Chapter 22, Twenty-seven moments in the four years of Chongzhen (twenty-two)
Moment 22: Who is the real overlord of the Seven Seas?
Southern Indian peninsula, Portuguese colony, Port of Goa, cruiser "Constitution" of the Chinese American Republic
An open-air banquet, which could be described as luxurious by the standards of this era, was being held on the flagship deck of the Expedition Fleet of the Chinese-American Republic.
However, a certain general wearing a formal coat and gold epaulettes showed an extremely impolite expression in front of the guests.
"...Poof——"
About 90% of the 50 ml of the best French Bordeaux wine died in a beautiful arc with the luxurious handmade Persian carpet on the ground, and the other 10% entered the residence of Major General Sun Yang, commander of the Chinese-American Republic's Far East Task Force. respiratory tract.
——This is what happened within 5 seconds after Major General Sun Yang learned the name of the heroic female captain opposite.
"...cough cough cough...Li, Hua, Mei?! Miss, is your name really Li Huamei?"
Major General Sun Yang took out the crystal glass wine glass and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. At the same time, he held back his cough and asked reluctantly. The several naval officers of the Chinese-American Republic standing next to him also looked dumbfounded and in disbelief.
"...Yes, my surname is Li, Muzi Li, the same character 'Hua' as the name of your country, and the plum blossom means plum... He is the captain of the Hangzhou..."
The young woman opposite, wearing a black knee-length skirt and a loose Spanish shirt, with ear-length short hair, who was quite in line with modern aesthetics, blinked her eyes curiously, and at the same time raised the glass of gin in her hand. Jiu motioned, "...Is there any problem?"
What's the problem? It's obviously a big problem, okay? Didn't we travel through time and space, but into a video game?
Major General Sun Yang secretly rolled his eyes, and while talking casually, he looked back at a few of his unpromising subordinates, and found that they all looked like they had seen a ghost, stretching out their hands to pinch themselves, and staring at each other. Those who came and watched, even whispered: "...Hangzhou...Li Huamei...all match the "Age of Discovery"...I wonder if there is proof of the Overlord of the Seven Seas..."
Just when Major General Sun Yang looked embarrassed and annoyed, Captain Li Huamei, who had sharp ears, unexpectedly heard the whispers of all the time travellers, "...The proof of the Overlord of the Seven Seas?" She asked with a smile, "...What's so interesting about that? Something? Can you let me see it? ”
Poor Major General Sun Yang suddenly broke into cold sweat, profuse sweat, and waterfall sweat - Hey, hey, miss, are you really the Li Huamei in "The Age of Discovery"? Even if this time and space is really the reality of "The Age of Discovery" Version, where did you ask me to find for you the bow and arrows of Ur, the hunting god, the crown of Cambyses, the king of Persia, the Changxin palace lantern from Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, and the crystal skull of the Aztec Empire? Well, I remember that in the captain's room of the Sapphire, there seemed to be a modern crystal glass skull handicraft the size of a fist. I wonder if I can make it work...
In short, with the above messy thoughts, Major General Sun Yang finally managed to deal with the interesting Captain Li Huamei. He immediately arranged for people to find out the origin of this mysterious female captain Li Huamei, and soon collected a lot of information about the mysterious female captain Li Huamei. Her information:
According to Portuguese businessmen in Goa Port, Li Huamei has been running business on the "Macau-Goa" route since five or six years ago, trafficking various specialties from China to India. Initially, traditional Chinese specialties such as silk, porcelain and tea were shipped. In the past two years, some so-called "Australian goods" have been added - steel needles, sugar, glass mirrors, salt soda and Chinese patent medicines, etc. In the fruit A very popular in the market.
"...According to several Portuguese businessmen who helped us traffic immigrants from China, this Li Huamei has a close relationship with the traversers entrenched in Hainan Island. For the past three years, she has monopolized the traversers who claim to be Australians in Hainan Island, and has Trade patent between the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Goa, purchasing various Indian and European goods for them, and even helped us transport Chinese immigrants several times..."
Taking advantage of the break in the banquet program, several senior officials of the China-American Republic Expeditionary Fleet quietly gathered in the captain's room, avoiding the dignitaries and prominent figures in the Port of Goa on the deck, and held a short meeting in private. "...Her ship 'Hangzhou', I just took a boat over to have a look. It was parked less than 500 meters away from us. It is a small ketch of about 150 tons. . Its bow has a faux The swordfish-like fangs allow it to hoist a long row of sails, making it more agile than an ordinary sailboat. It can reach a speed of 11 knots in a tailwind and is a very useful tool for smuggling and pirates. By ship. According to the information provided by the port authority, in addition to Indian spices and cotton, the goods imported by the 'Hangzhou' also included more than a dozen white female slaves purchased from the Basra slave market..."
Yan Xiaosong, the government's special envoy for diplomacy, knocked on the table and announced, "... Let's discuss now. What do you think about this matter?"
"...How should I put it? I don't think we have traveled to the game "Age of Discovery". At least many important elements and plot characters in that game have not been heard of at all in these years - except in front of us. Except for the female captain Li Huamei! Even this Li Huamei feels very strange. At least the noble Li Huamei in the game will never get involved in the slave trade.”
Major Li Fan, the captain of the light cruiser Soapstone, a fan of the "Age of Discovery" game who traveled back in time, said thoughtfully, "...and the era is wrong - the Li Huamei character set in the "Age of Discovery" game. , but the average life span of ancient people. Generally speaking, by this time in 1631 AD, that Li Huamei should have been buried long ago... So I suspect that this female captain should be a spy or informant hired by the time-travelers on Hainan Island, or she may even be a A well-disguised time traveler! ”
"...Spy? Haha!" Someone sneered at this, "...If she is really a qualified spy, she shouldn't use this name!"
"...Maybe she didn't expect to face us, but was just responsible for gathering intelligence on Europeans and Indians in Goa," another person retorted.
"...Maybe it's just a coincidence? But...Li Huamei added the Hangzhou number? This coincidence is too coincidental!"
……
Seeing a group of subordinates discussing such ridiculous topics as "Have they traveled through the Age of Discovery", Major General Sun Yang couldn't help but feel a headache... But on the other hand, since the "Great Disaster" , the various stories that happened to these travelers in North America, and even the birth and establishment of the "China-America Republic", in the eyes of future generations, are they not a ridiculous thing?
——The Catastrophe, this is the name that all the travelers of the Chinese-American Republic gave to the mysterious storm that blew them to the North American continent in the seventeenth century.
This catastrophe caused them to leave their familiar home and come to the still desolate Manhattan Island of New York, USA in 1620 AD. However, it also sent them hundreds of containers of modern industrial products, as well as a variety of industrial machinery, port machinery and vehicles, and even five large cargo ships - although these poor ships are all stuck on the land and can almost only be recycled as scrap metal...
Next, they first concluded an alliance with the Delaware tribe, the indigenous Indians in New York, and formally established the "China-American Republic" on this land. In later generations, "Manchester City" was built on Manhattan Island as the capital. In the next eleven years, this new country quickly developed and prospered, taking advantage of the countless legacies of the 21st century industrial society and the rich resources of the North American continent.
——Although they came to the American continent at almost the same time, they also adopted the system of a republic, and they also had technologies and ideas that transcended the times. However, due to the huge differences in geostrategic environments, the East Coast countries and China and the United States soon embarked on completely different paths. Development path:
The East Coast Republic, which was entrenched in the Uruguay region of South America in later years, was surrounded by Portuguese and Spanish colonies and was harassed by France, the Netherlands and other countries at sea. Therefore, it had to extremely advocate force and bet on its national destiny again and again. With its pitiful population size, it fought a bloody battle with the huge Spanish Empire and seized territory and resources from the Spanish colonies in the Americas, just like the Japanese militarism of the seventeenth century.
