Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 331 Quang Nam Da Nang
The next day, Dingyuan, escorted by Liu Kun and Zu Ti, sailed out of Yulin Port and took advantage of the favorable wind to head for Guangnan, where the Nguyen Lords of Annan were located, to launch diplomatic actions to intervene in Cambodia's political situation.

At the same time, Cai Ping and Military Advisor Jiang also led two Guang ships to the capital of Brunei in order to reopen the slave labor trade with the Sulu Sultanate. They brought dozens of 6-pound cannons.

The caliber of these cast iron cannons from the Bugalao Cannon Foundry was too small to be used as fortress cannons, so they were simply sold to the Sulu Sultan. This would further enhance the latter's naval power and help them plunder more slaves from the Visayas Islands under the rule of the Western Philippine authorities.

The two fleets parted ways outside the Dadonghai. The destination of the Dingyuan was Tuonang Haimen, which is the Da Nang City in Vietnam in later generations. This was another route developed by Cai Ping's fleet last year.

In the Western Compass Route of the Ming Dynasty, there were two different routes for ships after arriving at the Qizhou Ocean. If they wanted to go to Annan for trade, they would cross the Qiongzhou Strait into the Beibu Gulf, and then sail south along the coastline of Vietnam.

If the ship did not stop in Annan but went directly to Cambodia or Siam, the merchants would choose to turn south in advance at Qizhouyang, east of the Qiongzhou Strait, and reach Duzhu Mountain along the east side of Hainan Island. After that, they could use Kunwei needle to sail for twenty more hours and go straight to Wailuo Mountain.

The so-called Waila Mountain is the Lishan Island of Vietnam in later generations. Although this place was also under the rule of the Nguyen Lords, it was 400 miles away from the center of its rule in the north, and it was very difficult to go north against the wind.

In order to establish a faster communication channel with the Nguyen Lord regime, after Nguyen Si Qi, the envoy of Guangnan, went to Jinhe Kingdom, Lin Hai assigned Cai Ping's fleet to develop a direct route from Yulin Port to Tuonang Haimen.

This was a piece of cake for Huiyou Company. After all, the straight-line distance between Sanya and Da Nang was not far, and in the later generations, both were big cities. Lin Hai could easily identify these two places from the game map and calculate the needle direction for the direct flight.

It took only one day and one night plus one morning to get from Yulin Port to Tuonang Haimen, and the Dingyuan entered Da Nang at noon. This is the second largest port city in Vietnam in later generations, second only to Ho Chi Minh City. If the economic hinterland is not taken into account, Da Nang should be the best port in Vietnam.

This is a horseshoe-shaped bay with a water area of ​​about 100 square kilometers. The tide in the bay is weak, and it is surrounded by mountains on three sides to provide shelter from the wind. The water depth is basically more than ten meters.

In the south wind season, the whole bay is a port area. In the north wind season, there is a small bay east of the Hanjiang River estuary on the south side of the bay, and the peaks on the Son Tra Peninsula to the northeast can resist the northeast wind.

This is the so-called Tuonang Sea Gate, which has good shelter conditions all year round and is also an important military port for the Vietnamese Navy in later generations. The relationship between Tuonang Sea Gate and Da Nang Bay is just like the inner port of Yulin to the outer port, or Linchuan Port to Sanya Bay, the latter is the buffer waters of the former.

"Captain, the port conditions here are really good." After the Dingyuan docked at Tuonang Haimen, Shibi said to Lin Hai.

"You think so too?" Lin Hai said to the stone wall with a smile, "I plan to build a trading house here. I wonder if Nguyen Phuc Yuan will agree."

"Build a trading house here?" Shibi was a little surprised. Da Nang Bay is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea on one side. There are only a hundred or so wooden houses near the mouth of the Han River. Apart from that, no one can be seen. Who are they going to do business with if they build a trading house here?
"The trading house is just a cover. My main purpose is to build a shipyard here to facilitate the repair and maintenance of the company's ships." Lin Hai stated his real purpose, which was also another major purpose for him to let Cai Ping develop the Yulin-Da Nang route.

"So that's how it is. That's a good idea, General Manager." Shi Bi suddenly realized what was going on. He had made great progress in the past few years with Lin Hai. He knew that a strong navy could not only rely on strong ships and powerful guns. Supply and maintenance bases on the route were also very important. Lin Hai then said, "Do you know why I am so nice to the Portuguese?"

Shibi said: "Isn't it to deal with the red hair?"

"You only know one side of the story." Lin Hai pointed out two fingers and said, "The Portuguese have been operating the Eastern route for more than a hundred years. They have a large number of colonial outposts on the west coast of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Don't be fooled by the large number of red-haired ships and guns. In this respect, they can never compare with the Portuguese. That's why they have to avoid the Portuguese when they come to the East from the West..."

Lin Hai's words were certainly not made up. In fact, during the Dutch's early voyages to the East, they were fed up with attacks from the Portuguese along the way. It was not until 1611 that Hendrick Brouwer developed a new route from the Cape of Good Hope to the west coast of Australia that they were able to avoid the ubiquitous Portuguese.

The Brouwer Route cleverly utilized the westerly winds, which greatly shortened the voyage to the East Indies, but it also meant that the Dutch had to travel long distances across the ocean during their eastward journey. Unclean drinking water and food, as well as scurvy, constantly endangered the health of the sailors.

These are just one aspect. Once the weather is bad or the ship has problems, the Dutch can only leave their fate in the vast ocean and cannot sail to the nearest stronghold as quickly as the Portuguese.

The Dutch dreamed of acquiring the densely packed Portuguese colonies along the coastlines of Asia and Africa, but this was not something that could be achieved overnight. The Portuguese colonists had lived and multiplied in these colonies for generations, which was a foundation that the Dutch nouveau riche could not even dream of, even if they built more ships and guns...

Shi Bi was thoughtful after hearing this: "The president wants the Portuguese to share these colonies with us?"

"Why not? The Portuguese maritime empire is already crumbling, and they can't hold these precious strongholds. So why can't we cooperate with our friends? Their home country has a population of only over one million, and we have plenty of people here. Our friends can help the Portuguese hold those coastal fortresses, on the condition that our ships can also be supplied and maintained along the way..."

Lin Hai's eyes seemed to be able to penetrate history. He knew that in another twenty years, many of the Portuguese colonists' strongholds in India and the Strait of Malacca would fall into the hands of the VOC. On the east coast of Africa, the Omanis would also start a protracted war with Portugal, ultimately ending the Portuguese maritime empire.

All this will happen in the rest of Lin Hai's life. It is entirely possible that he will take over the Portuguese's century-old legacy and own a coastal bastion line from East Asia to Western Europe in one fell swoop, extending the empire's maritime power tentacles to the far west in a short period of time.

The so-called sharing is just a superficial act. Considering Portugal's comprehensive national strength, cooperation between the two sides will inevitably be a case of the West losing out to the East. The real decision maker can only be the side with the bigger fist, just like the relationship between Japan and the United States after World War II.

But the Portuguese had to drink this cup of poison. Only in this way could they seek shelter under the wings of the great Eastern power, preserve their own commercial interests, and maintain the last dignity of the first maritime empire in human history.

(End of this chapter)