On the third day of the fifth month of the 26th year of Chongzhen, the northern hemisphere had entered early summer, and the steamship "Covenant" slowly entered the port of Dagu in Tianjin.

João IV stood on the bow floor of the Covenant, his face full of disbelief.

And here it is? To China on the other side of the world?

Departing from Lisbon, Portugal, Li Zhi's steamship took two months to reach Tianjin, a speed that was absolutely lightning fast for João IV. It is important to know that for a sailing ship of this era, such a journey would take at least six months.

Some slower sailing ships even take two years to make a round trip to the Far East, one year to the Far East, and the next year to Europe. In other words, Li Zhi's steamships have reduced the time spent at sea by two-thirds, at least two-thirds.

João IV looked back at the two large chimneys on board and shook his head.

Although this type of ship has carried critical supplies to Lisbon countless times, a two-month ride on the ship to experience the true speed of the ship can make a big difference to the passenger's worldview.

It's totally revolutionary transportation and a game-changer for this world.

Why was such an advanced machine invented in the Far East by the Ming people, and not by the scientifically advanced Europeans?

João IV asked the captain of the ship to visit the engine bilge three times, but the captain refused to do so on the grounds of secrecy.

Raphael was very dissatisfied with this, and issued a foreign exchange to the captain three times, but in the end the captain never changed his mind, and Joao IV and his party were helpless.

João IV also sent a guard disguised as a Han Chinese to infiltrate the lower deck at night. But I couldn't see anything in the dark. The only thing he knew for sure before the spy was caught was that the huge machine that drove the ship was firewood-burning.

Later, the captain tightened the guard on the lower deck, and João IV's men could no longer get in.

João IV understood that all the secret of the steamer lay in the use of flames. This is the power of steel and fire, a power that will change the whole world, breaking all the old systems and powers. And the Europeans at the moment can be said to be ignorant of this power.

Such a steamer completely changed the geopolitics of the world. It was this kind of strategic transport from Tianjin to Lisbon on the other side of the world that allowed Brazil, the third side of the world, to remain in the Kingdom of Portugal.

João IV suddenly felt eclipsed by the self-proclaimed advanced European civilization.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Europeans are already lagging behind the world.

It was precisely because the Europeans began to lag behind that the combined forces of Britain and the Netherlands lost to Li Zhi in the Far East, losing the entire Far East.

João IV looked at the smoke-filled chimney of the steamer, his eyes full of greed.

Raphael bowed to the king and said, "Your Highness, we should explain to Li Zhi that we in Portugal also need steam engines to transport between Europe and the New World to maintain the connection between Brazil and the country. ”

João IV looked at Raphael, but felt that Li Zhi would not agree to this request. João IV had a hunch that Li Zhi would not pass on the technique of pressing the bottom of the box to Portugal.

He looked ahead, at the port of Dagu, which was getting bigger and bigger in his field of vision.

The huge harbour pier made João IV gasp again.

In this era, Dagu Port is already a worldwide port.

After more than ten years of development, Tianjin Town has become an industrial center of one town and nine provinces. Most of the towns and nine provinces are not far from the coast, such as Korea and Japan, so the main form of long-distance transportation is by sea. Although the advent of railways diverted some transportation, it did not impact the main position of maritime transportation.

The outskirts of Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin Acropolis are now dotted with industrial zones, which deliver large quantities of industrial products every day to other agricultural areas in one town and nine provinces. These products are loaded on ships in Dagu, loaded onto steamships of large and small private transportation companies registered in Fanjiazhuang, and then shipped to Shandong, the three northeastern provinces, Jianghuai Province, North Korea, Japan, Luzon and the Indochina Peninsula.

Even not only the industrial products of Tianjin Town, but also some industrial products from other parts of the town and nine provinces are often transported to Dagu Port for exhibition and trade.

So what João IV saw was a huge port that was extremely busy, full of berths and full of busy sailors.

In Lisbon, in this famous European port, the Portuguese have just over 300 berths. Those berths were enough to support the Kingdom of Portugal, which had many colonies all over the world. Sailboats bring goods from all over the world to Lisbon, making Lisbon a bustling city with a world reputation.

But at this time, João IV stood on the bow floor of the steamer, and found that the berths of the ships in Dagu Port were stretched from south to north, and there was no end in sight. All kinds of ships, large and small, are nervously loading and unloading on the dock, making the whole dock look extremely busy.

In addition to the berths attached to the coastline, man-made lands jutting out of the coastline were built in many parts of the waterway, and berths were built on both sides of these lands. João IV estimated that there were at least a thousand berths in this field of view.

This scale is not only incomparable to Lisbon, but also has surpassed Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The Dutch, however, were the coachmen of the sea, and they sold goods all over the world. Li Zhi's trade in Dagu was mainly the sale of industrial products to overseas colonies. Therefore, each ship on this pier represents the industrial capacity of a ship's carrying capacity.

Just looking at the scale of this wharf, you can feel how terrifying Li Zhi's industrial production capacity is.

João IV's face turned pale.

This Dagu port gives people the feeling that it has surpassed this era.

The steamer slowly moved forward, gradually approaching the port of Dagu, and João IV suddenly saw two large gray ships coming out of the dock.

The two ships were larger than the ship on which João IV was keeping. Not only is it large, but it is also very heavy, and the hull of the ship hardly undulates in the waves.

João IV raised his binoculars and took a closer look, his face suddenly turned white, and then he turned red with excitement.

That's right, this is the legendary ironclad that swept across the Far East.

The two outboard hulls are made entirely of iron plates, making them look sturdy.

Alves held up a monocular and looked at the two ironclad ships that met him, his face turned pale, and he said, "Lord, there really are iron ships in the world that can sail in the water. ”

Raphael's eyes widened as well.

The last time he came to Tianjin, he didn't see this legendary ironclad ship with his own eyes.

Although Raphael had known for a long time that there was such a terrible war machine in Tianjin. But seeing this lump of steel that could sail on the water, Raphael was still frightened and lost his senses.

He subconsciously felt oppressed, fearful.

"Your Highness... Your Highness... The steel ship has pressed over... Your Highness..."