prosperous age

Don’t think that in this day and age as long as you have a ship and a financial backer, you can freely sail around the world.

If it was a hundred years ago, of course there would be no restrictions, as long as you were bold enough, you could do it.

But that is no longer possible. The world’s major shipping routes have basically been figured out, so the key locations have already been determined.

As long as you block these key nodes, you can ruin your plan of sailing around the world.

There is no doubt that the Strait of Magellan at the southernmost tip of America and the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa are such key nodes.

Don't forget that the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, through which you must pass if you want to sail around the world, are not yet in sight.

Wei Guangde didn't know that there was an even more dangerous Drake Passage to the south of the Strait of Magellan, but even if he knew, he would not take this route for safety reasons.

Wei Guangde knew that Spain and Portugal, one occupied the Strait of Magellan and the other controlled the Cape of Good Hope. This was because he met with the British and learned the news from Drake.

He had a very dangerous time sailing around America and even lost a ship.

As for rounding the Cape of Good Hope, although not much is said about it, the word "avoid" is still used, as the Portuguese talents passed through there smoothly.

This would be the case even if the Jesse rounded the Cape of Good Hope this time.

After completing the supply in North Africa, they no longer relied on the ports on the west coast of Africa for replenishment, in order to avoid the Portuguese knowing the news.

It was not until they entered the Indian Ocean and on the east coast of Africa that they found a tribal port where the Golden Hind had briefly stopped to resupply, and then immediately crossed the Indian Ocean to the Old Port.

It should be said that Drake's circumnavigation of the world was of great significance, as it opened up a shipping route for British merchant ships to travel to and from East Asia.

Although it is not perfect, it is also very difficult to achieve at the moment.

It can be said that in this era of round-the-world voyages, the purpose of exploration is secondary. The most important thing is to find a route with a complete supply port, and then the mission is accomplished.

Compared with the explorers of the last century, their purpose is clearer and more utilitarian.

"Lord Wei, is there something wrong with this?"

Seeing Wei Guangde like this, Xu Xuemo immediately asked.

"I thought about what I said when I met with the envoy of Elijah. According to his deputy, if we want to send a ship to Europe now, there is a place we must pass through, that is the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Libya, which is now occupied by the Portuguese."

Wei Guangde did not say that he planned to have the navy send a ship to circumnavigate the world and plan a route.

Although the Ming Dynasty does not have the ability to expand outward now, considering the future, the Ming Dynasty, or China, will eventually take this step.

However, when Xu Xuemo heard Wei Guangde say this, he immediately knew what Wei Guangde was thinking and said, "Then when I negotiate with the Portuguese, I will ask them to open the Cape of Good Hope for our Ming official ships."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly.

This is Wei Guangde’s plan. There is no need to go to the Strait of Magellan for the time being, but a waterway must be established near the Cape of Good Hope, just like the British route.

Although Wei Guangde hoped that the Ottoman Empire would open its land borders to allow Ming merchant ships to enter the Red Sea and transport goods to the Mediterranean coast by land and sell them to Europe.

Although this would require paying the Ottoman Empire's customs duties, it would save a lot of time compared to traveling by sea.

The profit is a little thin, but if you can make small profits but quick turnover, it should be profitable.

Now is not the time to calculate profits, but to seize the Western market with Ming Dynasty products.

Didn’t the Europeans go out to sea in large numbers to seize colonies and plunder gold and silver?

Although the Ming Dynasty did not directly rob the colonial wealth, it could use goods to bring the looted wealth back to the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the diplomatic mission to Europe has a great responsibility and needs to conduct a comprehensive examination of the current market and society to see what prices Europeans can afford.

Based on the market's affordability, calculate what the Ming Dynasty's products should be sold for.

In any case, Wei Guangde came from several hundred years later and certainly knew that the competition in the economic field was particularly important.

If we can seize the European market, we will not only make money, but also encourage more Ming people to engage in handicrafts and earn wages.

Why is it that the Song and Ming dynasties in China were only considered to be the embryonic stages of capitalism, but did not actually transition to capitalism? One important reason is that China has always been a small peasant economy society with no commercial division of labor and no soil for the development of capitalism.

In such an environment, how to complete the transition to capitalism.

It’s different now. With Wei Guangde gently fanning the feather fan from behind and giving orders, if we still can’t change the minds of that bunch of nobles and landlords, then China is truly destined to perish.

What is important in developing capitalism is not capital but the market.

When the market is big enough, even if they have no capital, they will find ways to raise capital to expand their workshops and improve productivity to meet market needs.

