1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 771
On September 1660, 9, Weiyuan City (now Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea).

The armed merchant ship "Groningen" under the Dutch East India Company docked quietly at the port of Weiyuan. Most of the officers and sailors on board had already disembarked and headed for Weiyuan City on the shore. Scattered lazily on the deck, looking around boredly at this overseas port of the Han Chinese.

After nearly 20 years of development, Weiyuan Island, the largest overseas territory under the Qi State, has a population of more than 12 people (excluding the indigenous population), and most of the population is mainly distributed along the coast. A line, like a string of star chains, firmly locks this huge island.The entire Big Island and its surrounding archipelagos are temporarily divided into three prefectures, one administrative area, namely Weiyuan Prefecture, Jinhua Prefecture (now Lai City, Papua New Guinea), Tongzhou Prefecture (now Manokwari City, Papua, Indonesia) and Changzhou Prefecture. State Archipelago (including today's Bismarck Islands and Solomon Islands).

After years of continuous exploration of the island's inland, the local government found that the temperature in the central plateau area of ​​the island has gradually risen as the terrain has risen, and the temperature has also dropped. The temperature is generally around 22 degrees Celsius, which is extremely cool and pleasant.However, in mountainous areas above 2000 meters above sea level, the temperature is probably below 20 degrees Celsius.In the highlands of 4000 meters, the average temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius for several months, and the snow line is at 4400 meters.

Although some plateau mountainous areas in the central part have higher altitudes, the precipitation is not low at all, even exceeding that of the southern coastal areas.Therefore, under the influence of high temperature and rain, the soil is easy to be washed and lost, the leaching effect is strong, the fertility is low, and the land appears relatively barren.Only those intermountain basins with thick sedimentary soil and fertile volcanic soil areas are suitable for agricultural development.

Similarly, there are also a number of indigenous tribes distributed in the inland mountainous areas, all of which are equally backward and barbaric, and all live a primitive life of slash-and-burn farming.

In comparison, the climate and geographical environment of Weiyuan City and its surrounding areas are far superior.Located on a long and narrow plain between the bay and the foot of the mountain, backed by mountains as a barrier, surrounded by water on both sides, one side is the natural harbor Weiyuan Bay, and the other side is the coral-studded sea.

Although Weiyuan City is located on the coast, the climate is relatively dry, with an annual average temperature of 20-32°C. Especially in this season, the southeast wind is continuous, the rainfall is low, and the climate is cool, a bit like early autumn in Beijing.

Liang Yun'an (formerly known as Tong Liwen), a loyal and brave minister of the Qing Dynasty and a brave disciple of the Eight Banners, lay on the deck, blowing the cool breeze in the harbor, staring blankly at the blue sky, but his thoughts drifted involuntarily to the mainland, to Beijing .For a moment, his expression was a little dazed, not knowing where he was right now.Could it be that everything that happened in the past two years was a dream?Man, after I sleep again, I will wake up and find that I am still in Beijing?
"Snapped!"

A few bananas were thrown on Liang Yun'an's body, which interrupted his imaginings suddenly, and he looked up blankly, only to see a Dutch sailor with a scruffy beard staring at him maliciously while gulping down his wine.

Liang Yun'an was so excited that he didn't care about picking up the bananas thrown over him. He shrank back suddenly, and then scrambled and hid on the side of the ship, looking at the slovenly sailor in horror.

Your grandma is fucking trying to torture me again!Your lord, it's broad daylight, and it's on deck!
"Jie Jie Jie..." Seeing Liang Yun'an's actions, the sloppy sailor pointed at him, couldn't help laughing, and sprayed the wine all over the floor.Seeing this, several Dutch sailors nearby laughed and let out strange screams.

Laugh at your uncle!When I get out of trouble, I will kill all of you ghosts!What the hell are a bunch of red-haired bastards who don't have any sense of propriety, justice or shame!

"Oh, look!" Suddenly, a sailor pointed in the direction of the port and said loudly, "That's a warship of the Han people! One, two, three... three warships. Look, there are guards among them." Two merchant ships on board. . . . Where did they come from?"

A few sailors didn't care to tease Liang Yun'an any more, they came to the side of the ship one after another, lying on the side of the ship, watching several ships of Qi State sailing into the harbor one by one, talking a lot.

"I bet those two merchant ships must be full of gold and silver, otherwise, they wouldn't have sent three warships to escort them."

