"No, Your Majesty. I can't wait to see what's on the other side of the ocean. For this voyage, I begged my brother to build a new ship. Maybe you should check it out, the Flying Shark is a sturdy and beautiful ship. ”

Zheng Zhihu said to Chongzhen with his hands in a dance, and even forgot how he should call himself in front of the emperor.

Wang Chengen, who was standing behind Chongzhen, couldn't help frowning at Zheng Zhihu, but Zheng Zhihu, who was obviously a little excited, didn't notice the eyes of the first eunuch in the palace.

Looking at Zheng Zhihu, who was quite excited, Zhu Youzhen lost his will to continue to dissuade him. Young people's dreams are unstoppable, although Zhu Youzhen himself is only a teenager now, but he admires Zheng Zhihu's courage.

If he hadn't crossed over to Cheng Chongzhen, then he would definitely try to get on a boat and see the afterglow of the end of the Age of Discovery. It's better to fight the stormy waves of the Pacific Ocean in a wooden sailboat than to sit in the Forbidden City and try to save an empire that is rotting at its roots.

Glancing at Zheng Zhihu with slight envy, Zhu Youzhen gave up the argument of retention, and instead said: "It takes about 10-15 days from Tianjin to Edo, and then under the repair of Edo, it will take 3-5 days to replenish the supplies and set sail again."

The Japanese took this route around the end of October, so it won't be a big deal if you stay in the capital for another 5 days. ”

Zhu Youzhen stopped Zheng Zhihu, who wanted to speak out against it, and continued: "It's not for nothing that you stayed for five days, since the beginning of the year, I have asked Guanglu Temple and Wensi Academy to study some things for sea navigation.

In the next few days, let them get some out for you to bring with you, and see if they will work at sea. In addition, this is the first time that the Ming Dynasty has made an exploratory voyage across the Pacific Ocean, and we need someone to make a careful record of this voyage as a guide for the next voyage.

Therefore, it will take time for me to pick out the right person to go with you. In addition, although this is an exploration voyage, it is necessary to bring some cargo, which can be used as ballast, and secondly, it can be given as a gift to the natives if necessary, in exchange for their help..."

Listening to Chongzhen's chattering arrangement, Zheng Zhihu was suddenly moved in his heart. Zheng Zhilong really couldn't resist him, for fear that he would get a broken boat himself and run away secretly, so he built this new boat for him.

But Zheng Zhilong did not want his brother to take risks in the vast sea, in his opinion, as long as he held the Taiwan Strait, those Western businessmen would have to share in him even if they had any benefits, so why take such a big risk to cross the Pacific Ocean.

It was precisely because he wanted Zheng Zhihu to retreat from the difficulty, that he did not seriously prepare anything for this exploration voyage. He hoped that Zheng Zhihu would not be able to find that route, and then automatically give up and return was the best option.

And Zheng Zhihu, who was already full of energy, felt even more confident after receiving the support of the emperor, and felt that even if he sailed to the end of the world this time, there was nothing to fear.

However, Zheng Zhihu was only grateful for the emperor's intention to support his voyage, and he did not think that those adults in the capital who had never even been out of the sea could develop any auxiliary supplies that were conducive to navigation.

But when he left Wuyingdian and a courtier led him to a courtyard on the west side of the palace, his mind immediately changed.

When several low-ranking officials in charge of the courtyard heard about his intention, they immediately brought out a few new things, the first of which was canned food.

According to the official who was originally a small official of Guanglu Temple, according to the research of the medical school and the Tai Hospital, the ** of food is related to a small organism, which cannot be distinguished with the naked eye, but can be observed with an instrument called a microscope.

According to His Majesty's suggestion, fresh food is placed in a glass jar boiled in boiling water, then heated in a steamer, and then sealed and stored to minimize the appearance of microorganisms.

According to their tests, leafy vegetables can be stored in this way for about a month without spoiling, while boiled beans can be stored for 3-4 months. As for the canned fish, the expiration date has not yet been tested, but the longest batch of canned pigs, beef and fish has been more than five months, and the taste has not changed.

Zheng Zhihu listened with relish, he suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed to a tin can next to the glass can and asked, "If the glass can contains food, then what is in this tin can?" ”

The official on the side immediately explained: "This is a can made of tinned iron plates, and the food in it is no different from a glass can." However, this tinned iron can can be made more conveniently, can also be made larger, and the shape can be freely controlled, can make more efficient use of space, and is not easy to break. It's just that we have just developed this tin can, and it is not clear whether it can achieve the same effect as glass cans. ”

Zheng Zhihu suddenly asked happily: "If these canned foods are really as good as you say, then I don't have to worry about lack of food on this voyage." How many cans can you give me? ”

Zheng Zhihu thought for a while and added, "I can pay for it." ”

Several officials on the side discussed a few words with each other, and one of them said to him: "This is ordered by His Majesty, naturally there is no need for any money, but we are still only a small-scale trial production, and we have not carried out large-scale production, so there are no vegetable types for you to choose." ”

"As long as it's food that can be kept for a long time, I want any canned food." Zheng Zhihu couldn't wait to reply.

