PS: Big chapter, two more, that's it, right? (?_|Secretly observing.)

……

Late at night, the gravedigger's carriage ran through the silent streets. The sound of horses' hooves approached and drifted away.

"Lift out the airless people!" The coachman shouted.

……

"How long has it been since I had a high fever, four weeks......" Ferdinand laughed at himself from the hospital bed.

"It's a miracle that you're still alive." A doctor next to him stared at him.

"I know a piece of knowledge that others don't know, a planarian flatworm, its cells always maintain the memory of division and differentiation, whether it is the brain or the heart, it can be renewed countless times. A flatworm can live forever unless they have an infectious disease. ”

"However, almost none planarians can escape the infectious disease in the end, and those who can live for a year are already long-lived." Cullen scoffed. "Cells are immortalized, and when you encounter a disease like typhus, you still have to finish playing."

"It's 1495, and there is no typhus in Europe, so why do I get this disease?"

"It's God's will, isn't it?" Cullen looked at the sky with concern...... Ceiling.

"God's will...... Well, I don't want to suffer from this anymore...... Bring me that bottle of methanol! ”

"Why not inject insulin in large quantities, or fill a bottle of aflatoxin solution?" Cullen said this, but still took what Ferdinand wanted.

"They are left to the Catalans...... Or drink methanol to look bold. Taking the bottle, Ferdinand was still wondering about this strange illness.

"There is no typhus in Europe, at this time...... Is there really a God against me? …… I haven't done anything big yet......" Ferdinand shuddered as he uncapped the bottle.

The gravedigger's carriage ran through the silent streets.

"Lift out the airless people!" The coachman's voice echoed.

"Has your materialism wavered?" Cullen showed a ghostly smile, "People are dying, their words are good, do you want to repent to the Lord?" …… Do you want to forgive your enemies before you go (???) ▽?)?”

"Huh...... There is no need for repentance, and there is no need for forgiveness......" Ferdinand drank the methanol down.

"Except for God!"

……

Cold, shaky......

Ferdinand opened his eyes.

"Sure enough, it's a dream!"

Ferdinand smiled, and then his expression became serious again.

Typhus?

It was introduced to Europe because, a few years later, Castile and Aragon sent troops to help the Venetians fight against the Turks...... Then wander around the island of Cyprus...... When he returned, he spread typhus throughout the kingdom of Aragon.

This time, like syphilis, it also began in the Kingdom of Aragon, but the difference is that Aragorn was only the starting point of the spread of syphilis, but it was the main victim of typhus.

The treatment of typhus fever is either a chemical pharmaceutical or a Chinese herbal medicine. In this era, if you want to obtain Chinese herbal medicine to cure diseases, you are not only a royal family but also a big noble. Ferdinand had this condition. Soldiers and civilians did not.

Therefore, Ferdinand could only plan to promote preventive measures such as eliminating the four pests, eliminating lice, eliminating rodents, and improving the sanitary environment.

In addition to the shadow of typhus, Ferdinand's current focus is on the development of the Western New World.

The year 1496 was a year of great acceleration in the development of the New World, a year in which 20,000 members of the Reclamation Corps set foot in the wilderness, and probably thousands more people would go there under the government's organization.

As for the additional strongholds in the New World, Ferdinand had to reconsider.

Ten bases were hastily demarcated before, and unlike the four bases established when I first led the team, each of which had high value and special significance. So much so that he forgot about the two important places of Mobile and Birmingham. I also dropped a piece of Chinese porcelain.

After the sound of Chinese porcelain being shattered, Ferdinand, alerted by his villainous behavior, began to sit down and rethink his plan to colonize the Americas. What is redundant and what should be added should be carefully reconsidered.

Ferdinand looked at the map of America, looking down from north to south.

The first, from Quebec deep into Montreal. Quebec and Montreal, two very important strongholds in eastern Canada, were the earliest, most important and strongest cities in the French colony of New France. Quebec, Gibraltar, North America, the capital of Quebec, the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the key to Canada. Montreal, on the other hand, was the last city in New France to surrender during the Seven Years' War, and its surrender came after Quebec – and the fall of Montreal was also a sign of New France's eventual loss.

Therefore, Montreal must be occupied, and this is closely related to Spain's strategy of intervening in the situation in the Great Lakes region and instigating conflicts between the Iroquois, Hurons, and Delaware Indians. What's more, the forest resources in the inland areas, beaver skins, etc., are also important sources of profits, and Ferdinand's wallet has recently solidified the food recipe, and it is time to inject some fresh vitality.

