At the beginning of December of the second year of Wanli (1574 AD), Lin Shaoqi's merchant ship left Manila Bay and sailed into the South China Sea.

Ten years ago, she followed her father from Quanzhou to the capital, and now she will return there from Luzon, and she still vaguely remembers that her father once said that when Ling'er grows up, she must take her back to her hometown to see, and burn a piece of paper and incense in front of the ancestral grave, but now her father is still trapped in Fusang......

Just when Xu Ling'er was sad, Ah Ping came to her side and shouted, "Sister Ling'er, it's time to eat." ”

Xu Linger looked at Ah Ping, and couldn't help but recall the situation when Luo Wenlong was arrested, Chen Suer almost hanged herself for losing her virginity, and now she is Li Chengliang's concubine.

Walking into the cabin with Ah Ping, Xu Ling'er couldn't help but chant a bodhisattva blessing, and silently blessed Ah Ping and Ma Wu in her heart.

Sitting around the dining table, Lin Shaoqi came to toast everyone, Xu Ling'er, A Ping, Li Chenghuai, Cai De and dozens of sailors all raised their wine glasses, and only Ma Wu and Mark brought a cup of tea.

"Brother Ma, I don't think you have to be like the foreign monk Mark, even Miss Ling'er and Ah Ping have brought wine glasses, how can you not give me some face." Lin Shaoqi persuaded.

"Swear in the name of Allah, the Merciful......" Ma Wu narrowed his eyes and read a few words, and then said: "Brother Shao Qi, it's been so long, haven't you seen it?" Although I am the adopted son of the Lin family, I was born in a family of faith, and I have adhered to the rules and precepts since I was a child, even if my family opened a sake brewery in the Ryukyus, I never touched half a drop of wine. ”

Xu Ling'er felt that Ma Wu's appearance was indeed different, only to see that his black hair was slightly curly, with a high nose bridge, big eyes, and a faint beard.

Looking at Ma Wu's pious appearance, Lin Shaoqi hurriedly said: "I'm really sorry, I really didn't expect that the five Ma brothers are so devout in their beliefs, so I will cook it myself and fry a few more side dishes for you." ”

"Brother Shao Qi, don't bother, you can eat how you want, I can eat what I can, I've been here like this for so many years."

No matter what Ma Wu said, Lin Shaoqi still arranged the kitchen and made him a few halal meals again.

Ma Wu is the adopted son of the old shopkeeper of the Lin family's soju shop, which everyone knows, but why is he called Ma Wu, Lin Shaoqi suddenly became interested, so he asked: "Brother Ma Wu, are you the fifth in line?" ”

"My real name is Mahmoud, when I was a child, I went to sea with my family to do business, I was shipwrecked, I was the only one in the family who survived, and during the exile in the Ryukyus, I was adopted by my stepfather, and when I was asked for my name, it may be that my voice is not very clear, and I was heard as Ma Wu, just like that, this name has been called to this day."

"Mr. Mahmoud, were you born in the Western Regions? Do you know the language of the Western Regions? Lin Shaoqi asked.

"My ancestral home is in the southwest border, and I am of the same clan as the internal supervisor of the Yongle Emperor, and I have been wandering on the sea since I was a child, and I know a little bit about the dialects of various places." Ma Wu replied.

It sounded like Ma Wu's origin was extraordinary, Xu Ling'er asked: "Emperor Yongle's internal supervisor, is it referring to Zheng He who went to the West?" ”

"Yes, the inner supervisor is surnamed Ma Minghe, and his milk name is Sanbao, and he is in the same vein as my ancestors, and he is the general of the color eye under the command of the king of Zhennan of the previous dynasty (Yuan). In that year, Hong Wuye sent generals Fu Youde, Lan Yu and other generals to lead 300,000 troops to quell the rebellion in the southwest, and Ma He, who was only eleven years old, was captured and castrated, and became a show boy in the army, and was brought into the palace in Nanjing, and later, at the age of fourteen, he entered the palace of Yan Wangfu in Beiping. ”

"King Yan read its cleverness, took it by his side and became a cronie, gave the surname Zheng, the ancestor Zheng He is not only familiar with the history and geography of Western countries, humanities and religions, his character and knowledge, but also won the appreciation of King Yan, to the Yongle period of Chengzu, sent him seven to the West, proclaimed the power of China, and the four seas."

