Chapter 220: Arrived in Guangzhou

The two pirate ships that Yang Fan withdrew found that there were still ships catching up, which made the pirates on board furious. They thought to themselves that I let you go because I didn't want to trouble, and you gave you a shameless face, which is really infuriating. However, the pirate captains on these two ships saw that the lucky ship that caught up was a little different from other ships, and from a distance, it seemed that black smoke was always emitting from the ship, and they felt a little unsure, so they signaled to each other that it was better to go first.

But they didn't expect the ship to get closer and closer soon, which made the captains of the two ships really angry. They have always bullied others, and today they are being chased and run, obviously feeling insulted. They exchanged signals and then turned around at the same time, and aimed the cannon in the bow of the ship at the pursuing ship. At that time, the accuracy of the red-coated cannons at sea was not high, and the pirates were not well trained, let alone accurate. The cannonballs fell far from the steamer into the sea. The cannons on the steamships here also began to fire back, but they didn't hit. At that time, the cannon had to be filled with water to extinguish the fire before reloading after firing, and then the barrel had to be dried with a dry cloth before it could be recharged, so the time for firing again was very long. The ships slowly approached each other without firing a few shots at each other. At this time, the pirate ship also saw that this lucky ship was a modified lucky ship, and there was a big chimney on the ship with black smoke, and the sound of a roar could be heard coming from the ship, and the pirates muttered in their hearts, this ship may be moving so fast because it has a big chimney. Anyway, when we are close together, can our two ships still not be able to beat one of them? The pirates are ready for melee combat.

All three ships are lucky ships, in addition to the long-range attack of the redcoat cannons, there are also a variety of melee firearms such as bowls, although these firearms will not cause serious damage to the opponent's ships, but can cause casualties to the opponent and cause damage to some facilities on the deck. But both sides regarded their opponent's ship as their own, and neither side used their melee firearms, and before they came together, they both smoothed their sails, and they were afraid that they would be scratched.

The tactics of these two pirate ships were quite correct, they were flanking the chasing ship one by one, but what puzzled them was that the ship was so obedient to let them flank it, and did not do anything to avoid their tactics.

It turns out that the people on the steamship are most welcome in this way, they are afraid of defeating one ship, and the other is not easy to chase, and the best result is to solve it together.

The port side of the steamship was the first to approach the pirate ship, and both of them did the same thing, throwing the hooked rope onto the other ship, and then locking the rope so that the two ships would get closer and closer. As the two-handed ship got closer, a row of bows and arrows came from the pirate ship. What the pirates on the pirate ship didn't understand was that the ship didn't return fire.

At this time, the pirate ship on the right side of the steamship also approached, and both sides locked their ships together with ropes. While the ship on the right was approaching, the ship on the left and the steamship were already on board, the side of the ship was squeezed and creaked, and the pirates jumped bravely from their ship with a shout, and then the musketeers on the steamship, who had been holding back, opened fire. With the sound of "bang" muskets, more than twenty pirates who rushed over were knocked down. At this time, Fan Chengkun gave an order: "Jump over!" ”

These sailor musketeers, who usually practice kung fu jumping, jumped over the boat one by one. The captain of this pirate ship, when he saw his minions jump over the ship, his heart was already full of beauty, he knew that every time he came to this time, it meant success, and the sailors of those ships were some little sheep in front of his own sailors who were not afraid of death. Just as he was happy, there was a sudden "bang" sound from the other party's ship, which was like the sound of fire, but it was not, and before they could figure out what was going on, the other sailor had already rushed to his ship with the guy. He sensed that the situation was not good, and hurriedly organized a counterattack. At this time, the pirate captain heard the "bang" of the opponent's ship for a while, and he knew that his other ship and the opponent were in fire. It gave him hope again. But the opponent who got on the ship was so powerful that his sailors rushed over, and they couldn't get in front of the person at all, and they were knocked down by a "bang" sound, and those timid people had already knelt on the ground and kowtowed and begged for mercy. This scene made the captain a little puzzled, these people of his own crawled out of the pile of dead people, I have never heard that they were also afraid, today is like this. Before he could think about it, he had a chance to figure it out. The muzzles of several muskets with black holes should have been pointed at him, and all of a sudden he had an epiphany, those black holes and muzzles would kill people, so those under the muzzles of the guns surrendered. He understood the reason, and he quickly raised his hand and surrendered.

