Chapter 1646 Return to Nanyang

The reason they ran so far was, first of all, because the pirate fleet was too stubborn and chased them for half a month before giving up.

In addition, the wind in the North Indian Ocean is from the northeast this season, and the ocean currents flow in a counterclockwise circular motion. All these reasons have led to their current predicament of being far away from the Indian subcontinent, and even further away from Goa.

Using a sextant, we found that we were almost at the equator. No wonder the pirates didn't dare to chase us, we were in the doldrums.

Macron and the three captains held a meeting with Xiao Xiao Luo to discuss what to do next.

Even Ronaldinho admitted that under the current circumstances, it was obviously unrealistic to travel nearly 4,000 miles against the wind and ocean currents to Goa.

There is only one solution now, which is to sail against the equator.

The Equatorial Countercurrent coincides with the Equatorial Doldrums and is a common current in the equatorial ocean. It flows straight eastward all year round and can send them directly to the South China Sea.

Seeing that his mission would fail, little Luo was naturally very depressed. Macron comforted him by saying that there was also a Portuguese fleet in Malacca, so it wouldn't hurt to go and seek refuge with the Governor of Malacca, right?

Little Luo, who was almost fooled, forced himself to nod. This was all he could do.

"Turn east, target the South China Sea!" Xia Xin gave the order to the wheelhouse.

~~

At the same time, eighty miles to the north, a blue hot air balloon slowly landed on a two-masted Indian sailing ship.

There were fifteen dhows surrounding the ship, which were obviously the pirate fleet that drove the two large ships into the equator.

However, the man who got off the hot air balloon, although wearing an Indian skirt, had a Ming face.

He was not the only one on the ship. Many people on the ship were Ming people wearing Indian clothes, and of course there were many Indians. However, they were all tanned by the scorching sun in the Indian Ocean, and it was difficult to tell who was from which country without a close look.

"How is it?" The leader was a thin man who asked the investigator in Mandarin with a Cantonese accent.

"Deputy, they went east," the investigator replied. It was another deputy.

"Okay, follow them from a distance and be careful not to be discovered by them." The representative ordered his captain.

He was Liang Qin, the group's plenipotentiary representative in Goa. The former vice chairman of Nanhai Group was the main person responsible for the "La Yue Stock Market Troubles". After actively admitting his guilt and begging for mercy, he was given a chance to redeem himself - Liu Zhengqi went to Cairo, and he went to Goa.

Although they all served as plenipotentiary representatives abroad, Liang Qin's days in Goa were much more depressing compared to the glorious Liu Yuanwai.

The reason is very simple - four words: 'make friends far away and attack nearby'.

The Ottoman Empire and the Ming Dynasty have nothing to do with each other, so everyone can rest assured to make friends with them or even form an alliance with them.

But Portugal had already extended its reach to the Ming Dynasty, but was severely beaten by the coast guard fleet and driven out of Macau.

Although the Vice King of Goa was forced to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Jiangnan Group due to the situation, as the Nanhai Group continued to exert its strength in Southeast Asia, the conflict of interests between the two sides became increasingly serious, and the open and covert struggles became more and more intense.

Once the armistice agreement expires, I guess there will be another fight.

Under such circumstances, Representative Liang's life is naturally very difficult.

Every time news of a conflict between the two sides came from Nanyang, Bruno would summon him to the palace as soon as possible.

If the Portuguese got the upper hand, Bruno would show off and make sarcastic remarks.

If the Portuguese suffered a loss, Bruno would use him as a punching bag and scold him. He even threatened to hang him if the South China Group did not restrain itself...

As more and more Southeast Asian countries and tribes recalled their father's kindness, Representative Liang was called to the palace every few days and scolded.

Because every time he was scolded, it meant that his own people were taking advantage, so Representative Liang felt both pain and happiness.

Over time, he felt that he had become a bit abnormal. He would feel uncomfortable if he was not scolded every few days...

The Portuguese are also very stingy. This is not just their fault, but a common problem of all European countries. They cherish their unique technology and guard against outsiders like thieves, fearing that they might be stolen.

In addition, they also had to guard against the Ming people colluding with those Indian princely states. Therefore, Representative Liang was not free to move in Goa. Not only was he under constant surveillance, he could not leave the Portuguese territory.

Liang Qin had had enough of this kind of life. He attached great importance to this "savior" operation and wanted to make a contribution so that he could ask the prince to transfer him back to the country.

Therefore, he prepared early according to the plan. He sent his men to the territory of Gujarat, India, one year in advance to purchase ships and recruit sailors. After receiving the news sent by Liu Zhengqi, he said goodbye to the Portuguese and said he would return to his country to report on his work.

However, after leaving Goa, he did not go south, but went north to the Gulf of Kutch controlled by Gujarat, where he met up with the long-awaited fleet and sailed towards the Gulf of Aden.

