1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 261
The three "Flying Fish" exploration ships led by Dong Fengshan set off from Fort Weiyuan (now Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea), passing Jinhua Fort (now Lai City, Papua New Guinea), Tongzhou Fort (now Mano, Papua, Indonesia) Quarry City), unloaded more than 120 township soldiers and more than [-] Luzon natives on Midway Island (now Koror Island, Palau). After two days of repairs, they continued to sail northwestward.

After the [-]-day route, due to a slight deviation from the route, we arrived near Dayuan Island.Then we drove northeast for two days, and found several small islands one after another.After a few days of landing on the island, the exploration fleet finally chose a larger island as a transit point for future immigration.

The island chosen by the exploration fleet is located in the southwest of the later Ryukyu Islands and the east of the Sakishima Islands. It is the main island of the Miyako Islands-Miyako Island.About 900 meters from the shore, there are more than 100 Ryukyu natives living in villages, and dozens of thatched huts are scattered messily on a high ground.They looked at the more than 30 outsiders who looked like Ming people curiously, and they didn't seem to be afraid.

"These natives should have had a lot of contact with our Daming sea merchants, and they seem to be more friendly. This is good news for us." Dong Fengshan saw a group of Ryukyu natives carrying various wild fruits and dried fish, and rushed Going to the side of the Hanzhou sailors, trying to exchange for something useful to them, in terms of behavior, they appear to be quite cordial and friendly.

"It looks very barren here, and there is probably nothing to eat. If there are a large number of immigrants transiting here, I am afraid that we need to stock up some living materials such as food and cloth in advance." Zhang Qisheng said.

"Other things are easy to talk about. They can be purchased directly from Daming. But there may be some problems with the food." Dong Fengshan thought for a while, then shook his head and said.I heard from the companions of the immigrant ships traveling to and from Daming that almost all of Daming was short of food, whether in the north or the south.Although Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang also have some grain, the price is relatively high.If you want to buy a large amount of cheap grain in Daming, you may have to go deep into the inland, to Jiangxi and Huguang.

"No way, let's take a detour to Annan to buy some grain and come back." Zhang Qisheng said: "After we go back, we can organize more than a dozen ships to come over at one time, and first divide a few ships to Annan and Champa to buy food. Get off the boat and go to Daming to pull people."

Dong Fengshan nodded, agreeing to Zhang Qisheng's suggestion.

"I don't know if this island is safe? Have the Dutch ever been here?" Dong Fengshan said, "Go and ask a few locals who can speak Chinese."

"Master Mingren, we haven't seen Westerners, red-haired ghosts and other vassals here." An old man in his fifties said politely: "However, Dongying people who floated from the northeast often come here. Come here to rob me and other little people."

"Dongying?" Zhang Qisheng nodded, "Japanese! When do they usually come here? How many ships are there? Are they large or small?"

"When will they come, I really can't tell." The old man said: "They usually come in two or three small boats, or fifty or sixty, or more than a hundred. Because we have nothing but fish at the beach They often go deep into the island to find the tribes there to plunder."

"Oh, there are no more than a hundred pirates at most." Dong Fengshan said, "What kind of weapons do they usually use?"

"Long knife, bamboo spear."

"No firearms?"

"There are firearms, big guns."

"Oh, do they have a lot of those big guns?"

"There are two or three guns... There are also those who don't have big guns."

"Oh, there are not many firearms, so they should be easy to deal with." Dong Fengshan said to Zhang Qisheng with a smile.

"Then shall we rest here for a few days before heading back?" Zhang Qisheng asked.

"Would you like to go to Daming?" Dong Fengshan thought, since this place is very close to Daming, he had the urge to go and have a look.

"It will take five or six days to go to Daming. The reserves on our ship may not be enough for us to return to Tongzhou Fort." Zhang Qisheng said hesitantly.

In fact, as a young man who was born in Daming, grew up in Lusong, and developed in Hanzhou, Daming seems to be more of a kind of spiritual sustenance, he will pay attention to him, but he will not be attached to his heart.

"Let's go to Guangdong, and then go there to supply supplies. By the way, we will bring some people over to build a supply camp here." Dong Fengshan felt that it was already near Daming, and if he didn't go to see it, there would always be a kind of regret in his heart.

"Okay! Bring more than 100 people over and occupy this island first." Zhang Qisheng thought for a while and approved Dong Fengshan's decision.

Now that they have decided to go to Daming, the many supplies on the ship can naturally be unloaded to empty the cabin.The Ryukyu natives living on the shore rowed their boats excitedly, helping the Hanzhou sailors to carry the supplies on board.

They, who have always been poor, have never seen such an abundance of food supplies.In the past, although ships occasionally docked, they only added some fresh water to the island, or tidied up the boats, or Japanese ronin who came to rob.Today, these three ocean-going ships actually unloaded the supplies from many ships, and they looked like they were going to stay for a long time.

Then, relying on these Ming people who came from afar, these Ryukyu natives, by helping them do things, they can share some of the various materials they brought.

