In the blink of an eye, the time has come to June.

In the early morning, white waves gently lap against the grey reefs of the Spanish coast, a few seagulls soar into the blue sky, and the breeze is mixed with the smell of sea salt and the anticipation before the voyage.

Dressed in traditional Italian attire, Columbus stood on the deck of the flagship Santa Maria, his gaze was firm and deep, as if he could see through the morning mist and see the new world full of gold.

Behind him, rows of Spanish warships lined up with masts and canvases rattling in the wind.

On deck, the Spanish soldiers were in high spirits, dressed in iron armor and armed with spears and shields, shining coldly in the morning sun.

Their faces are filled with a thirst for adventure, but also a quest for riches.

Columbus turned around and shouted to the crew: "As long as you follow Ben, Bendu will ensure that all of you will be rich!" ”

His voice was deep and powerful, his words concise and seductive, echoing in the sea breeze and inspiring the hearts of everyone on board.

"Governor, mighty! Mighty! Most of the Spanish soldiers who dared to accompany him this time were also very excited when they heard the big cake painted by Columbus.

The East, where there is infinite wealth, seems to have become a fixed perception of every European.

Columbus was a very rational man, looking at the 3,000 people in front of him who seemed to have been beaten with chicken blood, but he was confident to lead them back with a full load.

He always understood that the world is sensual and greedy, thinking that every inch of land in the East is gold, spices are all over the mountains, and he has always lived in a fairy tale world.

Perhaps it is for this reason that in the blueprints they have sketched one after another, they have completely believed that they have brought back countless amounts of gold to them.

However, the gold and spices in the East were not as abundant as they had imagined, but as long as they found the right direction, they could get everything they wanted with guns and cannons in their hands.

As long as these people obey their commands, then they can help the Indian prince restore the country, and they can get an innumerable amount of gold and spices from the Indian royal family.

As the sun gradually rises, the sea is covered with golden sunlight.

"Let's go!"

Columbus waved the sword in his hand, and at the sound of an order, the battleships set sail one after another.

Amid the earth-shattering sound of gongs, drums and cheers, the fleet of thirty-four ships slowly sailed out of the harbor and headed for the vast sea.

The fleet followed the route that had been explored, and after shaking off the little tail behind it, it sailed towards the vast Atlantic Ocean without hesitation.

Columbus stood at the bow of the ship, staring ahead, believing that if their Spanish fleet intervened, the Orientals who had seized power in India would surely run away.

In fact, he had a faint guess that the Oriental who had already mastered firearms might have come from that mysterious ancient golden country in the East.

If all goes well, he will not only be able to become the Viceroy of India in control of all of India, but he will also be able to get the route from India to the mysterious Golden Ancient Kingdom.

Just as Columbus led the Spanish fleet across the Atlantic to the American continent, the East was no longer at peace.

It's a big cloudy day in the East China Sea in June.

On the rough sea, a majestic Ming merchant ship sailed alone.

The hull of the ship is like a small mountain, and the tall canvas is whirring in the wind, as if it is challenging the unknown forces in this gloomy sea.

Wu Dalang is a burly martial artist, who originally made a living selling baked cakes in Shandong, but because he was dissatisfied with the bullying of the evil gentry in the county, he decided to give up the baked cake shop and go to the sea.

At first, he followed his fellow villagers to Kyushu Island with merchant ships, where they exchanged for their sea goods, which he then brought back to Daming to sell.

Because of the low price of Japanese seafood, and the people of the Ming Dynasty have a strong desire to buy Japanese seafood, the worst price difference is as high as ten times.

Originally, the seafood he brought back needed to be sold along the street, but the seafood was regarded as high-end goods by the restaurant, so they underwrote all the goods at a better price.

It was precisely by relying on the difference in the price of the sea goods between the two places that the emperor implemented tax exemption measures for the sea goods, resulting in almost all the benefits falling into his pocket.

He went from a small trader who was originally less than 100 taels to easily break through 1,000 taels, and then went straight to 10,000 taels, and the profit of the last trip had reached tens of thousands of taels.

Wu Dalang knew the truth that people take me and abandon me, and when he saw that more and more people were investing in the sea trade, the profits of the sea goods were declining, so he decided to give up this business.

It's just that he knows that the Ming Dynasty is a wise emperor, as long as he doesn't go against the imperial decrees like the Jiangnan business, then the emperor is encouraged.

Because he often runs to the East China Sea, he also knows that there is another island in the northwest of Japan, which he didn't know what to call it at first, but he didn't know when everyone called Hokkaido.

