Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The southern end of the Ming Dynasty, on the coast of the South China Sea.

Tokyo Bay borders Leizhou Prefecture and Qiongzhou Prefecture to the east, Lianzhou Prefecture to the north, and Annan to the west. Because this sea area is rich in South Sea pearls, the Ming court set up a pearl pond here.

During the Zhengtong period, the imperial court officially dispatched two internal officials to the towns of Leizhou and Lianzhou Zhuchi, and built a factory near the pond to guard against theft.

Because Emperor Hongzhi is about to get married, the palace needs a large amount of pearls. Now the Ministry of Household Affairs is taking the lead, with the Ministry of Industry assisting, to mine South Sea pearls here.

June is a beautiful and sunny time.

The rivers of the Ming Dynasty usually flow from west to east, such as the Yangtze River, Yellow River and Pearl River, but there are exceptions. For example, the Ganjiang River runs from south to north, and the Nanliu River runs from north to south.

The Nanliu River runs through the entire Lianzhou Prefecture, passing through Hepu County, and then flows into Tokyo Bay.

Since the beginning of pearl fishing, Hepu Pier has been more lively than ever. The number of pearl fishing ships has reached 600, and the number of soldiers and civilians totals more than 10,000.

Amidst the cries of seagulls, Qian Bo sailed towards the blue sea and sky.

Large areas of sea where pearl fishing was prohibited in the past are now open to households, who go into the sea to fish out pearl shells that have been raised for ten or even a century.

There will be a "master ship" in every sea area. This master ship is responsible for all pearl fishing matters, and all surrounding pearl divers must take orders from the master ship.

Fishing for pearls in this vast sea is definitely not an easy task.

According to the traditional operation method, pearl fishing requires two or more people to work together. One person tied a long rope around his waist and carried a basket into the water to pick pearl shells. When he picked up pearl shells, he immediately vibrated the rope and asked the people on the boat to pull it up.

This pearl fishing activity comes with a high risk of life. Once the person pulling the rope fails to pull the person out of the water in time or the rope breaks, the diver will have to stay on the seabed to feed the fish.

From ancient times to the present, many people have died while fishing for pearls.

It's just that "birds die for food, and people die for wealth." According to the records of "Eaves Expo Miscellaneous Notes", a pearl weighing as much as three taels and in good condition costs more than 20,000 taels, while a pearl in good condition that weighs seven or eight cents costs more than 20,000 taels. It can also be worth two thousand taels.

Not only the palace needs pearls, but the people's desire for pearls is still undiminished. Some wealthy people who believe in Buddhism often spend tens of thousands of taels on rosaries.

Just like this, although pearl fishing is extremely risky, many pearl divers not only commit dangerous risks but also steal pearl shells.

If they are too concerned about their own safety and are unwilling to venture into the deep sea, it will be difficult to harvest giant pearl clams. If one ventures into the deep sea to fish for pearls, the pearl diver is likely to overestimate his ability and die.

Fortunately, there is a diving bell now, which brings good news to the Danhu who came to pearl fishing this time.

Although it is necessary to increase the number of personnel dedicated to placing and maintaining diving bells, after going to the sea to use the diving bell to breathe on the seabed, it can be said that they are at home in the deep sea.

The harvest in the previous ten days alone has exceeded the harvest in one month during the last imperial pearl fishing. Moreover, the quality of the pearls produced is not only large but also very bright in color. There are already dozens of large-grade pearls.

Although pearls are usually distinguished by weight, luster is the soul of pearls, so only pearls that are both large and lustrous can be called high-quality pearls.

Light, weight, roundness and size are the four true criteria for measuring the value of pearls, and this pearl hunting can be said to be a good year for Dan households.

After the pearl fishing teams were divided into several areas, the hundreds of competing teams had long since disappeared. The pearl fishing teams were scattered in this endless pearl pool like goddesses scattering flowers.

Through the ingenious design of the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, the diving bell was suspended between the two ships, and then slowly sank into the sea. This diving bell provided underwater ventilation for the surrounding people who ventured into the sea.

It was noon, on the southwest sea of ​​Lianzhou Zhuchi.

