Amidst the continuous salute, a tall man in his thirties to less than forty wearing a Confucian robe boarded the Longxiang. Xu Guangqi, Sheng Yihong and others were a little surprised to see Yin Feng's appearance.
Xu Guangqi vaguely remembered the appearance of Yin Feng he saw in Jinling. He found that he still seemed to be the same as that time. The traces left by the years on Yin Feng were not obvious. Indeed, after Yin Feng came to this era, there was no chemical food. There is no trace of pollution in the air he breathes. The virus antibodies from another time and space he carries are enough to enable him to resist most diseases in this time and space. Therefore, except for Yin Feng's shoulder injury when fighting Japanese pirates. His arm was injured by the Spaniards during the Manila Massacre. Other than that, he had very few injuries. At most, he suffered from a common cold and fever.
Yin Feng is now in his forties, but he looks younger than people of the same age. He is tall and burly, wearing a Confucian robe. There are no unnecessary decorations on his body, but he looks majestic and natural, with a sincere smile on his face. He strode forward and bowed his hands to Xu Guangqi.
"Master Xu, we meet again."
This is to treat Xu Guangqi with the courtesy of a teacher. After all, Xu Guangqi is an imperial envoy of the imperial court and represents the dignity of the Ming Dynasty. He stood and accepted Yin Feng's full courtesy. Then he slightly cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Yin. We have been apart from each other for many years in Jinling. Mr. His style remains the same.”
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Yin Feng took the initiative to step aside and say: "Mr. Xu, millions of Han people in Taiwan are waiting to see the angel. Please move to the bow of the ship and take a look at the style of Taiwan Harbor."
Xu Guangqi nodded and stepped forward. Yin Feng turned around and followed suit, blocking Sheng Yihong, Zhang Ye and others just in time. So Yin Feng and Xu Guangqi took the lead, and a large group of people walked towards the bow of the Longxiang.
Sheng Yihong's face was livid. Several heads of the Ministry of Rites were also indignant. Sheng Yihong felt very embarrassed: before the rebellion, Yin Feng was just a donor, a district inspection department, and the lowest-ranking official. But now, he dares to talk to him. The imperial cabinet's bachelors and second-rank high-ranking officials paid homage to each other. Moreover, they blocked themselves behind them. They simply had no regard for the imperial court and were arrogant.
However, no one paid attention to Sheng Yihong at all. And he was not a fool: now that he was on other people's territory, he would not get good results if he got angry at will. Therefore, Sheng Yihong just sulked with a sullen face.
The Longxiang began to enter the port under the guidance of two small boats.
The hydrological conditions of Taiwan Port are actually very average. In another time and space, Dagou Port in the south, also known as Kaohsiung Port, later emerged as the largest port in southern Taiwan. It replaced its position. Due to the large number of mainland immigrants who opened up wasteland and cultivated crops in the surrounding areas, Soil erosion is serious and the siltation situation in Taiwan Port is very serious. Therefore, Yin Feng is now organizing manpower to develop Dagou Port and plans to relocate the main commercial trade port there in the future.
This is actually the first time that the Longxiang has entered Taiwan Port. The home port of this giant battleship is Jingang in the north. However, Jingang is a purely military port. Yin Feng, his company colleagues, and the Chinese military generals do not want the imperial court angels to visit the military port. .So. The Longxiang will be docked in Taiwan Port today.
At the southern tip of the port entrance, a simple temple of Shuiwei Shengniang attracts people's attention with its red glazed tiles. Shuiwei Shengniang is worshiped as the local god of Hainan people and is regarded as the patron saint by fishermen. In a certain place on Hainan Island In these places, its status is no less than that of Mazu. Among the Hainanese who followed Yin Feng to go to sea to conquer the world, there are many Dan people from Wanzhou and Yazhou. The Shuiwei Shengniang Temple in Taiwan was built by Hainan Dan people according to the temple pattern in their hometown. It is also Hainan Shuiwei Shengniang Temple is the earliest temple built by islanders outside the island. It not only has a great influence on Hainan Island, but also has become a gathering place for Hainanese people as Hainanese people traveled across the sea and settled in various parts of Southeast Asia.
On the northern coastline of the port, there is the tall and gorgeous Mazu Temple. This is the Mazu Temple built by Fujian immigrants. This is the ocean goddess believed by most "sea runners" on the southeast coast. Yin Feng led the survivors of the Manila Massacre When I came here, this Mazu Temple had already been built. In 1609, this Mazu Temple was burned down during the Japanese pirates' attack on Taiwan Harbor. It has been very popular since it was rebuilt.
What Yuan Chonghuan, Zhang Ye and others paid attention to were the forts outside the port. The polygonal forts, the large cannons on the forts, and the observation towers everywhere... At this time, both the northern and southern forts of Taiwan had begun to fire salutes. The entire The sky above the port echoed with the sound of cannons.
Starting from outside the port, various ships continued to appear around the Longxiang. When they entered the port, everyone's eyes were full of ships: the traditional Chinese Fu Ship, Guangzhou Shipbuilding, and the Chinese and Western merchant ships produced by Zhonghua Company. , Western-style schooners, Japanese red seal ships, Portuguese Galenic sailing ships, Southeast Asian Malay dhows, and countless small fishing boats and rowing boats dotted around the large sailing ships. In this port, what is parked at the moment There are no fewer than three to four hundred ships in various places.
