The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 419 If You Don’t Fight for Hegemony, You Will Be Beaten

In order to stay in the Ming Dynasty and continue to do business and make money, the Portuguese had no choice but to surrender.

There was no way, as their homeland was now under Spanish rule.

Not only can they not earn much money when they go back, they also don't have the freedom they have outside.

Wanli used this to control these guys, so that he didn't have to spend a lot of time exploring the waterways before entering the world of maritime hegemony.

Now is the Age of Exploration. If we don't fight for maritime hegemony, sooner or later we will be trampled underfoot by others who use maritime hegemony.

History is the proof.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty must fight for this maritime hegemony, otherwise the colonial bandits who developed by using the resources looted from overseas will sooner or later come knocking on its door.

However, at this moment he was planning a war to destroy Japan and had no time to pay attention to the struggle for hegemony at sea.

He planned to send people to America first to take a look and bring back some important plant seeds.

The question is, who should we send?
At this time, America was no longer dominated by Portugal. Spain had the most colonies there, and some of the plant seeds he wanted might be in the Spanish colonies.

In other words, it would be best if the people he sent could understand Spanish and Portuguese.

It seems that there are only two people under his command who understand both languages, one is Li Yuansheng and the other is Li Guozhu.

Li Yuansheng has to do overseas business, so he definitely cannot go. So he can only send Li Guozhu.

Fortunately, more and more Japanese pirates have learned the official language of the Ming Dynasty. Even the Japanese envoy Xiao Xifei has learned it. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty and Japan are currently in the stage of peace talks, so there is no need for anyone to act as a middleman.

Li Guozhu should have no problem making the trip to America.

After the Portuguese envoys left, Wanli came to the Grand Council Hall, picked up a pen and wrote on the manuscript paper, and ordered someone to summon Li Guozhu to meet him.

Li Guozhu hurriedly walked into the Grand Council Hall and took a look, his face full of strange expression.

What is His Majesty painting?

There were a bunch of strange paintings on the long table, and he couldn't understand any of them!
After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, Wanli drew a picture in a hurry for a while before solemnly saying, "Guozhu, I plan to let you travel to America. What do you think? Do you dare to go?"

America?

There are many states or continents now, and this continent does not specifically refer to a continent.

For example, Tongzhou, Zhuozhou, Cangzhou, Xinzhou, Longjiangzhou, Xingzhou, Quanzhou, Gongzhou, etc., we don’t know how many there are.

These are not specific continents.

Li Guozhu thought for a moment before cautiously asking, "Your Majesty, are you talking about the Americas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain?"

Oh, you've heard of this?

Upon hearing this, Wanli asked with great interest, "Where did you hear about America and the Viceroyalty of New Spain?"

Li Guozhu explained, "Your Majesty, I heard this in Luzon. It seems that Luzon is under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Most of the Spaniards there came from the Viceroyalty of New Spain."

Oh, you heard that from the Spanish.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Have you seen their world map?"

world map?

Li Guozhu shook his head repeatedly and said, "I have never seen their maps. They seem to treasure their maps very much and never show them to others."

Colonial robbers relied on these maps or nautical charts to rob everywhere.

However, the map was no longer a secret in later generations.

Wanli pointed to the largest map he had drawn and said, “Guozhu, look, this is the world map.

This is Ming, and this is Dongying. Past Dongying, roughly ten thousand miles away, is America, and past America is Europe and Africa. Europe and Ming are actually on the same continent; they just occupy a small corner to the northwest.

After hearing this, Li Guozhu took a closer look and was still a little confused.

He could understand the Ming Dynasty, Japan, and Southeast Asia, but the problem was that he couldn't understand that America used to be the European continent and Africa, because America used to be a table.

He studied the map carefully for a long time before pointing to the right edge and saying carefully, "Your Majesty, wasn't there nothing in America in the past?"

Oh, you don’t know that the earth is round?
These days, most people probably don’t even know about the Earth.

Wanli picked up the massive map, put the two sides together, and explained, "Guozhu, we're actually on a sphere. This sphere is incredibly large, so large you can't even imagine it. The top and bottom should actually be spherical, but I won't. Do you understand?"

We're on a sphere! How big is it?

