Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 92: King Yan asks for advice, boiler explodes [Please read]

Liu Kuan said, "The Ming navy has a good foundation. Furthermore, the Ming has few powerful enemies. All we need to do is build a batch of warships capable of sailing the oceans and then select and train the navy officers for a few years... well, all in all, ten years is enough."

ten years?

Zhu Di stared.

In the past, what he most desired was to make achievements in the northern border, to destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty for his father and brother, and even to eliminate the border troubles in the north.

But since he knew what would happen in the future, he realized that his father and elder brother would be wary of him, and he also heard Liu Kuan's suggestion to grant him a fiefdom overseas, and he was obsessed with the idea of ​​granting him a fiefdom overseas as soon as possible.

He was not afraid of the hardship of establishing a vassal state overseas, he just hoped that the sky would be high enough for birds to fly and the sea would be wide enough for fish to jump.

With such expectations, how could he be willing to wait for ten years?

Therefore, he frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "According to what my father has relayed, overseas countries like Australia, Africa, and America only have a few natives, no country."

"If I were to establish a fiefdom in a place like this, I wouldn't need a naval escort, right? If so, could I establish my fiefdom overseas as quickly as possible?"

Liu Kuan observed Zhu Di's expression and realized that he might really want to go overseas to be a vassal, so he spoke more seriously.

He took out a large piece of white paper and spread it on the table, then used the pencil he had at that time to draw a map of the Chinese sea area on it.

He had never learned to draw, nor did he have a photographic memory, so the pictures he drew were just so-so.

But Zhu Di became excited when he saw it.

"Is this our Ming Dynasty's coastal defense map? It looks quite different from the one my father obtained from the former Yuan Dynasty palace collection."

Liu Kuan said, "Maps can be found everywhere in later generations and are readily available. That's why I didn't bring a map with me when I suddenly traveled to the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, I would have presented it to Your Majesty long ago."

Talking about this, Liu Kuan was obviously very regretful - it was not that he didn't have a map on his phone, but there were offline maps of the city where he worked and Nanjing.

But that kind of regional map covered with modern transportation routes has no reference value at all for the Ming Dynasty and is equivalent to nothing.

Fortunately, because he loves historical novels, he often looks at historical maps, maps of countries, continents, and the world in later generations. Even if he can't remember all of them, he can remember the general idea.

The drawing was only made for the convenience of conversation, and a rough outline of the Shenzhou sea area was drawn while talking.

Zhu Di was originally wondering how such a confidential item as a map could be seen everywhere and readily available in later generations.

Before I could figure it out, I was attracted by the sea map that Liu Kuan had drawn most of.

"Your Highness, please look. If you don't count the South Sea Islands, the closest continent to the Ming Dynasty is actually Australia, which is right here."

"If Your Highness were to establish a fiefdom here, he wouldn't need a strong naval escort, and the requirements for seagoing vessels would be relatively low."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes lit up and he said, "Then if I want to be enfeoffed here, it shouldn't take ten years to prepare, right?"

"Your Highness, please listen to me." Liu Kuan finished drawing the Australian continent on the paper. "Although this place is closest to the Ming Dynasty, its resources are not as abundant as those of the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and the Americas."

"Although Australia appears vast, its indigenous population is small, probably only a few hundred thousand, less than a million at most. Furthermore, the Australian indigenous population is relatively ignorant and difficult to educate."

"Hearing this, Your Highness, are you still willing to be enfeoffed here?"

Zhu Di was an ambitious man. Since he had no hope of becoming the emperor, he naturally wanted to find a good place to be a vassal overseas.

After hearing Liu Kuan say that Australia's resources and population are the worst among several overseas continents, I immediately lost interest.

So I asked, "If not Australia, where is the second shortest way to become a feudal lord?"

Liu Kuan was not surprised to see Zhu Di abandon Australia - in his opinion, Zhu Di should not have gone to Australia in the first place.

The relative poverty of Australian resources is one factor, but the key point is that it would be very comfortable after becoming a vassal - there were no decent opponents on the mainland or in the surrounding areas, which was a real waste of Zhu Di's military talents.

After hearing Zhu Di's question, Liu Kuan drew the outline of a subcontinent to the west of the South China Sea islands.

"Tianzhu?" Zhu Di's eyes lit up at first, then he hesitated and said, "I remember there was a great power here since ancient times. I'm afraid it's quite powerful and difficult to capture, right?"

Liu Kuan searched his mind for the little Indian history he could remember and said, "Your Highness, you may not know that the Indian subcontinent is rich in resources and has a suitable climate, so the locals can easily be defeated and conquered by foreign forces."

