On the second day of the second month of the fifth year of Xingqian, at sunset, the fleet had sailed almost 100 nautical miles that day. But the land still did not appear, and the people who had seen hope were once again upset, because they had seen too many signs of land.

Is it another empty joy?

In the end, all the pressure was on Xu Yunxian's body, he stood on the bridge, staring at the sea, his expression was solemn, and Fang Zhonglu on the side just looked at him and did not speak.

Just when the atmosphere on the boat was getting more and more tense, Xu Yunxian, who was holding the side of the gunwale, suddenly shouted loudly.

"Adjust the heading ......"

At the sound of his command, the helmsman changed the course to the northeast.

"Captain?"

Fang Zhonglu looked at Xu Yunxian with some surprise, and some didn't understand why he did this-sailing to the northeast, it was very likely that he would sail away from the Black Tide.

"Look...... There! ”

Xu Yunxian pointed to the distance, and saw a black cloud in the air flying in the northeast direction, it was not a dark cloud, but a huge flock of birds.

"Sail with them!"

In the history of world navigation, flocks of birds have served as guides countless times, the Portuguese discovered the Azores because they watched the direction of their flight, and Columbus discovered the Americas because of the flocks of birds.

And the next thing turned out that Xu Yunxian's judgment was correct, because these North American birds are busy with spring migration, and they are flying north in flocks, to Alaska and other places in the future.

Xu Yunxian told him directly that he should sail with these birds, and no longer sail according to the erroneous Japanese chart in his hand. He didn't know what this decision meant for the voyage, but it was actually an extremely important one, because when he decided to sail in the direction in which the seabirds were flying, it was the time when the Kuroshio turned south, and if they continued to sail, they would arrive in Mexico, the Spanish colony, in half a month.

Such a result is certainly not what this voyage is pursuing, nor is it what Daming needs. Often, many times, as it is, some fortuitous factors will determine the future.

The next day, the fleet sailed out of the Kuroshio, and it was at this time that a strong wind blew on the sea, and a strong wind blew all day, but the waves were stronger than at any time of the voyage, and the ship shook violently on the sea. On this day, the fleet sailed a total of 100 nautical miles. Signs of land are also increasing, appearing with such frequency that every sailor becomes more and more excited.

In addition to dead trees, what really excites you is the appearance of young twigs, wildflowers, and even a small stick that clearly shows signs of being processed, which can only be found offshore, especially the former. The appearance of these things put an end to the complaints of the people and convinced everyone in the fleet that they were about to arrive on land.

"We're here!"

Holding the wild flower that had not yet withered in his hand, Xu Yunxian said to Fang Zhongzhen.

"We will be on land in two days at most!"

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, in order to ensure safety, Xu Yunxian ordered everyone to be on duty with special care, and carefully search the land to prevent it from being missed due to negligence.

The period from dusk to the morning of the fourth day of February was probably one of the most important times in the history of Ming navigation, and many sailors did not sleep all night, while Xu Yunxian always stood on the deck and observed everything ahead and around him.

On the fifth day of February, the flotilla was accelerating, and the "Anping" was in the lead, its sails reflecting the moonlight in the moonlight. Wang Jie, who was standing on the lookout on the foredeck of the "Anping", vaguely saw something like a hanging rock on the western horizon in the moonlight, and then saw another one. However, he was not sure, and gradually he discovered that the black line connecting the Rock was a land line.

"Land! Land! ”

After confirming his discovery, Wang Jie shouted excitedly, this time he really saw the land. According to his calculations, the fleet was about six nautical miles from land at the most.

The fleet was heading straight for the downwind coast of land. Seo wisely ordered all but the mainsail to fall on every boat. With the sharp turn of the mainsail and the wind on the port side of the ship, the whole fleet sailed slowly from the shore and from shore until dawn.

"Here we are, here we are!"

The sailors on the ship shouted excitedly, Fang Zhonglu, who was the sponsor of the voyage, was also extremely excited, and his two students were even more excited and shouted at the land.

We're here!

In the excited cheers of everyone, Fang Zhongshu took out a cigar and handed it to Xu Yunxian and said.

"A cigar,"

"Aren't you a non-smoker?"

Cigars are also smoke, but Daming does not produce cigars, but from the Americas, known as "Cigar". However, His Majesty seems to have some preference for this, and even gave it a special name "cigar" - Cigar's burning is as white as snow, and Cigar's tobacco rolls are like eggplant, and the name cigar!

Seeing that Xu Yunxian was a little surprised, Fang Zhongxu said.

"This cigar was sent by His Majesty after learning of this voyage, saying that when we arrive in the Americas, we can swallow the clouds and smoke in the place where it is produced......"

