The rumbling of cannon reverberated through the sky of Sejin Kat, each of which shook the leaders of Kuching City.

'Shoot at the island? What kind of etiquette is this? ’

'Is this Song people too rich to burn? Seeing that the rainy season is coming, isn't this venting fire? ’

Liu Dawu looked at the expressions of the people watching the ceremony, and secretly laughed in his heart, the matter of the fleet entering the port and firing the salute does not seem to have been used in this time and space, and there are actually many theories about the origin of the salute, but even according to the well-documented history of the world's navy, it was also after the British dominated the sea, and it was indeed too wasteful to think that the various powers at this time did not rely on such a way to declare their strength, and then there was as the leaders of the Kuching families thought in their hearts.

Not to mention the trouble, the stability of the gunpowder made by the Ordnance Supervision Soil Law is really difficult to say. And then there is this cannon, and now the cannons pulled to the Fengcheng are all transformed from infantry guns, and two of them are simply pulled directly from the Japanese army.

And most of the shells are empty, just a sound. Therefore, although the sonic boom sky, because there was no actual effect, except for a few people who were a little nervous at the beginning, the faces of the others were much calmer.

Looking at the blue sea and blue sky of the estuary and the green mountains and green waters on the other side, if it weren't for the huge cannon sound, it would really be a good scenery in peacetime.

The restaurant on the second floor of the island is plain white and tidy, and the oak tables and chairs of Yishui are all newly made by craftsmen from Brunei Province according to the pattern after arriving in this time and space, and the fragrance of the new wood has not yet dissipated. On the pick-up table placed on the side, a variety of delicacies have already been placed.

Liu Dawu sat casually at the top of the middle table and announced loudly.

"My Great Song Fubo Army took over Kuching this time, it is in accordance with the mandate of heaven, this time to enter the city should be to calm the hearts of the people, you are all local leaders, and you need to come forward to coerce and appease."

Li Fanghua was still lingering on the delicate cups, plates and bowls on the table, and at this time he listened to Liu Dawu's words and said: "It is important for your ministry to clean up people's hearts, but I also hope that the Taiwei will give the villains a charter and implement it as usual." ”

After getting on the ship, he had already seen that this Song man, who called himself Fubo Army, was by no means an ordinary strongman on the sea. Originally, he was curious about what kind of force this could drive a local like Gu Meitang to act as a guide, and he was extremely attentive. Two days ago, even Brunei's big merchant ships suddenly landed in Kuching, although it is the season of pepper market, but this season is usually to the big food or Daming caravan more, there is not the influence of wind and rain, and dozens of Brunei merchant ships suddenly visit this place before the rainy season is very rare, it is really rare to see, you must know that there are only seven or eight big ships that come and go here all the year round, all kinds of signs are indicating, The sudden appearance of the Great Song fleet seems to represent that Kuching is about to face some change brought about by a powerful force.

Therefore, whether he was invited to participate in the proceedings on the ship today, or talking to this Captain Liu of the Song fleet, Li Fanghua was extremely cautious. The Song people's style always reminded him of those Franc machine men who came and went here all the year round and traded with and without capital, and the ships were strong, and just from what he saw on the ship, the Song people's force seemed to be even greater than these Hongmaoyi people.

Liu Dawu looked at it, and said to Li Gangzhu unhurriedly: "I don't know how much military strength this Kuching city has now?" ”

Li Fanghua had a slight trace of uneasiness on his face, but he still immediately said: "In fact, where there is any military strength, but they are all young laborers, and they can coach some swords and guns indiscriminately, which can be compared to the brave people of the Ming Kingdom, and the mighty of the Fubo army." ”

In fact, this is also a cliché, whether the Fubo army is powerful or not, it is all hearsay, even if it exterminates a few pirates in the estuary, it is practical and thoughtful, and the Li family can do it if they ask themselves. However, Li Fanghua does not say that the other families will naturally not dismantle the stage, and the more than 300 strong troops composed of Chaozhou villagers in his hands are now the most eye-catching armed forces in Kuching, not only everyone has leather armor, but also more than 50 arquebuses, and every year when the pepper harvest season comes, it is necessary to rely on this team to ensure that there are no accidents.

"Master Li Gangzhu is joking, who doesn't know that this township is much more useful than the official army." Huang Hu listened to Li Fanghua's words and said with a smile, what he said was not nonsense, the so-called responsibility to defend the territory, when resisting foreign enemies, the people of the hometown are often more desperate than the guest soldiers. Of course, that is the situation of the Ming Dynasty, but if you want to come to the world, things will go the same way, and it is also normal to change to Nanyang.

Qi Sizhong also came out to play a round and said with a smile: "Ordinary sergeants are hired by each family, and there is something in Hong Kong to apportion, but if the soldiers are here today, it can save a lot of expenses for each family." ”

Qi Sizhong said this well-behaved, he has many ears and eyes in Hong Kong, and he knows the strength of the Song people better than others. Gu Meitang had some words there but didn't preach them outside, at least he had just arrived in Brunei, and he had a few battles with the local bandits and Spaniards, and even brought a lot of the big food merchants and nobles in the city, and even that Huang Zongbing is now bowing down to them. These secrets are only heard by Master Qi.

