Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 64 "Exploration and Cooperation"

On May 1627, 5, a large sailing ship, different from those of the Western barbarians, sailed into the Pearl River Estuary, immediately attracting the attention of countless people.

The Pearl River Estuary brings together the West River, North River, East River, Zeng River, Liuxi River, Tan River and other Pearl River systems, which are interconnected and flow into the vast South China Sea in radially arranged waterways. The runoff is large and the tidal range is small.

At this time, there were many ships sailing on the water, including traditional Fujian ships, Guangdong ships and Sha ships, black-building ships used by wealthy merchants, salt ships sailing through rivers, and many Western-style galleons and caravelles.

When passing by the "Breaking Waves", the passing ships were amazed at its size and at the same time, they were all speculating which Western country had come all the way to our Ming Dynasty to purchase goods and trade.

However, when the ship reached Anniangxie Island (now Weiyuan Island in Dongguan), a Maritime Inspection patrol boat that happened to be passing by stopped it and demanded to board the ship for inspection.

After a brief negotiation, the "Wavebreaker" cooperated very well by lowering its sails, dropping its anchor, and stopping on the right side of the river.

The inspection system originated in the Five Dynasties and flourished in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

In the Yuan Dynasty, following the Song Dynasty system, the Inspection Office mainly existed as a local catching bandit agency, but there were also special forms such as the Penghu Inspection Office that also managed remote areas.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Wei Suo was the main military institution, and the Xunjiansi usually served as a supplement to the Wei Suo system. However, it was affiliated with the local prefectures and counties, not the Wei Suo. It was a grassroots organization at the local level and was often referred to as the Xunsi.

Inspection offices were typically located in strategic locations, responsible for investigating suspicious individuals and maintaining local security. Based on their jurisdiction, they were categorized into three types: inland inspection offices, riverside inspection offices, and coastal inspection offices.

In addition to maintaining local public order, the Coastal Inspection Office is also responsible for resisting pirates.

On the 1389th month of the rd year of the Hongwu reign (), Emperor Taizu issued an edict: "Coastal garrisons shall have two ships for every households to patrol against pirates at sea, and the patrol inspection offices shall do the same."

The patrol officers and garrison soldiers jointly patrolled the sea, coordinated with each other, and fought in coordination, forming the main military force for the coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty.

However, by the time of the Tianqi era, the Inspection Office, like the local garrisons, had long since collapsed and was no longer of any use.

Not to mention that with just three or five small sampan-like warships, they are simply unable to shoulder the responsibility of defending the sea borders and resisting overseas enemies. I'm afraid they can't even deal with ordinary pirates and bandits.

On weekdays, apart from extorting coastal fishermen, they would occasionally intercept passing merchant ships and extort money from them.

The Haicang ship of the Inspection Office was sailing on the left bank of the Pearl River, "investigating and arresting thieves", inspecting "illegal merchant ships", and demonstrating the "military power" of the Ming Dynasty.

They sailed along the river from Huangpu Wharf, inspected several fishing boats and two Cangshan boats, and got a few fresh fish and some loose change, but there was not much profit for them to take.

Except for a few "fools" with no background, all the merchants who can sail on the sea have a great god behind them, and they are not people that a small inspection officer like them can offend.

At noon, the deputy inspector Sun Youshou who led the team was thinking about finding a nearby fisherman's house on the shore, drinking some wine and eating some fish, and then fooling around for half the afternoon before returning to Huangpu to complete his mission.

Unexpectedly, a huge three-masted sailing ship came upstream from the mouth of the Pearl River and appeared in their sight.

This large sailing ship is exceptionally long, and its sails are enormous, which makes the entire ship look majestic and magnificent.

Hey, which Western country is this big ship from?
The Haicang patrol boat they were riding on was about 25 meters long and 6 meters wide, with a rudder about 8 meters high and a 4.3-meter-tall rudder. Although it was not as big as those tall Western ships on the Pearl River, it was not small compared to many river and sea ships.

However, in front of this huge sailboat, their Haicang patrol boat was like a young child, and people felt a strong sense of oppression.

When a dozen of his patrolmen looked at Sun Youshou, he hesitated for only half a minute before making a decisive decision.

Stop it!
Look where these foreigners come from?

Fortunately, this ship was quite sensible. After seeing the patrolman waving flags at it, it quickly lowered the sails and anchored and stopped.

A ladder that had never been seen before was lowered from the side of the ship, and several heads popped out, looking at them curiously.

