Chapter 324 Goal: Arab

"It's okay, I had expected the ending - those Fans who left midway must have the first issue of "Marine News" in their hands, right?" Zhao Xing asked calmly.

Chen Buqun was surprised: "Yes, how did the teacher know? This... the teacher should have been thousands of miles away from them at that time. Why did he feel like witnessing the scene at that time?"

Zhao Xing explained without surprise: "In fact, this principle is very simple. Nowadays, most people do not have a general sense of direction. When they sail on the sea, they only feel that the sea is vast and cannot distinguish between east, west, south and north. Therefore, they are afraid that they can only sail on the dock when sailing, for fear that they will not see the land one day and cannot determine where they are.

However, a rough world map was published in the first issue of Maritime News, which made the group of people determine the sense of direction. They had my Song Dynasty compass in their hands, and knew that as long as they sailed westward, they could see the African continent. Moreover, the coastline of the African continent was very long and ran across the north and south, so they were not afraid of not finding land, just sailing - by the way, I discovered that route because of this sense of direction."

Chen Buqun had heard that Zhao Xing had a very strong reasoning ability. This time he had experienced it. After savoring it carefully, he asked in thought: "Why did the teacher have a sense of direction at that time? Could it be that the teacher inferred from other people's words that the coastline of the mainland was very long and it was impossible to find a way?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "About the reigns of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Zhang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a fleet commander of the Western Region, Pulini, Buqun, who is similar to your current official position. This person wrote a book called "Baowuzhi", which described the shape and direction of the African continent. From that book, you can guess what I mentioned in the East and West routes.

At that time, people were saying that the African continent was very long, like a wall that stretched between the East and the West. Some people in the West even believed that it was impossible to sail directly from the sea to the East. But I also knew that the earth was round, and as long as it continued to sail in one direction, it would always return to its original place.

Legend has it that at the end of that continent, there is a surging wave. It is said that no ships safely sailed through the storm sea, so people call it the "Rage Sea" and the "Rage Sea". But I also heard that if we bypass that cape and cross the Rain Sea, we would definitely be able to sail directly to the West without having to cross Palestinian transshipment of goods by land...

Perhaps, we still need to wait for a while until our navigation and shipbuilding technology go further and we can build a stronger ship. Only then can we pass through the "Sea of ​​Furious". If you have confidence, it is better for us masters and disciples to work together to let us sail south and to the "End of the Earth". Cross the Sea of ​​Storm and see what is there. Or head north, cross the land of Nao Ren, and see the end of the frozen continent in the north. Is it the place where the gods live - perhaps there is another land after passing that frozen continent.

I guess there is another land. There is a legend in the West. Two hundred years ago, in the late Tang Dynasty, the famous Norwegian Viking pirate, Eric, once sailed to the extreme west. He found a continent that was frozen all year round, which he called "Greenland". Later, he continued to go west and discovered Iceland. But Red Beard refused to rest. He continued to sail west and discovered a beautiful and rich continent with milk and honey flowing. It is said that it was vast that even eagles and geese could not fly across, so he called it the "American continent".

There has always been a legend of the ‘American continent’ in Northern Europe. I guess. This legend may be based on some reason. I remember I once told you that the earth is round. From the characteristic that the mast of the navigation ground first exposed the sea surface, we can verify this theory. If the legend of this beautiful continent in the West is true, it means that as long as we continue to sail eastward, we will find that beautiful new continent. Perhaps, the frozen continent in the extreme north is a barrier. After that barrier, there is a beautiful new continent behind it."

Yuan Yeping kept leaning beside Zhao Xing. When he heard Zhao Xing's tone pause, he immediately interrupted: "We have four islands in the north. Through that small island, it is said that there are still people living on the continent further north, and it is a coherent coastline. If Brother Chen explores north, I can say hello to the lord of the north and allow you to dock and replenish supplies..."

Chen Buqun sighed: "I am really moved by what you said. Unfortunately, we can't do anything this year. I will bring back the tribute envoys from overseas vassal states to Yangzhou before Tianning Festival and send them to the court ceremony. When we come back after the incident, it will be the next year."

