socalfunplaces Chapter 245 Daxing Lingnan Road
Chapter 245 Daxing Lingnan Road
Just know the answer! Fusu looked at the wealthy nobles who were called over. He had full confidence in his heart. It was just like the "civilized conquest" strategy of Western Europe in the Middle Ages for that place - with the help of the large area of arable land and rich crops there, a large amount of sugar, coffee and cocoa beans could be harvested.
Therefore, Fusu compared the South China Sea counties and the entire Indochina Peninsula to the "New World" discovered by Europe at that time, which held immense appeal and opportunities.
If you use tough means to develop, the counter-effect will inevitably be greater. The harder you try, the greater the rebound! Just like the saying that one yin overcomes yang, people's desire for a better life is endless. Exploring new horizons is an inexhaustible source of energy for mankind!
What Fusu wanted to do at this time was to use desserts to win over these friends who had wealth and time, and encourage them to devote themselves to the construction of this new world of Lingnan according to the rules of the game he set.
Fortunately, although the Qin Dynasty during this period emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce, it was not opposed to business, especially after the great achievements of its predecessors Lu Buwei, Wu Shiluo, and Widow Qing.
"Bring that in." Fusu glanced at the nobles who were talking about something and said. Soon after, a large mysterious object wrapped in silk was brought up by the maid.
The cloth was unfolded, revealing the orange-yellow block in the middle. "Is this the gypsum that we offer as tribute in the south?" Ziqun, the heir of the clan, asked curiously. After getting confirmation, he asked:
"Where did this come from, and how could it be made into something like plaster?"
"Could it be related to Zhe Juice? Like concentrated malt mash?" Ziqun blinked his eyes and made an assumption. "Sure enough!" Fusu nodded and asked, "What do you think of those South China Sea areas?"
Everyone started discussing:
“Frontier!”
“The ground is full of miasma!”
"Eating raw meat and drinking blood is ignorant and unknowing!"
“The people there are all forest monkeys!”
Everyone burst into laughter, and seeing all this, Fusu chuckled and said, "Sugarcane, the key raw material for producing Zhezhi, actually grows in this 'wilderness'!"
Ziqun finally couldn't help asking, "Excuse me, how much gypsum can be extracted from every kilogram of sugarcane?"
"Well, I can't answer this question. I only know some science knowledge... But the sugar concentration of sugarcane juice should be close to 10%, right?" Fusu thought about it. So, his answer became:
“Usually there will be at least 11 points of refinement!”
Gongzi Gun fell into deep thought, thinking to himself: Such an action alone may not bring benefits. There is a saying that "no one sells firewood within a hundred miles" and no one sells grain within a thousand miles. If sugarcane is to be transported from a distant place to Chang'an, it is necessary to consider how huge the various expenses of long-distance transportation will be...
Fusu was very familiar with the thinking of people of that era: "The royal clan seems to be thinking about how to transport sugarcane back to Chang'an?" Such questions are not accidental.
He nodded slightly, expressing his agreement subtly.
"Why do you go to so much trouble to transport the sugar cane back to Chang'an?" Fusu smiled, "You should know that people who leave their hometowns have their belongings cheap and precious. The sugar cane, which is like weeds in the local area, is worth more than gold and jade when it is transported to Chang'an..."
"The method I suggest is to directly establish several large sugarcane plantations and refineries in the South China Sea. Planting, collecting, juicing, and refining sugar. This is cane sugar and rock honey. After bringing the sugar back to Chang'an, it will be sold to various countries. Compared with transporting sugarcane back to Chang'an, the profit can be dozens of times more!"
"Your Majesty, I will respectfully obey your great plans and advice!" Prince Gun bowed to show that he was attentive to your teachings.
The same respect is extended to all clan members.
"What exactly is your majesty's plan?" A young man hiding in a corner asked the question, his tone full of curiosity.
"Maybe you want to open a shop selling rock honey in the capital? Like the small shop on Changyang Street?"
"What about that little noodle shop?"
"Have you been there? What does it taste like? Is it really as the rumors say?"
"It really tastes great, but it's expensive! A bowl of mutton soup with two steamed buns and a piece of beef costs 20 coins!"
"It's only twenty coins? It's not expensive! I'll go taste it myself when the crowd is smaller..."
Haha, so that's how it is. It just costs you some money... Fusu smiled and waited quietly for the sugar liquid to solidify. The small stove beside the stove was slowly pouring the diluted lime water into the copper pot, neutralizing part of the sugar acidity. As time passed, the water content in the liquid gradually decreased...
When the stickiness at the bottom of the sugar water increased and the color turned golden and almost solid, two waiters waiting for work relieved the pressure on the waiter who was already exhausted but kept stirring the liquid. After filtering out the part that could not crystallize, they poured the sugar juice that was about to solidify into the wooden trough and continued to stir it, so that the residual heat helped the water in the sugar juice evaporate. In a short time, the sugar paste that was originally as smooth as water began to solidify into something similar to red sugar...
