1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 722 The Great Voyage ([-])
On November 1655, 11, the waters near the Galapagos Islands.

Two Qi State armed exploration ships sailed straight to a large island shaped like a seahorse (Isabella Island). With many bullet holes.What is even more surprising is that a terrifying big hole was opened on the port side of "Fengxing No. 3". Fortunately, it was still more than one meter above the waterline, but as the waves surged, sea water poured into the cabin from time to time.If it weren't for the fact that the entire cabin and the bottom of the ship have adopted an independently divided watertight cabin structure, perhaps this 550-ton exploration ship has already sunk into the sea.

"100 years ago, the bishop of Panama, Spain, Fray Thomas Berlanga, discovered this archipelago in 1535 on his way to Peru. Because of the high mountains on the island and the strange rocks in many places, the bishop called it It is Las Encantadas Island (Spanish paraphrase "Devil Island"). In addition, there are many huge tortoises on the island, and many people call it the Galapagos Islands (meaning "Island of Giant Turtles") The intelligence officer of the fleet, Lieutenant Xuan Jie (Major) Lu Nuo pointed to the approaching big island ahead, and introduced the situation of the archipelago to the fleet commander Lu Zusheng.

"The island we are about to land on is called Isabella Island, which originated from Queen Isabella I of the Kingdom of Spain. It is the largest island among the surrounding islands. More than 20 years ago, the Viceroy of Spain and Peru did not bring this island under its jurisdiction. However... there will be many pirates who will use these islands as a hiding place."

"So, we may encounter pirates here, rather than the official organization of the Viceroyalty of Spain and Peru?" Lu Zusheng held up the binoculars and continued to observe the islands that were getting closer and closer. "In other words, the Spanish American fleet will not go here. Run away. If you meet them again, it may be difficult to escape!"

In a storm that lasted more than ten days, the exploration fleet not only lost the trace of "Fengxing 4", but also lost some supplies. Most of them died, and even because of the negligence of the crew, some chickens and ducks flew out of the porthole and fell into the rough sea.

Just when the fleet finally got out of the storm, shuttling back and forth in the vicinity, and kept looking for the lost "Fengxing 4", they encountered three armed merchant ships of unknown origin.Seeing this, the other party may have rushed towards the fleet of exploration ships out of the mentality of making a fortune at sea.

Damn, our Qi State Exploration Fleet is facing a large number of Spanish and American fleets. We can't afford to provoke them, so we can only hide far away, but it's not something you, three ordinary armed merchant ships, can bully at will.Although the sails of the exploration ship have not been fully repaired, with its flexible hull, light hull (only loaded with daily necessities), and artillery that can fire at a rate of one per minute, in the face of the siege of three suspected pirate ships At that time, they were still able to fight back and forth, and soon severely damaged an armed merchant ship of about [-] tons.

The other party originally wanted to pick up a bargain, but unexpectedly encountered a hard stubble, and was very surprised.When an armed merchant ship of about [-] tons braved the fierce artillery bombardment of the exploration ship, it quickly approached and was about to jump to seize the ship.

A group of vicious pirates stood on the side of the ship, holding various cold weapons in their hands, ready to jump on board the other's ship the moment the two ships were attached.But he was shocked to find that dozens of sailors wearing uniforms and holding muskets gathered on the other side of the ship, staring at them coldly on the side of the ship.

What?Encountered a naval ship of a certain country?

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." A dozen iron cans emitting green smoke were suddenly thrown from the other party's ship and hit the deck. Just when the pirate was dazed, those iron cans exploded suddenly, and they exploded in an instant. Turned over a dozen pirates.

"Retreat! Retreat!..." The pirates roared loudly. The soldiers in standard uniforms, the artillery with super performance, and the hand-throwing bombs that are only available on the European battlefield, this is a regular naval ship!

Not only is the risk of robbing a naval ship extremely high, but it’s not lucrative, so everyone should avoid it.

Three armed merchant ships suspected of pirates turned their bows one after another and fled northeast.

The two armed exploration ships seemed to have lost their temper, and chased after each other in the direction of fleeing.

In the evening, two armed exploration ships intercepted a damaged armed merchant ship, first broke all its masts, and then forced the other party to hoist the white flag.

