Ang Lee's current situation is like a man in a padded jacket, standing in the snow and enjoying the beautiful scenery, the huge steam ship is reliable enough, and there is no need to worry about such a large ship being blown over by the waves, so it will be very interesting to stand on the command platform and watch the fleet fighting the waves.

These steam ships were all designed by Ang Lee, and he was very confident in his own technology, believing that the ships he designed himself could fully withstand the test of the waves.

The huge waves hit wave after wave, hitting the Tang army fleet hard, but the ships of the Tang fleet have already been together, and they are fearless in the face of the huge waves, and continue to move forward against the huge waves, as if they are fighting with heaven and earth.

This is the power of science and technology, and at the same time, it is also the power of a big country, if Ang Lee comes to this era is a small country, even if there are many ideas, it will be difficult to put them into practice, because many good things, only big countries can afford them, and small countries have limited resources, and they can't afford it anyway.

Ang Lee is very glad that he came to a big country like Datang, and the Tang Empire should also be glad that there is a super talent like Ang Lee, otherwise, no matter how big a country is, it will be difficult to achieve such great achievements.

The accumulation of technology takes time, so the largest tonnage of Datang sea ships is only a few thousand tons, and there is no problem with a full load of five or six thousand tons, and the largest steam cannon ship is about three thousand tons, among which, most of the materials of the hull are good wood, and stronger steel is used in the middle of the place that needs to be strengthened.

This is only the current situation, in the future, the technology is advanced, it is possible to manufacture larger tonnage and huge sea ships, tens of thousands of tons is the minimum requirement, and 100,000 tons of ultra-large ships can be completely tried.

Because the tonnage of ships is still too small, when facing the threat of huge waves, they need to be locked together to fight against the wind and waves, and if a large ship of 100,000 tons is built in the future, it can be completely ignored when facing the current big wind and waves.

"Li Shilang, the storm this time is really big enough, fortunately, before leaving Datang, we have made preparations in this regard, otherwise, how many ships will we lose?"

An official said with trepidation.

Li An nodded and said, "The main thing is that these ships are too small!" It would be nice if it could be ten times bigger, so that when you encounter such a big storm in front of you, you can't be nervous at all. ”

After saying that, he looked regretful and felt that the ship he was responsible for research and development was too small to meet his needs.

The official's eyes widened, and he wondered: "Li Shilang, is such a big ship still small?" These can be regarded as the largest ships in my Datang, if you want to increase the weight tenfold, how big is that! ”

Obviously, this official is very satisfied with the size of the ship at the moment, and he does not believe that Li Ang can build a larger sea ship.

Of course, with Ang Lee's ability, it is definitely possible to do it, as long as the accumulation of technology, a 100,000-ton ship is nothing at all, and in the future, Datang will definitely build a 100,000-ton merchant ship, so that the cost of commercial transportation can be better reduced.

100,000-ton ship, think about it and be excited, such a huge ship in the ocean, can fully withstand the test of hurricanes, even if there is no hurricane, it is usually more stable than ordinary small ships, people in such a large ship, will feel very comfortable.

In other words, the larger the ship, the more comfortable people will live on it, and the self-sustaining power of the ship will far exceed that of a small ship.

Therefore, theoretically, the bigger the ship is built, the better, but it cannot be built too big, if the ship is built too large, it is not so easy to control, and the requirements for the navigation route will also become larger, some places with a shallow draft can not pass, in addition, the requirements for the port are also higher, if the water depth of the port is too shallow, the ship will not be able to berth in such a port.

Therefore, the best tonnage of the ship is to build as large as possible under the condition of meeting the draft of most ports.

In addition, with the gradual development of the port to the deep sea port, the tonnage of the ship will gradually rise, for example, in the era of the Tang Dynasty, a thousand-ton ship can already be regarded as a big ship, and in the glorious era of the shipbuilding industry in later generations, a 100,000-ton ship can be regarded as a big ship, and a small ship of 1,000 tons is not worth mentioning at all.

This is the progress of technology, as well as the development of the port is determined, and because of the natural conditions of the port, the construction of a large number of deep-water ports is not realistic, therefore, the development of the tonnage of the ship has encountered a bottleneck, that is, after the tonnage reaches hundreds of thousands of tons, it can not continue to increase the tonnage, otherwise, most of the world's ports can not berth, so, will greatly limit the flexibility of the ship's mobility, thus losing the economy.