"If I remember correctly, the northern part of the country was ruled by the Persians at this time, while the southern part was populated by several kingdoms of varying sizes."

"Also, if Your Highness were to become a vassal here, you wouldn't have to deal with the great powers on land first. You could first occupy this large island to the south, and then use it as a springboard to advance into the southern part of the subcontinent." "Once you've conquered the southern territories and defeated the Persians to the north, you might even be able to unify the entire Indian subcontinent!"

After listening to Liu Kuan's story, Zhu Di stared at the Indian subcontinent and could hardly move his eyes away. He praised: "I didn't expect my brother-in-law to have such a strategy. It's really good!"

Then he asked, "If I want to go to India to be a vassal, how many years will it take at the earliest?"

"Um, maybe ten years." Liu Kuan said, feeling slightly embarrassed, and then he began to explain, "Firstly, building a large ocean vessel would take several years. Although we can go to Tianzhu along the coastline, we still need to weather a lot of storms."

"Besides, the journey to India is quite long. Whether we're sending troops or immigrants, we definitely want to carry as many people as possible at once. Therefore, we need ships that are as large and sturdy as possible."

"Secondly, the Ming navy has never been to India before. They must first send an advance fleet to explore the route and establish supply bases along the way."

"Finally, going to India is different from going to Australia. You'll need a naval escort. Even if you don't require a high-level navy, it will take several years to build and train them."

Zhu Di shook his head. "What my brother-in-law said can be done simultaneously. Logically speaking, it should be ready in five or six years at most. Why would it take ten?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Highness, being a vassal overseas is a matter of great importance to the survival and prosperity of the royal family. You are the first one to do so, so it is always better to prepare carefully."

"Also, the several things I just mentioned need to be carried out simultaneously, and they require Your Majesty's strong support. However, Your Majesty has not yet agreed to the overseas vassalage."

Zhu Di frowned slightly and said, "I will advise my father on this matter."

After saying that, Zhu Di was about to ask Liu Kuan what specific preparations he needed to make for his overseas vassalage when he heard a commotion outside.

Soon two clerks ran out of the door. One of them was not wearing a hat, and his hair was stuck to his sweaty face.

Liu Kuan recognized this man as Qi Damu, a clerk at the Power Research Institute, and immediately felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, Qi Damu said anxiously and breathlessly, "The boiler exploded!"

Liu Kuan was shocked when he heard this. He stood up, knocking over his chair, and rushed to the door to ask anxiously, "What are the casualties?"

Qi Damu shook his head. "As soon as the explosion happened, Secretary Fan asked me to return to the headquarters to report. I don't know the casualties yet."

Although Liu Kuan knew that boiler testing was dangerous, he had repeatedly reminded Guo Tianwen to pay attention to safety, but he did not expect that an explosion would still happen.

Before and after the time travel, Liu Kuan encountered such a matter involving human life for the first time, and his palms felt cold for a moment.

Swallowing his dry throat, he walked out of the courtyard and said, "I'm going to the research institute now. When Doctor Su returns to the court, you will inform him of this matter as soon as possible."

At this time, only the bookkeeper He Zhang and a few clerks were left in the court. They had no idea how serious the accident was and were very panicked. When they heard Liu Kuan's order, they just hurriedly replied "yes" and were at a loss as to what to do.

Zhu Di, however, caught up with him from behind and said, "Brother-in-law, my horse is outside. Why don't you let me take you there?"

Liu Kuan just walked out of the gate of the court and saw several men who looked like guards standing outside with horses.

Liu Kuan's horse was in the stable outside the Ministry of Works compound, and it would take several minutes to run over there.

He was anxious and didn't care to sigh about the privileges of being a prince. He nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan!"

Zhu Di knew the situation was urgent, and being a capable man, he immediately jumped over Liu Kuan and mounted his horse, saying to a guard, "Give your horse to Vice-President Liu."

Liu Kuan said hurriedly: "I am not good at riding, so why not let him carry me?"

Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, then he said, "Brother-in-law, please ride on my horse. My mount runs fast."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand.

Liu Kuan took advantage of the force and was pulled onto the horse's back, sitting astride the back.

Zhu Di was an excellent rider. He turned his horse around and galloped away with a few guards.

Wang Guangyue, who was in charge of protecting Liu Kuan, was very anxious, but he could only take his men to the stable to get horses before chasing...

Zhu Di had only been in power for over a year and was very familiar with the roads in the capital. After immediately asking for the address of the Power Research Institute, he took a few guards and went to places with less traffic.

In just a quarter of an hour, the group arrived outside the Power Research Institute compound at the foot of Lime Mountain.

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(End of this chapter)