Fidel stood on the bow of the Hometown, his face full of joy of surviving the disaster, especially when he saw the coastline in the distance, this joy became even more intense.

In the past two years, no, it should be since last year, the ancient Eastern country of Ming Dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes. Field is not aware of the changes in the interior, but the changes along the coast of China have made the Netherlands and Portugal colonize in Southeast Asia.

, the three Spanish countries were shocked.

Somehow, the great pirate Li Dan, who lived in Japan and had been controlling Japan and the mainland's foreign trade, was suddenly killed and replaced by a man named Wang Siyuan who ruled the Seven Seas.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the sea was ostensibly banned, but the profits from smuggling and foreign trade made the landowners and gentry on the southeast coast jealous, and they even went to sea in violation of the imperial ban.

Perhaps, at the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang banned the sea because it was difficult to defend against the pirates along the coast. However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the gentry who had really experienced huge profits from maritime trade blocked the opening of the sea. Opening the sea meant taxing.

How can this be tolerated by the gentry who keep all the profits in their own pockets?

Frequent trade also led to rampant pirates. There has never been any dynasty like the Ming Dynasty that produced pirates who were so famous in history. The more distant Wang Zhi, the more recent Li Dan, and the later

Zheng Zhilong is famous in history.

Pirates traversed the sea, controlled the sea routes, and made a living by taxing or plundering Chinese merchant ships. However, the maritime merchants tolerated the existence of pirates. They had no choice but to make a living, as the profits were too great.

According to later statistics, during the one hundred years from the late Ming Dynasty to its demise, it is estimated that tens of thousands of tons of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty. One ton of silver is twenty thousand taels, and ten thousand tons is two billion. Such a terrifying silver reserve,

It occupied one-third of the world at that time.

Of course, it remains to be discussed whether the actual number is that high, but it is enough to show how wealthy the Ming Dynasty was at this time. After having money, these gentry either bought land or stored it in cellars. The late Qing government had enough power to support the major colonial countries in the world.

Indemnities and various huge expenses were indispensable to the Ming Dynasty's accumulation.

Of course, the Western colonists were not good birds. The reason why they did not use plundering methods like Japanese pirates was because the Ming Dynasty was too big and the country had a certain maritime power after all. The second reason was because of the large number of big pirates.

, they are like a protective layer, protecting their own interests and resisting the invasion of outsiders.

The huge profits have allowed pirates and gentry to form a symbiotic relationship. I am responsible for safety and ensuring smooth navigation. How can you worship me and help me sell the stolen goods at the same time?

This kind of relationship between the two parties left outsiders who were eyeing and coveting China with no choice. The Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal could only continue to induce Chinese merchant ships to trade.

Manila, occupied by Spain, became such a trading center, and the Netherlands, after independence, began crazy expansion. In one fell swoop, they occupied almost all valuable islands in the Southeast Asia, such as the Spice Islands, New Zealand, Sumatra and other large islands.

Portugal, on the other hand, suffered a severe decline in power because its territory was annexed by Spain. Its colonies were seized by the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There are only two territories in Southeast Asia, East Timor and Macau. However, Macau still used tricky methods to acquire the territory from the Ming Dynasty.

Borrowed from their hands. Here they received great restrictions. However, because Macau is located in Guangdong, they still gained a certain amount of convenience in trade.

The Netherlands occupies the south of Nanyang, and Spain occupies the Philippines. Geographically, it is closer to the mainland. Therefore, most of China's merchant ships going to sea go to Manila for trade. Although the Netherlands has huge profits from spices, it is still no match for Spain's transshipment to China. Huge profits on goods.

Therefore, the Netherlands has always coveted mainland China. First, they wanted to occupy Macau, which was occupied by Portugal. Later, after being stopped by the Ming Dynasty but failed, they then set their sights on Penghu. They launched invasions in 1602 and 1622, but were defeated by Shen Yourong respectively. Fight back with Yu Zigao.

After their failure in 1622, they retreated to Taiwan and established a stronghold there. However, they were finally overthrown by Zheng Chenggong.

Of course, this is an event in history. At this point in time, due to Zhu Youxiao's persecution, an unexpected figure emerged - Wang Siyuan.

Forced into exile, he displayed amazing perseverance and talent. He successively conquered Xu Xinsu with his family's overseas connections, conquered the young Zheng Zhilong and Yan Siqi with his skill in politics, and plotted to seize Li Dan's foundation and unify the pirates along the coast of China.

But it is a pity that Wang Siyuan has great ambitions and his thoughts are very different from those of ordinary pirates. He did not limit his sights to the sea, but instead focused on the land, hoping to continue Zhu Youxiao's persecution and join forces. South Zhili, pursuing political ambitions, or revenge.

However, he died before the battle was launched, leaving the hero in tears. His plan had just begun. Under Wei Zhongxian's advanced tactical thinking, he was beheaded. The emergence of a beheading tactic and a unique special operation made the entire rebellion... The army collapsed suddenly, and Wang Siyuan also died in the explosion.

