Bright Spring

The two continued to chat for a while and ate some dessert.When Dr. Tea came to refill the tea, Liu Ming proposed to go upstairs to the private room.

It was Liu Ming's idea to suggest going to the city to drink tea earlier, and he was the host according to the rules.It is agreed that there will be a young lady singing to accompany him, so it cannot be omitted, so as to avoid General Tang feeling that he is stingy.

When they arrived in the private room, Liu Ming asked Xiao Er to find two young ladies, one to sing and the other to play, and specifically mentioned that they wanted beautiful ones.After speaking, Liu Ming put a small stack of new copper coins into the small second hand.Accompanied by a martial artist like Tang Jing, and in such a small tea house, Liu Ming knew in his heart that it didn't matter whether the girl he found could sing well or not, the key was to have beauty.

This private room is also thoughtful, and there is a small room inside.After listening to the ditty, it seems that I can do something else.It's just that there is no wine, it seems that the atmosphere is missing...

A few days later, the Pearl River Estuary camp sent people to the Guangzhou mansion, and summoned naval commanders and generals, as well as some civilian officials and eunuchs accompanying the army, to go to the camp immediately to discuss matters.So Liu Ming and Tang Jing both left Guangzhou and rode south on the post road, and the horses went to the post station official shop to get ready-made.

As expected, Shangfeng said it was a discussion, but he was just announcing a decision to everyone.The great eunuch Wang Jinghong has the king's order in his hand, and Chen Xuan has the general seal and military power, and according to the recent emperor's Zhubi approval and authorization, they can directly decide whether the navy will stay or stay.

The Chinese army ordered that the naval fleet should set sail again within August and continue southward to complete the unfinished strategy.

……

……

(I'm sorry everyone, there was a delay a few days ago, and the update was interrupted for three consecutive days. I'm really sorry.)

Chapter 881 A friend came from afar

The craftsmen who accompanied the army and the craftsmen mobilized by the chief envoy of Guangdong rushed to repair the warship day and night.Ships moored in the Pearl River were not seriously damaged, mostly due to damage to masts, decks, and ship buildings; and those ships with damaged hulls and frames were no longer able to continue their expeditions.

After the ships were roughly repaired, the various naval teams left the Pearl River Estuary one after another and set off in formation again on the sea.

The original deployment of the navy was to stop at Songtaiwei and Da Nang in Annan for resupply after leaving the border of Ming Dynasty.Now that they have been delayed in Guangzhou for a long time, the Chinese army decided to only stop in Da Nang for a short time to replenish fresh water and other supplies, and then immediately headed straight for Saigon Port in Chenla.

Like a huge fleet covering the sea, it sailed along the sea route not far from the land; until it reached the border of Annan, fortunately, there was no big storm again.However, in this season, the rain in the south is still frequent, and heavy rain often occurs, and small wind and waves rarely stop.Ordinary storms can't stop the navy's ships.

The fleet finally sailed to Da Nang, south of Annan Country, and the journey went smoothly.

At this time, Liu Ming and Tang Jing received the military order.The Chinese army ordered: In order to save time, the soldiers on each ship are not allowed to go ashore, and the warships stay in the harbor for a short time;However, in order to appease the soldiers, the Chinese army also ordered that the generals send people to carry wine from the port to the ship, and allow the soldiers to drink.

Liu Ming took a small boat to the pier, and he found that the earthen walls of the walled city at the port were very low; among the dilapidated streets and alleys inside, there were not many Ming officials and soldiers.Liu Ming was immediately confused, because in the dossier of the Central Court, Da Nang had already set up the "envoy city" of the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Ming parted ways with Commander Tang Jing for the time being, and went to meet Wang Jinghong and Chen Xuan.The local civil and military officers who quickly greeted the naval officials came from another pier.

After everyone had some simple etiquette, the confusion in Liu Ming's heart was solved by the narration of the civil and military officials stationed there.

It turns out that the "Envoy City" is not on the pier, but between the port pier and Hoi An City, the officers and soldiers rebuilt a polygonal bastion.Because Liu Ming was not in the Ministry of War, he did not carefully understand the situation in Da Nang in advance.

