The church bells rang, not for worship, but to send off the Chinese fleet.
This is learned from the port of Acapulco. Whenever a large sailboat arrives, the whole city becomes excited. People pour into the streets singing and dancing, church bells ring, and a grand thanksgiving ceremony is held to thank the Lord for the richness of Asia.
The goods are delivered.
Immediately after the galleon is unloaded, a grand trade ceremony will be held. Spanish merchants with licenses purchase goods here and transfer them to Central and South America, or transport them by land to Mexico City, the east coast of America and the Caribbean.
Now, the residents of Port Banderas see hope that as long as the smuggling trade flourishes in the future, the place can also develop and prosper.
By then, there will be a lot of goods and business trips, and everyone will be able to make a fortune and live a life of buying whatever they want.
"Thank you Lord, your will has brought Chinese businessmen!"
"Guys, come and have a drink to see our Chinese friends off!"
"."
The town became very lively, and the only tavern was already full. Some people even bought rum, ran to the dock to watch the Chinese fleet leave, and toasted to the departing fleet.
Li Quan had not gone far with his fleet when he felt that the trade wind was blowing toward the southwest and the sea current was also moving toward the southwest.
When we docked at the port of Manzanillo ahead, the officials and residents here were equally enthusiastic. They took out their money and food, ate all the remaining goods, and planned to transport them to the inland and sell them to make money.
In the past, you could only buy expensive goods from second-rate dealers, but now you can smuggle them regardless of the license. You can imagine how much profit there is.
There was an explosion of fish in this port. When Li Quan left, the cabins were filled with fresh and salted fish.
There is no need to sail to the southwest, just go directly to the west. This place is already located in the warm current zone of the North Pacific. Li Quan led the fleet quickly. He had already found out clearly that there was a fleet stationed a thousand miles south, and there were often merchant ships.
Come here to buy your catch.
Although the Spanish galleons sailed along the North Pacific Warm Current, the Spanish's starting point was in the center of the warm current, while Li Quan's departure point was far north of the warm current.
It took more than five months to arrive, but only three months to return. The journey was smooth and there were few storms.
After sailing more than a thousand miles to the west, we encountered an archipelago.
Li Quan was very excited. For fear of running aground on the rocks, the big ship did not dare to get too close and only cruised around the islands. He sent a small boat to land and explore, and found that there were no ghosts on the islands. Several islands in a row were deserted, which was a paradise for animals.
.
This is the Reviagigedo Islands, which were discovered by navigators a hundred years ago.
Li Quan thought he was the first to discover it. Although the archipelago is temporarily uninhabited, so many islands are still exciting. He said to the crew: "Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing on this voyage, we suffered very few casualties. This area
In the archipelago, the largest island is named 'Tianzi Island'. The second largest island is named 'Queen's Island'. The third largest island is named 'Prince Island'!"
The crew members cheered in unison, mainly because they were in a happy mood. The journey back was smooth and comfortable.
After being happy, there is boredom.
Although the journey was long and stormy, there was something to do. The journey back was uneventful, with many sailors and soldiers lying on the deck basking in the sun all day long.
There are also people who enjoy themselves by hanging rotten fish on iron hooks, throwing them down, and fishing with long ropes.
Whenever a big fish takes the bait, the deck is filled with joy, just to consume excess energy.
After sailing like this for more than a month, the lookout was yawning out of boredom. Suddenly he saw a shadow in the northwest. He rubbed his eyes and saw a dark shadow, and quickly picked up a telescope to observe.
"island!"
“What a big island!”
Li Quan's ship suddenly made a sensation, and the crew members stood on the deck and watched. The other four ships also discovered the islands one after another, and people danced in the direction of the islands.
For more than a month, apart from the previous archipelago, they had only seen the sea. Now they finally saw land, and they couldn't wait to go there and step on it.
!" Heading towards the island
The fleet was getting closer and closer to the island, and suddenly the watchman shouted: "There are ships, there are small sailboats, the barbarians here can build ships!"
Li Quan quickly picked up the telescope, and sure enough he saw a sailboat in the distance. This kind of boat is thin and long, with a triangular sail. The big boat can seat thirty or forty people, and the small boat can also seat ten or twenty people.
Li Quan said: "The barbarians on this island can build ships and weave, and are more civilized than the native Americans."
Indeed, as the fleet approached, the native ships also gathered together.
These natives were probably preparing for war. But when the Chinese fleet approached, they found that the hull was too big, and they were so frightened that they kept retreating around the island.
"Send a hundred people to land first!" Li Quan ordered.
One hundred soldiers armed with guns and ammunition, rowed small boats and landed on the beach. The beach was very beautiful, and the natives on the island were unhappy and seemed extremely angry. Because in that area, there were only chiefs, mages, chanters, and dancers.
, only genealogists and doctors are allowed to set foot, others will be put to death for stepping on the beautiful beach.
The chief's name is very long, with more than twenty syllables. Let's call him Ali Kamiya for the time being.
"Ali" means leader.
The chief gathered his troops and restrained the anger of the people. He knew that it would be difficult to deal with an enemy with such a large ship.
"Wave the flag, the enemy wants to negotiate."
Li Quan received the semaphore message and landed in person in a small boat.
