Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 411 Jinhua's envoys have arrived

Wang Dayuan frowned and nodded. Lu Jin directly drew the route on the map. He could still understand it, but he was still a little worried, so he asked again.

"I remembered it. When I went there, I went north first, passing through Tamra, Sapporo, Liugui, Qingqiu, and then to Lizhou. Then I went south along the west coast, to Inuit Bay, then Changchun, Jinchuan, and finally to the destination, Maya Country.

"But when we come back, we have to cross 40,000 miles of ocean. Isn't there any supply point along the way?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin scratched his head and said, "When you went there, you took the northern route, and the northern route is the westerly belt, with westerly winds all year round. If you come back from the northern route, it will be against the wind and the current, so how can the ship move? It's better to take the southern route of the North Equatorial Current back, but there is really no place to resupply on this warm current belt.

"If you really need supplies, you can turn northwest. There is a Danzhou Archipelago (Hawaiian Islands) here. There are several large islands here, located two-thirds of the way between China and Lizhou. Because the islands are full of sandalwood, Gongshu called it Danzhou, or Honolulu.

"There are five or six large islands in the Danzhou Archipelago, with a population of about 400,000 to 500,000. They are descendants of the Baiyue people who sailed across the ocean thousands of years ago. They look not much different from the Chinese people, but there is no country on the island. The people are divided into several tribes based on the islands, and they fight with each other.

"The islanders are ignorant and often offer human sacrifices, but they know how to farm and raise livestock. There are freshwater rivers on the island. You can replenish your supply of fresh water and pork here, and perhaps exchange them for some food, but it's probably potatoes and maybe even vegetables and fruits like bananas. It's worth a visit."

Wang Dayuan and Fan Qiuchan were immediately surprised when they heard this.

"In the vast ocean, there is actually an island occupied by the Baiyue people? And there is a population of 400,000 or 500,000? This is comparable to the population of larger cities in China. In Southeast Asia, it can be called a small country. There is not even a country here? It's really strange."

Fan Qiuchan also said, "This vast ocean is thousands of miles away from land. How did Gongshu find out that there were still Baiyue people here?"

"It was discovered by chance, because coming back from Lizhou, the only convenient route is the North Equatorial Warm Current. And if you happen to encounter a storm along this route and deviate a little to the north, you can easily come across this Tanzhou Island." Lu Jin explained immediately.

“As for why there are no countries, it’s actually not surprising. Although those small countries in Southeast Asia are located on islands, they are adjacent to the Chinese mainland after all. Chinese civilization and Indian culture can be spread to them, and there are even Persian merchants. They still have some knowledge.

"The Baiyue people on the island of Tanzhou have been trapped on the island for thousands of years. They are thousands of miles away from the mainland. They have not seen any outsiders passing by for thousands of years. It is difficult for them to communicate with the outside world. Perhaps in the eyes of those natives, those small islands are the whole world. How is it different from most Chinese people? Don't most people in the world think that there is only China in the world?"

The two nodded when they heard this, and Wang Dayuan immediately asked, "If we want to resupply in Tanzhou and then return to the warm current belt, we have to go southwest for a while. Are there any similar islands where we can resupply in the remaining half of the route?"

"Wait for me, I'll look at the nautical chart. There are indeed many islands in the South Pacific, but they are very small, not populated, and not even full of fresh water. More importantly, they are not on your route, so it's hard to come across them unless you take the initiative to look for them."

As Lu Jin spoke, he found a large-scale map of the Pacific Ocean and searched for the warm current zone for a long time before finally speaking.

"It will be difficult to resupply after passing Tanzhou. If you continue to sail west, you will encounter the Marshall Islands halfway through the journey. However, there is almost no fresh water here, only some coconut trees and possibly savages. However, rainwater gathers on the island, so you may be able to find streams and dig freshwater wells on the island.

“Before I leave, I’ll have the craftsmen build you a few steam boilers. If you really can’t hold on without water, you can first chop wood and boil the sea to get some distilled water to sustain your life, and then send people to the island to find streams, or directly dig wells.

“After the Zhuma Islands, further west, there is a chain of the Dayuan Islands (Mariana Islands).

Wang Dayuan was stunned when he heard this, "This place has the same name as mine?"

Lu Jin nodded. "It's called the Great Abyss because it's located in the Pacific Ocean. This is the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. If you drop a rope and an anchor down, you may not reach the bottom even at 30,000 feet."

"Then we won't be able to drop anchor?" Wang Dayuan frowned again.

