You spent the New Year in a snowy night in Nanjing, and I crossed the Raga Strait in the storm of the South Sea.

Just as the Ming Dynasty was reproducing the scene of peace and prosperity, Zheng He's huge fleet was rushing to the vicinity of the Manraka Strait with great difficulty, braving the storm and rolling up monstrous waves.

There is no spring, summer, autumn and winter on the equator, the direct angle of the sun is too high, and it is very hot all year round, if you have to distinguish a season, it is nothing more than the season of precipitation changes caused by the north-south movement of the direct sun's point, that is, the dry season and the rainy season, but the dry season does not mean that there will be no rain, especially in this ghost weather.

The huge storm swept the two thousand treasure ships from side to side, and the sea water overflowed the deck one after another, lapping against the hull, and on each treasure ship there were dozens of soldiers dressed in red clothes, with thick hemp ropes tied around their waists, sticking to their posts, trying to maintain the stability of the ship and prevent it from capsizing at any time.

However, this situation did not last long, as the storm intensified and the water rose higher and higher, and the crew on board gradually felt the strain.

The captain of the ship stood in the command room and looked around, the vision was very poor at the moment, the flag was definitely useless, and the shouting words were so loud because of the storm and the waves that even people could not hear clearly.

Therefore, he could only wave the oil lamp in his hand as much as he could, but unfortunately relying on the light signal, he could not convey orders in time, and the ship could not know the location and status of other subordinates, and could only hear the sound of rolling waves.

"Follow me to the sub-anchor!"

The captain shouted to a few people beside him, holding the handle and walking towards the cabin, he wanted to drop the auxiliary anchor on the right bow to increase the stability of the ship, although it was still unclear how big the storm was in the distance, but he knew that this was definitely the most dangerous time, so he had to hurry.

Only those who have sailed far know that in the face of the great power of nature, not to mention the human beings in the period of sail warships, even ironclad ships and even modern warships, they are extremely fragile. These 2,000-material treasure ships are already giants in this era, but in the era of modern warships, the tonnage is at best a frigate, and when the storm comes, tens of thousands of tons of big drive and 100,000-ton aircraft carriers will also violently shake left and right up and down, and frigates are no different from leaves falling on the water.

At the moment when the captain was about to reach the position, he suddenly felt a piercing chill rising from the soles of his feet, as if the claws of some kind of beast were tearing his legs, the captain secretly screamed in his heart, and just raised his head, only to find that the vision outside the cabin suddenly dimmed.

Black clouds quickly approached from the east, obscuring all light, the sky was blackened with thick ink, and the sea rolled up like the bottom of a boiling pot, and waves of terrible waves with a screaming sound broke through the layers of fog and attacked the entire fleet.

Everyone on the ship held their breath at this moment, staring at the sudden vision in front of them, no one expected such a drastic situation, even the nerves of the officers were tense in an instant, and everyone stood on the spot.

Only the captain reacted quickly, and he immediately shouted, "Quick! Close the door! Tie it up! ”

The waves crashed into the side of the treasure ship with a deafening sound, and the hull jerked violently, and the captain even heard the sound of his own teeth colliding.

The dull cry of the waves pierced the silent night, and under the tremendous impact, the side chords of the treasure ship immediately snapped, and countless broken wooden bars splashed out, flashing silver light in the dark night sky, and fell into the nearby seawater, stirring up waves.

"Ahh "Ahh

Screams rang out one after another, and many people were thrown into the air and thrown to the deck of the cabin, killing and hurting everywhere.

The captain fell to the ground, struggled for a long time before holding on to the wall, staggered to his feet, and looked down to see that the hull was tilting violently, and he himself was bloody, soaking wet, and in a state of embarrassment.

"The boat is capsizing."

"What's the panic? There are watertight cabins! ”

"Let's go, get off the right anchor first, and then follow me to open the water filling tank on the right side and balance the boat."

Such a situation happened in every ship in Zheng He's fleet, when the difficult Chinese New Year's Eve passed, the floating fleet had already suffered considerable losses, about fifteen ships of various types capsized, hundreds of people died, but as a blessing in misfortune, the main treasure ship benefited from the protection and watertight compartment are the world's top, and there has not yet capsized, only a few treasure ships have broken masts and need to be replaced from the reserves of logistics ships.

