Chapter 210 The Real Destination
Standing at the bow of the ship, Lin Mojun picked up a ruler and compass to check the direction of the sun. He looked at Su Ze doubtfully and said, "This is not the route back to Changningwei."
Su Ze smiled and held the ship tightly. Duo, as before, did not respond to Lin Mojun's question.
Lin Mojun's fist was itchy and he wanted to hit someone!
When returning home, Su Ze asked Captain Alfonso to teach him sailing skills. Su Ze was at the helm all the way.
[Steering, Navigation Skills Experience +5, Lv2, 24/200]
Lin Mojun was confused. He sold all the black tea in Suze, Langbai Ao, but purchased a batch of weapons and armor from the port.
In Lin Mojun's opinion, this batch of weapons was even more rubbish than Chang Ning Wei's previous weapons.
I don’t know where the Folangji people collected these messy armors.
Su Ze also appraised this batch of armors with great interest. These armors really come from all over the world, from Southeast Asia to India.
Su Ze judged from the standard and heraldry that the oldest armor could even be traced back to the period of the Black Eclipse.
Su Ze's [Appraisal] skill was raised to Level 4, 25/400, by appraising these armors.
There were all kinds of weapons, from exotic weapons of Malay indigenous people to daggers made of Damascus steel. Su Ze almost accepted them all and bought them all in one go.
Instead, it was the blunderbuss and the Folan cannon. This time Su Ze didn't buy them at all.
Didn't Su Ze go south to Macau just to buy weapons? Why did you buy such a batch of weapons?
When returning home, Su Ze offered to drive the boat, and Lin Mojun gave up the steering position.
However, the New World passed through the Penghu Strait and did not dock west along the coastline and return to Fujian. Instead, it sailed east toward the open sea.
The method of identifying directions at sea is still Professor Su Ze's own. There is no reason why he would take the wrong route?
Moreover, Captain Alfonso is also an old captain. Su Ze and Alfonso are always writing and drawing around the charts these days. They must know their sailing destination.
However, after asking several times, Su Ze changed the topic and did not directly respond to Lin Mojun's inquiry.
Very angry!
Lin Mojun turned away. The nautical charts handed down from her family only covered the waters of the coastal areas of Fujian. Although Su Ze's course could not be determined at the moment, it could be seen that Su Ze did not go to Quanzhou.
This is the only place that makes Lin Mojun feel relieved. Anyway, there is enough fresh water and supplies on the New World, and the weather at sea has been very good recently, so Su Ze can just leave it to him.
Lin Mojun looked up and saw two white seabirds flying across the sky.
Seagull?
Coming closer to land?
Seabirds such as seagulls must build nests on land. They cannot sail on the sea for a long time, so it is very auspicious to see seagulls while sailing. Sailors in the East and West are prohibited from harming this seabird.
When you see seagulls, land is not far away.
Lin Mojun picked up the telescope and saw a pointed landmass in the distance. Is this an island?
The lookout shouted, and the crew came to the deck.
Although it has only been ten days since we set off from Langbaiao, it is exciting to sail on the sea and see the land.
Lin Mojun looked at Su Ze, bared his fangs and said, "Can you tell me now, where are we going?"
Seeing Lin Mojun's cold tone, Su Ze smiled and said, "We are almost to Ryukyu."
Ryukyu?
Lin Mojun picked up the telescope, and the land that was just a small point turned into an island. Behind these small islands, several larger islands could be vaguely seen.
Thinking of the direction Su Ze was sailing in, Lin Mojun knew that he was right this time and that he was really coming to Ryukyu.
Lin Mojun had naturally heard of Ryukyu. She had heard her father talk about this vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, because Ryukyu paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty through Fujian.
Although the Ming Dynasty banned the sea, not all countries could trade with the Ming Dynasty.
A special case of this is the tribute trade.
Although tribute trade was called trade by later generations, it was not considered trade in the Ming Dynasty. The focus was tribute.
The vassal states paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Emperor gave rewards. How could this be called trade? It is obvious that all nations are coming to court!
But for countries that paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, tribute was a business.
If you pay tribute to the Ming Emperor, the Ming Emperor will give you rewards. This is a very cost-effective deal.
The cause of the Japanese pirate rebellion was that the envoys of the Ouchi clan and the Hosokawa clan "competed for tribute" within the already divided Japanese kingdom, that is, they competed for the trade qualifications of tribute. This triggered a riot in which both sides killed each other, and also brought disaster to the Japanese. The Ming generals who came to stop the riot were also killed by Japanese tribute envoys.
Emperor Jiajing, who had just succeeded to the throne at that time, was furious and ordered to stop the Japanese country from being eligible to pay tribute. From then on, the legal trade channels between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese country were cut off, smuggling began to flourish, and the Japanese pirate rebellion gradually formed.
