Above the boundless ocean, the surface is like a mirror, calm and peaceful, like a huge piece of blue silk spread out to the sky.

A huge fleet, like a winding dragon, slowly breaks through the waves on the vast sea.

Ever since humans first learned to work and first came into contact with the sea, this vast ocean, which occupies two-thirds of the Earth's surface, has always been the most mysterious existence in the hearts of humans for more than 10,000 years. It is bottomless and vast, and the power it contains can both breed life and swallow everything in an instant. Because of this mystery, humans are in awe of it and dare not easily set foot in it.

Compared with the exploration progress of land, human beings' pace seems particularly slow when facing the sea.

It was not until more than a thousand years later that humans cautiously stepped from land to shallow sea, starting their first steps in ocean exploration, and then gradually advanced from light blue to deep blue.

These step-by-step leaps embody the courage and wisdom of countless pioneers, and the history of human navigation is actually also a history of the evolution of human civilization, witnessing the great journey of mankind from ignorance to enlightenment, and from limitations to vastness.

Although this fleet is considered huge in today's era and its lineup is large enough to dominate the world, compared with the boundless ocean below the ship, it is just a drop in the ocean.

In the center of this huge fleet, twelve huge sea vessels, more than 20 meters long, stood majestically, their tall masts reaching into the sky, standing like a forest. Hundreds of ships of varying sizes, ranging from several meters to more than ten meters, surrounded these twelve huge ships like stars surrounding the moon, echoing each other, forming a huge and orderly sea fleet.

On the highest mast of each of the twelve huge ships, there was a huge black silk banner fluttering in the sky above the fleet. In the center of the black silk banner, the huge "Qin" character in small seal script was extremely eye-catching. Under the sunlight, it shone with a majestic light, demonstrating the great prestige of the Qin Empire. This strange and spectacular fleet was the Zhenhai Fleet that set sail from the Langya Shipyard to the east.

Since leaving Langya Port in mid-July, more than half a month has passed quietly.

Life on the sea was monotonous and boring. Looking around, there was nothing but the boundless sea. If it weren't for the rising sun every morning and the setting sun in the evening, Chu Liba would have forgotten what day it was.

As the commander of the first "navy" of the Qin Dynasty, General Chu Liba of Fubo was undoubtedly under the heaviest pressure in the entire fleet. He was the only one who knew the real intention of the prime minister in sending him to lead nearly 30,000 people to sea.

"Navy", this new name was decided by the Prime Minister himself before he left Xianyang. It was neither a traditional ship-building army nor an ordinary navy. Chu Liba knew the deep meaning behind this name change.

The outside world all thought that Chu Liba went out to sea to find the trace of Prince Fusu or to seek the legendary immortal. However, only Chu Liba himself knew the real purpose.

The navy, in the prime minister's plan, will become an extremely important branch of the Qin army. This means that the navy will have an independent organization, unique combat methods, and a specialized training system. Adapting to the harsh environment at sea, drawing detailed and accurate sea charts, and exploring a complete set of effective training methods, combat tactics, and command strategies are the most core and difficult tasks that Prime Minister Yi Huawei has assigned to Chu Liba.

Obviously, in Yi Huawei's mind, the Zhenhai Navy fleet will become the pioneer of the Qin Navy, shouldering the heavy responsibility of development and foundation-laying.

It must be said that the prime minister's eager expectations for him made Chu Liba feel grateful, but more importantly, he felt a heavy pressure, but this pressure also stimulated his fighting spirit deep in his heart. He secretly vowed to live up to the prime minister's trust and lay a solid foundation for the rise of the Qin Navy.

The half-month-long sea voyage had put all the men in the fleet through a tough training. All of them were thin and dark-skinned, and Chu Liba was no exception. After landing on the sea, these elite men, carefully selected from the South China Sea shipmen, realized that fighting at sea was completely different from training in rivers and lakes.

Most of the sailors who were good at sailing fell down in the rough sea on the third day. As for the more than 2,000 soldiers of the Black Eagle Guard and the Black Dragon Guard, who were not good at naval warfare, they were almost wiped out and suffered from the pain of seasickness.

The entire fleet seemed to be shrouded in the shadow of seasickness. The soldiers vomited until they were exhausted and could no longer vomit anything. They could only dry-retch yellow bitter bile, but they still could not stop.

The soldiers of the Qin Dynasty were alone in the vast sea, drifting on the ship. For the first time, they truly felt the despair of having no way to go up to the sky or enter the earth. The continuous seasickness and vomiting also knocked down a group of senior generals including Chu Liba and Ying Er.

It can be said that during those difficult days, the entire fleet suffered from seasickness, vomiting and diarrhea, and was unable to move forward normally. It basically kept wandering on the narrow sea of ​​less than 200 kilometers between the Korean Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula.

