Chapter Ninety-Six: The Kiln Gang Fleet Sets Sail The galleon goes to Mexico

Including Zhang Zhimu himself, they were all very excited that the Yaogang Navy could send such a large lineup of sailors to sail away, Chen Yufeng, Ouyang He, and the veterans led by Emperor Chongzhen were even more happy.

Fan Chengkun also waited excitedly for everyone's applause to stop before he continued, "We have been preparing for this ocean for a long time, and the issues we have considered are also very comprehensive. We interrogated the Franciscans, the Hongmao, the British, and the little Francophiles, and asked them to introduce the routes that came to us from their Atlantic. We will also bring a few Westerners on different ships this time and let them introduce the route. Our sailing plan was to start from Quanzhou and stop at Manchurian (Malacca) to replenish fresh water and other things, leaving behind a 5,000-ton cargo ship to unload coal, heavy oil and diesel. Then we will go to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to repair and repair, and then the next stop will be Mukudushu (Somalia), where we will leave some men behind and build a replenishment base, and here we will also unload some oil and coal to supply our return voyage and future ships. The next stop is the Cape of Good Hope, but we may have to fight at the Cape of Good Hope, because the Dutch have a supply base there, so we will drive them out and use their base as our base. After the Cape of Good Hope our fleet entered the Atlantic, and we were ready to stop docking, and went straight to Lisbon in the small Franc (Portugal), asking them to allow us to go ashore for trade, and if it went well we would enter the Mediterranean Sea from the Strait of Gibraltar, of course, we must not forget to ask the Francis (Spain) to trade, and as for whether to cross the Strait of Gibraltar or to do this before entering, the fleet will be dealt with on the spot. Once in the Mediterranean, we will enter the Black Sea through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, and from the Black Sea into the Assyrian Sea. ”

"Wow!" There was another round of applause.

"The commander-in-chief of our expeditionary fleet is Mu Yi, deputy commander of the Yaogang Navy, and the deputy commander is Zheng Zhilong, deputy commander of the Yaogang Navy!"

After another round of applause, Emperor Chongzhen said: "The king and princess of Mugudushu (Somalia) also came to our Beijing to pay tribute. But they were very arid, and sometimes it didn't rain for several years! You're building a base there, and you're going to have to bring a lot of stuff with you! ”

Yan Boju was a little puzzled, "I said Commander Fan, you will inevitably have to fight along the way when you go out this time, but why did you bring so many cargo ships over?" ”

"Huh! Mr. Yan asked well! Fan Chengkun said, "Only a small part of the cargo ships we went out this time were carrying our goods, and more were carrying reinforced concrete, as well as coal, heavy oil and diesel fuel for our ships." This time, our main task is to establish a route that belongs to us, and this route must have some supply bases, otherwise our steamships and diesel ships will have to carry too much fuel, and then we will not be able to transport supplies. ”

"This time, you've sailed to the doorstep of those Siyi people in the Atlantic, and it's likely that they'll unite against you. But I've heard that the Dutchman has 10,000 or 20,000 ships, so you need to be prepared? Emperor Chongzhen said with concern.

"We are prepared for this, and it can even be said that we are going to their warship. I'm afraid they're hiding! Fan Chengkun said, "In fact, no matter how many ships they have, they have to come in line, and they can't all come up at once." We have the opportunity and time to destroy them one by one! ”

In the afternoon, at a huge swearing-in meeting in Quanzhou Port, Zhang Zhimu made a very incendiary speech. In the evening, all the soldiers were invited to the banquet.

The next day, before dawn, Zhang Zhimu and the others got up and came to the dock. Everyone couldn't sleep because of something in their hearts, but in fact, in the middle of the night, all the boats were lit and prepared. After the dinner, the soldiers returned to the ship.

Before dawn, Emperor Chongzhen and King Dai of Zhou and others also came to the dock. After Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong saluted Zhang Zhimu and others on the shore, they boarded the flagship Taishan.