The Portuguese also wanted to follow the path of tributary trade, but Portugal was not on the list of "ancestral laws" in the "Da Ming Huidian" and could not be named a tributary country.
The Portuguese could not pay tribute themselves, so they came up with the idea of "backdoor listing".
They claimed to be the envoys of Manchuria, bribed eunuchs to obtain the qualifications to pay tribute, and even went to the capital to meet Emperor Zhengde.
At that time, the Ming translator who accompanied the Portuguese envoy to the capital was named "Fire Man Asan". He also established a friendship with Emperor Zhengde, and Emperor Zhengde also learned the French language from him.
It's just that this "Fire Man Ya San" united with Jiang Bin and got involved in the court struggle of the Ming Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Zhengde, he was executed, and the envoy of Fo Langji was also ordered to leave China.
From then on, the Folangji people also cut off the normal channels of tribute trade.
The Portuguese, who were unable to pay tribute, wanted to obtain a port for trade with China, which led to the establishment of Shuangyu Island and the current Macau.
Lin Mojun looked at the surrounding islands and asked Su Ze: "Why Ryukyu? Are your weapons and armors going to be traded with Ryukyu? Can they be sold here?" The Ming Dynasty not only stipulated the countries that paid tribute
, The frequency of tribute was determined, and the ports through which tribute from different countries entered the Ming Dynasty were stipulated.
Ryukyu is very special among the tributary countries of the Ming Dynasty. Most countries pay tribute every five years, but Ryukyu can pay tribute every two years.
In other words, Ryukyu could pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty once every two years. In fact, Ryukyu often paid tribute once a year. The Ming court never expelled the Ryukyu envoys and gave high rewards every time. So much so that today the great eldest son of the Ming Dynasty and the most loyal vassal state of Korea is very jealous of the Ryukyu envoys. He once complained that "China also treats my envoys poorly and cannot be compared with the Ryukyu envoys." The Ryukyu tribute port is
Fujian In Fuzhou City, Lin Mojun's father had seen the grand ceremony of Ryukyu envoys paying tribute.
Lin Mojun said: "My father once met the Ryukyu envoys. Every time the Ryukyu envoys arrive in Hong Kong, it is a major event for Fuzhou Prefecture. After landing, the huge envoys go to the capital, and then return to Ryukyu full of gold and silver rewarded by the court."
Lin Mojun recalled what his father had said about the prosperous days of Ryukyu's tribute, and suddenly realized that Ryukyu had not paid tribute for a long time.
Su Ze said: "Just like the Folangji people pretended to be full of Lajia people, after the Japanese stopped paying tribute, the Japanese also wanted to use the Ryukyu mission to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Later, the court found out and also reduced the Ryukyus. Due to the size of the tribute mission, they were prohibited from paying tribute to Japanese goods. From then on, the Ryukyu tribute trade collapsed, and they gradually stopped paying tribute."
Lin Mojun looked at Su Ze and asked: "Do you also want to pay tribute in the name of the Ryukyu mission? "
Su Ze didn't expect Lin Mojun to be so sharp and guess Su Ze's plan right away.
But he still had to quibble. Su Ze said: "Of course not. Ryukyu is also a big country with a population of 100,000. How is it possible for a group of us to want to control Ryukyu!" Lin Mojun said coldly: "What do you mean
? Is there not enough people this time? Why not bring more people here next time?"
Su Ze did not expect that Lin Mojun would reveal his intention all of a sudden. He said sarcastically: "Is it so obvious?"
Lin Mojun said: "Obviously ."
"Okay, but we really didn't come here to embarrass Ryukyu this time, we really came to help Ryukyu."
Lin Mojun still didn't believe it. At this time, the lookout suddenly shouted:
"There are Japanese pirates! "
Lin Mojun picked up the telescope and saw two Japanese ships on the sea heading towards the New World.
Su Ze decisively stepped aside and said, "Lin Baihu, it's your turn to take command."
Lin Mojun rolled her eyes, but she still stood in the captain's position and took over the command of the entire ship. .
Lin Mojun was not a novice captain like Su Ze. After she took over the command, the entire New World immediately changed. The crew responsible for navigation and the crew responsible for combat were divided into two groups in an orderly manner.
Su Ze couldn't help but admire, some people were born to eat this bowl of rice, and Lin Mojun was the uncrowned king at sea.
Secretly looking at Lin Mojun's side face who was conducting the command seriously, Su Ze felt a little bit cold inexplicably. Fortunately, he didn't mention Quanzhou along the way. Otherwise, would he have been sunk into the sea?
Su Ze shook his head. He and Lin Mojun were close comrades-in-arms, so he was definitely overthinking it!
This sudden battle started suddenly and ended suddenly.
Even King Lu was no match for Lin Mojun. The two Japanese ships were defeated in a single encounter.
