Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In the blink of an eye, the time has come to June.

In the early morning, white waves gently lapped against the gray rocks of the Spanish coast. A few seagulls soared in the blue sky. The breeze was mixed with the smell of sea salt and the anticipation before the voyage.

Columbus, wearing traditional Italian clothing, stood on the deck of the flagship "Santa Maria". At this moment, his eyes were firm and deep, as if he could penetrate the morning fog and see the golden New World.

Behind them, there are rows of uniform Spanish warships, with masts standing tall and their canvases rustling in the wind.

On the deck, the Spanish soldiers were in high spirits. They were wearing iron armor and holding spears and shields. They shone with a cold light under the rising sun.

Their faces are filled with the desire for adventure and the pursuit of wealth.

Columbus turned around and shouted to all the crew: "As long as you follow this governor, I guarantee that all of you will make a fortune!"

His voice was rich and powerful, and his words were concise and seductive. They echoed in the sea breeze and inspired the hearts of everyone on the battleship.

"Governor, be mighty! Be mighty!" Most of the Spanish soldiers who dared to accompany him this time responded excitedly after hearing the pie drawn by Columbus.

The East, where there is endless wealth, seems to have become a fixed understanding of every European.

Columbus was a very rational person. Looking at the three thousand people in front of him like chicken blood, he had the confidence to lead them back home with a full load.

He has always understood that the world is emotional and greedy. He thinks that every inch of land in the East is gold and spices are everywhere in the mountains. He has always lived in a fairy tale world.

Perhaps it is for this reason that in the blueprints they have drawn up one after another, they have completely believed that they can bring them countless gold.

However, the gold and spices in the East are not as abundant as they imagined, but as long as they find the right direction and use the guns and cannons in their hands, they can get everything they want.

As long as this group of people obeys their command, they can get countless gold and spices from the Indian royal family by helping the Indian prince restore his country.

As the sun gradually rises, the sea is filled with golden sunlight.

"Set off!"

Columbus waved the sword in his hand and gave the order, and the warships set sail one after another.

Amidst the thunderous sound of gongs, drums and cheers, this fleet of thirty-four ships slowly left the port and headed towards the vast sea.

The fleet followed the already explored route, and after shaking off the little tail behind it, sailed towards the vast, smoke-like Atlantic Ocean without hesitation.

Columbus stood on the bow of the ship, staring ahead. He believed that as long as the Spanish fleet took action, the group of Easterners who had seized power in India would definitely flee.

In fact, he had a vague guess that the Oriental who had mastered firearms probably came from that mysterious ancient golden country in the East.

If all goes well, he will not only be able to become the Governor-General of India with control over the entire India, but also get the route from India to the mysterious golden ancient country.

Just as Columbus was leading the Spanish fleet across the Atlantic and preparing to head to the American continent, the East was no longer calm at this time.

It’s a cloudy day in the East China Sea in June.

On the rough sea, a majestic Ming merchant ship sailed alone.

The hull of the ship is like a hill, and the tall canvas roars in the strong wind, as if it is challenging the unknown power in this gloomy sea.

Wu Dalang was a burly martial artist who originally made a living selling sesame cakes in Shandong. He was dissatisfied with the bullying by the evil gentry in the county, so he decided to abandon the sesame cake shop and go to sea to make a living.

At first, like his fellow villagers, he followed merchant ships to Kyushu Island, where he exchanged for their marine goods, and then brought them back to the Ming Dynasty for sale.

Because the price of Japanese seafood is low, and the people of Ming Dynasty have a strong desire to buy Japanese seafood, the worst price difference is as high as ten times.

Originally, the seafood he brought back had to be sold on the streets, but later the seafood was regarded as high-end goods by restaurants, so they sold them all at a better price.

It was precisely because of the price difference of marine goods from the two places that the emperor implemented tax-free measures for sea goods, causing almost all the benefits to fall into his pocket.

He started out as a small trader with less than a hundred taels. After easily breaking through a thousand taels, he went straight to ten thousand taels. The profit of the last trip had reached tens of thousands of taels.

Wu Dalang was well aware of the principle of giving up when people take over. When he saw that more and more people were investing in the maritime trade, resulting in declining profits from sea goods, he decided to give up this business.

It's just that he knew that the Ming Dynasty was a wise emperor. As long as he didn't go against the imperial decree like Jiangnan Company, the emperor would encourage it.

Because he often travels to the East China Sea, he also knows that there is an island in the northwest of Japan. He didn't know what it was called originally, but he didn't know when everyone started calling it Hokkaido.

