In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

In the eighth year of the Qingli Period of the Song Dynasty, after celebrating the New Year in Korea, the Ninghai Navy went to Japan in a mighty force.

They actually set out in late October last year. Normally, it would take two or three months to reach Tsushima Island, a straight-line distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.

But that was the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, the trade exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and Japan were not deep. There were only envoys to the Tang Dynasty, but no envoys to Japan.

The underdeveloped navigation technology of Japan meant that it took a long time to go or return, so each voyage took months.

In the Song Dynasty, especially during the Southern Song Dynasty, as the trade between the two sides deepened, this situation improved.

It usually takes more than ten days to reach the Goto Islands outside Kyushu Island in the south of Japan.

It was even faster after the Ming Dynasty. With the discovery of the Iwami silver mine, trade between the south and Japan deepened further. Under favorable conditions, it only took three days at the fastest, and generally about ten days.

Even going to Iwami Province only took less than a month.

So to put it simply, under the influence of trade, both sides are becoming more and more familiar with the sea route, knowing how to go and which direction to go, and the time can naturally be further shortened.

Now the trade between the Song Dynasty and Japan is very mature. If you go to Kyushu Island normally, it is basically the same as the Ming Dynasty, about ten days.

It’s just that Tsushima Island and Iwami area are farther away, and you need to cross the Korea Strait and Tsushima Strait. The straight-line distance is 1,200 kilometers, and the actual distance is more than 1,500 kilometers, so it still takes about a month.

Normally, the Ning Navy should arrive in Iwami Province in late November and early December.

But there are unexpected changes in the weather.

The north wind at the end of this year was too strong, and the sea was suddenly overcast, with lightning and thunder, strong winds and rainstorms.

The Ning Navy had to dock at Xingdao, which is Jeju Island in later generations, to rest.

This is also the biggest problem in the expedition to Japan.

Even ironclad ships may not be able to withstand the storm at sea.

For example, the British 7,000-ton steam-sail hybrid ironclad ship "Captain" in 1870 was buried in the storm.

Therefore, if they encountered a storm on the way to the expedition, they would basically die.

Ning Haijun was lucky. They happened to be very close to Xingdao when they encountered the storm, so they survived.

Otherwise, the first ironclad ship that Song Dynasty had just built would have been buried in the sea, which made Song Dynasty lose face.

They rested in Xingdao for more than a month, and spent the past year in Korea. It was not until the middle of January in the eighth year of Qingli that they set out again and headed from Xingdao to Iwami Province.

Their mission was to protect the maritime trade of Song Dynasty, and the warships were docked in Iwami Province for a period of time to deter Japan.

It was just that there were still more than 700 kilometers from Xingdao to Iwami Province, and they also needed to replenish supplies at the Song Army Station on Tsushima Island on the way, so they were slightly delayed.

It was not until the beginning of February that they finally arrived at Oki Province in Japan.

Oki Province is just opposite Iwami Province. It is an archipelago next to Iwami Province. Because it is opposite Anno County of Iwami Province and has a natural shelter, it is a place where Song merchants often come to dock.

Moreover, the population of this country is very small. Although it is divided into four counties, there are only a few small villages with a total population of only a few hundred. It was not until the Japanese Warring States Period a few hundred years later that there were more than 3,000 people.

There is not even a governor on the island. Historically, after the last governor, Yagi Motoin, left in 1038 AD, a new governor did not come until 1080 AD.

Therefore, this place is now directly occupied by the Song people and has become a trade transit station with Iwami Province.

At this moment, at the southern port of Chifuri County facing the sea on the west of Oki Province, countless ships are docked in the N-shaped shelter. The shape of this island is like an N-shaped shape, so the gap below is the best port.

And at the foot of the mountain on the east side of the port, there is a large manor. The residents on the island all know that this is the residence of Song Cai, a big merchant in Song.

However, Song Cai also has a large mansion in Anno County on Iwami Island, where he usually lives.

After all, Oki Province is too small. It seems to have more than 300 square kilometers, but most of it is mountainous. It is only suitable for port transit stations, not for trade development.

Therefore, this mansion is usually only occupied and cleaned by the Japanese slaves hired by Song Cai.

However, in recent days, Song Cai has returned to Oki Province to live, and he sends people to watch at the port every day, as if he is waiting for something.

One day, Song Cai was drinking tea and reading in his villa.

