It was the early morning of January 27, 1870. Although it was extremely cold, there was still sunshine that was rare in winter on the sea.
On the extremely calm East China Sea, a three-masted Western-style sailing ship is sailing on the sea in the wind and waves. The word "Four Seas" is written on the beautiful scissor-shaped bow. The "Four Seas" sailing training ship of the Nanhua Guard Fleet, this
A training ship with a displacement of only 1,485 tons, after leaving South China in September last year, it broke into the rough and rough Drake Strait all the way south. Amidst the huge waves tens of meters high, the "Sihai"
376 naval officers and naval cadets withstood the test of strong winds and waves.
After passing through the Drake Strait, the "Sihai" went all the way north, first to Linhai, and then all the way west, passing through Easter Island, Polynesia, Samoa and New Guinea Company Harbor, and entering the Taiwan Strait through the Bashi Strait. According to the plan, they
After replenishing supplies in Nagasaki, we will then go north to Alaska via Hawaii, then go south and return.
This is the standard ocean route for the garrison fleet training ship. Every naval cadet must undergo such ocean training before graduation. During the nearly one-year voyage at sea, the cadets will accept the test of the sea, and finally
Grow into a qualified naval officer.
According to the plan, after sailing through the Taiwan Strait, the "Sihai" will go to Nagasaki to replenish supplies. Then, it will leave Asia.
But sometimes, plans never keep up with changes.
A storm encountered in the South China Sea not only broke the mizzen mast of the "Sihai", but also lost most of the fresh water - the broken mast smashed the water tank.
Faced with the reality that fresh water was about to be exhausted, Captain Li Fengzhi observed the surroundings with a telescope and gave direct orders.
“Sail into Naha!”
"Captain, Naha seems not to be on our route."
Captain Rosen, an instructor at the naval school who went to sea with the "Sihai", has finally seen in the past few months how the future officers of the South China Navy fight against the wind and waves on the sea and how to survive the wind and waves.
grow in.
This kind of ocean sailing training is almost equivalent to sailing around the world. In this process, everyone has experienced an unprecedented test!
"Instructor Luo, it's no problem. Naha is just a port. According to the training regulations, we just need to avoid entering the port of Tangshan."
Why not enter the port of Tangshan? Of course, it is to avoid conflicts. After all, to a certain extent, Nanhua and the Qing Dynasty have a hostile relationship. After all, Nanhua has always supported the Kingdom of Heaven.
Another reason is... when we return to Tangshan, there may be deserters. What if someone takes the opportunity to escape?
This is likely to destabilize the morale of the military, so the best way is not to go.
Following the captain's order, the helmsman immediately adjusted the course, and the trainee officers on the deck were conducting routine gunnery or navigation training as in the past.
That afternoon, the "Shikai" training ship sailed into Naha Port. Dozens of ships from various countries were moored in Naha Port, including Chinese-style hard-sailed sailing ships and Western sailing ships. Most of these ships came from Japan and China.
The arrival of the training ship "Shikai" immediately attracted the attention of some crew members. After all, few warships sailed into Naha.
"It seems to be a warship!"
"Tatsuwa Maru" the first mate Matsui Ichiro said to himself,
"It's just a warship. They seem to have encountered a storm and may want to enter the port for maintenance."
When the French captain Stone raised his telescope, in addition to the broken mizzen mast, he also noticed the flag on the top of the mast.
"Phoenix?"
Then he said to himself.
"It seems to be a warship from Nanhua."
Although they were not familiar with Nanhua, they knew a lot about the "Suzaku Flag". After all, there were dozens of immigrant ships sailing in the waters of East Asia from Nanhua.
"Nanhua's warship?"
In fact, they are not unfamiliar with Nanhua's warships. After all, in the past few years, a warship has sailed into Nagasaki every year to replenish coal, fresh water and food.
In fact, there are many rumors about Nanhua in this area, from "island-sized" immigration ships to Japanese women and ronin who went to Nanhua. What is behind these rumors? Hundreds of thousands of Japanese women come to Nanhua through various channels every year.
Flow to Nanhua.
The "Shikai" sailed into Naha Port in a swaggering manner. When they entered the berthing area, a wooden boat slowly approached. Lin Zhi, who was standing on the bow of the ship, saw clearly the two "Shikai" on the bow.
After saying the words, he stood on the bow of the boat and saluted with his hands raised.
"The people here are the officers and soldiers of the Celestial Dynasty. I am Lin Zhi, the Naha port officer. I have met all the military masters!"
Wu Anping, who was standing on the side of the ship's side, couldn't help but feel good about him when he saw that the other party not only spoke fluent Mandarin, but also wore Chinese-style clothes and a Chinese-style hair crown.
"Mr. Lin, you are very polite. We came from Nanhua and encountered a storm on the way. We hope to be able to enter the harbor to repair the ship!"
Nanhua?
Lin Zhi looked at the soldiers on the ship who were wearing Western-style beanie hats and blue dresses with confusion. Although there was a slight doubt in their expressions, they did not refuse.
In fact, this is not the first time that this kind of "floating ship" has happened. Since the "Opium War", in the context of the massive Western invasion of East Asia, even Ryukyu was not immune. As early as 1853, the U.S. Navy Commodore
Perry's fleet arrived at Ryukyu for the first time. In March of the following year, Perry asked Japan to open Ryukyu's Naha port during the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa. Japan told Perry that Ryukyu is a sovereign country and has no right to decide its port.
Opening rights. Then on the way back, Perry's black ship "visited" Ryukyu. Ryukyu and Perry signed the "Ryukyu-U.S. Amendment Treaty" in both Chinese and English to open the Naha port. From then on, France,
The Netherlands successively signed treaties of reconciliation with it.
In the decades before that, "exotic ships" had been coming continuously. Ryukyu's attitude towards European and American "exotic ships" was to try its best to meet the supply requirements of these ships that drifted to Ryukyu due to storms and other reasons, so that they could be transported faster
Depart Ryukyu port.
Now, facing this "exotic ship", Lin Zhi naturally treated him according to the old rules. There was nothing he could do if he didn't treat him. For Ryukyu, even China and Japan were not opponents of the Westerners, and they couldn't afford to offend them. Of course.
You have to treat each other with courtesy.
"Welcome to Naha. I wonder how many days it will take you to repair?"
Lin Zhi asked.
"If there are materials in the port, the mast can be repaired in about three to five days. After replenishing the water and food supplies, we will leave on our own. Please rest assured, we will purchase the required materials and water and food at local market prices."
