1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 601 The End of the World ([-])
On November 11, two ships of the Qi State Exploration Fleet approached a huge land that "rises from the ground" in the evening. On its west coast is a huge mountain range (Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island), with layers of mountains. Mountains are sunken deep inland under cloud cover.There seemed to be no obvious place to land as the waves lapped against the rocky shore in a "massive swell".

In the vast Pacific Ocean, there are countless islands (according to statistics, there are more than [-] large and small islands), they are either high islands belonging to volcanic islands, or bottom islands belonging to coral reefs.But in the southwest corner, near the edge of the Pacific Ocean, there is a large group of important islands with an entirely different geological history.If it is to be classified, the New Zealand Island of later generations should be a continental island geologically.

The exploration fleet turned its bow and explored northeast along the land.They sailed for three more days with a westerly wind, keeping as far as possible from the shore for fear of being pushed against the rocks on the shore and run aground.From the sea the land looked dark and desolate.Finally, the fleet came to a sand spit curving eastward, which surrounded a huge bay (near Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand).

"Admiral, there are fireworks on the shore!" A sailor observer shouted: "There may be natives living there."

"Come closer!" Dong Fengshan ordered: "The artillery is ready, the sailors are ready for muskets and swords. The natives here are not as gentle as those of our Hanzhou mainland. I heard that they are rebellious and barbaric!"

According to the exploration records of the Dutch Major Tasman, they also came here a few years ago and had a serious armed conflict with the local aborigines. It is said that several sailors died.Therefore, Qi State's exploration fleet had to be taken as a warning.

"There are two canoes coming!" suddenly the lookout on the mast shouted.

"There are three more in the back!... A total of five canoes are coming!"

"They have wooden spears!"

Holding binoculars in both hands, Dong Fengshan carefully observed the five canoes approaching from the shore. Each boat contained a dozen people. The hair is also black and tied on top of the head like the Japanese.They looked to be physically strong and agile, all holding a wooden spear in their hands, and some were holding a flying stone.

Their boat consisted of two narrow canoes joined together, with boards or other seats on them, so that they could see what was under the boat.Their ship handling skills are very dexterous, and they are quickly approaching the two armed merchant ships of the exploration fleet.

"Don't fire yet." Dong Fengshan continued to issue orders, "Wait until they get close, and the water is on guard with guns!"

"These people should be the Maori people the king mentioned, right?" Lu Zusheng said, "Why do I feel a sense of intimacy when I look at it?"

"Do you think that their skin color and appearance are somewhat similar to ours, and they are completely different from the natives of Hanzhou and Nanyang islands, so you think they are relatives of our Han people?" Dong Fengshan said with a smile: "Look at them alone. He's a vicious one, and he probably won't be able to be kind in a while."

The five combined canoes stopped more than 100 meters away from the exploration fleet, and then a medium-sized native stood at the bow and shouted in the direction of the fleet with a rough voice.Immediately, they began to play an instrument, which sounded somewhat like a conch horn.

The officers and soldiers of the navy on the fleet looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing why.

"What are you doing in a daze? Let's blow the horn too." Dong Fengshan turned to the sailors and said, "Don't blow the charge.... Blow the triumphant return."

Two different races, thousands of miles apart, made their first contact on the shore of this remote island in this unique way.The horns were exchanged for about a few minutes, and an indigenous canoe drove over. The other party obviously heard a trace of kindness from the cheerful horn sound of the Qi sailors, put down the wooden spear in his hand, and slowly approached the ships of the exploration fleet with wary eyes .

"Pull him up." Seeing an aborigine standing on the bow of the canoe, Dong Fengshan instructed several sailors.

His face was covered with a kind of black dye of unknown material, his body was covered with a simple animal skin, his chest was open, revealing well-developed muscles, his lower body was only wrapped in a leather skirt, and his majestic thighs were exposed. He looked around the boat with guarded and searching eyes, and finally fixed his eyes on Dong Fengshan who was standing in the middle.

"Give him a jug of mead!"

