My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 476 Geographical Discoveries (Part 1)
On the Zheng He, Zhang Jingxiu put down the math problem in his hand; it was still too difficult for him.

Zhang Jingxiu was not a fanatical enthusiast of mathematics, and his mathematical talent was only average.

But the vast ocean was incredibly boring. I had already finished reading all the books I brought with me, and now I could only relieve my boredom by solving math problems.

Since setting sail on September 23 last year, the two fleets, which are fighting over the longitude calculation method, have been adrift at sea for four months.

The journey wasn't always this dreary.

After setting sail, the fleet first headed to the South Seas.

This voyage is relatively comfortable because the route is well-established and bustling, with resupply stops at ports along the way, allowing the entire crew to relax.

This period lasted for less than a month. After the fleet arrived in Manila, Zhang Jingxiu gave the Zheng He a break. Everyone indulged in Manila for two days, and after a full resupply, they embarked on the second leg of their voyage.

From this point on, the voyage became unbearable.

As the captain, Zhang Jingxiu clearly sensed a change in the psychological state of the entire fleet after entering the deep sea.

The surrounding area is all unknown sea, and it is unclear when land will be seen again.

At first, seabirds could be seen in the sky.

But gradually, even seabirds became rare, and all around was water.

Zhang Jingxiu also had nautical charts, but these charts from the Portuguese and Spanish were not accurate, and many of them were distorted in scale.

The vast ocean has a tremendous corrosive effect on willpower; time and space seem to be swallowed up, and the crew members on board have fallen into a state of numbness.

Zhang Jingxiu's only consolation was that the ship was full of the most elite sailors of the Ming Dynasty, who were still able to complete their work and labor on the ship day after day.

"Captain Zhang."

Zhang Jingxiu turned around and saw that only two people on the entire ship were allowed to enter the captain's cabin without prior notification.

Moreover, neither of them was affected by the terrifying ocean voyage at all, which was what Zhang Jingxiu admired most.

The man who entered was Huang Ji, the challenger in this longitude battle and the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Court.

Zhang Jingxiu dared not delay and quickly invited Huang Ji in.

Zhang Jingxiu really didn't understand.

Why would a promising scholar, one of the Crown Prince's teachers, and a close friend of Su Ze risk his life to join the voyage?

Just to personally verify his own method of longitude measurement?
Zhang Jingxiu didn't understand, but he had great respect for Huang Ji.

This young scribe is extremely learned; there is almost nothing he cannot calculate.

Zhang Jingxiu also studied some mathematics at the naval academy, but he mostly memorized formulas by rote.

While on the ship, Zhang Jingxiu would also consult Huang Ji.

Huang Ji would always start with the derivation of the formulas and explain the entire derivation process.

Moreover, during his lectures, Huang Ji would casually remark:

"This formula is something I came up with, and it wasn't very rigorous at the time. The correct one should be..."

"This is a simplified mental arithmetic table; the correct formula should be..."

After this period of tutoring, Zhang Jingxiu's math skills have improved by leaps and bounds.

Zhang Jingxiu rarely admired others. His own father, Zhang Juzheng, was a child prodigy who surpassed both ancient and modern times in politics and scholarship. Zhang Jingxiu himself was also a child prodigy, and he had seen many other people who excelled in their studies.

But he simply couldn't understand a "monster" like Huang Ji.

That's how mathematics works: you either know it or you don't.

It's easy to verify whether something is right or wrong, so it's also easy to tell someone's mathematical ability.

Huang Ji's brain seems to work in a mysterious way; he can quickly find the answer to any question, and he can quickly calculate the patterns in complex star charts. It's truly terrifying.

Just then, the door to the captain's cabin opened again, and an elderly man with a white face and no beard walked into the cabin.

"The Pacification Envoy!"

Zhang Jingxiu immediately stood up and saluted. Chen Hao, the Pacification Commissioner of the Ming Dynasty Navy, the second-in-command of the navy, had for some reason suddenly announced his intention to join the Zheng He ship the day before the voyage.

Chenhao is the chief steward of the navy, holding a high position and great power. He is about to be promoted to the position of Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial, but he is about to embark on this long voyage with an uncertain future.

Zhang Jingxiu couldn't understand, but since Chenhao wanted to join, he couldn't refuse.

"Yun Xiang is here too?"

Huang Ji also stood up to greet Chen Hao.

The two had no prior relationship, but life on the ship was extremely monotonous, especially given the vastness of the sea.

As Huang Ji and Chen Hao dated, they discovered that they had many common interests.

