Zhu Zhanji didn't know that he was unwilling to stay in the Majapahit Kingdom for a long time, and the ministers of the Majapahit Kingdom did not want him to stay here for a long time.

Not to mention anything else, the fleet that occupies the entire bay and can't see the edge at a glance is enough to make the people of Majapahit fear of the Ming Dynasty.

The Majapahit Kingdom's sea ships of more than 2,000 stone were already their largest ships.

Moreover, relying on the bonded hull, it can only sail in the windless area on both sides of the equator, and does not dare to go out of this range at all, because a storm may disintegrate the hull.

Da Ming is a behemoth, a behemoth that makes everyone fear.

Seeing that Daming's fleet finally left, Yanvisisa no longer had to control his emotions and breathed a long sigh of relief.

In the past month, since arriving in Star City, knowing that the Bengkulu tribe had lost the war without any resistance, it was inevitable that all the tribes of the South Seas would have a cold feeling.

The original Majapahit was not afraid of the Ming Dynasty, and a few decades ago, they also defeated Meng Yuan.

But now, the Ming Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger, and the musket that can hurt people in the air is a sharp weapon that cannot be resisted at all.

Yanwisisha was also frightened.

Daming held that competitive competition, and Yang Weixisha saw it from beginning to end, and he didn't care about those competitions of personal force.

Anyway, the Ming Dynasty is already outnumbered, and the countries of the South Seas can only rely on geography and climate, and even hide to deal with them.

It's three points stronger, or five points stronger, it doesn't matter much.

Anyway, it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to stay in Nanyang forever, and they will naturally go back if they can't afford it.

He was most concerned about the new muskets and artillery of the Ming Dynasty.

The musket can wound people from a distance of 100 meters, and at this distance, if it is hit by a vital point, it is certain to die.

And their new artillery is even more amazing, it can even hit three or four miles. Like the Majapahit ships, because the wood is soft and the structure is not tight, as long as it is shelled, it will be destroyed.

When the Ming Dynasty's artillery bombardment competition began, the countries of Nanyang were even more depressed, and even their cities could not resist this kind of huge artillery.

Seeing that the army of the Ming Dynasty was so majestic and unstoppable, these days, Yang Weixisha has been pressing a big stone in his heart.

And this His Royal Highness the Grand Sun made him feel even more frightened, no one had ever put so much pressure on him.

He turned around and ordered: "Immediately form an embassy and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty." This time, I will go to Daming in person to see the greatness of the Heavenly Empire. I will do everything in my power to obtain a way to make muskets, so that all the warriors of Majapahit may also use muskets. ”

From the Java Sea to the Banda Sea, the fleet sailed slowly against the winds of the southeast monsoon.

These two seas are full of reefs and small islands, and the fleet can only follow the long snake formation, and can only have a maximum of three sea ships in parallel.

The Sea of Java is the shallowest sea in the world, with an average depth of only 50 meters. Because of its location at the equator, it is also the mildest sea in the world.

However, when the fleet passed through the Lesser Sunda Islands and entered the Banda Sea, the different water depths caused many undercurrents here, and the sailors were very skilled in sailing.

After a week's voyage, the fleet finally arrived in Ambon, the capital of the Maluku Kingdom.

This is the corner between the two islands, and the city is built at the inner end of the corner. Although it was the capital of Maluku, it was only a city with a population of less than 400,000 in later generations, and in this era, the population only exceeded 20,000, which was not as big as a county town in the Ming Dynasty.

The fleet brought the porcelain, tea, and cloth they needed to the Malugu Kingdom, and Zhu Zhanji was also welcomed by the whole Malugu Kingdom.

But the city is too small to meet the needs of the fleet, and even the fresh water that supplies the fleet, they can't provide it.

Moreover, the spice purchasing point set up by the Ming in Maluku is not here, but in the North Maluku Islands, which is the main production area of spices.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji didn't even get off the boat, but only met with the Maluku royal family on the boat, and then set off to leave Ambon.

Since then, there has been no civilization on the voyage of the fleet, and all the routes need to be explored by themselves.

In the past, the determination of the route was a very difficult task, as it involved complex positioning calculations.

In the vast sea, when there are islands, you can still make a positioning, and when there are no islands, you can only rely on the sun and stars in the sky to locate.

When the fleet came to the area south of the equator, all the constellations changed, and the Big Dipper, which was used as the positioning standard for the entire northern hemisphere, was completely gone, and if it were not for the appearance of the sextant, the fleet would not be able to locate at all.

At this time, under the guidance of Zhu Zhanji, the astrologers of Si Tianjian also changed to the Southern Cross constellation as the positioning standard at night.

