Penglai is the largest seaport city in Lelang County. Like other shopping malls in the Han Empire, it was rich and noisy. The city has 180,000 households and nearly 2 million permanent residents. Compared with Linzi, the capital of Lelang County, it is not far behind.

It should be said that the development of the shipping industry has created the prosperity of Penglai Port. However, unlike Shen Yun's impression that Qingdao and Dalian are seaports, the reason why the shallow waterline of the wooden ship is enough for Penglai to ascend to the throne of Lelang's largest seaport.

According to Shen Wu, there were six largest seaports in the entire empire, namely Xingluo Port, Yuezhou Port, Guangzhou Port, Keelung Port, Ningbo Port, and Bohai Port. Penglai can only be considered medium among them.

Looking at the majestic picture scroll of thousands of sails racing in front of him, almost covering the port, Shen Yun was deeply intoxicated by the incomparably powerful and prosperous feelings of the Han Empire.

Their official ship was sailed from the imperial capital by His Royal Highness Duke Hu. Eighteen zhang high and nineteen zhang long, this is already the largest ship Shen Yun has ever seen, but when he arrived at Penglai Port and saw those large shipping ships that were hundreds of zhang long, Shen Yun felt the pain of the frog at the bottom of the well.

They were only on large river ships, and now that they were going to sea, they naturally had to look for more sturdy and sturdy sea vessels. Fortunately, Shen Yun didn't have to worry about these things at all, Shen Wu had already arranged them with ease--- there was also the Shen family's industry in Penglai Port, and there happened to be a merchant ship that was already loaded with goods and was ready to return to Bohai County, so Shen Yun and the others did not get off the ship, and directly boarded the merchant ship named "Izumo" and arrived on the outlying island.

On the first day of the seventh month of the Han Dynasty, Shen Yun set off from Penglai Port with the coffin of the Marquis of Bohai, with an entourage of 56 people. The Yun merchant ship is 36 zhang high and 27 zhang long, and looks like a large conch from a distance. It's an offshore ship, with sails and a manual oar, but it's July and the wind is blowing north, so there's no need for it.

The captain of the ship was a native of Pyongyang County, Bohai, named Hongke, who was only wearing a thin silk coat with thick hands and feet, rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs, revealing a kind of purple sauce characteristic of seaside people, and his face had a dense stubble, but he did not have a long beard. The Hou Shizi of Bohai took his boat to help the soul return to his hometown, although it was a funeral, but Hong Ke still felt very honored, as soon as the ship sailed out of Penglai Port, he came to the cabin where Shen Yun lived to say hello. However, he found that Shen Yun had already gone to the deck to see the sea view, so he also followed.

"Hong Ke has seen the son!"

"Hehe, Lao Hong doesn't have to be formal. I'm bothering you with your business! Shen Yun, accompanied by Shen Wu, was looking at the endless sea on the deck, and when he saw Hong Ke saluting at this moment, he hurriedly returned the salute.

Hong Ke saw that the prince also gave him a gift in return, and said a little crampedly: "Don't bother, don't bother, the Izumo is originally a merchant ship of the Hou Ye's family, and this time it is full of goods, and it is going back to Bohai County...... Last time the Hou Ye entered Beijing to pay homage to the saint, he also took a villain's boat! It's just that, alas, God is jealous of the talent......"

The Han people of this era were all educated, so they spoke at a high level.

Shen Yun was wearing filial piety clothes, and a trace of sadness flashed on his face, but he quickly calmed down and said, "Captain Hong, when will we get to the outlying island?" Are you unloading on the outlying islands? ”

Hong Ke hurriedly replied: "According to the direction of the wind, if there is no strong wind and waves, you can reach the outlying island in about five days." The ships were full of raw silk and tea, and a little bit of Yan family's cloth, all of which were sold to Fusang Prefecture, so we would anchor at Bohai Port to unload the goods. ”

Hong Ke explained very clearly, Shen Yun nodded, seeing that he was so restrained, and asked casually: "How many people are there on our boat?" ”

"Hui Shizi, there are eighty-six people in the Izumo's fixed crew, plus more than twenty dart masters, there are hundreds of people!"

