While in Havana, Zhang Xiaojing lived in a beachfront villa in the East Bay.
This Cuban mansion is a replica of a Spanish courtyard, with a central courtyard as the core, but with unique Cuban details - living room walls with adjustable shutters, colorful roof beams, and a curved gallery built around the courtyard.
The most distinctive of these is the courtyard-style gallery, which can not only shelter from wind and rain, but also demonstrate the owner's extraordinary taste.
This villa was a holiday villa built by the Governor of Cuba at great expense. Before he had time to move in, he lent it to the oriental guest for free. Far from regretting this, he felt that it made his villa more glorious and had more heritage and connotation that Cuba lacked the most.
From the interior decoration, it can be seen that the Governor of Cuba is a very lucrative position. From the Greek marble floor, exquisite Spanish tiles, Italian gold-inlaid wooden frame mirrors to French crystal chandeliers, and various famous oil paintings hanging on the walls, everything is extremely luxurious.
However, Zhang Xiaojing does not appreciate this kind of extravagance, which is very different from the aesthetics of the scholar-official class, which is "preferring simplicity over complexity", but is in line with the pursuit of luxury and new sounds by the market class. So after experiencing the fresh feeling, she would spend more time in the gallery with flowers blooming and birds chirping to spend a leisurely vacation.
After waking up naturally and having a hearty Cuban breakfast, she sat at the desk in the gallery and began to write a letter to Zhao Hao.
Havana is not too hot this season, and it is even a little cool in the shade of the courtyard in the early morning. But if you put on a chamanto shawl made of alpaca wool, you will feel very warm.
"It's like returning to my husband's arms..." Zhang Xiaojing felt a strange emotion in her heart, and her legs curled up in the rattan chair twisted unnaturally.
Her face flushed slightly, and she quickly picked up the porcelain cup on the table, took a sip of the slightly bitter African coffee to calm herself down, then she turned her thoughts into words, which flowed out from the tip of her pen.
Since the beginning of the journey, Xiao Zhuzi has written 500 letters almost every day. However, the last time he sent a letter back was when Mu Gu Du Shu parted ways with the returning fleet.
The letter describes what she saw and heard along the way, so it is also an excellent travelogue, of course, without the corny love words and lewd language.
By the time she finished writing the letter, left a rouge lip print at the signature, put the letter into an envelope, and put it away in the walnut box on the table, it was already noon.
After finishing the most important thing of the day, Xiao Zhuzi stretched out his body comfortably, drank a cup of hot kakaba, and prepared to clear his mind and go for a walk in the city after lunch.
This round-the-world trip brought her great spiritual satisfaction. Whether it was the raging waves when crossing the ocean, the terrifying desert she saw when passing through North Africa, or the huge baobab trees she saw when stopping in Madagascar, all of them opened Xiao Zhuzi's eyes.
This world is indeed something you can't see in books. Oh no, it can't be seen in previous books. Because in a series of natural books published by Zhao Hao, these magnificent scrolls have been vividly depicted. My husband is so amazing! I really want to hug him...
What fascinated Xiao Zhuzi even more were those exotic customs that were very different from the Chinese mainland, but each had its own unique features. The Nanyang style of Patani, the Indian style of the Mughal Empire, the Arabian scenery of the Ottoman Empire, the Mediterranean style of the Portuguese Empire, and of course the American style of Cuba, all made her dazzled and intoxicated.
It turns out the world is so big. I really need to go out and see it, to make my life worthwhile!
But she had been out for long enough, and now she missed home very much.
"Fortunately, the journey is already halfway through, so we should be able to get home by the end of the year, right?" Little Zhuzi thought, "Shixiang, Shiqi, and Shifu should be running all over the place, right? Oh, I've been delayed, delayed..."
Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. A guard from the Security Department reported from outside the courtyard: "Madam, Commander Lin asks you to return to the ship as soon as possible..." After a pause, he added: "Take your luggage with you."
"What happened?" Zhang Xiaojing was surprised. Everything was peaceful when she took over the shift yesterday.
The guard shook his head and said, "The messenger who delivered the message didn't know either. He only said that the commander ordered everyone to return to the ship immediately!"
"Okay." Zhang Xiaojing gathered Alpaca's shawl, picked up her letter box and said, "Let's go now."
The luggage and other things would naturally be packed by Qianyi, so she didn't need to worry about it.
Under the protection of the escort team, she drove to the Havana Bay Pier and boarded the small boat that was there to pick her up.
Zhang Xiaojing saw that the dock was full of small boats from her fleet. Almost all the lifeboats were lowered by Lin Feng to receive the crew members who had rushed back from all directions.
The unusual behavior of the oriental guests also attracted the attention of the locals, who loudly asked their newly made Chinese friends where they were going and whether they needed a ride on their boat.
Many crew members were still drunk, some even without sailor pants, wearing only shorts, and were yelled to the dock by the messenger. The worst one was so scared that he was weak, and he is still worried now, wondering if he can get hard again?
Zhang Xiaojing was secretly worried, but she could not detect anything unusual when looking at the calm harbor.
