People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 415 The Black Ship Incident in Song Dynasty
In the eighth year of the Qing Dynasty in the Song Dynasty, after celebrating the New Year in North Korea, Ning Haijun left for Japan in a mighty manner.

They actually set out in late October last year. Normally, it would take two or three months to sail at sea to reach Tsushima Island, a straight-line distance of more than a thousand kilometers.

But that was the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, the trade exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and Japan were not deep. They only sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty, but not to Japan.

However, Japan's underdeveloped navigation technology means that it takes a long time to go or return, so each voyage must be measured in months.

In the Song Dynasty, especially in the Southern Song Dynasty, this situation improved as the trade between the two sides deepened.

It usually only takes more than ten days to go to Japan and reach the Goto Islands outside Kyushu Island in the south.

It got even faster after the Ming Dynasty. With the discovery of the Iwami Silver Mine, the trade between the South and Japan further deepened. Under favorable conditions, it would only take three days at the fastest, and usually about ten days.

Even going to Ishimi Country only takes less than a month.

So to put it simply, under the influence of commerce, both parties are becoming more and more familiar with maritime roads, knowing how to go and which direction to go, and the time can naturally be further shortened.

Their mission was to protect Song Dynasty's maritime trade, and the warships docked in Shijian Kingdom for a period of time in order to deter Japan.

For example, in 1870, the British 7000-ton steam-sail hybrid ironclad "Captain" was killed in a storm.

On the east side of the port, there is a large manor at the foot of the mountain and the sea. Everyone on the island knows that this is the residence of Song Cai, a great businessman of the Song Dynasty.

Ning Haijun had to stop at Xingdao, which was later known as Jeju Island to rest.

Nowadays, the trade between the Song Dynasty and Japan is very mature. If you go to Kyushu Island normally, it is basically the same as the Ming Dynasty, about ten days.

On this day, Song Cai was drinking tea and reading in his villa.

Therefore, if you encounter a storm on the way to the expedition, it will basically mean death.

Otherwise, the first armored ship built by the Song Dynasty would be buried in the sea, making the Song Dynasty lose its face.

Ning Haijun was lucky. He happened to be very close to Star Island when he encountered the storm, so he survived.

Hula la more than fifty Song guards.

Seeing the servant in a panic and speaking indiscriminately, Song Cai wanted to scold him.

The servant took him out.

The dignitaries and wealthy families in the Iwami area have all formed interest alliances with him, and his status is very high.

After all, Oki Country is too small. It seems to be more than 300 square kilometers, but most of it is mountainous. It is only suitable for port transfer stations and is not suitable for trade development.

At this moment, the southern port of Chifri-gun, facing the sea to the west of Oki country, has countless ships docked in the n-shaped shelter. The shape of the island is like an n-shape, so the gap below is the best port.

Then there were more than two hundred Japanese pirate slaves.

Therefore, this place is now directly occupied by the Song people and has become a trade transit point with Shijian Kingdom.

It's just that it's still more than 700 kilometers from Xingdao to Ishigami, and they also need to replenish supplies at the Song Army station on Tsushima Island on the way, so they were slightly delayed.

Moreover, the country has an extremely small population. Although it is divided into four counties, there are only a few small villages, and the combined population is only a few hundred. It was not until Japan's Warring States Period a few hundred years later that there were only more than 3000 people.

They rested in Xingdao for more than a month and spent consecutive years in North Korea. It was not until mid-January of the eighth year of the Qingli calendar that they set off again, heading from Xingdao to Shi Jianguo.

There is not even a national guardian on the island. Historically, after the last national guardian Yagi Motoin left in 1038 AD, a new national guardian did not come until 1080 AD.

"Yes."

The north wind at the end of this year was so strong that the sea suddenly changed color, with thunder and lightning and violent storms.

Normally, Ning Haijun should arrive at Shi Jianguo in late November or early December.

However, the Tsushima Island and Iwami areas are further away and need to pass through the Korean Strait and Tsushima Strait. The straight-line distance is 1200 kilometers. The actual distance is more than 1500 kilometers, so it still takes about a month.

This is also the biggest problem in going to Japan.

It was not until early February that they finally arrived in Japan's Oki Country.

Ten years later, he reached middle age, gradually gained weight, and looked like a wealthy man.

However, Song Cai still has a large house in Anon County on Iwami Island, and she usually lives there.

At this moment, a servant suddenly came in and said, "My lord, the boat is such a big boat, an iron boat!"

