Chapter 15: Langtaosha Order (V)
Mastering a language wasn't easy, especially since Lu Ning had barely encountered a foreign language before, so learning was incredibly difficult. The pronunciation and word order of the other language were significantly different from the Ming language, requiring repeated recognition. The only way to learn was through constant communication with the person speaking the language, leaving him with very little time to dedicate to studying.
On the contrary, Zhu Shuyuan learned faster than these officials. The reason was that Zhu Shuyuan had come to India several times before. In addition to surveying the local area and compiling books, the most important thing was to investigate the local customs and practices. Therefore, Zhu Shuyuan could communicate with the locals without relying on an interpreter.
Fortunately, the other side also had great difficulty learning the language of the Ming Dynasty, which made Lu Ning feel very relieved.
At least she wasn't the only one suffering through her studies.
After a brief exchange, it became much easier for both parties to conduct business exchanges.
Although this group of people claimed to want to trade, they did not carry much money. It was clear that they were mainly exploring, just like the Ming Dynasty's original journey to Pengzhou. However, it was obvious that their ship was probably loaded with a lot of weapons.
Zhu Shuyuan didn't mind. He let them exchange their gold and silver rings and other valuables for Ming Dynasty silk, tea, porcelain, and other items, as long as they were weighed to confirm they hadn't lost money. Although their clothing was a bit simple, they had quite a bit of gold and silver jewelry, so perhaps they could squeeze some gold and silver out of them.
At present, they don’t know enough about each other’s countries, and they don’t even know where they are located. Naturally, they have to be cautious when communicating with them.
According to these people, they will return to their country to report to their emperor, so they will not stay in the local area for too long. They hope that the Ming Dynasty will allow a small number of them to stay in the local area to trade.
It seems that the other party is aware that this place is not the territory of the Ming Dynasty, so they hope to "compete fairly" with the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, Zhu Shuyuan chose to refuse. The other party took into account the strength of both parties and the various commodities of the Ming Dynasty. He did not explain too much, but left quickly.
According to the resources and supplies that King Hui and others brought with them before they set off, they had been stationed here for too long. However, considering the arrival of this group of Portuguese, Zhu Shuyuan, who was supposed to leave with the fleet, made another decision, which was to continue to stay in India and expand and reinforce the original official factory to deal with possible invasions.
Not only that, she also sent a letter to the Ming Dynasty, requesting the emperor to allocate some soldiers to garrison the official factory set up in India to prevent the Portuguese from leading a large-scale army later.
It was not that the Ming Dynasty could not occupy India, but that the Ming Dynasty's focus was on Pengzhou and Jinghai Chengxuanzhengshisi, and it planned to strengthen the ties between these two places and the Ming Dynasty mainland, so as to prevent the local people in Pengzhou from "split" from the mainland after many years.
According to the emperor's original idea, the current exchange model between Ming Dynasty and India is sufficient to meet Ming Dynasty's demand for mineral resources, not to mention that there are many gold, iron and coal mines in Pengzhou for them to mine on a long-term basis. The glass produced in Pengzhou is of outstanding quality and craftsmanship, and the cultivated land can be completely self-sufficient. It can also supply the Jinghai Chengxuan Administration Commission in the middle together with Ming Dynasty, and can also provide a place for the fleet to rest in Pengzhou and go to the Nanyang area for surveying and mining.
No matter what Lu Ning thinks, the emperor is unlikely to consider this matter.
"Your Majesty, can you agree to the request to send troops?"
Seeing the hint of worry between Lu Ning's brows, Zhu Shuyuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why, are you worried that His Majesty won't agree?"
"After all, India is thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty and is not entirely part of the Ming Dynasty's territory. Why waste money and money to take care of things here?"
Zhu Shuyuan smiled faintly and said, "You are still young and have only recently taken office, so there are some things you don't fully understand. When the Ming Dynasty reopened maritime trade and the navy had yet to be established, my mother already said that protecting the Ming Dynasty means we can't just wait until the enemy reaches our ports before considering a counterattack. If Your Majesty didn't understand this, you wouldn't have sent me here."
Hearing her say this, Lu Ning felt more confident and said, "Your Highness is right."
"While you have the time, you can train with the navy for a while. After all, you are a military scholar, so you will be able to learn faster than others. If those people come back later, you will be needed to follow the others in the navy to resist them."
