prosperous age

More than 20 miles outside the port of Bago in Myanmar, a pitch-black Haicang ship was cruising.

The Port of Pegu has a special location and is connected to the provincial capital of Myanmar by a river, so it was designated as the main port of the West Sea Navy.

In addition to the civilian ports, an area was specially designated as a naval berthing area.

Such an important military base will naturally have patrol ships arranged to patrol around it to avoid major mistakes like the South China Sea Navy's surprise attack.

Therefore, the main force of the navy is naturally large warships. These warships are equipped with more weapons, like a mobile fortress on the sea, with powerful firepower.

However, to protect the base mother port, some small-tonnage, fast-speed and maneuverable warships are needed, as well as certain weapons. Therefore, the Haicang ship became the best choice for the Ming army's naval port patrol ship.

The Haicang ship is about 8 feet long, feet wide, feet deep, the board is inches thick, the rudder stock is about feet high, the rudder blade is feet high, and the displacement is about tons.

With such a displacement, the ship is certainly not considered a large ship in the Ming navy, but the Haicang ship is equipped with a relatively complete range of weapons and a large number of firearms.

每艘船装载大佛郎机炮4门、碗口铳3个，重型鸟铳6杆、喷筒50个、烟罐80个、火砖50块、火箭50支。

The cannons were equipped with 200 kilograms of coarse gunpowder, the muskets with 60 kilograms of gunpowder, and 200 kilograms of large and small iron and lead bullets.

There were 53 crew members on board, including nine sailors and the rest were soldiers operating firearms.

Because of the needs of the war in the north and because the original imitation Portuguese bird gun lacked armor-piercing power, the Ministry of Industry specially developed a large-caliber bird gun with a greater range and power.

This type of weapon can fire not only a single projectile, but also more than a dozen small lead bullets.

After the South China Sea Navy obtained this type of firearm from Nanjing, it directly replaced the bird guns originally equipped on the ship after testing.

The biggest trouble in using a heavy bird gun is that it is heavy and inconvenient to carry. To fire, you need to put down the bracket in front of the bird gun and stick it on the ground.

But when equipped on a warship, all problems are no longer a problem.

Installed at the highest point on the ship, it can shoot at enemies who want to seize the ship from all directions, which is extremely powerful.

"General, a speedboat appeared in the southwest sea. It looks like a bird boat of our navy, but..."

When a warship is patrolling the sea, the captain certainly won't be outside all the time.

At this moment, the captain of the Haicang ship was resting in the cabin. When he heard a flagman report that he had spotted a ship, he immediately stood up and walked towards me, asking, "Just what?"

"There are no bird boats dispatched from Pegu Port. If it is a ship of my navy, then something may have happened in Dagon."

The little flag said cautiously.

"Let's wait and see. Call everyone out and prepare for battle."

The general's eyes rolled and he immediately gave the order.

According to naval regulations, when encountering foreign ships, the entire ship must be in combat status and prepared for war, so he issued this order as soon as possible.

After going up on the deck and seeing the ships approaching from a distance, the general flag immediately shouted, "Intercept them, order them to come over."

In fact, the other party may not be coming for them. Now they are stuck on the waterway to Pegu Port.

It is true that the sea is wide, but this place is very close to the coast, with reefs and shoals on both sides, so most ships will choose to take the main channel to enter and exit Pegu Port, and will not easily take the risk to enter Pegu from other routes.

Soon, the flag bearer at the bow sent out a flag signal to let the other party come over.

As they got closer, they could see that it was indeed a navy ship, because they could vaguely see the sailors' attire on the ship, which was the same as theirs, with red vests.

Soon, the two ships came closer, and the general flag went up to the bow and communicated with the other side.

Although everyone used to be a member of the South China Sea Navy, the navy is so large that it is impossible to know everyone, not to mention that the navy comes from four provinces.

"What? You are the fleet accompanying the Admiral on his western tour?"

Soon, the other party revealed his identity, which shocked the general flag. "I was shocked. I thought something happened to Dagon."

"Dagon, we didn't go there. What happened over there?"

The general flag on the opposite side was also overwhelmed with curiosity and asked directly here.

"I heard that a Portuguese ship was in distress and temporarily landed a few days ago. The navy wanted to inspect it, but the other party refused. Now we don't know the result."

The general flag said cheerfully, "I've heard that the Portuguese are always arrogant here, and they actually dare to do the same to us Ming Dynasty."

"Okay, if the Portuguese dares to make trouble, beat him up.

I won't tell you anymore, I still have to go to the port and inform them to prepare supplies."

The captain on the other side said immediately.

The Ming Dynasty usually sent officers to serve as captains according to the size of the ship and the number of crew members.

