My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 760 Luososizhou

"We're here, there's Loos ahead!"

On the bow of the tall ship, a young man pointed to a black line at the end of the sea ahead, which was a vast continent.

"It's really here?"

"Great!"

"God bless, we finally arrived successfully!"

……

When the people on the boat saw the land in the distance, they all shouted excitedly. Many people even knelt down on the bow of the boat, clasped their hands together and thanked God for his blessing.

"Everyone, get ready. When we arrive at Beiwang Port, we can get off the ship, have a good meal, have a good sleep, rest for a few days, and then set off on the ship. We will reach where we want to go in ten days!"

The young man on the bow of the boat announced loudly to everyone on the boat, which also caused a burst of cheers from the people on the boat.

Looking at these excited people, the young man also smiled slightly.

I saw that this young man was tall, dark-skinned, and wearing a coarse short shirt. Even those who knew him might not believe it when they suddenly saw him. The young man in front of them turned out to be Zhu Zhanqi, the second son of Emperor Zhu Gaoxu of the Han Dynasty. .

Compared with Zhu Zhanhe, Zhu Zhanqi's character is more rebellious. Even though he figured out that his mother did not die at the hands of Zhu Gaoxu, he still couldn't get along with Zhu Gaoxu and was unwilling to settle in Tianzhu.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanqi has been wandering around the Nanyang area by boat according to his own ideas over the years. A few years ago, he and two friends led a fleet to Australia through Nanyang, but Zhu Zhanqi preferred to call Australia Rossos. .

The name Luo Shuosi comes from the "Zhilue of Daoyi" written by Wang Dayuan of the Yuan Dynasty. This book was compiled based on what Wang Dayuan saw and heard after he went to sea when he was young. The book records more than [-] countries and regions, Southeast Asia Various islands in the country, as well as some countries and regions in the Western Ocean are also prominently listed.

Even Australia appears in "Daoyi Zhilue", but Wang Dayuan calls Australia "Losos", which is adjacent to Java. Some businessmen and sailors in Quanzhou like to call "Losos" the island because they think "Losos" It is the southernmost point of the world, and most of it is not suitable for human survival. It is a desperate place, so it is called the island.

After Zhu Zhanqi arrived in Australia, he renamed Australia Rossos according to his own preferences, and also established several settlements here. Then he quietly moved some people from the Ming Dynasty here to expand the scope of the settlements. Now there are tens of thousands of Han people in the entire Luososi Continent.

This time, Zhu Zhanqi brought over thousands of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty. Even though the Ming Dynasty was very powerful, no matter how powerful a country was, there would still be inequality between the rich and the poor. Coupled with some natural and man-made disasters, it would be easier for some people to suffer. People were displaced.

For example, the people Zhu Zhanqi moved here this time were from the Jiangxi area.

It is said that Jiangxi was the land of plenty and plenty of money in the Ming Dynasty, and was the richest area in the Ming Dynasty. The people here should have a worry-free life, at least having enough food and clothing.

But in fact, the prosperity of Jiangxi does not mean that the people are wealthy. On the contrary, because of this wealthy land, the population has increased greatly and the per capita land area has become smaller and smaller.

What’s even more despicable is that some large landowners have annexed land, causing more and more farmers to lose their land and become tenants of the landlord’s family. They are busy working to death for a year, but once the rent is paid at the end of the year, there is no guarantee of the remaining food. Food and clothing, if there is another natural or man-made disaster, these tenants will be even worse.

For example, almost all of the thousand immigrants in Zhu Zhanqi's fleet were people living near Taihu Lake. Last year, there was too much rain in Taihu Lake, which caused the fields to be flooded. Many people had no harvest, and the food for disaster relief was delayed, so These victims can only find their own solutions.

Fortunately, the sea is open now. Even if you can't survive in the Ming Dynasty, there is always a way to go to the sea. Of course, most people prefer to go to Dahan. This has almost become a tradition for the victims of the Ming Dynasty.

But Zhu Zhanqi still relied on his own ability to convince thousands of people to follow him to Luososi. In front of him was Beiwang Port, because this was the northernmost point of Luososi and the closest place to the homeland of the Ming Dynasty. Many people were homesick. People can only stand at the port and look north.

Soon the fleet arrived at Beiwang Port, which is called a port, but is actually a simple settlement. Taking advantage of the terrain on the seaside, a small dock was simply built to barely allow the ships to dock.

However, after several months of sailing, the people on the fleet had longed for land, so after landing, everyone felt a sincere joy.

"See Your Highness!"

A middle-aged man immediately came forward at the port and saluted Zhu Zhanqi excitedly.

"No need to be polite, how about Brother Zhang and Brother Chen?"

Zhu Zhanqi supported the other party and asked casually.

This middle-aged man's name is Wang Hai. He used to be a businessman. Later, because he offended someone, his family was desperate and almost jumped into the sea. In the end, he was rescued by Zhu Zhanqi, so he followed Zhu Zhanqi wholeheartedly and helped him. Now Responsible for being in charge of Beiwang Port.

"Your Highness, Mr. Zhang came from the east some time ago. He received a batch of supplies and then returned."

Wang Hai replied immediately.

