Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 101 Bowang (·Final Chapter)
In Keelung, which is October in the Tatung calendar, the northeast monsoon is already quite cold, and it is biting your muscles and bones.

Lun first wore a deerskin hat, deerskin boots, and deerskin clothes and trousers. His calves were tied tightly with canes. He stood in the grass more than ten feet high outside the mountain pass with a dart gun in his hand.

A raging fire was burning on the opposite mountain, and the vegetation at the mountain pass had long been cut down to prevent the fire from spreading.

However, the isolation zone could only block fire but not smoke. The originally cool wind soon became filled with the hot smell of fireworks. Lun Yi quickly lowered his head to cover his mouth and nose.

"Coming!" Wu Lang's short voice sounded beside him.

After hearing this, Lun first looked up at the mountain pass. After a few breaths, a sika deer rushed out of the smoke. This was the first prey of the day.

Lun Di quickly stepped forward, holding the dart gun tightly and threw it at the galloping sika deer. However, the angle of the throw was too low, and the deer dodged with a slight jump.

At this time, the sound of a bowstring sounded behind him, and a bamboo arrow shot out, accurately hitting the sika deer that had just landed.

The deer was still running wildly after being hit by an arrow, and dripping blood flowed all over the ground. The rest of the people stopped throwing guns or darts at it to avoid damaging the deer's hide. There were people waiting for it to die before taking it down.

"Brother, your accuracy still needs to be improved." Wu Lang held a bamboo bow and said to Lun First.

"I didn't sleep well last night...but no matter how well I slept, I can't compare with you. After all, you are the number one warrior in the gold bag. No one except you can hit the target with perfect accuracy."

Lun No. [-] can already speak Basai quite smoothly. It's not that he didn't sleep well last night, but he didn't sleep at all. The problem of insomnia has been bothering him recently.

Lin Hai once told him when he left that he would come back when the northeast wind blows here. Now the northeast wind has been blowing for a month and a half, and the Bowang has not yet appeared in Jilong Port.

Sometimes Lun Yi would even wonder if Lin Hai would never come again, or if something unexpected happened at sea.

Especially more than half a month ago, the Jiujiang wind blew so violently in Taipei that several canoes from Jinbaolishe who went to the outer sea never came back.Fortunately, Sheliao Island, where the village is located, is located in Keelung Port and has not been greatly affected.

Lun Yi could only keep telling himself that nothing would happen to Lin Hai with Mazu's blessing. Dongfan was very important to Lin Hai, and there was no way he would not come back.

"Definitely, there must be something delayed!" Lun Yi thought silently every day.However, as the days passed, he still felt more and more panicked.

"Since you haven't slept well, let's go back and rest first. You are not missing here." Wu Lang patted Lun No. [-] on the shoulder in a friendly manner. Nearly half a year has been enough for two young people of similar age to become speechless. Friends who don’t talk about it.

"Everyone is busy, how can I go back alone." Lun first shook his head and stepped forward to retrieve the thrown dart gun.

He always kept Lin Hai's advice in mind. The Dongfan natives had a custom of headhunting, so they refused to leave the village easily. As long as they left the village, they would never leave Wu Lang.

After finally getting to the end of the hunting, Lun Yi carried a dead deer and dragged his heavy steps back, feeling so sleepy that he could hardly open his eyes.

Everyone in the Jinbaoli Society who was traveling with them was very happy. Burning hunting is the most efficient way to hunt deer, but they only do it once or twice a year.

After all, this method of hunting causes too much damage to the environment. It often takes many years for the hills that have been burned to become deer farms again.

When hunting is being done, almost all men from the village community will come out in full force. Those responsible for setting fires on the hills are all old people, while young and middle-aged men are waiting at various mountain passes to hunt.

Before each hunt, the bird sounds are listened to for divination, and only when a good omen is received will the action be taken. This time, the person in charge of the divination was Wu Lang's wife Amei, the young wizard of Jinbaoli Society.

Amei is only 16 years old. Although she has inherited her mother's profession, she still doesn't know how to maintain the mystery of the wizard. She usually hangs out with the young adults in the village community.Because of Wu Lang, her relationship with Lun Yi was also getting along well.

In the midst of the cheerful laughter, only the attentive Ah Mei noticed Lun Di's fatigue. She raised her elbow and poked her husband beside her: "Your friend seems a little tired, go and help him."

Wu Lang then walked up to Lun Yi and raised his hand to lift the dead deer on his shoulder. Lun Yi quickly waved his hand: "No, no, I can do it myself."

