AWB Chapter 496 Maiden Voyage 2
Chapter 496 Maiden Voyage 2
Five days later, the second report from Linzi Port finally arrived at Langya Port. This report not only brought important news, but also included a document entitled "Details of Cargo Carried by the Qin Gu Ship".
The King of Qin eagerly opened the report and began to read it carefully. His eyes lit up when he saw the cargo manifest for the "Qin Gu" ship. The manifest detailed the cargo carried by the "Qin Gu": 1,000 shi of grain, with less than 10 shi lost upon arrival! This figure greatly shocked the King of Qin, as it was 70% lower than the loss rate of Qi's best grain transport ships!
King Qin excitedly handed the detailed list to Wei Zhuang, who was standing beside him, and said, "Take a look quickly. If we use the 'Qin Guhao' to transport grain from Qi and Lu to Guanzhong, how much manpower can be saved in a year?" Wei Zhuang took the list, examined it carefully, and then began to calculate it with his fingers.
After a while, Wei Zhuang smiled and bowed to the King of Qin, reporting: "Your Majesty, according to my calculations, if we use the 'Qin Guhao' to transport grain from Qi and Lu to Guanzhong, we can save at least 30,000 laborers!"
He paused, then explained, “In the past, transporting grain from Linzi to Xianyang required going upstream along the Yellow River, resulting in a 30% loss and taking two months. However, if we used the ‘Qin Gu’ ship to travel by sea to Langya and then by land, the loss would be less than 10%, and we could arrive in just one month. The difference in cost would be enough to feed the people of the three counties in Guanzhong for half a year.”
Upon hearing this, the King of Qin clapped his hands and laughed heartily, praising the performance of the "Qin Gu" ship: "This is the benefit of innovation! Send an order to Linzi, instructing the 'Qin Gu' ship to carry 500 shi of newly harvested millet from Qi on its return voyage. I want the people of Xianyang to taste whether the grain transported by Qin's ships is more substantial."
Three days after the decree was issued, even more exciting news came from Linzi – King Tian Jian of Qi sent an envoy to the “Tongji” ship, offering to exchange fifty ships of sea salt for the watertight shipbuilding blueprints of the Qin Dynasty, and requesting that the “Tongji” ship be permanently stationed in Linzi Port to be responsible for the transfer of books between Qi and Guanzhong.
Ying Wuyou looked at the letter of state delivered by the envoy, a smile flashing in his eyes: "Father, you see, in just half a month, the State of Qi has gone from observing to taking the initiative to show goodwill. This is what is meant by 'subduing the enemy without fighting'."
The King of Qin shook his head and placed the official document on the table: "We can give them a simplified version of the blueprints, but the core putty ratio and the method of splicing the bulkheads must never be leaked. As for the 'Tongji' being stationed permanently, that's permissible, but they must designate a 'Qin Ward' in Linzi Port, managed by officials of our Great Qin, which will serve as both a transshipment station for books and... an observation post."
Feng Jie immediately understood: "I will draft an edict and instruct the governor of Linzi to comply. In addition, the 'Chengwei' ship is ready. Should we take this opportunity to set off? Let the Chu people see that Qi is making goodwill. If they still hold on to their old grudges, they will only be asking for trouble."
The King of Qin nodded: "Granted. In addition to carrying armor, let the 'Chengwei' ship be equipped with twenty of the curved-shaft plows improved by the princess. Chu has many paddy fields, and these plows are 30% less strenuous than their straight-shaft plows. Let them see that following the Great Qin will not only bring them stability, but also a good life."
Three days later, the horn of departure sounded again at Langya Port. The bow of the "Chengwei" was carved with a lifelike black bird, which gleamed with a cold bronze light in the sunlight.
