The first thing before leaving the port stumped me, thoroughly, completely, without negotiation.

It's just the first month of the new year, and it's hard to say that February in the northeast is still warm. The water outlet near Jinzhou is still frozen, which is also a problem that no one can solve. We stood in front of the frozen harbor and sighed, according to an old sailor in the harbor bar, how could I afford to wait for such a weather that the thaw would not be until March?

However, after drinking too much wine, the old sailor said that this year's sea water is urgent, and Lushun may not be frozen, so he should be able to go to sea! I discussed with everyone, I can only wait here, it is better to go to Lushun to try your luck, at least half a month ago, Lushun was not frozen!

So our group began to drive in the direction of Lushun, two wagons, and with the experienced old sailor—he was now our first-class sailor, named Chen Kui, who was forty years old, but looked like an old sailor in his early fifties. It is said that his grandfather once went to the West twice with the eunuch of the Three Treasures, and also served as the second mate on the flagship. In this way, he is also a family of sailors.

Two days later, when we were at the mouth of Port Arthur, we saw the foaming tide pushing the ship to shake slightly, and the excitement in our hearts was indescribable. The reserve is a medium-sized sailing ship with a strong Chinese style. Square head, wide chord, flat and wide hull, full load displacement of 2,000 materials, according to modern weights and measures, should be about 100 tons. The boat is 16 meters long and about 6 meters wide, with a standard draft of five feet, powered by a sloop and a spinnaker.

The ship is engraved with the name of the ship in Chinese characters, called "Ningyuan", and three flags are hung on the mast, one is the flag of the Ito Chamber of Commerce, and on top is the flag of Fuso nationality - although it is a mess in Japan, it is still a nationality of Fuso to the outside world, and at the top, it is the Qinglong flag, which represents the tributary trade with the Ming Dynasty. These three flags, without any of them, it is absolutely impossible for him to enter the port of the Ming Dynasty - this is the special green channel provided to us by our business partner, the Ito Chamber of Commerce, and my mood is naturally very good!

After we boarded the ship, Arashi, who was waiting on the boat as the captain, gave me a brief introduction to the inside of the ship. There was a first mate, a boatswain, and thirty-two sailors, including a doctor, a cook, and a carpenter. This number is more than the average merchant ship, the main consideration is that although it is a merchant ship, because the surrounding waters are hidden from time to time, so the armament on the ship is not weak, and the sailors are mainly from the port cities of the Ming Dynasty and the ports of Dongying, all of whom are familiar veterans.

In order to guard against the Japanese invaders, this ship was also privately equipped with 4 25-inch caliber curved guns and 2 jack franc machines! Not only am I a little excited, I have never been on a boat before, but I have never sat in such a retro style, or an armed strengthened version!

Just when he was packing up and preparing to lift the anchor, Chen Kui suddenly interjected: "Owner, don't go to sea at this time!"

I couldn't help frowning and said, "Why can't you go to sea?"

Chen Kui pointed to the coastline not far away and said, "The tide is undersurging, and the birds are flying low." He pointed to the beach again: "Fish, shrimp and shellfish are competing to come ashore." He stretched out his hand into the air, as if caressing the breeze, looked at me and frowned, and said, "The sudden halt of the sea breeze is unpredictable, this is a sign of a rainstorm is coming!" Don't go to sea! ”

I couldn't help frowning, beckoning to Lan behind me, Lan stepped forward, I said Chen Kui's hunch, Lan couldn't help frowning, and said for a while: "In the current month, there is not often Hailan, and there are often signs of it, so I don't have to mind!"

Two completely contradictory points of view made me difficult for a while. This is not another question, but a major event related to life and death that I am not very familiar with, so I turned my head to look at Chen Kui and asked earnestly: "I do have an urgent matter to go to Dongying, what is the probability of the situation you mentioned?"

Chen Kui smiled dumbly and said: "The owner, this is a matter of life and death, but if you encounter it, it is ten percent, if you are lucky not to meet it, it is nothing." I grew up by the sea, and I have been floating on the sea for more than 30 years, and I am used to seeing wind and rain. If the owner must ask how many percent, I dare to give it a try, seventy percent. I hope the owner thinks twice! ”

I was silent for a moment, and then asked, "How long will it take for this storm to pass?"

Chen Kui smiled again: "The matter at sea, maybe it is a moment, maybe half a month, it is uncertain!"

I suddenly remembered the satellite cloud images on the modern weather forecast, and in the event of a large storm, will it take a month? But for the sake of unnecessary, do you just wait here? What if there is no storm?

Chen Kui saw that I was indeed anxious, and smiled again. I don't understand why the old sailor was so smiling, and it was a little bothersome to see him laughing and smiling so much in my complicated moments—probably mainly because he didn't give me the answers I wanted, of course. Chen Kui continued: "The owner, if you have to go...... It's not impossible! ”

I was very pleasantly surprised, looking at the folds on his face that were much more pleasing to the eye, and immediately said, "Say it quickly!" What's the solution? ”

Chen Kui straightened his sleeves and said slowly: "After leaving Lushun, when you go out of the Beihai Sea, there are no big waves in Goryeo Bay, and what you are worried about is the area from the Goryeo Strait to Hizen Country (near modern Nagasaki)!" If you want to go to Songjiang, you might as well go to the Goryeo Strait, from Busan to Tsushima, and then go up to Songjiang, or you may be able to avoid some of the wind and waves! ”

I turned around and asked Arashi, "Is it possible?"

