When Li Longji first received the world map from Li An, he loved it so much that he couldn't put it down. Every day, he would look at the map and observe it. He wished he could take the whole world into his pocket. However, after a long time, the novelty of it slowly decreased. He asked the little eunuch to put the map away. After all, the map was only so big. If he looked at it every day, he would definitely be annoyed.
Upon hearing the order, the little eunuch immediately took out the world map that he had collected and hung it in the hall.
Ang Lee walked to the world map, pointed at the Tang Dynasty part of the world map, and said, "Your Majesty, this is the bay of Laizhou in the Tang Dynasty. Now, the large shipyard here has launched ten large steam ships. They have been trained very well. I think it's time to send them to America and bring back the specialties there."
After that, he stretched out his hand and pointed along the bay of Laizhou to the whole of South America and North America.
Li Longji's eyes followed Ang Lee's finger from Laizhou in the east of the Tang Dynasty to the whole of America. His eyes were full of excitement. He hadn't looked at this map for a long time, so he couldn't remember many places clearly.
"Assistant Minister Li, you once said that there are crops that can produce thousands of kilograms per mu in America, and they don't need to be fertilized. Is there really such good crops?"
Li Longji confirmed again in a curious tone.
Ang Lee said with certainty, "Your Majesty, of course it's true. I dare not say anything. As long as this steam ship team can reach America smoothly, they can bring back these crops that can produce thousands of kilograms per mu. In addition, there are many kinds of crops in America. Of course, they will all be brought back together. There is also a kind of rubber tree, which is very useful. If the Tang Dynasty wants to build more advanced machines in the future, they will need rubber trees."
At this time, in the Tang Dynasty, whether it was agriculture or industry, there was a huge demand for American plants. The most important crops for agriculture were sweet potatoes, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and other crops. The most urgent thing for industry was rubber trees. At this time, due to the limitation of materials, the various machines invented by Ang Lee used gears and shafts, which were very ineffective. If there were rubber materials, they could design pulleys. In this way, the machines that could be developed would be more advanced and useful.
"There are so many treasures in America. Of course, we have to bring them all back. However, I am a little worried about the tens of thousands of miles of sea route."
Li Longji was very interested in all kinds of excellent products in America. However, the journey was so long and on the vast sea, there was not even the most basic road sign. If something happened on the way, it would be very troublesome.
Ang Lee certainly understood Li Longji's worries. He pointed to the many islands on the map and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to worry about the fleet getting lost. I have made many copies of this world map, and each ship will have a copy. Although there is a vast sea along the way, there are many islands that can be temporary shelter for the fleet to rest and replenish water in time. This is the Island of View, this is the Middle Island, Summer Island, Thunder Island, and so on. I have drawn the figures of these islands separately. As long as the fleet reaches these islands along the way, they will know where they are. In this way, they should not get lost. In addition, I will equip each ship with enough telescopes and compasses so that they can see farther. In this way, it will be easier to find these islands."
Hearing this, Li Longji nodded in understanding. He looked at the map in front of him and pointed out, "This is the southernmost point of Nihon. It is the only way for the Tang Dynasty fleet to go to America. It is a very good supply point. We must take it. Summer Island is relatively large and is also a good supply point. We should set up a supply point here, and here and here …"
Listening to Li Longji's advice, Ang Lee nodded repeatedly. Although Li Longji did not know much about the sea, he was the emperor after all. His strategic vision was very good, and his advice was very accurate.
The Nihon that Li Longji mentioned had actually been renamed Nihon for many years. However, Li Longji still liked to call them Nihon. After all, he was the emperor of a big country. How could he accept the title of a small country as the country of the rising sun?
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will make such arrangements and make all these places the territory of the Tang Dynasty."
Ang Lee said seriously.
"Okay."
Li Longji nodded and asked, "It's almost the Spring Festival. When is Assistant Minister Li going to send a ship to America?"
"Your Majesty, of course, the sooner the better. It is still a cold winter in the Tang Dynasty, but here in South America, it is a hot summer. Besides, it is summer all year round in this area, so there is no problem for ships to go to sea. The further south we go, the warmer it is. In addition, the Tang Dynasty is in urgent need of things from America, so naturally, we have to set off earlier. I plan to take the train to Laizhou tomorrow and bring a large number of materials to the capital for the sea."
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. The Tang Dynasty is in urgent need of these products from America. We must bring these things back to the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible. It will take a long time for such a long distance to go back and forth. We must prepare enough food and water on the ship. We must not lack canned food. Those things will not spoil for months."
Li Longji said.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Then I will really make a lot of money this time."
"Assistant Minister Li, when do you think this fleet will come back after setting off?"
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said softly, "At least half a year! It may take more than a year to find all kinds of crops. As for how long it will take, I am not sure. "
Li Longji nodded in agreement and said, "Assistant Minister Li, prepare well. Tomorrow, I will send 100 Dragon Warriors to escort you to Laizhou. In addition, if the ship needs anything, Assistant Minister Li can arrange it directly. There is no need to report to me."
In order to let Ang Lee organize the exploration better, Li Longji gave Ang Lee a lot of power. After all, he also knew Ang Lee. This young man would never act recklessly. He would definitely do this thing well. When he thought that the Tang Dynasty could increase many crops in the future, especially crops that could produce thousands of catties per mu, Li Longji was so excited that he could not close his mouth.
After explaining some specific things, Ang Lee left Daming Palace and immediately returned to the R&D Center to start the preparations before departure.
Because sending a fleet to explore America was a very important matter for the Tang Empire, they had to be well prepared.
