After leaving Milan, Marin and his party continued to go south, preparing to go to the Republic of Genoa. As for why he was going to Genoa, Marin lost the ability to find lemons.
As a fan of great voyages, Marin knows well that in the 18th century, the British discovered that drinking lemon tea can prevent scurvy, and adding a few drops of lemon juice in fresh water can also make the bad blood in a week. Fresh water in barrels is not bad for a month or two.
A friend of Marin's previous life was a fat man who liked to drink water soaked in dried lemons. Although the fatty meat didn't decrease much, it still had some effect. Moreover, Marin drank the dried lemon in water, and it was bitter and astringent, making it difficult to drink. However, soaking dried lemon in water can indeed supplement vitamins and prolong the time for fresh water to deteriorate.
Genoa is where lemons were first grown in Italy, around the beginning of the 15th century. Today, although lemons have also begun to be planted in other parts of Italy, the scale of planting cannot be compared with that of Genoa.
Therefore, Marin went to Genoa to see if there were any dried lemons stored by fruit farmers so that he could buy a batch. Sailors drank dried lemon water to prevent scurvy.
You know, in this day and age, nautical scurvy is really terrible. When Da Gama's fleet returned home, two of the four ships died, including Da Gama's younger brother. And these sailors basically died of scurvy.
Therefore, as long as the scurvy is overcome, and then encountering a storm or a reef is not very unlucky, the survival rate at sea is still quite high. As for other diseases, I don't really worry about it. Because sailors are physically stronger than ordinary people, and they are less prone to common diseases.
Marin led the team across the Po River, all the way south, left the territory of the Principality of Milan, and soon arrived in the Genoa region. But in the city of Milan, it was a mess.
Da Vinci is a very favored member of the court. You must know that when Bianca Maria Sforza married Maximilian I, Da Vinci presided over the related affairs. His disappearance greatly annoyed the Duke of Milan.
A large number of soldiers searched the villa where Da Vinci lived and nearby clues. But that was of no use, because, in this day and age, professional police had not yet risen, and there were no great detectives. In addition, Marin is also a modern person who has read too many detective novels, and pays great attention to anti-reconnaissance. Even when taking Da Vinci out of the city, Marin and his men didn't look panicked at all.
Moreover, to enter Milan City, Marin also used forged identification. As for how to fake it? It's so simple—carved radish...
In the previous life, a high school classmate of Marin failed to enter the university, and later started a business of issuing fake certificates. Marin thought it was fun for a while, so he learned to carve carrots with this classmate for a while, and he learned it well. Therefore, using radish to forge a batch of parchment identity certificates based on the identity certificates borrowed from other German businessmen, and also forged the official seal in Shinra. As for the small officers who guarded the city in the Middle Ages, they couldn't see the problem at all. Even if it is inferred that they have problems, they can only track down the so-called "German businessmen".
Therefore, Marin didn't worry about things getting involved with him, and led his men to walk on the official road swaggeringly. Moreover, this group of people were either riding horses or driving carts, and they were traveling very fast.
After entering Genoa, Marin began to send people to scout lemon plantations and prepare to buy dried lemons. It is the beginning of May, and there must be no fresh lemons on the market. Therefore, Marin can only seek to buy the dried lemons left by the growers last year.
However, after asking several plantations in a row, there were no dried lemons left. Because it seems that lemons have become popular in Genoa, which has led to good sales of lemons and is also sold to other parts of Italy.
Marin was very distressed, and dried lemon was something he wanted very much. Because, without lemons, sailing is too dangerous. It would be a big loss if important sailors died of scurvy.
But there must be no fresh lemons at the moment. If you want lemons, you have to wait for the autumn lemon harvest season. However, da Gama is leaving in July. Marin failed to obtain a full set of nautical and hydrographic data on the west coast of Africa, so he could only send the stern to da Gama. Therefore, something to prevent scurvy must be obtained before July.
In a lemon plantation, after failing to acquire dried lemons again, Marin pinched a lemon leaf out of boredom, put it in his mouth and chewed it for fun...
This is a quirk left by Marin in his previous life. When I was bored thinking about problems, I like to pick off a leaf or grass blade and chew it in my mouth...
A bitter taste suddenly came from his mouth, pulling Marin's spirit back. Marin suddenly froze...
He vaguely remembered that most of the later sailors of the British Empire did not drink water with dried lemons—that was the treatment only for officers. Ordinary sailors basically drink lemon leaf water, which is too low-end...
"Yes, these lemon leaves are also good!" Marin patted his head, feeling that he had reached a dead end.
Lemon leaves and lemons are of the same origin. Although the ingredients are not as good as lemon fruit, many ingredients are still very similar. Moreover, in later generations, I even heard that green tea leaves contain vitamin C, let alone lemon leaves.
Even Marin suspects that as long as a green leaf is soaked in water, vitamin C can be soaked, but the content is different. As for black tea and the like, the lack of vitamin C is because the tea leaves have been roasted, destroying the vitamin C inside.
Marin, who was still depressed just now, became excited instantly. So, he began to direct Kohler to buy green and tender lemon leaves from local fruit farmers...
When the fruit growers heard this, they all refused at first. What are you kidding? You pick off the fruit, the fruit tree can't photosynthesize (they don't understand this), and grow a P lemon fruit
However, Marin grabbed a handful of gold coins, and these fruit farmers immediately knelt down...
You know, even if the whole orchard has a good harvest of lemons, it can't be sold for a handful of gold coins!
Therefore, Marin, who paid enough money, successfully picked off all the lemon leaves in the orchard. Then, Marin and the fruit growers borrowed a place to dry the leaves. Because the young leaves cannot be preserved, they can only be dried. Although there is a lot of vitamin C loss after drying, it is much better than fried black tea. Soak in hot water, there are still a lot of vitamin C.
Afterwards, Marin led people to sweep up several lemon orchards, picking off all the lemon leaves in the orchards, and it became a strange story in the Genoese countryside for a while. Said to be a stupid German guy who doesn't buy lemons, but likes to eat lemon leaves, and bought a lot...
After picking these lemon leaves, Marin dried them all, and hired local farmers to help him chop up the dried lemon leaves and put them in sacks...
At this time, the lemon tree leaves have already changed beyond recognition. The sack contained piles of dark green powder. Except for Marin's men, no one else can see what this thing is...
Marin looked at the dark green powder in the sack, and laughed—hey, I told you to compete with me for maritime trade! Go to hell with your crew, my crew shall not suffer from scurvy!
Before leaving, Marin issued three orders and five orders to his opponents, repeatedly emphasizing that the secret that these broken pieces are lemon leaves should not be revealed, otherwise the military law will deal with them, and he will never be soft...