It was the end of August and the beginning of September when it left from Gantuoli, and after passing through the four countries of Dandan, Panpan, Funan, and Linyi, the fleet finally returned to the southernmost part of the Tang Dynasty, Annam, in mid-November.

Especially when the fleet arrived in Linyi, no one dared to believe that they had made such a big circle and returned to Datang from the other direction.

But when the chart was placed in front of them, they had to believe that they had indeed come full circle, and the middle part was blank.

Are there any islands in the area? Is there still a country?

No one can say for sure, but we will definitely explore this empty space again.

As for how to explore, Li Yuanjing doesn't have to worry about it, one trip to the South China Sea is enough, and the rest of the things can be handed over to others to take care of.

And Li Yuanjing also plans to officially put the eastern tour on the agenda after returning to Chang'an this time, after all, it is his final place to stay.

When they arrived in Annam, the entire fleet instantly relaxed, and the months of high alert made everyone feel tired.

In fact, after arriving here, everyone feels as happy as they have arrived at home, maybe this is the feeling.

Although no one had thought of coming here before, in their hearts this is the barren land of the Tang Dynasty, this feeling cannot be experienced by ordinary people, and only the kind of people who are far away from home can experience it when they return again.

"In any case, I can't go home a year ago, even if I set off immediately, hurry up and hurry, and I can return to Haizhou around New Year's Day at the earliest!" When he arrived in Wuqu, the navigator Ren Zhixing poured a basin of cold water on everyone.

Wuqu is located about 100 miles east of Jiaozhi, although there are Wenyang, Jiuzhen, Yanshui and Rinan Rizhou in the south, but there is no doubt that this is still the southernmost point of the Tang Dynasty.

"By land?" Some of the disciples of the family who were anxious to go home asked anxiously.

On the way back, everyone was bored, so they found Li Yuanjing for a meeting, and the area that could be given to them had been roughly decided, but only with the information they had, it was impossible for them to make an accurate decision.

And Li Yuanjing also clearly told them that this was only a preliminary exploration, the purpose was to let them have a good idea, and then the imperial court would send another fleet to sail, and then they could prepare their own ships and carry personnel to board the island they fancied for a second detailed exploration.

And this time they came out to let them have a general goal, and secondly, let them accumulate some sailing experience, and in the future, they will be responsible for the fleet they are responsible for exploring.

Who knows when the next voyage of the imperial court will be chosen? But for them, the sooner they send the news back, the sooner the family can be prepared.

It's easy to talk about personnel and everything, but the ships are hard to find.

The Thousand Stone ships have long been acquired by the imperial court, and most of them are currently constantly traveling between Dongju, Tamna, Silla and Haeju, and this year's new ships are in this fleet.

There are only two places in Datang that have a thousand stone ships suitable for long-distance voyages, but the sea ships needed in these two places are a bottomless pit, and the current ships are not enough, let alone give them to them.

What would they do if the imperial court decided to leave in the second half of the year? You can't sit in a small boat and hang behind a big boat, can you?

"Don't even think about the land route, although the distance will be closer, but there is no need to think about it for two or three months, there are many jungles and swamps in the southern region, even if there are roads, most of them are tree-lined paths, and they can't walk fast at all, and the danger is not small.

As for the waterway, I roughly calculated, it may not be accurate, but it is not bad, and the distance from Haizhou should be between 5,000 and 7,000 miles. Ren Zhixing said.

The difference in range is not that he is not proficient in business, but that he has not walked this road at all, and the previous calculation data was not made by him, plus there is an error in the calculation, and Datang has never measured the distance at sea.

He had roughly estimated the distance by land from various places, but this trip would be able to narrow it down a little when they returned to Haizhou.

"Since you can't go back a year ago, then you don't have to worry about it!" Li Yuanjing is calm about this, and there is nothing unacceptable to him about this trip to sea for a year.

Besides, even if he goes back, Li Yuanjing is bored, he will definitely not go to sea in the next year, and it is unlikely that he will even be able to do it in two years.

Next, before the completion of the Qianshi steamship, Li Yuanjing did not plan to leave Datang, what could be completed in three or four months, it was forcibly delayed for a year, and he was also very anxious, but there was no way, after all, everyone worked hard.

But after all, he was not alone on the ship, and he couldn't just consider his own feelings, after thinking about it, Li Yuanjing still said: "In this way, this king sent a force of 3,000 people to land here and go back by land, if you are in a hurry to go back, you can go with the troops, if you can't endure hardship, write a letter and ask them to bring the letter back, so that the family can prepare in advance." ”

"Good!" Regarding Li Yuanjing's proposal, everyone nodded in agreement.

This time, everyone was very smart and did not choose to go back, not to mention the long distance, and the road was not easy to walk.

There are some things that everyone knows, otherwise, why would Li Yuanjing send a force of 3,000 people back?

In other words, Lingnan, a place where birds don't poop, has complex terrain but not so complicated, that is, there are too many rivers, too many jungles, miasma or something is a trivial matter, the problem is that there are many dangers hidden in this jungle.

There are many people who have committed serious crimes and have fled here to become the kings of the jungle, and if these people are caught, it is a dead end, so what else do they dare not do?

Even if it is an official army, one or two hundred people must always be cautious when they take this road.

Although the imperial court has set up an official government here for many years, the problem is that the population here is still too small, and many places cannot be fully developed.

And it's not an overseas island, and even if there are people, it's just a part of the indigenous people, and they need to focus more on dealing with animals.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid there is something wrong with the transfer of troops!" Ma Zhou shook his head and admonished.

Li Yuanjing can move troops overseas at will, but not in Datang, even in Haizhou, the base camp.

Li Yuanjing's only power was to transfer the Haizhou army back and forth in the three barracks, and if he wanted to leave the Haizhou barracks, in addition to boarding the ship directly and going to sea, he had to be approved by the Haizhou government, and if he wanted to leave Haizhou, he had to report to the imperial court in advance.

And the long-distance march of the army is not as easy as imagined, along the way the local government soldiers will check the orders of these people again and again, if there is a problem, let alone get supplies, these government soldiers will surround you in minutes, even if you can't beat it, they will let you go first, and then secretly pass the news, so that the superiors can mobilize more government soldiers to surround it.

Generally speaking, when mobilizing the army, the imperial court will notify the provinces along the way in advance, and the governments that receive the notice will prepare the required materials in advance, and when the army arrives, check the tiger talisman and orders, and then you can directly replenish the rest, and then leave the territory within the specified time, even if there is a notice from the imperial court, the army must strictly follow the requirements to execute, otherwise it will lead to a series of problems.

"Give them a decree and let them escort the envoys of all countries back!"