However, in the past few days, Song Cai rarely returned to live in Oki Country, and sent people to watch at the port every day, as if waiting for something.

There are some forests and plains on both sides of the port and under the mountains to the north, and many houses have been built to accommodate the more than 10,000 porters, merchants, and craftsmen who have gathered on the island.

Even ironclad ships may not be able to withstand storms at sea.

Heading toward the port in a mighty manner.

The port area is huge, with a length of seven or eight kilometers from east to west. It is not a problem to stop tens of thousands of ships.

Therefore, this mansion is usually only lived and cleaned by Japanese slaves hired by Song Cai.

Therefore, the trip was very grand.

Oki Country is opposite Iwami Country and is an archipelago next to Iwami Country. Because it is opposite Anun County of Iwami Country and has a natural haven, it is a place where Song Dynasty merchants often stop.

But when he heard the iron boat, his fat body actually stood up from the recliner and shouted: "Go and have a look."

But something unexpected happened.

Now Song Cai is not as simple as an ordinary big businessman.

When Song Cai came out of her home, she had to walk a long way to the harbor. But before she reached the harbor, she had already seen the fleet on the sea to the south in the distance.

The Song Dynasty had no officials stationed in Japan and no official institutions.

But Song Cai also has another identity, that is, the commander of the Imperial City Division's guard station in Japan. He is currently in charge of all the Imperial City Division's internal guards in Japan.

Therefore, when he received news from the Tsushima garrison a few days ago that a Song naval fleet was coming to Japan, he naturally had to come to greet it.

After the beginning of spring, trade between Song and Japan became frequent, and the port was filled with ships, as many as a thousand. There were also delivery ships coming from Anou County, Iwami Province, which was Ota City, Japan in later generations, and the location of the Iwami silver mine.

At this moment, the ships in the port and at sea saw those tall ships from a distance. People on the ship and in the port stopped what they were doing and looked over there with wide eyes, shocked.

"what is that?"

"It's a boat, a big boat, and those boats are not ordinary boats."

"They're getting closer, oh my God."

"Wait a minute, look, that seems to be our Song Dynasty's fleet."

"Is it the fleet of Commander Liu of Tsushima? When did they have such a majestic ship?"

Some people from the Song Dynasty were standing on the deck, and some were standing by the port. They looked at the fleet in the distance and recognized it as a ship of their Song Navy.

The navy is now flying flags.

Although the national flag was only announced in August last year, many Song people in Japan were not aware of it at all.

But in addition to the national flag, there are also military flags on the ships.

The garrison on Tsushima Island has such a flag. These Song businessmen are no strangers and can distinguish it quickly.

It just makes them confused.

There are only about 3,000 Song troops on Tsushima Island. They belong to the Forbidden Army on the Liangzhe Road. They do not belong to the navy but to the army.

So their ships were actually troop carriers, not ships full of ferocious gun muzzles like now. So where did these weird ships come from?

The answer is ready to come out.

A well-informed businessman who had seen the navy quickly said: "This is the navy of our Song Dynasty!"

For a time, the shore and sea were crowded with people from the Song Dynasty watching.

On the other hand, the Japanese were all horrified. For them, this was beyond their comprehension.

Even though they could tell they were boats, no matter their size or appearance, these boats looked like monsters and made them feel terrified.

The pitch-black hull was like a black hole, as if it wanted to swallow everything.

Many Japanese were speechless, and some even screamed strangely, dropped their work, and ran away.

"Monster, it's a monster."

"terrible."

"Run."

There was actually a small commotion at the port.

However, the commotion soon stopped amid the abuse from Song's employers.

Amidst all these changes, Ning Haijun slowly approached, and finally slowly approached the port.

Song Cai immediately sent a ship to meet him.

Such a large ship cannot sail directly into the harbor. The sailors in the cabin cannot see the outside. They are only responsible for rowing, and the helmsman controls the direction.

It is definitely unscrupulous on the sea, but if you don't control it well when entering the port, you can easily run aground or crash into the port.

Therefore, a large number of small boats are often required to slowly tow the ship into the port.

Soon countless small boats approached. After negotiating with the people on board, they tied them to the Ning Haijun warship with ropes and began to pull them to the shore.

"Hey hey, hey hey, hey hey!"

As the tracker coolies threw off their arms, more than ten warships of various sizes slowly sailed into the port.

The armored ship was the first to enter the port, and Ning Haijun commander Ma Mao stepped off the ship.

