big song poppi

Chapter 617 0614 [Can become Da Qi's dog...]

It was already evening when we arrived in Qingdao Town.

As the host, Ma Kuo paid for Wang Qi to have a banquet at Zhuo Lou at his own expense.

At the banquet, both the host and the guests were toasting each other and having a great time.

When you come to Qingdao, you naturally have to eat seafood. Wang Qi ate so much seafood that he almost swallowed his tongue.

Goryeo is also on the sea, so naturally there are many marine fish.

However, Goryeo's cooking method was still based on the most primitive steaming method. The royal family and nobles might learn from the Central Plains and occasionally use some spices for seasoning.

Moreover, no one in the Central Plains was interested in seafood before. It was only in recent years that Han Zhen vigorously promoted it, and chefs gradually developed cooking methods.

By the end of the meal, Wang Qi couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing this, Ma Kuo was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Why is the envoy crying?"

Wang Qi wiped his tears and said with a blushing face: "Don't be afraid of being laughed at by Minister Ma, but when I think of leaving the Celestial Empire, I can't help but feel sad."

He is not very old, only twenty-five years old after the New Year.

This diplomatic mission to Qi State was his first visit to the Central Plains in his life.

The prosperity of the upper country completely dazzled him, and he was in shock almost every day.

Especially after enjoying the delicious seafood dinner today, the thought of returning to Goryeo, this bitter and cold land, made his heart suddenly filled with reluctance. In addition, he drank a lot of wine and could not control his emotions, so he cried in public.

Ma Kuo smiled and consoled him, "Your Majesty is truly a man of character, but our two countries are only separated by a strip of water, and our exchanges have only been going on for more than ten days. Now that Your Majesty has accepted Goryeo's vassalage, our exchanges will certainly be close in the future. If Your Majesty misses me, you can always take a boat to the Central Plains to have a feast with me."

"That's the truth."

Wang Qi immediately burst into laughter and raised his glass to invite him to drink.

The banquet lasted until late at night before it finally ended.

The two men returned to the inn drunkenly, washed up, and went to bed.

The next day.

Ma Kuo, who was hungover, got up early, put on short clothes, and after a simple wash, he began to practice sword skills in the garden.

He was born as a military candidate, and martial arts are the foundation of his livelihood. Even though he has become a civil official now, he has not neglected his martial arts and practices diligently every day, rain or shine.

Over the years, he has traveled all over the country and made diplomatic missions to many countries, and his martial arts skills have saved him no less than ten times.

It is still a bit cold in Qingdao in early February.

After performing a set of sword techniques, Ma Kuo was sweating profusely and heat was emanating from his whole body.

At this time, a servant from the inn came forward and reported: "Minister Ma, Commander Li wants to see you."

Ma Kuo ordered, "Let Minister Li wait in the living room for a while. I will change my clothes and leave."

"Yes."

The servant responded and turned to leave.

After returning to the study, taking off his short tights and wiping the sweat off his body with a dry towel, Ma Kuo changed into his official uniform, tidied his appearance, and then went to the living room.

Li Nanjia was also wearing an official robe and sitting in the hall sipping tea.

The official uniforms of the Qi generals were designed to be very capable, and against the backdrop of the uniforms, she looked even more heroic.

Seeing Ma Kuo coming, Li Nanjia stood up and saluted: "Greetings, Minister Ma."

"No need to be polite, sit down."

Ma Kuo smiled and waved his hand.

Li Nanjia did not sit down, and said solemnly: "Ma Shangshu, the navy is ready to go. The two Shenzhou warships are ready to go to sea at any time. I wonder when they will set off?"

Ma Kuo was already familiar with the military's swift and decisive work style, and chuckled, "The Korean envoy hasn't woken up yet, how about setting the time at noon?"

"it is good."

Li Nanjia nodded, turned and left.

……

noon.

Jiaozhou Port is extremely bustling. In the harbor, thousands of ships are competing with each other, and there are no less than 300 large and small merchant ships and fishing boats.

Looking around, there are sails everywhere.

In the waters of the Navy Camp in the southeast of the bay, two Shenzhou warships were quietly parked on the sea.

Twenty escort warships were lined up in front, behind, left and right.

The original rule set by Han Zhen was that one Shenzhou warship would be equipped with four functional ships, including two passenger ships, a fire ship and a tugboat.

Later, after many actual combat experiences and escorting of ocean-going merchant fleets by Kuang Zixin and others, they gained a lot of experience and thus increased the number of functional ships from four to ten.

Fireships were banned, mainly because they were no longer useful.

To put it bluntly, the fireship was designed to rush forward and perish together with the enemy ships.

But the problem is that the firepower of the Shenzhou battleship is already strong enough, with one main battle gun plus twenty field guns, so there is no need for a fireship.

Therefore, the fire ships were replaced by two water ships, which were equipped with multiple water dragons and directly connected to the sea. The seawater was pumped up by manpower and machinery and sprayed out through water pipes, specifically used to target the enemy's fire ships.

