Zhu Houzhao got the radish and hung it neatly on the horse's neck, and then took Liu Jin and went west.

Just looking at the West, Zhu Houzhao's eyes still have awe.

But in the end, he gritted his teeth, waved his whip, and galloped all the way without the slightest hesitation.

…………

On a vast ocean with no end in sight, for more than a month, the ship followed the current all the way to the west.

The bottom of the dregs of the world, the Wangbushi, was covered with moss, and all kinds of shellfish were adsorbed on the bottom of the ship, and the ship was repaired while in Ceylon.

In fact, the Ceylonese did not seem to be friendly to the Ming fleet, but fortunately, Xu Jing took out some silk and exchanged it with them, so he recruited some Ceylonese to work for them, and even purchased a sea ship.

Halfway through, they encountered a group of pirates, and Yang Jian and others opened fire, and the fire rang out, causing the pirates to be frightened and flee.

Wang Xizuo proudly told the people on the ship that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were not very skillful, and if these pirates insisted on looting, they might be able to inflict some casualties on the Ming fleet.

He said vaguely that this is the credit of their Portuguese, the pirates who crisscross here, once they encounter the Portuguese muskets, immediately lose their armor, which makes them have a deep fear of the muskets, as soon as the Ming fleet is released, they actually think that the Portuguese fleet is infested.

Xu Jing knew more and more things, although he also knew that Wang Xizuo's words were half-true and half-false, but he gradually understood Wang Xizuo's intentions, Wang Xizuo hoped to follow this official fleet of the Ming Dynasty, listen to some news, and it was best to follow Xu Jing to return to the sea, and finally follow Xu Jing to land in Daming and get first-hand information.

Wang Xizuo was a man of great ambition.

He coveted the porcelain and silk of the ship.

Of course, this porcelain and silk alone is not enough to make him tempted, he wants to go to the land of silk, the country of porcelain, to have a good look, to listen to the details of the Ming Dynasty, and even he is very interested in the ports of the Ming Dynasty.

In any case, at least knowing this person's intentions, then the goal of both sides is the same, both hope that one day, Xu Jing can return to his homeland, and Wang Xizuo can land in Daming.

Therefore, Xu Jing's attitude towards Wang Xizuo became better and better, they patted each other's shoulders, and Xu Jing was already able to call Wang Xizuo affectionately in Portuguese fluently.

Wang Xizuo was integrated into the large collective, and he was quite familiar with this sea area, which saved the fleet a lot of trouble.

Even, in order to let everyone return safely to resist the restless sea weather from the Indian Ocean, Wang Xi also keenly pointed out some important flaws on the ship.

Xu Jing's relationship with him became more intimate, and the first thing he did when he got up was to shout: "Where is my dear and faithful friend Wang Xizuo?" ”

With such a roar, Wang Xizuo appeared, the two looked at each other and smiled, held hands, and began to talk warmly with each other.

They have a never-ending topic, Xu Jing will talk about silk, will talk about gold, will talk about tea, and Wang Xizuo will tell Xu Jing that they are a group of poor people who have bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and circumnavigated the entire Kunlun continent, and they are here to spread their—in the words of the Ming Dynasty, their way of saints, they are glorious and loving, and they are a group of international friends who have never cared about personal gains and losses, and have come to Luzon for thousands of miles.

He would occasionally talk about the situation of the Fra machine, for him, it was not a big deal, and even if he had drunk, when he talked about it, he began to complain loudly, saying that the scum of the world Wang Bushi was not suitable for ocean voyages at all, and the structure of the hull was very problematic, and there were many unreasonable points, and every time he said it, Xu Jing secretly took out his small book while persuading him to drink.

Humans from two different countries at the east and west ends are on such a ship named after the dregs of the world, and they meet unexpectedly, like the great love stories in all dramas, and begin to give birth to countless sparks.

Although Wang Bushi, the dregs of the world, made some improvements and tinkered with them in Ceylon at the suggestion of Wang Xizuo, Wang Xizuo was still very uneasy about this, and he suggested returning to the ship.

Even all the crew members, after seven or eight people died of dysentery, a few people suffered from some strange illness, and one unlucky guy accidentally fell off the ship and never was rescued again, every crew member was even more selfish about their homeland.

If it weren't for Xu Jing, who would always walk from the bow to the stern of the ship, comforting them again and again, telling them that after going back, it would be a great achievement, and only by sailing forward a little more could they reach the farthest place that the fleet of the Three Treasure Eunuchs could reach, and from then on, he could guarantee that they would have glory and wealth in the future, and there would be no weaving shelves at all, but treat everyone well, even if this person was just a man on the ship.

