When Ichiro Watanabe was woken up from a half-asleep by his companions, he was confused by lack of oxygen, and it took him a long time to realize that he was not in the dilapidated but still warm home at the foot of Yaeyama.

Smelling the stuffy air filled with the smell of sweat and urine, and the noise from the Satsuma dialects, Watanabe Ichiro thought a little lonely that he was on a ship to the Philippines.

As the second of five siblings in his family, Ichiro Watanabe is a healthy young man who has just turned 19. I grew up in the farmland since I was a child, and I can do all kinds of farm work at my fingertips. But the embarrassing thing is that the little land in the family can be cultivated only by the father and brother, and he does not need to do anything at all.

As a young adult, he desperately needs to find his way around. The fields at home obviously have nothing to do with him, and being able to let him continue to eat white rice at home is enough to make enough of his sister-in-law's eyes.

Two years ago, the lord launched the War of the Downfall, and he had recruited some peasant soldiers, but he was not qualified at the time, so he missed a good opportunity to break away from the status quo through military exploits.

With the semi-success of the Shogunate War, the Toyotomi family was revived in western Japan, and the old feudal lord became the chief head of the Taiko shogunate. The Satsuma Domain's foreign trade, which had been secretly engaged in in the past, was finally legalized, but compared to Nagasaki, Osaka, and the newly built port of Kobe in western Japan, it was clear that the Satsuma Domain, which had lost Tanegashima and the Amami Islands, would be difficult to compete.

At the beginning of last year, after the old feudal lord passed the throne to his son Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the new feudal lord reached a number of agreements with the merchants of the Ming Kingdom, and with the help of the Ming Kingdom's funds, he vigorously developed the cement business, Nitta, and Kanayama businesses. The new feudal lord used to pay the loan by exporting the surplus labor of the Satsuma domain.

Watanabe Ichiro heard from the grapevine that every healthy young man who served Akito for one year would be paid 30 Ming Yuan, but when Ben Ichiro applied for the job, he only received 30 yen. But Watanabe Ichiro didn't argue with the land, because he knew that from the second year onwards, he would be able to get all the money from Akito or get land as compensation.

Although the Ming people said that they were willing to serve on the ship, the salary was higher than that of those who went to the South Seas to pioneer. But Ichiro Watanabe was more eager to own his own land, and he always wanted to work on his own land so that he could eat quickly without having to look at other people's eyes.

After Ichiro Watanabe and more than 200 companions signed a contract with Akito, in order to be able to sign the contract, he was also given the name of Ichiro Watanabe by Akito, and they took Akito's merchant ship and went to an unknown world.

The voyage from Kagoshima to the Philippines takes about 2-3 weeks, and they can only breathe in the fresh air on the deck for half an hour in the morning and evening, and the rest of the day in the dirty, stuffy bilge. Fortunately, it was winter, and although the people in the bilge were next to each other, they still survived.

But as the ship went south, the cabin became hotter and hotter, and later everyone had to strip naked in order to survive the night. While Ichiro Watanabe was still thinking nonsense, a fellow villager he knew told him, "Wake up, take your things, we're in the Philippines." ”

In a panic, Ichiro Watanabe finally followed his companion onto the deck, and when he first saw the lush fields outside and the mountains in the distance, Ichiro Watanabe inexplicably fell in love with the place. It's already snowing in Japan, but it seems like autumn has just begun.

When Ichiro Watanabe stepped onto land, he finally learned the name of the place from the crew: the mouth of the Cagayan River. It is said that the river is hundreds of miles long, and there are only two seasons here: the dry season and the rainy season.

More than 200 young Japanese men who had been transported from Kagoshima got off the ship and lined up very honestly under the scolding of several Satsuma samurai. The four seas pioneer company stood aside to watch several senior staff members who received the work, and couldn't help but start talking in a whisper.

"These Japanese seem to be better disciplined than the Vietnamese, and I hope they can be so obedient when they are working..."

"Of course, after all, we conquered Japan, and the Vietnamese still felt that they were not our slaves. If it weren't for the natives' disdain to them, they would have fled to the mountains. ”

"But have you heard? The Spanish estate outside Tuguegarao was again attacked by the natives, and it is said that a Spanish haciendor owner reported to Manila that we had sold muskets to the natives in order to use them to drive them out of their land in order to buy their estates cheaply..."

"Really? What does Manila say? ”

"The Attorney General questioned the manager of the company in Manila, and then the owner of the estate was killed by the natives, and his estate was transferred to the Attorney General, and the matter was settled."

"The prosecutor general has really earned, now a pound of tobacco is worth 0.1 yuan, an acre can produce 300 catties of tobacco, the manor outside Tuge Garao, it seems that there is no less than 1,000 acres, and the annual tobacco output of a manor is 10-150,000 catties. In other words, he picks up tens of thousands of yuan for nothing every year, no wonder he doesn't pursue it anymore. ”

An older company employee finally stopped the young men and said, "These things can also be talked about openly?" Do you want to be kicked home by the company? ”

Several young people fell silent for a moment, and the elderly company employee said: "Go and pick a few honest and obedient people, and let them manage these Japanese in the future." We've only occupied much land in the Cagayan Valley, and it's not our turn to dictate here..."

