The details of how to establish a trade channel with the Goryeo nobles were something that Ni Yuchen considered, and Gao Feng did not care, he focused on another major matter, that is, sending a fleet to the Western Ocean. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Gao Feng naturally knew that Zheng He went to the West three hundred years later. At that time, Zheng He went to the Western Ocean seven times in 28 years, sailed to the Indian Ocean, East Africa, the Red Sea and other places, and visited more than 30 countries.

Zheng He's voyage to the West can be said to be the largest, most ships (more than 240) and longest sea voyage in ancient China, more than half a century earlier than the voyage time of European countries, which is a direct reflection of the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng He's voyage to the West was a fleet of ships with dual diplomatic and commercial missions sent by Zhu Di, the Emperor of Yongle, in order to promote Weide. Although trade was relatively important, it was not the main purpose, so there were 25,000 officers and soldiers who accompanied the ship.

With such a large fleet and number of people, the impact is naturally different, so it was called "the great sea voyage of the Chinese in the early 15th century" by the French sinologist Berch.

Compared with the Song Dynasty, Zheng He was still in the future, but Gao Feng saw the huge potential of overseas trade through Zheng He's voyage to the West, so he decided to send a fleet to the West.

In fact, at this time, the overseas trade of the Great Song Dynasty was unprecedented, and there were many contacts between Western countries, but the scale was not large.

Gao Feng's idea this time was to send a fleet of ships to the West on a large scale, and his focus was on overseas trade.

There are many treasures in Western countries, cloth, incense, leather goods, groceries, medicinal materials, etc., all of which have unique styles, as long as the silk, paper, porcelain and a series of consumer goods developed by Gao Feng himself in the Great Song Dynasty are exchanged for the West, they can definitely make a lot of money.

Of course, trade in goods was only one of the purposes of the peak, and his main purpose was the introduction of Arabian horse breeds.

Arabian horse is produced in the Arabian Peninsula, is a smart, active, endurance and suitable for riding horse breed, its body is beautiful, robust, well-proportioned, well-developed, easy to adjust, mild temperament, low requirements for breeding management conditions. In addition, it has good hereditary properties, so it is very suitable for crossbreeding. Almost all riding horses in later generations had the lineage of Arabian horses. It was precisely because of this that Gao Feng decided to introduce Arabian horses.

Horses are not bred and improved in a day. It can be seen from the improvement of Japanese Oriental horses that Japan has cultivated millions of Oriental war horses in China through the introduction of Arabian horse breeds in two stages and more than 30 years.

This is a long-term process, and it is also a national strategy, which ordinary people simply cannot do.

Gao Feng could not rely on the Great Song Dynasty, let alone rely on its strength, he could only rely on his own ability to complete the transformation of horses.

Fortunately, he didn't ask too much for the number of horses, five to 100,000 would be satisfied, but if he could breed more, he wouldn't have a problem.

Technically, breeding horses have long been more mature. Zhang Bairen has a large number of mule breeding personnel, they not only have rich experience in mule breeding, but also have rich experience in horse breeding, which is the ability that Gao Feng specially let them practice, and its purpose is also for the next application.

This was the first time that a fleet had been organized to sail over a long distance, and it was even more difficult to fathom than the voyage between Daesong and Jeju Island, so it was necessary to be well prepared.

The first is the choice of the leader. This person must have prestige, vision, and the ability to deal with the situation, so not everyone can do this.

Ni Yuchen and the others each have a mess of things, and it is impossible to leave. Han Qiang has always been carrying a sea ship, and he is said to be the most suitable person, but his ability to deal with the opportunity is weak, and the defense of Jeju Island at sea also needs him, so Han Qiang is not suitable to lead the team.

There is no need for Han Qiang, but Gao Feng has a more suitable candidate, that is, He Qing.

He Qing is a native of Hejiazhuang under Mangdang Mountain, that time He Jiazhuang and Fanjiazhai competition, He Qing performed well, not only ran first, but also had a good character performance, so he was deeply liked by Gao Feng.

Later, Gao Feng sent him to various parts of the country to search for ore, and his performance surprised Gao Feng again. It not only ran through most of the Great Song Dynasty, but also found all kinds of minerals, and its varieties were completely out of the peak's expectations. The reason why the follow-up research of the peak was carried out smoothly is also inseparable from this.

Later, Gao Feng intended to cultivate him. He was first ordered to mine ore, then managed a workshop for a period of time, and served for a time in the Baojia army of Mangdang Mountain, and when he started construction on Jeju Island, he was recruited.

After several observations, Gao Feng found that He Qing was indeed a person who could take on great responsibilities. This person can endure hardships, hard work, good character, not rigid, everything that is explained to him, can be completed with quality and quantity, and the most important thing is that he loves to learn, and is also very good at thinking, some do not understand, and will soon be able to go on the road through learning, which is why Gao Feng values him.

In order to train He Qing, Gao Feng asked him to take over the fleet in advance, and the training at sea, the mastery of ship knowledge, the handling of emergency situations, and the understanding of the customs and customs of various countries made He Qing prepare, and he wanted to train He Qing to become the first Zheng He in China.

After determining the leader, the following is the arrangement of a series of things such as the ship, the personnel accompanying the ship, the equipment and goods carried.

This fleet is not for the purpose of promoting force or national diplomacy, but it must be famous, and at the same time, it must be guarded against piracy and covetousness by other powers, so it must be done in name and weaponry.

The name is naturally the name of the Great Song Dynasty's envoy ship, and no one will verify it anyway, so borrow it.

The ships have been refitted, and the weapons and equipment on them are also the latest type, which is the basic measure of armament.

In addition to the crew and soldiers, Gao Feng also sent a group of professionals to accompany the ship, guides, translators, navigation experts, medical staff, cooks, etc., as well as a group of people who specialize in business.

With this group of people accompanying them, general problems can be easily solved, and as for special events, they can only be dealt with by He Qing on the spot.

In addition, Takamine drew a sketchy nautical chart with general directions and routes, as well as a compass designed and made by himself, which was provided to the fleet.

In fact, the most difficult part of the whole activity was the supply of life. Meat is easy to say, it can be made into canned food, the taste and shelf life are very long, and the impact will not be great along the way, but the supply of vegetables and fruits is a little troublesome.

Vegetables and fruits are extremely important as they can make crew members sick and even affect their lives.

The fleet can dock at some ports to replenish, but there is no guarantee that it will be able to replenish every need, so it is essential to carry it with the ship.

It is possible to carry, but how to ensure that it does not deteriorate for a long time is the key, and for this reason, Gao Feng has come up with some methods. For example, canned fruits or vegetables, pickling or making dried vegetables, etc., ensure the long-term shelf life of vegetables or fruits.

What's even better is that Gaofeng has adopted a scientific packaging method - vacuum packaging, which can make fresh vegetables have a longer shelf life, so it is more popular.

In short, for this voyage, Gao Feng did everything he could to prepare so as not to have problems on the way.

When everything was ready, Gao Feng's order finally came down, and twenty modified merchant ships set off from Jeju Island and sailed south, through the South China Sea, through the Strait of Malacca, and into the Indian Ocean.