Chapter 277: Australia, Australia

The fourteenth year of Hongwu, the ninth day of the ninth month.

The sky is high and the clouds light, the sea breeze gentle.

The steamship "Wu Wang Hao" sails across the boundless sea, its stern trailing a long white wake.

Zhu Yong stands at the bow, his hand resting on the awning as he looks into the distance.

Where sea meets sky, it is blue upon blue; occasionally a few seabirds fly by, then quickly vanish at the edge of sight.

"Lord, it's time for lunch," Xiao Zhu walks out of the cabin, carrying a tray.

Zhu Yong turns his head, seeing on the tray four dishes and a soup, with rice steaming.

He smiles, takes the tray, sits on a wooden crate at the bow, and begins to eat heartily.

Xiao Zhu stands nearby, about to speak but stops.

"What were you going to say?" Zhu Yong picks up a piece of fish.

"Lord, you've been standing all morning, aren't you tired? What's interesting about this sea; it's the same every day," Xiao Zhu says softly.

Zhu Yong swallows his rice, looks into the distance, and with a simple grin says, "It's different; today is different."

"How is it different?"

"We're almost there," Zhu Yong says.

Xiao Zhu is startled, then exclaims with delight, "Really? Lord, how do you know?"

Zhu Yong points at the birds in the sky and says, "Those birds are different from yesterday's; yesterday we saw seabirds that didn't fly far, but today these are large birds that only exist on land, indicating we're not far from shore."

Xiao Zhu looks closely; indeed those birds are larger than yesterday's, and their wingbeats differ.

"Lord, you're truly clever, to discern that," Xiao Zhu admires sincerely.

Zhu Yong says nothing, continuing his meal.

Of course he doesn't reveal it; for the past seven days, each night he has been studying the World Map, memorizing the route from Malacca to Australia inside out.

Based on the voyage, by this afternoon or tomorrow morning they should see the coastline of the Australian continent.

After finishing his meal, he returns the tray to Xiao Zhu, stands again at the bow, motionless.

Behind him, craftsmen and soldiers stand in small groups on the deck, also gazing into the distance.

"Lord says we're almost there—true or not?"

"Lord says we're almost there, then it must be true; when has the Lord ever spoken a falsehood?"

"That's Australia, a place drawn on the White-bearded Old Man's map, and we don't even know what it's like."

"We'll know when we arrive."

An hour later, the lookout on the mast shouts, "Land! Land! Directly ahead, land!"

The entire fleet erupts in excitement.

Zhu Yong squints toward the distance; where sea meets sky, a thin black line indeed appears.

As they draw nearer, the black line thickens, gradually revealing the outline of a continuous mountain range.

"Reduce speed, prepare to dock," Zhu Yong orders.

The steam engine's roar gradually diminishes, and the ship's speed drops.

Half an hour later, the fleet approaches the shoreline.

It is a flat beach, backed by dense forest, beyond which lie rolling hills and, farther still, faintly visible mountains.

The beach is deserted, save for a few white birds hopping on the rocks.

"First send a small boat to test the depth and find a suitable anchorage," Zhu Yong says.

Several small boats are lowered into the water, and the soldiers row toward the shore.

An hour later, news arrives.

The water depth here is suitable, the beach gentle, allowing docking.

The large ship slowly comes close, drops anchor, and lowers the gangplank.

Zhu Yong is the first to jump ashore, stepping onto the soft sand.

The sand is fine and white, yielding softly underfoot.

He crouches, scoops a handful, and the sand slips through his fingers.

"Lord, is this Australia?" Vice Minister of Works Zhao Mian follows down, looking around.

"Yes, it's exactly the spot marked on the White-bearded Old Man's map," Zhu Yong stands, gazing at the distant forest.

The forest is dense, filled with unfamiliar trees whose leaves have odd shapes and trunks bear mottled patterns.

