The eldest princess Zhao Furong is already engaged. The wedding is in October. Her fiancé is Chen Zhiping, the son of a household doctor.
Chen Zhiping's hobbies are very mixed. He is a double major in arts and sciences. He knows a little bit about everything, but is not very proficient in everything. He loves collecting antique calligraphy and paintings, and sometimes studies mathematics and physics. Recently, he has become obsessed with stargazing at night. He is eloquent and can chat with the princess very well.
This man studied at Jinling University at his own expense and is about to drop out of college.
Why drop out of school?
Because I can’t pass the university graduation exam!
Chen Zhiping had no intention of pursuing an official career. Anyway, his father was an official and his grandfather was in business. The family had enough money to satisfy his various hobbies.
The reason why Zhao Han and Fei Rulan agreed to the marriage was that they thought this young man had good character. Although he seemed a bit out of character and his personality was not settled, he never went to entertainment venues and immersed himself in various hobbies all day long. Princess
If you marry such a person, your life will definitely be interesting.
"This is a letter from Li Quan." Zhao Han said to his daughter.
"Ah?" Zhao Furong blushed a little.
Zhao Han added: "He has already set sail across the ocean. Take it and see it for yourself."
Li Quan prepared for a year, but finally couldn't bear it anymore and set off from Shandong in the fifth lunar month. By leaving at this time, he could avoid summer storms and arrive at the Japanese port relatively safely.
In fact, the Spanish galleon route is the shortest route. Sailing along the Kuroshio Current in southern Japan, and then sailing into the North Pacific Warm Current, you can go directly to the west coast of North America.
However, Li Quan’s departure from Shandong will not be too roundabout. This route is mainly convenient for the northern provinces, taking Shandong’s goods to northern Japan, and conducting transactions at Sakata Port in Japan. Sakata is currently the largest port in northeastern Japan, and the safflower trade
Just as it was beginning to rise, Li Quan built a trading company here. The excess money he earned stayed in the trading company to replenish fresh water and food before continuing eastward.
Zhao Furong took the letter back and felt a little annoyed after reading it.
Li Quan said in the letter that he had received the money sent by the princess. He thanked the princess for her support and would give her some shares.
Zhao Furong didn't want any shares, she just wanted to help, so she gave it away with the hundreds of taels of silver she had saved over the years. She knew that she and Li Quan had no future, but she just liked this young man, and he would be the eternal white moonlight in the princess's heart.
.
In anger, Zhao Furong wanted to burn the letter, but he was reluctant to part with it, so he stuck it in a book he rarely read.
Li Quan not only wrote a letter to the princess, but also wrote a letter to the emperor.
Since his five ships were no longer part of the naval system, he did not know what their status was. Therefore, he registered a company and converted all the ships and the money funded by Zhao Han into company shares.
The royal family holds 60% of the shares, the Navy Governor holds 10%, and the remaining shareholders jointly hold 30%.
All crew members, including the soldiers he recruited, received shares to increase everyone's motivation. From now on, the company will be responsible for its own profits and losses. If it loses all its losses, it will seek additional investment from the royal family.
But it was said that Li Quan led a fleet to Japan and found that there were obviously more merchant ships in the northern Japanese waters.
Since he established a good relationship and dragged the shogun's uncle into smuggling, other coastal feudal lords have also become bolder. Anyway, the shogun is still young, and the power is in the hands of the old man, so he quickly takes the opportunity to make more money through smuggling. Otherwise, it will take a few years.
, when the shogun grows up, he will gather power and impose strict maritime restrictions.
Five large ships docked at Sakata Port, which is more prosperous than last year. As an important commodity, safflower can not only be sold to Kyoto and Osaka, but also purchased by Chinese businessmen.
After unloading most of the cotton cloth from Shandong, Li Quan only bought fresh water and food to ensure that he would not have to worry about food and drink during the ocean voyage. As for the cotton cloth, he left it all to the trading company and could just sell it there slowly.
Continue sailing to Hakodate, the city of Hakodate, Hokkaido.
There is a Japanese court here, set up by the Matsumae domain to collect taxes. Although it is not a commercial port, some food can be supplied. Anyway, pack as much food as possible.
Sailing northeast along the Kuroshio Current, this diverges from the Spanish galleons route.
You have to make a curve to the northeast and then to the south, and then it coincides with the sailing route. This Kuroshio curve is where the world's largest fishing ground, Hokkaido Fishing Ground, is located!
At present, the fishing grounds in Hokkaido are still undeveloped, and only the Matsumae clan and the Ainu people use small fishing boats to fish offshore.
“So many fish!”
Li Quan was also shocked. Wherever the fleet passed, schools of fish could be seen swimming with the naked eye.
It can be developed here!
When I return from my voyage, I will recruit some businessmen and bring large fishing boats over. I am sure that every fishing boat will return fully loaded.
You have to establish a base nearby (Hokkaido) and recruit indigenous people to make salted fish, otherwise it will stink when shipped back to the country.
After more than half a month, the ordinary fresh water I carried was gone.
The buckets with seals were opened one after another.
Many of the difficulties in the Age of Discovery are not difficulties for Li Quan. First, the advancement of storage technology has extended the shelf life of fresh water; second, Li Quan is willing to spend money. There are no profitable products on the ship, but it is filled with all kinds of goods.
Such food.
Tea, pickles, and bean sprouts are all sources of vitamins.
In the Spanish galleon trade, the crew members were most afraid of scurvy. Although doctors said that lemon juice could cure diseases as early as decades ago, it was written in a sailing book. This book recorded anecdotes with humor.