Wearing a brand-new brocade robe, the helmsman, Old Zheng, stood in front of the helm, looking at the King of Qin and the princess seeing them off at the dock. Suddenly, he knelt on one knee, kowtowed in the direction of Chu, and then turned to the King of Qin: "Your Majesty, rest assured, Old Zheng will make sure the 'Chengwei' sails smoothly into Shouchun, and let those people of Chu see that the ships of Great Qin are even more magnificent than the King of Chu's dragon boat!"
The King of Qin waved his hand: "Go. Remember, you are the helmsman of Great Qin, and the direction you steer can only be forward."
The sails of the "Chengwei" rose, and the character "Qin" on the sails fluttered in the sea breeze. In the ripples at the stern, it seemed as if Old Zheng's vow, spoken in the local dialect of Chu, was still reflected: "This ship carries a new day!"
Meanwhile, in the Chu waters of the upper reaches of the Huai River, several Chu fishermen squatted at the bow of their boat, staring blankly at the massive silhouette of a ship approaching in the distance. The ship was wider than the Chu king's dragon boat, capable of sailing upstream without the need for boatmen, and the three large characters "Chengwei" on the bow were so bright in the sunlight that it was hard to open one's eyes.
“That’s… a Qin ship?” a young fisherman murmured.
The old fisherman beside him squinted at the Qin army armor drying at the stern of the boat, and suddenly sighed: "I heard that even the King of Qi has boarded the Qin ships. It seems that things are about to change on the Chu River."
On the "Chengwei," Old Zheng turned the helm to avoid a hidden reef, then suddenly shouted to the fishing boats on the shore, "Fellow villagers! This boat is called 'Chengwei,' and it carries new plows that can increase your paddy field yield by 30%! Want to see it?"
The Chu people on the shore were stunned, watching the large ship steadily sail through the treacherous shoals. Suddenly, someone threw down a fishing net and ran towards the ship's silhouette—they might not understand what a watertight compartment was, but the five words "harvest 30% more grain" were more effective than any government decree.
The sails of the "Chengwei" gradually disappeared into the thin mist of the Chu waterways, but Old Zheng's shout was like a pebble, rippling through the hearts of the fishermen. The young Chu man who had thrown down his net waded a few steps, watching the waves churned up by the stern, and suddenly turned back to his companion, shouting, "Can we really harvest 30% more grain? Let's go see!"
The others exchanged glances and then untied their mooring lines. The fishing boat followed the "Chengwei" with a swaying gait, watching as the large ship effortlessly navigated the treacherous "Ghost's Sorrow" shoal, a route their ancestors had considered a formidable obstacle, barely splashing any water.
A man who had served as a squad leader in the Chu army stared at the Qin army armor on the ship's side and suddenly whispered, "If this ship had been on the Huai River back then, General Xiang Yan..." He swallowed his words before he could finish, staring blankly at the deck of the "Chengwei" ship—on it, several Chu craftsmen were humming their hometown tunes as they applied tung oil to the cabin doors.
Two days later, the "Chengwei" arrived at the ferry crossing outside Shouchun City. The news had already reached the Chu King's palace. King Fuchu of Chu stood on the city tower, gazing at the large ship, nearly ten feet wider than his own dragon boat, his fingers gripping the railing tightly until his knuckles turned white. The Grand Tutor beside him said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Qin people are... showing off."
The King of Chu remained silent, only watching the curved plow unloaded from the "Chengwei" ship. Several summoned old farmers circled around the plow, stroking the curved shaft and marveling, "This thing...it looks so effortless." One of the bolder ones tried carrying the plow to the edge of the field; with just a push, the plowshare easily entered the soil, more than half as fast as a regular straight-shaft plow.
"Outrageous!" King You turned around abruptly, his dragon robe sweeping across the wine cup on the table. "A bunch of country bumpkins, forgetting their national grievances and family feuds just because they've seen some trinkets!"
The Grand Tutor sighed, “Your Majesty, what the people need is a plow that can grow grain, not ancestral precepts hanging on the palace walls. This ship of the Qin people carries not only armor, but also... the hope of making a living.”