The Maori took the jug cautiously and looked at the sailor who gave it to him.

The sailor smiled, made a wine glass shape with his right hand, and made another motion of drinking towards his mouth.

The Maori hesitated for a moment, put the jug to his mouth, and took a sip tentatively. He seemed to feel the sweetness of the mead all at once, and then took a big gulp into his mouth, covering it with various patterns. There was a hint of joy on his face.

"Give him another cotton cloth." Dong Fengshan said with a smile.This is a group of silly savages, except that they are physically strong and look a little barbaric, they are no different from those natives in Hanzhou.

The Maori happily took a six-foot piece of cotton cloth from the sailor this time, stretched out his hand to caress it, looked around at the smiling Qi Navy officers and soldiers, and put the cotton cloth on his body, feeling the softness of it and comfort.

"Give him another can of whale canned, and let him fully experience the food of the civilized world!"

After the Maori received two gifts in a row, he let go of his guard and happily held the can in his hand. He took out the whale meat in the can with his right hand and chewed it.While eating, he walked to the side of the ship and shouted something to his companions below.

Afterwards, several Maori were pulled onto the boat and also received gifts from the people of Qi.

"It seems that our gift has been approved by them." Dong Fengshan smiled and said to Lu Zusheng: "These savages can still communicate."

"Those who can communicate are not savages." Lu Zusheng also smiled, "In this case, we may be more popular with these Maori than the Dutch who came here a few years ago."

"Prevention is essential." Dong Fengshan said, "I'll bring some people ashore, and you stay on board."
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The Qi State Exploration Fleet stayed here for five days, and some officers and soldiers landed ashore in rotation, and conducted a detailed inspection of the surrounding terrain.The landing site is flat, and a small river (now the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand) flows in front of the Maori tribal camp. The surrounding trees are lush, and they are all towering trees surrounded by several people. Some officers of the exploration fleet can’t help but see it. I was a little bit greedy, so I cut down these big trees and brought them back to Hanzhou to build ships. They must be good ship materials.

The tribal camps of the Maori are very backward in the eyes of the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Exploration Fleet, but they seem to be a little stronger than the native tribes in Hanzhou.At the very least, these Maori will cut down the big trees in the forest and build a mud house with strong logs to support the wood, grass and mud, and they can build the house very spacious.

Even more surprising to the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy was that the Maori actually built an earthen wall around the camp. Although the height was only one person high, compared with those simple native camps in Hanzhou, the scale and construction level were much higher. .This shows that the level of civilization of the Maori is also higher than that of the natives of Hanzhou, and even a little more advanced than those of the natives of Weiyuan Island (New Guinea).

Regarding the origin of the Maori, it may be traced back to the early 13th century. A group of East Polynesians who were restless under the guidance of astrology, ocean currents and migratory birds paddled canoes. new Zealand.Why these people started this journey, we have no way of knowing, maybe they just started this trip just because they suddenly thought "the world is so big, I want to see it".

Newcomers to the Maori settled down along the coast, and faced with an unfamiliar environment, they were a little confused. Can the native products brought by their hometown be grown here?The clothes my mother sewed are a bit hot to wear here!This tree is so thick, it would take a lot of effort to cut it down and build a house, right?If you want to say which aspect of the new home makes the Maori people most satisfied, I am afraid there is only one: most of the birds here can’t fly!
Thanks to these flightless "stupid birds" off the coast of New Zealand and clumsy large prey such as walruses and sea lions, the early Maori survived the most difficult period of adaptation.However, it may be that the nutritional supplements are too good. The Maori began to give birth to babies crazily, and the population doubled. In just over 100 years, the Maori have traveled all over the northern and southern islands of New Zealand. It is roughly estimated that there are more than [-] people. about.

Because the Maori "eat too much", by the 14th and 15th centuries, the large prey and birds on the island were almost eaten by the Maori.In order to fill their stomachs, the Maori began farming and fishing, and their lifestyle gradually transitioned from safari to settlement.At this time, a tribal community bound by blood ties appeared, and the Maori began to have a shallow sense of territory.

