Since sea navigation in this era mainly relied on wind, and the southerly monsoon in summer was not conducive to ships heading south from the mainland, only by taking advantage of the northerly monsoon blowing in winter could ships heading south reach the Nanyang Islands smoothly.

It's November, the northern monsoon season is in full swing, and it's the best time for the fleet to go down the South Seas. Considering that Liaodong was about to start a war with Funan next year, in order to divide and win over the countries of Nanyang, Wei Shuo decided to send Feng Yi as an envoy to visit Nanyang.

When the conflict between Funan and Liaodong broke out before, everyone in Liaodong thought that relying on the name of a great power in Shangbang, the countries of Nanyang should naturally gather under the banner of Liaodong.

It's a pity that contrary to the expectations of everyone in Liaodong, the name of the Heavenly * Dynasty is not easy to make in Nanyang, and all the countries in Nanyang are basically on the side of Funan. It was as if Liaodong represented not a great power that they had admired for a long time, but an extremely dangerous aggressor.

Of course, the princes of Nanyang will have such a reaction, and in general, it is not too abrupt. Although the surrounding Siyi has always had a tradition of worshipping the Central Plains Dynasty as the suzerain, the relationship between the suzerains and the vassal states was not solid, and was only based on the ancient tributary system.

In addition, China has always attached no importance to maritime interests, and its fetters to the vassal states of the South Seas are far less than those of the countries in the Western Regions, otherwise how could it give Funan the opportunity to claim the king and hegemony? The countries of Nanyang have been subjugated to Funan for hundreds of years, and it is impossible to switch to Liaodong when they hear the name of the great power of Shangbang!

In order to divide the Nanyang Alliance and win allies, Liaodong sent an envoy, Feng Yi, to Nanyang during the period when the sailors were in full swing to prepare for war.

After several years of trade with Nanyang, Liaodong is no longer blind to Nanyang, and has basically made a thorough understanding of the geography of Nanyang. Feng Yi only needs to follow the map and route provided by Zhang Fang, saving the labor of finding the way.

Before leaving, Wei Shuo did not forget to tell Feng Yi again and again, the fourth century Nanyang was full of chaos and backwardness, except for Funan, Piguo, Zhenla and other dozens of countries entered the era of civilization, most of the indigenous people still lived in the era of ignorant slaves.

After some preparations, Feng Yi finally got his wish and set foot on a ship bound for the countries of the South Seas on a morning in early November. According to the arrangement of the Pastoral Government, the mission to Nanyang consisted of two 5,000-5,000 sand ships, accompanied by more than 800 people, in addition to sailors and escorts, there were also 13 envoys, deputy envoys, accompanying civil officials, and interpreters.

"Lord, the fleet is ready to set off at any time."

"Sub-specialty, you must keep in mind when visiting Nanyang! The purpose of this trip is to divide and disintegrate the Nanyang Alliance headed by Funan, so it is advisable to act cautiously and low-key, and must not make a big show and arouse Funan's vigilance! ”

"Please rest assured, the minister will do his best to complete the task you have assigned." Feng Yigong led the order.

As the chief envoy of the mission, Feng Yi was the first envoy in Liaodong to formally deal with Nanyang and shouldered an important mission. So he knew exactly how to deal with the natives of the South Seas. I also know what kind of investigation to do along the way, which forces to unite and which forces to avoid.

Seeing Feng Yi's calm and calm appearance, Wei Shuo was very satisfied, and he turned his head to Chen An, who was in charge of the escort task, and said, "Huhou, this time I sent you to follow the mission south, mainly to protect the safety of the mission members. I'm putting all the lives of Zizhuan and others in your hands, and I must ensure the safety of the members. ”

Chen An patted his chest confidently and promised: "Hahaha, don't worry, as long as there is a certain family, you will not let the young people threaten the safety of Lord Feng!" ”

"Don't be busy packing tickets first, Nanyang is not as good as the grasslands, the Western Regions and other places, in these places the Central Plains Dynasty has always had a huge influence, even if the Western Regions vassal countries have different intentions, they don't dare to easily harm the envoys from the great powers of the upper state. On the contrary, Nanyang has always respected Funan, and the influence of the Central Plains Dynasty there is very low. ”

"If you're not careful, you may be killed! Although Huhou is extraordinary, he is not familiar with the life in Nanyang, so he must be cautious and not careless. ”

"Please rest assured, the last general will never fall into the name of our Liaodong Army! Whether it is a pirate or a native, as long as they dare to touch the mission, the last general will let them know why the flowers are red. ”

"My lord, the minister is leaving." Seeing that all the members of the mission were on the boat, only he and Chen An were left, Feng Yi's face was pale, and he bowed respectfully to Wei Shuo.