However, New York State, which is located in later generations, has the vast North American continent at its back, and the Chinese-American Republic, which has no strong hostile forces around it, can selectively absorb European and Asian immigrants while calmly conquering and integrating the native Indians. Rhythm and pace, establishing the Our own country, its organizational structure and social form are more similar to the United States of America in the 19th century. Although the status of military personnel in the United States is equally noble, the militaristic atmosphere and bellicose expansionism of "all for war" are not Far less dense than the east coast countries of South America.
When these two traveler regimes, nine thousand kilometers apart, finally discovered each other, there was indeed a period of time when they were moved by "meeting an old friend in a foreign land", and the passion and joy of "meeting a fellow countryman brings tears to my eyes". But then, in order to compete for European markets and resources, in the ruthless competition for interests, the East Coast countries and China and the United States quickly tore off the veil of tenderness - commercial competition, price wars, diplomatic competition, agents War...except for formal military encounters In addition, both sides used almost all means: modern arms produced by China and the United States were used by the Spaniards in the Second La Plata War to encircle and suppress the East Coast countries; the East Coast countries armed and hired pirate fleets, Massive plundering of Chinese and American merchant ships in the Caribbean. Especially in the South African colony, the colonial black armies of both sides fought directly, almost provoking a full-scale war...
After a series of civil and military battles, although the East Coast Kingdom repeatedly won the war against the Spaniards and seized a large area of rich land in South America, it was unable to fight against the Spanish because the land war consumed too many resources. The US fleet gained the upper hand. Fortunately, the Chinese American Republic had no intention of helping the Spanish to eliminate this "country of compatriots". In the end, the two sides reached a general intention of "cooperating to develop and share the new world" and an information sharing system for mutual exchanges during the collision. However, The sense of competition between them has never been completely eliminated.
This eastern expedition of the Chinese and American Republic's naval fleet is, in a sense, the product of a sense of competition - since the East Coast country's global voyage expedition returned to Uruguay in the early spring of this year, it brought the "accidental discovery of Australian travelers" Group, and established radio contact with the Ming Dynasty’s local traveler group”, not only It caused a huge sensation in the East Coast Country, and also caused a stir after it spread to the Chinese and American Republics... So, when the East Coast Republic's second global voyage fleet weighed anchor and set off from their capital "Oriental Port" Not to be outdone, the Chinese American Republic organized a huge fleet and rushed thousands of miles to the ancestral land of Eastern Asia.
Due to its hasty departure, the Eastern Expedition Fleet had not fully decided what it was going to do after arriving in the Far East until the time of departure. Doing business along the way and recruiting Ming immigrants were of course established matters that could not be changed, but Other matters and how to deal with the relationship with the Ming Empire and other time traveler forces can only depend on the judgment of the military and political officials of the Eastern Expedition Fleet.
Then, the Eastern Expeditionary Fleet had just arrived in Goa on the west coast of India. While hosting a banquet for Portuguese colonial officials and wealthy businessmen, they unexpectedly discovered a "Li Huamei" falling from the sky... This discovery made Special Envoy Yan Xiaosong and Sun Major General Yang and others were all very confused.
Of course, confusion is still confusion. After all, this is just an interesting discovery, so Major General Sun Yang quickly made a decision: "... strengthen surveillance on this female captain, and at the same time continue to collect intelligence. She is not specifically running Is the route from Macau to Goa relevant to the South China Sea in this era? She should be very familiar! Find someone to try and ask her if she is willing to lead the team for us. The hiring price is favorable! Since it is a suspicious unstable factor, just keep it under your nose anyway! A small boat weighing several tons can’t capsize in any big waves..."
——For navigators in the age of sail, knowledge of meteorology, hydrology, ocean currents, wind direction, astronomy, etc. is indispensable, otherwise they will be in great trouble. At that time, Magellan's group didn't even have a nautical chart, so they sailed around the world in a small boat of more than 100 tons. They relied entirely on accidental collisions to sail the ship. It was incredible luck that the ship was not destroyed and no one was killed after such chaos. Although the equipment of the Chinese American Republic was much more advanced than that of Magellan, and its knowledge reserve was greater, it could not measure the distance between two ports on a map and then draw a straight line for navigation - this behavior was very ridiculous. The choice of route between two ports is a very serious matter. You need to consider the season, weather, wind direction, and ocean currents. The route may be completely different in different seasons. Sometimes the wind direction and current may be suitable, but if the sea conditions are bad, that is not possible. Easy sailing... In short, sailing in the age of sail is an extremely complex systematic project. Without advanced technology, rich knowledge and a certain amount of luck, it is impossible to achieve success.
