Six days later, the fleet arrived in Qiongzhou without danger.

The fleet docked at a small village on the east coast, near the mouth of a river, and despite the dry season, the flow of the river was still significant.

This is the first stop in Changsha in Qianli in the plan, and after Qiongzhou, the border of the Great Song Dynasty is counted, and it is not so simple to stop again.

The fresh water brought out of Quanzhou is exhausted, and the fleet has to be cleared and replenished here.

Sea boats enter the estuary of the river, and the river water is crystal clear, which is very different from the sea.

After reaching the position of taking water, the crew stood in two teams, from the river bank to the deck and then to the cabin, buckets of fresh water from the river to the deck, and then back to the bilge, the empty barrels were transmitted back to the river by another team of people one step away from the opposite side, a bucket of water about thirty catties, whether it was the Xuanwei Army or the reserve army, it was very easy to carry it in one hand, but the position of the two teams was still rotated every quarter of an hour, the riverbank deck was busy, and the water replenishment efficiency was quite high, and the bottom bilge of a ship could be filled with fresh water in two hours.

Three seagoing vessels at the mouth of the sea are replenished at the same time, day and night. The ships were replenished according to the number, in an orderly and orderly manner.

Vessels that have completed their replenishment of water may go ashore for three days to rest, but at the same time they are not allowed to stay far from the coast.

The main person in charge of the Huiyi fleet and the personnel in important positions gathered on the main ship of Shenzhou to summarize the itinerary of the previous month, and then had a fierce debate on the route and itinerary after leaving Qiongzhou, mainly focusing on the issue of several stopovers when going south.

Dai Cong said: "The imperial court took Dai as an envoy to the countries of Nanyang, Annan bordered the land of the Great Song Dynasty, and the king of Annan sent envoys to Lin'an many times to pay tribute, and a few elephants sent from thousands of miles ago are still raised in the Phoenix Mountain Imperial Garden. The Great Song Dynasty is the kingdom of the Heavenly Dynasty, and other countries have come to congratulate many times, and they have come without being rude, how can they have the truth of not entering the door, if so, how is it different from barbarians? This envoy of Annam must go, or the first stop of this mission, to give the king of Annam a reward on behalf of the imperial court! ”

Huang Qi said: "Lord Dai, because the imperial court is arguing about the matter of the envoy, the time to go to sea has been delayed for more than a month, and now the fleet is almost over the end of the New Year's Eve and returned to Qiongzhou." You go out of the cabin and see, is it still windy? There are tens of thousands of miles from Qiongzhou to Sriwijaya, and when the north wind completely disappears, the fleet can only turn back halfway and return to Qiongzhou, and if you want to go to the South Seas, you have to drag it for another year, and one hundred and ten ships are spending money every day, how can the fleet afford to return to Yi? We are a Hui Yi fleet, of course, we should rush to Sriwijaya before the end of the north wind. In my opinion, it is not too late for the countries of Annam to wait for the fleet to return! ”

Dai Cong said: "Lord Huang, the envoy knows that you have received the edict of the official family, and you want to be the master of the matter of returning to the change, so I will not argue with you about this matter for the time being." But the matter of the envoy, the imperial court handed over all the authority to the envoy, how to send the envoy, which countries to envoy, there is a single envoy to decide, do not forget, the envoy is the envoy, the fleet route, the itinerary of the envoy can also be the master. Huang Da kept saying that it was easy, do you know how many countries there are in Nanyang, how many people they have, how many things they can buy, one ship or two ships or three ships? We have more than 100 ships of cargo, can they buy them? Is there something to exchange? Lord Huang shouldn't know, but Ben Envoy knows.

Almost all the large and small merchant ships going south docked in Champa, where they traded directly with the merchant ships going north, but most of the time, they had to deliver the goods to the local merchants in Champa and exchange them for rare materials from Nanyang or Tianzhu, and the merchants in Champa made a resale from them, making profits at both ends, and the merchant ships going south did not make money, and the merchant ships going north did not make money, and the big money was made by them. If our fleet does not trade in Champa, and the Great Song Dynasty does not come forward and does not send envoys to open up relations, it will be difficult for the fleet to supply in Champa.

In the same way, as far as the envoy knows, the sea passage to Tianzhu and Dashi in the west is firmly occupied by the Srivijaya Kingdom, and the merchant ships in the past are heavily taxed according to the value of the goods, and the merchant ships that do not pay taxes do not want to clear the customs. The Huiyi fleet is huge, and the materials are huge, and it is difficult to estimate how much tax will have to be paid. However, the silk, tea, and porcelain of the Great Song Dynasty were famous, and the value of the silk, tea, and porcelain in Tianzhu was more than ten times greater, and if the other party taxed our goods at the price of Tianzhu, it would be an unimaginable number. At that time, the imperial court will have to come forward and open up the relationship.

Therefore, even if the north wind does not stop all the year round, the fleet will not be able to pass smoothly at all, cannot replenish, and cannot clear customs, and the return to trade is empty talk. This envoy believes that the Nanyang countries must send envoys first, and then they can talk about returning to Yi, I wonder what Lord Huang thinks? ”

He is not familiar with the Nanyang countries, and Hui Yi has always been run by Yang Congyi, Tang Xun and others, listening to Dai Cong say this, Huang Qi is powerless to refute, if he can't supply smoothly in Zhancheng, and he can't clear the customs smoothly when he arrives in the Three Buddhas, and he can't go west when he returns to the Yi fleet, the money can't be earned, and he can't return to Lin'an.

