On September 1, the fifth year of Zhengde, Zhou Zhong left Shuangyu Port with a large fleet. They would first take the sea route, then disembark at Weihaiwei, then pass through the entire Jiaodong Peninsula and arrive by land.

Beijing.

Originally, if Zhou Zhong and his fleet could enter the Bohai Sea, they would be closer to the capital at Tianjin Wei and other underground ships, but don't forget that the Ming Dynasty still enforces a sea ban, and places close to the capital like Tianjin Wei are very tightly guarded.

If a ship really dares to approach there, it will probably be arrested immediately by the army.

In comparison, Weihaiwei is far away from the capital, and the imperial court does not pay much attention to the supervision here. Therefore, Weihaiwei has already been bribed by some smugglers on the northern route, and some often go to North Korea or Japan.

The ship docked at Weihaiwei, so Zhou Zhong chose to disembark here.

What Zhou Zhong was riding this time was the newly-launched Nanyang. The entire Fuchuan was fifteen feet long. It was very stable after the previous trial voyage, so Zhou Zhong chose it as his own ship. In addition to this ship,

, there are also seven large ships. Of course, it is impossible for all of these ships to be loaded with gifts. In fact, including the Nanyang, these ships carry a considerable amount of cargo. After Weihaiwei sends Zhou Chong off the ship, they will continue to send gifts to

North arrived in North Korea, and then contacted Kim Moon-hyun's Chungcheong Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking of which, this is Zhou Zhong's first time sailing on the sea for such a long time. Although he often traveled between Songjiang Prefecture and Shuangyu Port before, it only took most of the day on the boat each time, and from Songjiang to Shuangyu Port

The distance between the port and the port is too close. You almost have to walk close to the coast, so there is no danger at all. It can’t be considered sailing.

But this time is different. According to previous estimates, Zhou Zhong and the others would sail on the sea for nearly ten days, and they would have to stay on the ship for these ten days. This was a difficult time for Zhou Zhong, Jinxuan and the others.

A very special trip.

Zhou Zhong and Jinxuan lived in the cabin on the top floor of the Nanyang. However, at first, Zhou Zhong was very worried because Xie Lingyun and Wang Jinxuan also lived here. This was their first time since they got married.

During a meeting, Zhou Zhong was very worried that a conflict or cold war would break out between the two women.

However, Zhou Zhong was obviously overly worried. After Wang Jinxuan and Xie Lingyun met on the boat, not only did they not have any conflict, but they became very close. At least in Zhou Zhong's view, there was nothing unusual about them talking and laughing together, and even made Zhou Zhong

They all put it aside, which made him really confused as to what the two women meant.

The sea breeze was blowing. Although it was already September and early autumn, the weather was still very hot. Zhou Zhong asked someone to open a large silk umbrella on the top deck to block the sun. Under the umbrella were placed a rocking chair and a small table. On the table

Various fruits were placed, and Zhou Zhong, wearing a light silk shirt, was lying on the rocking chair, humming a little tune and tasting the sweet fruits. He looked very leisurely.

Speaking of which, since Zhou Zhong traveled to the Ming Dynasty, he has been fighting for his family and career. It is rare to have such a leisurely time as now. Sometimes he really wants to give up some things, and then take Jinxuan and Lingyun to relax

He could live a whole life, but this thought only flashed through his mind. He had too many things to let go of now, and there were countless people who depended on him for a living. If he suddenly let it go, God knows how many people would live it.

People will lose their jobs and starve.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but sigh, shook his head and put these troublesome things behind for the time being, ready to enjoy this rare leisure.

However, Zhou Zhong's leisure was soon broken. At this time, Huo'er walked out of the cabin. When he saw Zhou Zhong under the parasol, he immediately came over and said, "Brother, please make way. My sister-in-law and I are going to be on the deck."

To play mahjong, we requisitioned the tables and umbrellas!”

Hearing Huo'er's words, Zhou Zhongze raised his body helplessly and said, "Why don't you play in the cabin? The sun is so strong on the deck, be careful to tan your skin."

"The light in the cabin is not good, and even with an ice basin, it is very hot and stuffy. It is not as cool as on the deck, and we are not afraid of the sun. Didn't you say that basking in the sun is good for your health? We just treat it as exercise.

"Zhuo'er refuted Zhou Zhong point by point. It seemed that she was determined to occupy Zhou Zhong's place to play mahjong.

"I've never heard that playing mahjong can help you exercise!" Zhou Zhong muttered in a low voice with some dissatisfaction, but he did not dare to offend Zhuo'er, so he had to sit up with his hands on his body. At this time, the two little maids Huamei and Suanzhu

He also ran out of the cabin, immediately helped Zhou Zhong clean up the fruits on the table, and then placed the cloth bag containing mahjong on the table.

As soon as the mahjong was placed, Jinxuan and Lingyun came out chatting and laughing, followed closely by Bai Mengwan and Xila. The four girls first greeted Zhou Zhong, and then sat down with Zhuo'er.

, since there were five people, Zhuo'er and Xila worked in pairs. Zhou Zhong also had nothing to do, so he stood behind Jin Xuan with a fruit plate and watched them play cards.

