Marin's guards brought Columbus back to Aurich's palace three days later, and when he returned, Columbus was still covered in alcohol.

Marin was amazed, wasn't Columbus now the principal of the Captain's School? Why did it take three days to get back? I can't use it for a day when I come back from the captain's school by the sea. Could it be that he took the cadets out to sea for sea trials?

But when I heard the report of the guard, it was not like that at all......

It turned out that Columbus went to Las Vegas to drink flower wine. Moreover, it was invited by Amerigo......

According to the guards, when they rushed to Las Vegas to find Columbus and Amerigo, both of them were sleeping with their slick hairy girls in their arms.

Although they were both admirable navigators, neither Columbus nor Amerigo were upright men. Amerigo is better, Columbus is purely a villain and a pervert. Amerigo called a hairy girl to sleep, while Columbus called two......

Moreover, because Marin has a lot of food in his hands and a lot of wine production, there are quite a lot of spirits in Las Vegas. The two great navigators not only slept with Mao Mei, but also drank a lot of wine.

As a result, Columbus was awakened with a drunken body and not yet sober. Finally, as a last resort, when they returned, the guards arranged a shock-absorbing carriage and brought Columbus back all the way.

There were no concrete roads along the way, not even Roman roads. Therefore, even if it is a shock-absorbing carriage, it is up and down, at most the bumps are not intense, and the carriage will not have a "hard landing". In this way, Columbus was wrapped in a quilt in the carriage of the shock-absorbing carriage, and returned to Aurich "seven up and eight down". Miraculously, this thing slept soundly all the way......

Moreover, when he came to see Marin in the morning, Columbus had arrived from Aurich's mansion on his own horse. When I came, I was still full of alcohol.

Marin sniffed his nose and said:

"Christopher, do you know if you are drunk driving?"|Marin bets that Columbus was full of alcohol and was caught by the traffic police, so he had to deduct all his points......

"Drunk driving? What do you mean? Columbus didn't react for a moment.

Marin patted his head, forgetting that this is ancient times, and he doesn't even have a driver's license. Then, he skipped the topic directly. Although Columbus was confused, the boss didn't want to talk about it, so he gave up.

Marin looked at Columbus and said:

"Christopher, I have an important task for you right now, would you like it?"

Columbus shook his head to make himself more sober, and then replied solemnly:

"Yes, Grand Duke! By the way, are you looking for a route to China? ”

Under the previous agreement, the Americas were named after America. But the merits of discovering India and China are all attributed to Columbus. Of course, that refers to the right of first discovery in Huaxia. Columbus was responsible for continuing eastward from India, across the Strait of Malacca, to India. America, on the other hand, traveled across the Pacific Ocean from Panama in search of the Ming route.

"No, I'm planning for you to discover the coastal harbor on the other side of the Devil's Sea. After all, our ships cannot pass by land. So, I need you to take the fleet and look for the port over there. In order to confuse other countries, Marin deliberately called the Pacific Ocean the Devil's Sea. In this way, those explorers can be frightened. This was clear to both Columbus and Amerigo.

Marin took out a map, pointed out the outline of South America, and pointed out the location of Panama. As for the Chilean side, Marin did not immediately ask for a landing on Chilean soil. After all, Chile was now controlled by the Inca Empire, and if it landed, it would inevitably clash with the Inca Empire. So, Marin's plan was to find an island off the coast of central Chile as a foothold and a freshwater recharge. Then, using this as a springboard, he sought to attack the Inca Empire on the continent.

Alternatively, avoid conflicts with the Inca Empire. Because, the Inca Empire expanded along the Andes. The water-rich areas off the coast of Chile were certainly under the control of the Inca Empire. However, the desert region in northern Chile, because there was no fresh water, the Inca Empire did not send troops to control it. Moreover, there is no one living there.

As long as Marin has a small island that replenishes fresh water as a base, it is enough to transport fresh water to Iquique. As for where Iquique is, Marin is still very clear. Because, in later generations, there is an unreliable legend about Iquique - it is said that tens of thousands of Taiping soldiers once mined there and joined the Chilean army, helped Chile defeat Peru and Bolivia, and then settled in Iquique......

Although this legend is not reliable, it has also attracted the attention of Marin. Marin even searched for information on Iquique for this purpose, and knew its latitude - 20 degrees 7 minutes 0 seconds south latitude...... At the same time, Marin remembers the dimension of the port of Antofagasta, south of Iquique, 23 degrees 39 minutes south latitude......

