Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 514 The Adventure of the Yuanwang Ship (Part 4)

In the year 4051 AD, the year of Jiawu, on the 19th day of the fifth month, it was cloudy, with weather similar to late autumn, so winter clothes were needed. Today's menu: stir-fried cured pork with garlic sprouts.

My ship has been anchored in Dongping Bay on the east coast of the Kingdom of Liugui (Kamchatka Peninsula) for three days. Tomorrow I will set sail eastward across the Pacific Ocean along the Qingqiu Islands to Lizhou on the other side.

His Majesty once said that in May and June, the Qingqiu Islands (Aleutian Islands) are often rainy and the temperature is similar to that of late autumn and early winter in North China, with an average temperature of only 5 to 10°C. Moreover, because the Qingqiu Islands are located in the prevailing westerly wind belt, the westerly winds are very strong all year round, so that no trees grow on the islands, only moss and weeds, making it impossible to collect firewood.

To avoid clothes and bedding not drying out and to prevent the inability to replenish firewood along the way, I decided to have the Yuanwang ship stay at Dongping Bay for three days to collect over a hundred loads of large firewood for any unforeseen needs during the journey.

On our journey to Lizhou, I still have one concern. If, as Your Majesty has said, the Qingqiu Islands are shrouded in overcast skies for several days, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, then the sextant will be unusable. How will we then determine the ship's position? I fear we will have to rely on a compass and nautical clock to calculate the direction and distance.

The only thing that puts my mind at ease is that the nautical charts and coordinates bestowed upon me by His Majesty are extremely accurate. They were used on my previous voyage to the South Seas and this time to the Kingdom of Liugui, and they have all proven to be accurate without error. I suppose this is the courage that His Majesty has given me.

I remember that Your Majesty will be launching a northern expedition in September, and by then my ship will probably have reached Lizhou on the other side. I hope everything goes smoothly. Wang Huanzhang.

In 4051 AD, the year of Jiawu, on the 20th day of the fifth month, in the waters east of Liugui Kingdom, in the Qingqiu Islands (near the Aleutian Islands), dark clouds covered the sky, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars. Continuous rain fell, and a strong southwest wind, about force 6 to 7, caused the waves to rise to a height of ten feet. The ship was rocking violently, much like late autumn, and the crew, dressed in winter clothes, were deeply worried and fearful.

Today's menu: Bean sprouts, ham, and kelp stewed with bear meat.

His Majesty once said that the Qingqiu Islands are affected by the Alaskan Current and the Arctic Current, so there is a lot of rain and fog in the summer. The lowest temperature in January is -0.5℃. Although it is not very cold, there are gale-force winds of level 12, which can overturn houses and uproot trees. The waves can reach three zhang high, and it is common for boats to capsize and islands to be submerged. Fortunately, we came in May, otherwise how could we still be alive?

The crew was terrified, so I personally comforted them and had them begin a lesson on the geography of the area, which calmed them down somewhat.

At noon, I watched as the bow of the Yuanwang ship cleaved through the wind and waves, swiftly lifting its bow amidst the storm. Only then did I realize the ingenious use of the clipper ship's wave-breaking bow. How fortunate I was! If I had traveled to this place on an ordinary Fujian ship, I would surely have perished without a burial place!

With sails fully extended, the ship measured its speed at noon, which was approximately 18 knots per hour. If sailing day and night, it could travel 1600 li in a day and night, and was expected to arrive at Qingqiu (Adak Island) the next day.

They encountered numerous islands along the way, proving that their course was correct, and everyone felt relieved.

In the afternoon, before it got dark, before night fell, the sun finally set.

Strange! Here, in late May, the daytime lasts for nine hours!
That night, the sky cleared slightly, and five colors of light—blue, green, red, pink, and purple—filled the sky, like silk ribbons swaying across the heavens. It was dreamlike and enchanting, and everyone was amazed, thinking they were in a fairyland. In reality, it was the aurora borealis.

In the latter half of the night, the wind and rain returned, dark clouds covered the sky, and the aurora could not be seen.

