At Liegang Pier, a group of men boarded the lucky boat. An official on the boat waved: "Rise the anchor and drive the boat!"

The boss of the boat immediately shouted loudly. The many sailors on the boat put away the stairs reaching the dock. Several sailors walked to the winch at the bow of the boat, and each of them pushed a cart to shut down the rod. As they pushed, the chain slowly rose. The chain rubbed against the wood on the boat and made a sound, pulling the anchor out of the water.

As the anchors came together, the lucky boat began to shake. The sailors then picked up the long poles and supported the dock with their standings. The boat left the shore.

The sailors used bamboo poles to adjust the direction of the hull. When the bow of the boat was aimed at outside the harbor, the sailors immediately shouted horns and pulled up the hard bamboo sails. The ships raised their speed and left the bay under the sea breeze, heading towards the sea. The distance was endless, and the sea and sky were connected.

Zhao Ming is an activist and will do what he decides immediately.

On the sea, Zhao Ming’s strength is not the strongest, and Jintang Island is not safe to be too close to the mainland.

Now that the Qing army occupied Zhejiang, it would definitely form a navy. If Zhao Ming enters the Yangtze River next time, the Qing army might directly attack Jintang Island.

Therefore, although the bastion is expensive, it must be built.

Since Zhao Ming entered the Yangtze River last time and Zhao Ming stationed in Chongming, the Qing Dynasty has paid more attention to the defense of the coastal rivers.

In order to block Zhao Ming, Hong Chengchou ordered the ban on the coast, which caused the smuggling trade in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to be severely damaged. It was difficult for sea ships on Jintang Island to obtain materials from the coast and then resell them.

After Cheng Bi's fleet returned to the port, the ships were idle in Liegang and had nothing to do.

This made Zhao Ming, who originally wanted to rely on smuggling trade to maintain the expenses of Jintang Island, fail to plan.

However, Zhao Ming was not a person who was waiting to die. Seeing that the ship was idle, he sent two lucky boats to Ryukyu to pull volcanic ash, and at the same time sent a boat to North Korea to try his luck.

The Qing army blocked the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but could not control North Korea. North Korea is now a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Ming suggested that Cheng Bi send a fleet to North Korea and use the help of North Korean merchants to purchase supplies, cattle, sheep, and leather from the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia, and transport them back to Jintang Island.

As far as Zhao Ming knows, although North Korea was forced to call a vassal to the Qing Dynasty, it still had nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty. North Korea should be happy to help Zhao Ming.

After all, Zhao Ming didn't let them work in vain. They also made money as middle-aged merchants.

At this time, two blessed ships were sailing on the sea surface, and seabirds flew by in the sky. Jin Bingzhen stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the blue sea, and was quite excited.

The boss of the boat next to him looked at the adult with a smile on his face. The people who had just sailed far away were like this. After a few days, they found that there was water around every day, and the boat seemed to be motionless, and then they realized that sailing was boring.

"Sir, Ryukyu is on the east side of Jintang Island, and they gather together for about 1,400 miles. If you are at the wind, you can sail day and night for five days. If the weather is not good, it may take more than half a month!" The ship boss seems to have a lot of experience.

Zhao Ming wanted to dig some volcanic ash in Ryukyu, so he had to communicate with Ryukyu, so he sent his subordinate Jin Bingzhen to communicate with Ryukyu Kingdom so that he could pull the volcanic ash back smoothly.

After hearing what the boss said, Jin Bingzhen nodded, asked some questions about Ryukyu before returning to the cabin to rest.

Ryukyu is located between the Kingdom of Japan and the Ming Dynasty. There are Huang and Lin surnames in its country. They were all moved to Ryukyu during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. The entire Ryukyu and the Ming Dynasty were almost the same as the same language and species. The Chinese characters, Han rituals, and the degree of sinicization was similar to that of Korea.

Ryukyu is sandwiched between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, but Ryukyu has always been close to China and has taken China as the sect leader and has a close relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the fleet's trip to Ryukyu should be quite smooth.

After ten days of sailing on the sea, the fleet arrived in Ryukyu. Jin Bingzhen got the news and walked out of the cabin. When he arrived at the deck, he saw a large island in the distance, and his eyes were visible.

After sailing for more than half an hour, the fleet entered Shuri Harbor. There were many sea boats moored in the harbor. From the top of the ship, there were not only blessed ships, but also Japanese red seal ships, and even a Western barbarian ship.

This surprised Jin Bingzhen. The boss of the ship on the side sighed: "Ryukyu is located in the east of the Ming Dynasty and southwest of Japan. All ships heading to Japan must rest here. In the past, the harbor was often filled with sea boats, but now it is not as good as before."

The ship leaned on the dock, and Kim Byung-jeong went down the shore from the stairs and headed straight to Shuri Castle to pay homage to King Ryukyu.

There are many Ming merchant ships coming to Ryukyu every year, but almost no officials come. Jin Bingzhen was wearing a sixth-rank official uniform and soon attracted the attention of Ryukyu Kingdom.

Before Kim Byung-jeong could reach Shuri Castle, King Shangzhi, who received the news, had already led a large group of troops out of the city to greet him.

Outside Shuri Castle, many Ryukyu people also surrounded him. Jin Bingzhen was a little flattered when he saw the Ryukyu King greeting him in person. He hurriedly sorted out his clothes and came to the city gate.

A Ryukyu official came first and asked about his identity. He learned that he was not an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, so the Ryukyu King did not kneel down to greet him.

At this time, Jin Bingzhen stepped forward and bowed to the King of Ryukyu, "Sir Jin Bingzhen, please see Your Highness!"

The King of Ryukyu thought it was the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't want to be, so his rank was considered the prince of the Ming Dynasty, but he was still very polite to Jin Bingzhen, "Mr. Jin is a small country, what's the matter?"

In this era, Chinese civilization is the center of East Asia. The cultural super giants and the dwarfs around them can only look up to them. The entire East Asia region, North Korea, Annan, Ryukyu, and even the upper nobles of Japan are proud of writing Chinese characters and speaking Chinese. Just like Europe soon after, even the nobles of Tsarist Russia had to speak French, and cultural people wrote in French, which made them look like they were of class.

Jin Bingzhen hurriedly explained his purpose, saying that he had followed the order of General Pinglu of Zhoushan and wanted some volcanic ash.

Jin Bingzhen himself had never seen it, but when he talked about the fire-breathing mountain and the falling ash, the Ryukyu people immediately understood, but were surprised by the people of the Celestial Empire, what did they want volcanic ash?

At this moment, the King of Ryukyu expressed his willingness to help Jin Bingzhen find volcanic ash and held a banquet at the palace to entertain Jin Bingzhen and his group.

During the banquet, Jin Bingzhen had a great time talking to King Ryukyu, but the boss of the boat always felt a pair of eyes staring at them, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Just in a room next to the banquet hall, two samurai in kimonos, shaved samurai heads and Japanese swords were eavesdropping on the doors and windows, and talking to everyone inside.

A samurai listened for a while and smiled satisfied, "Notaka, the King of Ryukyu dare not say anything to Mingren!"

Another warrior said, "Yinsang, the vassal lord asked us to monitor the Ryukyu King, so be careful."
Chapter completed!