1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 604 The End of the World ([-])
On March 1648, 3, after more than ten days of sailing, the Qi State Exploration Fleet passed an island (Lifuka Island in Tonga), where they were warmly welcomed by the local aborigines.

After receiving some gifts from the officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet, the natives on the shore provided the fleet with a lot of fresh food and drinking water, and happily introduced them to their king.

On the second day, Dong Fengshan made a special trip to visit the king of the island with several military officers under the guidance of several natives.The king received Dong Fengshan very politely in his palace.However, this simple palace was built in the middle of a vegetable field, and on one side of the palace, there were dozens of chickens and a few pigs in captivity.

Knife, paper, mead, sugar, and a beautiful cloisonné handicraft instantly made the king dance with joy.He enthusiastically invited guests from afar to share lunch with him, called out several of his concubines, and performed a wild dance for the guests.

The fleet stayed here for five days, and the officers and soldiers also got unprecedented relaxation.Every day, many local aborigines, bringing various fruits, vegetables, chickens, fish, deer, monkeys, and even lizards, came to the temporary fleet station to trade with the officers and soldiers.The officers and soldiers took out industrial products such as sugar, small pieces of glass, knives, axes, and shovels, and exchanged them with the local aborigines.

During the stay, the officers led the sailors to start repairing the ships and rigging, and cut down dozens of logs in the nearby forests, intending to use these logs to make sail booms, hulls, masts, etc.

Some sick sailors were placed in the thatched huts of the local Aboriginal people for restorative recuperation.All crew members were ordered to supplement a large amount of vegetables, broth or fish soup every day, and all kinds of fruits must be eaten after meals every day to supplement the various nutrients lost by the human body during the long-term sea voyage.

During the several months of voyage, there were more than 180 officers and soldiers on the two exploration armed ships. So far, only four people died of illness, and two people fell into the sea accidentally. For the entire fleet, the loss of personnel can be regarded as extremely slight.

You know, when Magellan sailed around the world, there were more than 260 people on five ships at the beginning, and when he finally returned to Spain, there were only eighteen people left on one ship.Although many of the crew members died in the battles with the natives along the way (Magellan also died in the fights with the natives of the Philippines), a considerable number of them died of sepsis or other diseases.

When arranging the crew to rest, what made Lu Zusheng dumbfounded was that a dozen or so brave sailors secretly used cans, small glass mirrors, knives and other things to seduce the local aboriginal women, doing indescribable things.Looking at those fat and dark native women, he really didn't know how these sailors managed to fight. Could it be that they were so hungry because of the long sea voyage?
On March 3, the fleet left the island slowly under the welcome of many local aborigines, headed due west, and aimed at Vanua Island.

Before the fleet sailed at sea for two days, Dong Fengshan suddenly fell ill, suffering from biliary colic. His condition was very serious and he was bedridden all the time.Therefore, Dong Fengshan temporarily handed over the command of the fleet to Lu Zusheng, and asked him to lead the two ships to complete the next exploration activities.

Dong Fengshan's dangerous illness lasted for several days before finally disappearing, and he began to recover slowly.During the recuperation and recovery period, considering its fragile stomach, the puppy Bai Pingchuan, the captain of Fengqing No. 1, has always been with him.Because there is no other fresh meat on board, the admiral can no longer swallow any other food except dog meat and dog meat stewed soup.These two foods provided Dong Fengshan with enough nutrition, and his physical strength and energy gradually recovered.

At two noon on March 3, after the fleet passed through several small islands (Fiji Islands), the watchman found a huge piece of land tens of kilometers to the west on the top of the mast.Then the two exploration ships began to tackle the wind, heading southeast of the cape, where there seemed to be a bay.However, before the exploration fleet reached its destination, night fell.

At dawn the next day, two canoes on the island came towards the big boat. They tied a bunch of bananas with a rope and threw them onto the big boat.Lu Zusheng immediately had a good impression of them, so he asked them what they wanted most, whether they could dock at the shore and exchange for some fresh drinking water and food.

When the aborigines in the canoe received the canned whale and honey wine that were hoisted from the big ship, they had happy smiles on their faces.They waved to the big ship, indicating that the fleet could follow them to dock on the shore, and then land to get supplies.

Since Dong Fengshan's body has not yet fully recovered, Lu Zusheng took care of the affairs of leading some officers and soldiers ashore to visit the local aboriginal king.

When Lu Zusheng tried to communicate with the local aborigines and asked whether there were two large western ships (Tasman and his party) coming here a few years ago, he didn’t know whether the aborigines didn’t understand, or they were just saying that no foreign ships passed by here. waved his hands.In fact, the Fiji Islands discovered by the Dutchman Tasman before only landed on Vanua Island, while the island that the Qi State Exploration Fleet came to at this time was the main island of the later Fiji Islands-Viti Levu.