The primary target of Feng Yi's trip to Nanyang was the country of Dunxun, which was located on the present-day Malay Peninsula, which was connected to China in the east and India in the west, and was an extremely important commercial port in the ancient Nanyang and a place for merchants from all over the world. The most important thing is that although Dunsun also surrendered to Funan, his country was relatively strong, and it was a powerful country in Nanyang second only to Funan and Zhenla.

……

saw off Feng Yi and his entourage at Port Arthur, and Wei Shuo went to the shipyard to inspect again.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the first peak of China's shipbuilding industry appeared, and Qin Shi Huang organized a large fleet capable of transporting 500,000 stone of grain in the war to unify the south.

By the time of the Han Dynasty, the sailors with Lou Chuan as the main force were already very powerful. It is said that after a campaign, the central government of the Han Dynasty was able to dispatch more than 2,000 ships and 200,000 sailors. However, the building ship is not conducive to naval warfare, and is only suitable for inland river use.

Wei Shuo with the escort rushed from the port to the shipyard, Lushun shipyard is almost a white ground development, although not as good as the profound Jiangdong, but with the theory and technology from Wei Shuo and strong financial support, quickly let the Lushun shipbuilding industry flourish.

At present, there are two county-class Fuchuan ships in the shipyard undergoing final inspection, and by next month, the Navy Division will add two more county-class Fuchuan warships. The main reason for choosing the Fu Ship is that it can be used both for military and civilian purposes, and even if the sailors are not able to use it for the time being, they can also be handed over to the ocean-going trade fleet.

"My lord, the shipyard has developed rapidly in recent years, and it may not be long before the ultimate ship type of Fuchuan can be built, the treasure ship."

"Hehe, okay, I'm very pleased to work hard. It's just that there is no need to be too anxious about building a treasure ship, so continue to stock up on technology first, and don't rush to build a physical object. With the current strength of the Liaodong Naval Division, even if you build a treasure ship, there are not enough skilled sailors and experienced commanders to operate large warships. ”

The person in charge of the shipyard paled when he heard this, but he also knew that Wei Shuo was telling the truth, and in the past few years, the focus of Liaodong had been on infantry and cavalry, and he had not paid enough attention to the sailors. If it weren't for the Nanyang dispute this time, Liaodong would have raised the development of the naval division to a new height.

It's just that the sailors lagged too much in the past, and they couldn't change the fact that the sailors were weak for a while, so they could only temporarily use county-level fortune ships and medium-sized sand ships as the main warships. And giant ships such as treasure ships and large sand ships are not needed at the moment. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of dozens of small and medium-sized warships is not necessarily worse than that of a large warship, and the key is the use of tactics.

In addition, from a strategic point of view, it seems that large warships will not be needed if there is no rush to a long voyage.

In the end, the cost of county-level fortune ships is low, and each ship is only 8,000 yuan.

The main task of the Liaodong Naval Division at the moment is still coastal defense, and if it weren't for the sudden changes in the South Seas, presumably Wei Shuo would not have thought of increasing investment in the Naval Division. With the current strength of the Liaodong Naval Division, even the powerful Jiangdong Naval Division may not be without the strength to fight.

After returning from the shipyard, Wei Shuo rushed back to the house, and as soon as he entered the backyard, he unexpectedly saw Pei Yinger, Gao Juan, You Weiwei and other wives and concubines making dumplings.

Influenced by modern eating habits, Wei Shuo usually likes to eat dumplings very much, which led to the rapid development of dumplings, a fresh food that has become popular throughout Liaodong.

And Pei Yinger, in order to cater to Wei Shuo, they are also doing everything possible to improve the level of making dumplings in order to attract Wei Shuo's attention, it seems that ancient and modern women know that if they want to capture a man's heart, they must first grab the other party's stomach.

"Husband is back?" Seeing Wei Shuo come in, Pei Yinger and the others hurriedly put down the things in their hands and hurriedly greeted them.

For Pei Yinger, a woman who has been supporting her behind her back, Wei Shuo has always had only pity. Because she was born in a wealthy family and received a good education since she was a child, she saved Wei Shuo a lot of energy during her tenure in charge of Wei Fu.

And in order to stabilize the political situation in Liaodong, Pei Yinger also took the initiative to marry a wealthy family in Liaodong, which made Wei Shuo's heart full of guilt! (To be continued.) )