Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Outside Meilan Port on Nandu River, two sandships, one Guangzhou Ship and one Fuchuan are loading cargo.Panting, the laborers loaded bags of newly harvested rice onto the deck of the ship, and then piled them into the second-floor cabin under the guidance of the waterman.When the rice was almost shipped, the clear water packed in wooden barrels was brought up again. After the clear water, there were ten days’ worth of dry food and cured meat, and finally dozens of pieces of wood cut into sections were bundled on both sides of the ship. .When all the goods and supplies were loaded onto the ship, a group of local people in ragged clothes and their families followed the ship nervously under the threat of swords and guns.

"Three members of the Li family." The waterman who led the people onto the boat took them to the inner cabin. Since the boat was very small and was occupied by a large amount of supplies, there was no separate space for everyone. Households live separately. "Look at it." The waterman took out something from a corner, and hung it on the pillar and the inner edge of the hull. "This is a hanging bed. I've been sleeping on it for the past few days." The crowd of people hugging their small belongings stared at them dumbfounded. Hang another one below. "One for each person, yours is here, remember to put it away when you wake up, don't block others from walking." After finishing speaking, the waterman pointed to another household. "Father and son of the Huang family, come here"

After everyone is settled down, the waterman curled his lips: "The big guys all came to Dongning Yitun, the ugly words first, there are more than a dozen people here, men and women, old and young, don't have nothing to do. If you dare to be uneasy, throw it into the sea, the Dragon King is unreasonable."

Originally, these people were very disturbed when they were threatened and lured by Zheng Jun to immigrate. Now that they were frightened by the evil waterman, many of them began to cry. When people were panicking, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy drilled He came in, holding a large basin in his hand, which seemed to be steaming hot porridge.

"Fifth brother is scaring people again." Seeing the boy, the so-called fifth brother who had been tense just now suddenly changed his face, and with a flattering smile, he wanted to snatch the big pot from the boy. "Fifth brother, I don't need it here, you go and get a few sets of bowls and chopsticks to share with them." The big man ran out immediately, and when the fifth brother left, the boy explained to several families. "A boat on the sea is not as good as the road. It's very bumpy, so I can only eat some thin ones these days. Remember to eat more pickles. When you go overseas, there will be strong wind and waves, which will make you vomit. Don't eat something with a strong taste. It will be too much." A dozen people listened in a daze. "Also, Fifth Brother has a disgusting and kind face. You are just passers-by and don't know the rules. You have to hit the killing stick a few times first."

"Fight again!" A voice rang out abruptly, but the family around him covered their mouths the next moment.

"That's what I said, but I didn't intend to fight." The young man explained embarrassingly, just in time, Fifth Brother brought all the bowls and chopsticks. "Stop talking, come here and scoop up a bowl by yourself." Hearing that it's ready to eat, more than a dozen people scrambled to squeeze in, and the scene seemed to be chaotic for a while. At this time, Fifth Brother pulled out a dagger from his belt. , Everyone shrank back in fright. "Come one by one, two bowls for each person is enough." The young man spoke up and divided the pickles for several people at the same time with the knife beside him. "When you're done eating, remember to find someone to bring up the bowls, chopsticks and basins."

The boy left after sharing the pickles, leaving only the fifth brother leaning on a corner and staring at the immigrants.The immigrants squatted on the ground and devoured the thick porridge and pickled vegetables. Speaking of which, most of them were landless tenants and servants. Throughout the year, the thick porridge that could not be poured with chopsticks and the salty pickled vegetables required to be poured with several liters of water. I really can't eat the dishes a few times, so now I have the opportunity to munch on a big meal, and I can't enjoy eating one by one.

Seeing that everyone had scooped up the second bowl, Fifth Brother straightened up: "Remember everything, first, no fire is allowed in the cabin; Three, if you want to pull, sprinkle, or vomit, there is a toilet over there. If anyone pulls on the ground and vomits on the wall, I will let him eat it back; finally, don’t tell him not to go to the deck. By the way, if someone with a headache speaks out earlier, If you can save time, a boatload of people will be unlucky with you."

At noon, when the sun was at its highest, the ship finally left the port wobbly and headed west.This small flotilla consisting of four sand ships with a maximum size of no more than 250 materials and a Guangzhou ship with a minimum size of 700 materials has to travel more than 1250 water miles (about [-] kilometers) to reach Siming Prefecture.

If calculated according to the speed of the slowest sand ship in the fleet sailing against the wind at a speed of six water miles per hour, it would take nearly ten days to complete the entire voyage.But this is the fastest speed calculated based on the fact that the journey went smoothly without encountering wind waves or interception by Qing army ships, and the crew and passengers on board were infected and died of disease.However, once you encounter any of the above situations, this long trip can end early anytime and anywhere.

But even if they arrived safely in Siming Prefecture, the hard work of these immigrants is not over yet. It will take at least three more days for them to actually set foot on the land of Taiwan. When they get the wasteland allocated to them, the time will last for more than ten days

The early winter sun shone lazily on the Dongshenghai, and the weak south wind slightly agitated the hard sails, thereby pushing the whole ship.Looking at the staggered two-row fleet in sight, Chu Tian leaned on the side of the tail cabin and whistled softly. Obviously, the voyage this time was very smooth. Other than the discomfort, there is no other unfavorable situation. If you can keep going, you can enter the control area of ​​the No. 20 eight towns of Mingzheng Navy on Nan'ao Island for another day, and then you can sail close to the mainland to avoid the wind and waves in the sea.

