"Woo-woo-"

In the middle of the month, when Mu Chun led 150,000 Ming troops in the southwest to reform the land and return to the river, the continent that was more southwest than him was about to send off a huge team.

On the port of Nejanger in the eastern part of the Vijayanagar Empire, officials of the city were walking around the dock with a group of Ming officials wearing round-necked robes, while tens of thousands of local poor people were carrying supplies onto the ship.

The big ships all showed their weight and the strength of the Ming Dynasty behind them.

Ram was an official of the Nejhar under the Vijayanagar Empire, and a month and a half earlier he was in charge of receiving the fleet, which had brought peace to their shipping lanes.

"I really don't want you and your fleet to leave if I could, it's been a long time since Nejil has been so peaceful."

When the team stopped, Ram also looked at Zheng He and Chen Xuan beside him sincerely.

"You can rest assured that even if we leave, we will leave part of the fleet in the right place to keep the shipping lanes open."

Zheng He and Ram talked about their thoughts, and Ram sighed when he heard this: "It's a pity that the king is unwilling to carve out the land of Neiqinger, otherwise we can become long-term friends." ”

"Aren't we friends now?" Zheng He smiled heartily, and then set his eyes on the port of Neqinger.

The port of Nechinger was different from many of the ports that Zheng He had passed through before, and although there were all kinds of ships passing through the harbor, the buildings full of Hindu style were something that Zheng He and the others had never come into contact with.

In the area of cultural buildings near the port, there are many ancient Hindu churches and ancient Indian buildings scattered there.

The Vijayanagar Empire was a country less than a hundred years old, but it was the last Hindu state on the Indian subcontinent.

Its geographical location is not good, the country is basically within the Deccan Plateau, although it occupies most of South India, but the problem of famine has never stopped.

The arrival of the Ming fleet undoubtedly gave tens of thousands of hungry people in Neqinger a way to live.

They enthusiastically helped the Ming fleet to carry goods, and the Ming paid them ten cents.

This may not seem like much, but in the entire waterway east of Kunlun Point, Yongle Tongbao is undoubtedly the hottest currency at the moment.

Whether it is color or reputation, Yongle Tongbao is the first choice of current businessmen.

It's a pity that Yongle Tongbao can only be obtained when trading with the Ming fleet, and the amount is very scarce compared to the market, otherwise it may soon become the strongest trade currency on the waterway.

"Thank you for the prosperity and peace you have brought to Nejuner, I have mentioned to the king that you are about to go to Guli in the west, and the king has also agreed that you will build an official factory in Guli, but no more than a thousand people will be left behind."

Ram brought good news, and Zheng He was also happy after hearing it:

"This is really great, with the official factory in Guli, then our voyage supplies along the way can be guaranteed."

"It is we who should thank you for the fact that your merchants have bought us a lot of food from Bengal in these months, and have alleviated the famine in Nechin and many city-states."

Ram said that the Ming merchant ships bought and sold grain, although this was a normal trade behavior in Zheng He's eyes, after all, the merchants went to the West to make money, and the Banggara country called Bengala by Ram had sufficient grain, which was undoubtedly very suitable for grain trade.

For the merchants of the merchant gang, spending 300 wen to buy a stone of grain in Chadi Port, and then selling it to the people of Neqinger for 500 wen, the profit is simply doubled.

There were more than 200 merchant ships, almost each of which could carry 2,000 stone of grain to Neiqinger.

While Zheng He was busy clearing the shipping lanes of piracy, the merchants came and went twice, bringing no less than a million stone of grain to the eastern coastal city-states of the Vijayanagar Empire.

The famine in the eastern coastal city-states was alleviated, and the merchants took the opportunity to make a lot of money.

And because the local people did not have enough copper money, they basically used spices, gold, and silver to buy food from the merchants, which invisibly made the merchants a lot of money.

For some merchants, following Zheng He to sail here has already recovered half of the cost of arming merchant ships, so many people hope that Zheng He will finish clearing the pirates and set off early.

It was precisely because of their invisible urging that Zheng He decided to march south to Ceylon after the end of the purge of pirates.

"Alright Ram, it's time for us to go."

Zheng He looked at most of the fleet that had already left the port, turned around and explained to Ram, and Ram also grabbed him when he heard the words and said:

"The kingdom of Ceylon in the south is not like ours, their king is greedy and lustful, and you need to guard against him."

"I will." Zheng He nodded solemnly, then said goodbye to Ram, and continued to march towards the southern seas with the fleet.

On the deck, feeling the monsoon in the opposite direction, Chen Xuan couldn't help complaining:

"Every time I have been delayed by clearing out pirates, I have to go against the wind every time."

"There's no way around it." Zheng He smiled heartily, and Chen Xuan also looked at Zheng He when he heard this.

"Just now Ram said that the king of Ceylon is greedy and lustful, do you think he will refuse us to go ashore?"

