1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 724 The Great Voyage ([-])
On February 1656, 2, in the waters of the Marquesas Islands.

More than 4 days after the "Fengxing 20" exploration ship left the Lonely Heart Island (now Easter Island) with many huge stone statues, it discovered several small islands again.

The big ship sailed along the coast of a large island (now Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia), looking for a suitable anchorage.Some canoes came up from the shore and kept up with the ship.

Finally, "Fengxing 4" finally found a suitable harbor and moored, and immediately there were twenty or thirty local aborigines driving towards it in canoes.

After the crew expressed their goodwill, the natives boarded the big ship one after another.They exchanged some nails and knives with the crew for some breadfruit and fish, and returned to shore.

Early the next morning, more indigenous people came to visit. These people brought a lot of breadfruit and plantains, and even led a pig, all of which were "sold" to the crew.However, the transaction process was not pleasant.Because many aborigines only know how to keep taking things from the crew, but refuse to give them in exchange.

In the end, a bad-tempered sailor picked up a dagger and slashed at one of the aborigines who robbed the property arbitrarily, threw him directly on the deck, and then threw him into the sea.This had a certain deterrent effect on the natives who were about to loot the supplies on the ship. After a moment of panic, the natives immediately made the transaction fair.

On February 2, Captain Kuang Youjie ordered an officer to land with a dozen sailors to buy some fresh food and fruits ashore.In the evening, the crew members in charge of purchasing happily brought back a dozen pigs, as well as several baskets of fresh coconuts and plantains.This allows the chef on board to finally have enough ingredients to provide everyone with a fresh meal.

However, it may be because the crew who went ashore to purchase provided the aborigines with many new gadgets that the locals had never seen before. A few days ago, they were fond of gifts such as nails, but they seemed a little disinterested in these things within a few days.

Helpless, the trade had to be terminated, and "Fengxing 4" planned to leave here and go to the next place where it could buy food.The natives on these islands all showed the same ignorance and the same primitiveness.Their food is crude and simple. Many times, they just mix fruits, grass roots and water together to make a kind of paste food.The food was placed in a dirty container, and this container had just been fed to pigs.Before eating, they neither washed the utensil nor their hands.When the crew members saw it, they all looked sideways, and immediately, their stomach began to wriggle uncontrollably.

"Fengxing 4" continued to advance in a period of beautiful east wind. On February 2, it approached a volcanic island (Tahiti) that looked like a big upside-down gourd from a distance.The island consists of two volcanic plateaus with many coral reefs and lagoons along the coast.

Due to the calm sea, the big ship did not arrive near the island until the morning of February 2.As soon as the big boat appeared, several canoes rowed over in the breeze.After approaching, only a few boats came to the side of the big ship, and the natives in the canoe had no intention of boarding the big ship.They held fresh plantains and small branches in their hands, and handed them up from the side of the big boat, expressing their friendship to the guests coming from afar in this way.

The crew then bought the various commodities they had brought, including coconuts, bananas, breadfruit, apples, and figs, which proved to be very popular among the crew.At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, under the guidance of several canoes, "Fengxing 500" sailed into a calm harbor (near Papeete Harbor in Tahiti Island today), and anchored at a place [-] meters away from the shore .

Soon, many aborigines came around by boat, carrying breadfruit, coconuts, apples and pigs on board, and they planned to use these things to exchange for accessories, knives, nails and other gadgets from the exploration ship.

There are many bread trees on the island, and their fruits are like bread, with a thin layer of skin on the outside. The core is as big as a person's thumb. Its flesh is apricot white. It tastes like those European immigrants in Hanzhou. The freshly baked bread is made, and the baked breadfruit is more fragrant and sweet.

This island is the largest island in the entire archipelago. In 1606, the Spaniard Queiroz discovered the island for the first time, but because the island is relatively remote and not on the route of the Pacific sailing trade, it was not established here. colonial ruling.

Most of the residents on the island are tall, strong and graceful. Compared with the local residents of Hanzhou, they are more burly, especially the men.The high-status women were about the same size as the European women in Batavia, while those of lower social status were shorter, some even very short.

The complexion of these aborigines is light black, the skin is smooth and soft, the face is handsome, the eyes are beautiful and energetic, and even the teeth are abnormally neat and white.Most of them have black hair, which may be similar to the visiting officers and soldiers of the Qi State Exploration Ship in this regard, so they seem a little close to each other.