After hearing Ma Wu's family history, everyone couldn't help but be in awe of this young man.

Xu Ling'er also heard his father tell the story of going to the West, so he asked: "I heard that the internal supervisor is not only an expert in navigation, but also a skilled shipbuilder, before going to the West, he was responsible for supervising the construction of ocean-going treasure ships in Nanjing, and his shipbuilding attainments make it difficult for Lu Ban to match him, I wonder if the five brothers also have such talent?" ”

"I'm stupid, I don't dare to compare with my ancestors, if I have the opportunity to build a treasure ship, I'm willing to try." Ma Wu replied.

Lin Shaoqi sighed and said: "The treasure ship goes to sea once, and the cost is huge, and I am afraid that the profit from doing trade will be difficult to support." ”

"In Shurijo Castle, I met a Western merchant who told me the story of a Western madman, I wonder if you would be interested in hearing it?" Ma Wu asked.

Everyone turned their eyes to Mark, but Mark didn't quite understand what everyone was saying, so he spread his hands and shook his head stupidly.

Ma Wu ignored Mark and began to preach:

"There is a madman named Magellan in Spain, and he said to King Carlos I, please give me a fleet to explore, and I will find out all the uninhabited land and islands in the whole world, of course, these new territories belong to the king, and ask the king to make him the governor of the new territory, and in the future, he will take five out of a hundred from the income of these territories, may I ask Brother Shao Qi, do you think the king of Spain will promise him?"

"Hehe, I guess he has no money, if he has money, he can't go on an expedition by himself, why bother to beg the king?" Lin Shaoqi asked.

Ma Wu nodded and replied: "Yes, Magellan really has no money, he asked the king to borrow money." ”

Lin Shaoqi smiled slightly and said: "I think this Mr. Magellan is not a madman, but a liar, I guess the king is not so stupid, can he lend him money?" It's not a meat bun beating a dog, and there is no return. ”

Li Chenghuai, who had been listening attentively, couldn't help but speak: "This is not like when Zheng He went to the West to Xuanwei, I also think that this Magellan must be a liar, maybe he wants to learn from Xu Fu, deceived Qin Shi Huang of a large sum of money, took three thousand boys and girls to the sea, and found an island to go alone." ”

Ma Wu continued: "You are all wrong, the king of Carlos gave him a large sum of money, but there are many places to spend money to build an expedition fleet, and after the first money is spent, he asks the king for money, and even offers to sign a contract with the king and appoint him governor of the new territory. At this time, the ministers all felt that the king had been deceived, and many people thought that this madman must die at sea, the sea is boundless, and he may not be able to come back if he leaves. ”

Lin Shaoqi replied in surprise: "In front of my Ming Emperor, what kind of contract did you sign with him, I'm afraid he would have been dragged out and beheaded, how could he give him any more money?" ”

"Or are those ministers right, even if this madman's expedition wants to go back, the sea is boundless, how can they say that they can come back?" Li Chenghuai also agreed.

Ma Wu continued: "The king of Spain really signed a contract with Magellan, and gave him a sum of money, and Magellan built dozens of large treasure ships, formed an expedition, and when he left, he again asked the king for a huge sum of money for the passage of Sichuan. Later, Magellan really died at sea, but his crew still obeyed Magellan's will, and finally all returned to Spain, and they gave the Spanish king a lot of land and islands, and on the other side of the sea, there is now a new Spain, including the island of Luzon that we just left, all of which Magellan found for the king. ”

Hearing this, Lin Shaoqi sighed with emotion: "Even if they encircle these lands and islands, just like Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, it is easy to win the world and difficult to win the hearts of the people!" ”

At this time, Ma Wu stared at the missionary Mark and said, "Brother Shao Qi is right! As far as I know, these Western colonizers massacre the aborigines in order to permanently occupy the so-called new territories. ”

Mark, who had been left out in the cold, was a little hairy by Ma Wu's cold gaze, and he and Xu Ling'er were both proficient in Oriental dialect, so they asked, "Miss Xu, what is he talking about?" ”

Xu Linger briefly retold the story that Ma Wu had just told.

