A big blessed ship sailed west along the coastline with a Garen sailboat. After three days of voyage, they finally turned southwest and headed towards a huge harbor.
"Captain, it seems that this is the old port that the Ming people call."
The second deputy stood beside Drake and whispered to him.
Through the telescope, they had already clearly seen the view in the bay. It was a huge harbor with dozens of sea boats of all sizes parked on the pier.
Most sea boats look like the lucky ship in front, which is also the most commonly used ship type by the Ming Dynasty maritime merchants.
Putting down the telescope, Drake said incrediblely: "I can't imagine that more than a hundred years ago, they formed a huge fleet of ships to sail thousands of miles, sailing here from the north for thousands of miles, and then continued to westward to the east coast of Africa."
"Well, if Bao is right, they went out to sea half a century earlier than the Portuguese.
But no matter what, it is not the Ming Dynasty who truly realizes the global navigation, but us Europa. ”
However, the second deputy did not mean anything to be discouraged because the Ming people entered the ocean earlier, and said proudly.
In the past two days, when they stopped the boat to rest in the evening, Bao Shaoshi of Ming Dynasty was invited to board the Jinlu, and they also went to the Ming Dynasty's sea boat.
Although both sides communicate in Portuguese, they are still very smooth.
The other party seems to be more familiar with Portuguese, perhaps because their customers are more Portuguese.
Through communication, Drake learned more about the news that was hidden by the Portuguese and the Spaniards.
Of course, the news that the Eastern fleet arrived on the east coast of Africa a hundred years ago is actually circulating in Europe, but most people just think it is just a joke.
But through communication with Mr. Bao, Drake was convinced that the joke was true.
According to Bao Shaoshi, as early as a hundred years ago, the large warships built by the Ming Dynasty were exactly the same as the largest warships in advanced Europe.
However, building such giant ships has extremely high requirements for wood, so the Ming Dynasty itself does not have many such large warships.
"According to Bao, the treasure ship in their Ming Kingdom is larger than the Lübeck Eagle."
Drake shook his head slightly and said.
The Lubeck Eagle that Drake mentioned was the largest sea ship in the world built in Europe at the end of the 16th century, with a displacement of 3,000 tons. It was the well-deserved maritime giant at that time.
The world's largest sea ship, this record has been maintained for a long time.
As a typical Carac sailing ship, the Lubeck Eagle had two taller front and rear towers at the beginning of its design.
It is only because of the three-layer main structure of the hull that it does not seem to stand out in appearance.
But the length of 78.3 meters, the width of 14.5 meters, and the draft standard of 5.3 meters are enough to dwarf ships in many competing countries.
After all, in that era when deep-water ports were not popular, the water depths of many major trade centers were only 5-7 meters.
Due to the need to deal with various disputes or attacks at sea, the Lübeck Eagle has also been given an extremely powerful firepower system.
According to the manuscript of German artillery master Hans Fraser, the ship was equipped with 8 48-pound heavy artillery, 6 24-pound medium artillery, and up to 26 10-pound light artillery.
If those close-range weapons of 3-5 pounds are included, the total number of artillery on the entire ship is a very considerable 130.
The mere expense of shells and gunpowder necessary to maintain these weapons shows the high importance the Hanseatic League merchants attached to her.
Even for non-military missions, there are always 350 sailors on board to be responsible for daily operations.
Their wages, rations and accidental pensions are another financial burden that many countries cannot face.
If the combat personnel rated at 650 are included, the cost of a single dispatch is very amazing.
The Lübeck Eagles should have escorted the Alliance's merchant fleet against pirate threats from Denmark, Sweden, Britain or Flanders.
It does not have to bear freight tasks, so it naturally cannot offset a considerable amount of operating costs, so no ship owner or investor can afford the dispatch costs.
At the same time, the Hanseatic League did not have direct opposing maritime competitors, making the huge giant ship useless.
What's even worse is that even if the ship is parked in the port and does nothing, it requires the minimum maintenance work.
So just two years later, the Lübeck Eagle carried out another uncomplicated modification. This once-the largest warship in the world has transformed into a full-time cargo ship, specifically responsible for the long-distance Iberian route.
Despite this, it is still the well-deserved giant ship of Europe in this era.
However, in the communication between Drake and Mr. Bao, there are still some obstacles to language or habits.
