The plan has been decided, and relevant matters will be prepared that night.
The location of the Armada is near the Nansha Islands. There are many islands and reefs here, making it easy to hide. But Zhang Yanling did not choose to stay near a large island like Taiping Island and Yongshu Island. Instead, he chose an atoll called Nanxun Island.
This island is a ring-shaped island with a lake inside, surrounded by mangroves and coconut trees, and cannot be seen from the outside. The most important thing is that there are no people living on this island. Because it is too barren, there is no fresh water, and the land part of the island is too Narrow. The atoll is entirely composed of gravel reefs with little soil, making it difficult to plant.
But this is the best place to hide the Armada. The lake has a radius of several miles and is several feet deep. When the Armada docks, it is not afraid of wind and waves and can hide its traces. More importantly, the soldiers can go ashore for a walk. Relieve the stress of multi-day sailing.
That night, in the dead of night, Zhang Yanling took a small boat with only Chen Shiyi and two bodyguards who were highly skilled in martial arts and shrewd people. They boarded the boat and set sail into the vast sea taking advantage of the night wind.
In fact, Nanxun Island is still a hundred miles away from the Malay Peninsula where Malaka is located, but taking advantage of the winter monsoon, the speed of the small sailing boat was not slow. Starting that night, by midnight of the next day, the black sky was already visible in the distance. Huhu coastline.
They chose a densely wooded and sparsely populated beach and went ashore overnight. They hid the sailboat on the beach and covered it with branches and weeds. They rested in the forest for the whole night and officially set off at dawn.
Although the Flemish people occupied the port of the Manchurian Strait, the inland part of the peninsula was not occupied. They only occupied the strait and port in the south. The northern inland was still ruled by the Kingdom of Manchuria.
Zhang Yanling and his party went south without encountering too many troubles. The local villages and towns did encounter a lot of troubles, but the local people were also simple. Zhang Yanling and others also wore bamboo hats and shabby clothes and pretended to be local people, but they did not Be recognized.
In fact, at that time, the population of the entire Malay Peninsula was still very small. Most of them were concentrated in a few big cities and the seaside. In the interior, there were not many people. A few people walked south for two days. One day, they heard the sound of surging waves, and Zhang Yanling and others knew that they were at the southern edge of the strait.
In the afternoon of that day, Zhang Yanling and his party came to a small market town by the sea. There were quite a few people living here, as well as markets, shops and inns. There were locals, but there were also many people who looked like people from the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Yanling and his party walked twice in the market and found an inn with a sign in Chinese characters called Yuelai Inn. Zhang Yanling analyzed that this must be a shop opened by Han people who came to Nanyang during the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, the style of the building and the plaque It can't be so Chinese style.
Sure enough, when the four of them entered the inn, they saw the shopkeeper sitting behind the counter. His clothes and appearance were obviously from the Ming Dynasty. Even the layout of the counter and the tables and chairs in the lobby were all in the style of the Ming Dynasty.
"Shopkeeper, do you have a room? I'm going to stay in the hotel." Zhang Yanling walked slowly to the counter and knocked on the counter and asked.
The shopkeeper was crackling his abacus. Hearing the familiar Daming words, he raised his head in surprise.
"How many of them can speak Ming Chinese? Where did they come from?" asked the shopkeeper.
"We are from the Ming Dynasty." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
The shopkeeper said happily: "Oh, we are from the motherland. The shop has not received customers from the motherland for a long time. I heard that there is a war on the sea road in the north. How did you come here?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "What does war have to do with us? We are doing business. We go to sea to buy some goods and earn some money."
The shopkeeper blinked his eyes and said: "But isn't our Ming Dynasty prohibited from shipping? These guys are... oh oh. Forgive me for being stupid, as the saying goes, wealth can be found in danger. These guys are here to smuggle goods. They are awesome."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "You don't have to say it so loudly."
The shopkeeper laughed and said: "Don't worry, you guys, this is not the Ming Dynasty, and there is no government to trouble you. The guests here from the Ming Dynasty are either here to seek refuge or to smuggle overseas goods. We have seen many
Yes. Even if you go out and shout at people, no one will care about you."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "That's right. We worry too much. After talking for a long time, do you have a room? Two rooms are available."
"Yes, yes, Xiao Ke will personally lead the way. Don't worry, our store will offer a 30% discount for guests from the homeland. We will never charge more for the room, and meals will be provided as well. It's not easy to see people from the homeland, just like meeting relatives."
The shopkeeper is extremely enthusiastic.