In the second, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Ferdinand's eyes regressed from Montreal, to Quebec, and then to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The Nova Scotia Peninsula has established a Spanish stronghold, and the coast of Cape Breton Island, across the water, has become a drying ground for cod in the Newfoundland Sea, which is also under Spanish control. But Cape Breton Island still needs to be occupied - without it, there are coal mines in North Sydney, which are just right to boil salt, and at the same time may supply some of the mainland and New York in the south, and now Ferdinand is hungry for food, and he eats as much coal as he wants, and the same goes for iron ore.

In this way, this boiled salt can be promoted in North America, and a large amount of sea salt is dried in Northwest Africa, and the salt is in surplus, and the market and use are problems.

This Cape Breton fish that slipped through the net still has to be caught.

The two strongholds of Montreal and Cape Breton Island have been identified, and the Canadian region does not appear to have been left out.

Ferdinand's gaze entered the northeastern part of the United States, New England, which, of course, could only be called the northeastern part of the United States, as it was clear that it would no longer have anything to do with England.

Previously wanted to occupy Boston and Philadelphia here. Now it seems that the effect of focusing on the mainland may not be good, and now this little manpower is simply not able to connect the six northeastern provinces of the United States.

At the same time, economic benefits must be considered. After all, it is easy to do things with money, although the wallet is now full of money, but it still costs a lot in the early days to vigorously colonize North America, especially the mainland. This is a must-have cost, after all, if you don't want the colonies to lose control, you have to take the kind of war like a country to send cantonment regiments to promote development, and it is not good to wait for the immigrants and merchants to establish themselves, then the loyalty will be low.

Even if it is a prisoner who immigrated to Australia, it is the government, and His Majesty the British King exiled you, and the British government also has to be careful to improve the survival rate, such as transporting prisoners to Australia, checking the number of people and paying money. So the predominantly white colonies had a tradition of loyalty and obedience.

Yongzheng worked hard for 13 years, helping the Qing Dynasty to continue his life for more than 100 years.

However, all this costs money.

So, plan, to adjust.

First of all, after all, Spain is a big development, eat a big meal, the mainland cannot be abandoned, and it must go to a place.

This is the place where Ferdinand retains Boston, the earliest colony of Massachusetts and its capital, a natural harbor. Transportation is convenient, the defense is solid, food and supplies are guaranteed. This has to be.

As for Philadelphia in the Delaware Valley, it can only be passed temporarily.

And then continue to do things in Massachusetts, look at the sea, it's a great place for whaling.

The offshore islands are home to two well-known whaling bases.

Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard.

Ferdinand considered the latter, which was larger, fertile, with naturally growing grapes, and a whaling industry, with a milder and more livable climate, which would last for generations to come. Moreover, in terms of the convenience of the early stage of development, the Indians on the island were very good at fooling the colonists, teaching the colonists how to hunt whales, which could provide a lot of experience and manpower for the initial foothold.

So, Martha's Vineyard, a Massachusetts island south of Cod Head, was chosen as a whaling base to generate income for the Massachusetts colony and subsidize Boston (though perhaps not, given that Boston has mountains and arable land on land, and fishing and shipping at sea).

In this way, two more strongholds were added to the northeastern part of the United States, but the change from Boston and Philadelphia to Boston and Martha's Vineyard was within the boundaries of the Massachusetts colony.

It's done here, too.

Further south, Savannah on the southern Atlantic coast of the United States was not considered clearly at the time, and Savannah's port advantage was not of much use at this time, and although Savannah could develop cotton cultivation, it was far less good than the focus on the Gulf of Mexico.

So, Savannah, pass away.

The East Coast of the United States is screened and enters the Gulf of Mexico.

After the addition, Ferdinand identified New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River, as well as Mobile and Birmingham in the Alabama region. They are all located at the confluence of inland river systems and bays, and both can use water transportation, which is a major transportation advantage.

Louisiana, where New Orleans is located — a small slice of Louisiana on the Gulf Coast alone, far from being a territory of Louisiana (which includes 15 states) — accounts for 40 percent of the nation's sugar cane production! There are also lignite reserves of more than 300 million tons, and it is also an important grain producing area and a gateway to the Mississippi River Basin. It is definitely an indispensable stronghold for expansion, and there is a natural sense of king. If you don't take into account the hurricanes of later generations.

Moreover, Louisiana also has abundant resources of salt, sulfur, and lime, which can be used for iron-making, copper-making, and cement.

As for Mobile, Birmingham, Alabama, as mentioned earlier, the coal and iron twins, and the cotton, soybeans, and peanuts trinity main crops, are also required.

This is the case with the Gulf strongholds, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham.

Well, now it's time for the West Indies, which is the most untidy and chaotic area, and after careful consideration, there are a lot of ghosts, snakes, and gods.

The island of Cuba is wanted, but after consideration, unless more than 5,000 troops are concentrated on the island of Cuba, it can be ensured that it will be taken before the end of 1496, and it is not cost-effective to face the resistance of the natives of the mountains.

