Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 496 The battle between cars and ships
On July 21, the third year of Chu Li, at noon, Bai Tuzheng, Xia Houjuan and Lu Lingqi had lunch together. Bai Qing and Lu Yan were accompanied by their wet nurses.

The "Royal Chef" of the Chu Palace has recently developed a new dish - braised lion head.

"Old Zhao's craftsmanship is getting better and better. When his apprentice comes out, let him be sent to Hefei to open a new store!" Bai Tu said after he was very good at cooking.

"Well, looking at the seven branches of Baiyanlou, a new store has a net profit of at least 10,000+ yuan a year." Lu Lingqi's eyes lit up when she heard this, and then she saw Xia Houjuan on the side was indifferent, so she added: "It's equivalent to Xiaojuan’s royalties for several years!”

Xia Houjuan:......

The purchasing power unit of Chu coins is still very strong. Although the weight is about the same as that of Han five baht coins, the purchasing power of Chu coins is at least three times that of five baht coins. Even if Liu Xie hesitated for this and banned the circulation of Chu coins in Guanzhong, it would change. Not this.

As for the "big money" Lu Lingqi said, it means "worth ten Chu coins". The face value is ten and the copper is ten times as much. It is called "big money" among the people.

For example, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, one stone of rice cost more than 200 yuan. Now, the price of food in Chu State has been raised to more than 400 yuan due to the Pan-Zhenqi Project. However... in terms of Chu coins, it only costs about 150 yuan. Within the Chu State, Only Chu coins are in circulation.

In terms of "being the top ten money", the salaries of senior officials in the court, masters of the Ministry of Industry, and doctors of medical schools are theoretically only a few hundred a month.

Zhang Chunhua, who was eating a "work meal" on the small table, curled his lips when he heard this - compared with Emperor Huan, King Chu was really "money-seeking"!
Not to mention the level of a palace, which is also a mansion, the training mechanism of "imperial chef" is that after the training is mature, a few apprentices will be brought out, and then... they will be released to be the head of a restaurant solely owned by the Chu Palace?
Generally speaking, imperial chefs should not strive for excellence. How come they got here from the King of Chu and became the leader of a foreign restaurant?
But the effect is really good. Firstly, it is the royal chef released from the Chu Palace, and the craftsmanship is indeed unique. Secondly... with the blessing of the reputation of "Chu Palace" and "Royal Chef", it can easily become the most famous and highest brand ( A restaurant that sells stalls (customers) and does not worry about any malicious competition.

It’s really a lot of money!
Because Zhang Chunhua's "Shang Shulang" is already at the level of a life assistant, she can feel that Bai Tu is serious about saving money for future generations. In other words... Bai Tu is very interested in "just in case". The promise is indeed serious.

only……

The majestic King of Chu always feels like a food tester?The imperial chef has just been trained and sent out?
Such fragrant braised lion head is probably not available next month, and we have to wait for the next batch of royal chefs to mature - Zhang Chunhua's work meal is actually the same dish, just divided.

In addition... the restaurant and the like are just Baitu's own small business. Chu State has a "big business" recently, which has already begun to be implemented.

That was the sea-going ship transaction with Wei State. Finally, Liu Ye was no longer playing ball. Chu State agreed to pay the first batch of ships in advance, which accounted for about [-]% of the total transaction volume.

What the Wei State valued was originally the "sample", not the quantity, so... the Chu State was so cruel that it made Wei State pay [-]% of the payment first!
After all, the ironclad ship project has been launched. Although wooden ships will still be produced, especially iron-clad wooden ships, the new ships will definitely be driven by true energy.

Bai Tu naturally didn't mind trading the old sail warships to the Wei State - for the [-] million Chu coins, the Wei State sold a lot of resources, and even...indirectly "sold" a lot of its population.

Now Bai Tu has also understood that the reason why the Wei State is rich and wealthy is that it mobilized aristocratic families to "subscribe".

At the same time, the large amount of Chu coin transactions also further consolidated the legal status of Chu coins. Especially after the rise of maritime trade in Wei, many big families in the Central Plains and Hebei began to exchange part of their hoarded gold and silver for Chu coins. Come to the habit of hoarding.

Although the State of Wei restricted the direct circulation of Chu coins in the country, the State of Wei was unable to supervise the transactions between the noble families.

As the Chu State grew stronger and stronger, the Chu nobles gradually overwhelmed the nobles of other regions in terms of financial and material resources, which made other princes' resistance to innovation much smaller. The local nobles could also feel that the gap between themselves and the powerful families of the Chu State was widening. !
However, the fundamental principle is that everyone still cares about his own interests, and it is impossible to sacrifice his own interests to promote innovation.

In contrast, the Chu State used its development rights to "loan" part of the private rights of each family at the beginning of its development, so that the current government decrees are smooth. Although there are also risky private transactions, At least in the Chu State, the court was really investigating and cracking down, unlike other princes who had to turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye.

The two hundred million from the far north also loosened the start-up funds for the Chu State's Zhenqi Ship and Zhenqi Train plans.

After Bai Tu took the courtiers to "experience" it, the opinions of all parties actually had quite a lot of differences - after all, this was not the same as testing guns and cannons.

As for guns and artillery, the generals only need to decide which one is more practical and cost-effective. However, the Qi ship and Qi train plans are related to the development focus of Chu State and cannot be compared generally.

