Chapter 292: The South Sea Merchant Sun Bao

Sun Bao felt somewhat uneasy; he had been detained at the "Tongfu Inn" for over three days now.

He had only heard that the local Daoist was immensely wealthy and was building a palace complex that rivaled the imperial palace, requiring giant timbers over eighty meters long. Naturally, these were not ordinary logs; they had to be high-quality Phoebe or Shanmu wood.

Trees of this kind were basically extinct in this region, or else they were already marked by the Imperial Court, making them very difficult to fell. Growing for three to five hundred years, they were essentially "non-renewable resources," not some miscellaneous wood used for firewood or making tables, stools, and chairs.

But before he could even speak with the master of the house, heavy snow fell here, freezing the river solid. Then, for some unknown reason, a rat the size of a cat spoke in human language, saying its master wanted to see him.

Although he had traveled far and wide and seen many things—including many supernatural events at sea, and even island natives who traded spices with him and were proficient in witchcraft—he had even kept some mages himself. Yet, the things he had encountered were mostly inexplicable ghost and spirit phenomena; he had truly never seen such a direct, talking giant rat.

Then, it wasn't just the rat; several foxes wearing human clothes and hats came, asked some questions, held charcoal pencils with their claws, scribbled in notebooks, and asked about overseas matters.

After the foxes left, he waited until nightfall, and in his dream, a Spirit General wearing yellow clothes appeared; this one also came to ask questions.

Thus, although he was well-fed and well-housed, he had not slept well, and he felt somewhat distressed mentally.

Just as he had a headache, a golden toad the size of a palm suddenly popped out. This golden toad held a gold coin in its mouth and had jewel-like bumps on its back; it landed right in front of him, neither more nor less.

The golden toad said: "Our Wealth God master wants to do overseas business. These days, we have recruited many shipwrights and have also built shipyards and docks in Poyang, specializing in shipbuilding. However, shipbuilding is no small matter; timber, nails, canvas, tung oil, lacquer... without a year or two of effort, one cannot build a large ship. I heard you have seven large ships that can travel overseas to transport timber and spices. Our Wealth God master wants to buy shares in your ships—not buy them out, but spend money to buy shares. You will still operate them; we will only take dividends and will not interfere recklessly."

Hearing this, Sun Bao weighed the options. He had long heard that the local Jin Chan Miao was incredibly efficacious, and there were Jinchan Pawnshops, Money Shops, and Stock Firms... the industry was incomparably prosperous, dealing in the flow of real gold and silver.

He said: "My seven ships cannot be considered large ships. Truly large ships are forty to fifty zhang long and ten to twenty zhang wide (150 meters long, 60 meters wide). Those are called Bao Ships, and the construction cost is at least 300,000 taels of silver; they cannot be built without the power of the entire nation."

"Of my seven ships, two are medium-sized warships retired from the previous Great Heng Dynasty that have been refitted; they are twenty-two zhang long and eight zhang wide, and they are the main ships. Three are Japanese ships, which are relatively shorter, but their shipbuilding industry is advanced, so these ships are faster and good at utilizing wind power. There are also two broken ships bought from pirates; after finding shipwrights to patch them up, they can also sail."

The golden toad listened and took note, then said: "Then name your price. Our master hopes to take a forty percent stake. Money is not an issue."

Sun Bao hesitated instead. He said: "To buy into them, money is actually the simplest part. Because of the Japanese pirates and the Longevity Sect harassing the coast, the Imperial Court long ago imposed a sea ban. Having a way to set sail from private ports is the most important thing. Second, there are many pirates at sea—Japanese pirates, Longevity Sect members, and coastal fishermen. The taxes the Imperial Court doesn't collect, they collect, and sometimes they even kill people and seize ships..."

Xiao Jinchan heard this, and its eyes immediately flickered: "That is not a problem. We have suitable weapons here; we can install cannons on the ships."

"That kind of cannon already existed during the previous Great Heng Dynasty. Installing them on ships is just for show; the gunpowder gets damp easily, and once a cannonball is fired, it burns money, and the accuracy is poor." Sun Bao was quite clear about these firearms.

Coastal firearms were more advanced than those inland, but they couldn't be considered very advanced; they were only at the level of the Tang and Song dynasties, still relatively dependent on the kind of gunpowder used to make fireworks and firecrackers.

After all, these Longevity Sect members, Japanese pirates, and sea bandits were all very rampant, and fireworks and firecrackers were very common. Coastal religious beliefs were rich, and they would set off firecrackers and fireworks at the drop of a hat, so discovering their power was not difficult. At first, they really did use fireworks to bomb enemy ships. During the Great Heng Dynasty, there were cannons, but their power was average, their range was average, and they hadn't solved the problem of insufficient black powder energy. Cleaning the cannons even required finding thin, young boys to crawl inside to clear out the gunpowder residue.

As for firearms, some people had tried them at the beginning, but they hadn't solved the core problems: first, the power was insufficient; second, they were difficult to mass-produce; third, they might explode; and fourth, loading gunpowder was difficult. They were not as good as real blades and spears for boarding combat.

The gunpowder improvement Xu Jia made here perfectly solved the problem of excessive black powder residue, and he could also add "rifling" technology, which could increase power, improve accuracy, and even extend range.

This was just the first generation of reform. Once the industrial foundation was established, cold weapons could basically be initially phased out.

This Xiao Jinchan said: "You will know when the time comes."

By the time Xu Jia came down from the mountain and Hu Jinhua recommended Sun Bao, he had already been staying here for five days. The ice and snow began to melt, and the weather grew colder.

