Chapter 1546 Diego

The "Diego" sailing ship is very eye-catching on the East China Sea. This three-masted cargo sailing ship is a standard Spanish sailing ship. It has high sides, high stern tower, relatively low front deck, straight stern, and both sides of the hull.

The top is tilted inward, and the length-to-width ratio of the entire ship is about four to one. There are obvious differences in appearance from the Fuzhou, Guangzhou and Haihan sailing ships that are common in the East China Sea, and this type of sailing ship has a large shape on the bow.

It is equipped with artillery and cannons on both sides of the ship, and has certain maritime combat capabilities. Generally, when civilian ships of the Ming Dynasty find a sailboat of this shape at sea, they will get out of the way early to avoid trouble.

However, this three-masted sailing ship with a displacement of 500 tons does not actually belong to Spain, but is an authentic Portuguese merchant ship. This ship was built in Portugal, from the captain Diego Ribas to all the crew members on the ship.

It is entirely Portuguese, and the only thing that can be related to Spain is that this ship has experienced four armed conflicts with Spanish galleons at sea.

This kind of sailing ship was named Spanish galleon because the Spanish were the first to build it on a large scale and used it to form a powerful fleet. However, it was actually the Portuguese who first developed and built this kind of sailing ship. And the Spanish in northern Taiwan

After the stronghold was uprooted by Haihan, their large sailing ships basically disappeared on the East China Sea north of the Fujian Strait. Coming here again was asking for death. Only the Portuguese who had concluded an alliance with Haihan early could sail in and out of this place.

A sea area.

Even so, the "Diego" still very cautiously hoisted the red and blue flags on the mast to show its identity as an ally. Otherwise, if the Haihan warship on patrol at sea mistakenly thinks that the Spanish have intruded, then

The trouble was huge. Although the "Diego" was equipped with several artillery pieces, they were nothing more than toys compared with the long-range and accurate naval guns on the Haihan battleship.

However, the "Diego" did not appear in the Zhejiang waters just to hang out. The last stop it docked was the Kaohsiung Port in the southern part of Taiwan Island, where it shipped about one hundred tons of grain, as well as some locally produced fruits and vegetables.

Fresh food, as well as some special materials that were transported from Sanya to Kaohsiung Port in advance and then transshipped there, as well as more than 100 tons of cement urgently prepared by the local government for Zhejiang, were specially shipped to Xiangshan County to supply the salt farm project.

This kind of cross-regional material allocation that can be implemented in a short period of time can only be achieved by Haihan in this era. This not only requires instant communication technology and networks between various colonies, but also requires overall transportation capacity arrangements.

means, otherwise even if the news is received through the radio, there may not be a suitable shipping date to transport these materials to the destination in time. As for the cross-border mobilization of Ming or Portuguese cargo ships to transport materials for the country, this can also be regarded as Haihan's

It is an exclusive skill that cannot be achieved by other countries.

Captain Ribas was born in a small town called Almada in the port city of Lisbon. He went to sea with his father when he was a boy. In the past twenty years of sailing, he has traveled to most of the world, especially starting from Europe and heading south.

He has traveled through the African continent, across the Indian Ocean and to the Far East several times.

But in Captain Ribas's rich sailing experience, he has never seen a nation like Haihan emerge from an island without making a sound, and hold in their hands something that transcends this era.

Ribas believed that even the Spanish Empire, which had established colonies all over the world, might not be able to match the level of navigation of these mysterious orientals. The Hercynian War that broke out in northern Taiwan in early 1633 was completely

Confirming his view, the Haihan people organized troops to carry out armed landings there, and conquered the two strongholds of Tamsui and Chicken Coop built by the Spaniards, completely driving them out of Taiwan Island.

This kind of fighting ability astonished the Portuguese, because they tried various methods to remove the Spanish stronghold in Taiwan to clear the northward channel, but all failed to work. There were also others who made the same attempt.

At that time, the Dutch, who were sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between the tigers. What the two European colonial countries that were relatively close to Spain in terms of strength failed to accomplish, the Haihan people completed in less than a month.

