Rule over Ming Dynasty

The turmoil in North Korea is actually a small wave from beginning to end.

The strength of the Ming Dynasty has far exceeded imagination. It has extended to the Americas to the east, expedition ships to the south to Australia, and troops to the African continent to the west.

The neighbor North Korea is just a little chicken at best. No matter whether it surrenders or chooses to fight to the end, it cannot actually change its fate of being attached to the Ming Dynasty.

Now that Li Shangming's brother and sister are dealing with it, especially the close relationship between Li Xi'en and Zhu Youtang, it can only be said that it has brought the two countries closer, which is actually positive for the development of both countries.

When the time came to the middle of the year, major changes had taken place in the ten-year history of Hongzhi.

Europe is located to the west of Asia and is part of the Eurasian continent. Because it is located in the northern temperate zone, it is the farthest from the equator of the world's inhabited continents and has no tropics.

Although it has natural resources such as coal, oil, and potassium salts, it is relatively lacking in gold and silver mineral resources. However, Europe's agriculture is not developed, so the economy has great shortcomings.

Politically, restricted by the Catholic Church, almost all resources in Western Europe fell into the hands of the Catholic Church, so Western Europe was destined to take the route of plundering foreign resources.

"We cannot lag behind the Spaniards, and we will not return until India this time!" Vasco da Gama also expressed his lofty ideals as the King of Portugal sent him off.

He was born in Sines, Portugal, to the first generation of Count Vidigera. In his youth, Vasco da Gama participated in the war between Portugal and Spain, and later served in the Portuguese court.

Since the Portuguese nobles still had a negative attitude towards the question of whether to continue looking eastward for India, the new King Manuel I of Portugal could only purchase and use smaller ships as much as possible to set sail.

Dispatched by King Manuel I of Portugal, Vasco da Gama led four small ships with a total of more than 140 sailors to set out from Lisbon to find a sea route to India.

It is worth mentioning that Bartolomeu Miu Dias, who once discovered the Cape of Good Hope for the kingdom, also led a small fleet to clear the way for the new Indian Ocean expedition fleet and escorted Vasco da Gama's fleet to arrive. Portuguese colonial fortress on the coast of West Africa.

Time flies by in the blink of an eye and October comes soon.

After sailing for nearly four months and more than 4500 nautical miles, the fleet arrived at St. Helena Bay adjacent to the Cape of Good Hope and saw a piece of land.

However, they were about to be hit by a terrible storm. The sailors had no intention of continuing the voyage and asked to return to Lisbon. Vasco da Gama insisted on moving forward, declaring that he would never give up until India was found, but the sailors finally had no choice but to continue moving forward.

The fleet led by Vasco da Gama passed through the Canary Islands, around the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed to the east in a circuitous way, and finally entered the African coast of the Western Indian Ocean.

Vasco da Gama's fleet passed the Fish River and in November entered waters that were still blank in European navigation records-the coast of East Africa.

Vasco da Gama then called the area to be explored "Natal", which means Christmas in Portuguese and can also be translated as "new life".

At the end of the 10th century, the fleet of Vasco da Gama and his entourage arrived in the Mozambique waters of East Africa. This was the first recorded deep voyage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean in human history.

Afterwards, the fleet went north against the powerful Mozambique Current and visited the mouth of the Zambezi River in central Africa.

At the end of February of the 11th year of Hongzhi, after Vasco da Gama's fleet consumed a large amount of supplies, it was customary to scuttle the supply ships accompanying the voyage. Only the San Gabriel, San Rafael, and Berry The Austrian number moved forward lightly.

At the end of March in the 11th year of Hongzhi's reign, the fleet arrived at Mombasa, an important port on the East African coast.

The Muslim residents of the city had no idea about these sudden Portuguese fleets. When the residents of Mombasa discovered that these mysterious visitors were actually Christians, the relationship between the two sides quickly deteriorated, and armed conflict was inevitable.

"Kill Christ!" Crazy Muslims came from all directions with red eyes and weapons.

Vasco da Gama knew that he had a heavy responsibility and his troops were weak, so he did not dare to fight in Mombasa. After breaking away from the temporary gathering of Muslim ships, they continued their voyage north.