Among the group from the local area, a civil official said: "Hoi An City is still a long way from the port; because the imperial court values ​​Da Nang Port most, the official army has not entered Hoi An City. But on the pier, there are already many locals If the officials and soldiers build a fort here, it may cause unnecessary turmoil; so our fort was built on the south side of the pier; after a while, you can see it immediately when you climb the earthen wall."

Liu Ming replied: "I understand."

The civil official turned his head according to the sound, looked at Liu Ming, then cupped his hands again and said: "Da Ming has stationed nearly [-] officers and troops in Annan Kingdom, and has made good friends with the Chen family of Annan Kingdom. The situation of Zhancheng Kingdom and Annan Kingdom is completely different. However, the strength of the official army here is too small to control the big city, so it is even more impossible to set up the city in Hoi An."

At this time, Chen Xuan, the general in the middle, said, "A large ship with soft sails is moored on the nearby Hanjiang River. We have sent people to investigate, but we haven't reported back yet. You know who it is ?”

The civil official who spoke just now replied immediately: "Responding to General Chen's words, I have already asked the officer. It is a ship from India, and it is a businessman."

At this point, some people turned their heads and looked eastward.Liu Ming also followed the direction, and saw a group of officers and soldiers, with a few foreigners, coming here from a distance.

The eunuch Wang Jinghong's voice said: "What's the matter with Ma Tong?"

Ma Huan, who was with the army, said from behind the crowd: "The officer is here."

Wang Jinghong said with a smile: "Ma Tong understands Persian and other languages, we can talk to foreigners."

But the local civil servant said: "I don't know if these people can speak Persian or Arabic."

Wang Jinghong asked in surprise: "Aren't the monarchs and ministers of the Indian Khanate from Persia?"

The civil official said: "The officials and others have inquired a few days ago. They are not from the khanate in northern India, but belong to the lord power established by a big businessman in the south."

He thought for a while, and then explained: "The power of the Indian Khanate has always been in the north, mainly controlling the area around 'Delhi'; in the south are the lords and governors who believe in Hinduism. Pay taxes and food to the Khanate.

Until a few years ago, Timur led the army and invaded the Indian Khanate; causing them to fall apart, and now the situation is even more chaotic.The subordinate officials didn't figure out for a while what was going on in India now, but they heard that the southern Indian lords no longer paid taxes to the Khanate.So now these southerners are no longer under the rule of the Indian Khanate. "

After waiting for a while, those foreigners gradually approached.

Wang Jinghong suddenly showed a surprised expression, waved his hand and said, "Shi Xuanwei, why are you with the foreigner?"

The faces of those outsiders were strange, mostly black and dark brown curly hair, well-defined facial features, and a little dark skin; and the "Shi Xuan Comforter" who waved his hand was obviously a Han Chinese.In addition, in that group, there was a follower with darker skin who looked a bit like a Champa.

Liu Ming pondered for a while, and suddenly realized that the "Shi Xuan Comforter" should be Shi Jinqing, the leader of the Han people in Jiugang.

When Zheng He sailed to the West, he encountered the fleet of the great pirate Chen Zuyi, and a large-scale water battle took place in the waters around Malacca.Shi Jinqing, a local Han, learned of Chen Zuyi's movement, and informed Zheng He, reminding the officers and soldiers to pay attention to Chen Zuyi's sneak attack.As a result of the battle, the officers and soldiers won a complete victory, and Chen Zuyi and other thieves were captured alive.

As a result, Shi Jinqing made great contributions and was canonized by the Ming court as the comfort envoy of Jiugang. (Liang Daoming, the "King of the Three Buddhas" who was originally in the old port, also accepted the official position conferred by the court; for the surrounding countries, Liang Daoming continued to call himself the king, and only called himself a minister to the court.)

At that time Wang Jinghong was Zheng He's deputy envoy, so he knew Shi Jinqing.But at that time, Liu Ming hadn't passed the Jinshi examination and hadn't become an official, so he had never met Shi Jinqing, only heard his name.