Lan immediately said, "It's feasible!"

I looked at Chen Kui and smiled, "Just sail as you say!"

Chen Kui arched his hand at me and said solemnly: "My father often said: If there is a trick in my heart, I should have said goodbye!" But the proprietor chose me to pursue this in recklessness, and I was very emotional! Yu is willing to give up his life and accompany the owner to Songjiang, and there will be a good response on the way! ”

Set sail! Driven by the northwest wind, the sails were full, and I stood on the deck with a lot of emotions. After a while, I thought that if I went back to Yokohama, I would probably see some historical sites, but I don't know what it would be like. After a while, I thought about how I could convince Hayashi Shisuke when I saw him. I want to take a good look at this trade route, and in the future, I mean that when that time comes, I will leave the Ming Dynasty, where should I go.

A day and a night have passed, the sea is calm, and there is no storm as Chen Kui said, and slowly I will be relieved. In the blink of an eye, it was nightfall, and I could not sleep, so I came out of the cabin and walked all the way up to the deck. The sea breeze blowing on my face at night was salty and cold, but I didn't feel biting, and looking up at the moon, it appeared and disappeared, making me feel like I was back in my childhood, sitting on the dock in Yokohama Oka with Uncle Suzuki, blowing the evening breeze, and listening to his stories. Thinking of this, I can't help but sigh, for the time that I can't go back, for the people who can't understand.

A female voice suddenly came from not far behind him, and said softly: "Good day, why is Mr. sighing?" When I looked back, the kite was standing behind me, approached, gently draped a cloak over my shoulder, walked to my side with his hand, stretched out his hand to help me tie it, and whispered: "The sea breeze is very cold, sir still needs to take care!"

I couldn't help but feel a warm heart, and asked with a smile, "What are you doing here instead of resting?" The kite smiled and said, "Why did the gentleman come up?" Yes, Mr. is the proprietor, so he naturally wants to come up, but he comes to bully me as a little girl for no reason! ”

I laughed dumbly and said, "If you want to come up, come up." Who's holding you back? ”

Unexpectedly, the kite said back: "It was Mr. who asked me why I came up, and I answered, but Mr. said that he would come up if he fell in love!" Since ancient times, the proprietors have been unreasonable! ”

My heart speaks, this little girl's skin is quite upside down! Who said that ancient women were subtle? To be honest, I don't hate this woman, but I always feel too scheming and seem to be difficult to get close to. To be honest, in my previous life, I was busy exercising, busy preparing for revenge, and I never fell in love, but I read a lot of books. Strictly speaking, I don't like the White Lotus, but I always feel that this woman is not the type I like, and seems to be too smart. But then I thought about it, if she was stupid, how could she be a ninja and become a staff officer of my ninja detachment? It can only be said that the criteria for selecting cadres and women are different after all.

I thought about it in my heart, so I was naturally silent, but the kite didn't speak, just quietly accompanied me on the string of the boat, silently looking at the dark waves in the distance, and the occasional craggy rocks, the atmosphere was really a little ambiguous.

Suddenly, she shivered on my arm, and I turned my head to look, okay, she gave me her cloak, but she was still wearing a single coat, so it's no wonder it's not cold! But then again, there is no one in this routine! Well, the routine is the routine!

So I lifted the cloak with my right hand, lifted her and gave her away, and gently wrapped her in, and the girl seemed to smile, and did not resist in the slightest, but simply leaned on my shoulder. I thought to myself, it, it, I won't take your money anyway. But the kite seemed to be whispering, and whispered, "Sir, I'm so afraid!" I really want to answer her, in fact, I'm so scared, I'm afraid that your routine is too deep, and I can't play it! I thought about it, but I didn't say it, but smiled.

At this moment, suddenly another female voice came from behind! There are two women on this boat, what are you doing! Running to the deck in the middle of the night! I saw Lan Huo running over in a hurry, and called Mr. again, and was about to speak, but I saw a kite in my arms, and I was stunned for a while! It took a while to come back to his senses, and he pretended to be casual and said, "Sir! Rainstorm clouds ahead! Fear...... I'm afraid that as Chen Kui said, this storm may not be able to escape! ”

I exclaimed, "How far away are the rain clouds?"

Arashi replied, "Tomorrow morning at the latest, the storm will come!"

The preparations for the night can be said to be not tense, and it cannot be said that they are not in place. But I know that in the face of nature's wrath, no matter how prepared we are, we can't do too much!

Two hours later, we had not yet seen the eastern sun, but we had already seen the rolling black clouds, with looming lightning, pressing down on our heads!

The storm is still coming, after all!