From Chief to Ball

The sky has already darkened. This is a sea area where almost no one has been to. In addition to the inaccurate map, no one knows that there is an island here.

The captain suggested: "The weather is not bad, the island is already in the northeast, we can go around."

Chen Jian shook his head and said: "Since it is a small island that I have never seen before, let's go up and have a look. If there are animals, birds and beasts, I can also improve the food. Anyway, I am not all for business, I just come out for a walk. There may be How far?"

"It's not too far. If the weather is fine, you might be able to see it with a telescope. But when the sky is dark, this thing is not as good as the feeling of the old crew. You can feel the changes of the waves with the shaking of the hull. You have the right to say, Anyway, there is no risk, just go and have a look.”

Chen Jian gave the order, and the fleet deviated slightly from the direction of the island, and slowly circled around.

The interns who measured the water depth did not dare to neglect at all, and meticulously measured the depth of the water with a plumb.

The old sailor came up to Wei Yuan arrogantly, Wei Yuan was also willing to admit defeat, praised repeatedly, asked a few more questions, and listened carefully to the old crew explaining some little tricks that Wei Yuan didn't know.

Chen Jian didn't feel sleepy either. He knew that this might just be a small island, but the thrill of finding an uninhabited island in the vast sea was exciting after all.

Looking up at Polaris, the starry sky above the vast sea is extraordinarily brilliant, indescribably clear and empty.

This will not be a special island, it will only be a very ordinary small island sandwiched in the sea. It is too close to have any crops that have never appeared before.

But this island is also a problem. Who owns such an island that no one cares about?

Early the next morning, the observers on the mast found an island, which was not too big. The ship slowly approached the island, and when the water depth reached a certain level, it anchored and stopped, not daring to go inside.

A small raft was lowered from both sides of the ship's side, and several interns and sailors paddled over there with a plumb, measuring the depth of the water while paddling to ensure that the boat could pass safely.

At ten o'clock in the morning the raft returned safely.

"Mr. Chen, the boat can continue to go in, the water is deep enough. There is a small river on the island with fresh water, there should be no people, there are many birds, and there are some turtles on the beach by the sea. There are trees on the island, nothing special. "

Chen Jian nodded and said: "Then follow the waterway, I want to go to the island to see. Since there is fresh water, then stay on the island, boil some water and put it in a bucket."

Before they set off from Mincheng, these people knew that Chen Jian was not all for business, otherwise they wouldn't have to try a sea route that no one had traveled.

Anyway, there are fresh water and turtles on the small island, so it's good to take a break and eat some good food. Normal ship owners are always busy with business and basically won't stay on such a small island.

The necessary manpower was left on board, and the rest of them used empty barrels or small rafts, gunpowder guns and hourglasses, and started from Mincheng to ignite the timing incense that has not been extinguished, and stepped on the beach.

There are fish in the small river on the island, which is crystal clear, and it should be no problem to drink after boiling.

Sailors were busy catching turtles on the beach, or shooting nearby seabirds with guns, and chefs felled trees to cook food.

It seems that no one has ever been here. Thinking about the sound of gunfire, a group of birds flew up to cover the sky and cover the sun, and one could be shot down at will.

Fresh food is an indispensable adjustment in sailing life, and the morale of the sailors is very high.

The plants in the jungle in the distance are just some common tree species, nothing special and impossible to have anything special. A few sailors walked up the river, digging some newly grown physalis and chewing them.

Before eating, Chen Jian took out a dragon flag that had been prepared a long time ago, cut a long wooden pole, tied the flag, and stuck it in a place away from the tide.

All the sailors and trainee crew members on the shore looked at the flag with their hands behind their backs and sang a tune that they had learned in Kaimeng School, a big river, according to the custom on the ship.

There were neither tears nor emotions, but followed Chen Jian's request and took a formality.

When Chen Jian announced that this small island would be the territory of Huaxia, everyone just smiled and joked: "Congratulations, Mr. Chen, for expanding the territory of Huaxia, hahaha..."

"Mr. Chen, what's the use of such a small island? Besides, the Chinese territory can't bring us money."

In a word, Chen Jian's question was speechless, and he smiled awkwardly: "Who knows if it will be useful in the future? If the new air route is really feasible, this is the only way from Mincheng to Qi. Fresh water is replenished here. I am going to invest some money, are you interested?"

