The crew knew that the Congo River had already been sailed by sailors from the far west, and they were confident about the way forward.

After a long journey, after nine hundred and eighty-one difficulties, they finally reached the western heaven. It may not be Elysium, but for those who have been on the sea for so long, it is a paradise.

"There are many small kingdoms fighting here, and I don't think Your Excellency should anchor there, and further on, the Frankish kingdom, but the Frankish kingdom is also at war with the kingdom of England, and they have been fighting for a hundred years, and they don't know when they will be the leader.

So, I thought maybe we could change course and head straight to Venice, where I know the route well. ”

On the bow of the ship, Fei Yinglun explained to Xia Xun diligently.

They had just left Morocco, a country founded by the Arabs.

They rested in Morocco for ten days, during which the hungry and rich sailors had almost all the Moroccan prostitutes, and at the end of the ten days, when they had finally vented their anger and boarded the warship calmly and refreshedly to continue their journey, some of the women had been so annoyed that they could not get out of bed, but they were very happy to see the beautiful jewels stacked at the bedside.

The wealth and generosity of these Orientals, especially the majestic wind on the bed, impressed them so much that later, when the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty came here along the Xia Xun route, they immediately increased their prices as soon as they saw those oriental faces.

Of course, there are also many women who are obsessed with the joy of bed, including some noble ladies, who after hearing about this, they began to take the initiative to seduce those Orientals who came from afar, just for the legendary madness.

After leaving Morocco, Xia Xun's fleet continued along the Strait of Gibraltar and sailed into the Mediterranean, and to their left was Spain, which would be the Franc Ji of the Ming Dynasty a hundred years later, when there was no unified kingdom here, and the small principalities were fighting for each other in this small land.

Spain went further to France, France and England were also at war because of land and succession issues, Fei Yinglun, who was anxious to go home, suggested that Xia Xun directly drive the fleet to Venice. Of course, he wanted to do this, but he also thought of an extremely serious problem, but he didn't want to tell Xia Xun about this worry.

Xu Hu objected: "Because the countries here are all very close to each other, and we don't carry much food and water, can we reach the place you mentioned directly?" In case there is any wind and waves......"

Fei Yinglun hurriedly said: "No, no, no, there are few winds and waves here, this is an inland sea, tame like a cat." ”

Xia Xun interrupted him and said, "No! Along the way, we have to go, after thousands of mountains and rivers, and finally arrived here, we passed through the door and did not enter, is it not a pity? ”

"This ......"

Fei Yinglun showed an uneasy look, but after Xia Xun finished speaking, he had already turned around and walked to the upper deck, and Fei Yinglun hurriedly followed.

As he left the mouth of the Congo River and continued a short voyage north, he had a serious question in mind, and it was about the new route.

The discovery of new shipping routes will certainly be a golden route, and the efficiency of all shipping routes will certainly be higher than that of the old ones, but it will also be a nightmare for many Mediterranean countries to interrupt their path to prosperity.

The formation of the new route will bring devastating disaster to the countries that rely on the old route and the overland trade route, unless they can actively become one of the masters of the new route.

Spain, Portugal, France, and Great Britain were all close to the open sea, while the Venetian Confederation was entirely on the inland sea, and when the news came that the Eastern Fleet had bypassed the African continent and sailed directly to the Mediterranean, these countries would be closer to the water than Venice and would occupy this route one step ahead of Venice.

Spain and Portugal could keep them in the Mediterranean Sea as long as they controlled the Strait of Gibraltar on the basis of their geographical advantages, and if they wanted to get there, they would have to let the exorbitant taxes be levied, and the important anchorages and ports along the shallow roads would be preemptively occupied by these countries, and their maritime trade would be subject to others.

The Venetian fleet, though still the most powerful fleet, was dominant in the Mediterranean, and their ships and navy were trained to withstand the stormy Mediterranean and the stormy seas of the ocean.

In this respect, countries close to the open sea have more seafaring experience than they do, and at the same time they do not have as many ships as they do, and they need less money to transform.

Although Fei Yinglun was a pirate, he was a Venetian after all, and he now had a lot of treasure, and he was a first-hand person who had experienced new routes, and he wanted to take advantage of this to form a large fleet of maritime trade ships and take new routes, so as to make money more than pure pirate security.

However, as soon as the news of the new route spread in other countries, his plan went bankrupt, so when he was in Morocco, he firmly watched the interpreter on the ship, and enthusiastically took the interpreter out for a tour, and all the expenses were paid by him, so as not to leak the news.

But then going to other countries one after another, it is difficult to guarantee that other countries will not learn about this news, all he needs is to seize the opportunity. Fei Yinglun had a thought in his mind, and as soon as he pulled the translation, he followed Xia Xun to the top deck, and plucked up the courage to make his own plea to him.

