The land of Nanyang can be regarded as a retreat for Zhu Su during his trip. Even if Zhu Di failed in the battle with the Timurid Empire, the land route would be too high, the mountains and the terrain complex, and it would be far less safe than the sea route. He would probably have to retreat to the Ming Dynasty by sea.
Zhu Su originally planned to ask Duke Xin Guo Tang He, who was guarding the south of the Yangtze River, to send a fleet to patrol Nanyang. However, Tang He was old and frail after all. It would be best if Li Jinglong could take on the important task.
Most of the navies around the Nanyang Islands were from the barbarians. They had artillery support and the rich wealth of Cao Guogong's family as firepower logistics. Even if Li Jinglong was really a loser, he should be fine.
So Zhu Su began to work on the Dawan affairs in front of him. The top priority, in addition to building a port, is to use the power of victory to send envoys to the Gaoshan tribe and other island barbarians. Zhu Su still left this matter to Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong knew that the main thing was to win over the Gaoshan tribe. He had a relationship with the chief of the Gaoshan tribe, so it was most appropriate for him to go personally. Although the barbarians on other islands were frightened by the cannons, it was still quite dangerous to go there as envoys.
Fortunately, many of the imperial eunuchs who came with the team were enthusiastic, and one eunuch volunteered to serve as an envoy on behalf of the Ming Dynasty. Li Jinglong Zhuangzhi allocated half of the personal guards of Cao Guogong's palace to the supervisor, and the two of them started their journey to the north and south.
God bless the Ming Dynasty, and after a few days, both teams returned safely. Li Jinglong's side was naturally safe. The chief of the Gaoshan Tribe was already close to the Ming Dynasty. After hearing that the Ming Dynasty had repelled the joint attack of the Dao Yi tribes, his last trace of worries disappeared and he readily agreed to the Ming Dynasty. of the bestowal.
From then on, the Gaoshan tribe became a chieftain of the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty court. Although they were only nominally under the control of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they did not report hostility to the Ming Dynasty's port garrison and were willing to trade with the Ming Dynasty, it was actually enough. As long as this seed is sown, it will take time to take root and sprout in Dawan.
As for the other route, it was much more thrilling. The island barbarians who fled back after being defeated hated the Ming Dynasty deeply. When they saw the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty, they almost wanted to eat their flesh. However, the supervisor did not lose the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. He used reason and authority to the chiefs of the island tribes, and successfully made them recognize the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty's construction of the port town in the north of Dawan, and guaranteed that, We will never invade the land of Ming Dynasty again.
Once this matter is over, the preliminary arrangements in Dawan are finally settled. After the Ming Dynasty was recognized by the island barbarians, the port no longer needed a large number of Ming troops to garrison, and merchants could naturally take over the important task of establishing the port and conducting trade with all directions. According to the agreement with the merchants. Naturally, two merchant families voluntarily stayed, took over the construction of the port, and attracted people to settle down.
"To the west of Dawan is the Kingdom of Dadu. Those island barbarians who came to attack relied on the power of this kingdom. Now my father has sent envoys to order them to pay tribute to Yingtian. I think they will not embarrass us anymore."
"It's settled here. It's relatively easy to go to other places. Most of the barbarians in Nanyang have already regarded me as the Ming Dynasty. Even if there are some who don't respect the Ming Dynasty, most of them are not as reckless as here in Dawan. You lead the fleet I patrolled various places in Southeast Asia and found places that were suitable for ports. I took my Ming Dynasty credentials and went to find the barbarian owners there to establish concessions, and then taught the merchants to build ports."
"The production of Nanyang treasures and spices is extremely large. As long as this treasure land is operated well, it may be another great achievement that can make the Ming Dynasty reach a higher level."
Li Jinglong nodded, knowing that Zhu Su had given him a great contribution, and he could not conceal his gratitude to Zhu Su in his heart. He murmured for a while, then opened his mouth and said: "It's just that my nephew took away the sailors of the fifth uncle's fleet. What should the fifth uncle do if he encounters a crisis while heading west?"