Half a month later, the fleet moved into Malindi, Mombasa's rival city.

The local rulers, although they were also Muslims, saw that they were being hunted by the Mombasans and expressed friendship with the Portuguese for the purpose of fighting their rivals.

The ruler of Malindi not only allowed Vasco da Gama to build a small fortress in his city for trade and support navigation, but also gave Vasco da Gama a great gift: the senior navigator Ahmad ibn Majid.

This navigator, who was born in the Oman region of the Arabian Peninsula, was a famous navigation expert at that time. The navigation guide on the Western Indian Ocean compiled by him still has certain use value today.

It was under the leadership of this experienced pilot that the Portuguese fleet set sail from Malindi at the end of March, taking advantage of the southwest monsoon that is unique only in the first half of each year in the Indian Ocean, and headed straight for the Indian coast.

In mid-April of the 11th year of Hongzhi, they finally saw land again and realized that they had finally reached the mysterious Eastern world full of gold.

"what is that?"

"Why is this sea ship so big?"

"Could it be that the Spanish fleet arrived first?"

……

Just when they were about to raise their arms and shout, the San Rafael led by Vasco da Gama's brother Paul was ahead. They saw a three-masted gunboat coming towards them from a distance, and they all immediately showed shocked expressions.

Since the old enemy Spain discovered the route through the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, all the pressure has shifted to Portugal, so their king decided to open the eastern route regardless of resistance.

They have been sailing at sea for ten and a half months, and victory is in sight, but who would have thought that the Spaniards would arrive in this mysterious eastern continent before them.

"I don't know, I have never seen a ship of this size!" The guide Ahmed Ibn Majid thought he was well-informed, but at this moment he shook his head gently.

Da Gama already had the answer in his heart, and he pounded the railing with a gloomy face and said: "Damn it, we were actually rushed to the front by the Spaniards!"

Unlike Columbus, who pursued profit, he led his fleet to the east this time with the goal of opening up a new shipping lane for Portugal and thus solving Portugal's poor finances.

But who would have thought that after going through so much trouble to achieve this breakthrough, they would be beaten to the punch by the Spaniards.

Once the Spaniards have established a foothold here, let alone getting the coveted spices, they may have to fight fiercely like in Mombasa.

In the distance, the reinforced three-masted gunboat seemed to have spotted them and immediately adjusted its direction and headed towards them.

"What are they doing?"

"The Spaniards are not trying to knock us over, are they?"

"Impossible, we have already signed a peace treaty with them, and we probably came here to show off!"

……

The ship that Da Gama personally led was called the San Gabriel. Now he naturally noticed the "Spanish ship" and expressed his opinions one after another. Due to their inherent impression of the backwardness of the East, they naturally could not associate it with Eastern countries, so it was logical that they mistakenly thought it was a Spanish ship.

This three-masted gunboat has undergone special reinforcement and modification. The hull is stronger, the mast is thicker, and the bow in particular has been specially reinforced with iron sheets, like a sharp sword.

"what happened?"

"Asshole, stop it!"

“Are the Spaniards crazy?”

……

The three Portuguese captains looked at the three-masted gunboat getting closer and closer, especially when it showed no sign of stopping. An ominous premonition filled their hearts.

Seeing that the other party's ship was about to hit them, they realized they were afraid. The San Rafael, the brother of da Gama's brother Paul, was the first to bear the brunt, and they immediately started yelling.

It was already too late. The speed of the three-masted gunboat was far beyond their imagination. Under the dual influence of the current and wind direction, the ship collided with them at lightning speed.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the San Rafael was directly hit by the strong bow of the Ming gunboat and a big hole was opened. The clear water rushed in quickly, and the Portuguese sailors on the ship panicked. The hull began to tilt and eventually capsized into the rough sea.

The tall three-masted gunboat continued to ram into the San Gabriel and Berio without losing any momentum.

Portuguese seagoing ships are originally small, but now they have been sailing continuously for ten months, and there are more or less problems with the hulls. On the other hand, the hull of the Ming Dynasty three-masted gunboat was huge and very strong.

Boom!

There were two more loud noises in succession, the Portuguese ship's hull shook violently, items on the deck flew everywhere, and the crew screamed in terror and ran away.

