When Zhao Han saw the roaring steam engine, he thought of rubber again.
He had already written to the Sihai Trading Company, asking Li Quan to inquire about rubber when he went to America for trade.
Since I don’t know the Latin name of rubber, and I don’t know what rubber is called in America, I can only describe its characteristics: it is extremely stretchy and comes from the sap of a tree. 2
Li Quan issued a reward last year. Anyone who can provide accurate information can be given priority to purchase a batch of his goods.
Although this violated the agreement with Mexican officials and bypassed the auction for private transactions, Li Quan promised to compensate the officials for some loss of profits.
In just one year, Li Quan came to America again and obtained relevant information with great success. Moreover, there were more than one or two people who provided clues, and six businessmen brought exact information.
Banderas Town (Puerto Vallarta).
A Spanish mixed-race businessman from Costa Rica held a small ball larger than his fist and said: "This kind of ball is very common in some indigenous tribes. They use it to kick and play. It is a toy for children."
Another businessman from Guatemala took out a pair of rubber-soled shoes and said, "These are the shoes of the Mayan indigenous people. The soles are similar to what you described." Rubber products were discovered by Spanish colonists more than a hundred years ago.
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Moreover, rubber sap is not only from South America, but also exists in Central America. The indigenous people of Central and South America apply rubber sap on cloth and make it into clothes to prevent rain from getting wet. Or they can make it into a long strip and tie it to the handle of a tool.
Non-retractable rubber ropes, the Mayans even used rubber as the soles of their shoes.
Of course the Native Americans knew how to vulcanize rubber, but we added various inorganic substances and most of them failed to achieve similar effects. The most common way is to directly mix the juice of a certain Convolvulaceae vine with the rubber. That mixture
Very durable before solidifying.
The unlucky Portuguese who was the first to bring rubber-coated waterproof clothing back to Europe was regarded as a witch and was subjected to religious trials. The Spaniards, who were the first to see rubber balls in America, also believed that the rubber balls were witchcrafted.
It would take another eighty years before a French scientist and military officer would get to the bottom of things and discover the origin of rubber.
It would be another ten years before French scientists brought back detailed information on rubber trees from America.
It would be another hundred years before French scientists invented a solvent that could soften rubber.
It would be another hundred years before British scientists made an eraser out of rubber, specifically for erasing pencil writing.
Rubber was used in industry, but it was even later.
Wang Lian asked: "How were those things made?"
Mexican businessmen shook their heads. We had only seen indigenous people using it, but we knew the origin of rubber products.
No matter what, it's fine if there is no news. That is a task entrusted by His Majesty.
Wang Lian fulfilled his promise and sold a batch of goods to those merchants after the auction. Moreover, each merchant provided a man, and Wang Lian hired those people to lead the way to find rubber trees.
The expedition leader is Li Quan, a retired soldier with no college education.
The deputy captain's name is Cheng Jingming, not this young man from Suzhou. All my friends went to study electricity, but I stayed idle and went to sea with the ship to become an adventurer in America.
Apart from the two of us, there are seven other crew members, two of whom have been farmers and soldiers, one is an experienced sailor, and one is a translator proficient in Spanish. The remaining team members are all temporarily hired, eight of them are Mexican businessmen.
Man, there aren't even a dozen Japanese escorts who have settled in America.
Gu Shi's trading fleet was bound for the port of Acapulco, which was the exclusive trading place for the Spanish fleet. Therefore, the expedition team could only take a Mexican merchant ship to go south, all the way to the Guatemala area, which was also New Spain.
The governor's jurisdiction, but there were seven levels of governors specifically responsible for Central America.
The group first visited the governor and presented them with exquisite gifts. The governor was very happy and sent two guides to lead us. "Bang, bang, bang!"
In the cold rainforest of Guatemala, several gunshots were heard, and a jaguar fell down. Next to it lay a snapping turtle that had been bitten to death. After confirming that everyone was safe, Cheng Jingming rushed over slowly and walked around.
The body of the jaguar wanders around.
"That thing looks like a leopard but not a leopard, but also looks like a tiger but not a tiger. What is it?" Gu Shitai muttered for a while. 4 Captain Li Quan said: "It doesn't matter if I am a tiger or a leopard, it is a ferocious beast anyway." 4
They ordered people to carry the carcasses of the jaguar and snapping turtle back, and in the middle of the morning, they chose a place to camp. They also lit the mosquito-repelling plants and brought in fresh water to finish cooking. The weather in the cold rainforest was extremely exciting, and the poisonous snakes
Wild beasts also emerge one after another.i1
If it weren't for the two guides sent by the governor, the expedition team would not have been attrited. We all know a lot of basic local knowledge. Cheng Jingming painted the image of the jaguar and asked the guide to inquire about the habits of the beast.
Write a text note at the front: 2 "Eastern leopard (or eastern tiger), its pattern is like a leopard, its shape is like a tiger..." 8
The expedition team did not bring scales, but only tape measures, so the data only recorded the animal dimensions.