Just as the surrendered pirate captain thought, there was a burst of gunfire after another pirate ship had approached and rushed to the enemy's ship. Because their tactics are all the same. The difference is that most of the musketeers on the steamship have already boarded his ship, and the musketeers left on the steamship have knocked down the pirates on the ship, and they have not immediately ascended to the pirate ship on the right. The captain of the pirate ship on the right, knowing that everyone who boarded the ship had been killed, and when he realized that the situation was not good, he thought of pulling the sails and leaving. But the ships on both sides were locked with ropes, and he commanded the pirates to cut the ropes with axes, and the men on the steamers could not let them succeed, and the musketeers on the side of the ship greeted each pirate approaching the rope with their muskets. After the musketeers who occupied the ship on the left returned, Fan Chengkun commanded everyone to suppress the pirates on the ship on the right, and then ordered everyone to jump over together, and the rest was a massacre. These pirates were really outlaws, and not many surrendered alive, only about fifty in all.

The battle was soon over, and the soldiers who had searched the pirate ship reported that more than twenty captured sailors had been found in the bottom compartment of the pirate ship on the left.

Liu Yun said: "Take them to the deck, let's go over and have a look." ”

Liu Yun and the others crossed the side of the ship and passed to the pirate ship.

When the sailors were brought to the deck, they almost collapsed on deck, they had been in the bilge for almost two days without a single meal. Liu Yun said: "Hurry up and go back and boil some porridge for them to drink." ”

Someone said yes and ran back to the steamship.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the sailors were on a merchant ship. The day before yesterday they were chased by a pirate ship, and their ship ran desperately, and the two pirate ships chased them close and opened fire on them, until they sank their ship. Before the ship sank, the sailors jumped ship and escaped, and were picked up by the pirate ship to be taken back as slaves. I didn't expect to be saved by Liu Yun and them. After Liu Yun asked them about their plans, he knew that they had nowhere else to go, so he asked them for their opinions and asked them if they would like to join Yaogang's fleet. These had no choice, and the sailors, of course, were willing. But even with these sailors, it would not be enough to organize the sailors of two ships. There was no way, the musketeers trained by Fan Chengkun were all cameo sailors, and then some personnel were transferred from each ship, and after the two captains were selected, the fleet began to move forward again.

Liu Yun and Fan Chengkun reported to Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He: "Now it seems that the advantages of our steamships in speed and maneuverability at sea are very obvious. Unfortunately, this time one pirate captain was killed and only one was captured alive; Second, there were no seizures, because the pirates hadn't opened their doors either. ”

Zhang Zhimu thought for a moment and said: "These two pirate ships will dock together with the two ships we are going to dock in Quanzhou, and we can also find a few sailors in Quanzhou to enrich the ship." Those pirates went to Quanzhou and handed them over to the government. Our plan to continue to Guangzhou remains unchanged. ”

Ouyang He said: "It seems that if our sea ships are converted into steam ships, we will be able to sweep the sea." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "I think the biggest problem in the current sea operation is that the hit rate of artillery is too low. Because these shells are round, they are too affected by the fire twist of the shells and the wind to be easily hit. ”

Shi Tao next to him asked, "Are there any shells that are not round?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Yes, when we go back, we will design a jujube core-type artillery shell, and the cannon will rotate at high speed when it is ejected, so that its influence from the wind will be reduced to a minimum." The hit rate will be greatly improved. ”

It is impossible for Shi Tao to understand Zhang Zhimu's explanation, and Zhang Zhimu knows that he can't explain this problem now.

The fleet continued to move south, and when it arrived at Quanzhou Bay, according to the plan, the four ships left the formation and sailed towards Quanzhou Port.

After a few days at sea, many people who are seasick have become somewhat accustomed and can already walk around on the boat.

Zhang Zhimu's self-feeling is also much better, at least he can eat a little bit.

