defend the truth

Two days later, Tolo Bay-Ya Chung Cargo Terminal.

Although Li Weizhen's attitude towards Tang Ying was ups and downs, but the little princess of the Shang Dynasty still brought him two free tickets as promised.

The boat tickets are at the same time, and they are going to take the same boat, which means that the two of them will inevitably be entangled together in the days to come.

Because the ship is a cargo ship, the workers have to wait for the goods to be loaded on the ship before they can set sail.

Therefore, during the waiting time, Tang Ying chose to stay in the VIP room of the cargo command post, while Li Weizhen preferred to stay at the pier for a visit.

After all, one would never come to this kind of place when they have nothing to do. Opportunities are rare.

It was also because of this opportunity that Li Weizhen intuitively understood how developed the shipping and trade economy in Funan City is.

For example, the Yachong Freight Terminal located in the western harbor of Funan Peninsula actually occupies the coasts of Yaxiang and Xichong towns, occupying a rather large area.Consisting of nine piers and 24 berths, the deep-water coastline is as long as [-] miles.

As for such super-large cargo ports, there are two in Funan City, three in the second-tier ports, and two in the second-tier ports. There are seven ports in total, forming a hub for world shipping and trade, connecting more than 500 A freight destination, collecting goods from all over the world.

Relying on the unique advantages of the port, the shipbuilding industry, handicraft manufacturing industry, textile industry, etc. in Funan City are all at the forefront of the world.However, agricultural production, which is highly valued in most areas, is difficult to develop here.

The reason is simple. There is little arable land, and the food grown is simply not enough for the 600 million people on the peninsula to consume, let alone raise livestock.

With the port's convenient transportation, except for salt, firewood, rice oil, soy sauce and vinegar tea, those that should be imported are imported.

Why do you say that the salt does not need to be imported?

Relying on such a large sea, there are more than a dozen salt drying factories. If you have to import salt to eat, wouldn't you be like a fool?

Speaking of the wharf, Yachong Freight Wharf is just the general name of the nine wharves in Tolo Harbour, and there are differences in size.Because there are only 24 berths, it is not average.

The largest pier No. [-] has four berths, and the location is naturally the best. It is a pier belonging to the Tan family.

The smallest pier has only one berth, but it can still dock huge ships full of millions of stones.

The ship that Li Weizhen will take later is named "Brilliant Pearl", and it is currently berthing at Pier [-] to load cargo.

This No. [-] pier has two berths. In name, it was rented by a wealthy businessman from other places; but in reality, it is used by the royal family of a big businessman.

The real identity of that wealthy businessman is actually a third-rank eunuch, who is currently serving Tang Ying, the young master, in the VIP room.

In other words, this "Bright Pearl" is Tang Ying's family's ship.And considering the background of this ship, there should be no storms and waves to stir up during the next sea journey.

"Brilliant Pearl" is a gigantic monster that can be fully loaded with cargo of 200 million shi. The hull is 65 feet long and [-] feet wide.

There are two layers of cargo hold and one layer of living cabin under the deck of the ship. Although the deck also has three layers of cabins, it only accounts for one-tenth of the length of the deck.

This design means that there will be a lot of vacancy on the deck, and the meaning of these spaces is only to stack more goods.

The goods stacked on the deck are all loaded in long iron boxes of uniform specifications. These large boxes are one foot and eight in length, seven feet in width, and eight feet in height.

The design of the deck has card slots that meet the specifications of the boxes, and with the buckle and fixed rope, these iron boxes can be firmly fixed on the deck, no fear of the worst weather in the sea.

These large metal boxes cannot be carried by manpower, but are carried by the giant crane arm of the terminal, which not only saves manpower, but also greatly improves the efficiency of loading and unloading goods.But the disadvantage is that the requirements for wharf construction have also become higher.

Of course, such a huge ship, loaded with such a heavy cargo, cannot be driven by natural wind.

Therefore, this ship does not have sails, but uses a large magical instrument called "Suzaku Furnace" to bring powerful power to turn the huge paddles located at the bottom and tail of the ship, so that the huge ship can sail at a constant speed in the sea. .

Li Weizhen has only heard a little about the "Suzaku Furnace". It must be the masterpiece of a certain craftsman, but it can be said that there are different opinions on which master made it, and there has been no conclusion.

The most widely accepted statement is that this "Suzaku Furnace" was originally developed by Bates, a genius in making weapons from the Demon Gate.

This Bates was born in the "Qianqianwu" of the Demon Gate of the West Sea. It is true that he is extremely talented in refining weapons, but he is more known as a geek.Because he likes to research and develop all kinds of strange instruments, but most of them are difficult to use practically, and he has been criticized.

For example, the "thousand-mile sound transmission tube" can indeed transmit human voices over long distances, but it needs a special wire to connect the two ends of the instrument to achieve the purpose of sound transmission.

Because of the sound transmission jade talisman, sound transmission flying sword, and sound transmission magic ring, the "thousand-mile sound transmission tube" with serious limitations is naturally not favored.Perhaps its only advantage is that anyone can use it, there is no restriction on cultivation, and the sound transmission efficiency is indeed quite fast.

But this advantage is not enough to make up for its shortcomings. In the eyes of colleagues, this is just a toy!

Later, the "phonograph", "picture recorder"... and other magic instruments developed by Bates were widely criticized because of their obvious shortcomings, and they were quite tasteless to the monks.