"We have a large number of canned broad beans, a batch of canned tomato sauce that has just been made, and a small amount of canned pork and fish, which is enough for 100 people a year." An official read with a document in his hand.

"That's great, can you give it all to me?" Zheng Zhihu pleaded eagerly.

The official nodded and said, "Of course, this batch of canned food will be shipped to Tianjin within five days, and then sent to your ship." But we hope that you will be able to make a detailed observation of our cans during this voyage.

This allows us to confirm that these cans have the same effect as when stored on land when they are at sea, and that we can make continuous improvements. ”

Zheng Zhihu happily replied: "This is a matter of course, after the voyage is over, I will send you a comprehensive and detailed report." ”

Being able to get a batch of canned food that has been stored for a long time made Zheng Zhihu's mood feel very relaxed. The biggest problem with the transpacific voyage from Japan to the Americas was the two-month voyage without supplies.

One of the problems he had been worried about was the food on the voyage, after all, most of the food could not be kept for more than a month. The choice to cross the Pacific Ocean in winter is also due to the fact that the low temperatures in winter can extend the shelf life of food.

Solving the food problem is equivalent to going to his heart. With this unexpected joy, he didn't expect to see other novelties next.

But obviously, today's surprises are not over. The next item on the long table was a square iron bucket with a layer of bright silver metal plated on the outside, but it was clearly not tin.

"What is this?" Zheng Zhihu asked curiously to the officials around him.

"Please wait a moment." The official smiled and said, and ordered the servant next to him to carry a bucket of water.

Zheng Zhihu glanced into the bucket and found that it was similar to the fresh water that had been on the boat for a month or two, with muddy and slightly red insects floating in the water.

The two servants, under the command of the official, poured the water into the tin bucket, and after waiting for a while, one of the servants took a glass and turned it on the iron pipe that protruded from the bottom of the tin bucket, and then the water flowed into the cup in his hand.

The official put the glass in his hand in front of him, and then said: "There are six filters in this tin bucket, and zeolite powder and activated carbon fired from coconut shells are used as filter materials.

If you pour the sewage into the top, you can purify the fresh water to the maximum, and the one at the bottom is called the faucet, and if you unscrew it, you can release the purified water. Although the purified water still needs to be boiled before drinking, the impurities and odors in the water have almost been removed. Do you think this device is usable? ”

"Of course, I'm sure the crew will be very grateful to you." Zheng Zhihu looked at the relatively clear water in the glass in front of him and said happily. He even ignored the dissuasion of the officials on the side, took the glass and took a big sip directly.

He smashed his mouth and said, "Sure enough, there is no smell, it is similar to normal fresh water." ”

Zheng Zhihu's actions made the officials on the side feel good, this is the first time that they can drink the water directly after watching the entire purification process, which is undoubtedly the best evaluation of the device they made.

The so-called rainwater collection device, as well as the dual-purpose stove of firewood and coal, are not in Zheng Zhihu's eyes.

In his opinion, food preservation technology and freshwater purification technology are indeed technologies that are very helpful for overseas voyages. But other small things that improve life on board are not necessarily good.

Sailing across the oceans should be a game for adventurers and brave men, and the harsh conditions of the voyage will strengthen the crew's hard-working character and strengthen their courage to withstand storms.

If those crew members were too comfortable, would they be able to break out of the warm cabin and go out on deck to resist the power of nature with their lives when the storm came?

However, no matter what Zheng Zhihu thought in his heart, this voyage was prepared according to Chongzhen's will.

In addition to equipping the Flying Shark with cans, water purification appliances and coal-fired stoves, the Tianjin shipyard also made the simplest modification of the ship in five days.

The stronger ropes were replaced, and the wooden pulleys were replaced with metal pulleys to make them more mechanical. A simple lifting device was also added to the ship to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo.

What excites Zheng Zhihu the most is that because he is going north to the capital, the Flying Shark is not equipped with artillery.

However, on the orders of the emperor, the Flying Shark not only installed two guns in the front and rear gun emplacements, but also received four guns as reserve guns.

The Flying Shark is a two-masted schooner, 298 meters long and 57 meters wide, with three decks, a deadweight of about 280 tons, and about 45 sailors on board.

When Zheng Zhihu set sail for Tianjin, there were 27 more people on board, including doctors, translators, animal and plant researchers, cartographers, and a small one