Refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus pressed tirelessly for royal support for a westward voyage to Asia, enduring several rejections before securing approval and financing from Spain's King Ferdinand in 1492.

A) Refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus pressed tirelessly for royal support for a westward voyage to Asia, enduring several rejections before securing

B)Christopher Columbus refused to accept the conventional wisdom of the earth being flat; he pressed tirelessly for royal support for a westward voyage to Asia and endured several rejections, finally securing

C) Refusing to accept the conventional wisdom of the earth being flat, Christopher Columbus pressed tirelessly for royal support to sail westward to Asia and to endure several rejections; he finally secured

D) Christopher Columbus not only refused to accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, he pressed tirelessly for royal support for a westward voyage to Asia, endured several rejections, and he finally secured

E) Refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus's effort was tireless in pressing for royal support for a westward voyage to Asia; he endured several rejections before the securing of

Help me out with explanation of OE B- "Of the earth being flat" is not a correct construction; a prepositional phrase cannot have a noun + verb-ing construction as its object.