The first emperor climbed Laishan Mountain the next day and offered sacrifices to the Lord of the Moon with Qin rites.
In order to flatter the emperor, Bai Qi, the governor of Jiaodong County, made the scene so big that he even dragged all the people from all the villages around Huang County to the foot of the mountain to join in the count.
The First Emperor was satisfied with this. He worshiped the Eight Gods of Qi along the way this time, precisely to express an attitude to the people of Qi, so as to stabilize Qi and allow these people of Qi to integrate ideologically into the rule of Qin.
After completing the sacrifice to the Moon Lord, the First Emperor's mind could no longer be restrained, and he flew straight to Zhifu Island in the southeast, faster than his body.
He wanted to see the sea that he had been thinking about for a long time.
The First Emperor, who is the lord of the world, has never seen the sea that the world calls the sea. This has always been a regret in his heart.
Lu Sheng, Han Zhong and other alchemists kept bragging in his ears about the vastness of the ocean, the legendary overseas fairy mountains, and the immortal immortals and elixirs on the fairy mountains, which moved the First Emperor's heart.
The First Emperor longed for immortality, but he was not an ignorant person.
He had always been skeptical about the things boasted by Lu Sheng and others. Especially after the Hou Si incident broke out, his trust in these alchemists plummeted.
In addition to completing some political goals during this eastward tour, he also wanted to see the sea and verify whether what Lu Sheng and others said was true.
Hearing is false, seeing is true.
If Lu Sheng and others can convince him here, then the First Emperor can naturally provide funding to the alchemists like King Qi Wei and King Yan Zhao, allowing them to go to sea to search for immortals.
Under such circumstances, in early July of the twenty-eighth year of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor's motorcade finally arrived at Chuí County on the coast.
Xiuxian County is just a small coastal county with a small city and no characteristics, so it cannot attract the interest of the emperor and the accompanying ministers.
This is just a transit point. The emperor's goal is to take a boat from the harbor of Xianxian County to Zhifu Island not far away.
The ship is a large-scale building ship transferred from Langya. It belongs to the original Qi State Navy and is the navy of Qi State that is proud of the world. It's a pity that after Zhao Tuo's troops surrounded Linzi in the battle of Zhencheng, Qi Wangjian quickly surrendered the whole country, leaving the Qi people's boat division useless.
Except for a small number of Qi people who were unwilling to surrender to Qin and fled to the Korean Peninsula by boat, most of the Qi navy surrendered directly to the Qin army and now serve as escorts for the emperor to Zhifu Island.
"Your Majesty, this is the sea. It is vast and boundless. No one knows where the end of the sea is."
After boarding the ship, Lu Sheng and Han Zhong gathered next to the First Emperor and introduced him to the ocean scenery.
The First Emperor stood calmly at the bow of the ship, his eyes fixed on the endless sea in the distance. He nodded slightly to what Lu Sheng and others said, indicating that he understood.
"The sea..."
The First Emperor looked at the endless sea in the sea breeze, not knowing what he was thinking in his head.
After a while, he looked back at Hu Hai, who was cheering on the deck.
He asked: "Hu Hai, what does it feel like to see the sea?"
"The sea, so much water!"
Hu Hai shouted loudly. The child was naturally very happy when he saw the sea for the first time.
The First Emperor smiled and shook his head, then looked at the calm-looking Zhao Tuo next to him, and nodded secretly.
Compared with others, this boy really has the air of a general.
Zhao Tuo stood beside the ship, letting the sea breeze blow on him. He felt open-minded and nothing strange happened. He had been on a ship in his previous life and had experience in sea navigation.
Ziying next to him had turned yellow and his legs were trembling.
In fact, Ziying was doing quite well. Not far away, the faces of the ministers and ministers had different expressions, and many of them were already feeling seasick.
For example, the servant of the minister, Li You, had a face that was blue and yellow from holding back, his teeth were clenched, his whole body was swaying, and he looked as if he could spit it out at any time.
Or feeling Zhao Tuo's gaze, Li You looked over, with a sullen face, and nodded calmly to Zhao Tuo.
"Brother Li is indeed a real man. He was so seasick that his face changed, but he could still endure it."
Zhao Tuo secretly gave Li You a thumbs up.
The First Emperor and the two alchemists were left there to continue chatting about the sea, while Zhao Tuo went to talk to the Qin general who was in charge of the building and ship.
Although he led the Qin army to conquer the north and south and wipe out the princes and barbarians, he had never actually fought a water war.
In the battle to destroy the Qi Dynasty, the entire country surrendered, and matters such as accepting the boat divisions were all done by his subordinate General Bi. Zhao Tuo didn't know much about it, and now he was a little curious about the boat technology of this era.
