Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

In the winter of the fourth year of Shixing, the sea in the former land of the Southern Han Dynasty was still sunny and the temperature was very high. The tall white sails on the sea reflected the sun, and the waves crashed against the side of the ship.

This is a fleet of five light boats. On the middle warship, the commander of the Jiaolong army, Wang Defang, stepped onto the deck and gazed at the distant horizon on the sea for a long time. The soldiers and sailors also stepped onto the deck one after another, and looked into the distance together. The black shadow on the horizon was the land!

People who have spent countless days in the boundless sea did not cheer when they saw the land, but each heaved a long sigh of relief. Their sun-tanned faces had complicated expressions... because the fleet had twenty-one warships when it set off from Haizhou Port (Lianyungang) earlier this year.

The commander of the Jiaolong army, Wang Defang, brought twenty-one ships, and finally returned after losing more than half of the ships.

"Ding ding dong dong..." The bronze bell on the ship was rang, and the remaining ships hung yellow dragon flags. Xu Jun's offshore warship came head-on, waving the red flag of King Xing's Mansion on that ship, and after a while, two small boats rowed closer.

The people on the small boat looked up at the black gun muzzle on the side of the ship and the people on the deck wearing the armor of the imperial army, and immediately shouted: "Xingwang Port is not far away, do you need to dock?"

A civil servant beside Wang Defang responded: "Please lead the way with the warship of the Wangfu!"

The people on the small boat asked for the number of this army, and even when they rowed back, they didn't even board the deck... Those guns and equipment were only owned by the Daxu Imperial Army, so it was confirmed that they belonged to them.

The local warship then led the fleet belonging to the Daxu Imperial Army to the nearby Xingwang Port.

After the ship anchored, the soldiers left the sea in batches and went ashore. Wang Defang still stayed in the cabin. He was very depressed, so he lit a lamp and wrote a memorial to Tokyo that night.

Listening to the sound of the waves in the harbor, the night has gradually fallen, but the shore is brightly lit; whenever merchant ships and warships come to the shore, it is a time when wine shops and kilns are busy. The melodious voice and the unrestrained laughter could be faintly heard in the cabin. Wang Defang looked at the charts and a few packets of seeds he brought back, and thought for a long time, hoping that the only things that he had could exonerate him...

When the soldiers who disembarked came back, Wang Defang heard about the emperor's serious illness and domestic turmoil this year, and was quite moved for a while. After a year of voyage, there is a feeling of vicissitudes, and the dynasty that almost rose up this voyage no longer exists.

During this voyage, Wang Defang lost sixteen warships, thousands of elite soldiers of the Jiaolong Army, and sent out a large amount of silk, porcelain and jewelry, which cost countless military expenses; compared to the large amount of silver mines that the Jiaolong Army got from Japan, he almost got nothing this time!

It was really not going well. They first traveled westward with the food fleet, and they passed through what the officials said was Malacca, and arrived in the Chula Kingdom (India). However, when returning to the voyage, the fleet encountered wind and waves, several warships hit the reef and sank, and the big cannibal guide was killed as a result.

Then Wang Defang got lost and found the Strait of Malacca after wandering for more than a month. When passing through the strait, he wanted to replenish water and repair ships on the island, but was attacked by the Chuluo people at night and burned a warship. After dawn, Wang Defang was so angry that he led his troops to loot the two stockades, but fearing the danger of being alone, he hurried through the strait and went north.

After several twists and turns, the unpredictable wind, waves and hidden reefs threatened Xu Jun's fleet. When they finally returned home, there were only two hundred people and five boats left.

...When it came to Tokyo, Wang Defang received the imperial edict summoned by the emperor, and the official reply: the disadvantage lies in the present, and the merits lie in the future.

He quickly packed up and went to the palace to face the saint. Walking through the majestic towers and palaces, when Wang Defang came to the Hall of Political Affairs, in the bright winter light, the highest officials of the imperial court stood on both sides, all looking at Wang Defang's face.

The emperor solemnly summoned him personally, and Wang Defang knelt down on the ground, and said: "The final general has failed His Majesty's entrustment, please forgive me!"

"Pingshen." Guo Shao sat on it in a stable manner, speaking with full of energy, and there was no sign of a serious illness in the rumors at all. "Those major events that do not see any benefits temporarily, but have long-term benefits, are exactly the duties of the imperial court, such as building water conservancy projects and opening up new lands. The king has ordered the following officers and men to overcome obstacles and open up new lands. The merits will last forever. I decreed that I will reward the officers and men of the long-distance voyage."

Wang Defang said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

All the ministers remained silent, and even Wei Renpu, the privy envoy, did not praise Wang Defang, and the atmosphere was somewhat dull. But Guo Shao's idea is obviously different. Being able to reach India by sea in the tenth century AD is a feat in itself, and it cannot be measured by the loss of military expenditure at all.

Guo Shao picked up the cotton seeds on the imperial case and passed them on to the ministers, and said: "Silk is expensive, scarce, and not strong, but linen is too rough and not cold-resistant. Only cotton is suitable for mass production, while cotton in the Western Regions should be insufficient. It is only grown in the northwest border. Cotton cloth in the Western Regions is more expensive than silk. If the seeds brought back by Wang Defang can adapt to the Daxu climate, this is one of the great benefits of this HNA."

After hearing this, everyone could only shout together: "Your Majesty is wise!"

