"Dare I say, it's much bigger than the Atlantic!" Diego said excitedly. Although they saw only a tiny bay in the Pacific Ocean, they felt that they had discovered an amazing ocean, and its breadth was unprecedented.

Wait, what does that mean?

"Dad, is the west side of the Pacific Ocean Asia?" Juana asked in a whisper.

The same speculation was instantly generated in everyone's minds.

Is this really Asian? Why is there such a vast ocean in the west of the continent with no end in sight?

Could it be ......

"Yes. The New World lies across the vast ocean between Europe and Asia. Ferdinand replied quietly.

Obviously, those who participated in this expedition would have a similar conjecture in their minds, and must have had great doubts about the so-called "India" discovered by Columbus. Historically, the Pacific Ocean was discovered only seven years after Columbus's death, and now, without even a trace of da Gama's fleet, the Pacific Ocean has been discovered. It is conceivable that Columbus will soon be criticized by all kinds of difficulties, and he just needs to watch the play.

When it was over, Ferdinand ordered Atholin to wade into the sea and perform the occupation ceremony like Balboa. Ferdinand himself erected the banner of Castile here, later near Panama City. The Castilians discovered not only new lands, but also new seas.

"Your Majesty, since then we have broken the Portuguese monopoly on the sea." Asorin said excitedly. According to the division of the papal meridian, "The-Pacific-Ocean" is clearly the ocean that belongs to the Castilians.

The Indians who were traveling with them were puzzled as to why they were dancing in the face of the ocean they were about to come to every once in a while.

A few of the more zealous Indians decided to introduce the week-long companions to the more interesting things of the bay, and not to leave them idle on the shore.

"Wow, it's a pearl!" Faced with the shiny pearls taken out by several Indians, the two Juanas were instantly fascinated. However, one of them is expressed by knocking on a wooden block.

"Attention, attention! Don't have nothing to do to knock on the Morse code, do you think there is no second genius in the world? If a second Englishman as clever as mine discovers the secret, something big may happen, and he should not knock it in front of the public. Don't have an opinion on my actions, I'm the king, I can knock as much as I like, you can't. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." The other Juana said helplessly. I didn't see it clearly...... Atholin, who should have not heard what was happening, turned around coldly and happened to bump into such a scene. I was immediately anxious, worried about whether His Majesty had just given some special order......

Ferdinand glared at the cranky lieutenant, and suddenly realized that he had been doing micro-exercises for more than two years, and micro-exercises were getting more and more slippery, especially in the New World, and from time to time he had to chat with the elves of the Nidhogg group, and he didn't think there was anything wrong, except for the time in New York, of course.

But there's a reason for that. Who made the current European intelligence too rubbish, worse than the Peace Religion. There are spies and spies in every country, but with the exception of the newly established Nidhogg Group, and it really is, no country has established a government agency as its own unified intelligence organization, and no one even thinks that spies, military officers, ministers, and various staff members should form an organized system. Britain did not establish an intelligence agency until the time of Queen Elizabeth I.

For example, the wood-knocking incident just now, although you say so, but in fact, as long as you are not unlucky, you have nothing to do in England, and you happen to be targeted by a senior spy in England, and then you have no integrity to be forced to ask out, otherwise who would have thought that this has anything to do with the English language? What's more, when transmitting information, the Morse code must be encrypted.

……

The coast of the Bay of Panama is picturesque, with white sand like snow, palm trees and mangrove forests growing intertwined, land crabs wandering and walking on the coast, and a few unfortunate soldiers who were caught and pierced by soldiers who were suddenly interested, ready to roast and taste them.

Sailors and soldiers waded into the sea excitedly, and some rushed into the bay with their canoes in tow, and when they found the pearls in this place, they thanked God for this treasure.

Ferdinand knew that the Bay of San Miguel to the east had an abundance of pearls. And off the west coast of Panama, there is the "Pearl Islands".

"Asorin, ask the soldiers, who would like to go to the Pearl Islands and take the Indians' boats...... I say this because there are a lot of pearls there, a little more than thirteen leagues from here. ”

Ferdinand was just a whim, and he didn't expect anyone to really go, but he didn't expect it to be because the single dog has a lot of brains and ideas. Many sailors and soldiers were willing to go, and the Indians said they knew the way, and although they were a little farther away, they could still take you to play.