Shi Jinqing went up to meet him first, and everyone greeted each other with fists in their hands, and exchanged pleasantries for a while.Shi Jinqing said: "Finally, I have seen my colleagues. But this experience is a long story, and I will report to the princes and generals about this trip later."

A middle-aged man among the Semu people stepped forward, followed by a dark-skinned follower.Semuren put his hands on his chest, bowed and saluted, then straightened his waist and began to chatter.

Without waiting for the dark-skinned entourage to translate, Ma Huan said: "My name is... Kuo Er." When he said the name of the other party, he paused for a while, probably because he needed transliteration, and temporarily created a name that was easy to remember and pronounced again. similar names.

Ma Huan continued: "I am a loyal servant of Lord Ji'er Daer. ​​Your majestic fleet must be the light empire of the sun and moon that shakes the world... the army of the Ming Empire."

After hearing this, Wang Jinghong said: "Our family is the envoy of the Ming Dynasty Navy, Wang Jinghong. This is General Chen Xuan, the commander of the navy; the officer who is talking to you is Ma Huan, an official of the court. Da Nang has now belonged to the Annan Kingdom, and is managed by The "envoy city" of the Ming Dynasty is under the jurisdiction of this place; it is because the Annan Kingdom paid tribute to Daming, and the two countries belong to the relationship between minister and emperor, son and father. Our family sees that you have a good face and a good speech, that is, friends come from afar What a joy, my government of the Ming Dynasty should do my best to be a landlord."

Ma Huan babbled and translated Wang Jinghong's words.The dark-skinned entourage kept silent, and Liu Ming doubted whether Semuren's translator could understand Mandarin; after all, it was also Chinese, but the accent of Mandarin was quite different from that of Fujian, Guangdong.

After a while, Semuren, who was translated by Ma Huan, thanked him.

Wang Jinghong said again: "Let's stop talking here and go to the official store at the pier to settle down."

So people on both sides walked along the dilapidated streets and alleys surrounded by the official army guards.The Semu man started talking again as he walked.

Ma Huan translated: "Lord Ji'er Daer's merchant ship used to do business with the Javanese people. Later they heard that the silk and porcelain in the hands of the Javanese people were also bought from other places. So this time the lord sent A ship, take some brave warriors who are not afraid of death, go to Champa and Annan to buy goods, hoping to earn more money.”

After hearing this, Wang Jinghong immediately turned his head and said to the Semu man, "Since it is porcelain and silk, most of the goods in the hands of the Champa and Annan people were bought from Ming Dynasty. Although Annan country can also make silk and porcelain , but in terms of exquisiteness, it is completely incomparable with the things produced by the Ming Dynasty. You should find people from the Ming Dynasty to do business."

If these words were to be conveyed to Kuo Er, of course they had to be translated first.

After a while, Kuo Er said through an interpreter: "The Ming Dynasty is too far away."

Wang Jinghong immediately pointed to Shi Jinqing and said, "This is the comfort envoy of the old port, an official conferred by the Ming Dynasty. The old port is located in the Strait of Malacca. You can talk to him for business in the future. It is cheaper than Java, Champa, and Annan. Get closer."

When Kuo Er understood what Wang Jinghong meant, he seemed very excited, and even hugged Shi Jinqing.Kuo Er happily gesticulated, talking to Shi Jinqing about their own opinions, and the two quarreled there for a while; however, their attitudes and emotions towards each other were still in place.

The Daming government in the castle fortress has an official shop in the city walled at Da Nang Wharf.Everyone arrived at the courtyard where the official shop was located, walked into the lobby, and finally could rest their feet and drink a few sips of tea.

Wang Jinghong also ordered the officials in the official store to prepare a few tables of banquets for entertaining Semu businessmen from afar at noon.

The "faithful servants" of the Ming people and the southern Indian lords are very different in etiquette, customs and other aspects; but the naval officers of the Ming Dynasty personally hosted banquets for guests, which is probably regarded as a kind and warm etiquette in any place .