Chapter 794: Chonggu Fortress and Taiyue City

Wang Chonggu wanted a quick victory, aiming to have the canal fully completed in three years. Zhang Juzheng refuted the theory of quick victory, arguing that the duration of maritime hegemony was by no means a matter of a single day or night.

Especially in a game of chess involving the fate of the nation—a decisive move—it would absolutely be a protracted affair.

Three years? Thirty years, or even preparing for a fifty-year long-term effort; this was absolutely a long-term project.

"At any cost, completing it in three years, even if we staked all the achievements of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Reform, it is not certain we could succeed," Zhang Juzheng added, explaining the reason.

Wan Shi must be based on the reality of practice.

The competition between the Ming Dynasty and the West regarding the Empire on which the sun never sets is a long-term competition, a competition between generations. Seeking quick success and instant benefits will only lead to a mess and a pile of feathers due to rash advancement; not only will it fail to achieve hegemony as an Empire on which the sun never sets, but it will instead rapidly decline.

Zhang Juzheng was more concerned with the continuity of the Wanli Reform and more concerned with the interests in the Nanyang; these were the core interests of the Ming Dynasty, even more important than becoming an Empire on which the sun never sets.

Wang Chonggu's face turned red, and he said loudly, "Is the Grand Secretary criticizing my eagerness for quick success and rash advancement?"

Former Minister of Personnel Yang Bo said Wang Chonggu was prone to anger, meaning he was relatively impatient in his work, overly pursuing speed, which would instead lead to being in a passive position.

When Yang Bo was around, he had spoken bluntly to Wang Chonggu many times; Wang Chonggu himself was very clear about his own shortcomings, but after so many years, he had never been able to correct them.

Zhang Juzheng immediately said, "This is exactly eagerness for quick success and rash advancement!"

"We know nothing about that side, we have no understanding of the hydrology and geography, and we are completely unclear about the difficulties of the project. Even if we are to do it, we must do it bit by bit: first explore the hydrology, find suitable locations, then build ports, form settlements, and continuously clear forests and reclaim land, turning it into developed territory."

"The Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou was not built in three or five years! It is just like farming: you must clear the trees to turn it into wasteland, then into raw land, then into mature land, and finally into permanent fields."

"The road must be walked one step at a time, and the meal must be eaten one mouthful at a time!"

The Sunset Plan had not yet begun, but the Ming Dynasty's Senior Grand Secretary and Junior Grand Secretary had already formed a very sharp contradiction, one advocating speed and the other advocating slowness.

"You two, you two, don't be anxious, don't be anxious, don't be anxious, sit down and talk slowly. Isn't this a discussion? By all means, don't hurt the harmony." Shen Li immediately began to mediate.

Currently, no resolution had been formed. Arguing inside the gate was naturally the fiercer the better, but arguing too intensely, to the point of personal attacks, was clearly going too far.

Everyone was acting for the public good.

If the Senior Grand Secretary and Junior Grand Secretary were not of one mind, everyone would hold each other back and trip each other up; then there would be no need to do the work, and the Sunset Plan should not be executed, otherwise the Sunset Plan would be executed into the sunset of the Ming Dynasty.

"I still relatively agree with the Grand Secretary's view," Zhu Yijun said very solemnly. "Three

years is impossible to achieve. Thirty to fifty years, I believe, is reasonable. I guarantee it will be executed."

"Although the New Sun Canal hasn't even begun, and there is no certainty even about where to build it, at the two ends of the canal, the Atlantic side shall be called Chonggu Fortress, and the Pacific side shall be called Taiyue City."

"A gentleman's word is his bond."

Zhu Yijun made a promise, a fifty-year promise.

By that time, Wang Chonggu would be gone, and Zhang Juzheng would be gone, but this promise, Zhu Yijun would firmly fulfill.

Why did Wang Chonggu want a quick victory? Because he was old; he didn't know how many years he had left to live. The older he got, the more he wanted to finish all the work before he died.

Zhang Juzheng was not in a hurry because he firmly believed that His Majesty would remain wise and allow the Wanli Reform to continue; he could only believe this.

Zhu Yijun gave his promise, and the names of the cities at both ends of the canal were set, named after the courtesy names of Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu.

