Chen Zheng and Yue Xiaorong had another good night, and after getting up the next day, Chen Zheng decided to go to the Jiuquwan Dock to have a look.

After all, the whaling ship was built by the drawings left by himself, and Chen Zheng was going to inspect it to see how it was built, and it did not meet his requirements.

found Wei Dayong, drove Chen Zheng's carriage, and drove to Jiuquwan Port.

It didn't take long for Chen Zheng to arrive at the port of Jiuquwan, and after getting off the carriage, he went straight to the dock.

Yao Xin, the person in charge of the dock, saw Chen Zheng and hurriedly greeted him, and said with a smile: "Master Chen, are you here?" ”

Chen Zheng nodded and said, "How is this whaling ship built?" ”

"I've built one, and I've already launched it." Yao Xin replied.

Chen Zheng didn't speak, and walked to the dock, he wanted to see the situation of the craftsmen.

After entering the dock, the scene inside can be described as hot.

These craftsmen from the Ministry of Craftsman's Division have completely put down their shelves, and they used to be said to be for money and promotion, but now they are completely dedicated.

For no other reason, they have already served Chen Zheng.

First of all, of course, because of the shipbuilding drawings left by Chen Zheng, they have completed the construction of a ship, and this sense of accomplishment is very contagious.

It was a very gratifying thing to see that the ship they built could sail to the sea, and this feeling of relief made them can't help but build a second one.

Another reason is that some time ago, when the Fusang bandits came to attack, they were chaotic by Chen Zheng's trebuchet, and they suffered heavy casualties, and this credit was also credited to them.

This is a real military achievement!

Liu Bin, the leader of the craftsman, had good eyesight, and saw Chen Zheng who came in at a glance, and hurriedly walked up and said, "Master Chen, you are back, I heard a few days ago that you went to arrest the defector Kuaishou, and it must have been a success." ”

Chen Zheng smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Naturally, I caught that Yang Xu back, and you have worked hard in the past few days." ”

Liu Bin was very proud and introduced to Chen Zheng: "The enthusiasm of the big guys has been relatively high recently, and they take the initiative to work overtime every day to build the second whaling ship as soon as possible." ”

"Please tell the big guy that in the future, this task will be completed, and this credit will be greater than the credit for defeating the pirates a few days ago, so be sure to grit your teeth." Chen Zheng instructed.

Liu Bin agreed: "Master Chen, you can rest assured." ”

Seeing Liu Bin's determined expression, Chen Zheng also relieved himself, it can be said that the craftsmen in the dock are the best craftsmen in Daliang today.

If they do things seriously, in terms of quality, there is no need to worry at all, if they don't do it well, then no one in the entire Liang country will be able to do a good job.

Except, of course, Chen Zheng.

However, building a whaling ship is a big project, and it is impossible to expect Chen Zheng to complete it alone, if so, he must be exhausted to death.

The whaling ship that had been built had already been driven out to sea by Xiao Zan, and Li Shuang was naturally with him.

So, Chen Zheng came to the port and went to find Xusheng.

However, this time, Chen Zheng's luck was not very good, Xu Sheng happened to go to sea to fish, but he was not there.

I didn't find Xusheng, there were others, Chen Zheng's face was as good as ever, I heard that he was going to sea to find Xiao Zan and Li Shuang, and soon someone agreed to take him to sea.

In the past two days, Xiao Zan has to drive this whaling ship out to sea every day, and the fishermen and boatmen in this port already know it very well.

Therefore, Chen Zheng did not wander on the sea for long while sitting on the boat, and he had already discovered the trace of Xiao Zan's whaling ship.

Pulling over the boat, Chen Zheng boarded the first whaling ship to be built.

"Brother Chen, you are really willing to come." Li Shuang teased.

The corners of Chen Zheng's mouth lifted and he smiled: "What? Disturbed the private space of the two below? If that's the case, then it's going to be next. ”

Xiao Zan laughed and said, "Brother Chen is really good at laughing, how can you be missing here?" ”

Chen Zheng took a look at the whaling ship and found that it not only had a pedal crossbow, but also was equipped with a trebuchet, which looked a little higher than the original patrol ship in Dongyang County.

"Brother Xiao, that's not how I designed this ship." Chen Zheng pointed to the trebuchets and pedal crossbows and laughed.

Xiao Zan coughed lightly and said, "Our ship is called a whaling ship, naturally it has to have attack power, even the patrol ship is equipped with trebuchets and pedal crossbows, and it is indispensable for me to have it on this whaling ship." ”

"Well, what Brother Xiao said makes a lot of sense." Chen Zheng nodded and said, whether these things are worthy or not has nothing to do with him.