Lu Jin immediately explained, "That's not right, the water near the island is certainly not that deep, we can still drop anchor.

"There is an island here called Guam. Further north there are Tinian Island, Bangu Island (Saipan), and Iwo Jima. But I don't know which one you will encounter. Besides, there may be no fresh water on these islands. You can only chop wood and boil some sea water, or try your luck by digging a well in a place with abundant water vapor. Maybe Gongshu's map was wrong, and you may find a stream on the island, but the hope is not great.

“Further west, there is no need to look for supply points. Guam is only 6,000 miles away from the mouth of the Yangtze River in China, 5,000 miles away from Pingzhou Island (Taiwan), and perhaps only 4,000 miles away from Luzon Island.

"Your ship can travel at least 13 knots per hour, and can cover 1150 miles in a day and night. Four thousand miles can be covered in just four days. It only takes four days to get from Guam to Manila in Luzon, and six days to the mouth of the Yangtze River. You can be back in a few days, so why would you need to look for supplies?"

Both of them were a little surprised when they heard this. Fan Qiuchan looked at the ship model on the long table. He didn't expect that this pointed-nosed ship could travel a thousand miles a day.

Wang Dayuan also frowned and measured on the globe, then said, "In the past, it took 68 days to sail from Java to Quanzhou Port in Fujian by Fuzhou ship. But if we use the speed that the lord said, with our newly built ship, wouldn't it be possible to arrive in 20 days?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to build a boat, and I could have just let you use the Fuzhou ship. But it's even harder for a Fuzhou ship to cross the ocean.

"The route I have planned for you starts from Liujiagang and goes to Tamra, Sapporo, Liugui, Qingqiu, Inuit Bay, Changchun, Jinchuan, and Maya. Each stop takes at least six or seven days, and at most half a month.

“On the way back, we would go through Danzhou, Zhuma, Dayuan, and Luzon. It would take at most ten days, or at most six or seven days. If you were not collecting the crop seeds from Lizhou, it would take at most four or five months to complete the whole trip. If you went there in May, you would be back at the end of October.

“But if we take a Fuchuan ship, the speed will be 70% to 80% slower. I just said it would take you seven or eight days, but you will have to travel for more than a month. You will have to carry a lot of fresh water and food. If you get lost or encounter a storm, the fresh water on the ship will be gone before you reach the next stop, and everyone will die of thirst!

"So if you want to go to Lizhou, the speed of the ship is also the key. The shorter the time you spend on the road, the more food and fresh water reserves you can bring on board, and the safer it will be." Wang Dayuan suddenly realized, "I see, that's why the lord insisted on building a new ship."

Lu Jin added, "Building new ships is not only for going to Lizhou, but also for building naval warships. Fu ships are OK for transporting goods, but they are not suitable for being used as naval warships.

"With the same amount of wood and the same size of ship, my new ship can be equipped with dozens or even hundreds of guns. A single round of ten-round rapid fire can smash the enemy ship into pieces. However, the Fu ship can only be equipped with a dozen guns at most, and its speed is so slow. If it encounters a specially made warship, it will only be beaten and won't even be able to fight back!"

Wang Dayuan nodded and said, "I understand. I will definitely supervise the construction of this warship and let the craftsmen learn how to build a new ship as soon as possible."

Fan Qiuchan also reacted at this time and said, "So the Marshal asked Mr. Huanzhang to go to Lizhou to look for some crops. Is it possible that there is something in Lizhou that we don't have in China, so do we have to find it?"

Lu Jin nodded, looked at her clothes and said, "The fabric on you looks like cotton. Cotton is not native to China, but comes from India and Egypt. It just so happens that there are two kinds of kapok in Lizhou, and they are of better quality than Egyptian and Indian cotton, and can be spun into finer cotton. Do you think we should send someone to look for them?"

Fan Qiuchan said, "It is so dangerous to go to Lizhou. If it is just for a better kind of kapok, it doesn't seem worth risking one's life. I think the Indian cotton and Egyptian cotton that the Marshal mentioned are very good."

So Lu Jin continued, "The Former Song Dynasty introduced early-maturing rice from Champa, which allowed the people in Jiangnan to have two crops a year, greatly increasing the yield of rice per mu, and making Jiangnan a land of fish and rice, making it the richest place in the world.

