golden scales

Yin Rusong already knew that the expedition team had a relatively large configuration, because there were people from almost every industry.Several acquaintances from the Department of Geography of Jingshi University also participated, most of them were lecturers and associate professors who were well-known in map drawing and geological soil and rock.It wasn't until he actually moved into the Tianjin base as an inspection team member and started pre-trip training that he realized how large a team it was.

A full 300 people!

Yin Rusong had never seen so many people at school, even in major classes.

Not only is there a large number of people, but the training content is also very strange.If we talk about emergency in the wild, looking for wild vegetables is still necessary to survive in the land outside the Huaxia, but it is a bit strange that everyone has to learn how to fill and release firecrackers and learn to array.Could it be that we still have to fight the savages in the land beyond the transformation?

Among the 300 people, there are [-] elite soldiers drawn from various armies, and there are [-] navies after boarding the ship. This kind of combat power should not have Wenti, why do we need these weak and weak soldiers?

Although Yin Rusong was dissatisfied, the emperor's order could not be violated, especially the leading colonel officer who seemed to be not a good person.

"What I want is fifty engineers, engineers, not auxiliary soldiers!" Xiao Tugeng stubbornly confronted the captain of the auxiliary army who led the team, and refused to accept his report.As a professional arm, engineers have not yet been fully popularized in all armies, so that many staff officers in the General Staff Headquarters do not have a clear understanding of this, thinking that engineers are just auxiliary soldiers with better skills.

Xiao Tugeng, who was born in the Firearms Battalion, is well aware of the gap in ability between the two.Auxiliary soldiers are, to put it bluntly, unqualified soldiers, but engineers are skilled craftsmen.In Huawai, there are hundreds of weaklings, and only fifty elite soldiers and two hundred naval sailors are required to build the camp. Maybe they don’t know where to carry the wood, and professional craftsmen must guide and arrange it.

Although there were also craftsmen in the camp, most of them were carpenters, masons and other craftsmen who did detailed work.To coordinate the establishment of a camp, or even a city or a port in Keneng, they are beyond their power.Taking this into consideration, the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion approved Colonel Xiao Tugeng's request, but the time for dispatching the fleet would be delayed again.

It was only then that Yin Rusong realized that he had boarded a large ship whose schedule was unknown.Fortunately, my parents have two younger brothers to take care of.And my university salary will continue to be deposited in the bank account.The wife is a virtuous housekeeper, and she will definitely be able to take good care of the whole family.

"Can we bring letters to China when we go out this time?" Yin Rusong asked many people's thoughts.

Xiao Tugeng was a little surprised, and said: "This time is just an investigation, not a battle, why can't you bring the letter? At most, the journey is long and it will take a long time."

Everyone was relieved after hearing the words, but looking at the preparations, they felt that this was more complicated than fighting.

In September of the 23rd year of Chongzhen.When the north wind blows, a fleet of three Dafu boats, carrying all kinds of tools, farm implements, ordnance, and various people from vegetable farmers to associate professors, set sail for the sea, gradually leaving Tianjin Port behind.

For this extraordinary voyage, Zhou Yingqi Zhou Ge went to Tianjin in person to see off the expedition team on behalf of the emperor, and immediately sublimated this seemingly ordinary expedition to the height of national history.

The sea ship rides the wind southward on the sea.Land is only seen when passing through Denglai, and the rest of the time is the nearest voyage.This is exactly the contribution Song Yingxing invented the sextant to the history of human navigation.

In early October of the 23rd year of Chongzhen.The fleet arrived in Keelung County at the northern tip of Taiwan. After a little rest, many people chose to go to Tainan by land. The way can relieve their longing for the land. For some teachers and students of the natural history department, they can also do a Taiwan inspection. The samples collected It is also convenient to send back to Beijing.

Yin Rusong's original purpose was to investigate barbarian humanities.To explore the interaction between the geographical environment and the human environment, it is natural that keneng should not continue to take the boat in order to reach Tainan a few days earlier.

The fleet sent by the Fujian Navy is composed of more than a hundred ships, large and small, which makes people think that the situation in Nanyang is not peaceful.In fact, it is the Fujian Navy training the trainee sailors, just doing training by the way.

What is really not smooth is the land route.

After He Bin was appointed as the prefect of Taiwan, he immigrated from the mainland on the one hand.Reclamation of fertile land in Taiwan, planting sugar cane, rice, corn and other crops.On the one hand, a large number of local aborigines were recruited as labor force to undertake heavy physical labor such as transportation and road construction.These aborigines were all losers in tribal wars. If they did not accept He Bin's enslavement, they would have to face headhunters from other aborigines. Life was miserable.

In a country, if the Han people make up the majority, or if the barbarians make up the majority, there will be no civil strife.The most fearful thing is that Huayi will be equal, and they will not buy each other.Moreover, the productivity of the Han people is much higher than that of the natives of Taiwan, which directly led to the competition for means of production and land.There are also some aboriginal villages who do not respect the rules and start headhunting the Han people, resulting in enmity.

