I am an immortal in heaven and earth

Chapter 294: Sun Bao, the South China Sea Merchant
Sun Bao was a little nervous. He had been detained in the "Tongfu Inn" for more than three days.

He just heard that the Taoists here were very wealthy and built palaces that were no less than the imperial palace, so they had to look for giant trees over 80 meters tall. Of course, these were not ordinary woods, but had to be the best nanmu or fir.

This kind of tree is basically extinct here, or it is famous among the royal family. It is difficult to cut down and takes three to five hundred years to grow. In fact, it is a "non-renewable resource" and is not a miscellaneous wood for burning firewood or making tables, stools and chairs.

But before he could talk to the main person, it snowed heavily and froze the river. Then, out of nowhere, a mouse as big as a cat appeared and spoke in human language, saying that its master was coming to see him.

Although he had traveled far and wide and seen a lot of things, including many supernatural events at sea. Some of the island natives who traded spices with him were proficient in witchcraft, and he even kept some wizards himself. However, most of the things he encountered were inexplicable things about gods and ghosts. He had never seen such a straightforward, talking big rat.

Then not only mice came, but also a few foxes wearing human clothes and hats came and asked some questions. They used their paws and charcoal pencils to write and draw on the notebooks and asked about some things overseas.

After the fox left, he waited until night, and in his dream, another god in yellow clothes came, also to ask questions.

So even though he ate and drank well, he didn't sleep well, and he still felt a little uncomfortable mentally.

Just when he was having a headache, a palm-sized golden toad suddenly jumped out. The toad had money in its mouth and gemstones on its back, just the right amount, and landed in front of him.

The golden toad said, "Our Lord God of Wealth wants to do overseas business. He has recruited many shipbuilding craftsmen these days and built a dock in Poyang to specialize in shipbuilding. However, shipbuilding is not a trivial matter. Wood, nails, canvas, tung oil, lacquer... It takes one or two years to build a large ship. I heard that you have seven large ships that can transport wood and spices overseas. Our Lord God of Wealth wants to invest in your ships. Not to buy them, but to invest in them with money. You will still be in charge of the operation. We will only share the dividends and will not operate them recklessly."

Upon hearing this, Sun Bao had an idea. He had heard that the local Golden Toad Temple was extremely effective, and there were also Golden Toad Pawnshops, money houses, stock houses... The industry was extremely prosperous and it was an industry that made real money.

He said, "My seven ships are not considered big ships. A real big ship is about 40 to 50 zhang long and 10 to 20 zhang wide (150 meters long and 60 meters wide). That's called a treasure ship. It costs at least 300,000 taels of silver. It takes the whole country's strength to build one."

"Among my seven ships, two are medium-sized ships retired from the previous Daheng. They are converted and are 22 meters long and 80 meters wide. They are the main ships. Three are Japanese ships, which are shorter, but they have a developed shipbuilding industry. These ships are faster and can take advantage of wind power. The other two are broken ships bought from pirates. They can still sail after being repaired by shipwrights."

Jin Chan took note of what he heard and then said, "Then make an offer. Our master wants to have a 40% stake. Money is not a problem."

After hearing this, Sun Bao hesitated. He said, "Money is the easiest way to invest. Because Japanese pirates and the Changsheng Sect invaded the coastal areas, the imperial court lifted the ban on sea trade early on. The most important thing is to have a way to go out to sea in private ports. The second thing is that there are many pirates on the sea, including Japanese pirates, Changsheng Sect members, and coastal fishermen. They collect tariffs that the imperial court does not collect, and sometimes even kill people to seize ships..."

After hearing this, Little Golden Toad's eyes sparkled: "That's not a problem. We have suitable weapons here. We can install cannons on the ship."

"That kind of cannon already existed in the previous dynasty, Daheng. It is just a decoration when installed on the ship. The gunpowder is easily affected by moisture, and when the shell explodes, it burns money. The accuracy is also poor." Sun Bao is familiar with these firearms.

Firearms on the coast are more developed than inland areas, but not too developed. They are only at the level of the Tang and Song dynasties, and still rely more on gunpowder used to make fireworks and firecrackers.

After all, these immortality sects, Japanese pirates, and pirates were all very rampant, and fireworks were also very common. The coastal areas were rich in beliefs, and they would set off firecrackers and fireworks at any time. They found that their power was not difficult to detect, and at the beginning they really used fireworks to blow up enemy ships. There were cannons during the Daheng Dynasty, but their power and range were average, and the problem of insufficient black powder energy was not solved. To clean the cannons, they even needed to find thin boys to drill in and clean the gunpowder residue.

As for fire guns, some people tried them at the beginning, but they did not solve the core problems. First, they were not powerful enough. Second, they were difficult to mass produce. Third, they might explode. Fourth, it was difficult to load gunpowder. It was not as good as using real swords and guns to fight.

The gunpowder improvement made by Xu Jia perfectly solved the problem of excessive black powder residue, and the "rifling" technology could also be added to increase the power, accuracy, and even the range.

This is still one generation of reform. Once the industrial foundation is established, cold weapons can be basically eliminated.

The little golden toad said, "You will know when the time comes."

While waiting for Xu Jia to come down the mountain, when Hu Jinhua recommended Sun Bao, he had already been there for five days. The ice and snow began to melt and the weather became colder.