Zhu Youjiao, the king of Runan County, was also wrapped in gauze on his face, and at this time he was running back and forth with the help of the soldiers of the land war.

With the increase of experience, Zhu Youjiao at this time is no longer Zhu Gaoxu's little follower, but has gradually grown into an excellent marine general.

In fact, in the Hongwu Dynasty, Lao Zhu summoned some emperors and grandsons in order to find someone to accompany his grandson to study, including the current Qin and Jin domains, that is, Zhu Shangbing, the son of Qin at that time, Zhu Jixi, the son of Jin, and Zhu Gaochi, the son of Yan and Zhou.

In addition to these sons, there are also Zhu Jixi, the king of Zhaode County of the Jin Domain, Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Gaoyang County of the Yan Domain, and Zhu Youjiao, the king of Runan County of the Zhou Domain, three imperial grandsons who were not the eldest sons.

Compared with good students Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Youlian, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Youjiao and Zhu Jixi are pure demon kings of the mixed world, and it is not too much to say that people hate dogs, Lao Zhu often beats these three turtle grandsons with his own hands.

However, just as a good student in school may not be able to rank at the top of the social class after entering the society, a bad student may not be able to change and then get ahead.

For example, Zhu Youjia couldn't get along in the Ming Dynasty, but because of this, when the clan was about to go to sea last year, he became the first and only county king to sign up, plus the care of Zhu Gaoxu, who could speak in the army, he had already become an up-and-coming young general at this time.

"How far have we sailed?"

Zhu Youjiao, the king of Runan County, was also wrapped in gauze on his face, and when he saw Zheng He coming, he asked.

"Five thousand miles."

Zheng He's words made Zhu Youjiao slightly stunned, and then sighed a little: "If this is five thousand miles on the road, it won't be able to reach it in one or two months." ”

In fact, Zheng He's estimate was very accurate, although it was not a complete straight line, but from Manila all the way to the southwest, only once at the country of Bo Ni (Brunei) in Tanjung Boluo (Kalimantan), to the Manraka Strait, from the map, it is 5,000 li, only a little more.

"We have two main missions on this voyage, the first is to go west out of the Manjapahit Strait to Tianzhu to explore a good way for the subsequent trade routes, and the second is to go south to Java Island to understand the true situation of the Majapahit Empire and collect relevant intelligence."

"You have to build an overseas base, Temasek [Singapore] or the Old Port."

At this time, Wang Jinghong also came over and said.

"If you go to Temasek, you go west, and if you go to the Old Port, you go south."

It was already clear that the fleet, which had sailed five thousand miles, was in dire need of a port to replenish supplies and repair damaged ships, and both options had their own advantages and disadvantages.

Now that the fleet is on the verge of running out of supplies, and Temasek is relatively small in scale and has few supplies, the old port is one of the important trade nodes in the South Seas at this time, gathering a large number of Han Chinese, but the old port is a mixed bag, and the danger level is far greater than that of Temasek.

Although Zheng He's fleet was strong, the soldiers and sailors were exhausted, and there was a risk of capsizing in the gutter when going to the old port.

But the commanders of the fleet, at this time, all set their sights on the old port.

As the largest fleet ever to exist in the South Seas, it was even much larger than the expeditionary force sent to Java by Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty.

They have the power to destroy a small country, and they are the greatest danger to any power!

In fact, in addition to proclaiming the majesty of the newly enthroned Yongle Emperor in the four seas, Zheng He's fleet had another mission, and that was trade.

There are many goods in Nanyang that can be sold at a high price in the Ming Dynasty, and as the executors of the royal trade, they sell silk, tea, porcelain, and cotton cloth on the one hand, and buy these goods to sell back to China on the other hand.

And for the site of the old port, Daming's eyes have been projected on it for a long time.

The Ming Dynasty has annexed the northern part of the country of Annam, and established the Jiaozhi Chengxuan Envoy Department that can control the entire Indochina Peninsula, but this is far from enough, if you want to completely control the South Seas, you must have a stable overseas base in the most critical position to moor warships, maintain trade nodes, and supply the fleet without a stable overseas base, the fleet will become a rootless duckweed, once the fresh water and other supplies are exhausted, it will face large-scale non-combat attrition, which is a serious problem that must not be ignored, after all, there is no desalination device nowTens of thousands of people in the fleet have to drink water every day, and running out of fresh water is a fatal problem.

