In the northern Indian Ocean, a fleet of more than ten large ships is sailing from north to south, and the Ming Dynasty dragon flag hanging on the ship is constantly flying.
Taiping Hou Du Mingen, who was dressed in crimson robes, looked towards the east.
He is homesick, really homesick!
Starting from Tianjin in the spring of last year, we first traveled all the way south to Nanyang, opened up the Nanyang route, and also dealt with Luzon hard.
Then he went all the way west from Nanyang, along the route that the Three Treasures Eunuchs used to sail to the West, from Sulu to Malacca, then to Siam, up to Burma, to Tianzhu, south to Ceylon, and then all the way north to Persia in the Middle East.
.
It was already the New Year when he arrived in Persia. Now in order to complete the path traveled by the Three Treasures Eunuch, he continued to lead more than ten large ships to the south.
He decided to go to Africa, to Mugudusu, to see the legendary black Kunlun slaves.
But at this moment, he really missed home.
He came out for almost a year, and spent most of the time wandering at sea. Even though he saw the exotic scenery of various countries along the way, and even though his big ship was filled with gold, silver, jewelry, and rare and exotic goods, none of this could stop him.
I miss my hometown and my relatives in my hometown.
“I don’t know what’s going on here in Daming now~”
"Is Tianjin becoming more prosperous?"
Du Mingen had a lot of thoughts. The longer he had been away from home, the more impatient he felt. He wanted to return to Daming as soon as possible and see his hometown.
But he knew the dream in his heart.
This sea is your final destination.
After arriving in Africa this time, he planned to travel along the east coast of Africa. He first understood the situation on the African side and prepared for the next voyage.
In fact, he really wanted to go to Europe, but conditions did not allow it. The situation of the fleet was already a bit pessimistic. Many of the supplies he had prepared were exhausted, especially soybeans, tea and dehydrated vegetables. Without such things,
There are several things that can easily make you sick when sailing on the sea.
Originally there were more than fifty large ships when they arrived in Tianzhu, but every time they arrived at a place, Du Mingen would send a ship back to Daming first. Along the way, now only these dozen large ships are left to go south to Africa.
.
Of course, one advantage of this voyage is that there are countries along the way, so many things can be replenished. Unlike going to the Golden Continent, the journey is far away and there are barbarian lands along the way, so it is difficult to replenish the things you need.
In addition to the problems with supplies, the crew members were also like Du Mingen. They were all homesick and wanted to return to the Ming Dynasty.
Many crew members have expressed their intentions to Du Mingen and want to return to Daming, or even never go sailing again in the future.
They have earned enough money to live a prosperous life.
Because many crew members have rich sailing experience at sea, after they returned to the Ming Dynasty, major merchants were eager to recruit them. They could just casually walk around the waters around the Ming Dynasty in style.
Some sailors have even planned to open a plantation in Nanyang and retire there in the future.
The crew members who can follow Du Mingen to Africa are all like Du Mingen, who have a heart for the sea and want to go further on the ocean and see more places.
"Arabian Peninsula~"
"When entering the Red Sea, it would be great if there was a canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Then we would not have to walk thousands of miles around Africa to go to Europe."
Soon, Du Mingen came to his senses again, picked up the map and studied the voyage carefully.
His eyes immediately focused on the area connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It was very short, but it separated the two places abruptly, making it impossible for ships to pass through.
In his mind, he suddenly thought of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, thinking that if a canal were opened between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, it would be too close to Europe.
"Europe~"
"How about we go to Europe from here and have a look?"
An idea suddenly popped into Du Mingen's mind.
In my mind, I also recalled what Liu Jin had said about Europe.
Liu Jin still described a lot about Europe, and Liu Jin even believed that people from Europe would definitely become Ming Dynasty's strongest opponents on the ocean in the future.
So Du Mingen wanted to go to Europe to see what magic this Europe had. Even Liu Jin believed that Europeans would become the Ming Dynasty's strongest opponents in the future.
"This is Egypt, now under the control of the Ottoman Empire."
"The Ottoman Empire and the Europeans have been at war with each other, and the relationship between them is very tense. It seems unrealistic and too dangerous to go to Europe from here."
After thinking for a while, Du Mingen couldn't help but shake his head.
