The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 878 Return to North America
In the early summer of the tenth year of Tianshou, it was morning.

North Pacific waters.

Jiang Bailing, commander of the Da Qi Development Group, stood with his hands behind his back on the deck of the flagship Tianxin City, letting the sea breeze blow his messy white hair, a resolute expression on his axe-cut face.

Jiang Bailing is over 60 years old. Just like his name, the old commander is in good health, vigorous spirit and strong will.

Not inferior to his grandfather Jiang Liuer.

The adjutant following behind him looked towards the east and said in a trembling voice:
"Marshal, are we almost at Laoji Mountain?"

"I can't remember exactly."

Jiang Bailing uttered an "oh" and asked his adjutant, "Are those two old gentlemen who understand the Yin language still in good health?"

The adjutant replied with a hint of apology:

"One died of illness last night, and the other will probably die soon."

Before Jiang Bailing left, he specifically asked the Foreign Affairs Academy for two Indian translators. Da Qi had not been doing business in North America for forty years, and there were very few interpreters in the country who understood Indian languages.

The pioneer group landed in North America from Laoji Mountain (Rocky Mountains), an area occupied by Indians.

The pioneering group had to pass through Indian territory, and if communication was not good, there would be big trouble.

You must know that these indigenous people are not good people...

Jiang Bailing walked quickly across the bustling deck.

Sailors from Nagasaki were busy on deck, and gunners were carefully cleaning the ship's guns on the lower gun deck.

Flocks of seagulls swooped through the wake of ships, preying on flying fish stunned by the waves.

A black dragon flag fluttering in the wind stands on the top of the mainmast, and below it are two huge gaff sails and several staysails, providing the ship with a constant source of power.

The Tianxincheng flagship was built at the Jiangnan Shipyard and its designer was Japanese shipbuilder Hisao Fujimoto.

The ship's design began in the second year of Tianshou (1704), was completed in the sixth year of Tianshou, and was launched for sea trials in November of the same year.

The ship is 59.53 meters long, 50.82 meters in keel, 16.09 meters in width and 8.06 meters in draft.

There is no doubt that this size is larger than the British Victory and French similar warships of the same period.

When the pioneering group returned to North America, the shipbuilders rebuilt a new gun deck between the bow and stern decks, making it the only four-deck sailing battleship at the time. It also had 140 guns, making it the largest sailing battleship in the world until the appearance of the French Orient.

According to the sailing plan formulated by the Navy Department, Tenshinjo led the fleet to stop in Nagasaki, Japan for rest and then sailed east to the Kuroshio Current.

If we can catch the North Pacific Current, we can sail smoothly without spending too much manpower.

If there is a tailwind, 50 nautical miles a day is no problem, which means it will take about fifty days to reach the destination.

However, they encountered pirate attacks in the Sea of Japan, which delayed their journey. Fifty-seven days had passed since they left Nagasaki Port, and they still hadn't seen land.

The long journey, with its rough seas and winds, had pushed the sailors and pioneering warriors to their physical and mental limits.

Tianxin City was hit by a typhoon yesterday and the flagship was damaged, but fortunately it was not very serious.

Everyone is looking forward to seeing the Laoji Mountain they have been longing for as soon as possible.

Ever since Taizu of the Great Qi Dynasty sent Jiang Liu'er to explore America, no one has landed on this ancient yet new land for forty years.

Over the past forty years, countries such as Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands have taken over most of Qi's colonies.

The successors in Tianxin City expressed their dissatisfaction with this behavior of usurping power, but after Liu Zhaosun's death, the civil strife in Da Qi continued, and both Liu Kan and Liu Ruolan were powerless to interfere in North America.

Only after the significant victory in the "special military operation" against Luosha, and the empire's northern border no longer facing threats, did the rulers and ministers of Tianxin City finally free themselves to resolve the North American issue. To be fair, demanding two colonies from the Kingdom of Britain was already the greatest concession Qi had ever made.

It should be noted that just fifty years ago, the entire thirteen colonies on the eastern coast belonged to Da Qi.

In the words of the pro-war faction Nian Gengyao, the military action of the Great Qi in North America was nothing more than taking back what belonged to it.

Jiang Bailing walked to the lower cabin surrounded by guards.

The commander saw the old Indian man lying on his sickbed.

The guard explained to Jiang Bailing: "Last night, the waves hit his head and hit the pillar, and his head cracked."

Jiang Bailing was worried. In just two months, two of the three interpreters in the fleet who could speak Indian had died, and the only one left was about to die.

Could it be that all this is God's will?
Without these interpreters, how would they deal with the indigenous people after landing?

Communicate directly with sharp muskets and the poisonous arrows of the natives?

When my grandfather led his men to Laoji Mountain, they got along quite well with the Indians. We shared what we had and respected each other. There was no burning, killing, or looting like the Europeans did. These problems simply didn't exist...

"Send another medic over to take good care of him. He needs to hold out until landing at least..."

Jiang Bailing frowned and returned to the deck surrounded by guards.

As soon as I stepped onto the deck, I heard someone shouting from the mast above my head:
"Here it is! Here it is! I see it!"

The lookout quickly waved flags and reported his observations to his superior officers.

A cheer rang out on the deck, and a moment later, the cheers spread like a wave to the upper and lower decks.

The gunners put down their work, leaned over the portholes and looked out.

More people flocked to the top deck, pointing and talking at the thin black line appearing in the distance.

The Tianxin City slowed down, and the four second-level warships followed closely behind the Tianxin City and also slowed down.

Compared with the Tianxin City, these second-tier warships are obviously inferior to the flagship in terms of size and firepower.

There are 90 to 98 guns on the three gun decks. In the storm just experienced in the Pacific Ocean, the gun ports on the lower gun deck of the warship could not be opened. Fortunately, it was a violent storm, not fully armed pirates...
Thousands of eyes are staring at the east side of the ocean.

A thin black line appeared faintly on the distant horizon.

We have arrived at Laoji Mountain.

Unpredictable weather, inexplicable logistics, elusive pirates, and escalating conflicts and infighting among the pioneers...

Jiang Bailing prayed, "I hope everything goes well after landing."

After more than two months of hard sailing, we finally arrived at Laoji Mountain (Rocky Mountain) safely.

When his father was alive, he told Jiang Bailing more than once about his grandfather's experience of landing in Yinzhou.

My grandfather was so brave that he captured a tiger alive and killed a Rakshasa. However, since my grandfather passed away, the Qi army withdrew from Laoji Mountain and the people of Qi have been away from this place for forty years.

I don’t know what the situation is like at Laoji Mountain now.

I wonder when the battle with the Europeans will break out?
I wonder if these young soldiers will have trouble acclimatizing to the local climate?

But for Jiang Bailing, this is his second hometown.

Jiang Bailing's old heart suddenly beat violently, and he couldn't help muttering to himself:
"I feel homesick when I'm close to home, I feel homesick when I'm close to home..."

(End of this chapter)