I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 537 American Fleet

Shanghai County, port.

A huge official ship merchant fleet had just entered the port, and the speed of the ship was not very fast. However, the Shanghai Shipping Department at the port was quite surprised when he looked at the other party's official ship token.

This fleet actually came back from America?

The officials of the Shanghai Shipping Department naturally knew about America. After all, the Ming Dynasty had previously published a world map drawn by the Academy of Sciences in the "Monthly Report".

There is a mark in it. There is also a piece of land to the east of the Ming Dynasty's ocean... No, they are two equally huge continents, called North America and South America.

Not only have they been marked in the Americas, but also in Africa, Europe, and Australia. There is even the Antarctic continent, at the bottom corner of the map.

This is not the knowledge that Zhu Yijiong brought over. A long time ago, European navigators guessed that there was an undiscovered continent at the southernmost end of the map, and they marked it openly.

Until the Dutch discovered Australia, they mistakenly thought it was the continent, but soon discovered that it was not.

Kang Zifei ignored the official from the Municipal Shipping Department and instead glanced at the bustling port around him, with an endless stream of merchant ships coming and going.

After several years, he finally came back.

"Ah sneeze!"

Kang Zifei suddenly sneezed. The season has begun to enter autumn now, and it is starting to get colder in the south. It is definitely not as cold as winter. But for him, who has been drifting at sea for more than half a year, it is inevitable that he is a little acclimatized and has difficulty adapting.

The Shanghai Shipping Department did not struggle for too long because there were still many merchant ships lining up to enter the port to unload their cargo, but the officials of the Shanghai Shipping Department still rushed to deliver the news to Nanjing.

When the fleet led by Kang Zifei entered the port from Shanghai and entered the Yangtze River not long after, it was intercepted by the navy who came after hearing the news, and then transferred to a naval warship, all the way to Nanjing.

Such grandeur and high standards are enough to show that the emperor and the court attach great importance to this fleet returning to America.

Arriving in Nanjing on a warship, I looked at the long-lost tall city wall with several heavy cannons aimed at the river.

Kang Zifei couldn't help but burst into tears. The ship entered the harbor, and all the civil and military officials who could come came.

They were shouting in front and hugging each other, as if they were in another world.

After struggling at the port for a long time, it was not until the emperor summoned him that he hurriedly entered the palace to see him.

"Your Majesty, Kang Zifei, pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor!" Kang Zifei's face was filled with excitement when he saw the Emperor.

It had been several years since he sailed to America with Spanish ships, and he had long wanted to return to China.

In fact, even his trip this time was under the emperor's orders. In order to prevent this guy from giving up his choice, or simply refusing to go. Zhu Yijiong personally promised that as long as he could return from the Americas safely and record the route and the situation in the Americas, he would be given a title to inherit his family.

Relying on the generous rewards from such promotions, Kang Zifei was willing to lead the team to follow the Spanish to America.

After all, although the Spaniards were taking him with him, the journey was far away, and it was directly to another piece of land thousands of miles away. Even sea traders who often traveled overseas could not easily overcome their fear.

Especially on the way to the ocean, it is a route that the Spaniards have already explored, and it is not ruled out that they may encounter danger. Not only natural disasters and storms, but also various maritime diseases, such as the notorious scurvy, which killed countless European sailors.

Historically, scurvy was not discovered by a British military doctor until 1753, twenty years later. This guy discovered that only sailors were susceptible to illness, while officers were less susceptible to illness. After repeated comparisons, it was found that the only difference between officers and sailors was that officers could afford fruit.

Zhu Yijiong still remembered it, so before letting Kang Zifei lead the team out to sea, he specifically told them to eat as many vegetables and fruits as possible if they could. If not, they could supplement lemons, tea and other fruits and vegetables. They must not eat them. "Thank you for your hard work, Qing Kang." Zhu Yijiong smiled and said, "Going to America is really a great achievement. After passing my decree, the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites immediately drafted the title of the title, and the title was designated as marquis, and the rank was reduced and hereditary after three generations."

Without any questioning, the original title reward was honored first.

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness."

Kang Zifei was so excited that he knelt down to thank him on the spot.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Without courtesy, I will give you a seat."