They can be said to be the hardest group of people in the vast journey, except for the navigator.

Because every day, they had to calculate the position of the fleet according to the date, according to the rising of the sun, the angle at which it crossed the sky.

It is also necessary to make a chart of all the information as the basis for future sailing, and there can be no mistakes in it.

The navigators of the fleet record the course and the ocean currents every day by changing the position of the position, which is the top secret of a country in this day and age.

During the Age of Discovery, Spain made a fortune for more than 200 years because of its mastery of the Pacific Ocean currents.

Now with Zhu Zhanji's arrangement, Daming has a sextant that can be accurately positioned, and then makes a latitude and longitude table to locate each route, so Daming's navigation technology is no one can compare.

On the detailed map of Nanyang and Nanzhou taken out by Zhu Zhanji, small islands were marked, named, and routes were drawn, which would become the most valuable wealth of the Ming Dynasty.

In order to avoid the southeast monsoon, the fleet sailed all the way to the sun. After passing through the later Vatubera Islands, the fleet came to the south of Turtle Island.

Eighty percent of Turtle Island, later known as New Guinea, is covered by primeval rainforest, and the remaining 20 percent is also snow-capped mountains and swamps that are by no means suitable for human habitation.

A few hundred years later, humans developed some farmland along the coast of the island. But at this time, there was no other civilization on the island except for some cannibals who did not know when they were left on the island.

Turtle Island is the highest island in the world, with Jaya Peak nearly 5,000 meters high, and is known as the highest peak in Australia.

Although it is close to the equator, the snow on the top of the mountain does not melt for thousands of years, forming a beautiful picture.

But it is not at all suitable for human life, because the whole island is made up of a mountain range, and there is very little flat land.

There are tropical rainforests everywhere, and in the tropical rainforests, there are countless poisonous insects, snakes and ants, as well as miasma that spreads everywhere.

In the 21st century, it has not been fully developed, and countless areas are still off-limits to humans.

In this era, it is even more difficult to conquer here.

But the location here is very important, because this is the only island that can provide clean water for the southern continent.

Although June was chosen to head to the South Continent, the southeast monsoon could power the fleet heading southwest, and it was not a typhoon in the Southern Hemisphere.

However, this voyage was also affected by the high pressure in central Australia, and no one could guarantee the speed of the fleet.

Just from the island of New Guinea to the Brisbane area in eastern Australia, a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers, may not be able to reach it for two or three months.

As for landing from northern Australia, Zhu Zhanji never considered it.

It is one of the famous forbidden areas for human beings in later generations, the climate is so hot that people can't live, and the alternating exchange of high and low air pressure makes it windy all year round.

In addition to minerals, it is also suitable for grazing. However, it is also the world's most famous poisonous insect base, the world's ten most poisonous species of snakes, here are seven species, the most poisonous spiders, there are several kinds here.

It would be a thankless task to develop immigration here now.

Except for the construction of a few small defense points in the coastal areas first, Zhu Zhanji is not ready to develop the northern region for 100 years.

The first step in the development of Nanzhou will be placed in the area of Melbourne in the future, which is one of the few areas in Australia with fertile land, and more importantly, there are six of the top ten gold mines in Nanzhou in the southern region, and two of them are by the sea.

Although there are several gold mines in the northern region, and there are world-famous iron mines, iron ore is the least developed in this era, let alone inland.

Several gold mines in the north are also inland, in areas that are not suitable for human habitation, and those minerals should be kept for later development!

The fleet drove slowly along the southern shore of Turtle Island, and at regular intervals you could see the river estuaries that appeared in the forest.

However, Zhu Zhanji was unmoved, and until this day, the forward fleet reported that it had found the big river designated by Zhu Zhanji.

Turtle Island is a mountain island, with a mountain range rising from east to west, and hundreds of rivers running down the mountain along the mountain range.

In order to find the river designated by Zhu Zhanji, it is necessary not only to survey the terrain according to the map, but also to accurately locate it according to the sextant.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to determine which river channel was what Zhu Zhanji requested.

Known as the Dimika River in later generations, the village of Dimika is the richest town in Indonesia on this impoverished island, as it is owned by a company that is the most profitable company in Indonesia, Freeport.

The company owns Indonesia's largest gold mine, which has generated more than US$1 billion a year since its mining in the seventies.

Until the 21st century, this gold mine is still among the top 10 gold mines in the world, and the stable production is almost unmatched by any other gold mine.

And this gold mine is very easy to find, as it has a distinctive feature, which is that on its east side, is the famous Chaya Peak.

