The pioneer ship hadn't even docked yet, but people on the shore noticed the incoming ship. Qian Wubing saw it in the telescope. What looked like a wolf running like a wolf on the shore, and what looked like running like a hog!
While waiting for the pioneer ship to wash up on the beach, in the inhabited village, except for the mess on the ground, there was almost no living thing to be seen.
The people who came ashore cautiously searched the village for some reason, and then moved a certain distance in the direction in which the people fled. After still finding nothing, they decisively left and returned.
Soon, Qian Wubing got the news from them. In fact, everything he could see had been seen in the telescope. Qian Wubing guessed that this was probably an extremely poor fishing village by the sea. However, this
The news brought back by the scouts only made him more certain of this.
"Let's walk forward along this coast!" Qian Wubing thought for a while and gave the order: "You can see densely populated towns after all!"
While giving instructions, he asked someone to take out the nautical chart and call over several boatmen with naval background who were proficient in maritime affairs. He felt a little uneasy in his heart.
According to the notes left by officials in Zheng He's fleet, the fleet set out from Fujian for the first time on its first voyage to the Western Ocean. It had a smooth journey and was similar to the current fleet. The only difference was that the Sihai Fleet arrived from Fujian first.
Champa, then set off from Champa and headed south with the wind. Since Qian Wubing did not want to stop at Chenla, they did not go along the coast, but directly followed the direction of the wind towards their destination. He
He knew very well that at this season, this wind direction, and this direction, although his destination was Boni, it was possible to reach Luzon, Malacca or even Java if this route was a little further up.
Isn’t this really off track?
This kind of thing is very normal at sea, especially on an unfamiliar route. In fact, if Qian Wubing’s purpose is to stop the fleet in Boni, whether it is reaching Malacca or Java
, or getting stuck in the mud, it doesn’t matter much, they are just wandering around in front of the house anyway. However, it is not always a good thing to bump into each other in a confused manner.
On this day, the fleet was in a state of faint excitement. Even the mercenaries who came along this east-west route and were now members of the Imperial Guard couldn't tell where they were. Anyway, in their eyes,
When you get to the east, if you don't look at people, the islands on the shore all look the same.
In the morning of the next day, a harbor city finally seemed to appear faintly in the distance, and there was a burst of cheers from the fleet. What could be more exciting than seeing a prosperous city after drifting on the sea for almost half a month?
Got it!
When the city in the distance gradually came into everyone's field of vision, the cheers gradually became quieter. People standing on the boat could almost see without a telescope. Outside the originally small port, there were this many things.
A few ships were cruising, and they probably discovered this huge fleet on the sea at this moment. These cruising ships, like frightened chickens, fled towards their nests one after another. The port was in chaos. And in the port,
A three-sail warship, like a hen guarding its young, swayed and began to move.
The fleet slowly stopped, and everyone was looking at the flag on the flagship.
"Interesting, are you scared?" Qian Wubing put down the telescope in his hand and muttered softly. The only warship in the port was the three-gallon ship, and this kind of ship had a huge deck.
He happened to recognize this hybrid sailboat with a castle-like shipbuilding and a paddle hole underneath.
In Tamsui, isn’t there still such a boat now?
That's right, this ship is almost exactly the same as the four ships of the Portuguese Far East Fleet that he once annihilated. At this time, Qian Wubing naturally didn't know that this kind of trireme was the predecessor of the famous Spanish galleons in the future, let alone
We know that this kind of sailing ship will be the main ship type of the Spanish Armada that will dominate the world a hundred years later. After all, the most popular sailing ship in the West at this time is the Clark sailing ship.
"Could it be the Portuguese?" Qian Wubing took a breath. When he saw the sailboat, he moved a few times, but did not leave the port. Instead, he tried his best to sail towards the depths of the port. It seemed like this, the huge sailboat outside
The fleet can no longer see him.
The fleet spread out in the distance and called the flag. They found a figure moving high on the high ground near the port, and they immediately reported to the flagship.
"Sir, the Princess has called a flag and requested a bombardment!"
"Nonsense!" Qian Wubing frowned. Grisha had seen her competitor and couldn't wait to eliminate him. He could see where the opponent was coming from, and Grisha could see even more clearly.
"Let Weiyuan Banner send a pioneer ship over and keep the others on guard! The Princess is not allowed to act rashly!"
