prosperous age

It must be admitted that the location found by the Ming army's exploration fleet was very well concealed.

Vancouver itself is located inside the Strait of Georgia and is the largest natural harbor on the Pacific coast of North America.

Yes, these sailors may not have been very educated, but they had an excellent eye for choosing ports, and they immediately found the best natural harbor on the North American Pacific coast.

The dock can be used simply by felling trees and building a wooden boardwalk into the sea.

The forests surrounding Vancouver have dense forests that can be cleared to provide them with materials to build docks and houses.

Furthermore, there is no need to worry about a shortage of firewood for winter heating, at least for decades to come.

Manitulin Island to the west completely blocked the view of the Eastern Capital built by the Ming army.

Okay, this place is no longer the Vancouver we know today, but is called Dongdu City.

Georgian Bay was no longer his name; the Ming army had renamed it Dongdu Bay, and Manitulin Island was also called Dongdu Island.

It's that simple and direct. If you ask a bunch of grown men to come up with a more elegant name, they won't be able to.

The name "Dongdu" (Eastern Capital) comes from the fact that some people say their location is to the east of the Ming Dynasty, and that there was an ancient capital called Luoyang.

It was really difficult to come up with a name, so the main geographical landmarks in the vicinity were all crudely named "Dongdu".

They have only deployed a small number of lookouts to keep watch at both ends of the strait.

Spanish ships passed by there several times, but they always thought it was just a small bay and did not sail into the strait.

The large islands outside are so deceptive that no one would think they are islands, rather than part of the mainland.

Although no clues were found, the sudden appearance of a ship off the west coast of the Americas still shocked Mexican Governor Pedro.

Even if Fred had appeared in the Pacific Ocean before, at least the Spanish knew how they got there.

Pursued by the Spanish Navy, they had no chance of escape.

It then luckily bypassed the continent and entered the Pacific Ocean.

Even the Spanish recorded the atrocities committed by this "bandit" along the way, including burning, killing, and looting, hoping to catch him and hang him one day.

Okay, they can do these things.

But if others do the same thing to them, that is a crime.

However, the mysterious ship appeared too suddenly; it had not been detected at all beforehand.

When they appeared near the equator, they knew that the ship must be heading west to take advantage of the equatorial trade winds.

This is also why the Spanish placed their main naval force near the equator, so that ships from Europe and those wanting to leave the Americas had to come here.

The ocean may seem vast, but the actual shipping lanes are quite limited.

At least until the problem of ship propulsion is solved, the order of world maritime shipping will be maintained mainly by relying on the equatorial trade winds.

"Your Excellency, according to the Manila City Defense Commander, Lopez, who has seen the ship, it looks very much like a Ming Dynasty warship."

Could it be that a Ming Dynasty naval warship accidentally intruded into New Spain?

The staff officer reminded him.

“Lopez told me about it; he’s seen the sketch.”

It was very blurry; he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, so it was difficult for him to make a judgment.

Pedro thought for a moment before continuing, "In that case, arrange a fleet to send Lopez back to Manila."

That place needs him even more.

The promised troops and equipment will be drawn from the northern border.

Pedro gave the order.

“Your Excellency, we already have insufficient troops there, and we have to transfer so many men to him.”

The northern border could suddenly lose half its manpower.

The staff officer reminded him with great anxiety.

Spain's troop deployment in Mexico was centered on a small regular army, supported by indigenous allies, and with fortresses and outposts as nodes, forming a low-cost, highly dependent, and indirectly controlled colonial military model.

Because Spain was more concerned with the security of silver transport than with a full-scale military occupation, its military forces were deployed in a "point-like" manner rather than with overall control.

Therefore, Wei Guangde's concerns about Spain's development of the Americas were essentially unnecessary.

Spain simply didn't have the power to completely control the Americas.

They could only concentrate their limited forces in key locations, such as mining areas and major transportation routes.

Moreover, and most importantly, Spain was facing challenges from multiple sides on the European continent at this time, which directly led to the redeployment of some warships from the mainland back to Europe.

As a result, the number of warships that the Spanish governors could use in the Americas decreased at this time.

Even more critically, the Netherlands, a major shipbuilding base for Spain, also fell into chaos, causing a significant decline in Spain's shipbuilding capacity and making it impossible to replenish the warships needed by the navy.

“Give him two hundred infantrymen and one hundred artillerymen, and sixteen cannons.”

