Short video spoiler history: The beginning of modern warfare

Chapter 77 Eight Routes
Even someone as determined as Song Lian would be shaken, so one can imagine the situation of ordinary scholars.

In fact, the influence of germ theory on medicine and new knowledge based on physics, chemistry and biology had a particularly great impact on scholars who had studied the books of sages for more than ten years.

It is no exaggeration to say that these Confucian classics are one of the foundations of their three views. Compared with the knowledge taught by Tianmu, they now seem empty, powerless and boastful.

In fact, the more books I read, the more confused I became. The more confused I became, the more I thought it was my own problem, and the harder I studied.

There is no harm without comparison. Whether it is physics that explores the sky and the sea, or biology that benefits all people, every knowledge point is well-founded. From scientific principles to applications, everything you can learn is useful.

Almost all the scholars who had seen the new knowledge were impressed by it and talked about the relevant academic details all the time. The Department of Science almost became a place for them to realize their life value.

For the common people who have no food to eat, this is not a problem at all. There is no dispute between the new and the old. They will support whoever can make them well fed and warmly clothed.

The result is beyond doubt: the future generations of Tianmu are where the hope lies and the banner that leads the times forward.

Maybe I won’t be able to see that prosperous era in my lifetime, but at least my descendants will have the chance to see it, to study in that unknown sport, to eat a pound of white, firmly pressed rice in one meal, and all kinds of meat dishes that are so delicious and tasty that I dare not even dare to imagine.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened carefully. The products produced by heating petroleum at various boiling points have various uses. Among them, the boiling range of kerosene is between 180-310.

"This oil is a hydrocarbon compound, no wonder it can burn." Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized. When Tianmu mentioned the coal mine, he said that the main component of coal is carbon, and hydrogen will explode when it encounters fire.

Heating and separation is easy, but there is no corresponding machine to use it.

Zhu Biao was also a little worried, as he had a pile of treasures but no corresponding keys.

Coal is easy to deal with, as it is basically just burned, but the different components of oil have different uses, and simply using it as fuel is a waste.

As for this oil shipping route, it overlaps with the route of Zheng He's voyages to the West.

"This can cure diseases [covering face]"

Is there any alternative to oil in the future?

"You thought oil was only used as fuel."

"Shen Kuo of the Northern Song Dynasty was the first to discover oil in northern Shaanxi. If it is processed and utilized, history will be rewritten."

[Inventory of the world's eight busiest sea routes]

[The first one is the busiest route: the North Atlantic route, which connects the two most industrially developed regions in the world, North America and Europe]

[The route starts from Quebec on the east coast of Canada, as well as New York, Boston, and Chelsea in the United States, crosses the Atlantic Ocean into Europe, and then splits into two lines, the northern line enters the Baltic Sea to connect Central Europe and Northern Europe, and the southern line connects to Western Europe]

[Or enter the Mediterranean to reach southern Europe and North Africa. One-third of the world's commercial shipping is on this route.]

[Secondly, the most important route is definitely the Asia-Europe route, which is also called the Suez route because it passes through the Suez Canal]

[The route starts from Northern Europe in the west, passes through the English Channel, through the Strait of Gibraltar, across the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, through the Red Sea and into the Indonesian Ocean]

[After that, it is also divided into two lines. Going east through the Strait of Malacca to reach Southeast Asia and East Asian countries, and going south to Australia, New Zealand and other places. This route is the shortest route connecting Western Europe, but due to regional issues, this route has brought a lot of instability.]

【.】

[The fourth route is the North Pacific route connecting China and the United States. The route starts from eastern and southeastern Asia, passes through Japan, and sails across the North Pacific to Vancouver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on the west coast of North America.]

[With the rise of the Asia-Pacific economy, the trade volume of this route has increased year by year, but it should be noted that this route will fluctuate with the change of seasons, moving north in summer and south in winter]

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

Along with the explanation on the sky screen, there is also a corresponding world map. Each route not only has the starting point and destination marked, but also the route is drawn. From this, we can get a glimpse of the prosperity of cross-border trade in later generations, that is, the prevalence of cross-border and cross-sea trade.

