Hearing this, Ma Zheng hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I can see the sea at this time, but it is difficult to ride on the boat."
Hu Yanqing next to him also said: "Your Majesty, Master Ma is right. It's dusk now, and it will get even later when we reach the seaside. I'm afraid we can only look at the sea."
Zhao Tong said: "Then let's take a look at the sea first. We'll talk about the ship test another day. If you don't even take a look at the sea, you won't be able to study anything by continuing to stay in the house."
Ma Zhengdao: "Then I will make arrangements now."
Zhao Tong said: "Call Dalang together."
Ma Zheng said "yes" with a slightly strange look on his face. As he walked, he was wondering why the prince was so interested in his son. In the past few days, he spent more time chatting with Ma Kuo than with him and Hu Yanqing. many.
Hu Yanqing, who had a black face and was tall and strong, said: "Your Majesty, I thought of something. Since I am crossing the sea in the name of going north to buy horses, do I need to find a few people who know horses to cover me? Such a list of personnel It’s going to increase again.”
Zhao Tong said: "The maximum number of people is three, and the boat will be the original two. No more can be added. Too many will be too conspicuous."
He now doesn't know who is in control of Liaodong. What the palace and Daojun and the emperor said were half-truths and half-false. Talking about crossing the Liao border was just maximizing the danger.
Liaodong has been defeated by the Jurchens in the past two years, and then a tug-of-war began, with many back and forths. However, even if Liaodong is not there, the Liao Kingdom still has the Dadingfu front line to go to sea, and both sides may encounter it.
Hu Yanqing said: "I remember it."
At this time, Ma Kuo came in and saluted Zhao Tao. Zhao Tao saw that Ma Kuo was as elegant as his father. Those who didn't know him thought he was a famous scholar. In fact, both father and son were military generals.
When Yue Fei and Zhao Tong were chatting, they mentioned that they met Ma Kuo on the road. Zhao Tong already knew that Ma Kuo was an unparalleled loyal, courageous and careful man, good at martial arts, and very capable in foreign affairs. He was going to take the exam in the autumn. He became a martial arts scholar.
Zhao Tong said: "Dalang, come with me to see the sea."
Ma Kuo said in confusion: "Your Majesty, if you go to the beach so late at night, you won't see much, it's just dark."
Zhao Tong shook his head and just smiled.
Ma Kuo suddenly realized: "Your Majesty, you want to go to the beacon tower?"
Zhao Tong said: "Dalang still understands."
After saying that, he glanced at Hu Yanqing. Hu Yanqing suddenly realized that it was so late and he was still taking a boat to see the sea. This person clearly wanted to patrol the seaside...
An hour later, Zhao Tong stood on the beacon tower on the top of Danya mountain and looked down at the front. At this moment, the sky had completely darkened.
The moonlight is bright in the sky, the stars are bright, and the sea in the distance is deep, lonely and silent.
Occasionally, when the wind blows, the waves roll in one after another. The tops of the waves are as white as snow, but the water behind them is blue or even pitch black, with no end in sight.
Zhao Tong remained silent. This is the one closest to the seaside among the thirteen beacon towers in Danya Mountain. It is located at a very high position and offers a very far-reaching view of the sea and the sky.
At this moment, only Ma Kuo was standing next to him, and everyone else was under the stone steps.
He stood still for a full quarter of an hour, until the full moon became more aligned over the sea and the water became a little more blue, then he slowly turned around.
Not far behind was Dengzhou City. It was just dark at this time, and the lights in the city were dotted. A breeze blew by, and Zhao Tong looked a little lonely.
Walking down the stone steps step by step, Ma Zheng and others hurriedly followed. The little Fengzi who was originally watching out saluted, turned around and ran up, continuing to guard the gloomy night.
After passing through the rough second floor of the beacon tower and going down the stairs, candlelight flickers in the fishtail hall on the ground floor. The beacon commander and deputy of this beacon tower and five subordinate beacons are waiting here.
A beacon tower has a capacity of eight people, and there is no shortage, which makes Zhao Tong feel a little relieved.
Compared with the Gyeonggi Province, the defense on this seaside is obviously much tighter, and the problem of free money is also much less. This does not mean that officials do not want to be greedy, but if you are greedy too much, your life may not be saved.
It's not the court that wants your life, but the pirates.
The maritime trade of this dynasty has reached an unprecedented level of prosperity, and the pirates are dazzled and the demons are dancing wildly.
The Huangshuiyang side of the Bohai Sea is better. Although it is also attacked by pirates, the frequency is not high. There is no coastal town on the East China Sea that has not been attacked by pirates, even several times a year. Killings and robberies occur from time to time. .
Going down the mountain and back to Dengzhou City, there was no conversation all the way. Zhao Tong looked lonely, and the others remained silent.
After passing a temple and arriving at the Bell and Drum Tower in the center of the city, Zhao Tong looked up at the wide and tall building and breathed a sigh of relief.
In coastal cities like Dengzhou City, there is a half-time curfew, which ends at the third watch and returns at the fifth watch.
However, this place is not as prosperous as Tokyo, and there is no one on the street before midnight. However, it is still early, no matter the season, there are many people having fun at the hawker stalls under the bell and drum towers.
Zhao Tong sat on his horse and watched for a while, and saw that the people were not afraid of the officers and soldiers. Their group, Ma Zheng and Hu Yanqing, were wearing official uniforms, and they were followed by some soldiers carrying swords and guns.
The people just glanced at it and continued to play. The young lady and the young man were affectionate, the officials and their wives were walking around, the children were holding a fresh fruit and gnawing hard, and the vendors secretly stuffed a few coins into their mother-in-law when they were not paying attention. into the shoe.
Zhao Tong seemed to be fascinated by what he saw, and as he looked around, he saw the voice of a storyteller coming from deep within the crowd.
He dismounted his horse, with Huang Gu and Ouyang Bei guarding him on both sides, and slowly walked into the crowd. When the people watching saw them coming, although they were not afraid, they still found a way out of the way.
What is being said in the front is a piece of drum writing. An old man in commoner clothes with white beard and hair, and a granddaughter in red clothes and pigtails are talking and singing about Xue Rengui's miracle of reaching the Tianshan Mountains with one arrow.
The little granddaughter has eyes as bright as grapes and a voice as sweet as an oriole. She looks like a teenager, but in Zhao Tong's eyes, she is much taller than she was last year.
Zhao Tong smiled and clapped his hands after reading a paragraph.
The little girl tilted her head and looked at him, then tugged at the corner of her grandfather's clothes. The old man nodded and greeted Zhao Tong.
The little girl bent down, pulled out a cloth bag from under the drum stand, and opened it carefully. Inside were some children's snacks, fruits, and some small toys.
She carefully took the fruit and the snacks she thought were the best, and then jumped up and ran towards Zhao Tao.
When Huang Gu and Ouyang Bei saw them, they immediately stopped in front of them. Zhao Tong shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, I'm an old Tokyo guy."
The little girl didn't speak when she came closer. She just handed the thing in her hand forward. Zhao Tong took it with one hand, touched her head with the other hand, and said with a smile: "She has grown taller."
The little girl just said "hehe", showed a sweet smile, said nothing, turned around and ran back...
Three days later, two sea-going ships, with a total of 139 people, left Dengzhou in the early morning and sailed into the vast sea.
(End of chapter)