More than ten teams went into the water one after another, and many households had the ambition to harvest the Nanzhu King, so that they could gain wealth by collecting the Nanzhu King.

Shui Sheng is a well-known diver among the Danhu community. Although he is only seventeen years old, his father drowned in the sea in his early years and he is now a fairly experienced Danhu.

Unlike some Danhus who like to be lazy and seek stability, he loves the risky challenge of pearl fishing from the bottom of his heart, and he also cherishes the dream of collecting the Southern Pearl King.

Lianzhou Zhuchi has been divided into several areas, and the sea area they are currently in is the Devil's Sea that makes Danhus change their looks.

Although the Devil's Sea can often produce high-quality pearls, it is the most dangerous sea area because it is located in a deep sea area and is often haunted by piranhas.

It's just that wealth can be found in danger, but the high-quality pearls here still attract ambitious households like Shui Sheng to come and "dig for gold".

"Shui Sheng, if you encounter a piranha, don't panic! The piranha is actually blind. As long as you avoid it, it will not attack you!" Shui Sheng's second uncle was responsible for pulling the rope on the boat and looked very serious. The ground warned.

Shuisheng nodded slightly, and after taking a deep breath, he plunged into the sea.

Because the sun is shining brightly now, the visibility on the seabed is very high. The sand on the seabed looks very white, and there are colorful schools of fish looking for food in the reefs.

The moment Shuisheng entered the water, he felt that the underwater world was very quiet, as if he had entered another world.

When he reached the bottom of the sea, he suddenly heard some strange sounds coming from a distance.

He knew that he was actually racing against time, and he didn't care about this weird voice. He was using his unusual ability to hold his breath to look for giant pearl shells in this sea area.

There are many pearl oysters in this area, but in order to maximize profits, large pearl oysters must be used for picking, and he soon found a qualified pearl oyster.

The pearl shell was attached to the rocky reef. He picked up a cone-shaped stone next to it and banged the pearl shell attached to the rocky reef three times, and the pearl shell fell off the rocky reef.

Moo...

Just as he was putting the picked pearl shells into his bamboo basket, a cry seemed to come from his ears, which immediately aroused Shuisheng's vigilance.

As soon as I saw it, I saw a giant shark that was twenty meters long swimming past the coral reef not far away, which frightened several gangsters around and tried their best to swim upstream.

No one expected that they would actually encounter the legendary piranha in the Devil's Sea, and panic quickly spread among the dozen or so gangsters around them.

It's just that risks and benefits go hand in hand, and now that piranha appears here, it means that the possibility of large pearls here has increased rapidly, and maybe some lucky person will find large pearls here.

Shui Sheng was not overly nervous when he saw this behemoth. Instead, he observed the direction of the giant dragon to judge whether he should run away or stay put.

Gu Gu Gu Gu...

A young man was so nervous that his ankle got stuck in the coral reef. He was so frightened that he hurriedly pulled the rope around him and asked his companions to pull him up.

It's just that he actually made the most serious mistake of a pearl diver. Old people have always taught that when encountering this kind of situation, you should try to get your feet out first, instead of blindly letting your accomplices above pull you up.

Snapped!

The companion above did try hard to pull it up, but the man's foot was stuck too tightly. After some pulling, the rope tied to the young man was torn off.

Gu Gu Gu Gu...

When the young man saw that the rope tied to his body had been torn off, he suddenly became more panicked and kept spitting out air bubbles from his mouth.

Although he still wanted to struggle his foot out, it had no effect at all. The left foot was still firmly stuck in the coral reef.

The rope was broken in this deep sea area, and one foot was still stuck in the coral reef. It can be said that this young gangster was destined to die.

However, this is the fate of their pearl divers. Countless pearl divers have been drowned since ancient times, and it seems that this young man who did not listen to the old man's instructions is not the least of them.

Shui Sheng was a very kind person and finally chose to swim over.

After removing a few strips of seaweed tied to the young man's feet, he helped the young man take his left foot out of the coral reef, but his face suddenly froze.

In the cracks of the coral reef, there is a large pearl shell hidden. This pearl shell is dark brown, which proves that it is very old and has a high possibility of producing large pearls.

