Water Margin people

Chapter 1443 Guangzhou

The giant ship slowly approached the dock.

A team of guards in golden armor got off the boat first and formed two teams, each holding a spear in one hand and a flag in the other.

Sun Lei appeared at the bow dressed in the emperor's splendid attire, the dragon robe and golden crown shining brightly in the sun.

"Long live your majesty!"

Wang Zhihe was shocked. When Sun Lei came on board before, he was still wearing ordinary clothes, but his aura was unfathomable. Now that he put on the dragon robe, his aura suddenly increased, making him dare not look directly at him and only want to kneel down and surrender.

Sun Lei listened to the shouts, smiled and waved, then walked off the ship.

"His Majesty!"

Wang Zhihe hurried forward.

"I brought some gifts, I'll distribute them to the people here!"

Sun Lei looked at the ragged people and said with a smile.

"How can we let His Majesty spend money!"

Wang Zhihe hurriedly said that according to reason they should present the things to the emperor and pay taxes to the emperor in the future, so how could they let the emperor reward them?

"Some practical things, they were robbed anyway!"

Sun Lei smiled. Many of the goods on his ship were looted from Arab merchant ships and he didn't spend a penny at all.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Wang Zhihe quickly saluted to Sun Lei. People who were closer also heard Sun Lei's words and thanked him profusely. The emperor's reward was a great honor.

The people of Fengshan Port quickly lined up, waiting excitedly to receive their rewards.

Behind Sun Lei, the soldiers had already prepared the supplies. Every civilian could get a piece of cotton cloth, and Sun Lei would also give them a brand new silver coin.

The people were even more delighted when they saw the cotton cloth. The thing that Ryukyu Island lacked most was cloth. They were poor to begin with, and their cloth was entirely supplied by Fujian Road and Liangzhe Road. The price of cloth had risen too much in recent years.

Sun Lei was near the distribution point, and every citizen who received the reward would kneel down to express his gratitude.

"Your Majesty, please take a seat. These are some of the island's specialty fruits!"

Wang Zhihe quickly asked Sun Lei to sit down in the shed and served him the freshest fruits.

With just a few thousand pieces of cotton cloth and a few thousand silver coins, Sun Lei completely won over the people's hearts.

"You must do a good job as the county magistrate. Try your best to count the number of people on Liuqiu Island and publicize the rule of our Qi State!"

Sun Lei took a bite of fruit and said to Wang Zhihe.

"Your Majesty, the people on this island are too scattered!"

Wang Zhihe was in a dilemma. It was not that he didn't want to do it, but he only had so few people and it was impossible for him to explore the entire island.

"This place will become a major port in the future, and all kinds of supplies will be shipped here. Then people from all over the island will come here. You can use this to inquire around, and then send someone to take a look!"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe and said that he had taken a look at the situation of Fengshan Port. It was already difficult to maintain the operation of the port with only a few thousand people, and it was really difficult to explore such a large island.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do my best!"

Wang Zhihe was overjoyed. In this way, Fengshan Port would soon become the largest port on Ryukyu Island, and Fengshan County would become the largest county. In the future, it might even be upgraded to a prefecture, and he might become the prefect.

"This fruit is great, get some more!"

Sun Lei enjoyed some fruit and found it delicious.

"I will make arrangements now!"

Wang Zhihe said quickly that he was worried that he could not give anything to honor the generous Emperor, and now that the Emperor had asked for it, he would definitely satisfy him.

Fengshan Harbor is not very big. There is just a circle of houses around the harbor, and behind it are forests and mountains. There is really nothing to see. "Okay, that's it!"

Sun Lei looked at the several large baskets of fruits sent by Wang Zhihe and nodded with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go sit in the harbor?"

Wang Zhihe also felt a little embarrassed because the port was so shabby.

"No need, I'll wait for your good news!"

Sun Lei waved his hand and led his people away.

Back on the boat, the few boxes of fruit quickly aroused the interest of the women and children. Many of the fruits they had never seen before whetted their appetites.

"Let someone wash and cut it!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that the fruits of this era are naturally free of pesticides, but there is still dust, so they need to be washed clean, and some fruits need to be cut.

The ship left Fengshan Port that night and continued southward to Guangzhou.

Sun Lei was not in a hurry along the way because Wang Jin, Yue Fei and others were still marching on land and their speed could not match that of the ship.

Guangzhou is different from Quanzhou. The forces in Guangzhou are more complicated. The news of the emperor's southern tour has spread, and Guangzhou should have known about it. It is unsafe without a large army. Although Sun Lei is arrogant, he is not arrogant to the point of being presumptuous.

"Your Majesty, there is a large island over there!"

Ruan Xiaoqi pointed to the south and said that the direction was directly south of Ryukyu Island, which was discovered by the navy when they moved south.

"It should be a large island of natives. There should also be remnants of the coastal people, as well as some Champa, Angkor, Srivijaya and Malay people. However, the population there is even more sparse, and the environment is also worse, with countless snakes, insects, rats and ants!"

Zhu Wu said that this was the navy information he compiled.

“It’s just that it hasn’t been developed yet, and it will be the same even if it is developed!”

Sun Lei smiled and said that he would not refuse any land that came his way.

"Your Majesty, should we build a few military bases there as well? It should be fine if it's along the coast!"

Ruan Xiaoqi said.

"You learn quickly. Of course you can. Starting from the military base, we can build ports and cities around it. After a while, this place will be ours!"

Sun Lei nodded and said that this was the best way to expand in the Age of Discovery. Military ports were used as military support, and then commercial trade was used to plunder wealth.

After several days of slow sailing, the ship finally arrived off the coast of Guangzhou.

Sun Lei stood on the side of the ship and looked at the coastline in the distance. The bustling coastal urban circle in the future was now deserted, without even a fishing village.

"Guangzhou Port seems to have been prepared for this!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that the Guangzhou Port should be very busy, but there were few merchant ships outside the port at this time.

"Your Majesty showed up in Quanzhou, and Guangzhou should have guessed that His Majesty would come."

Chai Jin said.

Di Cheng took two ships and entered the port first, heading towards Guangzhou.

"Your Majesty, according to the marching time, General Wang Jin and his men should be here soon!"

Zhu Wu said that the ships had deliberately slowed down their speed in the past few days and also went to Ryukyu Island, giving Wang Jin and others' army enough time to march. Quanzhou is not far from Guangzhou, and the speed of the elite soldiers crossing mountains and ridges is not slow.

"Let's go and take a look at the Guangzhou Port!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

The reason why Guangzhou Port is complicated is that it is far away from the Central Plains. Local clan forces have gradually grown stronger and some of them are undisciplined. In addition, it is the first port in the south and many ethnic minorities from the South China Sea are also here. This has led to Guangzhou becoming a gathering place for various forces.