The San Gabriel and the Berio were also unable to withstand the collision of the three-masted gunboats, and as their ships broke apart, their crews sank to the bottom in panic.

"Damn Spaniards, you betrayed your trust and you will die a good death!"

Da Gama kept cursing Spain for tearing up the peace treaty. Fortunately, he fell into the sea and grabbed a piece of wood, and his whole body was barely half-floating above the sea.

Just when he thought he was going to die here, he saw a lifeline dropped from the Spanish ship and pulled him out of the sea.

Da Gama and several surviving crew members were rescued on the Ming three-masted gun ship, but when they saw the costumes of the people on the ship, they were dumbfounded.

The Spaniard in front of me has yellow skin, black hair, and a very clean body.

They were wearing uniform uniforms with buttons that they had never seen before, and the material of the fabric was obviously not cheap. However, they also had bright muskets in their hands.

Da Gama saw the other party pointing a gun at him and asked angrily: "Who are you? Why do you want to sink our ship?"

The entire fleet was sunk this time, which basically declared their Portuguese expedition a failure, and he himself was likely to die here.

"We are the patrol ships of the Ming Dynasty! The Indian Ocean is the territory of the Indian Ocean Governor's Mansion. If you bunch of Western barbarians break into our waters without saying hello, you will all die!" Wang Zhi's adopted son Wang Wuxi had a straight face, looking very cold. explained.

This……

Da Gama was dumbfounded when he heard this answer.

They originally thought that the Eastern Continent was full of gold, and in order to break through the blockade of Eastern Europe, they found the sea route and went to the Indian Ocean with great hardships.

But who would have thought that this Indian Ocean actually had an owner, and that he would dare to sink their fleet that had gone through all kinds of dangers without saying a word.

Da Gama saw his younger brother Paul trying to argue with the general. Even if he stopped the other party, in the face of absolute strength, how could they be reasonable?
"Return!" Wang Wuxi was very satisfied with the results of this patrol and said it as an order.

The Governor-General of India now has three military bases. The first military base is the port city of Baigu, the second is on the island of Sri Lanka in the south of India, and the third military base is in Yemen.

Since their Governor planned to advance westward, their base camp was actually on the island of Sri Lanka, so their patrol ship was very close to the Governor's Mansion in the Indian Ocean.

After Vasco da Gama and several other surviving Portuguese crew members were captured by the Ming Dynasty fleet, they were escorted back to their military base and then taken to the lord's palace of a city.

Despite the difficult situation, Vasco da Gama still maintained his pride, standing up straight and holding his head high.

Da Gama's brother Paul claimed that he was Portuguese and that they were appointed by the king this time, as if this status could bring him privileges and immunity.

Soon, Vasco da Gama and other prisoners were brought to Wang Zhi, the governor of the Indian Ocean of the Ming Dynasty.

Wang Zhi was a serious and decisive ruler. He had been at home in the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean over the years. He looked at Vasco da Gama and others coldly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

This……

Vasco da Gama was a man who was good at observing words and emotions. The moment he saw Wang Zhi, especially his indifferent eyes, he immediately knew that there was a big devil in front of him.

Wang Zhi's appearance is actually not lethal, with fair skin. He always likes to hold a blank fan in his hand. When he gets interested, he will write on the fan, and his chubby face always shows a smile.

Of course, if you observe carefully, you will find that his world seems to consist of only himself and his fan, and everything around him seems insignificant.

"Sovereign Lord, subordinates, come down to the barbarians! In fact, the barbarians are divided into three, six, and nine grades, and the barbarians in the west are at the bottom. Yet you shout in front of the governor that you are Portuguese?" Wang Zhi's voice was cold and majestic.

Are the Western Barbarians at the end?

Da Gama couldn't help but swallow secretly, feeling uneasy about his origin for the first time.

Menezes, the captain of the Berio, said arrogantly: "Who told you to divide the Ming Dynasty like this? You must let us go, otherwise we, Portugal, will wipe out you in the future..."

boom!
Before he could finish his words, a gunshot rang out.

There was a blood hole on Menezes' forehead. The arrogance just now had been digested. His face was frozen in horror, and his whole body fell to the ground due to the inertia. (End of chapter)