"It's not impossible."

While the two were talking, Chen Xuan couldn't help but smile and said, "If he refuses us to go ashore, then I will do what His Highness instructs." ”

Chen Xuan's command was nothing more than a show of force, and Zheng He also chuckled when he heard this: "As long as we don't fire the first shot, you can decide the rest." ”

"Good!" Hearing this, Chen Xuan immediately showed a smile on his face.

During their conversation, the fleet also gradually headed south, stopping at some of the city-states to the east of Vijayanagadi.

These city-states were very enthusiastic about the arrival of the fleet, because the arrival of Zheng He's fleet would undoubtedly bring employment to most of them for a few days.

While gradually driving south, Zheng He and Chen Xuan obtained more and more Ceylon, and the situation gradually became apparent.

Since the rise of maritime trade in the late Tang Dynasty, Ceylon Island, as a transportation artery between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, has undoubtedly become a meeting point for maritime transit and trade of various countries, and has a very high strategic position.

At this time, there were two major kingdoms on the island of Ceylon, namely the Kingdom of Jaffna in the north and the Kingdom of Gampola in the south-central region.

At this time, the kingdom of Gampola in the south was Bhuvanaika Bahu V, but it was the prime minister who really controlled the kingdom.

Due to the unique geographical location of the Kingdom of Gambola, as the prime minister, Alekunar made many targeted policies against the merchant ships that came and went during his reign, and each policy suppressed the passing merchant ships, and the reputation was extremely infamous.

In the face of such a person, Zheng He was naturally ready to deal with it carefully, while Chen Xuan was grinding his fists and feet, ready to seize the opportunity to show the influence of force explained by the East Palace.

Time passed little by little, and when the time came to the 24th of the lunar month, the Western fleet led by Zheng He also arrived at Mannar Bay.

Unlike the previous countries, they were not only not welcomed when they came to the Gulf of Mannar, but also received a flag indicating that they would "stay away".

"Mother, you really dare to drive us away."

Chen Xuan smiled angrily, he didn't expect such a remote and small country to really have the courage to drive them away.

"According to what we said before, I'll handle this kind of thing."

Chen Xuan turned his head to look at Zheng He, who didn't have a good face, with a smile on his face.

"You dispose of it."

Zheng He bowed, turned around and walked back to the cabin.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan smiled and said to his son Chen Zuo: "Send some brothers to go ashore on a sand boat, remember to be polite, we can't do it first." ”

"Yes!" Chen Zuo chuckled, already understanding what his father meant.

In a short time, a sand boat entered the Gulf of Mannar under the guidance of more than 20 Ming soldiers, while hundreds of Ceylonese soldiers dressed in rudimentary leather armor and chain mail gathered on the pier.

"You can't go ashore here!"

They drove the Ming army out of Sinhala, but fortunately the Ming army brought with them translators hired from Neiqinger.

"We are an official fleet from China, and we have come to Ceylon this time to establish trade with Ceylon and at the same time to supply some food and fresh water."

"This is a gift from our envoys to the king." As he spoke, the interpreter asked the soldiers to row close to the pier and carry the three large boxes up the pier with great difficulty, but the man did not go to land.

"You wait for us to pass it on." Hearing the other party's Sinhalese language, several generals looked at each other and told them to wait, and while not giving them a chance to go ashore, they also sent people to the royal city with these three boxes of gifts to inform them of the news.

A few hours passed quickly, and seeing that they had not discussed the results for so long, the interpreter could only speak:

"We'll go back to the fleet first, and we'll come back tomorrow at noon."

He explained, but the Ceylonese soldiers were still watching, and in the end the Ming army had to row back to the fleet.

After returning to the fleet, they reported the matter to Chen Xuan as soon as possible, and Chen Xuan stroked his beard after hearing this:

"I'll ask again at this time tomorrow, and it's better to let them do it first."

"Yes!" Hearing this, the officials of the hundred households were shocked, and then retreated to take the boat.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan also looked at Chen Zuo who was not far away: "Let the brothers prepare field artillery, fixed gunpowder and iron shells, and don't use stone shells when you go to land, because the siege is not as powerful as iron shells." ”

"Yes!" Chen Zuo responded, turned around and let the army prepare to go.

Also during their preparations, time passed little by little, and until noon on the second day, the mountain country of Ceylon still did not give the Ming army a chance to go ashore, and said that it would take three days to send the news to the royal city and back and forth.

Seeing this, the Ming army returned to take the boat again, and at the same time the mountain city of Ceylon also welcomed a carriage and an official from the port of Mannar.

Although the mountain town of Ceylon is associated with mountains, it is actually a long way from the mountains.

Ceylon has a long history, and the population of Ceylon has migrated to the island since BC.