Almost all the aborigines on the island have tattoos. Through difficult communication, they learned that when they grow up to 10-12 years old, they will have patterns tattooed on different parts of their bodies.

The island is extremely productive, with breadfruit, coconuts, bananas, sweet potatoes, yams, sugar cane, mulberry, various figs, and many other trees growing in abundance.Most of these plants are wild and require little human cultivation and care.Other than that, there are no fruits, vegetables, beans or grains that can be found on the island, such as Hanzhou or Ming.The only animals here are indigenous pigs, dogs and poultry, and of course birds such as wild ducks, pigeons and parrots.Except for pigs and dogs, the only quadrupeds are mice, and no snakes have been found on the island.All kinds of fresh fish live in the sea water around the island, and they seem to be an inexhaustible treasure house of food for the natives on the island.

It may be that all kinds of natural foods are too abundant, and there is no need for food and clothing at all, so the aborigines on this island are all strong and beautiful.These aborigines are so fucking lucky to have such a treasured land!

The beautiful tropical scenery, the colorful sea water around, the friendly and peaceful local aborigines, the comfortable and leisurely pace of life, and the rich and varied food make the officers and soldiers of the exploration ship who have been traveling on the sea for several months almost at the same time give birth to a kind of permanent residence. The idea here is quite a feeling of "reluctant to miss Sichuan".

Could it be that this small island is a heavenly place bestowed by God on human beings? ——
February 2, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.

When "Fengxing 4" was sailing in the warm South Pacific Ocean, passed through several small islands, and arrived at the island considered "paradise", "Fengxing 3" and "Fengxing 5" However, the main fleet composed of the USS "difficultly sailed out of the strong winds, huge waves, and cold Strait of Magellan, entered the Atlantic Ocean, and then sailed straight north along the east coast of America.

After more than a month of sailing, the exploration fleet finally arrived in the Brazilian area controlled by the Portuguese and sailed into the port of Rio de Janeiro.

The establishment of Rio de Janeiro dates back to the early 16th century.On January 1502, 1, Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvarez Cabral discovered Guanabara Bay, where the city is today, and called it the "January River".At the time they thought the bay was actually an estuary (in fact, "river" was a generic term for any large body of water at the time).

Later, a French fleet also arrived as their base camp for plundering Brazilian mahogany. In 1555, the French arrived with more than 600 soldiers and colonists, and established the first European colony here. The colonists were mainly composed of French Huguenots (Huguenots) and Swiss Calvinists.

On March 1565, 3, the Portuguese successfully captured the city and drove the French out of Brazil.However, in view of the fact that the city is often attacked by pirates and privateers, especially French pirates.Therefore, the Portuguese began to build castles here for defense and resistance against invaders, and gradually gained the scale it is today.

In 1648-1649, the Portuguese completely defeated the Dutch West India Company through two Guararapes battles, and regained the largest sugar production area in Portuguese Brazil - Bonanbug (now Pernambuco, Brazil), And formally signed a peace treaty with the Dutch in 1654, restoring the unity and integrity of Portuguese Brazil.Brazil's prosperous sugar trade and extensive plantation economy were able to enrich the coffers of the Kingdom of Portugal once again.

The local governor heard that two exploration ships from the distant Hanzhou continent had docked at the port, and immediately sent several important colonial officials to greet them.Through the exchange of information with Portuguese Indian colonial officials and businessmen, the Portuguese in Brazil knew more or less about the situation in this southern New World country.

Although this "small country" has only been established for 20 years, it defeated the powerful Dutch East India Company twice in a row (the Portuguese unilaterally believed that the Dutch were defeated because of their dislike of the Dutch), which made the Portuguese a little impressed view.You must know that in the eyes of Portuguese Brazilian colonial officials, the Dutch East India Company, which monopolized the entire eastern trade, was much stronger than the Dutch West India Company in terms of financial resources and military strength. .

The entire Portuguese Brazil has a vast colony and a large population, and relying on its local advantages, it has fought with the Dutch West India Company for more than 20 years, consuming countless materials and personnel.From this point of view, the strength of this "small country" in the southern New World cannot be underestimated.

