Zheng Zhilong's expedition discovered Australia.
Although the process is a bit coincidental, that's what adventure is all about, and it always requires some luck.
They set out from Mindanao and explored eastward along the dotted islands.
The existence of the New Guinea Islands prevented them from getting lost and easily obtained supplies.
This area of sea has also become the focus of their competition with the Spanish.
Because of the empire's sufficient support and the shorter route, Zheng Zhilong's expedition had the absolute upper hand.
On the island of Papua, they engaged in a protracted and bloody fight with the Spanish colonists.
After making great sacrifices, they finally took Papua as their own.
"These islands, like Luzon, have long had indigenous people. However, the indigenous people here are all dark-skinned, like clay figures, and their lifestyle is quite primitive. They lived a very hard life under the enslavement of the Spanish. We captured this place After that, the indigenous people were liberated in accordance with the empire's policies and given preferential treatment. Now that they have accepted the empire's rule, they only need to send officials there to smoothly incorporate these places into the empire's territory."
Although as an expedition team, Zheng Zhilong and others do not need to follow any rules. But this person always stayed awake and knew to leave a way out for himself.
Therefore, during the exploration process, we always pay attention to complying with the empire's policies as much as possible, so as to reduce killings but also gain benefits.
After occupying Papua Island, some people once proposed to separate the country here and live happily.
Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan decisively rejected this idea.
No one knows the power of the empire better than them.
And now the empire has completely occupied Luzon, and is only a stone's throw away from the New Guinea Islands. Once the empire consolidates the situation in Luzon, it will certainly not allow anyone on the other side of the bed to claim kingship and hegemony.
Besides, Zheng Zhilong has no intention of separatism. Adventure and making money are what he is most passionate about.
As the areas he explored became farther and farther, he realized more deeply that he couldn't do without the support of the empire.
Among other things, when fighting the Spaniards, they would not have been able to win without the guns and warships provided by the Empire.
Once they gain independence, the empire does not need to do anything else. As long as they cut off supplies, they will become rootless duckweeds and eventually be buried in the vast sea.
Zheng Zhilong strictly abides by the agreement.
All new territories discovered through exploration will be handed over to the state, and then a share of the interests in these new territories will be shared.
Obviously, this approach made the empire's senior officials extremely satisfied.
"Tell me how you discovered this big island?"
When it comes to Australia, Zheng Zhilong is also very interested.
"After we captured Papua Island, we received intelligence that the Spaniards had a trading center on the eastern island. Therefore, we guessed that the Spaniards must have a route to reach here from the New World. As long as we follow the clues, sooner or later we will be able to open up the Southeast Asia, so we Just continue to move east. The Spanish trade center is called the Solomon Islands by them, but it is not very strong. After losing to us in the naval battle, the Spaniards began to flee in a panic. They fled, and we pursued them, and found that Big Island.”
The Spanish Clark ship was obviously no match for the steamship built by Zheng Zhilong's expedition, and it had no advantage even in terms of speed.
In order to escape, the Spaniards had to change their course and dive into the vast sea.
They underestimated Zheng Zhilong's courage, so they still couldn't get rid of it, and were eventually wiped out by Zheng Zhilong's expedition team.
But it was precisely because of this pursuit that the Zheng Zhilong expedition team was brought to Australia.
At first they thought it was just a small island, but the endless coastline was really shocking.
After discussion, Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan decided to divide their troops into two groups, conduct surveys around the island, and finally meet up.
But I didn't expect that this detour would last for three months.
When the two groups reunited in the south of Australia, looking at the chart in their hands, Zheng Zhilong realized that they had discovered a super-large island that was not even inferior to the Central Plains in area.
In other words, this is already a continent.
"The southeast and southwest of the island have a humid climate, abundant water and grass, and are suitable for living. Most of the areas are either deserts or Gobis, which are very desolate. There are some indigenous people on the island who are ignorant and quite aggressive. We We had to use force to clear a living area on it. In addition, there are some very novel animals on the island that have never been seen before. In addition, there are highly poisonous things everywhere, which can easily kill people."
Of course Zuo Menggeng is very clear about the situation in Australia described by Zheng Zhilong.
He knows Australia better than anyone.
But now this rich new continent is destined to belong to the empire.
"According to what you said, the mineral resources here must be very rich, which can effectively make up for the shortcomings in the country. This time, you have really made a great contribution."
Zheng Zhilong took the opportunity to make a request.
"Some guys in the expedition team were seriously injured and can no longer go to sea. If the empire plans to develop on the big island, it hopes that these guys can be properly resettled."
He was very careful in his requests, but Zuo Mengeng was very generous.
"Three million acres of the fertile land in the southeast are set aside for you, and you can allocate it on your own. Any additional minerals discovered will be given to you as a 10% share dividend."
Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan were beaming on the spot, what else could they be dissatisfied with?
Now Zheng Chenggong and Shi Lang have left the army and entered the National Defense Forces. After training, given time, you will surely rise step by step.
These two children represent the future of their family.
And now Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan have accumulated huge wealth for the family through taking risks.
If life is like this, what else can I ask for?
What Zheng Zhilong and Shi Daxuan didn't know was that Zuo Mengeng had decided to use the two of them as examples to encourage other adventurers.
After discussions with the central government, Zuo Menggeng issued the emperor's edict.
Zheng Zhilong was granted the title of Prince of Wuchang County, Shi Daxuan was granted the title of Duke of Lai State, and more than thirty people were knighted in the entire expedition team.
When the news came out, it could be said to be a nationwide sensation, which further stimulated the Chinese people's desire to expand abroad.
Hearing that a new continent that was not inferior to the Central Plains had been discovered, the center was even more excited.
Under the auspices of Hou Xun, a large team of nearly 3,000 officials was quickly organized and began to march towards Nanyang.
According to the center's plan, the newly discovered territory will be divided into the Nanyang Province, which includes all the New Guinea Islands, and the Australian Province in the New World.
At this moment, no one except Zuo Mengeng knew that from now on, the empire would no longer have to worry about insufficient mineral resources.
(End of chapter)