For the Chinese and American Republic fleet that arrived in East Asia for the first time, even with the accurate maps of later generations, they are still exploring an unfamiliar route. Although they have advanced tools (sextant, mechanical watches), ships with extremely high survivability, and Seasoned sailors, but at the end of the day this It is still a matter of gambling on luck. It is very likely that a storm or a reef can wipe out the huge fleet. In this case, you can hire someone who travels back and forth on this route several times a year for a small price. It is obviously a very cost-effective thing for a veteran to help guide the way.
At the same time, the mysterious Captain Li Huamei was also carefully observing this huge fleet flying the blue and white five-star flag.
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Li Huamei, formerly known as Li Chun, is a female spy, as an officer of the Chinese-American Republic Expeditionary Fleet speculated - however, she is not serving the "pseudo-Australians" in Lingao County, Hainan Island, but a hostile force An agent who infiltrates the "Australians".
——Li Huamei’s boss is Li Siya, a Chinese-Portuguese mixed-race pirate leader who is very influential in Macau and is known for her ruthlessness. Long before the "Australians" landed in Lingao, Li Siya had bad intentions against the travelers in Guangzhou. She first planned to kidnap Chairman Wen Desi, and after that failed, she teamed up with Liu Xiang and the Spaniards to attack Bopu Port, but the result It was still a huge defeat... Fortunately, those who lost were not her direct descendants.
Therefore, Li Siya, who had learned from the painful experience, decided to send capable personnel to sneak into the group of "Australians" in Lingao County, Hainan Island to gather information. When they kidnapped Chairman Wen Desi, although the meat ticket was eventually escaped, Li Siya Siya still obtained some gadgets from the modern world, including a piece of cover paper from a pirated game CD of "The Age of Discovery", with a cartoon image of the heroic Li Huamei on it.
The content on this piece of paper aroused Li Siya's great interest: the sea, the three-masted ship, the beautiful female pirate, and the inexplicable explanation text. She can still understand the term "Age of Discovery", but what does the Certificate of Dominance of the Seven Seas mean? And who is Li Huamei? But no matter what, Li Huamei is definitely famous among Australians - this can be seen from the caption on the painting.
In short, after reading this piece of paper, Li Siya has a new goal in her thrill-seeking life - to obtain the certificate of dominance!
But what exactly is the evidence of overlordship can obviously only be found out from the mouths of those Australians. Li Siya, who originally loved adventure, planned to take on the role of breaking into the enemy lines herself, but she had already shown her face in front of Wen Desi, and her reputation in the local area was too great. In the end, she had to decide to let her nanny Li Chun do it - Li Chun is the daughter of her wet nurse. She is of pure Chinese descent. She grew up in her home. Like her, she is deeply influenced by Chinese and Portuguese cultures. She is her deputy and sister. They have been adventuring together at sea for many years, so they are very suitable. Play the role of a female sea merchant.
Finally, in order to make it easier for the Australians to accept her, Li Siya gave Li Chun the name "Li Huamei" - Li Siya instinctively had a premonition that the Australians would be suspicious of her spy because of their misconceptions about this name. Good impression.
So, the newly-minted Captain Li Huamei started to contact the "Australians", but unfortunately it was not very successful. Although he got to know some "Australians" quite well, he failed to find out any key information - —The main reason is the difference in knowledge accumulation. Even if the steam engine is placed in front of her, Li Huamei doesn't know how to imitate it. But even so, the towering iron ship, those astonishingly powerful cannons, the warships that emitted black smoke and could travel without sails, and various novel but extremely practical navigation tools still left Li Huamei with He was deeply impressed and even believed that given time and with their various secret skills, these Australians would surely become the true overlords of the Seven Seas.