"Brother Chu." A low voice rang out, and Chu Tian looked up, only to see Huang Ping, who was already 14 years old but as thin as a ten-year-old boy, got out of the cargo hold. After all, it had been six days. , Fifth Brother's supervision of them is not too strict anymore, the older ones may not be able to walk around freely, but for children, this is no longer a problem.

"Brother Chu, what are you looking at?" Although Qiongzhou's dialect is a little difficult to understand, the simplest communication is still understandable. "On this sea, nothing but sky is water. Brother Chu never tires of seeing it." Maybe it was because he saw that Chutian was about the same age as himself, or maybe he saw Chutian's prestige in front of the fierce fifth brother, so the immigrants in this group The boys like to stick to Chu Tian's side. "Can you tell me more about Monkey Sun?"

"Will we talk about it when the food is delivered?" Chu Tian laughed. He also heard the story from his companions. These days, when delivering the food, he often told a few boys. It's almost finished, so naturally I can procrastinate and procrastinate. "Brother Chu still has work to do?"

"Brother Chu lied to someone?" Huang Ping pouted. "I've been secretly watching Big Brother Chu blowing the whistle in the bilge for a long time. I don't have any work to do." Huang Ping was sweating profusely. He didn't know that someone would spy on him. Just as he was about to explain, Huang Ping continued. Said. "Besides, I see that everyone on the boat is very polite to Brother Chu. Could it be that Brother Chu is a young bow, and he doesn't look like that. Although I didn't see the bow, I heard from Fifth Brother that the bow should also smile when seeing Brother Chu. , Could it be that Big Brother Chu is the young owner of a big family, so it should be, no wonder there are so many stories, no wonder he looks down on me and doesn't want to tell me stories alone."

"You're talking nonsense!" Chu Tian was teased by Huang Ping, and reached out to pat his head. "I also come from a bitter background. There are four brothers in my family, and there is not much land. It happened that the general was recruiting people, so I have a family background. As for the bow and the fifth brother, they are polite to me, and it is only for the sake of the general. "Chu Tian explained half truth and half falsely. "As for Brother Chu, he did have something to do just now, so I didn't lie to you."

Speaking of this, Chu Tianzi slid up to the mainmast, his legs tightened the mast, and he took out a stack of objects from his arms, and unfolded it to see a few colorful small flags. He waved his hands, and after a while Corresponding scenes also appeared on the remaining ships.

"Did you see it?" Chu Tian, ​​who slid down from the mainmast, carefully folded the small flag and stuffed it into his bosom, while explaining to Huang Ping. "Every quarter of an hour, Brother Chu, I have to contact the other three ships. This is called a semaphore, and it is explained by the general. It is a must-do homework when you go out on a long-distance voyage."

"The semaphore?" Huang Ping was a little puzzled, but he quickly forgot about it, and became interested in the commander-in-chief that Chutian often mentioned. "Brother Chu, who is the commander-in-chief? Why do I hear my father say that the commander-in-chief seems to be someone who serves as a soldier and eats food? Is brother Chu also a soldier?"

"Brother Chu is of course a soldier!" Chu Tian puffed his chest and folded his belly, pretending to be a hero. "Brother Chu is the first assault officer of the fourth squadron of the Boys Battalion Sailor Team. He is used by a small flag. He is very serious and receives a salary of the ninth rank." Perhaps because he was afraid that Chutian would not understand how big the ninth rank is, Chu Tian deliberately explained. "It's on the same level as the master of the county."

But I never thought that just after Chu Tian finished speaking, Huang Ping rushed back to the cargo hold in fright. Seeing Huang Ping's actions, Chu Tian was stunned for a long time, and then he realized that Huang Ping was so scared that even the general manager was afraid. Don't dare to ask again.Chu Tian shook his head resentfully, and was about to turn to the stern of the boat to see the bait he had cast for the shark, when Huang Ping poked his head out again.

"Brother Chu, my father said you lied, my father said, how old are you, how can you be an official?"

"Am I lying?" Chu Tian became depressed. "Why am I lying to you? Not only am I an official, but the bow of the ship is an official, and even the fifth brother has the title of the eighth rank. It can be said that except for you, there are only two white bodies on the boat, and everyone else is an official."

Huang Ping fled back again in fright, but what Chutian said fell into the ears of the 40-year-old veteran who led the bow of the ship as the squad leader. A disciple of the grandson of Jian Guo, so originally I shouldn't talk too much, but it's about the lives of people on the boat, so I have to remind you, remember to be careful next time, no matter who is on board, don't tell others that we are identity of."

"Isn't this trying to cover up?" Chu Tian was a little puzzled. "We will carry people and goods from Qiongzhou to Siming and Dongning. Some people can't hide this."

"It can't be concealed from others, and it is indeed a violation of the Tartar's seal. Anyone who encounters a Tartar warship may be arrested and impounded, but!" The old soldier emphasized his tone. "As long as you don't reveal your identity, there is still a possibility of bribing the Qing army." The captain's words are based on experience. As long as you don't reveal your identity clearly, even if the other party does know that you are Ming Zheng's person, at least there is still room for slowing down. However, if they are accidentally exposed by refugees like Huang and his son, then there is really no choice but to fight to the end. "Brother Tian, ​​please remember, it's not a big deal for you and me to be caught and killed. The things on the boat are what Dongning and Siming have been looking forward to. Don't let the small lose the big for the sake of face!"

"I, I've been taught." Just because of the long and boring voyage, Chu Tian was agitated. Only then did he understand part of the meaning of Zheng Kezang's expansion of the safe route from Dongning to Siming to Qiongzhou voyage