The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The "Golden Hind" sailed along the west coast of America, all the way north, and unknowingly crossed the equator and entered the area that would later become the US-Canada border, which is the sea west of Peanut State, Seattle, and Vancouver.

"Captain, do you want to continue going north? It seems that there is no way out."

The crew member whispered.

It has been more than a year since Drake came out, and now he has few choices. He can either continue to go north and find a route that bypasses the "New World" from the north, return to the Atlantic and go back to Britain.

Or, continue westward and cross the treacherous Pacific Ocean to complete your circumnavigation of the world.

Although Drake did intend to emulate Magellan at the beginning and find global routes for the British Empire.

But now, he had to admit that he had thought the difficulties were too simple.

There were several accompanying ships, and now only the Golden Hind was left. There was no news about the other ships. Perhaps they had sunk or been captured by the Spaniards.

Of course, there is another possibility, that is, they have returned to the UK.

As it concerns the life and death of everyone on the ship, Drake is also very conflicted.

Relatively speaking, returning by the same route was the most likely option, but this time during their voyage northward, they looted all the Spanish strongholds they found and robbed all the ships on the sea.

Yes, all Spanish ships.

Now, their whereabouts have been exposed.

Although, there are now sufficient supplies on the Golden Deer.

During the looting, in addition to taking away gold and silver, they also picked out exquisite and high-value items. However, the Golden Deer was alone, so there was still a lot of space left on the ship for loading supplies.

They had no way to dock at the Spanish ports. Once they were discovered and caught by the Spanish, they would definitely be punished according to the way they dealt with pirates, which was to hang them.

Moreover, on the way here, the Spanish must have assembled a fleet and were searching for them.

The robbery was carried out so smoothly because the Spanish thought it was safe here and no ships from other countries would arrive, so they were not prepared for their sudden appearance.

However, the Europeans were still inferior to the Chinese. Apart from taking away the supplies they needed, Drake did not kill the captives, but let them leave to fend for themselves.

It is impossible that so many people died. Someone must have reported their whereabouts to the Spanish Governor in Mexico, not to mention that two Spanish merchant ships escaped.

“To the north.”

Drake glanced at the northern continent. Well, if they continued sailing, they would see Alaska in a few days.

Of course, it depends on whether the water flow and wind direction can support them.

However, the coastline stretching to the horizon dissuaded Drake from continuing to search for a route northward.

It would be even colder there, and perhaps if they hadn't found the route, they would have all frozen to death.

The British are no strangers to the northern waters.

"We're not heading north anymore. God knows if there's a passage to continue forward."

Drake finally decided not to continue sailing along the coastline.

In fact, it is mainly a record of geography, flora, fauna and ocean currents, and it cannot be called research.

Because of the high risk of this voyage, everyone on the ship received enough money to settle down from the royal family and Drake.

Even if they all died, at least I could have peace of mind.

But, who doesn’t want to go back alive?

Not to mention anything else, just taking the cargo on the ship back now, although it is the wealth of Drake and the Queen, they can also get a lot of money according to the agreement.

Drake looked back at the sailor, the second mate on the ship, and shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the Spanish fleet is searching for us on the way here.

We can’t fight them with just one boat.”

Hearing Drake say this, the sailor had already guessed what he was thinking and nodded silently.

“Find a berth and rest here today.

Tomorrow our ship will sail southwest, hoping to use the equatorial monsoon to cross this sea.

According to the intelligence we collected before, as long as we can cross this sea, we should be able to reach China, that mysterious oriental country."

Drake suddenly became emotional and spoke to his men.

Perhaps he hoped to use such emotions to influence the second mate, and then he would influence the other sailors.

"Governor, the Ming people's fleet has appeared again."

At the Governor's Palace in Malacca, the city defense commander Lopez Sequeira once again met with the Portuguese governor here and reported the findings of the naval patrol ship.

"These damn Ming people pass by here from time to time."

The Portuguese governor cursed, "I'm going to write a letter to Goa. We need to strengthen our military strength here. Otherwise, God knows when the Ming people will send troops to occupy here."