Even the Dadu Kingdom, which previously believed in the same ancestors of Fujian and Taiwan, has changed from a warm welcome to the arrival of the Han people to an indifferent and neutral attitude.

Today, only Taoist priests in Taoist robes and crowns can travel freely in the aboriginal villages.These Taoist priests gave medicines and medicines in the aboriginal villages, and they were so respected that many villages now have unknowingly changed the Taoist way of worshiping their ancestors.

The Three Qings and Four Emperors, Mazu, the sea god, and various statues have also entered the sacrificial places of the aborigines, and not only the Han people believe in them.

After getting acquainted with a few Taoists, Yin Rusong finally managed to enter the aboriginal village and observe the life of these barbarians from a distance.Through the narrations of Taoist priests and local aborigines, Yin Rusong also realized that he was observing the birth and growth of a civilization. Although he couldn't explain the significance of this, he still recorded every bit of it and compiled it into a document.

The expedition team did not plan to stay in Taiwan for too long, but scholars and students from the Department of Natural History and Department of Geography discovered many evidences of flora and fauna that integrate Fujian and Taiwan.Yin Rusong was also happy to be with the natives, and was not in a hurry to hurry.

Surprisingly, Colonel Xiao Tugeng, who has always regarded the task as his life, did not urge him. He also advanced at a snail's pace, practicing regularly every day, and at the same time teaching the indigenous people how to play jujube ball. Because the base of 50 people is too small, it is necessary to select qualified It is not easy for the team members.

At first everyone thought it was time to wait for the wind, but the north wind blowing now is suitable for going south. Once the wind direction changes, they will not be able to go.The expedition team dawdled all the way to Tainan County, the prefecture of Taiwan, and rested for a few days before realizing that the fleet was waiting for giant trees.

There are many primeval forests in the mountains of Taiwan Island, and there are many thousand-year-old trees surrounded by several people. It is a newly developed timber production area in the Ming Dynasty.Moreover, some ship material tree species can only be found in Taiwan, which also alleviates the need for ship materials in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.

If you want to build a camp on a large overseas island and a base that can last for a year, wood is naturally indispensable.And because it is a land of aliens, no one has ever been there, who knows if there is suitable wood?For the sake of safety, it is natural to cut down trees from Taiwan, make rafts, and then bring them over.

When the timber for the preparations was ready, Zheng Sen, the admiral of the ocean-going expedition, also arrived in Tainan.

Zheng Sen was awarded the rank of captain after graduating from the Naval University, and was assigned back to the Fujian Navy. This time, it was Zhu Cihong who personally called him to command the naval ships and sailors and inspect them together. The major's identity is the second officer of Xiao Tugeng, the chief security officer of the admiral's inspection affairs.

Zheng Sen's mother is the adopted daughter of Weng Yihuang, a Chinese studying in Japan, originally from the Tagawa family in Japan.Zheng Zhilong married the Tian Chuan family based on the popularity at the time, and stepped into the high-end Chinese circle in Hirado, and thus had this eldest son who was more famous, better-known, and more capable than him.

However, Zheng Sen's life trajectory has changed because of the crown prince's unnatural behavior. Zheng Sen, who has not experienced the pain of losing his mother, has not awakened to the righteousness of the nation, nor has he worshiped Qian Qianyi as his teacher. children.

The education at the Naval University and the training of the Navy only made Zheng Sen masculine, but still did not change his nature.Therefore, there was friction with Xiao Tugeng, who was a miner, and it was also expected by everyone.

After Zheng Sen joined the fleet, the expedition team had five large lucky boats, ten small lucky boats, and dozens of small boats.Such a huge fleet, even if it encounters a Spanish or Dutch fleet, the other party would not dare to provoke it easily.In order to cope with the unpredictable wind direction and hydrology on Weilai sea, two ships in the fleet are dedicated to raising pigs and growing vegetables.

For Western sailors who couldn't even drink clean water at the same time, it was a paradise of luxury.

This is an obligation that must be provided by the Ming Dynasty officials. It was the standard when Zheng He's fleet sailed to the West.

For the scurvy that Western sailors regard as a tiger, the sailors of Daming needn't worry about it, because tea is among the cargoes prepared on board this time.This is already the signature of Daming, and Ming people believe that it is a good thing, whether it is eaten by their own people or traded with the local aborigines, it can come in handy.

Due to his status and time, Zhu Cihong did not want to directly participate in this voyage to Australia.But what he can do is to try to provide the necessary convenience for the entire expedition team.Not only did Zhu Cihong spend money on supplies and staffing, but in order to allow the fleet to obtain supplies at the nearest Java Island, he even gave certain benefits to the Dutch, allowing them to use the supplies to offset the interest on the unpaid war reparations.

In this way, the fleet can first resupply at the Portuguese trading station in Borneo (Kalimantan Island), then sail to East Timor, borrow the Dutch trading station to resupply, renew the clean water, and finally head south to the northern tip of Australia.It is said to be an investigation and exploration of a foreign land, but in fact, the sea distance from East Timor to Australia is only more than a thousand miles. (to be continued...)

ps: Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket~~!