The natives showed great interest in any commodities displayed by the Exploration Fleet, but they especially liked metal tools such as nails, knives, and axes.

Compared with ordinary aborigines, those aborigines who belonged to kings, tribal leaders, or nobles showed a strong interest in the cotton cloth, honey wine, spices, and sugar provided by the exploration fleet.They took out rough gold and silver nuggets, as well as full-grained pearls, and exchanged hundreds of cotton cloths and dozens of cans of sugar and honey wine with the fleet officers and soldiers.

Looking at the exchange of so many gold, silver and pearls, Lu Zusheng, who led the team, felt a sense of indebtedness, so he generously donated dozens of cans of cod and pork that were damaged or leaking in the cabin to him. Let these indigenous nobles taste the "delicacy" of the world.

The level of development of the indigenous people on the island is similar to that of Lifuca Island that arrived before. Most of the dwellings are thatched houses with fences as walls and roofs covered with leaves. They can only shelter from wind and rain. If there is a storm, it is estimated that the The natives can only suffer here.Clothes are mostly made of bark cloth, and a few people (kings and tribal leaders) wear dresses made of animal skins.

However, the island is rich in precious woods such as sandalwood and ebony, as well as fine hardwoods and pine. "I heard" the aborigines on the island say that there seems to be a gold mine here, and the officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet are also aware of the large amount of gold and silver obtained through transactions with the aboriginal nobles there.

On March 3, the fleet left Viti Levu, heading west. However, the route of this voyage did not follow the previous route of the Dutchman Tasman. ), into the Nanyang Islands.According to a simple map given by Qi Tian, ​​they headed westward, looking for several relatively large islands along the way.Of course, if they can't find it, they can also use this route to finally reach the eastern coast of Hanzhou.

On March 3, the fleet saw from a distance a volcano on an island continuously spewing out a large amount of flames and thick smoke, and there was also a rumbling sound.Passing by the south side of the volcanic island, the sailors seemed to be able to feel the huge heat erupting from the volcano in the distance.

In the evening, the fleet arrived at Tanna Island in later Vanuatu. After landing, a row of muskets shot and killed several provocative natives, and the rest fled in terror.But not long after, more than a hundred natives came, and they boldly tried to get close to the officers and soldiers of the exploration fleet.

The officers and soldiers saw that the other party was not carrying any weapons, so they traded seriously with the other party in exchange for some fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish and other non-staple food.Most of the aborigines here are ugly in appearance and have extremely uncoordinated body proportions. They are different from the island aborigines they have encountered before in all aspects.They are dark and short, with long heads and flat faces that resemble monkeys.

The men were almost naked, with only a piece of animal skin or a leaf covering the key parts.Women are seldom seen, but they are as ugly as men, and their heads, faces, and shoulders are painted with some unknown red dye.

After a short stay of two days, continue westward.When leaving the island, the exploration fleet still buried a stele on the shore declaring the ownership of Qi, and named it Zhangmu Island, which is self-evident.

The fleet sailed westward without incident until April 4, when the sailors spotted a high point of land (New Caledonia) to the southeast.

The next day, approach the towering headland and follow the coastline all the way north.After two days of exploration, I found that this is a huge island, and many places on the shore are bare stone mountains.

When landing for supplies, the local natives were very hospitable.They are strong and athletic, and their appearance and physique are better than the natives on Tanna Island.Like the natives of many islands, they don't wear clothes, and the only covering is a piece of bark or a leaf.

The aborigines on the island have almost no living utensils. The crude clay pots may be the only tool they can cook to feed their hunger. They use it to bake grass roots or fish. These two things are the main food of the local aborigines. , they will repeatedly chew some kind of roasted bark.

Therefore, these aborigines were very excited after receiving some food provided by the Qi State Exploration Fleet.In order to express their gratitude, they almost put the most precious things in the tribe in front of the fleet officers and soldiers, nothing more than some strangely shaped turtle shells, tortoise shells, shells and the like.However, the inland area of ​​the island is rich in forest resources, including a lot of sandalwood.

On April 4, the exploration fleet bypassed the sharp protruding peninsula at the northern tip of the island, and sailed away from this huge island named Kuafu Island. Its course was still due west, and it headed towards the east coast of Hanzhou at full speed. A long and arduous exploration.

During the five-month exploration (one month beyond the original plan), the fleet initially discovered the surrounding sea areas and islands in the south and east of Hanzhou. In order to colonize the above-mentioned areas in the future, and even build a route to the American continent, it has stepped out of the key first step.

(End of this chapter)