Of course, because there are too many ports, there are still many small ports that cannot meet the requirements of berthing large-tonnage ships, so some deep-water ports with superior geographical locations have obtained very good opportunities for development, becoming transportation transit stations for large ships, and gradually becoming rich.

In this era, most of the port depth of Datang is naturally formed, and there are few traces of artificial excavation, so that the natural conditions determine the depth of the port, and some coastal areas want to develop port business, but they are limited by the water depth of the port is too shallow, so that it is difficult to berth large ships, so that the shipping business is greatly affected, and some places with better natural conditions have become the shipping trade center.

For example, Guangzhou in the Tang Empire became the supply base and base camp of the Tang merchants in the south because of the existence of a good deep-water port, while those shallow coastal areas with a poor geographical location could not become the base camp for shipping.

"Li Shilang, the wind and waves have become smaller, and we are about to leave the storm area."

The officials observed the situation outside and found that the waves had become smaller, and when they looked back, the wind and waves behind them were still very strong, which was enough to show that they were already on their way out of the storm, and in a short time, the Datang fleet would be safe.

Li An said happily: "Okay! This time it is considered to be dangerous, and when you arrive in the country of Bolu, you must take a good rest, prepare more wine and meat, and suppress the shock of the soldiers. ”

"Yes, Li Shilang, I understand."

The subordinate answered.

Li An looked at the map and knew that the country of Bolu was not far away, so he immediately ordered: "Send someone to inform the king of the country of Bolu and let him come out to greet him." ”

"Yes, Li Shilang."

The subordinate replied again.

The Tang Dynasty officials need to be decent when they travel, and this is also to maintain the face of the Tang Empire, and there is nothing wrong with letting the king of a small country greet him in person, which is completely reasonable.

The Tang fleet quickly left the dangerous storm zone and reached safe waters, and in order to prepare the king of Bolu to meet him, Li Ang ordered the fleet to slow down.

"Brother, I heard that the king of the country of Bolu is surnamed Li, but he has the same surname as us! I don't know if it has a relationship with the Tang royal family. ”

Li Feiyu said.

Li An frowned and said: "There are many people with the surname Li in the world, how can it be related to the royal family, and besides, they have lived overseas for so many years, and when their ancestors left the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty had not yet been established?" ”

"Big brother, I just said it casually, but I just think it's quite fateful, the kings I met along the way, the names are very strange, only the name of the king of this Bolu country is similar to ours, it sounds very kind."

Li Feiyu said.

Li An smiled and nodded: "I also think it's very kind, but it's useless just to have a friendly name, I just don't know how this king of the Bolu Kingdom is, and whether he will listen to us." ”

"Big brother, the small country that is much bigger than the Bolu country in front of you doesn't dare to disobey us, this little Bolu country still dares to disobey the Tang Dynasty, I don't want to mix it!"

Li Feiyu said rudely.

Li An frowned and said: "The geographical location of the Bolu country is relatively remote, it is not on the trade route, and the connection between this country and the Tang Dynasty is not close, I don't know what kind of doctrine this king surnamed Li has in his heart." ”

"It's almost there anyway, just ask a few words when you meet someone."

Li Feiyu did not believe that the king of Bolu dared to disobey the policies of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, Li An didn't believe that Bolu Country was a small country, so why should he disobey the Tang Dynasty, unless he was impatient.

After the Tang fleet arrived at the port of Bolu, because the volume of the port was too small, it was not guaranteed that all the ships would stop there, and half of the ships could only stay on the sea.

Fortunately, there is not only one port in Bolu country, and some of the other ports can also be diverted, and the ports in this country are all deep-water ports with good natural conditions, which can fully meet the docking of Datang steam ships.

Before the arrival of the Tang fleet, the advance team had already arrived in the country of Bolu and told the king of the country that the high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty were coming to visit and let them prepare to greet them.

The country of Bolu is only a small country, and its strength is very weak, after the Tang officials made a request, they naturally did not dare to slack off, and the king Li Xiaoyao personally went to the port to greet Li An and his party.

This tall king looks older than Ang Lee, and he is estimated to be in his forties! It is the prime of life.

"Li Shilang, welcome!"

King Li Xiaoyao looked very enthusiastic, and the corners of his mouth were full of smiles.

