Zhao Zhen couldn't help but say, "What a pity! The journey is really too long. If it were shorter, I wonder how many people in the Song Dynasty would be willing to go."

“There are actually short distances.”

Zhao Jun pointed to the Aleutian Islands on the map and said, "There's the North Pacific Current in this area. If you follow the current, it'll take about 30 to 40 days to reach North America."

"Then why not?"

Fan Zhongyan frowned and said, "If we take this route, I'm afraid we will have to save many lives."

“On the contrary, if we take this route, more people may die.”

Zhao Jun gestured on the map and said, "Look, the straight-line distance from the Kamchatka Peninsula to North America appears to be only 4,000 kilometers, and there are more than a hundred islands in between for rest and recuperation. However, the North Pacific Current is actually hundreds of kilometers south of the Aleutian Islands, not along the archipelago.

"Following the warm current for over 4,000 kilometers, there's no supply along the way. It's just endless ocean. If you encounter a storm, or the sea fog formed by the merging of warm and cold currents, there's no place to run aground. Survival in the vast ocean is almost certain."

"As for the Aleutian Islands, there's also a problem. Without a warm current to guide us, the ships can't go very fast. There are also large expanses of sea with no islands in between. Even if we have a compass, if we encounter magnetic fields or inclement weather like sea fog or heavy rain, we could lose our way and be lost at sea."

"So, even though the Arctic route is a long detour, except for the relatively short coastline when passing through the Kuril Islands, even when crossing the Bering Strait, there's Diomede Island in the middle. As long as you stay along land, even if you encounter danger, it's better than being in the ocean."

He concluded, "So while this route may seem like a long detour, from a pioneering perspective, it's the safest. At least they did encounter many dangers, but the fact they were able to dock and rest each time is the best proof of that."

"Hmm, I see."

Everyone looked at the map and it was indeed as Zhao Jun said.

This route follows the coastline for more than 99% of the time, with very few crossings of the sea.

Even if they encounter a storm, they can find a safe harbor on the coastline to stop and rest, which is indeed much better than encountering extreme weather in the vast expanse with no land around.

So it's a bit far, but safety is paramount. Even if it took five years and more than 20,000 kilometers round trip, it was worth it to be able to return safely.

"Now our Great Song Dynasty is finally on the right track. Years of hard work have paid off."

Zhao Zhen sighed, then looked at Zhao Jun and said sincerely, "All this is thanks to my eldest grandson."

Chen Haizhong just reported to them the specific harvest this time. In addition to dozens of varieties of fruit, vegetable and crop seeds, each weighing several tons, there were also large quantities of gold, silver, furs, copper mines, and so on.

A rough estimate was made while on board that there were more than 8,000 Song jin of gold and more than 100,000 Song jin of silver, totaling about 75 tons, worth more than 3 million taels of silver.

This doesn't even include copper mines.

In other words, Chen Haizhong and his team only explored along the coast and didn't go deeper. Otherwise, according to them, there were gold, silver and other items everywhere over there. If they continued to trade in depth, they would definitely gain more than this.

In fact, Zhao Jun also believed what he said.

Because according to the arguments of later economists and historians, between 1492 and 1803, North America was plundered of approximately 160,000 tons of gold and silver by European colonists, an average of more than 500 tons per year.

Moreover, the Native Americans at that time did not use gold and silver as currency, but used Beads and furs as currency. For them, gold and silver were often props for making works of art.

So North America at that time could be said to be a blue ocean. Before the European colonists could sustainably exploit the situation, gold and silver could not be said to be piled up like mountains, but they could be seen everywhere and were thrown around by the natives like stones.

In this situation, a large fleet of thousands of people, carrying countless goods, came to trade with the Native Americans for the food, wine, clothing and other necessities of life they needed, and naturally it would attract a large number of followers.

A large number of natives came with gold, silver and jewelry that they no longer needed in exchange for food and daily necessities. Chen Haizhong and others also made a lot of money, with profits of more than a hundred times.

Although they only brought back more than three million taels of silver in five years, the cost they paid was more than one million taels of silver.

But the most valuable thing about this first pot of gold is not the gold and silver wealth.

But seeds.

With these seeds, the productivity of the Song Dynasty will be raised to another level. With the help of Champa rice, the people will not go hungry at least until the population exceeds 300 million or 400 million.

"I simply guided the direction of development and followed the laws of history. The real credit goes to my brother's wise leadership."

Zhao Jun said with a smile.

"Oh? Did I really have such a great contribution?"

Zhao Zhen opened his eyes wide.

"Of course."

Zhao Jun said without blushing, "Think about it, brother. Back then, I was young and frivolous, defying heaven and earth. Another emperor would have killed me long ago. Only your generosity and tolerance have made the Song Dynasty so powerful today."

"Hahahahaha, how can I be so kind? In fact, it is because we, the grandfather and grandson, are united in purpose and our strength is invincible."

Zhao Zhen couldn't stop smiling. He had suffered so much insults and grievances in the past, but in the past two years, he had finally made up for it.

It’s really not easy.

Zhao Jun just looked at him and smiled. He had long lost his youthful vigor and bad temper, pointing at their noses and scolding them when they disagreed with him.

As I get older and enter society and officialdom, I gradually learn a lot.

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