Chapter 1: Good fortune never comes singly, while misfortune never comes alone (Seeking collection)

  Zhang Lei sat blankly on the bow of the boat, facing the unique damp air with a fishy smell that was different from the land, and fell into deep thought.

  "In the fourth year of Chongzhen... on February 22, several thousand Fujian rebels launched a surprise attack on Ruijin County from Changlai Valley. The county magistrate Wang Kuichun ordered the local militia to defend the city. The rebels retreated to the ancient city of Fujian. On July 17th night, an earthquake struck the provinces of Huguang, Changsha, Chengde, Baoqing, Yuezhou and Hengzhou... The heavens are in turmoil, the people are in chaos, the Ming dynasty is on the brink of collapse, it's truly a time of great upheaval." Zhang Lei whispered to himself.

  On the ship, two missionaries were discussing everything about the Ming Empire every day. Under their influence, Zhang Lei had already sorted out the ins and outs of things. The "Nanning" was a large sailing ship full of oriental charm, everywhere showing habits nurtured by traditional culture. Zhang Lei even saw a golden "Fu" character pasted on a door. Not long ago, the "Nanning", loaded with goods and carrying several missionaries, set off from Nanning and sailed through the Qiongzhou Strait towards Guangzhou Bay. At this moment, their journey was nearing its end.

  This was a merchant ship of about two hundred tons, with large boxes stacked in the hold that had been brought from who-knows-where, filled with the stench of polluted water and rotting food. It was also unclear how those missionaries were able to be on such a ship. As for him, it was said that he had been fished out of the water by the dark and thin captain.

  "Hey, young man, how did you end up on the sea?" The captain, whose name was Zhang Zhanfu, seemed to be in a good mood today as he walked onto the deck for inspection and saw Zhang Lei there, so he came over.

  Zhang Lei was taken aback, and then some memories that didn't originally belong to him surged into his mind. "I'm Zhang Lei from Xujiaying in Chao Lake, I went out to sea and encountered a big storm..." Zhang Lei sorted through the memories in his mind, but still felt that many things were not quite right, so he tried to describe things vaguely. After finishing speaking, he looked up at Zhang Zhanfu, seeing that he didn't seem to have any suspicions, only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

  Zhang Zhanfu put his hands on his waist and said: "Well, you really are lucky to have met us. When we arrive at Guangzhou Bay, you can go home."

  "Do you often sail this route?" Zhang Lei asked. In his impression, the 17th-century sea was very lively.

  In the 17th century, the world had already been discovered, and the maritime overlord Great Britain was still playing the role of a bystander until nine years later, that is, in the 13th year of Chongzhen, Charles I reconvened Parliament, and the British bourgeois revolution began.

  At that time, the Netherlands, with a population of less than two million, owned 80% of Europe's merchant shipping tonnage, four to five times that of Britain and seven times that of France. The Amsterdam Bank, established in 1609, widely collected idle funds from society, and the development of joint-stock companies and finance directly linked the interests of the broad masses of residents with overseas trade. The entire country of the Netherlands, from top to bottom, was swept up in the great tide of maritime trade. A massive fleet of merchant ships sailed across the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and Baltic seas, earning the nickname "sea-borne charioteers".

  In 17th century China, peasant uprisings continued unabated at home, and maritime technology had declined sharply compared to the time of Zheng He, although it was still unmatched by other countries. However, domestic turmoil had already made the government too distracted to care about overseas affairs.

  Zhang Zhanfu sat beside Zhang Lei and said, "Not really, we businessmen go wherever the money is. Not long ago, we went to the Red Sea to transport tea leaves and silk. I'm telling you, it was quite perilous on the way, almost lost our lives. Later, thinking about it, it's not worth it. We have to make a living, but also have to live to spend the money. So, we haven't gone out again since then, just running nearby routes, although making less money, but feeling safe and at ease."

  "Then you haven't thought of going somewhere else to take a look? Maybe there will be unexpected gains?" Zhang Lei said.

  "Let's just forget about that, miracles aren't discovered by ordinary people like me. As long as I can earn some money and let my wife and kids live comfortably, that's enough. Going out to take risks has too many uncertain factors, leave it for those who don't have any worries."

  Zhang Lei let out a sigh, from ancient times to the present, all descendants of the Huaxia nation have been taught to prioritize self-preservation and avoid taking risks, with the saying "if one doesn't take care of oneself, heaven and earth will be destroyed". Whether it's called cowardice or selfishness, in short, no matter what aspect, the Huaxia people have never had a particularly outstanding existence, always being overly cautious and rarely achieving anything.

  "If you discover something earth-shattering, you can become immortal." Zhang Lei said with some reluctance.

