Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 544 His Majesty personally went out of the city to welcome them.
After leaving Xinjinfu, the Yuanwang never lingered in Southeast Asia again. Instead, it sailed north along the Makassar Strait, passed through the Sulu Sea, and stopped once more at Manila Bay on Luzon Island for some simple resupply.

Of course, the main purpose was to inform Zhao Huan, the branch station chief of the Manila intelligence station, that the Yuanwang had returned; otherwise, Zhao Huan would have to continue to wait anxiously every day.

After leaving Manila, the Yuanwang sailed directly northwest, crossing the South China Sea to Guangzhou. It also happened to encounter the Ming Dynasty's naval forces flying the national flag in the Lingdingyang at the mouth of the Pearl River.

"Guangzhou must be just ahead! We're finally home!"

"I know about Lingnan, but I've never been there. Has anyone here been to Lingnan?"

A group of sailors excitedly leaned over the ship's railing, looking around and sharing their joy at returning home.

"Never been."

"I've never been there either."

"I went there once before, when I was a sailor on a merchant ship, before I enlisted in the army."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked at the old sailor, and someone asked, "How far is Guangzhou from our Luzhou?"

The old sailor thought for a moment before saying, “Luzhou should belong to the newly established Anhui Province. South of Anhui is Jiangxi Province, and beyond Jiangxi are Guangdong and Guangxi. It must be several thousand miles away. But if we go by sea, it will be much faster. Going north from Guangzhou, past Quanzhou and Fuzhou, then Hangzhou, and after rounding Songjiang Prefecture, we will reach the mouth of the Yangtze River, which is Liujiagang, the port we passed on our way out to sea. If we are fast, it will take less than ten days.”

"Hey, almost home."

As the group was talking, a sharp-eyed fisherman suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "Look! There seem to be two white boats coming towards us!"

"Go and inform the captain immediately!"

Before anyone could report, the lookout at the top of the mast had already spotted the two ships and notified Zhang Chao and the others.

Wang Dayuan, Chen Youliang, and a few others immediately took binoculars and climbed to the top deck to observe the situation.

"The ship is a small Fujian-style ship, painted white, with red and blue stripes on both sides of the bow, and the national flag of the Ming Dynasty is flying. This paint scheme seems to be His Majesty's preference, and with the national flag flying, it should be a ship of the imperial government. But what kind of military unit is this? Why didn't Station Chief Li mention it when we were in the South Seas?"

After looking at it, Wang Dayuan handed the binoculars to Chen Youliang with some doubt. Chen Youliang looked at it and said, "With this painting style, no one but His Majesty could have come up with it. It must be a government ship. As for Li Bin, he didn't say anything. Maybe he doesn't know either. What do we do now?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Dayuan said, "Let's raise the Ming Dynasty flag, put the whole ship on high alert, reduce our speed, turn the rudder to starboard at a 20-degree angle, show them the name of our ship on the bow, and have the gunner fire a blank round so they know we are armed."

"Yes!"

Zhang Chao immediately issued various orders, and soon the Yuanwang ship slightly adjusted its course, veering diagonally toward the two ships opposite. At the same time, the gun ports on the side opened, revealing five dark cannons, which fired a volley of shots, stunning the two small boats opposite. Meanwhile, the national flag of the Ming Dynasty was raised on the mainmast of the Yuanwang ship.

On the opposite three-masted small ship with a displacement of only a little over two hundred tons, the captain, who was on patrol, was stunned when he saw the enemy firing cannons. The first mate was also shocked and said, "Captain, what kind of ship is that? Why is it flying the flag of our Great Ming Dynasty? The firepower on the ship is even stronger than ours. That salvo just now seemed to have five cannons. Could it be a naval ship?"

"Bullshit! The navy must fly the navy flag, not just the national flag. And that salvo they just fired, didn't you see they only sprayed smoke? There was no water column from the shells hitting the sea, which means they fired blanks. It was a warning shot to tell us they were armed," Captain Qin Jiaxing said immediately.

"Then what should we do?"

"Let's fire a shot, then go up and intercept it for inspection. Judging from its appearance, this ship shouldn't belong to outsiders. It has so many cannons; who else but the Ming Dynasty could build such a ship? It must be a government ship. We just don't know what they do. Let's go over and ask them. It's just a routine inspection."

"understood."

With a loud bang, they quickly responded with their own cannon, but their small 200-ton boat didn't carry as many cannons as the Yuanwang, even though the Yuanwang itself didn't have many heavy cannons.

However, this ship had as many as eight Frankie breech-loading swivel guns, making it a small and capable armed patrol boat. It was sufficient for inspecting passing civilian vessels and fighting off ordinary pirates, but it was no match for warships that were actually equipped with dozens of heavy cannons. Even if the warship stood still and let it fire, it couldn't make a single hit.

As the two sides drew closer, the patrol boat quickly spotted the words "Yuanwang" painted on the side of the bow of the Yuanwang ship. Qin Jiaxing immediately asked in confusion, "What kind of ship is this? It looks like a naval warship, but shouldn't naval ships have their hull numbers painted with Arabic numerals? Why does this ship have words on it? Yuanwang, have you ever heard of it?"

