golden scales

Zhu Cihong is very happy to see someone willing to go to the Americas to explore the way, and has even found a route for this North American pioneering fleet.Over the past few years, the Deming Fleet, which has traveled between Europe and East Asia, has also accumulated ocean-going experience and has a group of reliable ocean-going talents.Considering that Europeans colonized the east coast of North America and South America, Ming just filled the gap on the west coast of America.

As for places such as Alaska and Canada in later generations, it will take at least 200 years for European immigrants to establish settlements. It would be a waste to throw a stone tablet now.

Daming suffered a bit geographically. The west coast of North America was mostly forests, and further east was the Gobi desert. The Midwest, which was most suitable for farming, was actually closer to the east.However, even the agricultural reclamation areas in the American Midwest were developed more than 100 years later, and there was still time for Ming.

As the most populous country in the world, it has more advantages than Europe in immigration development.

After all, Zhu Hezhi insisted that he and Queen Christina had no relationship beyond official business, and insisted that the purpose of going to America was to explore a new world and expand the territory for Ming Dynasty.Zhu Cihong was really worried about Zhu Hezhi's impulsiveness at first, but seeing that he was so stubborn, he let go of it. After all, it is always more reliable to have a prince personally participate in this big project. "All unclaimed land discovered in the New World belongs to the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, that is, I." Zhu Cihong made a conclusion first.

Zhu Hezhi hastily said, "Is there any king in the world, without exception?"

"Erfan can share one-tenth of the produce on the land, the imperial family gets five-tenths, and the imperial court gets four-tenths." Zhu Cihong made a distribution: "Your one-tenth can be disposed of at will, and I will not interfere. The four-tenths taken by the imperial court is because there are costs involved in sending ships and people."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, Long En." Zhu Hezhi said.

"As for me, I didn't take you for nothing." Zhu Cihong said with a smile: "You will know in the future."

Zhu Hezhi didn't think there was any problem with the emperor's "bai nai".I don't have much expectation for what I will know in the future.However, within three days, he hadn't packed his own luggage, and there was already a tide in the court. Many ministers even came to the door in person, hoping to find a boat ticket for the clan relatives.

Zhu Hezhi was quite puzzled.It was only after insinuating that the recent big and small newspapers were deciphering the origin of the silver in the sea trade.In these newspapers, silver in his hometown of America is like iron ore in Daming. It is everywhere, and a vein can be dug out by just drawing a piece of land.This is of course not in line with the facts. For rational officials and businessmen of the Ming Dynasty, they would never be fooled by this kind of propaganda offensive.

What really attracted them was the vast unclaimed lands of America.

Especially the rumors from the cabinet.His Majesty the Emperor hopes to use this new continent to reward all civil and military officials who have contributed to the national crisis. Anyone who participates in the search can get the land for free.

With such a generous and good emperor, of course there must be stingy cabinet ministers behind him.After all, this "Edict of Bestowing Earth" was blocked by the cabinet and was not issued, but a strange imperial decree was issued from the Ministry of Rites to the Feng Shi Kong clan.Because of his martyrdom in the national coup, he was given the posthumous posthumous title of Zhong Jing.

The fact that Feng Shikong humiliated His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has long been spread in the public, especially in Shaanxi, where he was regarded as a loyal and loyal minister, and he did not let the young Crown Prince be fooled by villains to do stupid things.Although everyone consciously tabooed for the venerable and did not dare to put the crown prince on the opposite side of Feng Shikong, the court has not bestowed mourning on Feng Shikong, and it has always shown that he does not like this person.

Although Zhongxun is not a very good posthumous title for civil servants.But it is not considered a bad posthumous posthumous posthumous title. The most important thing is that the court recognized him.With the award of posthumous titles, thousands of acres of land were also given.It only needs people from the Feng family to go to America to receive it, and arrange more than a dozen people to cultivate it, and it can be passed down forever.

Even Feng Shikong was treated like this. Would those civil and military ministers who really made contributions to quelling the country's change be treated badly?

Sure enough, after Feng Shikong, all civil servants and military generals who died for the Ming Dynasty received appropriate mourning.And without exception, thousands of acres or even thousands of acres of American land have been received.

Especially striking is Lu Xiangsheng, posthumously named Wenzheng.It is the posthumous title that civil servants think is the best.At the same time, he ordered the family to be his adoptive heir and inherit the incense.Tens of thousands of acres of land in the United States were entrusted.

Among the military generals, Mangui, Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao and other famous generals were also bestowed with good posthumous posthumous titles such as Wumin, Wuhui, and Wushun, each with thousands of acres of land.

From the second year of Chongzhen to the national change in 17th year, during this period, there were many civil and military officials who died in the country. The Ministry of Rites could only review them in batches and agree on posthumous titles.Even so, there are still omissions, and we have to face the crying complaints of his bereaved family. The progress is really not fast.However, everyone believed that the dead were the most important, and when the affairs of the dead were settled properly, it would be the turn of the living.

Now comes the problem.

