The biggest event in the four years of Hongzhi is undoubtedly the official departure of the Mingyuan treasure ship.

In order to break the shackles of food and to enable the population of the Ming Dynasty to reach a new level, the talented Emperor Hongzhi formulated a plan to find the treasure seed.

After several years, the best shipwrights in the country were gathered in Tianjin, and three million taels of money were spent to finally build the Mingyuan treasure ship with ocean-going capabilities.

This fleet was led by Liu Zhang, the right attendant of the former Ministry of Works, and appointed Zheng Hai and Su Can as vice captains, and together they went to the American continent to retrieve the high-yield treasure seeds.

After the Spring Festival this year, the fleet that shouldered the task of retrieving the treasure for China set off from Tianjin Port and went south along the ocean current. The apes on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the light boat has passed the taste of ten thousand mountains".

It's just that in this era when there are no wireless communication equipment, the transmission of information between fleets is particularly important.

Recognize the flag during the day and the lantern at night.

This fleet absorbed a lot of excellent hand water, and used the most customary code communication, so that the ships always maintained close contact.

The fleet was only supplied with food in Shanghai and Ningbo, and after passing through the Taiwan Strait, it went directly south to the seaport of Luzon City on Luzon Island.

"Lord Qincha, please rest assured, the supplies have been prepared, please check!" Luzon Governor Zhang Sui knew that it was a national-level strategy to go to the American continent to retrieve the treasure species, and greeted him enthusiastically.

Liu Zhang knew that this was the last supply of supplies for their fleet, so he naturally took it very seriously, and immediately went to the warehouse in Luzon City to inspect it.

Luzon City, which is resolutely like a new city in the interior.

On both sides of the brick street here are familiar Chinese shops, and most of the people who come and go are young and middle-aged, and these are the Ming people who have been recruited to work.

Since Luzon is the closest to Guangdong, and the supplies are mainly supplied by the Cantonese side, the faces on the streets are mostly Cantonese people, and there are also people from other provinces.

"Now that I work as a salary, I am less lazy and slippery!"

"Who's lazy? I need to drink a little wine every day to have strength! ”

"Niu Dali's gang is really fighting, and they have taken the initiative to apply to dig in the deep forest!"

"It's true that we have to eat and sleep in the open on the other side of the forest, but it is said that the salary is three times that of us here!"

……

With the arrival of batches of materials from Guangdong, the gold mining plan in Luzon City has begun, and preparations for the future are in full swing.

If the plan goes well, the annual output of the gold mine here is expected to reach 1 million taels, which is undoubtedly an important source of income for the Ming Dynasty.

The governor of Luzon, Zhang Sui, followed the instructions of the imperial court to build a road to the Luzon gold mines, and this road extending to the belly of Luzon would be a golden road in the true sense of the word.

Liu Zhang is actually a layman who loves money, and now he has come to this "golden island" to check the progress of the golden road.

Originally, he wanted to go to the gold mine to open his eyes, but now the road has not been halfway completed, and the fastest speed to return to and from it will take half a month, so he had to dispel this idea.

In fact, he didn't quite understand why the emperor put the search for treasure seeds on the gold mine, after all, the gold mine would be a shocking wealth, but the treasure seed would at most increase some grain tax revenue, and the economic benefits of the two were fundamentally different.

It's just that he didn't dwell too much on this result, but he knew that the emperor attached great importance to the matter of retrieving the treasure seed, and if he successfully brought back the treasure seed, he would have a great chance to be promoted to the six Shangshu.

After only staying in Luzon City for two days, after the fleet had completed its last replenishment, he collected a lot of local hawksbill turtles from here, and then led the Mingyuan treasure fleet around the east of Luzon and sailed into the Pacific Ocean.

At this point, the time has quietly come to the end of March, and their fleet has ushered in its first real sailing challenge.

In fact, in the eyes of many people, as long as they can ensure that they have enough food and water, it will be very easy to go to the Americas and bring back the treasure seeds.

It was only when they really sailed on the sea, facing the Central Plains, which was far larger than the land and the vast resources, that they realized how naïve that idea was.

Unlike offshore sailing, it is difficult to find a suitable anchorage point in such a deep-sea area, so since entering the Pacific Ocean, it is basically spent overnight at sea.