In a blink of an eye, Yang Congyi seemed to have something to say, so he asked, "Does Yang have an idea to join the army?" ”

Yang Congyi saw that the two of them had been arguing for a long time, one was going to be an envoy, the other was going to go back, and no one would let anyone, if it went on like this, there would be no result in fighting for another day or two, but when their high-ranking officials spoke, it was impossible for others present to interject casually, and he was also very anxious. Now that Lord Huang asked him, he was about to speak, but when he saw Dai Cong looking at him indifferently, he hesitated.

Huang Qi said: "Yang joins the army, this entire Huiyi fleet was personally supervised by you and Tang Shenjun, at this time, if you have something to say, just say it, don't hide it, and don't worry." ”

Yang Congyi thought about it, the fleet was built by them, and it took a lot of effort, if they couldn't go to sea smoothly and earn back the money, why did they come to supervise the construction for a year? What's more, when Lord Huang asked them to supervise the return of Yi, he read their argument about the ocean return to Yi Fengying Mansion, if Hui Yi did not make money, they were talking nonsense. On the other hand, if Hui Yizhen makes a lot of money, they will have a reputation and performance, and there is absolutely no problem in going further in their careers.

Thinking about it like this, he didn't have any worries, so he said loudly: "What the two adults said is very reasonable, and the lower officials think that it is true, although it is important to return to Yi, but the envoy is equally important. Returns and missions complement each other, and at the same time, they can also go hand in hand. ”

"What do you mean? Be clear. Lord Huang was a little dissatisfied with Yang Congyi's amicable attitude.

Yang Congyi hurriedly replied: "My lord, in fact, we can go separately first, part of the envoy to Annan and other countries, and the other part to take advantage of the north wind to go straight down to Changsha, quickly pass through the stone pond of thousands of miles, first rest in the country of Three Buddhas, and wait for the envoy team to arrive in the country of Three Buddhas from Annam, Champong, Zhenla and other countries, and then open the pass, and go west to Tianzhu to eat together, so that more countries can be sent to the country, and the return can also be carried out normally." I wonder what the two adults think? ”

After listening to this, Dai Cong immediately said: "Yang Congyi, your idea of dividing the troops into two ways is okay, but how to divide the troops, which people will send envoys, and which people will go south must also be clearly explained." ”

Yang Congyi said: "What Lord Dai said is that the lower officials think that Lord Dai is sent to the countries of Nanyang under the emperor's order, and this envoy team is naturally headed by Lord Dai, in order to maintain the majesty of the Great Song Dynasty and protect the safety of the Great Song Dynasty envoys, two warships can be transferred, accompanied by a thousand Xuanwei troops, and other ships will quickly go south." I wonder what adults think? ”

Dai Cong said: "A thousand? It's a little less, the three hundred palace front divisions brought from Lin'an have to be brought, and the Great Song Dynasty sent the first envoy to the Nanyang countries, and the majesty it should have cannot be compromised in the slightest. ”

Yang Congyi said: "This is natural, the forbidden army brought from Lin'an is the elite of the Great Song Forbidden Army, and they were originally going to accompany and protect the Great Song Dynasty envoys." There were 1,300 men, and the safety and majesty of the envoys should be fully guaranteed. ”

Dai Cong nodded, and said: "If the troops are divided into two routes, and the envoy will send an envoy to Annan and other countries, who will accompany the Xuanwei army?" ”

Yang Congyi looked at Zhao An, only to see that he looked at the calligraphy and painting in front of him, his eyes were empty, and he didn't mean to inherit it. In addition to him, only Jiang Kai and Shen Jin are the people of the Xuanwei Army, and of course he himself is, after all, he also has the position of supervising the Xuanwei Army. Obviously, if Zhao An doesn't go, there is no other choice.

So he immediately replied: "How about the lower official going with the adult?" ”

When Lord Huang heard this, he said: "Yang joined the army, you are quite familiar with the Nanyang when you return to the Yi fleet, if you don't go south with the fleet, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, I think the matter of protecting Lord Dai is still left to others." ”

Dai Cong said: "The envoy thinks it is very appropriate, so it is decided, Yang joined the army with a thousand Xuanwei troops, and went with the envoy to Annan and other countries, and set off on a certain day." Lord Huang will take the Yi fleet back to the south, but Lord Huang should not go too fast, if you arrive at Champa and the envoy has not yet arrived, I am afraid that the supply of the fleet will also be difficult, and it will be difficult for Lord Huang to wait at ease. ”

As soon as Lord Huang heard this, he became angry in his heart, without you Dai Cong, Hui Yi couldn't be done? immediately asked everyone: "If the soldiers are divided into two routes, how will the southbound route be adjusted?" What is the itinerary? ”

Everyone didn't think about the question of dividing the troops into two ways and adjusting the route, and suddenly, it was difficult to answer, so they continued to be silent.

Only Yang Congyi replied: "My lord, since the troops are going to be divided into two routes, the route of the fleet will naturally have to be greatly adjusted. At present, the favorable time to go south is less than a month, and the distance is still very far away, if you want to rush to the country of Srivijaya before the end of the north wind, there can be no delay on the road, the lower official thinks, the best way is that the fleet does not stop at the city, does not stop at Zhenla, does not stop in any country, goes directly south, and reaches the country of Sriwijaya in one breath. ”

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, thousands of miles along the way, without making any supplementary stops? Isn't it a joke?

Lord Huang didn't know about the Nanyang matter, so he asked, "What do you think?" ”

Everyone was still silent, and no one dared to respond, because they didn't know if Yang Congyi's method was safe and feasible.