The farther south the fleet went, the warmer the temperature became, and the mood of the warriors became.

After the deceased comrades-in-arms were cremated, they were put in a drunken wine jar, and they did not drink enough before they died, but they drank enough after death.

Many people's bones were gone, Zhong Bo had to burn his bed as ashes, how to have to give an explanation to his family, he discussed with the staff officer, this matter will not be leaked out, the offender has no son to have a fart eye.

Wang Xuan couldn't laugh after hearing the child's play, and only people who put life and death aside would make such a joke at such a time.

The food on the ship is getting less and less, and everyone's mentality is becoming more and more anxious, if it weren't for the strong self-control of the auspicious soldiers who played a role at the critical time, they would have been a pile of dry bones.

In order to alleviate this symptom, Zhong Bo discussed with his staff officers to keep his whereabouts secret and not set foot on the mainland, but when he encountered an island, he must go up and take a look, find something for the soldiers to do, relieve anxiety, and at the same time hunt, improve everyone's food, and supplement some nutrition.

At the beginning of April, a fleet of three supply ships finally discovered a small island, which was about two days away from the coastline, so everyone rushed to land on the island, and they were all crazy, and the scene made Zhongbo believe that if the landing was not allowed, the fleet would not be able to return to auspiciousness.

Wang Xuan listened to Zhong Bo's slightly bland narration, and silently calculated the time and the position of the fleet in his heart, which should be hovering around fifty degrees north latitude at this time.

What can the Big Island have there?

But listening to Zhongbo continue with a look of grievance, after everyone went to the island, they first found a water source, drank a lot of beauty, and then hunted a few hares, and a deer to drink.

In addition to the dozens of people who stayed behind in the fleet, the two hundred or so people also had a full meal, and after finding a safe place to set up camp, the guards who were left behind fell asleep.

On the second day of rotation, dozens of people guarding the fleet also went to the island, and after a few times, everyone was familiar with their own date on the island, and they were silently calculating in their hearts that there would be a few days before their turn came.

There were no poisonous snakes and beasts on the island, so everyone gradually settled down, ate and drank without worry, and thought about repairing for a while and returning to auspiciousness in the future.

But people are not as good as heaven, and after the ninth day, the team that went to the depths to explore did not return all night.

As soon as the second day dawned, many monsters appeared outside the camp that no one had ever seen before, all like lizards with short legs, dressed in black phosphorus armor, with a long, protruding mouth, full of teeth, and a long and thick tail, and extremely agile movements.

The long, stiff tail was so powerful that most of those who were swept away lost their combat power.

After being attacked by this huge herd of beasts, the team suffered heavy casualties and hurriedly evacuated, saying that Nakaba would not let everyone ashore.

Wang Xuan knew what that group of creatures was, and if the sun went out to sea later, Zhong Bo and they might also know that that group of monsters was actually crocodiles, at most it was an enhanced version.

This also confirms the ultimate reason for the ragged clothes of the group, once bitten by a snake for ten years afraid of the well rope, it is really not easy to break away from the mainland because of this.

"We can only survive on the rain, sea fishing, and sometimes when we are lucky enough to catch a school of fish, we can cast a few nets and we can eat a few full meals. When they were unlucky, they could only eat one meal a few days, and many people had to give up their rations and let the able-bodied go to the sea to fish, and only five or six out of ten came back safely. ”

Zhong Bo's trembling voice and helpless expression wrapped around Wang Xuan's heart like a demon, he knew that some things had to be done no matter what.

"We were frugal, we did everything we could to cut back on food and clothing, and in the end we were reduced to eating raw fish fillets and living......"

Wang Xuan disagreed and asked, "Why is all the coal used up?"

The staff officer answered, "Your Majesty, the only remaining coal is used to cremate the remains of the brothers......

Wang Xuan was silent.

"Then it floated for a few months, and when we were about to lose our hold, Commander Xu appeared, and we came back in such a daze!"

As far as the love came, Zhong Bo and the two obviously fell into the original desperate situation again, and this desperate and unwilling emotion invisibly infected Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan asked in a deep voice: "Flaws are not concealed, your merits have their own posterity, what I can tell you is to put down your burden, travel lightly, auspicious needs you, I need you more!"

There is no need to say more sincerely, Zhong Bo and the others naturally understand the love and care of His Majesty's fist, and they have packed up their moods and returned to reality.

"Okay, go back and appease the brothers, tomorrow we will go back to Jixiang City, and after the nearby brothers have registered, they can go home and reunite with their families first. ”

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will do it when I am in office. ”

After the two left, Yang Wei handed over the logbook and Fang Cai's records to Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan was in no mood to look at it at this time, the cold weather, the unfriendly natives, and the unknown and sinister environment, etc., were all auspicious stepping stones to the north, and these were all things that he needed to solve urgently.

The news of the return of the ocean-going fleet spread all over the auspicious world in just one day, and similarly, the result of the loss of nearly half of the fleet was not deliberately concealed, and it was already known to everyone.

Early in the morning of the third day, when everyone set off to return to Jixiang City, the roadside was full of people seeing them off.

Some military family members did not know whether the child was alive or dead, so they held up the child's name on the side of the road and silently searched in the team.

Those who saw the living were overjoyed, and if they did not find anything after the procession walked over, they did not make a fuss, but the pace of returning home was heavier and slower.

The ships were swimming against the current in the Xingyao River, with a yellow dragon flag and a black military intelligence flag on the bow of the ship very conspicuous, and all the ships passing through the fleet avoided and automatically docked to give way, without exception.

"Your Majesty must be on that ship, and this is the first time I've seen Your Majesty fly the Dragon Flag." Someone sighed.

