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Text Chapter 514 Mo Luoyou

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    In July of the 18th year of Zhenguan, Li Zhi left Chang'an and began a year's travel. Also in July of this year, Li Zhi and Li Yun, under Li Min's arrangement, boarded the ship with their 50,000 troops.  Then we set off from Linyi and started towards Tianzhu.

    On the vast and boundless sea, a fleet of hundreds of giant ships was advancing mightily. Except for a few warships cruising around the periphery of this fleet, the other ships were all troop transports and baggage ships built by Li Min. This fleet  The two types of ships are similar in shape. The hulls are huge and the draft is relatively deep. The ships run very smoothly and are very strong in wind and waves. If a ship does not directly encounter a typhoon, it will not be at too much risk. It¡¯s just that  One focuses on transporting people, and the other focuses on transporting various materials.

    Li Zhen and the King of Yue and Li Yun's King of Jiang were also in this fleet, but these two private ships were also filled with various supplies. Even the cabins where Li Zhen and Li Yun lived were  They all placed the muskets they bought from Li Min.  Of course, gunpowder and grenades, which are relatively dangerous things, all have special transport ships, and they usually go at the rear of the fleet, keeping a clear distance from other ships. This is mainly because they are afraid of gunpowder on the ship.  If it explodes, other ships will not be harmed.  Even the crew members on the ship had to write suicide notes before boarding, and their treatment was several times better than that of the crew members on other ships. It was the same as the treatment of the navy on the peripheral battleships. After all, everyone was risking their lives on the ship.  sail.

    After several days of sailing, the fleet soon arrived at the main transportation route to Tianzhu, which was the Strait of Malacca that was being planned by Li Min.  This strait is located between the Malay Peninsula and Kin Island, but there are not many natives on the Malay Peninsula, and most of the mangroves grow along the coast.  The environment is very harsh, so it is along the Malay Peninsula on the north side of the Strait of Malacca.  There has never been a seaport.

    It¡¯s different in Jinzhou on the south side, in this narrow strait.  There are many excellent ports on the coast of Jinzhou, especially in the eastern section, where the ports are even more concentrated. For example, the capital of the Kingdom of Malacca, Malacca City, is located in the eastern section of the Strait of Malacca, across the strait from Singapore in later generations.  It is located at the east exit of the Strait of Malacca, and its geographical location is very important.

    Li Zhen and Li Yun not only paid attention to all aspects of Tianzhu¡¯s intelligence, but also did some research on the Malacca Strait.  Because they all knew that this strait was their logistical lifeline and related to their success this time, so when their fleet came to the Strait of Malacca, Li Zhen came to Li Yun's ship and took several  The confidant observed the terrain along the coast of Malacca.

    "Your Highnesses, please take a look. The island is called Lingga Island. It is located just at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca. Its geographical location is very important. However, due to the limited area, there is no way to build a large port on the island, but it can be stationed there.  A fleet can block the strait at any time." Zhu Chong pointed to an island not far from the fleet and said.  In fact, it is not so much an island.  Not to mention it is an island group, but these island groups are all close together, and the area is not large.  So it's not really an archipelago.

    Zhu Chong¡¯s father was named Zhu Meng, and he used to be Yang Jian¡¯s most trusted general.  Later, after following Li Min, Zhu Meng has been serving as the chief of the Taiwan Police.  Manage public security throughout Taiwan.  Zhu Chong was young and liked life at sea, so he later followed Lu Qing and served as Lu Qing's assistant. He also participated in the battle against Japan. Later, after several years of experience, he was able to lead the army alone. This time he was the one to lead the army.  In charge of the outer escort fleet, today Li Zhenra is doing the commentary.

    After hearing Zhu Chong's words, Li Zhen, Li Yun and others raised their telescopes and observed the terrain of Linga Island from a distance. They found that, as Zhu Chong said, the island's terrain was not suitable for building a port.  , but stationing a fleet is not a problem.

    As their fleet got closer and closer to the Strait of Malacca, more and more ships came and went around. In fact, when they left Linyi, they encountered many fleets from the Tang Dynasty, and those fleets were  Seeing such a huge fleet, they all actively asked to go with them. After all, this road is not safe. If you can travel with such a huge fleet, you will not be afraid even if you encounter pirates.

    Along with these accompanying fleets, Li Zhen and the others also encountered many fleets heading to the Tang Dynasty or Taiwan. Among these fleets were many Han merchant ships, as well as many Hu merchant fleets from Western countries, and  The closer we get to Malacca, the denser the oncoming fleet becomes. Even with Lingga Island as the boundary, those entering the strait take the north waterway of the island, and those leaving the strait take the south waterway of the island.

    After the fleet bypassed Linga Island from the northern waterway, Li Zhen and Li Yun immediately saw through the telescope that there was a bustling port to the left of their fleet, with countless ships entering and exiting the port.