Qian Wubing didn't care at all about the possible conflict. This port was incomparable to Champa. His fleet couldn't even fully enter the port. As long as the people in this city didn't have their brains wet, they wouldn't
He would consider such things as armed conflict, but there was one thing that he couldn't help but care about - where the hell was this!
The main mission of the so-called pioneer ship is of course reconnaissance and communication. In terms of equipment, there are usually a dozen to more than twenty people on the ship. There are personnel responsible for reconnaissance and combat, and there are also personnel responsible for communication. In view of possible language barriers,
The scout ship basically included interpreters from the Capital Huitong Hall, former mercenaries from Portugal and Spain, and even Li people who were proficient in Roman and Ming dialects.
"Your Excellency, their ship is coming, give the order to fight!"
"Sick!" He kicked away the ensign who was overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Antonio looked at the sea with some annoyance. The huge fleet that came out of nowhere was parked outside his port unscrupulously.
Looking at those huge hulls, to say that they were all merchant ships for trade was simply bullying his IQ.
"Let that ship enter the harbor!" He adjusted his military uniform and ordered to his soldiers while comforting himself: he was not afraid of fighting, but he sacrificed his life for a battle that seemed to have almost no chance of winning.
It is irresponsible to save the lives of yourself and your soldiers.
Even the pioneer ship seems a bit big in this port. There is no way to help it. This is already the smallest ship in the Sihai fleet. It is about two to three hundred pieces of material. No matter how small it is, it is not suitable for going to sea. In fact
, most of these pioneer ships were cobbled together by scattered maritime merchants from the south of the Yangtze River whose financial resources and family resources were somewhat limited. In the fleet, they played the most important role, that is, as transportation ships.
Fifty steps of soldiers holding muskets stood behind Antonio, waiting for the people on the ship to get off. Antonio, considering the size of the fleet on the sea, they deserved this courtesy. Of course, if the other party had
Malice, the soldiers behind him can also let him escape immediately, that is another story.
%……￥&&*&%￥……
&……%&&*%……￥……
Fortunately, after a few strings of greetings passed, Antonio heard the language he was familiar with, which made him feel optimistic about the prospects of this meeting. It would be good if they could communicate, at least the other party was not someone who only regarded them as his own on the way to the West.
As long as the indigenous people of food are civilized people, everyone can sit down and interact with them slowly.
At this time, he remembered that he was a civilized man, and he had completely forgotten about the native villages that he ordered to destroy on his way to the east, and the natives who had no ability to resist and massacred under his order.
"Where is this?" This was the first thing the other party asked after the two parties found out that they could communicate!
Antonio smiled, sincerely. He didn’t even know where this place was, and the other party was definitely not coming here. He smiled and nodded, facing the suspected compatriot who spoke the language of the inferiors,
He said with some arrogance: "You should call your Excellency, sir, this is the Luzon colony of the Kingdom of Spain. Standing in front of you is Antonio of the great Jose family, the current governor of Luzon, the Kingdom of Spain!"
"Oh, Governor!" The Spaniard who was talking to him muttered, turned sideways, and whispered to a serious-looking man next to him.
While the man listened to his words, he looked at the soldiers behind Antonio, his eyes flickering, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
It seems that he is indeed a low-class person, and this person has a higher status than him! Antonio judged it and took a few steps towards the person.
The man opened his mouth and said a few words, and the Spaniard who acted as translator quickly translated his words.
"Our chief asked His Excellency the Governor, is the warship of yours at the port the warship of His Excellency the Governor? Also, our chief does not want you to make any hostile moves, otherwise, you will be responsible for all the consequences!"
After several people finished talking and got Antonio's nod, they turned around and walked back to their boat. Before Antonio could ask about the other person's origin, he found that the other person didn't seem to have any intention of telling him.
"Too arrogant, too rude, barbaric orientals!" Looking at the ships gradually leaving, he cursed fiercely: "There are also those traitors from several kingdoms. If they are in the country, I must put these traitors
The crime is not worthy of being punished by the gallows!"
The ship headed towards their fleet, seemingly not worried about the attacks behind it. This made Antonio feel very depressed. He had the urge to immediately order the ship to be blown into pieces, but his reason told him that
If you kill him, he may not be able to bear the consequences.
"Come here, bring that girl from the Xu family. I listened to what their chiefs said, and it seems to be similar to what people like the Xu family say. Maybe they can know something that we don't know!"