The old port is not only an excellent natural harbor, but also an important trade node, rich in products, and as long as it controls here, it is equivalent to blocking the southeast end of the Manraka Strait, which is of great strategic significance.

The old port, as one of the largest ports in Indonesia in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, has an irreplaceable importance in the South Seas trade in all eras, whether it is the Netherlands, Portugal, or later Japan, it is regarded as one of the most important strategic nodes.

And if you open the map, you can see that geographically, the Old Port is located in the southeast of the Golden Island (Sumatra), and to the north it can directly reach Temasek, and once you control it, you can radiate its influence to the entire core area of the South Seas.

Therefore, all the powerful rulers in the history of the Old Port were able to take advantage of this geographical advantage to expand their ruling area to the peninsula in the northern part of the Manraka Strait and the island of Hetanjung Buro in the east.

Further south is the Moluccas, the source of the most high-end spices in the entire South Seas.

Spices were one of the most important commodities in the maritime trade, and cloves, cardamom, and pepper were abundant in the Moluccas, which were under the rule of the Majapahit Empire, which was ruled by the island of Java.

Part of the reason why the Yuan Dynasty was able to make an expedition to Java was this.

You know, there is still such a big Tanjung Buro or Borneo Island between Java and the Cham Kingdom.

"Go to the Old Port."

Zheng He made the final decision, he explained: "If you can control the old port, not only can you complete the first task to control the Manjapahit Strait, but also the old port is not far from the Majapahit Empire, and there are many merchants, who can directly obtain information about the Majapahit Empire, which is equivalent to completing the second task, killing two birds with one stone." ”

As the fleet turned south and captured pirates and fishermen along the way, more and more intelligence was gathered.

The water in the old port is very deep, and ordinary people really can't grasp it.

"Our intelligence has lagged behind, the rule of the Sriwijaya Kingdom has collapsed, and now there is no Sriwijaya Kingdom, only the independent forces formed by the various minor kings occupying Jambi, Nilan, Pane and other places, but in the name of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, the information that the Chamjaya and the Luzon people know is not accurate."

Hearing Wang Jinghong's report, Zheng He frowned deeply.

According to the information they have obtained before, the ruling of the Golden Island (Sumatra) is the Kingdom of Srivijaya, which is an ancient kingdom, with Buddhism as the state religion, counting from the first king, and China has a history of nearly 700 years of exchanges, once to the Tang and Song dynasties, the rule of the Sriwijaya Kingdom includes the Golden Island and Java Island.

The rule of the Sriwijaya Kingdom is also more Buddhist, because of the vast and sparsely populated reason, there is a lot of undeveloped land, the Sriwijaya Kingdom upholds a friendly attitude towards immigrants, as long as you pay taxes you can settle here, so there are many Han immigrants in the Sriwijaya Kingdom settled, and the old port in the southeast of the Golden Island is the most concentrated.

These Han people who migrated from the southeast coastal areas, the first batch of big migration tides was the late Tang Dynasty Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the second batch was the late Song Dynasty, and the third batch was the late Yuan Dynasty.

Beginning 300 years ago, the Majapahit Kingdom of Tianzhu Religion replaced the Dominion of the Srivijaya Kingdom on the island of Java, and 200 years ago, the Sriwijaya Kingdom was forced to abandon Java Island and retreat to Jindao.

If it weren't for the intervention of the Mongols, maybe the kingdom of Srivijaya would not have been able to wait for Zheng He's arrival, and it would no longer exist.

The Mongols were also very interested in the sea, at that time the kingdom of Annam, the state of Champa, the state of Siam, and later the Ming Dynasty set up the three Xuan Liuwei region of those princely states, basically submitted to the Mongols, the Mongols even wanted to cross the sea to the south, and they did so, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan, in the 28th year of the Yuan Dynasty sent tens of thousands of people to land on the island of Java on thousands of warships. The kingdom of Majapahit was certainly no match for the Mongols, but then the Mongols fell into the nightmare of the "talking jungle" and had to retreat to their homeland.

