Chapter 19 Chapter 153 Pirates and the Sea

The grand dukes of India are definitely not powerful, but their wealth is definitely more than that of the monarchs and princes of all other countries in the world. It seems that their only mission in life is to accumulate. India has a strict caste system, but there are few mud legs (a mockery of grassroots farmers) rising up, and the stability of the political form has created conditions for the uninterrupted accumulation of wealth without dispersion or transfer.As a higher level than the royal family, the temple possesses even more astonishing wealth. For example, in the ninth century AD, Mahmud of Ghazni took people to India to rob and robbed more than 250,000 pounds of gold from a temple.When the Byzantine Empire was at its strongest, there were only 200,000 pounds of gold in the treasury.The wealth of this temple exceeds the treasury of an empire.

Another example is that in 2011 AD, people discovered a secret room under a temple in Kerala, and found treasures worth about 20 billion U.S. dollars.So, what is the value of what Xia Xun led this group of pirates to rob King Guli's treasury and the Velaman Temple? Xia Xun was shocked for a long time before waking up. He thought about it, and said to Xu Hu: "Pearls and gems are not easy to cash in. We don't have a jeweler on board, and the specific value of gems cannot be accurately measured. All of them are boxed and sealed."As for the gold, take out one-tenth and distribute it to each crew member, and officers of all ranks will get an extra tenth for each rank.

Xu Hu was both surprised and surprised. After all, they were not real pirates, and the property they got should not fall into the hands of individuals. Therefore, he deliberately turned a blind eye to his subordinates' behavior of hiding treasures. In fact, he also He hid a treasure secretly, but he didn't expect Xia Xun to be so generous. Moved, Xu Hu couldn't help reminding: Duke, if someone impeaches the court, it is a serious crime! Xia Xun smiled faintly and said, "Everyone has something to take, so who will sue?"Remember, the soldiers who died in battle will also be divided, doubled, and they will be given to their families after they go back!

Xu Hu was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: Don't worry, Duke, I'll do it right away! Xu Hu excitedly announced the good news, and after a while, there was a burst of cheers like a tsunami on the boat. Xia Xun smiled, turned her head to look at the pile of colorful jewels, her eyes were a little dazzled: such a pirate seems to be very comfortable doing it A few days later, Zheng He's fleet arrived at Guli. His fleet was ten times that of Xia Xun's. When he saw so many yellow-skinned Orientals coming, he almost scared the Guli people who were keen to spread the magic of Chinese Taoism to death.

Fortunately, many people here have seen Zheng He's fleet when they came last time. Seeing the familiar and unique Tuanlong banner on the ship, they knew that the Eastern envoy who commanded the Armada was coming again, and the rumors started to spread. Calm down. When King Guli saw Zheng He as if he had seen a long-lost relative, he dragged his nose and tears to tell his loss. The remnants of Chen Zuyi in Nanyang, they came all the way west, and at the same time they preached to the barbarians and made friendly trade, they also had the sacred mission of annihilating this band of pirates.

King Guli was overjoyed when he heard the words, warmly entertained Zheng He, Zhang Xitong and his party, and rewarded the soldiers of the three armies. All the pirates who were killed were killed, so let him vent his anger. Persian Bend, Hulumos (now the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf). The interpreter found a newly hired guide, and after accepting Zheng He's bag of gold coins, the guide immediately told him the direction he was about to reach. What?You said that if you drive along the coast to Adam, you can reach Tianfang (now Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia)? Zheng He was both surprised and delighted. After getting an affirmative answer, Zheng He turned around excitedly, looked at the east and shouted loudly: Your Majesty!Zheng He did it!From here to my China, although it is a hundred thousand miles away, the slaves have really rushed to the holy place, and they can make a pilgrimage to the holy place!

Zheng He looked excitedly at the figure on the rock wall that looked like a bible to the locals. It was the guidepost left by Xia Xun's fleet when it passed by. That's right!The Duke also went to Mecca, haha, the Duke walked in front of Zheng He! Zheng He laughed heartily and shouted: Come on, erect a monument here as a souvenir!My Ming Fleet is here! The stonemasons brought from Jinling City clanged and carved. In the evening of that day, when the sun was setting, the waves surged with brilliant golden light, which was reflected on a newly carved stone tablet by the sea: His country went to China for more than 100,000 miles. The people are salty, and the Xihao is in the same style. The stone is engraved here, and it will last forever!

Zheng He caressed the newly carved stone tablet, turned his head to look to the southwest, and muttered to himself in an envious tone: The Duke has already made a pilgrimage to Mecca by now. Xia Xun, whom Zheng He envied infinitely, was fighting tenaciously against the wind and waves at sea. He led the pirate fleet all the way to the west along the coast, and he did business wherever he could. When he met unfriendly people, he didn't mind being a robber again. At sea, they had repelled three pirate fleets.Going all the way west like this, I have already reached Tianfang. Because Zheng He's fleet is ten times larger than his, it is much more troublesome than them to do business or replenish fresh water and food wherever he goes. In addition, Zheng He also has to deal with the local government and conduct official exchanges, so the speed It was more than twice as slow as Xia Xun.