After recording the jaguar, Gu Shitai recorded the snapping turtle: "The turtle is small, fierce, and looks like a bull, so it is named..." Then, Gu Shitai sorted out the plants collected today and made leaves and vines.
for specimens.
"It's about touching!"
The guide sent by the governor shouted, and the two Chinese team members moved forward quickly. There was no brightly colored red frog under the leaves behind us. Cheng Jingming ran over with Ruo's translator and asked, "What kind of frog is that?"
The guide explained: "Poison dart frogs can poison people to death. The natives hate smearing poison under their darts." "Can I help you catch it?" Cheng Jingming asked.
The guide picked up the stick, walked around to measure the direction, knocked down the poison dart frog with one stick, and then pressed the stick under the frog's back. 1 Cheng Jingming watched closely and measured the body length with a tape measure.
"Boom!"
Thunder sounded and it was going to rain again.
Fortunately, there is no tarp tent, and the tent can be set up on the ground, so we choose dangerous trees to rest.
It rained until the morning of the seventh day. Everywhere was wet, and it was extremely boring, dry and cold. 3
Cheng Jingming smelled his armpits and felt that he was not yet hungry. I hate living that kind of life. Although it is safe and hard, it is less boring than in Suzhou. Delicious food from mountains and seas, silks and satins, poetry and singing
There are many wives and concubines, and I have never tired of that kind of chatting life.
After another two days, we finally found the Mayan tribe.
Those Mayans were very vigilant. As for the bad things done by the Spanish colonists, it would be better if they were beaten on the spot.
Did the guide come forward? A guy sent by the businessman later went to contact the Mayan natives. This person should have been in contact with that tribe to buy furs and the like. It would have been possible to avoid conflicts without my liaison.
The expedition leader Li Quan greeted him and handed over a bag of salt. The two parties quickly reached a deal.
The Mayan natives took us to see rubber trees and demonstrated how to cut rubber on the spot.
Cheng Jingming found that the rubber tree was blooming, so he asked the Mayans about the situation. However, it bloomed eight times a year. Now it is the eighth flowering period, and it will take several more months for the fruits to mature.
Li Quan immediately decided to wait outside and take some ripe fruits back to China, perhaps taking them back to China for sowing. Of course, he would also dig up some large saplings, plant them in wooden barrels and transport them away by ship.
While waiting for the fruits to ripen, the expedition team will stay in the tribe and pay some rewards to the natives.
As long as it rains, we will explore the surrounding area and record various animals and plants.
"What is this?" Cheng Jingming looked at the huge pyramid behind him.
The guide replied: "This is a Mayan temple."
The Mayan pyramid has long been abandoned and is in a state of dilapidation. Even the rocks in the northeast corner have been toppled, and the seven weeks are covered with shrubs and weeds. A group of Japanese escorts used sticks to clear the way and beat the grass to scare the snakes, insects, rats and ants that entered the rear.
Cheng Jingming followed the Japanese escort to the steps of the pyramid. I saw many strange carvings, none of which even resembled the Chinese Taotie pattern. In other words, it was similar, but exactly the same as the Taotie pattern!
Are the indigenous people there really from ancient China?
Gu Shitai continued to wander around the pyramid, then climbed down the stairs until he reached the top of the pyramid. Unfortunately, he made another important discovery. There were no Taotie patterns, but there were also rhombus patterns, dragon and phoenix patterns, and Taotie patterns.
Maybe, it's just a coincidence.
Cheng Jingming camped directly outside and drew the overall interior of the pyramid from all angles.
Then I painted every detail, and I even discovered the statue.
These statues are very weird. Humans wear bulky clothes and have a hood under their heads. Outside the cold cold rainforest, such a clothing style is obviously in line with common sense.
Zhao Han must be there, if he would blurt out: "What the hell, astronaut?" 23 Apart from those gadgets, Cheng Jingming found nothing else, and the Spanish had already taken away the valuable ones.
I also found some pattern symbols. Since he subscribed to Hanlin Journal for many years, Gu Shitai had no knowledge of oracle bone inscriptions, so I subconsciously felt that those patterns were not original characters.
To say that it is a written language is not an exaggeration. It can only be said to be the prototype of hieroglyphics.
For example, a certain pattern depicts an animal head, and it is obviously not possible to tell that it is a jaguar.
Those that have not yet painted human heads are also accompanied by various accessories, and it is also known whether they refer to humans in general or to chiefs or gods specifically.
"Is that a longevity lock?"
Gu Shitai squatted behind a pattern and looked at it for a long time. It looked like a longevity lock worn by an older child. But in the middle blank space of the longevity lock, eight more periods were drawn diagonally.
That pattern appears several times in the pyramid, which clearly represents some important meaning.
Well, the Mayan philologists of the previous life understood the longevity lock pattern as "moon".
There are no more abstract patterns, such as the Chevrolet logo, with a rectangle inside. That should be a lower-level text, who knows what it means.
Cheng Jingming searched his intestines and scraped his belly and found a way to interpret it, so he copied them all and took them back to the scholars of the Hanlin Academy for study.