The current shopkeeper personally led the way and led several people to a side courtyard in the backyard. It has the style of the Ming Dynasty courtyard garden. There are several main rooms, cloisters and flower beds, and long windows with carved flowers, which are very elegant.
"This is a place specially designed to entertain guests from the Ming Dynasty. It is quite clean and tidy. The other natives are not allowed to live in such a good place. Firstly, they are not worthy, and secondly, they cannot afford it." The shopkeeper said.
Hehe laughed.
Zhang Yanling nodded and smiled. Chen Shiyi and two guards quickly checked the house. It was indeed a main hall with an east and west wing. It was a very good place to live.
The shopkeeper said a few words and then left, saying that he would personally deliver drinks to entertain people from his homeland. Zhang Yanling wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it and asked about the situation from this person. Judging from the attitude of the shopkeeper, he should have come here at the time
Very long.
Although he can speak the Ming Dynasty dialect, his tone of voice is weird and specious, which is quite different from the real Ming Dynasty Mandarin. I don’t know why.
Several people settled here. After working hard these past two days, it would be nice to have a place to rest.
In the evening, the shopkeeper and his waiter came to the small courtyard with a wine bottle and several plates of vegetables to invite Zhang Yanling and others to drink.
Zhang Yanling did not refuse, and ordered Chen Shiyi to bring out some dry food from the butcher's shop and put it on the table. He invited the shopkeeper to drink and talk with him. The shopkeeper was generous and did not refuse, so they sat down to drink together.
After three glasses of wine, the conversation gradually started to open up.
"What's the shopkeeper's surname? Where is your ancestral home?" Zhang Yanling asked.
"Oh, my surname is Dong, and my ancestral home is Nanjing, Ming Dynasty." The shopkeeper smiled.
"Oh? It turns out that I am a resident of Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty. It is a prosperous and prosperous place." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Shopkeeper Dong laughed and said: "I feel ashamed to say that I have never been to Nanjing. I only know that it was the capital of the Ming Dynasty. However, my ancestors once lived in Nanjing. Everything I know about Nanjing is
My great-grandfather, my grandfather, they told me.”
Zhang Yanling said in surprise: "What's going on?"
Shopkeeper Dong said: "To tell you the truth, my great-grandfather's generation sailed from Nanjing to Nanyang and settled here. I am thirty-eight years old this year and was born locally. My grandfather and parents taught me this Ming Dynasty saying.
He doesn’t speak very fluently either.”
Zhang Yanling was shocked, thought for a while and said: "I see, I thought your accent was a little strange, but it turns out that's the reason. Your great-grandfather came to Nanyang in your generation? Doesn't it have to be more than a hundred years ago? At that time
, I am still in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty."
Shopkeeper Dong smiled and said: "I don't know the name of the reign at that time. However, when my grandfather was still alive, he told me that my Dong family was an official in the imperial court. Later, something unexpected happened, and our family followed my great-grandfather on the journey.
The ship went out to sea and sought refuge in Nanyang. I don’t know exactly what happened.”
Zhang Yanling was greatly moved. It sounded like it was consistent with what was secretly rumored among the people. After the Battle of Jingnan, King Yan seized the throne, and Emperor Jianwen disappeared along with many ministers.
There are rumors that they fled to Nanyang to hide, and what the shopkeeper said seems quite consistent. Could it be that the great-grandfather of the Dong family was the official from the DPRK who fled to Nanyang with Emperor Jianwen? It is very possible.
By the way, Zhu Di later sent Zheng He to the Western Seas. On the surface, of course, it was to show the country's prestige and communicate with others. But there is a saying that Zheng He actually came to find the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen on behalf of Zhu Di. Emperor Jianwen was succeeded to the throne by Emperor Hongwu.
The emperor is orthodox. How can Zhu Di feel at ease if he does not die?
Zhang Yanling used to think this was nonsense. But now that I think about it, let alone say, this kind of gossip might actually be true.
However, there is no need to dwell on this matter. After a hundred years, the relevant people have passed away. Naturally, Zhang Yanling will not bother with such matters.
"Shopkeeper Dong seems to have a good family background. It turns out that you are a native of the local area. So you should be very familiar with the local area. I would like to ask some questions. This is our first time to go out to sea to smuggle overseas goods, and we are not familiar with the place. If you can
It will be easier if the shopkeeper informs you about the local situation. We will be very grateful." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Shopkeeper Dong smiled and said: "Thank you for what? Isn't this a simple task? If you want to know anything, just ask."