Zhu Yijiong raised his hand, with a smile on his face, and added: "There are also accompanying crew members, so don't neglect them. The rewards that should be given must not be let down to the meritorious officials."

After all the rewards were received, I rambled for a while before getting to the point: "Have you memorized all the American routes?"

Kang Zifei said: "I have written down all the Spanish navigation charts, as well as some precautions. In which months there will be storms, they have been recorded. Moreover, the method of eating more fruits and vegetables mentioned by your majesty has been tested by me. It can indeed prevent some diseases caused by long-term sailing at sea. Especially scurvy, which has plagued the Spanish for hundreds of years, I specially conducted experiments on several seriously ill Spanish sailors and found that it has indeed improved."

"That's great, but what about Hawaii Island?" Zhu Yijiong asked again.

Kang Zifei shook his head: "When I first went to America, I followed the Spaniards from Cebu Island. These Spaniards followed a fixed route, so I didn't dare to leave without permission. When I came back, I sent a ship to search on a small scale along the route. Have you discovered any islands?"

The Hawaiian Islands were not discovered until fifty years later, when they were discovered by a British navigator and named Sandwich Islands.

Yes, because the navigator's patron was the Earl of Sandwich.

The name Sandwich Islands lasted for more than a hundred years, and a unified Native Hawaiian kingdom was even established here.

Zhu Yijiong was a little pity, but not too surprised. He just mentioned casually: "What is the current situation in America?"

Kang Zifei replied: "We are going to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Except for a few coastal ports and the Spanish New Mexico City, the rest are almost controlled by indigenous people, or simply barren areas. Moreover, although it is nominally a A colony of the Spanish, but it does not seem to be actually integrated with their mainland. Although both sides are controlled by a king, in America, their king seems to really have the power that a king should have."

"At present, in the entire Americas, in addition to the Spanish, the British and the French are also colonizing, and they are still competing with the Spanish for colonial land in North America. However, the governors and officials of the Spanish American colonies seem to be indifferent to this. Instead, they are more concerned about how much silk, tea, and porcelain the minister has brought. There is a lot of gold and silver in America, and the prices of goods there in Spain are also quite high."

"From their Mexican governor to the Spanish colonial officials in various ports, everyone was involved in smuggling. Even the large sailing ships sent by the Spaniards in Cebu Island seemed to be accustomed to it. However, regarding smuggling, their domestic royal court, On the contrary, it is not clear. All the goods I brought there were sold at a higher value than those in Nanyang, but I also paid a lot of goods as bribes to their governor."

"However, I have made an agreement with the Spanish governor that the next time a merchant ship flying the sun and moon flag goes to America, the Spanish fleet will not launch an attack. Because the opportunity is rare, I followed your majesty's instructions and detoured to the Spanish Explore the various ports and go north to talk with the natives of the northern coast where the Spanish have never touched.”

"At least more than half of the land along the entire northern coast of America is in the hands of indigenous people (Indians). Those indigenous people seemed very surprised by our big ships, and generally did not use iron tools, and they were still engaged in slash-and-burn farming. If I have to say it, , but they are very similar to the headhunters in the eastern mountainous area of ​​Taiwan Prefecture, but these natives are more gentle."

"Furthermore, in addition to still cultivating slash-and-burn farming, these indigenous Americans are also internally different. Every coastal land has obvious differences in the language and culture of the indigenous people. If His Majesty wants to send a fleet to sail to the Americas again in the future, you can learn from these indigenous peoples. Let’s start from there. Staying in the Spanish colonial ports is not a long-term solution after all. I also asked that these Spaniards robbed the land of the indigenous people and established the colony.”

"I also traveled to other parts of the Americas and conducted transactions with the British and French. Currently, the west coast of the northern continent of America is a Spanish colony, while the east coast is the territory of the British. The French seem to control central America. , the two sides are bounded by mountains and river valleys. The southern continent of America is also controlled by the Spanish. I heard that the Dutch also established colonies in South America, but they are very weak."

"The further north you go from the Americas, the smaller the local indigenous population is and the climate is colder. It is really not suitable to establish a colonial territory..."

(End of this chapter)