On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Gao Heng, Fan Yu and two companies of gunmen boarded Pudman's merchant ship and set out for Yazhou, Hainan. In order to find Sun Yuanhua's descendants, Gao Heng and Pudman discussed and spent almost all their money. Pudman's five large and small merchant ships were all dispatched, bringing with them one hundred sailors and Gao Heng's Four hundred fire gun soldiers went to Yazhou to pick up people.
Pudman and others certainly don't know much about Sun Yuanhua, but Gao Heng knows very well how powerful Sun Yuanhua is. Although Sun Yuanhua has been dead for many years, his works must still be left in the world, and Sun Yuanhua still has descendants. It is still unclear whether what he has learned throughout his life has been passed on to future generations. If he can find Sun Yuanhua's descendants, his works or even his direct disciples, it will be a huge boost to his own development.
Boudman's flagship was named the Hope by himself. It was actually an ordinary large ocean-going sailing ship. This kind of ship was very common in the Dutch fleet. It had a relatively basic configuration. Its sailing speed was about ten kilometers per hour, and it was two kilometers up and down. The layer can be equipped with a total of twelve artillery pieces. Two of them are new cannons, and the remaining ten are ordinary naval guns.
After negotiating the price with Gao Heng last time, Gao Heng did not take away the new cannon. The two of them are now grasshoppers on the same boat. Taking away the two Pudman cannons does not make much sense, as long as everyone can cooperate. Happy to mass-produce this kind of artillery, the good days are yet to come.
The two stood on the bow of the Hope, with four medium-sized sailboats following behind. Pudman said: "General, I don't understand why you go to Qiongzhou to find the descendants of that guy named Sun Yuanhua?"
Gao Heng said: "You don't know this man, but I have heard of his name. He was originally the governor of Denglai and a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty. He was later unjustly killed by the court, but he was a Christian and had a good relationship with the church. He has conducted very in-depth research on Western artillery and firearms. If we can find his descendants and his works, it will be of great help to our firearms cause."
"Oh, my God! He turned out to be a Christian." Pudman kept crossing himself on his chest. He did not expect that this official named Sun Yuanhua actually believed in Christianity. He wanted to pray devoutly to Sun Yuanhua on the ship. Let his soul rest in peace.
Gao Heng smiled and said: "It's just that I didn't expect you to be willing to accompany me on this trip. You know, when you arrive in Qiongzhou, you will be within the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty Navy. What should you do if you encounter the Navy? ?”
Pudman shook his head and said: "Your Excellency General, it seems that you do not understand the situation at sea. I know the Ming Navy you are talking about. If we say that a few decades ago, the Ming Navy was still a powerful force that could dominate Nanyang. Lions, then now, they are just sheep huddled on the coast."
Pudman pointed to the sea and said: "Many years ago, the Ming Dynasty Navy's range of activities could cover the entire Southeast Asia, and the Franji fleet was defeated by them. But now, I have been here for so many years, and I have also traveled back and forth to this sea area. Countless times, I have never encountered the Ming Navy. According to the news brought to me by my companions, the Ming Dynasty’s coastal defense policy continues to tighten and the size of the navy continues to shrink, so now there is not much ability to dispatch. I dare I bet you won’t encounter the navy of the Ming Dynasty on the way to Yazhou.”
On this point, Gao Heng believed what Pudman said. There is no need to mention the past glory of the Ming Dynasty Navy. The peak period was Zheng He's voyages to the West, and he truly achieved the miracle of the Celestial Dynasty and the coming of all nations to the DPRK. However, with the financial decline of the Ming Dynasty and the implementation of the maritime ban policy, the original ocean-going navy gradually shrank into an offshore fleet.
Everything is about retreat if you don't advance. Except for a brief period of glory in Qi Jiguang's era, the Ming Dynasty Navy fell into despair again in the middle and late Wanli period. Now the country is about to perish, and no one cares about the fate of the Navy. The Southern Fleet was stationed in Guangzhou, and they went directly to Yazhou. Indeed, they basically did not encounter the Ming Dynasty navy.
But the question now is, after landing, how should they find Sun Yuanhua's descendants? Even if they find them, can they take them away? You must know that Sun Yuanhua's family was exiled to Hainan. If they take the people away by force, On the one hand, whether the person is willing or not, and on the other hand, whether the Qiongzhou Prefecture can release the person.