After eating, Zhang Zhimu thought in the cabin, what is Guangzhou like now, he didn't come to Guangzhou less in his previous life. At that time, Guangzhou was a big city with a population of more than 12 million, where there were streets that I felt would never finish, there were delicious foods that could never be eaten, and beautiful women from all over the country and even the world gathered. It's a city that people don't want to leave when they come. What will it be like today?

In any case, the port of Guangzhou is the starting point of the ****** and has a history of more than 1,000 years. It is the economic and cultural center of Lingnan, and it is a key area if you want to run a good business in Greater China. It's a pity that I can't speak here, although Li Mao invited two Guangdong guys who do business in Yangzhou to be translators, but it is difficult to make real friends through translation communication.

After the fleet entered the Lingding Ocean, the wind and waves were obviously less, and the steamers dragged the big ships again, and they entered the Pearl River through the Lion Ocean and came to the port of Guangzhou. Several large ships found a dock to dock, and it took a little time. After the ship docked, Lu Chengxiang led the two translators to take Li Jing and the others to find the inn.

Zhang Zhimu and the others also couldn't wait to drag their weak legs to the dock, eager to experience the feeling of being down-to-earth.

Guangzhou is a world of flowers, where you can see people of all races. After the Ming Dynasty imposed a sea ban, it was one of the open places for government offices to allow overseas merchant ships to enter and exit. It is documented. As far back as the Tang Dynasty, the Huangchao army laid siege to Guangzhou, and it is said that 120,000 Arabs, Persians, Jews, and European Christians were killed, even 20,000. Even if it is exaggerated, it can be imagined how huge the number of foreigners from Guangzhou brought by the developed maritime transportation at that time.

Soon Lu Chengxiang and the others came back, and he had already chartered a big inn.

There are too many inns near the wharf, and Zhang Zhimu and the others saw the signboards of restaurants, restaurants, and inns all the way in the carriage.

When they arrived in Guangzhou, the first thing Zhang Zhimu and the northerners felt was the heat, and the heat couldn't stand it.

Yan Boju was very worried about his horses, and after driving them off the boat, he immediately boiled the herbs he had brought with him and fed them separately. Yan Boju muttered, "This is a fucking place for people, and the heat has killed everyone." Just don't heat my horse. ”

Originally, everyone's seasickness had not passed, and the weather was hot, so everyone was lying in the inn, unwilling to move.

Fortunately, I slept enough during the day, and in the second half of the night, the sky gradually cooled a little, but there was a clamor of selling on the street. Yang Yulin came over and said, "Why is there business here in the middle of the night?" ”

Zhang Zhimu couldn't explain that in his previous life, Guangzhou was a city that never sleeps. He said, "There's food out there, so let's go eat something." ”

Zhang Zhimu led Yang Yulin to the street, and a stall on the street was selling fried beef river, which was Zhang Zhimu's favorite food. He said to Yang Yulin: "We don't understand what he said, but I know that this is fried beef river, it is very delicious, let's have one by one." ”

Zhang Zhimu gestured to the boss with his hand to ask for two copies. The boss nodded and quickly fried two servings of beef rice noodles and brought them to the small table, and by the light of the lantern, Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin began to taste the fried beef rice noodles. When Yang Yulin was making fried beef noodles with his boss, he said to Zhang Zhimu: "When he made it, he put a lot of spices in it, unlike us who make things very simple, I don't know if it's delicious." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "After a while, you will think about the next meal after eating." ”

Yang Yulin took a few bites and said, "Oops, it's so delicious." After speaking, he didn't bother to speak, and kept eating all the pho.

After Zhang Zhimu finished eating the pho, he yelled at the boss and raised the mother and son, saying, "It's delicious!" ”

The boss was very happy when he heard it, he was very happy that he had earned money and been affirmed by others. Seeing Zhang Zhimu and them finish eating, they poured a pot of tea for Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin, Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin drank the tea and felt very happy. Yang Yulin suddenly asked, "Brother Zhang, have you been here before?" ”

Zhang Zhimu replied: "How could it be, didn't I come with you?" ”

Yang Yulin said: "You don't speak honestly, you haven't been here, how do you know that this fried beef river is so delicious?" ”

Zhang Zhimu really couldn't explain this, and said: "This fried cow river is not only in Guangzhou, but also in other places, and it may have been brought by Cantonese people." I can't remember where I ate it. ”

Yang Yulin knew that she couldn't ask anything, so she didn't say anything.

