Chongzhen Undergraduates

"No, my lord governor. Don't you know? One third of the new warships in the whole of Britain are purchased from the Ming Dynasty." The governor's subordinate said.

"Okay! For God's sake, let's sell them." The governor was actually frightened and couldn't sit still, because he had already heard about the power of the British's new warships.

Thirty boatloads of food is nothing, because the food in South America is mainly corn, potatoes and various bean products.The Spaniards colonized the Caribbean, just wanting to grab gold and silver, and grow some cash crops by the way: sugar cane and tobacco.They do not cultivate agriculture at all, nor do they develop animal husbandry.

In other words, the Governor thought that this was an unprofitable transaction at all, but the transaction price he offered was still very high for the sake of gold.

"Go and ask, don't they need some sugar and tobacco? How about some rum bars?" His Excellency stared at a small bag of gold in a daze. Wine, then get rich.

"I have asked them all. They said that as long as there is food, it would be even better if there is wheat and rice. You are well-informed, my lord. Those Ming people are all experts in rice cultivation. Even the rice in Manila depends on Ming. People’s planting technology. We don’t have much food, or we can sell some to them.” The governor’s men were also greedy when they saw the gold, and their heads turned quickly, hoping to find opportunities to make a fortune from it.

"Wheat and rice are our rations, so they are not easy to sell." The governor of Panama was itching in his heart, staring at the gold on the table.

This is Panama, a trade transit point.It is polite to say that there is not enough grain in storage. The main reason is that the looted corn is too much, and Europeans don't like to eat it, so they are generous to sell it.But other grains still have to be weighed.

"Master Governor, you have overlooked a question: Why did the Ming people buy so much grain?" The Governor's subordinates were very smart, and they hit the point in one sentence.

"You mean?" The governor didn't dare to think about it.

In the past 200 years, only Europeans have appeared here, and Asians have never mixed here.Such a large amount of food can obviously supply tens of thousands of people.Could it be that the Ming people also established colonial strongholds nearby?

"Sell! We sell as much as they want. As long as we know the quantity they need, we can calculate their number." The Spaniards, who have been sailing for several lifetimes, still have this bit of cleverness.

Feng Xin didn't expect the Spaniards to be so generous. He negotiated [-] boatloads of corn before, and added [-] boatloads of wheat and rice in the blink of an eye.This is a matter of giving charcoal in a timely manner, and the other party enthusiastically proposed that if Mingren's transport ships are not enough, he can help deliver the goods to the door.

How can there be such a good thing in the world, do you really think it is a takeaway from later generations?

When Feng Xin came out this time, Zhu Youjian repeatedly told him that he must not reveal the location of North America, at least not now.Spaniards want free home delivery.Feng Xin did not dare to agree!

"Thank you, Governor, for your kindness. We have our own boat." Feng Xin flatly refused.

"I have a boat?" After the governor received the reply, his doubts became even bigger.

Then in less than five days, another twenty transport cargo ships entered the port of Panama.

This is a weird business. The governor of Panama wants to take down these Ming people on the spot, but he doesn't know how powerful the Ming people are around here.Judging from the amount of food, I am afraid that there are at most 2 people. If they are attacked, the consequences will be

"Twenty ships arrived here within five days, with an average speed of ten knots, and they are only five hundred nautical miles away from here. My God!" the governor thought silently in his heart.His heart was already in his throat, and there was a tiger squatting five hundred nautical miles away, how could he still fall asleep?

What were the Spaniards most afraid of at the end of the seventeenth century?I am most afraid that others will grab the American territory with them.Because they failed in the naval battles with the British and the Dutch.The only ones that can maintain the prosperity of Spain are the colonies in Central and South America.The Spaniards know that neither the UK nor the Netherlands has the strength to shake the mature Caribbean region, but there is one country in this world that can, and that is Ming.

Feng Xin was in a hurry to leave, but the Spaniards did not "retain". However, just after the fleet left the port of Panama, the sentry on the mast of the fleet found a tail, which was far behind the fleet.Ming Dynasty's current ocean-going navigation technology is catching up with the West step by step.If you can't even find the tail, you should be out of luck.

"General, do you want to clean up your tail?" Flagship Captain Chen Ze asked.

"Wait until Coco Island and then capture alive." Feng Xin said.

In fact, Feng Xin would not dare to take such a small number of warships to South America for a walk when he came out to buy food.This is the territory of the Spaniards, and pirates are rampant.When you get here, robbing you is not negotiable.

As mentioned earlier, Zhu Youjian transferred all the main battleships of the Ming Dynasty to the Pacific Ocean except for the South China Sea Fleet. Except for keeping a fleet in Hawaii, North America concentrated nearly 80 warships, all of which were main battleships.In addition, there are nearly 500 armed transport ships sailing day and night between Daming and North America.

Feng Xin brought out 60 main warships and 60 armed transport ships this time, with the purpose of ensuring the safety of the grain sales this time.Among them, 50 warships were hidden around Coco Island, fearing that they would show up and make the Spaniards think they were coming to attack Panama City.