Ribas really couldn't understand why there were such powerful oriental peoples in the world, but he had never heard of them even though he had been to all over the world before. Logically speaking, countries like Haihan should have established colonies all over the world long ago.

? Why did it only rise to fame in the Far East in recent years and become a powerful country in this region that no one dares to ignore?

When Haihan established diplomatic relations with Portugal, Ribas heard the news in Macau. In recent years, he has witnessed with his own eyes the progress of Haihan's colonies expanding overseas along the sea routes in two directions: north and south.

It was so fast that he, an old seal from an old colonial country, could only marvel. This was much faster than the Portuguese explorers who established overseas colonies. If this continues, Haihan will establish many colonies around the world.

That day will definitely come within a hundred years. No, maybe it won't take that long at all, because it only took them less than nine years to establish a national government from scratch and cover most of the Far East.

.

Haihan people are straightforward and trustworthy in doing business, which is an important reason why Ribas is willing to trade with Haihan. After nearly two years of exploration, he finally chose a commercial route from Hainan Island to the north along the mainland.

, as the main business scope of his ship. On this route, he can trade with the Ming Dynasty and Haihan, buy low and sell high between various ports, and even contract a part of Haihan official transportation business to make a profit.

The capabilities are considerable.

After arriving at the Port of Kaohsiung this time, Ribas originally planned to ship various local food supplies to the colony established by Haihan in the far north to see what kind of situation Haihan had opened up in the north of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Kaohsiung Port Authority

The center temporarily adjusted the content of his shipment, requiring him to free up the foredeck space used for dry bulk cargo to ship cement and other building materials that Zhejiang urgently needed. Of course, the Haihan Shipping Department also compensated him with a special sum.

The expedited freight is enough to ensure the profit of the "Diego" trip.

What is cement? Ribas has been dealing with the Haihan people for so long, so he naturally knows its uses. The ports, wharves and some houses built by Haihan in various places will use this wonderful building material. However,

Haihan has always kept its manufacturing process and technology secret, and it is difficult for outsiders to deduce the manufacturing method of this kind of thing from the finished product. Haihan has to transport hundreds of tons of cement to Zhejiang at one time, which makes Ribas a little suspicious of Haihan.

Some large-scale, secretive projects are quietly being carried out in Zhejiang.

Ribas has been to Zhoushan Dinghai Port several times and was very impressed by the large cargo terminal and military wharf built by Haihan there. In addition, the majestic coastal defense fort built with cement and stone high above Dinghai Port.

It is probably a landmark building that everyone who has been to the area will never forget.

However, whether Xiangshan County is close to Dinghai Port or not, it is still several dozen nautical miles away. It can be said that it is not within the direct jurisdiction of Haihan. What project is Haihan building locally to use so much cement?

This is something Ribas wants to understand right now.

When the "Diego" entered the waters of Xiangshan Port, its conspicuous appearance immediately attracted attention. Soon a special guide ship approached and sent a signal, signaling the "Diego" to follow. So the "Diego"

Following this guide ship, we sailed into the narrow waters of Xiangshan Port and came to a simple dock that was obviously recently built.

On the deck, Ribas saw hundreds of migrant workers working with shovels and other tools near the coast. The land that had been flattened already covered a considerable area, but based on the current construction progress, it was difficult for him to tell that Haihan was here.

What exactly is the construction project?

The arrival of the "Diego" naturally caused a small commotion among the people on the shore. This kind of three-masted sailing ship from the West is rare in Xiangshan. It was the first time for many people to see this strange-looking sea vessel.

After listening to the explanation, I realized that this was a sea-going ship used by Westerners. However, the people did not feel afraid of this strange visitor, because not far from the dock was the station of the Haihan Army, which was invincible in the world.

The Haihan Army provides protection here, who would be afraid of such a ship.

After Ribas docked, officials from the Haihan Shipping Department boarded the ship to check the procedures. The cargo manifest was sent to Zhoushan via telegram on the day Ribas departed from Kaohsiung, and it was sent from Zhoushan two days ago.