Bang!

Not long after they entered this vast sea, a violent storm was ushered in.

There was no light in the black night sky, and the sailboat rose and fell in the rough waves, as if the waves would capsize the whole ship in the ocean at any moment.

This fleet consisted of four Mingyuan treasure ships, Liu Zhang and the two deputy captains each took the helm of one, each with a crew of 400 people, and the remaining one was actually a supply ship on the way.

The four Mingyuan treasure ships sailed in an arrow-shaped formation, and the main ship led by Liu Zhang was located in the rear, which could be regarded as being able to ensure the safety of the main ship to the greatest extent.

"Resist, must resist!"

The Mingyuan treasure ship at the forefront was attacked by the storm, and in the face of the sudden storm, it could only passively drift with the current, hoping that the storm would be gentle.

It's just that this storm has not shown any mercy, even in the face of the most advanced three-masted sailing ship of this era, it also wants to bury the sailboat in this sea.

"Captain, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on!"

"Captain, this must be the center of the storm!"

"It's too stormy here, we need to get out of here immediately!"

……

The wind and waves were merciless, and the storm blew the heavy Mingyuan treasure ship to the ground, and several experienced helmsmen expressed their opinions one after another.

While there is a risk of running aground at night, it is equally dangerous to stay here, so it is a very unfavorable situation right now.

"Give the order to the rear, and our ship will move forward immediately!"

Wu Zhuangyuan Su Can combined with the current grim situation, and seemed to give an order immediately.

In fact, at this time, their ship can choose to retreat, which can also reduce the probability of hitting the reef, but it may collide with the main ship behind.

Su Can knew that this choice had both advantages and disadvantages, this was an adventure that tested his will to the extreme, once he encountered a little difficulty and danger and wanted to retreat, then it would be difficult to successfully bring back the treasure seed that the emperor had in mind from the Americas.

Knock knock knock......

A burst of gongs and drums sounded, signaling the commander-in-chief ship behind them to sail forward.

At this time, the wind and waves are not weak but strong, and it seems that they are seizing the last opportunity to overturn the Mingyuan treasure ship in front here, and another high wave is coming from the north.

Bang!

The waves crashed heavily against the hull of the ship, and the hull made a babbling sound, and some people were immediately shocked to the ground, and some people were shocked to the hull of the ship.

"Jiafan is transferred to the dry position!"

"Bingfan turns to Kun position!"

……

In the face of this unfavorable weather condition, the helmsman of this Mingyuan treasure ship appeared to cope with the storm exceptionally well, and continued to sail in the fierce storm at night.

It is true that the situation could easily run aground and the ship be shipwrecked, but it was also a last resort to escape from the epicenter of the storm, especially in such seas, which were destined for constant adventure.

In fact, the danger factor of sailing in this era was very high, and there were countless shipwrecks, which was one of the important reasons why maritime trade was so lucrative.

This time they set foot in a completely unfamiliar sea, and they never even thought that there was a shore in the East China Sea, so the danger factor this time was multiplied.

"We're safe!"

"This Chaoyang is really beautiful!"

"I can see this scene in this life, although I have no regrets in death!"

……

After a long night of fighting, their ship finally left the storm area, and it was so beautiful to see the rising sun in the sea ahead.

Call......

Wu Zhuangyuan, who was like the rest of his life after the catastrophe, looked at the majestic morning sun in front of him and looked at the calm sea around him, and couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

He was the champion of martial arts in the previous year, and he was also the most experienced captain of the Tianjin-Luzon route, so he didn't really need to venture to the United States this time.

It's just that he was born in a low-level military family, but he understood the importance of grain seeds, so he took the initiative to apply to become the captain of one of the Mingyuan treasure ships.

Of course, he mainly learned that as long as the fleet could successfully bring back the treasure species, then the captain would be knighted, and the future marquis would no longer be a dream.

It was precisely because of this, whether it was for the sake of the people at the bottom of the entire Ming Dynasty, or for the sake of that attractive title, he decided to take a risk.

But even he didn't expect that as soon as he stepped out of his comfort zone, he encountered a major crisis that once made him suspect that he was going to die in the sea.