Go tell him that we are currently facing attacks from the northern natives and the Maya, and we simply cannot provide more troops.

He was instructed to recruit as many natives as possible into his allies to help maintain the region.

The kingdom needs spices from the Philippines and goods from the Ming Dynasty; that's what matters most, not this damned expansion.

New Spain is big enough; we haven't even had time to establish proper rule here.

Pedro made the decision to provide limited support to the Philippines.

Three hundred soldiers is already a very powerful force.

Such an armed force could conquer an indigenous nation with tens of thousands of soldiers in the Americas.

This is also why his predecessor received a letter from Manila that brazenly proposed to send several thousand men to attack the Ming Dynasty, which was completely ignored by the governor.

Are we abandoning the Americas for just a few thousand people?
Throughout the entire Americas, the Spanish Army's regular forces numbered only four or five thousand men.

The areas they need to defend include Mexico City, the governor's residence, which houses the main armory and command center.

There were also port fortresses such as Veracruz, which were used to defend against pirate attacks.

In addition, due to the discovery of silver mines and resistance from indigenous people, cavalry outposts and a small number of infantry were deployed to defend the northern border area.

There's also the Yucatan Peninsula, where the Spanish are trying to subjugate the Maya people living there through missionaries.

As for the southern colonies, their governors and garrison commanders constantly complained to him, hoping to increase the number of troops.

In order to maintain those silver mines, Pedro has already redeployed most of his troops to defend the areas surrounding several large mining districts.

Of course, we shouldn't underestimate the Spanish defense.

Although their regular army was insufficient, they were able to mobilize tens of thousands of Spanish civilians in the Americas to participate in the defense when threatened.

However, the weapons are somewhat lacking.

In fact, the Mexican Viceroyalty had previously purchased cannons from the Bucarão cannon foundry in the Gulf of Mexico to replenish its supplies.

The Spanish never seemed to have considered how to manage these colonies; they were more like locusts passing through, exploiting and plundering the resources within them.

The British, who replaced them, were better at managing colonies.

Through various means, they controlled the indigenous people of the colonies, divided and weakened them, and then wanted both the mineral resources of these places and their markets, continuously extracting profits.

What Westerners saw as colonies were, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, nothing more than vassal states that could be absorbed.

What they want is their utmost worship of the Ming Dynasty, and now they also want a market.

Neither the Ming Dynasty nor Wei Guangde ever considered controlling or conquering them; that would be too troublesome.

All they need to do is submit, open the market, supply mineral resources to the Ming Dynasty, and accept Ming Dynasty goods.

"Is the environment in that area really this harsh?" In the cabinet, Wei Guangde learned about the conditions there from the officials and craftsmen who had come to the western coast of the Red Sea to find the places where the city was being built.

Africa is not all desert as most people imagine.

In northeastern Africa, along the Red Sea coast, the terrain is actually mountainous.

Djibouti is actually the most suitable place to build there because it is relatively flat.

However, apart from the direction facing the Red Sea, the surrounding area is all mountains, which is easy to defend, but makes it difficult to connect with the surrounding transportation.

This is the opinion given by the Ministry of War.

Although the goal was simply to establish a Great Ming City in the west, it did not mean that the Ministry of War did not want to expand its controlled territory there.

But now that we're surrounded by mountains, it seems like we won't gain anything by expanding outwards.

Unless they advance northwards, along the western Red Sea coast.

However, that would lead to an encounter with the Ottoman Empire.

In fact, the fleet had seen Ottoman troops patrolling the shore, and the two cities were only a hundred miles apart.

It is said that the Ottomans did go there, but abandoned their garrison because they disliked the harsh environment.

The Ottomans looked down on places where even drinking water was scarce.

Water is the most important condition for human habitation.

After learning about the harsh environment around Djibouti, Wei Guangde couldn't help but frown, finding it hard to imagine that the People's Liberation Army would establish an overseas supply base there.

Little did he know that back then, the country had to cut through mountains and build hundreds of miles of water pipelines to completely solve the drinking water problem in Gibb and the surrounding area.

As for drilling for groundwater, no matter how hard you drill, all that comes out is bitter water.

"The environment on the other side of the river, Burawa, is also extremely harsh, with no large water sources available within a hundred miles."

Moreover, Ottoman troops frequently patrolled the area.

Lord Zhang added.

They did their work very meticulously, expanding their search area after discovering differences in the geographical environment and map markings around Djibouti.

However, the terrain in that area was just like that, and it was really hard to find a suitable place.

