In the early morning of September 7, 1638, the East Coast Exploration Fleet, which had just weathered the storm, was temporarily anchored in a calm bay. If you look at the map of later generations, it should be located near Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Of course, it was still a barren land at this time.

Some sailors rowed their dinghys toward the shore, and on the barren meadows on the shore, some Xhosa blacks watched in shock at these "giant monsters" floating on the sea. So when the sailors on the east coast waited for the shore, the Xhosas even forgot to escape.

An East Coast sailor took out a sharp skinning knife and gave it to one of the nearest Xhosa. The man stupidly took the knife and slashed it lightly on his hand, and the blood immediately gushed up. It's okay if you don't scratch, but the person jumped up immediately, and his mouth was also babbling in a language that the people on the east coast couldn't understand, and he didn't seem to be in a very stable mood.

The man quickly turned and ran backwards, and in a moment disappeared into the grass on the shore, and several other Xhosas followed him. Several East Coast sailors looked at each other, wondering what had happened in the road. However, they didn't bother to care so much, and a few people took out a heavy stone from the boat, and some words were engraved on the stone, to the effect that this is the land "discovered" by the exploration fleet of the Republic of China on the east coast of China, but there is no intention of declaring the territory, just simply saying that they have been here, which is a kind of commemoration.

The stone is not small, the lower part is buried deep in the earth by the sailors, and the part with the words is exposed above the ground. The sailors quickly finished their work, and were about to return to shore when a group of yelling negroes burst out from the depths of the land. The leader was the man who had just slashed his hand with a knife, and at this moment he saw him driving more than a dozen sheep. He waved his hand and walked this way. And behind him. It's more blacks. Some of these people drove cattle and sheep, some carried grain, some carried furs, and some carried ivory, and they flocked to the shore like a festival to the market.

Dare to love this is here to trade! The sailors quickly reported the intentions of the Xhosa to their superiors. Guo Zili is organizing people to repair the ship, after crossing the storm, the three east coast ships have suffered some damage to varying degrees, such as some ship board damage, such as some artillery or dinghy fell into the sea, such as some pulley boom damage, etc., taking advantage of this opportunity to rest, the shipwrights on the ship took out tools and spare parts to start the intense repair. At this time, hearing the return of the people below, Guo Zili had nothing to do, so he acquiesced in the deal with the Xhosa.

Thereupon. A deal dominated by junior officers and rank-and-file sailors began on the beach. The people of the east coast took out some worthless metal products, small pieces of glass, fire-making utensils, spirits, and even some leather shoes, cane sugar, and other daily necessities, and traded a large number of furs, ivory, gold, and other goods from the Xhosa, and each of them made a fortune to a greater or lesser extent.

Of course, the officers in charge of the supply of supplies on each ship also bought some live cattle and sheep, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a small amount of sorghum and peanuts from these Xhosa, and all they paid was some refined salt. During the storm a few days ago, the fleet had lost some of its barrels full of food and fresh water, and now the fleet is docked offshore, which is a good time to replenish.

Six or seven of the ship's hundred-gallon buckets were missing, most of them filled with fresh water and a few with beer. Plus what is used up in these days. There wasn't much fresh water on board. A few hundred meters from the shore there was a large rushing river, and some sailors were paddling their boats over it. Spare empty wooden barrels are brought over and filled with clear river water.

"It's a really nice day, and I can't imagine we were struggling in the storm a day ago." Juan, the captain of the battleship "Free Trade", leaned on the railing of the top deck of the stern, looked at the blue sky, and said with some emotion.

"Who's to say it isn't." Given, chewing a pinch of tobacco in his mouth, half-squinted at a flock of seagulls flying by. The bright sun was a little harsh, but he still enjoyed the rare warmth of this winter day.

"Where do we go next?" Jiwen asked casually, "Is it still the same as it was?" ”

"Of course." Second Lieutenant Juan nodded and said, "At least until now, I have not received an order from His Excellency the Commander to change the course. That said, our course remains the same, and the next destination is still Mozambique. ”

"Portuguese territory." Givens pursed his lips and said, "Hopefully, when we get there, the city will still be in their hands." ”

Givan did not say anything for nothing, as the Portuguese were still at war with the Dutch, and their strength was pitiful. As recently as last year, the Portuguese colony of Fort Elmina in Ghana inevitably fell to the Dutch, even though it was equipped with many East Coast cannons. After capturing the castle, the Dutch continued their efforts and successively uprooted many of the Portuguese's trading posts and small forts in the Gulf of Guinea; Even the trading post near the Congo was attacked by the Dutch.