Due to the flat terrain and fertile land of the country, the population of the island is more than one million, but thirty percent of them are Tamils under the country of Jaffna in the north, and the remaining seventy percent are Sinhalese.

Among the stone-built capitals, the crowded streets and dense stone and wooden houses are the most valuable items in the capital.

The Sinhalese people living in the capital barely survived on agriculture, but many handicrafts were obtained from maritime trade.

In the face of the arrival of the Ming fleet led by Zheng He, Ceylon was undoubtedly divided into two factions.

They didn't know much about the Ming Dynasty, and only learned the words "China" and "Ming Dynasty" from other merchants on the waterway.

The Minister of State, Arekh Kinal, opposed exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, while the Minister Yebanana believed that the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty had long been spread overseas, and Ceylon could take this opportunity to establish relations with the Ming.

The argument between the two has been going on for a long time, even now, but it will all be suspended with the three boxes of gifts.

When the silk, porcelain, tea and other goods in the box appeared, the minister of state, Yalie Kunaer, who was working at home, immediately put down the knife in his hand and walked down the steps to pick up a piece of silk.

"This silk is much better than what the merchants sent, and if it is sold in the market, it should sell for ten Suvana gold."

She was no more than five feet tall, with a bushy beard on her face, colorful clothes, and a hat and many jewels on her head.

Just by his appearance, those who don't know think that he is the king of the mountain country of Ceylon.

While he was admiring the Ming porcelain and silk, a middle-aged man in his thirties standing beside him said, "Father, we may be able to let them go ashore and collect some goods from their ship." ”

"Hmm!" Alekhunal's eyes lit up, and he turned around and said happily: "Nayan, your idea is good, we can forcibly requisition goods from Timur and Arab merchants like we did to those merchants of Timur and Arabia. ”

"I'll leave this matter to you, and you take 50,000 troops to Mannar and let them know our strength."

"Yes!" Hearing his father's words, Nayan immediately walked out of his mansion, which was more prosperous than the palace.

Soon, he began to recruit men around the hill city of Ceylon, but for all the men who were recruited, Nayan would give them a wooden shield and a spear of about seven feet, and nothing else.

At the same time as the men were recruited, he also had a message sent to Mannar's officials that he should return to Mannar to welcome Zheng He to the hill town of Ceylon and allow their ships to dock.

Under such an order, the Ming army, which had arrived in Ceylon for three days, finally landed ashore, but due to Chen Xuan's restraint, the Ming army ashore was only more than 2,000 people, and the local natives hired by the Ming army were as many as thousands.

They collected fresh water and vegetables for the Ming army, who used the advantages of their hulls and nets to fish in the sea, and when they were brought ashore, they traded with them with fish and currency.

At the same time, Zheng He was also ready to go to the mountain city of Ceylon.

"I still don't think it's a good thing that you've passed this time, I always feel like there's some conspiracy."

Chen Xuan's sense of smell was very acute, and he sensed that Mannar's army was constantly increasing, and so was Zheng He.

"I know it's not a good thing, but since they've allowed me to go to the capital, I have a way to deal with whatever they want to do to me."

Zheng He is very confident, although he is a eunuch, he is also a eunuch who has followed Zhu Di to fight in Monan and Modong for more than ten years.

In terms of leading troops to fight, he is actually not bad.

"Okay, then you bring more guards." Chen Xuan was worried about Zheng and safety, and Zheng He also nodded:

"I'll take 3,000 men, and by the way, 20 more field guns."

"If the army of Ceylon behaves badly after I leave, you don't have to worry about me, just do it."

Zheng He solemnly explained, Chen Xuan also grinned, stroked his beard and said: "Don't worry, I know how to say it if you don't say it, you just need to take care of yourself." ”

"Then I'm leaving." Zheng He didn't say much, after all, he and Chen Xuan had been cooperating for more than a year, and many words didn't need to be said, just a look was needed to understand in seconds.

Under Chen Xuan's gaze, Zheng He's entire army of 3,000 soldiers and horses, carrying twenty field guns, went to the mountain city of Ceylon under the leadership of Ceylon officials.

Although the officials of Ceylon were curious about what field guns were, there were not many countries in this era that put artillery on ships, let alone put them on ships to pass through Ceylon.

Therefore, although they were curious, they did not know the power of artillery, let alone tasted its power.

They set out on their way to the hill town of Ceylon, and many of the ministers of the hill town of Ceylon learned of Alekunal's thoughts and condemned him.

"The Ming are stronger than us, they have tens of millions of people and millions of troops, and we can't stop them."

In the Hindu-style palace, the thirty-seven-year-old minister Yebanana was arguing with reason, and at the same time, he also looked at the prime minister, Yarekunaer: "Zheng He's army has more than 20,000 people!" ”

"Nayan has gathered fifty thousand men and is already on his way to Mannar." Arekh Kunel sneered lightly and said:

"He took the road that was closer, and Zheng He was taken by me to the road farther."