In order to lure the enemy closer, Lin Mojun didn't even use the cannons on the ship. He destroyed one Japanese ship in a side-to-side battle. Another Japanese ship tried to escape, but was directly hit by the ram of the New World.
Regarding the Japanese pirates on the Japanese ships, Lin Mojun followed the rules of the sea and asked them to tie stones and jump off the deck to feed the sharks. Lin Mojun also rescued five Ryukyu people on two Japanese ships.
Pulling two Japanese boats, Lin Mojun didn't even bother to search for loot. Under the guidance of one of the Ryukyu people, he headed towards the Ryukyu port.
Su Ze looked at the Ryukyu man in charge of piloting and asked, "Are you my Chinese immigrant?"
The appearance of this Ryukyu man was slightly different from other Ryukyu people, and he could speak fluent Chinese.
"Sir, I am a descendant of the thirty-sixth surname of the Fujian people. I and General Lin are both surnamed Lin, and the Han Chinese name is Lin Changjing." Unexpectedly, it took no effort to get it.
Su Ze said happily: "I am also planning to land on the island. After searching for you, what happened to the thirty-six surnames of the Fujian people now?"
Lin Changjing said in frustration: "Since the Ming Dynasty stopped paying tribute, the thirty-six surnames of our Fujian people have become worse every year."
Lin Mojun came over. Asked: "What are the thirty-six surnames of the Fujian people?"
Su Ze said: "When Hongwu was established, Ryukyu was the first country to pay tribute. But at that time, Ryukyu was a small country with weak people and no ability to sail. Taizu ordered A Fujianese from Fujian named Thirty-six who is good at sailing went to Ryukyu to help Ryukyu sail and pay tribute. He is a descendant of the Fujianese named Thirty-six." When Su Ze said this, Lin
Mojun looked at Lin Changjing. As expected, he was the same as the Fujianese. They look similar, so they are descendants of Fujian people who immigrated overseas.
Su Ze asked: "If you Fujian people with the 36 surnames didn't have official positions in the Ryukyu Kingdom, how could you be in such a miserable state, and how could you be captured by the Japanese pirates?"
Lin Changjing said: "We Fujian people with the 36 surnames have been in Ryukyu since we left. , mostly due to internal intermarriage. The Ryukyu Kingdom used to need us to assist in sea trade, but still used us respectfully. In recent years, it has gradually stopped contact with the Ming Dynasty, and the Kingdom has become increasingly alienated from us." "And because of the interruption of tribute in recent years
, Ryukyu is becoming increasingly poor. I went out to sea this time to find some trade routes between Ryukyu islands, but I didn't expect to encounter Japanese pirates."
Lin Mojun interrupted and asked: "Are there many Japanese pirates near Ryukyu?"
Lin Changjing sighed. Said: "There are many, more than many, the Japanese pirates are simply rampant. There are many islands near Ryukyu, and the Japanese pirates often occupy the islands and use them as springboards to invade Nanyang or Fujian. In this sea area alone, there are thirty-six groups of Japanese pirates, large and small."
" The southern seas are still just rogues, and the Amami Island in the north has been directly invaded by rebels supported by Japan."
Lin Mojun looked at Su Ze, is all this what you expected?
Su Ze asked: "Japanese pirates are so rampant, does the Ryukyu Kingdom want to surrender to the Japanese pirates?"
Lin Changjing shook his head and said: "Although the current ruler is alienated from our thirty-six surnames of Fujian, he still has the Ming Dynasty in mind and hopes to reopen the tribute trade. The last time the Japanese lord Shimazu Takahisa sent an envoy to ask the country's leader to pay tribute to the Japanese country, Lord Shang killed the Japanese envoy to show his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty." Lin Mojun nodded and said: "This country's leader has integrity!
"
Su Ze also nodded. The leader of the Ryukyu Kingdom was considered the most courageous among the surrounding vassal states, but it was a pity that he was sandwiched between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese Kingdom, and was closer to the Japanese Kingdom.
Once Japan became strong, it would show its ambition towards Ryukyu. In modern times, Ryukyu would inevitably be annexed by Japan.
But now there is still a chance. Su Ze asked Lin Changjing:
"Can you ask to see the leader of the Ryukyu Kingdom?"
Lin Changjing nodded and said: "Ryukyu Elementary School, although our thirty-sixth Fujian surname is disliked by the king now, but You still have the right to enter and leave the royal court."
"That's good. When we dock, we will say that we are merchants from the Ming Dynasty and have come to Ryukyu to help the king." "
I have a batch of weapons and armor on board that I want to sell to the king. In addition, I also want to negotiate a big deal with the king."
Asking for votes at the beginning of the month!
It’s really not a bad word count. In a war, you have to make a claim first (no)
(End of this chapter)