Chapter 413 Nanhua in Ryukyu (Second update, please subscribe)

It was the early morning of January 27, 1870. Although it was freezing cold, there was still sunshine on the sea, which was rare in winter.

On the calm surface of the East China Sea, a three-masted sailing ship is sailing on the sea, with the words "Si Hai" written on the beautiful clipper bow. "Si Hai" is a sailing training ship of the South China Guard Fleet. This training ship, with a displacement of only 1,485 tons, left Nanhua last September and headed south into the turbulent Drake Passage. In the huge waves as high as dozens of meters, the 376 naval officers and naval cadets on the "Si Hai" have been tested by the strong winds and huge waves.

After passing through the Drake Passage, the "Four Seas" headed north, first to Linhai, then west, passing Easter Island, Polynesia, Samoa and the New Guinea Company Port, and entered the Taiwan Strait through the Bashi Channel. According to the plan, they will replenish supplies in Nagasaki, then go north to Alaska via Hawaii, and then return south.

This is the standard ocean route for the Guard Fleet training ship. Every naval cadet must undergo such ocean training before graduation. During the nearly one-year sea voyage, the cadets will be tested by the sea and eventually grow into qualified naval officers.

According to the plan, after passing through the Taiwan Strait, the "Si Hai" will go to Nagasaki to replenish supplies and then leave Asia.

But sometimes, plans never keep up with changes.

A storm encountered in the South China Sea not only broke the rear mast of the Si Hai, but also caused the loss of most of the fresh water - the broken mast smashed the water tank.

Faced with the reality that the fresh water was about to run out, Captain Li Fengzhi observed the surroundings through a telescope and gave direct orders.

“Let’s drive into Naha!”

"Captain. Naha doesn't seem to be on our route."

Captain Rosen, an instructor at the Naval Academy who sailed with the "Si Hai", has finally witnessed in the past few months how the future officers of the South China Navy fight against the wind and waves on the sea and how they grow in the wind and waves.

This kind of ocean sailing training is almost equivalent to a round-the-world voyage. In this process, everyone has undergone unprecedented tests!

"Instructor Luo, no problem. Naha is just a port. According to the training regulations, we just need to avoid entering the port of Tangshan."

The reason why they didn't enter the port of Tangshan was of course to avoid conflict. After all, to a certain extent, Nanhua and the Qing Dynasty were in a hostile relationship. After all, Nanhua had always supported the Heavenly Kingdom.

Another reason is...if we return to Tangshan, there may be deserters. What if someone takes the opportunity to escape?

This is likely to cause instability in the military morale, so the best way is not to go.

Following the captain's order, the helmsman immediately adjusted the course, and the trainee officers on the deck carried out routine gunnery or navigation training as in the past.

That afternoon, the "Si Hai" training ship sailed into Naha Port, where dozens of ships from various countries were anchored, including both Chinese-style hard-sailed sailing ships and Western sailing ships. Most of these ships were from Japan and China.

The arrival of the "Si Hai" training ship immediately attracted the attention of some crew members. After all, there were very few warships entering Naha.

"It seems to be a warship!"

Matsui Ichiro, the first mate of Tatsuwa Maru, said to himself,

"It's just a warship. They seem to have encountered a storm and may want to enter the port for maintenance."

When the French captain Stone raised his telescope, he noticed the flag on the masthead in addition to the broken mast on the mizzen.

"Phoenix?"

Then he talked to himself.

"It looks like a Nanhua warship."

Although they were not familiar with Nanhua, they knew the "Suzaku Flag" very well. After all, Nanhua had dozens of immigrant ships sailing on the East Asian seas.

"Nanhua's warships?"

In fact, they were not unfamiliar with Nanhua's warships. After all, in the past few years, a warship had sailed into Nagasaki every year to replenish coal, fresh water and food.

In fact, there are many rumors about Nanhua in this sea area, from immigrant ships that are as big as "islands" to Japanese women and wanderers who travel to Nanhua. What is behind these rumors? Every year, tens of thousands of Japanese women flow to Nanhua through various channels.

The "Si Hai" sailed into the Naha Port in a swaggering manner. When they entered the berthing area, a wooden boat slowly approached. Lin Zhi, who was standing on the bow, bowed and saluted after seeing the two words "Si Hai" on the bow clearly.

"You are a soldier from the Celestial Empire. I am Lin Zhi, the port officer of Naha. Nice to meet you, officers!"

Wu Anping, who was standing on the side of the ship, couldn't help but feel a liking for the man when he saw that he not only spoke fluent Mandarin, but was also wearing Han-style clothes and a Han-style hair crown.

"Lord Lin, you are too polite. We are from Nanhua and encountered a storm on the way. We hope to enter the port to repair the ship!"

Nanhua?

Lin Zhi looked at the soldiers on the boat who were wearing Western-style brimless hats and blue suits in confusion. Although there was a hint of doubt in his expression, he did not refuse.

In fact, this kind of "floating ship" is not the first time. Since the "Opium War", in the context of the massive invasion of East Asia by the West, even Ryukyu has not been spared. As early as 1853, the fleet of Commodore Perry of the US Navy arrived in Ryukyu for the first time. In March of the following year, Perry asked Japan to open the Naha port of Ryukyu during the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa. The Japanese side told Perry that Ryukyu was a sovereign state and had no right to decide the right to open its port. Later, on the return journey, Perry's black ship "visited" Ryukyu by the way. Ryukyu and Perry signed the "Ryukyu-US Treaty of Amity" in both Chinese and English to open the port of Naha. Since then, France and the Netherlands have successively signed amendatory treaties with it.

In the decades before this, there had been many foreign ships coming to Ryukyu. Ryukyu’s attitude towards foreign ships from Europe and America was to try its best to meet the supply requirements of these ships that drifted to Ryukyu due to storms and other reasons, so that they could leave Ryukyu ports faster.

Now, facing this "foreign ship", Lin Zhi naturally treated it according to the old rules. There was no other way. For the Ryukyu, even the Celestial Empire and Japan were not the opponents of the Westerners, and they could not afford to provoke them. Of course, they had to treat it with courtesy.

"Welcome to Naha. How many days will it take you to complete the repairs?"

Lin Zhi asked.

"If there are materials in the harbor, the mast can be repaired in three to five days. After replenishing water and food, we will leave. Please rest assured, sir, we will purchase the necessary materials and water and food at the local market price."

Wu Anping replied politely.

Soon, the "Si Hai" sailed into Naha Port.

(End of this chapter)