In the 15th century, the Maori developed a martial spirit while resisting invasion and plunder, and entered the tribal period.At this time, the class division of nobles, poor and slaves has been formed.However, the class of the Maori is not solidified. After all, everyone has the same ancestors, and they may have some blood relationship with each other. It is somewhat confusing to say that I am a nobleman and you are a slave.

On this day, when night fell, those hospitable Maori carried a captured seal to the camp of the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy, slaughtered the naive sea beast with a stone axe on the spot, took out pieces of fat meat, and presented it to the exploration fleet Officers and soldiers.

As a reward, the officers and soldiers of the Exploration Fleet will naturally bring out a variety of spices, refined salt, honey wine, and sorghum shochu to entertain these sturdy and hospitable Maori.

For hundreds of years, I have never tasted such a delicious drink, let alone drank such a strong wine. The Maori became excited, with their upper body naked, their hands clapping their chests, and their mouths uttered "boo hoo hoo" There was a loud voice, and some Maori even picked up the wooden spear, stamped their feet while holding the wooden spear, and roared at the officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet with a ferocious face.

Damn, this is drunk, are you ready to fight?The tense fleet officers and soldiers hurriedly grabbed muskets and swords by their sides, and Dong Fengshan led several officers back again and again, preparing to call the sailors to blow their horns to warn the armed ships anchored on the coast.

However, they saw several leaders of the Maori tribe walking towards them with joyful faces, holding several seal skins in their hands, and stretched out their hands to signal that they would give them to Dong Fengshan, and invited them to dance together.

Looking at these tribal leaders with tattoos all over their faces, although they were smiling, they felt extremely ferocious.After hesitating for a while, Dong Fengshan let go of his right hand holding the dagger, squeezed out a smile, and reached out to take the seal skin sent by the other party.

Then, what made Dong Fengshan and other fleet officers even more embarrassing was that the tribal leaders hugged them with both hands, rubbed their noses vigorously, and then laughed heartily at the convenience.

How disgusting!Dong Fengshan could not stop complaining in his heart that Lao Tzu, an admiral of the Qi State Fleet, was "molested" by a savage.

On November 11th, the two ships of the Exploration Fleet had replenished fresh food and drinking water, and hundreds of seal skins exchanged with the Maori were piled up in the cabin. islands.

"Master Admiral!" Lu Zusheng walked to Dong Fengshan with a pale face after returning to the temporary camp on the shore, "Just now, when I bid farewell to the Maori with a few brothers and gave gifts, I found..., I found that they were doing Sacrifice, however, is a living sacrifice!"

"Oh?" Dong Fengshan frowned slightly, "What's all the fuss about this. Our ancestors also used living sacrifices. In addition, the emperor's old son's family was even martyred!"

"But..." Lu Zusheng showed a horrified expression on his face, "But, after they sacrificed their lives to the living, they ate that person!... They even gave each of us brothers a gift share!"

"...You guys ate too!" Dong Fengshan's eyes widened.

"I'm a human being, not a wild beast. How can I eat it!" Lu Zusheng said angrily, "Our brothers threw away the pots containing human flesh and ran back."

"Run back directly?" Dong Fengshan looked at Lu Zusheng fixedly, his expression became a little dignified, "Notify everyone, board the ship immediately!... Don't delay for a moment!"

"Admiral, are you worried..." Lu Zusheng looked at Dong Fengshan in surprise.

"It's really a bunch of savages!" Dong Fengshan cursed, then turned and walked towards the boat docked by the sea.

When the two armed ships of the exploration fleet hoisted their sails and slowly left the bay, more than a hundred Maori gathered on the shore, holding wooden spears, waving them up and down, and roaring. Immediately, several conch ships It also blew "woo woo".

"We also blow the horn." Dong Fengshan stood on the ship tower, looked at the Maori on the shore, and said fiercely: "Blow the charge!"

(End of this chapter)