Shazhou is a tentacle of the Tang Dynasty extending to the Western Regions, and it is an important town in the westernmost part of the Hexi Corridor.

Dunhuang city sand like snow, Dunhuang city head no June.

In the yellow sand, a large army is slowly moving westward.

"Boss, out of this sandbar, it is a desert, there is no water and grass, and the climate is abnormal."

He Li rode a horse and followed behind Hou Junji.

In December last year, Li Shimin ordered Hou Junji to be the chief of the Jiaohe Road march, and at the same time appointed Xue Wandu, the general of Zuotunwei, as the deputy commander, to lead an army of 20,000 and more than 10,000 people of the Turkic and Khibi tribes to conquer Gaochang.

However, the army actually did not really move out until the end of April, and it was not until the end of April that it was about to set foot in the territory of the Western Regions.

As the leader of the Qibi tribe, He Li is a rare general in the Tang Dynasty who is familiar with the situation in the Western Regions.

Although he is a general, he is very trusted by Li Shimin.

Therefore, along the way, Hou Junji also respected his opinion very much.

"General Qibi, is this camel really drought and heat resistant, and is it more suitable than a horse to carry on an expedition to the Western Regions?"

Hou Junji looked back at the camel team behind him that was responsible for carrying various supplies, and his face showed a trace of worry.

He had never fought such a battle.

Chang'an City is seven thousand miles away from Gaochang State, even if it is out of the sandbank, there is still a very long way to wait for you, even the most difficult road waiting for you.

It was not easy to be able to lead the troops to the battle alone, and he naturally did not want to return in vain.

When he first conquered Tuyuhun, he didn't get any credit, but he regretted it for a long time.

"Chief, this camel is indeed the best means of transport in the desert. It is also a pity that the northwest trade in Liangzhou has prepared thousands of camels in advance, otherwise there would really be no way to find so many camels to transport materials for a while. ”

The relationship between Hou Junji and the Chu Wangfu is very ordinary, so the Northwest Trade has nothing to do with his courteous attitude, which makes him still worry about whether the other party will have any conspiracy.

How did he know, whether it was Ma Zhou or Li Kuan, they all unconditionally supported the Tang Dynasty's move to pacify the Western Regions.

But if there is a problem that can be solved with money, is it still a problem?

Nowadays, the Western Regions are generally under the rule of the Western Turks, and although the national strength of the Western Turks is declining, those small countries in the Western Regions generally still recognize the Western Turks as the boss.

Now that Gao Chang, the clown who jumped off the beam, ran out to brush up on his sense of existence, if he didn't destroy it, would the Silk Road still be able to go in the future?

Therefore, in public and private, the Northwest Trade will vigorously support the imperial army's westward expedition to Gaochang.

Even a few hundred miles behind Hou Junji's army, there was a caravan in the Northwest Trade that followed the team from afar, preparing to further expand the business in Gaochang Kingdom.

"Hmph, Ben will not take advantage of them in vain, as long as this camel is really so easy to use, when the time comes, when the Gaochang country is broken, the Northwest Trade will naturally be compensated accordingly."

Hou Junji was not worried that Gao Changguo would have anything difficult to beat.

If it weren't for the harsh climate, dispatching 10,000 soldiers and horses would make Gao Chang leave without eating.

"Xue's forward battalion should have rushed into the desert by now, and in another month or two, the army will be able to appear on the border of Gaochang."

Xue Wanjun's bravery is actually a number in Datang, and it can be regarded as a deep trust of Li Shimin, this time it is the deputy general manager of the expedition to Gaochang, and he attacks with the forward battalion.

Hou Junji: "Those who offend me in the Tang Dynasty will be punished even if they are far away." Today we will camp here, and tomorrow the army will also enter the desert, and this time everyone will find back from Gao Changguo how many sins they have suffered on the road. ”

……

Polo.

After many efforts by Wei Chihuan, a relatively simple ship repair workshop near the wharf was finally built.

Li Kuan naturally did not want the production technology of clippers to spread to the South Seas, so the workshop in Puluozhong only had the function of ship repair and maintenance.

This is actually very important for ships going to sea.

I don't know if you've seen the picture of the bottom of the Varyag full of marine attachments, people with dense phobia will definitely get goosebumps when they see it, and if you don't believe it, you can take a look at it.