He was wearing a fur coat made of squirrel (not mouse), holding a small stove made of peach-pit charcoal, and came to Xu Jia's house, where he met Xu Zhiyuan first.

Xu Zhiyuan was writing a disaster relief document, which was for Jinchan Duobao. There were several things written in it. One was to raise the grain price in the surrounding areas of Yushan Dexing within a limited time, spread the information in the Yushan market, wait for three or four days, let other grain merchants come to sell, and then decisively open the warehouses to release the grain and directly lower the grain price, so as to purchase and solve the problem of famine.

The second is to prepare for the spring news in advance, mobilize the victims, dredge the silt from the river, widen the river, and facilitate the movement of ships.

The third is to dig reservoirs and build dams to store some floodwaters for use in spring and summer droughts after the spring news. Although he is not an official, he is much more satisfied than being an official. In Yushan and Dexing counties, "finance controls politics". The magistrates of Yushan and Dexing counties are no longer likely to fight for power. They are now sitting at home counting money (investing their assets in Jinchan). Why do they have to do those hard labors?
Among them, the Yushan County Magistrate even said that he would not change his position even if he was offered a fifth-rank prefectural position. The reason was not for anything else, but just because he could make more money, have less work and live a happy life.

Of course, it is also because there is a "big Buddha" protecting him here. Although Xu Jia is unwilling to admit it, he has indeed become the ideal "backer" in the hearts of many people.

Mr. Xu worked in administration at home and applied what he had learned more rationally, which could be considered as a fruitful learning experience.

But he didn't know much about overseas areas. When he heard about Xu Jia's overseas farming plan, he was somewhat disdainful. How could the barbaric land overseas be as good as the place left by their ancestors?

Therefore, he specifically wanted to meet this Sun Bao to increase his overseas knowledge.

Sun Bao heard that he was a juren who ranked fourth in the provincial examination, so he did not dare to underestimate him. After all, he was just a businessman. Although he had some money, his status was not very high.

Although Xu Zhiyuan is not an official, he is qualified to be treated as one.

After entering Xu's house, Sun Bao felt warm as spring, without any chill at all. The trees in the yard still had green leaves, and a peony planted on the ground even had flower buds.

A girl who looked like a maid, wearing a spring gown and with a rosy complexion, was directing a twelve-year-old boy who was refining something. Only a scent of medicine could be smelled.

But the bones next to it look weird. They feel a bit like "dragon horns". The skin is also weird. I don't know what kind of skin it is.

This is glue made from dragon skin and dragon horn. The dragon horn glue is made according to the method of making deer antler glue.

After boiling out the glue, it is easy to make ointment, and after the ointment is refined, it is easy to roll it into pills.

On the other side, there is a porcelain alchemy furnace, which is tightly sealed. In fact, it contains the inner elixir of the black fish spirit. It is double-layered, and purified water is used to turn into steam. The steam is fused with the elixir to make a soup. This soup is also one of the materials for alchemy.

Xiao Hong had some talent in alchemy. After Xu Jian, the earthly immortal, had undergone a new cultivation, he became her alchemy assistant.

Although Sun Bao didn't know that these were the bones, horns and skin of a dragon, he felt clear-headed when he smelled the medicinal energy.

When passing by a Buddhist temple, I could hear some Buddhist scriptures in a trance, which cleansed my soul and made me quiet in an instant.

Then he met Xu Zhiyuan. Xu Zhiyuan put down his paper and pen, stood up to greet him, which made Sun Bao feel a little flattered.

Father Xu said, "I'm really sorry for asking you to come here."

"Those mice, foxes, and golden toads...are they related to you?"

"Ah? Those immortals were all subdued by my son. They were originally mountain spirits and wild monsters. I took them under my command and made them more reliable and trustworthy than humans. But I don't have the ability to do that."

Xu Zhiyuan asked him to sit down and personally made lotus seed tea for him. This is a magical item from Poyang Water Palace, which can help clear the mind and relieve worries.

"My son said that although the islands in the South China Sea are barbaric, the land is fertile and the climate is warm. If we cultivate the land, we can grow three crops a year, and there are many high-yield crops. Now there are signs of famine. If God doesn't give us food, millions or even tens of millions of people will starve to death. We are fine in Jiangnan West Road, but I'm afraid other places won't last long. So we want to open up a piece of land overseas to grow crops and store grain."

“This…” Sun Bao felt a little embarrassed after hearing this. “It’s hot and humid overseas. Although the climate is good, those islands are too primitive. To develop them for farming, I don’t know how much manpower and material resources will be consumed. The mosquitoes are poisonous and carry miasma and plague. If you don’t adapt to the local climate, you will die of illness. Some islands still have indigenous people with red and black skin. Some of them look like Kunlun slaves. They are still in the ancient tribal state and are cannibalistic…”

"Another problem is that the ship's capacity is limited. It will probably take several months to go back and forth. It is not worthwhile to transport all this food for several months. Instead, we can make money by transporting huge logs, spices, or indigenous slaves..."

"Besides, to be honest, the island is only a tiny place the size of a palm. If we want to grow crops, we need to feed the islanders and then support this side. But how many people are there? No matter how much food we transport, it will be a drop in the bucket. It will be useless. But if we can feed and drink 10,000 people, how can we feed 100,000 or 1 million people?"

(End of this chapter)