Although after several years of pouring huge sums of money into the construction, the so-called "West Sea Fleet" has as many as 100 ships of all sizes, but this time the warships of the Westward Voyage are only 10, and they will depart in 10 batches in turn within a month, and each warship will escort 10 merchant ships.Most of these merchant ships were from Hycy Ptolemaic Egypt, and their owners' appearance, language, and customs were quite similar to those of the Bactrian Greeks, and they all liked to be wrapped in white robes.After all, they were the pioneers of this India-Egypt route, Chu Shaosun heard that about a few decades ago, when the seventh king of Ptolemy was in power, a poisonous fishing boat was blown to the west by the monsoon and was rescued by the Greeks, and King Ptolemy VII sent people to follow the poisonous fisherman to sail eastward.Chu Shaosun was curious about what these Greeks bought, and Chen Tang directly asked him to show him the export list, but saw that in addition to the poisonous products of Suhe balsam, frankincense, pepper, pearls, ivory, jatamansi, and turtle shells, the two largest goods were cotton cloth with poison, and silk from the south of the Han Dynasty, which was a commodity that the entire West was fanatical about."
Then what are they selling in Taibaigang?"
Chen Tang smiled: "The big man is already rich in the place, but now with the poison, there is almost nothing missing.In the past, they could transport some glass to bluff people, but now there are poison glass workshops everywhere, and they can sell it to Han merchants, so why bother buying it from other places?
”"Therefore the Ptolemaic kingdom wants silk and cotton cloth, and the only way to exchange it is gold, silver, and copper ingots!"
On the day of departure, Chu Shaosun and Chen Tang took the flagship of this westbound fleet, a huge "big wing", in Dahan, the largest ship of the boat division is the building boat, but the building ship is simply downwind at sea, and the big wing must also be transformed to adapt to sea navigation, as far as Chu Shaosun observes, this ship absorbs the style of Ptolemaic Egyptian sea ships.As for its naming, it is called "Lelang", the hussar general set the rules for the West Sea Fleet, named after the Han Linhai County, from the north, the first county is Lelang County, and the Houlang captain is a perfect match.The ship can accommodate 200 people, and half of the place is loaded with ballast goods, so there are about 50 Han soldiers, most of whom are Gao Wutong's so-called "southerners".In addition to fifty poisonous oarsmen, they are small but strong, and their years of paddling have made them broad-shouldered and strong.Chen Tang also took the time to explain to Chu Shaosun why he had to wait until winter to sail."
The hussar general called this sea the poisonous ocean, the southwest monsoon prevails from February to August every year, and the northeast wind prevails from October to January of the following year.Chu Shaosun suddenly wondered, no wonder the Egyptian businessman wanted to stay in Taibai Port for several months, it turned out that he was also waiting for the wind, so he didn't want to go back if he wanted to, at least he had to stay with the fleet in Egypt until the summer.With a gong sound, when the tide rose, Lelang led ten merchant ships out to sea, with the uniform movement of the oars, the land was left behind a little bit, and the hull was also shaking in the sea, Chu Shaosun felt the deck undulating under his feet, and then Chu Shaosun, who had never been on a sea boat, involuntarily lay on the side of the ship, and handed over the morning food to the sea, he ate rice and fried chicken, and added poisoned local mixed spices, and the curry that was improved by Ren Hussar tasted a little spicy.In the first three days of going to sea, Mr.
Chu was dizzy."
It's okay, no matter how brave a man is on the shore, when he gets to the sea, he still has to slip on the soles of his feet."
Chen Tang comforted Chu Shaosun so much, he was the most experienced, Chu Shaosun remembered that Chen Tang couldn't even swim, so he dared to join the fleet to fight.In the first few days, Chu Shaosun could barely eat, even if he forced himself to swallow, the food did not stay in his stomach for long, but he gradually gained experience: the experience of vomiting, and he knew which side of the boat to choose so that he would not be played by the wind and let all the dirt splash on himself.It's nice when the wind is up, and although it's cold, there's a fresh salty smell in the air.But once the wind is too strong, the fleet is uncomfortable, and the clouds and rain on this poisonous ocean are not clear, sometimes from the east, with rolling thunder and lightning, and the dark and heavy rain lasts for days at once; Sometimes from the north, the cold is severe, and the wind seems to pierce people.At that time, the sailors were on deck and the ships were battling the wind and waves, and Chu Shaosun could only hide in the compartment shivering, if he forgot to tie himself, he would be thrown from side to side, and he could feel the ship twisted and flapped by the furious sea.The flagship of the West Sea Fleet, the Lelang, sometimes crunched and moaned, so loud that it seemed to be ready to disintegrate at any moment.Sometimes, seawater poured in through the hatch and soaked poor Mr.