There are saltpeter mines near Iquique, and the reserves are huge, otherwise Iquique would not be so famous. As for Antofagasta, it's even more hanging, the city, itself was founded as a result of the discovery of silver mines. Moreover, there are also a lot of saltpeter mines nearby. A little further afield, there is the famous world-class copper mine - Chuki Kamata Copper Mine.

In later generations, Chilean saltpeter was basically exported through these two large ports. So, as long as you find these two ports, you can find saltpeter.

Of course, the first task now is not to find these two ports, but to find the transit islands first. This island will serve as a resting place for the fleet and a place to replenish fresh water. Then, the fleet continued north, without replenishing fresh water, to Panama City. In the future, the island will even become a point of fresh water for Iquique.

Marin would have a freshwater production site set up on the island, where oak barrels filled with fresh water would be heated in large cauldrons. Finally, the barrel is stuffed and breathed as you would a can. The only difference from canned food is that the can cork is air-closed with beeswax. Fresh water buckets, on the other hand, are sealed with mud to hold their breath. This is a sealed bottle of fresh water, which is produced like a boiled can, and can be stored for several months. After being transported to Iquique, it can also be transported to the desert to be drunk by saltpeter miners......

After explaining in detail, Columbus looked left and right at the map. After reading it, Columbus said:

"Grand Duke, this simple voyage along the coast of the mainland to find a route does not seem to be necessary for me and Amerigo......"

Marin was stunned and asked:

"What do you mean? You don't want to go? Speaking of this, Marin was a little unhappy in his heart.

Columbus waved his hand again and again:

"No, Grand Duke. I mean, this kind of sailing entirely along the coastline is relatively simple, and it doesn't need me and America at all. Just take one of my good students from the captain's school, and it will be enough to complete the task. ”

"Will this work?" Marin was still a little uneasy. In these years, the Great Voyage is so difficult, if the mission fails, it will be a waste of time.

"Totally doable!" Columbus said categorically. Then he added:

"The reason why it works is because of the technical ...... provided by you."

"You mean ......"

"Yes, it's the sextant and the clockwork you made the Grand Duke. With these two things, our captains can calculate latitude and longitude at any time. In this way, as long as it is not a voyage deep into the ocean, the average sailor who knows how to use a sextant and a sailing clock, and makes calculations, is enough to meet this goal. ”

Marin thought about it, especially to the old route, where the latitude and longitude were marked. As long as you follow the coordinates left by the pioneers of the exploration route and calculate all the way to the navigation against each other, there will definitely be no problem.

As for finding Panama along the coastline of the South American continent, it doesn't seem too difficult.

First of all, Columbus had already discovered the Caribbean. The coordinates of Grenada were also recorded by America. Later captains, as long as they knew how to measure and calculate latitude and longitude using sextants and marine clocks, could reach Grenada very smoothly.

Then, from Grenada, it travels south, crosses Trinidad and Tobago, travels south along the east coast of the Americas, goes to Tierra del Fuego, crosses the Strait of Magellan, and then travels north along the southern coast of the South American continent. It is expected that with the cooperation of telescopes, as long as you keep observing the land, it is easy to go all the way north.

Finally, it's easy to get to Panama Bay, facing due south, and find the area where Panama City is located. If you can't do it, you can first establish yourself on Taboga Island in the Bay of Panama near Panama City, and then wait until Uncle Black cuts down trees to this side of the Pacific Ocean, and then joins it. It's important to get a foothold first......

"And who do you think is up to the task?" Marin thought for a moment and asked.

"I'll look at Captain Ben!" Columbus thought for a moment and then said.

"Ben? Bald Aben? Marin remembered the young Frisian fisherman who resembled the star of later generations. The shiny bald head is very dazzling......

At the beginning, Marin, who had just obtained the island of Texel as a fief, had known the honest young fisherman very early. Unexpectedly, after so many years, the bald Aben can become a captain in his own right......

"Yes, Ben looks silly, but he's actually very smart, good at math, and skilled at calculating latitude and longitude. It's okay for him to lead the team. ”

Marin thought about it, agreed to Columbus's suggestion, sent someone to find the bald Arben, and decided to lead the team to find Chile and the Pacific coast of Panama. Of course, it is also necessary to find a small island with fresh water off the coast of Chile as a transit point and a freshwater recharge point......

After talking about Ben's arrangement, Marin turned the conversation back to Columbus:

"Christopher, you've rested enough, haven't you?"

"Yes, almost!" Although he was still reluctant to live a corrupt life in Las Vegas, Columbus knew that it was time for him to go out.

Because, the time has come to explore the Daming route......