Hokkaido did not have a dynasty like Japan, and the indigenous people lived as tribes and did not even know how to make iron into weapons.

It's just that their whale hunting skills are amazing, relying only on a few herbs and spears, and a canoe in the bay, they can hunt that kind of behemoth - whales.

Although Hokkaido's tribes are very backward, the whale oil lamps they use are very durable, and the amount of whale oil produced by a whale is staggering.

Under the rule of the wise emperor, the life of the Ming Dynasty is now clearly improving, and the demand for lamps is getting higher and higher.

In the past, everyone couldn't eat enough, who didn't go to bed obediently as soon as it was dark, even the large size was solved in their own beds, and there was usually no light at home.

It's just that the imperial court implemented a real light tax, not only implementing the benchmark of 30 taxes and 1 tax, but also cracking down on the tax evasion of the official gentry group.

Nowadays, after everyone is well fed and clothed, no one wants to go to bed early, but wants to light a lamp and then chat with the whole family or neighbors and talk about some gossip.

Wu Dalang, with his many years of business vision, knows that the whale oil market is full of business opportunities.

Over the years, he has accumulated more than 100,000 silver dollars, and he was originally a worthless baked cake man, but now he has made a big gamble again.

Not only did he order a merchant ship from the Tianjin shipyard to engage in trade, but considering that the natives of Hokkaido could catch whales, why didn't they kill them themselves?

Wu Dalang is a person who dares to think and do, and immediately communicates his ideas with Tianjin Shipyard.

In fact, there was a little resistance to this matter, but after the Tianjin Shipyard reported it, it not only satisfied his desire to strengthen the combat power of the merchant ship, but also authorized him to study in Guozijian for a period of time, and at the same time strengthened his patriotic education.

He actually knew that all this was given to him by the Ming Dynasty, and the reason why he was able to become a rich man from a bullied baked cake guy was all thanks to the imperial court.

Wu Dalang was naturally willing to sign a letter of commitment not to attack the Ming merchant ships, and at the same time, the Ming merchant ships in distress needed early warnings, and if the pirates were weak, they also needed to come to the rescue.

After purchasing a merchant ship with whaling equipment, he recruited his own sons and some experienced seafarers and went to Hokkaido to hunt whales for whale oil.

Things went very well, and after getting enough whale oil, I returned with a full load.

"Brother, let's bring this batch of whale oil back, are you the richest person in the entire Qingshui County?" Wu Erlang's eyes were shining brightly, and he looked full of anticipation.

Wu Dalang knew the value of this batch of whale oil in his heart, but he pretended to be steady and said: "No matter how much we earn, you have to remember that all this is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor!" ”

"Yes! Be! Wu Erlang knew that Wu Dalang was a staunch supporter of the emperor, but he said mysteriously: "Brother, when I was resting on Dongji Island yesterday, I heard that our Daming's whale oil is in demand. Although the Tokai Governor's Office had already sent a fleet to encircle and suppress the Japanese pirates in March, the pirate nicknamed Otomo Giant Bear ran away, this guy always came and went without a trace, and he liked to rob our merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, so there were fewer and fewer merchants who dared to engage in whale oil! ”

Regardless of the era, the economic principles are actually the same. If the total amount of whale oil shipped back to China declines, even if the demand for whale oil does not rise in the Ming Dynasty, it will also cause the price of whale oil in China to rise.

Wu Dalang's mood is complicated, because he knows better than anyone the truth that "the bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive whale oil is".

Now the whale oil he brought back is becoming more and more popular, on the one hand, because the demand of the people is rising, and on the other hand, the presence of these pirates has affected the whale oil trade.

Wu Dalang was not too narrow, but looked at the two shiny cannons on the bow of the ship: "The imperial court is so kind to allow us maritime merchants to install heavy artillery to protect ourselves, we really want to have a chance, and we should also kill that sea pirate." ”

The sea breeze howled, with a salty and wet breath, blowing on his rough face, but it could not shake his heart that firmly supported the imperial court.

Suddenly, there were bursts of fierce cries and cries for help ahead, breaking the silence of the sea.

Wu Dalang and Wu Erlang raised their eyes and saw a merchant ship flying the Ming flag in a life-and-death struggle.

Several pirate ships besieged it like hungry wolves, and these samurai-turned-pirates were particularly ferocious and tried to climb aboard the ship by ropes.

However, the crews of the Ming merchant ships resisted valiantly, and they fought the pirates in a fierce battle with bows and arrows, muskets, and swords.

