Two months later, Haizhou.

The fog was a bit heavy and hazy in the early morning, and visibility was not enough, and a ray of red light rose from the eastern skyline, dispelling the deep night, and the wind mixed with the strong smell of the sea.

A long caravan slowly followed the dirt road, passing through small villages that looked dilapidated and unpopular, and a few emaciated stray dogs turned around and ran away in fright when they saw someone coming.

In a carriage, Qin Huaidao's eyes were a little cold when he looked at this scene, mixed with anger, after the catastrophe, no one cares about the lives of the people, and I don't know how many years will it take to regain their vitality?

"Gotta get it!"

Ahead, a man galloped over, stopped beside Qin Huaidao and said, "Young master, three miles ahead is where the salt field is located, and there is a brother who will inform Lord Wei Chi to greet you." ”

"It's hard work, be vigilant." Qin Huaidao admonished and put down the curtains of the car.

Not long after, the convoy came to a leeward col, the col was very large, a lot of mud houses were built, some of them were smoking, and finally saw the smell of fireworks, Qin Huaidao jumped out of the car, and saw Yu Chi Baolin hurriedly coming up, I haven't seen him for a few months, this kid has darkened a lot, but he is stronger and calmer.

"Brother Qin!" Yu Chi Baolin shouted in surprise and rushed up.

The two hugged each other, expressing joy in their hearts, Qin Huaidao felt Yu Chi Baolin's strong muscles, and said with a smile: "Yes, it seems that I have eaten well during this time." ”

"The sea is full of food, but the taste is average, and it can't compare to Chang'an's delicacies."

Qin Huaidao scolded with a smile: "You kid don't know the blessing in the blessing, you don't know the good of the things in the sea, the taste is generally you don't know how to do, I'm here, I'll go back and teach you how to do it, and I guarantee that you can't put it down, sea fish, prawns, sea mussels, sea cucumbers, don't say it, it's drooling when you think about it." ”

"I caught a fish yesterday, it's long, like a snake, and it will discharge, it looks very rare, but unfortunately I won't do it." Yu Chi Baolin said with a smile.

"That's called a moray eel."

Qin Huaidao smiled, raised his eyes to look around, his face turned grim, and asked, "How many people live?" ”

"Less than 1,000 households, all of them survived from all over Haizhou, and some came from Yizhou and Chuzhou, and it was not easy to gather them, I heard that there was work to do, there was food to eat, everyone finally settled down with peace of mind, and slowly formed the current scale, however, 2,000 soldiers have been trained." Yu Chi Baolin explained in a low voice.

"Where?"

Yu Chi Baolin pointed to the east and explained in a low voice: "There is an island to the east of the sea, there were originally more than a hundred fishermen living on it, and they were slaughtered by pirates, fortunately the house was not burned down, and everyone lived in it to save a lot of work, your people are training, I have been to see it, it is very good, by the way, why did it suddenly come, the ship?" ”

I stayed here for more than half a year, tired and tired, in order to take revenge. Yu Chi Baolin looked at the long convoy, but did not find the sea boat, and was a little confused.

"The ship hasn't been built yet, but the key parts have been done, and the boat I want to build is different and must be built on site." Qin Huaidao explained, looked at the surrounding terrain, his eyes gradually fell on the highest hillside, and walked forward.

When Yu Chi Baolin heard that it was built on the spot, and it was different from other ships, he was a little puzzled, aren't all ships about the same? But I believe that Qin Huaidao will not deceive himself, he will definitely say that it is different, he has been waiting for so long, he is not in a hurry, and he will follow.

The two of them came to the hillside, a gust of sea breeze blew, Qin Huaidao's spirits were lifted, and he looked at it, in front of him was a flat salt pan, as far as the eye could see, and in the distance was the sea, the waves were rolling, rushing to the shore.

The red sun shines on the sea, the reflection is colorful, sparkling, and it is very good-looking, Yu Chi Baolin pointed to the front and said: "The wooden boat is the island for an hour or so, no one usually goes, the grain is regularly sent to the island, everyone grows vegetables on it, fishing in their spare time, and the life is passable, I heard that the method of military training is taught by you?" ”

Qin Huaidao smiled without saying a word, pointed to a low terrain and said: "Build a shed over there, dig a river to bring in seawater, how to build it I am personally responsible, but I need more than a hundred people to help, and I also need a large number of blacksmiths and carpenters, carpenters who are familiar with shipbuilding are the best, is there a way?" ”

"It's easy to work, the people who live here can be drawn out of a hundred, there are only a few blacksmiths and carpenters, you need to look for them, give me three days, I'll go to other state capitals to dig people, and I'm not afraid of no one if I have silver."

"By the way, buy a large amount of iron, how much you want, don't worry about silver, this time bring 300,000 yuan, and a large amount of food, it should be enough, blacksmiths and carpenters also bring a batch, but the quantity is not enough, you need someone to help." Qin Huaidao admonished.

Yu Chi Baolin didn't know what kind of ship Qin Huaidao was building, so he didn't bother to ask, so he agreed.

The two chatted for a while, and went down the hill together, under the leadership of Yu Chi Baolin, the convoy came to the door of a courtyard and stopped, the yard is not small, there are five mud and grass houses inside, it looks very simple, Yu Chi Baolin apologized and said: "The conditions are limited, I can only live together, and I live in one of the rooms." ”

"It's enough to have a shelter from the wind and rain, don't pay attention to it, it's convenient to live together." