After passing the water village, although we are still in the strait, the water surface is suddenly clear. The islands on both sides gradually receded away like two arms loosened.
On the flagship, Han Du opened the chart and suggested to Zhu Biao: "Your Highness, this time we go to the West, we can go north along Manlajia, and then turn back from Bangla and go west."
Han Du pointed his finger on the chart, and an inverted V-shape slid out from the position of the strait.
Zhu Biao took a look at the chart and suddenly asked: "Man Lajia? Why do you think this name is familiar?"
Han Du explained with a smile: "Manraka originally had disputes with Siam. In the 16th year, I came to Nanyang and happened to meet Manraka. After hearing that Siam was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, Manraka He also wanted to make the Ming Dynasty his suzerain state. Therefore, I brought King Manarajia to Beijing for a pilgrimage. The emperor decreed that the Kingdom of Manarajia be sealed and a monument was erected to record the legend. From then on, Siam did not dare to invade Manarajia again."
"Manglajia is rich in agarwood and yellow ripe incense. There is a governor's palace on the side of Manlajia close to Nanyang. It is mainly responsible for picking incense in Manchuria every year."
Zhu Biao nodded, "I remember it...but why do we have to go north along Manlajia?"
"Your Highness, Manlajia is dedicated to the Ming Dynasty. It is much safer for us to walk along the coastline." Han Du explained.
After Zhu Biao heard this, he folded his hands and stared at the chart. After a moment, he suddenly stretched out his finger and asked doubtfully: "Why do we have to go north first and then turn back? We are not far from here, so why not go directly there? This is much closer than going around in such a big circle, but it is much closer a lot of."
Zhu Biao's finger crossed the ocean in a straight line and pointed directly at the location of Ceylon.
Between two points, a straight line is the closest. There is nothing wrong with Zhu Biao's suggestion, but...
Han Du smiled in embarrassment and explained: "Your Highness, although it seems that this distance is not that far on the chart, in fact this distance is thousands of miles away. If we force the crossing, the risk is not small. . Your Highness is a rich man, so it’s better not to take this risk. If we go north along the Malaka and then turn back, we can sail along the coastline with almost no risk."
If it were Han Du himself, he would definitely not choose such a troublesome route. But there was no way, Zhu Biao was following him, and Han Du would put Zhu Biao's safety first no matter what. Although this route from north to south is twice as far as going directly to the Kingdom of Ceylon, it is safer. Sailing along the coastline, with the abundant force of the Ming Navy, there is no fear of any enemy. Even if there is a natural disaster such as a storm, it can be safely docked in time to avoid it.
For Han Du, as long as Zhu Biao can be safe, no matter how long the detour is, it is worth it.
Zhu Biao stared at Han Du thoughtfully, and suddenly said: "Aren't you eager to return to Beijing? Why don't you take the shortcut, but you have to take the long way? Is it because of loneliness?"
Since Zhu Biao said so, Han Du has nothing to hide. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. I cannot let Your Highness make the slightest mistake under any circumstances."
Zhu Biao shook his head slightly and said: "I am not as fragile as you think. Tell me the truth. The last time you sailed to America, compared with this, who traveled further?" "This... .." Han Du hesitated for a few breaths, and finally decided to tell the truth, "Of course, the distance I sailed last time was farther."
Zhu Biao laughed with satisfaction, clapped his hands and said, "Isn't this right? You were able to cross a farther sea last time. There is no reason why you can't do it this time because the distance is closer, right?"
This is not a question of whether it can be done or not, okay? Things on the sea are changing rapidly, and who can say clearly... Han Du sighed and wanted to persuade Zhu Biao again: "Your Highness... ..."
Unexpectedly, Zhu Biao waved his hand and made his decision directly: "It goes without saying, the decision has been made, the navy will go directly to Ceylon."
"My lord, I obey." Han Du was reluctant, but in full view of the crowd, he had no choice but to bow and agree.
The sound of the whimpering horn was heard from the flagship, followed closely by the sentinels on the Wangdou who waved flags and commanded the entire fleet.
Yu Da saw that Han Du looked a little dull, so he couldn't help but get closer to Han Du. Yu Da is a veteran of the Navy. When Tang He was in charge of the Navy, he was the captain. He started when Han Du boarded the ship and watched Han Du step by step become the Marquis of Zhenhai and take charge of the Ming Navy. After Han Du took charge of the navy, he discovered that Yu Da was very talented in memorizing sea routes and distinguishing directions and routes. Therefore, Han Du promoted Yu Da to be the deputy general of the Navy after Jiang Ming and Zhang Chao became uncles.
