Chapter 734, the beginning of the era of private armed colonization
In September of the 14th year of Hongzhi, the monsoon and ocean currents in the East Indian Ocean began to reverse, from the original clockwise flow to counterclockwise flow.
Traveling from Nanyang to Tianzhu can take advantage of the ocean currents and monsoons. With favorable winds and rivers, it used to take more than ten days to reach Tianzhu from Nanyang, but now it only takes eight days to reach Tianzhu.
The monsoon roared and the sea was rough. A huge fleet sailed on the boundless sea, cutting through the wind and waves, all the way westward.
The scale of this fleet is very large. At the front are more than thirty armed merchant ships. On both sides of the merchant ships, rows of gun holes are lined up side by side, like the ferocious teeth of a beast.
Behind the armed merchant ships were hundreds of large and small ships. The dragon flags of the Ming Dynasty and the flags of major trading houses were hoisted on the ships. The flags swayed in the wind and made a hunting sound, just like thousands of troops and horses, with a magnificent momentum.
On the deck of the 'Guan Yu', Feng Xiang, Zhu Benduan, Hu Xian, and Chen Lin stood together. The sea breeze was slightly cool, but their hearts were hot and fiery.
It's finally time to take action.
At this moment, several people could finally feel a hint of the autumn atmosphere of the ancient battlefield.
Five thousand people and horses, plus the subsequent huge team to serve these five thousand people, a huge team of tens of thousands of people headed straight for the island of Ceylon.
"We can reach Ceylon in two days!"
Zhu Benduan looked ahead and said with some excitement.
"Don't worry, we can definitely win."
Feng Xiang smiled and said very confidently.
The more he understood the situation on Ceylon Island, the more confident he became.
Although Tianzhu is very big, it is not a unified and powerful empire like the Ming Dynasty. On the contrary, the entire Tianzhu has been composed of countless large and small city-states since ancient times. Even the most prosperous Mauryan Dynasty still has
He only ruled the northern region.
The vast land of the Southern Plateau is still not unified.
Although the Island of Ceylon is no longer on the South Asian subcontinent, it is still deeply influenced by the South Asian subcontinent. It is a small island and is also divided internally. The most powerful Sinhalese people are also divided into several countries.
Every country is very weak, otherwise Zheng He would not have been able to capture even their king with just two thousand men.
Historically, within a few decades, the Portuguese gradually conquered the entire Gem Island with only a few hundred people. This shows that the national strength here is very weak.
"Win, we can definitely win. There is no problem in capturing Ceylon."
"The key is how we manage and rule the island of Ceylon after we conquer it."
Hu Xian thought for a while and said.
He is now thinking about how to manage Ceylon Island in the future.
"We can learn from Yi Xuetian Er Niu. Don't the Sinhalese people on the island believe in Buddhism? We can take advantage of this? Let them be enslaved willingly and mine gemstones for us honestly."
Feng Xiang thought for a while and said.
"This is a good idea? But? What I want to think about is how to occupy this island for a long time."
"The geographical location of Ceylon Island is very important. Does it occupy Ceylon Island? In the future, we can use this as a springboard to gradually plot the entire Tianzhu."
"In addition, Ceylon Island is an important hub for east-west maritime transportation. Occupying Ceylon Island means that we have mastered this important route."
"So I'd better find a way to rule forever."
"There are only Sinhalese and Tamils here, and there are very few people from Ming Dynasty here."
"So in the future we have to find a way to slowly move all the people here out."
"It is a good choice to sell slaves to plantations in Southeast Asia, and then move our own people to the island of Ceylon. In this way, it can slowly become our place, and we can rule here permanently.
"
Hu Xian thought for a while and said.
I chose Ceylon Island at the beginning not only because it was easier to get, but also because of its gems. More importantly, it was the geographical location of Ceylon Island.
Taking Ceylon Island can be used as a springboard. Going north can gradually encroach on the entire Tianzhu? Going east can also capture Myanmar, and going west can lead to the Middle East, Persia and Africa.
Such a strategic location? It's so important.
"Sold as slaves to plantations in Southeast Asia?"
"This is a good idea. Are slaves here in Nanyang very expensive now? A slave costs more than 20 taels of silver. I heard that Liu Jin has sold millions of taels of silver just by catching slaves in Java.
.”
As soon as I heard this, my eyes couldn't help but light up slightly.
"There are not many people in Ceylon. It is estimated that there are only hundreds of thousands of people in total. The population in Tianzhu is very large. When Ceylon is captured, we can go to Tianzhu to sell slaves."
