When the surrounded soldiers saw Han Du, they said with a slight cry in their voice: "Master Marquis, the seeds we brought are broken."
"It's broken? What's broken?" Han Du didn't react for a while.
The soldier had no choice but to raise his finger and point to the inside of the box and said: "When the villain came today, he suddenly saw some leaves coming out of the gap. When he opened the box, he saw that all the seeds had sprouted and were covered with leaves."
Is it bad if the seeds germinate and grow leaves? Of course it's broken, at least in the eyes of everyone. This is like rice. If it is dried and stored well, it will last for three to five years without any problem. But once the rice gets damp and sprouts, it's all over.
In the eyes of everyone, since they are all seeds, the germination of rice seeds is over, and the germination of these seeds is no exception.
Han Du reached out and picked up a sweet potato, and sure enough, he saw that there were three or five buds growing in every depression on the skin, and there were one or two light green leaves on the top of the long buds.
"This is not broken." Han Du glanced at everyone and said calmly.
"Is what the Marquis said true? Is this really not bad?" The soldier was most concerned with the quality of the sweet potato and asked quickly. Although it wasn't his fault, he was just the first to find it, but he always felt guilty in his heart. He deceived himself by thinking that if he hadn't discovered it, wouldn't it mean that the seeds weren't bad?
It was precisely because Han Du saw the guilt in his expression that he directly said it was okay.
"Of course, you don't believe what I say?" Han Du casually threw the sweet potatoes into the box and said calmly.
How dare the soldiers not believe what Han Du said? He quickly bowed and nodded and said: "Believe it, I believe what the Marquis said. If the Marquis says it's not broken, it means it's not broken. That's good. I was really scared to death just now."
Han Du smiled when he saw this, turned around and walked up the steps, leaving here.
Fang Xiaoru saw Han Du's expression changed, and knew that the matter might not be as simple as Han Du said, so he quickly followed Han Du up.
When they arrived at Han Du's house, Fang Xiaoru closed the door behind her back.
Looking at Han Du sitting on the ground, he said in a deep voice: "There are no outsiders here now. What is going on? Can you tell me?"
Han Du smiled awkwardly, then faced Fang Xiaoru calmly and sighed: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you."
"Are those seeds really bad?" Fang Xiaoru was shocked when he heard Han Du's words. He knew how important these seeds were to the people of the Ming Dynasty. They didn't even exchange more gold for these seeds, just to bring these seeds back. Now that the seeds are broken, Fang Xiaoru is not afraid of a bolt from the blue.
Han Du shook his head and denied: "It's not broken now, but it will be soon if we don't deal with it."
The first half of the sentence made Fang Xiaoru feel relieved, but the second half made his heart suddenly rise again. He asked sharply: "What on earth is going on?"
Han Du smiled bitterly and said, "Once these things sprout, they must be planted in the soil, otherwise they will completely rot over time."
Fang Xiaoru immediately understood why Han Du had a bitter smile on his face. If this was the Ming Dynasty, it would be simple, just plant it directly into the soil. But now that we are on a ship, where can we find land to plant these things?
"Then how about we stop the ship and save these things first?"
Han Du suddenly raised his head and looked at Fang Xiaoru. Seeing that he was not joking, Han Du said with a bit of laughter and tears: "You mean, let's get off the ship and plant the food, and wait until the harvest is harvested before we set sail back?"
"Then do you have a better idea now?" Fang Xiaoru also knew that his suggestion was a bit absurd, but it was better than watching all the food rot, right?
"Don't mention it yet. This is a solution. But what should we do? Are we going to spend more than half a year here in vain?" Han Du rejected Fang Xiaoru's idea without thinking. He has been out for more than a year. Well, if I still have to stay here for more than half a year, then by the time I return to Ming Dynasty, three years will have passed.
It lasts three years after I come out. Maybe Anqing will think that he died at sea and shed tears all day long. Right now, Han Du is eager to return home. He longs to return to the Ming Dynasty in an instant. How can he be willing to continue to stay here?
After hearing Han Du's words, Fang Xiaoru immediately sat down. Since Han Du disagreed, he couldn't think of any other way besides this.
Han Du suddenly had an idea and thought of something.
When Fang Xiaoru saw it, he was surprised and said: "Do you have a solution?"
Han Du nodded with a smile and said: "I have a way, but..."
"But what?" Fang Xiaoru didn't care so much. When he heard that Han Du had a solution, he asked quickly.
Han Du thought for a moment and patiently explained to Fang Xiaoru: "Actually, we don't have to get off the boat to plant the food in the soil. We use some boxes to load the soil. It doesn't need to be too much, as long as it is two feet thick. , you can also grow these things.”
"Is this okay?" Fang Xiaoru asked with some confusion when it was the first time he heard that food could be grown in this way.
Han Du nodded heavily and said: "It's definitely possible, but in this case, we will need to carry a large amount of soil onto the ship. As a result, the load of the ship may be a huge problem."
Fang Xiaoru nodded subconsciously when he heard this, agreeing with Han Du's words.