Otherwise, Xu Jing would have been thrown off the boat to feed the fish.

Finally, Xu Jing also fell ill.

He felt weak, his head was hot, but his body was very cold, and in the cabin, wrapped in a thick quilt, he still felt uncomfortably cold, but he could only grit his teeth and dare not tell anyone about his illness!

For he knew better than anyone that if it was known that he was also sick, all the confidence of the whole fleet would most likely be lost.

With persistence, Bai Ri reluctantly calmly greeted everyone on the boat, including the other party's parents, wives and children, even if the dizziness was terrible, Xu Jing still told them affectionately, and soon, find a new land, you will have a good life, then go home with countless wealth and official positions in the court to enjoy happiness, this is a guarantee from a man, each will carry a basket, the basket is not firewood, rice, oil and salt, not grain, but gold and silver.

But at night, he was wrapped in a quilt again, and the only thing he supported was the muddy and hot fresh water.

He was draped in a quilt, and sat in front of the desk in the cabin where he almost straightened his waist and held his head on his head, and he struggled to carry a pen, took a deep breath, and wrote: "On February 26 of the 14th year of Hongzhi, the fleet has been away from the port of Ceylon for 17 days, and the wind and waves are calm, and the isolated island encountered the day before yesterday has no fresh water, and it is a great pity that the fresh water on the ship can barely hold out for seven days, and Wang Xizuo thinks that within three days, he will definitely be able to find an island that can be replenished......"

He wrote earnestly, and suddenly, his hand trembled......

In this confusion, he shuddered again, and he seemed to see that not far from him, the teacher was standing there, and the teacher saw him, and opened his arms to him, and the smile on his lips was so kind, like a saint, and then slowly walked towards him in that haze, and then gently stroked his head and smiled at him.

In an instant, Xu Jing smiled at the void like a madman, and then, he choked again, tears fell down, and his mouth emitted strange syllables of uh-uh-uh, maybe because of excitement, maybe because he was choked and unspeakable.

The figure of the teacher finally disappeared gradually, but the smile on him was deeply imprinted in Xu Jing's mind.

Xu Jing snorted, he was no longer the personable, spotless boy, he wiped his nose with his sleeve fiercely, regardless of the filth of the cuffs, but he lifted the pen again, the crying look on his face was like a child, but he didn't dare to make a sound, so it was like a baby whimpering.

He tried hard to hold the pen, and although he was under the high heat, he still trembled and wrote crooked words: "I may soon die of illness here, and if I die, there will inevitably be internal strife in the ship, and the dregs of the world will never be able to return to their homeland, or be buried in the belly of a fish, or be separated from their homeland forever." I haven't seen my teacher for 159 days, I'm ...... I miss it very much, my teacher once had a professor, and the most important thing to be a person is to be happy, I ...... I ......"

He wanted to say that he would be happy, but the tears that he had managed to endure burst out again, and he burst into tears again.

The loneliness at sea is unimaginable, from torment to numbness, and then from numbness to even more torment, endless despair, and occasionally a glimmer of hope, this hope is like a light, but it is always fleeting!

Every thought of returning home, the longer the voyage, the fatal attraction to Xu Jing, he even wanted to blurt out countless times, let's go back, we have actually completed our mission, I have a wife and children, parents, and teachers, I miss them all the time, I want to know if they are doing at the moment, I want to know ...... Whether they are sick or not.

But...... In the end, he gritted his teeth and held on, because in his mind, he would always remember that instruction - all the way to the west, and explore a little more to the west, so that a new path can be opened up, so that Daming can avoid even the slightest detour.

He couldn't hold it anymore, dropped the pen, wrapped himself in the quilt weakly, lay on his back on the couch, still shivering with cold, he leaned on the deck, began to cough, looked at the small oil lamp in the cabin like a gossamer, and then showed a wry smile, perhaps...... I really can't hold on anymore.

……

Next.

At the beginning of the dawn, the light slowly emerged from the horizon of the sky, and the dregs of the world, Wang Bushi, were still to the west.

In Xu Jing's cabin, his hearty voice came as usual: "Where is my dear and faithful lifelong friend Wang Xizuo?" ”

After half a ring, Wang Xizuo appeared with a smile on his face.

The two people who hadn't washed for months grinned separately, their teeth were full of tartar and black and yellow, but they hugged each other affectionately, kissing each other with the etiquette of the Francosian, feeling each other's temperature.

"It's a new day." Wang Xizuo said with emotion.

"yes!" Xu Jing's face turned blue and looked very weak, but at this time, he looked at the west from afar, and he said word by word: "New day!" ”