Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

Chapter 280 Compass and Encirclement

When Wu Shizhong heard that Qin Ming was going to the shipyard, he immediately became excited.

Just like a child likes to show his toys to others.

After achieving success in running Shanyin County, he also wanted to let Qin Ming see how well his shipbuilding industry was doing.

"Your Highness, don't be surprised when you see the ship we built."

"it is good."

Qin Ming smiled and nodded, unable to help laughing.

In his previous life, he had even seen aircraft carriers and some large fleets.

How could I be surprised by what's here?

But we still have to give the face that is due.

This is the only way to inspire the confidence and enthusiasm of subordinates.

Thinking of this, Qin Ming praised Wu Shizhong after arriving at the shipyard.

"Of course, Old Wu. I didn't expect your shipyard to expand to this size in just a few years."

"Yes, we now have thousands of craftsmen, and in a month we can make more than a dozen small boats, six medium-sized boats, and two large boats."

"so much?"

"Oh, it's just so-so. I can still expand it in the future! Hahahaha..."

Wu Shizhong was being modest.

However, his tone was extremely proud as he boasted to Qin Ming about his efficiency.

Now they are really productive.

“How many Clippers are on hand now?”

Qin Ming didn't care about these things, but asked him a question.

"There are probably more than 30 of them, all used to transport goods between Jiangnan and Jiangdong."

"If there are any spare ships, sail them all to the port under Prince Duan's command."

Qin Ming slowly began to make arrangements. This time he wanted to wipe out the Japanese pirates in one fell swoop.

"Your Highness, I have a lot of ships. If we send them all to Prince Duan's port, there will probably be hundreds of them. This is still under the premise of ensuring our business."

Wu Shizhong has built many ships in recent years.

Even if they use the minimum quantity to maintain their business, they can still send a lot of ships over.

"How long have you been here?"

Qin Ming suddenly spoke and asked him with a smile.

"It's been about ten years. What's the matter, Your Highness? Are you going to transfer me to Lingnan?"

Wu Shizhong looked at Qin Ming in surprise. He had thought that he was very capable and was now on his way to a wealthy area.

But Qin Ming said in a low voice:

"Have you ever thought about occupying a piece of land overseas?"

"What!?"

Wu Shizhong widened his eyes in disbelief, his brain almost shutting down.

"You want me to go overseas, but how can we have territory overseas just for nothing?"

"If we don't have it, can't we just fight? This time, when we defeat the pirates, we can just go straight to where they're gathering and seize a piece of land, or even rule that area directly. Then you can even become the emperor."

“Emperor?!”

Qin Ming's words frightened Wu Shizhong so much that he fell to his knees.

He thought Qin Ming was testing him, and waved his hands repeatedly:

"Your Highness, how dare I become the emperor? You are truly flattering me. I have absolutely no second thoughts! Absolutely no second thoughts!"

He said, clasping his hands together.

Qin Ming knew that people of this generation would definitely find such a statement outrageous.

However, Qin Ming helped him up and comforted him:

"What are you afraid of? That place is already unowned. If you go there, it would be good for you to become a local official. I need a transit port to go to Southeast Asia. You have experience, so this time is perfect for you."

What Qin Ming was talking about was naturally the islands occupied by Japanese pirates.

If these islands can be taken.

That would provide Qin Ming with a large open space.

Build a port and defeat these shameless Japanese pirates and exploit them.

This is what he is going to do.

"Well...if I go there, I won't even have my official position."

"That's not true. Once you build a factory this time, you'll be able to take charge of an entire island, which is more powerful than a county town."

Qin Ming was not fooling him.

Although this mission was extremely difficult, it was not a big problem for Wu Shizhong, who had high aspirations and excellent ability to get things done.

After listening to Qin Ming's description, Wu Shizhong stroked his chin and said with his head down:

"Your Highness, didn't you just finish negotiations with the Nanman? Why are you so anxious to expand now?"

"I just feel like something's not right."

Qin Ming spoke in a low voice.

"Daqian already has firearms. Their future development speed and lethality on the battlefield will be even greater. Our territory is not as large as theirs, and as one grows stronger, the other will surely gradually gain the upper hand."

The strength of a force is positively correlated with the land area they occupy and the number of people.

Although Qin Ming is very strong now, he even occupies three areas.

But compared with Daqian, which has vast land, it is still far behind.

The battles between Daqian and the northern tribes were originally extremely tense.

But once they had firearms, all was uncertain.

There was a good chance they would bring the war to a swift end and inflict heavy damage on the northern tribes.

By that time, Qin Ming would most likely fall into crisis again.

Once Emperor Qian and his men recover their strength, they will definitely take back the lost land.

In order to consolidate his land, he needs to accumulate strength.

Only by expanding the scope of land that can be controlled can Qin Ming quickly accumulate strength.

"I see."

After learning about Qin Ming's thoughts, Wu Shizhong nodded slowly.

Only then did he realize that Qin Ming had already thought dozens of steps ahead of ordinary people.

People like them who work under Qin Ming can only think of a few moves ahead at most.

But Qin Ming can think so far, he is worthy of being His Highness.

"Your Highness, there is another question now."

Qin Ming had already guessed what he meant without him saying anything.

"I know what you are going to say. In order to ensure the success of the plan, I must ensure that we can defeat the Japanese pirates and prevent them from counterattacking."

"Can you do it in a short time?"

"of course."

Qin Ming shrugged.

Then he took out a round mirror from his arms.

After opening the top, there is a small needle inside.

"Do you know what this is?"

"What's this?"

"A compass. With it, you won't get lost at sea."

The telescope and compass were things that Qin Ming had asked the workshop to make early on.

The principles of these two things are actually very simple. The telescope is based on the principle of convex lenses and concave lenses.

As for the compass, it's even simpler.

A magnetic needle mounted on a circular axis.