Zhu Cihong is no stranger to the place name Acapulco, which is a coastal port in Mexico in later generations, and it is also the route opened by the Spaniards from Asia to the Americas at this time, the Manila-Acapulco trade route, also known as the galleon trade.

Eighty years ago, Spain invaded Luzon and established the Viceroyalty in Manila to begin its colonization, and in the same year opened the Asia-Pacific route between the Philippines (Luzon) and Mexico.

The Spaniards will take the southwest monsoon to set sail north from Manila in June every year, to the waters of 45°~42°N, go eastward along the "Kuroshio" in the North Pacific, and finally arrive in Acapulco, with a journey of more than 10,000 nautical miles and a duration of about 6 months (the return journey is a direct voyage along the ocean current, which lasts about 3 months).

When the Spaniards departed, the main goods carried by galleons were silk, lacquerware, porcelain, cotton, ivory, carpets and other goods from China, India, Persia, Japan and other countries, and the carrying capacity was generally 400 tons.

After arriving in Acapulco, most of these goods were sold to mainland Mexico, and some were exported to South America and Spain.

The Spanish galleons returned with silver coinage, copper and other goods from the Americas.

Crops such as maize, tobacco, peanuts, and tomatoes in the Americas were introduced to Asia and China through this route, and Chinese culture also had a certain influence on American culture.

This trade route, which runs from Manila to Acapulco, is run exclusively by the Spanish crown.

Historically, the Spaniards traveled the Pacific route for more than 200 years, making an annual round trip until the 19th century, when the Spanish economy withered, causing the trade route to decline and gradually become discontinued.

However, Zhu Cihong didn't understand, what did Taqing want this route to do?

After the Ming Dynasty recovered Dongfan, the trade routes between Spain, the Netherlands and Tatarqing were naturally cut off, unless they made a detour to Dongfan.

Zhu Cihong asked Jinyiwei to transfer all the information about the Tatars, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands.

He also summoned a group of think tanks from the Hanlin Academy and the Zanhua Department to enter the palace to discuss the staff.

In the Qianqing Palace, there were maps and intelligence manuscripts all over the place, and dozens of elites sat on the ground, gathering in twos and threes to summarize the information and analyze the strategies and intentions of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to break through.

Half an hour later, suddenly the old Hanlin, who was in his fifties and was in his fifties, said: "Your Majesty, the minister has made a discovery!" ”

The person who spoke was named Shi Zhidong, with the pen name "Shi Hanlin", the first editor-in-chief of the Huangming Times, who was promoted by Zhu Cihong and entered the Hanlin Academy as he wished.

Zhu Cihong came to him, sat on the ground, and said, "Old Shi, what did you find?" ”

The Son of Heaven was so courteous, Shi Zhidong felt in his heart, he bowed his head slightly, pointed to the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu on the ground and said: "When the minister was in the newspaper office, he read an article that recorded that Japan had been to North Asia in the 41st year of Wanli to build a ship. ”

"What, the Japanese crossed the Great Eastern Ocean to North Asia to Melica thirty years ago? (Americas)"

Zhu Cihong was a little shocked, the Great East Ocean is the Pacific Ocean, North Asia Melica is North America, South Asia Melica is South America, the Japanese actually went directly to the Americas from Japan across the Pacific Ocean?

Shi Zhidong nodded affirmatively, and scratched his finger on the map: "The minister remembers that a group of Japanese people also went to Europa on a Spanish ship to meet the Pope, and they called the Qingchang European Mission. ”

"It is said that the Europa people plundered around in North and South Asia, where there was countless gold, silver, and slaves, and it was very suitable for habitation."

He said: "The minister speculates that Hong Shun and Jiannu want to go to America through this route......"

"Yin people cross to the east!"

Zhu Cihong secretly took a breath, and said in his heart If this is the case, then Hong Chengchou is so awesome, he actually wants to realize the eastward crossing of the Yin people!

The so-called Yin people crossed to the east, it was the king of Wu who broke through the Shang capital Chaoge, after the king of the Zhou self-immolation in Lutai, 250,000 Yin Shang soldiers and civilians disappeared, many people speculated that they fled across the sea, and were blown to the Americas by a storm on the way.

This conjecture was proposed by a 19th-century British scholar who made this statement when he was translating the classical Chinese text Shangshu, which caused quite a reaction at the time.

In 1910, the late Qing government sent a special envoy to handle the case of killing 311 overseas Chinese during the Mexican Revolution, and the regent Zaifeng approved the investigation of "whether there are traces of the eastward migration of the Yin people among the overseas Chinese".

