Start with Baihuguan

Chapter 501 Colonists from the West

Zhang Huai looked at the movement on the island in the distance through the binoculars in his hand. Seeing that the pirates fleeing on the island had completely collapsed, it was impossible to make any organized resistance. Then he ordered in a cold voice: "Send the order!" Immediately land on the island and kill the enemy!"

For those pirates who lived at sea all the year round, although each of them could be considered fierce, when they really faced organized officers and troops, they were actually lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

No matter how the pirate leader yelled and shouted and tried to organize a group of men, these pirates had never experienced such a brutal shelling before, and they were already frightened by the shelling.

But at this moment, with Zhang Huai's order, small boats came towards the island at a very fast speed. At this moment, more than a dozen pirates with red eyes and a ferocious look gathered on the shore, waving their weapons and rushing forward.

bang, bang, bang

Accompanied by the sound of violent blunderbusses, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and at least dozens of blunderbusses were fired at the top of the dozen or so small boats rushing forward, and the pirates charging up with weapons were seen Fell directly to the ground most of the time.

As for the few remaining pirates, they were surrounded by soldiers who jumped off the ship in the blink of an eye, and in just a few breaths, no matter how fierce the pirates were, they couldn't stand being surrounded by several times the soldiers. In between, they lost their lives.

As the pirates who dared to fight and kill were wiped out one by one, it only took a while for hundreds of soldiers to land on the island and control the situation.

On the treasure ship, Zhang Huai and other navy generals who saw this scene couldn't help but nodded secretly, with a look of satisfaction on their faces.

But at this moment, a small boat was approaching at an extremely fast speed. It was the scout ship that had been released in advance and scatted around for scouting.

A sentry stood at the bow of the ship and looked up at the treasure ship that was as tall as several floors and said loudly: "My lord, there is a ship coming from a distance. It looks like the flag of Zhao Shoubei. Brothers have already led it here." .”

Zhang Huai couldn't help raising his eyebrows when he heard the words, he was a little surprised, Zhao Kang was left by him in the Navy Yamen to sit in charge, it is said that if there is no urgent matter, it is impossible for him to go to sea to find him.

After all, the sea is no better than the land. If there is no specific location on the vast sea, it is not easy to find someone.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Kang went to sea in person, obviously there was something important to do.

At this moment, Zhang Huai had already vaguely seen the small boat flying the navy flag approaching at high speed in the distance.

Gradually, he could see the situation on the ship through the binoculars. When Zhang Huai saw a few familiar figures, his face changed slightly and he exclaimed, "It turned out to be the general."

Now Li Huan has been conferred the title of mighty general by the emperor, and the governor of the military affairs of the three armies. trust.

Soon the boat approached, and when the vertical ladder was lowered, Li Huan and others boarded the treasure ship smoothly, while Zhang Huai and others immediately stepped forward to greet Li Huan and said: "The last general will wait to see the general!"

Li Huan flicked his hands and nodded slightly with a smile: "There is no need to be formal, get up quickly!"

It can be said that most of the navy generals were selected by Li Huan. He was no stranger to Li Huan, so he was not too restrained at this time.

After getting up, Zhang Huai said to Li Huan with a smile on his face: "A few days ago, I heard that the General was conducting an investigation in Quanzhou Shipping Department. I never thought that I would come here so soon."

Li Huan looked at the sailor soldiers on the island in the distance who were busy gathering the pirates on the island, glanced at Zhang Huai and the others and said, "How is it? How is the training of the navy? Is it worthy of a battle?"

Hearing Li Huan's question, Zhang Huaidang said with a solemn expression: "Don't worry about it, the general, the last general will wait for daily training, and the navy officers and soldiers dare not slack off. Now they are absolutely capable of fighting against any enemy." war."

Li Huan nodded in satisfaction and said: "Yes, it is good to have such confidence. I once boasted to His Majesty that Haikou will build an invincible fleet for my Ming Dynasty, and you are the leader of this invincible fleet." Seed, in the future there will be more treasure ships and large and small ships joining the navy, and how much combat power the navy can exert will depend on the ability of you generals who command the army."

Many people showed excitement on their faces. Since they were selected by Li Huan to join the navy, these generals naturally hope that the strength of the navy will become stronger and stronger.

They have also heard about Li Huan's plan to build a powerful navy. It is said that Li Huan once said that he would build a navy team with hundreds of treasure ships and thousands of large and small auxiliary ships within three years.

