"If Zheng He's fleet could have learned from the practices of European and other countries, our country would not have been so weak in the middle and late Ming Dynasty..."
As the ferry slowly approached its destination, Zhuang Rui, who was standing on the bow, felt a little emotional. The sea route he was taking now was the same route that Zheng He took when he sailed to the West.
When Zheng He made his first voyage to the West, he set out from Liujiagang, crossed the Strait of Malacca, entered the Indian Ocean, and visited more than thirty countries in total.
Zheng He's fleet to the Western Ocean was a super fleet composed of more than 240 ships and 27,400 crew members. It was completely organized according to maritime navigation and military organization. It was unparalleled in the world at that time.
It is called a powerful maritime mobile formation.
The famous international scholar Dr. Joseph Needham of the United Kingdom made this conclusion: "The navy of the Ming Dynasty may have been better than any Asian country in history, or even any European country at the same time, so that all European countries united can be said to be unable to compete with the Ming Dynasty navy.
Navy rival."
However, it is a pity that China has always advocated the so-called state of etiquette. Although it has such a powerful force, it deliberately has good relations with other countries. If it followed the example of Britain, Portugal and other countries, perhaps China would also have many colonies in the world.
"Boss, there are still two hours of sailing away from the coordinates you gave me. Please give me instructions whether to anchor at the coordinates..."
When Zhuang Rui was feeling nostalgic for his ancestors, the intercom in his hand rang. It was the bearded captain asking Zhuang Rui for instructions.
As a captain who only signed a one-year contract and was hired on a temporary basis, Clyde positioned himself very well. Except for matters related to navigation, which he could make his own decisions, he turned a blind eye to other matters.
of.
Tian Zhuangrui's people have been doing some kind of renovation work in the bottom cabin these days, but Clyde has never asked about it, and he once severely punished one of his first mates because the first mate was drunk at the time.
After drinking, I insisted on seeing what was going on in the bilge?
"Clyde, you are the captain. You must know that you are the boss on this ship. Is it necessary to report everything to that young man?"
In the cockpit of the bow, a first mate with three horizontal bars on his shoulders, with an unhappy look on his face, was encouraging Clyde with words.
"Jack, that's our boss. He can fire you and me at any time. By then, let alone entering the casino, I'm afraid you won't even be able to stay in Macau..."
Clyde glanced at his men dissatisfied. If he hadn't been with Jack for more than ten years and had always been his deputy, Clyde would have kicked this drunkard and gambler off the ship.
"Oh, a lot, Captain, I think you are right, but what on earth are they doing under the ship? Isn't it drug trafficking? Oh my God, if that's the case, then let's..."
Jack rolled his eyes and brought the topic back to the renovation of the bottom of the cabin. He pretended to drink too much a few days ago, but he was carried up by two powerful security guards without saying anything.
See.
"Drug trafficking, what a joke. Do you know how much our boss is worth? At least several billion. Do you know about the Klaus Golden Anchor treasure? That's what our boss got..."
Clyde snorted at Jack's words. A boss with a net worth of billions goes to drug trafficking? Unless Zhuang Rui made his fortune by selling drugs, or his brain is broken, and he would do such a thing now.
"Oh God, the golden anchor?!"
Jack really didn't know about this, but the shock on his face when he heard about it was not fake. Seeing the ship constantly approaching the coordinate point on the electronic instrument, Jack suddenly covered his stomach with one hand and said: "Damn it, Captain.
, I have to go to the bathroom..."
"Go ahead, I've never seen you busy with so many things before. If you feel uncomfortable, just go back to your room and rest for a while. I'll be fine here..."
Clyde did not doubt him and waved his hand. He had always been very tolerant to his old friends. If it were a newbie today, Clyde would definitely not be so easy to talk to.
"Damn, that guy is actually so rich. Five hundred thousand dollars is too little. I have to give him at least ten million dollars. Then I can leave this hellish place..."
After leaving the cockpit, Jack's eyes, which were influenced by alcohol, were rolling around, and he muttered in a voice that could only be heard by himself: "Macau is really a good place, of course, Las Vegas is also good, blond
Girls are more attractive than oriental women, but that young man’s woman is so damn beautiful..."