"Where are you from?" After climbing onto the big ship, Sun Youshou straightened his wrinkled official uniform slightly and looked at the dozen or so "barbarians" in front of him with a dignified expression.

hiss!
Why do they all look like Ming people like me?
After taking a look at the "foreigners" on the ship, Sun Youshou found that in addition to some barbarians with high noses and deep eyes, there were also many crew members with Han faces.

They showed no fear or awe, but instead looked curious, staring at him without blinking. Who were they?

It's really rude to stare at me like that!
"Excuse me, sir!" Lin Ahfu bravely stepped forward, bent his waist, clasped his hands together, and bowed to Sun Youshou. "We are from Southeast Asia and are going to Guangzhou to buy some products from the Celestial Empire."

"Nanyang?" Sun Youshou nodded slightly, a hint of disdain on his face. He glanced at the "foreigners" who were still staring at him, and asked in a deep voice, "Are there any pirates or bandits harbored on the ship?"

"No, no!" Lin Ahfu shook his head vigorously. "Your Excellency, we are all honest merchants, trading goods. We would never dare to associate with pirates and bandits. ... Your Excellency, please understand!"

"Is there a permit?"

"Your Excellency, Inspector..." Lin Afu said with embarrassment, "We sailed from the South China Sea, traversing thousands of miles of waves and enduring countless dangers before finally reaching the Celestial Empire. Therefore... therefore, we do not have a permit."

"Hmph, since there's no permit, then you're an unknown foreign ship. You're not allowed to continue on your journey." Sun Youshou sneered, brushed off his clothes, and said loudly, "In that case, you can turn around and return to Southeast Asia!"

"Inspector..." Lin Afu heard this and first looked back at the remaining silent leaders. Then he bowed repeatedly to Sun Youshou. "Inspector, this is absolutely impossible! We have finally arrived in the Celestial Empire after traveling thousands of miles by sea. How can we turn back now? Inspector, please point us in a direction and give us some advice so that we can continue on our journey to Guangzhou to purchase some Celestial goods."

"Without a permit, you're a bandit or something like that," Sun Youshou said arrogantly. "Even if I arrest you and lock you up at the Inspection Office, that's all I have to do. ... No more talk, just get out of here."

"Inspector, you can't do that!" Lin Afu pleaded with him while turning his head to look at the people behind him.

My ancestors, please say a word!

If we are really driven out of the Pearl River waterway by the Inspection Office, are we just going to return to Qiming Island without buying anything?
"This... Your Excellency, the Inspector." Luo Zhenhui stepped forward and bowed to Sun Youshou. "We are new to the Celestial Empire and don't quite understand some of the rules. Please... Your Excellency, please forgive us."

"Are you the leader?" Sun Youshou squinted his eyes at the sturdy, tanned man in front of him and said in a sly tone, "Why do I look at you like a pirate on the sea?"

Tsk tsk, this guy is so tall, with broad shoulders and a big waist, and his hair is so short, he doesn’t look like a good guy!

"..." Luo Zhenhui's expression froze when he heard this, and he didn't respond for a long time.

Oh my god, how could this Ming Dynasty official slander people as pirates and bandits as soon as he opened his mouth!
If we were really pirates, why would we allow you to act like pirates and shout orders here, flaunting your authority?
Then I will kill you with a knife and throw you into the sea.

With just your small sampan, can you really stop our "Wavebreaker"?
By the way, what rank is this inspector?

"Captain, here it is!"

At this time, Kuang Xu came up from the cabin below with a cloth bag in his hand and walked close to Luo Zhenhui.

"Give it to him!" Luo Zhenhui waved his hand, signaling him to hand the cloth bag to the inspector.

"Hmm?..." Sun Youshou vaguely understood what was in the cloth bag handed to him by the other party, but he still put his hands behind his back with an expressionless face and looked at the other party arrogantly.

"Sir, this is our gift to you." Seeing the other party acting so pretentiously, Lin Afu immediately took the cloth bag from Kuang Xu's hand, handed it to Sun Youshou, and opened the bag slightly.

"Hmm!..." Sun Youshou saw a pile of "banbing (i.e. peso silver coins)" in his pocket and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Yes, these “barbarians” are smart!
There are quite a lot of "foreign cakes" in this bag, almost more than twenty taels of silver. In addition to presenting them to the inspector, the rest is enough for the brothers to share.

"This is for your brothers to drink tea." Kuang Xu said in a rather unfriendly tone: "These are for... you, sir."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and opened his palm, revealing two golden coins.

"Hiss..." Sun Youshou was dazzled by the gold coins in his hand and subconsciously reached out to take it.

He brought it closer, looked at it carefully, his face suddenly lit up with joy, and then he quickly put it in his arms.

These "foreign merchants" are really smart!
With this thing, what else do you need a certificate for?

(End of this chapter)