The crew had had eaten supper, and after a short time of amusement, and with the exception of the watchmen, they went back to their humble bunks, and the men, who had been tossing and turning at sea for a day, fell asleep almost as soon as their heads touched their pillows. Soon there was a snoring on the boat, enough to weigh down the sound of waves on the sea.

The mast of the fleet was raised with a night lantern made of copper wire and glass (in fact, a large horse lantern), and it entered the state of night sailing.

Several sailors whispered haha at their respective posts to relieve the boredom and loneliness of this night voyage. On the deck in the distance, the hatch opened, and two personal soldiers on duty accompanied Shouhan to conduct a night inspection.

"Lord, the young men on this Changsheng ship are all descendants of the ship's family recruited from all over the world, since they were young, they have been running on the deck, accompanied by the wind and waves, and after the training of the sailor school, they have practiced the tempering of the fleet, and selected the elite from the middle, so that they can come to the Changsheng!"

It was the voice of the former captain Chu Tianlei!

Hearing the words of the old chief, several sailors immediately straightened their backs, and the movements of their hands became more and more refined.

As a newly launched ship, the Changsheng has a three-layer gun deck and is equipped with more than 70 guns of various sizes, and if Shouhan is willing, he can install another 20 guns on the spare gun emplacement, so that it can completely meet the standard of a second-class battleship, but after thinking about it, he still reluctantly parted his love. "Assign good gunners to as many ships as possible!" Shouhan listened to a guy who had returned from Japan tell the famous words of a daimyo "If you have a hundred taels of silver, don't buy yourself a sword of one hundred taels." Let's buy a hundred common knives for one tael! ”。 It was decided not to equip its own ship with so many cannons, but instead chose to install four rocket launchers.

In terms of firing range, this thing is much farther than ordinary artillery, and the threat and damage to the enemy are no worse than that of artillery, and the cost is low, and it is simple and easy to operate, and it can be done part-time by sailors.

Tapping on the railing of the ship and looking at the dark sea, Shouhan couldn't help but think of the famous song of the Seven Sons, and worshiped the opportunity to reclaim Monte Carlo in the East. Shouhan also read this long poem carefully. The nine pieces of land that have been ceded from south to north from Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Weihaiwei, Guangzhou Bay, Kowloon, and Luda (Lushun-Dalian) are all natural harbors and coastal defense outposts.

The destination of this trip, Ryukyu, although not in the Song of the Seven Sons, has also had a profound impact on the history of China.

From the thirty-fourth year of Wanli. The Shimazu family began to invade and rule the Ryukyus. Prior to that, due to the invasion of North Korea by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, that monkey. Guided the Ming Dynasty's trade blockade against Japan. The luxury goods needed by the nobility such as the public and samurai families in Japan became priceless, and the demand far exceeded the supply. Seeing that there were huge profits to be made, the Satsuma clan took advantage of its geographical location to start trading with the Ryukyus. Seafood and some luxury goods were shipped back from Southeast Asia, and the scarce materials needed were obtained from the trade between the Ryukyus and the Ming Dynasty.

As a result, the cross flag of the Shimazu family of the Satsuma domain began to flutter over the Ryukyus. The Ryukyus had to pay tribute not only to their suzerain, the Ming dynasty, and later to the Manchu Qing dynasty, but also to the Satsuma domain, an evil neighbor and de facto controller.

Throughout the Tokugawa Shogunate's lockdown period, only the Shimazu family of the Satsuma clan in Kyushu used this form of trade to accumulate wealth for themselves for hundreds of years. This was the so-called "Emperor Rebellion" and "Meiji Restoration", and the so-called Satsuma Navy of Choshu's Army. This group of beasts created many diplomatic events such as the Peony Society and the Ryukyus, fattened themselves step by step, and turned the Ryukyu Kingdom into the so-called Okinawa Prefecture!

But will this kind of thing ever happen?

"Da Leizi," he called Chu Tianlei's nickname, "do you want a bigger ship with more guns on board?" Can you sail further? Can you go directly from Hue to Beijing and Liaodong? ”

"Can there be a bigger ship than the Changsheng and the Canton?"

