Chapter 237: Amerigo is going to India

This time to India, Marin arranged a total of 8 ships, all of which were ships of more than 200 tons, and each ship could carry about 120 tons of cargo. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. biquge。 info8 vessels with a total capacity of 960 tons of cargo.

Marlin had already arranged that in addition to the 50,000 pounds of rated spices, Marlin would buy saltpeter as much as he could, this time 600 tons of saltpeter. In addition, 100 tons of copper and 50 tons of tin were to be purchased. For the rest, they bought some Ranh slaves and sent them to Grenada to farm.

In addition, there is a need to bring in a group of Indian craftsmen and women who are proficient in cotton spinning, as well as some cotton spinning machinery. After all, there is a difference between cotton spinning and wool spinning, and Indians are good at spinning cotton cloth and know how to grow cotton.

It just so happened that Marin was going to grow upland cotton, so he simply got some farmers from India who knew how to grow cotton, women who knew how to spin cotton, and craftsmen who knew how to make cotton spinning machinery.

In addition, the fleet also needed to send someone to ask the two kings of Spain to exchange the territory of Cuba Island with Columbus, report to the two kings of Spain, and by the way, go through the transfer procedures to determine their own control over the island of Cuba and the control of the Isthmus of Panama.

Once control of the island was confirmed, Marin was ready to start a sugar cane plantation on the island. At the same time, rice and cotton can be grown on the island of Cuba and developed into a production base.

You must know that most of the island of Cuba is plain, which is very suitable for the development of plantation. Moreover, the Taíno people (a branch of the Arawaks) on the island were more friendly and not as aggressive as the Indians on the North American continent.

Marin intends to infiltrate the island of Cuba by means of co-optation and coaxing and gradually complete its control over the island. Then, plantations were opened on the island.

In addition, nickel mines in the mountainous coastal areas of the southeast coast of the island of Cuba are also one of Marin's coveted targets. As long as you have nickel, you can make white copper. As for what white copper does? Do you need to ask? Make "silver coins"......

In order to transport more people, Marin thought about it, and increased the total number of ships from 8 to 10, so as not to have enough goods and people to transport.

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As for the freshwater preservation method, it is naturally the cauldron cooking method. Specifically, first set up a large pot and boil the water. Then, it is put into oak barrels, corked and crusted. In this way, boiled fresh water, in sealed oak barrels, can be stored for several months without spoiling. Unlike under normal circumstances, fresh water is put in a bucket and spoiled in seven days.

In addition, the lemon orchards in Genoa also brought a large number of chopped lemon leaves, so that the sailors could soak in hot water in their nautical charts to avoid scurvy.

However, Columbus told Marin that he had sailed with the Spanish fleet before, and that there were almost no deaths in the Columbus fleet, which attracted the attention of the Spaniards. This time, if a few more people died, the Spaniards would definitely have to find out why.

For this reason, Marin came up with a very good idea, which would not only fool the Spaniards, but also make them increase the cost of sailing. The solution is the rum law......

Of course, this does not mean telling the Spaniards to prepare rum. Rum hasn't appeared yet, but you can tell the Spaniards to prepare spirits......

Before the advent of modern freshwater insurance technology, European voyages relied on sufficient reserves of strong rum for a long time to cope with the deterioration of freshwater.

Generally speaking, the routes of the early voyages of the Great Voyage were as close to land as possible. In this way, it is convenient for ships to dock in time to find freshwater rivers and replace fresh freshwater in the case of deterioration of freshwater reserves.

Sometimes, however, it is inevitable that the fresh water will not be replaced for a long time. For example, if you don't see land for at least a month or two across the Atlantic, you will certainly not be able to guarantee that fresh water will be replaced in time. From Malindi on the east coast of Africa, across the Arabian Sea to India, it was also impossible to see land and replace fresh water in time for a long time. And drinking spoiled fresh water is very fatal.

Later, navigators discovered that when sailing with spirits, spirits were not easily spoiled. As a result, rum became the favorite and most practical nautical drink of sailors and pirates.