"A slave can be sold for twenty taels of silver. There are so many slaves here in Nanyang that it is not enough to sell them. In the future, just selling slaves will be enough for us, the United Western Trading Company, to make a fortune."
Feng had a relatively clear understanding of the situation in Tianzhu and Ceylon. When it came to slaves, he became more energetic, as if he had seen a new way to make money.
"Our major trading houses are opening plantations here in Nanyang. There is no shortage of land, but there is a shortage of manpower. Whoever has more manpower can open up more plantations."
"This slave trade is indeed a good business."
Zhu Benduan thought about it and nodded in agreement.
A big problem has arisen in the development of the Nanyang region, and that is a serious shortage of manpower.
Large and small plantations have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain. Business firms and plantation owners from the Ming Dynasty are spreading like viruses on islands of all sizes in Southeast Asia. Everyone is constantly enclosing and occupying land.
By now, everyone quickly discovered one thing, that is, there are not enough manpower.
The islands and land were occupied, but no one went to cultivate plantations.
People who migrated from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty basically cultivated their own fields. The Ming court strongly encouraged immigration. One person could be rewarded with dozens of acres of land. If a family immigrated, they could easily have hundreds of acres of fields. Who can
Are you coming to cultivate a plantation for you?
There was no other way but to use slaves to cultivate plantations and grow sugar cane.
So much so that the former slave-catching teams on the northern grasslands quickly moved to the Southeast Asian region.
These professional slave catchers searched for natives in the primitive jungles on various islands in the Southeast Asia, captured them, and then sold them to plantation owners.
There are also some people who went to North Korea and the Japanese country and used various means, whether it was deceiving or coaxing, in short, with the same purpose, to get people to Nanyang.
Koreans and Japanese were most favored by Nanyang planters.
Because these Koreans and Japanese are very obedient, as long as they are given enough food and some wages, they work very conscientiously and carefully, and they don't even need supervision.
For Koreans and Japanese people, living in Nanyang is much easier. Although it is also tiring, but here in Nanyang you can eat three meals a day, fish and meat from the sea, and you can still get money at the end of the year.
This life is much better than what they had in Korea and Japan.
The serious shortage of manpower suddenly restricted the development of Nanyang's plantation economy, which made major business houses and plantation owners also look sad.
The slave trade also became popular again.
Chen Lin on the side never finished speaking, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Whether it is Zhu Benduan, Prime Minister Feng, or Hu Xian, they are all scholars, and they all have great reputations.
Now when we talk about enslaving others, our face won't even turn red. These scholars are so powerful. No matter what comes into their mouths, they can describe the dead as alive and the living as dead.
The most shameless ones are these scholars.
"Forget it, money still smells good!"
Chen Lin shook his head slightly. They went to sea for money, and he went to sea for money. There seemed to be no essential difference.
As for enslaving these barbarians, there doesn't seem to be anything to regret.
It is their honor to be enslaved by the Ming Dynasty and to work for the Ming Dynasty. By following the Ming Dynasty people, they can learn about etiquette, justice and shame, and slowly be educated, turning from barbarians into civilized people.
Thinking of this, Chen Lin couldn't help but blush again.
He seems to be very shameless himself.
Unknowingly, I was led astray by these scholars. I think that turning people into slaves can still be said to be so righteous. It is probably only these shameless scholars.
But thinking about it, it seems that this is indeed the case.
The fleet sailed in the Indian Ocean in a mighty manner, and the two days passed by in a flash.
"Dang~dang~"
"The land was discovered, the land was discovered~"
On the 'Guan Yu', the watchman on the mast [Haitang Bookstore www.lvshuw.com] rang the bell and shouted excitedly downwards. Suddenly everyone on the ship became energetic, and everyone hurriedly
Come to the deck, take out the binoculars and look ahead.
Faintly, the outline of the land can be seen where the water and the sky meet.
Soon, the outline became clearer and clearer, gradually expanding in the field of vision, and then gradually occupying the entire field of view, and a huge landmass appeared in the field of vision.
"Finally arrived in Ceylon!"
Hu Xian put down the telescope and looked at the Island of Ceylon in front of him. This is the east side of the Island of Ceylon. The terrain is very high and very steep. It is not suitable for berthing of ships. They have to go around to the southwest of the Island of Ceylon.
go.
The southwest of Ceylon Island has a plain terrain and a natural high-quality harbor. It is an ideal place to anchor.
"The place for our first battle has finally arrived!"
"Try to capture Ceylon Island in two months. When the Chinese New Year comes, we will bring back the largest and most beautiful gemstones in Ceylon Island to present to the emperor!"
