Chen Kan took the turtle shell off the tray with great interest and looked around a few times.
Then he looked at the neat army of 15,000 people in front of him and asked softly: "Everyone, do you think there is any country in the world that can stop my great power?"
When the soldiers heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other.
Isn’t it necessary to predict bad luck now? What does it have to do with the power of tomorrow?
But a moment later, a sudden sound suddenly sounded in the field.
"Come back to me, Marshal. No one can stop my mighty Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty is victorious!"
As soon as these words came out, the entire school fell silent.
The next second, someone suddenly shouted: "Da Ming, Wan Sheng!"
In an instant, the entire school ground was boiling.
"Da Ming, Wan Sheng!"
"Great Ming Dynasty, ten thousand years!"
The roaring sound shook the sky, making people's blood boil.
Chen Kan smiled with satisfaction.
He slammed the tortoise shell in his hand to the ground, waved his hand, and laughed heroically: "The power of our Ming Dynasty was achieved by countless men using the long knives in their hands. It was also achieved by countless generals. They fought bravely and bravely without fear of death. There is no need for gods to decide the victory or defeat. Pick up your weapons and I will personally take you to get them."
"My sons, go to war!"
As soon as Chen Kan said this, he instantly ignited the blood of all the soldiers in the school, and even the senior generals couldn't help but be moved by it.
Yes, the power of the Ming Dynasty was achieved by countless soldiers who sacrificed their lives and sacrificed their lives. It was also achieved by countless seniors who shed their lives and blood.
God, what is that?
Can divination of good or bad influence Ming's Erlang achieve the final victory?
No impact.
Since it doesn’t affect them, then go to hell with their gods!
"Go to war!"
As soon as these words came out, the soldiers immediately started to move.
According to the regulations that have been divided long ago, they are arranged in an orderly manner on all the warships in the dock.
This time, there were more than 300 warships accompanying Chen Kan on his expedition.
Three treasure ships, nearly a hundred blessing ships, and more than two hundred cruising warships.
"Woo~"
A heavy horn sounded, and the soldiers sped up.
Zhu Di had prepared this expedition long ago. As soon as Chen Kan arrived, he could skip the process of ordering troops and go directly to sea.
Logistics supplies such as grain, grass, ammunition, and other supplies had already filled the cabin.
Relying on these supplies, this fleet can sail on the sea for a year.
Dozens of cruising warships cleared the way, military horns sounded, and the merchant ships on the entire Yangtze River waterway quickly pulled over and anchored.
Because the sound of the trumpet means that a large army is going out for battle.
When the army goes out for battle, no matter whether you are a prince, aristocrat or a common merchant, get out of the way.
Chen Kan boarded the largest treasure ship and stood on the bow, quietly watching the vanguard clear the channel.
Half an hour later, the big flag on the cruise battleship waved.
So the Chinese army where Chen Kan was located moved!
"Dong~"
"Dong~"
"Dong~"
The soldiers on the bow of the ship beat the war drums. The sound of the war drums this time was different from that of the soldiers, but was to control the treasure ship.
Hearing the sound of drums, the soldiers operating the warships knew what speed they should sail at.
"Weigh anchor and set off!"
The treasure ship under Chen Kan's feet began to move.
Slowly drove into the river along the channel dug in advance.
Two more treasure ships followed.
"Turn the rudder, lift the pan~"
As the sailors shouted, the treasure ship sailed out of the channel, turned a corner, and officially entered the Yangtze River Channel.
Chen Kan stood motionless on the bow of the ship. The huge mast behind him slowly stood up, and the sail made of firecloth slowly rose with the rotation of the winch under the control of several strong men.
The fleet stretched for several miles, and it took a full day to fully enter the Yangtze River channel.
"Du~"
The long sound of conch shells sounded, which meant that the leading troops were approaching the entrance to the sea.
If you want to control an entire fleet on the sea, you can't simply rely on semaphores.
Conches, horns, and even war drums are all indispensable and important tools for controlling the fleet.
Fortunately, Chen Kan didn't need to understand these overly complicated things. There would naturally be sailors on board to control the fleet's course.
When Chen Kan's treasure ship arrived at the mouth of the sea, it was already evening.
Vice Admiral Song Qing walked into Chen Kan's room, knelt down on one knee and raised his hands and asked: "Commander, the fleet has arrived in Jiangning. Do you need to dock at Jiangning Wharf to rest for the night?"
