The giant ship broke through the waves and advanced mightily, with the big flag on the bow flapping in the sea breeze.
The Ming fleet left Managa, and some merchants stayed there. These merchants did not follow the fleet to continue westward, which does not mean that they are short-sighted. On the contrary, these are far-sighted people. Most of the people who made such a decision
They are people whose own family does not have the ability to continuously sail across the ocean. They feel that instead of joining the ranks of ocean gold mining and competing with other advantaged families, it is better to take a different approach.
They stayed in Manlajia and took advantage of local cheap labor and abundant wood to build seaports, build warehouses, and open inns, restaurants, and casinos. Since the Ming Dynasty opened up ocean trade, it is foreseeable that with Zheng He's fleet this time
Going west, businessmen from various countries will soon come in droves after hearing the news.
Malaka is an important port. Western merchants need to stop here to clean and break down their goods so that they can be sold by ship to different countries in the East. When they return, they also need to stay here to wait for the monsoon. During this period
Of course, they also need to consume. These people who make a living at sea travel thousands of miles and face many risks, so they are particularly willing to spend money and enjoy themselves.
Therefore, it is possible to make a lot of money by operating here. And this is also in the interests of Daming. As Daming goes west, it will build its own bases in many important places. This is the first step. With the frequency of transactions, Daming Ocean
The continuous expansion of the fleet will seize control of maritime trade from the Arabs. Therefore, the fleet is very supportive of their choice and has consulted with the King of Malacca on this matter to create convenience for them as much as possible.
condition.
At the same time, Zhou Man, Hong Bao, Zhou Wen, Yang Qing and others also led a fleet to embark on their journey, visiting countries on different routes and exploring the edges of the ocean. However, their departure did not make the ship
The fleet shrank, but on the contrary, the fleet became even larger, because not only Manlajia, but also many wealthy merchants from nearby small countries joined the Ming Dynasty's fleet and sailed westward with them.
The sea water is blue and the sky is clear. The giant ship moves forward, gradually turning the land behind the ship into a blur of dark blue on the picture. The fleet moves along the bay. Small islands are on the side of the fleet, and seagulls fly.
The waves surge.
On the bow of the ship, Tang Saier happily enjoyed the seascape that changed with the ship, and chatted and laughed with Su Ying from time to time.
Su Ying was naturally familiar with the ocean, but the scenery of the East China Sea and the South China Sea were completely different, and she was very interested in seeing them.
Fei Yinglun was like a lost mouse, jumping up and down on the ship. After a while, he ran to the cabin and looked at Xia Xun, who was playing chess with the cook Yu Master. After a while, he ran to the bow to look at Su Ying, who was talking and laughing calmly.
and Tang Saier, who was so anxious that he scratched his head and scratched his head.
All the signs before us showed that the Ming army was completely defenseless, and everyone was happily waiting to surrender. But... was that sinister and sinister pirate king really so easy to surrender to the Ming fleet?
Fei Yinglun didn't believe it. He definitely didn't believe it. That guy Chen Zuyi didn't even understand the basic ethics of being a pirate.
"Aunt Ying, look, look, what's that in the water? It's so beautiful, like an umbrella, opening and closing!"
Tang Saier suddenly leaned on the side of the boat and asked excitedly as he looked at the groups of white phantom-like things in the blue water.
It was a group of jellyfish wandering around looking for food. Su Ying was naturally familiar with it, so she smiled at Tang Saier and said: "This thing lives in spring and dies in winter. The big one is like a bed, and the small one is like a bucket. It has no eyes and stomach. It is a very kind of thing."
It’s a weird thing, but it’s very delicious to cut into shreds and mixed with cold dishes. I don’t know what it’s called here, but we call it ‘Haiyue’ and ‘Mingyue’ there.”
Speaking of this, Su Ying's face suddenly felt a little hot, probably because she suddenly thought of the bright moon on the couch that her husband-in-law played with last night.
"Woo~~~~" The lookout whistle on the high pole on the bow blew the horn, announcing to everyone in the fleet: Bo Lin Bang has arrived.
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The bow plows the waves and the waves splash.
When Xia Xun heard the sound of the horn, he walked to the bow of the ship. He was dressed in lake silk straight skirt and wearing a square scarf on his head. He looked like a gentle businessman.
Standing on the top deck and looking far into the distance, he saw the shadow of the harbor faintly appearing in the distance. The visibility was very high today.
Xia Xun glanced at the flagship again. The signal from the flagship was coming here, and the Xu Hu ship immediately waved the orange flag and responded to the main ship. Xia Xun couldn't help but smile.
After the flag communication was completed, Xu Hu walked to Xia Xun. He was dressed in military uniform and was in his forties. For a martial arts practitioner, it was the time when his mental and physical strength reached its peak. He had a dark and red face.
, extremely powerful.
Xu Hu said to Xia Xun: "This Chen Zuyi just surrenders obediently. If he really dares to take action, hey!"
Xu Hu laughed and said: "Someone has already reserved this Bolin Island. If we take this island, we will operate it according to this island."