Wu Lang couldn't help but pick up the dead deer and put it on his left shoulder. It was an adult female deer weighing more than 100 kilograms, but it seemed light in his hand.

Wu Lang also carried a strong buck on his right shoulder. The weight of more than 300 kilograms seemed to be no pressure on him. There was still a relaxed smile on his dark face: "Why are you trying to be strong? What about that girl of yours?" not here."

A beautiful image suddenly flashed through Lun Yi's heart. He looked up into the distance and sighed: "Oh, I don't know if I can see her again in this life..."

At this time, a person suddenly ran out of the woods ahead. Lundi took a closer look and saw that it was Ou Wan.This person is in charge of overseas trade in Jinbaoli Society and will not leave Keelung Port easily, lest there be no one to receive guests when they arrive.

"Brother Lun, your eldest brother is here!" Ou Wan spoke in Hokkien, running out of breath.

Lun No. [-] hadn’t heard much Chinese for nearly half a year. He couldn’t hear clearly for a while: “What? What did you say?”

"Shopkeeper Lin is here and he asked me to come find you." Ou Wan said after catching his breath.

Lun Di suddenly pinched the tiger's mouth with his left hand, and immediately felt a sharp pain. He gritted his teeth and smiled: "Oh! It's real, not a dream!"

~~~
"It's so cold even in Keelung. It's been half a year since I left Haojing. It's like having a big dream." Lin Hai stepped onto the land of Sheliao Island and said to Shibi with emotion.

The Bowang departed from Hirado at the end of September and sailed southwest along the first island chain. After more than half a month of sailing, it finally returned to Keelung.

When passing Diaoyu Island, Lin Hai went to the island to erect a stone tablet to declare the sovereignty of the Ming Dynasty.

Other than that, the Bowang basically didn’t make much stopover, and only replenished fresh ingredients and fresh water once at Naha Port in Ryukyu.

Lin Hai really felt like he wanted to go home, and counting the days, Mother Zhu was about to give birth.Moreover, the Spanish fleet will appear here in half a year, leaving him little time.

"Who says it's not the case? If I hadn't met you, my sister-in-law, I wouldn't have dared to even dream of having a million taels of silver." Shi Bi then changed the subject, "Are you really not going to Haojing? There is no one on the Bowang. There are 30 taels of silver."

"Three hundred thousand taels is nothing, uncle. In a few years you will feel the same way. When our Dongfan foundation is built, you will no longer be obsessed with this wealth, but will give it to your children and grandchildren." Let future generations create a legacy that lasts for generations to come.”

Lin Hai had communicated a lot with Shibi these days, and roughly revealed his ultimate goal.

After this ship hijacking incident, Shi Bi admired Lin Hai so much that his ambitions grew. After all, this was his uncle of the Shi family.

Hearing this, Shi Bi said, "It's okay if you don't go. Mother Zhu is about to give birth. You are the only one left in the Lin family. I hope she can give birth to a big fat boy for you this time."

"I hope that's the case. It doesn't matter if it's a daughter. Zhu Niang is still young and strong. She will definitely have more children in the future." Lin Hai said with a smile.

Then, he suddenly said: "When you get to Haojing, remember to visit Aunt Chunhua's house. I miss old times, and Aunt Chunhua is kind to me and Zhu Niang. If she is willing to come to Dongfan, she will take her mother and son over. "

Shi Bi was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll ask her and Xiaobao then. Don't worry about Hao Jing, I promise to buy you everything you want."

"With you and Mr. Chen here, I feel very relieved." Lin Hai said and added, "Except for the things I listed, you should listen to Miguel's opinion on how to spend the remaining money. Let your confidants keep the money." Okay, don’t let that ghost guy take care of it, let Chen Yaozu take care of the accounting, I’ll take a look at it when I get back.”

According to the plan, Lin Hai and his party had to separate again after arriving in Keelung.In addition to the more than ten people under Feng Yidao's command, plus twenty gunners, the rest of the Bowang crew will go to Haojing. The captain will still be Shibi, and Miguel will also accompany him.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, that ghost guy can't do any tricks." Shi Bi said, patting his chest. "He is a smart man, and he probably won't play any tricks, but he must be on guard against others. Brother, please keep an eye on him. In addition, when you arrive at the Pearl River Estuary, you must first pay a visit to Li Zhongguo. According to maritime regulations, you should pay the toll. Want to give.”

That night, Lin Hai spoke to Lun Yi alone in the aft cabin of the Bowang.

Lin Hai was very happy to learn that Lun Yiyi had become familiar with Wu Langsi. He took out a heavy package and said to him: "Well done, here are 300 taels of silver for you."