Listening to what Li Huan said now, how could everyone not be excited? After all, all fools know that such a huge fleet, not to mention anything else, at least requires a lot of generals and soldiers.

And these people, as people who were valued by Li Huan from the beginning, as long as they can show their abilities now, they will definitely be able to increase their ranks and ranks in the future.

"The subordinates will definitely live up to the expectations of the general!"

More than a dozen generals all bowed down to Li Huan with excited expressions on their faces.

The naval fleet returned to the port, and dozens of large and small ships entered the port in an orderly manner. Everything seemed so smooth, which showed that they had definitely undergone some training on weekdays.

Just as the so-called knowledge is seen, Li Huan can see the results of the navy's training just by looking at these, at least it can be regarded as having some combat power.

Li Huan came here this time to check the training situation of the navy. After all, he invested a lot of effort in the navy. In order to build a big ship, at least millions of taels of silver were spent. If it's a mess, there are powerful ships in the sky, but the sailors are vulnerable, and that's a joke.

Nanyang, Sumatra Old Port
As the former home of the Xuanweisi of the Old Port of the Ming Dynasty, although the Xuanweisi of the Old Port has only existed in Nanyang for more than [-] years, with the cessation of several large-scale voyages to the West by the Ming Dynasty, the old port established by the Ming Dynasty in Sumatra Island The Xuanwei Division was also defeated by Manzhe Boyi, and the Xuanwei Division of the old Hong Kong no longer exists.

However, because of Zheng He's several voyages to the West to promote the great power of the Ming Dynasty, and the existence of the Old Port Propaganda Department for decades, it can be said that it has left a deep mark in Nanyang.

Today, the old port of Sumatra Island still gathers a large number of Chinese. As an important port at sea, there has never been a shortage of Chinese merchant ships.

And this year, with the opening of the sea by the Ming Dynasty, the number of merchant ships going south can be said to have doubled, so that the Old Port, a port near the Strait of Malacca, fell into prosperity again.

Hundreds of large and small merchant ships can be seen in the huge port, almost [-]% of them are merchant ships from Ming Dynasty, and many Western-style ships can also be seen.

In the Old Port, in a castle with an obvious western style, several blond men were gathering together, their eyes falling on a companion.

Today's Old Port connects the East and the West, but in this era, Portugal is the only country that has entered Southeast Asia on a large scale. As a maritime power rising after the Sea Coachman Netherlands, Portugal's power on the sea is extremely tyrannical.

Portugal tried its best to open up the eastern route. After years of hard work, it finally took root in the Nanyang land and controlled some small countries in the Nanyang land to a certain extent through a series of overt and covert manipulations.

Compared with Portugal, which was trying its best to expand abroad, the Ming Dynasty has been in a state of contraction since the Yongle Dynasty. If it were not for Li Huan's random entry, Malacca, the sea hub connecting the East and the West, would fall in a few years. into the hands of Westerners.

What followed was that the hegemons of the West, such as Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, who relied on the rise of the sea, gradually encroached on the East and threatened the maritime security of the East.

Although it is said that the power of the Portuguese in Nanyang has not yet reached its peak, these Portuguese are still wary of the sudden increase of Daming sea merchants.

You must know that the number of Ming merchants has always been small, and now the sudden increase must mean that Daming's attitude towards maritime trade has undergone earth-shaking changes, which can be confirmed from the news they inquired from the population of Daming merchants.

Especially after hearing the news that Ming Dynasty had lifted the sea ban, encouraged sea merchants to go to sea, and trade goods, these Portuguese people, who were extremely eager and favored by Ming Dynasty goods, were not so happy, but felt a bit of crisis.

Gathering here at this moment are the real power figures of Portugal in Nanyang. Although they are not the governors sent by Portugal, these people regard Nanyang as Portugal's territory and encourage the country to send governors. It is the Strait of Malacca, the main traffic route, which is in our hands.

The Sivans family was born as a pirate hundreds of years ago, but now they are earls conferred by the King of Portugal. They are distinguished nobles. Among these people, they can be said to be the most prestigious, and they are also one of the initiators of this gathering.

At this time, Earl Hevens glanced at the few people present. These people either controlled a fleet, or were powerful in the skin of pirates. Anyway, they were able to come to the South Seas in this era. It can be said that these people absolutely did not What a mediocre person.

Sivans said slowly, "Everyone, the large-scale southward movement of the caravans of the Ming people will definitely not help us control the Strait of Malacca, which is an important maritime traffic route, in the long run. Let's talk about it, how should we deal with it?"