However, during this routine voyage to Goa Port, Li Huamei made a new discovery due to an accidental banquet...
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The deck of the cruiser USS Constitution was decorated with colorful flags, leaves and flowers. The neatly arranged long tables are filled with colorful delicacies. What is particularly surprising is that a small stage has been temporarily set up in a corner of the deck, and a mini wind band is playing cheerful music, including flutes, clarinets, trumpets, French horns, trombones, and percussion instruments.
Officials from the Portuguese colonial authorities in Goa Port, captains of merchant ships from various countries, and wealthy local Indian gentlemen were all invited to the banquet, and the deck was crowded with people. Indian nobles and Europeans were holding goblets and wandering around curiously, or they gathered in small groups to chat. Some people sipped the wine slowly, while others ate from plates. Many sailors in blue and white striped uniforms carried trays filled with wine, shuttling among the crowd like butterflies. There are also chefs wearing high white hats showing off their skills in front of the grill, grilling sausages, chicken and lamb until they are sizzling.
Captain Li Huamei also held a glass of gin and leaned against the railing of the ship's side. However, he didn't pay much attention to the food on the long table or the performance on the stage. Instead, he concentrated on looking at this boat with the blue and white five-star flag flying, which was said to come from all over the world. The "American" fleet at the other end.
——Five 1,500-ton "cruisers", five 900-ton "frigates", twelve 3,000-ton steam-sail hybrid merchant ships, no matter which ship is placed in Daming Along the coast, there are staggering super ships. As for the smaller three-masted ships, two-masted ships, and single-masted speedboats, there are too many to count. According to Li Huamei's visual inspection, the total number is at least one hundred, and even the smallest ship among them seems to be as big as his own. The "Hangzhou" was almost the same size - otherwise it would have been impossible to cross the vast ocean.
On the seas of East Asia, even if the Spanish, British, Portuguese and Dutch united, they would not be able to defeat such an unprecedentedly powerful fleet. As a battle-hardened pirate leader, Li Huamei quickly made a decision. Calculated as above.
In addition, she was also very keenly aware that there were obviously too many similarities between these "gorgeous people" whom she met for the first time and the "Australians" in Lingao - the same short hair, the same northern accent. "Guanhua" (Mandarin) also claimed to be a descendant of the Song Dynasty who was scattered overseas. A machine that emitted black smoke was installed on it, which could push the ship forward without relying on wind... In addition, after hearing their new name "Li Huamei", these "Huamei people" also made a very rude reaction, just like their first It was the same as when I appeared in front of those Australians...
These wonderful discoveries mentioned above made Li Huamei greatly interested in these "gorgeous people". Therefore, when the other party tentatively asked her to accompany them and guide them on the route, Li Huamei readily agreed - so that she could observe this magical fleet more closely.
"...It seems that even the Australian navy is no match for them - these gorgeous people also have the unique skills that the Australians have. When this fleet with the blue and white five-star flag appeared in When Fujian and Guangdong are along the coast, I’m afraid they will become the true overlord of the Seven Seas!”
Li Huamei thought this slightly drunkenly while sipping the gin in her glass with a blushing face.
However, in a certain southern continent where kangaroos are infested, there is another fleet flying the goshawk flag with red background and double swords, and they object to this...
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Northwest Coast of Australia, Zhongnan City (Derby Port)
The clear sunshine after the rain pierces through the slowly dissipating clouds and shines on the rippling blue sea. Wooden sailboats of various sizes were swaying slightly in the calm harbor. A majestic 10,000-ton ship was guarded in the center, like an old hen with a group of chickens.
After more than half a year of construction, today's Zhongnan City has begun to take shape. Although the population is still sparse, forts, trestles, ship repair yards, lighthouses, dock warehouses and a kind of "steam-powered" boom have all appeared on the coast. On a piece of high ground overlooking the pier, the houses in the urban area are also well-built. Unfortunately, there are too few citizens who can move in, and for the time being, nine out of ten rooms are empty.