  Zhang Zhanfu said, "You're joking, what's the point of being famous for thousands of years? It's all a scam. Even if it were true, it wouldn't be something that ordinary people like us could enjoy. You mention sailing, and I think of San Bao Taijian. Look at him, he was sent out by the emperor himself, he had backing."

  After hearing Zhang Zhanfu's words, Zhang Lei was speechless. Everyone has such thoughts, it's probably not good. However, since heaven gave himself another chance, he must make this world somewhat different.

  Zhang Lei felt somewhat disappointed, but had to admit that from an ordinary person's perspective, the fact was indeed as Zhang Zhanfu said. He changed the subject and asked: "I see there are several foreign missionaries on your boat, how did they end up on your boat?"

  "Oh, you're talking about them? When they first boarded the ship, they said they were going to help all of us on board pray for a safe journey. Then they asked me to take them to Guangzhou and offered a handsome price, so I made an exception and brought them along. As for what they actually do, I didn't ask - after all, this is the Ming dynasty, and a few barbarians can't stir up much trouble. Huh, surprisingly these guys are quite well-behaved, just staying in their cabin all day reading those messy books - they brought a whole trunk of them when they boarded."

  "So it was like that, then..."

  "Captain." Someone called out, Zhang Zhanfu walked away, as dusk approached, the sea breeze on his face had a hint of chilliness, Zhang Lei stood up and headed towards the cabin.

  The cabin is divided into four parts, the lowest part of the hull is for storing goods, the upper part is the captain's room, next to it is where the sailors eat and live, and the last small space is where unrelated people like missionaries stay.

  "Thank God, you look well today." A missionary with a thick beard and mustache made the sign of the cross on his chest and said in stiff Mandarin as Zhang Lei walked in.

  "Relying on gods is no match for relying on oneself, you should still thank me, Zhang Lei, for being lucky, Kayler."

  Zhang Lei was chatting with the missionaries on the deck when the lookout discovered several small black dots appearing at the horizon, rapidly approaching. He reported this to the captain, who rushed over with a few thuds of his wooden leg, grabbed the telescope and looked in that direction with one eye closed.

  "That one in the front looks like a pirate ship, and behind it... a Portuguese ship, a Spanish ship. Dammit, how did we run into such bad luck? First mate, take a reading of the wind direction." After looking for a while, the captain put down his telescope and loudly shouted at the people who were idly standing on the deck: "You, you, and all of you, get inside the cabin immediately. Without my orders, no one is allowed to come out."

  The captain produced a feather from his pocket, which he tossed into the air. The feather flew out several meters away from the captain before being caught in the vortex of the slanting sail and swirling upwards. After turning around in the airflow generated by other sails, they finally fell gently onto the deck like snowflakes.

  In the silence, the captain stood with his hands clasped behind him, automatically swaying to the rise and fall of the ship. He was intently watching the whirling patterns of feathers, for they directly reflected the true thrusts of various sails, a set of variables that were extremely difficult to define mathematically.

  The result is out, and it's clear that the speed of "Nanning" is not much faster than the wind speed.

  "Ships from Spain and Portugal? How can they appear here?" Zhang Lei heard the commotion above, somewhat puzzled.

  The pirate ship in front was extremely fast, and the captain only saw its true face when it got close. There was a mermaid statue on the bow, behind which were dark cannon mouths, and several large cannons were also installed on the side. Dozens of sailors stood fully armed on the deck, with combat effectiveness not low.

  "Get ready for battle!"

  Zhang Zhanfu shouted loudly.

  "Hard to port, full speed ahead."

  One after another, the gunner untied the rope and stretched out the black muzzle of the cannon from the side. The night at sea was very dark, and from Zhang Lei's angle, he couldn't see anything outside, only the curved knives in the hands of the sailors, the fire-rope guns, and their faces as if they were facing a great enemy, which made Zhang Lei know that something big must have happened. He and Benjamin Robert quietly moved to the bow.

  As the saying goes, "fallen flowers have intention, flowing water has no feeling", now it's probably that this ship has intention and the other ship has no feeling. Zhang Zhanfu's original intention was to turn around and avoid the pirate ship, but unexpectedly, the pirate ship seemed to be heading straight for the "Nanning". Zhang Zhanfu could only grit his teeth and gave a loud order: "Light the fire."

  The fuse on the fire lance ignited with a hissing sound, and sparks flashed in the night sky, flickering between bright and dark, adding to the tense atmosphere.

  "Fire." The moment had arrived, he commanded the sailors, together they fired at the pirate ship.

  The opposite side were pirates, and without a doubt, these pirates came to plunder the merchant ship, so there was nothing to say, Zhang Zhanfu directly ordered the opening of fire.

  Zhang Lei saw that there were guns and cannons on this ship, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious in his heart. This is unscientific! How could a merchant ship possibly have these things?