Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1615 Campfire party in the colony
"That is the fleet of the English. Why did they appear in the Caribbean Sea? Are they here to destroy pirates or start a war?" Zheng Zhihu hesitated.

His judgment may affect the safety of the life safety of the sailors and scientific expedition team on the global voyage fleet, and he must make a careful decision.

"Our ship went up to say hello to them, and the rest of the ships stayed where they were for the time being." Zheng Zhihu hesitated for a while, and finally planned to go to check the details of the fleet flying the flag of the United Kingdom in person.

The fleet that docked in Barbados was none other than the English fleet led by Admiral Sir Pennington, the British Navy rookies Black, George Monk, and William Penn on the expedition to the West Indies.

At this time, they are recruiting a small number of militiamen and ships in the Barbados colony, and at the same time supplying supplies.

When they discovered that a Chinese ship had arrived here from Rio de Janeiro, they were very surprised. They did not expect that the Chinese finally started sailing around the world.

But at the same time, they were deeply surprised that according to the national power possessed by the Chinese people, wouldn't it be a bit inconsistent with the stage of technological development to start sailing around the world now?

We must know that England was far poorer than it is now more than 60 years ago. Captain Drake had already completed the voyage around the world, and Portuguese captain Magellan made the first voyage around the world more than 100 years ago.It's hard to imagine that the other party can produce a steam ironclad ship, and they haven't made a round-the-world voyage yet.

"General Zheng, it's a great honor to meet your global adventure team. I am Sir Pennington, Admiral of England. I will lead the fleet to a glorious duel with the Spaniards in the Caribbean Sea. They have monopolized the business here." Sir Pennington looked at the four armed sailing ships that were still on the periphery, "There are five ships in your fleet, right? All of them are equipped with artillery?"

"Sir Pennington, you should know that the sea is not peaceful. If our expedition ship is not equipped with artillery, it is likely to be ransacked by pirates or the governor of some colonies. Only with artillery can we scare off the natives and Pirates, some colonies of Spain and Portugal will treat us with courtesy." Zheng Zhihu said.

"That's really..." Sir Pennington looked thoughtfully at Zheng Zhibao's warship and the expedition ship refitted from four armed merchant ships in the distance.

After the fleet sailing around the world found out that the fleet moored in Barbados was the fleet of England, they docked with confidence, and they set foot on the English colony on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

"There are sugarcane plantations everywhere here, and you can easily add sugar. My name is Black, Robert Black." A naval officer was in charge of contacting Zheng Zhihu and others.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Zheng Zhihu. When you come to the Caribbean Sea this time, you don't know where you are going to attack the Spanish occupation?" Zheng Zhihu said.

"There are more than 1000 islands in the Caribbean Sea, and there are many valuable places, but there are only a few important places, but I am sorry that I can't explain clearly due to my duty." Black said.

Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Chenggong, Chu Lingyun, Hanna and others planned to stay in Barbados for a few days.On the evening of the second day, the British Royal Navy expedition in the Caribbean invited all members of the global fleet to participate in a bonfire banquet held in Barbados. The governor of Barbados also led the plantation owners and slaves to participate in the bonfire banquet.

Thousands of English navy sailors and soldiers participated in the banquet. Many of them were selected from the Irish Legion, and there were also a small number of Scots. The English occupied more officer positions.

Together with plantation owners, coolies captured from Africa, and members of the circumnavigation fleet such as Zheng Zhihu, this may be the most grand event in the local area.

The curling bonfire danced with the sea breeze, and the plantation owners let the coolies perform ancient African dances, and sometimes the plantation owners and sailors danced their familiar customs and dances when they had a good time, and some English sailors did not hesitate to dance. Acting out scenes from some of Shakespeare's plays made the explorers from the East feel novel.

Suddenly there was a melodious melody.Everyone looked to the side of the bonfire and found a blond woman holding a strange stringed instrument, which was the melody of the stringed instrument during bowing.

"It sounds a bit like our two-stringed huqin, but there is a big difference. It uses four-stringed huqin." A group of adventurers from the East listened to the sound of the stringed instrument and saw the way the blonde woman moved the bow. It reminds me of Erhu.

"What musical instrument does Sister Hannah use?" Ling'er sat in front of Zheng Chenggong, saw the woman who was intoxicated in the performance, and turned her head to ask Zheng Chenggong.

"I don't know either, maybe it's some kind of Western musical instrument." Zheng Chenggong replied helplessly. He never thought that Hannah from the Knights Hospitaller would have such a talent.

"Governor, I didn't expect you to have a violin made by the Italian violin maker Amati. It's really enviable." After Hannah finished playing, she reluctantly returned the precious violin to the Governor of Barbados.

"At the beginning, I finally got it from a Venetian merchant at a high price, and it has been kept as a treasure. However, there are too few talented violinists, and few people have the opportunity to use it." The Governor of Barbados said proudly.

Ling'er said to Zheng Chenggong again: "Brother Zheng, Sister Hannah seems to be having a good chat with that Governor General."

"..." Zheng Chenggong's face was a little ugly, and he rubbed Ling'er's hair, "The instrument belongs to the governor, and she borrowed it to express her gratitude. What were you thinking at such a young age?"

After a while, Hannah returned to the naval cadets. Zheng Chenggong came over and asked cheekily, "What is that musical instrument?"

"A stringed instrument called a violin is very popular in Italy. The violins made by the famous Italian family, the Amati family, are very good, with very attractive appearance and craftsmanship, but the price is very expensive. I didn't expect Barbados The governor actually has a collection, and it would be great if he could have an Amati violin." Hannah held a glass of malt wine, toasted Zheng Chenggong boldly, and drank it all in one gulp.

She was a violinist just now, but she put down her instrument, and she is a navy soldier. It is normal to drink wine as water at sea.Fresh water is perishable, but beer can be kept longer.

"Sister Hannah, if I give you this violin..."

Zheng Chenggong leaned close to Hannah's ear to speak, his voice became smaller and smaller, but Ling'er, who was sitting in front of Zheng Chenggong, couldn't hear clearly.

He didn't know what Zheng Chenggong said to Hannah. Hannah blushed slightly, and then touched Zheng Chenggong's forehead with a wine glass: "What nonsense are you talking about, I just regard you as a younger brother."

(End of this chapter)