No one in the Ming Dynasty has ever been to America, and even the name America was only recently determined.All the information about this new continent is learned from the missionaries, and no one knows where the land is good and where the land is bad.This grant of several thousand acres is given as an index, without a land number, and it has to wait for someone to actually pass, demarcate the land, and be reviewed by the civil affairs officer before the land number will be marked, which is considered an eternal career.

Everyone knows that one mu of good land can produce ten mu of land, and no one wants to receive a very high gift, leaving only a corner of waste land.

The so-called ten rooms, there must be loyal and brave people, as long as the whole family is not martyred and died, who can't find a few loyal servants?Of course, we have to rush to the first group to go to America first, choose a good place, and occupy the position.

As for those heroes who haven't had their turn yet, there will definitely be rewards. Who wouldn't want to go there earlier and choose the land?

Only when Zhu Hezhi saw the surging tide came did he understand what His Majesty the Emperor said, "There is nothing for nothing".

In August of the third year of Longjing, Zhu Hezhi arrived at Tsushima Island.

The reason for going to Tsushima Island is because the Japanese have experience in taking the Pacific route to America.

Of course, the Japanese discovered the route to America for no reason.

Their guides were Spaniards.

In the sixteenth century, the Spaniard Andres de Urdaneta (a) discovered the route from Luzon to Mexico.Since then, Spain has started shipping across the Pacific Ocean, which is why Luzon is under the rule of the Governor of New Spain.

Because Spanish merchant ships were often wrecked off the coast of Japan due to bad weather, the two countries came into contact.The Spaniards wanted to develop the Catholic faith in Japan, but such efforts were strongly resisted by the Jesuits, who had been preaching in Japan since [-].In addition, Portugal and the Netherlands do not want Spain to participate in trade with Japan.

The turning point was in 37, the [-]th year of the Wanli calendar, when the Spanish galleon San Francisco encountered bad weather on its way from Manila to Acapulco and was wrecked in Chiba near Edo.The crew were rescued and received warm hospitality, and the captain was received by Ieyasu Tokugawa.

On November 29 of that year, the two sides signed a treaty.The treaty stipulated that the Spaniards could build factories in eastern Japan and bring in mining experts from New Spain. Spanish merchant ships were allowed to visit Japan if necessary, and Japan would send an envoy to the Spanish royal family.

The original Japanese envoy was Soteiro, a Franciscan monk who preached in Edo. On behalf of the shogun, he went to New Spain (Mexico) and met the Governor Vilaco.The governor of New Spain sent explorers to Japan to find the legendary "Treasure Island".

The explorer's diplomatic career did not go well, and he returned to Japan seriously injured in a shipwreck while searching for Treasure Island.So the Tokugawa shogunate decided to build a large ship to send the explorer back to Spain.

This task fell on the head of Date Masamune, the daimyo of the Sendai domain, and Date Masamune ordered his retainer Hasekura Changcho to preside over this task.

It took Changcho Hasekura 45 days to complete the ocean-going galleon called "Date Village Maru" by the Japanese with [-] shipbuilders, [-] blacksmiths, and [-] carpenters provided by the shogunate.The ship was later renamed the San Juan Bautista by the Spaniards. After completing the voyage, it was conscripted by the Spanish army in Luzon to fight against the Dutch.

Changcho Hasekura took ten shogunate samurai, twelve Sendai samurai, 120 Japanese merchants, crew members and entourages, as well as more than forty Spaniards and Portuguese, and started the first Asian journey across the Pacific Ocean.Three months later, he arrived in New Spain safely, and then went to Europe, sent an envoy to the Spanish royal family, and even went to Rome to meet the Pope and was baptized.

When Hasekura Changchang set off, the Tokugawa shogunate had not yet issued an order to lock down the country, but when he returned to Japan via the Pacific route again, Japan had completely changed.As for whether he was eventually executed or gave up his faith, it has also become a historical mystery.

Today, 30 years later, it is no longer possible for Ming to find the sailors of the past in Japan, but Japan is also a country with grammar, and there are enough sailing and ship materials to provide technical reference for Ming to build ocean-going ships.

Thanks to the social system in which sons inherit their father’s business, many Japanese craftsmen who participated in the construction of Date Village Maru were also found, and they were bought by Chen De at a high price—a total of two Type [-] artillery pieces were spent.

"With so many shipbuilders, is the imperial court going to build a new ship?" Zhu Hezhi asked Chen De.He said he was a promoter, but it was more like an errand runner.What's more tragic is that the loan provided to him by the royal clan had to be repaid by him independently, so he had long since given up the idea of ​​building his own ship, and only hoped that His Majesty the Emperor would lend him two ships.

Facing the prince, Chen De just smiled and shook his head, and said: "This is the only military order I have, and I don't dare to ask about other matters. Prince, please be safe and don't be impatient, there will be news from the court."

Zhu Hezhi could only wait for the news, but he didn't know that the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion had already requested the Ministry of War to transfer Wang Yi's tank division to Mowenhewei.

ps: Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket~~!