Speaking of which, Jinxuan and other women were really bored at home. Apart from reading and embroidering, they rarely had other entertainment activities, so Zhou Zhong worked hard to create some entertainment activities for later generations, such as backgammon, checkers and other chess games.

There are also mahjong, etc.

Some common entertainment, but it may be due to nature. Jinxuan is particularly fond of mahjong, a game that is derived from the leaf opera. Now not only Jinxuan and the others like to play, but also Silla, who just arrived in Ming Dynasty, is also obsessed with it.

Mahjong, she must be there every time you play.

Zhou Zhong watched a few women playing mahjong, and found it really boring. The space on the deck was so big, and there was a lot of "crackling" noise when they played mahjong. There was no way to calm down, and he didn't want to go to the stuffy cabin. As a result,

Zhou Zhong thought about it and found that he had nowhere to go, which made him a little depressed.

But at this moment, the little maid Huamei next to Jinxuan came over and whispered in Zhou Chong's ear: "Master, just now Captain Liu on the ship said that the Pinghai in front is going to test the cannon, and I asked you if you want to go with us.

have a look?"

"Great, go prepare some clothes for me, I'll go now!" Zhou Zhongzheng felt extremely bored and stood up immediately after hearing Huamei's words.

Jinxuan and the others were startled by Zhou Zhong, and asked with a smile: "What are you going to do, sir? Why are you so surprised?"

"Haha, the ship in front is going to test the cannon. Please be mentally prepared and don't mistake the sound of the cannon for thunder!" Zhou Chong said with a smile. The last time the gunner in the fleet tested the cannon, the result frightened Jinxuan and the others. They thought it was too big.

There was sudden thunder on a sunny day, which made him laugh for a long time.

Hearing Zhou Zhong's teasing, Jinxuan and the others were about to fight back, but Zhou Zhong turned around and entered the cabin. After changing his clothes, he immediately went to the lower level to find the captain Liu Tao, without giving them a chance to speak.

Since Liu Tao successfully returned from Nanyang last time, he has received even more attention from Zhou Zhong. During this trip, Liu Tao was also named to command the entire fleet.

Liu Tao was already waiting for Zhou Chong on the deck of the next floor. After the two met, they immediately took a small boat to the Pinghai in front. This Pinghai was the sister ship of the Nanyang and was launched a few days later than the Nanyang.

, the facilities on the two ships are almost identical, and the ships are also equipped with two newly cast Franco cannons. In order to test the power of the cannons and also train the gunners' shooting skills on the ships, the two ships will conduct battles as soon as they have the opportunity.

Live fire training.

When Zhou Zhong and Liu Tao arrived at the Pinghai, the captain of the ship, Shi Ping, was already waiting for them. Shi Ping was about the same age as Liu Tao, and their experiences were also very imaginable. They were also recruited by Zhou Zhong from other chambers of commerce.

He is a captain, and because of his rich sailing experience, he quickly gained Zhou Zhong's trust after joining the Chamber of Commerce, and thus became a middle-level and high-level member of the Chamber of Commerce.

"Captain Shi, what are you going to fight this time?" Zhou Zhong boarded the Pinghai and immediately said with great interest. Sailing at sea is really boring. Jinxuan and a bunch of women are playing together, and Zhou Zhong can't get in at all. The only one

The only thing that could arouse his interest and kill time was watching the test firing of artillery.

"Master, please come with me!" Shi Ping said with a smile, and then led them to the right side of the ship, pointing to a huge rock out of the sea more than 200 meters away, "Master, please look at that piece of rock."

The reef is the target of this test firing, and the two cannons on the ship are ready and can be fired at any time!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Let the gunners light the fire quickly. The gunpowder and shells prepared on the ship this time are all for them to practice!" Zhou Zhong said impatiently. In order to cultivate a group of highly skilled gunners,

Gunner, Zhou Zhongke

It really cost a lot of money. Although there are not many cannons on the ship, there are enough gunpowder and cannonballs, and they are all used for gunner training. After all, in this technologically backward era, a good gunner is definitely made by cannonballs.

.

After hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Shi Ping immediately ordered the gunners below to prepare. After a while, he heard the artillery commander below shouting "fire", and the two cannons on the ship roared almost at the same time, followed by two shells.

At the same time, they flew out from the gun emplacement below Zhou Zhong.

"Bang~" The two shells flew towards the target at a speed that was indistinguishable to the naked eye. However, because the Pinghai was bumping up and down while sailing on the sea, aiming was very difficult, so the two shells failed to hit the target, and one of them hit the target.

He hit the sea dozens of steps away on the right side of the reef. Although another cannonball did not miss the target, the angle was wrong and the shell flew directly over the top of the reef.

In this era, it is almost impossible for the first shot to hit the target, so Zhou Zhong and the others were not surprised. Then ten seconds later, the angle-adjusted artillery fired again. This time, it still missed the target, but the two shells

The landing points were all closer to the target, and then the

The third gun, the fourth gun, and the fifth gun show the advantages of the Folang machine gun at this time. One gun has five sub-cannons and can fire almost five times continuously. This speed is simply that of a front-loaded artillery.

Nightmare. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!
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