In order to open the mine, this gold mining company even blocked Chaya Peak for a time.

Later, thanks to the intervention of the International Mountaineering Organization, they opened the northern trail and still blocked the southern trail.

Now that Daming wants to let people immigrate to the sea, he can only use the most lucrative gold mines to attract people. Without a gold mine, there would be no one willing to leave their homeland and leave Daming to survive overseas.

And the same is true here, if there is no gold mine, even if he arranges for a fleet to be stationed here and serve as a supply point for the ocean-going fleet. But the harsh environment can also demoralize, and it won't be long before everyone runs out.

There is a gold mine that is different, whether it is a fleet or a clan, they will be willing to endure hardships here for the sake of gold.

Despite its harsh natural conditions, the island of New Guinea is rich in natural resources. It only takes a small area of land to feed everyone.

The people are not afraid of death, so they will be lured by profit.

Gold is the best tool.

But Zhu Zhanji also knows very well that although the Ming Dynasty has only been founded for three generations and has only been 50 years old, these clans today are all lazy and hardworking, and there are few knowledgeable ones.

As for enduring hardship, none of them are willing.

Who wants to give up the glory and riches of the palace!

Even if there is gold here, Zhu Zhanji must lay a good foundation in advance, otherwise, it will be impossible for them to come here and start from scratch.

It is impossible for Zhu Zhanji to find out all the gold mines, but he can establish a control node all over the world through some resources he knows.

As long as the Ming Dynasty can control the crossroads of the world and relay the main points, then the Western Age of Discovery will not want to develop.

Turtle Island is an important node that Zhu Zhanji wants to establish.

When Zhu Zhanji's flagship arrived at the mouth of the Dimika River, looking at this inconspicuous river, he was silent for a long time before he ordered: "Anchor and garrison the ship, and summon the fleet commander and above, the staff and the clans to come to the meeting." ”

The rainy season in the South Seas has passed, and the weather today is clear, the sun is setting in the west, and the temperature is just right.

In accordance with Zhu Zhanji's instructions, the chamberlains arranged a row of tables and chairs in a concave shape on the three-story deck at the bow of the ship.

Zhu Zhanji sat at the top, with civil officials on the left and military generals on the right, and those clans sat behind him and listened, and had no right to speak.

Everyone was distinct, one by one quietly, not daring to make a sound.

On the flagship, the sails fell, and the faint sea breeze did not bring a sound. Only in the distance on the other battleships, there were soldiers entertaining together, and from time to time there was a burst of cheers, but it did not affect the conversation on the flagship.

"Your Highness, everyone has arrived."

Zhu Zhanji nodded, his eyes swept left and right, and said, "More than five months have passed since the first month of the first month. In the previous trip, all the areas I visited were the areas that my Ming fleet had visited before. But from then on, all itineraries will be unknown, and there will be no more welcoming crowds. Take this island around us as an example, although the island is rich in resources, but because it is too far away from civilized society, only some cannibals have survived so far, and there is no civilization at all. So, why are we here to develop these places? ”

Jin Chun said with a smile: "Of course, I have found more land for my Chinese people." ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said with a smile: "What Jin Shangshu said is reasonable, but it is a long-term plan. Throughout the ages, the changes of dynasties and dynasties, in addition to the corruption of officials, are more due to serious land annexation. The land of the people of the world is occupied by families, noble families, ministers, and generals, and the common people have nothing to eat, so they naturally want to rebel.

But I have only been in the Ming Dynasty for 50 years, and now the population of the entire Ming Dynasty is less than half of the Southern Song Dynasty, and now countless lands in the Ming Dynasty are still abandoned, but I am committed to expanding the territory, not only because of the land, but also because of gold. ”

There was a sound of inhalation at the scene, and even those princes didn't dare to make a sound at this time.

The fact that they were allowed to sit in was already extraordinarily gracious. They can grow up in the palace, and they are all human spirits. It's not a human spirit, and it has long been eliminated.

Zhu Zhanji took out a gold coin and put it between his fingers to play with it. When everyone calmed down, he pointed to the big island in the north with his right arm, and said loudly: "On the mountain two hundred miles away from us, there is a large gold mine with an annual output of 500,000 taels of gold, which is the wealth of our Ming Dynasty. ”

Everyone was a little confused, even Xie Jin, who was old and serious, couldn't believe it, and said in surprise: "Your Highness, isn't it a mistake, 500,000 taels of gold, that's a quarter of the tax of the Ming Dynasty in previous years!" ”

Zhu Zhanji smiled and shook his head, 500,000 taels of gold did sound terrifying, but it was only fifteen tons.