With such names, it had to be completed thoroughly no matter what; this involved the stability of imperial power.

"Where will the silver come from? Building such a canal requires manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Without silver to start, asking the Ming army to risk their lives for the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty is somewhat wishful thinking." Shen Li again raised the most critical question: money, where would the money come from?

The Ming national treasury and the inner treasury were both out of money; even running a normal school required begging for donations.

Shen Li was somewhat out of touch with reality. In fact, if full rations were provided, the Ming Dynasty would naturally have people willing to contribute. The maritime defense inspectors and the distant guards in the beacon towers were not all poor laborers; about thirty percent came from good backgrounds, at the very least from families of local gentry.

"There are eight million taels of old stock silver; if not used now, when will it be used!"

"Your Majesty, let's do it!" Wang Guoguang stood up and said, "Once this place is built, just the customs duties alone—how much silver will be collected? It's unimaginable!"

"Your Majesty, the Sunset Plan, start it immediately!"

Wang Guoguang was even more anxious than Wang Chonggu. Isn't saving money for the sake of spending it? The old treasury silver had been stored for eight years; if it continued to be stored, it wouldn't give birth to little silver coins!

If funded entirely by the imperial court and monopolized by the imperial court, as the scale of maritime trade continuously expanded, this canal could continuously generate profits!

Zhu Yijun reached out his hand and pressed down, saying, "Grand Minister of Finance, don't be impatient. This Sunset Plan of the Junior Grand Secretary has only just begun; he hasn't even said how it will be built. Sit down, sit down, and listen to the Junior Grand Secretary explain the plan in detail."

Wang Chonggu began to introduce his Sunset Plan in detail.

Wang Chonggu said with a troubled expression, "We must first dispatch maritime defense inspectors to fly over the water, explore and map the charts, and see where it is easier to build. Connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with a canal—this time... is impossible to determine; exactly how long it will take."

After the Junior Grand Secretary finished saying this, everyone knew that Wang Chonggu

had conceded; he was no longer seeking a quick victory.

The Emperor gave a concrete promise that even if he left the court and left the world, he would continue to push the plan forward.

Surveying hydrology and geography was a massive headache.

Zhang Juzheng added with a solemn expression, "Wan Shi is difficult at the beginning. If maritime defense inspectors go to explore, they won't know how to use various instruments for measuring latitude and longitude. This means we need the cooperation of land masters, astronomy students, and naval experts, and we also need a group of elite naval troops to protect their safety."

"The surveying alone might take two to three years."

Maritime defense inspectors, land masters, astronomy students, and naval experts were all high-end talents. The Ming Dynasty didn't have enough of them, and sending them abroad was not only more expensive but also very wasteful.

"The surveying time can be shortened," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. "When Legazpi was talking about his experiences in the New World, he mentioned one thing: in the second year of Jiajing, Philip II's father had intended to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and began surveying, identifying four locations."

"Ultimately, they identified a place called the Isthmus of Panama and laid a cobblestone road across the isthmus in preparation for digging the canal."

Legazpi shared this with the Ming Emperor mainly as a story to tell, warning the Emperor not to be overly ambitious, not to be too rash, and not to formulate absurd decrees.

The initial surveying could save some time. The Spaniards, from the beginning of their conquest movement, had hoped to build a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and had already built a cobblestone road on the Isthmus of Panama.

But, in the end, they did not build the canal.

"Then why didn't Philip II build this canal?" Wang Chonggu immediately became suspicious. The Ming Dynasty had deconstructed maritime hegemony, which was essentially maritime route hegemony.

As the monarch of the Empire on which the sun never sets, since Philip had already surveyed it, why didn't he build it?

Zhu Yijun replied, "Legazpi explained the reason very clearly. Philip II considered it from three aspects and gave up on building this canal. That small road has already been abandoned for more than ten years."

"First is politics. If the Panama Canal were opened, it would be too far away and easily fully controlled by the Viceroyalty. By then, the Viceroyalty along the Pacific coast would become as disloyal as the Viceroyalty of Brazil."

"Second is geography. The environment there is too harsh; it is a tropical rainforest with too many mosquitoes. Without quinine, of the 35,000 laborers building the cobblestone road, more than half died, and in the end, they still couldn't break through."