The treasure ship with 5,000 materials mentioned by Mr. Bao was mistakenly thought by Drake to have a displacement of 5,000 tons. In fact, according to the data that can be determined in later generations, the largest treasure ship in Zheng He's fleet is 5,000 materials. After conversion, the displacement exceeds 2,000 tons, which is very close to the maximum limit of the wooden sailboat.
Well, such a huge displacement completely exceeds Drake's thoughts, and it is said that in Bao Shaoshi's mouth, Zheng He's fleet has a large number of treasure ships, and at least sixty such super giant ships.
Drake could no longer imagine the grand occasion of such a fleet sailing.
You know, in the whole of Europe, there are probably less than 60 ships with displacement of more than 1,000 tons.
In fact, although Europe had begun its era of great navigation at this time, the displacement of sea ships was more than 100 tons. Ships with more than 500 tons were already considered large ships, and the number of sea ships with more than 1,000 tons was very rare.
But just talking about the large ship under his feet, the Golden Deer, is only more than one hundred tons, less than two hundred tons.
But it was with such a sea ship that they achieved a global voyage, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to come here.
Whether it was Columbus, Da Gama, or Magellan, when they made great discoveries on sailing, they all used such sea ships of more than 100 tons, mainly because the Europeans were very familiar with ships of this tonnage at this time and could exert their maximum effectiveness.
"Captain, look at it."
Just as Drake was exploring, the second deputy suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.
Drake looked in the direction of the second deputy, and a Ming warship was sailing towards them.
It was a double-decker warship. According to custom, Drake first observed the number of gun windows of the opponent and made a preliminary assessment of its combat power.
It is so simple and direct. First, analyze the number of cannons on the opponent's warship to determine the strength of the warship's firepower.
"It's stronger than our firepower."
Soon, Drake made his own judgment.
The gunship approached the Dafu ship of the Baby Master in front. After a brief exchange between the two ships at a certain distance, they left the channel and did not interrogate them.
There was no radio in this era, and each port had a dedicated patrol ship patrolling outside the port, interrogating all nearby ships.
In the words of Bao Shaoshi, their Bao family is an old maritime family in the old port and is very familiar with the entire old port.
After seeing the strength of the Ming Dynasty's maritime power, several major families in the old port consciously extinguished their thoughts and fully cooperated with the imperial court's management of the old port.
As for taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain near the old port and playing tax evasion tricks, let’s forget it, their necks are made of meat, not iron.
As for the old port that had just returned to the Ming Dynasty, Yu Dayou and Chen Lin also treated the indigenous people more tolerantly, and most of the previous incidents were not investigated.
Soon, the two ships entered the port, allowing them to observe this eastern port more clearly. Well, Drake can't remember how long it took for the Golden Deer to stop by the port.
Looking at the merchant ships moored on the wharf, there are Ming warships in the distance, and the workers carrying goods back and forth on the wharf, let the active trade atmosphere of this eastern port come to us.
With a small boat guided them, they arrived at a berth and stopped.
After the deck was set up, Drake handed over the affairs of the ship to the second deputy manager. He walked off the ship with two strong sailors and soon met with Bao Shao Shi.
"I will take you to the garrison palace. This is under the management of the Ming Dynasty's South Sea Navy. The person in charge of the city is the deputy general of the Navy Chen Lin and the Lord Chen.
If you have goods on the ship that need to be traded, you may have to purchase goods. The room there is our trading room here, where you can go to trade.
The goods are all in a nearby warehouse, and after completing the transaction, you can hire someone to deliver them to the ship.
If it is just the food and water needed on the ship, it can also be purchased there, and you can hire someone to transport it to your ship alive. ”
Mr. Bao was still very enthusiastic and took Drake to the city, while introducing him to the situation at the dock.
In addition to the exchange and warehouse, there are hotels next to it for crew members to get off the boat to rest, eat, drink and have fun.
However, Drake and others do not have the need for commodity trading, but they will also purchase some water and food from here to supplement the consumption on board.
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On the way to the city, Drake soon noticed the Mingren's wear, and he actually saw someone passing by them on a horse wearing expensive silk.
"Bao, are there fresh spices on your boat?"
Drake's heart moved and asked.
"Yes, Portuguese merchants like to purchase these goods, so our main business is to purchase spices from locals from the islands to the east to transport them back to the old port, and sell them when they arrive."
