When the news of Zheng Zhihu's ship's appearance in Beigang reached Xiamen, Zheng Zhilong was working with a group of maritime merchants to formulate the rules of the island's trade. After hearing the news of Zheng Zhihu's return, Zheng Zhilong immediately put down the affairs in his hand and rushed to Taiwan on a ship, wanting to learn from this brother what he had seen and heard on this voyage.

Zheng Zhilong had already carefully considered it when he was on the ship, if the continent across the ocean was not as rich as the emperor said, or if the ports there were built with European-style fortresses, he would advise his brother not to take any more risks.

Anyway, the first Ming man to complete the exploration of the round-trip route to the Pacific Ocean has already fallen on the head of his brother, and the reward promised by the emperor can no longer be taken away. Next, Zhihu should stay to assist him in planning the foundation of the Dutch in Taiwan, after all, do you need brothers to fight tigers?

Although there are many brothers and clansmen in the Zheng family, the only one who can really stand alone is this second brother. The others are just mediocre people, and they can do everything in front of him, and once they leave his sight, there will often be all kinds of mistakes.

And the second brother Zheng Zhihu is not only brave, but also extremely kind to his subordinates, among the middle and lower class pirates, even more popular than his brother. Therefore, when fighting at sea, you can often get the death force of your subordinates.

If Zheng Zhihu can sit in Taiwan, then he will be able to manage Xiamen Island with peace of mind without having to be distracted on both sides. After all, the tide in the Taiwan Strait is surging, and the passage of ships is not without risk.

When Zheng Zhilong disembarked at the Beigang wharf, it was already the 9th day since Zheng Zhihu returned to Beigang. The most central building of Beigang Wharf is naturally Zheng Zhilong's Parade House. However, as the construction of Xiamen Island is nearing completion, Zheng Zhilong has almost brought his family back to the mainland, and only some personal guards are left in the patrol house of Beigang.

After Zheng Zhihu returned, he naturally lived in the Patrol Mansion, after all, this was once the Zheng family's mansion. Although he changed a signboard, he didn't feel that this place had become an official yamen that he couldn't set foot in.

After returning to Taiwan, Zheng Zhihu felt like he had returned home, except for explaining that the cargo in the ship had to be loaded and unloaded, he basically locked himself in his room and slept to recover the energy expended on this long-distance voyage.

After a few days of rest, he finally regained his strength. Only then did he boast to the officers and soldiers stationed in the patrol mansion about what he had seen and heard when he went to sea this time.

When Zheng Zhilong walked into the mansion, he saw a group of soldiers and civilians crowding his lobby, listening silently, and Zheng Zhihu recounted his voyage in a colorful manner.

“… Let me tell you about the city of Lima, which is also the end of my voyage. Just across the ocean, to the south of the continent. This city of Lima is less than a day's walk from the coast, and it only takes half a day to get there if you ride a horse.

The houses in this city are very strangely built, with only four walls, doors and windows, and no roofs..."

"Brother Tiger, are you fooling us? If you don't have a roof, how can you live on a rainy day, isn't this a fish pond? When Zheng Zhihu was talking elatedly, some people in the crowd below suddenly felt that their IQ was discriminated against, so they questioned it. Only then did the others react and echo each other.

Zheng Zhihu immediately picked up the shocking wood on the big case in front of him and slapped it, and there was a loud "snap", interrupting the discussion of the crowd below. Seeing Zheng Zhihu using his shocking wood like this, Rao is Zheng Zhilong, who has always doted on his younger brother, his face also darkened a little.

"Let's just say that you people are rare and strange, and you don't know how big the world is. It never rains near the city of Lima, and the people there drink water from a river that melts snow and ice from the nearby mountains. It is said that there is a large desert nearby that no one ever knew was on the edge.

Therefore, the natives who live near Lima never build a roof, and when they lie in bed at night, they can see the starry sky in the sky, and the starry sky there is clearer than what we can see here, which is very beautiful. I stayed there for the first night and it didn't really close my eyes. If you have the chance, you should really go and see what a real star is.

However, although it does not rain in that place, the weather is very comfortable, it is not hot in summer and cold in winter, which is much stronger than Taiwan. ”

Zheng Zhihu's words immediately attracted the attention of many people, a place that never rained was indeed a strange place. But aren't they too foolish for them pirates to go to a place where it doesn't rain to see the stars?

Zheng Zhilong shook his head, and was about to interrupt Zheng Zhihu and disperse the crowd so that he could have a good chat with this brother. However, Zheng Zhihu's next words made him involuntarily quiet.

"Not raining is just one of the benefits of Lima City, and Lima City has another benefit that you must not know. Lima has more silver than Mexicans I just mentioned, and it's literally a city of silver.