"By the time Zheng He arrived in the capital, Nayan had already led 50,000 people to destroy Zheng He's more than 20,000 people."

Accustomed to being an overlord of the earth, Arekuna overestimated his own strength, and his understanding of the army was still limited to numbers, so he did not intend to live peacefully with Zheng He.

"Even if they are destroyed, the Ming Dynasty will be able to send more troops to conquer us."

Yebanana didn't think that Ceylon had the strength to stop the Ming Dynasty, but Alekunar frowned and said:

"Jebanana, you were frightened by the words of those merchants."

"As far as I know, if you want to get to Daming from here, it will take four months at the earliest, and you have to set off according to the specified season."

"Normally, it will take at least a year for Daming to send troops to attack us."

"With such a long distance and time, even if Da Ming wants to punish us, he doesn't have enough strength to support it."

"If we can take out Zheng He and his fleet, the Ming will know our strength, and they will honestly pay taxes to the kingdom."

Alekuna thought that Daming was too far away from him, and even if he killed Daming's fleet, he would not be punished, but Yebanana didn't think so.

He wanted to continue, but Arekunel stood up:

"In two days at most, Nayan will completely annihilate the fleet of the Ming army, and when the time comes, I will send you luxurious and soft Chinese silk."

As soon as the words fell, Alekhuna walked out of the palace with a high spirit, and dozens of ministers in the palace saw him like this, but they didn't dare to say anything between them.

However, Yebanana has already begun to discuss how to face the counterattack of the Great Ming.

Even he didn't think that 20,000 Ming troops could fight 50,000 Ceylonese troops.

It's just that their ideas are so ridiculous to the Ming army, especially to Chen Xuan.

After Zheng He led 3,000 troops to leave, Chen Xuan immediately arranged for Chen Zuo to lead 5,000 troops to garrison ashore, and once attacked, he could counterattack without asking for instructions.

At the same time, Nayan also led his 5,000 capital troops and more than 40,000 soldiers to Mannar.

In addition to the 5,000 capital troops who could wear chain mail, the remaining 40,000 soldiers also wore an extra uniform representing their country, as well as fragile wooden shields and spears.

As a famous general who was born and died on the battlefield of Jingyan, Zheng He is by no means a political novice.

When he learned that it would only take three days for the army to reach the capital of Ceylon, and that he had not seen the capital of Ceylon for four days, he knew that the country of Ceylon might not be good.

Riding on horseback, Zheng He glanced at the Ceylon envoy who led the team in front, and then explained to the commander beside him in a low voice in official language: "Let the brothers be ready at all times, the cuirass must not be taken off, and no matter how tired you are, you must wear it." ”

"Yes!" The commander nodded, and then looked at the three thousand Ming troops who were hurrying.

Under normal circumstances, the armor of the Ming army was placed on the cart or on the back of a horse, and the soldiers only needed to wear a simple mandarin duck battle jacket.

It was only when the army set off that Zheng He explained that the rest of the armor could be placed on the carriage, but the cuirass had to be worn.

Zheng He had already learned about the situation of the Ceylonese army, and even if the Ming army only wore simple cuirass, it could defend against attacks from the state of Ceylon.

As long as he survives the first wave, he will immediately be able to command the whole army to raid the capital of Ceylon with all armor.

Thinking of this, Zheng Hece stepped forward immediately, came to the team of the ministers of Ceylon with an interpreter, and asked with a smile: "How far are we from the capital?" ”

"I'll be there tomorrow by noon."

The minister was nervous, but he still gave the approximate time.

He thought that Zheng He would continue to ask, but he didn't want Zheng He to just nodded, and then lowered his horse speed and gradually returned to the ranks of the Ming army.

The minister nervously wiped the sweat that did not exist on his forehead, and Zheng He also explained to the commander beside him after returning to the main formation:

"Arriving in the capital of Ceylon tomorrow, you have people keep an eye on their men tonight, and once their men are going to leave at night, you will immediately inform the whole army to wear armor and be careful."

"Yes!" Hearing Zheng He's words, the commander's heart tightened, and he couldn't help asking: "Do you want to send Tang Qi to pass the news to Pingjiang Hou?" ”

"Don't worry about them, they're probably better prepared than ours." Zheng He chuckled and spoke, he knew Chen Xuan too well.

Chen Xuan was full of fire when the fleet set off from Liujiagang, even though he sank hundreds of pirate ships along the way, and also encircled and suppressed the local bandits in Dagura, but these small fights could not satisfy his aggrieved psychology that had not fought for seven years.

Zheng He estimated that not long after he left with the Ceylon envoys, Chen Xuan's side had already asked people to build fortifications.

If Ceylon really dares to fight, then Chen Xuan will probably be so happy that he can't sleep......

(End of chapter)

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