This is true in West Africa, and it is not peaceful in East Africa. The Dutch have always coveted the gold-rich coastal areas of Mozambique, and several rich cities such as Senna, Sofala, Mozambique, Lorenzo Marques, and Clemane have attracted frequent visits by Dutch pirate ships, while the weak Portuguese are often trapped on land, struggling to resist the barbaric invasions of the Dutch again and again.

"I hope so." Juan was also not very optimistic about the Portuguese. As a Hispanic on the East Coast, perhaps out of some prejudice, he has always had a low regard for the neighboring country, which is also located on the Iberian Peninsula.

However, at the moment from the standpoint of the East Coast Republic, he hoped that the Portuguese would fight for something, so that the East Coast would have a safe supply point there. Due to the "gentlemen's agreement" reached with the Portuguese (the Portuguese were responsible for transporting the Ming people to the east coast, and the east coasters sold weapons to the Brazilian authorities to support their wars), the relationship between the East Coast Republic of China and the Netherlands has been very stiff, and it is not an exaggeration to say that there is even some hostility. Therefore, if the Dutch had occupied these Portuguese strongholds in East Africa, it is difficult to say whether they would have opened their ports to the East Coasters for resupply.

Of course, this is not very likely. Although the strength of the Dutch fleet in the Far East is not weak, there are not too many that can be divided into this part of East Africa. Moreover, the Portuguese Governor of Goa (Portuguese East Africa was administratively administered by the Viceroy of Goa, India) was also very wary of the Dutch, so they arranged hundreds to thousands of white European troops in important areas such as Mozambique and Seine, as well as indigenous black soldiers who were several times the number of white soldiers. It was very difficult for the Dutch to conquer these places, and all they could do was go ashore in remote ports where the Portuguese were weak.

Except for these important areas, the Portuguese could only say that their control over the rest of the vast areas could only be said to be inadequate. For example, the Mombasa Uprising that broke out in 1631, the Sultan of Mombasa, Yusuf. Root. Hassan killed the Portuguese officers and some merchants in the area, and then declared independence. Then, in the years that followed, the monarch attacked the Portuguese and even captured Fort Jesus, the Portuguese military stronghold, in 1632. In addition to this, Youssef also piloted backward Arab galleons and repeatedly attacked the Portuguese ships at sea, which the Portuguese could not do anything about. Even when he died in 1637, the Portuguese did not capture him, which shows the weakness of the Portuguese in the region.

The two chatted for a while about some personnel on board, and then went their separate ways.

Early in the morning of 9 September, after two days of rest, the exploration fleet of the Republic of the East Coast, under the orders of Lieutenant Guo Zili, set sail, left the waters of Port Elizabeth, turned northeast, and sailed along the coastline of the African continent.

The sails were swollen to the brim by a cold southeasterly wind, and the fleet sailed at an average speed of 4 knots. The journey was an effortless one, and in just ten days, the fleet left what would become the east coast of South Africa and entered the famous Strait of Mozambique. In this "longest strait in the world", which is about hundreds of kilometers wide, the climate seems so warm, and the wind and waves seem so calm.

The entire fleet went upriver and crossed the mouth of the Zambezi River on 27 September. Here they met a flotilla, also consisting of three Portuguese merchant ships. These three Portuguese merchant ships loaded with slaves, gold and ivory could not help but display flags in salute after seeing the majestic figure of the battleship "Free Trade" and the double-sword goshawk flag fluttering in the wind on its top mast, which is a respect for strength!

After crossing the mouth of the Zambezi River, the East Bank Republic Exploration Fleet sailed north for another three days before finally reaching the waters off the island of Mozambique on the morning of 30 September. It was the heart of the Portuguese-ruled area in East Africa, and the harbor was well equipped with gun emplacements to deter the usual pirate ships.

However, they were facing the "August 10th" class battleships with heavy naval guns at the moment, and the bronze guns on the batteries that were already a little old lacked much deterrent power in Guo Zili's eyes. Of course, he did not think of attacking the Portuguese battery, so that his fleet would have to pay considerable losses even if it had won. What's more, the Portuguese and the East Coast are still in their honeymoon period, and the relationship between the two sides is still quite good.

Sure enough, after figuring out the intentions of the easterners, the Portuguese soon allowed the easterners' fleets to anchor in the harbor. (To be continued......)