He wore a squirrel-fur coat (it was squirrel, not rat) and held a small peach-pit charcoal brazier as he arrived at Xu Jia's home. He first met Xu Zhiyuan.

Xu Zhiyuan was writing a disaster relief document. This document was for Jinchan Duobao. It contained several items: first, to limit the time for raising grain prices in the areas around Yushan and Dexing, and to spread information in the Yushan market. After waiting three or four days to let grain merchants from other places rush over to sell, he would then decisively open the granaries to release grain, directly lowering the grain price to purchase it and solve the grain shortage problem.

Second, to make preparations for the spring flood in advance, mobilizing disaster victims to dig out river silt and widen the river channels, which would also facilitate ship movement.

Third, to excavate reservoirs and build dams, preparing to store a portion of the floodwater to be used for the spring and summer droughts following the spring flood. Although he was not an official, it was much more satisfying than being one. Yushan and Dexing counties were effectively under "financial control of politics." The Yushan County Magistrate and the Dexing County Magistrate could no longer fight for power or profit; they were now sitting at home counting money (having invested their assets with the golden toad). Why bother doing that hard labor? The Yushan County Magistrate even boasted that if he were given a Fifth Rank Prefecture Governor position, he wouldn't trade his Yushan County Magistrate position for it. It wasn't for anything else, just that there was plenty of money, few things to do, and life was happy.

Of course, it was also because there was a "Great Buddha" covering this place. Although Xu Jia was unwilling to admit it, he had indeed become the ideal "backer" in the hearts of many people.

Father Xu was doing administration at home, applying what he had learned more reasonably; it could be considered that he had achieved success in his studies.

It was just that he didn't know much about overseas matters. Hearing about Xu Jia's overseas farming plan, he was somewhat dismissive. Where in the barbaric lands overseas could compare to the places left behind by the ancestors?

Therefore, he specifically wanted to meet this Sun Bao to broaden his knowledge of overseas affairs.

Sun Bao heard that he was a provincial graduate, fourth in the provincial examination, and dared not look down on him. In the end, he was just a merchant; although he had some wealth, his status was not very high.

Although Xu Zhiyuan was not an official, he was enough to be treated as one.

Upon entering the Xu household, Sun Bao only felt it was as warm as spring, without a hint of cold. The trees in the courtyard still had green leaves, and a peony planted in the ground even had flower buds.

A girl who looked like a maid was actually wearing spring clothes, her face very rosy, directing a twelve-year-old boy to refine something. One could only smell a medicinal fragrance.

But the bones nearby looked strange; how did they feel a bit like "dragon horns"? That skin also looked strange; he didn't know what kind of skin it was.

This was using flood dragon skin to boil glue. The flood dragon horn was the same; they were following the method of boiling deer horn glue to boil flood dragon horn glue.

After boiling the glue, it was good for refining paste, and after refining the paste, it was good for rolling into pills to make elixirs.

On the other side, there was a porcelain alchemical furnace. The furnace was sealed tightly. Actually, inside it was the Inner Elixir of a black fish spirit. It was double-layered, using purified water to turn into steam, and the steam fused with the Dandanqi, which could then boil out a soup. This soup was also one of the materials for alchemy.

Xiao Hong had some talent in alchemy, and Xu Jian, an Earth Immortal undergoing reincarnation, had instead become her alchemy boy.

Although Sun Bao did not know that these were the bones, horns, and skin of a flood dragon, he felt his mind clear up just by smelling this medicinal Qi.

Passing by the Buddha hall, he was in a trance, hearing a few chants that cleansed his soul, and he became quiet in an instant.

Only then did he see Xu Zhiyuan. Xu Zhiyuan put down the paper and brush and stood up to welcome him, which made Sun Bao feel somewhat flattered.

Father Xu said: "I am very sorry to have invited you here so presumptuously."

"Those rats, foxes, golden toads... are they all related to you?"

"Ah? Those immortals? They were all subdued by my son. Originally, they were all mountain spirits and wild monsters, but he took them under his command to drive them; they are actually more reliable and trustworthy than people. I do not have this ability."

Xu Zhiyuan invited him to sit down and personally brewed lotus seed tea. This was a spiritual item from the Poyang Water Mansion, which had the effect of clearing the heart and removing annoyance.

"My son says that the islands overseas, although barbaric, have fertile land and a warm climate. Clearing wasteland for farming is enough for three harvests a year, and there are many high-yield crops. Now there are faint signs of a grain shortage. If the heavens do not grant food, millions or tens of millions of people will starve to death. Our Jiangnan West Circuit is still okay, but I fear other places won't last long. Therefore, we want to open up a piece of land overseas specifically to grow crops and store grain."

"This..." Sun Bao found it hard to accept: "Overseas is humid and hot. Although the climate is good, those islands are too primitive. To develop them for farming, I don't know how much manpower and material resources it would consume. The mosquitoes and insects are poisonous, carrying Miasma Qi and plague. If one is slightly unacclimated to the water and soil, one will get sick and die. Some islands also have natives with red and black skin, somewhat like Kunlun slaves, still in an ancient tribal state, and they like to eat people..."

"Furthermore, shipping capacity is limited. One round trip will likely take several months. Transporting this grain for several months is really not worth it. It would be better to transport giant timber, spices, or native slaves; only these can make money..."

"Moreover, to tell you the truth, an island is just a pellet-sized place. How much land can you farm? You need to support the islanders and then support this side. But how many people are here? No matter how much grain you transport, it's just a drop in the bucket and won't help. It might be enough for ten thousand people to eat and consume, but is it enough for a hundred thousand or a million?"

(End of chapter)