Regarding his son's thoughts, Huang Qiong did not immediately answer him. He was just looking at his son with his hands behind his back, thinking about something at the same time. Although Huang Ruifeng did not dare to disturb his father's thinking, although he was a little uneasy, he looked at his father expectantly. Huang Qiong could clearly see the anticipation on his face. Just seeing Gui saw it, but Huang Qiong kept hesitating. If his son wants to go out and see, whether it is to cultivate his own heir or other aspects, as a father, he should support him.
If this son made other requests, even if he really wanted to go to the Fan family to stay for a while, Huang Qiong would agree without hesitation. But Huang Qiong was a little hesitant when he wanted to go to sea. At present, ocean sailing relies entirely on sails and wooden hulls, and it is too dangerous to go to sea. The huge waves, strong winds, and countless reefs on the sea will ruthlessly destroy those wooden sailboats. In addition, sailboats with limited carrying capacity may encounter water shortages, food shortages and other problems.
Voyaging seems very tempting, but it is also too dangerous. Once the sailboat you are traveling in crashes, it is basically equal to death. A thousand voyages to sea, three hundred return voyages, this is a true portrayal of sailors in this era. Not to mention, there are all kinds of diseases. Huang Qiong is really worried if he agrees to let this child go to sea. But Huang Qiong also knew that if he didn't agree. Unless you keep it in the palace, you will not let it experience outside the palace. Otherwise, the child would most likely sneak onto the fleet by himself.
But if he agreed to it, Huang Qiong was really worried. After hesitating for a long time, Huang Qiong said to his son: "Since you have been to the ports in the south of the Yangtze River, do you know what will happen to those ships once they reach the sea? Even though those ships are not small, when they reach the sea, they are as big as the vast ocean. It's almost like a fish. Maybe a huge wave will be smashed to pieces. When encountering the kind of strong wind that can destroy everything, it will not take more than a stick of incense to be torn to pieces. When a person reaches the sea, he is not even as good as a fish. An ant is powerful."
"Strong winds and huge waves will tear the ship and all the people on board into pieces at any time. The sea is vast, but it is also extremely dangerous. Even on a sunny day, it seems calm. There are countless dangers lurking under the water. Since you have been to the port, you should also know that whether it is a merchant ship or a fishing boat, there is a great possibility that you will not be able to come back every time you go to sea. Every time you go to sea, is it safe? When you come back, it all depends on whether God will bless you. It can be said that it is 30% experience and 70% luck."
"You are my son and a prince. You don't need to participate in such dangerous things. With your intelligence, you should know that I have been cultivating you and your brother as my heirs all these years. Even if Even if you don't take risks, you can have a comprehensive understanding of ocean trade through the information I give you. I am not telling you this today to really stop you. It is to let you think carefully before proceeding. Come and tell me. Don’t ruin yourself because of impulse or passion.”
Speaking of this, Huang Qiong looked at his son's face after hearing what he said. After pondering for a moment, he added: "I will give you a few days. After you think it over carefully, you can come and tell me your thoughts. Also, you must first discuss this matter with your mother and concubine and obtain her consent." That's right. Although I'm very happy that you made this request today. You have the courage to take risks that you don't need to take to see the outside world. But after all, you are not my son alone. Convince your mother first Come find me again."
Seeing his son hearing his request to convince Duan Jin before going to Fan's house, he showed a somewhat disappointed face. Huang Qiong pondered for a while and then said: "Now Yang Jiyuan is training the navy in Mizhou. After several years of hard work, the training of the navy has begun to bear fruit. It has begun to march to the ocean one after another, and last year it escorted a group of merchant ships. Japan and Korea. Although offshore activities are still mainly offshore, they are relatively safer. If you really want to understand the sea, I suggest you go to Yang Jiyuan."
"You are not a businessman, but a prince. Understanding the navy is far more important than understanding the merchant fleet. From now on, whoever controls the sea can truly control the world. Therefore, I hope you go to the navy. Except for me. In addition to my expectations for you, I also have selfish motives. Because you are my son, I don’t want you to encounter too much danger. I don’t want you to disappear forever in the rough waves with those sea traders or fishermen. Among the waves. You mean well, and this will serve you well in the future."
"But I really don't want to, and I'm reluctant for you to take that risk. Remember, you will be the superior in the future, and you should not put yourself in danger. What you have to do in the future is to control the overall situation, not just a corner. If you go At the navy, I promise you that you don’t need to ask your mother for instructions. Of course, I don’t want to force you to accept my opinion on this matter. But I still say that if you choose to go to the Fan family’s merchant fleet, you must be convinced. Your mother agrees. Because you are her only son, and I don’t want her to be sad because of you.”
After hearing his father's suggestion that he go to the navy, Huang Ruifeng was thinking about how to convince his mother, but after thinking about it for a while, he was still somewhat reluctant. For him, who is still young and ignorant, now he either wanders around the coastline or can only go to inland waters. For example, the navy wandering on the Yangtze River is really not very interested in him. I wandered around Mingzhou and Jiangning Mansion, chatting a lot with the merchants and sailors. He even wanted to leave his guards behind and secretly take a merchant ship from Jiangning Mansion to Guangzhou Mansion.
