Chapter 237： Amerigo is going to India

In this trip to India, Marin arranged a total of 8 ships, all of which were more than 200 tons, and each ship could carry about 120 tons of cargo. A total of 8 ships can carry 960 tons of cargo.

Marin has arranged it. In addition to the 50,000 pounds of rated spices, Marin will try to buy saltpeter, this time to buy 600 tons of saltpeter. In addition, 100 tons of copper and 50 tons of tin have to be purchased. For the rest, some Indian pariah slaves were purchased and sent to Grenada for farming.

There is also the need to introduce a group of Indian craftsmen and women who are proficient in cotton spinning, as well as some cotton spinning machinery. After all, there is a difference between cotton spinning and wool spinning. Indians are good at spinning cotton cloth and also know how to grow cotton.

It happened that Marin was going to grow upland cotton. Simply, he got farmers from India who knew how to grow cotton, women who knew cotton spinning, and craftsmen who knew how to make cotton spinning machinery.

In addition, the fleet also needs to send people to ask the Spanish kings to exchange their territory with Cuban islands, and to report to the Spanish kings. , Control of the Panama Isthmus.

Once the control of the Cuban island is confirmed, Marin intends to start to open sugar cane plantations on the Cuban island. At the same time, rice and cotton can also be grown on the Cuban island and developed into a production base.

You know, most of the Cuban islands are plains, which are very suitable for the development of planting industry. Moreover, the Taino (a member of the Arawaks) on the island are more friendly and not as combative as the Indians on the North American continent.

Marin intends to use the method of coaxing and coaxing to penetrate the Cuban island and gradually complete control of the Cuban island. Then, a plantation was opened on the island.

In addition, the nickel mine in the coastal mountains of southeastern Cuba Island is also one of Marin's coveted targets. As long as there is nickel, then you can make white copper. As for what is white copper? Then you need to ask? Make "silver coins" ...

In order to transport more people, Marin thought about it, or increased the total number of ships from 8 to 10, lest the cargo and population would not be transported enough.

...

As for the preservation method of fresh water, naturally it is still the big pot cooking method. Specifically, first set up a large pot and boil the water. Then, put it in an oak barrel, put a wooden stopper on it, and paste it with sealing mud. In this way, the boiled fresh water can be kept in sealed oak barrels for several months without damage. Unlike ordinary circumstances, fresh water is put into a bucket, and it will be broken in seven days.

In addition, the lemon orchard on the side of Genoa also sent a lot of chopped lemon leaves, so that the sailors soaked in hot water to avoid scurvy.

However, Columbus told Marin that before sailing with the Spanish fleet, the Columbus fleet barely died a few people, which attracted the attention of the Spaniards. This time, if there were no more deaths, the Spaniard would have to trace the cause.

To this end, Marin came up with a very good idea, which can not only fool the Spaniards in the past, but also allow the other party to increase the cost of navigation. This method is-rum method ...

Of course, this is not to tell the Spaniards to prepare rum. The rum hasn't appeared yet, but you can tell the Spaniard to prepare the spirits ...

Before the advent of modern and modern freshwater insurance technology, large European voyages had long relied on storing enough strong rum to deal with the deterioration of freshwater.

Generally speaking, the earliest routes of the big voyage are as close as possible to the land. In this way, it is convenient for the ship to dock in time when the fresh water reserve deteriorates, find the fresh water river, and replace the fresh water.

However, sometimes it is inevitable that fresh water cannot be replaced for a long time. For example, across the Atlantic, at least one or two months without land, there is no guarantee that freshwater will be replaced in a timely manner. From Malindi on the east coast of Africa, across the Arabian Sea to India, it was also impossible to see land and replace fresh water in a timely manner. Drinking spoiled fresh water is terrible.

Later, the navigators discovered that when they took spirits to go sailing, they were not easy to deteriorate. As a result, rum became the favorite and most practical nautical drink for sailors and pirates.

In the vast sea, when the fresh water has deteriorated and cannot be replaced, the sailors will drink rum to replenish the water. Of course, it is also mixed with boiled fresh water. Otherwise, rum is not enough. Under the cover of the smell of spirits, the fresh and smelly fresh water can barely fall down ...

Marin took out many barrels of dark beer in an emergency, and after processing, thousands of barrels of rye shochu were distilled out and given to each ship separately.

Of course, this is not really for the sailors, but to fool the Spaniards. As soon as the Spaniard came to his ship, Marin asked the sailors to start drinking rye shochu. Then the captains mysteriously told the Spaniards-this is the secret of not many dead people in our sailing process. After all, we do n’t drink bad water. You often drink bad water that is bad. Undead talents blame ... Of course, spirits mixed with boiled fresh water, this more cost-effective trick, will not tell the Spanish ... Our purpose is to make Spaniards spend more money ...

Although it is said that this method has taught the Spaniards, it can indeed reduce the mortality rate of navigation. However, Marin did not feel well. If nothing else, how expensive is the food now? Do you even make grain into shochu? What is the cost? If every ship brought hundreds of barrels of shochu while sailing, the cost would be sky high ... By then, the profit would be greatly reduced ...

Spanish food prices are already very expensive, reaching a high level of 2 fenny per pound of rye. If they were taught this method of defeat again, although few people died, the cost of navigation would be high. Moreover, Marin did not tell them the secret of scurvy. Those who deserve to die from scurvy will still die ...

However, after Marin came up with this method, the Spaniard had to bear his love. Moreover, the real reason for the small number of dead people in the Marin fleet can also be covered up.

...

However, it seems that the last time Columbus led the Spanish fleet, he did not know about the invention of the sextant by Da Vinci, nor did he have a sailing clock.

Therefore, during this voyage, Marin still needed Columbus's help. But Columbus is now physically weak and can no longer fight. Therefore, Marin sent some of Columbus's most capable assistants who last sailed to India to let them continue to lead the Spanish fleet.

Although there are no coordinates recorded, those Columbus assistants can rely on Columbus's logbook and their own navigation experience to take the fleet to India. When this time they recorded the coordinates clearly, the next voyage, just send a captain, you can easily do it.

When the fleet was about to leave, Amerigo suddenly found Marin ...

"What? Are you going to take a voyage in India?" Marin was surprised.

"Yes, my lord, I yearn for the legendary rich India, and hope to go to India too!"

This is the navigator's thinking. There is no possibility of credit for this trip to America. Because, first discovered that the right has been taken by Columbus. However, India is described as a paradise-like place by Westerners. As a big navigator ~ www.novelhall.com ~ Amerigo is also unable to sit still and hopes to visit.

Marin looked at Amerigo, who was craving his face, and suddenly remembered a popular saying in his previous life: "The world is so big, I want to see ..."

Speaking of these, these big navigators are really feverish donkeys ...

"Well, since you want to go that way, I will agree. I will let Christopher (Columbus) give you his logbook. When sailing, you and Christopher ’s assistants make a decision together and record the navigation coordinates. In addition, I will allocate two 250-class armed merchant ships. As the flagship, you will stay on the armed merchant ships and you must ensure your safety! "

Amerigo is his own baby, and Marin does not want him to be in danger. For this reason, Marin, who did not intend to show the 250-class armed merchant ship to the Spanish, still allocated two 250-class armed merchant ships to protect the safety of Amerigo. Although some secrets may be seen by the Spaniards, it does not matter. After all, he still has a 500-ton Huffman class warship that the Spaniards haven't seen.

"Thank you!" Amerigo, an avid navigator, quickly went back and packed everything, and then joined the fleet and boarded a 250-class armed merchant ship, embarking on a voyage to India ...