Chu Tianlei almost thought that he had heard it wrong, he listened carefully, except for the sound of the wind on the sea, the fluttering sound of tearing the flag, it was the lord talking to himself.

"Absolutely! Moreover, our South Central Army has always sought stability through agriculture. Seeking wealth through work and wealth through business, this ocean is our lifeblood for us. Without the sea, our people can't travel everywhere, the raw materials we use to make things are nowhere to be found, and our finished products can't be shipped. ”

"Therefore, the lord is going to build a large sailor, occupy the islands everywhere, survey the shipping routes, and build ports."

Chu Tianlei is very able to understand the strategic thinking of Shouhan, in fact, it has been like this all these years. Every time we take a step out, the development of the South China Army will reach a new level, and then it will be a better development.

"As long as you can train enough sailors, I will make the shipyard build more and bigger ships for you. The kind of big ship with three masts, the main mast is more than sixty meters high from the waterline, and can install a hundred guns, three layers of gun decks. ”

Unconsciously, Shouhan described the outline of one of the most classic battleships in his mind, the Victory.

"This ship alone will have to use nearly 1,000 people as sailors and gunners to store dozens of tons of gunpowder to ensure the launch of cannons."

"When we get the Ryukyus affairs done and go home, we will hire someone to do the design, and in addition, the matter you mentioned before, the gunners are not good at aiming and shooting in the bumpy and undulating state of the waves" I guess there will be a solution.

According to the principle of isochronism of the pendulum, the soldiers of the sailors can completely complete the loading between the undulations of the waves, aim at the trough, prepare at the crest of the wave, and shoot at the next trough. According to the principle of isochronism of the pendulum, whether the swing amplitude (when the swing angle is less than 5°) is larger or smaller, the time to complete a swing is the same, and the sailor can clearly grasp the time interval between the two fluctuations. And Galileo, who put forward this theory, is now working in Hue to defend the Han and work for the South China Army.

It is believed that this great scientist will find the most reasonable and scientific method of rapid training for the navy of the South China Army.

"Big thunder. You remember, in order for our lives to be better, we have to sell everything we have at the highest possible price, and then buy everything we need at the lowest possible price. In this way, our lives can get better and better. But in order to achieve this goal, we must have a strong sailor who can cruise the seas everywhere and protect our merchant ships and interests. ”

Right now, in the East Asian seas, he can be regarded as a strong one. It's just three. Zheng Zhilong's former maritime business group. The naval divisions of the South China Army grasped the geographical advantages of Manraka, and made a large amount of ill-gotten gains from collecting high tariffs on ships going back and forth, and established the Dutch East India Company, which had a stronghold in Batavia and had a good cooperative relationship with Liu Xiang's group.

But. By nature. Zheng Zhilong Group and East India Company. They all belong to logistics providers and traders, and only Nanzhongjun has the three roles of producer, logistics provider and trader.

Although the three families said that they are now going their own way and making their own fortunes. And there are good trade activities between each other, but there can only be one dragon king in a sea, what are three dragon kings?

In the words of "The Godfather," the gangster film that is considered a classic epic, "Free competition is wasteful, and monopoly is effective." "In order to achieve a monopoly on the sea of East Asia, where gold and silver flow, sooner or later there will be a war between the three families.

"Da Leizi, therefore, our trade routes to the mainland cannot only rely on what the Zheng family gave us, we must also open up new routes that belong to us."

"The subordinates understand! Ryukyu is the most critical point on this route! ”

Walking along the deck of the Changsheng with a circumference of nearly 200 meters, and greeting the sailors and gunners who were on duty at various battle positions, looking at the sailors who were shivering in the night wind in the middle of the night, Shouhan told Chu Tianlei, "After I go back, write a submission to all the soldiers of the sailors, as long as they are on the ship, go to the Franc Jiren to buy wool tweed to make a big coat, and when the weather is cold, you can put on a cold." ”

This move immediately moved the sailors on duty, and many of them, after getting off the sentry post, wrote letters to their families or lovers in the cabin by the dim and flickering lights, telling them what they had seen and heard about going to sea.