If it weren't for the cleverness of a few guards, he would have really escaped. Although several guards finally caught up with him and followed him all the way to Guangzhou Mansion. After staying in Guangzhou for a few months, when the monsoon came again, I took another bus from Guangzhou to Liuqiu, and then from Liuqiu to Mingzhou. Along the way, the second son of the emperor, who was disguised as a traveling scholar, did not put on the airs of a prince. Along the way, he chatted very well with the merchants and sailors. From these people, I learned many unknown things about the sea.
On the way back and forth, I also saw a lot of things that I had never seen before, or even heard about. We saw fish as big as mountains, some unique-looking fur seals, dolphins that can pilot ships and other creatures. I also learned the slang from various places with a southern accent and a northern accent from those merchants and sailors. This kid is very good at hiding. Those people have been dealing with him for several months, but they didn't realize that he was a noble person. Even though several of the accompanying guards were nervous to death, this boy was quite relaxed along the way.
It was the coming and going that made him full of interest in the sea. They are also looking forward to what those maritime merchants say about the Southeast Asian countries further away, as well as Tianzhu and Persia further to the west. Of course, on his way back and forth, he also encountered huge waves several stories high, which hit the 600-stone boat he was riding in like a leaf on a windy day. Similarly, we have also seen fellow ships sink due to accidental collision with rocks. But even after seeing these dangers with his own eyes, he still didn't stop his yearning for the other side of the sea.
But the thought of trying to persuade his mother gave the boy another headache. Although my mother has a somewhat loose temperament, she is also a bit carefree and carefree about herself. But my mother truly loves me. If he knew that he was going to do something so dangerous in her eyes, he would only agree to it. I am afraid that if I say that I will follow the merchant fleet and go to the Southeast Asian countries. Huang Ruifeng bets that his mother will probably break his legs. He didn't really want to go to the navy, but his father insisted on going to Nanyang and convinced his mother first.
Compared to going to the navy, it was more difficult to convince my mother. Huang Ruifeng, who was really unwilling to give in, still wanted to fight for it. But when he saw that although his expression was calm, there was a flash of love in his eyes, he suddenly understood. His father knew very well that his mother's temperament seemed to be loose, but was actually quite stubborn. If he wanted to convince her to do such a dangerous thing, there was almost no chance of success. My father was reluctant to take risks, but because of his status he couldn't stop him, so he came up with such a trick.
After thinking about what his father had just said, Huang Ruifeng found to his dismay that with the unanimous lack of support from his parents, it was almost impossible for him to achieve his goal. Especially me, the emperor, I am really cunning. Although there was no reaction on the surface, he expressed support behind the scenes. But he quietly set a trap for himself. Even though he knew his mother's temperament, he still asked himself to convince her that he was not crazy. Wasn't this asking him to take the initiative to let his mother deal with him?
After trying to understand these things, the second son of the emperor, who was originally very excited, finally accepted Huang Qiong's very kind suggestion in frustration and went to the Navy to gain experience. But just looking at his obviously frustrated son, Huang Qiong waved him to the imperial map. Pointing to the north of Bohai, except for a few places, there was a large blank space and said: "If you choose to go to the Navy, then I will give you a task. Look, this is Bohai, and to the north are Beiliao's Tokyo Road and Zhongjing Road, to the south are the state capitals on Shandong Road of Daqi."
"If Da Qi wants to seize Bei Liao's Tokyo Road and cut off Bei Liao's main source of food, taking the sea route is undoubtedly the shortest distance and the most convenient way. However, the coastal area of Bohai Sea is so large, it is better to go ashore from there. There are so many rivers flowing into Bohai from Tokyo Road in Beiliao. Which one can flow up to Tokyo Road? If we can find a river that flows directly upstream, how far does it have to go from the mouth of the sea to Liaoyang Prefecture? And this one can go directly upstream to Liaoyang Prefecture. What is the depth of the river and how many boats can it carry along it?”
"On the river, where are the shoals and where are the rapids? In which season the water is the deepest and in which season the water is the shallowest. The most important thing is, how many troops were stationed in Beiliao along the way and what was the situation along the way? If the officers and soldiers went upstream, where would they be? We can obtain supplies. And where is the most suitable place to land? When Yang Jiyuan went to Shandong Road according to my order, I asked him to find out these things. However, his ideas are still a bit conservative and he believes that shipping by sea is more suitable for supplying grain, grass and ordnance, and Not suitable for large-scale troop transport.”
"In the past few years, I have only found the Liao River that enters the sea in Yaozhou. If you go upstream, you can reach the vicinity of Liaoyang Prefecture. But if you go upstream from the Liao River, you can go directly to Liaoyang Prefecture. After all, the main stream of the Liao River passes through Liaoyang Prefecture. Or that tributary can be traced back to Liaoyang Prefecture. If the direct stream to Liaoyang Prefecture is not the main stream, but which tributary? If it is a tributary, how much water is there? When does it freeze in winter and when is the maximum water volume. How much water can it carry? Boats, how many people can each boat carry?”
"If you choose to go to the navy, I will leave this matter to you. I will give you two years to find out this matter clearly. As for what means you use to obtain this information, it depends on your own performance. Yes. Either send people to bribe Bei Liao's fishermen along the Bohai Sea, or send people to go up the Daliao River to find out which river leads to Liaoyang Prefecture."