Lu Ning understood this very well and immediately nodded and said, "Yes."
Fortunately, the situation did not seem as critical as Zhu Shuyuan had imagined. In addition to learning maritime tactics and how to deploy troops from several naval captains and soldiers, Lu Ning also took the time with others to find out where the Portuguese came from and whether there were any people left in India and secretly planning other things.
It took the Ming army more than a month to find out that the Portuguese had landed not in Cochin, the port where they were currently stationed, but in Calicut. However, some Muslim merchants did not want to see outsiders profit, so they joined forces with local merchants and lied that they had no spice stocks. Unexpectedly, the Portuguese attacked the merchant ships that were loading goods, and the two sides clashed directly. Fortunately, the people of Calicut had the advantage of fighting on their own soil and drove the Portuguese out.
But many of them saw with their own eyes that these Portuguese also had artillery similar to that of the Ming Dynasty and bombarded Calicut.
Lu Ning handed the compiled intelligence to Zhu Shuyuan. Her face was heavy as she said, "This group of people are indeed ambitious and ill-intentioned. Fortunately, His Highness has already sent someone back to inform His Majesty, and His Majesty has already agreed. I believe the Ming Navy will arrive to support us soon."
Zhu Shuyuan didn't take it seriously and said, "Guests are welcome, but I'm not sure which is more powerful, our artillery or these red-haired enemies."
Without hesitation, Lu Ning said, "It must be that the firearms of our Ming Dynasty are more powerful!"
What she said was not false. Ever since Emperor Xianzong founded the Academy of Sciences, the Ming Dynasty had always attached great importance to the application and advancement of firearms, not to mention that she herself often took people out to patrol the border or conduct military exercises in northern Zhili.
The emperor invested a huge amount of money in the Academy of Sciences. If the Academy of Sciences could not produce any results, how could the emperor allocate large sums of money and various mineral resources every year for the people in the Academy to "squander"?
There is another reason why Lu Ning is so confident, and that is because newly developed firearms are often sent to various parts of the border for these border troops to conduct experiments.
Although Wang Yue was no longer serving in the imperial army when Lu Ning studied with him, as a battle-hardened general, Wang Yue could naturally take his students to see the new firearms in the military camp.
Lu Ning knew that the production cycles of these firearms were different, and the time taken by the officials and clerks of the Academy of Sciences from development to promotion and use was also different, but as a military stronghold in the northwest, the firearms that could be obtained must be the latest.
She had witnessed the power of these weapons with her own eyes, so she was naturally confident.
Seeing her so confident, Zhu Shuyuan couldn't help but smile slightly and said, "But... I don't think it's time to start a war yet."
Lu Ning understood Zhu Shuyuan's implication and said, "We are investigating these Portuguese. They must be investigating us as well. That's why they only sent four ships to investigate us. If the Ming Dynasty wasn't strong enough, these four ships would be enough. If the Ming Dynasty was strong enough, these four small ships wouldn't pose a threat."
"Looking at the way they look, it doesn't seem like they're just here to do business."
"They probably don't have the courage to declare war on the Ming Dynasty like they did when they attacked Calicut."
After all, as long as they dared to offend the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, with its strength in building official factories in the local area for many years, would definitely make them pay the price.
Moreover, seeing their obsession with Ming Dynasty products such as silk, glass, tea, and porcelain, one can guess that these people have two main purposes for making this trip.
One was for business, and the other was to find out about the situation in the Ming Dynasty.
If there is a huge gap in strength between the two sides, they would of course prefer "mutual benefit" with the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Shuyuan looked at the others and asked, "What do you think?"
Everyone had different expressions. Someone spoke up, "Since they're likely to coexist peacefully with us, we should follow the same principles as when Emperor Xianzong was still alive. We should set up additional trading rules for these Portuguese and agree with them not to interfere with each other..."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone started to refute him, saying, "These people are extremely ambitious. If they invade India and use it as a base to covet the benefits of Ming Dynasty's maritime trade, wouldn't our actions today be nurturing a tiger that will only harm us?"
"That's true. India is not our territory after all. If we act rashly, these Indians will regard the Ming Dynasty as our enemy."
