After hearing this, Chen Leng stepped forward and looked carefully for a while, then said: "Back to Your Majesty, the sea map I drew is not much different from the map of this area drawn by Your Majesty, it is just more detailed. It seems that what Your Majesty saw in his dream
If this is the real situation, it is really God’s will!”
Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "I also saw a scene in my dream." After saying that, he pointed to the location of Africa on the map and said: "The skin of the people here is as black as charcoal."
Chen Leng suddenly clapped his hands: "What your Majesty said is true! I brought back some prisoners from there, just as your Majesty said. However, these people were not fully clothed, so I did not dare to bring them to the palace easily for fear of getting in the way.
Take a look. But they are as black as charcoal as Your Majesty said."
Liu Ziqiu laughed and said: "Just bring them here, what's the harm? They don't have enough clothes to cover their bodies, just give them clothes to wear in the future."
Soon, a group of black people were brought into the main hall. These black people were mainly women and children. As expected, they were all naked, which made Wei Zheng and others shake their heads. In fact, it was not that Chen Leng abused them and did not give them clothes, it was just that these people were accustomed to
Now, I feel uncomfortable all over when I put on clothes. It’s summer again now, and it’s the same in the Central Plains.
Even if they don't wear clothes, they can still endure the heat. On the way back with Chen Leng and the others, these black people have already learned some Chinese, and Chen Leng even taught them some basic etiquette. Therefore, after meeting Liu Ziqiu,
, they also know how to salute in a decent manner and make everyone laugh.
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "Since they have come to my big man, I will treat them equally. Chen Leng, these people will be under your command. They don't want to wear clothes, so force them to wear clothes."
.Otherwise, when autumn comes, all these people will freeze to death."
Chen Leng quickly bowed and said: "I accept the order!"
Liu Ziqiu nodded and continued: "I also had a dream. In the dream, a god told me that the place I live in is called the earth, which is round. It will revolve around the sun every day, and the moon will revolve around it every day.
The earth turns." See
Everyone showed disbelief, and he pointed to a golden line on the huge world map and said: "Look here, everyone, this is what the god said, as long as you keep going east from here, you can eventually return to
The original place of departure!”
Zhao Ling stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this is unreasonable. If the place we live in is round, wouldn't the people on the other side have to fall in?"
This involves the issue of gravity. Liu Ziqiu couldn't explain it clearly for a while, so he said: "Chen Aiqing, I'm here to ask you. When you are sailing on the sea and approaching land, do you see the top of the mountain first, and then gradually see it?
A full view of the entire mountain?”
Before Chen Leng could answer, Yuchi Gong had already laughed: "Your Majesty, do you even need to ask? How is it possible to see the top of the mountain first? At least half of the mountain should be seen first!"
But Chen Leng shouted: "Oh, your majesty asked, but I really didn't pay attention to it. It was true that I saw a top of the mountain first, and then gradually saw the whole mountain. Not only the mountain, but also a sailboat in the distance.
That means you first see the small flag on the top of the sail, and then you can see the sail until you see the entire ship."
Liu Ziqiu ordered someone to fetch a small boat model and a huge crystal ball, and then gave a demonstration before saying: "Please see, this situation will only occur if the earth is round!"
Although the civil and military officials were still doubtful, they were already a little shaken by Liu Ziqiu's statement. After all, Liu Ziqiu was still claiming to be a god. Proving that the earth was round would play a vital role in Liu Ziqiu's plan to expand overseas. As long as he let
People believe that the earth is round, and many important routes can be opened up, which will also be of great help to navigation.
Liu Ziqiu glanced at the bustling hall, pointed to the location of America on the map, and said: "I issue an edict here to encourage the people to go to sea on their own. Whoever can arrive here first and return to the Central Plains smoothly, no matter what
Whoever he was in the past, I would have made him a second-class Duke and enjoyed a first-class salary!"
The court was in an uproar. Many generals who had gone through hundreds of battles, experienced life and death, and made many military exploits were not able to join the ranks of dukes. They just took a boat to a new place to get such an honor. This made many people feel psychologically disturbed.
An imbalance has occurred. But there is nothing that can be done about it. After all, going to sea is also a great risk. Like Chen Leng, he just drove along the coastline and already lost more than half. According to the description on the map, he has to reach there.
It is an unknown continent, and we need to cross the vast sea. Needless to say, everyone knows the dangers. Although a title is good, you must also have a life to enjoy it.
Wei Zheng raised a question: "Your Majesty, if someone says he has arrived there without arriving there, how can he tell the difference?"
Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "This is not a problem. There are several unique products growing on that continent. As long as they can bring back such products, it proves that they have been there." After saying that, Liu Ziqiu ordered someone to bring a few more paintings.
The pictures were of peppers, corns, tomatoes and potatoes. Liu Ziqiu pointed to these pictures and said: "This is also what the gods reminded me. As long as the Han Dynasty can possess these things, there will be no famine in the world, even the poorest people."
The land can also have a good harvest!"
America was too far away for the Han Dynasty. Even if Liu Ziqiu could send troops there and defeat the local indigenous tribes, he would not be able to effectively rule there. The final result would be to create the United States a thousand years ahead of schedule.
Therefore, Liu Ziqiu never had the extravagant hope of bringing the currently unowned America into the territory of the Han Dynasty. The real purpose of his hope to send a fleet to find there was actually for potatoes, corn, tomatoes and peppers.
For the farming people, food production is very important, followed by peppers and tomatoes. With high-yielding crops such as potatoes and corn, the court no longer has to worry about food, and can even have excess food to feed a large number of livestock, thus
Improve the vegetarian-based dietary structure of the Han people.
Of course, whether it is America or Africa, there are also large amounts of gold, diamonds and other precious stones. If conditions permit, Liu Ziqiu would not mind sending people to mine them and then transport them back to the Central Plains. Because in Liu Ziqiu's view, although the Central Plains is a geographically
It is vast, but the average property for each person is very scarce. Being able to accumulate wealth for future generations is naturally what Liu Ziqiu wants to see.
It is too risky and burdensome for the imperial court to send a fleet across the ocean to the Americas. Therefore, it is more appropriate to leave this matter to the private sector. The imperial fleet can choose to continue exploring westward to find a maritime silk that reaches Europe.
road. However, whether it is a fleet of the imperial court or an adventurous fleet formed by private citizens, sufficient preparations must be made in advance. For example, building ships more suitable for sailing on the sea, introducing watertight navigation designs, and improving the unsinkability of ships
Sexuality. For example, encourage coastal residents to go to sea frequently to deepen their understanding of the ocean and improve their navigation capabilities. Another example is to publish simple world maps and nautical charts brought back by Chen Leng into volumes and provide them to those who are willing to go to sea.
people, and then improve and supplement the charts based on their experiences.
The main reason is that the long-term farming life has caused the people of the Han Dynasty to lose their adventurous spirit. There are very few people who are willing to stay away from their homeland and challenge the sea. Only by relying on the imperial court to issue more policies and guidance can the Vietnamese people
More and more people are traveling to sea. All these preparations are a long process and cannot be accomplished overnight. Liu Ziqiu believes that if he can eat potatoes, corn, tomatoes and peppers again in his lifetime, he will be satisfied.
.
…
For a whole year, the Han Dynasty concentrated on various preparations for navigation. One after another huge ships were launched in the south of the Yangtze River. These ships have undergone huge improvements. In addition to the watertight compartments, they also added new ones on the bottom of the ship.
Ballast stones can better withstand wind and waves at sea. In addition, large
A batch of medicinal materials were also shipped to Lingnan. The main functions of these medicinal materials are to clear away heat, detoxify and repel mosquitoes. There are also some medicines for treating bruises and injuries. The last time Chen Leng went to sea, in addition to those who drowned in the sea, most of them were killed by diseases.
The number of lives lost is the largest, even far exceeding the number of people who died on the battlefield.
In addition to ships and medicines, water and food also need to be carefully prepared. The food is mainly rice and noodles, and a large amount of cured meats and pickles are also prepared. After all, there is no preservation technology in this era and it is impossible to carry a large amount of fresh vegetables. Of course.
, smart people also have their own methods. They prepared a large amount of soybeans and mung beans on the ship to produce bean sprouts to meet some needs. In order to maintain adequate vitamin intake for the soldiers going to sea, Liu Ziqiu even drastically reduced the supply to Mobei.
Quantity of tea bricks.
Sailors and soldiers have also undergone special and rigorous training. In addition to basic skills such as swimming and diving, they must also learn emergency skills such as rescue, firefighting, and escape. In addition to soldiers and sailors, the black slaves brought back by Chen Leng last time also went through
One year of training. These black slaves will follow Chen Leng's fleet back to Africa. They will become the translators and guides of the fleet. During this year, they
After learning more Chinese and even being able to write some simple Chinese characters, it is now possible to communicate normally with other people. With these people, the Han fleet can communicate well with the indigenous tribes in Africa, and this time,
The task Liu Ziqiu gave Chen Leng was to enter the depths of the southern continent of Africa and search for the mineral deposits there. As for reaching the more distant Europe, that was a matter in the future.