting plan to "seed soaking method three days before the beginning of spring."

This style of combining military secrets with agricultural wisdom is more terrifying than any artillery.

As the departing carriage passed through the threshing ground, the golden rice spread out into a sea under the setting sun. Farmers used wooden shovels to scoop up the grains, and the broken chaff formed a hazy halo in the air. Zhu Yunhuan leaned against the window and suddenly hummed the rice-planting tune sung by the people of Yingtian.

The singing drifted into the ears of the messengers, mixed with the creaking of the axles. Sumatra tightly grasped the rice seed bag, and suddenly found that the lining of the bag was printed with indigo dye. A miniature sea map - the route of the Strait of Malacca was densely marked with tide times and artillery ranges.

"Stop!" He slapped the car wall in fear, but saw the Jinyiwei who was driving turned around and smiled. On the bronze plate dangling from the man's waist, the symbol of pi shone brightly in the twilight.

The melodious time signal came from the bell tower of the Agricultural College in the distance, startling flocks of egrets.

As those white wings flew over the experimental fields, the Javanese envoys seemed to see the shadows of countless ironclad ships emerging among the rice waves.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the carved window lattices of the banquet hall, casting mottled light and shadows on the blue brick floor. When Chen Han pushed open the gilded lacquer door, a warm breeze mixed with the sweetness of roasted mutton fat and lychees blew in his face.

The Javanese envoy Sumatra's nostrils twitched unconsciously. He saw twenty mahogany round tables arranged in the shape of a lotus, each with an ice sculpture of a different shape - a neighing horse with its head held high, a crane spreading its wings ready to fly, and the five-foot-tall dragon-shaped ice sculpture in the center, which was constantly spewing out cold mist with the scent of pine.

"Everyone, please take your seats." The gold thread on Zhu Biao's python robe flowed in the candlelight, and his fingertips lightly tapped the nearest table, "Try the roasted whole lamb from Mobei."

As soon as the Srivijaya envoy approached, he was shocked by the whole sheep on the iron rack and took a step back. The sheep was golden all over, and the subcutaneous fat sizzled in the residual heat of the charcoal fire. The cracks on the skin sprinkled with cumin revealed the tender pink meat. What was even more surprising was that the aroma of matsutake and shallots kept wafting out of the sheep's belly, which clearly showed that there was something else going on inside.

"This..." The Malacca envoy was about to question the freshness of the mutton when the waiter had already sliced ​​the tenderloin neatly. Where the blade passed, the gravy gushed out like a spring, forming an amber puddle on the silver plate.

Chen Han took the jade chopsticks handed over by the waiter and picked up the thin slices of meat. "The lamb was delivered from Hetao last month. It was transported in the fresh-keeping truck of the School of Physics. Saltpeter was used to make ice on the way."

The moment the meat entered his mouth, Sumatra's pupils suddenly dilated. The expected fishy smell was not there at all, but instead there was a sweetness like the morning dew on the grassland. The royal family of his hometown had also paid a lot of money to buy Mobei mutton, but when it was delivered, it always had a rotten and moldy smell.

"Honeydew melon from the Western Regions." Zhu Biao used a silver knife to cut open the emerald-colored melon ball on the corner of the table. The clear juice dripped from the tip of the knife into the iced wine. "It just passed through Yumen Pass three days ago."

The Javanese envoy stared at the layer of glittering frost on the melon flesh and suddenly realized that the temperature in the entire banquet hall was much lower than outside. He looked up and saw that the copper pipes hanging on the walls were constantly emitting white mist, and the skirts of the maids walking around were all decorated with tiny ice crystals.

"Transportation is only one of them." Chen Han knocked on the gilded hot pot in front of him, and a blue flame suddenly burst out from the bottom of the pot. "The key is to reach a trade agreement with the Tatar tribes." As he spoke, he threw the thinly sliced ​​fish into the pot. The fish meat instantly curled into a crescent shape when it was heated. "Now there are 300 carts going back and forth inside and outside the Great Wall every month."

At this moment, the waiter brought a crystal cup. In the cup, there were more than a dozen transparent small silver fish swimming, their gills opening and closing. The Champa envoy was so shocked that he knocked over the wine glass, but saw Zhu Biao calmly pick up a live fish, dip it in sauce and put it into his mouth.

"Ice fish from the Songhua River." The prince's Adam's apple rolled, "Just arrived this morning."

……

(End of this chapter)