The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 421
Lin Minghai was looking back on the past with an indifferent expression on his face. He continued: "Because the students can speak Japanese and Chinese and can communicate with the captain of the East India Company in Spanish and Dutch, they were not tortured after being captured by the Dutch. I did an interpreter.

The students used to work on a warship called Assendelft, which was not much bigger than the Daming No. [-] Fuchuan, with a crew of more than [-] people.

Because the students often come into contact with Xiyi, they become more and more fluent in Dutch and Spanish, which was recognized by the East India Company and promoted. Three years ago, he was sent to work as an interpreter on the first-class warship Udwater with more than 250 crew members. . "

Huang Han smiled and said, "You have worked as an interpreter for the East India Company for several years, and you must have a family and some private property. Don't worry, you can take back your personal property."

Lin Minghai smiled wryly and said: "Students mingled with the Japanese pirates and the Xiyi for the sole purpose of surviving. As an interpreter in the East India Company, they could not gain the trust of the Xiyi and were not considered free people. Basically, they had no chance to go ashore. Where could they have a home?" Small?
There are more than 100 silver coins and gold coins, but they seem to be of little use. "

"Haha, who said that gold and silver are useless, don't you think your family in Ningbo is useless? I am going to take you in to serve in the 'Red Banner Army'. You can write to your family in Ningbo, and I can send someone to take your family home. Take them all to Tiger Cave City to settle down."

Hearing this, Lin Minghai burst into tears, his lips were trembling and he couldn't say a word.

Huang Han said gently: "You stand up and speak. From today onwards, you are the 'Red Banner Army' specially approved by the official. You will enjoy the treatment of a regular soldier. You will temporarily serve as a Zanhua and stay in the command cabin to make suggestions. I hope you can serve Daming. Contribute to the 'Red Banner Army', strive for promotion and wealth, and return home."

Lin Minghai didn't know the name of the "Red Banner Army", but he saw the mighty navy flying the flag of Ming Dynasty.

He traveled to South America, Africa, and Luzon with the Dutch's Assendelft and Woodwater. It was common for the Dutch to rob all merchant ships that they could meet. The waters of the Dao Islands were conquered by the overwhelming firepower of the Ming warships.

Lin Minghai lived at sea for more than ten years, and worked for the East India Company for six or seven years.

Seeing that Lin Minghai couldn't react for a while, Huang Han changed the subject and asked, "You must have relatives at home in Ningbo, but I don't know if they have been separated for more than ten years. How is their situation?"

Lin Minghai, who had just stood up, fell to his knees with a plop when he heard this, and cried: "When the student left home, his mother was still alive. There was a wife and a concubine, two sons and a daughter.

At that time, the student only left ten taels of silver paid in advance by his mother's employer.The student studied hard for more than ten years due to the poor window, and failed the exam three times. The ancestral land of the family was sold to only five acres. It is really impossible to predict how the family will live these years. "

Huang Han also didn't know if Lin Minghai's family was safe after being separated for more than ten years. It stands to reason that a family with five acres of paddy fields in Jiangsu and Zhejiang should not starve to death.

He comforted Lin Minghai and said: "It's easier to make a living in Ningbo Mansion, and you don't need to worry too much. After you go back, I will have someone accompany you to go home quietly to pick up your mother and wife.

You should understand that the whereabouts of the fellow countrymen who went to sea with you back then are unknown. Once the news of your return spreads, it will cause trouble. How can you tell the whereabouts of your boss?And how to explain that Dudu you came back alive? "

"The general is right. I can no longer stay in my hometown. General Xie kindly allows the students to pick up their mother, wife and children. The students will serve the general wholeheartedly in the future."

Huang Hantai needs talents who have traveled to South America. Not only will he keep Lin Minghai, but he will also let him communicate with those captives in the West, and strive to select some experienced sailors and gunners to serve in various warships.

Threesome must have my teacher!It doesn't matter if there are a few Westerners among the dozens or hundreds of young sailors, gunners, and marines. The strengths of these people will be learned.

Huang Han arranged for the shrewd Shen Ming to arrange a residence for Lin Minghai, and he was also responsible for picking up Lin Minghai's family when he returned home. Four soldiers, Shen Ming and Peng Huaiyi, accompanied Lin Minghai to negotiate terms with the Dutch captives and were willing to serve the Ming army. Those who serve can be exempted from slavery as miners.

The condition offered by the Ming army was to serve for ten years and be free. At that time, it was up to him to choose whether to return to his homeland or choose to start a family and start a business in Daming.

Like Shi Daxuan, Lin Minghai temporarily stayed by Huang Han's side to act as a fan of the painting. The two were in good spirits, and they both took the initiative to find things to do.

The four children who followed Huang Han as personal attendants made rapid progress, and now they are able to draft official documents, praises and paintings for Huang Han.Huang Han planned to let all four of them go down to the grassroots next year to serve as chief banner officers at the level of Baizong or Baihuhu, or as trainee captains of a new warship.

The progress of the four family members and guards was slow. Huang Han often taught them by hand. They barely mastered two or three hundred characters now. Every note left had to be replaced by circles and crosses.

Since there are quite a few such soldiers in the "Red Banner Army", Huang Han has already begun to consider using the military rank system to allow soldiers to have room for advancement.

The best soldiers can enjoy the treatment of wiping hundreds of households, and give them a famous title "Warrior". This is the limit of the treatment and rank of ordinary soldiers, starting from the sixth rank.

The level next to "Warrior" is "Warrior" who enjoys the treatment of the seventh rank, and the next is called "sergeant" from the seventh rank, the rank of the small flag officer is the first-level soldier, the corporal leader belongs to the second-level soldier, and the rest are ordinary Zhengbing.Everyone can have a common appellation "warrior".

The reserve service below the regular soldiers is also divided into three classes, namely trainee soldiers, guards, and auxiliary soldiers.The nine ranks of soldiers can better give honor and good treatment to good soldiers with outstanding combat skills but simple minds such as Gu Kui, Yan Congyou, He Yongqing, and Lei Mingchun.

After going to sea for more than ten days, although he didn't start trading, Huang Han has already obtained wealth worth more than 70 taels of silver through robbery and boats, but the cash he got is not much.

The five Japanese Jinchuan merchant ships had less than 2 taels of silver in cash. Shi Daxuan’s [-] Zheng family pirate ships confiscated a total of more than [-] taels of silver.

Since most of the Shibazhi Pirate Army surrendered voluntarily, the private property of the "Red Banner Army" was not confiscated.

The most profitable was the capture of the Woodwater and Venlo, two of the western deck battleships.

Because the Dutch robbed the Junk ship on the way to Japan, and after arriving in Nagasaki, they got rid of their own cargo and the plundered merchant ship plus cargo. The Dutch cabin on the return voyage was loaded with 6 taels of silver in addition to the full cargo.

(End of this chapter)