Law. The weight of soil is not light. Since you want to plant those things on the ship, you will need a lot of soil. If there is too much mud, it will naturally take up a lot of the ship's load.
There are only two solutions. One is to plant fewer spots, so that the soil required will naturally be greatly reduced and the ship can bear it. But if this is the case, the seeds that can bring back the Ming Dynasty will also be greatly reduced. And for every kilogram more grain seeds, the people of Ming Dynasty would be able to plant such grains one day earlier.
Obviously, neither Han Du nor Fang Xiaoru would choose to give up grain unless absolutely necessary.
Since food cannot be reduced, the load can only be reduced.
Fang Xiaoru pondered for a while, and finally said: "The cannons on your warship are so densely packed that each weighs several hundred kilograms. It's better to abandon them."
Han Du was stunned for a moment, reacted immediately, and then said with a smile: "Don't joke with me. Whether we can go back smoothly depends on these cannons. Although the sea is calm now. But here we are The last section of the road has to turn back to the south. The Japanese country is the place we must pass through. If we don’t have cannons, won’t we be torn apart by the Japanese pirates?”
"Oh? Is that so?" Fang Xiaoru really didn't know how to go back this time, but since Han Du said this, he no longer had the thought of giving up the cannon.
Han Du nodded dullly.
"I can't let it go like this, and I can't let it go that way, so what do you think we should do?" Fang Xiaoru spread his hands, indicating that he had no choice but to look at Han Du's thoughts now.
Han Du pondered for a moment, then slowly raised his head and looked at Fang Xiaoru and said, "There are still people on this boat."
"Human? What do you mean!" Fang Xiaoru's voice suddenly became sharp.
There were many people on the fleet, including naval officers and soldiers, some Yin Di'an people, and the prisoners. Fang Xiaoru could guess without even thinking that Han Du was definitely referring to the prisoners. There are thousands of prisoners. If they can all be emptied, enough will be left for growing food.
And since they are those prisoners, Han Du's meaning may not be very good.
Sure enough, Han Du ignored Fang Xiaoru's sudden change of expression and said in a deep voice: "These people are guilty of heinous crimes. Even if they return to the Ming Dynasty, they will die. Originally, I brought them back just to clarify the canon. Xing, since we are unable to take them back now, wouldn’t it be the same to kill them all here?”
Fang Xiaoru's eyes suddenly widened, he looked at Han Du in disbelief, and said in a deep voice: "That's more than a thousand lives, and most of them are women and children. How can you do it?"
To be honest, Han Du really couldn't do it. Originally, Han Du had never thought about executing these people personally, but wanted to bring them back to Ming Dynasty and hand them over to Lao Zhu.
Anyway, if Lao Zhu accepts it, there are many people who are willing to do such dirty work.
But now due to sudden needs, it is impossible for Han Du to continue bringing these people back to the Ming Dynasty. Compared to them, Han Du felt that bringing food back to the Ming Dynasty was more important.
Seeing that Han Du's expression had softened, Fang Xiaoru quickly said while the iron was hot: "Those are just women and children, why do you need to get your hands covered in blood? Just let them off the boat here."
"The Sword Comes"
Han Du sat up in vain and sighed: "Do you think they can survive if you put them off the boat?"
Seeing Fang Xiaoru's expression of confusion, Han Du raised his hand and rubbed his forehead and said: "You also know that most of them are women and children. Once they are allowed to disembark, can you guarantee that the local indigenous people will not attack them? But you saw I have never seen what it is like among the cannibals. If there is a cannibal here, their fate will probably be even more miserable."
Fang Xiaoru couldn't help but feel a little chill in her heart when Han Du mentioned the scene about cannibals. He had only read about cannibalism in history books, but he had never imagined that it would be such a hellish scene. Fang Xiaoru suddenly fell into deep thought. Han Du's statement was not unreasonable. There was no way that a group of women and children could be the opponents of the cannibals who had lost their humanity.
Han Du and Fang Xiaoru discussed it, but neither could convince the other.
However, Handu still ordered the fleet to dock, cut down wood to make boxes, fill them with soil, and use them to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes. After drying, corn is durable and does not show signs of germination.
When they heard that they could grow food in this way, the navy officers all showed disbelief. In their opinion, growing food requires land. Although there is soil in this wooden box, it is too far away from the land. How can it be possible to grow living food?
But after they buried the sweet potatoes and cut potato sprouts in the soil according to Han Du's instructions, within a few days, sprouts actually emerged from the soil, and they were growing well.
Among the navy soldiers, there were also some who had a background in making trouble. When they saw that the Marquis could grow food like this, they were simply amazed by Han Du. Everyone was eager to try and took the initiative to tend the crops.
Since Han Du brought a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes, since he wanted to plant them now, he would naturally need a large number of wooden boxes. Soon, through the efforts of the navy soldiers, as long as there was free space on the entire eight ships, wooden boxes were placed and grain was planted.
In the past few days, Fang Xiaoru has never given up trying to persuade Han Du.