The process of conquering the entire South Seas by the Majapahit Kingdom was interrupted, and the Majapahit Kingdom, which had been hit hard, took hundreds of years to recover, and became stronger and stronger, and now has completely ruled the entire South Seas region except for the Golden Island, with Trovolan as the capital, the sphere of influence as South Java Island, north to Borneo, west to the east of Golden Island, and east to the Moluccas, it is an out-and-out thousand-mile power, upgraded from the kingdom to an empire.

And the arrival of Zheng He's fleet in the northern part of the old port coincided with the time of a violent alternation of old and new forces.

Because of the collapse of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, although there is still this kingdom in name, it is actually just a banner jointly played by these small forces on the Golden Island, and even the king is gone, and the Majapahit Empire is also very covetous of the old port, but because of the huge military strength of the old port, it does not dare to reach out rashly.

Yes, the military power of the Old Port was huge.

In addition to the Nanyang Leader, the pirate king Chen Zuyi, there are several other forces that are comparable.

"You said that the current 'king' of the Sriwijaya Kingdom is actually not the prince of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, but a Han Chinese?"

Looking at the captured pirates in front of him, Zheng He was a little confused.

The pirates who had disguised themselves as the mission of the Champa State in Nanjing were only the outermost pirate gang organized by Chen Zuyi, and they had never even been to the old port, and they had been active in the waters of the Indochina Peninsula all year round, so they knew almost nothing about it, and did not provide Zheng He with any useful information.

"Exactly."

The captured pirate nodded, and explained with a wry smile: "The king's name is Liang Daoming, born in Guangdong, the political envoy, Hongwu for thirty years, at that time, the Sriwijaya Kingdom had no king, and faced the attack of the Majapahit Empire, the Han people in the old port elected him as the king, it was under his leadership that the major forces rebelled against the Majapahit Empire together, which also included many local indigenous princes and nobles of the Sriwijaya Kingdom who resisted the Majapahit Empire on the Golden Island, but Liang Daoming was actually able to control the area around the old port. ”

"Then what's going on with Chen Zuyi?"

"Chen Zuyi had tens of thousands of men and hundreds of warships, and he wandered from the north to join Liang Daoming's side, which was fighting against the Majapahit Empire. It was precisely because of Chen Zuyi's participation that the Majapahit Empire chose to withdraw its troops. But as soon as the enemy withdrew, their own people began to fight, and now the civil war is afraid that it is about to break out. ”

After comparing the explanations and confessions of the captured pirates, Zheng He, Wang Jinghong and others understood what the situation of the old port was now.

The Sriwijaya people have been so Buddhist that they don't mind a Han person being the nominal king, but this does not mean that Liang Daoming's ruling power is very strong, the real reason is that the Sriwijaya Kingdom has always been this free-range ruling model.

It doesn't matter who is the king.

What really makes the kingdom of Sriwijaya cohesive is the shared beliefs and interests.

Oh yes, now the state religion of the Srivijaya Kingdom is no longer Buddhism.

There have been many sultans around the Srivijaya Kingdom, and they have basically been converted internally for hundreds of years, and Liang Daoming's faction has also been converted, which is the best choice for stable rule.

At this time, in Jindao, Java Island, Borneo and other places, in fact, there were two for tat sects left, one was the Tianzhu Sect believed in by the Majapahit Empire, and the other was the foreign sect of Persia.

And Chen Zuyi, the pirate king, has been wandering in the South Seas for a long time, he also has his own complete team, in the Hongwu Dynasty they began to plunder around in the South Seas, the reputation is very bad, but their strength is really strong, and it is weaker than Zheng He's fleet, compared with the fleets of other forces, it is a giant, and Chen Zuyi has been looking for a new territory for a long time, after repeated attempts and failures, this time finally settled in the old port.

And Liang Daoming needs the pirate fleet to resist the attack of the Majapahit Empire, and Chen Zuyi needs a name. He didn't want to be scolded as a pirate all the time, and there was really no one to accept him, so in this stall, the two sides took what they needed and completed the cooperation.