In addition to a large number of power generators, there was also a large number of canned food, a large aperture telescope with a magnification of 200 times, and the latest compass. In short, everything that could be used for sailing was prepared.
In order to transport these important materials, the Changan City Railway Station transferred ten freight trains with 50 carriages each and immediately transferred all the materials to Lai Zhou.
After bidding farewell to the ladies in the villa, Ang Lee took more than 500 attendants and guards to the best passenger train and rushed to Lai Zhou. On the train, Ang Lee carefully organized the various maps and plant drawings that he had prepared. He had to make sure that every steamship had a world map, a topographic map of the islands along the way, and the various plants that needed to be found in America.
These plants were all drawn by Ang Lee. In addition to the vivid description of the plant's roots and leaves, there were also many descriptions, such as how each part of the plant felt to the touch, how the fruit of the plant should be used, how the fruit should taste, how it felt to eat it, and so on.
Such a detailed description was naturally to prevent the people who arrived in America from finding the wrong plants. If that happened, it would be a big loss.
There were many technical talents traveling with Ang Lee. At the same time, there were also many guards and officials sent by the imperial court. After all, this exploration of America was an act of the government. Of course, it needed to send officials.
The highest ranking official was only Level Four, much lower than Ang Lee. Most of them were small officials of Level Seven or Level Eight. Of course, there was no need for high-ranking officials to explore a barren land.
There were many famous people among them. For example, the poet Li Bai, who had just been awarded the title of Level Eight scholar, was in this team. However, according to the original arrangement, Li Bai was not on the list. He strongly requested to participate. The leader saw that he was arrogant and did not work seriously, so he agreed.
However, with Li Bai's position as a poet, he could only condescend to stay in the hard sleeper compartment with a large group of technical talents with low cultural quality. Only officials of the sixth rank and above could stay in the soft sleeper compartment. After all, there were a lot of people traveling this time. In order to fill up the compartment in one go, there were very few soft sleeper compartments and more hard sleeper compartments. Furthermore, a heavyweight like Li An occupied a small compartment by himself. Naturally, there were even fewer people left.
Ang Lee had too many problems to think about. Naturally, he had no time to care about Poet Li. Poet Li was proud and arrogant. Naturally, he would not come over to curry favor with him. As a poet with a broad mind, even if Li Bai lived in a messy hard sleeper, he could still make the most infectious poems.
However, the poems he composed did not bring him much practical benefit. He had worked hard for most of his life, but the position he obtained was only an eighth-rank official. Li An, on the other hand, was already an assistant minister at such a young age. There was no comparison at all.
Li Bai's poems were very good. In later generations, he was greatly sought after. His fame was far greater than that of many prime ministers of the Tang dynasty, and even more than that of most of the emperors of the Tang dynasty. However, it could not change anything. Li Bai was still Level Eight scholar. Moreover, it seemed that Li Bai did not intend to do this boring job for a long time. It seemed that he would resign sooner or later. Once he resigned, it meant that Li Bai would return to the days of poverty and relying on the help of his friends.
In later generations, writing could make money. However, in the Tang dynasty, it did not work at all. Because there was no copyright protection law, all the content written could not be protected by copyright. The only way out for scholars was to be an official. Only by being an official could scholars get a better income and a more decent life. This was the helplessness of the era.
However, although scholars in later generations could do many jobs, they still thought that being an official was the best way out. Every time the imperial court recruited people, there would be a sea of people. A position in the imperial court would often attract thousands of people to compete for it. The scene was extremely hot.
Therefore, in Hua Xia, everything was inferior since ancient times. Only reading was good. The best way to read was to sell oneself to the imperial family and become an official.
Chang 'an City was very far from Laizhou. It was about two to three thousand miles away. According to the speed of the train, it would take at least three days to get there. In order to reach Laizhou as soon as possible, when the train stopped at the station, Ang Lee asked everyone not to get off the train. Only the relevant personnel of the dining car could get off the train to prepare ingredients and water.
Three days later, the train arrived at the Laizhou Railway Station on time. Next to the Laizhou Railway Station was the bay of Laizhou, which was the Jiaozhou Bay of later generations. It was a very suitable place for a harbor.
After Ang Lee got off the train, he immediately led everyone to the harbor on horseback. He inspected the relevant facilities of the harbor and boarded the steam-powered ships that had been built for a long time.
Ang Lee was very satisfied with the harbor, shipyard, and steam-powered ships. He immediately gathered the captains of the ships that were going out to sea. He gave them the world map, the names and topographic maps of the pirates, and the various crops of America. He asked them to look carefully. If there was anything they did not understand, they could come and ask at any time.
These captains and sailors all came from coastal areas and were very familiar with the sea. They trained hard every day so that they could receive orders from the imperial court at any time.
However, when these people saw the world map, they were all dumbfounded. They did not understand this world and did not expect it to be so big. Moreover, the area that the imperial court asked them to explore was tens of thousands of miles away. This was something they did not expect in advance.
These captains and sailors were recruited by the imperial court and received a salary from the imperial court. Even if they were a little worried, they had to face the difficulties. Moreover, after understanding the performance of the steam-powered ships, they were full of confidence in going out to sea and exploring. They believed that they would definitely be able to reach the area they were supposed to reach.
When they saw the various crops and animals of America described by Ang Lee, as well as the indigenous savages, these sailors suddenly became excited. They were all very willing to go to America to explore. After all, the production of these plants was so high that it could make the Tang Empire more prosperous. The various animals were also very magical. As for the indigenous savages, they wanted to see them even more.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