In the vast sea, when the fresh water has deteriorated and cannot be replaced, sailors will drink rum to replenish their water. Of course, it is also mixed with boiled spoiled fresh water. Otherwise, there is simply not enough rum to drink. And under the cover of the smell of spirits, those spoiled and smelly fresh water can barely be eaten......

Marin urgently took out a lot of barrels of dark beer, and after processing, distilled thousands of barrels of rye soju, which were divided into various boats.

Of course, it was not really given to the sailors to drink, but to fool the Spaniards. As soon as the Spaniards came to their ship, Marin asked the sailors to start drinking rye soju. Then the captains mysteriously told the Spaniards that this was the secret of our voyage that did not die very much. After all, we don't drink bad water, you often drink bad water that has deteriorated, and the immortal is to blame...... Of course, the more cost-effective trick of mixing spirits with boiled spoiled fresh water will not be told to the Spaniards...... After all, the purpose of the puppets is to make the Spaniards spend more money......

However, it was true that this method was taught to the Spaniards and that it would reduce the mortality rate of the voyagers. However, Marin was not at ease. Not to mention anything else, how expensive is food now? Why do you make food into soju? How much does that cost? If each ship carried hundreds of barrels of soju with it when it sailed, the cost would be sky-high...... When the time comes, the profit will be greatly reduced......

Grain prices in Spain were already expensive, reaching a high level of 2 fennig per pound of rye. If they were taught this method of losing the family, although a few fewer people died, the cost of navigation would be very high. Moreover, Marin did not tell them the secret of scurvy, and those who deserve to die of scurvy will still die......

But on the contrary, after Marin came up with this method, the Spaniards still had to admit his feelings. Moreover, the real reason for the low number of dead in the Marin fleet can also be concealed.

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However, it seems that the last time Columbus led the way for the Spanish fleet, he did not know about Leonardo da Vinci's invention of the sextant, and there was no marine clock.

Therefore, on this voyage, Marin still needs the help of Columbus. But Columbus is now too weak to go into battle again. Therefore, Marin sent some of Columbus's most powerful assistants, who had sailed to India on his last voyage, to continue to lead the Spanish fleet.

Although the coordinates were not recorded, those Columbus's assistants could have relied on Columbus's logbook and their own sailing experience to lead the fleet to India well. When they have recorded the coordinates clearly this time, they can easily do it by sending a captain on their next voyage.

As the fleet was about to depart, Amerigo suddenly found Marin......

"What? Are you going on a voyage to India? Marin was a little surprised.

"Yes, my lord, I yearn for the legendary rich India, and I hope to go to India too!"

This is the thinking of navigators, and there is no possibility of merit for Americago's trip. Because, the first discovery right has been taken by Columbus. However, India is described by Westerners as a paradise, and as a great navigator, Amerigo was a little unable to sit still and wanted to see it.

Marin looked at Amerigo with a longing face, and suddenly remembered a very popular sentence among travelers in his previous life - "The world is so big, I want to go and see ......"

Speaking of which, these great navigators are especially enthusiastic travelers......

"Well, since you want to go so much, I'll agree. I'll ask Christopher (Columbus) to give you his logbook. As you sail, you and Christopher's assistants make decisions and record the coordinates of the voyage. In addition, I will transfer two Class 250 armed merchant ships, as the flagship, you will stay on the armed merchant ships, and make sure to ensure your own safety! ”

Amerigo was his own treasure, and Marin didn't want him to be in danger. For this reason, Marin, who had not planned to show the 250-class armed merchant ships to the Spaniards, still allocated two 250-class armed merchant ships to protect the safety of America. Although some secrets may be seen by the Spaniards, it doesn't matter. After all, he still had a 500-ton "Hoffman-class" battleship that he didn't show to the Spaniards.

"Thank you!" Amerigo, an avid navigator, quickly went back to pack up his everything, then joined the fleet and boarded a 250-class armed merchant ship and set sail for India......