New Shun 1730

When he learned that he could finally start exploring America and find a route from northern Asia to America, Bering looked at his gray hair in the mirror and didn't know what to think.

After being in Dashun for so long, he learned a word.

At fifty, one knows the destiny.

In fact, he is already more than knowing the destiny, and he will be obedient in five years.

The various occupational diseases left by his sailing career and crossing Siberia are like a devil that entangles him. Stomach disease, broken teeth, ulcers... Each disease may recur and become serious during the voyage. He doubts whether he can come back from America alive.

But even so, facing Liu Yu's permission, he still showed excitement.

The great voyage is no longer driven by one or two genius captains. Peter was good to him, so he hoped to repay him, but repaying him requires material basis.

The exploration ship built on the Heilongjiang River is very small. Russia has no ice-free port in the Pacific Ocean. The endless Siberian Taiga forest makes it impossible for Russia to build a large enough exploration ship at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River. The boats built by a group of second-hand shipbuilders were barely usable.

After surrendering to Dashun, Dashun fulfilled Liu Yu's promise during the boundary survey negotiations and asked for his wife and children from Russia.

In addition, Dashun had countless ice-free ports in the Pacific Ocean. The French technicians hired at high prices could also build a better and larger exploration ship than the one he had previously built on the Heilongjiang River, now named "Aurora".

Big, for navigation, means survival.

The naval officer trainees who were as good at geometry and mathematics as the young men of the newly established Russian Academy of Sciences also gave him sufficient manpower to draw clear maps.

Mathematics, for exploration, means more accurate maps.

In the era when longitude could not be calculated at sea without a navigation clock and an astronomical calendar, he could only learn the method used by Da Gama and Columbus to find India, judging the latitude based on the clues in the literature and sailing along the latitude.

Although he believed that he could reach America no matter how the latitude changed, he needed to record the islands where he could rest and replenish supplies along the way. It is better to go along a fixed latitude.

"Mr. Bering, I can now fulfill my promise. I think if there had not been the battle on the Heilongjiang River, you might be dead now. The Aurora is still too small as an exploration ship. Moreover, even if the Europeans sailed around the world earlier, they may not know more about scurvy than I do."

Liu Yu boasted about his own strength, and Bering could not refute it.

Indeed, Liu Yu's understanding of scurvy surprised him. According to Liu Yu's method, scurvy is no longer a big problem.

The larger exploration ship can accommodate more soybeans, wine with lemon juice, and tomatoes sealed with corks and wax, which can slow down the occurrence of scurvy to a certain extent.

"My Lord, on the Arctic route, there is no need to consider the issue of fresh water. The snow all over the sky and the ice on the islands are both good sources of fresh water. I have to admit that you are right. If I had relied on that expedition ship, I might have died of scurvy on a small island. But this time, with two larger expedition ships acting together, I think we will be the first to discover the route between northern Asia and America."

"From here to Vladivostok, and then from Vladivostok to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, this route has been taken many times by ships. We can directly start from the mouth of the Heilongjiang River and continue north after getting supplies in the Kamchatka trade."

This was the route Bering planned to take, but Liu Yu objected to it.

"I don't think we should go north from Kamchatka this time. The route I plan is to set sail from Vladivostok, map the coastline of Ezo, and after replenishing supplies in Ezo, follow the wind belt and ocean currents and go directly to America."

"For Russia, colder places mean more fur. Even in the polar regions, we can still get top-quality goods such as sea lion skins."

"But for Dashun, we don't need so many furs, at least not too much at this time."

He didn't want Bering to find the Bering Strait according to the historical route, which was a helpless move in a sense.

Because of Russia's desire for fur, and because Russia could not obtain the Heilongjiang estuary and Vladivostok, which were more suitable for the route along Vladivostok, Hokkaido, and Alaska.

Liu Yu was very clear about the plan for the Northeast.

Occupying the estuary, occupying strategic points, and immigrating to the farther Americas are temporarily dispensable.

The emperor and the household government could not pay for the official organization of immigration to America, because it was of no benefit to them, and on the contrary, it was a waste of money. With so much money, it is better to immigrate to the Western Regions and the Northeast.

He spent money to organize and get three to five hundred people or more than a thousand people to act as a watch.

More importantly, with these resources, it is better to keep an eye on the South Sea. The United States is about to become independent. If you go to America after such a long time, you can't expect to accomplish anything big.

He focused on the Whale Sea and valued three places.