So, with the money-hungry chiefs, buy Havana, grow sugar cane, and then have the big chrome mine near Moa, and it's over.

For Jamaica, let's pass it for the time being, and control Grenada first, mainly producing nutmeg, ginger, and sugar cane.

The Bahamas, although its economic value is limited, is rather controlled by the government than given to pirates, and this important transportation area must be controlled. The Bahamas still wants it.

The most fantastical is the Turks and Caicos Islands next to the Bahamas, and their relationship with Bermuda.

Bermuda was already under the control of Ferdinand's detachments.

Bermuda's main industries, not counting finance and tourism, were the same before the 19th century, with the same shipbuilding supported by Bermudan cypress.

The other is to rely on the Turks and Caicos Islands to carry out the world's largest salt trade.

That's right, the largest salt trade!

The relationship between this is extremely mysterious. The British colonized Bermuda first, and the Bermudians then colonized the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have a large amount of natural salt, one of the islands of the Turks Islands is called Salt Island. What's more, the Turks and Caicos Islands are perfect for salting! Moreover, the quality is very good.

Combined with Bermuda's production of galleons, the world's largest salt trade at the time was put into operation......

To be honest, Ferdinand (the author) recalled the situation and felt like a great failure. After a long day of tossing and turning in the Canary Islands and Western Sahara, it turns out that the real salt mecca is at the fingertips of the West Indies......

The mood was bad, but reality was reality, so Ferdinand resolutely added the Turks and Caicos Islands to the list of new strongholds to be opened in 1496......

Then, it was announced that the salt production that Ferdinand would master had officially broken through the sky...... How exactly is this salt used? Very maddening ((?( //?Д/?/)?)) /……

Ignoring this annoying issue for now, the only good news is that the West Indies are a mess, which is sorted out.

And then further south, that's the last, the only problem, Chile.

Next year, of course, you will have to bypass the Strait of Magellan or Tierra del Fuego, but after going north to Chile, you will have to make less pleasant choices.

If the Inca Empire had not extended to Chile, Ferdinand would have chosen the seaport of Antofagasta, which was at the same time a natural harbor, a copper mine, and a natural saltpeter mine. With Antofagasta in control, you don't need to go inland like Iquique, and copper and saltpeter will rush to Europe.

However, the Inca Empire did occupy northern Chile.

So, there was no way to get Antofagasta at first.

The next best thing to do is to occupy Valparaíso.

Valparaiso can also be comforted by the fact that it is, after all, an important base for the north to the west coast of America and across the Pacific Ocean to the Far East. And along the river leads to the capital city of San Diego. There are silver mines near San Diego......

Well, one way or another, the value is inferior to Antofagasta. The silver mines near Santiago are landlocked, and they also need to be guarded against the vicious Araucans.

So, Ferdinand came up with a compromise plan.

The Inca Empire was not suddenly destroyed by white people from the sky. On the contrary, it was the peaceful interaction between the white people and the Inca Empire during the lifetime of Vajna Capac, the male lord, that laid the foundation for the fall of the Inca Empire.

During the reign of Vaina Capac, Pizarro and others visited the Inca Empire, which is the origin of what the Incas called "new people". At that time, the white people, who were considered to be the "gods", were favored and worshiped by the Incas, and the sun goddess, who could not be contaminated even by the emperor, offered to sacrifice herself...... White people are so fast, so fast.

But smallpox spread because of the arrival of whites...... Vajna Kapak herself hung up because of smallpox.

Smallpox was the root of the Inca Empire. Faced with the dead capital and the plague of the surrounding realms, even Vaina Capac, the ruler, could not stop the Spanish horses and muskets from ruling the land.

Therefore, Spain does not have to avoid contact, as long as they hide their hole cards.

The location of Antofagasta was completely wild to the Inca Empire at the time, and there were not even villages. And now Spain did not want to destroy the Inca Empire. Spain is still maintaining a friendly posture for the time being.

So, there should be no problem in establishing a stronghold in Antofagasta and mining nearby minerals.

Of course, after all, Antofagasta was surrounded by the Inca Empire, so Valparaiso still had to establish a stronghold as a backup, just in case.

……

To sum up, Ferdinand made a list of the second batch of strongholds in the New World to be controlled in 1496 -

Montreal (Canada)

Cape Breton Island (Canada)

Boston, Massachusetts

Martha's Vineyard (Massachusetts)

New Orleans (Louisiana)

Mobile (Alabama)

Birmingham (Alabama)

Near Havana and Moa, Cuba (West Indies)

Grenada (West Indies)

Bahamas (West Indies)

Turks and Caicos Islands (West Indies)

Valparaiso (Central Chile)

Antofagasta (Northern Chile)

……

Ominous, but perhaps good, in short, our great King His Majesty has set a 13 in the New World, and it is literal.

……