The most arrogant in history

Chapter 772: The shipyard dilemma.

Two or three years ago, Ye Kun had already negotiated with Huangfu Lin to allow him to immigrate.

He can choose any place.

From then on, Huangfu Lin gave up his military power, prepared for immigration, and sent his own advance team to look for a paradise overseas.

But so far, Ye Kun doesn't know where Huangfu Lin is going to immigrate to.

Huangfu Lin called back and said that he and Yingtao would come to visit Ye Kun in the next two days and report on the immigration situation.

According to Huangfu Lin, their immigration destination should be on the west coast of Africa, bordering Europe.

Ye Kun looked at the map and it seemed that this place was called Spain in later generations.

A few days later, Sang Buyi and others arrived.

Seeing Ye Kun, Sang Buyi's eyes turned red: "Your Majesty, you have lost weight this year, and seem to have... aged."

“The sunshine in the South Sea Islands is so strong.”

Ye Kun shook his head and smiled, "I'm not tired. The ones who are really tired are our soldiers and the advance team. It's really not easy for them to build in Nanyang."

Lu Kaijiang said: "The emperor also led by example in Nanyang and did everything personally. My lords, don't think that the emperor is enjoying himself in Nanyang."

Ma Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "We all know that the emperor is diligent, but is it worth it for the emperor to travel across the ocean and personally go to the barren land of Nanyang?"

"It's worth it. I expanded the territory for the descendants of the Huaxia clan. Later, there were more people and more living space. Of course it was worth it."

Ye Kun smiled and invited everyone to sit down and drink tea together.

Lu Kaijiang also talked about Ye Kun’s work in Nanyang, all the hardships he had gone through, which was very touching.

Sang Buwen asked, "The princes have already been sent to the Eastern Islands of the South Sea and Izu Island. So we don't have to worry about them anymore, right?"

Ye Kun nodded: "The construction of Song Island and Tang Island has laid a foundation. The princes and immigrants should be able to survive. But in the next few years, they still need some supplies.

The supplies were divided into two aspects: one was the imperial appropriation; the other was the private merchant caravans, which established trade with Southeast Asia.

"That's good."

Sang Buyi smiled and said, "On Yizhou Island, the leather industry is doing very well. Leather clothes and shoes are very popular and in short supply. Various fruits are also often sent as tribute. I wonder when Dasong Island and Datang Island will start sending tribute?"

Ye Kun shook his head: "In the past two years, they have been lucky enough to be able to support themselves. As for paying tribute, we will have to wait."

Izu Island was developed early and has abundant resources and products, so it achieved self-sufficiency a few years ago.

But Dasong Island and Datang Island are not the same, especially Datang Island, which has almost nothing.

That night, Ye Kun drank with everyone and reminisced about the past, without talking about state affairs.

It was not until the next morning that Ye Kun listened to a brief report from the Ninth Department.

Wu Qiong has completely retired and is currently the Minister of Finance and Taxation, reporting the financial situation to Ye Kun.

Too much money has been spent in the past year, but in India, the wealth of the Kushan Empire has been swallowed up, so the treasury is still relatively full and there is no shortage of money.

Qin Chou was still in charge of agriculture, and said worriedly:

"Your Majesty, the total grain output has increased in the past two years, but the grain yield per mu has decreased instead of increased. Although there is no food crisis, it is not a good sign either."

Ye Kun asked: "Have you ever understood why the yield per mu has decreased?"

"It's because there's enough food, so people don't bother farming anymore."

Qin Chou sighed and said, "Also, there are too many immigrants, which has caused a shortage of labor and delayed farming."

Ye Kun waved his hand: "If that's the case, then don't worry about it. Let the people do whatever they want. We just need to ensure tax revenue. When food shortages really come, the people will naturally find a way."

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and the high-yield Jiaozhi Champa rice have been widely promoted, and the people indeed have more food than they can eat up.

If there is not enough food to eat, the price of grain will drop and farmers will suffer.

Therefore, it is understandable that people are not very motivated to farm.

As long as Ye Kun ensures the basic arable land area, he won't have to worry about famine.

In the Red River Delta of Jiaozhi, rice can be harvested three times a year and can feed tens of millions of people. What is there to be afraid of?

Ding Ding reports the road construction situation to Ye Kun.

Four trade routes have been opened in Taihang Mountain, all of which can accommodate horse-drawn carriages. Another four trade routes are expected to be opened next summer.

The Western Railway has now been opened for 500 miles and is about to reach Tongguan.

The Western Region Railway, which has also been opened to traffic for 300 miles, is about to open to traffic.

Ye Kun asked, "We raised funds to build the Western Railway. Is the money enough?"

"We have been raising funds and have sufficient funds for the time being. The 500-mile railway that has been opened has already started to make money, so there will be no problem with subsequent projects."

"That's good." Ye Kun nodded, and asked He Tiantian about the Ministry of Science and Technology's work progress in the past year.

He Tiantian said: "The Ministry of Science and Technology is running smoothly. The production of pure aluminum is now 600 kilograms per day, which roughly meets the production needs of diesel engines and gasoline engines.

Diesel engine technology is now fully mature. All official ships on the Grand Canal are basically powered by diesel engines.

Ye Kun smiled and said, "I have seen the latest diesel-powered ships. Great. Can the current diesel supply keep up?"

"The diesel supply all comes from the Persian Gulf. Our large ships carry hundreds of thousands of kilograms of diesel each time, which is barely enough. But it will definitely not be enough in the future because the number of our diesel engines is increasing every day."

"Then notify Prince Ye Shusheng to ship more diesel from the Persian Gulf."

"But Prince Ye Shusheng said that there are not enough oil refiners and transport ships there, so it is difficult to increase the supply. Especially the ships, which are becoming increasingly scarce."

He Tiantian looked at the Minister of Industry and said with a smile, "The Ministry of Industry said that the Jiaozhi and Tianzhu shipyards have almost consumed all the nearby wood, and there is a shortage of wood for shipbuilding."

The Minister of Industry nodded and said, "That's true. In recent years, most of China's shipyards have stopped working and moved to Tianzhu and Jiaozhi. Jiaozhi originally had a large amount of timber, but we burned a lot of it. In addition, after more than ten years of continuous shipbuilding, there are not many large timbers left in Jiaozhi."

Ye Kun asked: "How many ships do we have now?"

"The total number of ships of the Ministry of War and the imperial court is more than 13,000, and the civilian fleet has more than 1,000 ships." The Minister of Works hesitated for a moment and then said:

"But most of these ships are in disrepair and are no longer suitable for long-distance voyages."

Ye Kun frowned: "That is the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry. The maintenance and repair of seagoing vessels must be carried out according to the rules and cannot be sloppy at all. You should set up an inspection team to conduct a comprehensive inspection. Ships that cannot be used should be directly scrapped or modified, and ships that can be used should be used to carry out their missions."

The Minister of Industry nodded and said:

"We recently built a new shipyard on Qiong Island, and also set up ship repair yards at some ports. The Ministry of Industry has investigated and found that there is a lot of timber on the southeast coast. We can build two more shipyards to meet the demand."

Ye Kun waved his hand and said, "For matters like this, the Ministry of Industry and the Nine Ministries can discuss it. There is no need to ask me. I originally established the Nine Ministries Cabinet to handle government affairs and state affairs."