In fact, the development model of the Eighteen Zhi has some similarities with the Haihan, which also occupied overseas islands and established strongholds, made a fortune from maritime trade, and expanded commercially and militarily simultaneously. However, Eighteen Zhi did not have the black technology in the hands of the traverser, and could not obtain huge commercial profits through Guò's own production, so he could only use force and plunder in order to expand rapidly.

In the original time and space, Zheng Zhilong even relied on this method to defeat the Fujian Ming army, and finally went ashore to wash his hands successfully. But after this time and space was intervened in the Fujian war by the Haihan traversers, it was difficult for the pirate methods of the Eighteen Zhi to achieve good results, and the attack on Zhangzhou and Quanzhou was also a loss.

On the other hand, Xu Xinsu's side, after the successive battles, his maritime trade business has also been better guaranteed, and the annual growth of income is enough for him to arm a modern hot weapon army with not weak combat power, and there is still the spare power to order more advanced and expensive weapons and equipment from Haihan, which can be said to have embarked on a virtuous circle of development. Even if Haihan does not increase support, the balance of victory will gradually tilt towards Xu Xinsu's side with the development of time. Perhaps two or three years later, Xu Xinsu will be able to exterminate the Eighteen Zhi pirates entrenched in Penghu and Taiwan Island with his own strength. This point in time is basically in line with the expected speed of naval development on the Haihan side, when the Haihan navy, which is more powerful than the current one, will also move north, take over the strongholds of Shibazhi in Penghu and Taiwan, and use this as a base to extend the Haihan's sphere of influence to Northeast Asia.

But the existence of the Dutch was clearly an unpredictable variable, and the Executive Committee and the military regarded the Dutch as a hostile force from the outset, and all preparations were based on the possibility of a possible future armed conflict. Compared with the Eighteen Zhi, which has begun to decline, the Dutch entrenched on the island of Taiwan seem to be a greater threat to Haihan. And this time, Eighteen Zhi took the initiative to ask for peace talks, and there seemed to be a Dutch figure behind him.

"One of the purposes of our fleet is also to let Xu Xinsu take a good look at who is stronger between us and the Dutch, and which thigh he should choose to hug tightly. Ning Qi said proudly.

The fact that Haihan built a large "Majesty-class" warship was not a secret to the Fujian military, and as early as during the construction period, the news was transmitted back by various news channels of Fujian cadets studying at the Shengli Port Military Academy. And Haihan did not deliberately block the relevant news, and even invited representatives of the Fujian military to participate in the ceremony of the "Majesty-class" warships at the end of 1629. The last time Xu Xinsu visited Guangzhou, he also proposed to see the legendary Haihan main battleship with dozens of guns, but at that time, the two "Majesty-class" warships were carrying out blockade missions in the Qiongzhou Strait, and they did not have time to drive to the mouth of the Pearl River to let Xu Xinsu open his eyes.

In the plan to visit Fujian this time, there is a link to invite Xu Xinsu to visit the ship, and if the conditions are suitable, it may also arrange to go around the sea to let Xu Xinsu see the terrible power of steam power propulsion.

As for Xu Xinsuqi, the information that Marik could provide to the mission was relatively limited, but the several sailors he had found for the fleet in advance who were familiar with the sea conditions along the coast of Fujian came in handy. Although the Haihan has a large number of satellite maps in their hands, the time difference is hundreds of years, and the topography of many coastal zones is still quite different from that of later generations, especially the current conditions and reef distribution under the water surface, which must be known by veteran sailors who are familiar with sea conditions.

And Xu Xinsu's subordinates obviously took this into account, and Dong Yanyun also specially sent four shipwrights to Zhennan Port to obey orders, and then set off with the fleet to Fujian.

The mission fleet rested at Zhennan Harbor for only one night, and after completing the supply of supplies and ingredients, it left the area the next day and continued eastward.

From Hong Kong Island to the east, you will reach the boundary of Huizhou Mansion, and then go east after passing Chaozhou Mansion, and then enter the coast of Fujian. The Ming Dynasty originally arranged a lot of guards on this coastline, such as Pinghai, Jiesheng, Jiazimen, Jinghai, Haimen, Jieshiwei and so on. It's just that the garrisons of these guards are basically army formations, and they can't effectively defend the sea frontier at all, so they lead to the situation of piracy raging in the past few years.