Of course, Xia Xun had to inquire about Zhu Yunqi's whereabouts wherever he went, but he was about to forget about this secret mission.Because he knew clearly that in the original history, Zhu Yunqi never appeared again, and the embarrassing situation that Emperor Yongle was worried about would never appear. In the beginning, either because of Zhu Di's explanation, or because of his personal curiosity about Zhu Yunqi's whereabouts, he was still willing to inquire seriously, but as time went by, there was no news, and Xia Xun had almost given up on searching for Zhu Yunqi. Instead, explore new routes.

The Ming Dynasty has changed the tribute trade to free trade, so soon more folk adventurers and navigators will emerge in the Ming Dynasty to explore an accurate route, which is crucial to the future development of the entire Ming Dynasty. Fei Yinglun also made a fortune during the business and plunder along the way. Even if Xia Xun broke his promise and refused to buy him a boat, the wealth he had was enough to buy a boat that would make him laugh out loud in his sleep. Big ship. Fei Yinglun wanted to bid farewell to Xia Xun and abandon the ship when he was in Hulumos.Because at this time, the European route to Southeast Asia would land in the Persian Gulf, pass by land through the Middle East, and then take a boat to the Mediterranean, and then arrive in European countries. Fei Yinglun wanted to land here and return to his hometown.

In terms of straight-line distance, it is undoubtedly the shortest, but the huge cost of land transportation makes this route far less economical than starting from Europe, passing through the Cape of Good Hope, and then going around. Xia Xun's knowledge of the West was limited, and he didn't know much about world geography, but he clearly remembered that Europeans could travel by water all the way through the Cape of Good Hope, and there was no need to go through a long land transportation in the middle. Therefore, he refused to let Fei Yinglun go, and he wanted to continue sailing forward.He wants to find the Cape of Good Hope, which has not been named yet. He doesn't know the specific route, but he has his own clumsy way. Walking along the coastline, he doesn't believe he can't find the southernmost tip of Africa, which is waiting for him to discover. virgin land. This method is often used when he plays the game "Xuanyuan Sword" to break through the maze. Although it takes a lot more time than reading the strategy, it can be used for leveling.Now there is no such thing as leveling, but there are treasures to rob, and his crew has become addicted to robbing. We are pirates, fierce pirates, With the bottle in the left hand and the treasure in the right, We are pirates, skilled pirates, Beautiful girls, please come to my arms They sang the song Fei Yinglun taught them, and walked happily into the depths of the sea. Unexpectedly, along the way, the level of monsters they encountered became higher and higher. This monster was the unpredictable Tianwei. Who can resist it. The sea brought them wealth, but also danger. The strong wind roared, setting off a huge wave, one after another continuously beating the ships that fluctuated in the wind and waves, and there was no place to anchor. This ghostly weather has lasted for three days, and it is about to drive people crazy. Who would have imagined that the sky was still cloudless and clear a moment ago, but suddenly the climate changed drastically?The climate here is obviously different from that of Nanyang.It was raining heavily, and I was so confused that I couldn't see things in the distance at all. The sailors were nervously busy on the ship. Everyone was beaten to the bone by the salty and cold sea water. Xia Xun also appeared at the bow of the ship, using a jackhammer to firmly grasp the deck. skidding. In the distance, Xu Husheng shouted something hoarsely at him, but the roar of the wind and waves, the clatter of the rainstorm, and the explosion of thunder were intertwined, and he couldn't hear what he was saying at all. The sea water seemed to be squeezed from all directions, Xia Xun could hear the sound of the hull being squeezed, and the screams from the hull were right next to his ears, as if the boat was about to disintegrate. A smaller boat in front was tossed back and forth by huge waves one after another. Sometimes it was lifted into the air more than ten meters high, and then it was smashed into a deep whirlpool. People often thought that it sank to the bottom of the sea, never When it is impossible to appear, it rises tenaciously to the surface again, and you have just breathed a sigh of relief when it is smashed down again by a huge wave The wind and waves were endless, torturing people's patience. Tang Sai'er was tied to the bed by Su Ying with a cloth belt, and she vomited in a mess.Su Ying is more capable than Xia Xun at this time, she can be seen from time to time in the wind and waves, commanding the crew together with Xu Hu, trying to control the wild horses in the wind and waves as much as possible. I don't know when, the wind and waves finally weakened gradually, and all the people collapsed on the boat exhausted. The boat was still bumping violently, but compared to the appearance when the wind and waves were violent, it was already like being in heaven. Suddenly, the small boat that had been struggling tenaciously in the wind and waves until now suddenly exclaimed: It hit the rocks!Hit the rocks! Xu Hu, Su Ying, and Xia Xun ran to the side of the boat one after another, only to see the people on the small boat running around on the boat, as if they wanted to seal the leak at the bottom of the boat. Su Ying immediately yelled: "It's approaching the land. All boats should be careful of the rocks. Throw the rope, rely on help, and rescue the people. If the boat can be towed to the shore, then abandon the boat!" The sailors of each ship cheered up and tried their best to steer the ships to avoid the hidden reefs. When several ships finally docked to the shore one after another, the wind and waves finally stopped.