"Besides, the fifth uncle originally asked me to come with him, and the nephew was supposed to be there to help the fifth uncle. Now that the fifth uncle is left alone, the nephew is really uneasy..."
"A real man lives in heaven and earth, how can there be so many mothers-in-law?" Zhu Su laughed and scolded. "Originally, I tricked you here just to lure a few more families into the water. If things don't work out, I can share the expense and guilt... But now that I'm here and there, you've spent so much on me. I want to keep this prodigal nephew by my side. After I return to the court, Fifth Uncle, I must not be debt-collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs until I lose my pants?"
"It's better to separate quickly... The ones you use belong to your Cao Guogong's palace, and the ones I use belong to my Zhou Dynasty. As for Xiangshu, don't I have anyone available?"
This time when he went to sea, Zhu Su also brought many noble disciples with him. I originally thought that Li Jinglong was from the most noble family, and if he had left one of Li Jinglong's troops to protect the ships at sea when assisting Zhu Di, Li Jinglong would be able to suppress those second-generation ancestors. The worst thing now is to go ashore and drag all these nobles into the battle formation.
The generals and disciples of the Ming Dynasty should not raise waste.
So Zhu Su divided three lucky ships and dozens of conscripted merchant ships equipped with Baoyuan Bureau artillery to Li Jinglong as the team of the new Nanyang Navy, and then led the remaining dozens of ships in a mighty Heading towards Persia. After replenishing supplies in Guangzhou, the fleet sailed through the Bay of Bengal. After replenishing fresh water on the Island of Ceylon, it arrived in the area near India.
This place is very close to the Persian region. What Zhu Di said in the letter in the past was that he was planning to use Keshi City as a base to choke off the Timur Empire and conquer the Persian lands, but he did not mention the specific preparations to conquer the Persian territories. Which region of Persia? Zhu Su couldn't guess where to land and meet Zhu Di.
Communication in this era is extremely difficult, and Central Asia and the Ming Dynasty are thousands of miles apart. Zhu Su is completely blind to the current situation of Zhu Di's army. Even though he was a traveler, he also felt that this completely unfamiliar land was full of dangers. Although the journey on the sea is relatively smooth, once you land, you will undoubtedly face numerous difficulties and dangers. No matter it is language, culture, or even the reputation of the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that it will have no effect here. This army has only If a mere ten thousand people make the wrong move and are thrown into such an enemy environment, they may not even be able to raise a splash.
"Your Highness, please tell me where we should land in Persia." Cao Yuan, the personal guard general, asked Zhu Su for instructions.
Zhu Su pondered for a long time, and passed his fingers across many regions in Persia one by one. Although as Zhu Di said, Timur conquered the Golden Horde in the north, and the Persian region must be empty at this time. But who knows whether the situation has changed in the past few months.
If Timur had returned to his army at this time, the encounter between his mere ten thousand people and the army of Timur's empire would be a narrow escape. Moreover, there are not many countries around Persia that are easy to mess with. The Black Sheep, Mamluks, and even the Ottoman Empire... are all famous masters in Central Asia. What if they also took advantage of the Ming Dynasty to disrupt Timur's hinterland and invaded Persia, hoping to get a share of the pie?
After Mao Ran landed in Persia and searched for the whereabouts of Zhu Di's army, it was very likely that they would all be trapped there.
"Your Highness?" Cao Yuan saw that Zhu Su had been stunned for a long time and couldn't help but remind him.
"Forget it, I won't go to Persia." After thinking about it, Zhu Su finally made a decision.
"Persian is not necessarily the softest persimmon. Since you have already pinched it, you might as well pick the softest persimmon and pinch it."
"Let's go...here!" Zhu Su poked his finger in a place that Cao Yuan never expected.
(End of chapter)