"Finally, the cost was too high. There is a sea level difference of nearly one foot between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans there. Building a canal can only be a lock-style canal. Ships have to rise seven zhang to climb the mountain and then descend seven zhang to go down. This requires three to six gates, and each gate weighs 6.8 million jin."

The earliest lock-style canal in the Central Plains was the Lingqu Canal built during the time of Qin Shi Huang. For the Ming Dynasty, lock-style canals

were not uncommon. On the 6,400-li Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou, there were many gates specifically designed to solve the height differences of different river channels.

For example, the Changan Gate was built by Qiao Yue, the Transport Commissioner of Huainan, during the time of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty; it was also the world's first composite canal ship lock.

The closing of the gate relied on the impact of water flow. After the water was full, the bottom outlet was opened to release water, and after the pressure difference on both sides of the gate reached equilibrium, the gate was opened to allow ships to pass. The ships then began to ascend, and this cycle repeated, allowing large ships to climb and descend mountains.

The Ming Dynasty's technical capability was not a problem. The Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou was 6,400 li, while the canal section of the Isthmus of Panama was only 130 li.

"The West cannot cast such heavy gates," Wang Guoguang said with a furrowed brow. "Can the Ming Dynasty build them? If built, can they be transported there?"

Ming iron pots were bulk commodities, the largest bulk commodity of the Ming Dynasty besides cotton cloth. The Ming Dynasty's blast furnace iron smelting technology had specialized iron officials as early as the Han Dynasty. The eighteen iron smelting sites in Henan still have ruins today, while the West's blast furnace iron smelting would have to wait another twenty years.

For the West, a single gate weighing 6.8 million jin was completely unimaginable; it couldn't be done, so they had to give up.

"It can be done. Cast them separately and assemble them on-site," Wang Chonggu answered this question. The gate problem was easy to solve; Ming craftsmen could cast them separately and assemble them when they arrived. One gate could be transported by twelve horse-drawn ships.

Wang Chonggu said with a furrowed brow, "Your Majesty, is this lock-style canal not very convenient? This intake and release of water is a waste of time and not conducive to ship passage. Why not build it as a flat, direct canal?"

The Pacific and Atlantic oceans only have a height difference of one foot. If there is no need to climb or descend mountains, this one-foot height difference is almost non-existent; even just two water storage gates would be enough to allow ships to pass faster.

"If we want to build a flat, direct canal, the earthwork is too large, at least one billion cubic meters of earthwork," Zhu Yijun immediately shook his head and said. The return of the Yellow River to its old course was one billion cubic meters of earthwork, requiring 500,000 laborers and six years to complete.

And this one billion cubic meters of earthwork was just an estimate. If it were really done, who knows how many laborers would be needed to fill this pit. Even if the time were extended to a thirty-year construction period, 100,000 laborers would still be needed.

Ships must climb this seven-zhang mountain.

For the Isthmus of Panama, if it were just a lock-style canal, the Ming Dynasty would have enough productivity and determination to build it.

"Who will build it?" Shen Li asked the most critical question. Even if building a lock-style canal, it would still require more than 100,000 laborers. If the Ming Dynasty had this kind of projection capability, it would be better to directly attack the Strait of Magellan.

"The barbarians," Zhu Yijun answered this question calmly. He looked around and said, "Legazpi said that even for a lock-style canal, it would require 300 million cubic meters of earthwork. Based on a thirty-year construction period, it would also require tens of thousands of laborers. We can only buy barbarians."

"The main contradiction between the Ming Dynasty and the West in

trade is that the Ming Dynasty can produce everything, while the West has nothing to sell to the Ming Dynasty. This is the biggest contradiction."

"Now, they have goods to sell to the Ming Dynasty, and that is barbarians."

Ming goods were dumping, while Westerners could not provide goods to the Ming Dynasty, resulting in a one-way flow of silver.

The Ming Dynasty had everything, and the Ming Dynasty's productivity was advanced. This was not the Ming Dynasty's fault, but rather the Westerners' inability to make money from the Ming Dynasty; it was their own problem.

But now, this contradiction could be slightly alleviated. The major Viceroyalties in the West had goods they could sell to the Ming Dynasty, and that was people.

