Lying on the top is a private letter written by Wang Yuan to the emperor, introducing the basic situation of Magellan's fleet.
After Zhu Houzhao finished reading the letter, he immediately picked up the globe.
Spain is the starting point of the voyage. A red line is drawn across the Atlantic Ocean, then around South America and across the Pacific Ocean to Asia. Wang Yuan said in the letter that this route may not be accurate, but the general direction is correct. This ship
The team has been captured by the Ming Navy.
Zhu Houzhao held the globe and became more and more excited as he looked at it. He asked the eunuch to lift the box and go to the study.
For the next month, Zhu Houzhao spent all his time reading Magellan's navigational information. What he liked to read most were those logbooks. The bizarre overseas experiences made the emperor want to sail a ship to sea himself.
However, the diary records are a bit grim, with numerous crew members dying of starvation and illness.
Although Zhu Houzhao was very curious, he had not really thought about seeking death. He did not dare to float on the sea for a year or two.
One day, Zhu Houzhao stared at the globe for a long time and suddenly said to the eunuch: "Xuan Gu is very useful!"
After the eunuch went out, he first sent someone to report to Zhang Yong, and then sent someone to call Gu Dayong.
Gu Dayong happily came to the study, knelt down and said, "I'm here to see the emperor. I wonder if the emperor has anything to do with you?"
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Which eunuch under you is reliable? He must be useful, not afraid of death, and he must be young and strong!"
Gu Dayong was stunned and replied: "Wei Zhong, the head of the Royal Horse Supervisor, is about thirty years old. He can write, has force, and is reliable in his work."
"Call him!" Zhu Houzhao said.
Gu Dayong called Wei Zhong, the head of the Royal Horse Supervisor, again.
"Your Majesty, Wei Zhong, come to see your Majesty!" Wei Zhong was a little confused, worried and excited at the same time, guessing what special mission the emperor had.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and asked, "Are you Wei Zhong?"
Wei Zhong replied: "I am Wei Zhong, now the eunuch in charge of Wu Xiang Zuo Wei."
Wu Xiang's left guard is one of Tengxiang's four guards. There are more than 3,000 people in the four guard camp. At the beginning, they were all sergeants who were separated on the battlefield and fled back. The troops had been reorganized and there was no place to place them, so Zhu Di asked them to give them to the royal family.
Raising horses. Gradually it became a guard of the imperial army, subordinate to the Yulin Guard, but under the supervision of the eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor.
Wei Zhong had been studying for several years when he was young. Due to a disaster in his hometown, both his parents and brothers died, so he simply chose to commit suicide in the palace.
There were two types of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, one was officially castrated and the other was self-castrated.
In the early years of the dynasty, those who castrated themselves could even join the gentry. The court continued to prohibit the use of eunuchs among the people. These self-eunuchs could only wait for the court to recruit them. The emperor and princes would recruit eunuchs from time to time to work.
Wei Zhong is neither named Wei nor Zhong.
This is a common practice for eunuchs. After castration, they change their names so as not to disgrace their ancestors. Most eunuchs choose the surname Wang, followed closely by those named Zhang, and there are countless eunuchs named "Zhong".
Zhu Houzhao asked again: "Are you good at martial arts?"
Wei Zhong replied: "I understand a little bit. I have also read a few military books."
Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied and asked: "I have an errand that will narrow your chances of death. Do you dare to take it?"
Wei Zhong said quickly: "I am loyal to Your Majesty, even if I die!"
"Okay, you will be called Zhu Zhong from now on!" Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.
Wei Zhong couldn't help but be happy: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me your surname."
Gu Dayong reminded: "Your Majesty's adopted son already has Zhu Zhong."
Zhu Houzhao said without hesitation: "Then you will be called Zhu Hai! All the oceans and seas are all my Zhu family's world."
Wei Zhong... no, it should be called Zhu Hai, kowtow again to express gratitude.
Zhu Houzhao took out the globe: "The earth is round, this is the Ming Dynasty, and there is a continent in the far east. I appoint you as the admiral of sea exploration. I will go to Nanyang immediately to organize a sea exploration fleet. The ship should not be too big or too big.
More, five or six ships will be enough. After you explore the continent in the far east, you can return by ship. If this happens, I will make you the explorer of the sea!"
Zhu Hai and Gu Dayong raised their heads at the same time and looked at Zhu Houzhao with disbelief.
Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to be ennobled, and Zhu Houzhao wanted to mess around again.
While Zhu Hai's heart was surging, he immediately figured it out. If he was made an earl, there would be only two consequences: first, he could no longer be an eunuch; second, he could be an eunuch, but there would be no hope of promotion and he would have to spend the rest of his life at sea.
Soak.
Zhu Hai had no choice but to answer: "But it depends on your Majesty's orders!"
Zhu Houzhao added: "Wang Shilang's letter said that if you drift at sea for a long time, you will easily get a kind of scurvy. You can prepare more beans and eat bean sprouts on the ship. You can also prepare more pickles, vegetables and fruits to prevent it.
Scurvy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for reminding me," Zhu Hai said.
Zhu Houzhao pointed to the pile of navigation information: "I have asked someone to copy a copy of these, so you can study them on the way. From the sailing logs of the Taixi people, we know that the sea is extremely dangerous, and internal strife is the most taboo. When selecting crew members, you must
Make it clear to them in advance that it is best to select a few hundred dead men to go to sea. If you find the continent in the far east, you can take people ashore to explore and get some rare items back. Remember to draw a chart along the way. The charts of the Westerners are not very good.
It’s accurate, but the writing is ambiguous in many places.”
Zhu Hai said: "I will keep this in mind."
Zhu Houzhao gave some instructions again, and finally said: "When you go to Nanyang, remember to send a message to Zhu Ying, the admiral of the Jinyi Coast Guard, saying that I am very disappointed with him. He didn't even have such an important thing as the Thai-Western navigation drawings."
To submit it, Wang Erlang will have to send someone from Liaodong!"