Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1237 Sun Hao Arrives
A fleet of seven ocean-going warships is sailing in the North Pacific Ocean, heading from the Ming Dynasty toward the New World.

Of these seven ocean-going vessels, three belonged to Zheng Hongkui's ocean-going fleet, while the other four, although their hulls were no smaller than warships and even larger, were actually armed merchant ships directly under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since the Ming Dynasty enfeoffed princes in the New World, it opened up sea routes to the New World. As time went on, especially after Zhu Mincheng discovered gold mines near Xinjing and captured local natives to mine them, the Imperial Household Department immediately sprang into action. With the emperor's approval, the department quickly built and purchased several armed merchant ships from Europe to form a dedicated merchant fleet traveling between the Ming Dynasty and the New World.

The appearance of this caravan not only brought huge profits, but also greatly reduced the logistical pressure on the ocean-going fleet.

After all, in the previous plan, the ocean-going fleet was also responsible for replenishing the population, supplies, and goods to and from the New World. In addition, the ocean-going fleet has now set up ports in Xinyongzhou and Xinjing respectively, and stationed squadrons and soldiers. Given that the feudal states in the New World have not been established for long and are far from being completely self-sufficient or even giving back to the Ming Dynasty, many things basically have to be transported from the Ming Dynasty by the ocean-going fleet itself.

The ocean-going fleet wasn't without ships, but its fleet consisted primarily of warships. While these warships were adequate for combat, they were insufficient for transporting supplies. The Ministry of Internal Affairs' involvement in this route perfectly filled this gap in the ocean-going fleet's capabilities, while also meeting the needs of supplying supplies to Xinyongzhou and Xinjing. At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs profited immensely from this route within just one year. Judging from the current situation, it wouldn't be long before the initial investment in shipbuilding and purchasing was fully recouped, after which it would be pure profit.

Sun Hao stood on a warship in the fleet, gazing into the distance.

His three-year mourning period has ended. In fact, the so-called three-year mourning period in this era is not thirty-six months, but twenty-five months. That is to say, the three-year mourning period only requires two years and one month, not the full three years that later generations imagined.

During these twenty-five months, Sun Hao built a hut in his hometown to observe mourning for his father, Sun Chengzong. While observing mourning, he did not isolate himself from the outside world. In addition to wearing simple clothes and eating coarse food every day, he was also very aware of the situation outside. Almost every few days, his family would send a lot of news to his hut, including letters from Zhu Mincheng in the New World. Through these letters, Sun Hao gained a basic understanding of Zhu Mincheng's situation in the New World.

Furthermore, Sun Hao certainly remembered his promise to Zhu Mincheng: he would go to the New World to help Zhu Mincheng after his mourning period ended. This was also reflected in Zhu Mincheng's letters from the New World, which detailed his observations and governance strategies, including the many problems he encountered, and expressed his hope that Sun Hao could come to help him as soon as possible. However, Sun Hao was unable to leave during his mourning period, and even if he wanted to go, he would have to wait until his mourning was over. Therefore, Sun Hao could only wait patiently. While waiting, Sun Hao found many books to study and made some preparations for his future trip to the New World.

Strangely enough, when Sun Chengzong was alive, Sun Hao was not very good at studying. He could only barely read through the Four Books and Five Classics. He was not good at writing essays and taking the imperial examinations. This is why Sun Hao never even passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations.

For this reason, Sun Chengzong sighed countless times when he was alive, lamenting that none of his family members could stand out in the imperial examinations like himself. In particular, his youngest son, Sun Hao, was of good character but was simply not cut out for studying. As he grew older, he became increasingly mediocre, and it seemed that he could only rely on the blessings bestowed upon him after his death.

Unexpectedly, although Sun Hao was still not interested in the Four Books and Five Classics during his mourning period, he was quite talented in current affairs and politics. In particular, he sorted out many letters and documents left by his father during his time in seclusion. He gained a lot from the many written records left by Sun Chengzong during his decades of service as an official, including when he served as Grand Secretary in the court and later as the Jiliao Commander-in-Chief in Liaodong.

In addition, Sun Hao also consulted many historical books and miscellaneous books, analyzing and verifying their contents one by one, and conducting a thorough study. In just twenty-five months, Sun Hao became completely different from before. Although he still looked the same Sun Hao, his temperament had become much more composed, and even his gaze was more firm and powerful than before.

After the mourning period ended, Sun Hao left his hometown and went alone to Leiden in Shandong. Leiden was now the base of the Ming Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet, and commercial trade had gradually shifted to the southern trading port of Qingdao. The Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet also had berths in Leiden's port, and the fleet's office was also located there. After arriving in Leiden, Sun Hao went directly to the ocean-going fleet's office in Leiden, presented his official certificate appointing him as the chief secretary of the Prince's Palace from Zhu Mincheng, and met with Zheng Hongkui.