Westerners had a low moral advantage; their slave-catching teams could capture slaves in large numbers and sell them to the Ming Dynasty.

"For operations in that place, every 2,000 cubic meters of earthwork will probably kill one laborer," Zhu Yijun looked around and, after confirming there were no secretaries present, spoke this cruel truth.

On the Isthmus of Panama, if the Ming Dynasty were to build a lock-style canal, it would probably kill 150,000 laborers. If they were to build a flat, direct canal, it would kill 500,000 laborers.

It could be built; it just required piling up human lives.

"Maybe we shouldn't build it," Zhang Juzheng said with a hesitant expression. Zhang Juzheng was never soft-hearted, but he felt that if so many people died, how much would His Majesty be scolded in the future?

The builder of the New Sun Canal was the Emperor himself; Wang Chonggu and Zhang Juzheng were not the leaders. By then, all the dirty water would be splashed on the Emperor, and garbage would pile up on the Emperor's grave.

For the sake of the Ming Dynasty's greatness again, is sacrificing the lives of 150,000 people and 500,000 barbarians really that much?

Queen Victoria has something to say; the great evils of Great Britain are truly too numerous to record. Just the several man-made famines in India, how much slaughter did they create?

But they never paid the price for it.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "The Grand Secretary is somewhat indecisive. The Sunset Plan must be executed, and the New Sun Canal must be built. Now two things are determined."

"The first is the construction period. This is a long-term struggle, at least thirty years, or even fifty years."

"The second is the lock-style canal versus the flat, direct canal. We will decide after the maritime defense inspectors, naval experts, land masters, and astronomy students finish their joint survey."

"The first step of the Great Wall: first dispatch the star-observing ships."

How many people die? Zhu Yijun didn't care. As long as there were no excessive casualties among the Ming people, Zhu Yijun would continue to do it until this Panama Canal was opened.

Star-observing ships were a type of ship designed in the seventh year of Wanli by Guo Rulin, the General Manager of the Songjiang Shipyard, and Zhao Shizhen, the Assistant Regional Commander Manager. They were mainly responsible for observing and surveying, including sea charts, star charts, compass charts, monsoons, ocean currents, latitude and longitude, etc. This was a professional ship specifically used for mapping.

Zhu Yijun's World Survey Map and the huge globe made by the Royal Academy of Sciences were all painted bit by bit

by these star-observing ships.

After many repairs by the Songjiang Prefecture Ship Design Institute, the ship's functions had become very powerful. Each star-observing ship would have one five-masted ocean-crossing ship and five three-masted horse-drawn ships responsible for protection.

The Ming Emperor was still young and in his prime; it was the time for hard work. It was precisely because the Emperor was young and strong that the wise officials in the court had the confidence to formulate a super long-term plan of thirty years.

"Gentlemen, for the Ming Dynasty's revival, if this canal is not completed in one day, then it cannot be called a revival," Zhu Yijun said, sitting straight and serious. "No need to worry, I will finish the work."

People going to Liaodong want to build five large tile-roofed houses; people going to the Nanyang want to have their own houses and slaves in the Han towns.

For the Ming Dynasty, opening the Panama Isthmus canal was the Ming Dynasty's five large tile-roofed houses. Only when it is built can we say the Ming Dynasty has truly revived. This is a long-term goal. With such a goal, the Ming Dynasty will always have a direction to move forward.

The Dinghai School System, the Golden Story issuing treasure notes, the Personnel Selection Law, and the Sunset Plan New Sun Canal were the Ming Dynasty's next fifteen-year plan.

Today, after fifteen years of the Wanli Reform, with a large number of achievements, some Ming scholars already had the idea that they had already won: "That's enough! The Ming Dynasty is already very strong," and similar ideas were everywhere.

For the Emperor to want more was somewhat radical.

And now, to make the Ming Dynasty great again, having a concrete and clear goal—building a canal that would allow the Ming Dynasty to win in maritime hegemony—was the beginning of making the Ming Dynasty great again.

Wang Chonggu, Zhang Juzheng, and others could not see the canal that would determine the empire's fate open to navigation, but the fortresses named after them would witness the Ming Dynasty's greatness again.