Chu all over, causing him to scream.But Captain Chen Tang, who only learned to swim halfway, was able to walk on the bumpy deck as if he were on the ground, and used his experience of hard work and hard training to command the crew to survive the dangerous waves.Chen Tang also made people open a barrel of "spirits" to boost the morale of the oarsmen, and also let Chu Shaosun, who was shivering from the cold, also taste a cup, Chu Shaosun had never drunk this kind of wine in the past, and when he took a sip, he felt several fire snakes winding down his throat and through his chest, so hot that he vomited again.The crew burst out laughing, they loved it the most.Chen Tang told Chu Shaosun that this liquor was a by-product of the hussar general's "alchemy", and the ignition was burning.In addition to sending protection to the soldiers in the bitter cold land of the river, they were all given to the fleet, although it was close to the tropics, but the wind and waves in winter could still make people freeze, but they had to drink in limited quantities.Chu Shaosun still likes rice wine and fruit wine, this liquor belongs to sailors, and nobles are definitely not used to drinking it.But Chen Tang seems to be a white-faced scholar, but he can mingle with a group of big bosses, push cups, laugh and scold, and even greet other people's mothers in the southern dialect.Boosted by spirits, they survived the waves, and the ten merchant ships that followed them were unharmed.Although there is a danger of storms on the sea, there are also moments of joy and beauty, and at night, the sea ripples like silk, undulating and the moon is bright on the water.But this also made Chu Shaosun feel uneasy, because he had not seen land for several days, and at first he didn't feel it, but after a long time, he was like a baby who had left his mother's arms, and he became uneasy, and he always wondered if the fleet had deviated from the course."
With them, you won't get lost."
Chen Tang was very confident, he had already gone back and forth on this route three times, each time with a different sailor, the escort was fake, and the training and familiarization with the route were real.The weapons that kept the fleet from getting lost were the nautical astrolabe learned from the Greeks to compare the stars in the sky, and the "compass" made by the hussar general more than ten years ago.Knowing the direction and improving the sea boat, there is no need to walk along the shore and walk slowly at the risk of hitting the reef, Chen Tang pointed to the north and said: "There is no need to use the port of rest to anchor, and cause trouble in vain." ”Chu Shaosun knew that when the Hezhong Protectorate was established ten years ago, the relationship between the Han and the rest was still very good.However, as the hussar general marched into the poison, Anxi was disturbed by General Ren's crazy expansion, and later took advantage of the battle between the two kings, Ren Hong went south to destroy the Wuyi Shanli, a subject of Anxi.The civil war ended quickly, and the Surena of the Surin family, who had visited Ren Hong in Samarkand, swept away the opponents of the King of Anxi, and the following year, that is, three years before Yuankang53, the commander of the Great Qin Tiaozhi County took the opportunity to go eastward and wanted to annex the western border of Anxi in one fell swoop, but he was defeated and killed by Surena.Surena was in the limelight for a while, became a famous general in the world, and his rest reached its peak, and the relationship with the poisonous capital was also delicate.In particular, he was very dissatisfied with the fact that the Protectorate bypassed the rest and traded directly with Ptolemaic Egypt, which made it impossible to sell the silk in transit at a high price.There was a gap and vigilance between the two sides, and Anxi imposed heavy taxes on the Han Chinese ships passing through their ports, and from then on, the fleet simply rested in peace.While there were also those in the army clamoring for an attack on Rest, there were also warmongers in the navy who wanted to replicate the Battle of the Lion Nation and took up a port in Rest.But Chen Tang knew that the hussar general had no interest in resting, and his eyes had been staring at the Great Qin State in Haixi.When the wind was calm, because Chu Shaosun humbly asked, Chen Tang would also tell him something he knew about Daqin."
Although the Great Qin State has no king, it has three princes in power, and the first one is the Tiaozhi Taishou Crassus who died at war with Anxi.""
The second is Pompey, a general who is also very famous in the Han Dynasty, I heard that because he repeatedly annexed land, he was slaughtered so badly that some people in the country called him Xiaobaiqi?"
It is indeed called so, and Chu Shaosun is just hearsay, saying that this General Pang is as powerful as a king in Great Qin.Chen Tang shook his head: "Pang is not as far away as Bai Qi, Bai Qi has never tasted defeat in his life, but this General Pang has just lost to one person." ”This Chu Shaosun didn't know, and asked in surprise: "Who is it?"
”Chen Tang said: "There is another person among the three dukes of Great Qin, whose surname is Kai Mingsa, or he is the Taishou of Gaul County in the west of Great Qin, who has expanded thousands of miles for Great Qin, and the hussar general laughs and calls him Kai Taishi, I don't know what the basis is." ”"It is said that the Great Qin State undertook the system of tyranny Qin, and it was also related to the distinction between the inside and outside of the Guan, and the outer county Taishou was not allowed to cross the river with troops and enter the Guannei, otherwise it would be like a rebellion.As a result, Caesar's division relied on the border army to grow stronger, and directly crossed the river with the western army into Beijing.Kai fought with General Pang, won a great victory, and captured Rome, the capital of Great Qin.Now Pompey has been defeated again and again, and has fled to the eastern counties of Great Qin. ”Chu Shaosun was completely unaware of this matter, and was stunned: "In this way, the Great Qin State is also two males competing and divided into two?"
”The boat jolted, and Chu Shaosun's heart was also turned upside down, this is a big deal, Daqin has always been the imaginary enemy of Dahan in the past ten years.Chen Tang bowed: "This is the reason why when Mr.
Chu was in the capital protection mansion, the hussar general hurriedly went back, stayed only one night and left, and he was shocked to hear the news." ”Chu Shaosun suddenly said in a low voice: "Then we are going to Ptolemaic Egypt, in addition to escorting, trading, and sending envoys as usual, it is also on the order of the general to inquire about the battle situation of the Great Qin State!"
Good to know Kjeldahl and Ponzi, who wins and who loses?
”"Sir, smart."
Chen Tang laughed, but looked at the swarthy West again, his eyes deep.On this voyage, he also has another mission, which is far from being as simple as Chu Shaosun thought!
PS: Chapter 2 is before 0:00.