The black water ocean surrounded by the big Chu in the shape of a half-moon moon is vast and boundless, no one has ever tried to go to the other side of the black ice ocean to see, what is there there, there are only four water divisions in the whole Great Chu, the former Fuzhou water division fell into the hands of Xiang Xianhe, and it completely became a tool for him to smuggle smuggled salt and accumulate wealth, more than ten years later, a good water division was corrupted into a bad shape, until Li Qing became the master, the Fuzhou water division turned over and was liberated, whether it was in the size of the fleet, or the combat effectiveness, it went up a few steps, and in the south, King Ning controlled the other three water divisions of Da Chu, namely Dengzhou Water Division, Linzhou Water Division, and Bozhou Water Division, from a single water division alone, they were weaker than Fuzhou Water Division, but the three branches together were far stronger than Fuzhou Water Division.

The sailors of Dachu have never had a plan to expedition to the Heishui Ocean, and the farthest of their cruising radius has only reached the Heishui Ocean two hundred kilometers away from Dachu, and when they look around, it is still a vast waterplain, and Pang Jun, the oldest sailor general who made this initiative, returned in despair, he did not dare to take this sailor army that had exhausted his life's hard work to take the risk, even if the Fuzhou sailor had sailed on the sea for a month in the process of pacifying the barbarians, he only sailed close to the shore, and he had never gone deep into such a distant place.

And on this boundless Black Water Ocean, the pirates who were beaten by the officers and soldiers had no way to escape, had to sail away, escaped deep into the depths of the Black Water Ocean, and also escaped the encirclement and suppression of the officers and soldiers.

Deng Peng, who was ordered to sail to support Zeng's family, looked at the mighty fleet behind his Splitting Wave, proud at the same time, but also making difficulties, such a large fleet, even if it escaped deep into the far sea, I am afraid that it will be difficult to hide from the eyes and ears of the south, and he is absolutely unwilling to let the other party know that if the south mobilizes three sailors to deal with him at the same time, then the Fuzhou sailors that have just been prepared will disappear. Scattered, the entire fleet of sailors, including himself, has never gone deep into the black water ocean so deep, the terrible sea, as a sailor general, Deng Peng, who has dealt with him for half his life, is naturally deeply involved, quiet as a virgin, moving like a tiger, even when he is quiet, under the blue water like a mirror, I don't know how many traps are hidden, and the negligent will be swallowed at any time, and there will not be a single bone left.

The sea is beautiful and the sea is terrifying.

After discussing for a long time, Deng Peng finally didn't dare to take the risk, he knew that this sailor had poured too much effort into the commander, and had spent a lot of financial resources in Dingfu and the two states, and it must not be easily broken. He must first send an expedition to find the first way to find a way. As long as the channel is found, the Fuzhou sailors will no longer be blind people touching elephants, taking one step at a time, but can be divided into several teams and sneak to the east unconsciously.

Zheng Zhiyuan was the commander of this advance expedition. He led an advance team consisting of one 5,000-material warship, two 3,000-material warships, and five thousand-material warships, and set off a month ahead of schedule.

Zheng Zhiyuan's flagship Izumo, in addition to carrying a large number of ordnance on the ship, also carried two hundred sailors and marines, plus three hundred sailors and crews, a total of 500 people, while there were only 200 sailors on the 3,000 warship, and there were only more than 100 sailors on the 1,000 warship, and the extra places were loaded with supplementary supplies. The convoy of seven warships sailed far away into the depths of the Black Water Ocean and then turned eastward, so as to avoid being discovered by the people on the shore. In the whole of Dingfu and the two states, not many people know the real destination of the water volume, and most people only know that this is the routine training of sailors.

Walking on the sea for half a month, it has been calm, the weather is excellent, even Zheng Zhiyuan has to sigh that his luck is not bad, it is May, it is the sun is shining, the spring breeze is blowing, when the weather is good, standing on the top floor of the Izumo, gazing at the gentle sea, watching countless water birds rise and fall, or sweep low on the sea, or swoop from the sky, and the scene of the land is another flavor.

These waterfowl are not very evasive, and occasionally a few of them land on the Izumo's massive hull, or even walk in all directions on the deck. No one on the sea will harm the seabirds, and some sailors will even pick up some as bait and small fish and shrimp to feed them.

The speed of the fleet is not fast, Zheng Zhiyuan estimates, now that it has far exceeded the 200-kilometer warning line, the southern sailors should not find themselves, but the unfamiliarity of the channel makes them walk on thin ice, and every step is cautious. A few miles ahead of the entire fleet, a thousand-material warship was exploring its way. On the Izumo, the registrar laid out the charts on the table and carefully marked the passage it walked.