This place is very close to the Pearl River, so they took advantage of the moonlight to come to the edge of the Pearl River and walk slowly on the bank of the Pearl River, Yang Yulin enjoyed this feeling very much. She felt that it was very lucky to meet such a man in this life, otherwise she would not have had an accident at home, and she could only be an ordinary woman who would never be able to see the world from such a distance. What he is doing with this man now is something that he has never dared to think of before.

The two of them were walking by the river, when suddenly a group of people came from behind, carrying lanterns. Zhang Zhimu and the others turned around and saw that it was Li Jing and they came. It turned out that after someone found out that Zhang Zhimu was missing, Chen Yufeng immediately ordered Li Jing to take someone out to look for him, he was afraid that Zhang Zhimu had just arrived in Guangzhou and was unfamiliar with some accidents.

Li Jing and the others found out about Zhang Zhimu's whereabouts from the boss who sold things in front of the door, so they led people to chase after them, and saw Zhang Zhimu and Yang Yulin holding hands and walking by the river, so they didn't come forward, and followed in the distance with lanterns.

Zhang Zhimu knew that he was a little careless, so he came out without saying hello to everyone, making everyone anxious. Just said to Yang Yulin: "Let's go back, don't let everyone be anxious." ”

Although Yang Yulin was very reluctant, she still said, "Okay, go back!" ”

Cantonese people are born businessmen, and the next day before Lu Chengxiang went out to see the market, someone heard the news. They knew from the dock that several big ships had arrived, so they inquired about the people on the boat, knew where Zhang Zhimu and them lived, and came to the door early.

Zhang Zhimu didn't care about these things, and always pointed to Lu Chengxiang. Lu Chengxiang has become a fine fox, and if he doesn't understand the market, he will never talk about business. However, Cantonese people talk about friends first and then business, so they have to invite Lu Chengxiang to have morning tea. But Lu Chengxiang knew the truth of eating other people's mouths, and he resolutely refused.

After the guests left, Zhang Zhimu had a meeting with everyone, at which Zhang Zhimu said: "Since we have come to Guangzhou, don't be too anxious. It is necessary to understand the market situation well. It is necessary to understand not only the market of the products we want to sell, but also the products that can be brought back. One of the biggest problems is that we have to buy a piece of land in the mountains of Guangdong. So that we can transplant rubber trees to Guangdong, which is the top priority of our visit to Guangdong this time. This time I must have done this before leaving. ”

Lu Chengxiang is worthy of being a businessman, he said: "No matter what the market of other goods is, our own goods are priced by us." The glass carriages were quickly unloaded, and those of us who came out and went in had to take the steel spring carriages, so that the Cantonese people could also have a long experience. ”

In the next few days, the people of Yaogang came out and went in by steel spring glass carriage, which made the people in Guangzhou, who had always been the pioneer, greedy. Whenever the steel spring glass carriage stops there, people come to watch.

Guangzhou was the window of the Ming Dynasty to the outside world, and Guangdong has a long commercial tradition. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Guangdong has been an important city for foreign trade. The commercial deposition of thousands of years has given birth to a strong sense of business in Guangdong, and has gradually formed a special group of Guangdong merchants.

Due to the arrival of the Yaogang people, and a merchant came to several of his own big ships at once, which quickly caused a sensation in the Guangzhou business community. It's not just the Cantonese merchants who are watching this mysterious newcomer, but even the Hui merchants and the Dongting merchants who are known to drill the heavens are also watching them.

Finally, a Cantonese businessman who couldn't help it shot again. They came to the door and didn't talk to Lu Chengxiang this time. They asked to see the owner Zhang Zhimu directly, and the receptionist said that the shopkeeper Lu was responsible for all business matters, and he could just find the shopkeeper Lu if there was something. But people said that they didn't talk about business, they just wanted to visit Zhang Dong's house.

There was no way, Zhang Zhimu had no choice but to come forward to meet these Guangdong businessmen.

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Calculus formulas, tables of chemical elements; Conquer Japan in the east and attack Mayi in the south; Penicillin, syringe. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".