And then, when the East Coast Republic's global voyage fleet, flying the red double-sword goshawk flag, and the "Cosco Star" modern all-metal sailboat, which finally took advantage of the tide to get out of trouble, all weighed anchor and headed north according to the scheduled plan. When the Dutch "visited" Batavia, the total population of Zhongnan City was expected to drop sharply to less than 500 people...Due to the long journey around the world, the East Coast Republic did not bring many immigrants this time. .
In any case, in order to show off its power during this trip to the East and show off its power in front of the various forces in East Asia, the East Coast Republic has indeed spent a lot of money, using only two new twin-shaft sculls steamships and two An old paddle steamer was dispatched, along with dozens more Sailing ships of various types - although in terms of total tonnage, they are still slightly inferior to the Chinese and American Eastern Expedition Fleet, after adding the "Cosco Star" with a full load displacement of 11,000 tons, they must be enough to Those "cents" who have been "poisoned by liberalism" are overwhelming!
At this moment, Levi was holding a dinner plate, standing on the deck of the "Cosco Star", enjoying a rare and sumptuous meal: braised canned spring bamboo shoots, canned beef curry and anchovies with the red wine sent by the East Coast Country. Canned food - nearly two years after traveling to this time and space, the last batch of canned food stored as life-saving food on the "Cosco Star" was about to expire, so I simply took it all out to give everyone extra meals.
This feast is a very luxurious treat for all Australian travelers - although the wasteland reclaimed here last year has already produced its first harvest, due to the barren land, the main crops are some corn. The yields of whole grains such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even vegetables are not high. As for condiments, there is no way to collect them. Everyone usually only eats some salted fish to go with the meal. The staple food is crude sweet potato porridge or polenta. Even after the Republic fleet arrived on the east coast, they couldn't find much delicious food to offer to the Australian people. They could only eat more pasta and taste a few cans of whale meat that didn't taste very good: due to the long distance, , many sailors on the east coast still rely on Australia to provide their rations!
At the same time, with the sound of crisp whistles, many shackled Australian indigenous slave workers on the shore were loading packages of goods onto the ship with the help of steam booms. Some of it is coal mined locally, while some is traded goods - mostly pig iron and other metal ingots smelted in Australia, as well as steel products originally brought from the modern world, ready to be shipped to Batavia For sale to the Dutch.
——As the famous "country on the mine car" in later generations, the mineral resources of the Australian continent are indeed staggeringly rich.
"...Brother Li Wei, we are almost ready over there. How are you doing here? When can we set sail?"
Mo Ming, the commander of the East Coast Republic Expeditionary Force, who was wearing a uniform and carrying a sword, climbed onto the deck from the trestle on a rope net and said hello, "...it is still the rainy season in Australia, and it is rare to have a few days of good weather. If you don’t hurry up, it will be unpleasant to go out to sea in the heavy rain.”
"...We just finished cleaning up the attachments on the bottom of the ship. We are all very tired. The captain asked us to rest for another day. Once the supplies are loaded, we should be able to set off for Batavia." Levi changed the last piece a little bit. braised in oil Chun Bamboo stuffed it into his mouth and said, "...Haha, with such a large fleet and the unprecedented visit of this 10,000-ton ship, the Dutch over there must be very surprised when they see it. ! ”
However, the "surprise" that the Dutch people in Batavia were about to endure next was much more exaggerated than Levi had expected. ——One day in October 1631 AD, the "pseudo-Australian" fleet from Lingao County, Hainan Island, the Chinese-American Republic's Eastern Expedition Fleet from North America, the East Coast Republic's Global Expedition Fleet from South America, and the only A "real-Australian" all-metal 10,000-ton modern sail from Australia Ships, plus a number of Spanish, Danish, British, French, Portuguese, and Japanese merchant ships that followed suit, a super large convoy of about 300 ships in total, arrived in Batavia, the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, almost at the same time, allowing the Dutch here to , overseas Chinese and indigenous people exploded together...