Jiangning, later known as Shanghai, was also the only outlet of the Yangtze River to the sea.
"No need, keep sailing!"
Chen Kan rejected the proposal to rest without thinking.
At this time, the fleet has just started sailing. If it docks at Jiangning Pier to rest, it will waste another day when setting off tomorrow.
What's more, this is the sea. There is no difference between day and night on the sea.
As long as you stay within the continental shelf and sail according to the originally planned route, there will basically be no problems.
Song Qing took the order and left. Chen Kan ate some dry food casually, then fell on the bed and fell asleep.
It only took Chen Kan ten days to travel from Beijing to Nanjing. In ten days, he ran a distance of two thousand miles. Even if Chen Kan was made of iron, he had already reached his limit.
Not to mention that after arriving in Nanjing, Chen Kan had no time to make any rest before he was urged to go out again by Zhu Di.
Now that the fleet is on the sea, it only needs to follow a fixed route, and he finally has time to rest.
The fleet sails on the quiet sea, and the sound of the waves is the best soothing song.
When Chen Kan fell asleep, more than half of the soldiers on the ship also got into the cabin and began to sleep and rest.
Only the officers and men controlling the ships were still working.
...
...
On an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean, Zheng He sat in a simple temporary command room.
Surrounding the pirates were hundreds of slightly dilapidated warships.
This unnamed desert island is less than 500 nautical miles away from the Strait of Malacca. It is the temporary settlement of 20,000 people under Zheng He's command.
The desert island is not big, but there is a lake in the center of the island, and the lake is filled with fresh water.
It was precisely because of the existence of that lake that Zheng He would temporarily stick to this desert island.
After three years at sea, Zheng He also transformed from a white-faced and beardless eunuch into a dark-skinned rough man.
The luxurious python robe he was wearing had now turned into a stiff cloth and felt.
Zheng He drove away all the attendants and sat alone on a wicker chair made of woven rattan.
What he held in his hand was a thick stack of nautical charts made of sheepskin that were already turning white.
These charts were Zheng He's biggest gain in the past three years.
This time Zheng He's footprints extended to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Zheng He made detailed records of the customs and customs along the way, as well as the specific conditions of the countries he passed through.
He even brought back a pair of legendary unicorns, also known as giraffes, from the African continent.
Spreading the chart on the table made of rattan, Zheng He took up his pen and began to correct some imperfections on the chart by candlelight.
He has been doing this kind of work on the island for more than a month.
The Strait of Malacca was jointly blockaded by the two Nanyang empires. He led his fleet to attack several times but failed.
Each time, it was because of being attacked from both sides and the enemy's human sea tactics that the enemy failed.
There are many people on the other side, so we can fight.
But Zheng He only had 20,000 men under his command and could not afford to spend them.
So after fighting several tough battles, Zheng He simply found a small island as a base and sent people overland to ask for help.
Fortunately, although the other side had more people, the strength of its ships was far different from Zheng He's treasure ship. Therefore, although the two empires were covetous of the supplies on Zheng He's ship, they did not dare to send fleets to pursue them into the Indian Ocean.
The two sides are now in a peaceful position.
Zheng He couldn't get through, and the other party didn't dare to chase him.
This stalemate lasted for more than half a year.
"Squeak!"
The room made of rattan was pushed away, and Zheng He subconsciously gathered the parchment on the table into his arms.
It wasn't until he saw that the person coming was his deputy Wang En that he relaxed his vigilance.
Wang En was the commander-in-chief of Zheng He's 10,000 soldiers.
In the entire fleet, his status is second only to Zheng He.
"What's wrong Xuanzhen, you're still up so late?"
Zheng He asked, put away the completed parchment in an orderly manner, and then stretched out his hand to signal Wang En to sit down.
Wang En, who never left his body in battle armor, received Zheng He's signal and was not polite to him. He pulled out a wicker chair and sat opposite Zheng He.
Then he said in a loud voice: "General, I can't sleep, so I came to see what you are doing, general."
"What's wrong? Are you worried?"
Zheng He also pulled out a wicker chair and sat down, with a warm smile on his face.
Wang En was silent for a moment and asked: "General, do you think His Majesty still remembers us?"
Zheng He was surprised for a moment and asked, "Why did Xuan Zhen say this?"
