New Shun 1730

Of course Bering didn't know that he had become the prey of a hunter.

Several years of exploration had destroyed his body. Suffering from stomach ulcers, I could only hold my hand against my aching stomach and press it hard to free up my energy to continue drawing the map.

On the table in the captain's cabin, there is a 6×10-foot world map, with only a few places blank.

There is not much space left for explorers. When the last blank space is drawn out of the coastline, explorers who want to leave their names in the memory of all mankind can only go to the moon, Mars or even outside the solar system. .

In fact, Bering was not very satisfied with the choice of the expedition route.

For the Russian Empire, finding a route from Heilongjiang to Japan would help strengthen its national power.

But for Bering personally, as an explorer, his greatest hope was to leave his name on the world map in the future.

For example...determine whether Asia and America are connected?

There are only two blank spaces on the map on the table.

One is the mysterious southern continent. People believe that there is a vast continent south of the vast Pacific Ocean. However, people cannot reach it due to ocean currents and wind directions.

The other place is the American coast from California to the north. Is it directly connected to Asia? Or across the sea from Asia?

Originally, his dream was to find the mysterious southern continent.

To this end, he studied cartography, astronomy and navigation diligently, and worked as a researcher at the Amsterdam Maritime Academy in the Netherlands, hoping to ride on the expedition ship of a sea coachman.

However, the Dutch were full of interest in gold coins but not much inclination to chart wider seas.

Until many years ago, several Russians, regarded as barbarians by Western Europeans, came to Amsterdam and spent a lot of money to hire a large number of talents.

Bering decided to change direction, no longer searching for the mysterious southern continent, but instead draw a map from Asia to the northern coast of America.

Most of his expedition team were not Russians. Many of them were recruited by Peter from the Netherlands. The first mate's name is Sven Wickshear, which is a standard Swedish surname. Only the deputy captain and some young intern draftsmen from the Russian Academy of Sciences were Russians.

On a previous expedition to Siberia, his expedition lost supplies.

On the premise of retaining enough horses, Bering cooked the leather boots of his dead teammates to satisfy his hunger and survived the blizzard, which also left many people in the expedition with severe stomach problems.

Fortunately, this time, a ship was prepared for them in Heilongjiang, and sufficient supplies were also prepared. You can fish and hunt along the way to ensure that the team has enough food to survive the long sea journey.

In mid-May, Heilongjiang has a tendency of ice melting. As soon as the Ling floods passed, Bering couldn't wait to set sail.

The weather in the north is always cold, and even the sea may freeze. He wants to find Japan before winter comes. Next year, if you are lucky, you can follow the northern coastline and look for the legendary shipping route to America.

In early June, the expedition team had crossed the Ussuri River and the journey was smooth. Sailing on the river, with plenty of fresh water and no one on board having died so far, was a good start.

Like every sea ship, there is a cat in the captain's cabin as the spirit of the ship. Cats who can't swim at all were chosen as ship spirits, probably because cats can compete with mice that steal supplies.

The golden civet cat lay lazily on the map, purring like it was every day on the adventure: quiet, dull, and boring.

The silence and boredom were interrupted by the sound of the first mate Wickshire pushing the door open.

"Captain, there are a few Cossacks on the shore. They are shouting somewhere, as if they have captured a Frenchman. This Frenchman came from America."

This news is like a hunter carefully preparing for his prey. News about deer's favorite bitter herbs, cats' favorite mice, and Bering's favorite routes to America and Asia.

Upon hearing the news, Bering stood up excitedly and ran to the deck.

You don't need a telescope to see the "Cossacks" on the river bank, waving there.

A standard Cossack uniform, with trousers decorated with ribbons, some flintlock guns with bayonets on his back, and a furry hat that covered his face.

Someone was shouting loudly in Russian, and if you listened carefully, you could hear words like America.

"Ashore! Ashore!"

Seeing that it was a Cossack, Bering was not alert at all. It was quite normal to see several Cossacks in a place like this.

Coupled with the phrase "the French drifting over from America", it is exactly what they like. If it is true, then perhaps we can get some clues about the northern coast of America from this Frenchman.

The water here is not fast, and there are sandbars and river islands formed by erosion everywhere. The expedition ship can accommodate forty or fifty people. It is not large and the draft is not deep.

After choosing a place near the river bank to anchor and put down the boat, Bering took several people to the shore in the boat.

"Hello, Cossacks. Where is the Frenchman who drifted over from America?"

He asked the question, but the answer he got was not what he expected. The men in Cossack clothes suddenly rushed to the boat, pulled out their knives and put them on the necks of several members of the expedition team.

In the distance, several birch bark boats suddenly emerged from the reeds and rowed frantically towards the expedition ship.

Among the crowd on the shore, a man with a greasy face walked out.

