The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 29: Poaching from the UK
Captain James Cook's translator, feeling very aggrieved and helpless, bowed to Cao Zhendong and was ready to say goodbye and go back.

Cao Zhendong seemed to have thought of something again and continued to pass on the message to the translator:
“By the way, our King Wu also said that he knows that there is a captain named James Cook in your country, who is a very good cartographer.

“If he is willing to come to Ming, pledge allegiance to our Highness the King of Wu, and present all the sea charts he has drawn in recent years.

“Then he can get the title of Baron of the Ming Wu Kingdom.

"If he insists on continuing to explore the Pacific, he must pay attention to his personal safety and the special beliefs of the island natives.

"If he was on an indigenous island, he would be especially welcomed by the local indigenous people.

“Then you must be even more careful. After leaving this island, try not to go back again, otherwise you may be in danger of death.

“Also, if you can find a young English naval officer named Horatio Nelson.

“Just tell him that if he is willing to come to Ming and pledge his loyalty to His Royal Highness the King of Wu, he can also have the title of Baron of the Wu Kingdom of Ming.

"If you can bring Nelson and Cook here, you will also be able to get a very considerable reward of 500 Ming silver dollars."

Zhu Jianxuan knew that according to original history, this year Cook would explore the Pacific Ocean for the last time and discover the Hawaiian Islands.

Because the celebrations related to the indigenous beliefs of the Hawaiian Islands coincided with the trajectory of Cook's fleet's observation of the Hawaiian Islands, the Cook fleet was regarded as the arrival of gods and was warmly welcomed.

After Cook left Hawaii, he returned to repair the ship because its mast was damaged.

As a result, the god's return caused a crisis of faith, which in turn triggered riots and conflicts in the local area, and Cook was killed in the chaos.

So Zhu Jianxuan wanted to find Cook, firstly because he wanted to get the nautical charts drawn by Cook directly.

The second was to see if he could save his life and obtain an experienced explorer and cartographer.

Zhu Jianxuan also took into account that the history of this world does not completely overlap with that of the previous life.

Cook's experience might not be the same as in his previous life. If he had arrived on the Hawaiian Island a few days later, the misunderstanding might not have occurred.

In order to avoid being considered as someone who could predict the future, Zhu Jianxuan only gave a general reminder to be aware of dangers and pay attention to indigenous beliefs.

It's a good thing that Cook can stay, but it doesn't matter if he can't.

Horatio Nelson is the most famous naval commander in British history. He shaped the soul of the modern British Navy.

Nelson should have just turned 18 this year, and of course he is not famous yet. If he can be poached directly, he will be very useful in the future.

In addition, two naval admirals, Samuel Hood and George Rodney, are still alive.

But they are already in high positions, so it should be difficult to poach them.

The key is that Nelson is still young and there is still a chance for him to integrate into Ming society. Hood and Rodney are old and no longer have a chance.

So Zhu Jianxuan planned to recruit Nelson, but had no intention of recruiting Hood and Rodney.

Cook's translator was stunned after hearing what Cao Zhendong said.

Although five hundred silver dollars would not make him rich overnight, it was still a windfall. The key was that he only needed to bring two people to the Ming Dynasty to accept the title, and there would be no danger.

He doesn't know who Nelson is yet, but Captain Cook is his boss.

The captain doesn't have a title yet, so he should be willing to come to Ming Dynasty to receive one.

The translator excitedly confirmed again that Cao Zhendong was serious, and then took the original boat back to Cook's ship to report the situation.

James Cook was stunned after hearing the translator's explanation:

"This King Wu of the Ming Dynasty claims that this continent and the surrounding islands will all belong to him from now on?

“And he invited me to go to Ming and pledge my loyalty to him?
"Who is this King Wu? Is there a King Wu among the princes who have fiefdoms in the Ming Dynasty?"

The translator explained with a weird expression:
"Yes, Captain, that's what the Ming officer said.

"There was no King of Wu before the Ming Dynasty. This King of Wu should have been enthroned recently.

"After being enthroned, the king of the Ming Dynasty usually has to expand outward.

“It now appears that the future development direction of the King of Wu will be the southern continent and the surrounding islands.

"That's why he wants the Pacific Ocean chart you drew, Captain."

After listening to this, Cook nodded slightly:

"That is to say, we can basically be sure that the future development direction of the Ming Dynasty will not be India..."