"General, it has been more than three years since I followed you, and we have been floating on the sea for more than three years. I thought I could take my brothers back to Ming Dynasty to live a prosperous life this year, but we can only be trapped in China and Japan. On a desert island.”
"We are trapped on the island, but our request for help has been sent out for more than half a year, but His Majesty's reply has not yet arrived. Do you think His Majesty has forgotten us?"
Wang En was a straight man, and he always said whatever he wanted in front of Zheng He, so when he complained, he naturally didn't think about violating taboos.
Seeing the unhappy look on Wang En's face, Zheng He couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Is Xuan Zhen blaming me?"
Wang En said angrily: "The last general will not dare!"
Zheng He continued to laugh and asked: "Are you afraid, or are you not complaining?"
Most of the time, Zheng He is a very easy to get along with. He does not have the dark and vicious thoughts of other eunuchs.
Regardless of his personality or how he treats others, he is like a forthright military commander, and he usually doesn't lose his temper very much.
Therefore, the soldiers under his command talked to him more casually.
But as soon as he asked this question, Wang En was stunned for a moment even though it was a question.
But after the daze passed, there was fear.
Only then did he realize what the bastard words he had just said.
"General... general, last general... last general..."
Zheng He raised his hand to interrupt his defense and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, half a year has passed by, but I have not made any achievements. It is normal for the soldiers to have complaints in their hearts."
Cold sweat broke out on Wang En's forehead: "General, that's not what I meant."
Zheng He shook his head and did not say anything harsh.
He just said lightly: "Go and tell the soldiers that our reinforcements are coming soon. Your Majesty has not forgotten us. It's just that we are too far away from the Ming Dynasty and the reinforcements will not be able to arrive for a while."
Hearing this, Wang En couldn't help but be stunned, and regardless of fear, he hurriedly asked: "General, are you saying that our reinforcements are coming?"
"Is this, is this true?"
Zheng He replied expressionlessly: "Of course it is true, can I still lie to you?"
Seeing that the look on Zheng He's face didn't look fake, Wang En was instantly overjoyed.
He couldn't help but said in surprise: "So His Majesty still remembers us..."
In the middle of his words, Wang En hurriedly fell silent.
He raised his head and saw that Zheng He had no expression on his face, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he cupped his hands towards Zheng He and said, "General, are you going to tell the brothers this good news right now?"
Zheng He nodded and said: "Go, tell the brothers to cheer up and train well. In addition, the holes in the ship that need to be repaired can also be repaired. Once the reinforcements arrive, we will also let Paramesura feel it." What does it feel like to be attacked from both sides?"
"The last general takes command!"
Wang En came sighing and left happily.
Watching Wang En's back go away, Zheng He's expression darkened in an instant.
Wang En's attitude largely represents the attitude of his soldiers.
That's why he wasn't angry.
Three years of wandering at sea have long made these tough-as-nails Ming men full of complaints.
For a group of soldiers who are full of resentment, the best way is to appease rather than use high pressure.
If he dares to be angry with Wang En today, maybe the soldiers will dare to mutiny tomorrow.
Zheng He knew how to lead troops, how could he not understand these things?
As for telling Wang En that the reinforcements sent by His Majesty were on the way, it was actually just a desperate move to appease people.
Their current location is too far away from Daming.
Although he sent out three waves of messengers in succession, he was still not sure that the messengers could successfully send the news that they were trapped in the Indian Ocean back to Nanjing.
It can be said that Zheng He was more panicked than any other soldier.
After all, soldiers are individuals and they have grievances to complain about.
But he couldn't. Not only could he not show the panic in his heart, he also had to maintain calmness and confidence in front of all the soldiers.
This tortured feeling once gave him the urge to break through the blockade between the two countries and return to Ming Dynasty regardless of casualties.
But in the end, he suppressed this impulse with his strongest sense.
He can't do that. He is the captain and the soul of this fleet.
He must be responsible for the 20,000 lives in the fleet. He brought these 20,000 people out, and he has this responsibility and obligation to bring them back.
Moreover, he must bring the supplies and charts on board back to Daming.
Because among the supplies, in addition to the gold, silver and rare treasures obtained from transactions with various countries in the past few years, there are also various types of grains that he has collected from various places in the past few years.
These things are too important, more important than his life.
