nanming man

Chapter 694 Sea Voyage
In February, a warm southeast wind blew on the sea, and three majestic blessing boats were riding the wind and waves, sailing northeastward with their sails sideways.

These three Fuchuan are about ten feet long. The rudder tower at the rear rises high, and three tall masts stand upright. The hard sails hanging on the masts are blown up. , can accommodate one person watching the scene on the sea.

On the deck of the Fuchuan, more than a dozen sailors were sitting against the side of the ship, basking in the warm spring sun, surrounded by cannons covered by red cloth.

In the cabin, there is porcelain in the ballast on the bottom floor. Soybean and water are sprinkled in the porcelain. The soybean sprouts are much larger than the mung bean sprouts. When they grow out, they will wrap the porcelain. The bean sprouts can be eaten to avoid illness.

On the penultimate floor, various goods are placed, and the upper floor is where the sailors live.

Each ship has limited space. In order to carry more cargo, water and objects are limited, so there are no idlers on board.

These three lucky boats were the three merchant ships sent by the Weaving Bureau to the country of Wa. They carried a batch of cloth and porcelain to the port of Nagasaki in the country of Wa. Ningbo transaction.

The sea is very quiet, only the sound of the waves being blown by the bow of the ship breaking the sea surface, and the sound of the sea wind blowing the bamboo sails and the ship's body shaking and creaking.

On the vast sea, the sea and the sky meet in front of it, and there is no end to it. There are only three sea ships sailing forward on the sea.

On the towering poop of the lucky boat, Gao Yizhen looked at the scenery in front of him and couldn't help saying: "General, how far is it to the country of Wa?"

Zheng Sen, who was standing by the side, didn't answer right away. He seemed to be lost in memory, and said half aloud: "I lived with my mother in Hirado, Wa Country, Hizen Country, before I was six years old. After returning to Fujian, I have never been to Wa Country. It’s not very clear, but we’ve only been away for three days, so the distance should still be far away.”

In the battle of Guazhou, Gao Yizhen's men fought well, Wang Yan took a fancy to his men, and took the opportunity to directly annex them into the Japanese army.

Zheng Sen also performed brilliantly in the battle of defending the river, and later participated in the rescue of Xuzhou. With his connections, he has become a naval officer.

These two people, Wang Yan, knew each other and knew their identities. This trip to Wa Kingdom was very important for the Weaving Bureau, so Wang Yan invited them to go.

At this moment, the two were standing on the bow of the boat, Zheng Sen was in high spirits, as if he could control everything at sea, but Gao Yizhen was a little worried. He remembered Wang Shilang's explanation before leaving that there might be pirates robbing the ship, so he hoped that he could Get to shore early.

The two were talking, when the sailor on the mast suddenly shouted: "General, there is a ship over there, and it seems to be robbing."

Zheng Sen hurriedly pulled out the binoculars and looked in the direction pointed by the sailor. He saw a big ship sailing with flutes chasing a Japanese Zhuyin ship. .”

After finishing speaking, he turned his head and said, "Quickly raise the flag and notify the other two lucky boats so that everyone is on alert."

Three Fuchuan sailed far away from the Dutch ship, and the Dutch ship had already captured the Japanese Zhuyin ship.

At this time, Gao Yizhen saw the Dutch sea ship clearly, and he couldn't help showing a look of surprise on his face. The slender hull, the mast was covered with white soft sails, and the hideous gun ports were exposed on the side, which was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty. Fuchuan is completely different.

Zheng Sen's eyes were a little apprehensive. He looked at the Dutch merchant ship that was a circle larger than the Fuchuan, and explained: "This is the Hongmaoyi on the sea. It is not the same group as the Flangji people in Macau. It is said that they are from the extreme. The land of the west. These barbarian ships are fast and have a lot of artillery, so they are very difficult to deal with."

Gao Yizhen looked at the robbed Japanese ship, frowned and said: "The sea is not safer than the land!"

Zheng Sen said: "Maritime trade is highly profitable, apart from the fact that ships will encounter wind and waves, another important reason is that they may encounter robbery. There are no laws and regulations at sea. Even if you sail for several days, sometimes you will not see a ship. If You don’t have to worry about being known by others when robbing the ships you meet, so any ship you meet may become a pirate. It is because of the danger that the principal will basically be tripled or quadrupled once you travel.”

Gao Yizhen was a little surprised when he heard this, it was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

He glanced at the Dutch merchant ship in the distance again, and the Dutch merchant ship also saw them, perhaps seeing that they had three ships, so they didn't come close.

The three lucky boats continued to move forward, the sun soon fell to the sea level, and a bright moon hung up.

The Fuchuan sailed on the calm sea, and the sailors on the deck adjusted the direction of the sails according to the requirements of the pilot so that the fleet could reach Japan smoothly.

Zheng Sen looked at the stars in the sky and the compass in his hand. After seeing that the sailors had operated correctly, he blew the wind for a while and returned to the cabin.

Gao Yizhen also came down with him. The two had known each other during the battle of Guazhou. Zheng Sen heard that Gao Yizhen and Gao Yihuan knew each other, and asked him a lot about Gao Yihuan.

Sailing on the sea was very boring. After the two came to the cabin, they sat and talked together.

Gao Yizhen said: "If the sea trade really earns as much money as the general said, then the imperial court will be able to increase a large amount of taxes, and with tens of thousands of new troops, the two Huaihe Rivers will be recaptured."

The imperial court's opening of the sea must have affected the interests of the Zheng family, and Zheng Sen naturally understood this, but at this time, he didn't feel sorry for selling his father's land, and he didn't have a family without a country.

Now he has not grown into the king of Yanping County, but a scholar who has just joined the army. His heart is full of passion, and he wants to serve Daming. In addition, the interests of the Zheng family are mainly in Fujian. He thinks that the Weaving Bureau has an impact on the Zheng family. Not big, so for this matter, I have a supportive attitude.

Zheng Sen has never been short of money since he was a child, which makes him regard gold and silver as dung now. He really wants to see Daming rectify his army and horses, and send his troops to the Northern Expedition.

Zheng Sen said with a smile: "If the imperial court really opens up the sea, chooses one or two ports for trade, and sets up a city ship department to collect taxes, I am afraid that it will immediately attract many overseas vassals to come. Not to mention too much at that time, it will be several million taels a year. There are still taxes."

The two were thinking about the prospect after sailing to sea, when a sailor hurried into the ship building, saw the two, stood at the door, and reported directly, "General, the situation is not good, there is a fleet coming up from afar , I don’t know if it’s pirates.”

Zheng Sen frowned after hearing this, Gao Yizhen's face changed drastically, and he had already stood up.

"Take us to take a look!" Gao Yi said urgently.

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(End of this chapter)