Eight sailors and eight Indians made a voyage to the Pearl Islands, while 30 expeditions explored the Bay of San Miguel and the San Miguel Peninsula to the east. Seven days later, on 9 May, all forces regrouped on the Pacific coast, where they had originally arrived. By this time they had carried pearls and precious stones, and had planted the Castilian flag on the islands off the west coast of Panama and on the peninsula to the east.

The group stayed for another three days, and now Ferdinand and Juana could enjoy the rainforest in peace. There may not be such a good opportunity in the future.

Annoying mosquitoes and dangerous conditions aside, the rainforest is truly mesmerizing and mesmerizing. The greenery of the moss is pleasing to the eye, the fragrance of orchids is refreshing, there are mangroves and land crabs on the coast, and there are even tall and dense bamboo forests by the streams.

On the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the flag of Castile flies on the land of the New World. In the distance, an albatross from the Galapagos Islands visited the beaches of Panama and amazed sailors.

"This bird is probably the largest bird in the world with a wingspan. Albatross, you'll meet it later. In the Pacific, they are always with you. ”

In the early morning of May 12, shortly after a brief heavy rain, the expedition set out on its return journey. Carrying pearls and precious stones, they became the first treasure convoy to cross the Isthmus of Panama.

Because I carried some pearls, the speed was a little slower, but it didn't hold back much, after all, the total weight of pearls was actually not much. As a reward, Ferdinand promised everyone a share of the wealth.

Eight days later, with joy, the expedition returned to the Cologne fortress. In the big picture, they became the pioneers of history, and for each sailor and soldier, they made a small fortune and had an experience of a lifetime.

……

Upon their return to Cologne, the 337 explorers proudly told their companions about their journey. "It turns out that the tiger is like that, and when it escapes, it is more embarrassed than a rabbit...... "Diego healed the scar and forgot the pain, and recalled with great interest the "interesting story" he encountered.

Juan de la Cossa and Amerigo Vespucci were thrilled by the discovery of a new ocean. Although Ferdinand had already told them his "inference" that this place might be the New World, and that there was already an ocean to the west, they could not hide their surprise and excitement when the Pacific Ocean was discovered.

"Your Majesty, then Asia ......"

"That's right, cross the Pacific Ocean and we'll really be in Asia!" Ferdinand clapped his hands.

"Now it seems that the Portuguese have won the bet and may be able to reach India sooner to the east. But we didn't lose, and we even had an advantage. Ferdinand smiled.

"This is the new world and the new sea, which we have a complete monopoly on, but not the East, where there are already real Eastern civilizations and pacifist countries that are not under Europe, and obviously there will be many people who will try to get a piece of the pie from the Portuguese."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Juan de la Cossa agreed. "But how do we communicate with the new ocean?"

"At this stage, cities, fortresses, road facilities and shipyards are built on both sides of this isthmus, and the Pacific coast, which we have previously reached, can be built in a few years to create a city called "Panama City". Also here, the Cologne fortress can also be expanded into the port of Cologne. ”

Ferdinand thought about it for a moment, then decided.

"A two-pronged approach, first of all, we are advancing rapidly in the north to the west coast of the New World. Then we can expand to the edge of the continent, the north is too cold to rush to open a shipping route for the time being. We went south around the sharp corners of the American continent and connected the east and west shores. Merchant ships to and from the East would pass directly through the New World, at low cost, without pirates, and without giving Portugal a chance to find fault. ”

At the same time, allowing Spain to cross the New World through the East-West trade route could also speed up the development of the Americas.

……

Ferdinand left a relatively small number of people in the fortress of Cologne, 102 men and 3 ships. The Reclamation Corps in Cologne can contact the island of Hispaniola, the current base of Castile invasion of the Americas, at any time, obtain all the supplies, and also obtain the pearls of Panama, so that they do not have to worry about survival. Sweet potatoes and rice are grown here, and the yield is also the highest, with three crops a year - winter potatoes, early rice, and late rice rotation.