For example, the Haicang ship and the small bird boat had a crew of at least 20 to 30 people and at most 50 to 60 people, so the captain was always the general flag officer, and there were also positions such as the first mate and the second mate.

In the Ming Dynasty, small flag officers held these military posts. The navy did not have its own official system and copied the military system of the garrisons.

Of course, due to the special nature of the navy, the system of recruiting soldiers was chosen, which means setting up positions such as the conscripted thousand-man commander, the camp thousand-man commander, the selected vanguard captain, the captain, the general flag and the small flag.

The fleet sailing to the West is quite large. If it docks directly, the stored supplies at the dock alone will not be enough to cope with it.

Sending out a lead ship to inform them so they can be prepared can also avoid the trouble of resupply after docking.

Soon, the two boats separated and the bird boat continued to sail towards the port behind.

As they were getting farther and farther away, the general flag officer was still muttering at the bow: "Such a small boat has four guns installed, it's really a luxury."

The bird boat on the opposite side was nearly half the size of the Haicang ship he was on, but its firepower seemed to be no less than that of his warship.

The classification of naval warships naturally makes officers at all levels yearn to board large ships, because this also means a promotion in military rank.

There are also weapons on the ship. Who wouldn't want to have more firearms under his command? They are so powerful.

The flag bearer who had reported the news earlier also came up and said, "Sir, what's there to envy about the little bird ship? The big bird ship is better, with dozens of guns."

The general flag turned around and glared at him, saying dissatisfiedly: "Do you think I don't know? I want to be one too, but that position is not suitable for a centurion. It must be at least a forward captain.

Damn, I also want to be promoted, but I don’t have the chance.

I heard that the pirates here were wiped out by the Portuguese a few years ago, otherwise they wouldn't be like this now, where they can't even make military achievements.'

"Unfortunately, our ship is too small. The last time we saw a Portuguese ship, it had a lot of cannons. Otherwise, we could just rob his ship and say they were pirates. Brothers, that would be fine."

Xiaoqi's eyes rolled around at this time and he began to give some advice.

"Shut up. Now that you've joined the navy, don't say those old things anymore. Be careful that you might earn money but not spend it."

When the general heard this, he turned around and glared at him fiercely, still roaring in a low voice.

"Yes, Boss, I know I was wrong."

The little flag immediately whispered.

"You better stop gambling. The money we got earlier is quite a lot. As long as you don't spend it recklessly, it will be enough to provide you with food and clothing for the rest of your life."

The general flag continued.

"Yes, yes, boss, I get it, and I won't say it again." The general flag's glare was still very lethal, and Xiaoqi was so scared that he shrank his neck.

It has to be admitted that the various provinces of the Ming Dynasty hastily formed naval forces to fight against the Japanese pirates, and the personnel recruited were of mixed quality.

It would have been fine if they were just sailors from the coastal garrisons, but they also recruited many sea merchants, and even some pirates who had surrendered directly and had committed few crimes.

When Yu Dayou selected sailors, he naturally would not take everything into consideration. He more required them to have certain combat experience.

In the navy of each province, basically all soldiers with combat experience were selected into the navy.

The two men on this patrol boat were obviously former pirates, but they surrendered early.

"Keep an eye on it."

The general said something and went back to the cabin to rest with his hands behind his back.

After entering the cabin, the general began to think, but finally shook his head.

With just this ship and the limited manpower on board, there's nothing he can do even if he really wants to attack the barbarian ships. He really can't beat them.

Even if they prepared in advance, it would be useless. No matter how you look at it, they would definitely be killed.

Unless, it would be better to find a few more ships of brothers to work together.

But this is impossible, as the navy has strict military discipline, much stricter than those garrisons.

Just as the navy commander was thinking about how to gain military merit and get promoted, to their southwest, off the coast of Dagon, a huge fleet of the Ming navy was passing by.

In the middle of the fleet, more than ten huge tribute ships came breaking through the waves.

On these ships, naturally, were the fleet's chief officers, the invited guests from Western countries, and the various tributes they brought with them.

"Zhifu, how long will it take to get to Pegu?"

Yin Zhengmao was considered to be in good health among the civil servants, but after more than a year of sailing, his face was full of fatigue.

Although I just ate and slept on the boat, I still felt mentally tired and just wanted to go ashore early and find a place to sleep.

"Master Yin, we should still have two days. If you really need to go ashore to rest, you can turn north immediately. The fleet can rest in Dagon for a day first."

Yu Dayou said beside Yin Zhengmao.

“Forget it, let’s go to Bago to rest for three days before returning.

I think the messengers should have the same request."

If he was not the mastermind, Yin Zhengmao really wanted to land directly in Myanmar and return to the Ming Dynasty by land.

