At night, the Navy Commander's Mansion is brightly lit.
In order to find Chen Bayuan's military registration documents faster, Li Jian, with the consent of Emperor Jianwen, temporarily seconded one hundred officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Metropolitan Governor's Office to conduct a comprehensive search of the Navy's military registration documents database.
Over the years, many naval officers have sacrificed their lives, especially the tragic voyage to South America, in which 14,382 officers and men were lost. This does not include the fight against pirates, the conquest of Da Liuqiu, Xiao Liuqiu, For sergeants who were damaged in shipwrecks, it is not easy to find Chen Bayuan's papers among many papers.
But no one complained, and everyone stayed up late at night to search hard.
Until the third watch of the day, Li Jian saw Chen Bayuan's military status and rushed into the palace immediately.
Zhu Yunwen did not rest. He closed his eyes and was staring at the map while talking to Zhu Neng, Xu An and others.
Li Jian wanted to submit the document.
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand: "Just read it."
Li Jian unfolded it and read in a deep voice: "Chen Bayuan, a native of Zaoyang, Huguang, was born in July of the second year of Hongwu. He was a military household. He succeeded his father in the 22nd year of Hongwu and joined the Xiangyang Guard as a soldier. He was subordinate to the Huguangxing Dusi. Hongwu In the twenty-seventh year, he transferred the navy, transported food and wages, and moved to Zhenhaiwei. In the second year of Jianwen, he joined the navy..."
"On September 20, the fifth year of Jianwen, he sailed with Zheng He's large fleet and was affiliated with the Wuyi Treasure Ship Department. In March of the seventh year of Jianwen, he arrived on the west coast of Africa with the fleet, and later lost information about the Wuyi Department. In April of the tenth year of Jianwen, Zheng He He led his team back, but because all the sergeants of the Wuyi Treasure Ship had been missing for a long time, they were judged to be in distress, and they were generously sympathized with their families..."
After hearing this, Zhu Neng looked at Zhu Yunwen eagerly: "Your Majesty, Chen Bayuan's identity can be confirmed! He stayed in South America for a year and never waited for Wuyi's fleet. According to naval regulations, if he goes missing during the voyage, he will be found If the body is not found, it can be designated as a sacrifice to provide compensation."
Xu An nodded repeatedly.
If the sergeant is simply missing, there is no way to determine whether he is dead or alive, and there is no way to arrange corresponding pensions.
Sacrifices on the battlefield are mostly based on corpses. It is inappropriate to say that a person has been sacrificed when a corpse cannot be found. What if he is a deserter, can he still receive a pension if he runs home?
But sailing is different from fighting on land. If you fall into the sea, it is often impossible to salvage it. Especially when there are strong winds and heavy rains, and the waves are high, missing often means death.
After returning home, Zheng He sacrificed all the missing soldiers such as Wu Yi. This was a reasonable and reasonable thing. For his family members, they could at least receive corresponding pensions.
Zhu Yunwen took the book handed over by Li Jian, unfolded it, took a look, and said: "Judging from the gun, the broken deck, the bow, the words on the cloth, etc., it can be basically concluded that Chen Bayuan's identity is that he is indeed a Wuyi ship The sergeant of the team, that is to say, he did not die in the sea from the west coast of Africa to South America in the seventh year of Jianwen!"
Zhu Neng, Xu An and others looked at each other.
Indeed, in the seventh year of Jianwen, Wu Yi led a fleet to sail, but was later determined to be missing by Zheng He and others. The basis for missing was that he did not come to rendezvous.
But missing does not mean that the ship capsized, or that Wu Yi and others perished in the sea. He may have taken the wrong route and found the mainland elsewhere, or he may have suffered a shipwreck and ended up on an island. .
Chen Bayuan's appearance in the tenth year of Jianwen at least shows that someone in the Wuyi fleet survived and must have found land or an island. Only in this way can they survive until the tenth year of Jianwen!
Liu Changge hurriedly entered the palace and saluted: "Your Majesty, the prisoners have been thoroughly investigated."
"speak!"
Zhu Yunwen was eager to know the result.
Liu Changge took out the interrogation documents and said: "According to the accounts of the Mutsu prisoners, on July 2 of the fifteenth year of Onei, which is also the second day of July of the tenth year of Jianwen, they wanted to catch fish in the offshore to satisfy their hunger, and the result was seen. Chen Bayuan was floating on the sea. Chen Bayuan was extremely weak at the time, with thin cheeks and chapped lips. He no longer had armor on his body and was supported by the floating deck..."
"Less than a day after the Mutsu people rescued him ashore, Chen Bayuan died. Because of the language barrier, although Chen Bayuan left some words, the Mutsu people didn't know what they were and only remembered a few repeated words. words."
Zhu Neng took a step forward: "What word?"
Liu Changge took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "The Ming Dynasty! South America!"
"South America?!"
Zhu Neng was stunned and shouted: "Impossible, we left the sergeants at the mouth of the Amazon and searched for crops in South America for a year, but there was no trace of them!"
Liu Changge did not doubt what Zhu Neng, Zheng He and others said, but several prisoners had obviously heard these words.
As for the word South America, not to mention people from Mutsu, even before the end of the great voyage, few people knew it. Even many people in Zheng He's fleet did not know that the place they were going to was called South America when they set sail.
Zhu Yunwen walked into the side hall, followed by Zhu Neng, Xu An and others.