Vladivostok, connecting the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River, blocking the possibility of others seizing from the sea, and directly controlling northern Japan.

The estuary of the Heilongjiang River, occupying the estuary as a foothold in the north.

Hokkaido, controlling Japan as the starting point for spontaneous immigration to the western part of America in the future.

It is like the legendary weasel trapping a chicken. First draw a circle, occupy the edge of the circle, and the part inside the circle will naturally be yours.

He took out a known map of Northeast Asia, pointed to the unclear location of Ezo and said: "The earth is spherical, and the latitude here determines that the distance across is not very far."

"You can try to cross from here to the Americas. You can choose to go south along the west coast of the Americas. From the Spanish port, follow the mature treasure ship route back to Luzon."

"For those who want to press the warehouse, you can choose iron tools, and you can exchange them with the local indigenous people there. I can also give you all the gold and silver. It will be easier when you get to the Spanish port."

"If you are willing, you can try to go eastward from South America to find the mysterious southern continent."

"Both ships can be refitted to carry more cargo and supplies. Equipped with doctors, draftsmen, and craftsmen. If the supplies are sufficient, then give it a try; if the supplies are not enough, you can return to Luzon from Mexico in Spain. "

The wind is not blowing right now, and it is not the right season for a long voyage. There were still a few months left before the season suitable for voyages, so Liu Yu allowed Bering to modify the expedition ship according to his own wishes, striving to carry more people and supplies.

"If you choose to continue exploring, I hope you can bring back some rubber saplings and some cinchona tree saplings in South America. I don't need much else. If the crew wants to make a fortune, they can also hunt walruses in the north. , refining oil, or breaking their teeth, which are expensive possessions that can belong to the crew."

Bering had heard of such things as cinchona. Rubber saplings have also been heard in some European natural history works. Only then did Bering realize that rubber trees require sapling transplantation rather than relying on seeds.

"If you were in Europe, you must be a famous naturalist. You have read a lot of books. Although most of them are half-understood. But now, natural history is a subject with only half-understanding."

After complimenting Liu Yu, Bai Ling was very satisfied with Liu Yu's arrangement.

Russia's previous support for him cost too little. With little money, many things cannot be accomplished, at least not so smoothly.

This time Liu Yu gave him great support, and even the most expensive naval cadets gave a lot of money.

Bering was well aware of the dangers of sailing expeditions. Even with mature trans-Pacific routes, the sinking rate was still about 7%.

When exploring new routes, the sinking rate will inevitably more than double.

In addition to the sinking rate, conflicts with indigenous people, accidents, rocks, supplies, etc., will increase the mortality rate to about 50%, even after spending a lot of money and being so fully prepared.

Bailing knew that Liu Yu regarded these officer students as gold and gems. He had long known the fact that Liu Yu was spending money lavishly, but he knew that Liu Yu would not easily let these officer students be put in danger.

Therefore, fifty officer cadets were dispatched this time, equivalent to one-sixth of Dashun's naval talent reserve. This attitude greatly moved Bering.

Just like a baby bird taking a test flight, there are always various accidents and it dies in the dangerous test flight before it can fly to the clouds.

Talent, to some extent, is a consumable.

Those who survive will have a complete adventure navigation experience.

Maybe they are not suitable as naval officers, but those who survive will definitely be good as merchant ship captains in the future.

"Lord Earl, please rest assured. I will try my best to bring these young men back as safely as possible. Including the two kinds of saplings you asked for. I am fifty-four years old this year, and perhaps this is my last voyage."

"It's like Columbus, an explorer who died on the expedition. It was a good place to end up. Me, Sven, and Cherikov are all officials of Dashun now. If I die, they will continue They did this adventure at a very high level.”

Navigators do not shy away from life and death. They are people who fight against death. For them, death is just an accident that hinders the exploration, not the final destination.

When Liu Yu heard these words, he still encouraged Bering.

"If you are confident enough, if you have collected enough supplies in Mexico and Peru, then go look for the southern continent. If not, then return from Luzon."

"You are not too old, and you can still fight the sea for a while. I heard that the British have already made a nautical clock. Maybe this time when you come back, I will spend 100,000 taels of silver to buy back the nautical clock from the UK. Perhaps you can create the most accurate nautical chart that actually has latitude and longitude."

"So come back when you can."

Given a great temptation, Liu Yu knew what this kind of explorer wanted. Bering swallowed, extremely excited by this temptation, and nodded: "Yes, yes. I will try my best to come back alive."