At that time, more than 100 families of the Yindians living in Mexico petitioned around the special embassy, saying that the dead 'Yindians' were of Chinese descent and that the descendants of the Yin, called the Yinfubu people, had arrived here from the Kingdom of Heaven 3,000 years ago via the Heavenly Pontoon Island (Bering Strait), and asked the Qing government to protect and claim compensation."

However, in the name of "rumors are difficult to make the history of 3,000 years ago", the regent Zaifeng rejected the request conveyed by Ouyang's envoy, and the Qing Dynasty died the next year!

Zhu Cihong didn't care whether the Yin people's eastward crossing was true or not, he first checked whether the Japanese had been to the Americas and Europe before he could find out.

This kind of information investigation Hanlin Yuan is the most proficient, thirty years ago, not far from now, I really can't find it, and I can summon the Japanese envoy to inquire.

Zhu Cihong looked at the area from Japan to the Americas on the Kunyu Wanguo map, and gradually came up with the ocean current distribution map (geography must be examined) that he learned in high school in his later life.

Geographically, the Japan Warm Current and the North Pacific Warm Current are part of the North Pacific Circulation and are very large.

The Alaskan Warm Current is just a small tributary, and the North Pacific Warm Current, which returns to the Kuril Cold Current and the Alaska Warm Current, slowly cools down and becomes the California Cold Current.

To the south to the tropics, it becomes a westerly drift, and after tropical heating, it becomes a warm current, and to the north of the Philippines, it forms the Japanese warm current, which is the powerful Kuroshio (a small part goes south to form the equatorial countercurrent), which is a huge North Pacific circulation.

If Tatar Qing goes to the Americas, it can start from Aleutian, Kamchatka, which coincides with the North Pacific Current, which is still the closest distance.

If you go to the Ming Dynasty, you can follow the ocean currents from the Ryukyu area and go to North America.

At that time, Zheng He went to the West in winter, followed the northeast monsoon to Malacca, and then followed the counterclockwise circulation along the North Indian Ocean to Arabian East Africa.

By May, the southwest monsoon began to blow in the northern Indian Ocean, forming a clockwise circulation, and Zheng He's fleet was ready to return.

Before September, he returned to Malacca, then repaired to the spring of the following year, returned to China along the southwest monsoon, and returned to Liujiagang in June and July, which lasted about two years.

Theoretically, it is possible, but Zhu Cihong also knows that without a transit station and a supply of fresh fruits, it will not be able to support large-scale voyages, which is very risky and has a very low survival rate.

Half an hour later, the Hanlin Academy compiled and found a record of the Japanese National Day Minister's envoy to Europe, at that time Japan and Spain had good relations, suppressed the Dutch people, and allowed the spread of Catholicism in Japan.

The two countries were in the honeymoon period, various trade cooperation, the Spaniards also built sea ships in Japan, and finally there was the matter of the Japanese mission to Europa, which went to the Great East Ocean (Pacific Ocean) and reached Mexico in North America first.

Later, due to religious issues, turmoil broke out in Japan, and the Tokugawa shogunate drove out the Spaniards and cooperated with the Dutch in turn, gradually closing the country to the country.

Listening to the whole incident, Zhu Cihong took a long breath, no wonder Hong Chengchou wants to trade and cooperate with Spain, and there is an alliance with Japan, this guy is too good! There is so much courage to survive!

Gradually, a smile appeared on Zhu Cihong's face.

Tatar Qing didn't know the direction of the ocean currents at the corresponding time, the direction of the wind in the corresponding season, the location of the supply points on the road and the extent to which they could be replenished, and they didn't know if they could find medicine if they were not adapted.

All the difficulties are abounded, Tatar Qing wants to cross the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, and it is estimated that many people will die!

Even if we arrived in North America, the West Coast of the United States at this time was still an unknown area, and I don't know how many people would die in the harsh environment.

The Tartars had to go to Mexico to fight the Spaniards, or to the east to compete with the French and the British.

"The Eight Banners Army is also a good choice for me to open up territory and expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Cihong's eyes were burning, and he was looking forward to it!

The first task of the Ming Dynasty is to lay down the East first, and then attack the South Seas, the Americas are too far away, and to go to the Americas is to grab the Spanish colony first.

Spain's Asian base camp is on its doorstep, and in the future, Daming will receive Luzon, and he can go directly to the Americas along the route from Manila to Acapulco.

Having a skilled worker who has been running for more than 80 years to lead the way is much more comfortable than venturing out the wasteland by yourself.