"First set up camp, send scouts to explore the surroundings, see if there's water and any natives," Zhu Yong orders.

The soldiers bustle, hauling supplies down from the ship.

Tents, food, tools and weapons are stacked in boxes on the beach.

The craftsmen gather, discussing where to begin surveying.

Zhu Yong walks along the beach with a few Imperial Troops.

After about two li, he sees a small river emerging from the forest, emptying into the sea.

The river water is clear to the bottom; he crouches, scoops a handful, tastes it—it's fresh water.

"Not bad, fresh water—much more convenient," Zhu Yong stands, following the river upstream.

The river is narrow, but the current is swift, seeming to descend from the mountains.

He thinks, then tells the Imperial Troops, "Return and summon others; follow this river upstream to see if we can find traces of copper ore."

By evening, the camp is set up.

Dozens of tents surround a central large tent, the outside encircled by a simple fence of Wooden Stakes.

A bonfire is lit, and cooking smoke curls upward.

Zhu Yong sat in the large tent, with that map of Australia spread before him.

The map marked several copper mine locations, the nearest of which was near the source of this river.

"Lord, tomorrow I will lead men to scout the path," Zhao Mian offered.

Zhu Yong shook his head and said, "No hurry; first let the scouts clear the surroundings, see if there are any natives or beasts. Once it's safe, we'll go prospecting."

Zhao Mian nodded in agreement.

Just then, a clamor arose from outside.

Zhu Yong rose and stepped out, and saw several soldiers dragging a strange animal toward them.

The creature was half a man's height, with two stout hind legs, a long tail, two short forelegs tucked against its chest, a head that was rabbit‑like yet not, staring at the crowd with huge eyes.

"Lord, this thing leapt out of the woods, slammed into our men, and we captured it!" a soldier exclaimed excitedly.

Zhu Yong looked at the kangaroo, a faint smile curling his lips.

A kangaroo, truly a kangaroo.

Exactly the same as the one I saw in documentaries in my past life.

"This creature is called a kangaroo, as White-bearded Old Man said, native to Australia; its meat is edible and its hide can be made into leather," Zhu Yong said.

The soldiers' eyes lit up: "Edible?"

"It is edible; slaughter it, and we'll have an extra meal tonight."

The kangaroo was dragged away, slaughtered, skinned, and placed on a fire to roast.

Before long, the aroma of meat drifted outward.

Zhu Yong tasted a piece; the flesh was firm, a bit tough, but the flavor was decent.

"Lord, this place is truly interesting; even the animals differ from those back home," Xiao Zhu said while gnawing on a kangaroo leg.

Zhu Yong nodded without speaking.

The interesting part is still ahead.

Early the next day, the scout returned with a report.

Within Thirty Li of the surroundings, no native traces were found, nor any large beasts, only some kangaroos and animals that look like dogs but cannot bark.

"Those are Australian wild dogs, also native to Australia," Zhu Yong said.

The scout, with an admiring face, said, "Lord, you know everything!"

Zhu Yong waved his hand and ordered, "Zhao Mian, take a hundred artisans and five hundred soldiers, follow that river upstream to the spot marked on the map to prospect."

"I will lead the remaining men north along the coastline to see if there is a better landing point."

"Understood!"

The forces split into two routes.

Zhu Yong led his men north along the beach.

After about twenty li, they discovered an even larger river.

The current was swift, the river surface dozens of zhang wide, seeming to have come from far away.

He stood at the riverbank, gazing at the faint outlines of distant mountains.

If I recall correctly, Australia's largest copper mine lies upstream of that river.

"Set up camp; tomorrow I will lead men upstream," Zhu Yong said.

On the third day, Zhu Yong led fifty soldiers up the great river.

Both banks were dense forest, occasionally a kangaroo could be seen leaping in the distance, and some unknown birds sang on the branches.

After about Thirty Li, the terrain gradually rose, the forest thinned, and distant rock formations became visible.