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So I've got a timeline where the Mongols never conquer Jin and Song. Song continues on and finds the continued presence of Jin to its north unacceptable. It doesn't have the resources to overcome Jin in the foreseeable future and in its desperation to be rid of Jin decides to send out expeditions looking for new resources and allies to tip the balance in their favor. They send exploration fleets east and west.
I'm wondering whether in such a situation whether the eastern Chinese exploration fleet might get as far as Peru. I've heard in another forum that it's a long way to even get to North America so you might just get exiles and pirates going that far. Would the "find ways to overcome Jin" be enough motivation to get that far? If they could get as far as the Aztecs in Central America they'd probably be encouraged to continue southward to Peru.
The Native American Indians knew about the gold on the Klondike and didn't consider it valuable. If the Chinese explorers figure out they can obtain large amounts of Gold for trivial cost would this be enough of a motivation to get private traders travelling out here? Anyone travelling out here might be able to become quite wealthy back in China.
There were quite a few agricultural civilizations west of the Rocky Mountains, in the Great Plains and in the Mississippi Basin. Would it be likely that China would try to explore eastward, inland to find those on the Mississippi Basin? Maybe they'd find gold here and trade for it with the locals too. Those agricultural civilizations could initially be introduced to rice and a profit made selling it to them. Later when potatoes are found in Peru those could be introduced across North America. What do the rest of you guys think of the distance? Might it be too far for private traders to travel with this motivation?