When Zhao Xing heard Yuanye's plain words, his heart suddenly moved and said, "There is also a Yue people culture in the north of Japan. Legend has it that after the fall of King Goujian of Yue, many Yue people fled on a boat and actually fled to northern Japan and established a country with ancient Yue culture. To this day, the local Japanese people still call the place where the ancient Yue people landed "Etsuki", "Etsuki Zhong", and "Etsuki Hou" three countries. Is this a matter?"

Yuan Yeping nodded: "That's true. People from those three countries have so far claimed to be the legacy of ancient Yue culture."

Zhao Xing clapped his hands and greeted the accompanying singer: "Yes, my Chinese civilization has radiated its glory to the outside world since ancient times. Unfortunately, our civilization still has an extremely stubborn and conservative element - for example, tribute trade. Because ancient saints praised this method of trade and thought it was a prosperous era, we have several paranoid tribute knots in our hearts. They know that this behavior is inappropriate, but they still insist.

The charm of civilization lies in creation, and repeated the things created in the Stone Age. This is not civilization, it is the thinking of animals. Only animals insist on learning from their parents, completely ignoring the changes of the times, and are the spirit of all things... Think about it, in the commercial and cultural atmosphere of my Song Dynasty, there are still people who are doing this rigid thing, which is really heartbreaking... Forget it! Come on, in this bright light, let's sing a song "The Song of Yue" for us."

Guangzhou is originally a place of Yue. "The Song of Yue" is very popular in Guangzhou. The top singer in Guangzhou danced her waist and sang "The Song of Yue": "Where is the evening tonight? The flowing in the boat; when is it today? I have to ship with the prince. I am ashamed and bearded, and I am not ashamed. I am very upset and I know that I have the prince. There are trees on the mountain and branches. I am happy to you and don't know."

The Yue girl's eyes flicked. She stared at Zhao Xing and sang repeatedly: "There are trees in the mountains and branches in the mountains. I am happy to you and don't know..."

The Yue woman frequently showed off her charm, and Zhao Xing didn't pay any attention. He stared at the city lights outside the window, as if this was a glass of mellow wine, which was intoxicating. When he turned around, he found that the Guangzhou officials in the tower were winking. Yuan Yeping and Chen Buqun were still poking me with their fingers. I poked you, as if they were encouraging each other to speak.

Speaking of which, Zhao Xing's current status is similar to what modern times calls the "diamond man". Although he has all his wives and concubines, Liao Xiaoxiao's experience during his lifetime made many musicians have a luxury, hoping that he could fill the gap left by Liao Xiaoxiao.

Now, who is the largest rich man in Guangzhou? Zhao Xing claims to be the second. No one dares to say that he is the first. Among them, his concubine, Hu Ji Kasli, controlled the relationship with foreign merchants, and Liao Xiaoxiao even controlled the entire glass manufacturing and printing industry in Guangdong during his lifetime. All printing industries, whether for printing plates or cloth printing, as long as they are related to the word "print", the patent rights are under the control of Liao Xiaoxiao.

As for Chen Yiyi, it was a mysterious existence in Zhao Xing's mansion. People all knew that this Yue woman, who was praised as "wife" by the court, held a mysterious armed force in her hand - the Nanyang Alliance. The power of this alliance covers the entire Nanyang islands, and the court knew her Yue identity, but could only pretend to be confused and recognize her Song wife...

These women, alone, are just simple merchants of the Song Dynasty, but it is not easy for them to integrate them together.

These people are subordinate to Zhao Xing.

Liao Xiaoxiao's death made many musicians have a lucky idea. Because Liao Xiaoxiao has always been responsible for Zhao Xing's official banquets. A musician can reach this level and deal with officials. He is no longer a toy for officials, but has become the object of favor for senior officials. He also has a deep fortune - in the eyes of musicians, this may be the best ending in life.

At the same time, after Liao Xiaoxiao's death, Zhao Xing's mansion responded to reduce the frequency and specifications of official social engagements. Most musicians thought that there was an entertainment gap in Zhao Xing's mansion. There was a shortage of a banquet host in a short period of time, and it was rare for Zhao Xing to leave the mansion to take advantage of this opportunity. The musicians all wanted to seize this opportunity and become Liao Xiaoxiao's second.

Strictly speaking, Liu Jingniang from Yangzhou traveled south, probably had this idea in her heart.