The Ministry of Shipping was afraid that the Portuguese would not be able to find this newly built terminal, so they hired several local ships to wait at the entrance of Xiangshan Port to pick up the "Diego".

After checking the cargo manifest, officials from the Ministry of Shipping disembarked the ship and organized migrant workers to unload the cargo. The people on the ship were also allowed to go ashore to rest during this period, but their activities were strictly limited to the dock.

It's only about fifty meters away from the ship.

But this did not bother the experienced Captain Ribas. After he got off the ship, he spoke Chinese with a southern European accent and asked the sailors on the shore. Finally, he finally found out the identity of the official in charge here, who happened to be his former

I was an acquaintance who I had interacted with when I went to Dinghai Port. I immediately found an officer on duty at the dock and applied for an interview with Yang Yun. It happened that Yang Yun was not too busy at this time, so after receiving the news, he asked someone to meet him.

Ribas was taken away from the dock and met at the construction site headquarters.

"Yang, my friend, it's so nice to see you again!" Ribas greeted Yang Yun warmly from a distance. Onlookers couldn't tell that these two people were actually at work.

We've only met a few times, and there's no personal relationship at all.

This was not the first time that Yang Yun had dealt with the Portuguese. He knew that these southern Europeans were more enthusiastic by nature, so he didn't take Ribas' familiarity seriously at all. He immediately stretched out a hand and followed Haihan etiquette.

I shook hands with him and said thank you for your hard work.

"Yang, you should learn from your boss, the distinguished Lord Shi Diwen, how to greet guests from afar." Ribas muttered: "The last time I met him, he was...

Gave me a big hug."

"That's probably because you brought him something good that he had been looking forward to for a long time last time." Yang Yun responded with a smile. He was also present at the hug that Ribas mentioned, and it was Ribas's.

The ship brought a complete bathroom system specially customized in Sanya for Shi Diwen. The private mansion built by Shi Diwen in Zhoushan was stopped for a month and a half just waiting for this set of things to be shipped. It was replaced by another captain to complete this task.

, Shi Diwen probably would not be stingy with hugs either.

Ribas shrugged and said that he did not deny Yang Yun's statement. However, reminiscing about old times was just to pave the way for inquiring about information. Ribas immediately asked about the situation of the construction site in front of him.

"It's a salt farm. You see, the area enclosed by wooden fences is within the scope of this salt farm." Yang Yun did not hide the situation here from Ribas. After all, the salt farm project has been made public for a long time, and it is actually considered open to foreigners.

It's not a secret anymore. Ribas often travels between Zhejiang and Sanya, and sooner or later he will know about the situation here.

"Salt is a very profitable business!" Ribas couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, his face filled with excitement: "I heard that the Yinggehai Salt Farm in Hainan Island earns enough money in one year to build a Dinghaiport.

Already."

Yinggehai Salt Field is the largest salt field in the area under the rule of Haihan. Its production capacity and profits are naturally amazing, but the salt field in Xiangshan Port cannot be compared. Yang Yun responded with a smile: "Yinggehai is definitely not comparable.

, but after it is put into production here, it will be able to capture at least more than half of the local market share, and the prospects are still very promising."

Ribas said: "Perhaps my ship can contribute a little bit to the development of this salt field in the future?"

"I'm afraid the business is too small and you won't like it!" Of course Yang Yun would not refuse the Portuguese's offer of courtesy. Although the other party's intention was to get some transportation business from here, the initiative rested with Haihan.

Whether to give or not to give, to give more or less, that is all Haihan’s decision.

Ribas quickly raised a hand and said: "As God testifies, I will never have such disrespectful thoughts towards the distinguished customer Haihan."

After Ribas talked about it for a while, Yang Yun finally relaxed and promised to discuss it with the Shipping Department later. When arranging the voyage of the "Diego" next time, the cargo transportation needs of the Xiangshan Saltworks station will be discussed.

Taking this into consideration, it left a window for Ribas to undertake the transportation task.
Chapter completed!