The sea vessels departed from Shanghai, exited the Yangtze River estuary, and headed south. This route is taken every year, mainly to transport commercial freight from the south of the Yangtze River to Fujian and Guangdong, and then transship the east and west. Under the limited order to open the sea, sailing on the waters of Zhejiang also faced accusations of collusion, so the fleet had to be prepared to be intercepted when passing through Zhoushan.

Once intercepted, either cut the grass and eradicate the roots, kill the sailor, or open the way with silver bullets and improvise. Fortunately, Xu Yuanzuo was lucky this time, and he didn't encounter Zhoushan Shui Shi coming out to intercept him. In fact, this is also related to Xu Yuanzuo's request to go to the ocean, and the current technical conditions cannot block the sea area on a large scale, and can only supervise the shipping lanes in a limited way.

This way of sailing was very displeasing to the captain of the ship, because to get out of the needle path was to lose the danger of losing the course. The ocean currents, weather conditions, and reefs in the ocean are all unknown, and they are even more detouring than coastal navigation. This kind of thankless behavior, just to avoid the interception of the sailor, in the eyes of the fire chief, is simply asking for money and death.

Xu Yuanzuo hopes to carry out sailing exercises within a relatively safe navigation range. This time, the three ships brought a lot of students from the Maritime Academy - this is the main reason why Luo Zhenquan is here. These students have only been enrolled for a short time, but they have a lot of sailing experience, so they can be pulled out early to practice the navigation skills sorted out by Xu Yuanzuo and Li Teng. At present, there is no high-end cargo such as a sextant that can be used, mainly to copy some practical techniques of the great navigation in the early Ming Dynasty to prepare for the formulation of navigation manuals.

Even so, it costs a lot of money. Because the official archives were hidden by Liu Daxia, a famous minister of Hongzhi, he could only take things from the hands of craftsmen and boatmen. If you don't want to ruin your reputation, you can only buy it with real money. Even so, the results obtained only gave Xu Yuanzuo a feeling of "maybe it can be done".

Xu Yuanzuo remembers a movie in which a character leans on a pair of glasses, a ballpoint pen, and other small bits and pieces. It was made into a simple sextant. At the time, I didn't think there was anything special about this plot, but now I see the sailors using the star board, and I still feel a little envious. He really didn't want to wait for Newton to solve everything, he had heard that the principle of the star-pulling board and the sextant was similar, but he didn't know how long it would take these sailors to complete the improvement.

――Do I need another bonus?

Xu Yuanzuo said secretly in his heart. He is like a farmer now, unable to pull out seedlings to help grow. The land can only be watered and fertilized by all means - that is, smashed with silver. It's a pity that you still have to rely on the sky to eat.

When the fleet crossed Zhoushan and saw the land again, even the fire commander did not dare to confirm where it was. Because he didn't know the latitude and longitude, and he saw a piece of land from afar, it was difficult to tell whether it was an island or a continent.

"It's Keelung." Xu Yuanzuo said.

"Chicken coop?" Luo Zhenquan stood beside Xu Yuanzuo: "What kind of place is that?" Is it an island? ”

Xu Yuanzuo squinted his eyes and said, "The island we found in the east before should be the island chain that extends all the way down from the Ryukyus, so this should be the northern tip of Taiwan Island." The natives here are called chicken coop societies. ”

Luo Zhenquan looked at Xu Yuanzuo like a monster: "How do you know everything?" ”

"I have time to read more and go to Goolan Courtyard less." Xu Yuanzuo said.

Luo Zhenquan disagreed. He's his age. My son should be able to get on board. It's a pity that he was a broken family before, and no one wanted him. Now that he has become a small landowner, he has begun to pick girls again. The old can't look down on it, the widow can't look down on it, and the ** Congliang can't look down on it...... But she was not rich enough to let the girl from a good family post it, so she could only go to Goolan Xingyuan to solve the problem.

The firefighter quickly came up and asked for instructions on how to turn.