The center of Portugal's rule over the entire Indian Ocean was in Goa, which was responsible for managing all Portuguese strongholds from Dong'an in Africa to Southeast Asia.

"Now that the Ming people have occupied Myanmar, the connection between Jiugang and Myanmar must pass through here, so it is indeed necessary to strengthen the defense here."

Lopez agreed with this statement. As the commander of the defense of Malacca City, who wouldn't want to have more troops under his command? This would make him feel more at ease.

"In the past, those Ming merchants would come to our place to do business, but now they have all gone to the Old Port. Even our merchants have to go there to purchase goods. Apart from controlling the strait, what other development will there be here in the future?"

For some time, the Ming Empire required all Ming sea merchants to enter the Old Port for trade. Although there were still many people secretly selling goods in other places, they did not dare to engage in smuggling activities and did not dare to sell too many goods.

However, the direct consequence was significant, that is, the number of Ming people coming to Malacca to do business decreased.

In the past, they traded with Portuguese merchants in Malacca, exchanging goods from the East and the West.

Through this, Malacca City can also obtain taxes to develop the city, which is also the main source of income here.

The rest is the berthing fee for merchant ships.

However, the Ming fleet, the main user of the waterway in the past two years, has never docked in Malacca, so there is naturally a loss of income.

If it is a merchant ship, they naturally have a way to make them dock and pay, and there will be guide ships to stop them.

But facing the Ming navy, well, the Portuguese still didn't dare to do so.

Lopez glanced out the window, then quickly walked to the window and looked out.

The Portuguese Governor also stood up, walked to his side and stood still, looking at the huge fleet that appeared on the waterway.

"There are hundreds of ships again. They seem to be even more powerful than the Ming navy that passed by before."

This fleet was the diplomatic fleet brought by Yin Zhengmao. It was equipped with more than ten gunboats of various types and several large Fujian ships, as well as the main force of the South China Sea Navy. Naturally, it looked even more powerful.

In more than an hour, nearly half of the Ming navy had arrived, and the size of the entire fleet had already caught the attention of Lopez and the Portuguese governor.

"There are more than ten gunboats added. It seems that there should be more gunboats in the Ming Dynasty.

Our merchants came back earlier and said that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent an official named Zheng Maoyin to the Saracens’ territory, saying that they had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty more than a hundred years ago.”

Lopez continued.

"It was already said that it happened over a hundred years ago. Who cares about them now?"

The Portuguese Governor said with a hint of contempt.

"With this fleet, they dare not care."

Lopez shook his head.

After hearing this, the governor finally stopped talking.

"Their emperor is about to get married."

After a long time, when the Ming navy was about to pass through the border completely, the Portuguese governor finally spoke.

"Yes."

Lopez nodded in response.

"But why don't they come here?"

The Governor said solemnly.

"The Ming Kingdom only recognizes Mancijia, and they have cut off contact with us before."

Lopez is very familiar with this period of history. Although he is a military attaché, he attaches more importance to these.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty had contacted them and asked them to withdraw from Malacca and allow Mancijia to restore its country.

Such a request was naturally flatly rejected by the Portuguese.

“We still have to arrange for people to go to Jiugang and Bago to express to them our sincerity in wanting reconciliation.”

The Governor spoke, now completely devoid of his previous arrogance.

"Contact Goa first, maybe the Ming people will go there."

Lopez thought for a moment before speaking.

If the Ming Dynasty really ignored Portugal and only invited their country, it would be too disrespectful to the Kingdom of Portugal.

Although they are outsiders, they have actually occupied this place and have become part of it.

"I'll write right away."

On the tribute ship, Yin Zhengmao was lying on the side of the ship, looking back at the city in the Strait of Malacca.

"It's a hassle to guard the key points."

Yin Zhengmao whispered to Yu Dayou behind him.

Although Yu Dayou is of a higher rank between the two, this was the way it was in the Ming Dynasty, an era where culture suppressed military power, so Yu Dayou could only stand behind Yin Zhengmao.

“I’ve passed by here a few times, and I’ve noticed that although they’ve built artillery batteries on the top of hills around the city, they all face the strait and are not as good as the trench-shaped artillery batteries that can fire from all directions.

