China Sea

The tropical noon sun shone almost vertically on the sea, and the slightest wind rose from the water, making people unable to open their eyes. The one-armed general Shao Yunfei stretched his waist on the cross-mast, shook the wine jar in his hand, poured the last few drops of daughter red into his mouth, took a deep breath, and savored the taste of wine and life very much.

He likes the sea. Only when the wind and waves are over, he can feel the existence of life and his unrestrained soul surrounds the white sails and sing. In comparison, the land can only make him depressed. Especially in his hometown thousands of miles away, he is not happy every time he thinks about it. There is always a feeling of pain in his hazy memory, but he can't let go of it.

"There are too many rules there." Shao Yunfei tied the mouth of the wine jar with a cable and gently pushed the jar to the deck. "Some rules are used to make people uncomfortable. There is no other purpose except to make people uncomfortable. Unlike on the boat, although I also stipulated the responsibilities of everyone, at least, everyone knows that the purpose of formulating this rule is to survive." He also clearly remembered that the cumbersome and dull rules in the family from getting up in the morning to eating seats, and then turning off the lights at night. These things have always been in his dreams, which shocked him to turn over and sit up from the hammock, and sweating in cold sweat. In my memory, these things in my childhood were all gray and suppressed. Later, although as he joined the army to fight against the Yuan Dynasty and as he accumulated merit and became a marquis, there were fewer and fewer things that could be limited to him, Shao Yunfei was still unwilling to face these stale things that smelled of fertilizer from rice fields.

Everyone has something he doesn't want to face. Everyone needs a hidden corner to recuperate the wound, including Wu Anguo, who shocked everyone. Shao Yunfei turned over and put half of his body heated by the sun on the mast, and rushed the skin that was originally attached to the mast towards the sun. The coolness from the mast and the breeze wandering among the sails made his mind clearer. He himself was unwilling to face those ubiquitous hierarchical orders, and Wu Anguo was unwilling to face bloody politics. Guo Feng, Liu Shengbu

The son of the Grand Secretary of the Political Department was afraid that he would keep mingling in his fleet if he saw something, for fear that others would know who his father was the famous Guo Pu. It should be the people in the areas where the new policy was not implemented properly, those who had to work for fourteen hours a day and had no meals after having a meal. Although he was the son of the governor and had not experienced the hardships, it did not mean that he had not seen it. Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you cannot refuse the existence of reality. No matter how far you walk away from your hometown, your crying will still come from your heart.

There was always noisy coming from the ship. The dialects of sailors from all over the world and the words of local natives were intertwined, and the local natives were in trouble. It was time to exchange goods every afternoon again, and the sailors could make a fortune again. Unable to sleep, Shao Yunfei simply supported his head with the round iron hook and watched his men do business with the natives on the mast with enthusiasm. Or their life was simple, Shao Yunfei looked at the innocent smiling face of an indigenous man enviously. The big black man had just taken two colorful corals and changed a glass bottle from the sailor, pressed the mouth of the bottle on his eyes, and watched excitedly at the world twisted by the glass, and shouted excitedly.

Maybe this is the original intention of life, simple and happy. Don’t think about the value of the things in your hands, don’t care about the reserve price of unknown things, just exchange what I have for what I long for. This indigenous tribe in front of you is a good place to live in seclusion afterwards. But is it so easy to do it? Look at Guo Feng, who is busy commanding the sailors on duty to prepare logistics supplies in the crowd, and look at Feng Ziming, who asked the indigenous people about the characteristics of an animal in a strange language, Shao Yunfei decided to end his dream of seclusion. He couldn’t let go of these people. Life was also simple and happy with these people. He could try not to think about what happened on land and what was about to happen. Just like these dark-skinned indigenous people, they could not know that silk could be used to make clothes, nor how to weave silk, but this did not prevent them from using their bodies to feel the smoothness of silk.

When Feng Ziming heard the sound of cable friction coming from behind, he knew that the old guy could not stay on the mast again, and asked without looking back, "Brother Shao, come and see, can we bring these two little giraffes back to the Central Plains? This thing was called auspiciousness back then. The two ends of the zoo just died last year. Let's take these two ends back, and it is probably a good price."

