Chapter 516 Tang He opens up new routes The fleet stopped behind the island, and what greeted them was a group of violent beasts. The crew on the ship was caught off guard and started a fierce battle with the beasts. They finally drove the beasts away, but they also paid a certain price. Several crew members died in the beast's attack. The remaining crew members searched the island and found a seemingly abandoned temple. The temple actually contained ancient navigation charts and navigation records, recording the experiences and records of countless explorers in the past. Among the records, an experienced old sailor discovered that this ancient navigation chart depicted a new channel to the western continent. Finally, their efforts paid off. The fleet carefully marked the route and important maritime landmarks, and brought back the temple's precious books and cultural relics. It brought a surprise and hope to Zhu Yuanzhang. After learning about the fleet's hard work and achievements, Zhu Yuanzhang personally met with the fleet members and gave them awards. More importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang regarded the opening of this new waterway as a major national strategy and decided to invest a lot of resources and strength to support and promote it.

At this time, Tang He, who went to explore the new route to Treasure Island, also came back. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed. This morning. Zhu Yuanzhang told the courtiers about the new route, and the courtiers were excited. They had already anticipated that the new route would bring huge benefits to the Ming Dynasty, and countless businessmen flocked to the new route to seize this opportunity. Whoever can master this new route will have an absolute advantage in business. However, courtiers also realized that mastering the new route was not an easy task. There must be a strong enough fleet and experienced sailing veterans to ensure the smooth opening of the route. In the discussion, the ministers unanimously believed that Tang He was the best candidate to explore the new route. Although Zhu Yuanzhang also had confidence in Tang He's navigation ability, he needed more escort fleets to protect the safety of the new route. then On the advice of his courtiers, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to send a large fleet, led by Tang He, on an expedition to open up a new route. Tang He readily accepted this new task. All the ministers expressed their blessings and support to Tang He. Preparations for the voyage began, and the imperial court issued a large amount of funds and materials, allowing Tang He to build a large and powerful fleet. After months of preparation, the fleet finally consisted of dozens of large sea-going ships and hundreds of small auxiliary ships. Each ship was equipped with cannon and sergeants to prepare for possible dangers. On the day the fleet set off, the streets of Yingtianfu were crowded with people. The common people came to see Tang He off, with reverence and admiration in their hearts, hoping that Tang He could open a route to prosperity for the Ming Dynasty. The sailing fleet left the port and sailed to the sea in formation. Zhu Yuanzhang personally climbed onto the high platform and watched the fleet disappear into the distance.

This day. After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his business in the court, he hurried to the secret room of Confucius Temple. Lin Che made a model today and planned to explain the principles of the globe to Zhu Ping. Zhu Yuanzhang was very interested in this because he had always been interested in geography. He hopes to learn more about geography through the globe. Lin Che first showed a small globe model to Zhu Xi. The model consists of a wooden sphere and a rotating stand. Lin Che explained, "A globe is a small model used to display the earth's surface." "Its shape is a sphere, representing the shape of the Earth, and the lines on the globe are used to represent longitude and latitude on the Earth." "Longitude is the line connecting the Earth's North Pole to the South Pole, while latitude is A line starting from the equator and connecting upward or downward.” "Longitude and latitude congratulations can help people determine the specific location of a location." Zhu Xi opened his eyes wide and asked curiously: "How are the longitude lines and latitude lines on the globe determined?" Lin Che smiled and said: "The ancients were really smart. The basis for determining longitude is the sun, but when the sun appears on the horizon, we can determine the longitude of the place." "And latitude is determined by measuring the height of the sun at different places on Earth." "For example, the Sun is highest at the equator and lowest near the North Pole or South Pole." Zhu Xi nodded. He felt that the principle of the globe was not complicated, but it was very useful. He would definitely get a globe in the palace. In order to know the location and geographical information of various places at any time. Lin Che noticed Zhu Xi's interest and continued to show him the changes on the earth's surface. He turned the globe so that Zhu Ping could see the changes on the earth's surface. Lin Che also introduced how to obtain and display geographical information, such as using lines of different colors to represent different countries and excuses, and using icons to mark important cities and landmarks. Zhu Xi opened his eyes wide and observed every corner of the earth in a daze. Lin Che then told Zhu Xi that there are five continents on the earth, namely Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Oceania. Zhu Ping asked curiously: "What are the special geographical features between these continents?" Lin Che pointed at the globe and explained in detail. Then, Lin Che told Zhu Xi that there are four oceans on the earth, namely the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean, spanning the entire globe, with America to the east and Asia to the west. Oceania borders Europe to the east and America and Africa to the west, connecting every country in the world. The Indian Ocean is located between Asia and Africa, and the Arctic Ocean is covered with thick Arctic ice. Zhu Ming listened with great interest, and he asked Lin Che if there were any other wonderful places on earth.

At this time. Lin Che took out a homemade simple world map, pointed at different locations, and wanted Zhu Ping to tell Zhu Ping about the characteristics and culture of each country. Lin Che saw Zhu Xi's interest and curiosity, and decided to show the boy more knowledge about geography. He took out a small board, drew the symbols and national flags of various countries, then placed it on the globe and pointed it out to Zhu Ming. While Lin Che explained the location and characteristics of the countries, she asked Zhu Ping to guess the names of each country. This is a very moving lecture. So much so that Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the palace, paid more attention to the country's geography and culture, and actively promoted officials' geographical research and overseas exploration. And he appointed Prince Zhu Biao as the leader to grasp this work closely. Many days passed in a flash. In the morning of this day, the Ministry of War presented an urgent letter eight hundred miles away. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered people to open the letter. The content on it was that there was another unrest on the northern border, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was burning, killing and looting the people of the Ming Dynasty. The courtiers remonstrated with Zhu Yuanzhang one after another, demanding that troops be sent immediately to the northern border to quell the unrest. At this time, Minister Liu Sanwu said: "Your Majesty, this is a decisive moment to safeguard national security." "If we don't take action, Beiyuan will wantonly invade the lives and property of our Ming people." "We cannot sit idly by and must immediately organize the army to suppress them." (End of this chapter)