If it turns east now, it will go south along the outer ocean of Taiwan Island and go directly to Luzon. If you turn west. Then they entered the Taiwan Strait, passing through several ports controlled by "maritime merchants" along the way.

Xu Yuanzuo's first stop was to Changle County, Fuzhou Prefecture. Naturally, we have to turn to the west.

Changle County is the hometown of Teacher Zheng Yuezheng, and his parents and wife are at home. For Xu Yuanzuo, this is his second home - master and apprentice are like father and son, but it is not just talking. Coincidentally, Changle is the gateway to Fuzhou, and it is also an important place for the ocean. In the era when Jiajing maritime merchants made trouble in the East China Sea, countless sailors, captains, and sea owners came out here...... It was Xu Yuanzuo who had to come to explore the depths of the important place.

Fujian is a "poor province" with many mountains, many rivers and few fields. However, because of the maritime trade, it has become a major province for imperial examinations since the Northern Song Dynasty. Just talking about Changle County, Jiajing has produced thirteen Jinshi in one dynasty! This should have something to do with the development of maritime trade, and it was very expensive to study the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty.

If calculated according to Fuzhou Prefecture, the number of Jinshi is even more amazing. Zheng Yue was born in such a hometown of imperial examinations. It is natural to think that Huating's literary style is weak.

The flotilla turned west from Taiwan and encountered fishing boats two days later. After inquiry, I learned that I had already walked through, so I went north against the wind with great difficulty, and found fishermen who were familiar with the route along the coast to guide the way, and finally arrived safely in Changle County at the mouth of the Minjiang River. Zheng He went to the Western Ocean seven times, and every time the boat master went back and forth, he first anchored here: one waited for the monsoon to open the ocean; the second was to replenish, recruit sailors, and build ships; The three are sacrificed to the god of the sea for protection. The berthing time can range from a few months to more than half a year.

"The north and south banks of Taiping Port are separated by east-west mountain ranges, which are good harbors for the wind. At that time, Wu Wangfu was built here, so it was called Wu Hangtou in ancient times. When Huo Chang entered Taiping Port, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and was much more polite to Xu Yuanzuo, the owner, and consciously introduced the history of Changle.

Xu Yuanzuo listened to it quite interestingly, and after the guidance of the fire chief, he saw the palace of the concubine built by Zheng He.

"I heard that Zheng He once built a giant ship here, can Changle still build it now?" Xu Yuanzuo took advantage of the fact that they were both excited and asked directly.

The fire chief hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's hard to say how big the giant ship is, but the three-masted ship can be built here." He paused, and then added, "But there must be some way." ”

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "Can only silver find the way?" ”

The fire chief thought for a moment: "It's difficult. ”

Xu Yuanzuo was not disappointed. He knew that the local clan power in Fujian was extremely strong, and the in-laws and blood relatives were mixed with each other. Changle people rely on the sea to eat the sea, where will they have leisure to build ships for people from other provinces? If you really want to build a giant ship with good materials, you must also be a sea lord who is close to your hometown.

Taiping Harbor has an open ocean surface and is worthy of being a good anchorage for gathering. Xu Yuanzuo and the others were divided into three boats, accompanied by guards, doctors, and merchants, more than 200 people. It took several batches before all of them disembarked and crossed ashore from Henan.

On the shore are the three streets of Henan, Heyang and Hexia, forming a downtown area. There are many shops on the street, and merchants from the north and south come and go, and the bustle is even more Huating.

Xu Yuanzuo originally thought that Huating was a first-class prosperous place in the world, but it was inferior to Suzhou. Who knows that even Fujian's Changle can't compare, and he really became a frog at the bottom of the well. He stood on the street and looked at it, casually picked a shop with a wine flag and went in, and sat down to order food. Luo Zhenquan followed, and when he saw that the merchant did not understand the official language, he repeated it again in Hokkien. Other sailors were responsible for carrying the gifts downward. Fortunately, Xu Yuanzuo did not hesitate to prepare a generous gift for Zheng Yue's family, so there was no risk of making a fool of himself.

