During the return journey, with the constant encounters of official and private boats, more news gathered around Zhou Huaian.
For example, the unexpected good news from the sea is that the fleet headed to Tianzhu led by the dedicated naturalized Fan Shang Fei Kong, after returning home again, gave him a surprise;
In addition to the traditional spices, pearls, gems, sandalwood, ivory, cotton, dyes, medicinal materials and other rare goods, we also brought a lot of local saltpeter and nitrate from Tianzhu as the ballast for the bottom of the ship; Saltpeter and nitrate produced by the crystallization of a large amount of nitrate.
It is said that it is directly mined from the local soil and weathered rock, and can be purified as long as it is boiled; and the local investment in the collection of labor costs is also extremely cheap, and has long been used as a formula component of medicines and pigments.
Therefore, for local princes and chieftains of the Tu nationality along the coast, as an addition to the bulk trade, as long as someone is willing to ask for it, they will mine as much ballast as there is. In this case, theoretically speaking, the front of the technology tree leading to gunpowder and thermal weapons has been solved by another key source, and it can be said that it has entered the stage of mass production and experimentation.
The good news in terms of tidal circulation is that in the gardens opened in coastal areas, the oil palm saplings imported from the African continent have survived; even though this thing looks a bit similar to coconut trees, it is the world’s oil. The variety with the highest oil yield among the crops; the oil content in the fruits and seeds can even reach 30% to 40%, which is five times higher than that of peanuts in the same area and nine times higher than that of soybeans. It is said to be the "World Oil King".
Although palm oil is a kind of vegetable oil, it can partially replace other oils, such as soybean oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, lard and tallow. Therefore, palm oil can be refined and fractionated to obtain products with different melting points, which have a wide range of uses in the catering industry, the food industry and the oleochemical industry. It has become the world's most productive oil crop, accounting for almost 35% of the global animal and vegetable oil market.
In later generations, China has become the world’s largest importer of palm oil, with palm oil consumption of about 6 million tons per year, accounting for 20% of the total global market; so much so that most of those sold in supermarkets sell dog meat. All kinds of colors and oils are mixed with this cheap oil; therefore, there are actually a few samples of improved seedlings on the specially modified pickup truck in African origin.
However, even if there is a ramification method, it will almost take a year or two to see concrete results. But this is also the nutritional intake supplement that most people at the bottom of this era lack most, and it is also the basic raw material supply for mass production of primary industrialized products such as soap and candles.
In addition, after bringing back a large number of boat craftsmen from Annan (the local area is also one of the major shipbuilding bases in the South China Sea), Zhou Huai'an can consider starting to imitate the vehicles and ships used in the north of this era; this is also the earliest in the world The emergence of manpower pedaling watercraft was invented by Cao Wang Li Gao during the Kaiyuan period; because it can travel upstream on inland waterways without being affected by wind, it has now been widely used in northern water transport.
Although this technology of vehicle and boat manufacturing is still strictly in the hands of the imperial court and some important neighbors and towns, and has no chance of spreading to the people; but for those who are influenced by the basic knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry, this kind of thing is theoretical It is just a broken layer of window paper, and it will not be more difficult than the manual lesson models of the later primary and middle schools.
When I was in Guangzhou before, I found that the locals were mostly large and medium-sized sea-going vessels. The scale and technical level of inland river vessel manufacturing were not as good as the Annan Jiaozhou area, which has a large number of rivers and convenient materials. Once it is promoted and popularized, it will also be an important bonus in logistics and transportation efficiency in the Lingnan region with many river branches.
Then there is news that the chaos of forbidden temples in Lingbei and Lingxi has intensified; even the siege and besieged in Fuzhou a few days ago, staying behind is making Meng Wei a highly valued general under the command of Yan Shun. ; Since then, Meng Kai, who has always been sitting still in Guangzhou, has rarely been furious, and he personally sent thousands of troops and went straight to Fuzhou.
In the history related to the insurrection army, Zhou Huaian, who had defeated the Dang Xiang and Juan Yan soldiers, and defeated the ogre demon King Caizhou Jiedu Qin Zongquan, as the behind-the-scenes and propelling force Zhou Huai'an, can only do this. Those big and small bald heads whose bottoms were full of shit and inevitable were silent for a second.
But Meng Kai's temporary departure is also a good thing for Zhou Huaian in a short time. As the saying goes, not seeing is clear. Although they have given them a lot of benefits and benefits when they play Annan, after returning, I took the opportunity to stay behind in Jiaozhou, and he continued to get along with him, the master-slave status of Guangzhou left-behind. Tao requires a certain amount of time and distance to negotiate and deal with;
In contrast, the deputy ambassador, Lin Yan, can deal with it much better. It is nothing more than wealth and status; Zhou Huaian even prepared a form of persuasion by the people of the world to "request" him to receive the provincial governor's history. It’s true that the governor of Jiaozhou has a corresponding seal in order to pull the yellow king’s nephew into the water; this is also one of Zhou Huaian’s multiple insurances and successors left for him.
