The Rise of the European Emperor

After solving the problem of getting out of the sulphur pit, Marin took the fleet to turn around and went to the Penghu Islands, planning to build a water village there. As a result, the fleet arrived there and found a group of pirates entrenched there.

It turned out that because the Ming Dynasty didn't care about the Penghu Islands, there was no owner there. Some fishermen also fled to the Penghu Islands to settle down because they could not pay the tax, and made a living by fishing. In addition, because the government did not care about this place, some pirates also chose the Penghu Islands as their home. After all, there is no official army here to destroy them.

When Marin's warship approached the main island of the Penghu Islands, he found a simple pirate water village. Needless to say, Marin took Kahn and others directly to attack the water village, and in one fell swoop this small broken water village with only 36 pirates was captured, and two small pirate ships were seized.

Then, this Magong Port, located in the center of the Later World Island in the southwest of Penghu Island, became the location of the new Penghu Water Village on the Penghu Islands.

Marin simply named the place Ma Gongzhai, after all, his surname is Ma. In fact, Ma Gong was originally called Ma Palace in history, which means Mazu's palace. However, when it is called Ma Gong, it does not sound imposing. In addition, the Han surnames in his previous life and this life were all surnamed Ma, so Marin simply named this place the Ma Gong of later generations.

On Penghu Island, in addition to the 36 pirates' water villages, there is also a small fishing village with more than 300 people. These fishermen were unable to pay taxes in the mainland, or borrowed loan sharks to repay, and then fled to the Penghu Islands. Then, gathered on the island into a fishing village. After the pirates came here, they were forced to hand over part of their catch to the pirates as a "tax". But because pirates often go to land to loot and bring food and various daily necessities, these fishermen are willing to be ruled by pirates. After all, the Penghu Islands are not suitable for growing food, they can only eat fish, eat fish, eat fish...

Marin led people to exterminate the group of pirates, but the fishermen were not happy. After all, that group of pirates also provided them with food and various living materials that were not produced on the Penghu Islands. But after Marin announced that he would send people to station here and provide them with all kinds of living materials, these fishermen were all willing to allegiance to Marin...

As for the 36 unlucky pirates who were captured alive, Marin sent all of them to Fuzhou, and let the Ming court deal with them.

While sending it to the pirates, Marin also asked the Ming court whether the two sides will jointly build the Penghu Water Village...

The reason why Marin chose to bring Ming Ting together was because he had no confidence in guarding the Penghu Islands. After all, Kong Tai's manpower is too small, and he has to control the huge Taiwan Island. If you put too much energy on guarding the Penghu Islands, it will be a big loss.

However, the Ming Dynasty was different. They had a solid background and could send an army to support Penghu at any time. Historically, after 900 Dutch colonists occupied the Penghu Water Village, the Ming Dynasty Governor Hu Jian Nan Juyi directly dispatched tens of thousands of troops to the island to besiege the city, scaring the Dutch.

No matter how poor the combat effectiveness of the Daming Navy was, the numerical advantage was absolute. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Ming army navy is not bad. The Ming army on the southeast coast is inferior to the army, and the combat effectiveness of the navy is not bad. With the help of the navy of the Ming Dynasty, Marin was more confident in defending the Penghu Islands.

Moreover, Marin occupied the Penghu Islands with the intention of preventing the Portuguese from occupying them. The Penghu Islands themselves are of little value. Therefore, pulling Ming Dynasty to guard together can also lighten the burden on oneself.

Therefore, Marin directly asked the Ming court to send a navy to station in Penghu. The reason is that if the imperial court doesn't care, this place will easily become a pirate's lair... And this is what impresses the Ming court the most...

...

After returning to Keelung, Marin began to prepare to return. At this time, Little Columbus suddenly led eight 250-class armed merchant ships from Guangzhou to Keelung to join Marin.

In fact, Little Columbus, who took the African route, should have arrived in Daming last winter. But the problem is that when Little Columbus docked in a small port in India, he fell ill and delayed for a long time. In desperation, the fleet had to stay there for a long time.

Therefore, it was not until Marin was about to return that Columbus Jr.'s fleet came to join Marin...

"Is your health okay?" Marin asked with concern.

Little Columbus is a year younger than Marin, but thinner than Marin. After all, Marin was a knight. Although it is not strong among knights, it is much stronger than ordinary people. Old Columbus was a scumbag, but he did a lot for Marin. So, for Little Columbus, Marin still has to care about it.

"Thank you for your concern, my body is fine. When I stopped in Guangzhou, with the help of Mr. Sconda, I found Dr. Huaxia and prescribed tonic for me, and now I am fine." Diego Columbus said .

"Can I go back now?"

"no problem!"

"That's good."

...

Marin came to Daming this time on the Pacific route. But to the Europeans, they were talking about taking a detour through Africa, with Columbus the Younger.

