From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 805

June 22, noon, the sun was shining brightly.

After two days of sailing, driven by the wind, the Chaozhou merchant fleet successfully arrived at the sea area south of Jiazi Gate in Chaozhou Prefecture, and continued to move southwest.

The Hengyong and Hengpan ships led the large fleet, moving forward in the sun, and did not encounter any obstacles for the time being.

Therefore, the atmosphere on the major ships was relatively relaxed.

Yuan Zhiming and Yi Sanshi stood side by side on the deck, feeling extremely relaxed.

When the ship was sailing, they were in high spirits and talked about the world.

Unexpectedly, after just over two hours, they began to faint, feel nauseous, vomit and have diarrhea, and were seasick to death.

After two days, they finally adapted to the environment on the ship, and their mood became more open.

Basking in the sun, the two chatted with each other.

"I never thought about going south."

Yuan Zhiming smiled and said, "My father's original wish was that I would join the army in Shaanxi and follow him, at least become a lieutenant general or something, and have a meal."

"Who would have thought that I had a high talent for studying since I was a child. I passed the imperial examination at the age of thirteen, and was even the first place in the provincial examination. I couldn't join the army, and was selected by the governor to study in the Imperial Academy."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will take the imperial examination this year and pass the imperial examination."

"If you perform well, you may be rated as a Shujishi and work as an editor. You have a bright future."

Yi Sanshi smiled and said, "You have a good background and your family has officials. You should take the imperial examination. Although the southern ocean is big, it is not your home after all."

"I am different from you. I am originally from Guangdong and Guangxi. It is normal for me to come to Fujian. Besides, I like ships more than studying."

As soon as the voice fell, a voice came from behind.

"If I were you, I would stay in Shenjing to take the imperial examination, and I could choose any high official in the future."

A middle-aged man strode over.

Yi Sanshi and Yuan Zhiming bowed at the same time and said, "Greetings, Captain."

The captain of the Hengyong ship is Fu Bo, a native of Binzhou, Shandong. He is 44 years old this year and has been sailing on the sea since he was a child. This is the only thing Yi Sanshi and others know about him.

Fu Bo waved his hand and said, "I am a warrior, so I won't do any red tape."

"I know a lot about you guys, and I have asked the prince specifically."

"Because I am curious, how could a famous figure in the Imperial Academy, who is almost a Jinshi, come to this broken place in Fuzhou and come to the sea."

"What the prince told me was to take care of myself and not ask other questions. At that time, I was a little dissatisfied."

At this point, Fu Bo smiled and said, "But these days, Yi Sanshi has given me a good feeling. He is very talented. You should have been... I am here."

Yi Sanshi said: "Captain, you are too kind. If I had come here a few years earlier, I might not have been interested in ships. It was only because of the failure of the Guangdong Sea War that I began to pay attention to the evolution of warships and naval battles. "

Yuan Zhiming nodded and said: "Yes, in fact, we have always been studying honestly. It was only because of the failure of the war at sea that we paid attention to this. "

"Study, study, ah, where is the lack of scholars in this world? Every three years, there are countless Jinshi and Juren in the world, and there are officials everywhere, but what can we do? "

" One more scholar, one more official, can save the Jin Dynasty? Can it benefit the people? "

"If that's the case, the Jin Dynasty wouldn't have fallen to this point."

Speaking of this, he became excited, and said a little excitedly: "Look at the prince, who is also a scholar, and his talent is much better than ours. He can speak ancient quatrains, but he also gave up literature and took up martial arts, fighting all the way from the south of the Yangtze River to the grassland. Only then did the Jin Dynasty gradually get rid of the situation of being bullied. "

"We need military generals! We need responsible military generals!"

"So I must go south, no matter what. No matter what, I will make a name for myself, even if I can't achieve the same achievements as the prince, even if I am just a pawn, I will feel happy. "

Yi Sanshi smiled and said, "Brother Yuan is too modest. How can someone who can understand the design drawings of battleships within two days be just a pawn?"

"The prince said something well, we can't bury our talents. In the future, let's learn shipbuilding together, replace all the sea ships of Dajin with battleships, set sail on the sea, and gallop across the ocean."

Looking at the two young men full of fighting spirit, Fu Bo also felt emotional.

Born in Binzhou, his father was a boatman. He was influenced by his father and became a soldier early. He spent decades in the Leiden Navy, and then was transferred to the south because of the Battle of Yuehai. He suffered a great defeat as soon as he arrived. It was a shame.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and said, "You all say that the Yuehai War failed. Hey, do you know why we lost?"

"Our ships are more than ten times that of McPherson, but they are all ordinary wooden ships.The ship is not covered with iron sheets, and a cannon shot at it, leaving a big hole in the ship. "

"We fired a cannon, not to mention the accuracy. Even if we hit it, it can only break the iron sheet at most, but it can't penetrate too deep, and it won't cause much damage to the hull."

"The gap between the artillery and the hull is too big."

He seemed to recall the tragic battle, clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and said: "Not only that, their solid bullets are powerful, and the key is that there is a kind of shotgun that can penetrate into the ship and explode, causing huge casualties."

"There is also a kind of chain bullet, which is two solid bullets connected together, which can destroy our masts and sails, making us quickly lose power and be at the mercy of others."

"The Fujian and Guangdong Navy are not all cowards, we dare to fight too."

"When I saw that the situation was not right, I immediately commanded the warship to ram it and board the ship to fight. "

Fu Bo swallowed his saliva and gritted his teeth and said, "But... it's too difficult. The enemy is very good at boarding and fighting. Relying on various shelters, all members cooperated closely and used submachine guns to shoot us into sieves."

"Damn it! We also have muskets! But in a small and complex environment, there is no tactical coordination at all. We were shot as live targets and killed like pigs and dogs."

"The failure of the Guangdong Sea War was doomed because the gap was too big."

"Of course, the defeat was so tragic, and it was also related to Jiang Hao's command. He saw that the situation was not right, so he ran away first, resulting in the team being leaderless and sacrificing many soldiers in vain."

"I took the remaining brothers and set sail under the artillery fire, and then I escaped with difficulty."

"It's a shame to lag behind others in equipment and tactics! "

At the end, his eyes were red, and his voice was choked with sobs: "But now, we have battleships and cruisers, solid bullets, shotguns, chain bullets, and flintlocks. "

"The prince went to Jiangnan to inspect salt, killed corrupt officials and eliminated salt merchants, and really spent money on practical things. "

"So our Guangdong Navy obeys him, not only because of the extraordinary achievements the prince has made on land, but more importantly, he almost single-handedly reversed our backward equipment situation. "

"In the past year at Fuzhou Baochuan Factory, we have been learning day and night, how to fight, gun battles, artillery battles, boarding ships, etc...."

"Everyone is holding back a breath of anger, and they all have angry hearts. They wish they could learn one day as two days, just for... this moment! "

He raised his hand and pointed forward.

In front, two battleships and a cruiser, flying the Portuguese flag, were approaching quickly.

Yi Sanshi took a deep breath and said, "It's not in vain! You've worked hard to achieve your goal! I believe that our Guangdong Navy can avenge our previous defeat in this battle!"

Fu Bo said in a deep voice, "Our navy soldiers have been waiting for this moment for too long."