If it were a modern steel ship, it would be impossible to drive it without more than one year of training.
Especially when the crew has no basic skills and is even mostly illiterate, this time will be extended on a large scale.
However, sailboats are much simpler. Although many places are different, the basic principles are not much different. Ten days of emergency training can at least drive the boat.
When we get to the sea, we are slowly tossing and turning.
The only reason why Li Yunze chose to go to sea in November was to avoid the terrifying storm period.
No matter how awesome a boat is, it is afraid of storms. Of course, it will avoid them whenever possible.
What's more, the temperature is not low near the equator in winter, and there is still enough time to clean up the local harvest spices and return on the original route before the storm arrives.
Starting from Jiangdu, we go out to sea along the river.
Then go all the way south along the coastline and go straight to Lingnan.
Naturally, there were all kinds of troubles along the way, and there was even a serious accident in which two ships collided.
As for other lost experiences, the sails could not be raised, the cables were twisted together, seasickness fell overboard, and other things that were countless.
There is nothing anyone can do about this kind of thing, they can only slowly adapt and absorb experience.
Fortunately, actual combat is the best classroom. By the time we went all the way south to Lingnan, we were already gradually getting into shape.
The people sent by nobles from various families can only be a starting point. The real main force still has to rely on the sailors who have been making a living on the water all year round.
As early as the fourth year of Wude, Feng Ang surrendered the land of twenty states in Lingnan to the Tang Dynasty.
It's just that this kind of affiliation is similar to listening to the tune but not the propaganda, and it's just a nominal affiliation.
Especially after Li Mi, Du Fuwei and others died suddenly or had their heads chopped off for one reason or another, Feng An had no intention of going to Chang'an City in the face of the Tang Emperor's summons.
When Li Er came to power, Feng Ang felt that Li Er might be different from Li Yuan who used all means to eliminate the heroes, so he sent his eldest son Feng Zhidai to the court that year.
At this moment, the person greeting the fleet at the dock was Feng Zhidai.
Seeing such a majestic ship, Feng Zhidai on the dock was immediately messed up in the wind.
"How can there be such a big ship in the world?!"
Lingnan in this era was not a closed place. Fleets of Arab merchants often came here to supply supplies before traveling north and south.
Therefore, Lingnan is not lagging behind at least in terms of information acquisition.
But even Feng Zhidai, who is used to seeing all kinds of sea-going ships, has never seen such a large ship with a displacement of hundreds or thousands of tons. The tall and wall-like sails of Nuo are taller than the city wall. .
The boat was too big to approach, so we could only anchor near the shore and take a small boat to the shore.
As a liaison officer, Ma Zhou made introductions to everyone before and after running.
“I’ve met you all~~~”
"I've met Shaoqing~~~"
After a brief exchange of greetings, Li Yunze motioned to the ugly-looking dandies behind him, "Please, Shaoqing, please arrange a place to stay so that they can have a good rest."
Feng Zhidai was surprised, "What's going on?"
"seasick."
Arranging people to take the seasick dudes to the city to rest, Feng Zhidai asked puzzledly, "I have such a large fleet of ships, how can I get seasick?"
"It doesn't matter, you'll get used to it after vomiting. If you vomit for another ten days and a half, you'll probably get used to it." Li Yunze looked around, "The pier here is too small, and the ship can't even get by."
Feng Zhidai smiled bitterly, "It's ridiculous. People's livelihood in Lingnan is poor and they can't afford to expand..."
"I'll pay for it." Li Yunze said simply, "I'll pay for it, and you'll do your part. How about expanding this pier so that it can accommodate large ships?"
Feng Zhidai was slightly stunned, "But it will cost a lot of money."
"It doesn't matter." Li Yunze smiled slightly, "How about a hundred thousand coins?"
"This, this." Feng Zhidai's mind was a little confused, and he subconsciously wanted to agree, but he always felt something was wrong, so he hurriedly said, "This matter needs to be reported to my father."
"It just so happens." Li Yunze smiled slightly, "I have your Majesty's letter to Duke Feng here. Come with me."
Feng Zhidai had never seen such an impatient envoy. In the past, envoys from the imperial court always needed to rest for a few days to bathe and change clothes. They would only visit Feng An after a time was arranged.
It was the first time that Li Yunze was so anxious to meet him as soon as he got off the boat.
Unable to find a good excuse to refuse, Feng Zhidai took Li Yunze to see Feng Ang in a daze.
As early as the Kaihuang period of the former Sui Dynasty, Feng Ang was already the county magistrate.
After so many years, Feng An is already quite old. Although his hair is gray, he looks very energetic.
"I've met Mr. Feng."
Li Yunze signaled Ma Zhou to take out Li Er's personal letters and imperial edicts and hand them directly to Feng An.
There is nothing much to say about the imperial edict, it is nothing more than a reward.
Personal letters are similar. The main content is, 'How are you lately? How are you? I miss you so much~~~' and so on.
After all, the road here in Lingnan is not only far away, but also very difficult to travel.
I remember that when Zulong conquered the Baiyue Land in the south of Lingnan, he used hundreds of thousands of troops and spent countless hours to capture it.
It's not that a large army is impossible to conquer, but it would cost a lot more than the gain is worth the loss. Naturally, the main purpose is to win over and bribe.