Yin Feng waved his hand proudly and said: "Twenty years ago, this place was still a desolate beach. There were only a few pirate dens and there were only a thousand residents in Fanhan. But now, there are thousands of ships entering and leaving the port here every year. From the north to the south of the port, The city has a total of more than 200,000 residents. Among them, there are no less than 30,000 Malays from all over Southeast Asia, people from various Western countries, and merchants from Tianfang and other places."
None of the Ming Dynasty angels made a sound. They just looked at the scenery with surprised expressions. Just the ships in this port can prove the vitality of this place. This is a very strange experience for the Ming Dynasty envoys: they did not expect that they would be there. In the pirate's lair, a port with prosperous trade was discovered.
Amidst the salute, the Longxiang was anchored on the water one mile away from the pier. A dozen large centipede boats decorated with colorful ribbons came to greet the Great Angel.
"No Western ships other than Portugal are allowed to enter the port here. Westerners other than the Portuguese who want to trade with us have to take our ships and come here from Malacca and Banten." Yin Feng was still introducing Mai. Dahai came to report: "Report to your Majesty, the people of Taiwan Port are already waiting at the pier."
Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers rang out in the wide dock area. Only then did everyone realize that tens of thousands of people had already gathered on the Taiwan Port dock.
After the Longxiang anchored, bursts of firecrackers and gongs and drums were heard from the direction of the pier. There were also dragon and lion dances.
A colorful shed and a victory archway have been erected on the pier. A large red banner is hung on the archway. It reads: "Welcome the King to victory", "The Chinese Navy is invincible" and other words. There are also groups of local indigenous residents singing and dancing. They surround the archway. Circles of happy dancing people.
Xu Guangqi and others sitting on the centipede boat now saw clearly the joyful scene on the pier. But they immediately felt that something was wrong. Xu Guangqi glanced at Yin Feng who was accompanying him in confusion. Yin Feng's expression did not change. He smiled. Said: "The Longxiang is the main ship of our Taiwan fleet. This battle in Jiangnan has made great achievements. Therefore, the local people came to the dock to celebrate."
Xu Guangqi's face changed: "So, the big scene here is not to welcome us." Yuan Chonghuan followed Xu Guangqi. Hearing this, his face turned red. He stood up and was about to speak. Xu Guangqi took his hand. : "Element. Be patient. This is on a ship. Watch your step."
Yin Feng chuckled: "In the evening, all the leaders of our Chinese Company and the Chinese Army will entertain you all at the Leshan Building, the best restaurant in the area. Let us take care of you." He suddenly remembered something. He turned around and asked the impulsive man The sixth-grade civil servant stood up and said, "My lord, may I ask your surname?"
"Yuan Chonghuan, Chief of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War."
Yuan Chonghuan was suffocating at this moment. He spoke very hastily. His Cantonese accent came out involuntarily. Yin Feng didn't understand it for a while.
"Who are you?" Yin Feng asked again.
Yuan Chonghuan suddenly felt that there was no point in being angry with the man in front of him. This was a man who independently created an army and a business group. He traveled across the sea without any scruples. The actual leadership of the peace talks was in the hands of this man. of.
He sighed secretly, relaxed his mood, and tried his best to speak in Mandarin: "Yuan Chonghuan, Chief of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War."
Yin Feng raised his eyebrows and said in surprise: "You are Yuan Chonghuan." He cupped his hands and looked Yuan Chonghuan up and down.
…
By the time they got to the pier, all members of the Ming Dynasty's recruitment mission had understood that the grand welcoming scene on the pier was not directed at them.
These people are welcoming the victorious young soldiers. The Taiwanese fleet ships that followed the Longxiang back to Taiwan and the merchant ships carrying soldiers were moored at the dock one after another. The entire dock area was filled with cheers. But all this has nothing to do with the imperial envoys of the Ming Dynasty. .
Xu Guangqi and others were all a little disappointed. Despondently, they followed the Chinese Army personnel to the headquarters of the Chinese Company in the center of Beicheng District.
Along the way, they entered the city by horse-drawn carriage. The Beicheng District was the first to be planned and built by Yin Feng. It has neat streets with cement pavements. Street lamps are lit by gas at night. There are residential areas with high walls and large buildings along the streets. The imperial envoys We also passed a commercial area. There are banks, cloth stores, and gold stores. There are several southern goods stores. The business is relatively large. In addition, there are pharmacies, rice stores, grocery stores, hookah shops, tofu shops, paper candle shops, and tailors. There are shops, coffin shops, butcher stalls, vegetable stalls, barber shops, etc. Around the commercial area, there are noodle shops, restaurants, teahouses, and even bathrooms.
Most of the pedestrians coming and going are well-dressed and have rosy and healthy faces. They are polite when greeting each other.
Xu Guangqi and other imperial envoys suddenly felt that they were passing by the seat of a wealthy inland state. Moreover, they all felt that the lives of the people here were happier than those in the Ming Dynasty's ruling areas.
This made everyone very depressed: What kind of pirate lair was this? It was comparable to the scene in some of the most beautiful areas in the mainland.