The warships in the South China Sea sailed into the South Port of Ryukyu in turn, and the warships were like tall fortresses, mooring the port full of moors.

The port area is about three miles long, and there is an atoll along the outer port that has caught the wind and waves. The sea water of the inner port seems deep and calm. This is a natural good harbor. On the shore not far away, a new trest bridge is extending into the sea. The hills in the distance are several semi-finished artillery towers, and the sturdy men are rushing to repair the exterior walls of the artillery towers according to the pattern. This artillery tower is facing the sea. The port area is surrounded by hilly terrain. Around the coastal plain, the abrupt mountains are surrounded by city walls. The Han army also built several artillery towers on the mountain. Upon climbing the high-level artillery towers can overlook the port area, spider-web-like roads and trenches, connecting the internal and external artillery towers and ports. The firing boundaries of each artillery position cross and overlap. After loading into heavy artillery made by Shu Kingdom, a complete defense system will be formed here.

The afterglow of the sunset reflects the mountains and mountains, and the remaining clouds are like blood, with a unique and magnificent charm.

The sky gradually changed from blue to dark, the sea waves rippled slightly, and the masts of sea ships stood, scattering bronze brilliance.

The South China Sea Joint Navy had more than 80 warships, with less than 1,200 sailors, and more than 1,200 cast iron cannons were installed. One turn of volleys would consume more than 7,000 kilograms of gunpowder. The cost of casting these expensive iron cannons, building supporting iron smelting fields in various ports, building shipyards, gunpowder depots, and live-fire drills every few days were enough to make the Ministry of Revenue and the Football Office want to cut it off immediately. Each warship was accumulated from the wealth of Song and Xia countries, and each was a ferocious sea beast armed with steel and gunpowder. Under Zhao Xingde's eyes, the South China Sea navy had been tempered from a plate of loose sand, and was about to prove its courage in the turbulent sea, and with blood and wealth it was proved its value.

After the warships were named, they began to put down the boat from the side of the ship. The sailors could take turns to rest ashore for several days. The next time they left the port, it might not be possible to dock in ten or half a month. The voices on the dock gradually became noisy, and Zhao Xingde closed the note book of the navy commander and entered the iron box. The iron box was coated with a thick layer of wax. The iron box contained both Zhao Xingde's personal records and the merit book of officers and soldiers. If the warship sank and the soldiers and the ship died, their merits could still be left.

He stood up, but there was a knock on the door outside. Zhao Xingde frowned, sat down again, and shouted: "Come in."

"Governor," Feng Mi saw that the case was empty, and bowed and said, "I'm not disturbing you."

"Nothing." Zhao Xingde waved his hand and said casually, "If you have something to do, tell me."

The Han sailors were jumping onto the dock in a hurry. Under the crimson sunset, there were mothers holding children on the trestle, beauties dressed in front of the mirror, and young women in a nervous mood. Most of the sailors' families were not here, and they were also crowded on the side of the boat to look at the dock, showing envy while laughing. Feng Mienian was not married yet and was a kind person. He didn't understand the attraction between the ship and the port for a while.

"This is the topic that each ship will talk about in the morning and evening." Feng Mi presented a document with both hands.

"So fast?" Zhao Xingde glanced and nodded, "No need to hurry up like this, it will be the same if I handed over in two days."

Although he followed Feng Mi's advice and did not set a precedent for the general to interfere with the Qing Dynasty, he still asked the ships to report the topics he discussed every day. Feng Mi, as the Jiedushi Pavilion, copied the topics and key points of the papers of the various ships every day. At first, Zhao Xingde was subconsciously unwilling to let go completely, but later he could feel many sparks of thought from these boring words, which could be considered a loss and a muddle of gain. He even looked forward to resigning from military positions in the future and being able to participate in such discussions as before.

Zhao Xingde put the document into the file, but Feng Mi couldn't help but look strange before he even surrendered.

"There is a question not in the report," Feng Mi bowed and said, "But, I want to ask Lord Zhao for advice."

"You sit down first." Zhao Xingde nodded and said in an ivy voice: "Say, what's the matter?"

Feng Mi sat down, and his eyes fell on his body. He unconsciously straightened his back and placed his hands on his knees.

"When I was able to speak, Commander Du said something, which caused quite a stir." Feng Mi said in a deep voice. The matter involved Du Chujiao. He hesitated for a moment. When he recalled the indifferent expression of the man, he slowly told the whole story. Zhao Xingde's face was calm, and he nodded while listening. After Feng Mi finished speaking, he asked bluntly: "I want to know, what do you think of the lord?"

"He is right." Zhao Xingde replied naturally, "We are robes and friends, and we can entrust life and death. Although our official ranks vary from level to level, each of them holds their own way. I do not regard him as a leader, and he does not depend on me. The same is true for the rest of the generals." He looked at Feng Mi and pondered word by word, "Zhao is a man of war and commands a hundred thousand people. However, I do not have a family general, nor a private soldier. The people around me are just robes and friends, and perhaps, allies."

