Before the Shipbuilding Department, craftsmen bustled about, Longships lying athwart like giant crocodiles, supplies piled up like little hills. The second-tier priest Zuwaro widened his eyes and stared carefully at the long scroll spread before him, asking in astonishment.
"Main God! Is this the divinely inspired route? To the great island thirty thousand li beyond the Western Sea, the one His Majesty prophesied?"
"Exactly! The red line sketched on this sea chart is the route His Majesty drew with his own hand. And the specific descriptions are all in His Majesty's decree!"
The Scholar Miki nodded, then drew a thick roll of waterproof cotton cloth from the unfurled long scroll. He spread out the cotton cloth, and His Majesty's dense handwriting entered the two men's eyes.
"...May the Main God bless us! Explorers of the Kingdom! The northern sea route is full of fierce winds and rearing waves, with dangerous billows and perilous obstacles. On this westward voyage, the Kingdom's exploration fleet must follow the coast and island chains, sailing nearshore, and must not venture deep into the ocean! As for the fleet's positioning reference, it will rely on the star-observation method taught at Shenwei University, measuring clear latitudes."
"The entire nautical exploration plan is first to investigate the geography, hydrology, and tribes all along the Western Sea coast of the northern continent. Then comes befriending and trading with the local tribes, establishing small coastal settlements, accumulating food and fodder, and continuously extending northward. Only after sufficient preparation is complete, and after the long island chain leading west has been found, will the final and most difficult long-distance crossing of the sea begin."
"Therefore, this voyage of exploration will last for many years! Just as the Purepecha proverb says, you will never catch the bird in the tree with only