The first is the US-Europe route, the second is the Asia-Europe route, and the third is the European oil route. The second route is the longest, circling half of the world, passing through England, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Malacca, etc.

"This is too long." Everyone knows that the earth on the sky dome is a miniature one, and the various treasure ships placed on it would probably be smaller than ants. It is easy to imagine how arduous it is for such a tiny treasure ship to sail on the vast ocean and cross half of the earth.

"It would probably take two to three years for a round trip on this Asia-Europe route!" Zhu Yuanzhang squinted his eyes as he looked at the route. This route largely overlapped with the route Zheng He took to sail to the West, and the rest was probably too late for Zheng He to go north to explore.

"Dad, you forgot that treasure ships in later generations were powered by separated oil, and their sailing speed must not be comparable to that of today." Zhu Biao said seriously. In fact, Zheng He's round trip to the West took about 1-2 years, mainly because the ship had to be stopped for a long time for repairs.

When they heard this, everyone thought of the steam engine. Although the trains currently built are not as fast as a person running, everyone knows that this is only temporary. If the steam engine is moved to the treasure ship, the speed will definitely be much faster.

Moreover, there is a better power device than the steam engine in later generations: the internal combustion engine.

In this way, navigation efficiency will be greatly improved, but the specific time is still difficult to estimate.

Of course, the reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang cared so much about this route were, firstly, trade needs, and secondly, crossing the sea to land on the American continent.

Later generations took the fourth route, but with the treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty at that time, it was too risky to cross the vast ocean. It was not only a problem of the route, but also problems of power, food and fresh water supply, positioning at sea, crew health, and treasure ship maintenance and repair.

And if you encounter bad weather, high waves, etc., it would be almost the same as committing suicide.

We also need to guard against piracy along the way.

Relatively speaking, it is much closer and safer to go against the Eurasian route through the Strait of Gibraltar and land on the American continent from Europe, but this route is too far from the Ming Dynasty.
Another route is to cross directly via the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa without passing through the Red Sea.
Hu Weiyong, Liu Ji and other ministers all frowned. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn were too important. Otherwise, it would not be necessary to go to the American continent.
[The fifth route is the South Pacific route which complements the previous one. This route starts from Sydney, Australia and passes through New Zealand, Hunone, etc., and then reaches the west coast of North America and Mexico, and can also go south to the countries on the west coast of South America]

[The sixth route is the most important route to the United States, the Panama Canal route, which is an important route connecting ports on the east and west coasts of the United States]

[The seventh route is connecting Europe and South America.]

[The last one is a very important route for Russia, the Arctic Ocean route. ]

[The route starts from Vladivostok in the east, goes north through the Pacific Ocean, crosses the White Collar Strait, sails around northern Russia, passes through Murmansk, the largest port on the Arctic Ocean coast, and then arrives in Northern Europe, and then to Western Europe and other regions. It is an important route connecting the east and west of Russia, and also an important sea route for Russia.]

During the Zhenguan period, Chang'an City.

Although Li Shimin knew that industry and commerce would be extremely prosperous in the future and cross-border trade would be the norm, he did not expect it to be so crazy.
With today's treasure ship technology, crossing the sea to reach the South American continent is harder than climbing to the sky.

But no matter how difficult it is, we have to bite the bullet and do it. Food is the foundation of the country and we cannot be careless.

"Perhaps the last route can be used?" someone suggested in a low voice.

Li Shimin also fell into deep thought. This matter was extremely important and could not be decided in a short period of time.

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think of the coastal fishermen in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. Many of them had rich experience in sailing to the West (Southeast Asia) and might have useful talents.

The treasure ship is now under construction and various matters are being handled in full swing. It is time to select a suitable captain and crew.

Zhu Biao couldn't help much with this and could only focus his attention on the comment section.

"The main routes from South America to China are the Pacific route and the two routes from the east coast past the Cape of Good Hope."

Can China and the United States' shipping routes cross the Pacific?

"It shouldn't be a direct crossing, but heading to Japan and then crossing the Pacific Ocean. If you take the widest waters, you might encounter greater risks, I guess."

(End of this chapter)