Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Luoyang.

The large cages were taken off the ship one by one, and quickly attracted onlookers on the dock.

Even the coolies stopped working, put down their work, and squeezed into the crowd.

The first to get off the ship were two kangaroos.

These things are really hard to keep. They like dry environments, but the cabin is hot and humid. Wang Chongdu caught 14 kangaroos and brought them back. They got sick and died along the way, leaving only these two, and they were listless and listless.

They couldn't reproduce, and the two surviving ones were both males.

Perhaps they were somewhat accustomed to being watched, and the kangaroos were no longer panicked when facing humans. They lay bored in the big cage, and one of them slept in a rather charming posture, crossing his legs and resting his head on his arms like a lady.

"Oh my, is this a rat spirit?"

"That one must be a female. It's lying in the cage and seducing men. I'm afraid it will turn into a beautiful woman at night."

"Where did you catch it?"

"Auspicious sign! Auspicious sign!"

"Auspicious sign is not popular in the Ming Dynasty. If this happened in the previous dynasty, offering two rat spirits to the tyrant emperor would probably make him a meritorious official and a nobleman on the spot."

"What's in the box at the back? The cry is scary."

"..."

The cage at the back is a Tasmanian devil. More than 20 were caught, and only these three died.

One male and two females.

It's probably because there were too many people, which made the Tasmanian devil a little stressed, and suddenly burst into a roar similar to that of a donkey. It's very strange, because the Tasmanian devil is very small, but the sound is like that of a giant animal.

Because of its terrible cry, it has a nickname called "Tasmanian Devil".

This thing later became extinct in the Australian mainland and only exists on the island of Tasmania. The Ming expedition team encountered it in Melbourne, and used cloth to ask the local tribe to set traps and caught a lot of them.

If the Ming immigrants went to Melbourne to farm, they would probably protect the Tasmanian devil spontaneously. Because the number of pests in the farms with Tasmanian devils will decrease rapidly.

The sound of the Tasmanian devil's stress scream immediately caused another animal to respond.

In one of the several bird cages that had just been taken off the boat, the honeyeater in the cage shouted: "Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"

The crowd of onlookers was immediately amused when they heard it.

There are also parrots in China, and they can learn to speak human language, but they are different from this kind of honeyeater.

The honeyeaters in the cage were brought back from Java Island and have long been raised by the locals. Wang Chongdu taught them to say "Long live His Majesty" all the way. These guys learned it very well and especially liked to interact with people.

In another bird cage, there were cockatoos brought back from Australia. Although they look good, they are not good at learning human language and their interactivity is much worse.

There is also a large cage with four animals that look like dogs lying in it.

Tasmanian tiger!

This creature has become extinct in later generations, but now it is everywhere in Australia.

"Make way, make way. These are exotic animals presented to your majesty, don't scare them."

The Royal Zoo in Kaifeng is in the southern suburbs and has been emptied.

The Royal Zoo in Luoyang is in the eastern suburbs, next to the royal gardens and official horse farms. It is open to the public for ticket sales for 20 days each month-if an important royal family member lives in the nearby Dongxi Garden, the zoo will close a few days in advance.

Wang Chongdu has a set of exclusive code books, and he sent a secret report to the emperor in Hangzhou. At this moment, someone was sent to the eastern suburbs to notify, and the person in charge of the zoo immediately came to help.

Watching the exotic animals being taken away, the people who were busy with their livelihoods dispersed, but there were still many people who followed them.

They chased to the entrance of the zoo and were stopped. The eunuch in charge said: "Stop selling tickets to the public this month. Don't scare these overseas exotics. They will be open again after they adapt."

The crowd was reluctant to leave and watched the various animals go in.

There are not only elephants, tigers, rhinos, leopards and other animals, but also ostriches, lions and giraffes from Africa in recent years.

The zoo tickets are selling very well, especially for foreigners who come to Beijing, many of them are willing to pay to see them.

A group of Australian animals were introduced, and Wang Chongdu's men introduced them to the habits of various animals. In fact, everyone didn't know much, but at least they had been raised for several months, and more than half of them died, so they knew which animals liked to eat what.

"This... is a bit like the ostrich that came to Beijing a few years ago, but it is taller than the ostrich." The keeper stared at the strange big birds.

Wang Chongdu smiled and said, "We don't know what to call them. They used to live in a place that was neither dry nor wet, neither cold nor hot. They were only seen in grasslands and less dense forests."

The breeder said, "Then I know how to raise them. It's different from raising ostriches. Wait for the government to name them. The name of the ostrich is also determined by the government. By the way, what does this big bird eat?"

Wang Chongdu said, "Fruits, insects, grains, and sometimes grass."

After a conversation, Wang Chongdu left.

A few days later, he went to the palace to meet the emperor.

Wang Chongdu thought he was going to the Chuigong Hall, but he went directly to the Imperial Garden. The queen and the prince were drinking tea in the pavilion.

After paying homage, Wang Chongdu presented tribute items.

"Long live your majesty, long live your majesty!"