With dirty thoughts flashing through his mind, Jack walked all the way back to his room. After entering the room, he immediately closed the door firmly and took out a satellite phone from the safe beside the bed.
Unlike many other sailors who settled down in Macau to have children, Jack has been single for more than ten years. When he is not on a sailing mission, he is either gambling, drinking, or fooling around with some prostitutes. His wages are always gone at the beginning of the month.
.
Fortunately, the crew's accommodation and meals on the ferry are free, so Jack can be a big moneymaker once a month, and then go back to the ship to eat and drink. His life is not miserable, but it is definitely not good.
.
But a week ago, Jack's daily life year after year was disrupted because of a bet.
In that gambling game, Jack lost more than 30,000 US dollars inexplicably, and he didn't know why he borrowed another 50,000 US dollars from a loan shark, and lost all of it. This made Jack almost collapse after he woke up.
Having stayed in Macau for more than ten years, Jack knows very well how terrible these loan sharks are. With his own salary alone, he can repay the US$50,000 in half a year. However, after half a year, the US$50,000 may have already turned into 150,000.
If it doesn't fall off, you must be missing a part.
Just when Jack was feeling chills all over while touching his little brother, an Oriental man who had just bet with him suddenly appeared in front of Jack.
Jack swore that at first, he was sure this man was the devil, but after the oriental man took out a full hundred thousand dollars, he was immediately upgraded to God in Jack's eyes.
With a deposit of 100,000 U.S. dollars, after completing what the man told him, there will still be 400,000 U.S. dollars available. Jack has long forgotten about his role as first mate, and has forgotten the changes that have taken place on the ferry.
I told that Easterner everything.
It was the Eastern man who deliberately entered the bottom cabin through drunkenness last time, but Jack couldn't go down. In order to avoid being blamed, Jack simply said that everything on the ship was normal. Except for the newly built drilling platform and floating crane, there was nothing else.
The change.
"Hey, I'm Jack, oh, generous boss, I want to report some good news to you..."
After answering the phone, Jack couldn't wait to tell the other party his latest discovery. He had been hanging out at sea for ten or twenty years, and he had already guessed the other party's identity very well.
So what if he is a pirate? Jack doesn't care so much. As long as he gives him money, it doesn't matter if he becomes a pirate. He believes that for a promising and skilled first mate like himself, the other party will not do anything to kill the donkey.
of things.
"Boss, Klaus's golden anchor is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. What's more, you can..."
Jack stopped talking here. He believed that the other party would be able to understand what he said.
"Okay, Jack, you will get an unexpected fortune. Now all you need to do is to monitor every move on the ship. In addition, you need to find out how many days the ship will stay at that coordinate point?"
The voice on the phone was a bit muffled, possibly due to the rough seas. There was a rustling sound during the call, but neither Jack nor the other party paid attention to it. This was normal.
"Thank you boss, I will make you satisfied..."
After Jack hung up the phone, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. Why did his words sound so like what the bitch at the entrance of the Macau casino said in bed?
After a long sea voyage, the ship finally arrived at the coordinates Zhuang Rui mentioned. This place is located at the entrance of the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca, just on the high seas. If you go a little further, you will enter Singapore.
The sea area.
The Strait of Malacca is located between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. It connects the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea, and is an important waterway connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It runs from northwest to southeast and is about 900 kilometers long.
The Strait of Malacca is currently jointly managed by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Strait is located in the equatorial windless zone. There are many calm days throughout the year. The bottom of the Strait is flat, mostly sandy, and the water flow is gentle.
However, at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, there are many rocks, the water is deep and the waves are large, and the deepest point can reach more than 3,000 meters. Since the Age of Discovery, countless ships have been wrecked here.
According to relevant records, there are about 2,000 ancient shipwrecks in the South China Sea, and probably more than half of them are at this entrance.
Although this place is located on the high seas, and any salvaged items can be owned by you, the waves here are large and the water is deep, and it is difficult to detect the specific location of the sunken ship, so there have been few adventurers coming to work, and the sunken shipwrecks on the seabed are relatively well preserved.