In his eyes, the indigenous chief had a strange appearance. He was holding a nearly three-meter-long spear in his hand, wearing a hat that resembled a cockscomb, and had a cloak-like robe on his upper body. On both sides behind him, there were people holding umbrellas, a bit like an emperor.
An umbrella for traveling.
Li Quan pointed to a nearby coconut tree and ordered a chief: "Ten of you, aim at the coconut and shoot."
Ali Kamiya stood more than 20 meters away, looking at these outsiders curiously, raising his short stick and pointing at the coconuts.
This move once again aroused the anger of the indigenous people.
Because coconut is the clone of a certain god, only men can eat it, and women are not allowed to eat it. Eating coconuts can absorb the spirit of the god.
"Bang bang bang!"
After a burst of gunfire, two coconuts fell, and another one hung on the tree. The coconuts continued to flow downward.
Ali Kamiya was so frightened that he took two steps back. This kind of stick that breathed smoke and fire was so scary.
"Ouyang, you go to negotiate, bring an iron ax and a mirror." Li Quan said.
After successfully communicating with the Indians, Ouyang Chun was appointed as a "diplomat." Holding a small glass mirror in one hand and an ax in the other, he left the army and walked over alone.
Ali Kamia seemed to feel the kindness and sent someone forward. Ouyang Chun handed over the ax first. The native took the ax and slashed at the barrel of his gun, which immediately chopped off a piece of wooden surface. Then, the man took the mirror.
, showing his face as he was ecstatic.
The natives ran back to the chief and said, "The ax is very hard and sharp, and this... has a reflection."
Ali Kamiya fell in love with the mirror instantly. He looked left and right in front of the glass mirror, and he felt more and more majestic and handsome.
After thinking carefully, Ali Kamiya ordered his men to bring many exquisite handicrafts.
Ouyang Chun shook his head, saying that he didn't need it. Then he opened and closed his mouth and made a chewing gesture, meaning he wanted to exchange for some food.
Ali Kamiya was very smart and understood it quickly.
A group of indigenous soldiers brought food one after another, including live chickens, ginger, kava (some kind of pepper rhizome), potatoes, breadfruit and cane sugar. There were ten chickens, several baskets of potatoes and breadfruit, and five cans of cane sugar.
Can
When supplying in America, we purchased so many potatoes that the crew almost vomited.
Ouyang Chun pointed at the potatoes and waved, meaning that he didn't want them. Then he didn't want any sugar either. Live chickens were fine. Fresh meat was always better than salted fish.
Ouyang Chun pointed to the coconut tree again, and the crew wanted to drink coconut juice. Ali Kamia shook his head and said that coconuts are not for sale. The coconuts, bananas, turtles and pigs here are all clones of a certain god, containing "
Ma Na".
"Ma Na" is a kind of spiritual energy that all creatures have. Chiefs and mages can obtain spiritual energy from distant ancestors and gods, so as to prolong life, be free from disease and disaster, and have power. In addition to offering sacrifices, eating certain things can also
Get reiki from things like coconut, banana, turtle and pork.
Women are dirty and cannot obtain spiritual energy, so they cannot eat these foods. In addition to slaves, ordinary men can also eat, but they cannot obtain as much spiritual energy as the chiefs.
Ouyang Chun continued to shake his head and pointed at the coconut tree.
At this moment, Li Quan asked more soldiers to land, and there were already more than two hundred people on the beach.
Ali Kamia loved the mirror and was afraid of the smoking sticks in the hands of the Chinese. He turned around and asked the Master: "It is only stipulated that women cannot eat coconuts, but there is no stipulation that foreign men cannot eat coconuts, right?"
The mage thought carefully, nodded and said: "There is indeed no such thing. Men from outside can eat it."
Li Quan saw the indigenous people gathering coconuts, and smiled and asked someone to bring them cigars and rum.
When selling goods in the port of Manzanillo, the Spaniards there did not have enough money, so they bartered a lot of tobacco leaves and rum.
Ouyang Chun had been allowed to approach Ouyang Chun by the chief. He opened the rum and took a sip, then handed the bottle to him.
Ali Kamiya drank it out of curiosity and immediately exclaimed: "Good wine!" The indigenous people on the island also make their own wine, which is made from pepper rhizomes and is called kava. It makes the tip of the tongue numb after drinking it. How can it be as comfortable as rum?
Immediately, Ouyang Chun lit the cigar again, puffed out the smoke, and handed the smoked cigar to the chief.
"Cough cough cough!"
Ali Kamiya inhaled too hard and coughed repeatedly. But he did not get angry. He took a gentle breath cautiously. His head felt a little stuffy, but he soon felt refreshed.
The chief handed the cigar to the wizard. After several attempts, the wizard managed to blow out the smoke from his nose.
The mage said: "This thing should be able to communicate with the gods."
"Since coconuts can be given to outsiders, so can bananas and pigs," Ali Kamiya said. "We will bring some more bananas and pigs and exchange these things with outsiders."
Li Quan was afraid of being attacked by the Spanish fleet, so he set sail very far north. The route was located on the edge of the North Pacific Warm Current, heading straight west, and happened to hit the Hawaiian Islands!
As for the Spanish starting point, if they sailed in a straight line with the wind and water, they might not encounter Hawaii for hundreds of years.