These truths, which are very simple in later generations, were not unknown in this era, but they were kept secret. Businessmen made their fortunes quietly and would not spread this knowledge to the outside world.

"Okay, we need to talk to the Portuguese about this as soon as possible. Send me a note when you have any news."

Wei Guangde said.

That night, Wei Guangde summoned Yu Dayou to his mansion and informed him of the court's plan to send an embassy to Europe.

“This matter will be carried out simultaneously with the previously mentioned operation of heading east to search for new continents. This matter must be kept secret, while the diplomatic mission to Europe can be prepared in a big way.

You are familiar with the conditions that need to be considered for long voyages. Be sure to determine the number of ships and especially the weapons needed for the escorts."

Wei Guangde was talking and Yu Dayou was listening quietly.

Fortunately, Lord Wei did not treat him like a mule and did not need him to accompany him on the diplomatic mission.

"Do you know the Cape of Good Hope?"

After Wei Guangde finished talking about the escort of the diplomatic mission to Europe, Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

"The extreme south of Levia."

Yu Dayou really knew it. After all, no matter whether he was communicating with the Western barbarians, the Portuguese barbarians, or the British barbarians, Yu Dayou would inquire about their sailing routes.

For the navy, there is no more important information than the route.

The ocean is vast and once you get lost, you will be dead.

Without a route, nothing can be done. This is why exploring routes is very dangerous and why these people are called explorers.

"The Ministry of Rites will discuss with the Portuguese to open the shipping lanes for our Ming Dynasty envoys."

As soon as Wei Guangde said this, Yu Dayou stood up and said, "Shandai, does the court need to control the Cape of Good Hope? The navy has the strength to defeat the Portuguese at sea, and it is easy to control the area."

Wei Guangde was not dissatisfied with being interrupted. He waved his hand to let him sit down, and then said: "There is no rush for this matter. One Portuguese is a small matter. The main thing is that there are still Western barbarians and other European countries behind us.

Although these countries are not large, if they come together, their strength cannot be underestimated.'

Wei Guangde was not aware of the complicated relationships between European countries at that time, otherwise he would not have to worry about European countries uniting together.

In fact, whether it was the British, the French, or the Italians, they were all very dissatisfied with the division of overseas wealth between Spain and Portugal.

They hope that these two countries will suffer a setback overseas so that they can be laughed at. If there is a chance, they would not mind replacing them.

In fact, the reason why Spain did not continue to expand its influence in the New World was that the country was too small and the population was too small, so they really had no way to expand to the north and south of America.

The main force of the country's army must remain in the country to guard against France, while the navy needs to show its presence in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to guard against the covetousness of countries such as the Ottoman Empire.

All we can say is that they themselves know that having too much wealth will make others jealous.

"When going on a diplomatic mission to Europe, the navy has an important mission, which is to determine the route, especially to find a port near the Cape of Good Hope where our Ming ships can rest and resupply.

The ships of the Elijah mission did not pass near the Cape of Good Hope controlled by the Portuguese, but took a detour away from the area.

The main reason was that after Drake left the Old Port, he found a port near the Cape of Good Hope according to the nautical chart, contacted the tribes on the shore, and obtained food and fresh water supplies from them.

The navy will also be responsible for this mission this time. Even if we have the strength to defeat the Portuguese at sea, we should not do it for the time being."

Wei Guangde immediately emphasized: "So, when you choose a general to accompany you, you must choose a veteran who is calm and steady. Determining the route is more important than anything else.

In addition, the mission also had a mission, which was to test the attitude of the Ottoman Empire and try to have Ming Dynasty goods transported from the Red River to the Mediterranean through the land of the Ottoman Empire and then sold to Europe.

Let's just avoid the Cape of Good Hope. As far as I know, the European countries have bad relations with the Ottoman Empire. It would be a great achievement if we can open up this route.

In addition, you have recently been in contact with Drake, the deputy envoy of the Elijah mission. It is said that this person completed a round-the-world voyage across the ocean two years ago, so he is familiar with the route.

It would be best to get more news about the New World from him. I heard that the strait at the southernmost tip of the New World can bypass the New World and reach us.

Although our Ming Dynasty cannot open up global routes for the time being, it is good to make preparations early."

Wei Guangde explained a lot of things to Yu Dayou that night, and he was also the first official to know that Wei Guangde planned to sail around the world.

Just when Wei Guangde finished explaining the information and was about to see the guest off, Yu Dayou spoke.

"Shandai, today I received news from Tianjin. I arranged for someone to contact the barbarians before, and finally boarded their large sailing ship for a visit. I found that not only is their shipbuilding technology very different from that of the Ming Dynasty, but even their ship-handling technology is also very different."