Chen Hao was no ordinary eunuch; he was highly knowledgeable and had extremely high emotional intelligence. The two quickly became friends.

Chen Hao then got down to business, saying:
"Today, while I was at the bow of the ship, I saw a seabird."

"Seabirds!"

Zhang Jingxiu became excited!
Seabirds mean that there may be land nearby, and seeing seabirds is one of the most exciting things when sailing on the open ocean.

Those who haven't had this experience don't know how important a piece of land is to those who sail long distances.

Even a small island without any resources can greatly alleviate the crew's morale.

If they could find a small island with a clean water source, the crew could relax and the fresh water on board would be replaced with one that had developed an unpleasant odor.

If there were trees, that would be even better, as they could be used to repair the hull, replenish the timber, and greatly improve the ship's condition.

"I'm sure I'm not mistaken, I even drew this seabird."

Chen Hao took out a notebook and showed Zhang Jingxiu a sketch of a bird.

Huang Ji also came over, and the two of them saw a bird that looked like a duck.

Chenhao's painting skills are superb; he painted this bird so realistically, capturing all its features and details.

Huang Ji frowned and said:

"Sea duck?"

Chen Hao shook his head and said:

"Unlike ordinary sea ducks, this bird has a green head, but its habits should be similar to those of sea ducks."

Huang Ji said:

"Sea ducks nest on the cliffs of islands and don't migrate during this season, so this is a sea duck that has come out of its nest to forage for food?"

Chen Hao nodded and said:

"That's right. I've already instructed the lookouts to keep a close eye on the surrounding waters."

"Envoy, I'll go keep watch on deck!"

Zhang Jingxiu was still worried, so he bid farewell to the two of them and went up to the deck.

Only Chen Hao and Huang Ji remained in the captain's cabin. Looking at Chen Hao's manuscript, Huang Ji couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"Master Chen's painting skills are getting better and better."

This sketch that Chen Hao carried with him recorded all the creatures he encountered along the way.

Flying in the sky, swimming in the sea.

Huang Ji recalled that when the Zheng He docked in Manila, while everyone else went into the city to enjoy themselves, Chenhao asked Zhang Xuan, the head of the Southern Seas Administration, for a few guards and native guides, and then ventured into the primeval forest outside Manila. During the Zheng He's stay, Chenhao drew more than a dozen kinds of animals, all of which did not exist in the Ming Dynasty. He also collected more than twenty kinds of plants, made them into specimens, and entrusted Zhang Xuan to send them back to China.

Chen Hao was very pleased with such praise, and he squinted his eyes as he said:

"I'm getting old. Back when I was learning painting at the art academy, I almost went blind from painting."

When Chenhao first entered the palace, he worked in the Imperial Household Department.

This is a department responsible for the manufacture and production of imperial utensils.

Because of his talent for painting, Chenhao was sent to the painting academy in the palace to learn painting.

Later, through a series of coincidences, Chenhao became the Pacification Envoy of the Ming Dynasty Navy.

It was also during his time in the navy that he rekindled his interest in painting. He focused on sketching, and as the fleet sailed across the seas, he began to record the wondrous creatures that were unseen in the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Hao then asked Huang Ji:

"Yun Xiang, there is something I don't understand."

"Please speak, Lord Chen."

Chen Hao said:

"I observe that the climate of Southeast Asia is similar to that of Penghu, so why are the creatures living there so different?"

This question was beyond Huang Ji's knowledge, and he shook his head to indicate that he did not know.

Chenhao then opened his sketchbook:
“Yunxiang, please look,” his voice carried a certain suppressed excitement, “this sunbird of the South Seas is clearly of the same bird form as the sparrow in the Chinese land recorded in the Illustrated Materia Medica, but its beak is slender and long like a needle, specially designed to probe deep into the crown of the hibiscus flower.”

"And the rats seen on that small island on the east side of Java had teeth that were nearly twice as thick as those of their kind caught on Luzon Island—where hard-shelled nuts grow in abundance."

Huang Ji examined it carefully and could see the difference from the picture book, just as Chen Hao had said.

Huang Ji put down the drawing and asked:

"Does Lord Chen mean that the shapes and forms of living things change with the water and soil?"

"That's not all!" Chen Hao flipped to a new page, where a fossil drawing sketched in charcoal was clearly visible. "This is a small island where we previously docked. We found this animal tooth in the rock strata. It is shaped like a rat but as large as a canine tooth."

"These are the remains of an ancient beast. If the world has remained unchanged since time immemorial, why is the form of the ancient beast so different from that of modern beasts?"