The night was three hours long when the sun rose. We came upon a large island, where the sea breeze rustled the short grass like a green waterfall—a truly wondrous sight. The scenery was beautiful. On the island stood a high mountain with its peak covered in snow. We came across a river, lowered our sails, and docked. We met several locals who spoke Chukchi. They called the island "Aleutian" and referred to this island as "Adak," which was my father's idea. We then realized this place was Qingqiu. We anchored and rested briefly.
On May 21, because it was cloudy and the sun was not visible, Wang Dayuan did not know his current longitude. To be on the safe side, he decided to stay on Adak Island for half a day to determine his longitude before continuing his voyage.

However, as soon as they arrived on the island, they encountered a group of local people. Some of them were fishing, some were catching sea lions and seals, and others were catching seagulls and collecting bird eggs from the cliff. There were probably hundreds of them, which was obviously a tribe.

Upon seeing the Yuanwang ship arrive, the Aleutians were very wary, but some of them came up to inquire about their purpose. As usual, Wang Dayuan and his men traded with the Aleutians, selling them small daggers and ukuleles in exchange for walrus ivory, seal skins, fox skins, and other items.

Seeing that the group of people were relatively easy to talk to, Wang Dayuan had his crew bring firewood to set up camp on the shore and cook. However, when the Aleutians saw these things, they came over and wanted to buy firewood and iron pots.

Zhang Chao found it somewhat unbelievable, "They actually want to buy firewood?"

Wang Dayuan immediately said, "I guess it's not for burning. What they really want is timber. Look, there isn't a single tree here. They don't have iron tools, and even if there were trees, they couldn't cut them down. Yet we're using wood as firewood. They'll definitely think we're wasting our time."

"Hahaha, that's true, but what do they have to trade? They can't just buy another person, can they?" Zhang Chao immediately laughed.

“Why not? His Majesty said that the Aleutians speak the same language as the Chukchi people further north. If we buy a few back and train them, they can at least serve as interpreters.”

“This, that’s fine too. Sir, you can stay here and keep an eye on the sundial. I’ll go talk to them.” Zhang Chao nodded and volunteered.

“Hey, wait, you keep an eye on the marine chronometer and sundial, I’ll go talk to them and ask them some questions.”

"We don't even speak the language, what can we ask?" Zhang Chao asked, puzzled.

“It’s not like I don’t know a single word. His Majesty even taught me a few words. Let me go and test him out.” As he spoke, Wang Dayuan immediately got up from the camp and led a few soldiers to the tribal chief not far away to ask him.

Do you know Chukotka?

The tribal chief, named Umak, frowned and thought for a moment after hearing Wang Dayuan's words, then shook his head, indicating that he did not understand.

Chukotka means "Easternmost Point" in Russian. At that time, the Russians had not yet occupied Chukotka. Lu Jin made a mistake with the word. It is not surprising that they did not know what Chukotka meant.

Then Wang Dayuan asked, "Do you know anything about the Inuit?"

This time, Umak looked at Wang Dayuan with some surprise, then pointed to himself and his people, "Inuit."

"So you're Inuit people." Wang Dayuan suddenly realized, then asked, "Do you know Alaska?"

Alaska means "continent" in Inuit. Umak nodded again and pointed east, "Alaska."

Wang Dayuan immediately nodded to the soldiers beside him, "It seems we made the right choice. To the east lies Alaska of Lizhou, the place His Majesty calls Shanglin."

"Then, my lord, shall we still measure the longitude?" the soldier asked immediately.

“Since we’re already here, let’s take a test to find out where we are now,” Wang Dayuan then asked Umak.

Do you know Ai Siqi?

In the local language, "Aishqi" means "dog." The Russians transliterated the word into Russian, and then from Russian into Chinese, eventually becoming "Husky" in China.
Umak was even more surprised to hear this, wondering where Wang Dayuan had learned the word. He then glanced at the iron pots in the hands of the soldiers behind Wang Dayuan and immediately pointed at the dogs in the tribe, saying, "Aisiqi." Then he pointed at the iron pots that Wang Dayuan and his men were using, saying, "Pots."

As he spoke, he gestured with his fingers, one for one.

Before Wang Dayuan could speak, the soldier holding the pot complained, "This guy is too greedy. He wants to trade a dog for one of our iron pots?"