How true these echoes are is not known. Guo Shao couldn't convince the ministers, and even he couldn't find enough reasons... But he knew in his heart that according to the knowledge of later generations, the pioneer who started the industry from the textile industry was a bright road for the world to walk. Opening up business routes and obtaining as many raw materials and markets as possible are also important ways to stimulate trade and production.

He sketched his own unique overall situation on a dossier, and the "industry" written at the top became a crazy and distant dream. Guo Shao couldn't make a steam engine, and no one could make it at this time, but it was a direction and a vision.

Wang Defang denounced Zhu Luoguo again in the Palace of Political Affairs, accepted the gift and the letter of credence, but attacked the Daxu fleet in the strait. But Zhu Luo was too far away, and there was nothing he could do at this time.

...The next day, Si Tianjian Gao Shouzhen presented the "Star-Putting Board", which was highly rewarded by Guo Shao, and he decreed that his achievements were on par with Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty.

Astrogazing has been around since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Gao Shouzhen also knows how to calculate the direction by observing the stars, but it is extremely difficult, and only those who are proficient in astronomy understand this technique; it is only useful in the boundless sea.

Guo Shao spared no effort to invest military expenditures in HNA, so that Gao Shouzhen guessed the holy will, so he synthesized the star-gazing technique and made it into an instrument called the "star-drawing board".

Guo Shao didn't understand this thing at all, but according to Gao Shouzhen's description, he thought it was a rough version of ancient "satellite positioning" technology. This invention greatly increased Guo Shao's confidence, and deep in his heart he had already begun planning a second voyage!

Not long ago, during the Great Dynasty, Guo Shao rewarded a group of people for their meritorious deeds, and Gao Shouzhen was also listed in the forefront of their meritorious deeds.

Guo Shao didn't come to the court with the queen when he was in court, but today he brought the party daughter Li Xianfei to the court. That day Guo Shao canceled the meeting with the ministers in Yangde Hall, and went to Wushan with Concubine Li Xian during the day, and now he seems to love Concubine Li Xian even more.

Concubine Li Xian was favored, and the leader of the party, Li Yiyin, was exempted from major crimes, and was named Qin Guogong and the governor of Pingxia Province. In a few days, Li Yiyin will go to Xiazhou to assume the nominally highest position in the Pingxia region, and recall his fugitive descendants to live in Tokyo.

Many officials and people relish the name of Li Yueji, a party beauty, because of her beauty, the whole family is entrusted with high positions. But the ministers of the central government think that the cause and effect of this matter are reversed... It is because the emperor wants to stabilize the Pingxia party and use Li Yiyin to buy people's hearts, so he loves Li Yueji.

Yang Ye, Gao Yanchou, and Liu Renzhan were directly granted the title of Founding Marquis for their military exploits in the Hedong War, and Feng Jiye was also given the title of Founding Marquis for capturing Li Yiyin. Great joy.

People like Zhe Dejian and Li Yiyin are the princes of the country; Yang Ye and other people who have made great achievements can be named the founder of the country, but they are very happy...

There are actually two systems of titles in Daxu. One is the titles inherited from the previous dynasties. There are kings with different surnames (for example, Fu Yanqing is the king of Wei), and names such as dukes of places (such as Qin Guogong and Xia Guogong). Dukes of the Six Kingdoms, Marquis of the Founding Kingdom, and Earls all had generous salaries, and they were hereditary by rank.

The title of Marquis of Founding that Yang Ye and others got was the latter. This type of title has strengths, and can continue to be promoted to the title through military exploits.

After Li Chuyun's death, his son succeeded the Founding Duke, but after Luo Yanhuan's death, the position of Duke Hu Guo was still vacant. One of the hereditary Dukes of the Six Kingdoms, sharing the world with the Daxu Dynasty, the generals are all staring at that position; the chance of directly protecting the Duke is too small, unless the country is destroyed, the first thing to do is to become the founding prince... This is the main reason why the generals are excited.

Then the royal family held a celebration banquet in Jinxiang Hall, and the monarch and ministers celebrated together. Cups and cups intertwined, silk and bamboo orchestra, dancers danced briskly on the wooden stage, and the cheerful and lively atmosphere seemed to gradually sweep away the haze of several months.

Guo Shao drank a lot of wine in public, left the banquet and went to Yangde Hall to rest. At this time, Jing Niang came in, she stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Shijun (Wang Pu) asked my concubine to report an important news to Cao Si."

"Let's talk about it." Guo Shao poured tea to sober up, and said casually.

Jing Niang said: "Xiao Siwen of the Liao Kingdom stepped down as the Privy Councilor of the North Court and became the King of the North Court; Yelu Xiezhen is the new Privy Councilor of the North Court."

When Guo Shao heard this, he immediately put down the teacup.

The most powerful official position in the Liao Kingdom was the Privy Envoy of the Northern Court, who was in charge of the military affairs of the country; the king of the Northern Court Khitan, named "Yi Li Jin", was only one of the four courts, and he was only the leader of several large tribes in name.

The siege of Yanmenguan obviously made it difficult for Xiao Siwen to get rid of his ties, so he resolved domestic conflicts by abandoning the top military leader.

Guo Shao pondered: "This is not enough to repay Xiao Siwen, but it is a good start."

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(I'm really sorry everyone, I ate almonds the day before yesterday and induced hives, my whole body was so itchy that I was dying, I had an infusion, and today I feel better.)