Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The restructuring of the domestic navy did not affect the exploration of the African route by the former East Tianzhu Navy (of course, more because the sentry ships sent out to investigate did not know the domestic trends), no, after going back and forth Under the guidance of the navigator of the Naval Academy, a group of Chinese ships appeared off the coast of Africa.

When the Chinese Mission went to Europe, it started from Pondicherry, India, went south across the reefs of the Maldives, and then across the entire ocean to the Mascarene Islands on the east side of Madagascar. After supplying and resting, they sailed directly to Cape Storm and entered the Atlantic Ocean; on the return journey, because of the Portuguese ship leading the way, the group sailed directly to the Portuguese colonial trading port on the coast of Mozambique after crossing Cape Storm to rest, and then sailed directly to India.

Compared with the two French-Portuguese routes passing on both sides of Madagascar, China actually had more choices-the Omani kingdom in this period had governors and garrisons in Mombasa and Zanzibar, such as Tanga New East African ports and towns such as Bagamoyo, Pangani, etc. are also controlled by the Swahili-Arab Merchants Union - compared to those notorious European colonial merchants, the reputation of the new Chinese maritime merchants is better There are too many, so the pathfinder ships of the Huaxia Navy can sail around the entire Indian Ocean border without worrying about not being able to find a supply port.It’s just that such a voyage is not economical and time-consuming, but in order to find the most convenient passage to the Cape of Storms and an African foothold, Xia Jun still has to take the risk of crossing the middle line of the ocean, and also can only slowly along the African coastline. slow search.

"This port is not marked on the map." Looking at a harbor under construction in the distance, Tang Yuntao, the temporary capital commander of the exploration fleet, looked a little ugly. "Come closer and find out which country it belongs to." It's no wonder Tang Yuntao felt upset. The road was either in the territory of the Swahili-Arabs or the colony of the Portuguese. Southern Africa is now also showing its early arrivals, no wonder he suffers as much as constipation. "Damn it, is it really possible to find a way to build a port and open a town on Moon Island (Madagascar)?"

Madagascar is a super big island, but the kingdom of Imrina on the island has unified more than half of the island and is in the midst of a thriving country. It is not a big fish that can be easily conquered. The Arab League, the Portuguese in the east, and the French in the Mascarene Islands in the west all have close trade relations. If the Chinese Empire, as a latecomer, insists on "inserting" a foot in it, it is not impossible at all, but the difficulty and cost are also Very big.

"My lord, a ship has left the port and intercepted it." The lookout post on Tang Yuntao's second-class cruise ship [Changfeng] reported loudly. "The flag is, it's Hongyi, that's right, it's Hongyi's 28-gun cruise ship."

"Hongyi?" Zhu Zhongwu, the ship commander of the [Changfeng] raised his binoculars to observe, and turned his head to suggest. "My lord, Hongyi only has a 28-gun cruiser. We have an absolute advantage. Why don't we fight? If we kill Hongyi's cruiser and destroy this port city, Hongyi's mind will be broken."

"Nonsense!" Tang Yuntao scolded. "Hitting can solve the problem, the official has already ordered it." Tang Yuntao pointed to the map in his hand and said. "The Cape Town port of Hongyi is right next to the Cape of Storms. Can you guarantee that Hongyi's backup fleet will not show up just in time when we attack?" The African detachment has a second-class cruise ship and two first-class letter ships. The newspaper ship and a medium-sized army ship have an absolute advantage over the Dutch in front of them, but the Dutch who have lost the East Indies have already taken South Africa as the main land of development, so how can they easily leave this country that is in the middle of the sea? Port of construction. "Besides, even if you sink Hongyi's boat and destroy Hongyi's new port, can you guarantee that there will be no one left to catch Hongyi? No, that's not telling Hongyi clearly, and come to Benchao as much as possible in the future This is not Nanyang after all, if Hongyi comes to make trouble for the construction of the port city in Xihe Niuzhou, what do you think the court will do to save it?"

Zhu Zhongwu, who had been reprimanded by Tang Yuntao, retorted disapprovingly: "My lord, even if we conspire against the enemy today, there is no guarantee that the western barbarians will not come to make trouble when the imperial court builds a port in the future. It is better to strike first."

Tang Yuntao laughed out of breath, and was about to say something when the lookout post reported again: "My lord, Hong Yi sent a small boat to approach."

Tang Yuntao glared at Zhu Zhongwu, and ordered: "Master Zhu, I don't want to argue with you. Go and receive Hong Yi and tell them that the fleet is just passing by."

Tang Yuntao left, and Zhu Zhongwu rolled his eyes at the back of the interim chief: "Bah, why did the higher-ups choose this coward as the commander, and even went to Taixi Europa, and lost face for nothing."

"Master Commander, Mr. Tang may have good intentions." Sima of the [Changfeng] Army who heard the conflict between the two whispered softly to his immediate commander. "My lord, don't forget about the trespassing case. After all, we don't have a sword. Once a conflict arises, it is inevitable that someone will be charged with my lord's provocation."