Lun No. [-] quickly declined: "Brother, what are you doing? Serving Big Brother is No. [-]'s duty, why do you still need Big Brother's reward?"

"You deserve this, take it." Lin Hai said with a smile, "Put it away and don't spend it randomly. You are old enough to start a family, so you should save some money."

Lun Yi did not participate in the voyage from Chongming to Japan, so he did not receive any dividends.But he was alone on a mission in Dongfan, but Lin Hai had to consider it. After all, Chen Yaozu also received 300 taels as the financial deputy, and Lun No. [-] was much higher than him in terms of credit and hard work.

After coming out of the aft cabin, Lun Diyi found Chen Yaozu and said, "Second Young Master Chen, I have something to ask of you, brother."

"Brother Lun, if you have anything to say, just tell me, I will take care of it, Lao Chen." Chen Yaozu didn't even listen to what it was about, he patted his chest and immediately responded.

"My mother and four younger brothers are all in Shalitou Village. If they are willing to come to Dongfan, please pick them up for me."

Lun Diyi said and handed Chen Yaozu a package, and then said: "Here is an old piece of my clothes for you to use as a token. In addition, there are 200 taels of silver. If they refuse to believe you or come, just Give this money to my mother for me."

Chen Yaozu took the package and saw Lun First Take out another silver ingot from his sleeve and said, "Young Master Chen, I'm sorry for you. This is my brother's kindness. Just accept it."

Chen Yaozu pushed him away and said, "What are you doing? Do you and I brothers still need this?"

"Forget it, I won't thank you for your kindness. I'll treat you to a drink when you come back." Lun first saw that Chen Yaozu was a little unhappy and quickly took his hand back.

The Bowang only stayed in the chicken coop for one day, and it will leave for Haojing tomorrow. Lun Yi and Chen Yaozu were talking on the Bowang. Lin Hai was not idle after giving Lun Yi money. He wanted to find Miguel. Let’s talk about it again.

At this time, the two were walking on the coast of Sheliao Island, and the Bowang and Ganfu were parked not far away.

"Master Hou, do you know what Bowang means?" Lin Hai asked for no reason.

Miguel shook his head blankly and listened to Lin Haidao: "Bo Wang means broad and wide looking. Simply put, it means to open your eyes. One thousand and eight hundred years ago, there was a marquis among us Tang Dynasty people, and his title was Bowang Hou. "

"One thousand, eight hundred years ago, before Jesus Christ came to the world?" Miguel didn't understand why Lin Hai talked about such ancient people.

"Yes, the Romans had just incorporated the Iberian Peninsula into their territory at that time, and your Portuguese ancestors were probably still living in the ice and snow of Northern Europe. And the Marquis I am talking about, you can understand him as a person from that era. Columbus.”

"Sent by the greatest emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty, Bowang Hou crossed deserts and plateaus and opened up land routes to India, Persia and Europe. Before Dias and Vasco da Gama, the road he opened was the way to travel between the East and the West. The most important passage, it can be said that his great achievements are no less than Columbus."

"In just a few decades after his first journey to the West, the silk produced by the Tang people had become the favorite of the Roman aristocracy. In the following more than 1000 years, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder were all spread to the West along this road... "

Miguel listened blankly, half-believing what Lin Hai said.

Lin Hai realized that he had gone too far, and suddenly stopped and said: "Miguel, I hope that when you come back from Haojing, you can bring Hexiang and Little Martin to Dongfan."

Miguel couldn't keep up with Lin Hai's out-of-the-box thinking. Hearing this, he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Why?"

Lin Haidao: "When you return to Dongfan, the company will be established. This time you will only go to Haojing. In the future, I hope to go to Annan, Siam, Dadi, Managa, as well as Bago, Bengal, Tin Lan, Goa, Hormuz, even Lisbon, London, Amsterdam, only you can sail the company's ship to the far west."

"You want to hand over the company's Western routes to me?" Miguel felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart, but then he felt a little unhappy. It turned out that Lin Hai asked him to take his wife and children to Dongfan as hostages.

"Master Marquis, although I am from the Tang Dynasty, I don't like to beat around the bush. Today I might as well speak more openly. You must know that compared with the wealth I will entrust to you in the future, my wife and children are not a solid pledge at all. Insurance, you know there are sailors everywhere who abandon their wives and children..."

