A light salty smell and a gentle breeze blow through Kuching, a thriving little city in West Borneo, is nothing special as one of the many trading harbours in the South Seas.

Strictly speaking, although nominally part of Bo Ni, Kuching is already on the western border of the Bo Ni State that is now ruled by Borneo, and orders from its country have long since stopped affecting the city.

The Sarawak River runs from west to east and is a thriving floating market with its many tributaries in the heart of Kuching.

The peninsula on the west side of Benting Harbour juts out like a spindle that divides the Sarawak River in two, and the Council House on the south side of the river is arguably one of the most important buildings in Kuching today.

Elaborate canoes weave through the waterways, along the banks are the most characteristic stilt huts of the South Seas, behind which are the mansions of the more noble families on the high grounds, temples and warehouses.

Thanks to the time and location, Kuching has experienced decades of peace and tranquility, bringing together businessmen from north to south, and bringing handsome rewards to this small harbour.

Merchants from all over the world brought with them different regional customs, and the city developed a strange layout as a result. Bypassing the dense web of water, behind Kuching Island, the peninsula of Henan is home to Chinese immigrants, while the immigrants of Da Shi and Malay Peninsula live in the towns of Hebei.

Unlike the situation of the Brahmanas in previous months, the market here in Kuching is not anxious about the arrival of the Song people, but confused.

As the place where pepper is produced, whether it is the merchants of Dashi, Tianzhu and Daming or the Hongyi from Taixi is not a small number in the city, and the Song people are just a kind of foreign Yi, there is nothing to be afraid of, the only thing to worry about is the legendary giant ship like a city. In other words, the Spaniards of decades ago also knew that they could not rely on forcible robbery, even if it was only for spices and gold, but after a year of robbery, what about next year? Even the most brutal robbers will never destroy the market here, after all, the business is gone, and the merchants will vote with their feet, and under such a win-win balance, whoever wants to make trouble will be the first to be held down by other families. Whether it is a Han Chinese, a foreigner or a big cannibal, it is like a tacit understanding to maintain the prosperity of the market.

"You say the ship is taller than the castle of Manraka by the Franc Man?" The middle-aged man's name is Li Fanghua, who is the owner of the port here, and asked a general who is also from the Han nationality suspiciously, the number of Han people in a single round, in the whole Borneo, Kuching is indeed unique.

There is no city wall in Kuching, at best there are some planks and rattan as a barrier, Li Fanghua has not been to the sea for a long time, if there is anything to describe the height, the first thing that comes to mind is the Franc Castle in Manraka City. There seem to be some stupas in Siam, but I haven't seen them after all. As a second-generation expatriate born overseas, his only impression is that he would never think of comparisons such as those huge cities on the mainland.

The Chamber of Parliament is very neat today, and there is a reason for it. Five days earlier, a large fleet had arrived off Kuching from the sea to the east, and had stopped at an anchorage called Sejingkat thirty miles away.

In two days, the master of the fleet, who claimed to be a Song man, relied on a small army of land divisions that came with the boat, and quickly swept away the pirates entrenched on several islands at the mouth of the river, and the news had spread throughout Kuching the day before.

There have never been overseas forces that have infiltrated this place, and I have never heard of the bandits being suppressed first, and even the local wealthy families in Kuching have not been able to do anything, and these weirdos have done it in a few days.

Then some rumors spread that there were merchants returning from the city of Borana, and there was a rumor that a new arrival from the Great Song Dynasty was coming to take over the place.

The general was a clever man, looked at the elders on the side, and replied: "The port lord is right, the ship is taller than the city of Manraka in my opinion, and it is ......."

"And what?"

"And I heard a legend that the whole ship was made of fine iron."

"Ridiculous, the people sitting here are all old people who eat in the sea, do you ask them if their iron boats can float on the water?"

The messenger laughed, "What the harbor lord said is very true, the villain didn't believe it originally, but from Sekingkout's view, the ship is still big. ”

At this time, the white-haired elder who had been listening recently spoke, "It's not uncommon for a warship to wrap its hull in iron armor, in the past, Ming and Japan fought in the North Sea, and I heard that someone had built such a warship. ”

Qi Sizhong is in his sixties, except for his gray hair, he still looks energetic. If you want to talk about the news on the mainland, no one here is more well-informed than him, relying on the Fujian Township Party all over Nanyang, among the Chinese businessmen, Master Qi's vision is also bigger than others.

As the leader of the Chinese businessmen here, even Li Fanghua should also pay some respects to him, and he, the owner of Hong Kong, is still jointly promoted by all overseas Chinese, but in terms of power, it is still the township party in Fujian that is the most united.

"Then, in my opinion, how should we distinguish ourselves?"