He had had enough of the life on the ship and really didn't want to live like this anymore.

Of course, it cannot be said that three days of rest was what he needed, but as the chief envoy of the Ming Dynasty delegation, he was considering the delegations of various countries.

The situation during this mission to various countries has indeed changed a lot compared to when Zheng He visited other countries.

The main reason is that in the past everyone was relatively closed, with only a small number of maritime merchants interacting with each other.

Therefore, when the powerful Ming navy appeared at their doorstep, they were extremely shocked.

But now, although we no longer see such a large fleet, with the frequent exchanges of Portuguese merchant ships, we are no longer completely ignorant of the outside world. At least under the influence of the Portuguese, we have a clearer understanding of geography.

Of course the king would not follow the Ming Dynasty's fleet.

There is no need to worry that powerful officials will take the opportunity to cause chaos when you are not in the country.

Therefore, each country sent princes or important officials as the chief envoys to accompany Yin Zhengmao's delegation back to the Ming Dynasty to congratulate the Ming emperor on his wedding and pay tribute.

It should be said that the purpose of this visit was successfully achieved.

Moreover, the fleet is now filled with specialties from various countries, which they exchanged for the Ming Dynasty goods they brought out.

In India and the Mountain Kingdom of Ceylon, ivory, gems and spices were traded, while along the Arabian coast of the Middle East, large quantities of gold and silver were traded, and in Africa, rhinoceros horns, gems and gold were the main commodities traded.

The rubies, sapphires, quartz cat's eyes, chrysoberyls, etc. that Yin Zhengmao exchanged really opened his eyes.

In fact, Yu Dayou did not attach much importance to these gems, perhaps because he had seen too many of them in the Burmese treasure house.

At this time, Myanmar, the world's most important gemstone producing country, had fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the only ones left were Siam, Ceylon and Africa.

As for Brazil, which later became famous for its gems, Europeans had not yet completely occupied it, so naturally there was no way to develop the mineral resources there.

"Actually, it's a pity for the Ceylon Mountain Country."

Yu Dayou suddenly said to Yin Zhengmao.

Yin Zhengmao did not answer. In fact, he could feel that the so-called Kingdom of Ceylon seemed to have been completely controlled by the Portuguese.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty did not take a small island country seriously.

But there, they could feel from their transactions with the locals that the local gem production was so abundant that it even exceeded that of Myanmar.

The Kingdom of Ceylon was the country that dared to fight against Zheng He's fleet when it sailed to the West. It was then defeated by Zheng He and its king was captured and brought back to the Ming Dynasty for execution.

Although the Mountain Kingdom of Ceylon seemed to still exist at this time, it had long been colonized by the Portuguese. Although the Sinhalese resisted, their resistance was completely weak in the face of the Portuguese colonists who possessed advanced firearms.

After a long silence, Yin Zhengmao finally spoke up: "I have also seen the situation in Ceylon, but so what, it is too far away from our Ming Dynasty.

Zhifu, I advise you that it is better to stop this matter here, this is not Luzon.

Even though our Ming Dynasty has now occupied Myanmar, the distance between the two places does not seem to be very far.

But in Luzon, our Ming Dynasty is already an enemy of the Western barbarians. If we become enemies with the Portuguese in Ceylon, Wei Guangde's decision to open up maritime trade will probably be affected.

The loss outweighs the gain, remember this carefully. "

Since leading his troops to fight in Luzon, Old Port and Burma, Yu Dayou's aging body seemed to have burst into vitality again, and he wanted to continue expanding the territory for the Ming Dynasty.

When they arrived in Ceylon this time, they found a large number of Portuguese activities in the area, and many of the buildings were quite trench-style, so they began to speculate.

After investigation, it was confirmed that the so-called Kingdom of Ceylon that was communicating with them was actually a puppet regime supported by the Portuguese.

But so what? This is not within their scope of responsibility.

By conducting trade and diplomatic affairs, they have completed their mission here and can leave.

However, Yin Zhengmao still noticed that Yu Dayou sent people to secretly survey the coastal areas of the Kingdom of Ceylon.

Thinking of Luzon and Old Port, Yin Zhengmao naturally understood Yu Dayou's little thoughts.

Speaking of this today, I naturally have to give a reminder.

Yu Dayou may not care about the rest, but Yin Zhengmao pointed out that this move might cause the Ming Dynasty to offend Spain and Portugal at the same time, so Yu Dayou had to think more about it.

Apart from traditional Arab merchants, the only two countries that can trade across continents now are these two countries. As for Britain and the Netherlands, they have not yet emerged.

If we lose these two trading partners, the impact on Ming Dynasty’s maritime trade will certainly be significant. (End of this chapter)