From the bottom of his heart, Gao Heng was unwilling to conflict with the Ming army. This time he brought over all the elite fire gun soldiers, all veterans. The fire gunners under Pudman are not vegetarians. They have been sailing on the sea all year round and they have no self-defense skills. It can be said that they have rich combat experience, no less than their own people. If such a force had a conflict with the Ming army, it would basically be defeated by the level of the Ming army in Qiongzhou. Gao Heng was not willing to hurt more lives, so he could only take it one step at a time.
"Enemy ship! Enemy ship!" Three days later, Gao Heng's fleet finally arrived in the waters near Yazhou. Just as Pudman expected, he did not encounter any Ming naval forces along the way.
Only when we were approaching Yazhou, we were discovered by some fishermen. Although these fishermen made a living at sea and had seen many large ships coming and going on weekdays, whether they were Francois, Dutch or others, Fleets of any country, or pirate fleets, basically circle around Qiongzhou Prefecture. No matter how chaotic the Ming Dynasty is, after all, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Pirates definitely don't want to cause trouble to the Ming Dynasty.
More importantly, under the official construction of the Ming Dynasty, Yazhou has long become a military fortress guarding the South China Sea. Even if the enemy can control the sea area, it will not be able to defeat Yazhou City as long as it lands.
Yazhou is an ancient city with a history of two thousand years. Before the Southern Song Dynasty, Yazhou had always been a Tucheng. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the city walls began to be built with bricks and stones, and concave and convex female walls were also built, turning it into a military fortress. In the Yuan Dynasty, reinforcements continued. In the Ming Dynasty, starting from the Hongwu period to the Chongzhen period, the repair and expansion of Yazhou City never stopped. At this moment, the circumference of Yazhou exceeds 600 feet, and the city wall is about 30 feet high. , with a certain number of artillery mounted on it, it is no exaggeration to say it is a fortress.
Gao Heng's fleet frightened away the fishing boats because the fishermen did not expect that these Western-style boats would head straight towards Yazhou. The fishing boat went back to report what it had seen at sea, and the city immediately stepped up its guard. Gao Heng's fleet was floating on the sea and was immediately discovered by the defenders.
Suddenly the alarm bells sounded, and soldiers throughout the city were on alert.
Although Yazhou is a fortress, it is located in a remote area and is not a big city. There is only one general camp stationed with a strength of 500. Due to the lack of pay, the actual number of troops is about 400. At this moment, an alarm was sounded at the city head, and the soldiers in the city were in chaos. Because Qiongzhou Mansion was located in a remote area, it was usually used as a place for the imperial court to exile prisoners. The population was sparse and the land was desolate. The entire Qiongzhou did not have a large population. It was on the same level as the Ninggu Pagoda in the Qing Dynasty. At the same level, there is also a big celebrity like Hai Rui.
Since this place is of little value, the so-called garrison is basically just a decoration. Most of the four hundred soldiers are just soy sauce. Only more than a hundred people have good combat effectiveness. After all, they have to maintain the most basic city defense. Just make a living.
As soon as the alarm at the top of the city sounded, the soldiers on guard immediately moved into defensive positions. The soldiers in the city were like headless flies, hurriedly running back to their tents to put on their equipment.
On weekdays, when there is no training, they are either farming, doing small business, or gathering together for gambling and entertainment. Qiongzhou Prefecture is located in a remote location, so its financial situation is naturally not much better. When the imperial court can remember them, it will allocate military pay. Now that the capital is too busy to take care of itself, who can remember these people. The soldiers on the island have not been paid for several months and have no will to fight.
Several Dutch merchant ships approached Yazhou, and the president dressed neatly and came to the tower. He was not equipped with a telescope, so he could only open his hand curtain and look over. I saw ships floating on the sea with distinctive styles. At first glance, they were Dutch ships. Although the soldiers here have little combat effectiveness, Yazhou is still a port city anyway. Ships come and go on the sea, and occasionally ships come for supplies, so the handles of Dutch boats are always seen.
He pulled a small flag officer who was sending signals and slapped him on his helmet, "Damn it, what are you talking about? This is a Dutch merchant ship, can't you see?"