Mark gave a thumbs up in surprise and praised, "Mr. Ma Wu, you are an amazing person!" ”

Ma Wuna looked at Mark with disdain, and asked coldly: "Those of you who believe in Jesus Christ, mercilessly cruel to the indigenous people of the colony, are you not afraid of God's damnation?" ”

"Damnation? Ahh I don't approve of them killing either, so we missionaries need to go to the new territory to preach and stop killing people when all the natives believe in Jesus Christ. Mark explained.

"How unreasonable! Why do you force the indigenous people to follow Christianity? Ma Wu asked angrily.

At this time, Xu Ling'er suddenly remembered that Xiao Nishilongzuo, this little old man claimed to be the kindest Christian, and he had persuaded himself to be baptized on the ship, but in Sakai Town, he used the power of the church to bully the market, colluded with the monkey Hideyoshi, supported Oda Nobunaga, a madman, and instigated Christians to oppose Ishiyama Honganji, and even planned a kidnapping case in North Korea......

Oda Nobunaga, who claimed to believe in the Hokke sect, actually burned down the Enryakuji Temple on Mt. Hiei, and Lin Feng, who claimed to be a follower of the Honkaku sect, was insidious and cunning, murderous......

The halal meal made for Ma Wu was finally served on the table, and everyone began to eat together.

After everyone dispersed after eating, Ma Wu left Lin Shaoqi behind and asked solemnly, "Do you know why I told you the story of Magellan?" ”

Lin Shaoqi replied: "When we have money in the future, we will also let you build a treasure ship, form an expedition team, and let him be the king of heaven Laozi, encircled the land and islands, we will be the king ourselves, who will be the governor of what emperor Lao'er?" ”

Ma Wu shook his head and continued to ask, "Have you ever wondered why the king dared to lend money to Magellan?" And Magellan did not run away and never come back like Xu Fu, he did not insult his mission. ”

"Could it be that Magellan is a relative of the king's family?"

"No, the king and Magellan were very devout Christians, and they had a covenant of trust in each other under the support of a common faith, and this trust goes far beyond blood relations, do you understand?"

Lin Shaoqi nodded as if he didn't understand.

Ma Wu stared at Lin Shaoqi tightly and asked, "Brother Shaoqi, let me ask you, is there a common belief between you and the Lord of Daao?" Do you believe in the promise he gave you? ”

After hearing these words, Lin Shaoqi was a little out of shape, and his face suddenly turned red.

"Although Lin Feng is my elder brother, I don't agree with what he did, let alone help him to abuse, please think about it clearly, what kind of contractual relationship is there when dealing with these pirates who have no faith, no bottom line in their behavior, and have a milk and are their mothers? I advise you, even if you die, you must abide by the bottom line and conscience of being a man. ”

"Of course, of course." Lin Shaoqi replied with a smile.

"I understand your difficulties very well, you don't have to hide it from me, what promises did the Lord of Daao give you, what are Li Chenghuai and Cai De and others doing when they go back with you, you don't need me to find out, right?"

Lin Shaoqi was taken aback, it seemed that he knew everything, he suddenly panicked, and asked tremblingly: "I, I didn't promise him, you see, the people brought by the Lord of the Seven Ao and the Lord of the Nine Ao are all fierce and vicious, they, they take me and Miss Ling'er, and even Ah Ping as hostages, how can you, how can you deal with them?" ”

Ma Wu smiled slightly and asked: "We often say that loyalty, filial piety, courtesy, righteousness and faith, this is the bottom line of being a man, but only this letter is often ignored or forgotten, may I ask Brother Shao Qi, do you believe in Mazu Bodhisattva?" ”

Lin Shaoqi nodded hurriedly, and replied resignedly: "Letter, letter!" ”

"Well, as long as you truly believe in Mazu Bodhisattva, Mazu Bodhisattva will definitely bless you." Ma Wu then said: "Without the 100,000 taels of silver given to you by the lord of Taiao, you will come to Ryukyu with me to do business in the future, and you will be able to turn over." ”