The two honeyeaters competed to speak.

Zhang Jinping was amused: "This parrot has beautiful feathers, different from the parrots in the Ming Dynasty."

Wang Chongdu said quickly: "Your Majesty, this kind of parrot likes to play with people, and it will be very friendly after being raised well."

The two female officials took the parrot and gave it to the queen and the prince respectively.

Zhu Ming asked: "Is it also brought back from the unknown continent in the south?"

Wang Chongdu replied: "This kind of parrot can be found in the unknown continent and Java Island, but it has never been seen elsewhere. The two in front of us were bought from Java Island, and the locals have already tamed them. We also brought back parrots from the unknown continent. That kind of parrot is more beautiful, but it is difficult for it to speak human language."

"Tell me in detail how you discovered the new continent in the south." Zhu Ming said.

Wang Chongdu said: "I have always kept in mind your majesty's instructions. After becoming familiar with navigation, I explored the Java area. In the first year, I sailed around Java Island, in the second year I became familiar with the trade winds and currents there, and in the third year I chose the right time to sail south with the wind."

Zhu Ming asked: "With the wind and the current?"

Wang Chongdu said: "I had the wind and the current when I went there, and the wind and the current when I came back. There was no state found on that continent, but there were many black tribes, who looked similar to the Kunlun slaves in Nanyang."

"What else did you discover?" Zhu Ming asked.

Wang Chongdu presented opals and gold again: "There are many iron and copper mines there, and they are very easy to mine. But the mining belt is located in a desolate place. There is even no grass in one iron mine, and there are no black natives there."

"The place where we first landed was also barren. It took us a day and a half to sail eastward before there were plants and trees. The northeasternmost part of the continent has a lot of rainfall (tropical rainforest climate), but the most indigenous people are in the eastern and southeastern coasts."

"I found gold in the southeast, and found a place where gold can be mined along the river. I continued to sail west in the south for two days and returned. The wind on the southern coast is particularly chaotic, mainly northwest and southwest winds, and occasionally south and east winds."

"The local natives are quite simple, but there are also more brutal ones. Especially on the eastern coast, tribes attack each other. One tribe saw the wealth and wanted to kill people and rob goods, but we defeated them with muskets and swords..."

While Wang Chongdu was talking, the emperor and empress were playing with gold and gems.

Zhu Ming looked at the dog-head gold.

Zhang Jinping was more interested in opals. After Wang Chongdu finished speaking, she smiled and asked, "Are there many such gems there?"

Wang Chongdu replied, "It seems to be a lot. I have exchanged more than 500 gems from four tribes."

"How many did you sell?" Zhu Ming asked.

Wang Chongdu answered honestly, "I sold ten in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and Chuzhou. The least one sold for two or three hundred strings of silver, and the most sold for six or seven hundred strings of silver. They were all auctioned at the exchange."

Zhu Ming said, "Eighty percent of the gems will be handed over to the royal family, and you can deal with the remaining 20% ​​yourself."

"As you wish!"

Wang Chongdu only took 20% but had no complaints. Even if he got more this time, he would hold it in his hands and sell it slowly.

This kind of gem is not rare in Australia. I will get some next time.

The emperor took 80% of the gems, and he certainly didn't sell them, but rewarded them to his concubines, children and meritorious officials. This kind of reward is very helpful in raising the price of gems. Wang Chongdu also has to thank the emperor for helping to advertise.

Wang Chongdu presented another map of Australia.

This map was a semi-finished product, only showing the outline of the northern two-thirds of Australia and the eastern coastal area, and ending at the southeast.

Moreover, the size ratio was a bit distorted.

Wang Chongdu was allowed to get closer to talk, and he pointed to the location of Melbourne: "The climate here is mild, very suitable for farming, and there is a natural harbor, and gold was also discovered there."

"What are your plans?" Zhu Ming asked.

Wang Chongdu said: "I am willing to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty overseas. In the first year, attract hundreds of people to go to pan for gold. In the second year, bring some of the gold diggers back home and let all the gold diggers write letters to their families and send back some of the gold they have found."

"At that time, it will definitely cause a sensation in various states and counties. I will organize a fleet to transport more people. Year after year, gold diggers may gather tens of thousands. Then open up fields for farming, build towns, shops, temples and the like. There may not be many women willing to go to sea, and the indigenous women are too ugly. We can recruit Nanyang women to marry. We can also recruit some Japanese women. As long as we give enough money, Japanese nobles are willing to send women to sea."

Zhu Ming nodded in approval of Wang Chongdu's strategy, and then said: "I will not send any officials over within five years."

Wang Chongdu was overjoyed: "Your Majesty is magnanimous, and I will do my best!"

Let Wang Chongdu manage Melbourne for five years, which is enough for him to make a lot of money. This is a reward for ocean explorers.

Only with tangible benefits will more people explore the unknown seas.

Zhu Ming said: "Let's call that continent Australia. You can name the places in Australia. The place where gold was discovered can be called Jinshan, which is an attractive name enough."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wang Chongdu flattered again.