Chapter 195: Spice Island (2)

It's no wonder that Pei Xingjian is so crazy, they really know the preciousness of spices too well, if things can really be like what Li Zhen said, an entire archipelago is made of spices, then this trip is really going to make a fortune.

If you can find a new spice on this island (like the cook tree found in Luzon), then the results of this trip will be even more amazing, and it is certainly impossible to buy Datang, but it is completely possible to buy a large piece of land on the undeveloped land in the South Seas and claim the hegemony yourself.

What Li Zhen knows is that on the island in front of him, there are indeed several spices that were very rare in Datang before, such as cloves, and nutmeg.

These spices may have been introduced to the Tang Dynasty before, but the amount is definitely not too much, because the origin of the world's largest cloves and nutmeg in the whole world is the archipelago in front of Li Zhen and its neighbors, the Banda Islands to the south.

Especially the Banda Islands, which are the origin of nutmeg, at this time there is not much exchange between Datang and Southeast Asia, even if there are Southeast Asian countries to offer nutmeg, but how much can they give?

That's right, the island in front of Li Zhen is the Maluku Archipelago, which was later known as one of the four major spice islands, and until the 16th century, it was one of the four largest spice producing areas in the world, until the Europeans came and destroyed everything (the sins of the Europeans added another one).

If you start from the southernmost island of the Maluku archipelago, and go more than 100 kilometers south, there is another Banda Islands, one of the world's four major spice islands, which mainly produces nutmeg.

The island where Li Zhen is located today is North Maluku Island at the northern tip of the Maluku Islands, and it is also one of the main spice-producing islands in the entire Maluku Islands.

And what is very amazing is that North Maluku Island and its nearby Halmahera Island are also a 'K' shape if you look at them together, and they are very similar in structure to West Sulawesi, and you have to sigh at the magic of nature.

And what's even more amazing is that both of them have a part of crossing the equator, and the distance is not very far, so as long as you find West Sulawesi, and then go more than a hundred nautical miles to the east, you can basically see North Maluku Island, that is to say, as long as you find West Sulawesi, you can basically locate the location of the Maluku Islands, and as long as you know the Maluku Islands, you can naturally find the Banda Islands - of course, provided that you know the existence of these islands.

However, Li Zhen did not follow this route to find it, but he had checked the information of Maluku Island in his previous life, so he remembered the latitude and longitude of this island, plus the glass factory made a sextant, relying on the sextant, this is the reason why he can easily find here.

"It's really a spice, and I smell such a strong aroma before I get ashore." As soon as the boat was anchored, and before the group went ashore, Pei Xingjian smelled the burst of aroma from the island, which was very charming.

"It's so fragrant, I really want to live here for the rest of my life, so that I can have a lifetime of delicious food." Yu Chi Baoqing has already begun to imagine a better life in the future.

"It seems that His Highness is right, we are really going to get rich." Cheng Chuliang was excited, Li Zhen's character is to have a share in the seeing, so when he found this spice island, not only did Li Zhen earn blood, but he could also have broth to drink.

"It's not just a fortune, it should be said to be a fortune, if the potential here is thoroughly exploited, then this must be another Turk." Luo Zhe also showed a rare smile, he thought more far-reachingly, and he also knew how precious spices were in the Tang Dynasty, comparable to the Turks, it was definitely not just talking.

How important are the Turks to the Tang Dynasty now?

Let's put it this way, ninety percent of the wool in the entire Datang is bought from the Turkic homeland, and how profitable is the wool trade in Datang today?

Not to mention, it can be said that half of the cloth trade in the entire Tang Dynasty relies on silk, and the other half relies on wool - cotton has not yet become popular, so the influence of cotton cloth is not too great.

What can be said is that the entire wool trade accounts for almost half of Datang's tax revenue.

And the fact that the Spice Islands rival the wool trade already illustrates the profits here.

"Your Highness, after talking for so long, what is this island called? Also, how did you know about this island, Your Highness? Zhang Cambodia continued to dismantle the platform.

"I mean, you're not going to get beaten up, are you?" Li Zhen looked at Zhang Cambodia viciously with a threatening face, and he felt that his fist was about to be unable to hold back.

"Your Highness, just tell me, my subordinates are really curious about this." Zhang Cambodia immediately softened his words, although he was still asking questions verbally, but in fact, he had softened in his tone.

"The name of this island is the Spice Islands, and the one in front of us is called Lilac Island." Since it is an island discovered by himself, Li Zhen naturally will not use the name of the Maluku Islands anymore, it just so happens that there are so many spices on it, it is more appropriate to call it the Spice Islands, as for what to call other spice islands in the future, Li Zhen can't care anymore, anyway, except for the Maluku Islands and the Banda Islands, other spice islands are basically impossible to be discovered by Li Zhen, and he will not have the kung fu to sail in the future.

"As for how does this spice island Hongu know—what do you say?"

"It must be recorded in the Book of Heaven." Cheng Chuliang said without thinking, and looked at Zhang Cambodia with disdain: "You still dare to claim to be the first bachelor of the Yue Palace, and the first bachelor is at this level?" ”

"Huh? First Bachelor? Just you? Li Zhenhu glanced at Zhang Cambodia suspiciously, and sneered: "I originally thought that you were against me and were a scholar, but now it seems that you are an arrogant maniac, and you dare to call yourself the first bachelor of Yue Wangfu?" Old Master Liu Jingshan (ask Tian Shuyuan's chief teacher, and he is also Li Zhen's nominal teacher, and his status is extremely respected) Don't talk about it, do you still think you are comparable to Master Cen? ”

"Of course not, but in the younger generation, my subordinates don't think anyone has my literary skills." Zhang Cambodia denied it again and again, no matter how arrogant and confident he was, he didn't dare to compare himself with Liu Jingshan and Cen Wenwen. One of these two people is the prince and the prince (after Li Zhen was crowned the prince, Liu Jingshan was added to him by Li Shimin by the way), and the other is the prince and the prince (Li Zhen was canonized as the prince, Cen Wenwen's position naturally rose, in addition to these two, there is also Qin Qiong's prince Taibao, and is known as the third division of the East Palace), both are the teachers of His Royal Highness the Prince, Cen Wenwen is still one of the eighteen bachelors of the Qin Palace, how dare he compare with these two?

(End of chapter)