July 6th, the 15th year of Wanli. The capital of the Northern Yamen was quite sunny, with the sun shining brightly. However, the atmosphere in the Spanish Pavilion within the Four Barbarian Halls was very cold. Legazpi grabbed the Spanish envoy who was about to go out.

José Luis, a young man of only twenty-three, looked quite cheerful, but his image was somewhat unkempt, and he looked quite haggard, with red eyes.

Legazpi grabbed the young envoy's arm and said sternly, "José Luis, His Highness's silver and gold are for you to exchange for Ming goods, not for you to squander in the trading house!"

"Damn it! How could you invest His Highness's silver and gold into the trading house? That is a place that eats people. The greater the greed, the faster you die!"

Legazpi was going crazy. That Yanxing Building was a place that ate people without spitting out the bones. Even the extremely shrewd Shanxi merchants couldn't handle it inside!

This José Luis actually dared to invest all the gold and silver into the trading house!

"I will definitely win it back!" José Luis shook his hand forcefully, wanting to break free. If he were any later, he wouldn't make it to the opening of the trading house.

【Market opening】

But Legazpi grabbed him very hard, and José Luis couldn't break free.

Legazpi pulled José Luis forcefully, drew his sword, and held it against the envoy's neck, saying with a ferocious expression, "I tell you, I am the plenipotentiary envoy of His Highness in the Ming Dynasty! Here, you must listen to me!"

"When I was fighting for my life against storms and waves at sea and fighting fiercely with the natives, you hadn't been born yet. Even if I kill you, the Ming Dynasty won't punish me excessively, and neither will Spain. Tell me, how much money have you lost?"

"520,000 silver coins and 130,000 gold coins, but don't worry, I can earn it back today!" José Luis was terrified. He recognized that sword; it was Philip's own sword. He didn't know how it ended up in the hands of Legazpi, this traitor.

In Madrid, most people regarded Legazpi as a traitor to Spain, who had exchanged Spanish interests in the Ming Dynasty for an extremely comfortable life.

But clearly, the rumors were wrong. Philip trusted Legazpi very much and had handed the sword to him.

Legazpi calculated that he had lost about 400,000 taels of silver and 10,000 taels of gold. Even at the most expensive time for a five-masted ocean-crossing ship, he could have bought two!

"Stay here, I'll handle it!" Legazpi pushed José Luis forcefully, knocking him to the ground, and went to the Tonghe Palace to request an audience.

Zhu Yijun received Legazpi.

Legazpi knelt as soon as he entered, trembling and saying, "Your subject Legazpi pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years in peace."

"Great Majesty, the foolish, greedy, young Spanish envoy has invested His Highness Philip's gold and silver into the Yanxing Building trading house, like a lost lamb wandering into a wolf pack. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy."

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "You mean: he is still a child, doesn't know the weight of things, so you want me to return the silver and gold to him? Legazpi, you have been in the Ming Dynasty for so many years, don't you know me yet?"

"Do you think it's possible?"

Legazpi's meaning was a refund for a minor, and Zhu Yijun rejected Legazpi's refund application.

Just kidding, how could silver and gold that had been eaten into the stomach be spat out? Don't even think about it!

Legazpi was somewhat desperate. He hadn't watched him for just a moment, and this young envoy hadn't controlled his hands. In just three days, just three days, the acceptance silver notes exchanged at the post house for the large sailing ships arriving at the port had decreased by 560,000 taels of silver when converted.

If he played for a few more days, 6.9 million taels of silver would be squandered by this prodigal son.

"Legazpi, this wasn't Wang Qian specifically setting a trap for him, and no one went to deceive him. He heard about the Yanxing Building trading house and went himself. You must have been very clear about this before you came to the Tonghe Palace," Zhu Yijun stated again. It really wasn't that Wang Qian was being inhumane; he had gone in himself.

José Luis was at the Four Barbarian Halls

and saw the fluctuations in gold and silver prices in the miscellaneous reports. He immediately felt familiar. He thought it was very similar to the gold bonds sold everywhere by the Genoese. He thought this Ming gold and silver trading house had just opened and didn't have much experience, so he insisted on going to the Yanxing Building trading house to show the Ming people a thing or two.

But what he didn't know was that the Ming Yanxing Building trading house had grown out of spun wool currency, with a trading volume of millions of silver every day. The Yanxing Building trading house, which had been fighting for twelve years, had accumulated a lot of experience in securities trading.