The city produces almost nothing but silver and wine. You don't see a single beggar in this city. According to the city's white residents, those who have less than 20,000 ducats in Lima are considered poor.

A ducat's gold coin is worth about 2 silver dollars, which means that a family with less than 40,000 silver dollars is a poor person in Lima City. Lima City is home to about 40,000 people, and the city has more than 20 million ducats of silver. The city is simply a city of silver piled up..."

"Is this true?"

"If we can grab a fortune, we won't be rich right away..."

If it is said that Zheng Zhihu said the strange thing just now, it is just for everyone to have fun. Then Zheng Zhihu's introduction to Lima City completely ignited the greed of these former pirates. While most people don't know where Lima City is, they don't care anymore.

Zheng Zhilong could feel the excitement of these subordinates, and if Zheng Zhihu summoned his men to go to sea to Lima City, where he didn't know where, it was estimated that everyone present would respond positively. Even if Lima is far away from the ends of the earth, it will not stop them from making a fortune.

In order to avoid his brother's difficulty in stepping down, Zheng Zhilong finally stopped his brother's introduction to the continent. Zheng Zhilong's appearance finally reminded these soldiers of their duties, and their dream of making a fortune that had just been instigated by Zheng Zhihu had to be suppressed temporarily.

After dispersing the crowd in the lobby, Zheng Zhilong took a good look at his brother, who he hadn't seen for nearly a year, "You have lost a lot of weight, come back to Xiamen with me in a few days, and let my sister-in-law cook you a few good dishes to make up for your body." ”

After Zheng Zhihu scratched his head, he said with some hesitation: "I'm afraid that my sister-in-law's craftsmanship will be tasted later, and I will go north to Tianjin the day after tomorrow to report this sailing experience to Your Majesty." ”

Zheng Zhilong paused for a moment, then immediately nodded and said, "Also, you took such a big risk and ran to the other side of the ocean, Your Majesty should always say that you can't let others rob you of your credit."

But you went to sea this time to go around in such a big circle, how did you even learn to tell a story? I almost believed that silver city. ”

Zheng Zhihu suddenly said with some anxious eyes: "It's true, that Lima city is a royal city built by the Spaniards in Peru, and the silver mined from the mines in Peru will be transported to Lima first."

It was then transported from the port of Callao to the Isthmus of Panama in the north, through the isthmus to the Caribbean Sea at the other end, and back to Spain.

It took me a great deal of effort to find out that if we could know the time of the silver ship, we would be able to get a vote. The Spaniards did not have many ships on the Pacific coast, and their defenses were not very tight, so if we found a port of call nearby, we could have stopped their silver-carrying ships. ”

Zheng Zhilong's breathing couldn't help but be a little heavier, but he quickly returned to normal and said, "What about after robbing the silver ship?" As you said earlier, the Spaniards occupy almost the entire continent's coastline. Even if you succeed, it will be very troublesome to ship the silver back.

Sailing at sea always needs supplies, and if you rob other people's silver, can you still go to other people's ports to replenish supplies? What's more, the Spaniards also occupy a stronghold in the Philippines, and if the news of the Spaniards comes back faster than your ships, then as long as they block this return route, our losses will be unimaginable.

The most important thing now is to establish a port of call to and from the ocean. Only when we can travel freely to this ocean can we talk about doing other things. ”

Although Zheng Zhihu was still a little unwilling, he still had to listen to his brother's words, so he promised. He immediately followed Zheng Zhilong back to the back hall and reported his departure to his brother.

The conversation between the two brothers lasted from the afternoon to the middle of the night. By the next morning, Zheng Zhilong, who had not slept all night, had sketched the mileage of Zheng Zhihu's voyage to and from the Pacific Ocean.

Zheng Zhihu arrived in Japan in October last year, left Edo at the end of October, and traveled to the American continent in 60 days, following the route that the Japanese had crossed the ocean.

Although the wind and waves in the North Pacific Ocean were strong, the fleet of two ships reached the opposite shore safely, proving that Chinese ships can also cross the Pacific Ocean.

They came ashore in a seaside basin surrounded by two bays and mountains, and was inhabited by a native tribe of several hundred people.

These natives are docile and hospitable, and they are easy to deal with. They were very interested in the iron tools that Zheng Zhihu had brought with them, and the fleet spent three days repairing here, and finally decided to leave some of them here and establish a settlement as a port of call for future arrivals in the Americas.

This is also the task that Chongzhen gave to the fleet before the trip. In addition to those who were already tasked with opening up settlements, some of the sick people who had fallen ill after a long sea voyage, and a few sailors who were tired of continuing to sail, were also left behind.