But as soon as the two sea boats they were on arrived north of the Philippine Sea, they were intercepted by Dutch ships. One was sunk and the other escaped with difficulty. After a lot of hardships, they were breeze and waves on the road, and finally drifted into Jiaozhou Bay.

After reading their journey, everyone sighed.

Zhou Tai suddenly asked curiously: "They are coming to the Ming Dynasty to worship their ancestors. Do the Sultan of Brunei and Sultan of Sulu have the same ancestor?"

Xia Wanchun laughed and said, "Little General Zhou, you are wrong. The ancestor who came to worship was the King of Dong. He died of illness and was buried in Dezhou, Shandong. Brunei is called Boni in ancient Ming Dynasty books. Boni came to the Ming Dynasty earlier than Dongwang. At that time, Emperor Yongle had just obtained the throne, and the capital was still Nanjing. He also died of illness during his mission to the Ming Dynasty and was buried in Nanjing. Where is the tomb of Boni now?"

Zhou Tai said with a surprised expression: "Do you know all this?"

Xia Wanchun smiled faintly, "I saw it in the book, and I wrote it down."

Zhou Xian glanced at Zhou Tai, "Now you know the benefits of studying! You go to the camp and call Li Kai to me. There are also the soldiers who came back from Sulu, and I have to ask them if I have something to do."

After asking about the returned soldiers about Su Lu, Li Kai and others' opinions. However, everyone's ideas were not consistent, and even Zhou Xian himself was hesitant.

Several maps were scattered on the walls and sent back to Ma Shaoyu. Some were drawn by him, and some were asked from Sulu Sultan or Brunei Sultan, with the place names on them still written by the two countries. Next to these maps, there were other twenty pages of maps, which were cut by Xia Wanchun from "Wu Bei Zhi".

In the past, Zheng He voyaged seven times in the West and edited his route into a picture, known as "Zheng He Navigation Chart". Zhou Xian once asked someone to look for this picture in the capital and Nanjing, but so far, it has not been found. However, when Mao Yuanyi compiled the "Wu Bei Zhi" in the late Ming Dynasty, he cut the picture into twenty sub-pictures and compiled it into the book. When Xia Wanchun knew that Zhou Xian wanted to understand the situation of the countries in the South China Sea, he remembered this book. He bought one and cut it down as a reference.

The map is blurry and some places are not drawn incompletely. But comparing several pictures together, at least you have a general understanding in your mind.

Zhou Xian frowned and thought, thinking that he should find someone to collect these pictures together and draw a new one, which can include everything.

According to the information of Ma Shaoyu's return, Spain has only more than 600 people in Manila, and its strength is not strong. Moreover, Luzon is also close to the Ming Dynasty, and a large number of Ming maritime merchants went there to trade with the Spanish. If they raided Manila by using soldiers as merchants, it is possible to take it down.

But the Netherlands has 3,000 soldiers in Batavia, 1,500 soldiers in Taiwan, and hundreds in Malacca. Moreover, they have long been eyeing Manila and will never allow Manila to fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Xian had a navy, but the ship was just an old ship and there were not enough guns. When they sailed to Manila, they fought against the Dutch who had already gained a foothold in Batavia, and Zhou Xian had no confidence in winning.

Moreover, before that, the Spaniards had to be defeated. You should know that Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan, and more than 20,000 people fought against 1,500 Dutch people, which took several months. Spain is an old colonial country, and the soldiers' own qualities and weapons are definitely not inferior to those of the Dutch. In Zhou Xian's memory, the Netherlands launched a war for Manila, which ended in failure. It was not until Britain rose that Spain was defeated and eventually lost Manila, the only stronghold in Asia.

At this time, Britain was still in a civil war. France was busy fighting for the 30-year war to compete for European hegemony. At this time, the pressure faced by entering Nanyang was undoubtedly the least. Zhou Xian was unwilling to give up such an opportunity, but with the current strength of the Ming Dynasty at sea, it was indeed impossible to compete with the Dutch, unless he could persuade Zheng Zhilong to participate in the matter together. But at present, this possibility seemed slim.

Although the final result of Zheng Zhilong's victory in that naval battle with the Dutch was that Zheng Zhilong won, his losses were quite large. Since then, Zheng Zhilong, who knew the Dutch's maritime combat power, shrank like a turtle. The Dutch gradually invaded Taiwan, but he did not move. When the Dutch killed merchants who were sailing abroad and looted their property, he did not speak. He only controlled the acre of three-point land along the coast of Fujian, smuggled and collected protection fees, and did gangs' business in the name of the Fujian general.

Zhou Xian sighed a long sigh, and finally felt that he had to worry about this matter slowly and could not be anxious. The best way was to let Spain and the Netherlands fight a war, and then the Ming Dynasty would reap the benefits. However, in history, the war broke out between Spain and the Netherlands in Manila was five years later, and it was still far away.

However, some things could be done in advance. He made up this idea silently in his heart, and suddenly he felt much more relaxed, so he stopped thinking about it. He pushed open the door, called Chen Feng and a few guards and prepared to go out.

Jinse chased after him, holding a big red cotton cloak in his hand. "Second Young Master, it's cold outside, put on this!"

Zhou Xian leaned slightly and let her tie her straps. When she tied it up, Zhou Xian gently tapped her head with her middle finger and said, "Let's go. I won't eat dinner at home, so don't wait for me."

After leaving, Zhou Xian went directly to Gao Wencai's place in Jinan. He was the Jinyiwei and got news from the court faster than anyone else.

Zhou Xian found a seat and asked directly: "Gao Qianhu, let me ask you, what opinions does the imperial court have on the proposal of Sulu to incorporate the Ming Dynasty?"

Gao Wencai was stunned for a moment and said, "Mr. Zhou, if the court reports, it will inform you through the governor's yamen. It seems a bit unruly that you are here to ask the villain about this matter now!"

Zhou Xian waved his hand and said, "I can't wait. I know you will get the news as soon as possible, and this is not a secret from the court, so it doesn't matter to tell me in advance. Have I ever been embarrassed by you since you came to Jinan? Being convenient to others means being convenient to yourself. I don't need to say more about this truth to you!"

Gao Wencai was silent for a while and said, "The Ming Dynasty is in great danger at present, and there is no extra energy to take care of them. The emperor has made a resolution and refused his request. At most, the imperial decree will be passed here."
Chapter completed!