At this moment, in the eyes of the musicians, Zhao Xing was like a piece of carrion with honey, and was in the prime of attracting bees and butterflies. Guangzhou officials felt that Zhao Xing's quiet residence during this period was incompatible with the official atmosphere, so they also hoped that Zhao Xing's family would add a new concubine responsible for official banquets to improve their romance and romance. So they not only did not stop it, but instead whispered to encourage and encourage the geek to act.

After staring at the lights outside the window, Zhao Xing turned around and saw this scene. When he turned his eyes, he understood the private movements of Guangzhou officials. A little leaned forward, Zhao Xing waved his hand and ordered the group of prostitutes to retreat, saying, "The Song of Yue should be a Jin Dynasty style. I have a talented Tang Dynasty... Yuanpu Official, can you please perform Tang-style puppet show?"

Before Yuan Yeping could answer, a breathless handsome man ran from the stairs. After hearing Zhao Xing's speech, he was immediately furious: "He Xun, the romantic in the Song Dynasty, was in Jin Dynasty, and all the scholars of the Song Dynasty gathered here. Guangzhou Quxian was also a famous school in the Song Dynasty. How could a Japanese perform my ancient Chinese tradition to us in such a gathering..."

Shuai Fan gasped for a moment and immediately scolded: "Du, you Japanese, go back and wait for the official to come on stage and perform a Tang-style puppet show."

Yuan Yeping was furious and replied by pressing the sword: "Shuai Zilian, why did you insult me? I was a prosecutor in the Mizhou of the Song Dynasty. I was a salary from the Song Dynasty and an official in the Song Dynasty... In fact, I had long suspected that I was a seed of the Song Dynasty. You dare to say that I was not a Song Dynasty person. This is an insult to my blood. I want to duel with you, and the loser will apologize."

Shuai Fan was already breathing evenly at this time. He looked at Yuan Yeping sarcastically and replied: "What era is now? The gunpowder era. In this gunpowder era, you compare the cold weapons with me - I admit that I am not as good as you in playing with swords and land skills, but I have muskets, Japanese ghosts, do you have the courage to use your ground sword to compare with my muskets?"

"Enough!" Zhao Xing scolded coldly: "Mr. Yuan is a Mizhou prosecutor, a current official recognized by the Song Dynasty court, and apologized to him."

Shuai Fan raised his hand. Seeing Zhao Xing's serious gaze, he lowered his hand again, bowed to Yuan Yeping powerlessly, and said reluctantly: "For no reason, please forgive me for being reckless!"

Yuan Yehei said aggrievedly: "Sir, he wants to compete with me with a musket. Isn't this bullying?"

"He did not bully you. It was civilization that bullies you - our civilization created muskets. The responsibility of our generation is to use muskets to conquer the whole world and let those who only know how to play swords crawl at our feet. This is the step of civilization progress. Whoever cannot adapt to it will be conquered." Zhao Xing made a fair decision.

Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, suddenly stood up, crawled to apologize: "The Supervisor has worked hard and made great contributions. It's just that Yuan was offended by someone."

Previously, Shuai Fan apologized because he thought that Yuan Yeping was a retainer of Zhao Xing in Japan, and that his name was changed to "Yuan Yeping" was handled by Zhao Xing. The people who handled him were also the head of the Zhang family. In addition, all the officials in the Privy Council and the Ministry of Personnel were involved at that time. According to the unspoken rules of the officialdom, even if he exposed the truth about Yuan Yeping's Japanese, no one would admit it, so he surrendered. But he did not expect that Yuan Yeping's surrender came so quickly.

After giving in to each other, Zhao Xing asked gently: "Shishuai Supervisor, Shuai Meizhou, what's going on in Fujian? I didn't expect you to arrive in Hong Kong today. But I made a mistake. The opening of the Tower of Light did not invite you."

Shuai Fan bowed and replied: "Sir, the matter in Fujian is almost done. At this moment, the patriarchs from all over the country have gathered in Shuikou Town and are willing to provide assistance to my Guangnan soldiers. I hurried back to ask about my plans for next year. I happened to hear that you were unveiling at the Tower of Light - such a grand event, how can you be without me?!"