After some interrogation, it turned out that they were three British smuggling merchant ships coming from the Caribbean Sea.After completing the transaction in Lima, they planned to return to their North American base in Virginia through the Strait of Magellan, where they would purchase some tobacco leaves, cotton, indigo and other materials, and finally transport them back to Europe for sale.

In view of the other party's unprovoked attack on the Qi State Exploration Fleet, the commander Lu Zusheng directly ordered the crew to throw several leaders in the pirate business into the sea and let them fend for themselves.As for the remaining more than 50 pirates, they were all sentenced to ten years of hard labor. They first served as handymen on the ship. And dangerous mining work.

Afterwards, the two exploration ships took a wounded pirate ship and prepared to return to the sea area where the storm occurred to continue searching for the lost "Feng Xing No. 4". Unexpectedly, on the afternoon of the 23rd, one of them crashed into the Spanish American fleet. Five ships.

The exploration fleet immediately dropped the captured pirate ship, pulled up its sails, and fled northeast.That night, the Spanish fleet was successfully thrown off.

In the early morning of the 24th, just as the fleet was heading towards the mainland, they wanted to find a secluded landing point and make some repairs to the ship.Encountered a single Spanish merchant ship in the waters near Trujillo, Peru, the fleet launched an attack on it, retaliating for the embarrassment chased by the Spanish fleet yesterday.

It may be that the good luck of the exploration fleet has been exhausted. Just when they were about to capture the 100-ton galley, the lingering Spanish American fleet reappeared, which surprised the exploration fleet.Is the opponent's ship equipped with some kind of search device?In less than a month, the exploration fleet was blocked three times!You know, in this vast sea, it is simply impossible to happen.

Fleet Commander Lu Zusheng could only lament in his heart that his side's luck was so bad.Perhaps, when departing from the mainland of Hanzhou and paying homage to Mazu, some naval officers and soldiers must not be sincere enough.

On the way to escape, the exploration fleet broke out a short battle with the Spanish fleet. With sharp artillery and coquettish positioning, they successfully broke through the encirclement of the Spanish fleet and fled towards the northwest sea.

Although they avoided the pursuit of Spain, the ships also suffered some damage, especially the "Feng Xing 3" suffered heavy damage, and urgently needed to find a safe place to repair the ship.

The two ships of the Exploration Fleet finally stopped in the depths of the bay on the west side of Isabela Island, and in the next few days, they drove more than 50 pirates to open up a small temporary camp on the seashore one after another. Replace masts and sails, and repair damaged hulls.

In half a month, several short sea battles caused the loss of more than [-] officers and soldiers of the fleet, of which nine were killed or seriously injured, five were seriously injured, and the rest were all slightly injured.

Although Isabela Island is located on the equator, due to the influence of the cold Peruvian ocean current, the temperature of the nearby sea water and land is not high, it is very cool, and the precipitation is not large.Forests, vines and orchids cover the coastal sandy strips, and further inland, there are large areas of hills.

Surprisingly, there are still a large number of penguins that are only found in cold regions on the island.Because of its short legs and small wings, it can't maintain balance. When walking, it will retract its wings, so it looks clumsy on land, making it very easy for fleet officers and soldiers to catch it and cook it into a pot of delicious penguin broth.

"Your Excellency, according to the confessions to the residents of Spanish villages and towns along the way and the captured British pirates, the weeping saplings (rubber trees) we need are probably not on the Pacific coast of the Americas, but in the Amazon region of Brazil." Fleet Intelligence Officer Luno frowned and said, "And the kind of Cinchona saplings that can treat repeated high fever, although in Peru, this kind of tree grows in the inland Andes canyons. There may be Catholic churches in the Pacific coast area. The clergy transplanted it to the local area, but we may need a little luck if we want to get it. Because not every village and town will have a priest who brings this sapling to preach."

"Well, it's really difficult to find two uncommon tree species in such a vast coastal area." Lu Zusheng nodded, and then suddenly pointed to the temporary camp on the island, "... I think, maybe we should be in The American continent has built several secret strongholds, thinking that latecomers can have a foothold. One can be set here, and the other can be set up near the Tierra del Fuego where we landed. What do you think?"

"Sir, the Americas are too far away from our Hanzhou mainland!" Fan Fude, Captain of Fengxing No. 3 and Lieutenant (Lieutenant) Renyong, looked at Lu Zusheng in astonishment, "If the stronghold is let Xiyi find out, it is easy to be attacked by them And if we go back and forth to support, we need to cross tens of thousands of sea miles, which will take nearly two months. We don't have the strength to compete with Xiyi in America."