From Gu Meitang, it is natural that the Song people not only have iron clippers, but also exquisite firearms, and the Lianzhu firearms are even more like divine weapons. Of course, now that Gu Meitang is doing things for the Song people, it is understandable that his words are exaggerated, but this exaggeration is not completely made up, this ability to know people is naturally still there, not to mention that he is careful to sail the boat for ten thousand years, and it is better not to be rash when he comes out, since Li Fanghua didn't say much, he was also happy to push the boat down the river, it was just some beautiful words. Today's core is actually still in the Song people's charter, to put it bluntly, what benefits can be obtained.

A small city in Kuching, even if it relies on the prosperity of the spice trade market, is only a small city with a scale of 10,000 people, such a place in Nanyang is not to mention thousands, there are dozens of places, the concept of territory is not clear, especially in the face of foreign powers, more consideration is the trade-off of interests.

Being able to come to the ship today to discuss matters, Master Qi also has a fight, several leaders of the Song people have already entered Kuching City, and now under the guidance of Gu Meitang, they are going to various places in the city and outside the city to 'investigate'. Those people are said to be officials on this ship, but there are only seven or eight in total, and the city has already arranged eyeliners, otherwise the nobles in the city would not dare to risk their lives rashly to come to the ship of the Song people. Of course, there is also some curiosity, after all, such a large iron ship is unheard of, let alone on the deck to experience it yourself.

And now that the cannon fire outside has just stopped, the atmosphere in front of him is even more relaxed.

There was already a sumptuous banquet in the restaurant, although they were all simple dishes, but they were made by the chief himself, Cheng Qilin liked to study cooking skills before he crossed, but people from the bottom of the plane and time and space like him really couldn't consume such a high-end hobby. But when he arrived here, Chief Cheng was like a fish in water, this time the fleet went west, he took the initiative to ask Yinglai to take full charge of the ship's food, and it was indeed a blessing for Cheng Qilin to be able to cook the real ingredients himself, not to mention that he could also receive the envy of a group of sergeants and natives, which was really comfortable.

Li Fanghua has never seen such a dining formation, in the past, foreign merchants, even if there are guests of the country, they only sit at separate tables, although there are many gold, silver and precious jade utensils, but the diet can still be regarded as moderation, in fact, it is not called moderation, it is really not abundant. This is not a boast, Yongle time when the eunuchs of the Three Treasures went to the Western Ocean, and the sailors on board did not complain about the monotony of the diet of the countries in the South Seas, especially the lack of vegetables and vegetables. But the luncheon on the Song Dynasty boat is not very extravagant, but it is unique, the food on this plate, not to mention that many ingredients have never been seen, it is the bursts of fragrance that wafts in the air that also make the taste buds of everyone with their own thoughts moved.

On the long table against the porthole, there was a delicate white cloth table flag, on which the dishes were placed on all of them seemed to be expensive aluminum, which were privately built by the ordnance superintendent in the style of the cafeteria in the past.

"I wonder how many of you are still used to it?" Liu Dawu asked the guest from Kuching with concern.

"Don't hide it from the captain, the villain has also eaten and seen, and the villain of King Matalan's banquet has been there, but he has never drunk such a elixir and jade liquid." The middle-aged man who replied was pot-bellied, and his flattered face was none other than the most prominent local food merchant, who was holding a glass of chilled rum in his hand.

Glassware is not uncommon at this time, there are many people who travel all the way from Genoa, Italy to Macao every year, and there are naturally more here in Nanyang, but there is really no glass that is so crystal clear and free of impurities, and can be made as thin as a blown bomb and can be broken, and the wine contained in such exquisite vessels is shrouded in a layer of frost and mist, which can make people feel refreshed and happy just by looking at it.

Ould's admiration came from the heart, compared to the 'courtesy' when he was doing business in Java, today's enjoyment was indeed refreshing, and he didn't realize that even some of his previous wariness had been let go. Ould's family has been doing business here for several generations, and they are also one of the largest merchants in Sarawak Hebei, and every year they sell several boatloads of pepper to India, or go to Pattani to trade with the local Ming maritime merchants. But this light metal plate alone is unheard of, and there are many dishes that have never been heard of before. After eating and drinking for a while, and being curious about everything in the hall, this made Master Ould, who knew a little Chinese, willing to ask about the doubts in his heart.

Liu Dawu was not polite, and directly popularized the 'allusions' of this elixir and jade liquid in the mouth of Master Ouerde, which is naturally a packaged story, after all, the household department still points to these things to earn foreign exchange, and the means of modern marketing are not sensitive.

"It's not a precious thing, but it's made by fermenting molasses from sugar cane. It's just that this thing has been invented for many years, and the brewers in the country have studied the way of improvement, so it has the taste like it is today, which is easy to say, but the doorway in the middle can only be understood and not spoken, but it is not allowed to drink more. ”

Ould became interested and hurriedly asked, "Why don't you drink too much?" ”

"Although the entrance of this thing is warm and mellow, but also intoxicating, so many people in our country's seafaring merchants have wooden barrels to collect on the ship, one is convenient to store, the other is to sail on the sea, the sailor is adrift, thinking of the old mother at home, every time you drink this thing, you can sleep peacefully, a solution to homesickness, so it also got a common name."

"I haven't asked for the name of this drink."

"Lang's mother's wine."

[Note: Although the technology of sugarcane brewing was widely used in Eurasia after the 14th century, sugarcane as an Old World crop was introduced to Cuba through the Canary Islands after Columbus's second voyage, and according to scholars, Cuban natives brewed rum in the modern sense no earlier than the twenties of the seventeenth century, and the records available are that rum was produced in Barbados in the early 1650s. Therefore, rum had not yet appeared among seafaring crews at this time, and this article adopts this view.