Upon hearing this, Li Guozhu's face was filled with shock.

However, he did understand the map. When he compared the two sides, he could see that America was indeed Europe and Africa in the past.

He nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I think I understand."

I'm glad you understand.

Wanli then explained in detail: "This time I asked you to go to America mainly to familiarize yourself with the waterway. This waterway, which is tens of thousands of miles long, must rely on the monsoon and ocean currents to navigate. If you rely on rowing, it will not work at all. A rowing boat cannot carry much food and fresh water, and it will be finished if it encounters a storm at sea.

We can only rely on sailing ships to travel tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of miles, so the most important thing about this route is the direction and timing of the monsoon and ocean currents. These are the things that those European barbarians paid for with their lives. You must find a way to find out."

what?
Li Guozhu was puzzled and asked, "Your Majesty, who are you asking this to?"

This is naturally a question for the Portuguese.

Wanli explained in detail: "The Portuguese have agreed to send someone to lead our fleet to America. When the time comes, you can bring more gold and silver and use it to buy important information from the Portuguese.

In addition, you should bring more Ming Dynasty specialties such as silk, tea, porcelain, mirrors, etc., and give them to everyone you meet when you go there. Try to bring back as many seeds of local plants as possible.

This includes crops, fruits, vegetables, and most importantly, rubber tree seeds. You must bring them back, and the more the better."

Rubber tree?
You don't seem to have drawn any trees.

Li Guozhu finally understood that the strange-shaped things painted by Wanli were all plants. The problem was that he had never seen any images of trees.

He thought for a moment, then asked carefully, "Your Majesty, what kind of tree is a rubber tree, and what does it look like?"

This can only be described.

Wanli said simply, "I don't know what a rubber tree looks like. I only know that when the bark of a rubber tree is cut, a lot of resin will flow out. This resin, when processed using a special method, becomes as tough as leather, and it also has great elasticity and is waterproof."

What is this?
Li Guozhu pondered for a long time before he said carefully, "Your Majesty, what you are talking about seems a bit like cooked beef tendon."

you're so smart.

Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, raw rubber looks like cooked beef tendon, but it may be in pieces or in clumps. There are many rubber trees over there, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to find it."

Oh, it’s easier to find if you have a general idea of ​​the appearance.

Upon hearing this, Li Guozhu slowly nodded and said, "I understand."

I'm glad you understand.

Wanli pointed to the picture and said, "Look, this is a sweet potato, and this is a potato. They are both roots growing in the soil. Sweet potatoes are roughly round and have a sweet taste, while potatoes are irregularly round and have no taste.

These two things may be as big as a fist, or just a little bigger than a finger. It mainly depends on the variety and soil quality. You should be able to find out if you go there and give them some food. People there will definitely grow them to eat.

Because the yield of these two things is astonishingly large, a yield of more than a thousand catties per acre is considered a small number, and it is possible to produce several thousand or even tens of thousands of catties per acre."

what?
Such a huge output!

The current grain yield per mu is only about two dan at the lowest, and no more than four dan at the highest, which is about three hundred to six hundred kilograms.

The lowest yield of these two things is over a thousand kilograms per mu!
Li Guozhu finally understood.

If these two things could be transplanted to the Ming Dynasty, the people would be able to eat enough and there would be no famine that would cause people to starve to death.

He nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I will definitely bring back the seeds of these two things."

Do these two things have seeds?
Wanli pondered, "It seems the seeds of these two things are the edible roots, not the seeds that bloom and bear fruit. You should go over there and ask them about it. It would be best if you could figure out how to grow them."

Li Guozhu nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I will definitely ask for clarification."

Next came corn, pumpkin, tomato and so on, and Wanli explained them to him in detail according to his own impression.

Li Guozhu's face was full of excitement and anticipation.

It seems this guy is a natural explorer.

After Wanli finished his introduction, he said solemnly: "I will give you a thousand Jinyiwei, ten 2,000-ton Fu ships, a hundred centipede ships, and 5,000 elite naval forces. This strength is enough to destroy a small country.

If someone tries to communicate with you, give them something. If they try to get physical, just hit them. It doesn't matter who they are. There are no laws overseas these days, so don't be polite."

(End of this chapter)