Ten days later, the soldiers and generals on the ship gradually adapted to the bumps from the repeated vomiting. Only then did they muster the courage to cross the Yellow Sea based on the rough sea chart provided by Yi Huawei and the guidance of the compass carefully made by Shang Fang.

Fortunately, the ship prepared for this voyage was large enough and the supplies it carried were sufficient. Most importantly, according to Yi Huawei's instructions, Chu Liba successfully organized the production of a large number of bean sprouts on the ship. Although the production of bean sprouts requires a certain amount of fresh water, for those soldiers who can only eat meat every day and cannot get any fresh vegetables, these fresh bean sprouts that they have never seen before are undoubtedly the most precious delicacies.

The appearance of bean sprouts has raised the respect of the generals of the Zhenhai Army to a new level. In their eyes, the prime minister seems to be omniscient and omnipotent, and even this sea chart seems to have been drawn by the prime minister himself and delivered to the general.

The most terrible hidden danger of long-term sea voyages is actually scurvy caused by lack of vitamin supplements. The ingenious idea of ​​producing bean sprouts that Yi Huawei came up with undoubtedly successfully helped these Daqin's pioneering seafarers solve this most difficult problem.

Of course, ordinary soldiers did not know the reasons and significance of these things. They only knew that because the ships were large enough, the twelve ships carried a considerable amount of citrus fruits and poultry and livestock such as live chickens, live ducks, and live sheep. Fresh vegetables were difficult to preserve for a long time, so they were dried for later use. In order to go out to sea for this voyage, Yi Huawei had ordered the Shaofu to make careful preparations a year ago. Whenever he thought of a necessary item or precaution, he would immediately order someone to record it, and then arrange it properly and send it to the shipyard.

In this era, there was no pirate harassment on the sea, and the only thing the fleet had to worry about was the hurricane disaster that was most common in summer.

However, it seemed that Chu Liba and his men were quite lucky this time. They did not encounter any severe storms during the voyage. They sailed eastward relatively smoothly along the direction indicated by the nautical chart, and finally arrived safely at the supply dock prepared by Gong Shuying for the army.

As the fleet slowly approached the supply dock, Chu Liba stood on the bow, looking at the gradually clear outline of the land in front of him, with a lot of emotion in his heart.

This difficult sea journey is not only a test of the soldiers' physical condition, but also a practice and exploration of the entire Daqin Navy construction concept. The road ahead is still long, and there are more unknown challenges waiting for them, but at this moment, being able to arrive here smoothly has undoubtedly added confidence and hope to the future development of the Zhenhai Navy. When the Zhenhai Navy fleet saw the public win, the soldiers who had been tense and full of uneasiness seemed to have found a solid support, and their hearts that had been hanging for a long time finally settled down steadily.

In their hearts, Gongshuying represents solid support and guarantee. His existence means that the supply of materials will be maintained and the connection with the homeland will be closer.

As confidence gradually increased, the fleet's speed was greatly improved. All the ships in the fleet, whether the twelve towering giant ships or the slightly smaller ships, were equipped with two power devices: sails and oars. When the wind was favorable, the crew quickly raised the huge sails and used the wind to break through the waves on the sea; when the headwind hit, they took up the oars in an orderly manner, shouted neat and powerful slogans, and paddled hard one by one to drive the ship against the current.

The fleet headed eastward along the winding coastline of the Korean Peninsula. During the voyage, the ship was often disturbed by ocean currents and sea breezes, and it was quite difficult to move forward. However, with the concerted efforts of the crew, they finally crossed Tsushima Island and successfully entered the Tsushima Strait.

Although it cannot be said that every detail of the many islands and sea areas passed along the way can be accurately presented in the nautical chart drawn by Yi Huawei, several large islands with distinctive landmarks are exactly the same as those depicted in the nautical chart.

After seeing Tsushima Island and successfully landing on it, Chu Liba led a group of soldiers and set up a boundary marker of the Qin territory on the island with a solemn mood.

At that moment, they were filled with an irrepressible excitement. This boundary monument was not just a cold stone, it represented the first display of the majesty and glory of the Qin Empire in this unfamiliar sea area, symbolized the expansion and extension of the Qin Empire's territory, and was a vivid testimony to the great significance of their voyage.

If the sea chart is still accurate, then according to the Prime Minister's guidance, the legendary Yingzhou should be ahead. At the thought of arriving at this mysterious place, the fleet was filled with excitement and anticipation. The soldiers stepped up their work, checking the conditions of the ship to ensure that everything was safe. The lookouts stared at the sea level in the distance, not missing any signs that might indicate the appearance of land.