In the end, the result of mutual compromise was that the scale of the initial ironclad ship was reduced a lot.

Bai Tu's original plan was to build one battleship and three cruisers first, and the others would be temporarily replaced by iron-clad wood destroyers and frigates, as well as purely wooden transport ships and gunboats, to form a fleet together.

Battleships are also commonly referred to as "ironclad ships", with high tonnage, large-caliber weapons, and thick armor. They are equivalent to the evolution of sailing main ships; It is faster and more suitable for long voyages. This method of calling it was also used within the Chu Navy.

But even a cruiser, as long as it is a Qi-armored cruiser, has a displacement two or three times larger than the current wooden main ship. It can be about 2.5 tons based on the Chu system. You must know that one ton made by the Chu system is equivalent to [-] tons in later generations... ...It just doesn't have the momentum of an "ironclad ship" that can easily displace [-] tons of water.

In the end, after some debate, even though the "fleet faction" had Bai Tu's support, they were still persuaded, and the number was reduced to "two cruisers, and the rest were replaced by iron-clad wood-infuriating ships."

In addition, the ministers who participated in the experiment did not have any objections to increasing the amount of steelmaking. They changed their previous objections and just wanted to invest more efforts in the railway.

Bai Tu also saw it, mainly because... everyone has selfish motives!

Although the benefits of the sea route are now visible to the naked eye in Chu State, the foundation of most noble families is ultimately in the inland.

Therefore, if we weigh the two, they hope that the railway will be laid, let alone any ocean-going project.

Regardless of the ocean plan or the railway plan, the party that benefits the most is definitely the Chu State’s treasury—accounting for more than half.

But the difference is that apart from this, the revenue items and departments of the voyage are basically controlled by the Jiangdong Family.

Although Jiangdong is the place where the Chu Kingdom prospered, the dividends the Jiangdong family has received have long been coveted. How can they be willing to continue to invest the power of the Chu Kingdom in the sea?

If you want to invest...you have to stretch out your hands and invest!

Bai Tu did not forcefully correct this...

Although there are selfish motives, it does not harm the interests of the Chu State. It is just a matter of which area to develop first.

Including Lu Su, they also have shares in ships, but they also prefer to give priority to railways and connect the major cities in Chu mainland together first!
After all, at present, the income from overseas expansion is only a "fragment" for the mainland of Chu.

And more importantly, Lu Su saw the hope of breaking through the peak of the previous Han Dynasty from the railway and the Qi train!
During the Pre-Han Dynasty, they chased the Xiongnu to Mobei, sealed the wolf in Xu, and pursued the main force of the Xiongnu to the Lake Baikal area in later generations...

At that time, the territory of the former Han Dynasty also reached an unprecedentedly vast extent. However, as the national power declined later, the army could only gradually withdraw it - after all, the current climate in Heshuo and Mobei is not conducive to farming. When the national power was strong, It is possible to expand the grain transportation line to garrison troops, but when the national strength is weaker, it can only give up unproductive land.

This was particularly evident in the "broader" Han and Tang dynasties. The territory at its peak was completely different from its usual territory.

In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, even the "Western Region Protector's Palace" could no longer be maintained and was downgraded to the "Western Region Changshi's Palace". The map area seemed large, but in fact, the control over the Western Region was very limited - just look at the administrative level. Understand that the Protectorate of the Western Regions is a subordinate of the Liangzhou Governor's Department, and the Governor of the Western Regions is already a subordinate of Dunhuang County.

Moreover, whether it is the Duhufu or the Changshifu, the greater role is not to directly rule the countries in the Western Regions, but to station troops here to stabilize the situation of the countries in the Western Regions, and to be the "grand leader" of the Western Regions with peace of mind, waiting for tribute.

Considering only the tribute and the military expenditure of the Changshi Mansion is definitely a loss-making business. However, the greater significance of the Changshi Mansion is to coordinate the countries in the Western Regions. In the short term, it ensures that Dunhuang can farm with peace of mind, and in the long term, it does not have to worry about the Western Regions. What threat does China pose to the Central Plains?

However, in terms of influence, the "Qianliang" during the Northern and Southern Dynasties had a much greater impact on the Western Regions. At one time, they actually included a large area of ​​the Western Regions into their own territory, called Shazhou, and even vigorously reclaimed official land in Dunhuang... …

The reason is very simple. It’s not that Qianliang is stronger than Wei and Jin, but because Qianliang’s roots are in Liangzhou and Guanzhong!
Although Lu Su didn't know anything about the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, but based on his overall view, how could he not deduce the changes that would be brought about after the "Qi Train" "brings the distance" between various places closer?

At that time, the distance that originally took "months to go back and forth" became "reachable in days". Baggage and soldiers could easily be transported thousands of miles. Wouldn't it be possible to station troops everywhere... No!Not only is it garrisoning troops, if it is so convenient, it will become easier to emigrate to the border!

There is no need to worry about the situation of South Vietnam King Zhao Tuo.

What finally convinced Bai Tu was Lu Su's point of view - cruisers are sea fortresses for any princes now, and there is no need for stronger battleships for the time being. By the time battleships are needed, the benefits generated by the railway can already be built. Several battleships...

(End of this chapter)