Most of the ships in Longjiang Shipyard are now sailed away by Zhang He and Tie Xuan, and now there is only one treasure ship and three lucky ships that can be used. However, thanks to the prosperity of the shipping business in recent years, the shipbuilding industry has also flourished. In just a few years, many shipyards have sprung up all over the coast.

From these shipyards, Zhu Su successfully recruited more than a dozen medium-sized merchant ships, although these merchant ships were not as tall and sturdy as the treasure ships and the fortune ships, and they could be invincible on the sea by relying on their hulls alone, but they were very sufficient for transporting troops.

In addition, due to the development of various minerals and rich sulfur mines on Dongying Island, the output of artillery and gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty has made a qualitative leap.

So, on an auspicious day with a warm wind and a smooth day, the fleet swore to go out in Hangzhou, in addition to about 20 majestic Daming naval ships, there were still many large and small merchant ships following behind. More than 100 ships left the port with the dragon flag of the Ming Regiment, and the momentum was quite instructive.

"Fifth uncle, where are we going first?" Standing at the bow of the boat, feeling the sea breeze, and looking at the high sea in front of him, even Li Jinglong, who felt that he was driven to the shelves, also felt that the wind was high and refreshing, and his heart was wide-minded. Turning his head and seeing Zhu Su still looking at the nautical chart in the pergola on the deck, he eagerly turned his head to ask.

"Where else can we go? Go south first, and then make plans to Quanzhou Port. Zhu Su said. This time, some of the military households who accompanied the expedition came from the land of Fujian and Guangdong, and they had not yet boarded the ship, so they had to wait until the fleet arrived in Quanzhou and Guangzhou, and then let them board the ship and follow the expedition. However, what Zhu Su was thinking about at this time was not how to receive the soldiers from these two places. He looked thoughtfully at a place on the map and asked, "Who is stationed in this great Ryukyu land now?" ”

"Great Ryukyus?" Li Jinglong came over when he heard the sound. "Oh, most of this place is inhabited by some indigenous tribes, and there are also Japanese who want to settle here, but the natives in this place are very brave, and it is difficult for those Japanese people to gain a foothold, so the island is still dominated by indigenous people."

"I've heard of the name of the largest tribe on the island, which is said to be called the Great ...... Oh, potbelly! ”

The great Ryukyu that is now referred to is the treasure island of Taiwan in later generations. The so-called Little Ryukyu refers to the Three Mountains Kingdom on the Ryukyu Islands. Obviously, Li Jinglong did a lot of homework for this trip, and continued to explain to Zhu Su: "This potbelly tribe lives on the seashore west of the Great Ryukyu and makes a living by fishing and hunting. However, his clan is very closed and xenophobic, and he does not pay tribute to my Ming Dynasty. They are self-sufficient and do not value trade......"

"Besides this big belly, are there any other tribes on this island?" Zhu Su asked.

"Of course, there is." Li Jinglong said. "The land of Ryukyu is also vast, and in addition to the potbelly tribe, there are many small tribes. Even if there is a lot of uninhabited wasteland, does the fifth uncle want to take this big Ryukyu? ”

The island was later known as the Treasure Island, and was rich in natural resources and had many natural harbors. And with the development of Daming maritime trade, this place will inevitably become the hub of Asian shipping in the future, and it is close to the Ming Dynasty, so it should naturally be taken.

"In the past, when the Three Kingdoms were in the past, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu sent troops to live and manage this island. It was only later that the five were chaotic and the children and grandchildren were not filial, so they gained and lost. Since I, the Ming Dynasty, am determined to expand the territory, how can I ignore this realm? Zhu Su said. We will wait for the first soldiers to divide into two ways, this king will go to Quanzhou to get the Fujian soldiers and the Cantonese soldiers, you go to the big belly first, find a place to build a port, leave 300 people to station, and before the arrival of the wind letters, come to Quanzhou to meet me. ”

"This ...... Does the fifth uncle want me to lead the army alone? Li Jinglong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he was a little cringe. My nephew really doesn't have the talent to lead a leader, this ......"

"A manly husband, how can he be a mother-in-law." Zhu Su frowned, impatient. "It's just some natives on the left and right, and they don't teach you where to fight."

"Didn't you say that there were many uninhabited wastelands on that island? Just look for those vacant land to build a port, what's the matter? With cement, a circle of fortresses can be built in ten days and half a month. ”

"Don't be verbose, I'll take a few ships...... Go and come back quickly. ”

So Zhu Su simply allocated ten merchant ships equipped with cannons to Li Jinglong and sent him to build a port on Ryukyu Island. Some of the accompanying businessmen were willing to invest in this port, so they followed Li Jinglong with their own supplies.

Li Jinglong This is the first time that he has led an army in a serious way, and since he left Zhu Su, he has acted like a soldier, but fortunately, he still has some martial arts after all, and he has marched and deployed all the way, but there is no mistake. Soon he reached the northern part of the Great Ryukyu Island. Following the direction drawn by Zhu Su on the map, Li Jinglong really found that this place was indeed a very vast and habitable plain, not only near the sea, but also a river route, but also a natural excellent port and sheltered port.

This place is the future seat of Taiwan's provincial governance Taipei, perhaps because at this time the tribes in the left and near are all living in the mountains of the mountain tribes, at this time the great Taipei Plain is still a virgin land that has not been developed by humans. Seeing such a treasure land, Li Jinglong and the merchants who came with him were overjoyed, and immediately began to unload all kinds of infrastructure materials that had been prepared from the ship, and began to build a port here.

This place is still far from the west of Daliuqiu, and it should not provoke the so-called pot-bellied tribe, but Li Jinglong is still worried in his heart, and he just wants to build this protective city wall as soon as possible, and he will have a better sense of security.

However, they were afraid that something would eventually come, and it had only been a week since they landed, and the cement port walls had not yet been surrounded, and Li Jinglong received information and news about the natives from the scouts: "Little grandfather, on the high mountain in the east, I found the team of the local mountain tribe in Daliuqiu. ”

"What are the enemies? Can you bring a weapon? Are there any casualties among our people? Li Jinglong asked a little panicked.

"There were about a hundred people, but they brought some bows, arrows, knives and guns...... However, they only threatened us not to go up the mountain, but there were no casualties among the brothers. "The scout reported.

"Little grandfather, but there are more than 100 people...... It seems to be just a small tribe. Why don't we strike first......" suggested a businessman.

Li Jinglong thought for a long time, and finally shook his head. "He did not show hostility, I am a state of etiquette, and I am not a bandit."

“…… When I think about it, think about it......"

(End of chapter)