Of course, this amount is already very staggering, and the total amount of gold in circulation in Daming today is only ten times that of this amount at most.

But compared to the more than 400 tons of gold mined in the later republics in a year, it is nothing.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out tomorrow when we send someone to investigate. What I want you to do now is to coordinate with all of you and send small boats up the river up the river to the bottom of the mountain. Then climb to the top of the mountain on the west side of the highest peak, and it is said that almost all of the inside of that mountain is gold. In addition to looking for gold, I need you to open up a farmland at the foot of the mountain, and transport sea sand into it, and build a reservoir in a suitable place, so as to build this place into a fresh water supply point for my Ming Dynasty's march into Nanzhou. ”

If you simply build a freshwater reservoir here, if you don't manage it, it will be abandoned in a few months. No one wants to stay here, and it's also in vain.

But with gold mines, you can garrison troops, with garrisons, you can settle, and with silver people, you can farm, mine, and maintain this fresh water supply point.

It is very difficult to get drinking water in the rainforest, and the fleet replenishes so much pure water that it is by no means sufficient to dig a well.

So now we need to dig wells, then filter them with sea sand, and do a good job of antibacterial management.

With the attraction of gold, everyone's interest was high, and in less than an hour, the work arrangements for tomorrow were already discussed among the departments.

This is all the role of gold, and if it were not for the attraction of gold, no one would have such a high level of interest.

So much so that Zhu Zhanji had to pour cold water on them, so that they should not ignore the harsh environment here.

Entering here, the big python is not the most terrifying, because the survey team is so large that no matter how big the python is, it will only become a meal on the plate.

The most terrible thing in this is the ubiquitous miasma, and the numerous and annoying poisonous insects.

Early the next morning, almost all the heralds, flat-bottomed sand boats, and small sub-ships were selected.

In addition to the oars, the soldiers also prepared a lot of bamboo poles, which can exert force when going upstream.

All of them wore trousers, and the cuffs and cuffs were all tied, and those with hats were even put on.

Zhu Zhanji and the heralds personally beat the five-sided drum on the flagship to see off the exploration team.

The first team entered the river, and the boats behind also began to look for sandy beaches on the seashore, filling the boats with sand and entering the river at noon.

Zhu Zhanji's arrangement was very simple, one was to find gold mines, the other was to reclaim wasteland, and the other was to establish a suitable water supply point.

But it is not a simple matter to do these three things well.

Because these three places are definitely not together.

The gold mine is in the mountains, and in later generations on Google Maps, a super pit was dug from the top of the mountain.

Even if a miners' settlement is built, it must be built on the mountainside, or at the foot of the mountain, instead of being built on the mountainside.

However, the water supply point must be closer to the sea, as long as it is not from the area where the sea water backs up and penetrates.

It was built too far away, and getting water became a hassle.

As for farmland, of course, it is necessary to choose areas with fertile land, and it is impossible to choose rotten rocky beaches for farming.

Therefore, these three different teams, when choosing a site, should not only cooperate with each other, but also accommodate each other, so as to facilitate unified management in the future.

Once everyone had entered the Dimika River, all that was left was to wait.

When the first day had passed, the messenger came back to tell him that he had gone from about two miles from the shore to about twenty miles, and that there was a large area of flat black earth.

But they didn't stop there, because the work was pointless when no gold was discovered.

If there were no gold mines, it would not have been possible to cultivate land here, and even if a water supply point were to be built, it would not have been chosen here.

On the second day, the messenger reported that the survey party had reached the foot of the mountain, and now that the boat could not move, it had begun to climb the mountain from land.

Day 3......

Day 4......

Day 5......

It was not until the sixth day that the soldiers finally returned, and the ship they rowed back was loaded with two hundred pieces of ore containing gold.

One of them, a piece of dog's head gold, together with the stone, weighed two hundred pounds.

But the group of soldiers who found them were reluctant to break it open, and ten people took turns to carry it down the mountain.

Finding this gold mine, Zhu Zhan basically had some uncertainty and settled down.

Although Turtle Island can be described as a forgotten corner in the afterlife, this relay point is very important in his plan.

In the era when there were no powered boats, if you want to go to Nanzhou, you need to look at the weather and luck. The construction of this place plays a very key role in the development of Nanzhou.

And everyone was even more excited, and that night, there were several commanders who applied to Zhu Zhanji to be stationed on Turtle Island in the future.

However, Zhu Zhanji just smiled, it is not yet the time for real development, and he is only a pathfinder this time, not a development trip.

Therefore, with the abundant replenishment of clean water on the ship, Zhu Zhanji gave an order, and the fleet set sail and continued to move forward.

(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all)