I heard that if you go to the east of Laizhou and take a boat out to the sea in that direction, the water you will see will be dark blue, but Aruhan has never been there. He stayed in Haicang Town for most of his life. During that time, he served in the army and fought twice. He went to Huaixi and Hedong, but there was no sea there.
Here in Haicang Town, the seawater usually appears slightly yellow in summer. That's because the Glue River, Weishui River, Dan River, and the Xiaoqing River and Beiqing River in Yidu often overflow, pouring turbid river water into the sea day and night. In winter, the sea surface will slowly freeze, and the large ice blocks will appear gray-white, while the sea water under the ice blocks will be dark black.
Only in autumn, the sea water will appear clearer, with green in the blue.
As for red…
The north wind is a bit strong today, making my eyes hurt. Aruhan rubbed his eyes inadvertently and looked away.
Where does the red color come from on the sea?
That should be the color of the large saltwort on the seashore. This year's saltwort blooms and bears fruit very early, and the leaves are already turning red. If there is no way to borrow food from the salt farm, the only option is to take people to collect salt wormwood to eat.
In previous years, during the lean years, it was not like I had never eaten salt wormwood. But those are the young buds picked in spring and summer. In autumn, the leaves of Artemisia saltwort turn red, bitter and astringent, which is very unpalatable. Moreover, there is oil and water in the stomach, and the more you eat, the hungrier you become...
Thinking about one thing after another, Aluhan gradually became sleepy, so he leaned against the stone wall of the camp and squinted his eyes to doze off. After a while, his companion sitting opposite him yawned slowly, then pointed to the sea and shouted: "Fleet! A fleet is coming!"
Aruhan turned his head sharply to look.
"What a fleet! So many ships!"
The port in Haicang Town is not large, and the fleet that usually stops here to replenish drinking water does not exceed twenty ships. Aruhan basically recognized the leader of the boatmen who led the team.
Most of those ships are old, and they are mainly a group of maritime cannon ships built under the supervision of the imperial court during the Mingchang period. Somehow, it later became a private ship for maritime merchants. The style of the canal boat continued the specifications of the Zhenglong period, which was the so-called Tongzhou-style sloop, with lengths of only seventy feet and one hundred feet. Therefore, even if they gather together on the sea, the hull of the boat is not conspicuous while traveling on the waves.
But at this moment, when he looked far into the distance, he could count at least fifty ship masts, and there were white sails hanging high in the back, layer upon layer. How many were there? A hundred ships? One hundred and fifty ships? Or, two hundred ships?
Aruhan knew that it was King Lu of the imperial court who put Lu Gubi La Meng on his head, and that King Lu did a lot of business in Liaodong, Shandong and other places. But even under King Lu, it is impossible to have such a large fleet!
At the front of the fleet, a large ship had half its sails lowered and was slowly entering the harbor.
Aruhan rubbed his eyes and tried his best to see. I saw a bright red flag hanging high on the empty mast. The moist air on the sea soaked the flag, causing it to cling to the mast sometimes, and sometimes the strong sea breeze raised the flag high, rolling and flying with a heavy weight.
There were no patterns or words on the flag, it was just a bright red flag!
This is weird...which noble person opened a new business? With so many ships, there must be a lot of supplies transported!
"Mom, get up and serve!" Aruhan stood up.
Seeing that his companions were looking lazy, he shouted: "There are so many boats, it's all business! It's time for us to have a full meal!"
"Yes, yes!" At this time, most people got up and followed. Someone took a few steps empty-handed, then turned back and grabbed a knife and gun.
After all, they are all Jurchen farmers. Even if he is not able to live in various places and houses, enjoy the good life and be a bit poorer, after all, he still has his feet and can be compared to the ordinary ant people.
For example, Aruhan, the Muke who was in charge of arresting people, was a real fifth-rank official. In theory, his status was the same as that of a county magistrate, and equivalent to that of a deputy envoy of Jiedu.
In the early years, such a Mooke could walk sideways on the entire Shandong Road. After the Ming Dynasty, the local Meng'an Muke was defeated, and the prestige of the Muke was far less than it used to be. But even if they can't get any benefits from the fields, they have always maintained the operation of Haicang Port.
