In the eleventh year of Dazhong, in April, outside the Tonghua Gate of Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, there were thousands of heads running around again, and the voices were boiling. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info but the people can only watch from a distance, without the official to drive away, and not many people dare to lean over, because in the most conspicuous place, there is a bright yellow umbrella cover.

And the surrounding silver light, the snow is as bright as the tip of a knife, under the spring sun, flashing a cold glow that makes people's hearts tremble, even if the people are watching, they can feel a sense of slaughter, so no one dares to approach. These are the most elite Shence troops, and the object they protect is naturally the Tang Emperor, and today Li Chen is the son.

Not far from the umbrella cover, Li Chen was very excited, why didn't he come quickly. Li Chen's mood was rippling, and he had been looking forward to it since he received the emergency report from Mingzhou that day. Because the fleet that sailed to the Americas has finally returned.

For more than six years, in October of the fourth year of Dazhong, he was also at this gate, and after sending away Zheng He of the Tang Dynasty and Columbus of the Tang Dynasty, there has been no whereabouts for them. At first, he was able to wait patiently. But two years later, he was a little panicked, why didn't he come back.

He clearly told them that he was waiting for them, and when he discovered America, he would send someone back to report it. It's time to plan for the next step. The galleon trade, he knows, is once a year. I went to the Americas for half a year and Asia for three months. As long as you discover the United States, one year should be enough.

Even if there is some delay, it should be back for two years, how can it be delayed for six years, he even thought they were killed. Although I always thought it was impossible, they were not one ship, but five. It wasn't even the kind of small boat that the Europeans had when they sailed, but the big ones he chose.

These ships are fully in time for the last glory of the galleon, the kind of clippers. He didn't know the load and speed of the clipper ship, but this ship was the best sailing ship that had been studied by Datang for several years of manpower and material resources, as well as his advanced knowledge.

Nowadays, unless the steam ship appears, there is no room for improvement in this ship. He came up with a lot of things that came out of the late era of galleons, the best aspect ratio, to maintain stability and reduce sway. These are the best solutions that the Europeans have obtained after many years of application in the later stage of galleons.

This ship, whether it is sail, load, or speed, is the best. At present, what Datang can do is to keep trying new processes to see if it can increase the load. But it's a slow progress.

As for those ships, they can't be said to be new, but they haven't been around for a few years. Even better than a new ship, because the new ship has not been tested, these are all tested, and it is certain that it is stable.

Therefore, Li Chen couldn't accept the fact that none of the five ships had arrived terrifyingly. Back then, Columbus drove a broken ship and could go to the Americas. Magellan too, several small wrecked ships, although more than half of them were damaged, even the captain Magellan died. But there was still a ship that made it difficult to return to Europe and announce the completion of the feat of circumnavigating the world.

Today, Datang's fleet is not only large, but also has a stable route and a large number. He even gave them a map, it was impossible to get lost, and when he set off, there was no storm, and the northern hemisphere was still in a relatively cold season, so there would be nothing that would make the five big ships encounter a rare storm, and if it was autumn, he was worried about the autumn platform. But in the spring, it's not possible.

None of this is possible for the fleet to have an accident. Even if it gets lost, the worst is that if you go north, along the coast, you will definitely reach the Americas, the Bering Strait is very narrow, and he does not believe that the fleet will go directly through the Bering Strait and run to the Arctic Ocean.

Therefore, he really couldn't think of it, why didn't the fleet come back, could it be that there was such a rare phenomenon that caused all five ships to be killed?

The fact that he hadn't come back for several years made Li Chen have to accept this terrible result. Every time Chongyang in these years, he would look east from Daming Palace, hoping that the little bamboo pole that called his uncle back then, called Fat Ball, but was not fat at all, would suddenly pop out and say that he had come back a long time ago, but he was just hiding to scare him. Then the kid laughed, and he grabbed him and beat him in the ass.

'Hmph, when I come back, there is no reward, and I am waiting to be beaten. Li Chen suddenly snorted coldly, making the people around him puzzled, obviously very happy, why did he suddenly feel bad.

The fleet has finally returned. Yang Er and Xiaohong also came to greet them. But the two are in different moods. Xiaohong is simply very happy, after many years, the fleet has finally returned. And Yang Er felt very complicated, and he didn't know whether to be happy or angry.

