Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 439, finally came back
In the cold winter of October, heavy snow fell on the capital side, the cold wind howled, and the snowflakes fluttered.

Liu Jin skipped work again, and didn't even go to order. This is not the first time Liu Jin has missed work, and the Imperial Academy has long been used to Liu Jin skipping work.

The other Hanlins are honestly editing and editing books, but Liu Jin is a very busy man, fishing for three days and drying the net for two days, and it is rare to see Liu Jin go to the Hanlin Academy.

Of course, Liu Jin could find a legitimate reason every time. Liu Jin and the crown prince were close, so he could just find an excuse, and no one really said that because of this matter, he would have trouble with Liu Jin.

Everyone knows that Liu Jin has a bright future, he is the number one scholar, and he can be promoted after only a year or two in the Imperial Academy, and he can become an important minister in the court after working hard for a few more years.

Emperor Hongzhi liked Liu Jin very much, and Liu Jin got close to the prince. It can be said that the future has a bright future.

What kind of thing is skipping a shift? Liu Jin didn't go, but every day at midnight, someone took care of it for Liu Jin.

"Twelve years of Hongzhi have passed, and it has been more than three years since we crossed over."

Looking at the goose feather heavy snow outside the window, Liu Jin couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

In the past few years, Liu Jin has indeed done a lot of things, engaged in coal, glass, built ports, opened seas for fishing, went out to sea for business, opened maritime colleges, built shipyards, and even established the Miyun Iron Works and Daming First Bank...

It's not like I don't know that in just a few years, so many things have been done.

The trajectory of history has also undergone tremendous changes because of Liu Jin, the wing that passes through the butterfly.

The twelfth year of Hongzhi in history was quite a wonderful year. Among other things, Tang Bohu's life trajectory has undergone tremendous changes just because of the imperial examinations.

There is also Wang Shouren. In the twelfth year of Hongzhi in history, his grades were seventh in the second class, but this time he was second in the first class and entered the Imperial Academy. Naturally, there is a world of difference from seventh in the second class.

In history, the little prince in the [-]th year of Hongzhi still went south to plunder, and the emperor Hongzhi still had nothing to do with him, but now the army led by the little prince was completely wiped out.

This winter the grassland is extremely cold, because the little prince's army is all folded in Daming, and none of the [-] troops have left. The grassland has undergone tremendous changes, bloody storms, and every tribe has suffered heavy losses. The Oala in the west is about to move, intending to unify the entire grassland. .

Great changes have taken place in history, and the changes are getting more and more out of the original track.

Liu Jin didn't know whether this was good or bad.

"That's right, the fleet going to the Golden Isle has been out for more than a year, and it stands to reason that it should be coming back soon."

Soon after, Liu Jin thought of the fleet going to the Golden Continent.

The fleet set off from Tianjin on the first day of June in the [-]th year of Hongzhi. Now it is October of the [-]th year of Hongzhi, and it has been more than a year.

"It stands to reason that he should be coming back. Could it be that something happened at sea?"

"Based on my preparations, if something goes wrong and I can't reach the Americas and return smoothly, it's really hard to imagine how the Europeans made the great voyage."

Then Liu Jin frowned. He was full of confidence in the fleet heading to Golden Island.

Liu Jin used his golden fingers to make the most accurate map of this era, coupled with the sextant, the most advanced sea-going ships, and a lot of sailing knowledge and concepts. If even this fails, then Liu Jin is really useless. There is more to say.

"There are still too many uncertain factors in sailing in this era. I hope they can come back safely."

Liu Jin thought about it, and couldn't help praying silently in his heart.

The fleet going to the Golden Continent is really important. Not only is the high-yield crops on the Golden Continent very important to Daming, but Liu Jin was the first to blow out many things about the Golden Continent.

It would be a huge blow to Liu Jin's reputation if the fleet didn't come back from Golden Island.

In addition, the gold on the Golden Continent, the vast and fertile land, is the most ideal place for overseas colonization in the future, and this is a place that Ming must not miss.