Every time a fleet comes, everyone leads them into the port and provides fresh water, which makes them more or less profitable. Not to mention that it is not difficult to ask for some food and crops, if you encounter a weak persimmon, you can use the identity of the Jurchen fierce An Mooke to extort money, or even occasionally kill people and steal wealth... there are also cases.
At that moment, everyone cheered up. Some people were complaining while going out, saying that the north wind had picked up in the past few days. It was the time when the ships from Zhongdu were heading south. They should have gone to the port in advance to wait. This shouldn't be the case. exhausted.
To the west of Haicang Town, there are all tidal flats, and ships cannot dock. Only to the north of Tunpu, not far from the mouth of the Jiaoshui River, is a continuous giant reef close to the sea. The reef blocks the mud and sand on the west tidal flat, forming a bay that is sunken inland.
Tunpu is located on higher ground, some distance away from the port. There is a road connecting the two places, but due to its long disrepair, several sections of the road have collapsed into the muddy tidal flats, making it difficult to walk. Moreover, the road follows the terrain and makes two extra circles around the sea.
Everyone was anxious to go to the port to have a look, so they stepped directly on the reef and walked through the huge slippery rocks.
It was the time of low tide, and the seawater gushes out from the gaps in the giant reef. The waves repeatedly hit the towering black rocks, making a dull roar and splashing white foam all over the sky. Everyone has hope in their hearts, and they feel that the snapping sound of their footsteps stepping through the accumulated sea water is very clear.
Passing through the two most rugged rocks is the beach.
Aruhan ran here panting, his footsteps suddenly stopped, and everyone behind him stopped immediately, all stunned.
It turned out that in the short time they arrived here, dozens of ships had already docked in the harbor, some leaning against the old trestle, and some leisurely approaching the shoal. What was loaded in those ships was not cargo, but groups of soldiers holding swords and guns and carrying luggage.
On the coast, someone blew a sharp whistle to signal the soldiers who were landing.
There were also people running back and forth holding bundles of flags in their hands. Most of the ones in their hands are small triangular flags. Every three or five feet, small flags of a certain color were stuck into the ground, marking the direction of travel of different troops.
The direction of march marked by flags mostly led to the higher seawall in the south of the harbor.
Those flags come in various colors such as black, white, cyan, red, yellow, and blue. Most of the flags have no patterns but simple numbers. Some of the larger square flags, with lace in different formats, looked confusing at first glance, but the soldiers could easily recognize the meaning of the flags and naturally walked in the direction of the flag markings.
Aruhan vaguely recognized that several of the people arranging flags were Haicao leaders who had passed through Haicang Town many times. This group of people, who spend half the year living on the water, are the most unruly, but now looking from a distance, they all look solemn and solemn.
Aruhan turned to stare in the direction of the fleet.
After watching for a while, he found that although Dajin's cannons all looked the same, he still recognized a few familiar ships and the sailors on board.
Haicang Town is really deserted, and there are no taverns or restaurants in the harbor, so after the ship docks, the sailors are not in a hurry to disembark. But in the past, they at least played dice and gambled or made noises and fights.
At this moment, they were extremely quiet, just waiting on the boat obediently, watching the soldiers disembarking one after another.
It can be seen that the army that landed is well-trained, but most of the soldiers are not adapted to sea transportation.
Many people staggered after getting off the boat, and some were vomiting. So the officers arranged for them to sit down and rest, while the troops who landed behind them passed them and continued to advance.
The troops who landed at the back were marching and laughing at the soldiers who were resting nearby. Some of the soldiers who were sitting were not angry, so they grabbed sand and stones and threw them over, causing more and more fierce ridicule.
This acquaintance's fighting spirit stopped immediately after the officers arrived, and the troops moved faster and faster. Groups of swordsmen and spearmen arrived at the seawall and sat down neatly, while some capable men rode forward to patrol.
At the edge of the queue, a young officer jumped from the bow of the ship, stepped through the mud without stopping, and looked around.
The followers who followed him noticed Aruhan and his party standing under the rocks. A servant pointed to them and said something to the young officer.
The young officer nodded slightly and then left the team. A young man strode closer and waved repeatedly.
Aruhan's companions were frightened by such military power and suddenly lost their energy. Many of them had already begun to nod and bow.
Aruhan sighed, adjusted his leather armor and waist knife, and hurried forward to meet him.
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