After a conversation, Zhao Tuo was quite surprised when he heard that Qi people had taken a boat directly to North Korea.
"The Qin Dynasty's shipbuilding technology was pretty good, and it can lead to Liaodong and North Korea."
It's normal if you think about it carefully. In the Spring and Autumn Period more than two hundred years ago, King Wu Fu Chai led his navy to cross the sea for hundreds of miles to conquer Qi. Although the Wu army was defeated by the Qi army's navy, at any rate It created the historical record of maritime expeditions.
If we push back from the Qin Dynasty, a hundred years later Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an army of 50,000 people to conquer Korea across the sea with large ships.
Therefore, it was normal for sea ships of this era to reach North Korea, and it was not impossible to even reach the Japanese archipelago. However, because navigation technology is not yet developed enough, coupled with the changeable sea winds and the sea surface often shrouded in fog, most ships need to sail close to the coast, which is the so-called "geographical navigation". The navigation and direction must be determined by landmarks on the ground. .
If you want to truly ride the wind and waves and sail across the sea, you must have an experienced navigator.
"In terms of navigation skills, the most famous one in the entire Qin Dynasty is Xu Shi. I don't know if this old boy really went to Japan to become the emperor in history."
…
Zhifu Island is not big, only more than twenty miles long, and only four or five miles wide at its widest point. However, its scenery is unique. It has rugged rocks near the sea, steep cliffs, and dense trees on the island, which are lush and lively. Seabirds fly over, and there is a unique scene between the blue sea and sky.
Such a scene had never been seen by the First Emperor and many ministers who had lived inland for a long time. Except for the seasick man who was swaying after getting off the boat, everyone else looked around in surprise.
At this moment, the accompanying Jiaodong County Governor Bai Qi reported an important matter to the emperor in public.
"Now, Xu Shi, a Langya alchemist, hunted a strange beast in the sea. He is now imprisoned in Zhifu and is specially presented to Your Majesty."
"Tell Xu Shi to come and see you."
The First Emperor spoke calmly.
This news, Bai Qi, Lu Sheng and others had told him privately before, which aroused his expectations. Now that it was reported to the public, it was natural to show it in front of all the ministers.
"Animals from the sea?"
"Exotic beast, what alien beast!"
All the ministers were curious about the word "alien beast".
Only Zhao Tuo was surprised by the alchemist's name.
Xu market!
"How come I just missed Xu City, and Xu City came here."
Zhao Tuo was inexplicably shocked. He had just thought of the glorious deeds of the navigator Xu Shi on the ship, but the other party came as soon as he landed on the island. What a coincidence.
However, Zhao Tuo reacted quickly. Looking at Lu Sheng and Han Zhong who were smiling, he felt confident.
"Good guy, the alchemists are working together. Lu Sheng hooked the emperor to come to Zhifu Island. Apart from mirages, this Xu Shi is probably one of his trump cards. I want to see what kind of strange beasts he can come up with."
While Zhao Tuo was thinking, he saw a middle-aged alchemist in a wide robe and long sleeves walking towards the island, following two Qin soldiers.
When he got closer, Zhao Tuo saw that Xu Shi was about forty years old. He had a round face, a long beard, and kind eyebrows. He looked a little festive.
"Your Majesty, Xu Shi, pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty may live forever."
Xu Shi stepped forward and bowed to the First Emperor.
Everyone's expressions changed.
Flatterer!
Zhao Tuo cursed secretly in his heart, he had never seen such a shameless person.
Even Lu Sheng and Han Zhong frowned slightly, feeling that Xu Shi was quite capable.
The original meaning of the word "chen" is slave. In the pre-Qin period, even if you did not have an official position, you could still call yourself "chen" to others. There was no problem with Xu Shi's self-identification. The most important thing was that he followed it with the sentence "Longevity without borders".
This sentence comes from "Poetry·Xiaoya". It is said that the king is Bu'er, and his longevity is boundless.
It means wishing people longevity and endless longevity.
The First Emperor originally wanted to live forever and live forever, but now Xu Shi is saying that he will live forever.
This flattery went straight to the emperor's heart.
The First Emperor was really smiling, and he had a better impression of Xu Shi, the alchemist whom he met for the first time.
He waved his hand and said, "Xu Qing, please excuse me. The governor of Jiaodong County said that you have a strange beast from the sea that you would like to offer to me. I wonder what this strange beast is?"
Zhao Tuo looked over intently. He was also curious about what Xu Shi could come up with, and how dare he call it a "strange beast in the sea."
Xu Shi grinned.
"Your Majesty, under the guidance of the immortal, I found a strange beast, a Holuo fish, in the sea, and I came here to offer it to Your Majesty."
Zhao Tuo blinked.
Ho Luoyu?
(End of chapter)