The first mate thought for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Could this be the ship His Majesty sent to Lizhou to find some kind of immortal grain seeds?"

"What? Immortal grain seeds from Lizhou? Is that even possible?" Qin Jiaxing immediately frowned.

The first mate quickly explained, "Captain, you came from General Fang's command, so you may not know this, but before our Emperor ascended the throne and established the country, he sent a ship overseas to find some kind of seed. It was in May last year, before the Northern Expedition. I heard that His Majesty even led his officials to offer sacrifices to Heaven in Jiankang. It was quite a big event. However, there has been no news for more than a year. We don't know when they will return. It might be this ship."

"Oh, I remember now, I think I've heard someone mention it before."

Qin Jiaxing suddenly realized that he used to be Fang Guozhen's subordinate and had been in Wenzhou for a long time. They had only officially joined the Ming Dynasty after Lu Jin's successful Northern Expedition. Therefore, they were not very clear about the things that happened before the Ming Dynasty. He never expected that he would run into this ship that had been at sea for more than a year. He thought that there was no news of it and that it had long since been lost.

"Let's go, as long as they're not outsiders, let's go take a look."

"Yes."

As the two ships continued to approach, the Yuanwang slowed down. When Qin Jiaxing's patrol boat arrived next to the Yuanwang, everyone on board gasped in astonishment. It was truly enormous! Their patrol boat, only 200 tons in size, looked like a one-year-old baby standing next to a towering giant when it stopped next to the nearly 4,000-ton Yuanwang.

Qin Jiaxing looked up at the side of the Yuanwang ship, and swallowed hard as he looked at the several-story-high vessel in front of him. Just then, Wang Dayuan poked his head out from the side of the ship and asked.

"Who are you? Why are you intercepting my ship?"

Qin Jiaxing quickly cupped his hands and said, "We are a patrol boat of the Guangzhou Coast Guard of the Great Ming Dynasty, responsible for cracking down on smuggling and pirates, and inspecting passing ships. What kind of ship are you? Where did you come from, where are you going, and what are you carrying?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang exchanged a glance. Where did this coast guard come from? They had never heard of it. He immediately spoke again to the man below.

"I am Wang Dayuan, the Exploration Envoy personally appointed by His Majesty. In the first year of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, 4051 AD, I was ordered by His Majesty to go to sea to explore Lizhou. I have just returned to the country and am on my way to visit Commander Chang of the garrison in Guangzhou and Min Zishun, the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner. As for what was on board the ship, it is a secret of the court and I will not disclose it!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiaxing and the others were secretly astonished. They kept saying that the emperor had personally bestowed the title, and they were asking for the garrison commander and the provincial governor. These were incredibly powerful figures. The people Wang Dayuan mentioned were people they would normally have a hard time even meeting.

However, since he had already come to inspect, there was no reason for him to back down just because someone intimidated him. So he immediately braced himself and said, "Words are not enough. May I board the ship and inspect it?"

"Then come up here. Only two people can come up."

"it is good."

Wang Dayuan immediately ordered his men to lower the rope ladder. When Qin Jiaxing and the first mate climbed onto the deck of the Yuanwang, they were greeted by a group of rough, bearded men, several large cages containing strangely shaped chickens and ducks, and twelve oddly shaped creatures tied to the ship. They were supposed to be sheep, but their necks were unusually long, which was quite eerie. There were also a dozen or so long-haired puppies barking at them.

As he looked around, Wang Dayuan had someone hand him a gold medal and an appointment document. Chen Youliang also had someone bring him his deputy envoy's waist token. Qin Jiaxing frowned after looking at it. The tokens were indeed quite formal, but he didn't recognize them. He had never seen what an imperial envoy appointed by the emperor looked like, so how could he know if they were real or fake?

Just as he was hesitating, Zhang Chao, the captain of the Yuanwang ship next to him, glanced at the first mate of the patrol boat a few times and suddenly asked.

"Are you Tang Xiuyong from the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Navy?"

The man was taken aback. "Ah? You know me?"

"Damn it, I'm Zhang Chao, the battalion commander of the first battalion of the first regiment. You've really made something of yourself, daring to inspect my boats now?" Zhang Chao laughed and cursed as he recognized the person opposite him.

"Ah, Battalion Commander Zhang from the First Battalion? Is it really you? Weren't you transferred back to Jiankang by His Majesty a long time ago?" Tang Xiuyong exclaimed in surprise.

“Haha, I’m not being discharged from the military as a result of being transferred back to Jiankang. His Majesty promoted me and I’m now the captain of this Yuanwang ship. What’s your situation? What kind of unit is the Guangzhou Coast Guard? When was it established?” Zhang Chao asked immediately.

Upon seeing this, Qin Jiaxing knew it couldn't be fake. He quickly and respectfully returned the letter of appointment and the gold medal to Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang with both hands, and then said, "So it's you two magistrates in person. I was just acting under orders, it's my duty, please don't take offense."