"It seems that if you want to go to the sea, you have to learn Min language." Xu Yuanzuo said with a smile.

Luo Zhenquan said: "Hokkien dialect is the same as official dialect on land at sea. Although the sea lords of the year were Hui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, the more they went down, the more Fu Lao there were. Everyone speaks Hokkien. ”

"What about Guangdong?" Xu Yuanzuo asked, "How many Cantonese people are?" ”

Luo Zhenquan said: "Eastern Zhejiang and southern Fujian are all places with poor mountains and bad waters. As long as you can earn something to eat, you can do anything. Guangdong is rich in water and soil, and who is willing to go to the sea when waiting for idlers. ”

Xu Yuanzuo thought about it. People are always safe, like him, he can be a landlord in peace, but he wants to focus on business, and in the eyes of others, I am afraid it is also a strange flower.

While the two were talking, someone came up to inquire about the news. These people are either private people, or they are fellows of the merchant house. He didn't speak very politely. The main thing is to see how the guests react, if they are suppressed. It is inevitable that you will suffer losses later. Fortunately, Luo Zhenquan is an old fur dog, what scene have you never seen? Xu Yuanzuo is again looking like Mount Tai collapsed in front of him and did not change color, which makes people unsure of the depth. The two private teeth were getting harder and harder, wanting to find out the truth, and the guards at the surrounding tables had already gotten up and surrounded them, so frightened that they hurriedly apologized. I ran away.

Xu Yuanzuo took out the address given by the teacher and said, "Don't be too frightened, we still need someone to guide us." ”

Luo Zhenquan got up and said, "This is easy. He walked out into the street, shouted in Fuzhou dialect, and several idlers gathered around him. I recommended myself.

Xu Yuanzuo looked interesting. Since he came to the world of Daming, he has really never seen the folk customs of "reserve" and "cowering".

Luo Zhenquan led a young man in after a while, and said, "Brother Zuo, this person is a local native, and he knows Zheng Daling's family. ”

Xu Yuanzuo nodded: "That's fine, when the gifts are all on the shore, ask him to lead the way." Let's eat and drink some first, and when we get to the teacher's house, we will be more reserved. The guards laughed.

The host smiled even more heartily, he was really afraid that a group of people would sit at a few tables and drink only two pots of tea.

This time, the "secretary" who accompanied Xu Yuanzuo was not Mei Chenggong, but Cheng Zhongyuan, the son of Cheng Zai. Because of the size of the ship, he did not get seasick. It's just a multi-day voyage, and people are a little shaky when they step on land. After arranging the gifts, he brought Xing Mingfan in, and was about to find a table to sit down, but saw Xu Yuanzuo waving to them.

"Central Plains, after the meeting, let's go to the street to find a house first, so that everyone can settle down. I'm afraid we'll have to live for more than half a month. Xu Yuanzuo commanded.

"Yes." Cheng Zhongyuan was a little weak about Hokkien dialect, so he agreed stubbornly.

Xu Yuanzuo smiled at Xing Mingfan again: "You will follow this brother along the way, and you will learn from it." ”

Xing Mingfan said solemnly: "Obey!" ”

Xu Yuanzuo smiled kindly, and when he saw that the store presented all kinds of Fuzhou delicacies, he couldn't help but move his index finger and took the lead in eating. Although he had a good diet on the boat, this time he was not accompanied by Shen Yujun, who walked the sea all year round, and his quality of life still decreased a lot. Seeing that exquisite and delicious snacks are on the table, you will naturally not be polite.

Cheng Zhongyuan and Xing Mingfan were already very nervous that they could dine at the same table with Xu Yuanzuo, of course they wouldn't be unfamiliar, but Luo Zhenquan was still a little more open.