Shuisheng immediately had a crazy thought, maybe this is the King Nanzhu that everyone has been thinking about.

As usual, whoever can pick the largest bead will receive a special gift from His Majesty, which is also the best way for them to change their destiny.

Shui Sheng's heart was beating loudly, and he vaguely felt that the moment to change his destiny had arrived.

But he didn't forget that there were more important things at the moment. He immediately took this young man, who was almost unconscious, away from here, but he planned to save this colleague.

Since there is not enough time to float to the surface, and the weight of the two people can easily break the rope, it can be said that it is extremely urgent at this moment.

Fortunately, the diving bell was not far from them, so he immediately took the young man and swam towards it.

call……

When the two people got into the diving bell and called for air, they suddenly felt like escaping from the dead, and the young man was breathing heavily.

This young man had dark skin and a strong body. He seemed to be looking at the coral reef that almost killed him with lingering fear.

If the young man in front of him hadn't taken action in time, his foot would still be stuck in the coral reef, and he would have drowned.

"I'll send you up!" Shui Sheng saw that this man was obviously frightened and gestured kindly.

The young man shook his head gently, but he didn't know whether he didn't want others to know that he was rescued by the young man in front of him, or he didn't want to take up the time of aquatic pearl fishing, so he immediately swam up the diving bell.

Shuisheng noticed that the giant shark passed by again, and this time it made a "moo" sound, seeming to declare its sovereignty.

The biggest difficulty in pearl fishing is actually finding pearls. Even though this is a pearl pond, it is not easy to find pearl shells in this vast sea.

After Shuisheng saw the giant shark leaving, he thought of what he had just discovered in the coral reef, and he always believed in his heart that there was a good pearl in that big pearl oyster.

After taking a deep breath at the diving bell, he took out the short knife he carried this time and swam towards the coral reef, returning to the place where he had just discovered the giant pearl shell.

In view of the lesson learned by the man just now, he first dealt with the seaweed next to him, and then started to collect pearl shells. Since this oyster is located between the coral reefs, some surrounding rocks need to be cleaned.

Cleaning rocks is a very simple thing on land, but now he is in the deep sea, which is a double test of his diving ability and physical strength.

The difficulty of picking this pearl shell can be said to be ten times that of ordinary pearl shells, but he still chose to take a gamble.

Fortunately, hard work pays off.

After a lot of hard work, Shui Sheng finally succeeded in collecting this old pearl shell with the help of a diving bell next to him to constantly ventilate. After putting the old pearl shell in the basket, he pulled the rope around his waist.

Shuisheng's second uncle saw the rope finally moving and quickly pulled the person up.

This work of pulling people is very skillful, and it is somewhat similar to fishing. However, you cannot pull hard all at once, but you need to use a strong yet soft force, so that the rope will not break easily.

Snapped!

But something bad happened after all. Because the quality of the rope they used was poor, it suddenly broke when it was pulled halfway.

Wow!

In Shuisheng's second uncle's panicked eyes, Shuisheng suddenly popped his head out of the sea relying on his own water quality, but still holding the hard-won big pearl shell in his hand.

"Come up!" Shui Sheng's second uncle had already treated Shui Sheng like a son. When he saw Shui Sheng coming up safe and sound, he happily pulled him onto the boat.

Woo...

When it was afternoon, the chief ship sounded the muster horn, and the surrounding pearling boats moved towards the chief ship one after another.

The main ship has specialized personnel responsible for plucking pearls, and a young eunuch is responsible for recording the results of pearl fishing for each Danhu, and then all the pearls will be handed over to the guarding eunuch in charge of the Leizhou Pearl Pool.

For Danhu, the most exciting part is the bead-picking process.

"Haha... pry open my pearl first. This one might be the Nanzhu King!"

"Zhao Si, have you ever collected large pearls in your life? You still clamor every day to find the King of Southern Pearls!"

"You all give way and take a look at my big guy. This time it will be a big pearl!"

…

A group of gangsters came to the main ship carrying baskets. Since the pearls and shells had to be opened and registered here, many gangsters seemed to be gearing up and shouting.