"Mr. Zhuang, is this the location?"
Zhang Gong walked to Zhuang Rui. Although he spent a long time debugging equipment at sea every year, it was also his first time to go to sea on such a luxurious cruise ship.
Moreover, the salvage equipment installed this time is extremely advanced and is the latest developed by their company. If the salvage is successful, it will also be a very beneficial publicity for their company.
"Yes, after the anchoring is completed, we need to position it first. Then it will be up to you, Mr. Zhang..."
Zhuang Rui nodded and watched as huge iron anchors were thrown out from the hull of the ship. After making a dull sound, they sank to the bottom of the sea. The chains as thick as arms made a clattering sound.
was pulled to the bottom of the sea by the anchor.
The location is unmistakable. On his way back to China on a yacht, Zhuang Rui memorized the coordinates of all sunken ships on the high seas along the way, and just now, he also used his spiritual energy to explore the situation on the seabed.
Obviously, there must be more than one sunken ship in this sea area. Within a radius of four to five nautical miles, on the gentle river bed at the bottom of the sea, Zhuang Rui felt that there were at least a dozen places exuding strong spiritual energy.
The aura in his eyes felt the thick and lingering atmosphere on the bottom of the sea, and Zhuang Rui was also a little excited.
Generally, apart from gold and silverware, the most valuable items in sunken ships at sea are salvaged porcelain. The so-called salvaged porcelain refers to a category of exported porcelain in Chinese history.
In the late Ming Dynasty of China, porcelain was exported in large quantities. The Strait of Malacca, where Zhuang Rui is now, as a maritime hub for travel between Asia, Africa, Europe and other places, has become a must-pass for Chinese merchant ships. Some merchant ships sank here for some reason, carrying
After the porcelain is salvaged from the water, it is collectively called sea-drained porcelain.
Industry insiders believe that although Hailao porcelain cannot be compared with the official kiln porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because it comes from shipwrecks and has a more obvious historical background, the cultural and historical value it reflects cannot be underestimated.
In the past few years, the price of Hailao antiques has not been very high, but in recent years the price has skyrocketed. Not long ago, someone salvaged more than 300 pieces of Ming Dynasty Hailao porcelain, and they actually sold for 4,000 pieces.
Multi-thousand dollar price tag.
Based on Zhuang Rui's perception, the items in the sunken ships in this sea area will definitely be worth the ticket, and the several relatively well-preserved ancient ships inside will also serve as important exhibits in his museum.
"Brother Zhuang, if you have time, come to the control room. A very interesting thing happened on our ship..."
Just as Zhuang Rui and Zhang Gong were talking, the walkie-talkie in his hand suddenly rang. The speaker was Shura Li Zhen. This guy stayed in his room all day long and didn't come out. Zhuang Rui didn't know what he was doing?
After a brief chat with Mr. Zhang, Zhuang Rui returned to the cabin and entered the elevator. After reaching the fifth floor, he locked the fingerprint lock and entered the room where Li Zhen worked.
After Zhuang Rui entered the room, he found that Peng Fei was also inside. He couldn't help but be stunned. Didn't this guy go fishing with his wife on the back deck just now?
"Hey, Brother Zhuang, we will definitely not be lonely these days..." Seeing Zhuang Rui come in, Peng Fei showed a smirk on his face, and he looked a little excited.
Zhuang Rui thought that Peng Fei was talking about salvaging the sunken ship, and said angrily: "Nonsense, of course you won't be lonely. If you have nothing to do, you can go diving, but don't let the sharks eat you...
"
"Brother Zhuang, that's not what happened. Come on, listen to this recording..."
Peng Fei waved his hand, pulled Li Zhen aside, asked Zhuang Rui to sit down, and played a conversation.
"This...is our crew member?" Zhuang Rui had a look of astonishment on his face after listening to the recording.
"Yes, Brother Zhuang, there is a good show to watch..."
Li Zhen smiled proudly. Due to his profession, he would monitor the signals sent out from the ship, but he did not expect to catch a mole.
