[Red House] The First Imperial Merchant

Chapter 82 Discovering New Islands

The weather is hot in June, especially in Xiningwei, where the sun is scorching the ground, and there is not even a big shade tree overhead, all of which are half-dead and half-living saplings. This kind of saplings do not need to be diligent in watering due to heat and sand resistance. It’s all up to God. Therefore, the trees that can be seen in the water-deficient area of ​​Xining are all small saplings. This kind of sapling grows slowly, and other trees are slightly magnificent and lush in ten years. This tree has a white trunk and branches and leaves. Withered, ten years is nothing but a tree as thick as an arm.

There are only a few dozen hundred-year-old white dry trees in Xining, one of which is in the southwest of the city gate, where 30 troops are stationed, and the big tree has lush branches and leaves and is very cool. There is a luxury tent under this tree. The tent is much larger than the general's tent, and the pattern on the top is very beautiful, and the soldiers guarding the door are also very dignified. When they saw the person coming, they saluted and said respectfully: "Marshal!"

"Is the prince here?" Xue Pan asked.Seeing the young general nodding his head, with a troubled expression on his face, Xue Pan understood, and said gently: "You go in and report first, I'll just wait outside."

The soldier looked relaxed, showing a good-natured smile, he didn't dare to say much, and went directly into the tent to report.In the tent, the crown prince was sitting at the head seat, and he raised his eyelids a little when he heard Xiaobing's announcement, and he didn't want to order Xue Pan to come in, so Xiaobing stood in the middle anxiously.Seeing this, Xi Wenzhou persuaded: "Prince, Commander Xue is probably here for official business. Now Commander Xue is quite prestigious in the army. Don't let Jin deliberately make things difficult. I'm afraid that the whole army will have prejudice against you."

The crown prince frowned, his eyes were very depressed.In the end, he swallowed his breath, and waved his hand to let Xiao Bing invite someone in.This Xue Pan has won two small battles in a row for more than a month. Now the four generals obey him. Not to mention punishing Zhang Yong, half a month later, the [-] troops were dispersed, the infantry was put under the control of Wang Laohu, the cavalry was under the control of Ma, and only Zhang Yong was named Ma's deputy. In the meantime, Zhang Yong, who holds an army of [-], is now only in charge of [-] cavalry, and this Zhang Yong has also been sent to the front by Xue Pan. Apart from thousands of trusted guards, he has no military power at his disposal. How can the prince not be angry!

Xue Pan came in, saluted, and said bluntly, "Prince, the army will move to the southwest soon. Are you going with the army? Or stay behind?"

The prince half-closed his eyes, then with a smile, he said: "Gu will not go to the front, Marshal Xue will fight with peace of mind, and there will be Gu guarding at the rear---" Since he wants to guard, he can't be guarded by himself with a thousand guards, right?Always give some military power or something.

"Prince, don't worry. Li Xiaojun, the defender of Xining, has guarded this position for ten years. He has rich experience. He will not disturb the prince. This time, it is only General Ma and General Ren who are here. The two remaining generals are still He will be stationed outside the city, and the barbarian will not risk coming here, and the guard will work hard, and he will never dare to bother the prince." You can eat and drink here, and you don't even have military power!Xue Pan also spoke clearly.

The prince's face froze, he couldn't hold it anymore, and threatened: "The prince is alone and the master of the Daqing Dynasty. Marshal Xue has figured it out. You are just a retainer of our Zhao family if you work so hard. If in the future-- "He has ascended the throne, so he can't say that. After a pause, he continued: "There can be several marshals. Maybe it's not Master Xue who can secure the position of Marshal. Do you understand?"

"Xue understands that, in his position, he seeks his own government, and as the commander in charge of destroying the western barbarians, Xue must do his best to repay the kindness of the sage." Xue Pan's eyes flashed coldly, and his face said gently: "If there is a crown prince If you can give orders, and the change of coach is just a matter of words, then Xue Mou will resign and return to the countryside to be a farmer." When you sit on the throne, I will not care to listen to you beeping.

The prince was so angry that his face was livid, and he was showing signs of being unrestrained, "Are you so confident that my third brother can sit in that seat?! I'm afraid there will be a pile of bones of my third brother on board when the Pofeng returns---"

"Be careful with the prince." Xi Wenzhou ignored the etiquette and interrupted the prince's next words. Just now, he heard the prince's words, and he was frightened. Why did the prince become more and more impetuous.

