Because of the busy wharf, Liujiagang has always been a bustling place since ancient times, and there are many shops selling various goods.

Ji Yan wandered around the town by the dock for a long time, and finally found a shop that sold books.

However, it is difficult to find novels in the store, after all, this kind of thing is an idle book that is not a serious business in ancient times, and the number of words is relatively large, and it is more expensive to spend paper and ink.

One thing that the Ming Dynasty has in common with modern society is that the best physical books sold in bookstores are exam preparation books.

So it's the same in this shop, most of them are books prepared for the imperial examination and township examination.

Ji Yan searched for a long time, and only then did he find some of his interests in the stacks of books, he found a few volumes of "Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and looked through it, it should be the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It's not bad to read the Three Kingdoms, it's better than nothing, so Ji Yan paid for a few books and took them back to the camp to read.

Reading books, taking a walk, jumping and exercising, and touching the fish, Ji Yan has been in Liujiagang in Taicang for more than half a month.

Those who set off from the capital are basically there.

It's a pity that the personnel of Jinyi Wei were all arranged to be stationed on Chongming Island, and Ji Yan didn't inquire if Mei Yuning was also here.

Ji Yan's heart was still uneasy.

Ruan Xiaoyi also lives on Chongming Island with the artisan group, and they are also not part of the core team.

When Ruan Xiaoyi and the others arrived in Liujiagang, Ji Yan hurriedly met him once.

This going to sea is like a dragon getting rain for Ruan Xiaoyi, and he feels that the whole person is alive again.

Zheng He and Wang Jinghong arrived with their entourage in mid to late May, and they were basically the last group to set off from the capital and arrive at Liujiagang.

Because Zheng He also needed to hold a ceremony to worship the heavens in the Chaotian Palace in the capital before leaving.

This sacrificial ceremony was not only attended by Zheng He and several other high-ranking officials, but Zhu Di also went in person.

Similar to "Journey to the West", in order to cure Li Shimin's insomnia, Tang Seng wanted to go to the West to learn scriptures, and before leaving, Li Shimin also had to personally send it to express his gratitude.

Pretty much the same thing.

Zheng He went to find the emperor for the emperor, and it was not too much for the emperor to send it personally.

It is very important to worship the sky, after all, going to sea is more dependent on the sky than farming.

If there is a change in the heavens at sea, no matter who you are or how big your fleet is, it will be a drop in the ocean and as small as an ant.

A hundred years ago, the Mongols used hundreds of thousands of troops to do a demonstration.

At that time, Kublai Khan was ambitious to conquer Japan, but in the East China Sea, the "kamikaze" destroyed hundreds of large and small ships, so that Japan was fortunate to maintain the record that the mainland was never invaded.

Therefore, although there is no scientific basis for worshipping the sky, it is still very important for people who go to sea, at least it is a comfort.

After Zheng He came, he summoned the heads of the various subordinate teams, and then decided to schedule it at the end of May.

Ji Yan's identity is special, he is not the chief of the interpreters, but he belongs to the quasi-core members of Zheng He's team.

This is a special organizational structure.

At that time, Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty set up such an institution as the cabinet for the first time, and the bachelors in the cabinet had the right to suggest, but no administrative power.

Since then, no matter whether the name of the cabinet is Wenyuan Pavilion, the study or the military aircraft department, everything has changed.

That is, these people only have the right to participate in politics, but they have no administrative power, and only in a few cases, with the permission of the emperor, can they actually operate as a minister.

Zheng He grew up in the Yanwang Mansion and was a good student of Zhu Di, and he also set up a similar think tank-like organization in the fleet.

These people included in the think tank are equal, regardless of rank.

Zheng He will consult with the members of the think tank on a case-by-case basis.

If Zheng He listened to your advice, your rights are equivalent to Zheng He, but if Zheng He did not consult you or your opinion was not adopted, then you are equivalent to not existing in this matter.

This person who needs to be in charge is Zheng He in Zheng He's fleet, which is more hard and laborious, but he can guarantee his rights and monopolize them.

The decree is only a mouthful, and no one can quietly build a "small team".

Time passed quickly, and by the end of May, the troops and personnel transferred from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong had basically arrived.

Zheng He ordered people to be at Liujiagang Wharf, not far from the Yangtze River, and not far away are giant treasure ships on the Yangtze River.

On the podium, Zheng He gave another impassioned and inspiring speech.

I have to say that Zheng He is really the person in charge of going to sea given to Zhu Di by God, he is wise and brave, loyal, eloquent, knows overseas, looks handsome, is tall, and is also a eunuch, which is really perfect for Zhu Di. (His figure and appearance are very important, because he represented the face of the Ming Dynasty at that time, and his appearance was so poor in ancient times that even being an official was affected.) ）

After the general, the troops will be pulled out on a fixed day, and the fleet will anchor and ride the wind to the south.

This time the general made Ji Yan feel very happy, because when Zheng He ordered the general, he saw Mei Yuning.

Because the Jinyi Guard is still shouldering the duty of ceremonial honor guard, they are temporarily asked to make a cameo.

Mei Yuning was at the front desk, wearing the dress of the brocade guard, temporarily in charge of the honor guard.

Ever since he saw Mei Yuning, Ji Yan has been looking at Mei Yuning and smirking like a fool with zero IQ.

Mei Yuning saw Ji Yan, although she didn't respond directly, she also lowered her head lightly, pursed her lips and smiled.

It seems that this disagreement, after all, Mei Yuma has the upper hand.

Ji Yan's mood at the moment was completely relaxed.

It's like a huge meteorite in the sky, and you've been worried about when it will fall down and how big a crater it will be if it falls.

However, the end result was that the meteorite did not actually hit the ground, and the boulder burned up in the atmosphere and turned into a meteor.

Zheng He's fleet was composed of three sequences: boat division, amphibious troops, and honor guards.

The boat division is the current ship force, the basic unit warship, they are formed into formations, called the front battalion, the rear battalion, the middle battalion, the left battalion, and the right battalion; amphibious forces for landing operations; The honor guard serves as a guard and the etiquette of foreign exchanges, solemn and majestic.

According to the task of going to the West, the members of Zheng He's fleet were divided into five parts, namely: command part, navigation part, diplomatic and trade part, logistics support part, and military escort part.

Command Section: The center of the entire fleet, which makes command decisions on navigation, diplomacy, trade, operations, etc.

Nautical part: nautical business, ship repair, weather forecasting, etc.

Diplomatic and trade part: diplomatic etiquette, trade, liaison and translation.

Logistics support part: financial management, logistics supply, document drafting, medical personnel, etc.

Military escort component: responsible for the safety of navigation and military operations.

According to his status, Ji Yan belongs to the diplomatic and trade department, but thanks to his great achievements in the Ryukyus and Japan last year, he is also in command of the department.

That is, in the small "cabinet" organized by Zheng He.

On the first day of June, the wind was calm

Zheng He's huge fleet, anchored simultaneously from Liujiagang and Chongming Island, and sailed to their first destination: Wuhumen, Fujian.