Da Ming started to ascend the throne

Chapter 523 Chinese Island Owner
The Natuna Islands are located in the sea between the Malay Peninsula and Kalimantan.

It consists of 272 islands with a total area of ​​2110 square kilometers.

The highest point is on the Great Natuna Island, about 959 meters above sea level.High temperature throughout the year, heavy rainfall, subtropical forest.

Sometimes the Natuna Islands are also included in the Anambas Islands.

The island is rich in timber, coconut, cocoa, rice and corn,

The Natuna Islands are also known as the Ambona Islands, and the name Natuna is more commonly used now, because the name of the Natuna Islands has the same name as the other two islands.

One is Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, which is mostly translated as Ambona Island by Westerners.

The other is Anbo Reef in the South China Sea, which was called Guogai Island by ancient Chinese fishermen.

The Chinese government named it Anbo Na Reef, and later named it Anbo Shazhou, which is now under the jurisdiction of Indonesia.

Previously, the names of the sea area and its islands have been called differently in different periods in different dynasties of our country:
Before the Han Dynasty, my country called the sea area of ​​"Natuna Islands" as "Zhanghai", "Natuna Islands" as "Zhanghai Qitou", and "Natuna Island" as "Great Qitou"

Because it is located at the mouth of Malacca where the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet, it is affected by the water level drop between the two oceans, causing the water level to rise and fall from time to time.

Therefore, Chinese ancestors called this sea "Zhanghai", and all the islands in this sea were called "Zhanghai Qitou".

See Yang Fu's "Foreign Objects" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Rising sea Qitou, the water is shallow and there are many magnets", which means that in the water area of ​​the Qitou Island Islands in the rising sea, the water is shallow and there are many hidden reefs.

What is recorded here is the waters west of Wan'an Beach in the Nansha Islands.

"Sakitou" means an island. The interpretation of "Saki" in "Chinese Dictionary" is, "Saki: the appearance of a steep mountain".

In fact, many islands in this water area are above 100 meters above sea level. Among them, the largest main island of Natuna has a peak of nearly 960 meters. Except for Taiwan Island and Hainan Island, there are no such precipitous offshore islands.

Moreover, this water area is also a shallow sea area, with the deepest depth being more than 100 meters and the rest about 30 meters, unlike the Nansha, Zhongsha, and Xisha, which are thousands of meters deep.

During the Wu Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, Wan Zhen's "Nanzhou Foreign Objects" also recorded: "Going to the northeast, there is a huge head, out of the sea, and there are many magnets in the middle",
This refers to sailing from the Malay Peninsula (the original intention) to the northeast, which means that the deep water part of the Nansha has not yet been reached.

It means: (from the Malay Peninsula) to the northeast of the waters, there are huge islands standing high in the rising sea, the rising water is rising (or often rising) and there are many hidden reefs.

This written record is also very consistent with the situation in the sea area of ​​​​the "Natuna Islands", and this "Great Head" is the main island of Natuna.

At the beginning of the 15th century, when Zheng He sailed to the West, he called "Zhanghai" "Shitang", "Zhanghai Qitou" as "Shitangyu", and "Jijiqitou" as "Wansheng Shitangyu".

According to the descendants of Zheng He's boatmen in Hunan, there is the largest island in Shitang in the South China Sea (Great Qitou), which was once used by Zheng He's fleet as the first station on the sea. There are a large number of barracks equipped with a large number of living facilities. Lots of people on duty.

Due to the excellent natural resource conditions, the fleet has to fish, process, change and wash, overhaul, etc. here every time.

Among them, there are not only carpenters and bamboo workers, but also carvers, painters, and painters. They have all kinds of tools, and everyone has specialties.

Because it is tens of thousands of young people (the young and strong men are called young people in the folks) who often go back and forth to rest on the island, people also call "Great Qitou" "Wansheng Shitang Island".

Moreover, as an important symbol of my country's South China Sea, this "Wansheng Shitang Islet" has been undeniably recorded in the world-famous historical map "Zheng He's Navigation Chart".

The map not only has the name "Wansheng Shitang Island", but more importantly, its corresponding location is exactly the current location of "Natuna Islands".

This is also completely consistent with the legend of the descendants of Zheng He's boatmen. The reason why it is called "Wansheng Shitang Island" means that the island is the island where Zheng He's soldiers lived and produced.

"Wanzhou" in "Zheng He's Nautical Chart" is in Hainan Island. "Shitang" is actually Shitang Islet, and its specific location is what Indonesia now calls "Anambas Islands", which is the southwest border of the Huaxia Sea.

"Wansheng Shitang Islet" is what Indonesia calls Natuna Island. Like the "Yanambas" archipelago, it is an island in a stone pond.

And "Shixingshitang" is the general name of Huaxia Nansha, Zhongsha, Xisha, and Dongsha?

Because there is not much exposed on the water surface, most of the reefs are underwater, and because of the colorful coral reefs under the water, they shine like dense stars.

Therefore, people call this sea area "Shixingshitang". The ancients' drawings are not proportional, but the orientation is roughly accurate.

Counting from the period of Zheng He's voyages to the West, the people of Ming Dynasty have lived and lived on the island.

The island is now occupied by Zhang Jiexu, a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, who fled from the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty.

After Zhang Jiexu led more than 300 people here, he regarded this place far away from his homeland as a paradise.

They cut through the thorns and thorns here, pioneered and built, and finally built the Natuna Islands into an independent state.

In order to show his aspirations, Zhang Jiexu founded the country in Natuna, but he did not set up a name, but only claimed to be the king, and continued to accept Han people from Ming Dynasty.

It is also because of the fact that Zhang Jiexu's "Kingdom of Natuna" has no diplomatic relations with its neighbors because of the fact that there is no account after the founding of the country.

They set up a trading company named "Nanhua Company" to carry out trade in the surrounding areas.

Because the island is dominated by mountains, only the coastal area can be cultivated, and fishing has become the main source of income.

At that time, there were no frozen storage facilities, so many large fishing companies had to choose some islands for drying, and then transport the fish after drying.

The important geographical location of the Natuna Islands has become the preferred drying place for many fishing companies.

After Zhang Jiexu and others took control of the surrounding 127 islands, they had the price to negotiate with neighboring countries, and the economy developed rapidly.

Gradually, the Chinese population on this island grew more and more, and everyone's life became better and better. Zhang Jiexu's status and ability were further affirmed by everyone.

In fact, Zhang Jiexu is the real king of the island country, but Zhang Jiexu is very smart, and he doesn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he chooses to keep a low profile.

He has always used "Nanhua Company" as the signboard of his island.

But in fact, everyone knows that Zhang Jiexu is the veritable "king" of this island no matter how he is judged.

When the Ming Navy fleet came to the waters of the island, the defenders on the island immediately noticed the arrival of a large number of warships.

At this time, the Dutch have not yet occupied this place, and the surrounding small countries have no large warships.

The Ming defenders on the island were frightened by the Ming warship, and the iron-clad warship was absolutely huge.

There are less than 1 people on the island. Although Zhang Jiexu is already equivalent to a king, he is still busy like ordinary people.

Suddenly, two soldiers panicked and Zhang Shao came to report:
"Island owner, something is wrong. Several super large warships have entered our waters, and it looks like they are going to land on the island."

(End of this chapter)