"Dart Master?" Shen Yun asked unexpectedly.

Shen Wu explained: "In the past few years, the sea has not been peaceful, and there are often Japanese robbers, so now as long as we escort the goods, we will hire a few dart masters to accompany us." ”

Woko? Isn't that a Japanese slave?

Shen Yun frowned and said, "Does the empire care?" Do we have weapons on board? ”

Hong Ke said: "The empire has sent sailors to encircle and suppress these Japanese pirates, but most of these Japanese pirates came from the Japanese country, not pirates living on the nearby islands, and once a large number of warships approached, they fled back to their own country, or pretended to be fishermen who went out to sea to fish, so it was very difficult to catch." The Izumo is a merchant ship and cannot be equipped with crossbows and ballistas. There are a few spears and broadswords, but they are not very good, and the bows and knives in the hands of those dart masters are more powerful! ”

Hong Ke gritted his teeth with hatred when he talked about the Japanese Kou, but there didn't seem to be much grief and anger in it. The Japanese in this era are far less arrogant than the Japanese in the Ming Dynasty. The entire Japanese archipelago was short of iron ore, so the weapons of these Japanese were all crude products purchased from the Empire, which was not considered to be sophisticated. Although Hong Ke hated them, he didn't care so much about them. Generally speaking, as long as there are twenty or thirty dart masters on board, it is almost safe. Because the pirate ships that the pirates that the pirates can dispatch are definitely much smaller than ordinary merchant ships, and most of them have about 100 people.

Speaking of those dart masters, most of them are retired soldiers from the Jiaolong Legion, and ordinary Japanese robbers will turn around and run when they see their banners. What's more, this Izumo is the ship of the Bohai Hou family, which widow dares to offend the god of wealth of the Wa Kingdom?

Hong Ke said easily, but Shen Yun was a little angry. Shen Wu could see what Shen Yun was angry about, so he whispered: "Actually, this matter has been reported to the imperial court, but the imperial court can't do anything else except increase the intensity of the crackdown. Unless the entire Wa Kingdom is wiped out in one fell swoop, there is no other way to cure it. ”

Shen Yun nodded secretly, and stopped talking, looking at the sea view for a while, but he couldn't calm his mood, so he had to go back to his room to rest.

In the cabin, Shen Yun tossed and turned on the ship and couldn't sleep. It's not because of seasickness, although the boat is very bumpy, maybe it's because Shen Yun was used to sitting in the relationship before, and there is no discomfort at this time. What Shen Yun thought about was nothing more than the guy called "Meiji". This guy not only brought out the modern Japanese cabinet and prime minister system, but also came up with a way to exchange territory for progress.

If he is allowed to continue like this, maybe he will really let him turn over one day!

But what was the way to make this Meiji king retreat? No, he must be a traverser, how could a traverser retreat? Once he learns that he is also a traverser, he may be wary, so he must work hard to remove this hidden danger. But what can be done to eradicate the Japanese state in one fell swoop? Unless it's ......

Shen Yun's eyes lit up. If you want to destroy the Japanese slaves, it is obviously not possible to rely on Shen Yun alone, and you must rely on the power of the country. With the current national strength of the empire, it is easy to destroy the Japanese slaves, but what is the way to get the national power involved? There must be a reason for the Empire to declare war on the Wa Kingdom, but what is that reason? Just rely on the lyrics in "Jun's Generation"? I'm afraid not. The household is short of money, and the last thing the emperor wants now is war, in order to avoid the expansion of the war, he can even endure the Romans, how can he not bear the Wa Kingdom, which is still a subject country with a "humble appearance" from now on! But if you use the Feather Forest Guard......