Because he had read books, Wang Siyuan's perspective was different from that of ordinary pirates. He did not concentrate on collecting protection fees. Instead, after taking control of Japan's trade routes, he gathered his own strength to start a rebellion. Therefore, the trade routes were cut off, and there was no Under such circumstances, the gentry still had the heart to do business. Later, after the rebellion was put down, various political events, the introduction and publicity of various new policies caused disturbances throughout the Ming Dynasty. Due to this implication, almost all merchant ships going to sea were Extinct.

Except for Portugal, which was able to ship goods overland because Macau was close to the mainland, all Western countries that came to Manila to sell goods suffered heavy losses. For these adventurers, who used to get a shipload of gold and silver in one trip, any time delay was a loss.

After Wang Siyuan's death, Xu Xinsu, Yan Siqi, and Zheng Zhilong each inherited part of the pirate power after a fierce battle. Of course, the three of them together could not compare to the 30,000 warriors and 1,000 battleships in Wang Siyuan's era, but they were not far behind.

A few hundred battleships per person, and seven to eight thousand capable men, defeated the Satsuma clan and even the entire Japanese shogunate. They cut off all maritime power and had to let it control the trade.

After receiving financial support from Japan, the three of them made different choices. Yan Siqi focused on developing Taiwan and immigrated from the mainland, hoping to occupy a place. Xu Xinsu was like this, but he did not dare to get too close to the mainland, so he settled in the Ryukyu Kingdom. After that, he concentrated on competing for land territory with the Shimazu family of Satsuma Domain. Although the situation was quite difficult, he still occupied one or two cities. Zheng Zhilong, after seeing the prosperity of the mainland and the power of officials, concentrated on I want Zhao'an to surrender.

Therefore, his actions are the largest. With Penghu as the center, he keeps going south and north, across the entire offshore waters of China, plundering and blocking routes. His idea is very simple. Since the Ming Dynasty doesn't like him at present, then work hard to improve.

My own value is that when I have stationed troops with other small pirates and can blockade the coast, the Ming Dynasty will carry out imperial edicts even if I have no choice. Just like what is written in Water Margin, then my goal will be achieved.

The three men acted frequently and were influenced by Wang Siyuan. They only firmly controlled Japan's financial resources and did not pay attention to piracy such as water pumping. Instead, they strictly blocked the entire sea area and prevented Western countries' ships from entering.

Come in. Among them, the coastal waters of Ming Dynasty are already their own territory, how can they tolerate others coming over.

Therefore, the Spanish fleet to explore the situation and the Dutch fleet trying to occupy the coastal islands were all repulsed by him. Facing the three men who were at the height of their maritime power, Spain retreated and the Netherlands retreated. Only Portugal occupied Macau.

The Guangdong Sea can sail along the waters of the Indochina Peninsula and still retain this amount of trade.

Under this blockade, China's various bulk goods have skyrocketed. Cotton, raw silk, porcelain, tea, and silk have all increased in price. This situation has caused great pain to Spain, which is seeing Manila's decline. The Ming Dynasty Sea has been blocked and suffered the greatest losses.

It's them.

They didn't know what happened in this magical and huge country, nor did they know why the great pirate leader Wang Siyuan suddenly appeared and blocked the sea area. However, as a large number of missionaries came in and out of Macau, news continued to be transmitted.

come out.

The old emperor died, and the new emperor passed a coup, defeated the conspiracy and colluded with the ministers, and tried to support his younger brother's queen, and ascended the throne in blood.

The new emperor was very powerful. He defeated the barbarians in the north as soon as he came to the throne. This was a great war. There were more than 100,000 people participating in the war. At this stop, the new emperor killed the leader of the barbarians and then led the army.

, ready to wipe out the entire barbarian tribe.

It's just a pity that under the leadership of some opponents, a massive rebellion was launched in the country. This war was even more massive. An area almost as big as France launched a rebellion, and there were hundreds of thousands of rebels.

, and Wang Siyuan, who made several colonial countries gnashed their teeth, hated but feared him, was only one of the rebels, and he was not the leader.

Wang Siyuan had already died in the counter-insurgency war, and now it is only his three former subordinates who continue to block the sea area.

The next year, the new emperor came to the throne again. He proposed new policies and was constantly attacking the domestic nobles and fighting for the rights of farmers. He also announced that farmers would be exempted from all taxes starting from this year. He was really a benevolent emperor.

What's even more benevolent is that he also built a church for Catholics in the capital of the Ming Empire and allowed them to wear clothes in this country. The condition of this exchange was just to serve the emperor and train students for him. It is really kind. Thank you.

host!

During the Chinese New Year, the Mongols from the north, oh, these damn Mongols, these existences that give people nightmares at night, once again invaded the new emperor, oh no, the territory of His Majesty the Great Emperor, His Majesty the Great Emperor

Very angry, he gathered hundreds of thousands of troops and prepared to fight against the Mongols who had conquered the world.