The vessel has been drifting at sea for a long time, and if it is not maintained in time, the life of the vessel will be greatly reduced, and the speed of the ship will also be affected.

In severe cases, it can even affect the life and safety of the vessel.

And this repair workshop is responsible for the maintenance and repair of ships.

"Brother Li, the 'Guanshishan Academy' has been repaired and maintained, and all the fresh water and food have been loaded onto the ship, and we can officially set sail tomorrow."

Li Yixie stood on the dock, looking at the brand-new ship next to him, and an expression of excitement surged in his heart.

Although this time, the destination is not the Americas, which have high-yield grains as stated by His Royal Highness the King of Chu; But from a global perspective, Australia is also a very large continent.

As long as the Guanshishan Academy confirms the existence of this continent, it will be enough to last for a hundred years.

"Yixie, this time to the south, everyone is completely unfamiliar with the sea conditions, even if there is a rough chart guidance, the risk is very high, you are the sister-in-law of the family, can you really think about it? Or you can stay in Puluo and wait for me. ”

Li Geng looked at Li Yixie and felt that it was okay not to have two people to take risks at the same time.

"Say like you're not? I'm afraid I won't go to sea. ”

It's all in Puluozhong, Li Yixie naturally won't listen to Li Geng's words and stay in Puluo to enjoy happiness.

Besides, there aren't even a few women in Midtown Puluo, so what kind of blessing is that?

Zhu Yin: "Two Lang Jun, in fact, according to the charts, this time the ship will go to the southeast, and there should be a lot of land along the way, as long as you don't hit the storm, in fact, the danger is relatively small." ”

When sailing at sea, having land often means having life.

The most feared thing is that the fresh water is exhausted, the food is starved, and the sea is boundless, and there is no shadow of the land.

Zhu Tong: "Yes, what my second brother said makes sense. Although these islands in the South China Sea are often full of strange animals, it is still easy to find food on the islands if necessary, and it will definitely be smooth sailing to explore Australia. ”

"You two, I'm also convinced of you. In order to confirm what Fang Langjun said, the climate in the southern hemisphere is opposite to that in the northern hemisphere, he didn't even want his life. ”

Li Yixie looked at Zhu Yin and Zhu Tong beside him, and admired it very much in his heart.

In the past, when he was in the academy, as the son of a nobleman, Li Yixie did not look down on the two brothers Zhu Yin.

To put it more bluntly, they basically didn't have any intersection in the academy before.

However, along the way, everyone was in the same boat, and they also saw each other's abilities, and the relationship slowly became harmonious.

Now he is already a friend of life and death, and his own brother is the same.

Zhu Tong: "The world is very big, you have to go out and see more." The earnest teachings of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, I have always remembered them. This time, the fleet continues to go south, not only to confirm the significance of climate change. ”

"Oh? So what's the point? ”

Li Geng looked at Brother Zhu Tong curiously.

In his understanding, it seems that the study of climate is done by the people of the Taishi Bureau, and if Li Yan is doing this, he doesn't think it's strange.

After all, Li Yan's Aye Li Chunfeng is working in the Taishi Bureau, and it should be useful to study more climate changes.

Zhu Tong: "Li Langjun, when you sail to sea, what you are most afraid of encountering is a hurricane, right?" ”

"Of course, you've seen how powerful hurricanes are at sea. Once a hurricane is encountered in the open sea, whether it can survive depends on the will of God. I heard that when Yu Chi Langjun and them went to the South Seas for the first time, they encountered a hurricane and almost wiped out the whole army. ”

In order to find the legendary high-yield grain, Li Geng learned all kinds of knowledge related to sailing at sea when he was in Guanshishan Academy, and he was naturally very familiar with these precautions and allusions.

"If we had a way to predict the arrival of hurricanes in advance based on changes in temperature, changes in clouds, changes in wind direction, would that make sense?" A smile appeared on Zhu Tong's face.

"Do you have a way of predicting when a hurricane will form?"

Li Yixie, who was on the side, couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Tong: "Except for the gods in the sky, no one has a way to predict the formation of a hurricane. ”

If Li Kuan was here, he would like to praise Zhu Tong's casual words.

Because to confirm the formation of a hurricane, it is necessary to have satellite cloud imagery; Isn't this the equivalent of being able to see clouds in the sky before you can predict it?