"Oh, let's talk about the important ones."

Wei Guangde didn't know how to operate a boat, so he immediately interrupted Yu Dayou.

He had long known that there was a huge difference between Eastern and Western shipbuilding. In the past, Ming craftsmen in Haojing had also participated in the repair of Portuguese merchant ships, so they had some understanding of the structure of their ships.

In fact, the Ministry of Industry had been imitating the Portuguese ship model and was preparing to build one for testing.

As for directly buying the ships from Portuguese merchants, that is wishful thinking.

Even if the Ming Dynasty wanted to buy cannons on merchant ships, it would be difficult, let alone buying ships directly.

There is a shipyard in Haojing, which is mainly responsible for the maintenance of merchant ships and can also build some small boats.

However, the technical value of the small boat is not great and its reference value is not strong.

Ming Dynasty craftsmen could only observe the structural characteristics of ships when repairing merchant ships and could not fully participate in shipbuilding, so they learned very slowly.

"They went out to sea twice with the barbarians, and after returning they said that the barbarians' ships were complicated to operate, but they were indeed better at long-distance sailing.

Although our Ming ships are easy to operate, they have some trouble dealing with complex sea conditions. Therefore, if the navy is building large ships, it is best to refer to the style of foreign ships.

That’s right, this requires us to learn how to operate foreign ships.”

This was the first time that Wei Guangde learned from Yu Dayou that the Ming Dynasty's ship types were inferior to European ones, which naturally attracted his attention.

It doesn't matter for merchant ships, the only difference is how much cargo is loaded. Speaking of which, the sealed cabin technology of Ming ships is still very good for the safety of seagoing ships.

However, Yu Dayou said that it would be best to use foreign ship types for naval warships, which actually revealed the fact that Ming Dynasty's current ships were inferior to Western warships.

Well, he had just discovered that the Ming Dynasty's firearms, which he was so proud of, might lag behind European countries by thirty years, and now he heard that the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding technology might also be backward. This had a huge impact on Wei Guangde.

Sitting there, tapping his fingers on the table, Wei Guangde truly realized for the first time that by this time, the Ming Dynasty had fallen behind the West in many aspects, except for the handicraft industry that had developed since ancient times.

It is no wonder that hundreds of years later, China was crushed by European powers.

There was already a gap in this era. In the following hundreds of years, China did not make any progress, but at least its progress was limited.

Others, on the other hand, are making rapid progress in science and technology and have left China far behind.

Relying on these backward weapons, the Ming Dynasty could only occupy the geographical advantage in East Asia. If it really went out to fight, it would probably lose to the advanced weapons of European countries.

"Find a way to learn their ship-handling techniques and ship-building methods."

Wei Guangde finally made up his mind. Since he had come to the conclusion from the naval officers and soldiers that European ships were more suitable as naval warships, why should he stick to traditional Chinese ship types?

Providing the navy with the best warships is what the imperial court should do.

"Yes, besides."

Yu Dayou watched Wei Guangde make the decision, and then talked about the contact between the navy officers and soldiers and the Portuguese. Among them were several Portuguese, who were said to be from Lisbon and were messengers sent by the King of Portugal to Goa.

They were also tasked with coming to Ming to inspect the situation and returning home to report what they had seen and heard to the King of Portugal.

The navy's contacts with them resulted in some shocking news to Wei Guangde from their mouths.

"You mean, there are people from our Ming Dynasty in Europe now?"

Wei Guangde asked in shock.

"Yes, that's not surprising."

Yu Dayou said: "In fact, when the Portuguese first arrived in Guangdong, the local government criticized them for 'buying children'.

In the 28th year of the Jiajing reign, the Governor of Zhejiang Province, Zhu Wan, also reported to the emperor that the Portuguese had abducted young boys and girls and cooked and ate them.

The latter is probably a rumor, but it is true that the Portuguese kidnapped and sold children from the Ming Dynasty, and these people were enslaved after being transported away."

"Snapped."

Wei Guangde slapped the coffee table.

"How did that person know that there are people from our Ming Dynasty in Europe?"

Wei Guangde suppressed his anger and asked.

"Lawsuit. It is said that those people sued in the local area, saying that they were not slaves. It is said that they won and became free."

Yu Dayou replied.

“Let this be written up as soon as possible and submitted to the Ministry of Rites.

When negotiating with the Portuguese, this matter must be mentioned. All the people who were plundered and sold to the Ming Dynasty must be immediately released and compensated. " (End of this chapter)