The flag officer looked aggrieved and hesitated: "Sir, sir, I saw it was a merchant ship, but in the past, even if a merchant ship docked, they would first send a small boat to explain the situation, but look, they are so far away from us It’s so close.”
After the boss calmed down his emotions, what this guy said made sense. In the past, merchant ships would send signals, but I had never seen one rushing towards them like this.
"Fire a trumpet as a warning." The general ordered the flag officer.
boom! The cannon sounded. In fact, there were more than a dozen cannons at the top of Yazhou City. However, these cannons were in disrepair for a long time. The soldiers were doing other things on weekdays. Who could take care of the maintenance? The ones that could really fire Just four or five doors.
If it hadn't been for the fact that the Folangji were severely damaged by the Ming Navy in Nanyang and still maintained their power to this day, it would have been possible that the Dutch, the Folanji or the pirate fleet would have attacked Yazhou City long ago.
"They fired." On the Hope, Pudman quickly put away his telescope and said to Gao Heng nervously. To be honest, Pudman is just a businessman. Since doing business in Nanyang, there has never been a large-scale conflict at sea. At most, it is a small fight. Maybe Pudman's fleet is too small and others He felt that the small fish was of little value, so he was relatively lucky.
Seeing artillery fire in Yazhou City, you must know that there are regular troops of the Ming Dynasty there. And they don't know how many enemies there are in the city. Is Gao Heng planning to attack Yazhou City directly? Pudman had no such assurance.
Gao Heng patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't be nervous. They use trumpet guns and don't have shells. In this case, you send a small boat to explain the situation and say that we are short of supplies. Go ashore and spend money to buy some supplies." , let them dock us first."
Pudman did as he was told. The boat took Pudman and a few Dutchmen ashore, and the general took them out of the city to the beach. After a conversation, the general understood the purpose of their visit. It turned out that these Dutch people had just arrived and did not understand the rules. Like magic, Pudman took out a small gold ingot from his arms, handed it to the general's hand, and said: "Please forgive me, General."
The general is very useful. He is just a small low-level officer and cannot be called a general. However, the Dutchman in front of him is obviously very good and has a lot of what he should have. If it weren't for his red hair and blue eyes, the general would be You will definitely think that he is a Ming Dynasty man.
However, the procedures that should be followed still need to be followed. The general said: "You can only have one merchant ship docking, and no others. This is for our own safety. The materials you purchased can be transported to this ship and then distributed. .”
The general was very vigilant, and Pudman agreed: "Okay, your Excellency, general."
The Hope slowly stopped at the Yazhou Pier, and the other four ships were waiting behind. There was a company of gunmen on the Hope. Gao Heng decided to wait until nightfall before landing secretly and entering the city.
Pudman led a group of Dutch people off the ship and entered Yazhou City. They pretended to buy supplies, but in fact they were acting as internal agents. Gao Heng was also among them, and everyone entered the city together. Yazhou City was too small, and it didn't take long for everyone to wander around. Gao Heng quietly asked the locals for news about Sun Yuanhua's descendants, but everyone shook their heads and said they were unclear. Gao Heng thought for a while, maybe Sun Yuanhua's descendants were not in the city at all. Since they were exiled, their treatment would definitely not be good. Maybe they were working in the suburbs, or in some village.
Pudman told the general manager that they would leave early tomorrow morning, so the dozen or so of them could sleep in the city tonight. Pudman found a hotel at random, or there were only two or three hotels in the city, nothing too special. Good choice.
At night, everything was silent, and in the early morning, all the defenders at the top of the city fell asleep leaning against the wall. No one would have thought that in the darkness of the night, a team of two hundred people was quickly disembarking from the boat and rushing to the bottom of the city carrying bamboo ladders. At the same time, the remaining four ships were also docking quickly.
"Who is this?" The soldiers patrolling the street saw several black figures at the corner, and the leading flag officer shouted.
Several black muskets were pressed against the soldiers' foreheads. When everyone saw it, they were the Dutchmen during the day. Gao Heng took off his beard to disguise himself and whispered: "If you want to survive, don't scream. We don't mean any harm."
At the same time, on the top of the city, hundreds of black figures climbed up with the help of bamboo ladders. When the guns were pressed against the heads of the Ming soldiers, they were still sleeping soundly. "Don't move. If you want to survive, don't make a sound."
With a creak, Pudman led people to open the city gate from inside the city.