In addition, the number of warships increased from two to four, and three landing ships were added.

This type of landing ship is a brand new type of ship designed by the masters of the Institute of Engineering based on actual combat feedback from naval generals.

Of course, although it is called a landing ship, it is actually completely different from the later method of directly transporting soldiers ashore.

The main function is to assist the navy in landing. The ships are equipped with giant shields, floating bridges and other equipment to attract land firepower and cover the landing of soldiers. After the increase, the strength of a Shenzhou battleship group increased from 1,500 to 2,300.

Two thousand three hundred people may not seem like a lot, but it is actually quite a lot.

The navy is different from the army. The ship is only so big, how many people can it fit on?

Moreover, the more ships there are, the better it is not. On the contrary, the more ships there are, the more chaotic it will be. For this reason, the Qi Navy has always pursued a strategy of elite troops.

After two expansions and the incorporation of a large number of Zhao and Song naval forces, the Qi navy now has a strength of only over 20,000, less than 30,000.

Compared with the army of hundreds of thousands, the number is indeed not that large.

You know, the Jin navy only had a pitiful 5,000 people.

You heard it right, five thousand people.

Most of them were coastal fishermen who were forcibly conscripted.

As for Goryeo and Japan, they had no navy at all, only a dozen or so broken ships.

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At this moment, Li Nanjia took off his official uniform, wore paper armor, and a saber at his waist. He was standing on the dock surrounded by several personal guards.

These personal guards were all her brothers who came from the Black Mountain Village to seek refuge with her.

After all, not everyone wants to live a peaceful life. There are still many people who are used to being bandits. Once they get rid of that kind of life on the edge of a knife, they will feel uncomfortable.

The cold sea breeze blew, ruffling Li Nanjia's hair at the temples.

Soon, several carriages drove up.

After entering the dock, the coachman stopped the carriage, and Ma Kuo and other envoys got off the carriage.

Wang Qi stepped forward and lowered his voice and asked, "Minister Ma, how should we deal with these envoys?"

The envoys who came with him were all Li Ziqian's men. Although these people did not know that he had asked the emperor of the upper country for help, they could see some clues during this period of time.

Nothing would happen if he stayed in the upper country, but once he returned to Goryeo, there was no guarantee that he would not inform Li Ziqian, which might lead to serious consequences.

Ma Kuo asked back, "What does the King's envoy mean?"

Hearing this, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Wang Qi's eyes. He raised his hand and made a slight gesture of wiping his neck.

Ma Kuo nodded and looked at Li Nanjia.

"Leave no one behind!"

Li Nanjia immediately understood and uttered four words in a cold tone.

Clang!
The soldiers standing on both sides of the dock drew their steel knives and strode towards the Goryeo envoys with a grin on their faces.

The Goryeo envoys looked horrified and spoke in Goryeo, occasionally mixing in a few words of Chinese.

puff puff!

The shouting stopped abruptly, and the smell of blood filled the air, but was quickly blown away by the sea breeze.

Glancing at the bodies on the pavement, Ma Kuo asked, "Won't Li Ziqian be suspicious if only the royal envoy goes back alone?"

Wang Qi had already thought of a way to deal with it, and replied: "Just say you encountered a shipwreck. Strong winds and waves are common at sea."

"can."

Ma Kuo smiled slightly and invited, "Your Majesty, please come aboard."

Wang Qi did not dare to be arrogant and said humbly, "Ma Shangshu, please go first."

Ma Kuo did not refuse. He lifted the bottom of his clothes and was the first to climb onto the Shenzhou battleship along the wooden board.

Stepping onto the deck, Wang Qi exclaimed: "It is worthy of the name Shenzhou."

He had seen Shenzhou. A few years ago, Zhao Song had specially built two Shenzhous to send on diplomatic missions to Goryeo.

But this is the first time I have personally boarded the Shenzhou battleship.

Only by standing on the deck can you truly feel the grandeur of the battleship.

"Ma Shangshu, what is that?"

Wang Qi pointed at the main battle gun and asked curiously.

This iron lump, placed on the deck, looked quite out of place and instantly attracted his attention.

"This thing is called a siege cannon."

Ma Kuo gave a simple reply without giving any detailed information.

Wang Qi nodded, feeling a sense of awe.

Siege cannon, just by hearing the name, you can know its power.

At this moment, his awe of the superior country had reached its peak, and he felt that being able to become a vassal state of Da Qi was an unparalleled honor.

At this time, a battalion commander stepped forward and said, "Minister Ma, Envoy Wang, the cabin is ready, please come this way."

"Good work."

Ma Kuo bowed and walked into the cabin under the guidance of the other party.

After everything was ready, Li Nanjia waved his hand and said, "Set sail!"

Swish swish!
Three huge sails were slowly raised and the anchor was also collected.

The Shenzhou battleship was like a awakened beast. After stretching its limbs, it quickly sailed out of the bay, cut through the waves, and disappeared into the vast ocean.

(End of this chapter)