As soon as the sky was white, the Tarzan slowly left the dock and sailed out of the harbor under the tugboat of two tugboats. Zhang Zhimu and others kept waving to the Taishan.

It also took a long time for all the ships on the dock to depart from the port, and all the ships that were high in the sun were far away from Zhang Zhimu's sight. At this time, Mu Yi reported on the radio, "Report that President Zhang and Commander Fan have completed the formation of the Yaogang expeditionary fleet, and request to leave?" ”

Fan Chengkun commanded with the radio: "Go!" Good luck with your journey! ”

"Yes! Let's go! ”

Seeing off Mu Yi and their fleet, Fan Chengkun came over and said to Zhang Zhimu: "Good news, our galleon to Mexico has arrived at the port of Acapulco in Mexico. They fought a war with the Francos of Mexico, and the Francos had already made peace with them, allowing them to do business in the port of Acapulco! ”

"Oops! That's great news! Zhang Zhimu said, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?" ”

"Hey! I've been in touch with them. It was also a good thing that they encountered two storms in the Great Eastern Ocean (Pacific Ocean), but both escaped the disaster. But the storm deviated far from course. It took almost a month to reach Mexico than planned. However, they found a lot of islands in the Great Eastern Ocean (Pacific Ocean), I don't know what they are called, but there are very large islands, maybe Hawaii as you said. They could see a lot of wild people on the island through their binoculars. Due to the hurry, their ship did not stop. I want them to go to the island and see it when they come back! ”

"We must prepare to send people to occupy it, and we will make a transit point there for the crossing of the Great Eastern Ocean. It's a bunch of treasure islands, and we're going to build a military base there. Zhang Zhimu knew that if he wanted to control the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Islands were very important.

"Yes! I'm going to do it right away! Fan Chengkun said.

Seeing Chen Yufeng and others coming, Zhang Zhimu said to Fan Chengkun, "Let's go to your place for breakfast, and then you can introduce us to the things in Mexico!" ”

"Yes!"

Chen Yufeng said: "Don't say it, I really feel hungry!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen said: "I got up so early, can I not be hungry after this toss?" ”

While following Fan Chengkun towards their naval building, Yan Boju joked: "I always thought that if I became the emperor, I wouldn't be hungry without eating!" ”

No one dared to joke with the emperor yet, Yan Boju's words made Emperor Chongzhen laugh "haha", "Haha, I haven't heard of it, there are such benefits to being the emperor, it seems that I, the emperor, am really unqualified, and I will be hungry so soon!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen and these people in Yaogang were together, and at first they didn't feel very valued, but then they saw that everyone was like this, not deliberately despising him, but because he was used to being offered by everyone in the palace before, and he was a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. However, after a long time, Emperor Chongzhen still felt that it was easy to be with them. In contrast, those adults who nodded in front of them really didn't know what they were thinking, and they had to pay attention to what they said and did, unlike these people around Zhang Zhimu who didn't seem to be very serious all day, but everyone was not ambiguous in what they did. It feels very real and relaxed. So Yan Boju joked with him, and Emperor Chongzhen was very happy. Seeing Emperor Chongzhen like this, Zhang Zhimu's heart was also very complicated. This is an emperor who wants to do things very much, which is one of the reasons why he would rather stay in Yaogang than go back to Beijing, because he knows that when he returns to Beijing, he will leave the center of the country, and only listen to the radio every day to understand the world's major events, and he feels that he is still a participant here with these people in Yaogang.

After breakfast, Fan Chengkun introduced the situation of warships and merchant ships on the Mexican side.

In order to resume the "galleon trade", Yaogang went to a warship of 1,800 tons and a warship of 1,500 tons this time to escort two steam galleons of 5,000 tons. In order to train the officers and men of the navy, a large number of officers and men were transferred from other ships to sail with them, so that more people would have experience in crossing the Great Eastern Ocean (Pacific Ocean).