"The lord came to our post at night, and saw that we were a little cold blown by the night wind on the sea, so he told Chu Tong to take it, and spared no expense to order wool ni for us and other sailor soldiers to go to the merchant of Franc Machine. How can such a deep favor be repaid? It's just a desperate fight! ”

When a red sun jumped out of the distant skyline, the fleet of seven large ships was dyed with a layer of morning glow, the white sails were plated with a faint red halo, and the cannons on the deck shone lovely in the sun, making people forget that this was a sharp weapon for opening mountains and cracking rocks to kill people and destroy ships.

The bells hanging from the cabins and decks were struck vigorously by the boatswain on duty, and the people rose from their bunks, went to the corners of the cabins to fetch their basins, and went out of the cabins to wash outside.

"Where are we now?"

A sailor with teeth in his mouth, the corners of his mouth full of foam, vaguely asked his companions about the current location of the fleet.

"It's not particularly clear, ask the brother who is worth more."

"No need to ask! When I came up, I had just passed the ceremony! ”

From the mast above people's heads, a voice floated down.

"Hurry! Look! Island! ”

With this cry of surprise, more than a dozen seabirds babbling in mid-air collided in front of people's eyes.

It is well known that at sea, where there are birds, there are islands. Therefore, it is a pleasure to see seabirds flying overhead during a long voyage.

"The seagull is a good luck bird, and when it comes to that fleet, it will bless the boat. Like dolphins, they are auspicious sea creatures. "Veteran sailors are educating young sailors about the sea.

"Isn't that a can't be fought?"

"Hit? Looking for death!? How do you write the word "island"? There is a bird above, a mountain below, there are birds, and there is a mountain is an island! The old sailor glanced at him, took out a leftover steamed bun from last night from his coat pocket, broke the dried steamed bun and threw it into the air, and the seagulls flew and circled up and down the fleet.

In the cabin, several young officers of the naval division were busy making a mess on the charts, marking the location of the islands and calculating the distance of the route. Look for the name of the island in previous sources.

"Found it!"

An officer excitedly held up a chart to show off to his comrades around him.

"Yonaguni Island!"

"My lord, we have entered the waters of the Ryukyu Kingdom!"

At the breakfast table of the officers of the Chang Sheng, as the commander of the fleet of the warships, Chu Tianlei reported the news to Shouhan on behalf of all the officers and men of the naval division.

"Yonaguni Island is the closest to Oto. According to the old people, when the weather is good, you can see the mountains of Oto Island on Yonaguni Island, and it is also the closest island in the Ryukyus to Oto. It is one of the Yaeyama Islands in the Ryukyu Islands. ”

Yonaguni Island?! It's been a long time!

Shouhan silently recited a sentence in his heart.

"How big is the island?"

"It's not big, it's about twenty-four or five miles long from east to west, eight miles from north to south, and the coastline is less than sixty miles long. The radius is only twenty or thirty miles. The island is mountainous, has many small rivers, has an abundant source of fresh water, and has only three villages. The population is less than in the hundreds. The three villages are Zuna in the north, Kube Ryo in the west, and Hikawa in the south. The three villages were built on the island's mountain range. In these three villages. Zuna, located in the north, is the leader of the three villages. I think it would be possible to consider setting up a supplementary point here for fresh water for the fleet. ”

"Send a boat and go down with a group of people to tell the people on the island. In the future, this island will be under the jurisdiction of my Southern Ming Army! There are those who dare to resist, kill! ”

The officers around the table were a little surprised, they are not the kind of rookies who have not seen blood killings, on the contrary, everyone can be regarded as "blood debts", in the process of the conquest of the slaughter of the village is not not undone, but, that most of the villages that have hostile behavior with the South China Army will suffer this fate, a lonely island hanging in the East Ocean, how can the commander of the South China Army, Li Shouhan, who has more than 100,000 sons under his command, do this to him?