However, the mission fleet did not want to ostentatious on the way, so the route was kept at a position of more than ten or twenty nautical miles from the coast, and no longer stopped at the port along the way, and sailed directly to Fujian.

"The front is Nanao Island, and after Nanao Island, you will go to Fujian. Shi Diwen made nautical notes while introducing the itinerary to Ning Qi. When he left Hong Kong, Ning Qi had already moved from the "Lightning" to the "Wei Signal", and coordinated and commanded this fleet with Shi Diwen.

The fleet did not go out of its way to make a journey, so the nearly 200-nautical-mile voyage from Hong Kong Island to Nan'ao Island in Chaozhou Prefecture took almost two days to arrive. However, this speed is relatively fast compared to the Chinese sailing ships of the same era.

Nan'ao Island is located at the junction of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, less than 20 nautical miles away from Chaozhou Prefecture and less than 100 nautical miles away from Zhangzhou, Fujian. In the third year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1575, more than 50 years ago, the Ming Military Department set up the post of deputy commander of Nanao here, that is, "the deputy commander of the army stationed in Nanao in Zhangchao and other places", and also divided into two camps in Guangdong and Fujian, that is to say, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Nanao Island was a public area under the joint management of Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

There are many harbors on Nan'ao Island that have the conditions for building deep-water ports, so they are also one of the targets coveted by the military, but there have always been Ming troops stationed on this island, and it is too far away from the Haihankong area, and there are many objective difficulties in wanting to take this place, at least at this stage, it is still impossible to implement. Therefore, Shi Diwen could only look at this big island from the telescope and drool.

After passing Nan'ao Island, I was able to see Dongshan Island in front of me through the telescope. This butterfly-shaped island is the second largest island in Fujian and is currently under the jurisdiction of Zhao'an County, Fujian. When you get here, you have already entered the boundary of Fujian.

"Xu Xinsu's attitude is quite correct, and he sent someone to greet us. It didn't take long for Ning Qi to see several sailing ships docked on the sea off Dongshan Island from the telescope, starting with a Dafu ship, which was larger than Haihan's "Exploration Class" sailing ship, which was already close to the appearance of "Adventure Class", and the tonnage was at least four or five hundred tons, which must have exceeded the standard by the standards of civilian ships.

Of course, with Xu Xinsu's status in Fujian, even if the size of his ship is doubled, no one will hold him responsible. There is a big flag on this main mast, and a five-foot square Xu character is unfurled in the sea breeze, which is very eye-catching.

It seems that Fujian's shipbuilding industry is indeed quite developed. Although Shi Diwen is not a shipbuilding professional, he has also played sailing for many years, and he knows much more about ships than Ningqi as a passerby, so the focus is naturally on ships.

When Shi Diwen was admiring, the person on the Fu boat opposite was really taken aback. Xu Yuzhuo, the fourth son of Xu Xinsu, who was sent to Dongshan Island to meet the fleet of the Haihan Mission, served as a general in the Fujian Naval Division, and went to the Shengli Port Military Academy for four months of military training in the early days. A few days ago, Guangdong sent a letter back, saying that Haihan had sent a delegation to visit Fujian, and that there would be the latest Haihan giant ships with them. Xu Xinsu didn't dare to be contemptuous, so he naturally arranged for the fleet to come out to meet him at sea. When the Haihan fleet arrived here, they had been waiting for nearly a day.

However, due to the fact that the military's actions are too easy to attract attention, Xu Xinsu did not arrange for the warship to participate in the greeting this time, so he specially transferred a Dafu ship to install a façade, so as not to weaken the momentum as soon as the two sides meet. But Xu Yu found that compared to the huge warship in the opponent's fleet, the ship he was on was only a small one.

"When I saw the big iron ships of the Haihan people in Shengli Harbor, I thought those things were just decorations, and they were made by the Haihan people to scare people. But now it seems that the Haihan people can't build a big iron ship, but as they say, the time has not yet come!" Looking at the Haihan warship slowly approaching, Xu Yuchu couldn't help but sigh.

On the undulating sea, the ships of the two sides naturally couldn't get close to each other, not to mention that the hull of the "Wei Signal" was a lot taller than Xu Yuzhuo's ship, and if it approached it, it would lead to the danger of collision.