Chu Liba stood at the bow, the sea breeze whistling across his face. This voyage was of great significance to Daqin. If they could successfully explore and incorporate Yingzhou into Daqin's territory, or establish stable connections and exchanges, it would surely leave a significant mark in the long history of Daqin.

As the fleet continued to move forward, it encountered a sudden storm. The wind was howling, and the waves were surging, like a ferocious beast, constantly hitting the ship. The ship was shaking violently in the waves, and the crew members held on to the side of the ship tightly, trying to maintain the balance of the ship. Chu Liba quickly commanded the ships, adjusted the angle of the sails, and organized the soldiers to drain the water. A hard fight with nature began.

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After several hours of tenacious fighting, the fleet finally survived the storm. Although the ships were damaged to a certain extent and some soldiers were injured, their morale was not low. On the contrary, this test made them more closely united and filled them with a stronger desire for the upcoming journey to Yingzhou.

As the fleet gradually approached its destination, some strange sights began to appear on the sea. Occasionally, some seabirds that had never been seen before circled around the ship, their feathers were colorful and their calls were clear and melodious. You could also see some schools of fish with strange shapes swimming in the water, as if they were guiding the direction of the fleet.

Finally, on a sunny morning, the lookout shouted excitedly: "Land is spotted ahead!" At that moment, the entire fleet was in an uproar. Soldiers rushed to the deck and looked into the distance. They saw a vast expanse of land gradually emerging on the sea level, and its outline became clearer and clearer.

Chu Liba ordered the fleet to slowly approach the land. When the ships approached the shore, they saw a lush and green scene, with dense forests covering the land and mist shrouding the mountains. The beach by the sea was white and fine, and the waves gently hit the beach, making a pleasant sound.

The fleet anchored in a relatively calm bay. Chuliba sent a small team to land first to explore the situation on the island. The team stepped onto the land carefully, holding weapons and observing the surroundings vigilantly.

After going deep inland for a distance, the scouts moved forward cautiously, scanning the surroundings with vigilant eyes. Finally, they found some scattered simple villages. These villages were small in scale, and most of the houses were built with simple wood and stones, exuding a simple and primitive atmosphere.

Most of the villagers wore coarse linen clothes, and their skin was slightly rough due to long-term outdoor labor.

When the Qin army appeared near the village, this unprecedented scene instantly broke the tranquility of the village. The villagers stopped what they were doing and looked at this group of well-equipped strangers in strange clothes with horror.

The children hid behind the adults and poked their heads out timidly; the old people were nervous, holding the crude farm tools tightly in their hands, as if they were their only self-defense weapons. But in the midst of fear, there was also a hint of curiosity. They kept looking at the Qin soldiers, full of doubts about these uninvited guests from afar.

Suddenly, a huge black smoke rose up in the tribe. The black smoke billowed and rose straight into the sky, appearing particularly abrupt under the quiet sky.

Chu Liba was startled when he saw this. He raised his hand to signal his men not to act rashly. The soldiers immediately stopped, gripped their weapons tightly, stood still quietly, staring at the direction where the black smoke was rising, ready for battle.

Soon, a noisy commotion was heard in the distance, and the sound came closer and closer, accompanied by the sound of rapid horse hooves. A group of soldiers riding on short horses appeared in front of everyone like a whirlwind. Although their horses were not as tall and mighty as the Qin war horses, they were quite agile when running.

When they got closer, Chu Liba and the others were surprised to find that the soldiers were wearing the standard armor of the Qin Dynasty ten years ago. Although the armor was a little old, it still showed the fine craftsmanship and majesty of the time. The armor pieces shone with metallic luster under the sunlight, as if telling of the glory of the past.

Looking at Chu Liba's group, the leaders were obviously stunned. Their eyes were full of shock and disbelief, as if they saw a phantom from the distant past.

The leading man was of burly build and had a resolute face. The years had left deep marks on his face. After a brief moment of unconsciousness, he turned over and dismounted, his movements were a little slow, as if he was still immersed in the huge impact. His lips trembled slightly, and his voice was filled with a hint of uncontrollable excitement and uncertainty, as he trembled:
"Are you soldiers of the Qin army?"

Chu Liba narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully looked at the people in front of him, took a step forward, and said in a deep voice: "I am Chu Liba, the Fubo General of the Great Qin. Who are you? Why are you wearing the old armor of the Great Qin?"

The leading man was stunned at first, then a trace of surprise and relief flashed in his eyes. His body trembled slightly, as if he was too excited to control himself, and he replied loudly: "Chu Liba? But the descendant of Chu Liji? I am Xin Sheng! In those days, I followed the order of the First Emperor and went to sea with Prince Fusu to search for elixir..."

(End of this chapter)

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