Wearing a beaver hat that was so greasy that it could be used to make noodle soup when twisted, and a Cossack captain's military uniform, a weird smile appeared under the fluffy beard on his mouth.

"Hello, Mr. Bering. We meet again."

The pronunciation of Russian is very inaccurate, and it feels like holding a stick in your mouth and rolling your tongue.

Bering was stunned to recognize the person opposite him. He still remembered the lunch in Stepanovsk in the winter, the Chinese Protestant who could not speak Dutch or German but could speak Latin.

The bayonet was clearly pressed against his chest. Bering raised his hand obediently, feeling confused in his heart.

What do these people want to do?

robbery?

No...it wouldn't be a robbery.

I looked back and saw that the expedition ship, which was unable to move after anchoring, was surrounded by more than a dozen birch bark boats. The people on the ship were on guard with muskets. The people below the ship did not attack immediately, but seemed to bite them. Ants like dead grasshoppers surrounded the expedition ship.

Bering had forgotten the name of the Protestant opposite and could only ask: "What do you want?"

"Knowledge."

A strange answer that shocked Bering.

Bering's eye-opening scene of asking for knowledge can actually be associated with the bayonet on his chest.

"You're not a businessman?"

"Yes. I'm not a businessman, and I'm not a Protestant."

Liu Yu stretched out his hand behind him, and his companion handed over a compass, a telescope, and a "Table of Trigonometric Functions."

Bering understood. Is this a peer?

"Are you an explorer sent by the Emperor of China?"

Liu Yu nodded, and Bering immediately reprimanded loudly: "A true explorer and navigator should sail to find new worlds by himself. Instead of robbing other people's charts."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Liu Yu didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed, he was laughing so hard.

"Route exploration is a cause of all mankind. I will not snatch your name on the map in the future, I just want some maps. Because I have no way to go to Siberia. Mr. Bering, I know you are a Danish and employed by Russia."

He took out a gold lock from his arms and handed it to Bai Ling's hand.

"Make a price. You can continue the adventure, but your employer is the Emperor of China, not the Tsar of Russia."

"Money is not an issue."

The heavy gold is in the palm of my hand, very heavy. It seems to verify the European legend about gold all over China.

Bering, however, had a strong work ethic.

"I can be hired by the Emperor of China to continue exploring. However, regarding the previous map, it was funded by the Russian Empire and I cannot hand it over to you. It is not my private property, but belongs to the Russian Empire, and I have no right to dispose of it. That expedition ship is not mine, but belongs to the Russian Navy.”

"Even if I am hired by you, I must complete this expedition before I can be hired by you. Because the Tsar and the Admiral paid enough money in advance for this expedition."

Liu Yu nodded, applauded his professional ethics, and then took back the golden lock.

He waved his hand behind him, and with three bangs, the captured artillery fired three times near the river exploration ship.

It was not aimed at the ship, but at the water in the center of the river.

More birch bark boats rushed out from the reeds on the riverside and rushed towards the expedition ship in the center of the river.

Soon, the Russian naval flag with the blue X mark on the expedition ship was lowered, and the white flag was raised, declaring surrender.

This is just an exploration ship. It is not equipped with artillery and there are few soldiers on board. Moreover, most of the people were foreigners. They were anchored and could not run away. They had no other choice but to surrender.

After rowing a small boat to the expedition ship, all the captured personnel were brought to the deck and their weapons were confiscated.

"Now, this ship has been captured by me. You are prisoners of war, and everything on the ship is my trophy. Including your map."

Sitting at the table in the captain's cabin, Liu Yu took out Bering's quill pen, wrote a sentence on the paper, and turned around and said: "I will issue you a certificate."

"Due to force majeure, Vitus Bering is no longer able to continue this expedition."

"The employment relationship between Bering and Russia will be terminated due to force majeure from now on... According to your calendar, what day is today?"

"June 11, 1727."

He wrote down the date with a pen, took out his own seal and printed it on it, and signed his name in a flash.

"Dashun Forbidden Palace Xunwei, Liu Yu. 6, 11, 1726, written in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang, China."

Shaking the piece of paper, he smiled and said: "Look, these charts are my trophies and have nothing to do with your professional ethics. Now you are also my prisoner. Capture, death, scurvy, shipwreck Wait, these are all force majeure.”

"Otherwise, if Magellan was shot to death in Luzon, would it still be considered that Magellan failed to fulfill his employment obligations to Portugal? Right?"

"After a while, I will send someone to send this to St. Petersburg. Do you have any debts in Russia? If so, out of personal morality, I will help you pay them back. In addition, your wife and children, Dashun will also You will be asked to come through diplomatic channels, if you have one.”

"You want to continue exploring, no problem. We have plenty of money, and we can build a boat for you. Do you have any questions? Dashun has always been interested in the mysterious southern continent. You may be the discoverer of the southern continent."