I heard that the ancestors of the Great Emperor became the emperor of this ancient country because they expelled these nightmarish Mongols, inheriting the great glory and tradition. Now, His Majesty the Great Emperor will recreate the glory of his ancestors and sow fear.

To these Mongolians.

What an enviable act, bringing fear to the Mongols, something we have always wanted to do but couldn't do.

The Great Emperor's military operations went very smoothly and defeated the Mongol Emperor in one fell swoop. Oh, they are called the Great Khans here. Half of the Mongol Empire's army was defeated, and hundreds of thousands of people and livestock were captured by the Great Emperor. The Great Khan of the Mongol Empire fled in a hurry

, he was hiding in a corner shivering, praying that His Majesty the Great Emperor would forget about him.

Praise the great Emperor, praise the great Haotian God, and hope that under your glory, the customs of the Ming Empire can successfully collect taxes, so that my friend Hong Chengchou will no longer be so distressed.

What? What do you mean by customs? It is an agency established by His Majesty the Emperor to collect taxes from fleets trading in and out of ports.

Oh, you said ports. It seems that His Majesty the Great Emperor opened three ports for trade. My friend Hong Chengchou is the commander of one of them, but he seems to be in Guangzhou.

By the way, Mr. Governor, I heard that no Chinese ships have come to trade here for a long time. How about you go to those three ports and have a look? There are many Chinese merchants doing business there.

Hey, Lord Governor, Lord Governor, why did you run away? I haven’t introduced my friend Hong Chengchou to you yet. He recently wanted to organize a fleet to go to Thailand. If you can help him, he will definitely give you tax benefits.

point.

Governor, please run slowly...

So, under such circumstances, the Governor of Manila, who had had no extra income for several months, organized a group of armed merchant ships and hurried towards, well, Shanghai Port, it should be called this.

As a businessman with three armed merchant ships of about 500 tons, Fidel is also in the ranks of this organization, and he is the most powerful among them, although he only has three merchant ships. Well, although our Lord Governor is eager

He wanted Chinese goods in exchange for a large amount of gold and silver, but with his energy, he could not command those big businessmen. In the end, it was small businessmen like Field who were unlucky.

As a result, more than ten armed merchant ships with a maximum weight of only 600 tons set out from Manila in a mighty manner and headed towards the nearest port of Shanghai. At first, it was calm, but not long after they left, they were searched for something like Taiwan.

The island was discovered by Xu Xinsu.

Xu Xinsu, who had defeated such ships several times, was not afraid at all. He was angry and clearly used the place as a venting bag. Hundreds of warships surrounded him, causing the fleet to panic. After a bloody battle, after losing half of their men, only the remaining

The team of eight ships finally broke out of the siege and fled.

During this breakout, Fidel lost a ship. However, before he had time to feel distressed, the surviving fleet once again encountered a wave of powerful pirates-Zheng Zhilong.

He was playing the big fish eating small fish game on the sea and did not take these defeated soldiers at all. He just handed over the task to his subordinates domineeringly, and then took his people back. However, even though it was only Zheng Zhilong's

Even an exhausted fleet cannot cope with it.

In another fierce battle, all the ships were captured or destroyed, and once, only Fidel escaped. Fortunately for him, with good luck at the next moment, he saw land, and according to the people on the ship,

Instrumental calculations indicate that this is exactly my destination—Shanghai Port.

The sailors on the ship cheered and shouted, and then the ship sailed quickly towards the port with a light posture. The tall white lighthouse looked like a naked blond Persian cat, which was constantly posing.

Um, just, what do these colorful ribbons floating on the sea mean, and these ribbons also form a shipping route, are they welcoming us?

Ordinary sailors can only rely on their own eyesight to observe the situation in the harbor or the sea, but as the captain, Fidel has a monocular telescope, holding the telescope, he carefully observes the port.

Well, there were very few people and only a few boats. What impressed Fidel the most was the large number of buoys and ribbons floating on the sea. These were probably made of silk. It was really luxurious. But what are these ribbons for?

?

Turning the telescope, Fidel saw that these ribbons led to piers, and some places where buoys were attached, vaguely revealing the brown shadows underneath. Yes, this is a planned safe channel. But how come these ribbons and buoys are there?

The breakage fell off?

Um, haha, it seems that my own boat was broken. I didn't seem to be walking on the right channel!

Hey, there seems to be someone stationed on the high tower over there. What are they doing, waving flags? Is it a welcoming ceremony here? But, why does the waving flag feel so familiar?

As a Spaniard who traveled more than half of the world, and who had been to South America for trade, he looked down upon the local indigenous people. He felt that he came from a civilized society, while the other people were just rude barbarians. This perception was not only shared by Fidel, but also by the entire
To be continued...