Well, it was done in one go...good results... Fusu gently rubbed the still warm "honey".
He had no intention of making sugar. To be precise, the decolorization technology he knew mostly required the use of chemical elements. In this era, bronze and iron coexisted, so it was extremely difficult to achieve.
Not to mention the current Daqin, where the main sources of sweetness are maltose, fructose and honey. The brown sugar extracted from sugarcane has overwhelmingly occupied the original supply on the market, and a large amount of precious food sources is also consumed in the production of maltose!
Even in this situation, before the per capita grain output reaches the safety bottom line of 300 kilograms, Fusu still intends to follow Qin law and crack down on those who use grain to make wine!
And as for the Qin people's need for alcoholic beverages?
Look at the waste mash placed aside, that is the raw material for producing the famous rum!
"Come and try it!" Fusu smiled at a group of people with the same surname who were staring at him with wide eyes.
“This is so sweet!”
"What nonsense! With sugar, everyone feels sweet!"
"Don't block it, let me feel it!" Gongzi Gun took a sip and tasted it: "Hmm... In terms of sweetness, it's basically comparable to wort."
"I want to establish a decree in this Shangshu to manage the monopoly of sugarcane sales in the major states of the South China Sea. Are you interested?" Fusu said this with a smile on his face, and immediately saw everyone nodding their heads like twiddling garlic.
Exclusive sale of sugarcane? I heard that Ren Xiong just left office not long ago! Your Majesty, are you planning to relocate the people of the Central Plains to the South China Sea?
Many thoughts emerged in Gongzi Gun's mind, but he finally chose to be cautious in his words.
So there was a clan asking:
"What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Tsk, someone finally answered the question... Fusu calculated in his mind the outline of establishing a plantation in Nanhai County, and spoke while thinking:
It was not complicated on the surface: the Shangshu would select a few locations in the South China Sea area that were close to a river and far away from the enemy, and then ask a few clans to invest, buy some captives or servants from the native tribes of the South Asian subcontinent as workers, and invite the Yue people who knew how to grow sugarcane to be supervisors.
What I thought was very similar to what later generations did in slave trade, that is, to carry out large-scale colonial expansion in Lingnan and concentrate resources for development! Fusu looked at the nobles with "so that's it" in their eyes, and felt that they were all quite different from the general public.
"Your Majesty, I have something to ask you." Gongzi Gun bowed and replied, "People have no clothes and no food. To build so many large plantations, let alone the initial investment, the food problem alone is difficult to solve!"
A reply came from the Zizheng Palace: "I have not been to Lingnan yet, so I may not understand this. However, although the South China Sea is full of various cancers and the barbaric races in the jungle are quite terrifying, the rice planted there can be harvested twice or even three times a year! There is abundant sunshine and abundant rain."
"Two or three cycles a year? You are not lying!" Gongzi Gun became excited.
As the sky gradually darkened, the royal family members, led by a row of armed guards illuminated by torches, quickly headed towards Lan Chi Guan.
Although the specific matters of capital contribution ratio and profit sharing still need to be discussed in detail with the Zongzheng Gongzi Gun, everyone is firmly convinced of the huge returns that will be obtained. Sugarcane seeds, through which sugar is made, if this business is done well, it will definitely bring rich returns. The current price of sugar is too high, and even many members of the clan are reluctant to consume it excessively on weekdays.
"Who would say that your Majesty is good?" A member of the royal family gently touched a piece of sugar in his pocket and said to himself. Before they parted, Fusu gave them all the sugar he had just made. In the warehouse of the Shaofu, he stored a small mountain of high-quality wild honey, and he would not even look at the cheap red candy.
Dedicated to one person for the world...
Night came quietly, and the descendants, led by a team of soldiers wearing armor and holding torches, quickly left the gate of the Blue Pool Palace.
Although the specific allocation of funds and the proportion of return sharing still need to be further discussed and determined with Master Zongzheng, when everyone is convinced that this huge return is coming. Cultivating and processing sugarcane into sugar, this business opportunity will definitely make a profit once it is successfully realized, but the current high cost of sugar in the market makes it difficult for many descendants to enjoy it too much.
"Oh, your majesty is really kind!" A grandson gently stroked the sugar ball in his palm, sighing in his heart. Before leaving, Fusu gave all the sugar products he carefully made to everyone. As for the large amount of original honey in the Shaofu storage room and the "red crystal" that was not worth mentioning at all, the people present naturally did not take it to heart. "All the affairs of the world belong to me..."
Just now, Gongsun Gun stopped for a while before leaving the mansion and made a suggestion, asking Fusu to expand the number of wives and concubines in the palace. He also secretly said that he had a niece in his family, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, beautiful and virtuous...
...Alchemy must be practiced to the limit before one can demonstrate one's strength...Fusu acted as if he had not heard anything and directly set out on the road to Hanzhang Palace.