Looking at the hot tea cup in front of him, there was no trace of variegated pure white, even the best porcelain he had ever seen before, but now such a valuable utensil was brought to his house on the still steaming tea soup. Zheng Da looked up and saw that the two people who were talking were both dressed in short clothes, and the one with slightly longer hair looked like a woman. Although there are many local women without clothes in Nanyang, but the young girl with such a graceful figure and fair appearance has never been seen, in Zheng Da's opinion, if this blown-out skin is not a fifteen or sixteen girl, how can it be done? It's just that this figure seems to be taller than him, and the attitude of the two people who are questioning can be said to be kind.

"We heard that you are a Han from Guangdong in the Ming Kingdom?" The man with short hair next to the woman was the one who looked a little older than the woman, but in his early twenties. The speech is with an accent from the Chaoshan area, but the words and sentences are quite different, but they can still understand it.

"Looking back at the Chief's words." It's not the first time Zheng Da has been asked, but the first two times were in the large room, not as decent as today, not only has a special room to ask, there are no outsiders around, and there is tea to serve. So according to what he was taught before, both men and women, are called chiefs, although they don't know what it means, but Zheng Da knows a few words after all, and knows that the word chief is a good word, and then said: "The villain's hometown is indeed Haiyang County, under the rule of Chaozhou Mansion." ”

"Why are you here?"

"It's only because the family is in a difficult situation and there is no other land, so I went to this Nanyang to run a business." Although he had asked these questions a few days ago, the chiefs were accustomed to repeating such questions, and he had already understood them. A few days ago, there was a person who was seen through by the leaders because of the inconsistency in the answers, I wonder what happened to this person in the end?

"Looking at the inquiry a few days ago, are you now settling down in the old port?" In order to be able to communicate with the natives, the travelers also began to learn the Han dialect of the time to ask questions.

"The villain is a joint venture to sell some spices and groceries in the old port, and there is a boat that has been detained by the chiefs a few days ago." In fact, Zheng Da also did gold trading, and the old port was located on Sriwijaya Island (note: Sriwijaya Island was the island of Sumatra in later generations) was originally gold, but it was not yet known the details of the leaders, and Zheng Da did not dare to say it clearly.

"Tell me about the Old Port? What's the market like? What about Chinese businessmen? ”

"The old port is south of Sriwijaya Island, which is what the Chinese merchants call Jinzhou." Zheng Da was afraid that the leaders would not understand, so he deliberately emphasized the nickname of this island, but he regretted it when he said it. Sumatra Island was called Jinzhou by the Han people in the Ming Dynasty, and it was precisely because of the wide production of gold here that Zheng Da was afraid of pulling gold and silver again.

"We also know about the old Hong Kong gold, but we don't know how many Chinese businessmen are there now? I remember that the Ming Dynasty once had the Old Port Propaganda Division? ”

"Those are all in the early years, the Xuanwei Division is long gone, and the Xuanwei has only passed on Shi Jinqing for three generations. Listening to the local born Chinese businessmen, during the Jiajing period, the giant Zhang Lian was forced by the official army to cross the sea and occupy the old port and other places, the country name Feilong, is to Guangdong, Fujian villagers have many defectors, now it is also a big place for Chinese businessmen to come to the south, there are always thousands of Han people living in the country. Zheng Da didn't have time to think about it, a few days ago, he interrogated this short-haired man who claimed to have crossed Nandu for more than 300 years, how could he still know about the old port Xuanwei Division, but he didn't ask much, he only answered honestly.

"There are still a lot of people, can they also read words?"

"There are not many people who know Chinese characters, but they all speak Hakka, and most of them have a Raoping accent." Since the chiefs speak Chinese, they naturally speak Chinese characters and are also familiar with Chinese characters.

"Rao Ping?"

"Raoping County is in the north of Haiyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, after the Phoenix Mountain, I heard that Zhang Dawang was originally from Wushi Village, Raoping County, thinking that many Han people should have crossed south with him back then."

"Which one is the Old Port under control now?"