Song Cai walked up to him, and smiled as he walked: "Commander Ma, it's been a hard journey all the way."

Although he didn't know Ma Mao, the people sent by Tsushima Island had already told him who the commander of Ning Haijun was.

Ma Mao's attire was clearly that of a general, so it was obvious at a glance.

"Commander Song was so polite that he came to greet him personally."

After hearing Song Cai's words, Ma Mao didn't show off, and quickly returned the favor with a very polite attitude.

When he came here, the general stationed at Tsushima told him about the situation here and knew that Song Cai was handling the area around Iwami.

Moreover, Song Cai represents the Imperial City Division and has no superior-subordinate relationship with the Navy.

Even in terms of level, his level may be higher than mine.

Because the military system in the Northern Song Dynasty was chaotic, there were few general grades, only military ranks.

In addition, in order to suppress military generals, even the highest-ranking commander of the Third Division is only at the fifth rank.

Therefore, in terms of actual grade, Ma Mao's Commander Ning Haijun was only at the ninth grade.

On the other hand, others.

Even though the Imperial City Division system is at the fifth-grade level, Song Cai's overseas agency is second only to the North and South Zhenfu Division and is a seventh-grade institution. He is naturally a seventh-grade official, four levels higher than Ma Mao.

"Commander Ma will promote the prestige of our country, the Song Dynasty, and I will welcome him."

Song Cai waved his hand and said, "Please."

"please."

Ma Mao got off the board.

He was quite curious along the way.

Look around.

The buildings are unremarkable, just a large number of low wooden houses built along the perimeter of the port.

The key is people.

Although the skin of the Japanese was the same yellow as theirs, some were slightly darker, but they were also too short.

As a general, he is only 177 feet inches (CM), which is not comparable to some of the particularly tall and strong men in the army. But looking around, many people can only reach his waist and abdomen.

If you are five feet tall (158CM), you will probably stand out from the crowd. If you are six feet tall (190CM), you will be in Lilliput.

"Japanese people are short, the tallest are no more than five feet, and ordinary people are usually around 4 feet 5 inches (142CM)."

Seeing Ma Mao looking at him curiously, Song Cai smiled and said: "As majestic as the commander is, it is rare in the Japanese country. It is rare to see him on weekdays."

“It was really eye-opening for me.”

Ma Mao sighed.

"Commander, you are tired from traveling all the way. Let's go to my manor to rest for a while."

Song Cai greeted warmly.

"I have military duties."

Ma Mao shook his head and declined: "The imperial court ordered me to go to Shijian Kingdom to promote the prestige of the Song Dynasty, to scare all the young people, and to prevent anyone from coveting the mineral deposits of the Song Dynasty on the Japanese island."

Song Cai became even more happy after hearing this and said: "It's not too late to go in the afternoon. Ishijian Country does not have a good safe haven. It only has a small port. It can only be docked temporarily but not for a long time. Large ships are basically parked at the port of Zhifuli County. At that time, the commander can drive the ship. He will first go to Annan County and dock outside the port for a while, then return to this port. I will take everyone to the shore of Iwami Country tomorrow. "

He winked and said, "Commander, you don't know, there are still many fun things to do in Japan. There are many places of entertainment on the island. Anno County is now the most populous and prosperous place in Japan except Heian-kyo."

Annan County is one of the six counties of Iwami Country. It is located in the northernmost part of Iwami Country. It is the city of Ota in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, and is also the production area of ​​Iwami Silver Mine.

Originally, this place was very barren, with many mountains and only large plains near the sea.

But with the discovery of Shijian Silver Mine, Song merchants recruited local workers for mining, attracting a large number of laborers.

As the number of people increased, people from all walks of life naturally flocked to the place, including people engaged in various crafts, manual labor, taverns, restaurants, ship repair workers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and prostitution.

This has created a prosperous and prosperous place here.

Ma Mao had previously used a telescope on the boat to catch a glimpse of the grand scenery of Shijian Country on the other side. Although there was no city wall on the seaside, there were densely packed houses for miles.

Even because of the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty, there are countless two- and three-story restaurants and brothels. Many of the buildings have the characteristics of the Song Dynasty and are quite prosperous.

So when he heard Song Cai's words, he nodded repeatedly and said: "Okay, okay, then I have to go and see it."

The two went to Song Cai's manor to rest for a while.

In the afternoon, the fleet set sail again. This time Song Cai also boarded the warship and sailed toward the port of Ishijian Country in a majestic manner.

(End of this chapter)