Hokkaido does not have a dynasty like Japan. The local aborigines live as tribes and do not even know how to smelt iron to make weapons.

It's just that their whale hunting skills are amazing. With just some herbs, spears, and canoes staying in the bay, they can hunt down that behemoth, the whale.

Although the tribes in Hokkaido are very backward, the whale oil lamps they use are very durable, and the amount of whale oil in one whale is even more shocking.

Under the wise emperor's rule, life in Ming Dynasty is obviously improving now, and the demand for lamps is getting higher and higher.

In the past, no one had enough to eat. Everyone would go to bed as soon as it got dark. Even the queen-size baby would sleep in his own bed. There were usually no lights at home.

It was just that the imperial court implemented a truly light taxation, not only implementing the standard of one tax per thirty, but also severely cracking down on tax evasion by the government and gentry groups. The evil gentry Ximen who had bullied him in the past was also registered as a traitor.

Nowadays, after everyone is fed and clothed, no one wants to go to bed early. Instead, they want to light a lamp and chat and gossip with the whole family or neighbors.

With his many years of business experience, Wu Dalang knew that the whale oil market was full of business opportunities.

Over the years, he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of silver dollars. Originally, he was a worthless pancake man, but now he made another big gamble.

Not only did he order a merchant ship for trading at the Tianjin Shipyard, but considering that the indigenous people of Hokkaido can hunt whales, why didn't they hunt them themselves in the Ming Dynasty?

Wu Dalang was a man who dared to think and act, and immediately communicated his ideas to Tianjin Shipyard.

There was actually a little resistance in this matter, but after the Tianjin Shipyard reported it, it not only satisfied his desire to strengthen the merchant ship's combat capabilities, but also allowed him to study in the Imperial College for a period of time, and at the same time strengthened his patriotic education.

He actually knew that all this was given to him by the Ming Dynasty. The reason why he was able to grow from a bullied Shaobing man to a rich man was all thanks to the imperial court.

Wu Dalang was naturally willing to sign a commitment not to attack Ming merchant ships. At the same time, he needed early warning when encountering Ming merchant ships in distress. If the pirates were weak, they needed to be rescued.

After purchasing a merchant ship with whale hunting equipment, he recruited his own clan's children and some experienced seamen, and then went to Hokkaido to hunt whales for whale oil.

Things went very smoothly, and after getting enough whale oil, we returned with a full load.

"Brother, if we bring back this batch of whale oil, are you the richest person in Qingshui County?" Wu Erlang, a tall man with a tall figure, said with bright eyes and full of expectation.

Wu Dalang knew the value of this batch of whale oil, but he pretended to be steady and authentic: "No matter how much we earn, you have to remember that all this is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Yes! Yes!" Wu Erlang knew that Wu Dalang was a staunch supporter of the emperor, but he said mysteriously: "Brother, when I was resting on Dongji Island yesterday, I heard that our Ming Dynasty's whale oil is in demand. Although the East China Sea Governor's Palace is here In March, a fleet was sent to encircle and suppress Japanese pirates, but the pirate nicknamed Dayou Giant Bear ran away. This guy always comes and goes without a trace, but he likes to rob our merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, so businessmen who dare to engage in whale oil have become more and more popular. Come less and less!”

Regardless of the era, the economic principles are actually the same. If the total amount of whale oil shipped back to China decreases, even if the Ming Dynasty people's demand for whale oil does not increase, it will cause the price of domestic whale oil to rise.

Wu Dalang's mood is complicated, because he understands better than anyone else the principle that "the bigger the storm, the more expensive whale oil will be."

Now the whale oil he brought back is becoming more and more popular. On the one hand, the demand of the people is rising, and on the other hand, the existence of these pirates has affected the whale oil trade volume.

Wu Dalang was not too narrow, but he looked at the two shining cannons on the bow: "The imperial court is so considerate in allowing us maritime merchants to install heavy cannons to protect ourselves. If we really have a chance, we should kill that big pirate."

The sea breeze roared, carrying a salty and wet breath, blowing on his rough face, but it could not shake his heart that firmly supported the imperial court.

Suddenly, bursts of fierce gunshots and calls for help came from ahead, breaking the tranquility of the sea.

Wu Dalang and Wu Erlang looked up and saw a merchant ship flying the flag of the Ming Dynasty being involved in a life-and-death struggle.

Several pirate ships besieged it like hungry wolves. These pirates with Japanese samurai origins looked particularly ferocious and were trying to climb onto the ship through ropes.

However, the crew of the Ming merchant ship resisted bravely. They used bows, arrows, muskets and swords to fight the pirates in a fierce battle.