But Bates is not incapable of making magic weapons with great lethality. The "Balrog Cannon" that is now carried by many warships is one of his masterpieces.

Therefore, Qiqianwu also loves and hates Bates, who often does not do business. After receiving a large amount of funding from the sect, he always puts aside his business and tinkers with his gadgets.Even people in the Demon Sect despise his grotesqueness.

Then why is it said that the appearance of the "Suzaku Furnace" is related to Bates, but it is difficult to be identified, and it can only be guessed based on rumors?

This is because Bates has been mysteriously missing for more than 20 years, and the people of Qiqianwumen have kept silent about him, and the first generation of "Suzaku Furnace" first appeared in the magic gate of the East China Sea-Acacia School [-] years ago. .

However, the "Suzaku Furnace" has a strong "Bates style", that is, as long as one masters how to use it, anyone can operate it without being restricted by cultivation.

There are rumors that Qiqianwu, the overlord of the West Sea, originally wanted to develop a new type of warship that could dominate the world and help it plunder coastal resources wantonly.But this kind of warship needs to be equipped with a more powerful driving magic weapon in order to come and go freely in the sea. This is the original intention of the "Suzaku Furnace".

But when the research and development was about to be successful, the refining manuscript of "Suzaku Furnace" was stolen.Not only that, but one year later, all over the world, warships equipped with "Suzaku Furnace" are sailing in the sea.

Obviously, in order to protect themselves, the secret stealers sold this huge secret to many powerful forces who were interested in it.

It also made this matter a "headless case", forcing Qiqianwu to suffer from this dumb loss!

But no matter how the "Suzaku Furnace" was born, its appearance has revolutionized the shipbuilding industry and changed the entire world of maritime trade.

In the past, an ocean-going trade across thousands of miles of sea required the organization of hundreds of ships, with almost half the risk and profit.

Today, only one ocean-going cargo ship can replace the entire fleet of the past, and the navigation efficiency is faster and safer. The naturally formed wind and waves cannot shake such a huge ship at all.

Even the Central Plains region, which used to be self-sufficient in its vast land and resources and disdained ocean-going trade, has begun to vigorously build ports in the past 20 years.Its "Jiangnan Shipyard" located in Yangzhou is already the top three in the East China Sea and the top ten ship producing places in the world.

And Lujun, Yangzhou, which has the "No. [-] seaport in the Central Plains", is even more likely to become the trade center of the East China Sea.If it weren't for the frequent wars in the East China Sea in recent years, which have led to frequent blockades of the sea area, this may have become a reality.

At this moment, Li Weizhen's eyes were not only on the cargo ship.At the wharf, the scene where the workers are busy loading the goods can also make people quite emotional.

Many of the dock workers here used to be crew members, but with the reduction of ships going to sea, their working environment has also changed.

Nowadays, it is rare for a ship to berth at the pier for more than two days, and sometimes it even takes one day to complete the loading and unloading of a million stone cargo.

The demand for manpower is very large. It is not uncommon to see thousands of dock workers loading and unloading cargo for a ship.

Often half of the staff is responsible for unloading the goods, while the other half of the staff has already transported the goods from the warehouse to the dock at the same time, so that they can be loaded on the ship as soon as possible.

Therefore, the criss-crossing railway tracks can be seen at the pier, which is for the convenience of ox carts to pull goods.

The cattle that are specially used to pull goods at the wharf are not ordinary cattle. This kind of cattle is black in body, shiny in fur, fat and strong, and has four horns. It is not extraordinary at first glance.

Just the strength of a single ox can pull tens of thousands of catties of cargo without even breathing.

This cow is called "Sijiao Kui Niu". It has the blood of monsters. It is bred by the mating and breeding of iron bulls and black buffaloes. It has a mild temper, endures hardships and stands hard work, and has great strength. Five-year lifespan.

Therefore, those sects that are good at raising monsters will send a large number of newly bred "Four-cornered Kui Niu" to Funan City every year, in order to earn a fortune of spirit stones.

In the past, Taiyimen's Spirit Beast Farm would also receive such orders, but the output was limited, and only [-] horses could be sold each year.

But Li Weizhen is not an animal trainer. Although he admires the hard work of the "Sijiao Kui Niu", he is more thinking: the appearance of the Suzaku Stove has completely changed the maritime trade; can a new kind of animal be developed? How about the magic weapon to replace the "four-cornered ox" pulling the cart, which is an inhumane way of transporting goods?

In this world, there are iron ships without sails. Can iron carts without livestock be far behind?

Even if it's just to reduce the volume of Suzaku furnace by ten times?

If I could get that refining letter, if it were me...

"Sir, sir... we are about to sail!" Ye Tong, who had been following Li Weizhen, suddenly reminded.

Li Weizhen came back to his senses suddenly, it turned out that he had been standing still for a long time without knowing when.Even Tang Ying and his party were already ahead of them, about to board the steps to the deck of the cargo ship.

But Li Weizhen was still a little bit distracted from his thoughts, and he couldn't help asking Ye Tong: "Little boy, you say a craftsman, should the objects he makes be for killing people, or for benefiting the people of the world?"

Ye Tong was at a loss for this sudden question, "Students are just laymen in the process of refining weapons, so they dare not speak nonsense. But it seems that you don't need flying swords or magic weapons to kill people. If you can do the latter, it should be a great thing!"

Li Weizhen nodded slightly, and said with emotion: "Yes! That is really remarkable and worthy of admiration! If there is a chance, I would also like to go to the West Sea!"