"This wonton is quite distinctive." Xu Yuanzuo ate a few Fuzhou special wontons with transparent leather bags and felt that his appetite was better.

"This is called a flat meat swallow, also called a Taiping swallow." Luo Zhenquan said: "It's necessary to eat when you come here." This meat swallow skin is made of pork, which is very labor-intensive. ”

Xu Yuanzuo tasted it carefully again and said, "It's really good." What kind of hanging umami did he use? ”

There will be no MSG now.

Luo Zhenquan obviously understands very well: "Broth, and sugar." ”

Xu Yuanzuo really tasted the sweetness and said, "Not bad, not bad." Not! This fish ball is not bad either! Huh, this one is fried? He pointed to a plate of pasta in the shape of a cake, somewhat surprised. Nowadays, it is not easy to eat fried food, because the main fat is animal oil, which only the rich and noble can afford to eat. As for the cheaper rapeseed oil, it is still limited to the southwest region, even Jiangnan is very rare, and southern Fujian is definitely not available.

"This is diā-biàng." Luo Zhenquan said: "That is, the oysters are wrapped in rice milk in the oil pot, and the taste is good." ”

Xu Yuanzuo took one to eat, and found that it was still lard, which was really delicious. The rice milk on the outside is golden brown and crispy after being fried, and the oyster meat filling on the inside is moderately salty. It's a little hot, but it tastes great.

Luo Zhenquan saw that Xu Yuanzuo was happy to eat, so he was naturally even more happy: "This southern Fujian-style food is not inferior to our Jiangnan." ”

"It's not flavorful." Xu Yuanzuo raised his head, fanned his mouth, and said happily: "You asked the boss to do all the good things in the store." Luo Zhenquan knew that Xu Yuanzuo was not worried about the silver, so he told him truthfully, and he was so happy that the store's mouth couldn't close, and he urged the kitchen to work hard.

This meal was eaten until the afternoon, and seeing that he couldn't eat it anymore, Xu Yuanzuo paced out of the store with satisfaction. Cha Cha, who was in charge of the checkout, turned pale after coming out, and whispered to Xu Yuanzuo: "Brother Zuo, we won't be hacked, right?" ”

"How?" Xu Yuanzuo stopped: "How much silver did you eat?" ”

"Ten taels." Cha Cha's voice trembled: "This is all up to the price in the courtyard." ”

Xu Yuanzuo let out a sigh and laughed: "Don't scare me, I thought that one meat swallow was ten taels." It took us twenty or thirty to eat ten taels, which is not expensive. Oh, it's a little more expensive than Matsue, but there is also a lot more silver here than Matsue, so it's normal for prices to be more expensive. ”

Cheng Zhongyuan listened to it, and his ears pricked up: he was in class at the School of Economics, and he had heard Xu Yuanzuo talk about inflation and austerity, and he was right at the moment. The effect of this theory in line with reality made him more admiring Xu Yuanzuo.

Luo Zhenquan said on the side: "Many sea owners are buying goods in Changle, and the silver is naturally much more than elsewhere. Hey, I forgot, where did Zogoer say the silver came from? He knocked on his head, forcing himself to remember.

"Luzon." Xu Yuanzuo said: "But it is not native to Luzon, but the Spaniards transported it from their Viceroyalty of New Spain. The viceroyalty there was not originally Spanish territory, but it was robbed by them with great strength, killing and robbing, and servicing the natives, so to speak. ”

Everyone thought for a moment. Especially Luo Zhenquan, although he doesn't know where the Viceroyalty of New Spain is, Luzon is in the South China Sea. He thought of Xu Yuanzuo's talk about the founding of overseas countries, and then listened to the "glorious" deeds of the Spaniards, and felt quite sympathetic.

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Ask for a recommended ticket, ask for a monthly pass~~ I'm afraid it will be very late tomorrow to get home, so the update will be late, please understand~!

*(To be continued.) )

PS: I'm afraid I won't be able to get home until late tomorrow, so the update will be late, please understand~!