"Look, isn't that America? We're in the Americas? ”

It was then that one of the crew members shouted loudly, apparently excitedly, pointing ahead and pointing ahead.

Everyone squinted and looked towards the east, and although their eyes were very dazzling when they met the rising sun, they were greeted by a green area.

Although the green area is small, it certainly gives everyone hope. If the Americas they were looking for were in front of them, then they had already achieved half of their goal this time, and all that was left was to go to the tribes or kings to find the treasure species they needed.

"We should be in Guam!"

Su Can didn't make a fuss, and after seeing the green area in front of him, he remembered His Majesty's dream description of Guam, and explained very calmly.

As for the Americas, which they cheered, as long as they seriously participated in the training before going to sea, they should know that it was impossible to reach the American continent so quickly.

Out of trust in the emperor, although they did not have a specific navigation chart, they already had the emperor's dream map for this voyage, but they knew that there was still a long voyage to reach the Americas.

Su Can's Mingyuan treasure ship arrived at Guam without any danger, and it would be the last human gathering area they encountered when crossing the Pacific Ocean.

Guam is located in the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, and Guam is the largest island in this archipelago, where dozens of tribes of all sizes live, with a population of nearly 50,000.

They have learned how to engage in agricultural production, and they have also learned how to build independent boats to fish inshore, and have achieved self-sufficiency. Due to the constraints of resources and smelting technology, the weapons held by the indigenous people here are only sharp stones.

"What is this? So sharp! ”

"And this jar, why is there flowers on it?"

"It's amazing that this stone has been conceived into a human form!"

……

A topless tribe was the first to discover Su Can's arrival, and when they saw the objects brought by Su Can, they were shocked fiercely.

In order to be able to bring back the treasure seed smoothly, this time the preparation is very thorough.

Each ship had a special negotiator, and when they showed off the tools and goods they were carrying, the aborigines offered a large amount of food in exchange.

Half a day later, the three Mingyuan treasure ships led by Liu Zhang arrived one after another.

As soon as Su Can stepped forward, he heard Liu Zhang's accompanying clerk say, "Su Qianhu, you kneel!" ”

"Humble greetings to the Governor!" Su Can was slightly stunned at first, and then said in a proper manner.

Liu Zhang's face suddenly darkened, and he said in a weird manner: "Do you still know that the old man is the governor?" Hehe...... Why did you leave so quickly last night? ”

"Lord Governor, the wind and waves in that position are too strong, and the judgment is ......" Su Can only then knew that it was this matter, and was ready to explain.

"Enough! Ben doesn't want to hear your quibbles! Su Qianhu, since you are a soldier, you should know the four words of military orders! Liu Zhang rudely interrupted Su Can's explanation, and then admonished seriously: "If there is a next time, this governor will take your boat!" ”

"Humble and wrong!" Su Can also responded helplessly in the face of such an unreasonable boss.

This is just a small conflict during the voyage, or Liu Zhang's way of taking the opportunity to stand up for himself.

In fact, it can't be said that Liu Zhang is making a big fuss, when Liu Zhang heard that Su Can was going to choose to move forward, he also ordered to restrain it through the sound of drums.

It's just that when he came out with his clothes on, Su Can's boat had already ended, and naturally he couldn't hear the drumbeat of his forbidden action.

With only a few short daggers, porcelain, and stone carvings, the fleet was able to exchange large quantities of food from the tribes of Guam.

In just two days, the fleet had already completed the replenishment of supplies, and then the fleet continued to move towards the southeast seas. From here, it will be difficult for them to encounter humans again.

By this time, the time had come to May.

The real test of the fleet came as scheduled, and in the face of this sea full of unknowns, in the face of the ocean without the other side, everyone felt lost.

One, two, three......

On the fifth day, after distributing the supplies to the other three ships, the supply ship headed for Guam without looking back. The rest of the way is on their own.

6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 10 days, 20 days......

This sea area is far different from the South and East China Seas they are familiar with, and now it is like an endless ocean, as if there is no end to it.

Bang!

The three Mingyuan treasure ships ushered in a violent storm again, but the earliest storm was simply a small thing, like a shocking wave slamming into the hull of the ship, splashing several feet high.

"Let's go back!"

After seeing the magic of nature, Liu Zhang finally gave up. (End of chapter)