Master Bao replied with a smile.
"Then do you have the silk and porcelain from Ming Dynasty here? I want the best one."
Drake continued to ask.
"It should be that there are porcelain and silk shipped from the Ming Dynasty on the exchange, which are also something that the Portuguese like very much."
Master Bao replied.
"Oh, I'll go and have a look at it later.
Bao, are you taking me to that General Chen now? ”
"Yes, don't you say that you should bring your queen to me the letter from the Emperor Ming Dynasty, it would be better to send the letter to Lord Chen earlier."
Bao Shaoshi smiled and said, "If you had arrived here two months earlier, you might have met the imperial envoy Yin Zhengmao Yin, who was ordered to go to Western countries to announce the imperial edict."
"What does it mean?"
Drake and curious what kind of ceremony was it for the Emperor of Ming Dynasty to promulgate the decree to Western countries?
"I, Emperor Ming, will have a wedding in two years, and invite all vassal states to send envoys to watch the ceremony"
After Master Bao gave a commentary, Drake knew what was going on.
In European countries, when the king or prince’s wedding, invitations will also be issued to the surrounding countries.
But the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not seem to invite them, but inform them.
Well, in the eyes of Mr. Bao, the Ming Dynasty was the supreme country of the Celestial Empire and the sect leader of all Western countries.
The emperor of the Sect Master asked you to attend the wedding of you. It would be too ignorant to be flattered if you don’t have the pole.
He dared to board the Golden Deer directly at the sea because although there was no order on the sea, the strong strength of the Ming Dynasty gave him confidence in this sea. Even the Spaniards or the Portuguese did not dare to openly rob the Ming ships on the sea.
If it really happens, I believe that whether it is Old Port or Daimao City, the Ming Dynasty's official army will definitely dispatch to retaliate against them.
The two of them walked and chatted, and soon walked to a huge brick and stone building. There were soldiers guarding the door. Shao Shi Bao stepped forward to communicate with the people inside, and was soon released to take them in.
On the dock, the Golden Deer did not arrive like the Portuguese merchant's merchant ship, and immediately hired workers to help carry the cargo. However, a few sailors got off the boat and rested near the springboard and joked, while the other crew members gathered on the deck and watched around and commented on the oriental city in front of them.
Not far from the dock, a hundred Ming soldiers were also observing the sea ship. Through the gun window, it was easy to infer the number of artillery carried by the merchant ship.
"Sir, it should be an ordinary armed merchant ship, although I have never seen this flag before."
The general flag whispered behind the Baihu Adult.
"They are different from the Portuguese. Haven't you seen their hair? Many of them are yellow, and such hair colors are rare among the Portuguese."
The hundred households said casually.
Foreign ships by the port naturally had to be registered. He was also notified in the barracks that an English merchant ship was coming.
Well, it’s easy to say if it’s a Portuguese merchant ship or a Spanish merchant ship, but it’s the first time that the English merchant ship appears, so he came over and took a look.
I had just asked someone that it was the Bao family who met them on the sea and said that Trek had come here. Now the young master of the Bao family took their captain to the garrison house.
Then the rest is easy to say, just wait for the news from the garrison palace.
So he summoned a general flag to come nearby to monitor the English merchant ship.
If the other party makes any bad moves, the fifty-man flag team will be enough to suppress them.
This place is on the dock, not on the sea.
There are more than 60 people on this type of sea ship, which is actually not difficult to deal with.
"Two hours later, we must keep a flag team guarding here."
The hundred households observed for a while but didn't feel anything.
Many Portuguese merchants from Old Port have come, and they have gone from their initial vigilance to their usual treatment.
"Yes, sir."
The chief flag hurriedly clasped his fists and said.
After saying that, the Baihu took two subordinates away from the dock area and went back to the military camp to rest.
The British sailors on the ship, because they did not wait for Drake's notice, were all staying on the ship, and there were always people on duty near the springboard.
At this time, Chen Lin was entertaining Drake and Bao Shaoshi in the Old Port Governor's garrison.
Queen Elizabeth's letters have already reached Chen Lin's hands, but the English language on them makes Chen Lin unable to understand.
He had a general translation of Portuguese, but was not familiar with English, so he had to let Drake translate it into Portuguese first. (This chapter ends)