"Come on, your guess is so unreliable! Even if the Hanzhou people want to transport gold and silver, they should go to their homeland, not to the port city of this overseas territory." Another sailor retorted : "I think these ships must be full of supplies and come from the east of their Hanzhou. The destination should be to the Ming Dynasty, or Luzon and Japan."

"How can we need three warships to escort ordinary supplies?" After being refuted, the sailor said a little dissatisfied: "It may also be filled with gold and silver, stop here temporarily, and sail through Hanzhou after replenishing water. Strait, to their homeland?"

"Why did they go farther and farther than going to the cape across the strait (now the small town of Bamaga in northern Australia) to replenish water, instead they walked an extra distance to come here?"

"..."

"Look, there are many armed soldiers getting off the ship!" On a merchant ship of Qi State that had already docked at the berth, groups of armed soldiers were disembarking one after another.Surprisingly, these soldiers were not the powerful marines of the Qi State, but rather majestic natives.Wearing gray military uniforms, they were tall and tall with brown complexion. They had black hair and short noses like Hanzhou people, but their facial features were somewhat different from Hanzhou people.

"Oh, those soldiers must be the native servants recruited by the Hanzhou people from the islands in the South Pacific." A well-informed sailor said: "These natives are similar to the Hanzhou people, and their status and treatment are higher than those of the East Indies. The aborigines are better than the Hanzhou aborigines, and the Hanzhou people call them Gaoshan people (Maori). Before that, the Hanzhou people recruited a few Gaoshan native soldiers to use this inland mountainous area of ​​Weiyuan Island to wipe out the local aborigines.”

"The Hanzhou people have recruited so many native soldiers, which Tubang kingdom are they going to fight?"

"They must have been sent to the western part of Sumatra to suppress the local natives." A Dutch sailor said gloatingly: "I heard that since the Hanzhou people cut off the territory on both sides of the Banten Kingdom Strait, , For those local natives who believe in the true god religion, they are vigorously suppressed. If they resist a little, they will destroy the village and family, and all the people will be expelled, and then shipped to various mines in their Hanzhou mainland to be used as slaves."

"What the Hanzhou people do is to completely occupy the fertile land there! Yes, the Hanzhou people are using violent means to forcibly drive away the original owners of that land, and then introduce more Hanzhou people to turn it into a into their lawful territory."

"Gibbs, are you sympathizing with those lazy, stupid, monkey-like natives?"

"No, I'm worried about the future of our East India Company. With the greed of the Hanzhou people for land, it's hard to guarantee that they won't covet Batavia in the future."

"Haha..." Several sailors couldn't help laughing when they heard the words, "Come on, we are just low-level employees of the company, and we don't need to worry about these matters that only those big people care about. Even if the Hanzhou people really take Bada So what if Via occupies it? The big deal, we can serve the Hanzhou people in the future. I heard that their salaries are not less than those paid by the company. Oh, God. Now I finally understand why the company wants us employees The service period has been extended from the previous three years to five years. Because they are afraid that we will be attracted by the Hanzhou people!"

"..."

Liang Yunan huddled in a corner on the deck, listening to these barbarians discussing enthusiastically.Although he couldn't understand what they were talking about, through their expressions and movements, he vaguely understood that these barbarians seemed to be discussing the affairs of Qi, and there was a hint of envy and yearning in their tone.

In other words, this country of Qi not only has a steady stream of immigrants from the mainland of China, but also controls many local natives and natives on countless surrounding islands.As a result, in their army sequence, in addition to those regular black-clothed soldiers, there are so many troops.Looking at the majestic Fanbing on the shore, they seem to be the birth girls who were recruited (captured) by my Qing Dynasty over the years.

It seems that the former masters still underestimated the strength of Qi country.In such a vast area in the south, they are like overlords. Not only are the countless native kingdoms in the area respected and feared, but even the barbarian forces from the West dare not easily provoke them.

What's even more frightening is that although the Qi State has been using many ships and a small number of troops in our northern region to contain and fetter our Qing army, they don't seem to be doing their best.Remotely controlling thousands of miles away, and cooperating with the false Ming to continuously attack and weaken our Qing Dynasty, but in its country and surrounding areas, its national power will not be affected at all.The foreign trade is extremely prosperous, and the domestic production and life are peaceful, and the surrounding Tubang and Xiyi are all in awe.

Moreover, it is heard that the tentacles of Qi's external expansion have extended to distant India, Persia, Africa, and America.Although Liang Yun'an didn't know where these places were at all, he still had a feeling of ignorance.Thinking of my Qing Dynasty, I couldn’t even go to Changshan Island, which is close to Denglai, let alone go deep into this boundless ocean world.