Along the way, the situation in this area became relatively clear. The Ottoman Empire was very powerful at this time, occupying the central area of the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. Even the Safavid Dynasty of Persia was overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire.
"Forget it this time, let's go to Africa first, then go back to Ming Dynasty to have a good rest for a few years. After a few years, when the colonial strongholds along the way are established and the routes are stable, we can open up routes to Europe."
After thinking about it, Du Mingen put away the map and decided not to go to Europe this time.
It would be too dangerous if there was no way for your own ship to sail through. The war between the Middle East and the Europeans has lasted for many centuries, and the Europeans have launched several Crusades.
This is not a confrontation between two countries, but a confrontation between two civilizations. It is also a confrontation and struggle between two religions.
"After returning to Ming Dynasty, I must explain the situation here to His Majesty and strictly prohibit any religion here from spreading to my Ming Dynasty. It's too crazy."
Thinking of the war between Europeans and the Ottoman Empire, Du Mingen couldn't help but shake his head.
Traveling all the way west, he was able to see a religion-centered civilization that was completely different from Eastern civilization.
For these places, nothing is more important than this, and for this reason they are also very crazy and paranoid, which makes Du Mingen immediately realize the hidden danger and instability.
In the East with the Ming Dynasty as the center, gods were important, but they could never override the king's power. But here, the divine power overrides the king's power.
For the holy land in their hearts, the two civilizations have been fighting for many centuries, resulting in heavy casualties.
This made Du Mingen confused. Is God really that important?
"Boards of wood and bones~"
"The farthest place where Sanbao Eunuch has arrived, I heard that the people there are all black slaves of Kunlun."
Du Mingen looked south and remembered the relevant information he had inquired about before coming here.
Kunlun slaves existed in the Tang Dynasty and were sold to the Tang Dynasty by Persian traders from the Middle East. However, the number was not large. Du Mingen was still full of expectations for Africa.
In Liu Jin's words, Africa is a vast and fertile land.
Gold, silver, ivory, gems, etc. are produced here. There are vast grasslands and the strange black Kunlun slaves.
"Based on the voyage, we still have today to reach the northeastern corner of Africa."
Du Mingen is full of expectations, looking forward to arriving in Africa as soon as possible and experiencing the magic of Africa.
A few days later.
"Land~Land~"
On top of the mast, the lookout shouted excitedly and rang the bell at the same time.
Suddenly, the crew members on a ship couldn't help but get excited, and they all looked to the west. A faint outline of land appeared in the field of vision, and it became bigger and bigger in the field of vision, and gradually became larger and larger.
Occupies the entire field of view.
“Africa has finally arrived~”
Du Mingen looked at the land in front of him and smiled.
After all, it seems that I have only been to Australia and Europe. Europe will definitely not have its share this year, and Liu Jin will definitely send others to open routes to Australia.
However, Europe will definitely have to open up its own routes in the future.
"Go down with the order and find a place to park."
Du Mingen looked at the continent in front of him carefully with a telescope, hoping to find Kunlun Nulai on the land, or to see if he could find a larger city, port or the like.
Mogadishu, also known as Hama, Sanghani, etc., is an extremely ancient city. More than 1,000 BC, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt would often send people here to purchase spices.
This is the place that produces the most frankincense and myrrh, and it is also the place with the longest history of producing these two things.
At the same time, the ivory and leather trade here was also extremely prosperous. Merchants from the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and India gathered here to sell frankincense, myrrh, ivory, leather, etc. to all over the world.
Mogadishu at this time was far from comparable to the Mogadishu of later generations.
At this time, Mogadishu could be regarded as the largest and most prosperous city in eastern Africa, and later Mogadishu was filled with wars, rebellions and huge profits.
In the early morning in Mogadishu, as the morning sun rises in the east, the rolling waves are awash with red. The rows of ancient Qing~~~Zhen~~ temples on the coast are filled with Sanskrit sounds, and the towering spiers are towering into the clouds.
Standing on the round white hat, rows of ancient white Arab castles reflect the morning sun.
A new day has begun.
This ancient city began to become noisy again, and Arabs, Persians, and local Samalites started a new busy day.
However, someone soon discovered that on the eastern sea, among the rolling red waves, more than ten large ships flying the flag of the Ming Dynasty were slowly heading towards the port of Mogadishu.