Xia Xun did not look back. Facing the sea breeze and sunshine, he closed his eyes, took a breath of intoxication, and then asked: "Oh, who made the reservation?"
Xu Hu said: "They are three big wood merchants in Fujian. The leader is the brother-in-law of General Chi Zhong. The three of them join forces and are extremely powerful. They also have Chi Zhong as a big backing, so Zheng He and his father-in-law have agreed. Now.
These people are gearing up because they are afraid that Chen Zuyi will not take action."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "I have met Chizhong's brother-in-law, and he is indeed a smart man. The other businessmen compete alone, but he has the support of Chizhong, his brother-in-law, and also cooperates with the other two big timber merchants. This is how he behaves.
, will do things.”
Xia Xun pointed to the lush island and said: "This island is rich in precious wood such as chicken wing wood and rosewood. If these three big businessmen stay here, they will make a fortune. They will cut and transport wood.
We have to hire a large number of local mountain people. As long as we organize a team of 3,000 people with axes, they can have considerable say in the local area. When they develop, they will control the local economic lifeline and ports.
hehe……"
Xu Hu said: "Well, people in the Nanyang Islands don't have to worry about eating. There are dense fish here. You don't even need to go into the water to fish. You just need to build a low dam with stones on the seaside. When the tide recedes, you can just pick them up and there will be countless
There are all kinds of fish and shrimps, there are many birds and animals in the mountains and forests, and there are all kinds of fruits all year round, but apart from eating, everything else is very poor.
In this way, if they want to get all kinds of living things, they have to buy them with money. If they want to have money, they have to work. And they don't have to worry about food at home. They don't need to send young laborers to farm the fields or hire workers like the people in the Central Plains.
It's very easy, and the price is cheap. Those timber merchants have planned it well."
Xu Hu held on to the side of the boat and said with a smile: "Haha, now that I say this, I also begin to hope that Chen Zuyi will take action against us, otherwise how can he be famous?"
Xia Xun glanced at him and said with a smile: "I'm afraid... you also invested capital here, right? Otherwise, how could you, Mr. Xu, be so interested in business?"
Xu Hu blushed and said with a smile: "I know I can't hide it from the Duke."
Xia Xun laughed.
At this time, Fei Yinglun rushed to the top floor, but was stopped by two soldiers. Fei Yinglun struggled, using Venetian accent Chinese that he had just learned for two days, and shouted angrily at Xia Xun: "Mr. Xia, shopkeeper Xia's
,can’t,can’t!”
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Seagulls screamed and circled in the sky, and the fleet slowly sailed into the trumpet-mouthed harbor. More than thirty warships were neatly moored in the harbor, and the warships were filled with soldiers. These pirates, who were called soldiers of the Bolin State, were not wearing the same clothes.
They were all neat and tidy. They could only wear a waistcoat of the same style and color, and the weapons they held in their hands were also various.
They lined up on the deck, held their heads high, and tried to look like they were being reviewed. The dock was dark and crowded with people. His Majesty Chen Zuyi, the king of Bolin State, was wearing a homemade royal robe and a dangling crown on his head.
Waiting eagerly.
Chen Zuyi did not intend to overstep his bounds, but because he had no idea what the king should wear. His predecessor did not leave him a decent set of uniforms. The country did not have a uniform system at the time. Chen Zuyi had to use his imagination.
Drawing on some New Year pictures and folklore, I pieced together such a set of king's crown uniforms.
If he walked around in front of Emperor Yongle wearing this robe, Emperor Yongle would never be furious, because his so-called hanging robe is simply specious. The embroidery on the dragon robe looks like a dragon but not a dragon, and it looks like a snake but not a dragon.
The snake is very much like a dragon. As for the crown, the emperor has twelve lugs on his crown, nine princes, seven senior officials, and five subordinate officials. Chen Zuyi felt that too many lugs affected his vision, and because he often sailed on the sea, he felt that the number six was particularly auspicious.
, so he came up with a creative idea.
What kind of transgression is this?
Although it was a joke that Chen Zuyi was crowned by monkeys, he had prepared a band to serve as concierge, and this band was also the signal that he and various troops agreed to take action. Seeing the Ming fleet slowly entering the harbor,
Chen Zuyi couldn't help but swallowed his breath. The spectacular sight that covered the sky and sun gave him a lot of psychological pressure.
Can he really shake this majestic team?
But then he thought about the infinite wealth that this fleet carried, and when he thought that after these large ships fell into his hands, he would be able to navigate the east and west undefeated. His heart was burning, and his eyes were covered with greed.
Blood color. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips slowly, like a wolf that chooses others to devour, with a sinister smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
"Woo~~~~"
Seeing that the fleet had completely sailed into the harbor and was slowly slowing down, on the front ship, one could clearly see an official wearing a white robe and a wingless black gauze standing on the ship surrounded by a large group of officials.
Head, the sail on the mast is slowly falling, and the big anchor on the side is also splashing into the water...
Chen Zuyi laughed evilly and gave the order. The trumpet sounded first, followed by the gongs, cymbals and drums. The warships lined up in the port suddenly moved together, moving forward quickly like a pack of wolves to outflank Zheng He.