"There are so many flat land here, and it looks fertile. Why don't these natives grow food well, and they are all skinny and hungry!" Zhang Qisheng shook his head and said.

"Growing grain? Don't you see that they don't even have a piece of iron, so how can they have any tools to farm the land! Besides, didn't you hear what they said, Japanese pirates often come to plunder, and planting grain is also cheaper for the gang of Japanese pirates." Zhang Xianwang said.

"Then if we occupy this island, we have to build a stockade first. Otherwise, it will be a big loss if the Japanese pirates touch it." Zhang Qisheng thought about it, and then pointed to the high slope where the Ryukyu natives lived, "The stockade Set it up there, first cut some wood to erect the wall. Also, next time you come here, bring some more cement and build a water storage tank. Look at the water that the natives drink, the dirt, the weeds Mixed into it. If it’s not boiled, I dare not drink it!”

"The water is a bit dirty, but that's better than drinking the green water on the boat!" Zhang Xianwang threw away the soil in his hands, then clapped his hands and said, "The quality of the soil is not bad. If we plant crops, the harvest should be good."

"Brother Zhang has planted land before?"

"That's not true!" Zhang Xianwang said: "More than three years ago, I rented and planted ten acres of paddy fields in Huaibei, Daming, and barely made ends meet. The bandits came, and the officers and soldiers also came, so there was no way out. I came to Nanyang by boat, The wharf in Batavia was almost sent to the Dutch plantation. Fortunately, Commander Qi and Commander Luo bought it back to Hanzhou. First, he farmed, then fished with Commander Dong, and finally assigned to the exploration fleet. until now."

"In a few days, Commander Dong will take us to Daming, so you can go back and have a look." Zhang Qisheng said.

"What's there to see?" Zhang Xianwang shook his head, "We're not going to Huaibei. Even if we did, our relatives would probably die. All my thoughts now are on my wife and children in Hanzhou."

"Then you are in Guangdong, but you need to buy some special products of Ming Dynasty to bring back, so that they can refresh themselves....What's the matter, brother Zhang?" Zhang Qisheng saw Zhang Xianwang suddenly stood up straight, and looked at the seaside intently.

"There are gunshots!" Zhang Xianwang said in a deep voice, "Let's go back quickly."

"The Japanese pirates are here?" Zhang Qisheng excitedly picked up his musket, called a few companions to follow Zhang Xianwang, and ran towards the seaside.

Noguchi Satoshi looked in surprise at the three slender ships not far from the shore, which seemed to be ocean-going ships, and he was quite happy.When the island was plundered in the past two years, there was no maritime merchant ship docked, so they could only rob the bitter natives on the island, and there was not much oil and water at all.

Noguchi Soichi was a wild samurai from the coast of southern Kyushu. Due to his difficult life, he got entangled with dozens of samurai and landless farmers to go south to plunder the Ryukyu islands.The main island of Ryukyu and several nearby large islands are controlled by the Satsuma Clan, and ordinary small sea powers dare not go to these places to plunder, so they can only bypass them and go to the remote islands in the southwest to find some money.

After more than ten days of sea voyage, Noguchi Satoshi and more than [-] people drove four small boats to the vicinity of this island, and first turned half a circle around it, looking for a suitable landing point.Unexpectedly, on the southwest side of the island, three ships from the Hanzhou Exploration Fleet were discovered.

They quietly approached the "Flying Fish 3" and "Flying Fish 5" of the Hanzhou Exploration Fleet, preparing to sneak attack and seize the ships.Unexpectedly, before they approached, they were spotted by the sailors on the ship, and they immediately took out muskets and shot at them, calling for their companions on the ship loudly.

I thought they were ordinary maritime merchants. The sailors on the ship should not have much force. If they attack hard, they can also solve them, seize their ships, kill all their people, and enjoy their property.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." Five or six sailors on the side of the ship raised their muskets and shot at them.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!..." The four Japanese pirates fell down in the sea.

Noguchi Satoshi's pupils suddenly dilated. What's the situation? There are muskets on the other party's ship. Is this an ordinary merchant ship?
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." There was also the sound of muskets firing from another ship, and the pirates suddenly lost their souls. What the hell, this is not a merchant ship, could it be a navy warship from the Ming Dynasty? Bar.

"Turn around, turn around!" Satoshi Noguchi shouted loudly, "Retreat!..."

The Japanese pirates on the four small boats threw down their long knives and bamboo spears, picked up their oars, and rowed desperately backwards, trying to stay away from the three unusually shaped boats.

"Hey, Japanese?" Dong Fengshan stood on the side of the ship, looking at the small boats that were about to escape, "Dare to rob us. Shoot another round."

At this time, more than a dozen sailors had gathered on the side of the ship, and they were smiling and holding muskets, aiming at the boat not far away.

"Let go!" Dong Fengshan shouted.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." More than a dozen muskets were fired, and six or seven of them fell down in an instant on the nearest boat, almost sweeping the boat away.

"Set sail! Get ready to catch them back!"

(End of this chapter)