After driving the young men to work, the elderly company employee looked at the southern sky and sighed in his heart. At this moment, the city of Malacca in the south must be very lively. It is said that this time, His Majesty the Emperor canonized more than 20 titles in one go, just because Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji took Malacca City.

At the beginning, he was also a small leader in the Eighteen Zhi, but he was unwilling to take any more risks after being recruited, so he joined the Four Seas Trading Company. Although his life was much more stable now than when he was a pirate, he felt as if he had lost something compared to the old fellows who had risen through the ranks.

Of course, the ex-pirate who looked at the sky and sighed must not have known that there were people in Malacca who were more annoyed than him. In the original Governor's Palace in Malacca City, Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin, who received the titles and medals together with Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji, did not have a happy look on their faces.

Just because Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji were each given the title of earl, but the two of them, like Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji's subordinates, were only viscounts and barons. What made them even more unhappy was that the Nanyang Patrol Mansion was finally established, and the chief and deputy envoys fell on the heads of Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji respectively.

Looking at the pirate leader who was originally on an equal footing with him, and now he has crossed him in one fell swoop, the two of them are naturally extremely uncomfortable. As soon as the canonization ceremony was completed, Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin pulled the newly appointed Deputy Governor of Malacca, Zheng Cai, aside, and asked him with a dark face: "Ah Cai, what does the imperial court mean by this?" We have done our best in Palawan and Borneo, so why can't we even get a deputy envoy for the tour? Do we have to listen to Yang Tiansheng and them in the future? ”

Although he only got a vice-governor of Malacca, the governor of Malacca was a former British prince who was far away in the Bo Ni country, and Zheng Cai, the vice-governor, almost performed all the powers of the governor, so he was full of spring breeze.

Listening to Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin's complaints, Zheng Cai couldn't help but smile and said, "If you want me to see, the most important thing you should complain about is yourself." His Majesty had already said that the position of Nanyang Patrol Envoy was judged by everyone's merits. It's true that you opened up Palawan, but it's too much to take Borneo as your own merit, right?

Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji have laid down a small half of the Malay Peninsula, and now even the country of Aceh is subject to them, isn't this achievement more brilliant than the two? ”

Li Kuiqi just wanted to get angry, but Zhong Bin quickly stopped him and said to Zheng Cai: "If we hadn't blocked the expansion of the Dutch's power northward for Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji, the two of them would have been able to take Aceh and Malacca City so smoothly, I'm afraid it would have been difficult." Isn't it inappropriate for the two of them to take the credit for themselves like this? You came out of the same boat as us, have you forgotten the friendship between brothers? ”

Zheng Cai shook his head at the two of them and said, "Why are you in such a hurry, this world is very big, and the official position of the Nanyang Patrol Mansion has been decided, but it is still blank when it crosses the Strait of Malacca." In this way, let's go to the banquet first, Gonggong Liu has traveled thousands of miles to canonize you, you always have to toast a few cups, and then come back later. ”

Zheng Cai pushed the backs of the two and said, Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin went to the banquet hall suspiciously. Although the afternoon rain came as scheduled, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of everyone in the banquet hall.

When the rainstorm outside gradually subsided and the sky brightened again, Zheng Cai took Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin to the study on the second floor of the Governor's Palace, where he opened the closed window and let the fresh and cool air blow away the stuffiness of the room, and then invited the two to sit down and talk.

Zheng Cai had just found a drawing and spread it out on the square table, when Su Yue quietly walked in and sat quietly on the side. Zheng Cai nodded at him, and then said to Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin: "Since the South Seas and the Strait of Malacca have fallen into our hands, how to connect the shipping route to the Indian mainland has become our goal in the next stage.

For the time being, the Indian continent not only has the saltpeter, jute and other resources we need, but also the rich people on this continent will also be the largest sales market for our Ming Dynasty in the future. In order to ensure that our business can penetrate deep into the Indian continent, we must have a safe and stable shipping route.

The route from the coast of Daming to the Strait of Malacca is now under our control. But from the Strait of Malacca through Burma to mainland India, this is an area that the Ming Dynasty has not set foot in since Zheng He. Therefore, His Majesty intends to set up a Western Patrol House here to protect the safety of my Ming merchant ships on this sea, can the two of you take this responsibility? ”

Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin's dissatisfaction finally disappeared, and with the example of Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji, they naturally no longer had the idea of preserving their strength. The more they preserved their strength, the farther they were from the pirates who had the support of the imperial court. Even Liu Xiang, who was almost wiped out by Guangnan State, not only took back Saigon with the support of the imperial court, but also quickly regained his strength, and they who did not get the attention of the imperial court are now the worst in the Zhao'an pirate gang.

As long as there is the support of the imperial court, stepping out of the Strait of Malacca is an opportunity for them to soar, so how can they refuse, and soon Zheng Cai and Su Yue explained to Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin that the imperial court is preparing to open up the general plan of the Indian route, so that the two can cooperate.

While the four of them were actively planning in their study, the residents of Malacca were celebrating the first anniversary of the city's liberation. For these residents, life is much more liberal and easy now than it was when the Portuguese ruled the city.