eurekapd Chapter 529: The Great Voyage Plan
Chapter 529: The Great Voyage Plan
Champa rice, also known as 'Early Champa', 'Early Rice' and 'Early Champa', is a high-yield rice variety.
It originated in Champa, which is the area south of Qui Nhon in modern Vietnam, and was introduced to my country during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Li Che, Tao Qian and the farming disciples asked many times, but no one knew about this kind of rice, which shows that it was probably not yet introduced to Daqing at this time.
After learning the news, Li Che decided to go to Champa to get rice seeds.
It would be a waste of resources to give such immortal seeds only to those ungrateful people.
Champa rice has many advantages such as drought resistance, flood resistance, barrenness resistance, cold resistance, strong regeneration ability, high yield and excellent rice quality.
Its introduction greatly promoted agricultural development in the Jiangnan region during the Northern Song Dynasty and promoted agricultural development to a certain extent.
The name of Champa rice comes from its wide planting area and strong influence. It is precisely because of this high-quality rice that the Jiangnan region has become the economic center of China since the Northern Song Dynasty.
Li Che planned to bring it back and try to see if it could be grown outside the Great Wall.
Even if the climate in the Northeast is not suitable for cultivation, it can be handed over to Emperor Qing and taken to the southern part of Daqing for cultivation.
Li Sheng didn't know what Champa rice was. He only knew that the great voyages of discovery were extremely dangerous. Kings in history only knew how to ban the seas. He had never heard of any monarch who not only supported opening the seas but also went to sea himself.
However, after spending so many days together, Li Sheng had a preliminary understanding of Li Che's character and knew that he could not persuade him.
After the banquet, Li Sheng left with a heavy heart, and worked even harder to train the new recruits in the next few days, making the sailors cry out in pain.
He was deeply indebted to Li Che and had no way to repay him, so he could only try his best to train a qualified navy and protect the safety of his own prince as much as possible.
Li Che was not idle either. He locked himself in the Dalian government office and did not go out to sea by boat for several days.
He began to strictly formulate a detailed plan for Fengguo's first great voyage.
This trip out to sea was not for fun, Li Che had a lot of plans in mind.
One is to train the navy, needless to say.
When the fleet returns from Champa, it will be a qualified fleet with rich experience in navigation and naval warfare. By then, the new warships should be almost built, and taking over the small Japanese country will be a piece of cake.
The second is Champa rice. High-quality grain is extremely important to Daqing, an agricultural country, and can quickly enhance the overall national strength.
The third is the Industrial Revolution. Li Che intends to establish Fengguo’s first overseas base in the southern tropical region.
The advantages of the Northeast outside the Great Wall are indeed great, but the disadvantages are also obvious, that is, the climate.
In fact, looking at the world, the latitude of Northeast China is not bad, and it can even be said to be the golden dimension belt of human civilization.
The latitude range of the Northeast region is 40° to 55° north latitude. Looking at Europe and America in the same latitude zone, we can see super prosperous cities such as New York, Washington, London, Berlin, Rome, etc. in this latitude zone.
In Mohe City, the northernmost city in Northeast China, the average January temperature is -20 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, in London, which is on almost the same latitude as Mohe, the average January temperature is only 9 degrees Celsius.
The main reasons are the cold air from Siberia and the high pressure in Asia. In addition, the terrain of Northeast China is high in the north and low in the south, which makes Northeast China the area with the lowest average annual temperature in the same latitude.
Low temperatures have brought certain benefits to the Northeast, but more disadvantages, especially the negative impact of temperature on crop planting.
Rubber technology is one of the most important links in the start of the Industrial Revolution, but the cold climate of Northeast China is destined to have no connection with rubber trees.
Li Che originally wanted to rely on Emperor Qing and ask him to help plant rubber trees in the south of Daqing.
But the situation in the south is very complicated, with many aristocratic families and clans, and even Emperor Qing may not be able to fully control it.
Li Che was not at all confident in handing over the most important link to others, so he had to go there in person.
It would be better to leave a group of elite troops in Southeast Asia, recruit some local natives, control a piece of land, and then plant rubber trees.
In this way, the approximate route of the fleet can be determined.
Starting from Dalian Port, sailing down the East China Sea and along the coastline can ensure safety and facilitate supplies.
On the way, they might stop in Izu, also known as Taiwan Island. There are some things on this beautiful island that interest Li Che.
Then they continued sailing southwest, passing Hainan Island and finally arriving in Champa.
After all, this is a classic route. This is the route Zheng He took when he sailed to the West.
Champa was the first stop of Zheng He's seven voyages to the West. According to historical records, after Zheng He's fleet set out from Wuhumen, Fujian, it took about 10 days to reach Champa with a favorable wind.
Then, the straight-line distance from the Liaodong Peninsula to Fujian is about 1700 kilometers, but ships have to sail along the coastline and avoid the deep sea, so the actual voyage will be longer, reaching more than 2000 kilometers.
We also have to consider the impact of monsoons and bad weather. Resupply and reorganization along the way also take time. This route will take at least 20 to 30 days or even longer.
In the end, Li Che concluded that this round trip would take at least two to three months. It was midsummer now, and by the time they returned, winter would be approaching in the Northeast.
Two or three months is still within Li Che's acceptable range. Now that Fengguo's political system is becoming increasingly mature, with the cabinet and many departments coordinating, he can completely be a hands-off boss for two or three months.
The most important thing is that the war outside the Great Wall has ended, and there is no enemy on this black land that can pose a threat to Feng State.
The only thing to worry about is safety. Li Che doesn't want to die in that damn place like Champa.
The navy's equipment must be as sophisticated as possible, and all pepper shaker pistols must be brought. It would be best to find a way to modify the warships so that they can carry some small artillery.
The Royal Guard Battalion should also be brought along as much as possible. In the past few days, the Royal Guard Battalion has also been training with the sailors. Unfortunately, most of the Royal Guard Battalion are strong men from the north who are good at riding and shooting, and less than one-third of them have the talent to be proficient in water.
In fact, the most important thing is the warship!
Li Che didn't know what the situation was like in Europe, but although Fengguo's military power was not the best in the world, at least it had no problem crushing the natives in Southeast Asia.
The sea is the most terrifying enemy. The shipbuilding level of this era is just so-so. If extreme weather occurs, Li Che is very worried about whether the fleet can reach Champa safely.
We still have to wait for the fleet from Daqing to arrive and see if there are any larger warships that are more suitable for long-distance voyages.
In addition, there are some common sense of navigation, such as bringing some fruits to prevent sepsis, carrying a compass, nautical charts, and telescope to prevent getting lost, etc.
If this was the first time the ancients went on a long sea voyage, some minor problems might have been overlooked. Fortunately, there was the time traveler Li Che.
Li Che once had a girlfriend whose father was the captain of a merchant ship. He often heard her talk about these simple navigation knowledge.
God didn't let Li Che wait long. Less than half a month later, he received two pieces of good news.
The first good news was that Daqing's fleet finally arrived at Dalian Port. In addition to the large warships that Li Che had been thinking about, there were also thousands of skilled sailors and more shipbuilders accompanying the fleet.
The second piece of news made the entire Feng State court cheer.
After Hua Changan's personal diagnosis, Chang Ningxue was found to be two months pregnant.
In short, Li Che is going to be a father!