"I'll take a look, it should be done." Shao Yunfei landed on the deck and walked to the side of the boat. The black people who came to do business saw this shirtless sailor whose skin color and muscles were similar to theirs. They thought they had met the fellow villagers, and waved intimately on their own boats. Under their honest smiles, their white teeth and dark faces complemented each other.

Shao Yunfei put his finger on the giraffe's lips and touched it. He felt the temperature. With the cooperation of the natives, he opened the deer's ears and looked at the color of the blood vessels inside. He nodded, indicating that Feng Ziming's two small kirins are in good health. In ancient Chinese legend, there is a kirin in the world, which is a good omen for peace and peace in the country. Except for the legendary heroic lord and the old saint of Confucius, no one has seen such a deer body, ox tail, and a unicorn beast described in ancient books as deer bodies, ox tails, and unicorn beasts. Until Feng and Shao arrived in Malindi, the first time in our time and space, this place was Zheng He's fleet arrived on the fourth time when they voyage to the West, from the local chief

I bought two little giraffes in my hand with a set of glass cups, and then I realized that the Qilin could be caught casually in some places. At that time, Feng and Shao earned a lot of money from Zhu Yuanzhang with this divine beast, which also brought excitement and excitement to the Ming Dynasty. On the first day of the zoo's exhibition, the entire capital was deserted. This time, they went south, and the two did not stay in Malin Kingdom, so they forgot to bring the two giraffes back to Zhu Biao. The two had no good feelings for this Emperor Antai and were not very concerned about whether the emperor's dragon body was healthy. At this moment, they were thousands of miles away from the Central Plains. They didn't know that the Ming Dynasty had a new owner.

"The southwest, the embankment of the sea, is actually a kirin, five feet tall, with a body of a horse's hooves, fleshy horns, brilliant literary talent, red clouds and purple mist, and the toes do not sway things. You must choose soil when traveling, comfortable and slow, moving according to the rules, listening to their harmony, sounds and sounds are the bells and be kind beasts, once met by ancient times, shining on their gods, and ascending to the heavenly palace."

Guo Feng, the captain of the No. 4 frigate, who was responsible for supplying the fleet, also came over, touched the head of the deer with his hand, and whispered a few short poems that tens of thousands of people recited when the giraffes first entered the court. Back then, the whole country was full of passion, as if the world of saints was coming in the blink of an eye. African elephants, lions, zebras, leopards and kirin giraffes, whenever Feng and Shao brought rare animals back to their country, the capital would be joking. Unfortunately, after the sudden cold night and gunfire, everything changed.

Passion retreated, and everything revealed its true nature. When the court could no longer adapt to those changes, it was not the court that changed itself according to the needs of the people, but used muskets to regulate the direction of the changes. Kc8knHBRQ's 6qCkj "Do you have a Qilin here?" Guo Feng asked curiously? According to the "Feng Family Museum" he read, the Malin Kingdom is far south here.

Feng Ziming was also a little surprised. He took out the pencil and paper, and while recording the local location, he translated Guo Feng's question to the natives.

"Dudu, wuwu, wuwu", the natives shook their hands and explained honestly. In Shao Yunfei and Guo Feng's eyes, these scales were all wuwuwululu, and there was no difference at all. Feng Ziming's face suddenly became solemn, staring at the eyes of the natives, asking non-stop like a cannon.

The natives thought Feng Ziming was going to regret it, so they pointed to the sky and shouted vigorously, attracting a bunch of bystanders. The communication between the two was not very smooth, and the exchange between the two gradually turned into a meeting of seven or eight people. Guo Feng and Shao Yunfei were so anxious that they scratched their ears and faces, trying to come forward to help and talk, but they couldn't find half of the local vocabulary.

After nearly a pot of tea, Feng Ziming delivered what the natives needed. He ordered the sailors to lock the little giraffe into the cargo hold, then rushed to Shao Yunfei, Guo Feng nodded and signaled the two to enter the captain's room to talk.