As he spoke, Xu Yunxian lit a cigar, his eyes were fixed on the mainland, and he knew that at this moment, everything would change.

When the fleet was about to approach land, Xu Yunxian asked the entire fleet to turn around and keep a safe distance from the coast to avoid being unfamiliar with the coast and causing the ship to run aground and be damaged, which is the basic knowledge that any captain must master.

"You say, have any Westerners ever been here?"

Staring at the shore in front of him and exhaling a puff of smoke, Seo Yoon-hyun asked.

Facing his question, Fang Zhonglu just smiled slightly, then stared at the coast and said.

"No matter what place this is, we will occupy it in the name of the Great Ming!"

Unbeknownst to them, the first land in the Americas they saw, known in another time and space as Vancouver Island, is located on the Pacific coast and is the largest island on the west coast of the North American continent, across the sea from the North American continent. It is ever-changing, with different climates and vegetation every few miles. And the island is surrounded by dangerous reefs, and if it weren't for Seo Yoon-hyun's caution, maybe the boat would have crashed into the reef off the coast.

At the fourth day of February, it was already dawn, but the fleet was still drifting along the coast, and when it reached the southwest corner of the island, it found a wide strait, and the fleet re-raised its sails and began to sail into the strait. After entering the channel, the fleet was not very fast, and after sailing for a few more hours, it entered a sheltered bay, which in another time and space was called "Victoria", the capital of Vancouver.

In this wide natural harbor with no reefs in sight, the fleet found an anchorage with a depth of more than ten fathoms.

"Stop right here!"

Just as Xu Yunxian gave this order, suddenly, the lookout hand shouted loudly.

"Someone!"

His shout caused the sailors on the ship to take up their weapons one after another, and they not only picked up the muskets, but even rushed to the cannon and operated the cannon.

On the coast, several natives were seen, dressed in robes made of fur, which indicated that the island was inhabited.

Someone!

Could it be that this is a Spanish colony?

"What now?"

Xu Yunxian looked at Fang Zhongxu, although he was the captain, Fang Zhongxu was the commander-in-chief of this voyage, and now he needed to ask for his opinion.

"Ashore!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Zhonglu stared at the few savages on the beach and said.

"Let's go ashore! It doesn't matter if it's someone else's territory, it's important to figure out what kind of place it is! ”

Only by figuring out what kind of place is it can we determine what to do with this area.

So, Fang Zhongxu took a few seamen and began to land in an armed boat flying to see the Ming flag, and Guan Tianfang followed him as a guard. Seo Yoon-hyun and Yang Sung, who were the captains, also went ashore in their respective dinghies. Their dinghys were all planted with the flag of the Ming Dynasty, and the sailors even wore armor that had been obsolete early in the Ming Dynasty - for the natives, the armor did not come from the weapons of the Zenith, but could withstand the weapons of the natives.

There is no trace of civilization at all!

After entering the island, the natives disappeared, but everyone knew that they did not disappear.

"They're hiding in the forest, be careful!"

Guan Tianfang held the scabbard in his left hand, his eyes staring at the forest where there was still snow, and he believed that the natives were staring at them.

"What if those natives come out?"

Holding the firearm in his hand, Wang Jie immediately thought of the headhunters he had seen in Taiwan, and he immediately said nervously.

"Shoot, kill, kill!"

In order to protect themselves, it is undoubtedly the best choice to do it first, in case these natives are also the same as those headhunters, they are cannibals, and they are happy to hunt heads?

"They don't do it, and we don't need to!"

Fang Zhonglu shook his head and vetoed the sailor's proposal.

"Not only can't you do that, but you have to try to live in peace with them, at least for now! Okay, Captain Xu and Captain Yang, I believe that this should be a borderland, let's hold a meeting! ”

The so-called ritual is to declare this borderless land through a symbolic ceremony, and henceforth it will be owned by the Ming Dynasty. As for the natives...... No one will consider them the owners of the land.

When they performed the ceremony, the local natives who had taken refuge in the forest began to gather around, these five natives of different ages, they were dressed in rudimentary furs, and when they saw them coming, no one moved, without orders.

Guan Tianfang looked at the natives who came around, and found that they were only holding wooden sticks with stone chips in their hands, and they were also very cautious, when the five natives came over cautiously, Guan Tianfang squeezed out a smile at a person, took out a glass ball like magic, and signaled to one of the natives.

"Hello ......"

At this moment, he didn't know that he was the first Ming person to come into contact with the indigenous people of North America, just like Fang Zhonglu, who was announcing that he was the first to arrive in Ameria, in fact, on the other side of the continent, the banner of the Ming had already been raised there......