    At this time, Zhu Chong also pointed to the port and said: "Your Highnesses, please look at that port. That port is the largest port in Malacca, Malacca City. Although the management of this city is a bit chaotic and it is very unsafe,?But in the Strait of Malacca, it is much stronger than some other small ports. In addition, there are many ships coming and going, so most of the fleets will anchor here to replenish the supplies on board. There are also merchants here.  Transacted directly.  "

    At this time, Li Zhen and Li Yun also saw from the telescope that there were many ships waiting to enter the port outside the Moluoyou port. However, due to various reasons, the passage in and out of the port was blocked.  The ship cannot get out, and ships outside cannot get in, which makes many passing ships look at the harbor and sigh.

    Seeing this situation, some fleets out of the strait estimated that the supplies on board the fleet could last for a few more days, so they simply did not enter the port and went directly around Linga Island towards Linyi.  It's just a pain for those fleets entering the strait. Although they still have a lot of supplies on board, they still need to sail for a long time after leaving the strait, so they must be replenished in the strait. However, in the Strait of Malacca, except for the last  The conditions at Luoyou Port and other small ports were even worse than here. If they were not careful, they might be robbed inside the port. Therefore, after careful consideration, they could only wait outside the Luoyou Port.

    As soon as Li Zhen's huge fleet appeared, it immediately attracted the attention of Moluoyou Port. The officials in the port were very familiar with ships from various countries, so they could naturally tell at a glance that this was a fleet from the Tang Dynasty.  , and what shocked them even more was that there were more than a dozen warships cruising around the periphery of this fleet, and they could tell at a glance that they had official backgrounds.

    The Mo Luoyou Kingdom used to be the overlord of the Strait of Malacca. It not only levied heavy taxes on passing ships, but also threatened them with force at every turn, even the Tang Dynasty ships. However, since Li Min stationed a fleet in Linyi,  And from time to time, they would take them around Malacca. As a result, when the tourists saw those tall warships and then looked at the small warships in their hands, they couldn't compare at all, so they wisely made various concessions.  Not only has the tax rate on Han merchant ships been reduced a lot, but their attitudes have also improved significantly.

    Regarding Li Zhen's huge fleet, Moluo tourists were very wary at first. They first sent people to negotiate and even made a request to board the ship. However, Zhu Chong refused arbitrarily and ordered  In a tone of voice, he told Mo Luoyou officials to quickly prepare food and fresh water and ask the supply ships in their fleet to replenish it. As for other ships, they would not enter the port!

    In fact, Zhu Chong is also helpless, because he knows the size of the port in Moluoyou City. Now the port is full of various ships. The hundreds of giant ships in their fleet cannot enter at all.  In addition, Li Zhen and Li Yun's actions this time are confidential. If the fleet enters the port, the soldiers on the ship may be exposed, so it is better to stay outside the port and only let the supply ship in.

    Although Zhu Chong¡¯s attitude was very tough, the officials of Mo Luoyou were relieved when they heard that the other party¡¯s fleet would not enter the port, but would only allow a few ships to resupply before leaving.  They had been frightened by the fleet in Li Min's hands before, but today they saw so many ships arriving at once, and the big ships in the middle had deep drafts, and occasionally there were soldiers wearing armor walking around, which frightened them all.  For a moment, they thought these were the fleets sent by the Tang Dynasty to attack them, but now they were finally relieved.

    However, it was precisely this kind of worry that greatly improved the efficiency of Mo Luoyou's officials. They quickly cleared the blocked port, then prioritized the supply ships from Li Zhen's fleet to enter the port, and then organized manpower to move them as quickly as possible.  Various supplies, as a result, the fleet's supplies were quickly replenished, and Zhu Chong kept his promise and set sail directly outside the port.

    "General Zhu, the Strait of Malacca is so important, can't Sixth Brother just let these natives manage this place?" Just when the fleet had just set sail, Li Zhen suddenly asked, and a gleam flashed in his eyes when he looked at Mo Luoyou.  .

    After hearing this, Zhu Chong smiled, looked at no one around, and then said in a low voice: "Your Highnesses don't know something. Your Highnesses have decided to include the Strait of Malacca under their rule, but they have just annexed Luzon and Linzhou."  I have limited power in my hands, so I don¡¯t want to conquer it by force!¡±

    "Oh?" Li Yun's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he even said impatiently, "How does Sixth Brother plan to control this place? Although the officials at Mo Luoyou were very respectful to us just now, if Sixth Brother  If you want them to obediently hand over this golden waterway, I'm afraid there is no other way besides force, right?"

    "Hehe, I really don't know the specific method." Zhu Chong said with a smile. In fact, it was not that he didn't know, it was just that due to military discipline, he could not disclose it to the outside world. However, he had also received instructions from Li Min before.  He could reveal something to Li Zhen and Li Yun, so he then pointed to the Malay Peninsula opposite Mo Luoyou and said, "Although I don't know His Highness's specific plan, I do know that the key is??There!  "(To be continued)
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