Firelight, gunsmoke and shouts of killing are intertwined to create a thrilling battle picture.

One of the pirates at the head had successfully boarded the ship, and he grinned, brandished the Japanese sword in his hand, and rushed towards the Daming seafarers like a mad beast.

Bang!

The seafarers of the Ming Dynasty are aware of the dangers at sea, and they are also preparing weapons.

Wu Dalang witnessed all this, and a wave of righteous indignation surged in his heart.

He did not forget the patriotic education in the country, but he knew the cruelty and greed of these Japanese pirates, so he must not let them succeed.

So, Wu Dalang resolutely ordered: "Prepare for shelling!" Target, that pirate ship! If it is blown up, a reward of 100 silver dollars will be rewarded, and the spring breeze building will be an oiran for one night! ”

After hearing Wu Dalang's reward, Wang Shenzhu immediately cheered up.

"Put!"

Wu Dalang was a reasonable manager, and he immediately gave an order.

After Wang Shenzhu gave a thumbs up and compared, this made people ignite, but he did not squat, but half-squatted and covered his ears and looked ahead.

As the fuses were lit, heavy cannons roared out with anger and justice.

The cannonball made a dazzling arc in the air, and then smashed into the pirate ship, and the cannon accurately hit the pirate ship that was in charge.

Japan's shipbuilding technology is backward, there is no keel, it is basically made of wooden planks, and the hull is smashed to pieces in an instant when it encounters a huge attack force.

When this shell was fired, the Japanese pirates were terrified, realizing that the shell was going to hit their ship, and jumped into the sea to escape.

The pirate leader with a scar on his forehead was none other than Otomo Giant Bear, who had escaped from the encirclement of the East China Sea Fleet, and was standing at the bow of the ship to direct the battle.

After experiencing the catastrophe on Kyushu Island, he knew the importance of materials, so he set his eyes on the passing Ming merchant ships, accumulated enough capital from the Ming merchant ships, and then recaptured the territory that belonged to their Otomo family.

"Kill, rush up and kill them all!"

Otomo Giant Bear's burly figure, hideous face, and the Japanese sword in his hand flashed with cold light, and it was the Ming merchant ship that looked at this bag with resentment.

As for the Daming merchant ships that happened to pass through this sea area, they were too lazy to take a look.

Although their pirate ship was very light, so it was faster than the Ming merchant ship, but the Ming merchant ship was located in the outer seas. If the other party goes to the deep sea, then it is too dangerous for their pirate ship to get involved in it.

What's more, now that they have locked on this merchant ship carrying Japanese silver ornaments and Japanese sea goods, they can't covet the merchant ship that can't be eaten.

Originally, he thought that he had spared the merchant ship, but while he was engrossed in command, he suddenly heard a shocking noise, and a cannonball whizzed.

As if there was providence in the dark, when Otomo Giant Bear turned around, he saw an object getting closer and closer to him, and then infinitely magnified in his line of sight, and finally it was pitch black.

Burst!

As the cannonballs fell, Otomo Giant Bear's body was smashed and splashed everywhere, staining most of the deck red. It's just that the remaining momentum of this cannonball continues, and the entire pirate ship immediately fell apart.

"Dead?"

"It's really dead!"

"This ...... How is this possible! ”

……

The remnants of the Otomo clan saw their family members die tragically in front of them, and the samurai who had been thinking about reviving the Otomo clan suddenly seemed to have lost their souls.

"Kill!"

Wu Dalang did not stop there, but ordered Wang Shenzhu, who was like a cannon god, to point the cannon at several other pirate ships, and then shelled again.

Although the shelling did not hit directly, the shells fell on the sea and splashed more than ten meters of water, but it overturned the small pirate ship, and the pirates on board fell into the water like dumplings.

With the tragic death of the Otomo Giant Bear, several pirate ships were shelled, and in the end, only one pirate ship escaped, while the others were buried at the bottom of the sea.

In fact, there are many pirates who want to live with driftwood, but the ships of the Ming Dynasty are not good men and women, but they have rewarded them with bullets or arrows.

The owner of the rescued ship was an old acquaintance of Wu Dalang, and after expressing his gratitude, he also decided to go to Guozijian to receive patriotic education, and also to equip his merchant ship with heavy artillery.

No one thought that the last diehards of the Japanese pirates who plagued the Ming Dynasty would bombard an unknown maritime merchant and die.

However, as if this opened a new door, the East China Sea Fleet did not need to rely on the East China Sea Fleet to deal with pirates, and they also had the ability to shell and kill Japanese pirates. (End of chapter)