The two hundred marines have nothing to do, every time in addition to wiping their swords, tidying up their armor, and being idle, there are also team members who can't bear the loneliness and run up to the deck or bilge to act as a sailor, anyway, these people are suitable for waterways, Zheng Zhiyuan also turned a blind eye to this obvious violation of the regulations, after all, it is too lonely above the sea, and among the sailors, it is strictly forbidden for officers and soldiers to gamble with each other, except for some games that they are tired of playing, these people really can't find any new tricks. It is the captain of the two hundred sailors and marines, and the performance of his own brother Zheng Zhiqiang makes Zheng Zhiyuan extremely happy, after a few years of tempering, this original flying and jumping off, the younger brother who can't bear the surname is now a steady voice, looking at him who is hanging his feet outside the boat and is concentrating on fishing, Zheng Zhiyuan nodded secretly, looking at him now, who would have known that a few years ago, this kid was still a notorious ranger on the street.

The army is a melting pot that can fundamentally reverse a person's surname, but what the marshal said was authentic, and it was not in vain that when he established the Marine Corps, he asked someone to intercede, and he put on his own cheek to reluctantly let the general in charge of the Marine Corps agree to accept this guy, of course, this guy who was extremely reluctant to join the army at that time was impressed soon after, and it made the old friend who recruited him into the Marine Corps smile from ear to ear, and privately said that Zheng Zhiqiang, this kid, is the life of a soldier, At present, this guy who gave my father and mother a headache is already a captain of Zhenwu, and the marshal obviously attaches great importance to the Marine Corps, and the rank of the officer is higher than that of the army, and the level of the troops of the same size is one line higher, and it is strong in this army, and the future is great. Zheng Zhiyuan thought happily. I want to have a drink.

But Zheng Zhiyuan's comfortable day soon ended, and after walking for another two or three days, the weather changed sharply, looking at the dark and heavy clouds that seemed to be pressed down, Zheng Zhiyuan spat hatefully, fuck, at this time, will there be such annoying weather, the sea is really a child's face, and it will change when it is said! While summoning back the ships that were exploring the way in front of them, and gathering the whole fleet together as close as possible, all the sailors were busy, the four sails of the five thousand warships were lowered, and all the objects that could move on board were tightly reinforced with ropes to prevent them from moving and hurting people when the storm came, and at this time, even two hundred marines were mobilized to join the busy team.

As night approached, the convoy of water vessels that were on the verge of a great enemy finally met the first storm after their long voyage.

First of all, the wind, unlike on land, when the wind comes, it is always small and then large, and gradually strengthens, here, the wind together, as if the wind god has been forcibly annihilated, splitting the head and covering the face, setting off a large wave several meters high, hitting the hull of the ship hard, knocking the Izumo several meters away, and the other ships are even more unbearable.

As soon as the wind blew, it seemed to have no end, although he was a sailor, he was used to seeing the wind and waves, but it was all in the near sea, and now, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the surging waves of the water, and there was nothing as far as the eye could see.

It was supposed to be another hour before nightfall, but now, the sky was already blurry, and Zheng Zhiyuan ordered loudly: "Send light signals to each ship, deal with it carefully, and follow the Izumo closely." ”

The wind and waves are getting stronger and stronger, and now there are more than ten high waves, standing on the lower deck of the Izumo, the waves of water are pouring down from the sky, pouring on the deck with a bang, and the sailors fix themselves on the stumbling posts, only when the waves hit, they bow their heads and avoid them slightly, most of the time, but they are wide-eyed, open their ears, and listen carefully to the orders issued by the commander, so as to listen to the orders.

At this time, the Izumo was like a toy ship, sometimes lifted high by the turbulent wind and waves, sometimes falling heavily to the bottom of the valley, rising like clouds and fog, but falling like falling into the abyss, the ship was low, and seeing the wind and waves on both sides that were far above the hull, people who had not been begging for a living on the sea for a long time would really be frightened.

Two hundred sailors were ordered back to the cabin, firmly fastening themselves to the bulkhead, at this time on the deck, except for the necessary personnel, the rest of the people returned to the cabin, Zheng Zhiqiang sat by the door, a strong rope around his waist, tied him firmly to the bulkhead, but still held his combat knife tightly in his hand, looking at his team members with blazing eyes, very good, except for a few people whose faces were a little pale, most of them were as usual, and a few were even joking loudly.

This was already the case with the Izumo, and the situation of other ships smaller than the Izumo was even more worrisome, and at first, the fleets could communicate with each other by lights, but later on, the ships had completely lost their knowledge of each other, and there was no longer the slightest contact with each other.

The wind and waves lasted for most of the night before stopping, and when the wind and waves were gone, the sailors on the ship were tired into a paralyzed mud, and they all fell softly on their posts.

The sailors were wounded and could go to rest, but the fleet commander Zheng Zhiyuan could not rest, although he was also exhausted, but he had to cheer up, because he found that around him, there was no longer a single warship, two three thousand warships and five thousand warships were gone, and I don't know where they went with the tide.

(To be continued)