To everyone's surprise, Wang Dayuan said, "What do you know? They don't have oxen, horses, donkeys, or mules here, so they rely on dogs to pull carts and carry things. They treat their dogs like family members and are reluctant to kill them for meat. Of course, they treasure them very much."

"Think about it again. If someone offered to trade your horse for a pot, would you trade it?"

"Oh, I see!" the soldier exclaimed, finally understanding. However, he still said, "Trading a dog for a pot is still too expensive." "If you're in business, can't you bargain yourself?"

Umak saw Wang Dayuan and the others whispering to each other, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Then he saw Wang Dayuan gesturing with his fingers again, "One iron pot, exchanged for five Aisiqi?"

Umak immediately shook his head, thought for a moment, and replied again: Two dogs for one pot.

Wang Dayuan continued to bargain, "Four Aisiqi (a type of snack), one pot."

"three."

"Deal! But we don't want a big one, just a small one."

Umak didn't understand what Wang Dayuan meant, so he had his tribesmen bring all the dogs over. Wang Dayuan picked out three puppies that had just been weaned and were only two or three months old before putting down a pot.

When the Inuit people saw that he only wanted puppies, they were even more delighted. Dogs can produce new puppies every year, and exchanging a litter of puppies for an iron pot was a great deal. As a result, several more Inuit families from different households came to them to buy pots.

In the end, they exchanged four iron pots and 12 husky puppies, divided into several litters, half male and half female. The soldiers were very puzzled when they saw this, "Why did you bring back so many dogs, sir? We can't keep them all on the ship, can we?"

“Why not?” Wang Dayuan immediately replied.

"When we get to the Mayan Kingdom in Lizhou, we will leave three hundred prisoners behind to establish a trading post at the port. When we find something and return home, those three hundred people will have to stay and farm, but they won't even have livestock."

"We didn't bring any cattle, horses, donkeys, or mules on our ship, not even chickens, ducks, pigs, or dogs. We only have three raccoons to catch mice. Since the Inuit people here keep dogs, why don't we take this opportunity to buy a few and leave them with us as livestock? Whether they're for guarding the house or for raising to eat, it's better than having nothing at all."

"I see. Your Excellency is quite considerate of them." Only then did the soldiers understand Wang Dayuan's intention.

"It's not just for their sake. We've come all this way, and the local people don't have anything of interest to offer. The only thing we can do is bring back this Aisiqi dog, which is different from the breeds in the Central Plains. It would be nice to show His Majesty something new."

“That’s true, but even this place was told to us by His Majesty. Surely His Majesty couldn’t have never seen it before?” the soldier asked again, puzzled.

"That's not necessarily true. His Majesty's nautical charts were passed down from his ancestors. Who knows if His Majesty himself has ever been here?"

The soldier nodded, then asked, "So, should we still buy more men?"

Wang Dayuan glanced at the group of natives and saw that they looked almost identical to the Han and Mongolian people. They were not as short as the Ainu people, nor did they have as much thick hair. He became even more convinced that these people were descendants of Chiyou and Jiuli. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's take one or two back with us."

Then he negotiated with the chieftain Umak again, saying he wanted to take two people with him, each with an iron pot, a dagger, a Ulu knife, an iron axe, a pair of scissors, and a few steel needles. Umak frowned, went back and discussed it with his tribe, and in the end they gave him two half-grown children, one named Shiva and the other named Luochen.

The two children were only eleven or twelve years old. When they saw that they were going to be sold to these outsiders by their parents, they burst into tears. In the end, no one knew what Umak said to them, but the two children reluctantly left with Wang Dayuan and the others.

Wang Dayuan gave the two men Han Chinese names based on their similar pronunciations, changing them to Xiwa and Luochen, and then took them back to his camp.

Meanwhile, at noon, Zhang Chao used a sundial to measure the local time, then compared it with the Nanjing time of the marine chronometer to calculate the time difference between the two places. Finally, he obtained the approximate longitude of their location and found that they were indeed in the middle of the Aleutian Islands. Only then did everyone feel relieved.

On the afternoon of the 21st, after bidding farewell to Adak Island, the Yuanwang, carrying the two children and 12 husky puppies it had acquired in exchange, set sail again towards Alaska.