"What's your opinion on this matter after discussing it?"

Wei Guangde was at his wit's end. Djibouti was clearly not a suitable place to establish a base for the Ming Dynasty in the west.

"How about we move south to the Mugudu Shuguan Factory?"
According to navigational records, the area was very suitable for habitation.

Zheng He's fleet also used the official shipyard as its main anchorage in the Western Seas.

Zhang Ke suggested.

Mogadishu, also known as Mogadishu in Somalia, is said to be the first stop for Zheng He's fleet upon arriving in Africa.

Subsequently, Zheng He's fleet would stop here to rest and recuperate on several westward voyages, hence the establishment of an official shipyard.

The so-called official factories were actually places later known as "military bases." They were temporary trading stations whose main functions included storing money and grain, concentrating goods, sorting and transshipping them, and providing logistical support for the fleet.

In these places, simple docks and shipyards are often built to provide maintenance and upkeep for ships.

According to Zheng He's nautical charts, there was one each in Malacca, Sumatra, Mogadishu, Calicut, and Hormuz.

The regulations for official factories were that they had outer fences and inner warehouses to store money and grain, and to concentrate goods for sorting and transportation.

It can be said that Zheng He's fleet had established multiple overseas bases in the Western Ocean.

However, all these efforts were abandoned after the eighth year of the Xuande reign.

Those who were employed by the official factory, according to records, were men and women with their hair tied in a topknot, dark-skinned, with some having fair skin, and were of Tang ethnicity.

This shows that Zheng He's fleet had actually come into contact with Black and White people in the West.

Zhang Ke's intention, of course, was to restore the official factory of Mugudu.

Wei Guangde frowned even more deeply, because there was a kingdom there, not unclaimed land.

If the Ming Dynasty were to restore the official factories there, regardless of whether Mogadishu would accept them, the Ming Dynasty would want to build a military fortress. Unless it intended to completely conquer the area, choosing Mogadishu would restrict its future development.

Ultimately, although he wanted to expand outwards, Wei Guangde instinctively did not want to become a colonizer and occupy those places by force.

Moreover, if this were to be done, it would trigger a fierce backlash in the court, given that China had been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty for over a hundred years.

“That place can only be a temporary stop, and it’s different from the direction we originally planned.”

Wei Guangde spoke calmly.

"But there really isn't a better place around here."

Zhang Ke said.

"And then there's Adan, but that might lead to conflict with the Ottoman Empire."

They are expanding across the heavens; perhaps their next step will be there.

Jiang Zhi said with his eyebrows lowered.

"Adan too."

Zhang Ke opened his mouth and said a few words, then stopped.

He wanted to say that Adan also had rulers, just like Moghutukhtu.

But as soon as the words were spoken, it suddenly occurred to me that the place seemed quite chaotic.

The Ottomans initially advanced along the Red Sea coast, but did not leave the strait.

The interior of the peninsula is comprised of various large and small powers.

Previously, they were all subjects of the Persian Kingdom.

However, after the defeat of the Persian Kingdom, they broke away from its control.

In the southeast of the peninsula lies the Kingdom of Oman, which has long maintained its independent status thanks to the Hajar Mountains.

And their hands did not reach out to Adan.

Ultimately, Adan is now a city controlled by local tribes, and it's hard to call it a kingdom.

"The location is fine, but if we build a city there, transportation to Europe will still be subject to many restrictions."

After all, Adan is located on the Arabian Peninsula, not on the east coast of Africa.

The Ming Dynasty wanted to build a city there, but its real purpose was to dump goods on the Mediterranean coast.

"You should reconsider whether Mugudushu or Adan is more suitable."

Both places have their advantages and disadvantages, but Djibouti has actually been abandoned by the Ming Dynasty.

Asking them to consider it was actually just to get the Ministry of War to calculate the costs.

The capture of Aden would have a significant impact and would also deplete military resources.

The main limitations of Mugudushu are its geographical location and the fact that building a fortified city there might be opposed by the Kingdom of Mugudushu.

Wei Guangde naturally felt that establishing an official factory was unsafe and that building a city was necessary to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

"How about we send more people from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to both places to check and contact the local authorities to see if we can obtain permission to build the city?"

They were also killed in Mughu, which should have been the most suitable place to build the Ming Dynasty in the West.

Jiang Zhi began, "To be honest, it's just a matter of moving a few hundred miles south." (End of Chapter)