Obviously, if there were really gods in the sky, they could see the changes in the clouds.

"And what do you mean by that?"

Li Yixie felt that he was being molested, and his face became a little ugly.

"There's no way to predict when or where a hurricane will form, but over time, I can predict at least a day in advance that a hurricane is coming. If you sail at sea and know a day in advance which direction the hurricane will come from, then there is a good chance of avoiding them? Even if you can't get out of the way completely, at least you can take shelter in a place where the storm isn't so strong, right? ”

Although Zhu Tong has not yet been able to predict the arrival of the hurricane in advance, he has faintly touched a little idea, and feels that he can achieve this goal sooner or later.

"In fact, our research can be used not only to predict hurricanes in advance, but also to confirm the direction of sea flow. If you can go down the river when you go to sea, the speed will definitely be much faster than going against the current. In seas where there is a lack of fresh water and food supplements, the faster the risk, the less risky. ”

Zhu Yin stood next to him and sang and promoted his research with his younger brother.

"Is there a direction in which this water flows?"

Li Genghu looked at the two Zhu Yin brothers suspiciously, obviously not believing this statement.

"I can't fully confirm this now, but according to the concept of ocean currents mentioned in a lecture given by His Royal Highness King Chu to the academy before, according to His Royal Highness, when going to sea, if you can grasp the changes in the ocean currents in time, you can not only effectively shorten the navigation time, but also improve the safety of navigation."

Zhu Tong raised his head slightly, obviously thinking of something.

The globe in front of the Gewu Academy of Guanshishan Academy, Zhu Tong was almost able to completely memorize the situation inside.

In order to confirm his theory of climate research, Zhu Tong hopes that he can go through the major continents and oceans on the globe in the shortest possible time.

Of course, this kind of thought, even his brother, he did not say.

Li Geng: "If you really want to say so, isn't it that those Taoist practices are actually completely deceitful?" This wind and rain is actually climate change, can it be predicted? ”

"I didn't say that, but it's up to you to judge what people are doing."

Taoism is a force strongly supported by the Tang royal family, and Zhu Tong doesn't want to offend them casually.

"Okay, as long as you two brothers can really prove what you just said, I will definitely explain your merits to Xu Senjun at that time, so that you can become the teachings of the academy, and even go to the Taishi Bureau to hold a position."

As Li Zhong's son, Li Geng has dealings with many martial artists in Chang'an City, and even Li Shimin can be seen from time to time.

This advantage, the two Zhu Tong brothers will never be able to catch up.

Sometimes, reincarnation is also an ability.

……

Hiroyuki Kujo is now a well-known merchant in Seoul.

And the Kujo Trade, which bears his name, was the largest cooperative merchant among the Goguryeo nobles in Seoul.

"What's the matter, I just heard the news that Goguryeo's crown prince Gao Huanquan has set off for Chang'an to pay tribute, and the Great Wall on the border of Goguryeo has basically been completed.

Kujou Hiroyuki had a meal with several Goguryeo nobles in Seoul today, gave some exquisite crystal products, and got the news he wanted.

"The year before last, Gao Jianwu sent troops to invade the seven fortresses in the north of Silla, but as a result, the Silla general Ganchuan led his army to meet the battle, and fought a big battle with the Goguryeo army outside the seven fortresses. However, I still firmly believe in the judgment of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, this Goguryeo will be a scourge after all, and the Tang Dynasty will have a war with them sooner or later. ”

Although He Qingquan also had some incomprehension in his heart.

With the attitude of the current Goguryeo king Gao Jianwu towards the Tang Dynasty, although he is full of defense, he still recognizes the boss of the Tang Dynasty on face.

Why does His Royal Highness the King of Chu think that Goguryeo is a wolf sooner or later ambitious?

Could it be that it is really not my race, and its heart will be different?

But these nine Haozhi are not Tang people, but they are still quite loyal.

"The subordinates understand that in the past two years, that He Jian has also contacted the remnants of the Great Sui for nearly a thousand years, and secretly formed a team of 500 people, once necessary, these soldiers who can speak Goguryeo native language and are familiar with the geographical environment will become the guides of the army and quickly attack the various passes around Seoul."

He Qingquan, Kujou Hiroyuki, and He Jian are basically the troika that Li Kuan left in Goguryeo, and over time, Goguryeo will definitely have to pay a heavy price.