Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 327 Brunei Route
"Captain, let's go to the inner harbor now and see if there are any people living there." Shibi knew very well Lin Hai's plan for Yulin Port, so he suggested that the fleet enter the port.

"There's no rush for now. Let's wait until the water level is at its lowest before entering the port." Lin Hai held a map of Yulin Port in his hand, which clearly marked the water depths and locations of reefs in various parts of the port.

This was the result of a survey conducted by Lin Hai when he sent a ship to Yulin Port last spring. The map showed that there were some reefs on the east side of Dadonghai Port, but other than that, the water depth of the entire outer port was very suitable.

Since the weather was good and the fleet was large, Lin Hai decided to wait until the reefs were exposed before entering the harbor: "Send my order, the fleet will drop anchor, and ask the head of the Li family and the military advisor Jiang to come to the Dingyuan to see me. Oh, and call Cai Ping as well."

Cai Ping was the captain of the original Zhuge Liang and one of the earliest brothers to join the company in Macau. He was a calm man with experience and authority. After the establishment of the Navy Department, he served as the captain of the old lock ship and the captain of the frigate. He participated in all the naval battles of the company and was also involved in many immigration and trade-related affairs in the early days.

After the Battle of Dongshan, Lin Hai sent Cai Ping to lead a fleet to Yulin Port for surveying and mapping, and also developed two new shipping routes. Therefore, he was the commander of the Navy's Yulin Port garrison who had long been appointed.

The captain of the Zhuge Liang was replaced by Wei Xiaodong, who had made great contributions in the Battle of Lantau Island. The Navy Department sent two communication ships, the Lubode and the Yangpu, to Yulin Port.

In addition, there were more than 100 gunners in charge of the fort, and the total number of garrisons was 300, all under the command of Cai Ping. These people nominally joined Li Zhongguo's army, but in fact they were still on the list of the Navy Department and were paid by the company, just like Zhang Daniu and others in Jeju Island.

After Cai Ping and Li Zhongguo boarded the ship, Lin Hai met them in the official hall on the first floor of the stern deck and said to Cai Ping straight away: "It is still mid-March now. If the weather doesn't change later, you can go to Brunei again in person..."

He turned to look at Li Zhongguo and said, "Please send two large ships from here, Mr. Li. The Brunei route will be handed over to you from now on."

Brunei is just south of the Nansha Islands. One of the two new routes developed by Cai Ping's fleet last year is from Yulin Port to Brunei's capital Kota Batu. The latter is located in Bandar Seri Begawan in the north of Borneo. It was once a prosperous and famous commercial port, known as the Venice of the East.

Among the mature routes of the Ming Dynasty, Brunei was located on the East Ocean Route. That is to say, the route to Brunei usually started from Fujian, passing through Penghu, Luzon, and Zheng He Island (formerly Palawan Island, now renamed). This is a tortuous route that first sails southeast and then turns southwest.

If Yulin is used as the departure port, it will pass through Xisha Skirt Island and Nansha Skirt Island, which is much closer. For Huiyou Company, which has accurate nautical charts, it is not too difficult to develop this route as long as it knows the needle route to Xisha and Nansha.

Brunei was once a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, known in ancient times as Borneo. Huang Senping, a Chinese in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, served as the regent of the country. His family had intermarried with the royal family for generations, and remained a local political powerhouse until the Wanli period.

During the Yongle period, Huang Senping paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty in the name of the King of Brunei. He eventually died in Nanjing and expressed his hope to "entrust his body to China." His tomb still exists today.

Before his death, Huang Senping offered land to Zhu Di, saying that "all the territory belongs to the official." However, as the Ming court later gave up managing Southeast Asia, the subsequent Brunei kings gradually stopped paying tribute.

In the early 16th century, Brunei reached its peak and once controlled all coastal areas of Borneo, the world's third largest island. However, due to geographical barriers, the southern part of the island, which originally belonged to the Majapahit Kingdom, was gradually lost. Brunei turned to the north and its sphere of influence began to penetrate into the Philippine Islands. But the arrival of the Spaniards interrupted this process, and Brunei's capital was captured half a century ago. Although the Spaniards retreated due to the epidemic, Brunei's national power has never recovered since then and has become a vassal of the former younger brother Sulu Sultanate.

The main reason why Lin Hai wanted to develop the Brunei route was to continue doing business with Sulu. The latter was the number one enemy of the Western Philippine authorities, and Huiyou Company was no longer suitable to sell arms to it directly, so it had to go through Li Zhongguo.

From Yulin Port to Brunei and Sulu, there is no need to go through Luzon where the Spaniards are. This is naturally much safer than the previous route that Ozoji took to the East. Moreover, this trade route is mainly for importing slave labor from Sulu. The future Tiandu Iron Mine will undoubtedly be the one that needs slave labor the most, and it is also more advantageous in terms of transportation costs alone.

"Boss, how many ships are going this time? The company's reporting ship is a bit eye-catching, should it stay in Yulin Port?" Cai Ping asked after listening to Lin Hai's words.

"You are right. Please ask the head of the Li family to send two Guang ships over, and bring a few spare rudders." Lin Hai had already told Li Zhongguo and his son-in-law about this on the way here, and then asked, "Who will you send over? You will be the ones to run behind this line. The members of the association will not send anyone else to interfere."

"I would like to go with Brother Cai." Military Advisor Jiang stood up upon hearing this. He had never engaged in long-distance maritime trade before, but he was quite interested in it.

"It would be best if you could go." Lin Hai nodded when he heard this. Li Zhongguo had no son, so his son-in-law would take over in the future. It seemed that Military Advisor Jiang had made plans to transform from a pirate to a maritime merchant.

"After going to Brunei, will we go to Sulu?" Cai Ping asked again. He was very clear about Lin Hai's purpose of developing the Brunei route. However, last year his fleet returned after arriving at Bandar Seri Bega Bay and did not continue eastward to Hele Island where the King of Sulu was.

"We have to go there. It would be best if we could meet with the King of Sulu and settle the business matters." This time, Lin Hai brought along a capable man from Ou Zuoji's staff who knew the Sultan of Sulu. He went on to say, "The King of Sulu and the King of Brunei have been married for generations. From now on, we will do business with Sulu in Kota Batu. We don't have to go to Hele from next year on."

"Yes, sir, let's rest for two days, replenish some fresh water and then set off..."

After talking about the Brunei route and Sulu trade, the low tide in Yulin Port was almost over, and all the reefs in the Dadonghai Sea emerged on the surface of the water, and as long as you were not blind, you could avoid them. For a large fleet entering the port, this was undoubtedly much more convenient, especially since most of the sailors in the fleet were visiting Yulin Port for the first time.

"Pass my order, the fleet weighs anchor and enters the port." Following Lin Hai's order, all ships began to weigh anchor.

Entering the port at this time is sailing against the wind. Fortunately, the water area of ​​the Dadong Sea is large enough that even the Dingyuan does not need to be towed by a paddle boat. It can first sail in the northwest direction to get enough wind angle, and then turn to the east and northwest.

But it is no longer possible after entering the inner harbor, because Yulin Inner Harbor is very narrow, and narrow means dangerous, so the future fortress will be built here.

(End of this chapter)