Only when he arrived near the coast of Guangzhou by boat, there was a big "accident" again.
"What the hell is this..."
The crowds gathered in Huawei Outer Harbor in Guangzhou still surprised Zhou Huaian a little bit. He almost thought it was something going on in Guangzhou, and he wanted to call people to turn the helm to prepare for battle;
Then from the boat that diverted the water, I learned that these were all spontaneously greeted and watched, and I was the seed of a new generation of famous generals who represented the rebels in "pacing down Nanban and recovering traffic control".
I saw the embankments, beaches, trestle bridges, and the port city. They were already full of densely packed people, and there was a burst of shouting and drinking; there was also a bamboo shed that was temporarily erected to be several stories high, and it was full of people. Colorful silk cloth and flowers and green branches; the feeling of deja vu is almost impossible to put up the banner of "Welcome XX leaders to inspect/guide work".
We must know that the economic activities of Guangzhou and Jiaozhou in the whole era, trade exchanges and non-governmental exchanges can be described as particularly close. Therefore, it is easy to get a lot of rumors that happened in the land of Annan through the resumption of maritime trade and canal traffic. And anecdotes;
Some of the contents have been exaggerated and enlarged after repeated transmissions by business travelers and refugees, and have become such things as "killing tens of thousands of barbarians, and Zhu Luan's rivers are all Chishui", and the folks like to see it. And things are out of tune beyond recognition.
However, do not underestimate the role and effect of these nonsense or gossip. This means that the Rebels or more precisely Zhou Huaian's individuals have reached a new level of recognition and authority among the people; after all, In this precarious and chaotic generation, most of the people at the bottom do not yearn for a strong protector who has enough ability and skills to easily expedition hundreds of miles to break the enemy.
This is especially good news and prospects for the maritime merchants and boatmen who travel to and from Canton and even all parts of Lingnan on the sea. Most of them are not worried about the insatiable aggregating methods from the government or the rude and arbitrary top-down rule, but they have to worry about whether the authorities in their place of origin have sufficient protection and deterrence.
Of course, this kind of linkage and response to the upper level of the left-behind department is not so pleasant;
In fact, listening to the roar of the mountain from the outer port area that even the city wall can't stop, Lin Yan, as the number two character, is basically the subordinates and guests who are having a banquet with him, amazed or shocked. Lost on the spot, and knocked down a lot of furnishings and food.
"Seeing that the wings of this generation are just beginning, they are no longer a mere grass thief's left-behind division of Cantonese, so they can be limited..."
Among these people in the Hong Kong area, some people booed and sighed:
"It not only knows the military strategy, but also rules and governs politics, but also manages people's livelihood, sorts out the production of goods, and for this reason, preaching to the public..."
"So it is an authentic dragon slaying technique that combines the principles of military strategists, legalists, Mohists, and peasants at the same time."
"I don't know if I killed the dragon for myself or for others..."
Another voice continued.
"In any case, if I want to benefit from the trend, I have to change my course and choose something..."
"The first step is to make clear distinctions with those grain merchants who do not know how to live or die..."
"Since this ghost monk has returned, if he wants to continue playing those hoarding activities under his hands, it is a dead end..."
"Don't think that you can be spared by taking advantage of the origins and origins of the deputy envoy Lin and the general's mansion. Don't you know that the name of this Asura monk is Langde again..."
Someone spoke up again,
"Plus the Meng Liushou who is calming the chaos outside, I'm afraid there will be a good show opening next..."
"Because of this, we have to hurry up and bet..."
Part of the fleet went directly to Chaozhou to dock, and the rest docked in Guangzhou with Zhou Huaian. Then Zhou Huaian knew that during this period of his absence, a large-scale rice famine and intermittent famine occurred in Guangzhou. You must know that even during most of the rebel occupation, there was no situation.
In this regard, although some people took the opportunity to fan the flames and hoard in it, it can also be seen that the raids before the left-behind division were fierce. And the tens of thousands of Shijiaozhou rice he brought had become timely rain in a certain sense; the mountain of grain loaded and unloaded from the boat stabilized the people's hearts that were originally floating in the place.
But in the follow-up processing, Zhou Huaian faintly excluded the left-behind Si. In addition to publicly selling rice at a limited price in Guangzhou, he also led a team to patrol and provide relief to various Tuntians in order to calm people's hearts. This is also a kind of benevolence in his own name, and gradually separated from the generals’ mansion. Great opportunity. (End of this chapter)