Chapter 1 The Southern Sea

From the southernmost part of Annam, there is a sea area, the true Southern Sea. Opposite the coast are the countries of Sarawak and Johor, located on Borneo. The Franks have established strongholds here to control the trade of the Strait of Malacca.

Previously, Zheng He's fleet controlled this area.

The Ming Dynasty abandoned its military posts in the Strait of Malacca centuries ago. Now, the Franks have come across the ocean to occupy it and are constantly developing it. All goods, slaves, missionaries, and even troops coming from the West must come here for supplies. From here, they peer northwest at Annam, northeast at the South Sea of the Ming Dynasty, and eastward to control Luzon. Now, the entire Southern Sea is filled with Frankish fleets.

Because the Dutch have done great things.

The maritime companies that control trade here have formed the United East India Company, with the Netherlands at its head, granting it a monopoly on shipping and trade. It possesses vast funds and is allowed to have arms, declare war, make peace, occupy land, and build fortresses.

The port is full of fleets, including not only true warships but also many merchant ships. These merchant ships are equipped with firearms and can be immediately requisitioned in the event of war to become inferior light warships.

After dominating the Southern Sea, the next goal is to expand northward. Decades ago, the Franks and the Dutch repeatedly attempted to use naval warfare to open the gates of the Ming Dynasty for forced trade, but the result was repeated defeats, forcing them to resort to peaceful trade. But now, the Bu Jia Lao cannon factory has been completely acquired by the Ming Dynasty, which is yet another provocation to them.

The company is united to deal with the Ming Dynasty's actions. Although the Franks believe that a vast empire is difficult to defeat easily, the Ming Dynasty's navy has just withdrawn from the Korean battlefield and has undergone a seven-year war, which has greatly improved the quality of its soldiers.

Moreover, the gods, demons, and monsters in the Southern Sea and the East Ming Sea will not cooperate with these Westerners. To fight in this sea area, they need the help of Western gods, demons, and ghosts. Otherwise, no matter how strong the firearms or how large the warships, they will be swept over by the wind and waves and capsize.

In addition, due to the prolonged war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and the collapse of Osaka Castle, many Japanese pirates are sweeping the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty and Luzon outside the Southern Sea. For the Dutch who govern here, it is very necessary to buy off Japanese pirates to harass the Ming Dynasty's coast.

This time, the East India Company is sending a mighty fleet, and the first place it will arrive at is Macau.

"The Fanjiao (Catholic Church) is our ally, and we can use their cover to resupply in Macau before the war. As long as we fight in the Southern Sea, we have a good chance of winning. In addition to the Fanjiao's divine beings who control seawater, there are also missionaries who are good at controlling the sea to help us this time."

"We must take back the Bu Jia Lao cannon factory. The firearms produced here are the lifeblood of the entire East, and now that they are controlled by the Ming Dynasty, it means that if we go to war with the Ming Dynasty, we will not be able to obtain a supply of powerful artillery."

Some large artillery pieces can only be manufactured by the Bu Jia Lao cannon factory. A huge factory is not something that can be rebuilt after being given away to others. It requires massive resources and time, and the West is really thousands of miles away from here. Once the large artillery is lost, there is no way to gain a foothold here.

The warship tossed at sea and soon saw the port of Macau, but the missionary on the warship frowned slightly.

He felt that the power of God still existed on that land, but...this feeling was slightly different from the God of the past.

Perhaps the apostles of St. Paul's College have revised the contents of the Four Gospels in order to adapt to the environment of the Central Plains. Tolerance is a must at the beginning of a new missionary location, and it is difficult for the people of this land to serve Christ completely and wholeheartedly.

The missionary, wearing a dark blue robe the color of the sea, could not help but sigh. The people of this land cannot be easily bought off by blessings and other spells. Their beliefs are too chaotic, so that ordinary small favors are only taken for granted. It seems that here, no matter what god you are, only frequent appearances can gain everyone's recognition, and only then will everyone believe in you, but once you stop appearing, everyone will immediately leave you.

The dignified Christian Church has been reduced to competing for work with wandering mountain spirits and wild ghosts on the roadside, which is simply a disgrace to the great church.

Those mountain spirits and wild ghosts will also send you a one-stop service, give you a blessing to protect you for seven days, and you can get a refund if you are not satisfied. The reward is just a stick of incense, what unsophisticated fellows!

"You have to go to the Franks for refunds! I heard that the competition for incense between the gods here was not so fierce before. It was the Franks who introduced artillery to the Ming Dynasty's governor, saying that refunds and repairs were available if they were not satisfied. This caused quite a stir, and everyone in the Southern Sea knows about it!"

"Okay, we're approaching the port. Put away all the cannons, raise the merchant ship's flag, and cover up everything that needs to be covered up. Don't reveal anything!"

The captain of the warship chatted with the missionary while directing the crew to work, disguising the warship. They slowly sailed into the port, and people from St. Paul's College came to greet them, but there were fewer familiar faces.

The missionary asked strangely: "Didn't the president of the Tzu Chi Society come? Every time I return to this land, he will definitely come to me for business. Is his business so big now that he doesn't want to see me?"

There was some sarcasm in his words, but the pastor of St. Paul's College shook his head with a slightly sad expression:

"The Tzu Chi Society suddenly suffered a big fire a few days ago. Strangely, all the children who were fostered there were fine, but the entire Tzu Chi Society was reduced to ashes. The president and the others were burned to death in the fire."

The missionary was stunned: "This is obviously the work of supernatural forces. How is it possible to only kill merchants and not children? Fire doesn't have eyes."

The pastor was also quite sad. After all, the society was a major source of orphans for them, but now it's gone, and they have to find another organization to adopt orphans for negotiation, but there are not many such organizations in the South.

"There is no evidence, and no one will sue about this matter, but we have submitted a written report to the Ming government. The Guangzhou Provincial Administration Commissioner is still that official and has not been dismissed. He will be biased towards us."

"Even if there is no result, I think St. Paul's College, as a sister organization of the Tzu Chi Society, will receive a considerable amount of compensation. Moreover, many of those orphans in the South are homeless. The clergy have proposed that the children be brought to the college to live."

The dark blue-robed missionary's eyes lit up:

"Well done, you've done well."

Soon, people from the Fanjiao (Catholic Church) also arrived.

Lei Wang did not show up, but sent one of the other two Ascended Ones to come here. When this leader approached, he saw that the other party was wearing dark blue clothes, and his face immediately became wonderful.

"It seems that the Westerners can't bear it anymore. It must be because of the cannon factory that even people wearing this kind of clothing have come."

Just as no one in Taoism would wear black Taoist robes.

In Christianity, no one would wear blue Christian clothes either.

A red robe is equivalent to a regional bishop, and blue clothes....

It means that he is the "Holy Son" of Christ on earth!