"The general will not accept the order of the foreign emperor, so how can we play it thousands of miles away, so it won't delay the matter." After finishing speaking, the angry Zhu Zhongwu took care. "Brother Rongxi, but you talk softly to Hongyi, I'm upset and disappeared."

Seeing the commander leaving with his hands away, Jun Sima could only wait on the side of the ship with a wry smile.Fortunately, the Dutch also realized that the Xia Army was stronger than themselves, so they didn't give up because of the previous war between the two countries. In the afternoon, I turned around and returned.

"My lord, look quickly. There seems to be an estuary and a small harbor ahead." After leaving the Dutchman, the Huaxia Expeditionary Group began to get lucky. "Should we go over and have a look?"

Tang Yuntao nodded, and several small boats sailed slowly towards the mouth of the river. They measured the water depth, observed the flow velocity, and spent a whole day trying to go up the river. Finally, they marked a suitable building on Tang Yuntao's map. Port area.

"It's just that this place is too close to Hongyi's Xingang, I'm afraid there will be conflicts in the future." Zhu Zhongwu felt harsh at these words again, but Tang Yuntao continued to speak unconsciously. "Continue to explore the north. The investigation is our business, and the selection is the Shangguan's business. I think the higher-ups are more considerate than us."

Tang Yuntao chose to hand over the conflict. Although Zhu Zhongwu was dissatisfied, he had something to say, so the fleet continued to go north, and found another bay almost two days later.However, before Tang Yuntao ordered the investigation, the lookout post urgently reported that a group of Dutch ships were found in the distance and were speeding towards us.

Zhu Zhongwu jumped up as soon as he heard it, and cursed: "Damn it, I said that the red barbarians should not be taken lightly. Now it's all right, raising a tiger is a problem. I'll wait for the casualties to be small, and I missed the court. How can I explain it when I go back?" .”

Tang Yuntao looked coldly at someone who looked like Qiuba, and ordered decisively: "Come here, put a banner, let [Dousu No. 57] and [Yunzi No. 77] retreat respectively, and then order [Guisu No. [-]] No.] Come over immediately."

The commander of the [Changfeng] was also a little surprised, and couldn't help asking: "My lord, what is this?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to run away." Speaking of this, Tang Yuntao returned to the cabin and took out a book of notes. "Commander Zhu, take your logbook and check it. If there is no problem, let [Guisu No. [-]] take this booklet away. By the way, let the flag officer notify the ships. If they get separated, we will go to the Meet at Fort Mozambique, if any ship does not arrive within half a month, the rest of the people don’t have to wait, and go directly to Lingyamen to report everything.”

Zhu Zhongwu's face softened slightly, and he returned to the cabin to fetch the logbook and quickly checked the data in Tang Yuntao's book.Just after the proofreading was wrong, the first-class letter ship [Guisu No. 57] slowly approached [Changfeng].At this time, some sailors wrapped Tang Yuntao's notes together with heavy objects, tied them to the cables and threw them to the opposite board.After untying the cable and putting away this important booklet, [Guisu No. 77] sailed away quickly, and at this time, [Dousu No. [-]] and [Yunzi No. [-]], which had been undocked earlier, had already sailed away. , only the increasingly clear Dutch ship was still approaching. [

"Commander Zhu, are you afraid?" Tang Yuntao looked at him with a smile. "Don't be afraid, just turn around and go forward."

"Master Tang, you are underestimating my old Zhu." Zhu Zhongwu glanced back without showing any weakness, and then suggested. "However, Mr. Tang, fighting a war not only depends on blood bravery, but also brains. Why should we turn back and send it up to be beaten by others? Why not lead it to the southeast, I want to see if Hongyi will fall into the trap .”

"Master Zhu is resourceful." Tang Yuntao applauded and laughed. "Forget it, Commander Zhu's ship, Commander Zhu is in charge, so I won't do it for you. Come here, bring me a chain mail. I'm qualified to be a hand-to-hand soldier."

"Your Excellency, those Chinese have scattered and fled." On the leading Dutch flagship, the captain asked the businessman on board for instructions. "Are we also following the dispersal pursuit?"

The businessman asked with an expression on his face: "What is the speed of the Chinese ship? Can we catch up?"

"The speed of the two Chinese communication ships traveling northward can reach up to seven knots in this wind direction. If they are traveling at full speed, we will definitely not be able to catch up. The forty-gun battleship moving southeast is traveling at four knots. The wind also surpassed our ship's speed, only the Chinese armed merchant ship seems to be under four knots due to heavy load, and we still have a chance to catch up." The captain observed for a while and gave the answer. "If we can catch up with the Chinese armed merchant ships, we may be able to force the communication ships and forty-gun warships to turn around and fight us."

〖∷Update fast∷∷Plain text∷〗