She took a small boat to the bottom of the Liu Daxia, the eternal sinner, and climbed up the ladder skillfully, only to see that the crew on duty were already carrying out the "pre-war cleanup" work. They transferred all the items on the deck to the cargo hold at the bottom of the ship to clear a barrier-free passage through the entire deck.
Sailors also spread sand on the deck, set up fire curtains to block the entrance to the gunpowder magazine, filled the fire water tank with water, and kept the water pumps available at all times.
The gunner directed the gun crews to lift up their gun covers, revealing the yellow-orange cannons. The first shell had already been transported from the powder magazine to the gun position.
As she quickly climbed up to the wheelhouse on the top floor of the poop, she saw the medical director and the ship's doctors in the cabin, preparing for surgery...
Everything is proceeding busily and in an orderly manner, and everything indicates that a big war is about to begin!
In the wheelhouse, she finally saw Lin Feng who was losing her temper.
Lin Feng's hair had grown long. She tied it into many small braids like the girls from the Western Regions. She wore a black boat-shaped hat, leather boots, and a whip in her hand, which she was whipping the table with.
"Why did you let so many people out? Are you still alert?!"
Ma Yishan's mouth twitched, as if he was being whipped. "They are taking leave according to the regulations, so it's not easy to stop them... Of course, they really shouldn't be allowed to take leave."
"What's going on?" Zhang Xiaojing walked in.
"Madam." Ma Yishan saluted quickly.
"Get out." Lin Feng certainly knew that Lao Ma was innocent, but this was the correct way to use a punching bag.
Otherwise, she couldn't vent her anger on her dear master's wife, right?
"A Spanish galley has arrived in Havana." Lin Feng said in a slow tone.
"This is their territory. Is there any problem?" Xiao Zhuzi understood human nature but not military affairs, so he asked humbly.
"Of course there is a problem. The large sailing ships could be merchant ships, but the galleys called 'Galaisses' are warships!" Lin Feng explained in a deep voice: "Those ships can carry little cargo and cannot sail on the ocean, so only the Spanish anti-smuggling team uses them."
Because the galleys have strong sprinting ability, sailing against the wind is even more powerful, and they are very flexible in turning, they are very suitable for chasing smuggling sailboats in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Once a smuggling ship is found, it can quickly catch up, seize a favorable position, and capture the sailboat.
"But the problem is that Cuba has an anti-smuggling fleet..." Lin Feng said quietly.
"Oh, I see." Xiao Zhuzi understood.
She knew that Zhao Hao's layout at sea was almost a copy of the Spanish model.
The shipping fleets of the Royal Shipping and South Sea Shipping correspond to the Spanish Treasure Fleet.
The huge galleon fleet, funded by the royal family, regularly traveled between Spain and its overseas colonies, transporting European goods to the American colonies and gold and silver from the colonies back to the mother country. The royal family could take one-fifth of the goods as compensation.
Zhao Hao's shipping fleet also monopolized all freight in the Ming Dynasty's seas and made profits by charging freight. However, the freight was not fixed, but a freight rate table was given regularly to adjust the trade structure through differential rates to better promote the development of the overall economy. Of course, there was no difference in essence.
Just as piracy and smuggling were rampant in the Ming Dynasty, Spain also faced the same problem. Many Spanish merchants colluded with colonial officials to engage in smuggling, causing a sharp drop in royal tax revenue and freight.
So just as Zhao Hao set up a maritime police station to combat smuggling and pirates and protect its exclusive shipping routes, Spain also set up several anti-smuggling teams in its colonies.
Moreover, Spain was also facing piracy supported by those damned Protestant countries, and could not complete its mission by relying on a local fleet of average combat effectiveness and small size like the Marine Police. The combat effectiveness of the Spanish anti-smuggling brigade was very strong, otherwise it would not be able to defeat the fierce British pirates, French militia and sea beggars!
The anti-smuggling fleet will not easily leave its own defense zone. Firstly, there is no need to do so, and secondly, it will cause its own defense zone to be empty, which will cause trouble if someone robs its home.
However, this anti-smuggling fleet appeared at the entrance of Havana Bay while the Cuban anti-smuggling fleet had not left the port.
"And they have set up a blockade formation." Lin Fengliu whistled in a lewd manner, "They are trying to catch a turtle in a jar. No matter if the turtle is us or not, we have to be careful."
"Yes, it's better to be safe than sorry." Zhang Xiaojing said, "But I heard that there are many smuggling ships and British slave ships in Havana, so they may not be coming for us."
"See. They have sent a ship to the Governor's Mansion, and there will be results soon." Lin Feng put his hands on his hips and looked at the sea.
At this time, many smuggling and slave ships with a keen sense of smell began to flee like peddlers who had discovered the city management. The galley fleet did not stop them at all, and only aimed the bow guns at the palace-like "Eternal Sinner Liu Daxia" in the bay, slowly approaching.
"Oh, it seems we have won the prize, and it is coming for us!" Lin Feng's eyes flashed with cold light, and he shouted loudly to the outside: "Let those prostitutes get on the boat quickly, if it's too late, I won't wait!"
Then she gave another order in a deep voice: "Notify all ships to block the shooting on their own once they enter the warning distance. No need to ask for permission! Don't let them get close to you!"
p.s. Keep going