Ten years later, he has reached middle age and gradually gained weight, looking like a rich man.

At this time, a slave suddenly came in and said, "Master, the ship, what a big ship, an iron ship!"

Seeing the slave in a panic and talking nonsense, Song Cai wanted to scold him.

But when he heard the iron ship, his fat body actually turned over and climbed up from the recliner, shouting, "Go and see."

"Yes."

The slave took him out.

Now Song Cai is not just an ordinary big businessman.

The dignitaries and powerful families in the Iwami area have formed an alliance of interests with him, and his status is very high.

Therefore, the trip is very grand.

More than fifty Song guards.

Then more than two hundred Japanese pirate slaves.

They headed towards the port in a mighty manner.

The port was very large, seven or eight kilometers long from east to west, so it was no problem to stop tens of thousands of ships.

There are some forests and plains on both sides of the port and under the high mountains in the north. Many houses have been built to accommodate the more than 10,000 porters, merchants, and craftsmen who have gathered on the island.

Song Cai had to walk a long way from his home to reach the harbor, but before he reached the harbor, he had already seen the fleet in the distant south sea.

The Song Dynasty had no officials stationed in Japan, nor any official institutions.

But Song Cai also had an identity, that is, the commander of the Imperial City Division's guard post in Japan. Currently, all the Imperial City Division's internal guards in Japan were under his jurisdiction.

Therefore, when he received the news sent by the garrison on Tsushima Island a few days ago that a Song Dynasty naval fleet was coming to Japan, he naturally had to come to greet it.

After the beginning of spring, the Song-Japan trade was frequent, and the port was full of ships, as many as a thousand ships, and there were also delivery ships from Iwami Province Anno County, which was later Ota City, Japan, where the Iwami silver mine was located.

At this moment, the ships on the port and the sea saw those tall ships from afar. The people on the ships and the port stopped their work, stared at that side with wide eyes, and were shocked.

"What is that?"

"It's a ship, a big ship, and those ships are not ordinary ships."

"They are getting closer, my God."

"Wait a minute, look, that seems to be our Song Dynasty fleet."

"Is it the fleet of Commander Liu of Tsushima Island? When did they have such a majestic ship?"

Some Song people stood on the deck, and some stood at the port, looking at the fleet in the distance, and recognized that it was the ship of their Song Dynasty Navy.

The navy now hangs flags.

Although the national flag was only announced in August last year, many Song people in Japan don't know it at all.

But in addition to the national flag, there are military flags on the ships.

The garrison on Tsushima Island has such flags, and these Song merchants are not unfamiliar with it and can quickly distinguish it.

What puzzles them is that.

There are only about 3,000 Song soldiers on Tsushima Island, belonging to the imperial guards of Liangzhe Road, not the navy, but the army.

So their ships are actually troop transport ships, not ships full of hideous gun muzzles like now.

So where do these strange ships come from?

The answer was obvious.

A well-informed merchant who had seen the navy quickly said, "This is the navy of our Song Dynasty!"

For a while, the shore and the sea were full of Song people watching.

On the other hand, the Japanese were terrified. For them, this was seriously beyond their cognition.

Even though they could see that they were ships, these ships, no matter their size or appearance, were like monsters that made them feel terrified.

The dark hull was like a black hole, as if it was going to swallow everything.

Many Japanese were speechless, and some even screamed, dropped their work, and fled.

"Monster, it's a monster."

"Too scary."

"Run."

There was a small commotion at the port.

However, this commotion soon stopped amid the abuse of the Song employers.

In the midst of all these changes, the Ninghai Navy slowly sailed in and finally slowly approached the port.

Song Cai immediately sent out ships to meet them.

Such a large ship certainly cannot sail directly into the harbor. The sailors in the cabin cannot see outside. They are only responsible for rowing, and the helmsman controls the direction.

They are definitely unscrupulous on the sea, but if they are not well controlled when entering the port, it is easy to run aground or hit the port.

So it often takes a large number of small boats to slowly tow the ship into the port.

Soon countless small boats approached, and after negotiating with the people on the ship, they tied the Ninghai Navy warship with ropes and began to pull it to the shore.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

As the boatmen threw their arms and worked hard, more than a dozen warships of all sizes slowly sailed into the port.

The ironclad ship entered the port first, and Ma Mao, the commander of the Ninghai Navy, walked down from the ship.

