open sea

Chapter 677 Alan
Zhu Xiaoen patted the jug in front of him, raised his finger and pointed to the vault of the Lion Tower, and added: "There are also stone beasts at the drain, I want to build the castle like this."

"Now His Majesty has canonized me as king. If all goes well, I will have my own palace. The palace should look like a palace."

Chen Mu wanted to laugh, but the memory from later generations prevented him from laughing.

If he was a native of the Ming Dynasty, he would probably hold his stomach and laugh with his head up.

But Chen Mu couldn't do it.

The jug is made by a potter who earns four cents of silver a day; the mason and carpenter’s wages for the vault, the blue tiles and cornices, and the water-spitting stone beast are lower. If a craftsman who masters such skills goes to Europe, he should have a little knowledge. Can be called an artist.

But here, their status is very close to the bottom of society, and their work is extremely poorly paid.

Chen Mu hopes that this land will be richer, and that everyone's status will be higher. Maybe soon, the world will move in the direction he wants to see.

"If the artist you are referring to is Chen's Engineering and Soldiers Thousand Households Department, no problem. When we go to Ailan Country, the artist you want will be there. They can burn all the craftsmanship that the Beiyang Army has. Watts started to make it."

Chen Mu lifted up the hem of the boa robe and sat down at the table, without pouring it into the cup, took a small sip from his pottery jug, put his hands on the table, and said, "But why don't you worry about your wine? What about the territory?"

"According to what you said, your earl has a bad relationship with England. The earl has been away from the territory for so long. Maybe the queen of England has taken back your family territory."

"Compared with artists, I think what you need more is an army. A strong army is the capital to maintain your rule."

Zhu Xiaoen didn't speak, and poured himself a glass of wine very quietly, pricked a piece of cucumber with a wooden stick and put it in his mouth, listening to the sound of the pipa, he chewed it slowly.

He is already proficient in using chopsticks, but wooden sticks are easier for him to use than chopsticks most of the time.

"I'm an earl. It's impossible to defeat England, let alone rebel locally. I thought about it before going to sea. No matter what, without the support of a big man, I can't ensure that the territory is not controlled by England. Ireland is too close to England. .”

"Philip is very enthusiastic about Irish affairs. It seems that he is very enthusiastic about opposing the Protestant Elizabeth, but he can't give me any real help."

"The only help the Habsburgs could give me was to let me spend my retirement years in Seville after losing the war—that's when I knew that a small piece of land in the south of Seville would be the most important thing for the next 100 years. No longer under the Spanish domination."

"A country that has never appeared in Europe claims a piece of land [-] miles away after the victory of the war and leases it. This means that the Chinese Empire has great ambitions to expand its influence eastward."

This is not the first time that Zhu Xiaoen has shown his foresight beyond ordinary people in front of Chen Mu.

Regardless of his speculation about the future political situation of the bourgeoisie brought about by the progress of England's handicraft industry and the expansion of the New World, or his determination to fly thousands of miles without hesitation-this is why Chen Mu thinks highly of him.

Not every mediocre person can come to China alone for a person who might leave everything behind, especially a nobleman who owns a territory.

"Before I came here, I didn't think that my determination to expand could be put into practice. In fact, all I wanted was trade and trade to raise military funds, but the commander-in-chief's proposal is very tempting—King Alan."

"I know that all I have is a title. If it's not me, it can be someone else. Any noble in Ireland can take on such an appointment. I can't gather enough troops and knights. The independence of the Kingdom of Alan will mainly rely on the power of the court. .”

"So I have no objection to the imperial court setting up prefectures and counties to take over administration, setting up guards to control the military, and even taking over local taxation. If my people can live like Zhongyuan people, I am willing to pay more."

As a feudal noble who was hardly affected by the Age of Discovery, Chen Mu couldn't imagine how poor the nobles who had just left the Middle Ages were.

According to the speculation and statistics of later generations, in Europe, which has not yet begun the era of great exploration, there are only [-] tons of gold and [-] tons of silver in the whole of Europe, which is not even enough for the house of gold and two houses of silver that the Inca king was blackmailed.

The Ming Dynasty was heaven for Zhu Xiaoen.

If he had to choose whether to settle in Seville or Tianjin after the defeat of the war, he would definitely choose Tianjin.

Chen Mu understood that Zhu Xiaoen was crying about being poor. What he was crying about was not being poor in the intuitive sense, but saying that there was a limit to what he could do in the upcoming war of independence in Alan Nation.

"We will set up guards, and we will also set up prefectures and counties, but this is not to control your taxes or seize your military. Thousands of soldiers, thousands of taels of silver a year, let alone the emperor, Chen will not let go In my eyes—and how much tax do you have to charge to receive 3000 taels?"

Chen Mu said with a smile: "This is to fully Chineseize that piece of land."

"The blending of Chinese culture and European culture may seem nondescript at first, but maybe when your grandson inherits the throne, you can develop a more prosperous culture-if in two years, you have to feed a thousand What kind of food can you provide for the Northern Banner Army?"

Zhu Xiaoen blinked, but didn't quite understand, and said, "Black bread, goat's milk?"

"I think it can only support a thousand Banner troops over there in a short period of time."

Chen Mu rolled his eyes and said, "Are you treating my people as farmers? You know what they eat in the Beiyang Military Mansion, and overseas, they eat similar food."

"When we were fighting overseas in Southwest China, each flag soldier was supplied with eight taels of rice, six taels of meat, one tael of lard, one tael of salted fish, one egg, two taels of kimchi, and three coins of tea every three days. The supply of live fish, live pigs, and local fruits is enough.”

"The rice, kimchi, salted fish, and tea needed by the One Thousand Banners Army will be transported with the army when they lead the fleet. Others need to be raised locally. This is the basis for ensuring their combat power."

"They will bring some of the gunpowder and lead pellets used for drills and provide some locally. They will also build a shipyard to maintain six warships and six baggage ships. Wood and iron nails also need to be provided by the Kingdom of Alan."

Zhu Xiaoen felt that what he wanted to support was not a thousand bannermen, but a thousand knights.

Seeing King Alan's distressed face, Chen Mu spread his hands and said, "However, they don't need the Kingdom of Alan to provide their salaries. This part will be provided by the Beiyang military government. When they sail away, they will carry a small amount of silk, cloth and tea on their supply ships. It is necessary for the king to find merchants to sell to replenish military expenses."

"If it's difficult to provide for them, can I reduce the fleet I sent to Ailan in advance, for example, six ships and five hundred banners?"

"No, no, no, they can afford it. As long as they can display their fighting strength on the school field when they encounter a war, they won't be afraid of having more, just as their supply of supplies when they fought in the southwest, there will be no shortage at all. I'll serve them some wine!"

"Drinking alcohol is very necessary, but not too often, one pot for ten days. Well, now that this matter is understood, there is one thing left for the king to do."

Chen Mu patted the table lightly and said: "When you arrive at the territory, persuade the neighboring nobles to join you under your command within one year, don't go to war with England within two years, and don't anger Spain within three years. In this way, the Kingdom of Alan can become independent. .”

(End of this chapter)