"If I tell you that there is a kind of corn in Lizhou that can be rotated with winter wheat, and the winter wheat is harvested in June, the corn is planted immediately, and it can be harvested in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and then winter wheat can be planted. This will allow thousands of miles of dry land in the north to have two crops a year, and the grain output will double. Do you think this is worth risking your life for?"

Fan Qiuchan was immediately surprised and asked, "Does Lizhou really have this kind of food?"

Lu Jin nodded affirmatively, "Of course there are, and there are more than one kind. The good things can't be recorded in a picture album."

"Of course I will go, even if it means risking my life. If I can get this thing back, I don't know how many people can be fed. So the Marshal wants me to draw this album." Fan Qiuchan suddenly realized, but then he said in distress, "But I have never seen those things. How can I draw them?"

Lu Jin said immediately, "I will describe it and you will draw it. I can also give you a rough outline of what it looks like, and then you, as the painter, can draw a detailed picture. This way, we can have an atlas and help Mr. Huanzhang find it by following the pictures to avoid missing it or making a mistake."

Upon hearing this, Fan Qiuchan felt a strong sense of responsibility and accomplishment, and immediately said, "Since this is for the sake of the country, even if you don't give me salary, I will do my best. What do you want to paint? Tell me, you."

Wang Dayuan and Lu Jin found it funny. They didn't expect this woman to have such awareness. However, they didn't laugh at her. Lu Jin immediately said, "Let's draw the corn first."

He drew a sketch on the blackboard and then described it in detail to make sure Fan Qiuchan could understand.

"This thing looks like sorghum. Have you ever seen sorghum?"

"I've seen it. There really is one growing on the mountain in Taizhou."

"That's good. The biggest feature of corn is that it has aerial roots underneath and relatively long and wide leaves. However, there are few leaves. A corn plant only has a dozen leaves. The petiole is wrapped around the stalk, with a flower spike on the top. In the middle, there will be one or two corn cobs, like mallets. This thing is wrapped in leaves, and the inside is like rows of teeth, crystal clear, like jade agate. That's why it is called corn. It can also be called corn, corn grain, etc.

"The local natives called it Maya, which is the name of the country after this kind of grain."

"I see. Then can we call it Corn Country?"

"You can call it that, but corn was named by Gongshu. If you call it corn to the locals, they won't understand."

So from that day on, Fan Qiuchan officially started working at the Marshal's Mansion, and went there every day to draw pictures of overseas crops. Lu Jin would usually describe them first, then draw a sketch, and then Fan Qiuchan would carefully polish and draw them. If the drawing didn't look like the original, Lu Jin would tell her how to modify it.

Wang Dayuan traveled between the shipyard and the Marshal's Mansion every day. While supervising the construction of new ships, he carefully checked the route map with Lu Jin. He also calculated the precise longitude and latitude of supply points such as Tamra, Sapporo, Ryugui (Kamchatka Peninsula), and Qingqiu (Aleutian Islands), and drew a larger and more detailed nautical chart.

Lu Jin also asked craftsmen to make several sextants and taught him how to use the sextants to measure latitude. As for the measurement of longitude, that was more complicated.

The best way to measure longitude is, of course, to calculate the time difference. Two clocks are prepared on the ship, one to record the time in Nanjing, and the other to calculate the time at the ship's location. By calculating the time difference between the location and Nanjing, the longitude of the location can be calculated.

However, this requires a very precise clock. Lu Jin knows how to make a marine clock, but he cannot find ruby ​​bearings for the time being, so the accuracy and error of the clock cannot be guaranteed.

Even with ruby ​​bearings, the daily error of marine clocks from the World War II era was about 0.25 seconds. This 0.25 second at the equator would produce an error of about 470 meters. If the daily error reached 2.5 seconds, the actual distance might be nearly 5 kilometers.

Fortunately, the visual distance of a telescope at sea is 30 kilometers, which means that as long as the error of the marine clock is within 10 seconds, it is barely acceptable. At 30 kilometers, plus Lu Jin's high-powered monocular telescope, if people are sent to take turns to observe carefully, it is not impossible to miss even an island.
With the marine clock and sextant, the problem of measuring longitude and latitude was solved, and they could be used for navigation at sea without any problem.

At the same time, just as Lu Jin was crossing the ocean to find potatoes and corn, Xia Yu's Suzhou campaign to attack Zhao Junyong also began. The messenger sent by Tao Guangyi, who was far away in Jinhua, to surrender successfully found Guo Zixing, and was then sent to Hangzhou by Guo Zixing, and then sent to Jiankang by Yang Jing.

(End of this chapter)