When he learned that he could finally begin his expedition to the Americas, looking for a route from northern Asia to the Americas, Bering looked in the mirror and looked at his gray hair, wondering what to think.

After being in Dashun for so long, he learned a word.

Fifty knows the destiny of heaven.

In fact, he is not only old enough to know the destiny of heaven, but he will also have five years to go.

His seafaring career and the occupational diseases of his voyage through Siberia haunted him like a devil. Stomach problems, broken teeth, ulcers...... Every illness could recur during the voyage and become severe, and he doubted that he would ever return from the Americas alive.

But even so, in the face of Liu Yu's permission, he still showed excitement.

The Great Voyage is no longer an era driven by one or two genius captains. Peter was kind to him, so he wanted to be able to repay, but the reward required a material basis.

The expedition ships built on the Heilongjiang River were very small, and Russia did not have ice-free ports in the Pacific Ocean, and the endless Siberian taiga forest made it impossible for Russia to build a large enough expedition ship at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River. A boat built by a group of second-hand shipwrights is also usable.

After returning to Dashun, Dashun fulfilled Liu Yu's promise in the boundary survey negotiations, saying that his wife and children had come over from Russia.

In addition, Dashun is in the Pacific Ocean and has almost countless ice-free ports. The French technicians hired at a high price were also able to build better and larger expedition ships than the one he had previously had on the Heilongjiang River, now called "Aurora".

Big, for nautical, means survival.

The geometry and mathematics of a naval officer trainee who was no weaker than that of the young man of the fledgling Russian Academy of Sciences also gave him ample manpower to draw clear maps.

Mathematics, for expeditions, means more accurate maps.

In the era when longitude could not be measured at sea without nautical clocks and astronomical almanacs, we could only learn the methods of Da Gama and Columbus to find India, judge the latitude according to the clues in the literature, and sail along the latitude.

Although he believed that he could reach the Americas no matter how much latitude changed, he needed to keep track of the islands where he could rest and resupply along the way. It's still better to walk along a fixed latitude.

"Mr. Bering, I can now fulfill my promise. I think if you hadn't fought on the Heilongjiang River, you might have died by now. The Aurora is still too small as an expedition ship. Moreover, the knowledge of scurvy, even if the Europeans sailed the globe earlier? But I don't necessarily know more than I know. ”

Liu Yu boasted of his strength? Bering could not refute this.

Indeed, in the matter of scurvy? Liu Yu's understanding surprised him? According to Liu Yu's method, scurvy is indeed no longer a big problem.

Equipped with a larger expedition ship? More soybeans, wine with lemon juice, and tomatoes sealed with stoppers and wax can slow down the onset of scurvy to some extent.

"Lord Earl? On the Arctic route? There is no need to think about fresh water. The snow and ice on the islands are good freshwater supplements. I want to admit that there is nothing wrong with your words. If I had relied on that expedition ship, I might have died of scurvy on a small island somewhere. But this time? Have two larger expedition ships operating together? I think we'll be the first to discover the Northern Asia and American shipping routes. ”

"From here to Vladivostok, and from Vladivostok to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, this route has been traveled many times. We can start directly from the Heilongjiang estuary and continue north after getting supplies from the Kamchatka trade. ”

This is the route that Bai *** wants to take, but Liu Yu objected to it.

"I don't think this time it should be north from Kamchatka. What route am I planning? Is it from Vladivostok to draw the coastline of Ezo? After resupplying in Ezo, along the wind belt and currents? Straight to the Americas. ”

"A colder place for Russia? means more fur. Even if it's polar? You can still get the best quality goods like sea lion skins. ”

"But for Da Shun? We don't need so much fur, at least not too much at this point. ”

He didn't want Bering to follow the historical route of finding the Bering Strait, which was in a sense a helpless move.

Both because of Russia's thirst for fur and because Russia could not obtain the Heilongjiang estuary and Vladivostok, which were more suitable routes along Vladivostok, Hokkaido, and Alaska.

Liu Yu is very clear about the plan for the Northeast.

Occupying the estuary, occupying strategic points, and immigrating farther to the Americas, is dispensable for the time being.

Officials organized immigration to the Americas, and neither the emperor nor the household government could afford to pay for it, because it was not beneficial to them, but on the contrary, it was a waste of money. With so much money, it is better to immigrate to the Western Regions and the Northeast.

He spent money to organize, and it was okay to get three or five hundred or more than 1,000 people to intervene first.

What's more, with this resource, it is better to keep your eyes on the South Seas, the United States is about to become independent, and if you go to the Americas after so long, you can't expect to do great things.

