My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 382 Srivijaya’s Guide

There are Han people in Palembang, but there are only about a thousand of them, and they are scattered throughout the city. Where can the soldiers of the Second Battalion find Han people in a short period of time?

However, the soldiers of the Second Battalion are not fools. If they don’t know where the Han people are, why don’t they ask?
When you see people on the street, just go up to them and ask them. Those who don’t understand Chinese are not Han Chinese, and those who can understand Chinese are Han Chinese.

At first, the residents of Palembang City were a little frightened when they encountered the Ming army soldiers who came to question them. They thought that the Ming army was like the pirates and would do something evil to them. Some of them were so scared that they ran away, while others were so scared that their legs became weak and they could not escape even if they wanted to.

However, when they found that these Ming people just said something they couldn't understand and didn't do anything to them, they felt relieved. They gradually became bolder and began to secretly look at the soldiers of the Second Battalion.

It seems that they are asking something.

These Ming Dynasty people are generally tall and strong. I don’t know what they ate to grow like this, but they must have eaten well, right?

And their attire. You can tell at first glance that the material of the clothes is not ordinary fabric. This confirms what I thought in my heart. Ming Dynasty is a very wealthy place. Even the soldiers dress so well, so the people of Ming Dynasty should not be much worse off.

Look at what those guards in Palembang are wearing. These guards are all from the royal family. There is no comparison at all.

The soldiers of the Second Battalion also felt strange. Just now, these Srivijaya residents looked at them as if they were evil ghosts, but after a while, the way they looked at them became more and more eager, and even... a little envious?

There was a young soldier who had not yet married. After asking a woman, the woman unexpectedly opened her collar. The clothing style of Srivijaya was bold and there were not many distinctions between men and women. The woman's collar was exposed in a flash, revealing a large area of ​​tanned skin, and she was smiling and saying something that was difficult to understand.

This gave the young soldier a big shock. He had seen men flirting with women before, but to see a woman flirting with a man was something he had never heard of before.

Just when the young soldier was at a loss, the old soldier grabbed him by the collar and dragged him aside. "Don't you have good eyesight? Didn't you see that the woman was a prostitute?"

"A girl as dark as her can be a prostitute?" The soldier was also surprised and couldn't help but look at the woman a few more times.

Although his skin is dark, he looks quite exotic.

"You are the only one who is fair-skinned. This is Srivijaya, where the sun is bright and there is plenty of sunshine. She gets tanned every day. So what if my sister-in-law is a little darker? I don't want you to marry her."

The veteran was also very experienced and pointed out the problem immediately.

Hearing the old soldier's joke, the young soldier's face turned red, causing all the old hands to burst into laughter.

At this moment, they heard the command of the centurion Qian Benyi, "I have found the guide, everyone gather and follow me into the palace!"

Deng Zibing felt very unlucky and he didn't know if he had not checked the almanac before going out. After the war had subsided a little, he saw his neighbors going out to get news, so he went out to watch the fun. Unexpectedly, he ran into a Ming army soldier as soon as he went out.

When the other party asked him if he could understand Chinese, he nodded subconsciously, and then was taken away by the Ming army.

When he tremblingly asked the Ming army general what he was going to do, he didn't expect that the other person's words almost scared him to pee his pants.

"Take us to the palace to capture Chen Zuyi!"

Oh my god, Deng Zibing was so upset that he wanted to cry. Why couldn't he just stay at home? Why did he have to run out to watch this excitement? Now he couldn't afford to offend the Ming army, and he couldn't afford to offend Chen Zuyi even more!
Deng Zibing and Chen Zuyi were both from Guangdong, but their family moved to Srivijaya earlier than Chen Zuyi.

When they were in Guangdong, their family was a fireworks craftsman. However, they offended the local Mongolian nobles. In order to avoid being captured and sold as slaves by the Mongolian masters, the whole family fled and finally fled to Palembang to settle down.

He knew very well how Chen Zuyi rose to power and how much blood and gore was involved. But now he was asked by the Ming army to lead the way to capture Chen Zuyi. Isn't this bad luck?
Qian Benyi seemed to see through his thoughts, patted him on the shoulder and asked, "My fellow villager, what's your name? What's your name? Where is your hometown?"

Seeing that the Ming army was not as ferocious as he had imagined, but rather seemed somewhat friendly, he felt relieved and was no longer as nervous as before.

"Yes, sir. My surname is Deng, and my name is Deng Zibing. I was born in the third year of Zhizheng. I am from Chaozhou, Guangdong."

The third year of Zhizheng?

It took Qian Benyi a while to realize that this was the reign title of the previous dynasty.

Seeing Qian Benyi's expression was a little strange, Deng Zibing immediately said: "No, no, I am Hongwu, Hongwu..."

No matter how he tried to make amends, he could not explain the meaning of "Hongwu".

Qian Benyi was not surprised. It had only been sixteen years since the Hongwu reign. Looking at Deng Zibing's age, it would be strange if he was born during the Hongwu reign.

"Old sir, don't be shy, and don't be afraid of Chen Zuyi. This time we come here to capture this pirate in one fell swoop, and even their entire gang. So you don't have to worry about offending that guy. Why be afraid of a dying man?"

After hearing what Qian Benyi said, Deng Zibing suddenly realized, yes, the Ming army has already entered the city to capture Chen Zuyi, what is there for him to be afraid of?
Thinking of this, Deng Zibing immediately straightened his back and led the Ming army. He was leading his own army and had no psychological burden at all.

Under the guidance of Deng Zibing, the Second Battalion headed directly towards the royal palace. Along the way, many local residents looked at the Ming army with increasing curiosity and eagerness. Even the soldiers of the Second Battalion were a little overwhelmed.

A soldier asked Deng Zibing what the local people were looking at. Deng Zibing's answer was simple, "They are envious of the clothes you are wearing!"

Deng Zibing then went on to explain that Srivijaya did not have a decent weaving industry, and the common people were considered lucky if they could have a decent piece of clothing to wear. As for the cloth from Ming Dynasty and other places, not to mention silk, even ordinary cotton cloth was considered quite luxurious in their minds.

However, the fabric worn by the Ming army looked much higher quality than cotton.

Although he said this, Deng Zibing was secretly amazed in his heart. The clothes worn by these Ming army soldiers did not look simple, especially the pair of boots on their feet, which were even more amazing.

I have never seen the workmanship, the dense stitching, and the exquisite dyeing. There is such exquisite craftsmanship in the world!

It has only been a few years since I came out of China, but I didn’t expect that people there have become so wealthy?
Deng Zibing couldn't help but wonder, should he just move back to Guangdong?

The Ming army soldiers then realized that they were just coveting the clothes they were wearing. These camouflage uniforms and boots were all sent by a strange man.

The things given by a strange person, how could there be anything bad?
(End of this chapter)