"Do you really want to kill them all?" Fang Xiaoru's eyes fell on the prisoners on the coast, who were working hard to cut down wood to make boxes and cultivate soil. The men worked together to cut down the trees and saw the wood into pieces of wood. The women helped to join the planks to make wooden boxes.
son. Even the children were not idle. Their young hands picked up the soil from the ground, put it into the wooden box, and then slowly flattened it with force.
Han Du glared at Fang Xiaoru angrily and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know what the crime is for releasing a prisoner of the imperial court without permission?"
Fang Xiaoru's eyes showed a sly look, and he said seriously: "How can we say that you released imperial prisoners privately? Our ships are obviously powerless. If we bring these people, it is impossible to bring back the grain. Who do I think? Which one is more important, the emperor can understand."
Han Du glanced at Fang Xiaoru with a strange expression, wondering where he got his confidence. If Lao Zhu knew how to write the word "understanding", he wouldn't have made all officials afraid like this.
However, Fang Xiaoru was right in saying that he really couldn't do anything to these thousands of women and children. If it were a battlefield battle, when it was a life-and-death battle, Han Du would kill tens of thousands of people without blinking an eye. Now that he had to attack these more than a thousand defenseless women and children, Han Du really couldn't make up his mind.
"Just die," Han Du gritted his teeth secretly and decided to let these women and children go.
But even if they are released, these women and children cannot be left here casually. As Han Du said, if they were left alone, the outcome waiting for them would probably not be good.
Even if there are no cannibals nearby, the woman is still a rare resource for the natives. It doesn't take much thinking to guess that the natives here will definitely pay attention to them.
Therefore, if you want these women and children to survive here, you must have enough force to protect them. As for the men of the Shen family, it was impossible for Han Du to let them go. He must bring the men back to the Ming Dynasty.
So Han Du gathered all the women, children, and naval officers.
Looking at the disgraced women and children of the Shen family in front of him, Han Du took a step forward and shouted angrily: "You all know me, right?"
The woman looked at Han Du with fear, while the child looked at Han Du with curiosity. However, it was obvious that they knew Han Du.
A woman in her thirties walked out with graceful steps. Judging from the way she walked, her identity must be extraordinary.
The woman walked to a place six steps away from Han Du and stopped. She bowed slightly and saluted Han Du Fu, "I pay my respects to the Marquis."
Han Du just glanced at her and ignored him. He raised his head and said to everyone: "It's good that you recognize me. I tell you the truth, my ship can't accommodate you, so I can't take you back to the Ming Dynasty." .”
As soon as Han Du finished speaking, most of the women and children suddenly showed joy on their faces, and even started whispering to the people around them.
However, there are a few smart people like the woman whose expression suddenly changed. They cannot be brought back to the Ming Dynasty. Their fate is nothing more than being killed all together or being abandoned here. Either way, it would be a disaster for women like them.
The woman was the first to react, and without hesitation she knelt down straight towards Han Du and begged: "Please help me, Lord Marquis."
"You are prisoners of the imperial court, why should I try to save you?" Han Du looked at the woman in front of him with a cold look.
The woman was not surprised but happy. Han Du's cold tone did not scare her. She knew that if Han Du really wanted to do something to them, he would not talk nonsense to them here at all. Now since Han Du didn't take action directly, it meant that the matter had to be discussed. He quickly said: "I don't dare to ask Lord Marquis for help. I only ask Lord Marquis to take pity on the poor child and give him a way to live."
Among these women and children, the eldest is only ten years old and the youngest is only six or seven years old. Without the care of adults, how would these children have a chance to survive? Giving children a way to live doesn't mean giving people like them a way to live.
Han Du's face looked better. He looked at the woman in front of him and said in a deep voice: "The Shen family has committed many crimes. All members of the Shen family must die!"
Han Du's words were like a gust of north wind, which instantly made most women change their expressions.
But the woman in front of Han Du had a smile on her face.
Sure enough, Han Du changed his tone and said, "Of course, if you all marry someone else, you are no longer a member of the Shen family. The same is true for the children. As long as you change your surname, you are no longer a member of the Shen family."
The Shen family will definitely die, but the Shen family will naturally survive.
Han Du's words made the woman in front of him smile. She leaned over and bowed again and said, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your kindness."
Han Du glanced at her and said meaningfully: "It's too early to thank me now."
After saying that, he turned to look at the navy officers and said: "If any of you are willing to stay, please stand up for yourself. I will never stop you."
All the soldiers looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what the Marquis meant.
Han Du did not let them think for themselves, and said directly: "Those who are willing to stay can marry them."
The navy soldiers who were originally at a loss suddenly became agitated after hearing Han Du's words.
After three years in the army, a sow can become a Diao Chan. These soldiers have been in the Navy for six or seven years, and for thirteen or fourteen years. Some of them never thought that one day they would be able to start a family and start a business, so now they are naturally very excited when they hear Han's words.
Although these women are all unkempt, they are certainly not ordinary people who can become members of the Shen family. Not only are all of them beautiful, but they are also well-read poems and well-educated ladies.