There is more than one kingdom in this land. Even if they are all on good terms with the Ming Dynasty, it is still not convenient for the Ming Dynasty to interfere in their affairs. At most, it can only mediate when they have friction with each other. However, since some ports have already accepted the Portuguese, there is no need for the Ming Dynasty to intervene.
Zhu Shuyuan produced the emperor's secret letter, smiled faintly, and said, "Your Majesty has already made a plan." She glanced around and spoke calmly, "Your Majesty has said that if a vassal state asks for help, as a superior state, we should help. There is no need to worry."
At the end of the eighth year of Xizai, the Battle of Cannanore broke out between the Zamorin Kingdom of Calicut and the Portuguese. The Zamorin Kingdom of Calicut was defeated and asked the Ming Dynasty for help. As the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty would certainly not refuse and soon got involved.
In the spring of the ninth year of Xizai, the war ended. The Ming Dynasty and Calicut finally defeated the Portuguese. The three parties signed a number of treaties, such as the Portuguese could only trade in designated ports, their trade priority should be lower than that of Ming Dynasty merchants, some ports in Calicut were handed over to the Ming Dynasty for management, the supply of resources in Calicut should be given priority to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty army could move freely in designated areas in the ports of Calicut and other places.
This war was a huge drain on both the Portuguese who came from afar and the Calicuts who fought on their home turf. But for the Ming Dynasty, which had stable supplies and advanced weapons, it was not a large-scale war. Instead, it was a simple military exercise to help these young people who went to sea with Zhu Shuyuan quickly become familiar with various overseas affairs, including government affairs, military affairs, diplomacy and business. It was an excellent opportunity for training. Lu Ning himself was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief in this battle.
The emperor of the Ming Dynasty also seized this opportunity and selected a group of officials and soldiers to come and strengthen the Ming Dynasty's military power in India. Also coming with them were King Hui's husband Zhang Yu, Zhu Youkai and his wife, and the families of some officials who were already in India.
Many officials of the same age as Lu Ning already had families, and the situation in India would not be settled in a short time. They would have to stay here for at least five or six years. The emperor would certainly not be so unkind as to separate the officials from their families, so he sent all their families here and gave different rewards to officials of each level, which was quite generous.
Among her colleagues, it was the young Lu Ning who felt a little embarrassed. After all, she was still young and had no family with her. She was usually taken care of by her colleagues. She was invited to eat together by each family, and her colleagues' families helped her mend her clothes, etc.
She was not in a hurry, but Zhu Shuyuan couldn't help but feel a little worried. Lu Ning was already 27 years old, and it would not be good to delay any further.
After thinking for a long time and seeking Lu Ning's opinion, Zhu Shuyuan wrote to the emperor to transfer some officials back to the Ming Dynasty and allow them to return home to visit their relatives.
The Ming Dynasty has crushed the enthusiasm of these people. They will probably not attack rashly in the short term. Even if they dare to invade, the Ming Dynasty’s army stationed in India is enough to suppress them. Moreover, Zhu Shuyuan is already 58 years old this year. It is impossible for him to always be away to take care of many affairs for the emperor. The emperor should also replace fresh blood in time.
The new officials had gradually become familiar with local affairs, and the translators had mastered the language of communication. Therefore, in the eleventh year of Xizai, Lu Ning and some officials were able to return to the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
After resting for a while in Jinghai, in the autumn of the eleventh year of Xizai, everyone was finally able to return to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty by boat.
Lu Ning stood at the bow, looking at the port getting closer and closer, and felt a rare soreness in his eyes.
She was not the only one who had the same feeling. Lu Ning could vaguely hear the faint sobbing of the people around her. It was obvious that they had been missing their homeland of Ming Dynasty for a long time.
Even if they have made great achievements in their careers, they still can't let go of their longing for their hometown and loved ones.
Lu Ning was lost in thought when he saw that there were already many people waiting at the port in the distance. If it weren't for the soldiers on the shore stopping them, the port would have been in chaos.
Lu Ning had already vaguely guessed that these people came specially to greet them.
Even though she wasn't wearing armor or the red cape she had always coveted, she was still incredibly proud.
Lu Ning was startled and heard a familiar voice from afar:
"Ningning! Ningning!"
She reached out to hold onto the side of the boat, and sure enough, she saw the familiar figures in her memory, not only her brother, but also her father and mother.
Lu Ning couldn't help but wave his arms and shouted, "Dad! Mom! Brother!"
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