unclear

Chapter 932 Shalian Port 3
"Yes, yes, yes, you are being disrespectful! If you want to shut us up, write to Zhu and ask him to get a few more boxes. He stays in the capital all day, but he doesn't even take the initiative to sympathize with his subordinates. It's outrageous!"

With Huang Nanping's opening words, Li Rumei immediately followed up, beating the small side drum loudly. No matter what the emperor said, he thought this box of cigars was good to smoke, with a slightly lighter taste, just right for his taste.

"Ding ding ding... Ding ding ding..." Just as the three people were arguing, a rapid bell suddenly rang above their heads.

This was an alarm that the enemy had been discovered. All the officers on the deck immediately put down what they were doing, looked up at the flag signals on the lookout tower, and then gathered to the starboard side in unison, raised their binoculars and looked at the sea.

At the same time, a Qin-class warship patrolling the periphery also raised its full sail and headed north at high speed. The other ships in the fleet still maintained their original course and speed, waiting for further orders.

It was not an enemy that came, but a two-masted cargo ship flying the Portuguese flag. The warship took it to the east side of the fleet's periphery and slowed down to follow it, and then the warship towed a small boat towards the flagship.

"It should be Wang Datou who is here. Everyone, be careful with your words. The Statistics Department can report directly to the emperor. Don't cause trouble for yourselves!" Wang Yuanjing put down the telescope, put away his smile, and made serious demands to the officers present, mainly targeting Huang Nanping and Li Rumei.

The character of naval officers and soldiers is like the sea, boundless and unrestrained, and it is not easy for outsiders to adapt. Although the General Staff has the responsibility to enforce military discipline, it does not want anyone to be blamed for it.

"He still has the nerve to sue us? He is the biggest smuggler in the South China Sea these years. Not only does he hang out with the Portuguese, he also hooks up with the Dutch. Any one of them is enough to send him to hard labor and death!"

In addition to the patrol guards, the Marines stationed in Luzon and Annan were no longer surprised by Wang Datou's behavior. They could not see him every month, but they could see him several times a year in Manila or Da Nang, and every time they saw him in wine shops and brothels, he was always accompanied by a few Western sailors.

"Commander Li, be careful! If we hadn't had the information provided by the Statistics Department, I'm afraid we would have had to spend a lot of time to find out. They are isolated overseas with no one to rely on, and they can't reveal their official status, so the risk is huge."

Wang Yuanjing was immediately displeased when he heard that Li Rumei wanted to slander Wang Datou. He had to refute such statements both publicly and privately. Although he also disliked the little junior brother who was full of evil spirit, since His Majesty had agreed, he could not question it!
"Yes, yes, Brother Li, what you said this time is indeed biased. When we attacked Manila Port, it was this person who risked his life to sneak in and provided a lot of useful information. As the saying goes, every chicken has its own way of peeing. Every industry has its own rules, and we can't generalize.

First mate, clear the rear deck and put tables and chairs on it. You lead the patrol yourself and no one is allowed to approach. Boatswain, lower the boat and go over to take it yourself. Pay attention to etiquette!"

Huang Nanping, who was born as a pirate, was not particularly opposed to Wang Datou's performance. Anyone who could make a name for himself on the sea had to have some skills, otherwise he might disappear one day. Those who could make a living from this were not ordinary people.

As for the fact that they often frequented the red-light districts of various ports and had close contacts with Western sailors, that was the daily life of most captains and sailors. If no one patronized them, how could the wine shops and brothels in the ports become more and more prosperous?

Wang Datou did not come alone. He was followed by two men who were dressed completely differently from the Han people. The older one was the leader of the Mon tribe in Shalian City, and the younger one was a Mon captain who was familiar with the water conditions of the Irrawaddy River.

"Can we trust him to lead the water?" Huang Nanping had no objection to these two short and thin Mon people, but he was not sure about leaving the safety of the fleet to outsiders. It was difficult for large ships to enter the inland river, and if someone deliberately did something bad at this time, the loss would be huge.

"Since the port of Thanlyin was captured by the Toungoo Kingdom, the Mon people living here have been in trouble. In order to punish them for helping the Portuguese, the Burmese took away the good fields, shops, fishing boats and houses.

As long as someone could drive the Burmese away, the Mon people near Thanlyin Port were willing to help, and even help in the war. His name was Komin, and he used to have two paddle boats, often sailing to Arakan and Ayutthaya to buy and sell goods. He also opened the largest shop on the shore and lived a good life.

After the Burmese came, his house, shop and boat were all taken away. The family could only live in a broken boat by the river and make a living by renting fishing boats to go fishing. Three of his five children died of hunger and disease. He has been helping me with work all these years, otherwise the remaining two, his parents and his wife would have starved to death.

In order to prevent the Portuguese from invading again, the King of Toungoo buried hundreds of large logs in the waterway of the Irrawaddy River. These logs would only surface at low tide and were submerged underwater at other times.

Every time we come, our ships are not allowed to enter the port. We are only allowed to anchor at the river mouth and wait for their galleys to come to trade. Gemin knows where the big wood was swept away by the tide. If Commander Huang is worried, you can try with one ship first. "

Wang Datou tried to give detailed answers to Huang Nanping's questions, focusing on the living conditions of the Mon people to prove their reliability. But he did not guarantee it 100%, and left the decision to the naval general.

"Can we ask him to draw a route map?" Huang Nanping didn't want to risk even a single ship, so he came up with another idea.

"They don't have nautical charts and can't understand our charts. The units of measurement are completely different. I tried, but it didn't work." Wang Datou shook his big head and decisively rejected this attempt.

"Are there any other changes?" Seeing that the conversation was about to reach a dead end, Huang Nanping took the initiative to change the subject.

"Basically there hasn't been much change... This should have at least one guard's worth of troops, right? It's totally useless, one thousand households is enough.

The Burmese had copper cannons and matchlock guns, but they were not very powerful and mostly used stones as cannonballs. They were not as powerful as the whirling cannons on my ship and could only hit sailors on the deck at close range.

There are quite a few matchlock guns, all obtained from Portuguese mercenaries. But since the fallout with Portugal, no one knows how to repair and maintain them, and there is no correct formula for propellant, so many of them are unusable. "

Wang Datou pointed at the armed merchant fleet in the distance and expressed his optimistic expectations in a very exaggerated manner. He was also indirectly blaming the navy for making too many efforts and using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

(End of this chapter)