Speaking of crops, Ferdinand's current collection of crops is – corn, sweet potatoes, peppers, tobacco, soybeans, peanuts.

The first four have already been obtained. He had to wait for Da Gama to find a way to get it from the Portuguese when he went to India, or he could go west to China and Japan bypassing the New World. There's no rush on this matter.

As for peanuts, soon this problem will be solved.

"Anhook (Peanut Indian), I'm coming. Brazil, I'm coming. ”

……

Stayed for another three days in the newly built Cologne fortress. On May 23, 1494, the remaining 1,000 men of the "Second Detachment" left the Bay of Limon in 21 ships. The flotilla could last at least until September, and they exchanged some food supplies from the Indians, so they didn't have to worry about food.

On 30 May, the fleet reached the Gulf of Paria and the island of Trinidad in the southeastern Caribbean, and then crossed the Shekou Strait before entering the Atlantic Ocean.

Ferdinand landed on the South American continent with a brief stop on the Paria Peninsula in the southern part of the Gulf of Paria. "The place will be named the Paria Peninsula and will be part of the province of Venezuela."

The next day, the flotilla left the Gulf of Paria and entered the Atlantic coast of South America. Due to the inverted Guyana Warm Current, the speed of the ship slowed down. But seven days later, the fleet was still in the equatorial windless zone. This is a place that is generally avoided when sailing on the sea, but the situation in the coastal area is okay.

Eventually, on June 9, 1494, the "second detachment" reached the mouth of the Amazon near the equator in South America.

The majestic estuary of the Amazon River captivates everyone on board. On the sea near the estuary delta, sailors measured that 12 meters below sea level was freshwater! This shocked European seafarers, who could not imagine how much of a river could create such a spectacle.

"It's the so-called freshwater sea, which stretches a hundred miles beyond the mouth of the river." Ferdinand was enthusiastic about science

"Wow, Dad, what's going on with the water here?"

Ferdinand's fleet was near the delta, and the waters were brown.

"It's low salinity, it's completely freshwater, it's a terrestrial material belt." Ferdinand waved his hand to the surface.

"To the east is a green, brackish mixed water, full of diatoms, a belt of biomass. Further east is the real water, which is blue...... Juan, we went 50 miles up the estuary and asked the local Indians if there was such a plant as "Anhuc." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Juan said as he ordered the fleet to go upstream.

"Your Majesty, this is the largest river in the world, isn't it?" Asorin asked.

"Yes, and it is the river of our Castilians," said Ferdinand, "and thanks to me, it would otherwise be the river of the Portuguese." ”

"How so? Your Majesty, this is not what we found out......" Asorin was puzzled, and suddenly something occurred to him.

"Is it 370 leagues west of Cape Verde? Forehead...... It seems that we have indeed sailed quite a bit eastward. "The excessive demand in Portugal has upset many Castilians.

"yes. So I resolutely refused to budge. Now the Portuguese are probably relenting. "Ferdinand is indeed very proud of this, and he is the vision of this king.

"You see, there must be land further east, and then turn south...... If we follow the Portuguese method of demarcation, we will lose a lot. ”

The "second detachment" made contact with the Indian tribes living in the estuary, and finally heard the news of "Anhook" and brought back seeds and plants. Peanuts, an important food and oil crop, soon found their way into agricultural production in the Western world.

On June 22, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere is the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere.

The flotilla continued south along the coast, crossing the easternmost part of the South American continent, where the Papal meridian passed exactly and even when the "second detachment" left the shore for several leagues, it had actually entered the territory of Portugal. Dangerously, the Castilians monopolized the American continent.

The flotilla sailed south for hundreds of miles in a row. On the morning of 6 July, the Castilian fleet sailed to the Gulf of Gabralia, the end of the expedition to the Americas.

The verdant Pascual Mountains rise high on the shore. Chirping seabirds fly across the sea.

Longitude: -39.06513000000001

Latitude: -16.44477

- This is the port of Seguru in later generations, the place where the cross of Cabral was erected. If it had not been disrupted by Ferdinand, it would have been the "Land of the Cross" of the Portuguese in the future.

"And now, Brazil belongs to Castile."