Zhu Zhanqi had two friends with similar interests. One was Zhang Chang, who was Zhang Zhong's cousin, and the other was Chen Ning, the grandson of Chen Gui, the Marquis of Taining. The two of them also followed Zhu Zhanqi to Luo. Suosizhou became his right-hand man. “Has anything happened at the port recently?”

Zhu Zhanqi nodded, and then asked again.

Luosos is not very peaceful. Although there are not many natives here, and most of them are concentrated in the east, there are many pirates in the Nanyang area. The most powerful pirates at the beginning were almost wiped out by the navy of the Ming Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, but There are also many small groups of pirates running around.

For example, here in Beiwang Port, last year there were pirates who wanted to go ashore to plunder, but fortunately they were repelled by Zhu Zhanqi's men.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, we people in Beiwang Port are not vegetarians. Since the battle last year, we have already gained a reputation. Ordinary pirates don't dare to come to us."

Wang Hai paused for a moment when he said this, and seemed to think of something, so he reported it again.

"But when Mr. Zhang came last time, he said that something strange happened in the east. He couldn't make up his mind, so he wanted to wait for His Highness to go and deal with it."

"Strange thing? What strange thing?"

Zhu Zhanqi was stunned when he heard this and immediately asked.

Beiwang Port is just a small stronghold. Apart from here, other places around it are not suitable for living at all. Therefore, most of their settlements are on the eastern coast of Losas. Not only is the land fertile, the climate is also very pleasant, and it is very suitable for farming. This information was what Zhu Zhanhe told him originally.

Zhang Chang and Chen Ning have been responsible for managing the settlements in the east, which is also Zhu Zhanqi's base camp, so when he heard that something was happening in the east, he was very worried.

"According to Mr. Zhang, it seems that they captured a group of Japanese pirates, but this group of Japanese are not Japanese pirates. Their origins are quite strange. The other Mr. Zhang did not say much, and his subordinates did not dare to ask more questions."

Wang Hai replied again.

"A Japanese who is not a Japanese pirate?"

Zhu Zhanqi also showed curiosity when he heard this. He had seen Japanese people, but most of them were Japanese pirates. Now the Japanese country is controlled by his third uncle Zhu Gaosui. Although it belongs to the Ming Dynasty in name, Zhu Gaosui actually has considerable power in the Japanese country.

"Could it be that my third uncle heard about me and sent someone to contact me? But that's not right. If he contacted me, he could have sent someone else. Why did he send a Japanese instead?"

Zhu Zhanqi secretly guessed, no matter how he thought about it, he felt that this matter was very strange.

But there is no use just guessing now, so Zhu Zhanqi had to put this matter behind him for the time being and prepare to have a good rest in Beiwang Port, and then cheer up and rush to the east. As long as he sees Zhang Chang and others People will understand what is going on with those Japanese people.

Zhu Zhanqi originally planned to leave the next day, but he didn't expect that early the next morning, another ship with a message suddenly arrived at the port.

This boat was sent by Zhu Zhanhe. The people on the boat sent a message to Zhu Zhanqi, saying that Zhu Zhanhe had prepared a gift for him, which was behind him and would arrive in a few days.

Zhu Zhanqi was also very happy to learn that his eldest brother had specially sent someone to bring him a gift, so he changed his itinerary and planned to wait a few days to receive the gift from his eldest brother before setting off.

Speaking of which, although Zhu Zhanqi did not stay in Dahan, he and Zhu Zhanhe have always maintained close contact. Even his coming to Losos was approved by Zhu Zhanhe, and his first visit here was The first batch of immigrants were also recruited by Zhu Zhanhe for him.

Therefore, although Zhu Zhanqi and Zhu Zhanhe could not see each other often, the relationship between the two brothers was still very deep, and they continued to exchange letters.

Zhu Zhanqi did not wait too long. On the third day after he received the news, he suddenly saw a black smoke on the sea in the distance approaching the port from far to near. After a while, Zhu Zhanqi Only then did I see that it turned out to be a strange ship emitting black smoke.

At first, Zhu Zhanqi thought the ship was on fire, so he came to the port to ask for help. He was even ready to order people to prepare for rescue.

Unexpectedly, as the ship approached, Zhu Zhanqi suddenly discovered that the ship had no sails, but its speed was extremely fast, far beyond that of ordinary ships.

"Wait a minute! Isn't this the steamship... that Brother mentioned in the letter?"

Zhu Zhanqi suddenly remembered that Zhu Zhanhe had mentioned in his letter that the Han Dynasty had invented a kind of steam ship that was extremely fast without sails, which was very consistent with the strange ship in front of him.

In fact, Zhu Zhanqi's guess was correct. This boat was a steamboat, and it was also a gift given to him by Zhu Zhanhe. This type of paddle steamer has begun mass production. Although it has major flaws, it is extremely fast because of its extraordinary speed. Fast, and therefore of great use, at least for delivering messages.

With the good things in hand, Zhu Zhanhe did not forget his younger brother Zhu Zhanqi, so he specially sent someone to send him a boat. Zhu Zhanqi was in Luososi, so this boat would definitely be of great use.

(End of this chapter)