Shen Yun excitedly pinched the black jade card in his arms. Use the Yulin Secret Guard to find evidence of the ambitions of the Wa Kingdom, and you will definitely find a reason enough to impress the emperor to declare war.

And the Japanese Kou, hmph, think that they are drifting on the sea, and the Imperial Sailors can't do anything about them? Lao Tzu will use a coward to control the coward, I want to see if it is a powerful pirate, or a native of our Han Dynasty is powerful.

As soon as he thought of it, Shen Yun immediately spread out the pen and paper and wrote a letter to His Royal Highness Duke Hu, and after handing it to Gong San, he called Hou Kan in and talked to him carefully for a long time.

Hou Kan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and his big eyes were full of doubts: "Shizi, are you letting me be a pirate again?" ”

Shen Yun smiled: "Not bad. But you, the pirate, are not robbing Han merchant ships, but Japanese slaves. When necessary, I hope you can still go to the territory of the Japanese country, I don't care about murder, arson, ** kidnapping, there is only one thing, you must make the Japanese country unpeaceful. ”

Hou Kan said hesitantly: "It's my forte to do this, but what if the Imperial Sailor encircles and suppresses it?" ”

"Don't worry, I will tell His Royal Highness Duke Hu clearly. It's really not good, you can take people to Bohai County to hide, and I will definitely arrange you properly!" ”

Hou Kan said: "Shizi, if I really become a pirate again, and you harbor us and others, it is a big crime, and the Criminal Department will not be able to give a lenient sentence even if it takes into account the face of Bohai Hou...... Shizi, have you thought about it? ”

Shen Yun nodded firmly: "Not bad." I've decided. Old Hou, maybe you don't understand it now, but one day you will know that my decision was right. To deal with the Japanese slaves, we must not be merciful, and we must kill them all. Hate only hated His Majesty the Holy Ancestor for thousands of generations, otherwise, according to his old man's intentions, he would definitely cut down the Japanese slaves and eradicate the roots! ”

Hou Kan had no scruples, stood up and said: "Since the prince of the world can give up this wealth and glory, I am a rough person, what is there to scruple about?!" Just do it, but all this has to wait back to Bohai County...... The dissatisfied prince said, when I was surrounded and suppressed by the imperial sailors, there were still some brothers under my command who escaped and lived in Bohai County. That's how much it costs to get started......"

"Don't worry about that, I'll give you a million gold coins to build a few pirate ships with good performance. I will divide the account with you for the goods looted from the Japanese country, and I will divide the account with you! ”

Hou Kan rubbed his hands excitedly and laughed.

Next, the two carefully studied the specific details and some contact methods, and then went back to their rooms to sleep.

At dawn the next day, when Shen Yun finished washing and walked out of the cabin door, he saw Gong San already standing at the door waiting, holding two notes in his hands, and said to him: "Son, Your Majesty and Your Highness have news coming back!" ”

"Huh?" Shen Yun looked around, the whole sea was calm, and there was not even a single bird. How did this Gong San get the news? Could it be that there are already satellite phones in this era?

Doubts are doubts, Shen Yun still took the two notes and read them. The first is the emperor's reply, with only a few words: "What Qing has played is known, and I have my own thoughts" Below is the emperor's treasure. The paper was a little old, with wrinkled marks at the corners. I don't know how Gong San did this.

His Royal Highness Duke Hu has a lot of notes, but they are not good words, to the effect that he scolded Shen Yungou for meddling with rats, and asked him to concentrate on going back to Bohai County to deal with the elders of the family, don't mess with the nonsense, how can the country not need him to pay attention. However, His Royal Highness Duke Hu didn't say anything about Shen Yun's desire to call Hou Kan. It seems that this reply is a reply to Shen Yun's last reply, and he has not yet received the letter that Gong San handed over yesterday.

According to the schedule, His Royal Highness Hu Gong and his entourage should be able to step into the territory of Yuyang, but why did they reply so quickly? Shen Yun really wanted to ask Gong San how he used to contact him, but looking at Gong San's cold triangular eyes and his ugly face that was more laughing than crying, he still couldn't help but ask.