The ship traveled for another day, covering more than 1,500 li, and encountered another large island. The island also had a natural large harbor where ships could anchor. However, they could not find fresh water, but fortunately, the ship had brought plenty of fresh water.

Wang Dayuan decided to stay on the island for a day to measure the precise latitude and longitude before announcing to everyone, "We have successfully completed our mission and have arrived at Lizhou."

"We've arrived in Lizhou already? So easy? I thought it would be much more difficult," Chen Youliang exclaimed in surprise.

Nahachu looked around and said, "This place is the dead of night, deserted and uninhabited. It can't possibly be the Mayan kingdom His Majesty mentioned, right? Where in Lizhou are we now? How far are we from that Mayan kingdom?"

Wang Dayuan immediately pointed to the island below Alaska on the globe, "We are here now. His Majesty named this place Shunfan Port (Kodiak). Continuing east, we can reach the west coast of the Lizhou Continent. Then, following the west coast south, we can reach the Mayan Kingdom."

Naha looked at the globe, then frowned and said, "Doesn't that mean we've only gone halfway?"

"more or less."

Chen Youliang also asked, "So where are we going next?"

Wang Dayuan pointed to Juneau, Alaska, and said, “If we want to save time, we can go directly here, and after reaching the shore, we can continue south. The next stop is Changchun (Vancouver/Seattle), which Your Majesty mentioned.”

“But it’s still early. We set off on May 8th, and it’s only May 23rd now, less than a month. I’d like to go to Shanglin (Anchorage) in the northeast first, and then continue south. What do you think?”

Yang Hui and Nahachu were both going to stay in Lizhou. It didn't matter whether they stayed a few days earlier or later. Only Chen Youliang frowned and said, "Can't we go to that Mayan country sooner, get the seeds, and go back sooner?"

Wang Dayuan immediately said, "In the south-central Pacific, there are hurricanes from June to October. Even if we arrive in the Mayan country in advance, we can't leave before October. We have to wait until after October to return, when it will be safer on the road. We can't speed up even if we want to."

Chen Youliang then said helplessly, "Since it can't be done quickly, let's go take a look. But why did His Majesty name this place Shanglin?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dayuan speculated, "There are two possibilities. Perhaps it means that there are many trees in this place, or perhaps His Majesty intends to designate this place as the Shanglin Garden."

"Shanglin Garden? Unbelievable!" Yang Hui, who had been silent until now, exclaimed in shock.

"In every dynasty, the Shanglin Garden was a royal hunting ground selected by the imperial family in a place with dense forests, and the common people were prohibited from entering. However, it was at most just a few mountains. But this emperor actually wants to enclose such a vast area of ​​land in Alaska as the Shanglin Garden."

"The problem is that there are no people here, no human habitation, and it is extremely cold. Surely Your Majesty cannot travel across the ocean to hunt here?"

Wang Dayuan said quietly, "If we can gain a foothold in the Mayan Kingdom this time, perhaps in the future the entire vast Pacific Ocean will become the Ming Dynasty's inland lake, and Alaska will be enclosed as the Shanglin Garden. I think that's not impossible."

"What a grand vision," Yang Hui remarked, then fell silent.

Chen Youliang clicked his tongue, thinking to himself, "Lu Jin's ambition is truly boundless. If I were the emperor, I would at most designate a few mountains as imperial gardens, but he's gone and designated an entire continent as a royal forbidden area."
The following day, the Yuanwang set sail again and arrived at the end of the Gulf of Alaska, which would later become the capital of Alaska, Anchorage, half a day later. There, they not only discovered freshwater rivers but also encountered more Inuit people. Wang Dayuan immediately decided to rest there for two days and take the opportunity to explore the local customs and culture before setting off for Evergreen (Vancouver).

The main reason was that Wang Dayuan felt that the story Lu Jin told about Gongshu Ling, the ancestor of the Gongshu clan, exploring the new continent was too bizarre, and he doubted whether there was anything strange about Lizhou. So, driven by his own selfish desires, since he had already come all this way, he naturally had to go and take a look.

(End of this chapter)