Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 505 Target
Bai Tu was not worried that the Mayan civilization would become strong enough to rival the Chu State...even if it was just a navy.
Although the Mayan civilization, in comparison with the Neolithic Age, had indeed figured out "flowers", it was ultimately only the Neolithic Age.
Just like the cultivators in the world of immortal cultivation who have been stuck in the Golden Core Stage for thousands of years...
This is also why there are often people in later generations who spread rumors such as "The Mayans XX years ago did things that modern people cannot do" - because in comparison, the ancient civilizations of Asia, Africa and Europe "quickly" entered the Bronze Age, and it is normal that they did not study the Neolithic technology as deeply as the Mayans.
If modern people can only use the means of Neolithic civilization, it will indeed be difficult to reach the same level.
After all, no one would study how to achieve something that can be easily done with metal using Neolithic means, let alone steam and electricity...
If it were in the world of cultivation, the title of this kind of article would be like this: Shocking! The oldest Jindan cultivator actually possesses the spiritual energy of a half-step Yuanying, and even a genius of Huashen cannot do it after sealing himself as a Yuanying! The Qi training researcher next door suspects that he is a descendant of a celestial being!
Just like the Chu State's running has now entered the "Zhi Ji Age", it will also miss a lot of skills that would have appeared in the Iron Age.
For example, the emergence of cement is bound to greatly suppress the development of rammed earth walls, but... in essence it is undoubtedly a huge profit.
Historically, before the Industrial Revolution, the West's achievements in the agricultural civilization period were still quite far behind those of the East. However, this did not affect the suppression brought about by comprehensive breakthroughs in all aspects after the generation gap appeared, until the East also entered the industrial civilization.
Bai Tu doesn't believe in the theory of alien civilization. His only expectation is... that the Mayans also have city girls, so that communication will be more convenient.
Theoretically, there were Chengji during the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, but it was only at the "legend" level. For example, "it is said" that the Yellow Emperor's tribe gained an advantage against the Dongyi Alliance only after the tribal Ji was upgraded to the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman.
There is no special research, and no one has thought about why the city princess appeared. After all, for the people in the city princess world, "city princess" is like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, which is part of the law of nature. No one can tell exactly when it was born and what the principle is...
"According to the 'Earth Theory', if I continue to go east, I will be able to come back, right?" Gan Ning said thoughtfully.
"No, unless you are prepared to build a large wooden ship in the Golden State, or bypass the huge Golden State, you cannot continue to go east... This is not something you can risk. If you want to sail around the world, you can try to go west next time." Bai Tu specifically warned.
The Earth Theory was not something that Bai Tu specifically proposed, but was one of the hypotheses that was proposed by the doctors of the Ministry of Industry and widely recognized within the Ministry of Industry.
After being published in the "Science" gazette, it sparked public debate. Judging from the reactions of Jinling residents, most people certainly did not believe it.
However, the State of Chu never used those mysterious things to arm its own legal rationality. Instead, it emphasized through the Eight Strategies for the Founding of the State that the legal rationality of Chu came from the people of Chu.
Bai Tu never said that he was the incarnation of a black dragon or a divine creature. The only people who were compared to the King of Chu's father were the people of Chu.
Ideas like "the connection between heaven and man" were considered "incorrect in the court" in the State of Chu, and now no one dares to mention it officially.
Therefore, it does not matter even if it triggers controversy. After all, it is just a verbal attack among the people. Whether it is the theory of the earth being round or the theory of the earth being square, it has nothing to do with the legitimacy of the Chu State, and there is no need to worry about any turmoil.
However, if Gan Ning wanted to verify it, if he wanted to complete the round-the-world voyage by heading east, he would need to bypass South America and take the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica.
In other words, we are taking the opposite route of Magellan...
In comparison, it would obviously be more convenient to go west next time, take the Atlantic Ocean, bypass Africa, and land in America from the Caribbean Sea side - as long as they can meet up with the pioneers who stayed in the Golden State afterwards, it would be considered as indirectly completing the circumnavigation of the world, so there is no need to be stubborn!
The scale of this trip to the Golden State was the largest overseas exploration of the Navy. But just to be on the safe side, the six ministries and the Privy Council tried their best to suppress the number of accompanying "pioneer troops".
If we can discover the Golden State and return safely, it won't be too late to send a large number of pioneering troops and send them with naval escort.
However, according to Gan Ning's plan, as long as the arrival is not too tragic, a considerable number of navy will definitely be left behind!
"Don't worry. As the admiral of the navy, I have always been a cautious person." Gan Ning said with a smile.
Although he knew Gan Ning and knew he would not let him down easily, after hearing what Gan Ning said, Bai Tu still wanted to force him to write a letter of guarantee.
After arriving, although we have to explore the Golden State, our main focus is on food supply and crop collection.
After all, it's only two or three months at most, and we can't find much information or gain much...