"What's wrong? Is there any danger nearby?" As soon as I entered the captain's room, Guo Feng asked in a hurry.

"No, but there is some trouble on the road ahead. The Arab fleet passed by here five days ago. They were on the same route as us. These two little giraffes were left when they exchanged food with the locals. I communicated with several locals. They said that the Arabs wearing headscarves often appeared in this water recently, with many ships and asked the locals about the Ming fleet," Feng Ziming said worriedly.

The Arabs riding triangular sailboats have always been the mortal enemy of the Ming fleet. During the Hongwu period, the Western routes were first opened and merchant ships flocked to it. The Ming merchant ships carried more gold when they returned, which became the focus of Arab pirates. At the beginning, they were just small-scale pirates robbed, and merchants still had hope of evading by luck. After all, the sea was vast and they did not meet pirates every time they sailed. Later, due to the overlap of trade routes and fierce competition, some Arab merchants began to secretly collude with pirates, gradually squeezed out the Ming merchant ships from Hulumo

To the north of the Strait of Sholmuz, the wood bones were shrouded in Mogadishu and Malindi. The scope of activities of the Ming merchant ships gradually contracted to the east of Malacca. Only some powerful merchant groups organized armed merchant ships to escort themselves, so that they dared to exchange between China and Africa. However, the huge robbery benefits were far higher than the risk of artillery counterattack on merchant ships. In the end, the Arabs in the entire coastal area began to participate in the robbery of passing merchant ships, not only expelling merchant ships from the eastern countries from the ocean, but even Feng and Shao had to temporarily interrupt the expeditions.

In the second year of Antai, Cao Zhen, the Duke of Jinghai, led the Ming fleet and the Fang family fleet to visit these cities one by one, and the power of the Muying family also expanded to Malacca. The huge gap in strength forced the Arabs to surrender and stopped the open robbery of the Ming merchant ships, but the piracy supported by the nobles has never stopped. In recent years, the situation in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty was critical, and the navy had no time to look west, and the plunder of the regular Arab fleet at the sea rekindled.

Shao Yunfei was also surprised when he heard the news that Arabs appeared nearby. If a battle occurred at sea, the firepower of Feng and Shao's expedition fleet was too weak, and they were definitely not the opponent of the regular fleet. The expedition ships did not have enough funds and time to spend on supplies. In order to ensure the endurance of the ships, only a few gun positions were retained on each ship. Even for the Japanese-class ships that were used as frigates, only ten naval guns were equipped on the left and right sides. As a transport ship, the military equipment of the Hunfan cargo ship was even worse, with only six artillery guns per ship. If it were ten years ago, the fleet of Shao and Feng's two were still advantageous in the range of artillery. Shao Yunfei once blocked the Arab port by the range of artillery farther than others and asked for compensation. However, their old opponents have been improving for more than ten years and used various means to improve the artillery making technology. The current range of naval guns is almost the same as those of the antiques from the Ming merchant ships twenty years ago.

"It seems that we can only hide. We thought this place was still far away from Zufa'er and the Arabs would not come." Shao Yunfei pondered for a while and decided to leave first.

"Fortunately, Brother Shao is wise and installed the stern of the frigate with a rotating turret like the bow. If they chase after him, we can surprise these pirates." Guo Feng had never experienced a large-scale naval battle and was blindly optimistic and encouraged himself.

Shao Yunfei shook his head and smiled bitterly. There was a main gun on the turrets on the bow and stern of the frigate, which could rotate at will and attack the enemy from all angles. This was Shao Yunfei's life-saving skill. However, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly, and the rotation speed of the two main guns would definitely not keep up with the change in the position of the ship. Although these two guns represent the latest ordnance manufacturing technology of Peking, the reloading speed and range of the shells were much higher than before, the expedition ship with twelve guns and the battleship equipped with forty or fifty guns of Arabs obviously would not take any advantage.