Experienced merchants can roughly judge the age of pearls at just one glance. Although pearls are not only big, but also pay attention to color, shape and weight, everyone usually starts with older pearls.

The old pearl shells that Shui Sheng worked so hard to collect were only ranked second. An old farmer in front confidently put his large pearl shells on the prying platform and handed them over to professional personnel for processing.

All the villagers knew the reason why the old pearl shell produced big pearls, and they immediately watched with bated breath.

"Too flat!"

"There's no luster at all!"

"What a pity, this pearl is crooked!"

…

When the villagers saw the pearl being pried open skillfully, they all shook their heads when they saw the strange and colorless pearl.

Zhao Si originally had great hopes for this old pearl, but when he saw such a result, he couldn't help but sigh secretly.

This is their long-cherished destiny as pearl divers. They always try to pry open the pearl shells with great hope, but the first time the result is always unsatisfactory.

"Ah? This... luster!"

"It's so round, perfectly round!"

"King Nanzhu finally appears, God bless the Ming Dynasty!"

…

When they saw the old aquatic pearl being pried open, everyone felt a flash of light in front of their eyes, staring at the full and shiny super-large pearl in disbelief.

"Quickly, put it in a sandalwood box, God bless the Ming Dynasty!" The little eunuch saw that King Nanzhu was pried out in the area he was responsible for, and he was excited and nervous at the same time.

"Shui Sheng, we're about to get rich!" Shui Sheng's second uncle saw it was King Nanzhu, and he jumped up and down with joy and shouted.

Since they opened the South Pearl King, even if they opened the next big pearl, it would not be as crazy as before.

It's just that this is the famous Devil's Sea after all. Although others have not been able to find large-grade pearls, the quality is generally very high, and it can be said that the harvest is full.

However, they didn't know that just as they were cheering for King Nanzhu, the young man Danhu who had just been rescued by Shui Sheng had quietly released a flare.

"pirate!"

"The pirates are coming!"

"Everyone, run away!"

…

The people on the main ship did not realize that several pirate ships had quietly approached. By the time they discovered it, it was already too late.

puff!

puff!

puff!

…

A killing came quietly, and countless arrows were shot at the main ship.

This group of pirates appeared to be well-trained, but they successfully boarded the ship before they could organize a counterattack, and killed everyone they saw.

"Second uncle!" Shui Sheng shouted with eyes wide open when he saw his second uncle died under the pirate's sword.

puff!

The little eunuch holding Nanzhu Wang's sandalwood box died under the knife of a scarred man before he could escape.

The sandalwood box in the little eunuch's hand fell. Just as the box was opened, the full and heavy pearl rolled to the side.

The pirate who was killing only felt a flash of light in front of him. The moment he saw the pearl, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Kill them all, absolutely no one will be left alive!" When the scarred man picked up the Southern Pearl on the ground, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said with joy.

puff!

puff!

puff!

…

This group of pirates was very powerful in fighting, and they killed the gangsters and soldiers on the ship indiscriminately.

Shui Sheng found that this group of pirates were ridiculously strong. Suddenly he met the young man he had rescued earlier and received a heavy punch in the abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground.

The other party put the knife against his neck, but suddenly wiped it hard on his face, and there was an unpleasant smell of blood on his face.

"Quickly check if there are any survivors, and set fire to evacuate immediately. The Ming army will arrive soon!" The scarred man glanced eastward and urged immediately.

puff!

puff!

puff!

…

The corpse was quickly repaired by this group of well-trained pirates. This group of pirates set fire before leaving and successfully evacuated before the patrolling Shendian Guards arrived.

When Shendian Guard Commander Kang Chengen arrived with his men, the pirates had already fled.

Closer to home, although Zhu Youtang, who was thousands of miles away in the capital, knew that a group of pirates suddenly attacked a pearl fishing boat, resulting in dozens of deaths, he did not know who was responsible.

What's more, although Shui Sheng escaped by chance, the eunuch of Leichi Town did not believe Shui Sheng's story, so he did not know that King Nanzhu was alive at all.

The most serious thing that came to Zhu Youtang's hands was the news from Huguang that the post station where Huguang Governor Liu Zhong lived was set on fire, and Liu Zhong almost died in the flames.