Xu Yu didn't have any shelves, so he ordered someone to put down the dinghy and change the boat by himself.

After a while, Xu Yuzhuo, with a sense of awe, ascended the lowered gangway to the "Wei Signal". He was born in a maritime family, and now he is serving in the sailor, and his understanding of ships is naturally not bad, the volume of this "Wei Signal" is so huge, even if he can't see the structure inside the ship, he can also think of the difficulty of the construction of this big ship, which is by no means overcome by the shipwrights of Fujian. Moreover, the ship's rope system is also a unique Haihan-style structure, which has a completely different appearance and operation style from the Chinese sailing boats seen on a daily basis.

What made Xu Yuzhuo feel a little relieved was that he happened to recognize the two heads of the Haihan Mission this time. When he was training at the Shengli Port Military Academy, it happened that Ning Qi and Shi Diwen had both been teachers. Ning Qi teaches Haihan culture class, while Shi Diwen teaches weapon maintenance and repair, and Xu Yuzhuo has to call them teachers.

Xu Yuzhuo stayed in Shengli Harbor for a while, but he also knew that the Haihan people did not like to bow down and bow between masters and apprentices, so he immediately said deeply: "Student Xu Yuzhuo, I have seen Teacher Ning and Teacher Shi!"

"Ouch, it's actually you kid!" Ning Qi saw that his acquaintance was also a lot more relaxed, and couldn't help but joke: "Your father sent you out to receive us, it seems that you are very valued at home!"

Xu Yuchu said embarrassedly: "Teacher Ning, don't make fun of me." ”

The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Xu Yuzhuo ordered someone to present some gifts, and then returned to his boat in a small boat.

"Is this a family card?" Shi Diwen asked with a smile.

Ning Qi shook his head and said, "I don't think it's very likely, after all, when we notified the Fujian side, we didn't report your name." ”

The Haihan side consciously concealed the candidates for the head and deputy of the mission for the time being, just to prevent the Fujian side from making targeted preparations in advance. But it was such a coincidence that the envoys sent by Xu Xinsu just recognized them. Of course, it is also possible that Xu Xin has the intention of trying his luck, after all, Xu Yuzhuo has been in Sanya for a period of time, and he knows a lot of Haihan people, and it is indeed easy to get acquaintances.

"Anyway, I still have to talk to the owner when I get to the place anyway. Ning Qi quickly recovered from his previous ease to a state of strictness: "Their ship has moved, let's follow." ”

There was still about 100 nautical miles to go from Dongshan Island to Zhangzhou, and due to the slow speed of the ships leading the way, the Haihan mission slowed down accordingly and slowly moved forward after them. From the early morning until the sky was dark, I finally saw Jiaheyu Island, where the center and left are located.

"It's time to Xiamen!" Ning Qi's face was a little complicated, he had also been to Xiamen before the crossing, and he had also traveled to Gulangyu Island. However, the brightly lit Xiamen in my impression is completely different from the dark island in front of me.

"Their ship signaled that it was going to dock here. "Shi Diwen has never been to Xiamen, and he doesn't have as many literary and artistic feelings as Ningqi, he has always been paying attention to the signals of the pilot ship. This is his first time in this area, and it is indeed very unfamiliar, and he must personally write down all the routes and port conditions, which are difficult for the Ministry of Security to collect first-hand information.

Ning Qi nodded and said: "If you want to enter the river in Zhangzhou, it must not be convenient in the middle of the night, so it is estimated that you will have to arrange to rest here for a day or two." When I came to Xiamen before, I also saw the ruins of Zhongzuo City, but it was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty, and this time I can see the original appearance of the Zhongzuo City in the Ming Dynasty. ”

According to historical records, in the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Jiangxia Hou Zhou De built the Zhongzuo City, which was the horn of the Golden Gate City, the Gaopu City, the Yongning Acropolis and the Zhenhai Acropolis, and became an important coastal defense place along the coast of Fujian. In the fifteenth year of Yongle, the moon city was added outside the city of Zhongzuo, and the city wall was raised to two feet and two feet. In the eighth year of Ming orthodoxy, four enemy towers were added. In the twentieth year of Wanli, the Fujian South Road staff moved here. In the fourth year of Longqing, twenty more sentinel ships were added here, and the garrison became an amphibious force.