Huang Ji fell silent.

Chen Hao said:

"All living things in this world have to adapt to their environment to survive. Does that mean that the differences in the evolution of living things are due to the differences in their evolutionary environment?"

Huang Ji thought for a moment and asked:
"But the creatures in our ancient books are no different from the creatures of today. How can that be explained?"

Chen Hao said:

"This evolution is so long that it is probably much longer than the recorded history of humankind."

Huang Ji then said:
"So, Lord Chen, you mean this was created by Nuwa? Or belongs to the God of Destiny?"

Huang Ji was a mathematician and an astronomer.

Through his observations of celestial phenomena, he had long since demystified the belief in celestial deities.

The movement of celestial bodies is simply a natural law, which can be calculated through mathematics; it is not some mysterious matter of interaction between heaven and man.

Huang Ji had also observed the moon with a telescope, and he knew that there was no moon palace, nor were there Wu Gang or Chang'e on the moon.

Therefore, he instinctively resisted the idea of ​​divine creation.

Chen Hao said:
"I believe this is the result of natural evolution."

"Natural evolution?"

Chen Hao said:

"The reason why ancient beasts have become extinct is that the current environment is no longer suitable for them to live in, so they naturally became extinct."

"The long beak of the South Sea sunbird is for sucking nectar."

"The rats on Java Island love to eat nuts, so their teeth and claws are sharper."

"If we think about it differently, instead of Nuwa creating things, it's that those who couldn't adapt to the environment died, leaving only the creatures that could adapt."

After hearing this, Huang Ji was deeply shocked!

This is the wonder of natural evolution, and like astronomical calculations, it is one of the most fundamental questions that mankind has asked when pursuing the principles of nature!

Chenhao actually achieved such results in this longitude battle!

Huang Ji suddenly said:

"Breeding!"

Chen Hao nodded and said:

"exactly."

"I have also read the history books. The rice and millet production of the Ming Dynasty is much higher than that of the Qin and Han Dynasties. This is certainly due to the progress of agricultural science, but haven't the rice and millet themselves changed as well?"

“During the breeding process, low-yield rice and millet seeds have long been selected and eliminated by humans, and only plump and high-yield seeds can be planted.”

"This artificial selection process, which replaces nature, allows the seeds that are best adapted to the environment to remain."

Chen Hao shared the conclusions he had reached after days of contemplation amidst the turbulent waves:

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest."

After hearing this, Huang Ji felt that the four words were perfectly natural, as if they had revealed the truth of the evolution of heaven and earth!

"Envoy Chen! Junior Secretary Huang! We can see the island!"

Zhang Jingxiu rushed into the cabin, unaware of the great conversation that had just taken place there; he was simply reporting the good news to the two men!
A large island, a forest-covered island, appeared on the horizon, and the entire crew of the Zheng He cheered.

Forests mean fresh water on the island, which can be used to replenish timber and repair ships.

There is nothing more joyful than setting foot on land again after a long voyage.

Chen Hao and Huang Ji immediately left the cabin, and they could see the island getting closer and closer.

"This is an island that has never been marked on Western nautical charts. After I calculated its latitude and longitude, I determined that this island is probably in the middle of our voyage."

If Su Ze saw this island and then Zhang Jingxiu's nautical chart, he would probably be amazed that they had actually reached Hawaii.

But this seems to be reasonable, as this island in the center of the North Pacific is a sea and air transport hub connecting Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
-
Unlike Zheng He, who discovered the islands.

The French Chronometer, which uses the marine chronometer method to calculate latitude and longitude, encountered a storm during its voyage and deviated from its original course.

Zhang Bi kept calculating latitude and longitude to correct the course, but due to ocean currents and wind direction, he was never able to get back on the correct course.

Now, the entire Faxianhao brand has encountered another problem.

The lookout reported that they had spotted land.

A celebration began on the Faxian, and Captain Li Jing found Zhang Bi and asked him if they had arrived in Nanzhou (South America).
Zhang Bi looked at the land with a puzzled expression. The long coastline confirmed that it was not an island, but a complete continent.

According to his calculations, their route was only half completed, and according to Zhang Bi's calculations of latitude and longitude, they were still far from Nanzhou.

Where is this?

Could there be another continent between the Southern Continent and the Central Plains?
Zhang Bi was confused. What exactly was going on?

Zhang Bi was very confident in his calculations. He found the captain and said, "Captain Li, this is not Nanzhou!"

(End of this chapter)