"Even so, I still want you to take on this important responsibility. This is the trust I give you. I hope you can also show your sincerity. If you are not willing to show even this sincerity, then you will definitely have no chance of becoming a Seventeenth Gentleman. First, you have to know that I have also traveled on the Western Ocean Route. At worst, I will go there again myself."

Lin Hai's gaze was as if it could penetrate people's hearts. Miguel shrugged and said, "I understand, I will bring my wife and children to Dongfan."

Lin Hai nodded with satisfaction: "Remember what I told you in Dongfan. Even if you become the Governor of Goa, you still have a better future than serving me. I will repeat it to you today, and I will not say it again in the future. Where you go is entirely up to you.”

Miguel nodded solemnly, without laughing this time, and the atmosphere became a little solemn for a moment.

Lin Hai patted him on the shoulder and said, "Speaking of which, your mother and wife are both from the Tang Dynasty. It seems that most of Martin's body is from the Tang Dynasty."

Miguel smiled and said: "According to you, I can be considered half a Chinese."

"It's half a small at most. Maybe one day in the future, you will become a complete Tang Dynasty." Lin Hai said, pointing to the Gan Fu moored side by side with the Bowang and said, "Gan Fu, also called Tang Yifu, he is Bowang Hou’s translator and guide. Gan Fu doesn’t even have the slightest bit of Tang blood in his body, but in my opinion, he is a Tang person.”

Early the next morning, the Bowang cut through the waves and moved forward.Lin Hai stood on the top of Sheliao Island and watched Shibi and others go away. Bowang Bowang, this name entrusted him with too much sincerity and ambition.

He always believed that the greatest enemy of civilizational progress is isolation.On the contrary, only a civilization with a broad mind and broad vision can stay young forever.

As early as when the Chinese nation was still in its mother's womb, the microlithic culture introduced from the north laid the foundation for the dawn of the Neolithic Age.In the starry Neolithic Age, the land of China was filled with splendid cultures. These cultures interacted and collided with each other, eventually giving birth to the most enduring native civilization in the world.

After that, cattle, wheat, bronze, horse-drawn carriages, and iron tools were all introduced to China in its infancy along the grassland bronze road, prompting this originally relatively closed land to rapidly prosper and soon became several major native civilizations. The rising star among them.

By the time of Bowang Hou Zhang Qian, the Western Han Dynasty had already stood side by side with ancient Rome at the east and west ends of the World Island, becoming the two unparalleled heroes that dominated Eurasia.

Zhang Qian was lucky. He was in the vibrant youth of the Chinese nation.There were so many heroes in that era. They conquered the vast sea in the north, envoys to Qin in the west, conquered Baiyue in the south, and conquered the three Koreas in the east. So much so that future generations can drink with Han Shu. It can be called the time when the stars of China shine.

However, today, the marginalized peoples in the West have begun the Age of Discovery and are gradually standing at the center of the world stage.In comparison, Chinese civilization is like a stubborn old man who is faltering and obsessed with the dream of a heavenly kingdom.

This was true in the Ming Dynasty, and even worse in the later Manchu and Qing Dynasties.

Since coming to this era, Lin Hai has always had a strong sense of mission.As the only person in the world who knew 400 years later, he often felt that this was a great responsibility that God was about to send to this people.

At this moment, the plywood boats of the Germanic bandits are traveling in the Southern Ocean just around the corner, and the galleys of the Cossack bandits are about to approach the North Sea where Su Wu shepherds the sheep.The half-buried Ming Dynasty turned a deaf ear to this, and had neither the intention nor the ability to recreate the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

At this moment, it is still more than 100 years since the Industrial Revolution began in Britain, and more than 200 years before the Japanese Iwakura mission visited Japan.The future Qing Dynasty was indifferent to this. It didn't start learning to walk in Handan until it was beaten all over the ground. Until its death, it still held the mentality of preferring to be a friendly country rather than a domestic slave and refused to completely reform.

Lin Hai wanted to destroy the barbaric Houjin and bury the decadent Ming Dynasty. He wanted to build a new empire with a hopeful spirit, so that this ancient civilization could rise to the sea and become full of vitality again.

The October sea breeze blew on the mountain top, and Lin Hai stood in the wind wearing a light shirt.At this time last year, he was fished out of the sea by Zhu Niang, and now exactly one year has passed.

The journey ahead is still long. Lin Hai has been standing on the top of the mountain for a long time. The wind is still cold and the blood is still hot.

(End of first volume)

(End of this chapter)