Qin Official

"Xu Fu?"

The officials at the building where the news was blocked were quite surprised. Why did this sorcerer, who was supposed to be wanted, appear here in such a grand manner?

But those with better eyes and ears knew that Xu Fu had been exonerated: last year, shortly after the Zhutian rebellion was put down, when the court was settling accounts after the fall, the county magistrates of Linzi and Jibei submitted evidence that Warlock Fang might have participated in the rebellion, and this group immediately became street rats. , everyone shouted for beating.

At the same time, Xu Fu, who had disappeared for half a year, was found in a dungeon on a small island off the coast of Qingdao by Gong Ao, who was out on patrol...

Xu Fu was also bitter. He was imprisoned by the black husband for more than half a year. He did not torture him indiscriminately. He just left him alone without even seeing the sun. He visited him every three to five and asked him to explain to Lu Ao, Han Zhong and other magicians. Black material.

He didn't say anything at first, but then he couldn't bear it any longer and started to reveal it one after another.

"Do you know?" Heifu asked him.

"Know...know."

Heifu laughed at that time and said: "You didn't report what you knew, and you still wanted to deceive Your Majesty with Lu and Han. It's really a capital crime. Fortunately, I had someone intercept you in Langya, otherwise, you would have no way of surviving."

After that, Heifu abandoned Xu Fu and refused to see him for four months in a row. Xu Fu had no one to talk to for more than a hundred days. The old man who delivered the food was also mute. He wanted to die.

When Hei Fu came back, he simply said that the chaos in the fields had been put down by him, and then asked Xu Fu to draw a map of the Jiao Liao Sea.

Xu Fu still wanted to hide it, because he felt that if he told everything he knew, Hei Fu would soon no longer need him and would kill people and silence him.

But after Heifu looked at the first version of the chart he presented, he just smiled softly, picked up the charcoal pen next to him, and sketched it on the paper.

After a while, a map of Jiaodong, Liaodong, and the Korean Peninsula appeared on it.

After Xu Fu saw it, he was also shocked. The general direction of the coastline was exactly the same as what he had remembered! What's even more amazing is that Heifu can also draw a coast that Xu Fu has never been to. He even added a huge island in the southeast of the Korean Peninsula. He pointed at it and joked:

"Xu Fu, Xu Fu, if you want your majesty to give you boys and girls, this is not the place you want to go to... What do you call this place, Japan? Fusang? Japanese? The land of the rising sun?"

It didn't matter what it was called. Xu Fu was almost scared to death. He thought it was a little secret he had thought up for himself, but Hei Fu ruthlessly exposed it. How did he know?

Xu Fu couldn't figure it out, he just thought it was a god. He was so impressed that he couldn't hide it in front of Hei Fu anymore.

He didn't know that this was the map of China that had been hanging on the classroom wall for many years when Heifu was in junior high school in his previous life. He used mysticism to scare the alchemist, which was regarded as repaying the enemy with his own medicine.

After intimidating Xu Fu into obeying his plan, Heifu told Xu Fu in a high-spirited manner that Warlock Fang's collusion with Zhutian in rebellion had been exposed, and the group was completely desolate. Xu Fu was outraged and became a wanted criminal.

Xu Fu was a little desperate. Should such a smart person like him be a prisoner for the rest of his life?

Heifu didn't say anything at the time, and it took Xu Fu a while to wake up. Heifu hinted so much, and he was just telling him: You only have one chance left, and that is to stand up and expose Lu and Han!

Xu Fu was willing to cooperate, and after he was brought back to Jimo, Heifu and Jun Cheng interrogated him. According to the script provided by Hei Fu, Xu Fu claimed that he suddenly disappeared and did not go to the meeting at Chengshanjiao. This was not because he deliberately deceived the emperor, but because he was shocked to hear that the alchemist Han Zhong and others had tricked the emperor into going to sea in order to plot evil.

"I wanted to report, but I was discovered by Lu and Han's men. I was brutally kidnapped and thrown into a dungeon on an unknown island. I was able to escape recently. Now I heard that His Majesty was assassinated and the fields rebelled. All of the above are Lu and Han's treacherous plan. !”

Governor Heifu took this matter very seriously and immediately sent Xu Fu to Qin Shihuang.

After no longer believing in Warlock Fang's lies, how could the emperor condescend to see him? Everything is handed over to Tingwei Ye Teng for trial.