Zhao Xing smacked his lips regretfully: "I originally thought that the Fujian bandits could be so fierce, but I didn't expect that they were still a mess of sand, just hold up the knife. Everyone was afraid that they would fall behind in the time of surrender... Alas. I originally wanted to use Fujian mountains to train troops, but I didn't expect that I would still be in vain."

After Zhao Xing finished speaking, he stared at the sea of ​​lights outside the window, lit his head and continued to sigh: "We did not encounter any hard battles when fighting Chameng Kingdom; we still marched all the way when fighting Dali; it was really disappointing to fight Fujian. How can an army that has not been fought hard, deal with our strong enemies in the north? If they encounter the army of Xixia and Liao Kingdom in the future, how should we persist in fighting - worry!"

Shuai Fan rolled his eyes in his heart: "Will you, Zhao Liren, allow others to gain the advantage when fighting with others?...I guess I will never see you in this life."

Chen Buqun interrupted in a depressed voice: "I was just telling the teacher that my Guangnan Navy suffered a great loss in Arabia recently. It was because I didn't have enough knowledge, so the Arab fire attack ships took a big advantage - the navy has currently lost seven supply ships, eleven medium-sized fast sailing ships, twenty-three small landing ships, and three giant boats. The artillery on it has also sunk to the bottom of the sea with the ship.

I am admitting my mistake to the teacher. It seems that if you have to defeat the enemy in a sea area, you must take action yourself. Students are not good at learning skills and let them down.”

Shuai Fan widened his eyes: "Is this the hard battle that the lord hopes to fight - Chen Qian, how many warships have you encountered?"

Chen Buqun bowed and replied: "I don't know the specific number, but at that time, we encountered countless warships. As far as I know, the results of each ship's statistics were that we sank no less than 300 small boats, and shelled no less than 500 rowing boats. The Arabs also had a strange ship. The mast on the ship was not one, and there was a mast at the tail. This kind of ship was flexible in steering. We tried our best to sank no less than 100 such ships... There were also giant Arab ships, which could carry about 3,000 people on the warship, and there were stone-towers on it.

In addition, we encountered more than 3,000 arson ships at that time. Although I chose to fight on the open ocean, I still suffered heavy losses…”

Shuai Fan opened his mouth in surprise: "This is not a big defeat, it is clearly a big victory. According to what you said just now, you have encountered at least a fleet of 5,000 warships. If you encounter such a huge fleet, you can still escape unscathed. It is really clever. Indeed, when the sea is fighting, I can't catch up with you.

You were burned by a fireboat, which is nothing. Do you know the Hippopotamian War? In the era of King Wu of Zhou, a war of invasion between Greece and Persia broke out, which is what your teacher called the Hot Spring Pass Battle. In that Hundred Years War, the Greeks used a fire attack ship suspected to be gunpowder, which was called "Greek Snow". Since then, the fire attack ships of Greece and Arab have dominated the world. When you encountered the fire attack ship, you actually escaped with most of the fleets. My admiration for you is like a surging river..."

When Shuai Fan said this, Zhao Xing kept saying something thoughtful. When Shuai Fan finished speaking, he immediately added: "I just talked to you about the northern route - there are a large number of ground whales in northern Japan. As far as I know, all ground naval fleets started with whales fishing, because one whales weigh more than ten tons, or even more than twenty tons, and a ship cannot surround the ground, and multiple ships must cooperate closely.

During the cooperative whaling period, each ship must train to master the wind direction, observe the sea surface, and chase the whales. Once the whales appear, they must also learn to wrap around, cooperate with each other, and master the wind direction. Explore attacks in a timely manner...

Both the Arabs and the Greeks trained fleets through whales, while our soldiers only trained a ship to sail alone, and had not adapted to the 'fleet cooperation'. The cooperation between different types of ships was a secret. The Arab navy had been trained for this for three thousand years. But our three years of experience could not compete with the three thousand years. Fortunately, there was the sharpest weapon of this era - artillery, which could gain the upper hand.

I was thinking just now that whales are profitable. Our navy might as well open a northern route and use whaling as a normal training program. Training fleet cooperation is very expensive. Only whaling can make the income greater than the investment, so that our training programs can earn money to support a huge fleet... We can set up a permanent training camp on the land north of Japan, relying on the endless ice and snow of the frozen continent to freeze the whales we caught with ice and ship them to Mizhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. I expect that the income from whaling can completely supplement your training camps."