What worried Shao Yunfei the most was that the recoil of the rear-loaded guns on the warships is extremely large. With continuous shooting, the turret will definitely be destroyed within twenty shells. The opponent's fleet of warships will not be less than fifty. If the battle cannot be ended within twenty cannons, everyone will only be beaten.

"Have our supplies purchased sufficiently?" Feng Ziming whispered to Guo Feng. He was no longer affiliated with the Ming army, and there was no face to escape.

Guo Feng took out the accounts from his arms and checked them carefully, nodded, and reported in an equally small voice: "There is enough support for a month and a half, and the fruit is almost the same. Even if the food is still incurred, we have only been here for two days. The tribes that are a little farther away have not had time to arrive at the port to trade with us. If we catch some fish on the road, we will be equipped with some soybean noodles in the food, and it will be no problem to support it in Nanwuli."

"A terrible mess", Feng Ziming angrily cursed "Beijing curse". Eating soybean flour is a way to save food consumption at sea passed down by our ancestors. The soybean flour has a strong expansion force, and a little bit of soybean flour and a bowl of cold water will definitely make the strong man feel hungry for a day. The problem is that after eating the soybean flour, his stomach will not stop swelling. So many sailors are together, and the taste in the crew cabin can be imagined. And long-term consumption of soybean flour is also a kind of destruction for people's health. These sailors are old guys who have been with the fleet for many years, almost gathering the elites of the Ming Dynasty. They would rather give up the boat than give up these old guys.

"Make the final supply this afternoon, and make the watchtower more alert, so don't let people block the harbor. Tonight, anchor, not to go north, we will keep going east and heading to Mount Ceylon. I will take the lead in the flagship, and Ziming will coordinate with the No. 2 ship. Xiao Guo will drive the No. 4 battleship hall and organize the cargo ship in the middle of the fleet. I guess those Arabs should stop at an island at the interface between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean near Bila. If they get our news yesterday morning, they will have to come by tomorrow morning as soon as possible." Shao Yunfei took a pen and drew a heavy picture on the chart.

Feng Ziming stopped discussing with Guo Feng and walked to the chart together. Shao Yunfei chose not a safe route close to land, but a longer and more dangerous route than the route he said the morning before yesterday. With current navigation technology, the best choice is to go north along the African coast through Zufaer and Hurumus, then turn to Gambari, and go to Ceylon Mountain through Guli, one of the Zhenghe routes in this time and space. Even if you are grateful, you should have planned to go to Bila, go to Guli, pass through Ceylon Mountain, and then to Nanwuli.

The second route of Zheng He in Malacca, the route mentioned in this chapter is all Zheng He routes in our time and space, and will not be noted next. The one mentioned by Shao Yunfei just turned east from the current direction and ran to Nanwuli. Feng and Shao only tried it once many years ago, and were extremely thrilling and almost buried in a sudden storm. And they suddenly crossed two different waters, and the fleet was very likely to lose their direction in the sea. Once they entered the wrong direction, God knows whether they could return to land.

Shao Yunfei saw hesitation on the faces of the two, and knocked on the table with the iron hook on his hands, whispering comfort: "It's different from the time we left last time. This is March, and there are not so many storms on the water. Besides...." He gently stroked the ocean with a pen to draw out a small island shape. "There is an island here, and the Guli people's navigation is marked on the chart called Liushan. As long as we find it, we can stay there temporarily and find a stopover for us next time. If we take this new route directly next time, we can save nearly a month." Please pay attention to the new book "Homeland" of the Drunkard

"Old guy, I'll listen to you." Feng Ziming thought for a while and agreed happily.

Shao Yunfei took the towel handed over by Guo Feng, wiped the sweat from his body, and continued, "Boy Guo, I'll go and recruit all the captains and deputys to the flagship later. According to the rules of Peking, we will hold a round table to explain the situation to everyone. When it comes to the hands of the Arabs, they snatched us, but they are afraid that the Ming fleet will know who the culprit is, so they will definitely kill everyone to silence them. Anyway, it's all a risk. We might as well have a big fight with Dahai."
Chapter completed!