So, Columbus Jr. is a front for it, and Marin needs them to cover.

Suddenly, Marin seemed to remember something and said:

"By the way, Diego, I have an important task for you on this return flight!"

"Please instruct the Archduke!" Diego Columbus immediately stood up and said.

"It's like this, our tropical colonies in Grenada and Cuba can't stand ordinary cattle. And I heard that the zebu cattle in India are the most suitable cattle for the tropics. So, I hope your fleet will not return to the voyage. Bring other goods, except for the supplies and fresh water needed by the crew, all the rest are used to load the zebu. As for the money, I will get you some from the fleet..."

Now that he knows that Indian Zebu is good, Marin will not miss the opportunity. Little Columbus led eight 250-class armed merchant ships, which could still hold hundreds of zebu.

At this time, little Columbus asked:

"Grand Duke, the zebu you are talking about, is there a raised sarcoid at the front end of the cow's back, similar to a hump?"

"Yeah, you've been to India, you should have seen it."

Diego Columbus nodded and said:

"Yes, Grand Duke, I have seen this kind of cattle not only in India, but also many of them on a large island in southeastern Africa..."

"Africa... Southeast... Big Island... Are you talking about Madagascar?" Marin wondered.

Diego Columbus shook his head and said:

"I don't know the name of the island, but it's very big. Our fleet docked there and found that there are also many cattle on the island, which are very similar to the cattle in India. Moreover, there are many..."

"A lot? How much?" Marin's eyes lit up. At the same time, a piece of information in the back of his mind jumped out - it seems that Madagascar is known as the country of cattle in later generations.

How many cows are there? It is said that there is one cow for every two people on the island. In later generations, the total population of Madagascar is 24 million. Then, the number of cattle in Madagascar should be more than 12 million...

It's just that Marin didn't know in his previous life that the cows in Madagascar were actually zebu...

...

In fact, Madagascar is not the same as on the African continent. Because Madagascar is on the Indian Ocean, it has contacts with India. Even the Malagasy people are the mixed descendants of the Southeast Asian Malays, Indians and Arabs who migrated from the sea to the local blacks. Therefore, later Malagasy people look more like dark-skinned Malays and black Indians than pure black Africans.

As for the cattle on the island, it may have been brought by Indian immigrants or Arab immigrants. The Arab immigrants mainly moved in around the 9th century, and it is estimated that cattle were also brought in at that time. And now hundreds of years have passed, it is estimated that there should be a lot of cattle in Madagascar. Even if you don't want the scale of terror of more than 12 million in future generations, it is definitely a lot.

And, Marin estimates, these cattle are estimated to be mainly distributed in the northern part of the island. Because the Arab immigrants landed on the island from the northern coast.

...

With this in mind, Marin told Diego Columbus:

"In this case, on your return journey, in addition to going to India to buy large quantities of zebu, when you pass through Madagascar, send someone to stay on the island to inquire about how to get the cattle on the island. I will send a boat to Madagascar next time. Buy local cattle in bulk.”

Little Columbus led the way back, and Marin, after purchasing a large quantity of finished tung oil and raw lacquer and other shipbuilding materials, also went north along the Kuroshio and began to return...

It is already the beginning of June on the Gregorian calendar, just right, the monsoon near Taiwan Island has changed from a northerly wind to a southwesterly wind, and with the push of the Kuroshio, it is just right for going north.

Historically, the famous Manila galleon also seems to have sailed eastward by taking the southwest monsoon to the north in June every year and arriving in the waters near Japan.

In fact, Marin doesn't have to wait until June to go north. After all, he has an upper-edge gaff sail and can take advantage of the wind from all sides. But he dealt with all kinds of things on Dongfan Island, and he also won the Penghu Islands, wasting too much time. So, it was delayed until early June.

Moreover, he did not dare to delay any longer. Because, since June, the area around Taiwan has entered the typhoon season. In June, it was okay, and the wind appeared more frequently as it went to the background. Therefore, Marin's return is basically like an escape.

But as long as it reaches the waters near Japan, there are fewer typhoons. Because, the typhoon mainly swept over Taiwan Island, and most reached the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and there were few typhoons that ravaged Japan. But Taiwan Island is likely to be hit by a typhoon, otherwise it would not be called a typhoon.

Marin tremblingly led the fleet northward along the Ryukyu Islands, because he was afraid that the fleet would encounter an early typhoon. If it does happen, the fleet must be unlucky. If you go along the Ryukyu Islands, there is still a chance to escape to the island...

Fortunately, Marin still has a faint protagonist aura. Therefore, he did not encounter an early typhoon along the way and arrived safely in the Japanese waters. After arriving here, it is basically out of the scope of most typhoons. Further east, it's safe...