Zheng Hongkui naturally knew about Sun Hao, not only because of Sun Chengzong, but also because of Zhu Mincheng.

Over the years, Zhu Mincheng had sent several letters to Sun Hao from the New World, all brought back from Xinjing by the ocean-going fleet. As the admiral of the ocean-going fleet, how could these letters have reached Sun Hao without his permission? Therefore, he had long known that Sun Hao was Zhu Mincheng's chief secretary, and that even His Majesty the Emperor had previously agreed to and approved of this matter.

Upon meeting Sun Hao, Zheng Hongkui warmly welcomed him. When Sun Hao inquired about whether there were any ships heading to the New World, Zheng Hongkui told him that a fleet would indeed be heading to the New World in half a month. However, considering that Sun Hao had never been to sea before, Zheng Hongkui suggested that he didn't need to rush. Since he had already waited so long, he might as well stay in Leiden for a while and arrange for Sun Hao to take a few short trips to the near sea first, and then take a ship to the New World after he became familiar with the sea.

Sun Hao rejected the suggestion. He had already waited for over two years; why would he want to wait any longer? He was now eager to reach the New World as soon as possible to see Zhu Mincheng and thus begin the career he had long desired. As for not being used to the sea? So what? The Sun family wasn't afraid even in the midst of battle; as Sun Chengzong's son, what was the vast ocean? It was nothing more than seasickness. If those naval officers could handle it, so could he, Sun Hao!
Thus, at Sun Hao's insistence, he finally boarded the first fleet to head to the New World. Since Zheng Hongkui, as the admiral, was not setting sail this time, he entrusted Sun Hao to the commander of the fleet and placed him on the largest warship.

At the beginning of his voyage, Sun Hao was not optimistic, but the unpredictable sea soon gave him a rude awakening. In less than two days, after the fleet left the Bohai Bay and officially entered the Pacific Ocean to head north, Sun Hao began to suffer from seasickness. The seasickness was so severe that he was dizzy and disoriented, vomiting almost everything he ate. He felt terrible and lay on the bed, barely breathing, feeling so unwell that he even had thoughts of dying.

With the help of the ship's doctor's herbs and his own willpower, Sun Hao finally overcame seasickness. Half a month later, Sun Hao gradually recovered and began to get used to life on the ship. As his physical condition improved, Sun Hao's days on the ship became different from the beginning. Compared to others, ocean voyages were arduous and boring, but Sun Hao used this experience to not only talk to the sailors and officers on the ship to learn about navigation and his experiences in the New World, but also read books in the cabin in his spare time or record his sights, sounds and feelings along the way.

Time passed day by day, and as the fleet sailed, they were finally not far from the New World. Just a few days ago, the fleet had completely bypassed the bay at the northwestern tip of the New World and was sailing eastward. According to the nautical charts provided by the fleet, it would not be long before the fleet arrived at Xin Yongzhou, which was the fiefdom of Prince Yong, Zhu Cizhao.

On the ship, Sun Hao, who had fully adapted to seafaring, stood steadily, his gaze fixed on the left front, because according to the nautical chart, the New World was located to the left. Just as he was silently calculating how much longer it would take to see land, a signal came from the lookout overhead. Having been with the fleet for so long, Sun Hao was already adept at interpreting signals and understood their meaning immediately.

"A new continent! We've finally arrived!" Sun Hao said to himself with a smile, subconsciously standing on tiptoe to continue looking to the left front. Compared to the lookout on the high mast, Sun Hao on the deck naturally couldn't see as far as the other man. However, after only about fifteen minutes, as the warship beneath his feet sped through the waves, an outline gradually appeared in the distance to the left front. Then, the horizon leaped out of the sea, and the moment they saw the horizon, everyone on the fleet couldn't help but cheer.

The New World has arrived! That's right! The New World lies to their left, the coastline becoming increasingly clear, and the land becoming more and more distinct. However, reaching Xinyongzhou will still take two days, but even so, their long voyage is nearing its end.

Two days later, the fleet docked at the pier of Xin Yongzhou. More than two years had passed, and Xin Yongzhou was no longer the barren land it once was. Although the pier was far smaller than that of Leiden, it still had a certain grandeur. Not far from the pier was the city of Xin Yongzhou. Xin Yongzhou was not a large city, even slightly smaller than a county town in the Ming Dynasty. However, because it had no shortage of timber and stone, the city was built very solidly. In addition, the people who came to the New World from the mainland in the past two years had gradually made the city more populated. There were some small villages and cultivated land around the city. It was early summer, and the climate here was slightly cooler than Sun Hao's hometown. Judging from the cultivation of the land, it looked quite good.

(End of this chapter)