In order to exile political prisoners to Nanzhou, the first condition is to open a new route to Nanzhou. Since the invention of the ship, the first ocean expedition team set out, consisting of a Xia-class battleship and a Hua-class cruise ship. The expedition team consisting of five sailing ships headed south via Xiaoliuqiu, passing through Luzon and other islands, and finally arrived at Nanzhou, another continent in the southern hemisphere.
In fact, according to the world map drawn by Wan Lei, the world is divided into six continents, namely Central Continent, Southern Continent, Great East Continent, Little East Continent, Great Western Continent and Antarctica. Among them, Europe has been included in Central Continent by Wan Lei, and the others Each continent is named according to its position relative to Central Continent.
With relatively accurate map guidance, the expedition team can arrive successfully as long as they avoid some islands and reefs, and the round trip only takes a few months. The expedition team returned to the Navy's No. 1 naval base in Penghu Bay as early as December. Five base stations, and arrived outside Jinling City two years ago to report on the expedition to Wan Lei.
In fact, this ocean expedition was funded by Wan Lei's private fundraising. Except for the Xia-class battleship that accompanied him for protection, which was from the Navy, the expedition team members were all selected from the private sector. The reason why Wan Lei did this was, It is to encourage the private sector to develop sailing exploration.
On December 26, the expedition finally successfully docked at the Yanziji Port area outside Jinling City. Although the seven large and small ships were damaged to varying degrees, there were no casualties. Not only did they chart a new route, but they also brought back many ships. Animal, plant and mineral specimens, needless to say, this expedition was a very successful one.
The safe arrival of hundreds of expedition members not only brought many novel things to Jinling, but also brought a more festive New Year flavor to Jinling. People in Jinling City flocked to the streets to watch these batches of shipments entering the city. The strange animals, such as kangaroos, platypuses, etc., aroused the onlookers' anger. This is really rare and strange.
In order to house these rare animals, Wan Lei had already ordered an open space to be set aside by Xuanwu Lake as a zoo to raise animals in captivity for people to visit. At the same time, he was also preparing to build some experimental buildings as a branch of the Biological Research Institute in Jiangnan. department.
In addition to strange animals and plants, the scientific expedition team also brought back some special local products along the way, as well as some precious medicinal materials, and even gems and pearls. Wan Lei did not keep all of these items for himself, as long as they were proven to be If they were harmless, the scientific expedition personnel were allowed to sell them freely. For a time, there was a frenzy of hunting in Jinling City, and many people did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to buy these rare objects.
The rise of curiosity hunting is exactly what Wan Lei hopes. Despite the war, there are still many wealthy people in Jinling City. Wan Lei hopes to shift these people's investment interests from collecting calligraphy and paintings to other directions, some that are more open-minded and more sophisticated. Meaningful investment direction.
Different from those curious hunters who like rare objects, Wan Lei likes to collect the culture of various places, such as the island civilization of famous Nanyang islands, such as the indigenous civilization of Nanzhou. This has aroused his strong interest, especially from the south. A type of dart called a boomerang brought back by the indigenous people of Africa aroused his great interest. He also had dozens of copies made and given to relatives and friends to play with.
As the saying goes, Wan Lei took the lead and the boomerang quickly became popular throughout Jinling City. Due to its simplicity and low price, it soon became the best-selling toy in the first year of Huali Dynasty and could be seen on the streets. These things are whirling around, and the cheerful laughter of children can be heard everywhere.
Brainstorming can bring broad benefits, learn from the strengths of others, and absorb foreign cultures for one's own use. This is also one of the sources of civilization and progress. This is what Wan Lei always insists on.
Due to the new settlement of Jiangnan, Wan Lei has been staying in Jinling City and is preparing to celebrate the New Year with the people in the city to show indiscriminate discrimination. The Pingyang Railway was successfully opened to traffic at the end of December, and Fu Wei, Zhao Xueer and others also took the train south. Reunited with Wan Lei, although the family left the familiar Huayuan, they could still swim in the Qinhuai River and visit the Confucius Temple, and they had a good time.
Fu Wei revisited her hometown of Jinling and recalled the bitter memories of the past years and her deceased relatives, which made her feel a little sad. However, she also knew that retribution could not bring the deceased family back to life, so she did not persuade her husband to take further revenge on the Zhu family. She only hoped that These hatreds flow away like water.
Unlike Beiping, which is covered in ice and snow, although Jinling is cold in winter, it does not freeze. Starting from the end of the year, the Qinhuai River is covered with lanterns. In fact, the rise of this custom is mainly due to Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang established Jinling as his capital, he To celebrate the Lantern Festival that year, he invited wealthy businessmen from all over the world to light lanterns for ten days. For a time, colorful buildings were built in Jinling City every year, and tens of thousands of water lanterns were set off on the Qinhuai River, creating a spectacular sight.
During the lantern lighting period, the government relaxed the ban and allowed the people to drink and have fun, and the ladies who were hidden deep in the boudoir could also go out to watch the lanterns. This attracted countless talented people like carps crossing the river, who crowded in early every day. The area around Confucius Temple where beauties gather, looking for beauty and beauty, is extremely lively.
Since the peaceful liberation of Jinling, the Constitution of the Republic of China has been implemented in Jinling City. The status of women has been greatly improved, and the number of beauties on the street has also increased day by day. Northern women, most Southern women are slender, thoughtful, sentimental, and have a unique style.
It's a pity that Wan Lei can't stay in Jinling longer, and officials who are far away from Jinling can't celebrate the New Year at home, because after the New Year, Wan Lei will take them back to Peiping to attend the annual parliament. Fortunately, the Pingyang Railway has already Once opened, traveling between Peking and Jinling is not too time-consuming.
No, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, after escorting Zhu Yunwen and other political prisoners onto a southbound cruise ship, Wan Lei took nearly a thousand people across the river to Yangzhou, and the Yangzhou Railway Bureau had already arranged a special train heading north. , transporting them north for the meeting, a thousand people filled the ten carriages.
The speed of today's trains has been greatly improved compared to two years ago. It can reach a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. It can be reached from Yangzhou to Peiping in one day and one night. Those Jiangnan officials who were lucky enough to get on the train couldn't help but marvel at the magic of creation. I couldn't help but sigh: It was no luck that the Republic of China won the world. With this train, large armies could be gathered in various places in the shortest time. Jiangnan was unable to resist.
This train was a special train for congressmen. It passed through Fuzhou and counties along the way, and many congressmen who were heading north for meetings boarded the train. When it arrived in Shandong, it brought nearly 2,000 people. The new and old congressmen sat together in the same car. The exchange of political opinions also gave the officials from the south of the Yangtze River a lot of knowledge. You must know that these old congressmen are famous officials and gentry from all over the north of the Yangtze River, and all of them are powerful.
The reason why officials from Jiangnan were invited to go north this time was, firstly, to listen to and discuss government affairs and learn to improve their ability to handle government affairs, and secondly, to discuss the development plan of Jiangnan.