Zhu Houzhao saw that Zhang Yanling so firmly believed that the earth was a sphere, and he also smiled with satisfaction.

In Zhu Houzhao's view, it is very meaningful to convince the people of the Ming Dynasty to recognize the concept of "earth", so that they can begin to learn to question some of the concepts of the ancients, and even the different hypotheses of the ancients, and let them know that they need to be verified through practice, which is very helpful for the development of the thinking of the Han people.

In addition, convincing the people of the Ming Dynasty in the concept of "earth" can also really broaden the horizons of the Ming people, convincing them that their empire is not the center of the world, and the outside world is still very large, and there is even a lot of wealth and resources that can be mined.

The property brought back from the ocean voyage proves this, and the concept of "earth" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which is to let the people of the Ming Dynasty know in theory and consciousness that the Ming Empire is not a central country, and there are still many resources outside that need to be seized by the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Xia Yan and Zhang Yanling were undoubtedly the first to recognize the concept of "earth", especially Xia Yan, as a politician, he thought further than Zhang Yanling about how the Ming Dynasty should deal with this great geographical discovery.

Therefore, Xia Yan immediately surrendered his hand at this time: "Your Majesty, can you borrow the globe on Your Majesty's desk to use?" ”

Xia Yan smoothly called the wooden globe on Zhu Houzhao's desk as a globe, and Zhu Houzhao didn't feel embarrassed, only nodded.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xia Yan came to the globe as he spoke, pointed to the globe and said: "Your Majesty, please see, there is no doubt that the earth is a sphere now, in this case, the land above it may really exist, if the continent south of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) really exists, and if the land of the Antarctic, the land of the Arctic, and the continent (South America) through which the Marquis of Jianchang passed also exists, then we can't take it lightly!"

And according to the voyages of the ministers and the Marquis of Jianchang over the years, there are not many people and towns on many lands, such as the land of Africa, and even the voyage records of the Duke of Sanbao mention that their fleet has been to a continent south of the Spice Islands (Australia), and there are almost no people, so there are still many people in the world who have not set foot in the land.

And now, the country of Xiyi is like a Buddha machine, then set up monuments everywhere to say that it is their territory, I can not follow the Ming Dynasty, do not hear that the whole world is not the king's land, and the coast of the land is not the king's minister, I have to occupy these uninhabited or wild lands as soon as possible, otherwise I am afraid that in the future, in vain let the country of Xiyi get the first opportunity, if the Mongolia of the two Song Dynasty in the year, eventually become a big disaster in my Central Plains!

Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to immediately train and strengthen the army, rejuvenate the sea, and expand the territory of my Ming Dynasty before the country of Xiyi divides up the earth, and realize my Ming Dynasty with the benefits of the four seas! ”

After Xia Yan finished speaking, he arched his hand and looked at Zhu Houzhao with emotion.

Zhang Yanling also arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, Xia Shilang is right, those three or four ships in the country of Xiyi dare to open up territory (three ships when da Gama opened up a new route) to open up the territory and return full of gold, even if my father-in-law of Sanbao went to the West back then, there were more than 200 ships and more than 20,000 officers and soldiers, how could I lose to them!" The minister also asks His Majesty to assign all the new continents to the Ming Dynasty! ”

"Quasi-play!"

Zhu Houzhao has long wanted to turn the Ming Dynasty into an empire on which the sun never sets, but because many people have not taken the initiative to put it forward, he can only rely on the power of his emperor to use the administrative order to open the sea to colonize.

After Zhu Houzhao agreed, Xia Yan and Zhang Yanling hurriedly said in unison: "Your Majesty Shengming!" ”

However, next, Xia Yan and Zhang Yanling also secretly laughed in their hearts what His Majesty would do next.

Zhu Houzhao only looked at Liu Jin: "Prepare ink, draft purpose!" ”

As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao said: "Tell the world that all the land and sea on the earth are owned by the Ming royal family, and only the people of the Ming Dynasty can use the right to reclaim and settle these lands and seas after obtaining the emperor's permission, as well as the high altitude on these lands and seas, which is also the airspace of my Ming Dynasty!" ”

Xia Yan couldn't help but be surprised, he glanced at the globe and found that His Majesty's words were equivalent to turning the entire earth into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Houzhao thought to himself that Portugal and Spain had signed a treaty to divide the world at this time, saying that the west of the Atlantic Ocean belonged to Spain, and the east of the Atlantic Ocean belonged to Portugal, and even Spain directly claimed that the territories adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean belonged to the Spanish royal family, and as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, how could they let their ambitions succeed, and the world could only belong to the Ming Dynasty!

