Qin Official

In the middle of May, the thirty-third year of Qin Shihuang, Yantai Harbor was crowded. Many Jiaodong officials, including the governor Heifu, gathered here, all under the sun-shaded eaves, looking forward to it.

Heifu sat in the middle, and Chen Ping stood next to him, whispering something in his ear. Heifu seemed to have a calm face, but he was still a little anxious in his heart.

"I still shouldn't let Wei Yang risk going to sea..."

The story started half a month ago. After making a series of technical preparations such as star-finding and compass, it happened to be May. As Xu Fu said, the monsoon from the south blew on time.

"The wind off the coast of Jiaodong changes with the four seasons. From October to March, there is more northerly wind. In April, the monsoons alternate and the wind direction is unstable, so you cannot sail far away hastily. In May, the wind turns to the south, and between June and August , along the Jiaodong coast, there are even strong winds blowing from the southwest to the northeast!”

May to August is the best time to sail to North Korea, and Heifu will not miss it. In just a few days, the first official fleet to open the new route was ready. One large ship and two small ships, disguised as merchant ships, with a total of four hundred crew members.

When selecting military officials, one Five Hundred Lord and two Hundred Lords were needed. As a Hundred Lord, Wei Yang took the initiative to request to participate in this voyage.

Heifu was still a little hesitant at first, so he said to his nephew in private: "The sea is unpredictable. If you make any mistake, how can I explain it to your father and your aunt?"

Weiyang is the eldest grandson of the family and his mother's sweetheart. Hei Fu doesn't want anything to happen to him.

Wei Yang was somewhat ambitious. He puffed up his chest and said, "Uncle Zhang (Zhang Cang) told me a story about touching the dragon and talking about the Queen Mother Zhao. One of the words is still remembered by my nephew."

He recited: "You are the son of your master and a relative of flesh and blood. You cannot rely on unworthy respect and unearned service. You already hold the weight of gold and jade, but how about being a minister?"

"Zhongfu asked me to be the official of the building and ship, hoping that Weiyang could gain a foothold in it. But the most important thing in the army is courage and courage. If I can only shadow Zhongfu's power, how can I last long? Ocean currents, monsoon winds , latitude, star guide, guide, and a modified sailboat. Father Zhong has made so many preparations for this voyage. Now that the south wind is blowing, why not let my nephew give it a try!"

Wei Yang pressed hard, but in the end, Hei Fu couldn't resist him and could only agree to let him take charge of one of the three hundred dendrobium boats, and let Xu Fu go with the boat.

In early May, three ships left Yantai. They initially sailed along the coastline and spent the night in Chengshanjiao. One day later, when the fog in Chengshanjiao cleared, accompanied by the windbirds pointing north at the top of the mast, the three ships completely left the mainland and gradually moved away until they disappeared on the sea level. on-line……

According to Xu Fu's plan, the big ship sailed with the wind. Even if the speed was only five knots, it could travel two hundred miles a day. In just two days, it could reach the sea off the coast of Jizi and dock at the "Liekou" of Tianjin Port. After a short rest, we can continue to go north and reach the barrier at the edge of the Qin Dynasty, sweating profusely.

From there, it is the route that the Jiaodong Marine Corps has explored clockwise. The ship will follow the ocean current through Liaonan and return to Jiaodong at a very fast speed. It will only take about ten days to return to Yantai.

Today is the day when the fleet returns, but from morning to noon, boats and ships pass by on the sea from time to time, but they are all passers-by, not returnees.

"Did something happen?"

"I knew the alchemist was unreliable..."

The officials of the building and ship under Ren Xiao were whispering. Their strategy was rejected by Hei Fu and they adopted Xu Fu's plan instead. Although Xu Fu's plan was logically sound, everyone was inevitably a little dissatisfied.

Of course, these dissatisfactions were blocked by the fact that Heifu asked his nephew Wei Yang to go to sea with the first batch of ships.

Just when Heifu was worried, the official looking out from the harbor raised a fiery red flag!

Then, the golden sound was sounded!

This is the golden drum flag born in the military, which heralds the return of the army to camp!

Everyone was overjoyed and stood up one after another, looking forward to it, but saw two ships approaching the port at a speed visible to the naked eye on the sea reflected by the setting sun in the distance.

"Two ships?"

After hearing this, Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat. At this time, they also saw clearly that it was a large ship with 500 dendrobium and a small boat with 300 dendrobium...

There is one less ship than there were three there!

And what Weiyang was on was exactly the boat!

The hearts of Heifu's staff were rising again, but Heifu was calm and expressionless, watching the two ships moored and docked, and the people on board disembarked one after another and walked towards them.

He did not immediately ask if his nephew was inside or if he was okay? Instead, he calmly ordered: "Play the Kaige song."

These hundreds of warriors who risked their lives to go to sea deserve to be greeted with Kaifa songs!

A burst of cheers broke out on the shore, drums and drums blared, and soldiers gathered on both sides of the street to welcome the robes across the sea!

They were approaching, and the five hundred masters in charge of the big ship stepped forward. Next to them was Xu Fu, who was talking and laughing freely, and a familiar young figure followed closely behind, it was Wei Yang who was in charge of the small ship!