In addition to the traditional silk, porcelain, tea and other goods, the ships were also loaded with many new products from the kiln, including record players, VCRs, bicycles, steel reed carriages, ordinary textiles, aluminum products, and some valuable medicines. In short, these things were arranged by Lu Chengxiang personally, and there were some things that he didn't bring much, so he just wanted to go over there to see them. For such a long voyage, they also had to carry supplies and fuel for the two warships.

The leader of this fleet is, of course, the captain of the 1,800-ton warship, named Wei Chong. He is also a veteran of the Yaogang Water Army, and he joined the Yaogang Water Army with Mu Yi. Zhang Zhimu also had to greet him when he saw him.

Originally, after their ship left Quanzhou, it was very smooth within a few days, because they could borrow a little bias wind, and the two steam sailing ships were full of sails, which saved a lot of fuel. But as he went on, suddenly there were dark clouds, and for several days the sea was fiercely windy and torrential rain, and the sailboat lowered its sails, turned its bow against the wind, and broke through several huge waves. Experienced crew members on board understand that if an ordinary unpowered sailboat encounters such a situation, it is likely that the ship will be destroyed and killed. But it seems that God wants to test their first ocean-going fleet, and such a test has made them encounter it twice. As a result, they deviated far from their original course, but fortunately, their two warships were equipped with underwater acoustic detectors, and they could find and walk around the reef when they encountered it. Although it took a little more time, they found their way to Mexico. They saw the land from afar with their binoculars, and the crew who had come with them had walked along the route and said, "Ahead is the Gulf of Acapulco!" ”

When you get here, it's not like going to other ports, even if it's over. This is not possible, because this is occupied by the Francis, and if they don't allow them to trade here, it will be a bit of a problem.

According to the intelligence, Wei Chong knew that the Gulf of Acapulco was a horseshoe-shaped bay and a natural deep-water harbor. Perfect for a big ship like them. The trouble was to build a fort called Fort San Diego on the west side of Acapulco to guard the bay. It is a pentagonal fortress built with huge stones. There were a lot of cannons on the top of the fortress, and there were many windows in the middle of the fortress that could stick out of the muzzles. It was supposed to be a defense against pirates, but the cannons there could block the entire entrance to the Gulf of Acapulco. The location is dangerous.

Wei Chong ordered all four ships to enter combat mode through the radio. Two 5,000-ton steam galleons headed for the Gulf of Acapulco.

Many people in the port of Acapulco depend on it for their livelihoods, especially the Manila galleons, which come here once every two years, just like a festival. Galleons bring a lot of new and exquisite Chinese goods, and the people here also call these galleons Chinese galleons. When the galleons arrive, a big bazaar begins. The Franco-Robot will buy a large number of Chinese goods. Then it was shipped to many places in South America for sale, and even shipped back to the Furlong machine for sale. It is they who get the most benefit. However, the local smart and powerful businessmen will also buy some things and ship them to places in the interior of South America that the Francois people can't reach to sell them, so that they can also get very considerable profits for them.

But the galleons have not been here for a few years, and the people here know that if the galleons don't come again, they won't be able to feed so many people. Everyone has to think about where to make a living. There are people who are familiar with the Franc man, and I heard that the Franc man was driven out of Luzon by the Chinese, and the Manila galleon could not come. But the people here still don't want to believe that the galleons that have brought them countless benefits will not come like this.

Perhaps prayer worked, but on a clear day, a Franco soldier, standing at the San Diego fort with his hands in the sun, looked out to sea, and suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a sail on the sea in the distance. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, sure enough, it was the shadow of the sail, it turned out that he thought it was a merchant ship coming from somewhere, but he didn't expect that it was a Chinese galleon. Even if an ordinary merchant ship comes, it is good news for the port, and without a ship the port is not alive. The soldier loudly informed the others that a ship was coming from the sea.