Xu Fu found that all his escape routes were blocked. From being escorted to being interrogated, it was Heifu's people who were handling the matter. Even when he arrived at the emperor's palace, it was Heifu's husband. Tingwei Ye Teng came to interrogate him. If he said a wrong word, he would be judged. The other party has plenty of ways to kill him immediately.

What's the point of suddenly betraying him and exposing him? The black husband was in chaos, he was granted the title of concubine, and his favor was in full swing. The nonsense of a wanted criminal could not cause harm to him, but would kill him.

Xu Fu is a man who loves himself and cherishes his life. He knows that the most important thing he should do is to listen to Hei Fu and completely draw a clear line with Warlock Fang...

So his testimony became the last straw to bring down Warlock Fang. Qin Shihuang became furious and tricked hundreds of people in total.

The unlucky Hou Sheng was implicated simply because he was "unaware", but Xu Fu, as the first prosecutor, could be pardoned according to the law.

But Xu Fu was still not free. Afterwards, Hei Fu also requested that although Xu Fu was a magician, he had never dared to deceive the emperor and was extremely familiar with maritime affairs, so that he could be allowed to serve in Jiaodong.

At the beginning of this year, Xu Fu returned to Jiaodong and worked under the county magistrate's office. He kept a low profile and seldom appeared.

But Xu Fu didn't expect that after returning to Jiaodong, the errand Heifu gave him was to manage Fang Warlock...

After trapping the sorcerers, this group has disappeared. The only one left in Jiaodong is the sorcerers who helped Heifu search for gold mines and improve the salt drying technology. They had meritorious service to the court and were spared.

But after this scare, the relationship between Fang Warlock and Hei Fu has changed dramatically compared to before. In the past, they were full of hostility, but now they regard Hei Fu as their thigh. Once Hei Fu no longer protects them, they may be captured and executed at any time. kill.

Heifu divided the remaining ten or so alchemists into two groups and learned "Zhizao Zhiwu", that is, playing with cinnabar to refine mercury and gold and iron into a batch, and secretly developed a project in Qingdao. Those who are fond of seeking immortality overseas, have taken many trips to sea, and are familiar with the wind, waves, and hydrology are in one group.

The final shape of the sea chart was drawn by Xu Fu and the second group of people. It is not an exaggeration to say that he drew it.

Today, Hei Fu brought Xu Fu to Yantai Port, and his intention was also very obvious: Hei Fu wanted to take charge of this cross-sea grain transportation, and he deliberately asked Xu Fu to pretend to refute the plan proposed by Ren Xiao!

As a person who has been in this sea area for twenty years, in terms of familiarity with Shaohai and Donghai, all the people present combined cannot catch up with him, right?

After deciding on the scenario, Xu Fu started his performance.

He walked to the center of the hall, bowed to Ren Xiao and the officials of the building and ship, then pointed to the location of Liaonan on the map and said:

"Jun Lieutenant Ren, you just said that the boat from Lushun to Mazishui was traveling very slowly, as if it were sailing against the current. It took seven or eight days. Do you know why this is?"

…

"Ocean current?"

Ren Xiao and the officials of the building and ship were a little confused when they heard this strange term coming out of Xu Fu's mouth.

"Of course, ocean currents."

"As rivers flow, so do seas! Those who have been going to sea all year round will know that the same ship, the same cargo, and the same calm seas. From Yantai to Chengshanjiao, the journey saves time and only takes one day, while the return journey takes more effort and more time. A day and a half.”

What causes this situation is what Xu Fu calls "ocean currents". Those who follow it are like going down a big river, and those who go against it are like sailing against the current. It's weird if you don't slow down.

What he said was in line with the common sense of Ren Xiao and the officials of the building and ship, but most of them came from the land of Chu and Yue, and were familiar with rivers and lakes. Xu Fu was really not as clear about the temperament of the sea as he was.

Seeing that everyone no longer looked down upon him, Xu Fu, an alchemist who had been working in the sea for half his life, used charcoal pencil to draw a line on the chart starting from the mouth of Mazishui (Yalu River) along the coast and ending at Lushun. Stop, marked with an arrow, indicating that it is from northeast to southwest.

"There are ocean currents along the coast of Jiaodong, and also in southern Liaoning. Unfortunately, they are in the opposite direction of transporting grain. Therefore, it takes time to travel from Lushun to Manfanhan, but it saves effort on the return trip!"

"I see."

Everyone nodded. Xu Fu had finally solved an unsolved mystery.