Shuai Fan clapped his hands and agreed: "Of course, a whale weighs more than ten tons, raises more than ten tons of meat, how many cattle and pigs are needed, how much land, farmland is needed to raise so many pigs, horses, cattle and sheep. But the whales in the sea are ready-made and we don't need to spend any food and grass.

Let me calculate and dispatch five warships. On average, each ship catches back ten whales. I guess it’s a big profit, not to mention the whale meat as tender as veal. Just talk about the taste of whales and the unique ‘Dragon Wind Scent’ of whale stomach. This thing is worth one or seventeen taels of gold, which is simply outrageously expensive.”

Zhao Xing turned to Yuanyehei: "We have a base in Nagato and then head north. I hope to set up a supply base on Hokkaido and four northern islands, but the Navy Winter Training Camp is located in the Jurchen camp further north. This matter should be made big. I want to let the Jurchens know that I have the ability to seize their way out at any time."

Zhao Xing then turned to Chen Buqun and said, "Now I have established three squadrons in Guangzhou, but except for the First Squadron, the others are still very young. They used to drive a single ship to sea, but there is only the concept of "ship" but no "fleet". I hope to cultivate their team concept. You draw elite troops from the three squadrons to supplement the losses of the First Fleet. After you send the kings of the vassal states to Yangzhou, go directly north and take the source commander to go. He will help you set up an anchorage on the four northern islands. I hope you will carry out whaling training in that sea area, and when the spring next year, you will be loaded down again...

It seems that I need to come forward in person to fight Arabia. We will take a year to prepare. When the trade wind blows next autumn, I will lead the fleet south personally to see what the Arabs have to resist our cannons."

Shuai Fan interrupted, he was just a fan of the cool breeze and poured cold water: "The Arabs are a major country across the continent of Europe, Asia and Africa. Although they suffered some losses from the four major maritime countries, their fleet on the southern line was not losing any loss. They could gather a large fleet of more than 30,000 ships at any time. In the Arab coast, we were seeking death when fighting them. But the Arabs will never leave the coast. How should we let them leave the coast? This is a big problem..."

Chen Buqun interrupted: "Our biggest loss this time was that the Guangzhou people discovered the fast trade routes in Africa. Now they have learned to sail directly to Africa. In order to protect them, our escort fleet has to deal with the nearshore attacks of the Arabs, which is really not worth the effort."

Shuai Fan seemed to have expected this, and he answered disapprovingly: "The first issue, the second issue of Maritime Newspaper published a world map, and the Arabs mastered the latitude navigation method, and the Song people mastered the compass. These two combinations are invincible on the sea...

However, I, Guangzhou, did not keep these two technologies confidential. Anyone who came to Guangzhou would obtain compass technology from Guangdong sailors. From now on, as long as I know the general direction and know that there must be land ahead, I can sail to Africa ignorantly... This is not surprising. I saw those two newspapers and guessed the ending."

While speaking, the major restaurants in Guangzhou that hosted today's opening ceremony have sent their staff to set up banquets for the officials on the 12th floor. When Guangdong officials saw Zhao Xing and his confidants chatting enthusiastically, they have led the official prostitutes down the 13th floor and arrived on the 12th floor. Soon, the sound of silk and bamboo gradually sounded, and the officials' orders of drinking continued. In the blink of an eye, only Zhao Xing and a few confidants were left on the 13th floor... and Li Qingzhao was holding her prospective husband Zhao Feng.

The adults chatted here, and the two children hid far away and whispered there. However, it seemed that the eldest sister Li Qingzhao talked a lot, and Zhao Feng still hummed in his usual dull attitude.

On the twelfth floor, the musician just now sang "The Song of Yue" again, as if attacking a new target. In the melodious song, Zhao Xing slowly replied in the empty hall: "Don't be afraid, being discovered by the foreigners is not a matter of collapse of the trade route; being sunk by the Arabs Our gunboats is not the end of the world - the charm of civilization lies in creation. Those warships are equipped with bronze cannons, and I was about to eliminate those stupid cannons in full.

There is no need to worry about gunpowder formula. Even if the Arabs captured our sailors and learned about the gunpowder formula, they are not afraid, because with the new steel cannon, we have created new gunpowder.
Chapter completed!