Several people shook their heads and said, "Isn't it just a waste of money to throw it here? We don't have as many silver coins as you, Mr. Chen."

Chen Jian clicked his tongue and said: "How could it be a waste of time? There is fresh water here, and it seems that the land in the woods is fertile, and there is such a small harbor that can escape the storm. What is speculation? Wait until everyone sees it. Now is the chance to make money, can it be your turn?"

Some people were quite puzzled and wondered: "If there is gold and silver on this island, then we will get rich. But if there is no gold and silver, how can there be any place to make money on this island?"

Indeed, judging from this moment, there is really no place to make money on this small island.

Chen Jian didn't say much, he had already measured the latitude last night, and asked the two disciples of Mr. Benchu ​​who can watch the shadow of the sun to calculate the current time, and then compared the hourglass and the average recorded time by burning incense. Mincheng time.

The time here is about 10 minutes earlier than that of Mincheng. According to the latitude and longitude here, this small island should be at 32 degrees 47 minutes north latitude and about four degrees east longitude.

This is the first commemorative island roughly marked with the latitude and longitude here. After eating, Chen Jian took a dozen sailors with guns, Wang Zhe and others along the river.

There is indeed no trace of human activities here, but there are many trees, all of which can be used to build ships. There is also a large struvite mine in the north of the island.

I roughly drew the shape of the island, which looked like a turtle lying on the ground with a head and feet, so I named it Turtle Island.

The harbor that can accommodate ships passing through the reef is in a good location. The sailors who stayed there measured the tidal range, and it was about three meters, which is very suitable for ships to pass through.

This island will be the first step for Chen Jian to go sailing. Like this uninhabited island, who will it be in the future?How to manage?These are all difficult first steps that require a definitive answer.

The wealth of the island is the fresh water and the way to trade with Qi in the future, plus the struvite on the half of the island, it is also a huge wealth, especially after the rise of cotton planting.

This is different from foreign trade. Chen Jian needs to convince the people of the country that some islands or mainlands that seem to be unattended are huge wealth as long as they are managed properly, which will arouse people's enthusiasm for going to sea.

Once the new direct route proves to be available, there will be more and more trade between the two parties. Whether it is smuggling, official or unlimited trade in the future, this place will become an important transit point.

Shipbuilding and guano phosphate mining are long-term plans.

As for the fresh water and land here, getting some livestock to raise them, providing meat, wine, and fresh water for passing ships, providing a safe haven when the storm comes, and installing lighthouses are all ways to make a fortune.

Just like the question of those people before, how can these lands make money?Chen Jian had to think of a way to tell them that overseas land was very valuable, so that they could cultivate their fanaticism and raise funds from Mincheng to get more people involved in the upsurge of foreign investment.

In addition, starting from Mincheng, some criminals can also be thrown on this island to engage in some labor as cheap labor.

The sailors were not very interested in this, and several people walked along the river to see if there was any dog's head gold in the water, but they all returned disappointed.

After staying on the island for three days, I chose a very tall tree as high as a mast to make a new flagpole, and re-hoisted the dragon flag.

He chose a stone, engraved the year, month, day and the names of the people who landed on the island, and led the sailors to build a simple log cabin above the tide line of the island, leaving a wooden barrel and There is half a bucket of beans.

Then all the crew boarded the ship, sailed north for a while, and took advantage of the westerly wind in the northern hemisphere, which was far away from the coast, to open the sails and head eastward at full speed.

There was no danger along the way, the wind was strong and the waves were high, but the speed of the ship was also fast. Fortunately, there was no big storm. Only the sail of one ship was slightly damaged. After a little repair, everything went back to normal.

Six days after sailing from the island, the lookout sailor on the mast let out a cheer.

In the circular world of the telescope, he saw several ships and a blurry coastline, with the flag of Qi State flying above the ships.

Chapter 136

"It's land!"

The watchman shouted loudly, and another old sailor hurriedly climbed onto the mast. After confirming it, he shouted: "We have arrived in Qi!"

The sailors on the deck immediately cheered, the voyage that no one traveled was finally completed.Neither lost in the sea, nor sunk in the reef.

Soon, several ships from Qi State approached, and Chen Jian asked people to raise the flag of franchise trade.