The curtain on the wall of the side hall was opened, and a huge map of the world was revealed. Zhu Yunwen picked up the bamboo stick and pointed to the west coast of Africa: "In the seventh year of Jianwen, Wu Yi and Zheng He's fleet sailed separately. Zheng He and other nine fleets They arrived in South America one after another, but only Wu Yi’s fleet was missing. Looking at it now, Chen Bayuan and others may have really found the mainland and successfully landed!"
"But……"
Zhu Neng became anxious.
Zhu Yunwen shook his head slightly, moved the bamboo stick upwards, and said seriously: "It is now speculated that Wu Yi's fleet may not have arrived in South America, so the smoke column rising into the sky at the mouth of the Amazon River cannot be seen. He most likely landed in North America, or It’s Central America!”
"ah?"
Zhu Neng felt uneasy.
If the emperor's speculation is true, then Wu Yi has been waiting for Zheng He's fleet on the shore, waiting for news about other fleets. If he cannot wait for a long time, he will definitely think that he is the only one left in the entire fleet. That lone army! Alone, he would not give up the mission assigned by the emperor even if he thought about it, and would search for new crops in North America at all costs!
Chen Bayuan's appearance in Mutsu may be the return of Wuyi's fleet, or it may be that Wuyi sent some people back to report the news!
Zhu Yunwen stared at the map, turned his eyes from the direction of North America to Dingyuan Mutsu, frowned and said: "If Chen Bayuan or Wu Yi's fleet wants to return, they should return east to Africa and return to the Ming Dynasty via the original route. But Chen Bayuan appeared on the mainland Oh, it means that his ship is not heading east, but west! Let the craftsman quickly check whether the wood of the broken deck is made of the same material as the Dafu Ship and Da Treasure Ship!"
Liu Changge immediately turned around to make arrangements.
Xu An looked at Liu Changge leaving, frowned and said to Zhu Yunwen: "What does the emperor mean, that they encountered a shipwreck or the ship was seriously damaged, so they rebuilt the ship?"
Zhu Yunwen remained silent.
The current situation is a bit strange. Why did the ship that was supposed to go east appear in the west?
Could it be that Wuyi's sergeants rebuilt the ship on the west coast of North America and followed the current into the sea?
Building ships is not difficult for sailors. Every ship on the big sea voyage has a shipwright, especially the big treasure ship, which has thirty shipwrights.
Ships inevitably encounter many problems during long voyages, which always require shipwrights to repair them. As long as the shipwrights were not completely sacrificed, they could completely rebuild an ordinary Dafu ship on the shore.
The craftsman found out that Chen Bayuan's deck wood chips were not the pine used by Longjiang Shipyard.
Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath: "I am ordering Zheng He and Luo Guanying to quickly clean up the remnants of the shogunate and local national protectors in Dingyuan Province. I will only give them three months to start their troops in the spring of next year!"...
"The Navy Commander's Office will start preparing for the voyage from now on. Ships, food, grass, and supplies must be prepared. They must be ready before September next year!"
"Instruct Zheng He to select a captain and prepare to sail across the Western Seas and explore the Americas!"
"Order the Navy Commander's Office to increase the number of troops in Dingyuan and march to the province by 10,000 people. They will be led by Zhu Neng and Xu An to assist Zheng He and others in pacifying the place."
"Order the Ministry of Civil Affairs to select 200 officials to go to Dingyuan Province to pacify the local area. In addition to protecting the country, they will instead go to Dingyuan Province to travel to the prefectures and counties and fully take over the local people!"
"Luo Guanying must not be soft-hearted in his strong actions, but he must also be strong and soft to appease the people and stabilize the place!"
"Let Zhang Fu's troops return to the court! The military power in the Northeast will be handed over to Yang Wen."
"Instruct the entire navy to strengthen preparations, increase sea training, and select sergeants for the voyage."
One after another, the decree was sent out.
Xu An, Zhu Neng and others were very excited.
Travel to the Western Ocean and explore the Americas!
This means a new voyage is about to begin!
Zhu Yunwen didn't know if Wu Yi was still alive, but he was certain that they must have arrived somewhere in America alive. No matter how slim the hope was, even if it was to find traces of their landing, it was worth it!
The first voyage to South America was in search.
The second voyage to South America was still about searching.
The difference is that the first time they were looking for crops, the second time they were looking for people from the Ming Dynasty, the missing navy soldiers!
Next year's voyage is a good time. Even if there is no such thing as Chen Bayuan or Wu Yi, Zhu Yunwen will start a new voyage plan in the 12th or 13th year of Jianwen.
However, the appearance of Chen Bayuan made all this happen much earlier, and also gave the Ming Dynasty the determination and will to sail far!
As powerful enemies were eliminated one by one, as the Ming Empire's frontiers or inland areas became more stable, and as steam engines and ships matured, Zhu Yunwen could no longer be satisfied with general voyages.
This time, Ming Dynasty will conduct an unprecedented voyage that exceeds everyone’s imagination:
A voyage around the world!
This will be the most magnificent poem of Ming Dynasty's voyage, and it will also be a great voyage that changes Ming Dynasty's understanding!
Zhu Yunwen issued the order, and the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, the Fifth Army Commander's Office, the Navy Commander's Office, etc. took action upon hearing the order. The huge imperial machine was running at full strength, and the meshing gears pushed the Ming Dynasty forward!
This will be the era of Ming Dynasty, a world dominated by Ming Dynasty!