We only need to land nearby and launch a surprise attack, and we can easily take this place."

Yu Dayou said in a low voice.

Yin Zhengmao looked back at Yu Dayou, then looked back at Malacca City, shook his head and said with a smile: "Admiral Yu, without the imperial court's order, you must not start a war without authorization.

If you disrupt the arrangements made by Lord Wei, and the overall situation of the court, I’m afraid no one can save you.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Dayou immediately lowered his head.

"I talked a lot with Elder Wei during this trip to the capital. You should know why the Spanish were left in Luzon."

Yin Zhengmao said in a low voice, then raised his hand and pointed at Malacca City and said: "It should be the same here.

Lord Wei never said that he planned to occupy this place, because once the government army defeated the Portuguese, the Portuguese merchants would probably not dare to come here to do business again.

That's all real money to buy my goods. How much tax can the court receive?"

"I know I was wrong."

Yu Dayou immediately admitted his mistake.

"That's good to know."

Yin Zhengmao didn't want to delve into it, and suddenly laughed and said, "In the past, people always said that the Yi people were Yi people, but I didn't expect that they were really people from two different countries. Although they look similar, the flags they raise are different in where they go to play."

“Yes, sir, to distinguish these barbarians, you have to look at the flags above their heads.

Although it looks a bit fancy, I think it is quite interesting after thinking about it, and it is also very useful on the battlefield."

Yu Dayou immediately said with a smile.

"We also have five-color military flags. It's the same principle."

Yin Zhengmao was not an ordinary civil servant. He knew what a civil servant should know, and he, as a civil servant, also knew what a military general knew.

Naturally, he knew very well the role of military flags in battle.

"By the way, the Portuguese leader here is in Goa, is that confirmed?"

Yin Zhengmao suddenly asked.

"It was confirmed, through information obtained from Portuguese merchants trading in the old port, that the Governor of Goa, Aquila, governed several of their nearby cities, including Malacca.

At first, they only occupied a bay nearby to build a port, and then they seized Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate after their strength expanded.

Yu Dayou answered immediately.

Bijapur Sultanate is a bit difficult to pronounce, and Yu Dayou hesitated for a moment before he gave this name.

"That Mughal Empire didn't cause them any trouble either, which is really strange."

Yin Zhengmao shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He had read some information about the situation in the West in Ming Dynasty, but he only saw the latest information in Jiugang.

When the Portuguese occupied Goa, the west coast of India was still ruled by several sultanates.

More than a decade later, the Mughal Empire in central India emerged and expanded everywhere, annexing these small countries.

However, the Mughal Empire did not use force to occupy Goa, which was occupied by the Portuguese, but left it alone.

Perhaps, the Mughal emperor at that time also hoped to understand the situation of Europeans and conduct some trade through here.

After all, the Portuguese were fighting the Bijapur Sultanate, not the Mughal Empire.

"Sir Yin, from what I know about the Portuguese occupation of Goa, it is very similar to the current situation in the trenches."

Yu Dayou suddenly reminded at this time.

"Oh? How do you mean?"

Yin Zhengmao became interested and asked in a low voice.

Yu Dayou immediately told Yin Zhengmao the news he had heard.

At the beginning, the Portuguese came to the vicinity of Goa and first occupied Andediwa, Cannanore and Cochin, but the place they were most optimistic about building a big city was actually Goa.

However, Goa was also a place that the Bijapur Sultanate valued and was heavily guarded.

It was not until more Portuguese arrived and had greater strength that they took Goa under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque, who became the first Portuguese Governor of Goa.

It was also under his command that the Portuguese captured Malacca.

"The Portuguese population in Haojing is increasing. I am worried that they will use the same old tricks and plan to further expand their territory in Ming Dynasty once their strength increases."

Yu Dayou finally expressed his concerns.

In fact, no one had ever thought about this before the Ming Dynasty. After all, how powerful the Ming Dynasty was was not something that the Chinese people in later generations could understand.

But Yu Dayou thought of the changes in Goa and the mirror, which was different. (End of this chapter)