Xue Pan's ears hurt from being pierced by the prince's pile of white bones, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes. "The prince drank too much today, I'm afraid he is drunk, so Xue will decide the affairs in the army." He shook his sleeves and left.

As early as when Xue Pan wanted to understand that Emperor Pingkang used King Fu to suppress the power of the prince, Xue Pan understood that no matter whether he admitted or not, he was part of King Fu's party. If the fate of being ruined and smashed by family members is desperate, if you simply stand behind King Fu and sit on the throne with King Fu, then the Xue family will prosper for at least a hundred years, and then it will be successful to retire slowly.Xue Pan had already told Zhao Hongyi what he had said. Originally, Zhao Hongyi had never thought of fighting for the seat, but Emperor Pingkang forced his son to fight. If he didn't fight, the crown prince couldn't tolerate King Fu, let alone Xue's family. Sooner or later, they would be dead. Small tricks are ruthless, and the eldest prince is the best example.

Zhao Hongyi understood this truth when he witnessed his elder brother's death, so he knew that he had to take that seat, otherwise he would end up dead.

It is said that the Fuwang fleet arrived at Pinghai Port at the end of April, and the sailors, officers, and goods on the ship had been arranged early, and we just waited for Fuwang to check one by one to see if there were any additions.From the capital to Pinghai, there are 3000 officials, officers, soldiers, medical children, etc., and these are far from enough. Pingkang has also prepared sailors for the Pofeng, which are necessary to steer the ship, as well as astronomical phenomena. Sailors, ordinary doctors, etc., cannot always ask the imperial physician for diagnosis and treatment when the sailor is sick. Not everyone can afford the three imperial physicians.

From the 3000 people they brought to the local 3000 people, a total of 6000 people, Zhao Hongyi didn't bother to take care of these trivial matters, and gave Jia Huan full power to manage and calculate, from the entourage to the goods, until the end of May, During this period, a lot has been added. Jia Huan was very busy at the beginning, and later learned the skills, as long as the personnel and official positions are clearly set up, and each layer is in charge, so that if there is a problem, you only need to punish the steward, and the steward will be natural. focus on.

At last the end of May came, and the Broken Wind sounded its horns and fluttered its flags. 160 ships of the Pofeng slowly departed from Pinghai Port, and the fleet was followed by twelve large ships. The fox pretended to be Huwei and went to rub the oil.

Half a month to the south, Jia Huan has already adapted to the boundless feeling of getting up every day. At this time, Jia Huan would write and do calculations or practice martial arts on the deck with Zhao Hongyi, and his life was considered fulfilling.On this day, the setting sun slowly set on the sea surface, and the blue sea water reflected seemed to be on fire, which was very spectacular.Zhao Hongyi and Jia Huan sat on chairs on the deck basking in the sun, the sea breeze was very cool, especially at sunset, when the afterglow shone on people's bodies, there was the sound of water flowing slowly, and the wind was soft , Zhao Hongyi, who has always had ADHD, also likes the days when he sits on the deck and blows the sea breeze in the sunset.

"Report to King Fu, there seems to be a small island ahead." The deputy came to report.

It's been almost a month since we crossed the ocean and finally saw the land. Not only was Zhao Hongyi excited, but Jia Huan's eyes were also bright when he heard it.When Wang Jia heard the news, he took the binoculars handed over by his deputy, looked into the distance, and said, "There is a small island, but I'm not familiar with the number of people and equipment on the island. Wait and see from a safe distance."

Wang Jia is very calm, he was so excited before he saw the land, at least he has killed people on the battlefield, so he is very vigilant.Zhang Quan went down to order, Wang Jia handed the binoculars to Zhao Hongyi, Zhao Hongyi got tired of looking at it for a while, looked at the island from a distance as if it hadn't changed, and couldn't tell if there was anyone on it.

Jia Huan flipped through the "Navigation Notes" at this moment, and took a closer look at the map. The captain came up to report the direction of the route for several days.After a while, they found their current location, pointed to the map, and said, "If you guessed correctly, we will be approaching Brunei and Kuching soon. I don't know which island this is?" You Zhi, based on the "Navigation Notes", concluded, "If Brunei is rich in oil and natural gas, Daqing has oil. As for the natural gas master, the writing is not detailed, and it seems useless. If it is Kuching, the master wrote Let’s go into details, and eunuch Zhuhe also said that Kuching is rich in rubber, which is not for food. According to the master, this rubber can be used to make car tires, shoes, etc., and it seems to be very useful---”

"Can you make money?" Zhao Hongyi asked concerned.