Song Cai greeted it, bowed and smiled as he walked: "Commander Ma, you have worked hard all the way."

Although he did not know Ma Mao, the people sent by Tsushima Island had told him who the commander of the Ninghai Navy was.

Ma Mao's attire was obviously that of a general, so it was easy to tell at a glance.

"Commander Song is so polite that he came to greet me personally."

Hearing Song Cai's words, Ma Mao did not get cocky and quickly returned the greeting with a very polite attitude.

When he came, the garrison commander of Tsushima Island told him about the situation here, and knew that Song Cai was handling the Iwami area.

Moreover, Song Cai represented the Imperial City Division, and had no superior-subordinate relationship with the navy.

Even if it was in terms of rank, his rank might be higher than his own.

Because the military system of the Northern Song Dynasty was chaotic, there were few military ranks, only military ranks.

In addition, in order to suppress military generals, even the highest-ranking commander of the Three Divisions was only the fifth rank.

So if Ma Mao's Ninghai Navy commander was in terms of actual rank, he was even only the ninth rank.

On the other hand,

Even though the Imperial City Division system is also of the fifth rank, Song Cai's external agency is second only to the North and South Pacification Division, which is a seventh rank agency. He is naturally a seventh rank, four levels higher than Ma Mao.

"Commander Ma, please promote the prestige of our Song Dynasty, and I will certainly welcome you."

Song Cai waved his hand and said, "Please."

"Please."

Ma Mao got off the wooden board.

He was quite curious along the way.

He looked around.

The buildings were ordinary, just a large number of low wooden houses built around the port.

The key is people.

Those Japanese people have yellow skin like them, some are slightly darker, but they are too short.

As a military commander, he is only five feet six inches (177cm), not as tall as some of the particularly tall and strong people in the army. Looking around, many people can only reach his waist.

I am afraid that five feet (158cm) is already a crane standing out from the crowd. If there is a six-foot height (190cm), it is probably a small country.

"The Japanese are short, the tallest is only more than five feet, and ordinary people are usually around 4 feet 5 inches (142cm). "

Song Cai saw Ma Mao curiously looking at him and smiled: "As tall as the commander is, it is rare in Japan. It is rare to see it on weekdays."

"It really opened my eyes."

Ma Mao sighed.

"The commander has been traveling all the way, go to my manor to rest for a while."

Song Cai greeted him warmly.

"I have military duties to attend to."

Ma Mao shook his head and declined, saying, "The court ordered me to go to Iwami Province to promote the prestige of our Song Dynasty, deter all villains, and prevent anyone from coveting our Song Dynasty's mineral deposits in Wadao."

Song Cai was even happier after hearing this, and said, "It's not too late to go in the afternoon. Iwami Province does not have a good safe haven, only a small port, which can only be temporarily docked but not long-term. Large ships are basically docked at the port of Chifu County. At that time, the commander can drive the ship to Anno County first, and only in Just stop outside the port for a while, and then return to this port. Tomorrow I will take everyone to play on the shore of Iwami Province. "

As he said, he winked and said, "The commander doesn't know, there are still many fun things in the Japanese. There are many places of entertainment on the island. This Anno County is now the most populous and prosperous place in the Japanese island except Heian-kyo."

Anno County is one of the six counties of Iwami Province. It is located in the northernmost part of Iwami Province. It is Ota City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan in the future. It is also the production area of ​​Iwami Silver Mine.

Originally, this place was very barren, with many mountains and only large plains by the sea.

But with the discovery of the Iwami Silver Mine, Song merchants recruited workers to mine locally, attracting a large number of laborers.

With more people, people from all walks of life naturally came here. Various handicrafts, manual laborers, taverns, restaurants, ship repair workers, carpenters, blacksmiths and people engaged in customs gathered here.

This created a prosperous scene here.

Ma Mao had also seen the magnificent scenery of Iwami Province on the other side of the river from afar with a telescope on the boat. Although there were no city walls on the seashore, there were houses for miles.

There were even countless two- and three-story restaurants and brothels because of the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty. Many of the buildings had the characteristics of the Song Dynasty and were quite prosperous.

So when he heard Song Cai's words, he nodded and said, "Okay, okay, then we have to go and see it."

The two went to Song Cai's manor to rest for a while.

The fleet set sail again in the afternoon. This time, Song Cai also boarded the warship and sailed towards the port of Iwami Province in a show of force.