If you don't accept jurisdiction, you will all be exterminated?

Everyone was puzzled and puzzled, and they didn't dare to ask more, so they had to bow their heads and destroy their share of breakfast. Chu Tianlei nodded and summoned the star officer on duty and ordered him to convey this order from Shouhan.

The sailor on the mast waved the small red and yellow flag in his hand and made contact with a nearby ship, and soon the flag came from the boat, "Do it as ordered!" If you don't comply, you will be killed. ”

Watching the boat sail out of the group and heading towards Yonaguni Island, as they approached the island, the boat was lowered and a group of soldiers rowed towards Yonaguni Island.

"Don't blame me for being ruthless. You will not understand my painstaking efforts. ”

From the monoculars, Shouhan watched the officers who led the team after landing on the shore, and struggled to plant the Daming Sun and Moon Flag and the Lizi Phoenix Flag on the beach by the sea, and said something with the natives who came.

"I'll leave it to them here, and we'll pick them up when we get back from Ryukyu."

"If you know that someone has set up a military base, set up a radar base, sent troops, and drawn a so-called air defense identification zone here, and use the fighter jets that take off here to threaten and occupy your territorial waters and territory, I am sure you will also control this island in your own hands! Moreover, this island is so close to Daeyuan, like a springboard, with Daeyuan to the west and Ryukyu to the east, the status of this island is naturally self-evident. ”

There was a faint roar of firecrackers on the island, and then the soldiers began to chase down the fleeing islanders with their knives and guns. Obviously, it was the soldiers who went to the island and the inhabitants of the island who clashed verbally, and the soldiers carried out the orders of the guards well.

The people in the fleet could see the billowing black smoke rising from the island, but no one dared to ask why the people of the island had made the lord so angry.

"Something that doesn't open the eyes! If the lord wants to take you in, he will naturally give you household registration, and then there will be countless benefits, how many people have worked hard for several years to get in exchange, you just need to nod your head, this is the blessing that you have knocked through how many wooden fish in your previous life! I don't know what to do! Damn it! ”

The old sailor, who fed the seabirds with dried steamed buns, spat into the sea, scolding the inhabitants of the island for not knowing the times.

Along Yonaguni and Yaeyama Islands, across the Miyako Waterway, through a clear blue sea in front of you, the destination of this trip, Ryukyu has already appeared in front of you.

"My lord, shall we go to Kume Island first and anchor or go straight to Naha Port?"

Mao Sihai, the interpreter and liaison person of the trip, stood beside Shouhan and whispered to him for instructions.

Shouhan handed the binoculars in his hand to the soldiers standing on the side, "Sikai, let me ask you, when you came to trade before, did you go to Kume Island first, or directly to Naha Port?" ”

"My lord, why did we go to Kume Island when we came to trade sugar cane with them by transporting rice, cloth and iron tools? Kume Island only went to their respective homes after the trade was over. ”

"Then why did we go to Kumejima Island first this time?"

Listening to the words that seemed to have no emotion in Shouhan's words, Mao Sihai suddenly found that he seemed to have made a clumsy mistake.

"When my subordinates came, they were businessmen, and the lord's majesty was great, if I didn't send someone to contact me in advance, I was afraid that it would cause misunderstanding." He wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and explained to himself.

"Haha! How many soldiers and horses are there in the Ryukyus? ”

"Returning to the lord, as far as his subordinates know, his domestic Yanwu Xiuwen issued the so-called sword hunting order several generations ago, and confiscated the weapons of the whole country. Today, there are only a few thousand soldiers in the country, and they are scattered all over the country. When the Shimazu family conquered Shuri Castle and captured the Ryukyu king, they had only 500 bows, 300 spears, 300 armor, and a number of knives and spears. Chu Tianlei, who was standing on the side, shouted loudly, debunking the old foundation of Ryukyu.

"The Shimazu family can destroy its kingdom and capture its king, why should I go to Kumejima Island first and not go to its royal castle? Herald! The ships are heading straight for Naha Port! (To be continued......)

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