When the ship finally broke free from the storm, Su Yishan felt that he really didn't give it the name "Lucky" for nothing. Su Yishan knelt on the deck of the ship, and learned from the first mate kneeling on the side, an Englishman, to pray to the queen of heaven to express his gratitude, and by the way, he also thanked the foreign god who prayed to the Englishman. This is also the so-called etiquette is not strange, as long as he can bless him to return to Shanghai safely, Su Yishan feels that it is good to have one more god to bless.

As a native of Chongming Island, Su Yishan is no stranger to the ocean. But after this round trip across the Pacific Ocean, he finally knew why this ocean was called the Pacific Ocean, because it was so unpeaceful. When the 600-700-ton "Lucky" crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan in October last year, it was like a fluttering willow leaf under the stormy waves of the Pacific Ocean.

There were many times when Su Yishan felt that he should not be able to see the sky at the next moment. The fear of dying in the bottomless sea often made him regret why he had built such a boat to bury him.

Of course, the Pacific Ocean brings him not only fear, when the wind and waves on the Pacific Ocean subside, the endless blue sea is like a huge sapphire mirror, shining the clouds in the sky on the sea, so that you can't tell the difference, which side is the sky, and that side is the sea. In the vast water world, except for the boats under the seats and the occasional giant whale, only white clouds accompany you.

For Su Yishan, the most beautiful scenery in the Pacific Ocean is the moment when the sun jumps out of the sea at sunrise every day; The second is the moment when you see an island in the distance through a telescope. It was these two pieces of beauty that allowed him to continue the voyage instead of turning around halfway.

Every island in the Pacific Ocean was a miracle for him, and on those islands he always found something new or new. Of course, he preferred the tropical islands he encountered on his return from the Americas to the snowy desert islands of the North Pacific.

In particular, the Hawaiian Islands, which I encountered shortly after leaving the Americas, have been moving more and more Ming people to Hawaii since they were discovered by Ming ships. More than anywhere else in the world, the Hawaiian Islands are a paradise.

The natives of the archipelago are hospitable and abundant, and the largest island, Hawaii, is a small continent. Living in the archipelago, you don't have to pay any taxes, you don't have to worry about war, the climate is quite suitable, as long as you work a little, you can get a comfortable life, living in such a paradise, what else is worth pursuing in the world.

Thinking of crossing the ocean, Su Yishan thought about living in Honolulu, south of Oahu, which is located near Pearl Harbor and is famous for its large amount of sandalwood. Pearl Harbor, on the other hand, is named after the large number of pearl oysters near the port.

He reluctantly said goodbye to the Hawaiian Islands, sailed along the ocean current for more than 30 days, and arrived at the place with the most islands in the Pacific Ocean. His first mate told him that this was the Micronesian Islands, or the Islets of the Isles. There are thousands of islands here, but each island is protected by a large number of atolls.

Therefore, without the guidance of local natives, it is best not to approach the big ship at will to prevent it from running aground. However, the scenery of these small islands is beautiful, perhaps because of the rain all year round, the air is very fresh and the vegetation is very lush. The atolls on the islands also bring in a lot of fish, so you can often eat fish that you have never seen anywhere else.

It was also in this area that the Lucky encountered a storm. By the time they had struggled out of the storm, the ship had been blown off the course and lost in the sea. But fortunately, the Englishman hired by Su Yishan was finally worthy of his high salary, and under his judgment, the ship sailed for three days and finally saw a few islands.

While the crew was busy repairing the storm-damaged ships and canvases, Su Yishan and the first mate immediately went to the beach with two crew members with muskets, ready to climb to the high ground on the island to take a look at the surrounding terrain.

The hill they had chosen seemed to be connected to some hot spring underground, and the water that was exposed to the ground spewed water vapor from time to time. As a result, in addition to the dense trees at the bottom of the mountainside, only shrubs and grass remain in the upper places, which is in stark contrast to the surrounding vegetation-covered hills.

Standing on the top of the mountain and looking into the distance, Su Yishan just felt that the scenery here was very beautiful, especially in the bay under the mountain, the water was blue and pleasant. He looked down at the crew on the beach arranging the ship's utensils, and against the white sand, they looked like a swarm of busy ants, which he found very interesting.

Just when Su Yishan looked westward, the English compared for a long time, still not sure where they were, he shook his head and walked to Su Yishan's side and said: "Su shipmaster, I think we can go down the mountain, there are no recognizable signs here, but I think it should be easier to find a route if we repair the ship and go northwest." ”

Su Yishan's attitude at this time was a little careless, his eyes drifted to the side from time to time, but he replied: "You are an expert in this area, you think it is good to go to the northwest, then go to the northwest." You go down first, I'll find some specimens and then come down." ”

The first mate looked around, and did not think that there were any plants worth collecting on this mountain, but he was accustomed to the quirks of the shipowner, so he said: "In this case, let the two of them accompany you, and I will go down the mountain myself, lest any animal or native man escape and hurt you." ”

Su Yishan hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, there is no need to be like this, on such a barren mountain, there will be some animals and natives." Well, or you wait for me at that spring halfway up the mountain..."