In time, after the state of Qi receives a large number of immigrants, its strength will inevitably expand and expand dramatically.If my Qing Dynasty still insists on refusing to own half of the country, maybe it won't be long before the Qi State, impatient, rolls up its sleeves and goes out on its own, sending a large army to land in the north of our Qing Dynasty.Let me ask, how can our elite Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty resist when the opponent has an overall superiority in the sea and is attacked by their fierce firearms?
On September 9, the "Groningen" left Weiyuan Port and set off to sail west.

On September 9, the ship arrived at Xiajiangbao (now Merauke City, Papua, Indonesia), a port stronghold located in the south of Weiyuan Island.

When the ship was docked, Liang Yunan was allowed to temporarily leave the darkened bilge and come to the deck for ventilation.

The living space in the bottom cabin is very small, the height is unbearably low, and the bottom of the ship is sealed, there is no circulating air at all, and all kinds of rotten and sour smells are filled in it, making people suffer from mental torture all the time .

To make matters worse, as a rare hostage, he was treated worse than even some of the lowest sailors.In addition to just leaving Hong Kong, you can also eat a few fresh meals.However, after a few days, with the hot and humid environment, the food began to spoil, and even the bacon and hard bread began to mold.

Sometimes, as soon as I bite into the hard and moldy bread, I feel the worms wriggling in my mouth.But in order to survive, they can only eat food and bugs together.After eating too much, Liang Yunan can even distinguish the type of bugs in his mouth. Weevils taste bitter, and cockroaches are like some kind of pickled sausage from Hanzhou...

Therefore, what Liang Yunan looks forward to most during the boat trip is to dock at the port.In this way, he would have the opportunity to go up to the deck, get a breath of fresh air, and have a couple of fresh bites of food.In contrast, a few months ago, I traveled all the way from Jianye City to the east of Hanzhou by boat. At that time, I thought it was a difficult journey. Now that I think about it, it can be described as the difference between heaven and hell.

Sometimes, when he was letting the wind out on the deck, he would have the idea of ​​jumping into the sea and escaping. Even if he was captured by the Qi people and had his head chopped off, it would probably be better than suffering like this.But an extremely strong belief deep in his heart has always supported him to live strong, that is, to return to my Qing Dynasty, and to tell the masters in the court everything he saw overseas.

and then?
He also didn't know how those Eight Banners nobles and their masters would change after learning this information.

In this port, the Dutch bought hundreds of local birds of paradise (birds of paradise), and prepared to take them back to Batavia, make beautiful specimens one by one, and sell them to the upper class nobles in Europe.

It is said that more than 100 years ago, the Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano led his fleet from the Moluccas and brought back five beautiful bird skins to the King of Spain, which caused a huge sensation.Since then, some wealthy and leisurely royal nobles began to regard this beautiful bird skin as a luxurious collection, just like those expensive jewelry and jade.

And Weiyuan Island is home to a large number of these beautiful birds. Well, the Hanzhou people named them very aptly, Birds of Paradise. These birds seem to have flown out of heaven, and they are extremely beautiful.

When Liang Yun'an saw these birds with beautiful feathers, he even admired them for a while, and gave birth to wanting to bring back one to the emperor of Qing Dynasty.But after thinking about it, these barbarian people bought so many birds, they will definitely store them in the bottom cabin. At that time, the cabin where I stayed will smell of countless bird droppings, and I immediately feel a deep resentment .

Your uncle, my treatment has been reduced to not as good as these flat-haired sparrows!

After leaving Pingjiang Fort, the ship sailed westward again. This time the voyage was a bit far, and it took a full half a month. Just when Liang Yunan felt unbearable and was about to collapse, the Dutch merchant ship finally stopped.

On October 10, at around 2:[-] pm, the "Groningen" sailed into Zhenhai City (now Dili City, East Timor).

This is actually an overseas territory port under the control of Qi State!
Lying on the side of the ship, Liang Yun'an saw the red, rising sun and yellow dragon flags flying on the ships moored at the pier, the buildings on the shore, and a tall lighthouse, and he couldn't help but let out a helpless sigh.He co-authored and drifted on the sea for several months, and still sailed within the sea area controlled by Qi State.

His grandma, why is it so hard to escape from Qi, how much more trouble will the man have to suffer?

(End of this chapter)