And it was all bloody experience. Because there were no excessive trading restrictions, almost every month someone jumped off the Attendant Shen Xian Building.

"Wise Majesty, that is indeed the case. He went in himself, a lamb into a tiger's mouth," Legazpi sighed and said.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "He didn't even think about how much market fluctuation 6.9 million silver would cause if it flooded the market?"

"He thought he could use the fluctuations to harvest others, but instead he was harvested. You ask me to refund the money, how can I refund it? The 560,000 silver he lost wasn't eaten by one family."

"So, accept the bet and admit the loss."

"Your subject obeys the decree, sigh." Legazpi kowtowed again, somewhat helpless.

He also had investments in the Yanxing Building trading house. He bought more than 100,000 silver worth of Songjiang Ocean Shipping Company shares, which could pay dividends of 5,000 to 10,000 taels of silver every year. He knew very well that inside the Yanxing Building, there were all big crocodiles that ate people without spitting out the bones.

"Exempt from courtesy." Zhu Yijun looked at Legazpi and said, "By the way, I met with the envoy of the Northern Alliance and agreed to sell them salt. I know you used a lot of effort to persuade Philip not to use excessive force to conquer, but to use soft tactics."

"But I don't want to see a united West."

Legazpi also said with some emotion, "Your Majesty, a united West is like the horizon; it can be seen but not touched. As long as the English are still there, a united West will not exist."

"Your Majesty is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and naturally must make decisions beneficial to the Ming Dynasty."

Legazpi opposed but could understand the Ming Emperor's decision. Doing so was in line with the Ming Dynasty's interests. Competition between countries is always so fickle; today they can be as close as brothers, and tomorrow they can draw swords against each other.

A little eunuch walked in. Feng Bao walked to the door and whispered two sentences to the little eunuch.

Feng Bao looked at Legazpi and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun and Feng Bao exchanged glances and said, "It seems I have things to be busy with. You go back and teach José Luis a good lesson; don't let him go to the trading house again."

"Your subject takes his leave." Legazpi bowed again and left the Tonghe Palace Imperial Study. But when he left, he saw a very tanned strong man waiting in front of the Tonghe Palace gate.

After Legazpi left, Chen Dazhuang walked into the Imperial Study, performing the five-bows-and-three-kowtows grand ceremony to pay respects.

"Dazhuang has worked hard." Zhu Yijun did not wait on the dragon chair but stood in front of the imperial desk. After Chen Dazhuang finished his salute, the Ming Emperor stepped forward two steps and helped him up.

Chen Dazhuang hurriedly said, "Replying to Your Majesty, it was not hard work."

This strong man was Chen Dazhuang, the Pacification Commissioner of the Maritime Defense Inspection. He had beaten a dog of the Kong family to death, his father was forced to hold a funeral for the dog, and Chen Dazhuang had no choice but to leave for another place to join the army.

"Sit down and talk, sit down and talk. You've been out for three years, you've tanned and lost weight," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. "Where have you been all these years?"

In the 12th year of Wanli, Chen Dazhuang returned to Luzon from the West with the ashes of twelve maritime defense inspectors. After burying these loyal martyrs, Chen Dazhuang did not return to the Ming Dynasty but directly boarded a star-observing ship.

When Chen Dazhuang entered the door, he brought two things. He pulled open the red silk cloth and said, "Your subject went south. Your subject cannot explain it clearly, but I brought back two things: one is this iron ore, and the other is a jumping rabbit with a pouch."

"The jumping rabbit was really too big, so I didn't bring it to the Imperial Study."

Zhu Yijun took the iron ore into his hand, looked at it for a long time, and said, "Are you sure this is ore, and not a lump of iron?"

Chen Dazhuang said with a strange expression, "It's just ore picked up at random. Over there, the mountains and plains are full of this kind of ore, and even the river water carries a rusty red color."

He still remembered that the land master on the star-observing ship almost went crazy, muttering to himself in disbelief!

The Ming Dynasty had poor iron mines. The land master on the star-observing ship had never even thought that there would be such high-grade iron ore; it was simply a lump of iron! ===== CHAPTER 795 =====