Kai Fu Han

Chapter 71
Liu Xinqi trained with everyone for five days, which allowed all the newcomers to get to know him as the leader of the clan.

As the training passed day by day, the weather became colder and colder day by day. Until November 27, Liu Xinqi woke up in the morning and found that the water in the water tank placed in the yard had formed a layer of floating ice.

Liu Xinqi knew that the time to freeze the sea was approaching.

Although the freezing point of salt water is lower than that of fresh water, the salinity of sea water is low, so the freezing temperature is not much lower, at most one or two degrees.

Therefore, within two or three days, the sea water on the outer edge of Dengzhou's land may freeze.

Liu Xinqi came to Zhou Xinyuan's room and found that Liu Lisheng and Liu Lizhen were there, and the three were discussing issues exposed during military training.

"I plan to set off for the south before the sea freezes." Liu Xinqi said to the three of them after finding a stool and sitting down.

"What are you doing there?" Zhou Xinyuan asked.

"On the one hand, we will see how the imperial court is establishing and developing in the south, and on the other hand, we will explore the situation in the south. My destination this time is Hangzhou. The prefectures and counties around Taihu Lake, Suzhou, Huzhou, etc. are all major food-producing areas. I think food will be very cheap. , I plan to establish a stable food purchase channel there, so that we will never have to worry about food in the future."

"Hangzhou Bay is also a large commercial port. Go there to see if there are any business opportunities. While establishing a grain purchase channel, you can also establish a stable sea trade channel. When the time comes to buy grain with profits from sea trade, Liujiabao will not It’s just impossible to get in and out.”

"It's too far away from Dengzhou, three thousand miles, right?" Liu Lisheng said worriedly.

"That's right, let others go. You are too important to Liujiabao to make any mistakes." Zhou Xinyuan also persuaded.

"What others can't do, I don't know as much as I do. The people in Liujiapu are either farmers or fishermen. No one has business experience. No one knows "business" better than me, so I can only go this time." Liu Xinqi replied. road.

"Besides, the boat will be sailing along the coastline, so there won't be any danger."

"Who are you going to take?" Zhou Xinyuan understood Liu Xinqi's character and knew that if he had already made up his mind, it would be useless to talk more, so he began to ask about the details of Liu Xinqi's plan.

"Take two big ships, Penglai and Chaoyang, besides the captains Li Cang and Zhao Liang, take ten soldiers, and each ship has a hundred crew members." Liu Xinqi replied.

"I will make arrangements for you." Liu Lizhen said, knowing that he could not persuade him, so he could only try his best to be fully prepared.

"Thank you."

Several people discussed some supplies that needed to be carried, and also planned to purchase some local specialties at Penglai Port and load them on the ship.

……

On November 28, Liujiabao's twelve ships returned to Penglai Port in Dengzhou one after another. Because they knew that the offshore sea was about to freeze, they made no arrangements to go out.

The crew who had been busy for half a month all disembarked to rest.

We also arranged for some people who were in military training to stop the military training and start cleaning and maintaining the ships.

On November 29, the materials and goods needed for the southward journey began to be loaded onto the Penglai and Chaoyang that had been cleaned and maintained first.

Before dark in the evening, 210 people from the south this time boarded the ship, and the two ships sailed out of the port one after another.

The pier was full of people seeing him off.

Liu Xinqi could see Zhou Yue standing in the crowd, her eyes red and tears flowing down uncontrollably.

Liu Xinqi stood at the stern of the boat and kept waving towards Zhou Yue.

They had only been together for less than a month, and they were about to separate again. Both of them were very reluctant to part with each other.

After the boat sailed three or four miles away from the coast, it stopped and prepared to spend the evening here.

I boarded the boat and left the port before dark because I was worried that if it was freezing at night, the boat would not be able to move the next day, so going out early for one night is one night, so I can rest assured.On the morning of November [-]th, the sky was bright, and Liu Xinqi was awakened by the busy voices of the sailors on the deck.

I got up and wiped my face with a towel, came to the deck and looked towards the port.

"I'm so lucky. Fortunately, I came out last night, otherwise I would have been frozen in the port." Zhao Liang said next to Liu Xinqi.

"Yeah, I'm really lucky. A good start means that we will definitely have a smooth journey." Liu Xinqi said.

The two of them stood by the side of the boat and looked towards the direction of the port. They saw the sea covered with ice floes within one mile from the shore.

The entire 200 meters close to the coast has frozen.

"We have no way to dock before leaving the coastline of Jingdong East Road, otherwise we may be frozen in the port." Zhao Liang continued.

"Then sail with all your strength and try to reach Hangzhou as soon as possible."

After setting up the sails and reefing the anchor, the two ships began to exchange information using semaphores. After confirming that everything was ready, they set sail together.

Watching Penglai Port getting further and further away, Liu Xinqi gradually recovered from the sadness of parting, cheered up, and returned to the cabin to start writing down the physical knowledge in his mind, which he would later use to improve the teaching materials.

The first day of sailing went very smoothly. The northwest wind kept blowing, and the fleet's heading was exactly southeast. The wind was smooth all the way. We arrived in the waters of Wendeng County before dark, and the journey was more than 240 miles.

The wind direction varied in the next five days, and the journey was not as long as the first day. The average was about [-] miles per day. On December [-], we arrived at Haizhou on Huainan East Road.

After sailing for six consecutive days, the food on the ship was still good, but the fresh water was almost exhausted. After arriving in Haizhou before dark, we did not continue to move forward. We stopped at the Donghai County Port Pier in Haizhou to rest and prepare to rest here for a day or two. .

After the boat was parked, it was already dark. For everyone's safety, no one was arranged to disembark that night. After getting up the next morning, half of the people in each boat were arranged, and each person was given a tael of silver. They disembarked and went about their own activities.

Liu Xinqi and Li Cang took five soldiers off the boat and asked someone to inquire, then walked towards the market, planning to do some shopping in Haizhou.

Haizhou is Lianyungang in later generations. It has been a prosperous place for maritime trade since ancient times. The port in Donghai County is a gathering place for commerce and trade, and the market has everything you need.

Liu Xinqi didn't have much money on hand and didn't dare to spend it randomly. He could only make some basic purchases and replenish the lack of vegetables and fruits on the ship. Then he contacted the water seller at the port to replenish enough fresh water for the people on the ship for ten days.

It took half a day and 20 taels of silver to purchase all the necessary supplies.

At noon, those who had disembarked in the morning came back, and the other half disembarked to rest. In the evening, everyone returned safely. It seems that the previous safety education was effective, and no one caused any trouble.

The fleet continued to dock at East Harbor in the evening.

On the morning of December [-], the two ships set sail again.

Thirty or forty miles after the ship sailed out of the port, Liu Xinqi was writing in the cabin. Zhao Liang knocked on the door and came in and said:

"We seem to be being watched. After leaving the port, I noticed that there was a small boat hanging far behind. It should be the watching ship. I don't know the size of the force behind it."

"Go out and take a look." Liu Xinqi put down his pen and came to the deck with Zhao Liang.

First, I went to the stern to look, and there was indeed a small sailboat far behind the fleet.

"Are there any other big ships around?" Liu Xinqi asked a soldier standing on the top of the mast.

"Not seen" the warrior returned.

"It should be following that small boat, so I can't see it." Zhao Liang added.

(End of this chapter)