"Although it's not directly gold, but if we are the only ones, and the shoes and carriages we make are good, are we afraid we won't be able to make money?" Jia Huan raised his eyebrows.

Zhao Hongyi didn't know how to explain to Jia Huan for a while, he didn't have much time, and he had to go back safely and bring a lot of wealth for this voyage. It's a disadvantage, but fortunately there are masters in the army, so I must bring a lot of wealth when I go back this time!Although this rubber is good, it is not ready-made, he has no time to buy and sell it, but if this thing is really easy to use as the master said, it will definitely win some face for the emperor.

The speed increased, and when the setting sun completely fell into the sponge, the distance between the Broken Wind and the small island was only ten miles.The captain came to ask for instructions, Zhao Hongyi thought about it, and just to be on the safe side, "Stay here for one night today, and send people to the island tomorrow morning, Wang Jia, send more people to watch tonight, and order all ships to step up their guard."

Wang Jia should be, go down and deliver the order.

160 large ships lit their lanterns on the dark sea, like ghost lights floating on the sea, and the splendor was quite spectacular.But on a small island ten miles away, the local aborigines* upper body, lower body wrapped in leather, holding stone spears, lying in the grass one by one, staring warily at the faint fire on the sea.They chattered and gesticulated for a long time. One of the leaders, with a white figure painted on his face, stared angrily, and chattered and roared. The original noisy discussion was over, and each of them maintained their original posture of pressing and staring at people.

In the early morning of the next day, no one on board was in the mood to sleep in. They were all curious about the island, especially Zhao Hongyi and Jia Huan, who had never been out and walked long distances. Early in the morning, the round orange sun only showed a small tip. The two had already washed and dressed. After tidying up, he called his attendants. Zhao Hongyi didn't let Lizi come with him this time. He had already found out that Lizi belonged to the second emperor brother. As soon as the front foot arrived, he drowned in a basin within a few days. Zhao Hongyi didn't know who did it.This time there were forty or so attendants, the leader was a little steward named Baode, in his thirties, the old man serving by Concubine Rui's side, was originally a servant of the Pan family, and later entered the palace with Concubine Rui, This Baode eunuched himself and voluntarily entered the palace to serve the noble concubine Rui. Seeing that this person was loyal, Pan Hongwen gave the Pan family surname.

This time when going to sea, Concubine Rui was afraid that ghosts and snake spirits would harm Zhao Hongyi, so she sent the loyal and loyal Baode over. Baode was very powerful, and she supervised about forty eunuchs under her command, and never saw any trouble.If it wasn't for the Pofeng fleet not being allowed to bring women up, Concubine Rui would have wished to bring up the big maid beside her.

Wang Jia brought a small group of guns to the island in a small boat early in the morning. They wore clothes that the natives had never seen before. As soon as they stepped on the island, the natives immediately Shaking his teeth and sternly waving stone spears at them, he came up, so that the domain thinking is very strong, and outsiders are not allowed to step in.Wang Jia's subordinates are all elite soldiers, playing tricks, unlike these aborigines who are randomly interjecting. As the aborigines fail, another hundred male aborigines appear. Wang Jia fires a shot as a warning. He was so frightened by the gunshot that he hugged his head for a moment, and quickly realized that he was about to reach out to grab the gun. In desperation, Wang Jia shot the indigenous leader in the arm.

Now it's quiet.

The aborigines who knew that they could not compete with force began to be silent about current affairs, especially the aborigine leader who had been shot and made gestures again and again, meaning not to hurt his people.Then there was some running-in. After the chicken and the duck talked and gestured, Wang Jia sent soldiers to the big boat to inform Fu Wang that he could enter the island.

Hearing the reason for Xiaobing, Zhao Hongyi invited Imperial Physician Zhu to go with him. Imperial Physician Zhu is good at surgery. Since the invention of guns, the level of medical treatment has also developed here, and Imperial Physician Zhu is one of the best in treating gunshot wounds.When Fu Wang went out, he was accompanied by thousands of guards besides Jia Huan, and Ji Zhong was not among them. Zhao Hongyi did not trust Ji Zhong, so he only ordered Ji Zhong to stay on board to guard.

A hundred small boats quickly entered the sea and headed towards the weed-ridden island.

This is the first place Fu Wang stepped into after going to sea.