"Your Majesty~~~"
Feng Ang, who is also an actor, wiped his tears in front of Li Yunze and Ma Zhou, expressing his respect and longing for Li Er.
He looked as if he wished he could fly to Chang'an City right now and have a drink and talk with Li Er to relieve the pain of lovesickness.
There is no trace of his repeated refusal to be called up in the past and his unwillingness to join the court for various reasons.
After the performance ended, Feng Ang solemnly put away the edict and letters, then wiped the corners of his eyes and started talking.
"I heard that you are going to sea this time to find the spice island?" Feng Ang naturally has his own informants in Chang'an City, and of course he knows the relevant things.
"Exactly."
Li Yunze understood what he meant and immediately expressed his position, "It just so happened that the Changsun family withdrew early. Is Feng Gong interested in taking over the share vacated by their family?"
Feng Ang stroked his beard and smiled, "Of course I'm interested in such a good thing. However, Lingnan is so poor that we can't afford that much money."
"You don't have to pay. I can also give you 100,000 yuan in return to build and expand the wharf."
Li Yunze's words made Feng Ang change his face slightly, "Why is this?"
"I would like to ask Mr. Feng to send a thousand men." Li Yunze raised his finger and said, "I want soldiers."
As soon as he said this, Feng Ang's expression became solemn, "Do you want to establish a country overseas?"
"How can it be."
Li Yunze laughed. "Instead of establishing a country in a poor place like that, it would be better to be a mountain king in the Tang Dynasty. There are a lot of local savages on the Spice Island, and we need weapons to clean them up."
Feng Zhidai on the side couldn't help but said, "Aren't you the ones who led it yourself?"
"They all go to make a fortune," Li Yunze spread his hands, "If not, they go to fight."
Feng Ang raised his hand to signal Feng Zhidai to shut up, and said after a brief pause, "Let me think about this matter."
"Can."
Li Yunze nodded, "I will be repairing here for ten days and replenishing various supplies. I hope Mr. Feng will give a reply within ten days."
When Li Yunze and Ma Zhou left, Feng Zhidai couldn't help but said, "Father..."
Feng Ang waved his hand, "I have concerns, no need to say more."
"It's okay to borrow troops, but you can't give that much." Feng An thought carefully and said, "Lend him half. As for repairing the dock, you can't."
Feng Zhidai was very surprised, "Why is this? It's a good thing."
It is of course a good thing for others to give you money to expand your infrastructure. He didn't understand why his father refused.
"You." Feng Ang looked at his eldest son and shook his head, "I only saw the benefits, not the hidden dangers."
Feng Zhidai hurriedly saluted, "Please ask father to clear up my doubts."
"Have you seen their ship?"
"Yes, the child has seen it. Its sails are like a wall, and its ships are like a city."
"Before you came, someone had already come to report to me." Feng An sighed, "How many people do you think a ship like this can carry?"
Feng Zhidai thought for a while and responded, "Hundreds of people can still be pretended."
"That's right." Feng An nodded. "This time there are ten ships. What if there are a hundred ships? One hundred such big ships carry tens of thousands of elites and land directly at the dock."
Having said this, Feng Ang pointed in the direction of the dock, "How far is it from there to here?"
Hearing this, Feng Zhidai was suddenly shocked.
If the dock is really expanded to the point where it can dock such a large ship, one day the imperial court wants to take action against Lingnan, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses will suddenly appear outside Guangzhou, without even time to react.
"Although this man is young, he is very thoughtful." Feng Ang sighed, "Unknowingly, he used one hundred thousand dollars as bait and almost dug a big hole for Lingnan."
Feng Zhidai nodded repeatedly, "This person looks honest and honest, but I never thought he could be so cruel and ruthless."
This is really an injustice to Li Yunze.
He really had no intention of laying an ambush for Li Er, he just wanted to borrow a group of soldiers and horses adapted to woodland warfare from Feng Ang to clean up the indigenous people on the islands in Southeast Asia.
That 100,000 yuan was just a rental fee. Where did the matter of transporting troops to attack Guangzhou City come from?
Even if he really had this plan, at this time, even if Li Er pawned his dragon robe, he couldn't afford a hundred flying scissor galen ships, let alone find so many sailors who could operate these large ships.
At this time, basically all the sailors in the entire Tang Dynasty who could run seagoing ships had been transferred to Li Yunze's fleet.
"The dock cannot be expanded, but we still have to go out to sea to find the Spice Island."
Feng Ang smiled slightly and said, "Lingnan's productivity is not high. If we can find the Spice Island, it will be an important source of finance and taxation in the future."
Of course, Lingnan in this era cannot be compared with Lingnan in the modern world.
The population is small, the productivity is not high, there are dense forests everywhere, and there are no major products. It is indeed not easy to live a good life.
If you can control the Spice Island, it will be a huge source of income.
Coincidentally, many noble people think so too.
It cannot be said that they do not understand economics, it can only be said that they do not understand.
Luxury goods that are supplied on a large scale are no longer luxury goods, and it is even less possible to sell them at the price of luxury goods.
Li Yunze is not afraid that they will have this idea. If they don't have this idea, who would be willing to travel thousands of miles to the savage land to incorporate these islands that naturally belong to Middle Earth into their territory.
He wanted the people of Tang Dynasty to know that they should not stare at the Western Region all day long. There was also countless wealth and land on the southern sea.
And in this era, as long as you are determined to get it, no one can beat them.