The lonely life was really boring, and finally a boat came, and many people climbed to the top of the fortress to see the ship.

When the ship got closer, they noticed that something was wrong, for they saw not only the sail, but also the black plume of smoke, and it didn't seem to be a sail. There was a clever Franz soldier who said: "Oh no, I heard that the ships of the Ming Dynasty are powered by steam, and there will be columns of smoke on the sea!" ”

"Oops! Hurry up and inform the Governor! ”

“”

The governor of the port of Acapulco, Colt, was frightened when he heard that the Ming Dynasty warships had come to the sea, and he knew that Luzon had been taken by the Ming Dynasty army, and they came here to seize Mexico? Colt panicked and ran to the castle and ordered: "All on alert, fire a warning shot!" ”

The "bang" of cannon on the San Diego Fort was a warning to the ships at sea, as well as to all the Furrons to prepare for battle.

Of course, Wei Chong also heard the sound of cannons on the San Diego fort, and said in his heart, "This is the beginning!" "But the mood is very calm.

It had a small boat down, a liaison officer and a general, and rowed in the direction of Fort San Diego. As soon as the boat landed, several Franz soldiers pointed their muskets at them. The general said to them in the language of Francis: "We are messengers from the ship of the Ming Dynasty, asking to see the Governor!" "That's a very polite point. The Francon soldiers led them to Fort San Diego.

When Governor Colt saw that the liaison officer of the Ming Dynasty was neither humble nor arrogant, his heart was a little empty, "You, what are you doing in Mexico?" ”

"We're here to trade with you!" The liaison officer replied.

"You are already at war with us in Luzon, our two countries are at war, and we will not trade with you!" The Governor sternly refused.

"Your Excellency the Governor is wrong, we are merchants, and we are here for trade. I have also heard that although our two countries are at war, our Ming Dynasty has also informed you that as long as you do not bring weapons, you can still come to Luzon for trade. Because trade is good for both of us. Stopping trade is a loss for both of us! The liaison officer said tepidly.

The liaison's words really made Colt a little tempted, because without the galleon trade, the trade volume of other merchant ships here was too small, and his own income was significantly reduced, and without galleons, he had to give up here after a long time. However, if these Ming Dynasty people occupied this place in the name of trade, they could not afford this responsibility.

Colt's hesitation, the liaison officer looked at him, "Your Excellency the Governor, our captain said that doing business is a good thing for both sides. We won't treat adults badly when we do it. If this business is done, our ship will be back next year! Because our big ships don't rely on the monsoon, they are powered by steam! ”

Colt said to himself that it would be a great thing if a galleon came every year. But the danger cannot be left unguarded, "This matter is too great, and I must ask the Governor of Mexico City for instructions before I can answer you!" ”

"Oops! How much time does that take? ”

"It's hard to say, and I probably won't agree to you coming in to trade!"

"We've come all the way here, and there's no way we're going back like this, Lord Governor!"

"Oops! We don't agree, whoever comes in we will shoot and sink them! ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, we have not come to trade with you in anger, but with great sincerity. But if our good intentions are not understood, there are other ways to solve the problem! Presumably, the Governor also knows that our two armies have already competed on Luzon, and if you deceive people too much, we will not be polite! ”

The two of you come and go, and the ** smell is strong.

Governor Colt shouted angrily, "Come on, put them in prison for me!" ”

The liaison officer saw that he couldn't eat the loss in front of him, and hurriedly said: "My lord is angry, and they all say that the two armies will not fight if they start a war. Since the Governor could not accept our kindness, I went back and told the captain to sail the ship elsewhere, for there are so many good things on our ship, and there will always be someone willing to receive us!" ”

"Humph! Go back and tell your captain that if we get close to the Gulf of Acapulco, we'll open fire!" Colt also didn't want to make things too stiff, and thought it would be better to send the person in front of him away.