The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 30 Unexpected Discovery
The Ming Dynasty's Australian Exploration Fleet stayed in the southern Australian Gulf for ten days and completed the survey of the Gulf itself.

Exploration teams that went deep into the land also returned one after another, bringing back information about the area within about 100 kilometers around the bay.

Includes simple soil, rock, and plant samples.

About forty to fifty kilometers north of the bay is a mountain range that runs generally east-west.

The mountains become lower and lower from east to west.

The outgrowth of this mountain range, together with the low hills near the coast, generally enclose the entire bay.

The mountains are highest in the northeast of the bay, and you can see towering mountains.

The mountains in the west are the lowest, and in many places they are only slightly undulating.

Just north of the bay, there is a valley with relatively low mountains. After passing through the mountains from the valley, you will find a vast plain.

However, the forest behind the mountains began to become sparse.

The exploration team climbed up to look further inland and discovered that the forests would continue to decrease toward the north, and the interior of the continent should be a large area of ​​grassland.

A river flowing in a northwest direction was also discovered.

Cao Zhendong thought this was good news.

The border area between forest and grassland usually has plenty of rainfall, and if a river passes through it, it can be reclaimed into farmland.

However, Cao Zhendong couldn't help but sigh:

"It would be great if this mountain range was to the north of this grassland. The plains at the foot of the mountain would have more rain."

The exploration team in another direction also discovered a vast plain behind the low mountains in the west of the bay, sandwiched between the Coastal Mountains and the Northern Mountains.

According to overall estimates, the relatively flat land around the bay is estimated to be around 3,000 square kilometers.

The plain area west of the bay is estimated to be tens of thousands of square kilometers.

The plains north of the mountains must be larger, but there was no time to investigate further and no way to determine their overall extent.

These lands suitable for development are sufficient to build a vassal state of a certain size.

The interior of the bay is the best place to build a capital.

On the fifteenth day of the exploration fleet's stay in the bay, the last inland exploration team returned, and Cao Zhendong announced that the fleet was ready to set off for the return trip.

When everything was packed up, the sailboat slowly left the bay.

Liu Biao, the captain in charge of the Western Exploration, found Cao Zhendong alone and asked him about his future plans as if to chat with him:
"Admiral, will we come here again in the future?"

Liu Biao tried hard to act natural and casual, but Cao Zhendong was keenly aware that he had some expectations.

Cao Zhendong did not ask directly, but asked casually:

"What's the matter? You like this piece of land. Do you want to settle down here?"

Liu Biao agreed with a smile:

“It’s really interesting. I explored more than a hundred kilometers to the west, and the forest here is really nice.

“There are quite a lot of flat lands in the west. Even if the soil here is as infertile as in the northwest, we can just burn the forest.

"Wood ash can be used to fertilize the fields and can be used to grow crops for at least three to five years. If crops can no longer be grown, we can just move to another place.

"The land that can be reclaimed here is enough to match the land of a province in China. The key is that there are basically no people around."

Cao Zhendong smiled and said:
"Aren't there some savages here? We've been dealing with them..."

Liu Biao immediately followed up:
"Those Kunlun slaves are just perfect for farming."

Cao Zhendong laughed out loud.

After laughing, he put his arm around Liu Biao's shoulders and walked towards his room in the cabin with his arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, come back to the house with me, I have something to ask you..."

Liu Biao suddenly panicked:

"Admiral...what are you going to do..."

After Cao Zhendong entered the room with Liu Biao in his arms, he locked the door behind him and said with a dry laugh:
"Are you hiding something from me? What did you find in the woods over there?"

Liu Biao seemed to be relieved, but immediately became nervous again:

"Nothing, I just think this piece of land is nice. It should be winter now, but it's not too cold..."

Cao Zhendong sneered and pulled out the rifle from his waist.

However, he did not point the gun at Liu Biao, but instead made a gesture as if he was going to hit him with the gun handle:
"Stop pretending. I can tell at a glance that something is wrong with you." "Tell me honestly what you found out. I can help you out."

"Otherwise... I'll beat you so hard that you won't be able to get out of bed for three days."

Liu Biao was indeed afraid of his old boss Cao Zhendong. After being threatened repeatedly by him, he finally confessed:
"Don't hit me, don't hit me, I tell you, don't tell anyone else..."

Cao Zhendong agreed casually:

"Okay, I won't tell anyone..."

Liu Biao carefully took out a piece of cloth from his arms, unfolded it and handed it to Cao Zhendong:

"Admiral... look..."

Cao Zhendong moved closer and found two small yellow objects on the white cloth.

The shape is very irregular, a bit like weathered stone.

But some of them were scratched and emitted a golden light.

Cao Zhendong was obviously stunned. He picked up a piece and rubbed it for a while, then widened his eyes and asked in a low voice:
"This... Is this gold? Should I say it's high-purity gold ore?"

Liu Biao smiled and nodded:

“I have checked it many times, it should be gold, there is probably a gold mine to the west of this bay.

“So I want to apply to join the guard corps of His Royal Highness King Wu when I return, and then ask my family to come here to ask for a piece of land and pan for gold.

"Admiral, you can also ask your family to come and ask for the land. I'll tell you where it is. We can be neighbors in the future."

Cao Zhendong was silent for a few seconds:
"What if Your Highness doesn't build a city here? Or even fence this place off as a royal forest farm?"

Liu Biao smiled and said:
"What you said is that this piece of land is the best we have found.

“There is enough flat land, and behind it there is a forest. Behind the forest there is a prairie, there are rivers and water sources, and there is a large enough bay.

“As long as your majesty and your highness are of sound mind, they will choose to build the city here.

“In the past, when princes founded countries, they would actively recruit immigrants, and most of the early land was given away for free. Whoever opened up the land would own it.

“We just need to ask the family members to sign up and then come here to open up the wasteland.

“After the gold mine here is made public, if His Royal Highness the King of Wu wants to open a mine here, he will have to spend money to buy the land back, right?

“Even if we don’t find much gold ourselves, the land we have opened up should be able to sell for a lot.

"So we won't lose anything. Just don't tell anyone else about this."

Cao Zhendong was silent for a few seconds:

"In fact, there is another option. We can just report the discovery of gold. His Majesty will probably give you a large reward."

After hearing this, Liu Biao hesitated:

"Can the reward from His Majesty... be more than what we can earn from panning for gold here?"

Cao Zhendong thought for a moment and said:
“If you can really find the mineral vein yourself, you will definitely make more money by panning for gold yourself.

“But if you can’t find the mineral veins and simply look for gold on the ground in the forest, you are unlikely to get anything.

“The key is, if you are willing to report it, you can take the reward with peace of mind, there is absolutely no risk.

"Besides, you have made a great contribution and should be able to get a promotion."

Liu Biao actually understood these principles in his heart, but the potential benefits of monopolizing a gold mine were huge, which made Liu Biao hesitant.

Cao Zhendong patted his shoulder:

"Think about it carefully and tell me your decision when you return to Java."

Liu Biao nodded, put away his two pieces of high-purity gold ore, said goodbye to Cao Zhendong and left the room.

Cao Zhendong calmed himself down and commanded the fleet to return.

On the return trip, you still have to sail against the current. If you go along the east coast, you have to sail against the East Australian Current, and if you go along the west coast, you have to drift against the westerly wind.

When the fleet finally returned to Java Island, Liu Biao still wanted to conceal the matter of the gold.

Prepare to go panning for gold in nearby areas where there may be gold mines.

Cao Zhendong didn't say anything. He packed up the maps and reports and asked the Java Navy speedboat to send them to Yingtian Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)