On the surface, Emperor Xiao Ding of Liang approved Xiao Zan to come to Dongyang County for the purpose of whaling, but in fact, no one can see that the whaling ship is just a starting point, and the real purpose is to establish a sailor division and create an established fact, and the ban on the sea will naturally be abolished.

Moreover, through the invasion of the Fuso bandits, it can be even more highlighted how important it is to establish a team of sailors.

At this time, the patrol ships of Dongyang County passed by the whaling ship in a row.

Xiao Zan looked at the neat crew standing on the patrol ship, and couldn't help swallowing, and said: "When Tang Yishangshu comes to Dongyang County, he will bring someone to come, and when the time comes, Ben Gongzi will personally train him, and he will definitely be better than the crew on the patrol ship." ”

"Oh? Tang Shangshu is coming? Chen Zheng asked.

Xiao Zan nodded and said, "Of course he wants to come, he was responsible for this matter, and this son just took it over on a temporary basis, can he still ignore it?" ”

Chen Zheng thought about it, this thing is right, this whaling team has been established, but it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and Tang Yi will definitely come.

A few people walked around the sea a few times, Xiao Zan had itchy hands, and after throwing a few stone shells into the sea, he returned unsatisfied.

Two days later, Tang Yi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, really came, and brought a team of 100 people.

The military department Shangshu came to Dongyang County in person, but it was a big event, not only Dongyang County ordered Li Gang to greet him personally, but even Feng Xueyong, the prefect of Hongjiang Prefecture, and the county orders of other counties also rushed over.

After the ceremony, Feng Xueyong dismissed the county orders of other counties back, and only he stayed behind and accompanied Tang Yi with Li Gang, the commander of Dongyang County.

Of course, Feng Xueyong's daughter Feng Qinning also came, which made Li Shuang very happy.

is also happy, as well as Meng Chujiu, because Feng Qinning's arrival means that her personal girl Yin Yin is also here.

Therefore, the entire Dongyang County seems to be lively all of a sudden.

However, there seems to be one person who is not very happy, and this person is Xiao Zan.

Because Xiao Zan felt that the hundred people brought by Tang Yi were too few, and they were not enough to see at all.

The whaling ship they built was not small, with only a hundred people, which was not enough for the capacity of one ship.

In this regard, Tang Yi was also a little embarrassed, after all, this whaling team was not an official team, and it was not established, so this hundred people were seconded by him from all over the place.

No matter how much it is, Tang Yi can't do it.

Chen Zheng saw that Xiao Zan was very disappointed, so he suggested that he recruit troops by himself, and they should raise their own salaries.

In this way, the fleet belongs to the military department, and the non-commissioned officers belong to Xiao Zan and Chen Zheng.

Xiao Zan was very interested in Chen Zheng's proposal, so he discussed it with Tang Yi, but after Tang Yi heard it, he didn't dare to agree.

Because of the private recruitment, if this is introduced to Kyoto, it will be a conspiracy against usurpation.

Even if Xiao Zan is the only heir to the throne now, even if Emperor Xiao Ding is conniving at him, this is also a matter of principle, and Tang Yi really doesn't dare to do it with them.

So, Xiao Zan was unhappy again.

Chen Zheng was a little embarrassed, after all, he came up with this idea, and he didn't expect there to be so many taboos in it.

"Brother Xiao, I'm really sorry that I didn't think it through." Chen Zheng said to Xiao Zan.

Xiao Zan waved his hand and said, "I can't blame Brother Chen for this, and my son didn't expect it, alas, we are still too young." ”

Chen Zheng thought for a while and said, "Brother Xiao, it's better to take this opportunity to write a letter directly to Your Majesty, asking him to allow Brother Xiao to recruit troops, if Your Majesty agrees, then others will definitely not say anything." ”

Xiao Zan thought for a moment, and then said uncertainly, "Can my father agree?" ”

"Try it, maybe you'll agree." Chen Zhengdao, "Even if we don't agree, we won't lose anything, if we agree, we will make a lot of money." ”

Xiao Zan was persuaded by Chen Zheng, and immediately asked Yang Xiaoping to find a pen and paper and start writing.

After writing the letter, Xiao Zan was very satisfied, and then handed it to Chen Zheng and asked him to read it.

Chen Zheng glanced at it quickly, and said in his heart that His Royal Highness the Prince's writing is really not good, but he can also understand what is written.