She also remembered that the fat ball kid also remembered that although the relationship was not as deep as Li Chen and Xiaohong, she was also very sad that the fleet never returned. There are even some worries that will have such a complicated feeling.

I saw the return convoy from afar, shining with the same light as the surrounding troops. Li Chen didn't care too much, he didn't pay attention to this color, thinking that he was just accompanying the escort team, he was still thinking about how to express his anger, this is all back, it must be that they didn't follow their orders, and sent someone to report as soon as they arrived.

It wasn't until he heard an exclamation that he came back to his senses, and even the emperor couldn't help but surprise him a little, because the shining light was not only the troops escorting along the way, and the bayonets were shining, but gold.

There was a huge amount of gold, and dozens of ox carts were placed, and on top of each ox cart, there were stacks of gold bricks, neatly arranged. These gold bricks emitted a more dazzling light than the sun in the sky, although it was reflected light, but in the eyes of everyone, it was so dazzling.

Everyone, including the prime minister, took a breath of cold air, this is too show-off, only children, and they are innocent to clap their hands and say that they look good, Li Zi pulled down Li Chen's sleeve and asked, "Master, are those all gold?" ''Right.'' It's all gold. Then Li Zi stopped talking, and now that he has grown up, Po Xiao Nai's father Li Zi said, "This is too ostentatious." ’

His eldest daughter, Li Luo, said, 'I'm afraid it's just a deliberate swagger? Li Chen didn't understand and looked at his sister-in-law, Li Chen sighed secretly, this eldest son is not as smart as his younger siblings, but this is not a big problem.

'It's deliberate, the lord sent them to explore the New World, in order to plan for the long-term peace and stability of the Tang Dynasty. They deliberately exposed so much gold in the hope of attracting more people to explore the New World. ''New World? Is it rich? Li asked asked.

'Rich, very rich, mainly in that land, there are no strong enemies, most of them are some people who don't even have wheels, can't use iron tools, and are still using stones and bones as weapons to win the natives, that continent is the hope of the Tang Dynasty in the future. ’

'The New World, there really is. Li Cheng muttered to himself, "Do you think that the world geography is the one who broke the legend for you." Li Chen couldn't cry or laugh, feeling that they thought that the New World and Australia were all won by him.

In the distance, as long as you keep walking, you will get to the day. The gongs and drums were noisy, and the people and courtiers were dumbfounded, and this convoy showing off their wealth approached Luanjia.

The greeting party also sounded a triumphal music to welcome them home, and then the convoy stopped, and then the convoy was in charge of escorting the Shence army, and out of a line of unarmoured, only colored paper armor, led the team, and loudly announced, 'Salute.' ’

Then, the sound of artillery was so dull that there were no shells, they were just explosive packets, and the reduction was still passable, but it also frightened the people to retreat, thinking that something had happened. This is just Li Chen's tricks, imitating the salute in later generations, because he was afraid of frightening the people, so he only fired three shots, otherwise he would have wanted to set off twenty-one shots.

However, there were three sounds, and the nine cannons were fired together, and the sound was also very sufficient, and those who had seen the treasure that moved their hearts and wanted to squeeze the people forward retreated in shock, but finally did not cause panic and maintained order. The minister, the officers and men who escorted him, and the convoy that entered Beijing, were obviously ordered, and no one panicked.

'Report, the leader of the Datang expedition, Li Chengtai, fortunately did not disgrace his life, discovered the new continent, this time, a total of five ships, 1,300 people. Now there are five ships on the voyage, totaling 1,200 people. The mission has been successfully accomplished, and it is hereby resumed. After the salute was fired, the most expedition captain got a fat ball, Li Chengtai and several old scholars, as representatives, surrendered to Li Chen.

Li Chen wanted to keep a straight face and scold, didn't he tell you to die early? He was so worried, he was even thinking about it, had they met aliens? All five ships were kidnapped or sunk? Or the tsunami. He has seen in the record that once an iceberg collapsed, from a high place into the sea, and as a result, it set off a stormy wave, and the momentum and scale were not lost to the tsunami. If this is really the case, it can only be said that God does not bless Datang.