He stared at the sea of whales, and he valued three places.

Vladivostok, which connects the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River, blocks the possibility of others from seizing it by sea and directly controls northern Japan.

The Heilongjiang estuary, occupying the estuary, serves as a foothold in the north.

Hokkaido, which controls Japan, serves as the starting point for immigrants from the western part of the Americas.

It's like the legendary weasel trapped chicken, first draw a circle, occupy the edge of the circle, and the part of the circle is naturally your own.

He took out a known map of Northeast Asia, pointed to the very unclear Ezo location, and said, "The earth is spherical, and the latitude here determines that the distance crossed is not very far. ”

"You can try to cross from here to the Americas, and you can choose to go south along the west coast of the Americas, from the ports of the Spaniards, and back to Luzon along the route of the mature treasure ships."

"If you are in the warehouse, you can choose ironware, and when you get there, you can exchange it with the local natives. I can also give you all the gold and silver, and it will be easier to get to the ports of Spain. ”

"If you want, you can try to travel east from South America to find the mysterious southern continent."

"Both ships can be retrofitted to carry more cargo and supplies. Equipped with doctors, draftsmen, craftsmen. If supplies are sufficient, then give it a try; If supplies were insufficient, it was possible to return to Luzon from Mexico in Spain. ”

Now the wind is not in the right direction, and it is not the season for long voyages. With a few months to go before the season suitable for long-distance sailing, Liu Yu allowed Bering to modify the expedition ship according to his own wishes, striving to carry more people and supplies.

"If you choose to continue exploring, I hope you will be able to bring back some rubber saplings from South America, and some cinchona saplings. I don't really need anything else. If the crew wants to make a fortune, they can also hunt walruses in the north, refine oil, or break their teeth. These are all expensive possessions, which can be attributed to the crew. ”

There is such a thing as cinchona, Bering has heard of it. Rubber saplings have also been heard in some European naturalist works. Only then did Bering realize that rubber trees needed to be transplanted from seedlings, not seeds.

"If you were in Europe, you would be a well-known naturalist. You read a lot of books. Although most of them are half-understood. But now, naturalism is a half-understood subject. ”

complimented Liu Yu, and was very satisfied with Liu Yu's arrangement.

Russia had previously spent too little money on his support. If you have less money, you won't be able to do a lot of things, at least not so smoothly.

This time, Liu Yu gave him a lot of support, and the most expensive naval academy officers and students took out a lot.

Bering was well aware of the dangers of seafaring expeditions, and even with a mature transpacific route, the sinking rate was still around 7%.

And to explore new routes, the sinking rate will inevitably more than double.

In addition to the sinking rate, conflicts with the indigenous people, accidents, reefs, supplies, etc., will make the mortality rate likely to be about 50%, even if a lot of money is spent and the preparation is so adequate.

Bering knew that Liu Yu regarded these officers and students as gold and precious stones, and he had long known the reality that Liu Yu spent money lavishly, but he knew that Liu Yu would not easily let these officers and students take risks.

Therefore, this time, 50 officers and students were sent at once, which is equivalent to one-sixth of the talent reserve of the Dashun Navy, and this attitude greatly moved Bering.

Just like a fledgling in a test flight, there are always various accidents that die in a dangerous test flight before they can fly to the clouds.

Talent, to some extent, is a consumable.

Those who survive will have a complete expedition and sailing experience.

They may not be suitable to be naval officers, but those who survive will definitely be good as captains of merchant ships in the future.

"Rest assured, Lord Earl. I'm going to bring these lads back as safe as I can. Include the two types of saplings you want. I'm fifty-four years old, and maybe this is my last voyage. ”

"It's like Columbus, an explorer, who died on an expedition, and that's a good place to go. I, Sven, and Cherikov are now all officials of Dashun. If I die, they'll continue this expedition too. Their level is also very high. ”

Navigators do not shy away from life and death, and are originally people who fight against death. For them, death is an accident that hinders the expedition, not a final destination.

When Liu Yu heard these words, he was still encouraged by Bering.

"If you are sure enough, if you have enough supplies in Mexico and Peru, then go to the southern continent. If not, then return from Luzon. ”

"You're not too old to fight the sea for a while. I have heard that the English have made nautical clocks, and perhaps this time when you come back, I will pay 100,000 taels of silver from England to buy them, and perhaps you can make the most accurate nautical charts with latitude and longitude in fact. ”

"So, come back as far as you can."

Given a great temptation, Liu Yu knew what this kind of explorer craved. Bering swallowed a mouthful of saliva, extremely excited by this temptation, and nodded, "Yes, yes." I'll try to come back alive. ”