Heifu sat high in the hall and let Xu Fu explain the various "ocean currents" along the Jiao-Liao coast. Xu Fu had some skills and had gone to sea many times. He had long known the existence of this kind of thing, and secretly summarized the rules, but gave it The one whose name is still Heifu.

The two coastal currents mentioned by Xu Fu are both rooted in the "Yellow Sea Warm Current", which is a branch of the "Kuroshio", the second largest ocean current in the world.

The Yellow Sea Warm Current flows north along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. Near the Yalu River, due to the influence of the Liaodong Peninsula, it turns southwest. Under the influence of the current of the Yalu River, it becomes stronger and rushes directly into the Bohai Bay!

This warm current will circle along the coast of the Bohai Bay, bringing heat, making "Jieshi" or Qinhuangdao an ice-free port, and then flow out from the south side of the Bohai Sea. Near Yantai, Jiaodong, it receives fresh water from Laizhou Bay, turns into the coastal current of the Yellow Sea, bypasses Chengshanjiao, and continues to flow to the Langya area...

This is the ocean current circulation of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, and it is also the root cause of the early emergence of the Jieshi-Zhifu-Langya route.

Once you understand this, you can make full use of ocean currents for sailing.

Xu Fu said: "It is summer now, and the ocean currents in southern Liaoning are weak enough to make navigation difficult for ships. In autumn and winter, the ocean currents are twice as strong! By then, it will be really difficult to transport grain from Jiaodong via Lushun to Manchuria. It’s difficult! One round trip may take a whole month!”

Ren Xiao and the officials of the building and ship pondered. If what Xu Fu said is true, then their grain transportation strategy can be barely accepted in summer, but once autumn and winter arrive, it will be difficult.

"But if you go the other way and set sail directly from Chengshanjiao, arrive at the coast of North Korea, and then go north, the ocean current along the coast of Korea is from south to north. In this way, you can avoid the reverse current and follow the ocean current on your return journey. OK, you can get twice the result with half the effort and save a lot of time!"

(The previous article is incorrect. The easternmost boundary of the Qin Dynasty was Manfanhan, and the Liekou was still to the south. It should be the port of Jizi Korea)

Everyone knows that going with the flow will lead to speed, and going against the trend will lead to slowness. Everyone was gradually convinced by Xu Fu, but there was still a problem standing in front of them. "I heard that there is a direct sail from Chengshanjiao to North Korea, but it is a full four hundred miles away, and the ship takes four or five days..."

Ren Xiao's most experienced ship officer looked troubled, shook his head and said: "I have also asked many old Yanqi boatmen. They have been to sea countless times, but they do not dare to use this waterway."

For this era, there were very few ocean voyages away from the coast. First of all, the sea was unpredictable. The sails of this era were still primitive and could not make good use of crosswinds. They had to go with the wind. If there was no wind, they had to rely on oars. Draw.

To make matters worse, after losing the land markers, the ship's heading has also become a problem. During the day and clear nights, you can rely on the sun, moon and stars to judge the wind direction, but on cloudy days and cloudy nights, the fleet becomes I'm a headless fly and I'm lost...

Among the Yanqi magicians, there were many who tried to sail far away, but most of them seriously deviated from the route. The unlucky ones had their ships destroyed and people died. The lucky ones waited until they finally got back, and it was already the Year of the Monkey and the Moon of the Horse.

"That's because they are ignorant and don't know how to observe the wind direction."

Xu Fu did not take it seriously. As someone who dared to encourage the emperor to go to sea, and even took thousands of people on voyages to foreign lands in history, he naturally had a few brushes.

Xu Fu looked back at Hei Fu, and when his master nodded, he continued: "I have spent ten years studying the wind direction, and I have gained a little bit. At present, the wind mostly blows from east to west, and it is a bit difficult to sail far, but once autumn comes, But God helps!”

"God help me?"

Everyone frowned: "What do you mean by this?"

Xu Fu changed to chalk. On the chart, in addition to the black ocean currents, he also added some small white arrows. They went from north to south, or from south to north, or hovered...

"This is……"

How could the building and ship generals who have been working hard at sea all year round be unfamiliar with this thing?

Xu Fu clicked off the chalk: "Monsoon!"

This is the new name given to this special wind by Hei Fu, the naming madman. Xu Fu thinks it is very realistic. Monsoon is the wind that changes with the seasons!

"Xu Fu is right."

Heifu also stood up and clapped his hands to make everyone look at him.

"With the help of this wind, it is easy for ships to sail long distances, cross thousands of miles of sea, and conquer overseas countries with ease!"