Zheng Da wanted to come to this short-haired chief to ask about the boundaries of the current Nanyang countries, but he didn't know very well, so he could only know as far as he knew, "There is a monument in the north of the old port, but it is not under each other's borders, and then there is the country of Aceh, all of which are on the island of Srivijaya Acehda, with Aceh being the most powerful, the country is in the north of the island, and the rest of the island are savages, and we will not go to it normally." To the north across the sea is Manraka and Johor, but Manraka has been occupied by the Franco. To the south of the island of Java, there are the kingdoms of Banten and Matalan, and most of the island of Java is under the rule of the Mataran state, and its kingdom is in the city of Matalan. Banten is in the west of the island, but in recent years, the Hongyi power has become increasingly strong, and there are conflicts between the island's various families, and the Hongyi are good at instigating, so the local chieftains continue to attack each other, and the Chinese merchants mostly come to the side of Boni, and do not go to Java too much. Thinking about it again, there were some incorrect words, so he added: "The old port is really not controlled by any one country, it is self-contained, and the surrounding countries have always listened to the tune and did not listen to the announcement." ”

This time, it is very clear that the Nanyang countries are quite similar to the old city-states, and they do not belong to each other, but the small countries also occasionally submit to the big countries, but they are not as good as the Ming Dynasty, and they do not say who must listen to the tune.

"Hongyi? Do you know which country is Tessie from? Despite this question, most of the Hongyi active in the Spice Islands at this time were Dutch or Portuguese. It was the forty-fifth year of Wanli, as confirmed by various captive maritime sailors, that is, in 1617, two years before the Dutch built the city of Batavia on the island of Java, which would later become Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The Portuguese had already captured Malacca a hundred years ago, so the Hongyi was possible in both countries, but the Spaniards were still in the Philippine Islands and did not set much foot in this direction, but at this time, Portugal itself had been reduced to a Spanish vassal since more than 30 years ago, so the actual situation was more complicated.

When asked more specific questions, Zheng Da was also at a loss, "This villain really doesn't know." ”

The short-haired man could only change the direction when he asked, "That Johor seems to have a gap with the Francophone man?" ”

This time, the answer Zheng Da knew: "The chiefs are well-informed, this is true, I heard that the ancestor of the lord of Johor was originally the royal family of Manraka, and he was destroyed by the Francoji people a hundred years ago, so he retreated all the way to Johor, so he never forgot to return to the country." Manraka is also the so-called Malacca in later generations, all of which are transliterations, and Malaysia is also named after it, and Johor is a state of Malaysia, west of Malacca, close to the place of later Singapore.

"Oh? Then you also have trade with that Johor? ”

"That's a lot."

"And why?"

"The people of Johor are not good at trade, and the price is only pepper, and the goods are like slave women, where can I wait for the Chinese merchant to find these many slaves with him."

The short-haired man asked again: "I heard that all the countries of Nanyang believe in the Great Food Sect?" ”

This is true, but the other country is not strict in keeping the precepts, and every year on the eighth day of the fourth month, he also bathes in the Buddha, but he does not eat pork. But there is one thing, the natives must not easily touch their heads, otherwise they will have a mortal enemy, and many Han people who came to Nanyang in the past have committed taboos to fight with the natives. And in my country, the Chinese businessmen take food and drink, just like the Ming Dynasty, and there is no hindrance. Zheng Da said the truth, although there are many converts to Islam in the Nanyang countries, but they are all influenced by India, so the religious customs are different from the Middle East, but the synthesis of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

The short-haired man smiled again when he heard this: "It's happier to say that than to be in Daming." ”

"In front of the chiefs, where is there a villain who is free."

"You're very well-behaved."

Zheng Da and the two chiefs talked well, drank hot tea again, relaxed, and his mind was more active, so he asked: "The chiefs have instructions, so that the villain can do it, in the old Hong Kong Chinese businessmen, the villain still has some fellow villagers, and there is always a little bit of thin noodles." "People are like this, when they have to worry about their lives, they often don't care about anything, but once they have hope, they are greedy again, although I don't know why these short-haired Han people want to explore the old port, but there must always be some calculations.

How did the two people on the opposite side not know that the merchant surnamed Zheng was thinking about the ship of goods, and the ship had been completely cleaned up on the second day after it was detained, and it was nothing more than suma wood, pepper, and grain, rice, and water, not too much, only enough for thirty or forty days. However, on the metal detector, I immediately found a warehouse full of silver coins under the plywood, which was enough for 2,000 pieces, and the spices and other goods could be shipped back to Daming at a good price, but in this South Sea, they are just ordinary commercial goods, and they are not worth anything. It's a human being, not to mention a Han man of the same language and species, it's better than those tax collectors and fishermen who have withheld it, and as for the silver dollar, there is also a way to deal with it.