Xia Xun was surprised, he thought about it carefully, and said generously: "Okay, I agree to your request, I will send a ship to Venice to trade now, and you will bring it over, my people can ask them to wait for me there, and you can get in touch with your relatives who are officials in the Venice Federation as soon as possible, and start first!" ”

Xia Xun patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Along the way, if it weren't for your rich knowledge of the ocean, maybe we wouldn't have been able to get to where we are now, and this can be regarded as my reward for you!" ”

Fei Yinglun didn't expect Xia Xun to agree so quickly, he said to Xia Xun gratefully: "Mr. Xia, you...... What a generous offer! I swear to God, you will be my friend forever! ”

Xia Xun smiled and said: "When it comes to the conflict of interests, I'm afraid other countries won't be so willing, you should go on the road as soon as possible, we have an old saying in China, called the first strike is the strongest!" You can see how strong our fleet is, and if you lose ground in the battle for ports with other countries, you may be able to ask us for help! ”

Fei Yinglun was overjoyed, and immediately hugged Xia Xun tightly again with Western etiquette.

Tang Sai'er, who had just run onto the deck in a hurry, saw it, and couldn't help but pout when he saw this scene, and thought sourly: "This Western gorilla is really annoying!" ”

Fei Yinglun raised his head with tears in his eyes, and kissed Xia Xun on the cheek again, and Tang Sai'er's small mouth pursed higher: "I hate it to death!" ”

Fei Yinglun said incoherently: "Thank you, Mr. Xia, I ...... I'll go back to the cabin and get ready, thank you! Thank you! ”

Fei Yinglun nodded and retreated to the gangway, Tang Sai'er rolled his eyes, stretched out his toes and stumbled lightly, Fei Yinglun shouted all the way and rolled down the gangway.

"Humph!"

Tang Sai'er straightened his chest, put his hands behind his back, and walked away like a proud peacock......

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Xia Xun smiled, not because of Tang Sai'er's small actions, but because of Fei Yinglun's request.

Ever since he was sure that he had indeed discovered a new route, he had been thinking about the benefits of the route.

He wanted to grasp this route in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and also thought about finding a key point such as the Cape of Good Hope on the return journey, establishing a port and castle, and sending a force of men and horses to garrison. With 1,800 people and dozens of ships, it is not impossible to control the entire route by jamming key points in this era, but this is really a bit of a.

It is too far away from Daming, and it takes more than a year to sail over once, and it is a problem to replenish soldiers and materials such as weapons and equipment.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty can build many ports and fortresses along the coast, but it is impossible to start building on this long coastline at the same time, and if the expansion is too fast, the result will inevitably collapse quickly.

If it is steady, then by the time their power radiates here, I am afraid that this place will have long been in the hands of Westerners.

Xia Xun also imagined finding an ally in the local area, with the Ming Dynasty building harbors and castles at important key points, using their forces to control the necessary route, and at the same time making a local ally to jointly contain other countries.

Pulling one side to fight the other is not only used by Easterners, but also by Westerners. But if you want it, others want it. If he can eat you, why be your ally, be controlled by you, be your cannon fodder?

The motherland is too far apart, and it will take several years or even more than ten years for frequent maritime trade to be fully formed, and before that, it is not only a matter of supply and soldier replenishment, but also because of the consistent homeland thinking of the Chinese, it is very, very difficult for you to arrange a team to hang thousands of miles away.

The most difficult thing in this world is to change a person's mind, and it takes a long time to change his mind, and before that, I am afraid that even the emperor will not approve of his ideas. Unexpectedly, he was about to doze off, so Fei Yinglun brought him a pillow, why didn't he agree?

Xia Xun knew that the Venetian Federation had gradually declined, and the emergence of the new sea route gave it a fatal blow, making it gradually withdraw from the historical stage in the Age of Discovery. Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the three countries along the Atlantic, will successively take their place as maritime hegemons.

Well, you might as well give this opportunity to the Venetians, Venice has the first opportunity, Portugal and Spain have the advantage, and when Britain and France settle the century-long war, they will also come in, and then there will be fun. With their own advantages and equal strength, the ownership of the new route will be extended indefinitely.

In the original history, Daming did not participate in the competition for ocean routes, so one of them successfully became the controller of the entire golden route through Europe and Asia, and now Daming is also involved, and will sit back and watch them cover the sky with one hand?

The controller of the old route must take possession of Khurumus, the controller of the new route must possess the Cape of Good Hope, and the eastern route must possess Malacca.

And now, not only Malacca, but also all the way to the mountains of Ceylon are under the control of the Ming court, and the power of the Ming Dynasty is gradually infiltrating Little Gülen, Ke Chi, and Guli. The Ming Dynasty is already far ahead of them, devouring and robbing the territory that the Aralians have been operating for hundreds of years.

Then, first throw out the Cape of Good Hope and ask the Europeans to rob it, and when they fight to the death, the Ming fleet will grow bigger and bigger, the route will be farther and farther, and their power will continue to spread along the Indian Ocean to Africa, even if the Cape of Good Hope has fallen into the hands of a European country, with the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, they can grab it.

Even if they don't grab it, more than half of the entire route is already in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the controllers of the Cape of Good Hope must cooperate with the Ming Dynasty and provide convenience to each other in order for them to have a meaningful occupation of the Cape of Good Hope, otherwise what can their fleet do even if they bypass the Cape of Good Hope?

Of course, if at that time they were still fighting for each other and holding each other, then there was no need for Daming to take the initiative, they would invite Daming to join, offer preferential conditions, and strive for Daming's support, so as to jointly have control over the Cape of Good Hope, and Westerners are not stupid.

There are many, many variables in the future, and even God has no control over them. And Xia Xun's plan is undoubtedly the best choice under the current conditions, how can he not be happy?