When Zhu Hai attacked Panama, Lu Fang did not join in the fun, but followed the current to Nanyang.
Along the way, we replenished fresh water on deserted islands. When we reached the center of the journey, we encountered a large archipelago, which later became the Republic of Kiribati. More than 2,000 kilometers due north of this archipelago are the Hawaiian Islands!
With current navigation technology, we can only sail along the ocean currents, and it is estimated that it will take hundreds of years before Hawaii is discovered.
Kiribati Islands, now named Haishun Kingdom, is a Pacific vassal state officially canonized by the Ming Emperor.
King Liu Shun was the second Han Chinese to establish a country on the sea. He took the initiative to stay on the island. He pretended to be a ghost and gained the approval of the island's natives and became the owner of the island through abdication.
From then on, whenever the fleet was on its way back, crew members who were seriously ill would stay on the island to recuperate. Whether they lived or died depended on luck.
Over the past few years, the number of Han people and Yinzhou natives on the island has accumulated to more than 30 people. There is also a Spanish and two Southeast Asian Javanese natives. These outsiders are the basis of Liu Shun's rule.
They even exchanged food and fresh water for a leaky ocean-going ship.
After serious repairs, this old ocean-going ship became an invincible warship for the nearby archipelago. Liu Shun sailed around to conquer fourteen small islands, and there were more than ten small islands waiting for him to conquer.
At the same time, Liu Shun got a lot of seeds and taught the island's indigenous people how to farm. Through supply trade with the Ming Dynasty merchant ships, the island's indigenous people put on clothes and lived countless times better than before. All the indigenous people regarded Liu Shun as his
gods.
The fleets of all forces also supported Liu Shun very much.
With Liu Shun establishing his country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the sailors returning home from now on will be able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fearing that Liu Shun's rule would be overthrown by the natives, Zhu Hai even took the initiative to give him twenty guns. In addition to normal trade, the fleets also brought special gifts to Liu Shun. Some even gave him a Latin American girl.
"My lord, you have gained weight again." Lu Fang cupped her fists and smiled.
Liu Shun laughed loudly: "If you eat well and sleep well, how can you not be fat? Leader Lu is also rich."
Lu Fang took out a wooden box and said, "It's just a casual meal. This is a gift I brought to the prince."
It's not a rare item, just a silk jacket.
But this place is relatively close to the equator and is so hot every day that the cool and thin silk clothes are very practical.
"You're welcome." Liu Shun smiled, put away his clothes, and asked the natives to carry vegetables, fruits and drinking water to the fleet.
There is no cash register here, only physical transactions are done. The islanders like all kinds of meat very much.
Lu Fang prepared some cured meat in Yinzhou. When he encountered a deserted island along the way, he would also shoot the animals on the island, dry them on the deck to make dried meat, and transport it here to trade for food and fresh water. In addition, there was salt, Fushan Bay in Yinzhou
You can now boil your own salt in Mazu Bay and Mazu Bay, and you can also exchange it for supplies if you transport it here.
There is also dry guano. The land in the islands here is barren and a large amount of fertilizer must be applied to achieve high yields.
Many crew members landed on the island and went to rest in wooden houses with thatched roofs, where they could sleep peacefully and comfortably for a night. King Liu Shun even started a hotel business.
The house Liu Shun lived in was also built with a few logs and covered with thatch to protect it from wind and rain. His princess was a Spanish and Cuban beauty, and his concubine was an indigenous woman on the island.
In terms of living conditions, they are not as good as those of the rich people in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty.
Liu Shun invited Lu Fang to his palace, and the two princesses warmly received him. The table was full of fish-related dishes, and at least a plate of fried vegetables was included.
Lu Fang took out two bottles of rum, drank one himself and handed the other to Liu Shun.
The two got drunk and chatted quite happily.
Lu Fang asked drunkenly: "Old Liu, you have been away from Ming Dynasty for almost five years, and you have never thought of going back to visit?"
Liu Shun was lying on the ground with a bottle of wine, his face full of bitterness: "Why go back? There was a flood, and the whole family fled, and now I am the only one left. Hou Renyi of Tanhai asked me to be crowned king, and I will be old." I just want to be the king of the island." Liu Shun pointed at the mixed-race beauty and said with a smile, "I am just a farmer digging in the soil, how could I have imagined that one day I could be crowned king and marry such a beautiful woman? I am satisfied."
"Yes, it's just like a dream." Lu Fang also began to recall the difficult years in the past.
Liu Shun said: "We have to thank Xianggong Wang. If he hadn't worked hard to open the sea, if he hadn't asked the late emperor to send a sea-exploring marquis, where would we be today?"
Lu Fang said: "The Wang Xiang is a saint in this world, and he is the reincarnation of the star king in the sky. But I heard that even the reincarnation of Mazu's soul has to ask the Wang Xiang in dreams to help take care of it."
Liu Shun smiled and said: "I know this. I am from Huzhou. The matter of Mazu asking Mr. Wang for help has long been spread throughout Zhejiang."
For the Han people who make a living at sea, whether they are merchants or sailors, the first place they want to worship is Mazu, and the second place they want to worship is Wang Yuan. On the main ships of some fleets, there are special cabins dedicated to the god Mazu. The throne is placed in the middle, and the seat of Wenquxing is placed next to it.
Wenquxing is Wang Yuan!
Although Wang Yuan has never been to the sea, if he goes to Nanyang, India or Yinzhou, he will definitely be able to respond to everything at once.
After resting on the island for two days, Lu Fang continued sailing with his fleet. They did not go straight west, but went west and slightly north, with the Marshall Islands in front of them. The owner of the island was named Lin Chun, a Ming Dynasty in the Pacific. The first king to be canonized, the Marshall Islands is also known as the "Guanghai Kingdom".
After passing Guanghai Country, there are all small islands along the way, and even Guam has been discovered.
Lu Fang took the new sea route, going directly from Guam to northern Luzon, where there was a port city established by Wang Ce. After trading a large amount of agricultural products, he purchased goods from Luzon and went to Taiwo Bay (southern Taiwan) for supply trade.
Then he bypassed Taiwan Island and went straight to Fuzhou Dagang, sold all the goods on the ship, then bought freight from Fujian to Hangzhou or Tianjin, and then went to Japan to Beiyinzhou.
The rosin gum, a specialty of Shengzhou, has been sold like crazy in Fuzhou.
At first, it was only used by believers who believed in Buddhism to add it to incense and burn it. Gradually, this thing was favored by literati as an additive to the best ink sticks, and the written words had a refreshing fragrance. .
The price of rosin gum has exceeded the same weight of gold.
Lu Fang led the fleet to dock at Tianjin Port and personally escorted the money to Beijing.
Chen Li plans to donate 20,000 taels of silver to the emperor every year in exchange for the title of an earl. With this status, he can get more high-level exiled prisoners, and at least some craftsmen exiled in Yinzhou.
Shengzhou has developed into a bottleneck state, with a severe shortage of management talents and technical talents, all of which require the support of the imperial court.