Even if he cannot find any natives of the Golden State who have reached a certain level of civilization, Gan Ning may come back directly, and the subsequent exploration will be continued by a part of the navy that remains.
This possibility is not impossible. After all, the Mayan civilization was mainly concentrated in the central part of the Golden State, which was like a "bee's waist". They did not set foot in the vast northern and southern continents.
If the landing location is too different, Gan Ning will most likely not be able to find the Mayans...
Once this happens, it would be difficult to search the mountains for wild corn and cotton.
Now Bai Tu's obsession with corn has faded a lot. After all... with the amount of farmland in Chu and the constantly improving agricultural level, planting rice and wheat is also very good. Moreover, considering the nature of corn, even if there are seeds coming back, they will only be more important to the development of animal husbandry.
Although corn produces more grain than rice and wheat, its value per unit weight is far less than that of rice and wheat in terms of providing calories and protein, and it is also more difficult to process. This is why modern and superior farmland is not used to grow corn, or only grows corn once in a while...
After all, in later generations, corn is the "most weight-loss staple food". It has lower calories, protein and fat than rice and wheat, but its dietary fiber is several times that of rice and wheat!
Except for some fine varieties, most of the other corn is used to feed pigs.
With the current momentum of Chu State in promoting the "Pan-Qi Plan", it is also important to use corn to feed pigs. In some places, rice and wheat are already being used to feed pigs, but the efficiency is too low.
But after all, it falls into the category of "improving the quality of life" and is not an urgent matter.
In comparison, cotton from the Golden State is much more important.
Although theoretically it was possible to get Asian cotton from Sindhu by going southwest at this time, American cotton was more conducive to the use of textile machines and had better insulation against cold.
In history without the white map effect, Asian cotton was introduced to China in the Song Dynasty, and American cotton, or upland cotton, was introduced to China in the Ming Dynasty.
It was also from the beginning of its introduction that upland cotton began to almost completely replace Asian cotton. In later generations, the global production of Asian cotton only accounted for 2% of all cotton.
As for now…
Textile machines were only used to weave linen, so it was difficult to bring out the advantages of brocade. Brocade weaving could only be a high-end product and had little significance in completely changing people's lives.
Of course... Gan Ning would not agree with this. Gan Ning's dream is that everyone can afford to wear brocade. More importantly... he hopes that everyone can learn how to identify which brocade is more noble!
With the advent of upland cotton, even if the breeding is still very rudimentary, it is still upland cotton, and we can begin to bring into play the advantages of textile machines. For the people at that time, it can be said to be a magic weapon to "shorten the winter."
Before cotton was invented, the south was not very cold, so the props for keeping warm in the north were generally quilts and stoves.
Rich people burn higher-grade firewood, while ordinary people burn lower-grade firewood. In truly cold areas, you still need to use cats to hibernate during the winter.
This is even true in northern Jiangbei, but for a shorter period of time.
This is why no one wants to fight in winter...
And just after winter, the army’s combat effectiveness is generally worrying - because the amount of training in winter is often seriously insufficient.
After hibernating for several months, what fighting power do they have?
However, if there is a mature cotton textile industry, ordinary people can also effectively fight the winter!
It is not only useful for the "North" in the sense of the Central Plains, but even... if used properly, it can completely change the people's views on "bitter and cold places" such as Heshuo and Liaodong.
Only by achieving this step now can we verify the value of "whether the 'black soil' in northeastern Liaoning has been formed".
Given the climate there where it's still snowing in March, without effective and widespread means of keeping warm, all the land would be useless!
As for going to Sindhu to get Asian cotton to deal with it first?
Bai Tu also tried. After all, there was a trade route from Shu to Shentu during the Western Han Dynasty. It was a pity that no one brought cotton back...
However, even if entrusted by the State of Chu, the cycle of this trade route is too long, and Yizhou is still occupied by "rebels and villains". There is no news from the merchant caravan entrusted by the State of Chu, and the efficiency may not be as good as taking the sea route to the Golden State.
After all, the only "enemy" of the Chu State in terms of naval power and sea route expansion is nature.
As for the enemy...
Even if someone must be an enemy, like the general of the Dog Slave Country...even if they were all piled together, they would still not be able to defeat a single Ba County!
There is no reason for them to lose if we throw the Yizhou army... no, the Jiangzhou army from Ba County into Huangjinzhou.
This is also one of the reasons why Gan Ning has become increasingly bored recently - he now has less and less common language with other generals who are not directly affiliated with the navy.
After all, for other generals, the Han court and Wei Kingdom in the north of Chu State, even the Shuhou Mansion in the west, and even the weak, pitiful and isolated Jiaozhou in the south...
If war were to break out, there would be some pressure, especially for the Han court and the Wei state.
Gan Ning went to Yizhou, Zhouhu, Danzhou, and Chaohai Peninsula every day ...
Fight? What kind of fight?
Gan Ning has become visibly inexperienced in commanding land battles, and he doesn't even want to try a sandbox simulation...
