It was the third day of October, and it had been twenty days since the fleet set sail and left Chengshan Port.

For European sailors who are accustomed to voyages, twenty days are nothing. As long as they have plenty of rum and sheep, they can even not dock for two months.

But the sailors of the Ming Dynasty were not good. They had just emerged from the state of being closed to the country. For the first time in their lives, they had been drifting on the sea for such a long time, and were in a state of highly concentrated fighting. The accumulated fatigue and tension had reached a very high level.

So Zhao Hao discussed with Wang Rulong and asked the soldiers to take shifts to Iwo Jima, waiting for the second and third squadrons to come to meet.

The order for rest was delivered, and cheers resounded throughout the sea.

"It seems that no matter how severe the military discipline is, it cannot change people's desire for leisure and labor." Wang Rulong said with some dissatisfaction. In his opinion, these low-intensity battles are not enough to warm up.

"Hahaha, this is the real person." Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh: "At any time you should treat your soldiers as humans, rather than the cold killing machine."

"Let's go, let's go to the island to take a look." As he said that, his eyes fell on the crater with his eyes rolling.

Iwo Huang Island is made up of volcanoes. To be precise, it is a crater itself. The huge mountain is actually hidden under the sea level. The magma that erupts continuously rises and rises the pass, which gradually forms this strange island.

There is actually a good harbor on the island, called Nagahamaura, and there is a pier. However, the sea water in the bay is yellow, which is dyed by the sulfur contained in the sand and gravel.

A pungent smell of rotten eggs floated in the air, and everyone covered their noses, but Mr. Zhao felt a little intoxicated.

"Ahem, that's it! Ahem..." He opened his arms with great enthusiasm, as if he wanted to embrace the island in his arms.

There is inexhaustible natural sulfur here!

Natural sulfur mainly comes from volcanic eruptions, but China has few volcanoes, and most of them are in a state of long-term dormant and extinguishing, so natural sulfur ores are rare and were completely mined before the Tang Dynasty. This is impossible to compare with Japan. People's volcanic earthquakes are like commonplace, spraying them all over the day, spraying all underground inventory to the surface. As a result, there are all minerals, but there are not many, so they are called the "Ministry Resource Specimen Country".

Of course, there are exceptions, such as gold, silver and sulfur, which are quite considerable, and the most important thing is that it is easy to mine. Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, most of the sulfur was imported from Japan. In the tribute trade between the state and Japan, sulfur was also one of the few products that Japan could produce.

After the tribute trade was cut off, without Japan's natural sulfur, the Ming Dynasty had to make sulfur by calcining pyrite or sulfides in coal mines. Not only was the low efficiency, the pollution was still very serious.

The pyrite on Xishan Island has been discovered for nearly a year, but Mr. Zhao still has no idea whether to use it to prepare sulfur and sulfuric acid. Because it is too polluted when working on this thing in the original factory.

Although pollution first and then treatment is also a way, it is better not to pollute. Taihu Lake is the heart of Jiangnan. It has built three cement factories and a glass factory on Xishan Island, and has erected five blast furnaces for copper and iron smelting. If you come with a sulfur-making field, you will really not be able to protect the green waters and green mountains of Taihu Lake.

But sulfur is really important. It is the cornerstone of the black gunpowder and chemical industry and must be dealt with as soon as possible. So Mr. Zhao set his sights here. In his memory, the Japanese began to collect sulfur from this island since the Kamakura Shogunate era, and it is closest to Chongming and is more convenient to transport.

It is also the southbound gateway of the Three Islands of Japan. A police station is built here to mine and guard the waterway!

~~

On the long-standing pier on Iwo Huang Island, Shi Yao, the owner of Seed Island, had been waiting with his retainers for a long time.

Mr. Zhao ignored the seeds crawling on the ground, because after he hit the ground, he felt dizzy and even wanted to vomit.

"This is because I was on the boat for too long. I suddenly stopped shaking, but I was not used to it." Sister Ma hurriedly picked up his hand and helped him massage the Zhongzhu acupoint in the depression between the 4th and 5th metacarpal bones.

"Then why don't you faint?"

But for some reason, Sister Ma's expression turned apart, and then Fang smiled and said, "People have different physiques."

"Your vestibular development is very complete." Mr. Zhao didn't know where he touched Sister Ma's pain point. There were so many people who couldn't ask in detail. He made a joke and held her soft Yi back to show comfort.

Sister Ma's pretty face turned red, and she quickly pulled her hand back and became the little secretary behind him.

"Get up." Zhao Haofang said to the Japanese who had kneeled all over the ground.

"Thank you, Young Master." Shi Yao of the Seed Island could speak Chinese, but there was nothing to make a fuss. After all, Ryukyu merchants had been trading at Seed Island for hundreds of years, and Ryukyu people all spoke Chinese.

Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel a little moved when he looked at the little dark-skinned old man.

Nearly thirty years ago, Wang Zhi, who was still a small sea merchant, took three Portuguese to Shuangyu Island for trade. He encountered wind and waves on the way and deviated, and ended up at Seed Island.

It was this Seed Island Shiyao who agreed to dock and repair ships and trade with them. That was the first time Japan had contacted the Portuguese and the beginning of the trade in the South Barbarians.

At the huge price of Seed Island, Shi Yao bought two Japanese first two coercine guns from the Portuguese. He handed over one of them to the home's "Forged Tongliang" Baban Qingding imitation... Seed Island has iron ore, and the blacksmith who fled from Kyoto, which was the knife-making center in Mian Kyushu.

But after several months of reverse development, it still ended in failure.

A year later, Baban Qingding, who was unwilling to fail, learned the technology of making a match rope gun from the Portuguese who came again at the exchange price. He finally successfully created the so-called "domestic No. 1" Seed Island Iron Cannon. It soon spread to every corner of Japan. Now, if there is no iron cannon team with hundreds of people, you are embarrassed to say hello to others!

This incident reminds Zhao Hao again that we must pay attention to technical blockade. If we make things without technical barriers, we will learn them if we don’t do it well!

~~

"Did you build this wharf?" Zhao Hao asked while looking around, he saw a small village surrounded by high walls next to the wharf, lush and green everywhere. It's not surprising that volcanic ash is rich in nutrients and can make the land more fertile.

"No, but we have been using it for the past two hundred years." Shizushima Shiyao replied quickly: "The Shimazu family was ordered to manage the... 'Feed' and 'Non-human' who were exiled to Mian Kyushu. As their retainers, our Shizushima family was helplessly transferred to this task and sent people to the island to collect sulfur every month."

"So, there is a Sijiao Village on the island?" After hearing these two words, Mr. Zhao suddenly asked.

"Yes..." Shi Yao nodded, showing a look of disgust.

The so-called "filthy" and "non-human" are similar to the untouchables of the Li Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. However, Japan's hierarchy is so strict that it discriminates against untouchables is incomparable. The untouchables of the Li Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty can at least contact with civilians and engage in relatively low-cost service industries. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, where the rituals and music are broken and refugees are everywhere, as long as you don't take the imperial examination, who cares where you come from? What is your origin?

But in Japan, where the hierarchy is a "untouchable" group of people. They were exiled to an isolated island, engaged in the lowest professions for generations, and could not even farm, and could only eat beef and mutton... Because they were all responsible for killing industries such as slaughtering and skin making.

Obviously, the sulfur miners on the island are all untouchables. It is so strange that they do not grow crops on such fertile land.

"But don't worry, this trek is absolutely forbidden from untouchables." Fearing that Zhao Hao was suspicious, Shi Yao of Seed Island hurriedly explained: "The sulphur they cooked every month can only be placed in the room in front. Our people will come to take away the sulphur regularly and put the food and salt for the next month in the house, so the two sides cannot contact each other."

Zhao Hao smiled at Wang Rulong when he heard this. Wang Rulong knew that the young master had found another partner to fight for.

"Let's go back and build a walled house and castle here." He pointed to the reefs raised by the pier, walked in while giving instructions, and was about to get off the pier.

"Young Master, you can't go forward any more." Shi Yao jumped and exclaimed: "There is the ground that has been stepped on by filth."

"It's not bad." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes, and the soldiers burst into laughter. In the eyes of the Ming people, these Japanese pirates were not as clean as the untouchables.

Wang Rulong and others surrounded the young master and walked towards the Sijiao Village.

"Lord, what should I do?" Several retainers looked at their heads in confusion.

"Oh, you guys stay here..." Shi Yao made great decisions, then gritted his teeth and took a step.

"Lord!" The retainers knelt on the ground and cried, as if they were watching the righteous man who was willing to die.

Shi Yao closed his eyes and stepped on it, feeling that he was completely out of clean.

"I'm dirty." Shi Yao shed two lines of tears, but for the safety of his family and the town people, he could only make huge sacrifices.

"Lord, I'll accompany you!" A retainer got up and rushed down the pier.

"Lord, we are here too!" The others cursed the second guy secretly, and had to follow him to set foot in this taboo place.

"Okay, let's go together!" Shi Yao looked at his subordinates with great emotion, but saw them all stunned.

Shi Yao looked back and almost fainted. The noble young master of the Heavenly Dynasty actually walked into Sijiao Village...

"Young Master, don't!" Shi Yao fainted immediately. If he had known this, it would be better not to surrender.

But it's too late to say anything now. They are no longer clean and can never go back...
Chapter completed!