Therefore, it is very important whether this fleet can return from the Golden Continent smoothly.

It can be said that only success is not allowed to fail.

While Liu Jin was praying silently, in a sea area of ​​the Yellow Sea, ten big blessing ships lined up in a line and eagerly sailed on the sea, heading towards Tianjin.

On the deck of the 'Taishan', Du Mingen couldn't help but want to open his hands and shout towards the sea.

"We are back ~ finally back ~"

Du Mingen couldn't help shouting in his heart.

At this time, Du Mingen had a sloppy beard and ragged clothes. What's more, he was tanned and his skin was cracked. Naturally, the whole person has undergone tremendous changes.

The front part to the Golden Continent was very smooth. In January of the twelfth year of Hongzhi, they arrived at the Golden Continent smoothly. They quickly and easily found the big treasury and the concentrated high-yield crops that Emperor Hongzhi needed. , and even the peppers, peanuts, tomatoes, rubber trees, and cinchona trees that Liu Jin explained were collected very smoothly.

All the way south along the west coast of the Golden Continent, Du Mingen's fleet arrived in Central America. Here, Du Mingen and the others understood what gold is everywhere.

A country of descendants of wealthy merchants in Central America really used gold to build houses. They easily exchanged some silk, glass and other things brought by Ming Dynasty for the suffocating gold, and filled ten Dafu boats to the brim. of.

After arriving in Central America, according to the map provided by Liu Jin, Du Mingen and others chose to cross the Pacific Ocean and return to Daming along the northern equatorial warm current through the later generations of Hawaii.

The reason why Du Mingen and others decided to take this route is because this route is the closest route. If they want to return along the original route, it will take a very long time, and when returning through the Bailing Strait, it is very dangerous, especially In winter, there are a lot of floating ice, which is extremely unsafe.

The second is through sailing during this period, they have enough confidence in their sailing skills, they can clearly know their position in the sea, and they are very confident in crossing the Pacific Ocean.

But just because they decided to cross the Pacific Ocean, Du Mingen and others suffered a lot when they returned.

Although the route across the Pacific Ocean is the closest route, and because of the northern equatorial warm current, the speed of the ship can be faster when returning, which can indeed save time.

But the Pacific Ocean is too vast, and in the middle of this route, the only places that can replenish fresh water, vegetables and fruits, etc. are the Hawaiian Islands.

Therefore, this requires very high technical requirements for navigation. It can accurately calculate its own position and ensure that there will be no mistakes in the route.

If you return by the same route, there is a coastline along the way, and you can dock on land at any time to replenish fresh water, etc. Relatively speaking, the pressure is even smaller.

Because of their great self-confidence, and because the trip to the Golden Continent went so smoothly, Du Mingen and the others were eager to return, so almost all the crew members unanimously decided to cross the Pacific Ocean and return to Daming as soon as possible.

They couldn't help but want to go back to Daming as soon as possible, tell the whole of Daming about their experience of sailing in the sea, and at the same time show everyone what they gained from going to the Golden Continent, showing the boxes and boxes of golden gold in their cabins. .

Logically speaking, there is not much problem in crossing the Pacific Ocean. As long as the materials are well prepared, crossing the Pacific Ocean is also feasible, because they have mastered the most advanced navigation technology and equipment of this era.

However, because they got too much gold from Central America.

There are ten great blessing boats, each of which is filled with gold.

For these crew members, the gold is their wealth. From top to bottom, including Du Mingen, they are not willing to give up the gold. When preparing to return, because the gold occupies too much space, the prepared materials are not sufficient .

The result goes without saying.

They spent the most difficult months of the entire voyage on the Pacific Ocean.

There is not enough food, but fortunately, you can use trawling nets to catch fish, at least you don’t have to worry about starving to death. As for pasta, rice, bacon, dehydrated vegetables, canned food, etc., they have already been used up when they go, so they can only eat from The descendants of the Shang Dynasty bought corn, sweet potatoes, and fish caught from the sea.