After reading it, Chen Zheng groaned slightly and said, "Brother Xiao, don't you think there is something missing in the content of this letter?" ”

Xiao Zan was stunned for a moment, took the letter he had written, read it carefully, and then said, "There is nothing missing, I have written everything that should be written." ”

Chen Zheng shook his head and said, "You should also greet Your Majesty in the letter." ”

Xiao Zan listened, looked at Chen Zheng with some disbelieving, and said, "Is it necessary?" Isn't it a bit of a fuss to ask this in the letter? ”

"Absolutely not, don't worry." Chen Zhengdao, "I have been away from Kyoto for so long, and I should greet you in the letter. ”

Chen Zheng looked at Xiao Zan and said in his heart: If you ascend the throne in the future, you will find that this kind of pure greeting can be stacked into a small mountain.

Xiao Zan is still more able to accept Chen Zheng's suggestion, since Chen Zheng said so, he naturally has his reasons, so Xiao Zan still did it.

Xiao Zan dipped the pen back in ink, and then wrote at the back of the letter: "Father, the son has been away from Beijing for a long time, and his health is well? Can you eat? Erchen misses his father very much! ”

Xiao Zan felt that the greeting in the letter was purely a snake painting, but Chen Zheng said that this was an effective method.

instructed Yang Xiaoping to send the letter to the post house, and through the urgent channel, Pegasus galloped to the capital.

Therefore, the task of several people in the past few days is to rest, rest well, and rest sufficiently.

Of course, the daughter of Hongjiang Mansion came to Dongyang County again, but Li Shuang was so busy that she had no time for other things.

Just when Xiao Zan was beating the drum in his heart, a reply finally came from Kyoto.

Xiao Ding in his heart was very happy, and agreed to Xiao Zan's request very happily, allowing them to recruit soldiers by themselves and add them to the whaling team.

Since the emperor allowed it, the others naturally had no opinions.

The belongings collected from Yang Xu's cave were enough to squander for a while, so Chen Zheng and Xiao Zan didn't have to worry about whether the money was enough or not.

In this way, a month later, a whaling team of eight whaling ships was finally established.

Each of the eight whaling ships was equipped with a full 200 men, plus various boatmen, cooks, handymen, etc., almost 300 people.

However, the whaling ship was large enough that, although it was three hundred people on one ship, it did not seem crowded at all, and after some training, it was well organized.

This is a team that cannot be underestimated, with 1,600 combatants, which makes Xiao Zan feel very majestic.

"Brother Chen, this son now feels that he is a mighty general." Xiao Zan said happily.

Chen Zheng glanced at the high-spirited Xiao Zan, and echoed: "Brother Xiao really has the posture of a general!" ”

The crossbow bolt was shot at the whale's back, and when it sank a few inches, the whale was in pain and let out a buzzing sound.

However, the sea whale's body is huge, and although the crossbow arrows make it feel pain, they don't hurt much.

It's like an adult strong man who has been pricked twice by a thorn needle on the mountain, although there are some punctures, but it is not a big deal.

However, in this way, the sea whale was clearly enraged.

On weekdays, in this sea area, whether it is a school of fish or a turtle, which one sees it and does not hide from it?

Today, something poked him, poking himself all over his body, and he must not be let go.

The whale floated up a little more, and suddenly it looked like a small hill.

Then, Chen Zheng and the others noticed that the hill had crashed into their fishing boat.

Xusheng was in a hurry, and hurriedly shouted to the boatman at the helm: "Turn the rudder, avoid it!" ”

However, at this time, the distance between the fishing boat and the whale is too close, and the whale swims so fast that it is impossible to dodge.

Rumble!

The sea whale slammed into the fishing boat, and everyone on the boat suddenly stood unsteadily, Yang Xiaoping lay on the deck with a vicious dog, and Xiao Zan squatted down.

Fortunately, Chen Zheng and Li Shuang stood close, and when the sea whale collided with the boat, they both grabbed each other, and although they stumbled under their feet, they never fell.

After the whale hit it, it swam away again, and Xu Sheng hurriedly went to the side of the boat to check whether the fishing boat had been damaged.

After taking a closer look, Xusheng breathed a sigh of relief, this fishing boat was not damaged at all, it was really strong.

However, the collision of the sea whale just now did make people feel uneasy, if it were an ordinary fishing boat, I am afraid it would have been torn apart long ago.

Chen Zheng walked up to Xiao Zan and said, "Brother Xiao, this sea whale has been successfully captured, should we continue sailing or return?" ”

Xiao Zan swallowed his saliva, still hugged the mast, and said, "Go back, the scenery of this sea has been appreciated below, let's go back." ”

Chen Zheng looked at Yang Xiaoping, and the other party also nodded vigorously, obviously not wanting to stay on this sea.