open sea

Chapter 323 Tortoiseshell
The confessions of the noble captives were corroborated by scouts returning from a brief expedition in Luzon.

Resting on Chenlai Island for a few days, the warship was slightly repaired. In late June, Chen Mu led the fleet to continue southward to the Hawksbill Harbor northwest of Manila, which is still the territory of King Suleiman of Luzon.

Chen Lin's fleet still stayed on Chenlai Island, but spread out the fleet on the sea to patrol Hawksbill Harbor, and especially sent two fleets to go straight to the southwest waters of Hawksbill Harbor to prevent the Spaniards from attacking them.

Moving faster than the fleet were the two galleys sent by Chen Mu, which carried sailors and military doctors.

Just ten days ago, King Suleiman fought a battle with the Spaniards. He was seriously injured in the battle and hid in the dense forest. The army was defeated and there was no doctor and lack of medicinal materials. If there is Chinese medicine without traditional Chinese medicine, it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice. The Banner Army got the news from the local overseas Chinese leaders who supported Suleiman's Restoration War.

Chen Mu had nothing to say, he had only one pair of hands to send charcoal in the snow, which grew on his arms.

His fleet only has more than 800 flag troops. Even if Chen Lin and Lin Afeng are counted, it is only over [-]. Compared with the Xiyi troops, it is still seriously insufficient; but this is not a problem. When his fleet sails to Luzon However, based on the words "Heavenly Dynasty Without Boundaries" on the Red Sea ship, Lord Chen felt that he had to tell Philip II's Governor of the Philippines a cold fact - the Philippine Islands had been besieged.

"What a beautiful country."

The fleet sailed along the northwest coast of Luzon Island, where the sun rose and set, and the continuous tropical forests and mountains had a panoramic view.All the strong men on the island were recruited by the king to fight further south. The fishermen along the coast knew that the Ming Dynasty fleet would pass by here, and they were not too surprised, but they were only worried.

Tall palms can be seen everywhere in the growth process and slanted northward after the typhoon. The inhabitants are too few for the huge island. The northern part of Luzon Island is relatively backward and poor. There is no trace of the city.

Some beaches are fine white, some are gravel beaches, and sometimes coral islands can be seen not far from the coast. The guide who guides the boat said that the coral islands are magical, and it is cool to step on them even when they are exposed to the sun.

Chen Mu didn't care about these things, he just wanted to know which coast and mountain were suitable for laying mines, digging trenches, laying out artillery, and then blowing up the fucking Spaniards to the sky.

These beaches are not the best choice, there is no danger to guard.

Until his fleet arrived at Hawksbill Harbor.

Hawksbill Port does not produce tortoiseshells. It is neither the commercial center of Luzon nor the best port in Luzon. Even Li Yuxi, a spring merchant who often goes here with the boat, does not know why it is called this name. The most likely reason is that most of the first voyages of the fleet to Manila will stop here.

Hawksbill is a kind of sea turtle with a hard shell, just like this bay, which is located between two huge mountain ranges. To the east is a huge mountain range, to the south is a tall and endless volcanic ridge, and the northernmost end of the volcanic ridge is Hawksbill Harbor , and the southernmost point is Manila Bay, which runs through four hundred miles.

The harbor can vaguely see the prosperity of the past. If it weren’t for the newly repaired pieces of wood of different colors at the unloading dock, some places could see carbonized edges after being burned by flames, and the low Song and Ming buildings in the port still bear scars from artillery bombardment.

The most docked on the shore are the damaged Fuchuan, Guangchuan, and local warships that Chen Mu can't name. In the distance, under the eaves of the streets, you can see Luzon soldiers huddled or sleeping in the open and covered with bruises. Warriors include Chinese, Malays and local warriors.

Of course, except for a small number of local warriors who don't wear armor, barefoot, carry swords and bows, and have dark skin and dangerous eyes, other ethnic groups are almost indistinguishable from the Ming people in appearance, and at most they can see a little difference in clothing.

Most of the fighters in Hawksbill Harbor who can still take up arms are Ming people, but they are the most vigilant about the visit of Chen Mu's fleet.They held their weapons carefully, and saw the huge fleet of ships approaching the port with flags and banners unfurling, but they could do nothing about it.

With Shi Qi leading the fleet to dock first, the defense of the port was taken over.

Chen Mu witnessed all this through the binoculars on the warship. He guessed that those Ming people should be wary of him because of their status. Arrival should be joyful, not alarming.

"Have these people been beaten by you?"

When getting off the boat, Lin Feng followed Chen Mu, shaking his head at the young commander's teasing, "I don't know, too many people have been driven from the sea by Lin over the years, if these people hate both Lin and the commander, it's okay If it's not someone Lin Dao did, then it should be peace."

Half of the crew members on the Chihai ship had already disembarked, and the wharf flag army spread out the guard of honor with guns in their hands, and the banner of the boundless heavenly dynasty was erected at the port. Chen Mu stopped and asked doubtfully, "Shihe?"

"Well, from Qiongzhou, he should be very old. He was a native of Qiongzhou Prefecture in Shanghai in his early years. Lin had no relationship with him. Li Mao knew him; he didn't do anything big. Seven or eight years ago, Franz stole travel and robbed The court didn’t care about the merchant ships and the lure and trafficking of women, Shi He and his men broke the masts of the three Puyi ships at sea.”

Chen Mu was greatly surprised by this, and asked, "What happened later?"

"The Portuguese warship was damaged, so there was no other way to go to Qiongzhou port to find officers and soldiers to take refuge. The Qiongzhou commander and the Portuguese attacked Shi He together. Although the officers and soldiers were ambushed by the plan, Shi He was also seriously injured, and it was impossible to do some business at sea. .”

"Later, Duke Zhuang saw his ship at sea. He was on the way to Manila and wanted to snatch up the thriving maritime merchants. But at that time, he didn't have many people, so he retreated before fighting."

Chen Mu nodded, and was led by the envoy of Lu Song Kingdom and his banner army to the camp where King Suleiman was recuperating. After a while, he said to Lin Feng: "Don't worry, in the current sea, as long as the pirates are not right Gone are the days when the Ming Dynasty and the tributary countries were doing evil and being confronted by enemies."

"What has Lin Daoqian been doing recently?"

With the support of his own side, Lin Afeng took away Lin Daogan's territory in Taiwan, but Chen Mu did not forget about the pirate leader, "I heard that he is doing well in Fujian."

"It's not that good. The court didn't trust him when there was no war. At the beginning of the year, he asked Lin to build dozens of white boats for him in Taiwan for the sake of friendship. If he wants to go to Siam, it probably won't cost much. Days will lead the fleet to pass through Luzon."

Chen Mu smiled, going to Siam?Go to Siam, "He has no enmity with you?"

"What kind of enmity is that? Lin didn't kill others, and he didn't destroy his ship. It's just that he took the place he didn't need after recruiting security. Chen Shuai wants to use him?"

"It's not useful." Chen Mu shook his head: "Such people are all dragons and phoenixes among people. If they are heroes outside the territory, they can be called alone. You should waste your resources at sea, join hands with me, and you can do a greater cause in the world! Let’s go, let’s go to see the King of Luzon.”

(End of this chapter)