Yu Da can be said to be Han Du's confidant, so there is no excessive red tape in the conversation between the two. Yu Da approached Han Du and asked, "Is the Marquis worried about encountering a storm at sea?"
Han Du nodded and sighed: "Normal wind and waves can't do anything to our warships, but our warships have not yet reached the level of being able to run rampant on the sea. If we encounter a violent storm, there is still danger. .”
Yu Da looked up at the sky, smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, there won't be any big storms in the future with weather like this."
"I hope so." Han Du looked at Zhu Biao's back and sighed slightly. Since Zhu Biao had given the order, what else could he say? After saying that, Han Du turned his head to look at Yu Da and ordered: "Your next task is important. We are sailing on the vast sea. The most important thing is the direction. You must go all out to ensure that the direction is foolproof. If you are still confused. Yes, you can come to me at any time."
"Yes, Lord Marquis, don't worry, we will eventually bring the fleet to Ceylon." Yu Da looked relaxed.
Han Du nodded. With Yu Da's words, he could feel more at ease.
Under Zhu Biao's order, the fleet went deep into the sea. At first, they could still see the island behind them, but soon they could only see some of the mountain tops on the original island, and then the mountain tops seemed to have sunk into the sea. Nothing can be seen anymore.
The fleet changed its original long-line formation and became like a round cake, with warships on the outside, grain ships and merchant ships in the middle, as well as the flagships of Zhu Biao, Han Du and others.
The weather has been pretty good for several days. Although it was a bit hot at noon, it was still very cool when the sea breeze blew in the morning and evening.
Therefore, Han Du, Zhu Biao and others liked to come to the bow of the ship to sit and chat in the morning and evening. Because the sun was too strong at noon, everyone hid in the cabin below the deck. And since Han Du usually can't get up in the morning, he can usually only be seen in the evening.
On this day, Han Du sat on the bow of the boat with Zhu Biao and others, drinking wine and eating not rich dishes.
Zhu Biao saw Harder emerging from below the deck, smiled, and suddenly waved to him: "Harder, come here."
Hader quickly ran over and bowed to meet Zhu Biao: "His Royal Highness, I don't know how to call you a humble servant. What are your instructions?"
Zhu Biao said casually: "I don't have any instructions, I just want to ask you something. Sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Highness. Your Highness, please just ask. As long as Hard knows, he will answer honestly." Hard crossed his legs and sat directly on the deck.
"I heard that there are many kingdoms in the West, so which country are you from?" Zhu Biao asked curiously.
Harder hesitated for a moment after hearing this.
Seeing that Harder didn't speak, Zhu Biao asked instead: "Oh? Is there anything inconvenient to say?"
Harder quickly shook his hands towards Zhu Biao and said quickly: "No, no, no, His Highness misunderstood. Harder just hasn't figured out how to answer His Highness."
"Oh? What's so hard to answer?" Han Du raised his head and stared at Hard.
Hard smiled apologetically at Han Du and replied: "Your Highness, Marquis, Hard is just a businessman and does not belong to that kingdom. If you have to count, Hard's ancestors are Persians, maybe Hard can also He’s a Persian, maybe.”
Zhu Biao was shocked when he heard this. He pointed at Hader and asked, "Are you not from any kingdom? Is there such a person in the world?"
"Yes." Hader leaned towards Zhu Biao and answered respectfully.
Han Du put down the chopsticks in his hand and asked with a frown: "Even if you are a businessman, you should have a country. Otherwise, how can you gain a foothold in the West? Not to mention you have a home. Is your home Doesn’t it belong to any kingdom?”
Hard shook his head and explained: "No, Hard's home is in Horumos."
Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Marquis of Zhenhai were looking at him with puzzled expressions, Hader quickly explained: "Krumos is a big seaside city in Persia, and it is also where businessmen like Hader gather. Not only does it have Persia There are also Ottomans and Timurids. There are even many Byzantine people and people from further west in Hurumos. These people come to Hurumos to do business, and many of them are There are manors and land in Khrumos, but you can’t say they are all Persians, right?”
"Hader's home is also in Horumos, and he owns a house. When he bought it, Hader bought it as a Timurite, but to be honest, Hader had never been to Timurid at all, let alone Possibly Tamerlane.”
Zhu Biao still didn't understand. Since Khrumos was the territory of Persia, how did those other strange people come to this place? Is it just because it is a business transaction? Even if it is for business purposes, there is no need to sell all the land to outsiders. An inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of blood, can it be traded with money?
Just like Old Port, after the Ming Dynasty established the Old Port Xuanwei Department, it was no longer possible to sell land to outsiders like Harder.
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