At this time, Hong Ke personally brought breakfast, which was a simple bowl of water and a few steamed buns.

Shen Yun said: "Captain Hong doesn't need to be so polite, just let someone else come!" ”

Hong Ke smiled honestly: "It's okay, it's my honor to serve the prince!" ”

From this point of view, Bohai Hou is still quite popular in Bohai County. But why did that rumor that bad for Bohai Hou spread everywhere?

Shen Yun was about to speak, when suddenly a piercing golden sound came from the lookout on the top mast, and a crew member on the lookout shouted: "There are widows!" Get ready to fend off the enemy! ”

Hong Ke's smile fell, and he handed the breakfast to Gong San's hand beside Shen Yun, hugged his fists and hurriedly ran to the cockpit.

Shen Yun was also stunned, he didn't care about Gong San, and followed Hong Ke to the cockpit.

The Izumo's cockpit was a wooden cabin on the foredeck, with steering rudders and four or five nervous-looking crews. This is the place where the Izumo has the most open view outside of the observation deck. Standing here, Shen Yun stared at it, only to see a few small black spots appear on the sea level, which was still unclear.

At this time, the screaming crew member from the observation deck ran down and rushed into the cockpit and said to Hong Ke: "Captain, it's the ship of the Japanese Invaders!" There are four of them, all of them are warships of the size of a thousand stones! ”

Shi (dan) was not only a unit of weight in the Han Empire, but also used to describe the tonnage of ships. Measured by how much a ship is capable of carrying. According to the division, the Izumo was a 4,000-stone merchant ship, while the empire's largest warship, the Daihan, was 100,000 koku.

Shen Yun noticed that Hong Ke's face was a little solemn. Although the Izumo has 4,000 koku, it is certainly much more powerful than a 10000 koku ship in terms of size and personnel. But warships are incomparable to merchant ships. Long-range weapons such as ballistas, catapults, and fire dragons are the measure of whether a ship is a warship. Once called a warship, these things must be a must-have. One thousand-stone warship is enough to sink a merchant ship of 12,000 stones, let alone four now!

Shen Yun looked hard for a long time, and the four black dots didn't seem to move. But this was a visual effect, and Shen Yun knew that the four Japanese warships were speeding over here. As for why the lookout was able to tell the ship so quickly from its own and its size, in addition to his familiarity with the ship, his extraordinary eye was also indispensable.

Hong Ke had calmly given a series of orders: "Raise all the sails and let all the crew below the first mate go down to the wheel room and prepare to accelerate." ”

"Inform the bodyguards and tell them to be on deck immediately. Our crews are also armed and ready to engage in broadside combat! ”

"Immediately light the wolf smoke, let the nearby ships quickly approach us, there are many people and great strength, these Japanese slaves may not dare to come! Also, if you look closely around for the patrol ships of our Imperial Sailors, it will be great if there are! ”

"Prepare the escape boat, once defeated, let the prince and them escape by boat."

……

Judging from this series of orders, Hong Ke is indeed an experienced captain. The crew is also moving quickly and precisely. In a short time, the speed of the Izumo had increased, and the ten giant sails had gathered the strength of the wind and began to rush forward.

Shen Yun wanted to ask why he didn't run in the opposite direction, but later found out that it was the direction of the wind. The wind is in the direction from which the pirates came, and if you turn around, it is equivalent to a headwind, and the speed cannot be fast at all, relying on the human oars in the bilge. Generally speaking, the speed of ships that can be pirates is not very slow, especially this kind of thousand-stone warship, their speed is slower than that of small patrol ships.

More than two dozen men dressed in short-fitting scarves soon gathered on the deck, and the capable aura on their bodies made everyone feel a little at ease.

