'To the Venerable Master, Grebe, son of Gana Ganadabat, a thousand blessings and bowsitt, as if to a god. His servant Hu Tansao paid respect. And I wish you all the best and that it will be a good day for me. Master, when I heard the good news of your good health, I felt that I was also refreshed!

Moreover, my master, Handan's hair is safe and sound, and so is Nanito in Jicheng. Dan, the son of the king of Yan, took me to Xianyang in Qin, the same Humdan that you once mentioned to me.

Last month, an unfortunate event occurred when they borrowed the light power of the Eternal God to smelt iron without permission in order to smelt the same iron as Jing, the southern state of the steppe that was the true source of the path (sword) on the grassland, and which was engaged in a terrible war with Qin. The eternal god punished them, and the molten iron raged out of the furnace four cubits in size, and all who witnessed it all suffered misfortune except for your pious servant Hu Tanshaozhi, including the king of Qin. Qin may reconcile with Jing, because in addition to iron, Jing's medical skills are also magical.

Master Babaka, I will be on my way to Jing next month. Every state here has the news of Jing Guotie. It is said that in Jing, a two-cubit-long trail costs only half a sheep, and it costs 45 staats (1 staat = 16 grams) of gold to sell it to other countries. Also cheap is the armor, although a pair of armor costs 800 to 900 stadts Jing national railway, but it is said that its price in Jing country will not exceed one sheep.

It is unbelievable that the price of iron in Jingguo is so low, which is only 120 times the price of Chinese iron in the city of Marakanda (Samarkand). In Qin, people rarely talk about Jing because of the war, but I was told that the Empress Dowager (the mother of the king's father), the queen, and the important ministers of the Qin State were all from Jing, and they wanted to end the war with Jing, but unfortunately the king of Qin obviously did not agree with this, and he was resisting the pressure from the body and the outside world......

Before dawn, Hu Tansazhi got up and wrote a letter to his master, Lubajia, about what he had seen and heard about the trip and his decision to go to Chu, and shortly after he had finished writing the letter, Yan Dan's servant invited him to have breakfast.

"The doctor of Jing has arrived in Xianyang." Breakfast was in the post house, and while the servants who were serving walked away, Yan Dan whispered.

"So that Qin and Jing will no longer fight?" Hu Tanshaozhi spoke Yan fluently, and he hoped for such a result.

"However, the king of Qin does not want the Jing country doctor to heal his injuries." Yan Dan's face was not worried. He also hoped that Qin and Chu would no longer fight, because Qin's conquest of Chu would condone Zhao, and Zhao would bully Yan once it was connived. This is a situation he does not want to see.

"Why?" Hu Tansuo put down his chopsticks, "Qin Chu still wants to fight?" ”

"Or war." Yan Dan was not sure what the outcome would be for Qin Chu, he remembered Hu Tanshaozhi's itinerary again, and said, "However, if you fight or not, you can go through Wei to Qi." ”

"Qi Guo?" Hu Tansuozhi knew this country, it bordered the Zhao State and the Yan State across the sea.

"Yes, yes." Yan Dan nodded and said, "The Qin State and the Jing State are at war, and only the Qi State can pass through the Jing State." Speaking of this, Yan Dan unscrewed the Chu paper fan in his hand with a 'swish', and said with a smile: "The things of Jing are all from Qi, just like this Jing paper fan, it is the things of Jing Kingdom." ”

Yan Wangxi has been in power for eighteen years, and it is no problem to look at the body to live for another eighteen years, which has developed Yan Dan's character of being good at making friends and being idle. After giving Qin Zhiqi the talisman again, Yan Dan held Hu Tansaozhi's hand tightly and said, "When he returns to China one day, don't forget the previous promise." ”

"The contemptible will never dare to forget." Hu Tanshaozhi knew what Yan Dan wanted, and he carefully reminded: "It's just that it takes many years and a lot of money to hire a craftsman......

"Ten years!" Yan Dan gestured, and at the same time lowered his voice: "I will give you three thousand gold, and you must find a craftsman within ten years." ”

"Do your best." The entrusted matter is really important, and Hu Tansuo Zhi did not dare to fully agree. Yan Dan saw that it was not easy to force it again, Hu Tanshao was just a merchant of the Yue Clan, and there were countless states in the west of the Yue Clan, and only God knows if he could invite craftsmen.

*

Yingdu Purple Mountain Shipyard, this is a festive day. In order to celebrate, in addition to the grand sacrifice, the sacrifice of pigs, cattle and sheep, there is also the bottle throwing ceremony that only appeared in the Age of Discovery. The bottle throwing ceremony was a test of the ship's luck, and the boat without a broken bottle was considered unlucky, and Xiong Jing replicated this ritual in the Chu State with the superstition of an old sailor. According to the practice of the bottle throwing ceremony, it is the captain's wife who presides over this ceremony, he has no wife, only a mother, so it is the Queen Mother Zhao Concubine and the Mi Xuan who is about to take the bottle.

"The bottle must be broken, otherwise it will be unlucky." Avoiding the ministers, Xiong Jing whispered to Concubine Zhao and Mi Xuan that he didn't want the two sea boats to be unlucky when they got out of the water.

"No." Concubine Zhao looked at her son sweating and felt distressed to help him wipe his sweat. Mi Xuan was still ignorant, she asked innocently: "If it is not broken, what should it be?" ”

"It must be broken, if it is not broken, then it will be smashed again." Xiong Jing said helplessly, he couldn't wait to smash it himself, but unfortunately his strength was too small.

"The auspicious time is coming, please ...... the Queen Mother, the King, and Princess Xuan" Gong Yin Dao rushed over, and launched so many big-winged warboats, but there was no time when he was so nervous as this time. …… Etiquette. ”

The shamans on the dock were already worshipping the river gods and the sea gods. It is a little embarrassing that this is the realm of the Huaishui water god, but it is necessary to worship Yu Yu, the sea god of the East China Sea, and Hu Yu, the sea god of the South China Sea. But the shipyard is next to Huaishang, and there is no way to be embarrassed. Xiong Jing, who was the king of Chu, offered wine to the god of water in the Huai River, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, and then threw two pieces of beautiful jade into the Huai River in the prayer of the witch. After that, it was the bottle throwing ceremony that he arranged extraordinarily.

Under the gaze of the ministers, Concubine Zhao, who walked to the dock very calmly, grabbed the porcelain vase hanging in the bow and threw it to the hull of the boat, with a 'bang', the porcelain vase was shattered, and the Chu Li in the bottle splashed all over the bow, and at the same time, the last few cables were cut by the boatsmith, and the boat slowly retreated, bringing a wave in the dock.

"Mother, give the name." Concubine Zhao forgot to give her name, and Xiong Jing had to remind her quietly.

"I give you a name, a young master." Concubine Zhao shouted crisply. At this time, the Shao Si Ming slid faster and faster on the slide, and finally rushed into the Huaishui with a 'whoosh-', stirring up a huge wave.

There was a flaw in the design of the Junior Commander Ship that its bilge depth (i.e., the height from the lowest gun deck to the inner keel, and in the case of the Junior Commander was the distance from the main deck to the inner keel) should be half the width of the ship. The width of the Shao Si Ming class is six meters, and the bilge depth should be three meters, but now the bilge depth is three meters and seventy-five, which is more than seventy-five centimeters.

Fortunately, the lowest gun deck of the Shao Si Ming class is the main deck, and there is no cumbersome on it, plus there are forty tons of pig iron ballast in the bottom bilge, and there is no problem with the center of gravity. It's just that numerical calculations are one thing, and it is finally relieved to see the boat floating steadily in the water.

"I give you a name...... Mrs. Xiang. Qi Xuan, who was holding the porcelain vase, looked at her younger brother a little uneasy, but fortunately, Xiong Jing's eyes turned and nodded vigorously to her, so she smiled and pushed the porcelain vase in her hand to the bow of the boat.

'Bang! The vase was unbroken, and then it swung back. The anxious Mi Xuan grabbed the porcelain vase and pushed it again, and this time the porcelain vase finally broke.

"I'm dizzy!" Xiong Jing's little heart shook unconsciously, and he worked hard to build a sea boat, but he didn't expect it to ......

"Brother Wang......" Mi Xuan walked over with her hand stretched out diagonally, she was about to cry. She remembered that Xiong Jing had just said that if the bottle was not broken, it would be unlucky.

"Nothing, nothing." Xiong Jing couldn't help but comfort this sister-in-law, but her brows were still wrinkled.

"Jing'er." Concubine Zhao looked at her frowning son and shouted in a low voice, signaling him not to frown and to be happier.

At this time, the Xiang Lady, like the Shao Si Ming, slid down the slide quietly, and finally floated peacefully in the water. The two boats were successfully launched, and the ministers of the imperial court, the generals of the boatmasters, the sailing school cadets who were preparing to learn the art of sea boats, the hundreds of shipwrights who built ships, and the temple maids who accompanied them were all cheering. The state of Chu finally has a sea boat, which is a great thing.

"Yui." Xiong Jing tried his best to make himself happy, and comforted Mi Xuan and said, "Saying bad luck is just a ...... to coax you."

"How can Brother Wang deceive me?" Qi Xuan's tears fell even more, and she broke free from Xiong Jing's hand and hid behind Concubine Zhao.

"My lord," said the public, taking the opportunity to come over. "The mast has been hoisted, the rest ......"

Both ships had only masts, no rigging, no beams, no ropes, and no sails. Xiong Jing said: "Let them pretend together." ”

The one in Xiong Jing's mouth was the first batch of cadets of the aviation school, and these cadets were divided into two classes. A class trains sailors and captains, and most of the students are the children of boat masters and generals, and there are more people in Chu; The other class trains navigators, all of whom are teenagers and boys, all of whom are Chu people. Rigging is such a thing as a natural matter for students in the sailor class.

"The minister knows." After answering like a loser, he wanted to leave, but Xiong Jing shouted to him again.

"How's the sail?" The sewing of the sail is a big thing, and Xiong Jing has always been worried about it, but he has never been to the scene to see it.

"Your Majesty, the sails have been sewn." replied like a loser.

"Check it out." The boat was launched, and Xiong Jing now wants to see the cables, rigging and sails.

There's nothing strange about the cables, and the same is true for the rigging, which really has no bottom for the sails. The ship sails on the sea, the power depends on the sail, and the sail can not weave a whole side, the next piece of cloth is only two feet two inches wide, no matter how wide it is, it is fifty centimeters wide, so it is necessary to sew up the linen cloth one by one, and the sewing is good, and the sewing is not strong and the wind blows and breaks.