"Wait and see......" Master Qi didn't explain again, the few people present all looked suddenly enlightened, it is indeed time to wait, the fleet has been in the open sea for a few days, and has not entered the port of Kuching to plunder, but is clearing pirates, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like something in the future, not to mention that the merchant ships coming and going in the past few days are also normal entering and leaving the port, at least for now, it seems that the other party has no intention of hindering.

"It's just ......" Li Fanghua asked herself worriedly, and everyone's eyes followed again.

"When will it be?"

…………

"When? Naturally, it was to wait until the caravans in Brunei City followed. ”

Liu Dawu repeated the question, and then asked and answered himself.

Although the fleet to Kuching this time was only six large and small ships, the families who followed the south to Kuching together made up a full forty or fifty merchant ships, which can be said to be the best of the best. What happened in the past two months, the collection of piles and piles has made them have a clear understanding of what kind of behemoth they are facing, and they have figured out how to cater to it.

"There are hundreds of pirates caught in the past few days, and they are just locked up?" Huang Hu went out on a mission for the first time, and he was fresh everywhere, and in line with the principle of asking if he didn't understand, he didn't see Liu Dawu at all.

Sweeping the islands off Kuching is a signal and a 'far-reaching significance' for the Song Navy to go west this time. However, in Huang Hu's view, the addition of more than 100 prisoners is one more unstable factor, after all, the Marine Corps may not have much advantage in terms of numbers alone, not to mention that with these burdens, the logistical support will be affected. Although it is not a big problem, it is better to send it directly to the rear, after all, it is better to fight alone than to worry about logistics support.

"Of course it can't just be closed, didn't it be said at the meeting? They all have to be screened well, and those who have blood debts can't be let go, but ordinary fishermen and ordinary criminals are always inevitable in this South Seas, and they are outside the world, so they still have to be treated differently. Liu Dawu put down the binoculars and smiled at Huang Hu, although he is also a veteran, this young man is not only older, but also has an aggressive temperament.

Thinking of this, Liu Dawu asked with concern, "Is the injury on your waist better?" We are far away from the ocean, and the medical conditions are not as good as in Labuan, so we still need to pay more attention, and we can't be as reckless as this time in the future. ”

The most recent clean-up was the day before yesterday, Huang Hu personally led a team to land on a large island where dozens of sea bandits were entrenched. Huang Hu and his naval division were confronted with a flurry of arrows, and the students also lost one of them, wounded three or four, and a short arrow slashed through the door of Huang Hu's face, almost ruining one of his eyes.

Compared with this accident, Liu Dawu was naturally more distressed by the navy's cadets. Those who were able to get on the ship were all seedlings who had been trained in the Naval Academy for a long time, and they were the cadres of the future naval reserve, so it was really uncomfortable to lose them so easily, and the atmosphere was very embarrassing for two days in a row.

"Don't worry, Lao Liu, this time is really exciting, who would have thought that the pirates here would have such a ruthless role, and they won't be in the future."

"Did the guy who shot you find out?"

"I found out, it's a half-grown child, most of the bandits on this island are Han Chinese, and they have all lived here from Chaozhou in the past few decades, so the folk customs are quite strong."

Chaozhou was known for its tough folk customs in the Ming Dynasty, and the number of people who could fight in Guangdong was Chaoyong. And the Chaoshan villagers living overseas are even more united, presumably not intentionally against them, but after all, they have seen blood, so they can't stay, which is really a pity.

"Are the wounded soldiers settled?"

"I've settled down, I've been recuperating in the infirmary for the past few days, and the food is also based on the standard of the sick number, but fortunately, the injuries are not too serious, and I can recover in ten days and a half months."

"That's good, I'm in a bad mood these days, so I didn't go to visit them, and after today's matter is over, I still have to go and see."

"You're just thinking too much, and the current situation is very good."

"The caravan hasn't arrived yet, I'm afraid of too long."

"There is no typhoon on the equator, and I am not afraid of a long delay, why do you come all the way, where is there anyone on the road who dares to be uncomfortable on this sea road?"

Huang Hu's words are true, no matter the ports and islanders where the fleet passes along the way, all of them are eating pot pulp to welcome the king's division, although because of the number of personnel, it is impossible to quickly give birth to the tentacles of rule at these inconsequential contacts, but the Tianwei of the Great Song Dynasty has already been laid, just looking at the heads of several tribes along the way and their sons and nephews who are now on the ship, you can know that these are the foundation for ruling in northern Borneo in the future.

The two men stood and talked in the bow of the boat, and in a few moments a warrior came to report.

"Chief, the fleet of the Brunei Chamber of Commerce seems to have arrived."