Wang Dayuan nodded without saying much, but listened to Zhang Chao asking questions. Tang Xiuyong quickly explained that the Coast Guard was only established in August of this year. It consists of five fleets, one each in Guangzhou, Guangdong; Quanzhou, Fujian; Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Jiaozhou, Shandong; and Tianjin, Hebei. Each fleet has 20 small Fujian-style boats, all of which were retired from the navy and simply repainted and repainted before being put into service.

The fleet officers were drawn from the original three naval regiments of the Holy Martial Army and the navy under Fang Guozhen, and fishermen were recruited from the local area to form the army. In terms of organization, they belonged to the Inner Guard Army system, and administratively they were under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the Maritime Trade Office. They were subject to the dual jurisdiction of the army and the Maritime Trade Office. On weekdays, they were responsible for combating smuggling, defending against pirates, and inspecting unidentified passing ships.

The Guangzhou Coast Guard is mainly responsible for the Lingdingyang area of ​​the Pearl River Estuary. They patrol the area every day when they have nothing else to do. Today, they happened to run into the Yuanwang ship. Since they had never seen this ship before, they came over for a temporary inspection.

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, things became much easier. Wang Dayuan immediately reiterated his purpose: to see Commander Chang Yuchun, or the Guangdong Provincial Treasurer, or even the Prefect of Guangzhou if necessary, as he had something to instruct them on.

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiaxing dared not delay and immediately volunteered to help them report the situation. He also sent another boat to guide the Yuanwang, so that they wouldn't be unfamiliar with the hydrological conditions of the Pearl River Estuary. The Yuanwang was such a large ship with a deep draft, and they were not familiar with the local hydrology, so they didn't want it to run aground in the Pearl River Estuary.

Half an hour later, the Yuanwang finally arrived at the dock outside Guangzhou. As before, only Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang disembarked, while Zhang Chao and the others stayed on the ship. However, Chang Yuchun was not in Guangzhou; he had reportedly gone to the area near Yunnan. Shi Heng, the chief instructor of the army, had also gone to the troops to assign tasks. Only Min Zishun, the right governor of Guangdong, came to greet them upon hearing the news.

Min Zishun certainly knew Wang Dayuan. Although he hadn't met him many times, he was very familiar with Wang Dayuan's deeds. Min Zishun himself came from the intelligence bureau, and Wang Dayuan was also invited by their Jiangxi intelligence bureau, so how could he not know him?

Upon learning that Wang Dayuan had just returned from his visit to Lizhou, Min Zishun was overjoyed and immediately invited Wang Dayuan and his companions to come ashore to rest. However, Wang Dayuan declined, saying that he had important business to attend to and needed to return to the capital as soon as possible to see His Majesty.

Min Zishun did not insist. So, just as he had instructed Li Bin, Wang Dayuan left him the remaining seeds of rubber, cassava, cinchona, cocoa, and other crops, as well as a planting manual. He then instructed him to plant them in Qiongzhou Island, Guangdong, and Guangxi, and to assign a special person to be in charge of the seeds and seedlings. He said that His Majesty would definitely send someone to inquire about it after he found out, and that he must do his job carefully. Min Zishun naturally agreed repeatedly.

After a brief resupply in Guangzhou, the Yuanwang set sail again for the capital.

A few days later, the Yuanwang ship passed Fujian. However, since Li Bin had told them that there were many pirates in Fujian, they did not stop there. They waited until they reached Hangzhou Bay before everyone breathed a sigh of relief and finally felt like they had arrived home.

However, the group dared not be careless, because the closer they got to the capital, the more ships there were at sea and the more people there were on shore. If someone set their sights on the more than two hundred tons of gold and silver on their ships, it would be troublesome. Therefore, Wang Dayuan did not dare to stay in Hangzhou for long. He only met briefly with Bao Heng, the Right Provincial Governor of Zhejiang, and asked him to send someone to the capital as fast as possible to report their return. They also agreed on a date to arrive in Jiankang before leaving again.

When Lu Jin learned that Wang Dayuan had finally returned and had arrived in Hangzhou, he immediately decided to personally lead all the officials out of the city to welcome him.

Now, due to the issue of cotton varieties, even though the Ming Dynasty has been established for two years, Lu Jin has still not ordered the large-scale promotion of cotton planting. This is because the Indian cotton variety currently grown domestically is not suitable for promotion. He has been waiting for Wang Dayuan to quickly bring back the long-staple cotton from the Americas so that it can be promoted nationwide.

There are also immigration plans for southern Mongolia and the Hetao region. The living environment on the grasslands there is harsh, and it is difficult to support many immigrants by only growing wheat. They urgently need the corn and potatoes he brings back.

The industrial sector is also currently hampered by rubber materials. It can be said that many of Lu Jin's plans are now just waiting for Wang Dayuan to bring back the rice to cook. It's been two years, and we've been waiting for them like the stars and the moon. Finally, they've come back!
(End of this chapter)