Shen Yun saw that he couldn't help much in the wheelhouse, so he said goodbye to Hong Ke and went to the deck. Hong Ke thought that the sword had no eyes and hoped that he would wait in the cabin, but Shen Yun was not very happy, he said: "Captain Hong, you can command properly, I, Shen Yun, really want to see what these Japanese slaves are capable of!" ”

On the deck, except for the dart master who was already waiting solemnly, Hou Kan and Kunlun Nu were standing there, and Shen Wu was actively helping those crew members to untie and hang sails and pack up the unneeded items on the deck.

Seeing Shen Yun arrive on the deck, Shen Wu hurriedly came over and said, "Shizi, it's dangerous here, let's go back to the cabin first!?" ”

Shen Yun didn't answer, but looked around and said, "What about them?" ”

"Shi Qian, Zhang Ji and Ouyang Fu are resting in the cabin because of seasickness, Shi Laosan's eyes are inconvenient, I also asked him to hide in the room and not come out for the time being......" Shen Wu said anxiously, "Shizi, let's go back to the cabin first?!" ”

Shen Yun smiled: "Uncle Wu, don't be nervous. I won't joke with my life, it's just that I'm a dignified prince of Bohai, if I hide without even seeing the widows, wouldn't it make people laugh out of their big teeth? I don't have any courage at all, how can I satisfy the elders in the family? ”

Shen Wu saw that he insisted, so he stomped his feet and sighed, and followed him with a mountain machete in his hand.

As he spoke, the oncoming Japanese ship had already grown larger, and the hull that was faintly like a turtle was slowly revealed.

Hou Kan was standing on the guardrail in front of the deck, looking into the distance, Shen Yun came over and asked, "Old Hou, is this battle dangerous?" ”

Shen Wu kept giving Hou Kan a look on the side, hoping that Hou Kan would talk about the danger a little more, so that Shen Yun could return to the cabin.

Hou Kan pointed ahead and said solemnly: "It's not easy to get it, Shizi, those four Japanese ships are called flat-bottomed turtle boats, they are extremely fast, and the hull is strong, they are unique warships of Japanese slaves. Even with the most powerful ships of the Imperial Marines, it would have to be hit directly by three or four cannons to shatter that layer of tortoise shells. Generally, if you encounter this kind of Japanese ship, the empire will directly lean on it to take over the battle! But now we don't have enough manpower, each of these flat-bottomed turtle boats has at least 100 people, and there are 4 or 500 people in four boats, and we only have 100 people in total, so it's too dangerous to engage in broadside battles! ”

Shen Yun asked, "Since this flat-bottomed turtle boat is so good?" Why don't we make it? Doesn't it have weaknesses? ”

Hou Kan said: "The hull of this flat-bottomed turtle boat is made of hemlock wood, which is only available in Hokkaido and Bohai County of the Imperial Kingdom, and the raw materials are extremely difficult. Moreover, this kind of ship cannot sail far, and the Imperial Sailors have built a few of them, but they are all used for patrolling in the port of Yuezhou. They also have a weakness, and that is the bottom of the boat. Their ships are extremely heavy, and if they want to float on the sea, the draft must not be too deep, because the bottom of the ship is extremely shallow. In normal times, only a few water ghosts need to dive into the water and dig a few holes under them, no matter how strong they are, they will not be useful, but here ......" Hou Kan looked around, frowned and said: "We are originally short of manpower, if there is any mistake in the water, not only can we not control the enemy, I am afraid that we will also be restrained!" ”

Hou Kan's words are very pertinent. And he pointed out that the Japanese slaves were designed to rob, so as long as they didn't encounter too fierce resistance, they probably wouldn't want to fight the Izumo, but gang jumping to the side battle must be inevitable.

Shen Yun looked at the ship that was getting closer and closer, and he was a little dazed. The boat was getting closer and closer, and the turtle boat that suddenly appeared in front of Shen Yun's eyes made him angry---Damn, the bow of each turtle boat actually had a classic Japanese menstrual plaster flag!!