, because the content was so out of tune that no one believed it.
It would take another eighty years for Dutch writers and Austrian doctors to discover that vegetables and fruits could prevent and treat scurvy almost simultaneously.
Before Li Quan set sail, Zhao Han provided advice, asking the crew to eat more vegetables and fruits, and if vegetables and fruits were not available, they would eat tea and bean sprouts.
All the expired and spoiled fresh water is used to grow bean sprouts.
Along the way, they encountered only two minor storms. After more than five months of sailing, almost all of them saw land without any damage.
The only human losses were that one person died of illness and dozens of people were bedridden.
It would be truly unlucky if the ship was destroyed by a big storm and everyone was killed. Historically, the Spanish made 500 voyages to the Pacific Ocean in 250 years, and only more than 40 ships were sunk, including those sunk due to wars.
"November 19, the 14th year of the Republic of China (Datong New Calendar)."
"It took 167 days to go offshore from Hakodate, Japan before we saw the mainland. There were no islands along the way, and we only encountered some small reefs. Your Majesty's method is feasible, and no crew members have suffered from scurvy. However, it has been bumpy for several months, and although the drinking water has been sealed,
There is still a small portion that has deteriorated, and coupled with climate change, 82 people have become ill, and one person died of the disease before landing..."
"Landing location, 120 degrees east longitude, 38 degrees north latitude."
The prime meridian is set in Nanjing!
There is a slight error in the latitude calculation.
This is not San Francisco, but it is not far from San Francisco, about a few dozen miles north of Roseburg.
Historically, Fort Ross was the first colonial stronghold in California after Russia occupied Alaska. It used three blankets, three pairs of breeches, two axes, three hoes and some small beads to obtain a large piece from the indigenous people.
Land. In order to prevent Russia from expanding southward, Spain established a settlement in San Francisco.
Since Fort Ross could not solve the food crisis in Alaska and the furs they could obtain were limited, the Russians stayed here for 29 years before selling the colony of Fort Ross to the Americans. The price was US$30,000, and the Americans refused to pay.
Li Quan sent an exploration team of dozens of people, divided into three groups and rowed boats to the shore.
Six people guarded the three landing sites, blowing the trumpet every 15 minutes to prevent the exploration team from losing their way back.
Unfortunately, after searching for a full hour, no larger river was found.
The exploration team returned to the boat for the night and continued southward the next day. They passed Fort Ross and did not stop. Not long after, they used a telescope to observe a river flowing into the sea.
That river would later become the Russian River in the United States, and its mouth would be the town of Jenner in the United States, which is still 90 kilometers away from San Francisco.
The exploration team did not land immediately. Instead, they paddled around in small boats near the mouth of the sea, tied iron blocks with ropes and threw them into the water to detect the specific depth of this sea area.
"Commander," Liu Ying quickly came over to report, "this place can barely be used as a port, but it cannot dock large ships. Our ships may be stranded."
"Get fresh water first."
"yes!"
Li Quan didn't know where he could encounter the river, so he sent a boat to bring back more fresh water first.
The emperor allowed him to recruit 1,000 soldiers, but Li Quan only recruited 350 people, all of whom were veterans or peasant soldiers. 50 of them remained in Sakata Port, Japan, to protect the business properties there.
These 300 people were fully armed, each carrying a flintlock rifle, waist knives and spears, as well as chain armor and cotton armor.
Li Quan proclaimed himself the commander of Datong's sea exploration and asked his subordinates to call him "commander".
In addition to the 300 soldiers who went on the voyage, there were also more than 300 crew members, all of whom had retired from the navy early. In addition, they also recruited more than a dozen adventurers, all of whom were young people who dreamed of traveling around the world.
In order to appease his subordinates, everyone was given a settlement allowance, and everyone had shares in the company, which could be inherited by their family members even if they died.
There is no other way. If you don't do this, it will be difficult to win over people. Who the hell is willing to go across the ocean with you?
Well, there is too.
Li Quan begged the emperor for 30 felons, and bought these felons slave girls from Southeast Asia as wives. He planned to follow the example of European colonists, choose an excellent place, and throw these people down to establish a colonial stronghold.
Small boats were lowered one after another, and hundreds of people rowed small boats into the river.
I was afraid that the salt content at the entrance to the sea would be too heavy, so I rowed a few miles upstream, then filled a wooden barrel with fresh water and brought it back.
"Someone!"
a soldier shouted.
But I saw a dozen canoes paddling upstream. These people were wearing animal skins, and one of them had colorful feathers on his head.
The Kashaya tribe, a branch of the Pomo Indians.
He is short and stocky, with a reddish complexion and straight black hair. He is good at weaving reeds and his currency is beads (made of magnesite and shells).
The guy with two feathers on his head picked up a spear from the canoe, pointed at the Chinese and started chattering.
"Captain, I'm going to deal with the natives!"
Ouyang Chun came forward. He was only 17 years old this year and had a high school diploma. His family was not short of money, but he took the initiative to sign up for a long voyage and even asked his parents to break off the engagement for him. He was obviously restless and desperate.
"Go, be careful." the captain ordered.
Ouyang Chun asked his companions to row the small boat over. The Kashaya people were quite vigilant and surrounded the small boat with canoes.
Ouyang Chun took off his hat, pointed to his own head, and then pointed to the person wearing the feathers.
The man probably understood, so he paddled a canoe and approached, took Ouyang Chun's hat, and put it on his head very happily.