Coco Island is exactly 200 nautical miles away from Panama City. Even with dozens of transport ships, it will take less than two days to get there.

However, when the fleet was not far from Koko Island, trouble came.

"Pirates! There are pirates coming." As the siren sounded, all the crew got busy.

Chapter 7 Thirty: The Archetype of Jack Sparrow

In the course of human voyages, countless people lived on the ocean, and the most legendary ones were not fishermen or sailors, but pirates.

The Caribbean Sea is a paradise for colonists, and it is also a paradise for pirates.Among these famous Pirates of the Caribbean, Henry Morgan is the most legendary one.He was a notorious pirate leader who successfully sacked Panama City, defeated the Spanish fleet, and finally became the Governor of Jamaica, becoming a well-known "good man" and dying well.

At this moment, only an arrogant gangster like Henry Morgan dared to attack indiscriminately, and he didn't even know who he was attacking.Because the flag of Ming Dynasty had never appeared in the Caribbean and South America, and Feng Xin did not fly the flag of Ming Dynasty when he came out this time, but used the flag of the new Kingdom of Dasu.

With nearly forty warships, Henry Morgan frantically surrounded Feng Xin and the others.In his eyes, the ten escort warships were lightweight opponents, and the fifty transport ships were a huge "fat sheep", making his mouth water.

Of course, pirates are also very particular about their work. Henry Morgan also found the tail behind the fleet. He thought it was a sentinel sent by the fleet on purpose, so he captured it alive.Henry Morgan didn't want anyone to know what he called the robbery this time.Shoveling the weeds and rooting out the roots is the way pirates do things.

"What are you panicking about? Have you never seen a pirate?" Feng Xin looked at the flustered deck and suddenly became a little angry.

The warships of Ming Dynasty are advanced, but the navy is still a little immature, as long as these crew members lack the opportunity to actually fight.They are still at peace, it is time to come out and practice,

"Send me an order to approach Coco Island at full speed. Send out a communication clipper and notify the main fleet to respond." Feng Xin used the telescope to estimate the distance between the two sides while giving the order.

In naval battles during this period, there was still a certain distance from the discovery of enemy ships to the formal engagement of battles.The farthest distance that the telescope can see the enemy clearly is about one nautical mile.While Party B escapes, the other party catches up and starts, and it may take three hours.Of course Feng Xin could figure out that this battle was not dangerous, because they were only two hours away from Koko Island.

Henry's flagship is the "Oxford", which was purchased from the British royal family through an informal relationship. It is the latest warship invented and built by a mysterious eastern power. It is equipped with 56 advanced front-loading guns. The sea is simply an invincible existence.

At this moment, Henry was galloping on the sea to his heart's content, with a proud look on his face.Because the opponent's fleet didn't escape quickly, the transport ship should be full of cargo.As long as the dozens of transport ships are captured, the goods on board are obtained and then sold, it is intoxicating to think about it.

"Henry, Henry, guess what's on those ships?" Vice-captain Jack has already shed his hair, and his face is full of excitement.

"I bet it's china," said Gunnery Officer William, leaning forward.

"Porcelain your mother's utensils, this is the Eastern Pacific Ocean, we are going west. Where did you get the porcelain?" Henry slapped it across the face.

It may be that they have heard too many distant legends, and they always imagine that they can rob a ship of porcelain and get rich.When it comes to being a pirate and robbing what kind of crime is worthwhile, apart from the Spanish gold and silver ships, the rest are Ming porcelain ships.The goods in a china ship are enough to make them rich in London.For example, in recent years, Daming's agent in London has become the new richest man in London.

"Tobacco, I guess, though I'd rather be sugar," Jack said.

"Tobacco doesn't have so much, sugar is heavier and runs slower than that. Better not be grain," Henry said.

"Cut!" A ship of pirates suddenly shouted.Because robbing food is the most boring, and it cannot be sold at a price, and it is not easy to sell so much food.

"Then grab their cannons, and we can add ten more warships." William said this time with clenched fists.

"Aoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" the pirates were very excited, feeling like they had been beaten.

"Slow!" Henry picked up the binoculars and looked into the distance carefully.

An hour and a half had passed by now, and the distance between the two sides had gotten a lot closer, and the shape of the other party's ship could already be seen clearly through the binoculars.

"Aww..." William thought that Henry had found something good, and was still making noise.

"Oh your mother's size, Xie Te!" Henry slapped again, causing William to stagger.

"Their ship seems to be similar to our ship, but smaller." Henry finally found out that something was wrong. The opponent's warship seemed to be a new type of warship, very similar to his flagship, as if it was born by his parents.

"Maybe the Ming warship was bought by the Spaniards. You know, Manila is very close to the Ming country." Jack comforted.

"I hope so!" Henry had a bad feeling, because the opponent's fleet was too calm, unlike the general panic after encountering pirates.

And at this moment, an island appeared in the telescope to the west, and Henry felt a little bit in his heart, wondering if a fleet would suddenly come out from behind the small island.

"Slow down, slow down!" Although Henry was young, he was very shrewd.