Ma Jun sighed and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, we haven't found our people yet!"
To be honest, he was also very fascinated by cotton after hearing about it.
After all, the terrifying cold every winter is a major problem, with many people freezing to death or falling ill. If there were an inexpensive way to keep warm, that would be fantastic news.
Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "How could this be? There's no cotton in the Western Regions? How is that possible?"
He glanced at Dun Ruo beside him. Although Net was in charge of this matter, the Hundred Riders and Net shared information.
"Your Majesty, our men have searched both the Zhennan Dynasty and the Frostwest Empire, but have not found the cotton you mentioned." Dun Ruo shook his head and said bitterly.
The fact that they couldn't find it made him quite embarrassed. After all, even His Majesty knew about it, and his intelligence organization couldn't find it—it was incredibly awkward.
"No?"
Lin Yi frowned slightly; it seemed this was due to a difference in information.
The cotton in my previous life seemed to have come from the India and West Asia, which corresponds to the area of the Zhennan Dynasty and the Frostwest Empire.
Surprisingly, we didn't find it here. It seems this thing really doesn't exist on this continent.
If that's the case, then the only solution is to have it generated by the system. This would at least make the Great Liang winter a little warmer and prevent people from freezing to death.
He sighed, "Let them keep searching. If they really can't find any, we'll use wool instead. Anyway, we have plenty of pastures now and enough cattle and sheep."
"Your Majesty, we are incompetent and beg for your forgiveness!" Dun Ruo said, blushing slightly.
No wonder!
Lin Yi smiled and shook his head. This couldn't be blamed on Dun Ruo. Life goes on even without cotton. If there's really no cotton, there's nothing they can do but use wool as a temporary measure.
He then visited the casting technology of the new cannons and the optimization of the armor, which gave him a certain understanding of the technology of the Great Liang.
With its current weaponry, the Great Liang is powerful enough to crush Frostwest and the Great West for an entire era.
Even the Moses Empire, the overlord of the Land of the Far West, probably couldn't compare to the weaponry of the Great Liang. I don't know about other armaments, but just looking at the warships, I can get a general idea of the difference.
Although the other side entered the stage of maritime colonization, their maritime activities were actually limited, since they only used ships as a means of crossing rivers and did not arm them.
In comparison, the warships of Great Liang are now much more aggressive.
Not only did it possess the crossbows of the Great Liang, but it also had catapults and cannons, in addition to the large batons it already possessed, making it absolutely armed to the teeth.
If the war were to take place at sea, the Moses Empire would gain no advantage whatsoever; on the contrary, it would be unilaterally beaten.
However, to conduct transoceanic operations, a forward base is still needed as a transit point, or in other words, a real steam-powered warship needs to be built so that it can return quickly and avoid supply shortages.
Thinking of this, he instructed, " Deheng, intensify your research on the application of steam engines. I hope you can develop steam-powered warships to facilitate future attacks on the Moses Empire!"
"Your subject understands, and will certainly do his best!" Ma Jun nodded and said in a deep voice.
While Lin Yi was touring the headquarters of Heavenly Craft Workshop, things were in an uproar outside.
News spread that the Great Liang had defeated the so-called maritime hegemon, the Moses Empire, and plundered the Great Liang's resources. This excited the people, but also made many others covet it.
The once powerful Zhang Clan in the north could no longer sit idly by!
The family head Zhang Ruohai, immediately sought out his younger brother Zhang Ruoyun, wanting to know the most accurate information in order to weigh the interests involved.
" Ruoyun, is the news outside true? Has our Great Liang defeated the maritime overlord Moses Empire?" Zhang Ruohai looked at his younger brother and whispered.
His younger brother was now an official in Northern Liang. Although his official position was not high, he was still an insider and naturally knew some information. That's why he specifically sought out his younger brother.
Zhang Ruoyun glanced at her brother and said irritably, "Big brother, you now control 20% of the fishing industry's profits, aren't you satisfied? This isn't the time for Great Ning anymore. If you go too far, don't forget what happened to Zhang Wanhao and the others!"
He knew perfectly well what his elder brother was thinking. The ocean possessed endless resources and countless benefits, but it also carried enormous risks.
The Zhang Clan is merely an established family; if they have too big an appetite, they will choke to death.
After all, although he surrendered early and gave up Youning Commandery, which was considered a merit, frankly speaking, even if he hadn't given up Youning Commandery, Great Liang could have easily defeated and seized it.
So to put it bluntly, the credit for this wasn't really that significant.
If one is not content, the emperor may take notice and eventually eliminate one's talents.
The powerful families of the South were so arrogant back then, but now they're all like lapdogs. This is a lesson from the past.
Cough cough!
Zhang Ruohai's face stiffened upon hearing this, and he said with a wry smile, "What are you thinking, kid? It's just that I've been eating fish every day for the past six months, and now even my farts smell fishy, so I wanted to try something different!"
"Hmph, it's good that you know what you're doing!"
Zhang Ruoyun rolled her eyes at her older brother, then looked around before whispering, "The profits at sea are enormous, so the lion's share goes to the Emperor. If you want a piece of the pie, you should register with the Maritime Trade Office."
"This also needs to be reported?" Zhang Ruohai was dumbfounded and whispered.
"Hmph, what do you think?"
Seeing her brother's bewildered expression, Zhang Ruoyun said irritably, "The Emperor has dispatched nearly a million naval troops to the sea to maintain maritime security. Do you think you can steal things from him?"
Holy crap!
Zhang Ruohai's face turned green, and he shook his head vigorously, saying hastily, "Brother, don't talk nonsense! I didn't mean that. I just wanted to have a drink of soup with the Emperor."
He dared not oppose the Emperor; that would absolutely result in death. Countless people had set an example with their lives, and it was no joke.
We still have to follow the emperor; that's safe and stable.
"It's good that you understand."
"This Maritime Trade Office is a newly established department in Great Liang, specifically responsible for managing maritime resources, including merchant trade. If you want to follow the Emperor, you can contribute money to the country to build a few warships, and then you can get a share of the profits," Zhang Ruoyun explained.
Zhang Ruohai was dumbfounded, and said with a wry smile, "Brother, you want to sponsor the Emperor's warships too?"
This is outrageous! We're already spending a huge sum of money before we've even started making any money.
"Nonsense, if you don't contribute anything, you're not even getting fresh soup or shit. Do you think everyone gets a sponsorship? You need to perform well first," Zhang Ruoyun said irritably.
Holy crap!
Zhang Ruohai crude, were not without merit.