Liu Zhengqi kept the task force and Sebastian in Cairo for a month on the pretext of replicating the Green Luo miracle - sailing on dry land, just to wait for him to be in place.

Moreover, the two large aircraft stopped in Aden in order to contact Representative Liang's men and ensure that they could meet them as soon as they left the Gulf of Aden.

Liang Qin's pirate fleet had two purposes. One was to allow the two large ships to sail southwards, away from the ports and routes controlled by the Portuguese. The other was to protect them from encountering pirate ships...

~~

So the two large ships, under the secret protection of Liang Qin's fleet, headed straight eastward along the equatorial current.

Because this was a one-way route and all the ships were traveling at the same speed, we could not see any ships along the way. We sailed safely for more than a month.

Finally, on January 29, 1579, the third day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, land was sighted again.

When the green coastline appeared in the telescope, all the crew members celebrated wildly!

At this time, the two large ships had been sailing on the sea for 70 consecutive days. The crew's supplies were basically exhausted, and even the most precious sheep had been eaten. It can be seen how desperate the situation was.

The two large ships carefully sailed along the gourd-shaped strait for more than 160 miles and finally saw a densely populated port.

When they tried to enter the port, they saw several Nanyang rowing warships coming from the dock. The soldiers on the ships, holding bows and arrows and a few muskets, were actually wearing white turbans...

This is nothing strange. Nanyang is right there. The Ming Dynasty closed its doors to the outside world, so the Ottoman Empire and India to the west were naturally not polite. Although India itself was still divided into hundreds of pieces, Hinduism was very powerful. It took hundreds of years for it to spread to all the countries in Nanyang.

Later, Islam came again. With the support of the Ottoman Empire, it defeated Hinduism. Sultanates were flourishing everywhere in the Southeast Asia. Even the tribal leaders of the Luzon Islands in the east chose Islam.

Because this thing works so well. It provides legitimacy for rule and a complete ruling system that other religions do not have. Almost no ruler can resist its influence. This is the westernmost part of Southeast Asia, and it is normal to believe in the Muslim religion.

Macron quickly asked Pan Qiaoyun to explain loudly in Arabic that they were from the Ming fleet returning to China from Egypt and had no hostility. They just needed to rest and replenish after a long voyage, so they rashly in.

As expected, the other party's attitude changed drastically, and someone even spoke Arabic, claiming to be Rasamala of the Sultanate of Banten...that is, the commander-in-chief of the navy.

Everyone was sure that they had reached the Sunda Strait...

The Sunda Strait is south of the Strait of Malacca.

The Malay Peninsula, Sumatra Island and Java Island, all of which are long strips, stretch for 8,000 miles from north to south, like a natural barrier, protecting the entire South Seas region.

The gap between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island is the Strait of Malacca.

The gap between Sumatra and Java Island is the Sunda Strait.

Therefore, the Sunda Strait is also the gateway to the South Seas, but its fame and importance are not as great as the former. The reason is simple. In this era, the closer the East Asia and Southeast Asia were to the Ming Dynasty, the more developed they were. The Strait of Malacca was closer to the Chinese civilization circle, so merchant ships would choose to enter and exit the South Seas from Malacca.

Speaking of which, the birth of the Kingdom of Banten is thanks to the Portuguese. If they had not occupied Malacca, this country would not have existed.

After the Portuguese monopolized the main trade route of Malacca, Hindu and Muslim merchants naturally had to look for other ways. So the Sunda Strait came into their sight.

The Sunda Strait was named after the Hindu kingdom of Sunda, so Indian merchant ships naturally had this convenience. Later, the Muslim Sundanese became independent under the instigation of the Ottoman Empire, and the Banten Sultanate was established.

~~

So the two sides naturally became friendly with each other.

The naval commander of Banten asked what their relationship was with the Chinese Coast Guard?

Pan Qiaoyun replied that we are the maritime police force sent to sail on the ocean.

The other side was overjoyed and warmly welcomed them ashore, offering them sumptuous food and inviting their leader to the palace to pay homage to the Sultan.

After a long voyage, the crew members all relaxed with such warm hospitality.

However, Sebastian was panicking because he suddenly remembered that Portugal had invaded here several times. Although they were repelled by the locals, each time they caused huge casualties.

The Kingdom of Banten was established by Muslims who used their power to repel Portugal. If they knew that I was the king of Portugal, wouldn't they be overjoyed?

He was so scared that he didn't even dare to leave the cabin, and even had to eat in the cabin...

Seven days later, his knight Macaron came in to find him and almost fainted from the stench.

After a while of ventilation, Macaron finally recovered and told the poor king that the Sultan here was about to send a fleet to Luzon and invited us to go with him...

We really had no right to say we wanted to go to Malacca, otherwise they would definitely get angry. So we had no choice but to agree...

"So, we can't go to Malacca anymore?" The king heard this and said resignedly, "Let him go wherever he wants. I'm used to it..."

(End of this chapter)