Speaking of which, Mr. Zhao is most accustomed to Jinling cuisine. Perhaps it is because Nanjing is located at the boundary between the north and the south, and the dishes are neither as heavy as northern dishes nor as sweet as Suzhou and Songjiang dishes.

After a bowl of sour radish and old duck soup, the chill in his body was immediately driven away. Mr. Zhao was in the mood to talk again, and said to Yang Fan:

"Last time, it was when Uncle Wu and I came here. When we talked about a 5,000-ton sea vessel, Uncle Wu said the size was too exaggerated. I think you have a different opinion."

"Really?" Yang Fan was in his forties. Although he was an official of the eighth rank, he was exposed to the sun and wind in the shipyard every day. He dealt with crude craftsmen and boatmen, so his skin was rough and dark, and his manners and tone of voice were similar to those of the working people.

He tore off a piece of roasted chicken wing, ate until his hands and mouth were covered in oil, and said vaguely, "I can't remember clearly."

"Don't give me that." Zhao Hao sneered, "Let's not talk about this, let's talk about going to work for me."

"Let's talk about this..." Yang Fan was like a deflated ball, and smiled bitterly, "I believe in the existence of a 5,000-ton ship, just like you. I just don't know where you got it from."

"I read it in a book." Zhao Hao said vaguely, "Liu Daxia, that bastard, can't burn all the books about traveling to the West."

Then he asked, "What about you?"

"I am not as well-read as you, but I have seen a 5,000-ton ship with my own eyes." Yang Fan took a sip of wine and sighed quietly, "My family has served in the Treasure Shipyard for generations, and I grew up in this stone city since I was a child."

"When I was a kid, that huge ship was still parked in the Six Docks. I can only describe it in one word: 'shocking'. I will never forget that huge ship in my life. Although it has been parked there for more than a hundred years, it is still so majestic and magnificent, making people look up to it. If I can restore it, it will be worth it even if I die!"

"Where is the ship?" Zhao Hao asked.

"Well, well..." Yang Fan said with a hint of embarrassment on his face, "A few years ago, the shipyard was really struggling to make ends meet, so they dismantled it and used it to make coffins. It was made of top-quality nanmu wood..."

"Oh." Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "That's really possible."

"Don't blame me, sir. No matter how good a ship is, it can only last for a few decades. Although that treasure ship has never been launched into the water, it has long been scrapped." Yang Fan explained hurriedly, then pointed to the eaves outside and said, "When you came in, did you see that long wooden board?"

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded. The wooden board was as wide as a door panel, as thick as a palm, and a full four feet long. The wood was dark and solid, and it was obviously good material.

"That is the rudder of the treasure ship. I specially ordered people to keep it as a souvenir." Yang Fan couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Zhao Hao deeply suspected that this guy actually left it there to make a coffin for himself.

"The treasure ship factory has a warehouse with a complete set of treasure ship construction drawings." After a few drinks, Yang Fan was no longer so cautious and talked about the topic that interested him the most. He opened up and said, "The warehouse even has the 'Map of Sailing from the Treasure Ship Factory to Foreign Countries from Longjiang Pass', a total of 20 pages of sea charts and 109 needle routes. There are also four 'Maps of Leading Stars Across the Ocean' drawn by eunuch Sanbao himself!"

"Oh?" Zhao Hao was overjoyed when he heard this, "Wasn't it burned by Liu Daxia?"

"What Liu Daxia burned was the 'Itinerary of Zheng He's Diplomatic Missions' which was kept by the Ministry of War. The Longjiang Treasure Ship Factory is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, so his fire couldn't reach us." Yang Fan said with a complacent smile.

"So, he didn't cause any damage?" Zhao Hao said happily.

"The loss is huge. We only have sea charts and star charts. Before the last voyage, Eunuch Sanbao felt that the civil officials were hostile to the voyage to the West, so he left the necessary backup at the Treasure Shipyard." Yang Fan sighed:

"The 'Itinerary of the Diplomatic Missions' of the Ministry of War included all the original data on Zheng He's seven voyages to the West. In addition to sea charts and star maps, there were also imperial edicts, fleet organization, lists... and most importantly, logbooks and accounts, etc. All of these were burned."

"This nautical chart can only tell you the route, and the star map can only help you correct the route. Only the logbook can tell you the true sea conditions and all the problems you will encounter during the voyage... those are the lessons learned at the cost of countless lives."

"I was right in scolding him. Liu Daxia is indeed an eternal sinner!" Young Master Zhao decided that in the future, the 5,000-ton sea vessel would still be named 'Liu Daxia, the Eternal Sinner'.

~~

"Can you lend me these sea charts and star maps?" Zhao Hao asked tentatively.

"Oh, this is the secret of Longjiang Factory and must not be leaked." Yang Fan said with embarrassment.

"They are all like waste paper. They are not confidential at all." Young Master Zhao said with an unhappy look on his face, "I have taken over all the shipyards in Wuhu. Your orders are gone."

"Puff..." Yang Fan sprayed a mouthful of wine onto Zhao Hao's arm. He quickly stepped forward and wiped it with his sleeve, saying flatteringly: "No, sir, don't be so cruel. Without the order, I will be torn to pieces by you guys."

"Then..." Zhao Hao narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

"I copied it myself, exactly, and kept it for myself." Yang Fan stood up and went to the back house for a while. When he returned, he took out a thick booklet from his sleeve and whispered, "I'll give it to you as a souvenir. Is that all right?"

"You are a donkey. You will not be honest unless you smoke." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes at him, took the booklet and opened it.

What I saw was a series of continuous paginated sea maps. Although like all current maps, the proportions were seriously distorted, at least the mountains, seas and islands along the way were clearly marked.

Of course, this set of nautical charts is extremely valuable, because there are 109 precise compass routes marked on the route. A qualified captain can sail from Nanjing to Africa with this set of compass routes.

Although Zhao Hao had never sailed a ship before, he was determined to become a One Piece. Over the past year, he had read a lot of navigation books such as "Sea Route Compass", "Favourable Wind", and "Compass Direction". He also consulted old captains such as Uncle Mi and Elder Ma, so at least it was not a problem for him to understand the compass route.

He knew that the ship used a water compass to indicate the direction, and the compass had a total of 48 equally divided scales. Each scale was a needle, and the needle path told you which scale to sail towards.

For example, on the first page of the nautical chart, the paragraph "Leaving Taicang Port, use the single Yi needle to reach Wusong River in one watch, and use the Yi Mao needle to reach Nanhuizui in one watch" means that from Taicang Port, sailing at 105 degrees, it will take one watch, or 2 hours and 24 minutes, to reach the mouth of Wusong River. Then sailing at 97.5 degrees, it will take one watch to reach Nanhuizui in Pudong."

By correcting the course with the help of the Star-Pulling Ocean Chart, you can go south through the South China Sea, west through the Strait of Malacca, and go to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and Africa via India!

Looking at the nautical chart, Champa, Jiugang Xuanweisi, Temasek, Sumatra, Ceylon, Mukden, Hormuz... those place names that he had not seen for a long time or seemed familiar, Mr. Zhao's eyes were actually moist.

We used to be a hundred years ahead, but now we are a hundred years behind. We have to take the lead again!

This is my mission!

ps. The first of three consecutive updates.