Feng Mi had suspicious eyes on his face and asked, "Don't you need a loyal servant or a lackey?"

"Is there anyone who is absolutely loyal to someone?" Zhao Xingde shook his head, opened a book called "Spring and Autumn" and said slowly: "In the eyes of Duke Huan of Qi, Yiya cooked her and offered food, he was so loyal that he could not be loyal anymore. But what happened later? When Duke Huan died of starvation to death, his body rotted, and mosquitoes and flies lingered, he probably knew that there was no unconditional loyalty in the world. Not to mention a person, even a dog, he would bite his master in many cases. Since that is the case, why not treat people as gentlemen at the beginning, and treat people as gentlemen as gentlemen, so that they can treat each other well, and be able to start and end well?"

"Loyalty and righteousness still require conditions? Can the monarch and ministers also require conditions?" Feng Mi looked at him in disbelief, "What's the difference between buying and selling?"

"The king, the king, the minister, the minister, the king, the minister, the minister, the minister, the minister, the minister, the minister, the minister, the minister, the original one can be regarded as an agreement." Zhao Xingde shook his head and sighed, "Although all the lands of the land are kings and all the kings under the sky are kings, the kings of Jie and Zhou are all enemies of the same boat. By the same token, the people who pay taxes and obey the court are also conditional. If the imperial court is invincible, the people in the world will naturally rise up. This is what the Book of Documents says, "Heaven sees oneself, the people, the heaven listens to oneself, the people listen. To put it bluntly, this is just an agreement. With an agreement, it is conditional. Not only does there be no unconditional loyalty in the world, there is no absolute thing in the world. Or, there is no absolute, this is the only absolute."

"Mr. Zhao," Feng Mi listened in surprise, and then he interrupted: "Since there are exceptions, that's not absolute."

"Since this sentence is not absolute, it is still said that there is nothing absolute in the world, but this is absolute." Zhao Xingde shook his head. It has been a long time since he encountered a logical paradox. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Although that is the case, we know that at least most of the time, everything must be conditioned." He leaned back on the back of the chair and looked at Feng Mi and said, "Since that is the case, why should I ask others to pretend to be unconditional loyalty? A gentleman is often disdainful to pretend to be fake. The only result of doing this will only cause many villains around him who are flattering and lucky."

"Then Mr. Zhao thought," Feng Mi frowned and asked, "What is the difference between being loyal to the country and being loyal to the world?"

"Everyone should have his own answer to the questions that have never been resolved throughout the ages."

The noise outside gradually faded away, and most of the unduly paid sailors had already arrived. They could chat all night, but if they couldn't stay, they were afraid that Han Ningshuang would have to wait for a long time. The pregnant woman was much more fragile than usual, both in her body and in her mood, even the same was true for women.

Zhao Xingde stood up, Feng Mi also stood up, followed him out of the study, walked from the boat building to the side of the boat, and Zhao Xingde didn't speak.

Seeing that he was about to step onto the rope ladder, Feng Mi couldn't help but bowed and said respectfully: "Please give me some advice."

"Many things, other people's answers, cannot replace your own inner thoughts and answers."

Zhao Xingde looked at the young officer. The reason why he saved him was his stubbornness. On him, Zhao Xingde seemed to see the shadow of Zhang Bing. He looked at the scorching eyes, sighed, and whispered: "Loyalty to the world is not only to take responsibility, but also to see it yourself. This road is too dangerous and steep, and it will be doomed if you make a mistake, so you can only trust your own eyes. When you can't see clearly, walk on the footsteps of most people and be loyal to the court."

He patted Feng Mi's shoulders, turned around and climbed down the rope ladder, jumped onto the boat. The personal soldiers used their oars to spread the boat, and then rowed hard. The deep-water berth was not far from the pier, and soon sent Zhao Xingde to the shore. The Han army's flag-plate officer was already holding the mount waiting at the port. Zhao Xingde whispered a few words to his personal soldiers, and then got on the horse and followed the flag-plate officer to the Han army's south port camp. Han Ningshuang had recently moved from the boat to the shore because of her discomfort.

Zhao Xingde often stayed in the Han army camp without his entourage, and the generals of the Navy slowly accepted it.

Everyone knows the power of the Han army's gunship. A double-layer artillery deck gunship is enough to withstand three ordinary Song army warships. The Han army's gunners are more elite and sophisticated, and the firing speed is almost twice that of ordinary Song army gunners. Zhou He and others thought that Zhao Xingde's old subordinates on Jingdong Road had an alliance with the Han army, and the South China Sea Navy also had to use Han army's gunships to patrol the sea. Therefore, it was natural for Zhao Xingde to show his affection to the Han army. Only Du Chujiao and other old generals from Liaodong vaguely guessed the reason, and they all had the attitude of enjoying it.

Author: There was a "Shi Tingjian" in the chapter yesterday. It has been corrected for the typos of "Liu Zhijian". I'm sorry.
Chapter completed!