The problem came out, because there were not enough dehydrated vegetables, and the body lacked vitamins for a long time, so that many crew members suffered from septicemia. Fortunately, the tea was well prepared, and it could be drunk by brewing tea, and even the The leaves were eaten together, and some spare dehydrated vegetables and canned fruits were added for supplementation and treatment, and they barely survived, and none of the crew members lost their lives because of the septicemia.

The most difficult thing is fresh water.

The Pacific Ocean is too vast, spanning the Pacific Ocean, and there are few islands in the middle. They can only get fresh water supplements when they are here in Hawaii, so in the middle of the journey, there is always a shortage of fresh water on board.

When I went there, I walked along the land coastline, so I could replenish fresh water from time to time. The fresh water was quite sufficient. It was nothing to wash your face and brush your teeth, and you could even take a luxurious bath occasionally.

But when I came back, fresh water was so scarce that I couldn't even wash my face and brush my teeth. Fresh water was limited to each person every day.

In addition, the route taken by the airline belongs to the tropical and subtropical regions, the weather is extremely hot, and there is a lack of fresh water, so life is really difficult.

At the most difficult time, all the fresh water on board was used up, so they had to use the seawater desalination device designed by Liu Jin. Danshui came over slowly and with difficulty.

When they went to Huangjinzhou, everyone felt that the seawater desalination device designed by Liu Jin was useless at all. Only when they returned did they realize that it was the real life-saving treasure.

If there is no desalination device, the people on these ten Dafu boats will all be dried up and die of thirst.

The seawater desalination device is very simple, and the principle used is also very simple. It is nothing more than the principle that water vapor will liquefy when it is cold to produce fresh water.

The device is very simple, and the water that can be desalinated is naturally not too much, but relying on this simple device, the fleet survived the most difficult days and returned to Daming smoothly.

Du Mingen looked at the sea in front of him and breathed the air here. He always felt that the air in Daming was sweet. They had already arrived in the Yellow Sea, and they would soon arrive in Tianjin and return to the embrace of Daming.

At this time, everyone was eager to return home, and like Du Mingen, they all came to the deck one by one, looking at the sea ahead with smiles on their faces.

The same is true for Lin Shuhong, Tian Erniu, Zhao Houzi, Sha Xiong and others. This is their root, their hometown, and everything they miss.

"I don't know what's going on at home, whether my parents are still concerned about me~"

"This year's imperial examination, I don't know if my teacher, Brother Huang and Brother Tong, are they in high school~"

Lin Shuhong thought a lot in his mind, he thought of his parents, his teacher Liu Jin, his good friends Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan, the more he thought about these things, the more he wanted to return home, wishing he could fly back now.

"Finally back~"

Tian Erniu had a big grin, his whole body was tanned, his lips were chapped, and the boat was in tatters. He looked like a beggar, not a captain at all.

Of course, everyone in the fleet is the same as Tian Erniu. Even Lin Shuhong, a scholar, is no different from them at this time. No one can tell that Lin Shuhong used to be a scholar.

"There is a boat~ There is a boat~"

At this time, the watchman in charge of watching suddenly shouted excitedly.

As soon as everyone heard this, they couldn't help being excited. They took out their binoculars and looked at the sea. They saw a whaling ship sailing on the sea a few miles away, looking for whales.

The other party also discovered Du Mingen's ten big blessing ships, and was also shocked by the size of the fleet, and also looked at the situation of the fleet with a telescope.

Soon, the two sides got closer and closer, and they could clearly see each other's appearance through the telescope, and the semaphores also started to question each other through the flags.

"It's our Daming's whaling ship~"

"It's our Daming's whaling ship~"

Soon, the fleet could confirm that this ship was Daming's whaling ship, and the entire fleet immediately burst into cheers.

"We're back~"

"We are finally back~"

　Two in one, originally I still wanted to write about the passage of the fleet in Central America and Hawaii Island, but I decided to write it in the form of the Ming Morning Post~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)