Chapter 253: Action, Preparation

"Row upstream!" Zhao Jiong's eyes flashed with a terrifying brilliance.

"I want you, at any cost, to install it onto the ship as quickly as possible!" Zhao Jiong issued the order.

"Besides this, what else can it do?"

The Minister of Works hurried forward a step and replied: "Era Name Official Report, we have already consulted with Wang Family craftsmen. The uses of this object are infinitely marvelous.

If its power is used to drive a forging hammer, one person can match the strength of a hundred, forging armor and weapons day and night without rest.

If used to drive a water pump, it can easily drain water from mines, allowing extraction of deeper ore veins. If used to drive a spinning wheel, one machine can replace a thousand workers, producing ten thousand spindles a day…"

The Minister of Works grew more and more excited as he spoke, and Zhao Jiong became increasingly alarmed as he listened.

He had some prior knowledge and knew the thing was powerful, but he never expected it to be this extraordinary!

When Zhao Kuangyin was in power, the steam engine at the Institute of Investigating Things broke down every few days and occasionally required major repairs, and over time it was largely ignored.

Now, the steam engine has reappeared before the people; it is no longer a mere "novel trick", but a "divine artifact" capable of changing the fate of the nation!

Leaving the Institute of Investigating Things, Zhao Jiong said nothing and returned straight to the palace, summoning several key ministers of the Household Department, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, and Wang Xu to the Imperial Study.

Everyone could see that the emperor was excited today and that something significant was about to happen.

Sure enough, after Zhao Jiong sat down, his first words left everyone astonished.

"I have decided to establish the Maritime Trade Office fleet, funded by the Court, to build sea vessels and engage in overseas trade!"

The Minister of the Household Department, upon hearing this, was flabbergasted and hurried forward: "Your Majesty, this must not be done! Maritime trade carries enormous risks—storms, pirates, all are calamities.

Our Court has no experience; if we rashly pour huge capital and fail, we may lose everything and jeopardize the state! Traditionally, this business is run by private merchants, and the Court only needs to levy taxes at the ports. Why intervene directly?"

"Foolish!" Zhao Jiong slammed the table, "Private merchants? How much tax can they give the Court in a year? One hundred thousand strings? Two hundred thousand strings?"

He pointed at Wang Xu and said, "Tell them how much profit the Wang Family of Yangzhou makes from a year's maritime trade?"

Wang Xu, already prepared, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, honored officials. Our clan last year, from only three items—spices, porcelain, and Silk—imported from the Great Song, Tianzhu, and other lands, earned about three million strings in profit."

"Three million strings!"

The Minister of the Household Department's eyes bulged; he had no idea that Wang Xu had been concealing all this!

The Great Song Court's total annual fiscal revenue, after all expenditures, leaves only a little over one million strings in surplus.

The Wang Family earns in one year what three Great Song treasuries would hold?

"Did you hear that?" Zhao Jiong sneered, "This is maritime trade! A gold mountain floating on the sea! Such a massive gold mountain, I hand it to you, yet you tell me there are risks? Fear of loss?"

"I tell you, from today onward, I will personally earn this money!"

"I will use this money to raise troops, wage war, pay salaries to my officials, and build waterworks for the people of the realm!"

"As for the risks," he looked at Wang Xu, "Minister Wang, you explain how to avoid them."

Wang Xu stepped forward again, pulling from his sleeve a plan that had long been discussed with Wang Che.

"Era Name Official Report. The risks of maritime trade amount to three things: ships, routes, and markets."

"Our clan is willing to lend the Emperor a helping hand."

"Ships: our clan will provide the latest Fortune Ship blueprints and dispatch the finest shipwrights to assist the Ministry of Works in building shipyards at Mingzhou, Quanzhou, and elsewhere to construct sea vessels."

"Routes: the Wang Family is also willing to present the Emperor with sea charts that took decades, countless money and lives to draw. From the Great Song to Champa, to Tianzhu, and to the Great Song, every island and every hidden reef is marked clearly."

"Markets: our clan has commercial stations and contacts in overseas ports. The Royal fleet's cargo can be sold by them, ensuring fair prices."

"The Wang Family deeply feels His Majesty's benevolence and is willing to help the Court improve the plan and expand sea routes free of charge," Wang Xu said selflessly.

Of course this is the public statement; behind the scenes, the Great Song Court's involvement also granted the Wang Family many invisible benefits. Even though their ships are sturdy and their cannons powerful, abroad the Wang Family is not widely known, and having the Great Song Court's name makes many matters easier!

This plan is practically feeding rice right to Zhao Jiong's mouth.

The Court provides the money, the Wang Family supplies technology, channels, and contacts. The risk is reduced to the minimum, while the profit is frighteningly high.

The Minister of the Household Department is a traditional scholar; he does not advocate expansion, but after hearing Wang Xu's words, he opened his mouth and could not utter a single word of opposition.

Zhao Jiong listened and nodded with satisfaction.

This proposal is almost identical to the one he had privately discussed with Wang Xu before. The Wang Family knows exactly how to please this emperor.

"Approved!" he declared immediately, "Proceed as Minister Wang suggested! I give the Household Department, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War three months; I want to see the first batch of Royal sea vessels launched!"

"Furthermore, the fleet's name, Maritime Trade Office fleet, sounds petty. Call it the Great Song Royal Fleet! I will let these four characters fly over the sea with Great Song's dragon banner, so that those barbarians, hearing Great Song's name, will lose heart!"

The order was issued, and the Court cascaded directives layer by layer, with officials bustling about.

Shipyards in Mingzhou and Quanzhou, with the help of Wang Family shipwrights, expanded rapidly. One keel after another was laid down.

The Wang Family also dispatched its most experienced captains and sailors to begin training the new crew recruited by the Court.

The sea charts presented by Wang Xu were sent deep into the palace, becoming the Great Song's highest secret.

A massive state-level maritime trade conglomerate, led by imperial authority and assisted by the Wang Family, is taking shape at a staggering speed.

Zhao Jiong almost daily receives progress reports on the fleet. He knows better than anyone that this fleet will be the purse that fulfills his grand ambitions.

He stood before the map, gazing at the distant, unfamiliar place names that Wang Xu had marked for him, his eyes filled with yearning for the future.

He seemed to already see countless ships laden with gold, spices, and gems, cutting through the waves toward his empire.

Time rushed forward, and the collaborative fleet of the Wang Family and the Great Song, amid a feverish construction phase, saw the Wang Family share its shipbuilding expertise without reservation; veteran craftsmen taught hand‑by‑hand how to make the hull sit deeper and how to withstand the sea's winds and waves!

At the same time, the ships of this fleet must reserve spaces and structures for mounting firearms, to guard against the pirates that roam the seas…