The translator was visibly stunned again. He did not expect Captain Cook's thoughts to jump so much:
"Captain, what do you think? Should we continue to move forward? Continue to explore the Pacific Ocean?"

Cook said directly:
“Of course I have to continue, my mission is not yet complete.

“The Ming Dynasty had obviously just begun to explore, and might not have started immigration and development yet.

"Their warnings are most likely just pure claims and intimidation."

The translator reminded again:
"Then... King Wu also reminds you to pay attention to the beliefs of the indigenous islands that especially welcome you. Don't go back after you leave, as your life may be in danger. Cook thought about it for a few seconds:

“This could also be intimidation, but it could also be that Daming knows that on certain islands, some indigenous people have special beliefs and customs.

“Things like this are always strange and it’s always right for us to be careful.

"If we really encounter such a thing, it just proves that His Royal Highness the King of Wu has good intentions..."

The translator finally asked:
"And... do you want to go to... Ming Dynasty? His Royal Highness the King of Wu promised to give you a baron title."

Cook hesitated a little:

"After completing this exploration mission, let's stop by on the way back."

Captain Cook did not explicitly express his refusal in the end. The Europeans were much less resistant to changing their king than the Ming people.

Moreover, Europeans traditionally allow one person to hold titles from multiple countries at the same time.

After bidding farewell to the Ming exploration fleet, James Cook continued sailing eastward with two exploration ships.

After arriving in Tahiti, they sent the local natives ashore, traded with them and obtained supplies, then set off again and sailed north.

Cao Zhendong and the Ming exploration fleet began to survey Australia's South Island.

After completion, they returned to the Australian coastline and entered the bay in southern Australia for investigation, which was the Melbourne Bay in Zhu Jianxuan’s previous life.

This kind of bay with a small mouth and a large belly is usually suitable for building a port.

If there are rivers, plains and forests on the inner shore, it would be a suitable place to build a city.

This bay basically meets all the requirements, so it needs to be explored intensively in order to be used as a candidate site for the King of Wu to build his capital.

After Cao Zhendong commanded four ships to enter the deepest part of the bay, he released the sailors and soldiers on the ships to go ashore to build a camp.

After preparing to rest on shore, the soldiers were arranged to survey the nearby inland area.

At the same time, the small boats on board were released to map the coastline inside the bay and measure the water depth of the waterway and most areas.

After arranging the work, Cao Zhendong climbed up to the flagship's observation tower to observe the scene on the shore.

Not far from the coastline, there are very dense forests, which are primeval forests that have grown for who knows how many years.

Many of the trees are unusually thick and tall, large enough to make masts and keels for battleships.

After watching for a while, Cao Zhendong couldn't help but sigh:
“This forest looks nice, but unfortunately there are mountains behind it.

“This relatively flat area at the foot of the mountain is estimated to be only about 40 to 50 kilometers in size.

"But even so, this is probably the best place in Australia.

"There is water, flat land, and a large bay. The water is quite deep, and the largest battleships of the navy can come in.

"There are just too few flat areas and no big rivers. It would be nice if there was a big river like the Pearl River here."

The lookout also echoed:
“Who said it wasn’t true? How could Australia be so dry?

"We went around the whole circle and didn't see a single decent river.

“There are no large rivers flowing outward, which means the drought inside the continent must be even worse.

"It's just a little bit in the southwest corner, and there's some woods and grassland in the east.

“But there aren’t large tracts of flat land in any of these places.”

Cao Zhendong sighed deeply:

"We can only build cities on the eastern and southern coasts, in some relatively large coastal plains or in valleys between mountains.

"Fortunately, the land is really big enough. If you add up all these scattered flat lands, there is still enough space for several prefectures.

"But the forest here is really good. We don't have to worry about not having wood to build a house."

In Zhu Jianxuan's previous life, there were also fairly large virgin forests in the eastern and southern regions of Australia.

However, after European immigrants arrived here, they quickly learned how to burn the land for farming.

The wood ash left after burning the forest can indeed be used as fertilizer for the fields.

But this kind of fertilizer can only be used once. After a few years, the nutrients will run out. Then you have to move to another place and continue burning the land, repeating the previous operation.

Over time, Australia became bare.

The land in Australia is barren, and the original forests have grown for tens of thousands of years to reach their size.

Even if we plant trees again after logging and burning, we may not see a forest form again during the entire human life cycle.

(End of this chapter)