But after the fleet of the Majapahit Empire retreated, the contradiction between the two forces became more and more acute, Liang Daoming only wanted to use the cornucopia of the old port to collect taxes, but Chen Zuyi wanted to use him as a den of his pirate gang, that is, one wanted to make the old port a free trade port, and the other wanted to make the old port a paradise for pirates.

Yes, Chen Zuyi is idealistic, and his idea is not whimsical, in fact, Western pirates did it later, that is, Kingston, the "pirate capital" of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (located on the south coast of Jamaica Island, in the 18th century was the habitat and activity base of Caribbean pirates).

And if nothing else, now the news of the arrival of Zheng He's fleet, Chen Zuyi and Liang Daoming on the old port side are estimated to have also received it.

As the king, Liang Daoming may not have to worry about anything, but Chen Zuyi must be worried.

Because Chen Zuyi's piracy is too rampant, he is NO.1 on the pirate bounty list of the Ming Dynasty, and his head is worth 7,500 yuan, which is rounded off to about 10,000 taels of silver.

In fact, since the purpose of Zheng He's fleet going to the Western Ocean for the first time was to control the South Sea, especially the Manraka Strait, it was definitely impossible to be invisible to the old port, an important node at the eastern end of the Manraka Strait, and the Ming Dynasty would basically not recruit the top of the pirate bounty list like Chen Zuyi. Since there are contradictions within the two groups of Han forces in the old port at present, and they have even reached the point of civil war, then the weight of Zheng He's fleet naturally plays a role in directly destroying the balance at both ends of the scale, and then reaping benefits from it.

——————

Old Port.

In the early Ming Dynasty, this place was the most prosperous area of the entire Golden Island, and it was also a distribution center for overseas trade, but now, it has become a huge logistics base and military camp.

On this day, in the council hall of the old port, Liang Daoming summoned Chen Zuyi.

"The last general will meet His Highness."

The man at the head was eight feet tall and muscular, wearing a blue silk shirt with armor underneath, and he looked full of guard, and the fierce murderous aura in his eyes was chilling.

A few of his subordinates are like a quick knife in a sheath, just waiting for the master's order to unsheath and cut off the enemy's head at any time!

He is the pirate king Chen Zuyi.

When he left the Ming Dynasty in despair, he was just an inconspicuous small force, but after so many years of running around, he was stunned to save up a huge fleet across the South Seas.

Chen Zuyi was respectful, but he didn't even bend over with his fists in his hands, and Liang Daoming didn't care, he only said: "Zuyi, do you know what this king is looking for?" ”

Chen Zuyi shook his head and said, "Please forgive the last general for being stupid." ”

Liang Daoming smiled and said, "The fleet of the Ming army is here. ”

Of course Chen Zuyi knew, but at this time he pretended not to know.

After saying this, Liang Daoming looked at Chen Zuyi's reaction, since Chen Zuyi was pretending to be stupid, he simply went straight to the point and said: "The previous news from the Luzon State, I think you must have heard it from the fugitive merchants, the army of Luzon was broken by the Ming army with a small number of people, and the Ming army was in the capital, and the king of Luzon was forced to sign an alliance under the city, and even the eldest prince was sent to Daming as a proton. ”

"This time the Ming army came to the old port, it must not be just for supplies, the main task is probably to seize the old port, and then completely control the Manraka Strait, so as to stabilize the westward passage According to the experience of Manila, the Ming army should not embarrass me, or simply pay tribute and call me a vassal, or seal me a Xuanfu envoy and a Xuanfu envoy, after all, it is not a high position, but General Chen, what should you do?"

Liang Daoming said it very frankly and without any concealment.

After all, this time the Ming fleet came to the old port, and fools can see that the ultimate goal is to control the Manraka Strait, and then through the east-west trade here, a steady stream of wealth and various resources needed by the Ming Dynasty will be created, and a sea route belonging to the Ming Dynasty will be created.

Chen Zuyi also knows very well that there is a precedent in Luzon, and the Ming Dynasty also fulfilled its promise and handed over Manila to the local Han immigrants led by Xu Chai Lao, so the future that Liang Daoming said is very likely to be realized.