"Didn't I just say it? We're building a few secret strongholds. Naturally, we won't let the Spaniards find out easily." Lu Zusheng said unwillingly: "I heard that the Spaniards' rule in America is not particularly strict. On the American continent, the vast On the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, there are no lands and islands everywhere. If we carefully select a few places and turn them into secret supply bases, we will definitely gain an opportunity to seek the interests of the American continent in the future. If we encounter the Spanish fleet again, We also at least have a safe place to rest and replenish."

Several military officers present couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this.The mainland of Hanzhou is already vast and boundless. In addition to the many islands in Nanyang and the dotted lands (islands) in the east of Hanzhou, it is impossible to occupy them one by one with our current population of less than 70 in Qi.Why, this is thinking about trying to seize territory in the American continent, which is far away from the mainland?
With the current strength of Qi, this seems a bit unrealistic!

"We may not have enough strength to touch the American continent in the next ten years or so. But this does not mean that our country of Qi will still be confined to the periphery of the Hanzhou continent in three to fifty years, or even a hundred years later. Your Majesty once In other words, in this era of great controversy and colonial era, we need to work hard to open up as much living space as possible for future generations.” Lu Zusheng said generously: “In the past, the Portuguese only had a population of less than one million. It can expand to tens of millions (the Portuguese Empire is the first worldwide empire in world history, and it is also the earliest and longest-lasting colonial empire, with an area of ​​50 million square kilometers in its heyday), and its flags are planted all over the world. Our country After 1040 years of hard work, it has reached its current scale. How do you know that our country of Qi will not be able to set foot on the American continent after decades?"
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On December 12, after some simple repairs, the two armed exploration ships set sail, away from the coastline, and headed south.

On December 12th, the fleet raided Barranco, a coastal village in Chile. After replenishing some supplies and fresh water, they were surprised to learn that more than half a month ago, an armed pirate ship attacked Pittsburgh hundreds of kilometers to the north. In the small town of Scotch, it is said that someone vaguely saw that the pirates had certain oriental or Indian features.

Several officers including Lu Zusheng speculated that the pirate ship might be the lost "Fengxing 4" exploration ship.After they lost contact with the main fleet, they may want to go all the way south along the Chilean coastline, trying to find the fleet.

"So, I decided that the fleet will go all the way south. Maybe we can find Fengxing 4 somewhere along the coast of Chile." Lu Zusheng looked at the several officers present, "At that time, we can also explore the American continent along the way again. conditions to obtain more detailed sea state and geological information.”

Several officers nodded and said yes, "Fengxing 4" was sailing alone on the western coastline of the American continent. If it was accidentally blocked by the Spanish American fleet or encountered a few pirate ships, there would be too many problems. However, it is better to find it as much as possible and put it in the main fleet.

On December 12, the fleet encountered a Spanish galley of more than 16 tons near the waters of La Serena, Chile. After some pursuit, it was captured.After all the cargo is transferred to the big ship, the ship is sunk in the sea.

On December 12, the fleet arrived at Chiloe Island again, stopping near Ancud in the north.After sending landing personnel ashore to investigate, it was learned that the town had been destroyed by the Araucans two months ago.

After learning that the Araucans suddenly rebelled on the island, the adults of the Viceroyalty of Peru sent an armed army of hundreds of people to clean up the island.After several small-scale battles, the Araucans were defeated, so they scattered into the dense forest on the island and launched a arduous guerrilla war with the Spaniards.

Considering that the Spaniard's logistical supply fleet would appear here at any time, the fleet lifted anchor and headed south again.

"I decided to cross the Strait (Strait of Magellan) and go to Brazil controlled by the Portuguese." On the 27th, when the fleet stopped at the exit on the west side of the Strait of Magellan, the fleet commander Lu Zusheng said firmly: "If you can't get that kind of rubber sapling, Then pass through the Cape of Good Hope, cross the African continent, and then return to Hanzhou mainland through the westerly belt of south latitude."

"In this way, we will become the first pioneers in the history of Qi's navy to complete a circle around the earth! And this voyage will also become a great voyage, and even leave behind all of us in the history of navigation in the future. name!"

(End of this chapter)