Without waiting for Zheng Da to think about the next words, the short-haired man opened his mouth first: "I might as well explain it to you today, I think you all know it, we are all the people of the Great Song Dynasty, Yuan Kou occupies my Shenzhou, and our ancestors are unwilling to take prisoners with their bodies, they all float to the sea, and now it is counted, it has been more than 300 years since I went to the country, and this time I returned to my homeland, and I want to take advantage of this Nanyang land to cultivate a little, and then make plans." ”

The man who spoke pretended to pause, let Zheng Da digest it for a while, and said: "I will have to go back to Middle-earth sooner or later, but before returning to China, there is still some arrangement, you can leave early tomorrow morning, and the sailors and others brought with you, as well as the ship and everything you should have, will be returned, but even if we buy the goods on the ship, you don't have to take them away." ”

"The chiefs need to take their own convenience, and it's not worth much." At first glance, I heard the good news, I can leave this place, the ship and the men should also be returned, those goods are also things outside the body, but I don't know if the silver hidden under the splint will be found, if it is just a small spice will not be broken off the old capital, it is a big deal to go back to the old port for another year, leaving the place of right and wrong is the first thing. Besides, I heard the two chiefs say a word of purchase, and the polite question just now, I always had some thoughts. As for the short-haired people who claim to have been going to the country for a long time but know about the Ming Dynasty, it is not surprising, after all, there are many broken businessmen in the Ming Dynasty in Nanyang over the years, and the news exchange is naturally endless.

"We buy your goods, not deduct them, and give you the current price, and we will never make you suffer. It's just that we are eager to return to China, and we have not brought much gold or silver, so we can only discount some goods with you. ”

The short-haired man looked at Zheng Da, bowed his head slightly, and said, "As for the silver money on the ship, you are allowed to exchange it for our goods and take it away." ”

Zheng Dongzhu, who was still calm and relaxed, turned bloodless in an instant.

…………

"Huang Guanren can speak Chinese, but it is a lot more convenient." The man in front of Huang Shunzhi has an old and sophisticated face, but his beardless face can't tell his age. 'Twenty? ', 'Or thirty?' The person in front of him is not only white, but he has no way of knowing his age, and even his appearance is quite similar to Hongyi, but he is full of Chinese, thinking that he is a mixture of Han and Hongyi. But the dress is strange, a collar placket gown, but it is short-sleeved, neither similar to a Ming person, nor like Hongyi, it is really weird.

A moment earlier, the lieutenant who was still boating on the sea, along with his own ships and sailors, had been called the short-haired freak of the Song people. Please come to the island, that is, at this moment, Huang Shunzhi had the honor to confirm the rumors that have been circulating in the capital for many days, such as the city's huge ships neatly arranged on the wharf, and the shape of the wharf has never been seen, it seems to be like a straight road carved from a whole piece of rough stone, but it is natural, Huang Lao, who has been to Labuan Island several times and has a warehouse on the island, it is difficult to explain everything in his eyes, and just now, in front of him, this Xu Lao told him that 'the ship is actually iron'. Not only the boat, but the buildings on this island are like Jincheng soup pools, and when you come up to the island, you can see clearly, where is the original Labuan Island, even if it is the city of Boranai, it will be dwarfed.

After straightening his mind, Huang Shunzhi straightened his clothes again, and said: "I don't know what you are doing when you reach my realm?" Why do you take my people captive and detain my people? ”

The short-haired surnamed Xu is not in a hurry, and when two more people come in to spread tea and soup to eat, the number of people in this room is only five or six, and Deputy Huang has only two capable personal followers, and the short-haired surname Xu is also three people. After drinking the tea soup, the short hair surnamed Xu said: "Xu Xuance, the official envoy of the Nanyang East Road of the Great Song Dynasty, has returned to his homeland this time, and led his troops to be the vanguard, and there are some things that Vice Minister Huang wants to bother your lord to know." ”

[Note: According to the customs of the South China Sea countries contained in the Ming scholar Zhang Xie's "Examination of the East and the West", the customs of the Nanyang countries are a combination of Buddhism, Hinduism and moderate teachings and customs, and the article "not touching the head" is found in the customs description of the Nanyang countries, and it is also seen in the official history, and these modern customs are also inherited and preserved in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Zhang Xie's book was written in the forty-fifth year of Wanli, that is, the age in this book, around 1617, which can be described as a coincidence......

Again: From 1580 to 1640, Portugal actually became a vassal state subordinate to Spain, so the Spanish fleet could also dock at Portuguese ports for supplies at will, so the situation was more complicated.