"Yes, but if you look at the flag next to it, I'm afraid you'll understand the reason. "Someone can see through it.

"This, this is the flag of the first-class military intelligence, and it has the right of way whenever and wherever it is, isn't it?"

"Don't think about it, haven't you heard the news from the south that the fleet that went to sea to explore earlier has returned, and Your Majesty is using the dragon flag to support them. "This is a bystander.

"I've heard about it, and it's said that a lot of people died, pitiful. ”

The crowd was talking about it, or three or five, or ten or eight people gathered in a circle, exchanging news from different sources.

At the end of November, after dealing with the aftermath of the ocean-going fleet, Wang Xuan was busy again.

The sea test effect of the steam engine is good, but the amplitude is too large, and the screws will fall off when installed directly on the stern, and it will bring irreversible damage to the hull.

The solution to this problem is simple, either to increase the strength of the hull or to absorb the shock.

The ironclad ship is under development, but the progress is not satisfactory, and the only thing that can be done at the moment is shock absorption.

And that's just one aspect.

On the other hand, the energy efficiency of the paddle wheel is definitely not as good as that of the hidden underwater propeller, so Wang Xuan plans to go on the propeller project.

As a result, the most difficult problem is the immature sealing and waterproofing technology of the propeller drive.

According to the draft of the large warship in active service, the propeller will be at a depth of about five meters below the surface of the water, and the strong water pressure can "squeeze" the seawater into the transmission device, spray out from the cabin, and can lift an adult man alive.

Therefore, in terms of shock absorption, Wang Xuanhe and the researchers of the research institute finally decided to install more than 50 years of walnut wood produced by Hu Yue as a base on the existing warship.

This wood is not only strong and durable, but also has a certain shock-absorbing effect, which is the most suitable.

In addition, the keel of the new warship (ironclad) must be set aside for the corresponding interface for the installation of steam engines, which is integrated with the hull.

This will reduce damage to the keel, enhance the maneuverability of the hull, and reduce the occurrence of resonance phenomena.

In terms of water seepage, the transmission shaft is used to inject oil to squeeze the space for seawater infiltration, and the transmission shaft is set obliquely to raise the draft of the steam engine and reduce the water pressure in the cabin.

On this basis, the research institute designed two more steam engines, smaller in size and more powerful, which were first tested on the river fleet.

At the beginning of December, the supply fleet heading south set sail again, and Wang Zhi's family was on board to go over to reunite with him, which Wang Xuan was deeply touched.

From the perspective of the king of a country, Wang Xuan does not like suspicion, let alone a supporter of conspiracy theories, Wang Zhineng is so thoroughly rooted in the Southern Continent, no matter what aspect it is, it is a great support for him.

Before the fleet departed, Wang Xuan specially met with Wang Zhi's family and had lunch, and the atmosphere was harmonious, the most ever.

In later generations, some people used this price to say, 'There is nothing more suitable for a monarch and a minister than this', but it is a reflection of Wang Xuan's sincerity.

In order to show her love for the hero, the eldest princess Wang Bi took off a set of jewelry she was wearing and gave it to Wang Zhi's daughter-in-law.

Qing'er also gave a pair of rare jade jade bracelets to Wang Zhinei, and the other party was also a person who knew the goods.

The supplies for this supply are mainly artillery, ammunition, and construction equipment.

Wang Xuan knew the situation in the southern continent best, and the first task was to prevent the counterattack of the Semu people, so he loaded a large number of artillery and ammunition.

The second is architecture, not only houses, but also roads, bridges, fortresses, fortifications, etc., and more importantly, buildings that build the confidence of the indigenous people in auspiciousness.

The second is the various consumer goods, luxury goods, etc., that are needed in the south.

For the control of the Southern Continent, Wang Xuan is relieved, otherwise he would not take Liu Liu back to auspiciousness together.

He knows the person he knows best, and he knows the situation the most.

When it is time to be merciful, he can do better than Our Lady.

When it is time to be cruel, Satan can be feared.

In addition, the military literacy is not low, the actual combat experience is rich, good at flexibility, and purpose-oriented.

These are the confidence of Wang Xuan to withdraw nearly half of his strength from the Southern Continent.

At the end of the day, he trusts the aftermath.

At the same time, Yu Bo also knew that this was a great opportunity for him to let go, and what the north wanted was the result, and the process was not important.

Before the supply fleet left, Wang Xuan saw Da Gaoqiang and Song Feng, and didn't say much, but each gave a punch, and then said: "The past does not forget the division of the future, this time I will go to the south and stabilize the territory for me, the road we have to go is too long and too long, I really can't hold on without you!"

After more than a year of reflection and study, Da Gaoqiang and the two can understand a little expectation and reliance from Wang Xuan's words, the past grievances have long disappeared, and all that remains is the future and expectations.

The fleet was accompanied by 5,000 auspicious armies.

This is an unplanned deployment, and it is also a resolution adopted by Wang Xuan.

These 5,000 people are all from Xishan, and how to use them depends on how big Yu Bo's ambitions are.

After dealing with these trivial things, Wang Xuan went to the Musket Research Institute again.

Judging from the current technology, the fixed flintlock pistol is the extreme, but it is enough to meet the current needs, so after inspecting the 404, the production task of 100 pieces per month was issued.

He didn't want to wait, and he didn't want to wait.

People will only make breakthroughs under high pressure.

The auspicious status quo does not allow everyone to be comfortable, and under the internal and external troubles, only continuous innovation and progress can not be eliminated by the historical trend.

Auspicious clockwork, on the tight.