Fire, gunpowder smoke and shouts of killing intertwined together to create a thrilling battle scene.

The leader of the pirates had successfully boarded the ship. He smiled ferociously, brandished the Japanese sword in his hand, and rushed towards the Ming sailors like a crazy beast.

boom!

The sailors of the Ming Dynasty knew that there were many dangers at sea and prepared weapons.

Witnessing all this, Wu Dalang felt a surge of indignation in his heart.

He has not forgotten the patriotic education he received in the Imperial College, but he knows the cruelty and greed of these Japanese pirates, so he must not let them succeed.

Therefore, Wu Dalang resolutely ordered: "Prepare for bombardment! The target is that pirate ship! If you blow it up, you will be rewarded with a hundred silver dollars and a night as the oiran of Chunfeng Tower!"

After hearing Wu Dalang's reward, Wang Shenzhu immediately became very energetic.

"put!"

Wu Dalang was a reasonable manager and gave the order immediately.

Wang Shenzhu raised his thumbs up and compared it with others, and then he was fired up. However, he did not squat down, but half-crouched, covering his ears and staring ahead.

As the fuse was lit, heavy artillery roared out with anger and justice.

The shells drew dazzling arcs in the air, and then slammed into the pirate ship, and this shot accurately hit the leading pirate ship.

Japan's shipbuilding technology is backward and there is no keel. It is basically made of wooden boards. The hull is instantly smashed to pieces when it encounters a huge attack force.

When the shell was fired, the Japanese pirates were terrified. Realizing that the shell was going to hit their ship, they jumped into the sea to escape.

The pirate leader with the scar on his forehead was none other than Otomo Giant Bear, who had escaped from the encirclement and suppression of the East China Sea Fleet, and was standing on the bow of the ship commanding the battle.

After experiencing the catastrophe on Kyushu Island, he knew the importance of supplies, so he focused on the passing Ming merchant ships, accumulated enough capital from the Ming merchant ships, and then took back the territory belonging to their Dayou family.

"Kill, rush up and kill them all!"

The giant bear of Otomo has a burly figure and a ferocious face. The Japanese sword in his hand flashes with cold light. He is looking angrily at this Ming Dynasty merchant ship that has something in his bag.

As for the Ming Dynasty merchant ship that happened to pass through this sea area, it was too lazy to take a second look.

Although their pirate ships were very light and therefore faster than the Ming merchant ships, the Ming merchant ships were located in the outer waters. If the other party goes to the deep sea, it would be too dangerous for their pirate ship to set foot in it.

What's more, now that they have locked onto this merchant ship carrying Japanese silver jewelry and Japanese sea goods, there is no need to covet the merchant ship that cannot be eaten.

Originally he thought he had let the merchant ship go, but when he was concentrating on his command, he suddenly heard a loud noise and a cannonball roaring towards him.

As if there was God's will in the dark, when the giant bear looked back, he saw an object getting closer and closer to him, and then it magnified infinitely in his sight, and finally it was pitch black.

puff!

As the shells fell, the body of the giant bear was smashed in all directions, staining most of the deck red. However, the shell remained unabated, and the entire pirate ship immediately fell apart.

"died?"

"Really dead!"

"This...how is this possible!"

…

The remnants of the Otomo clan saw their head of the family died tragically in front of them. The samurai who originally wanted to revive the Otomo clan suddenly seemed to have lost their hearts and souls.

"kill!"

Wu Dalang did not stop there, but ordered Wang Shenzhu, who was like the god of artillery, to point the muzzle at several other pirate ships, and then bombarded them again.

Although this time the shelling did not hit directly, the shells landed on the sea and splashed more than ten meters of water, overturning the small pirate ship, and the pirates on the ship fell into the water like dumplings.

Following the tragic death of the giant bear Otomo, several pirate ships were shelled one after another. In the end, only one pirate ship escaped, while the other pirates were buried on the bottom of the sea.

In fact, there were many pirates holding driftwood and trying to survive, but the Ming Dynasty's ships were not faithful men and women, but they rewarded them with bullets or arrows.

The rescued ship owner was an old acquaintance of Wu Dalang. After expressing his gratitude, he also decided to go to the Imperial College to receive patriotic education and equip his merchant ship with heavy artillery.

No one expected that the last die-hard Japanese pirates who troubled the Ming court would be bombarded to death by an unknown maritime merchant.

It's just that this seems to have opened a new door. In fact, to deal with pirates, you don't need to rely on the East China Sea Fleet. They also have the ability to kill Japanese pirates. (End of chapter)