Li An took a closer look, this guy looks quite standard, although he has been immigrating for more than 100 years, but his appearance is not obviously different from the people of the Tang Dynasty, if he didn't know it in advance, Li An would still think that he had met a Datang official?

And the name Li Xiaoyao is also very good, giving people a feeling of freedom and ease, which is not like the name of a king at all, but like the name of a leisurely hermit.

"Haha! came from afar to harass His Royal Highness. ”

Li An also said politely.

Li Xiaoyao said indifferently: "Xiaoyao's ancestors were originally the people of the Tang Dynasty, and they moved here only to take refuge, so we are all a family, besides, we are all surnamed Li, this is all fate, what to talk about, it's too outlandish." ”

Seeing that Li Xiaoyao was so enthusiastic, the officials of the Tang Dynasty were relieved of most of their hearts, thinking that there would be no more problems in dealing with Bolu Kingdom.

Li An pushed the boat along the water and said, "Since everyone's surname is Li, and His Royal Highness the King is a few years older, let's just call you Brother Li!" ”

Li Xiaoyao did not refuse, and said: "Since it is a family, there is nothing wrong with Xiao Wang being called his brother, so he will be called Li Shilang's virtuous brother." ”

"How many people are there under Brother Li's rule, how are the soldiers and horses, and have they ever been threatened from other places?"

Li An opened his mouth and asked, these situations have long been figured out, but it is better for Li Xiaoyao to answer in person, so as not to discremate the situation investigated by his subordinates from the actual situation.

Li Xiaoyao replied: "My country has 19,000 people, only 1,000 standing troops, and 2,000 reserve soldiers and horses, although the troops are weak, but they are enough to protect themselves, besides, there is not much wealth in the country, so there is no invasion of strong enemies, and for more than a hundred years, only a few pirate invasions have been repulsed." ”

After speaking, he looked proud, as if Bolu was very awesome.

In fact, in terms of this strength, that is, the strength of the county level in Datang Prefecture, the better counties in Datang are much stronger than Bolu Kingdom.

Li An smiled and said, "In this way, the country of Bolu is a treasure land!" For more than 100 years, it is very rare to have no quarrel with the world, and almost never be disturbed by the outside world. ”

Li Xiaoyao said with a smile: "The ancestors moved here, not just to be comfortable, so they found a secluded place, haha!" ”

Li An sighed and said, "Bolu Country is a good place to be secluded, but it was all in the past, and I am afraid it will not work in the future." ”

"Uh, what do you mean?"

Li Xiaoyao was surprised.

Li An said seriously: "If the Tang Dynasty wants to open up the Maritime Silk Road, all countries along the way need to cooperate, and the Bolu country is naturally no exception, so the future Bolu country will be very lively, and the people's lives will become richer and richer, which is a good thing, not a bad thing." ”

This sentence has both the meaning of congratulations, and at the same time, it also has the meaning of deterrence, congratulating the country of Bolu for becoming part of the Silk Road of the Tang Dynasty, which can provide a good opportunity for the development of the country of Bolu, but at the same time, it also warns Li Xiaoyao that the policy of the Tang Dynasty has been set and the country of Bolu must abide by it, otherwise, God knows what will happen.

"Brother Xian, Brother Fool has long heard that Datang wants to cooperate with the surrounding countries, but my Bolu country is located in a remote area, and none of us is nothing, can the terms of this be discussed?"

Li Xiaoyao seemed to be a little reluctant, as if he was afraid that the Tang Dynasty would open the door of the Bolu Kingdom.

"Datang cooperates with countries along the way, it is all mutually beneficial, and it is of great benefit to both sides, why is Brother Li a little reluctant? If you have any bitter words, you might as well speak them up and listen to them. ”

Li An asked curiously.

Li Xiaoyao looked embarrassed, and said softly: "The widows of the small country have never seen much of the world, there are only one or two hundred thousand people under the rule of Brother Yu, and their ancestors are all in the Tang Dynasty. ”

Obviously, he is worried that the people of Bolu Country will have the idea of immigrating after knowing the stability and wealth of the Tang Dynasty, and they are originally from the Central Plains, and there is nothing wrong with returning to their hometown, just like Huaxia in later generations, because of poverty, many people like to get green cards and become citizens of other countries, in order to live a better life.