The three of them walked through the aisles of welcoming colleagues, walked up to the county governor Heifu and the county captain Ren Xiao, and bowed and saluted.

"The county guards, county lieutenants, and subordinates have fulfilled their mission!"

Hei Fu nodded, helped Five Hundred Masters and Xu Fu up, and then looked at his nephew. After more than ten days of being beaten by the sea breeze and exposed to the scorching sun, his face was red and peeling, and his eyes were a little sad, but a little more sad. look.

Heifu was a little relieved. When he returned home from serving more than ten years ago, he was the naughty boy who used his dirty little hands to pull his clothes and ask for sweets. That young boy who clenched his fists and opened his eyes wide with yearning when he recounted his experiences during the expedition.

Now, he has grown up.

"Zhong...junjun!"

Weiyang bowed and presented the map drawn on this voyage, the distance between Beichen and the earth observed at different locations, the calculated "latitude" data, and the "Navigation Log" that Heifu asked him to write when he left Weiyang. 》.

After Hei Fu took it, he didn't look at anything else. He opened the map first, glanced at it twice, and then he applauded, pointed at the three people, and the 300 people dressed as merchants and sailors, and said loudly:

"One year ago, when His Majesty was at Chengshanjiao, he changed the word "End of the Sky" to "Endless Sky"! This encouraged people on ships to cross the sea to find their way across the sea, so that the territory of Great Qin would have the East China Sea in the east. Now, when you return from patrolling the sea, This is equivalent to allowing Great Qin to gain an additional two hundred miles of sea territory out of thin air! For such a feat, I must take credit from Your Majesty!"

…

That night, at Yantai Port, Xu Fu and Wei Yang reported to Heifu what they had seen and heard during the voyage, as well as the whereabouts of the missing 300-dendrobium ship.

Wei Yang said with some sadness: "When crossing the sea, the first day went smoothly, but on the next day, we encountered heavy rain, strong winds and waves, and many people were thrown overboard. After the storm passed, the ship We were separated from each other, and I don’t know where I drifted to..."

The captain of the ship was his colleague Pao Ze. They had sailed together for the past few months and learned the art of star-pulling together, and they had a good relationship. The lives of him and one hundred crew members were unknown, which made Wei Yang a little sad.

Xu Fu added: "We waited for an extra day at Liekou, but we still didn't see the ship returning, so we had to return first."

Three ships went out, but only two were left when they came back. This was a big price, and it also caused some strange voices in the county lieutenant's office, thinking that it was still too dangerous to cross the sea directly.

But Xu Fu assured that this was just an accident, and that as the time goes into autumn and winter, the weather will be less stormy and the route will become safer.

"really?"

Heifu could only pretend to be cool in theory and frighten Xu Fu, but when he actually went to sea, he had no idea how to deal with the wind and waves. This all relied on the decades of experience of veteran sailors. A layman couldn't tell. And even two thousand years later, even an extremely advanced ship will not be able to recover if it encounters a big wave.

He glanced at Weiyang. The wind and waves were ruthless, and he did not recognize the virtuous, foolish, noble or humble. He was just a little bit away from becoming a victim of this exploration. This is why the world is afraid of the sea.

"Perhaps this is the price that must be paid for exploration..."

Heifu was a little helpless, but he immediately hardened his heart again:

"Immediately send five more ships out to sea, riding the southwesterly wind. The same route. This time there is no need to pursue speed, but to go slowly. Measure the latitude of Jizi North Korea's coast and explore the reefs along the way to ensure everything is safe! By the way, Let's look for the lost ship and officers along the coast again! Tell the people in the building that I will never abandon anyone!"

…

The new route still needs to be explored and improved, but time waits for no one. While several batches of ships were successively dispatched to sail across the sea, on the other side, under the escort of the navy stern, more than ten grain ships also set sail northward from Yantai Port. They will go against the ocean current and take the old route that takes longer but is safer and has no big waves.

County Sheriff Shi Chenping, as the plenipotentiary representative of Heifu, is also on the boat. The destination of this fleet is the estuary of the Yalu River, a small coastal town called "Xi'anping" (Dandong). They must defeat Prince Fusu's army. Before arriving, the first batch of grain was sent there for storage, and the boatman's convenience was used to build a pontoon bridge across the river for Fusu...

"Don't worry, Sheriff."

Before leaving, Chen Ping smiled brightly and said: "I will definitely follow the master's instructions, supervise the grain and fodder, and assist the young master in crossing the river!"

This sentence made Heifu frown. Although Chen Ping was loyal to him and very efficient in doing things, he seemed to have a lot of ideas recently...

But there is no better candidate at the moment. Heifu doesn't want to send Xiao He and Cao Shen to meet Fusu. Chen Ping also has a long history in the North and has met Fusu before, making it easier to deal with them.

After much thought, he still let Chen Ping go, but he waved to Chen Ping and warned him in his ear:

"No trouble is allowed without my permission!"

"Ping Yi is considered a Qin official. It is not enough to serve the country and fulfill his responsibilities with all his heart. How dare you do anything wrong?"

Chen Ping seemed to be frightened, so he only agreed. After boarding the ship, he looked back at Hei Fu who waved goodbye to them, bowed deeply, stood up, looked at the receding coast, put his hands behind his hands and smiled:

"The king above you is not my king..."