As for that treaty, can it be considered a treaty without a treaty recognized by the Ming Empire, even if it is presided over by the Pope, the Ming Dynasty does not have to give him the face of the Pope.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao directly issued such a will, and directly instructed Xia Yan: "Now, I appoint you Xia Yan as the Minister of Nanyang and the Admiral of the Guards Admiralty, the Governor of Maritime Military and Political Affairs, and the rank of Secretary of the Military Department, responsible for overseeing all shipping routes and new territory construction (colony construction) of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Xia Yan didn't expect that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would let him directly take charge of this maritime affairs, and he was naturally very excited in his heart: "The minister's decree!" Thank you, Your Majesty! ”

"Zhang Yanling, the Marquis of Jianchang, listened to the order, and I named you the Duke of Changguo in recognition of your achievements in circumnavigating the world, and I decided to name that section of the strait in South America as the Jianchang Strait, set up Jianchang Province, set up three divisions, and appointed you Zhang Yanling, the governor of Jianchang, to open up the territory for my Ming Dynasty! How big the jurisdiction of Jianchang Province is, it depends on how much territory you Changguo Gong can open up! ”

Zhu Houzhao instructed Zhang Yanling.

Although he had to risk his life again to stay away from his hometown, and even to go to a wild place, seeing that Zhu Houzhao wanted to give himself the title of duke of the country, and let a relative of his relatives be a rogue official, Zhang Yanling did not have any intention of refusing, and he was busy and thanked.

Xia Yan originally wanted to persuade Emperor Zhu Houzhao not to let a relative be a rogue official, but when he thought that the land of America was far away from the ocean, he didn't have to worry about his relatives interfering in politics if he let his relatives go to such a place to be an official, and now Zhang Yanling was the one who really had experience in navigating South America, so he didn't say anything.

"Now, Xia Qing, you need to build more shipyards as soon as possible, build more warships, and at the same time have a reserve of ordnance, grain and grass, and you also need to train more sailors and naval officers and soldiers for me, and my uncle obeys Xia Qing's dispatch, recuperates, and is ready to open up territory for me and Daming at any time!"

Zhu Houzhao called the two to a map as he spoke: "Come and see, here in Liangguang, there is a place called Haojing (Macao), which is the port developed by Lin Tingxuan, Wang Hong and others in Liangguang, and this place has the hope of controlling four shipping routes in the future;

The first is the route to Siam - Manraka - Goa (Indian Woya) - Cape Verde;

the second is the route to Japan;

the third is the Luzon-South America route;

The fourth is the route to the Spice Islands.

In this way, Ho Jing can undoubtedly become a shipping center to countries around the world.

And now, what we have to do is to use the mirror as a starting point to control these four shipping routes in our hands, as long as we control these four shipping routes, most of the commercial profits of the entire earth will be in our hands, and at the same time, we can also establish a stronghold with this to control the Atlantic Ocean in the future!

So, Xia Qing, you need to go to Haojing now, and be sure to build it there into my Ming shipping center!

And uncle, you are in South America, and now we have bases in Ceuta and Cape Verde, and I will send ministers to the continent south of the Spice Islands when the time comes, so that with Hao Jing as the center, South America, Ceuta, Cape Verde and the continent to the south as a stronghold, I can turn the entire Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean into my Ming Inland Sea! ”

As soon as Zhu Houzhao said this, Xia Yan couldn't help but get excited: "Your Majesty, since this is the case, now we need to gradually open up and control these four routes in our hands, first of all, it should be the route from Haojing to Goa and then to Cape Verde and Ceuta, India's pepper, sumac, ivory, sandalwood and other products can be directly transported to Haojing by my Ming officials and private merchants to exchange for Ming soap, glass, porcelain, silk, and then transported to Ottoman and Xiyi to exchange for silver!" ”

"The route from Haojing to South America is also very important, and now only my Ming ship has been there, the minister can directly transport the silver from South America back, as well as their cloves and ebony can also be directly transported back, the minister saw that there are boundless giant trees there, and countless silver mines when he sailed!"

Zhang Yanling said.

"What you said makes sense, Xia Qing, you go to Haojing to start thinking of a way to gradually take the route from Haojing to Ceuta to me from the Francophone, and I want to go to the Mediterranean Sea in ten years to see;

And uncle, you have to establish this route from the Ming Dynasty to South America for me now, and it is best to kill the Franco-Rang people you see in the future, and then turn the land there into my Ming territory, where there is a narrow strait (the Panama Strait), and I will occupy it, and in the future I can build a navigable sea route from there! ”

As soon as Zhu Houzhao said this, Xia Yan and Zhang Yanling hurriedly bowed their hands and said: "The ministers are in order!" ”

Zhu Houzhao didn't say more, although he has now made a series of instructions, but this kind of global business is not something that can be done, first of all, it will take at least half a year to arrange and train manpower, build warships, guns, and raise food.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao put this matter aside first, and only continued to ask Zhang Yanling: "Have you brought back the sweet potatoes?" ”

"Bring back a boat, the minister has already bought a piece of land in Taiwan, let people cultivate it first, and brought a batch into Beijing, Your Majesty can taste it, it is indeed quite sweet," Zhang Yanling said.

"No need, all to the agricultural science of the Daming Academy of Sciences to research and cultivate, and then promote it as soon as possible, the most important thing for Daming in the future is food."

Zhu Houzhao said.