No one is a fool. Now they have controlled the Strait of Malacca, and they have imposed a ship tax on merchant ships passing through the Strait of Malacca. It can be said that they are sitting on a golden mountain.

If it was the case in the past, it would be fine, even if the merchants of the Ming Dynasty were unwilling, they could only obediently pay the money without the support of the imperial court behind them.

But now that a large number of maritime merchants are going to Nanyang, as long as the Ming court is not blind, it will sooner or later notice that Malacca is a place that is stuck in the throat of sea traffic between the East and the West.

At that time, whether Portugal could still control the Strait of Malacca would depend on the intention of the Ming court.

This is exactly what Xivens and the few people present were worried about.

Eugenes, with a full beard and his skin dry and chapped by the sea breeze, said to Sivans, "Earl Sivens, you invited everyone here today, I think you have some way to deal with it, if that's the case, you might as well say it Let's discuss together."

Although the rest of the people did not speak, they all nodded to Earl Hevens one by one.

Earl Hevens's eyes flashed brightly and said: "Now we are either praying that the court of the Ming Dynasty will not cast its eyes on the land of Nanyang, but if there is a long-term vision in the country, it is absolutely impossible for the other party to allow Malacca, which is an important place on the sea. We have it in our hands..."

A blond woman with a charming face giggled and said, "Earl Hevens, what if the Ming people are really short-sighted? After all, their kings banned maritime trade in the past, so it's impossible for them to focus on this place." , if I say so, we're just too worried."

"Scarlett, I heard that your subordinates have caught many Chinese women as prostitutes. Are you not worried that people from the Ming Dynasty will come to trouble you?"

A cold light flashed in Scarlett's eyes when she heard this, and said: "I have never arrested anyone, everything was voluntary."

Eugenes on the side grinned at Scarlett, who was showing her spring light, and a greedy look flashed in his eyes and said, "Don't be afraid, little Scarlett, with us here, those people from the Ming Dynasty won't even try to Take it away from the Strait of Malacca. This is a golden waterway like a golden mountain. Even if we try our best, we must keep it for our Kingdom of Portugal. For this reason, we will not hesitate to fight!
Earl Hevens looked at the others calmly and said, "What do you all think?"

The one-eyed man with a small skeleton hanging between his neck said hoarsely: "Earl Hevens, you should know that as long as the Ming people don't send a large army, it is not difficult to keep the Straits of Malacca with our strength. Explain whether the people of the country will send a large army to come, and how to deal with it at that time, that is what the king and the gentlemen in the country have to consider."

Grinning, the one-eyed man said to Earl Hevens, "So it is best for the Earl to inform the country of the situation here in detail, and it is best to ask the gentlemen in the country to dispatch a batch of warships. Exactly."

Many people showed approval on their faces when they heard the words. Now Portugal can be said to be at the peak of its national power. There are thousands of ships at sea. The Treaty of Desirias divided the world together and divided the world into two, with each of the two sides occupying one side.

Perhaps in the eyes of later generations, it is so inconceivable that a small western country with a combined land area of ​​less than one million square kilometers and a population of only tens of millions would have the guts to carve up the world.

However, in this era, aside from Daming, the oldest empire in the East, who does not care about overseas affairs, looking at the entire world, Spain and Portugal, the two great maritime powers, really have the strength to carve up the world.

Even Britain, which later claimed to be an empire on which the sun never sets, was shivering and unable to fight against Spain or Portugal in this era.

It is precisely because of Portugal's strength in the sea that the Earl of Hevens and others still want to firmly hold the Strait of Malacca in their hands even though they know that Ming is a big country in the east, even in order to prevent Daming from getting involved with it. Competing for control of the Strait of Malacca, he did not hesitate to ask for help at home.

Earl Hevens just pondered for a while before nodding his head and said: "You are right. I will personally ask for help from the country. Presumably, the king's disposition will definitely support me, and I will not sit back and watch our country spend a lot of effort to control it. The Strait of Malacca fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty."

Scarlett on the side suddenly said: "While asking for help from His Majesty the King, we can also ask for help from the Governor-General of India, Afonso de Albuquerque. If the Governor-General is willing to send reinforcements, then we The strength in Malacca will increase greatly, even if the Ming Dynasty wants to compete with our country, then we have to weigh whether it is our opponent!"

[I stayed with you in the hospital for a week, and finally went home, sorry for the unstable update before! 】

　If you are interested in "Joking History, Scolding and Crying Chongzhen at the Beginning", you may wish to check it out
　　
　
(End of this chapter)