Although the process was a bit coincidental, that's what adventure is all about, and it always requires some luck.
They started from Mindanao and explored eastward along the dotted islands.
The existence of the New Guinea Islands prevented them from getting lost and easily obtained supplies.
This area of sea has also become the focus of competition between them and the Spanish.
Because of the sufficient support from the empire and the shorter route, Zheng Zhilong's expedition had the absolute upper hand.
On the island of Papua, they engaged in a protracted and bloody fight with the Spanish colonists.
After making great sacrifices, he finally took Papua as his own.
"These islands, like Luzon, have long had indigenous people. However, the indigenous people here are all dark-skinned, like clay figures, and their lifestyle is quite primitive. They lived a very hard life under the enslavement of the Spanish. We captured this place
After that, the indigenous people were liberated and given preferential treatment in accordance with the empire's policies. Now that they have accepted the empire's rule, they only need to send officials there to smoothly incorporate these places into the empire's territory."
Although as an expedition team, Zheng Zhilong and others did not need to follow any rules. But this person always stayed awake and knew to leave a way out for himself.
Therefore, during the exploration process, we always pay attention to complying with the empire's policies as much as possible, so as to reduce killings and at the same time gain benefits.
After occupying Papua Island, some people once proposed to separate the country here and live happily.
Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan decisively rejected this idea.
No one knows the power of the empire better than them.
Moreover, now that the empire has completely occupied Luzon, it is only a stone's throw away from the New Guinea Islands. Once the empire consolidates the situation in Luzon, it will certainly not allow anyone on the other side of the bed to claim kingship and hegemony.
Besides, Zheng Zhilong has no intention of separatism. Adventure and making money are what he is most passionate about.
As the areas he explored became farther and farther, he realized more deeply that he couldn't do without the support of the empire.
Among other things, when fighting the Spaniards, without the guns and warships provided by the Empire, they would not have been able to win.
Once they gain independence, the empire does not need to do anything else. As long as they cut off supplies, they will become rootless duckweeds and eventually be buried in the vast sea.
Zheng Zhilong strictly abides by the agreement.
All new territories discovered through exploration will be handed over to the state, and then a share of the benefits from these new territories will be shared.
Obviously, this approach made the empire's senior officials extremely satisfied.
"Tell me how you discovered this big island?"
When it comes to Australia, Zheng Zhilong is also very interested.
"After we captured Papua Island, we received intelligence that the Spaniards had a trading center on the eastern island. Therefore, we guessed that the Spaniards must have a route to reach here from the New World. As long as we follow the clues, sooner or later we will be able to open up the Southeast Asia, so we
We continued to move eastward. The Spanish trading center was called the Solomon Islands, but it was not very strong. After losing to us in the naval battle, the Spaniards began to flee in panic. They fled, and we pursued them, and found the
Big Island.”
The Spanish Clark ship was obviously no match for the steamship built by Zheng Zhilong's expedition, and it had no advantage even in terms of speed.
In order to escape, the Spaniards had to change course and dive into the vast sea.
They underestimated Zheng Zhilong's courage, so they still couldn't get rid of it, and were eventually wiped out by Zheng Zhilong's expedition team.
But it was precisely because of this pursuit that the Zheng Zhilong expedition team was brought to Australia.
At first they thought it was just a small island, but the endless coastline was really shocking.
After discussion, Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan decided to divide their troops into two groups, conduct surveys around the island, and finally meet up.
But I didn't expect that this journey would last for three months.
When the two groups reunited in the south of Australia, looking at the chart in their hands, Zheng Zhilong realized that they had discovered a super-large island that was not even inferior to the Central Plains in area.
In other words, this is already mainland China.
"The southeast and southwest of the island have a humid climate, abundant water and grass, and are suitable for living. Most of the areas are either deserts or Gobi, which are very desolate. There are some indigenous people on the island who are ignorant and quite aggressive. We
We had to use force to clear a living area on it. In addition, there are some very novel animals on the island that have never been seen before. In addition, there are highly poisonous things everywhere, which can easily kill people."
Of course Zuo Menggeng is very clear about the situation in Australia described by Zheng Zhilong.
He knows Australia better than anyone.
But now this rich new continent is destined to belong to the empire.
"According to what you said, the mineral resources here must be very rich, which can effectively make up for the shortcomings in the country. This time, you have really made a great contribution."
Zheng Zhilong took the opportunity to make a request.
"Some of the guys in the expedition team were seriously injured and can no longer go to sea. If the empire plans to develop on the big island, I hope these guys can be properly resettled."
He was very careful in his requests, but Zuo Mengeng was very generous.
"Three million acres of the fertile land in the southeast are set aside for you, which you can allocate on your own. Any additional minerals discovered will be given to you as a 10% share dividend."
Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan were all beaming on the spot, what else could they be dissatisfied with?
Now Zheng Chenggong and Shi Lang have left the army and entered the National Defense Force. After training, given time, they will surely rise step by step.
These two children represent the future of their family.
Now Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan have accumulated rich wealth for their family through taking risks.
If life is like this, what else can I ask for?
What Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan didn't know was that Zuo Mengeng had decided to use the two of them as examples to encourage other adventurers.
After discussions with the central government, Zuo Menggeng issued the emperor's edict.
Zheng Zhilong was granted the title of King of Wuchang County, Shi Daxuan was granted the title of Duke of Lai, and as many as thirty people were knighted in the entire expedition team.
When the news came out, it could be said to be a nationwide sensation, which further stimulated the Chinese people's desire to expand abroad.
Hearing that a new continent that was not inferior to the Central Plains had been discovered, the center was even more excited.
Under the auspices of Hou Xun, a large team of officials of nearly 3,000 people was quickly organized and began to march towards Nanyang.
According to the center's plan, the newly discovered areas will be divided into the Nanyang Province, which includes all the New Guinea Islands, and the Australian Province in the New World.
At this moment, except for Zuo Mengeng, no one else knows that from now on, the empire will no longer have to worry about insufficient mineral resources.