In addition, I heard that with the secret support of the Qi State, the Portuguese Indian Colonial Area insisted on withstood the continuous encroachment and extrusion of the Dutch East India Company, kept more than ten strongholds in Ceylon and India, and avoided being expelled The tragic end of the Eastern trade market.Two years ago, they also sent an exploration ship to the African continent, contacted the Portuguese African colony, and promised to provide the place with precious oriental commodities and establish a mutually beneficial trade relationship.

Unexpectedly, Qi State sent two more exploration ships across the vast Pacific Ocean, through the dangerous Magellan Strait, and arrived at the east coast of the American continent.It was a great voyage, comparable even to that of Vasco de Gama's voyage to India.

The Qi naval officers and soldiers who arrived at the port of Rio de Janeiro were warmly received by local officials and businessmen, and expressed their sincere respect to these fearless warriors who conquered the sea.

The officers and soldiers of the State of Qi are neat and tidy, with neither humble nor overbearing attitude, polite and a little shy, especially the officers who lead the team are rich in knowledge and have a certain understanding of European countries and humanities, which fully shows that they come from a highly civilized country. The nation, and the ignorant and ignorant natives, are very different.

The only regret is that these naval officers, soldiers and gentlemen from Qi are not the Lord's people.Although there are still several European crew members among them, it seems that their belonging to the Lord is no longer that devout.

However, these Qi people seem to be very tolerant in terms of religion, and they have also expressed their due respect for God.It is said that they all belonged to the rich and powerful Ming people at first, and immigrated to that remote Hanzhou continent successively because of the war and hunger, and then became the people of Qi, loyal to their king.

There are many cities and towns in their country, and many have factories and farmland. Of course, there are also hard-working officials and violent troops in the kingdom.Generally speaking, Qi, which resides on the continent of Hanzhou, should be a civilized country like Portugal.

When a lieutenant colonel officer from Recife communicated with Qi naval officers on how to deal with the black riots in Palmares in the palm grove area, they gave a very clever suggestion, the "cage strategy".

That is, in the vicinity of the key points and main external passages of the black riot area, the main road is used as the pillar, the small road is used as the chain, the fort is used as the lock, supplemented by blockade ditches and blockade walls, forming a network from the colonial stronghold to the black riot area The cage, the armed compression and siege of black people.Its strategic intention is to restrict the mobility of the black armed forces, supplemented by a surprise attack by an elite squad, to eliminate and destroy the black bases.

It can be seen that the Qi people are very handy in suppressing this kind of slave or indigenous riots. They must have experienced many actual battles before they can finally sum up this specific and efficient combat strategy.

When Qi State scholars asked the local colonial officials, whether it is possible to introduce some endemic species in Brazil, so that they can be brought back to Hanzhou for transplanting and planting, so as to expand the species category of Hanzhou.

Municipal officials in Rio de Janeiro readily agreed to this request.The continent of Hanzhou is too far away from Brazil. Even if some rare species can be introduced from Brazil, such as precious local mahogany, or sugar cane transplanted from the Madeira Islands, can they still compete with us?
You must know that in the early days, because Portugal was small and weak, it was unable to strongly control and develop such a huge colony, and Brazil had no precious metals to produce and many Indians to plunder, so it was not active in the development of Brazil. Just massive looting of Brazilian mahogany.Later, with the gradual increase of immigrants, the construction of sugar cane plantations and the sugar trade began to improve slightly.However, the industry in the entire Brazil region is very backward, and it is basically monopolized by products from countries such as Britain, France and the Netherlands.

The Portuguese couldn't help being very surprised when they heard that Qi Guo proposed to want the kind of tree that the Indians called "weeping tree".Unexpectedly, these Hanzhou people who came from tens of thousands of miles away still know this strange tree.

However, they regretted to inform the Hanzhou people that this "weeping tree" grows in the Amazon region deep in the interior of Brazil. The local Indians call it "Hervey". trees, but has not been known to have been transplanted in coastal areas.

The Qi State Expeditionary Fleet stayed in Rio de Janeiro for half a month to rest, and then on March 3, under the farewell of local municipal officials and many businessmen, they left the port, turned around and headed south, preparing to enter the south latitude westerly belt, pass through the Cape of Good Hope, and return to Han native continent.

(End of this chapter)