Regarding Su Yishan's performance of not matching the preface and afterword, the first mate Harvey did not take it to heart. On this voyage, the Chinese shipowner has occasionally made some foolish moves, and he has begun to be unfazed.

Harvey waited for about half an hour by the spring halfway up the mountain with two crew members, and then watched Su Yishan pinch a large handful of weeds and run down in a panic. After Su Yishan, who was sweating profusely, saw Harvey, he said to him with some exaggeration: "You are right, there are indeed strange animals here... It scurried into the bushes, and I ran down. ”

Harvey subconsciously observed behind him, but found no trace of any animals chasing after him, Su Yishan urged the three of them to hurry down the mountain after speaking, so the four of them vigilantly observed the surroundings and returned to the foot of the mountain along the same path.

Early the next morning, Harvey was invited by Su Yishan to his cabin, which was the best and most spacious suite on the ship, with an office room on the outside and a bedroom on the inside.

When Harvey walked into the cabin, Su Yishan closed the hatch, then sat down opposite Harvey and said, "Mr. Harvey, I would like to ask you a question, if we want to record this island, I mean the kind of detailed nautical chart instead of the logbook style record, can you do it?" ”

Harvey quickly excused himself: "This is not an easy errand, so far, we don't even know where we are. I should already be thankful to God for being able to find familiar and iconic islands, and as for the distraction to make an accurate nautical chart, I am afraid that it is beyond my ability. You should know that I'm not a really good captain yet, and I can't do both at the same time..."

Su Yishan took a deep breath, opened the drawer on the side, took something from it and put it on the table, then stared at Harvey and said, "If it's because of this, can you still do it?" ”

Harvey looked at the irregular yellow metal the size of a palm in front of him, and couldn't help but lose his voice. Even though there was still a lot of black soil left on the choledly surface, the yellow-orange color told him that it was a naturally formed gold nugget. But he still looked at Su Yishan with some disbelief and asked, "This is gold?" This is what you found in the mountains yesterday? ”

Su Yishan nodded and said, "Yes, if you don't believe it, you can verify it yourself." Harvey subconsciously reached out and picked up the gold nugget to verify it, and it took him a long time before he said in a distracted voice: "It's really God's gift, but are you sure that there is really a gold mine on the mountain?" Or is it just a coincidence? If this is true, then I will definitely try my best to make a note of the charts that arrived here. ”

Su Yishan immediately said to him: "It's not about trying, it's about must." As long as you can draw a detailed chart, we can get here next time. Then I can apply to the Prime Minister's Yamen to make this island my private domain.

According to the new regulations of the Prime Minister's Yamen, as long as the citizens of the Ming Dynasty find gold, silver, struvite or other minerals of great value on overseas desert islands, they can submit detailed charts and evidence to the Prime Minister's Yamen, and apply for the island to be a private property, and the island will become the territory of the Ming Dynasty and accept the protection of the Ming Dynasty, of course, 30% of the minerals will go to the state.

If an island is found to be difficult for private individuals to develop, the island can also be donated to the state. The benefits of the island's output are deducted from the cost, and the discoverer can occupy 30%.

As long as you can draw a detailed chart of the arrival at Daming from here, whichever way I choose. To get the benefits, we will divide it into three sevens, and you will share three and I will seven. ”

Harvey pondered for a while, reached out and tore off a blank piece of paper from the navigation diary on the side, put it in front of Su Yishan, and said calmly: "If that's the case, you still write down your promise, we foreign devils believe in contracts more." In that case, I'll definitely draw a detailed chart. ”

Su Yishan and Harvey looked at each other for a long time, and finally resigned themselves to picking up the dipping pen on the side and writing down their promises. There wasn't a detailed chart of the countless islands nearby, and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to return to it. In the promise, Su Yishan directly named this wasteland Yishan Island to indicate that he was the first to discover.

Of course, the two didn't know at this time that this was not a desert island. To the south-east of them lies the Solomon Islands, discovered in 1568 by the Spanish navigator Mendanía de Neila, although the islands are not yet inhabited by many colonists. But the Spaniards and Portuguese still pass through here often.

As for the small island they discovered, the natives called it Lihir Island. 3 or 400 kilometers to the west is Irian Island, the largest island in the Pacific Ocean and the second largest in the world.

When Su Yishan wrote the contract, Harvey quickly took it and read it, although he didn't know many Chinese characters, but he still knew the numbers in the contract. He decided to wait until he arrived in Shanghai and find someone to recognize the contents of the contract for him.

As for now, Harvey carefully dried the ink on the paper, carefully folded it, wrapped it in oiled paper, and put it in the inner layer of his vest pocket. He patted his pocket and said, "You can rest assured, I will definitely make a detailed chart for us to keep our property..."