The sudden barking of a dog interrupted Mao Wenlong's talk about the plan to resist the Jurchens.
In the night, a man was riding a horse on the beach, with a small dog running in front of him, moving quickly.
When the man arrived, he got off his horse and accused Mao Wenlong repeatedly: "General, I arrived late. I didn't dare to light a lantern, for fear that the guards from Fangcheng would come out and see me."
Mao Wenlong obviously knew him, and he spoke very politely to him: "The huge tidal flat is full of fish smell, and it will take some time for dogs to smell the smell of horses. Thank you, brother, let's get on the boat quickly."
"Okay, general and brothers are coming with me."
The old man picked up the puppy, mounted his horse and galloped to lead the way.
After going around a few rocks, our eyes suddenly opened up. Under the moonlight, a flat-bottomed sand boat is on the beach.
When the two sailors on the boat saw the movement, they jumped off the boat one after another and came over to greet Mao Wenlong respectfully.
Mao Wenlong turned his head and said to Xu San, the attendant who had just joked about taking him as his son-in-law: "You and Xiaoqi stay, take the horses and go with Brother Li, and let the horses train in his farm for a few days. Don't go out and mess around. This is still the boundary of Songjiang, so be careful about meeting that yellow official."
Xu San responded respectfully, gathered up the reins with the Liaodong soldier named Xiao Qi, and the old man who led the way. They drove the small group of horses away.
Mao Wenlong led the remaining people onto the sand boat.
There are four common types of sea-going ships in the Ming Dynasty: sand ships, Guangzhou ships, bird ships and lucky ships.
The first place Zheng Haizhu traveled to was Longxi County, Zhangzhou, Fujian.
She had seen all kinds of sea ships there, so she knew that among the four types of ships in the Ming Dynasty, only the flat-bottomed sand ships could not sail in the deep sea.
At this moment, the sand ship was heading straight away from the coastline, which meant that they might have to change ships soon.
Sure enough, the sand boat spread its sails and sailed toward the crescent moon. In less than two sticks of incense, it rounded a small island and approached its partner: a large-scale bird boat.
The bottom of the bird boat is like a knife blade, the boat is tall, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and can sail through the rough seas.
Unlike the Guangzhou ship, which also has a pointed bottom and a deck as wide as the wings of a bat, the bird ship has a long and narrow deck and the sides of the ship are drawn inward. It is safer than the Guangzhou ship and is less likely to lose its balance in strong winds.
Zheng Haizhu could recognize the shape of this kind of boat at a glance in the dark night, mainly because the bow was made pointed and warped, like a sharp beak. The people in Zhejiang believed that it was the Emperor of Heaven who ordered the bluebird to bring the seeds, which allowed their ancestors to start planting rice and live and multiply, so they made the sea ships in the shape of a bird's head.
With a "bang" sound, the sailors on the bird boat lowered a piece of wood from the gap in the ship's side and connected it to the side of the sand ship that was a little lower.
Mao Wenlong grabbed Zheng Haizhu and carried it on his shoulders like a sack. He stepped onto the deck of the bird ship calmly and calmly, stepping on the trembling wooden planks as if walking on flat ground.
There were several large torches erected on the bird boat, lighting up the deck.
When the shirtless sailors put away the gangplank, a strong and capable young man in a ramie shorts came from under the mast, stared at Zheng Haizhu who was put down by Mao Wenlong, and said coldly: "General Mao, how can this be a girl?" You guys? It’s an ancient rule at sea that women are not allowed on board.”
Mao Wenlong raised his eyebrows and retorted: "There has been a rule at sea since ancient times that eunuchs are not allowed to board the ship. When Grandpa Qi fought against the Japanese pirates, the late emperor also sent his servants on board the ship to supervise the army several times. I have never heard that Grandpa Qi kicked the nobles. Get off the boat.”
Although the young man in Luo Yi was entrusted to pick up Mao Wenlong, he did not want to give this old man from Liaodong a good look because of some personal grudges he had with Mao Wenlong in the past, so he said more and more harshly: "General, do you think our island is a brothel? Why don't you go inside?" Give me powder?"
Mao Wenlong narrowed his eyes, turned around and smiled, and said: "Brother Li, this little bitch is not a prostitute, but has another origin. You will know when you go to the island and meet your elder brother. Let's take the boat."
…
In the darkness, the ups and downs of the bird boat became obviously fierce.
Louder than the snoring of the men on the boat was the sound of the waves crashing violently against the hull.
Zheng Haizhu huddled in a palm-sized cabin, guessing that the bird ship had sailed into the vast East China Sea.
After the boat started, Mao Wenlong seemed to have tried his best to separate her from the rough guys on the boat, and asked the leader named Li to arrange a separate resting corner for Zheng Haizhu. He also checked her tied wrists to confirm that her fingers could be used. After the activity, he told her to close the door latch from the inside.
The various details of Mao Wenlong's behavior made Zheng Haizhu more and more certain that both his life and dignity as a woman were temporarily safe.
Fortunately, the body of an ancient man on the coast of Fujian prevented her from getting seasick.
So, after not closing her eyes for two days and two nights, she finally let down her guard and fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, wisps of light filtered through the gaps in the cabin.
Zheng Haizhu opened the hatch, straightened up, let his eyes adjust to the light of day for a while, then staggered up the ladder and climbed onto the deck.
The majestic scene of vast mist and water and sky coming together comes to your face.
Different from the turbid East China Sea at the mouth of the Yangtze River in later generations, the sea water in front of you is a highly saturated blue-green, like the finest waxy and bright brocade in the Sujiahu area.
The sparkling waves blown up by the wind are like the fine and elegant silver patterns on brocade, shining and fascinating.
If you turn your head and look to the other side, the scenery is even more fantastic. After the sun rises in the east, it burrows into the clouds and becomes a masterful magician. It not only changes the sky into various colors such as golden, garnet, pink, purple, indigo, etc., but also generously sends out thousands of rays of light, pouring down, spreading all over the sea, and weaving A brilliant and magnificent world emerges.
ocean!
This is the ocean that despite all the difficulties and dangers, brave humans cannot stop from exploring it, crossing it, and developing it!
Now, in the last years of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the entire world has already entered the Age of Discovery.
At this moment, Zheng Haizhu, who was still half a prisoner, even felt a pleasant intimacy.
Only in the vast blue ocean can the government offices, streets, cottages, bridges, and carriages bearing the marks of the times be cleared from sight.
The sky and sea water seemed to once again lead this tiny traveler into the time and space tunnel, returning to the world five hundred years later.
A tall figure blocked the sun. Zheng Haizhu's greedy eyes admiring the scenery finally withdrew and said to the iron tower-like figure: "General Mao, is this ship going to the Zhoushan Islands?"
Mao Wenlong was no longer as surprised as he was when he heard Zheng Haizhu say the name of Nanhuizui last night. He said calmly: "Since you are familiar with our map of the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Front, it is not difficult to guess."
"So, General Mao, can you tell me now who you want to take me to see?"
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Mao Wenlong's mouth: "Go to meet your fellow countryman, renew our relationship, and be his wife. Miss Zheng, do you still remember the name Yan Siqi?"
Zhangzhou, Yan Siqi...
After Zheng Haizhu confirmed that he heard correctly, his jaw dropped in shock.