In fact, because of the cruel rule of the Majapahit Empire, most of the Han immigrants on Java Island have now poured into the Old Port to escape the war, and the rapid growth of the number of Han people in the Old Port and other places has also allowed Liang Daoming These armed forces to take advantage of the situation, they have not weak land combat power, and actually control the Old Port, and the Majapahit Empire is at war with the time, and the independent kingdom is no different, and even if the Ming Dynasty comes, they will only listen to the tune and continue to maintain independent rule.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty is not stupid, and it will definitely not be completely handed over to the local Han people to govern, but will be set up as the three units of the Ming administration, taxation, and military in this place, with some power in the middle.

This can not only appease people's hearts, but also not delay the Ming Dynasty's jurisdiction over the local area.

And because of the special status of the old port, the value of this place is very high, so the Ming Dynasty is probably happy not to use troops, so that Liang Daoming and his family can hold this place and not become a stronghold of other forces.

In the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, Zheng He sent a Zhao'an team to the old port when he first went to the West, and Liang Daoming, who understood that the old port had become a place where the Ming Dynasty was bound to win, accepted the Zhao'an edict and returned to the Ming Dynasty with a part of the people, and then left his deputy Shi Jinqing as the consolation envoy of the Old Port Propaganda Envoy.

But at this point in time, there are still some differences.

Because although the internal contradictions between Liang Daoming and Chen Zuyi have been made public, it has not yet reached the time for serious infighting, and Liang Daoming is not yet at a complete disadvantage, so whether he will make the same choice is something to be discussed.

And their feelings for Daming are highly consistent.

It is precisely because of the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy that they, the Han people on the southeast coast, will flee overseas, in fact, whether it is Liang Daoming, Shi Jinqing or Chen Zuyi, they are essentially fugitives, but some people flee early, and some people flee late.

In Daming, their social status and economic level are very low, if they can't survive, they won't choose to leave Daming.

And for Daming, they really can't wait to stop contacting each other for the rest of their lives.

At this time, the arrival of the Ming fleet made them have to make a choice again.

In Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, Liang Daoming, who accepted the invitation of the Ming court, could enjoy his old age in peace, not because he was the king of the Srivijaya Kingdom, nor because he was respectful to the Ming Dynasty, but because the Old Port Xuanwei Division was still very useful to the Ming Dynasty.

As for Chen Zuyi, then there is nothing to say, Daming wants to kill chickens and monkeys and clean up the order of the Nanyang sea, he is the chicken to be slaughtered, but he still has the strength to struggle for a moment or two.

Chen Zuyi thought for a moment, suddenly laughed, and then raised his head and asked Liang Daoming: "Your Highness, judging from the affairs of Luzon, the great tomorrow is not something we can resist, so why not descend early?" ”

Liang Daoming's eyes flashed with doubts, but he said unfazed: "I think we should cooperate to fight against the Ming army!" ”

He didn't call himself "this king", obviously he also had a very clear understanding of his own strength and situation, and at this time, he would only bring more danger to himself as the king of Srivijaya.

Chen Zuyi shook his head and said: "No, no, no, His Highness misunderstood the meaning of the last general, and the last general just thinks that Da Ming doesn't necessarily want my head, what can't I talk about?" Now we can do a good job of defense, but let's send someone to talk to the Ming fleet, if the conditions are okay, then of course we can surrender. ”

Chen Zuyi's posture made Liang Daoming feel a little stunned, and he said, "General Chen, don't you think about it again?" ”

Chen Zuyi waved his hand and refused, and said: "The last general doesn't have any lofty ambitions, just want to eat and drink enough to enjoy the rest of his life, Your Highness, don't persuade you." ”

Liang Daoming frowned and said, "Then according to General Chen's intentions?" ”

Chen Zuyi snorted and said, "Let's send someone to talk to the Ming fleet today." ”

As soon as he left the "palace" in the old port, Chen Zuyi's face immediately became gloomy, and he commanded his subordinates.

"Start all the ships, and when the negotiations are settled tomorrow, the Ming army will enter the old port bay and start this fleet is already all the belongings of the Ming army's ocean-going naval division, breaking the backbone of the Ming army, as short as three or five years, as long as seven or eight years, the Ming army will no longer dare to stretch out its claws to the South Seas."

(End of chapter)