'Hmph, I still know how to come back.' Li Chen looked at this dark and thin young man who couldn't scold after all, although he was very happy, but he couldn't give him a good face, "Before leaving, no matter what I ordered, one by one, I should be on the sidelines." ’

'Alright, alright, the people have come back and brought you gifts. Xiaohong's eyes were red with joy, and when she saw that the scene was cold, she stepped forward to play a round.

'Yes, sage, the expedition brought back twenty tons of gold, as well as countless New World products. Li Chengtai said. Hearing this number, all the ministers took a breath of cold air, twenty tons, and all used it to mint money, how much does it cost?

Hubu Shangshu Wei Cong immediately wanted to calculate clearly, but he was dizzy all of a sudden, twenty tons. This ton is not a unit in the Tang Dynasty, Li Chen reunified the weights and measures, prescribed a new weights and measures, and fully adopted the decimal system, imitating modern usage habits. The people can still use the old system, while the new system is used by the imperial court.

Inconvenient, there were some in the early days. However, it has no impact on the private sector. The imperial court had a scale that was easy to calculate. This is done mainly because it is cumbersome to convert, and in order to make it easier to calculate, it is done.

'This is not the place to speak, go into the palace and speak.' Yang Er interjected. So, after the welcome ceremony outside the city, Li Chen returned to the palace with a group of people and gave a banquet as before departure. At the banquet, Li Chen fulfilled his promise, and everyone, all of them, even the lowest-class sailors, were awarded the rank of commander and third turn to flying cavalry captain.

The Tang Dynasty has a total of 12 turns, which is a reward for the merits of the civilians, and the highest is the Shangzhu State, which is regarded as the second grade. And although the flying cavalry captain is three turns, it is also equivalent to the sixth grade, which is already more than a county order.

This is still the lowest level of sailors, and others with merit will be rewarded higher, and some of them can be absorbed into the Tang Navy. However, maybe they will all retire and enjoy happiness.

Because almost all of those lonely sailors have made their homes in the New World, the local natives are very in awe of them, and they have sent women to scold them, and everyone does not say that they have three wives and four concubines, but two or three wives have gains.

If you are willing to settle down in the New World, you will be rewarded with ten times the number of fields granted by law. I didn't expect that they would have the courage to open up a new continent, and Li Chen certainly did not hesitate to reward him.

In fact, it is not difficult to imagine how popular they are in the New World, and it is no wonder that they will settle down, although in the New World, many things are inconvenient, this trip back, everyone made a fortune, a hundred tons of gold, that is the expedition team offered, in fact, everyone has a lot of private goods, even if they return to the Tang Dynasty, they are also rich.

However, many of them did not stay in Datang to enjoy happiness. This verifies the saying that power is the best spring X for men. With the right, there will be all kinds of beauties upside down, which is the best X medicine. In addition to the beautiful women, they also had many slaves, and it is said that there were frequent wars there, and slaves often got everything.

At the palace banquet, the members of the expedition were surrounded, some of the low-ranking officers, asking the sailors, and such as Li Chengtai and some scholars, were surrounded by ministers, everyone.

Regardless of men, women, young and old, they are very curious about their experiences and try their best to inquire. Whether it's for curiosity, or for that golden chest.

Unexpectedly, they really discovered the Golden Township. There was gold everywhere, and the natives didn't use it at all, but just used it as an ordinary shiny metal.

As the leader of the expedition, Li Chengtai was of course in the vicinity of Li Chen, all of whom were senior officials of the empire, and the prime ministers were all here, as well as Li Chen's concubines, his children, and even the Empress Dowager Zheng were here, she was too curious, when Li Chen sent more than 1,000 people to sea, everyone thought that they died in vain.

For the emperor's dream, the emperor sent 1,300 men and five large ships to find a place that did not exist. Now that the guests are dead in a foreign land, if Li Chen didn't always want to believe it, they were all killed, maybe someone would come to the table and seek justice for them.

It's not that so many people can't die, the king wants the minister to die, the minister can't not die, the Tang Dynasty has fought foreign wars in the past dynasties, and the guests died in a foreign land, not to mention 1,300 people. But death must also be valuable, and it can't just disappear silently.

Now, they are finally back, but not calmly, but with the gold shining brightly, illuminating the whole Tang Dynasty.

It's just that their first job is not to continue to explore the Americas, but to go south, which is another big thing.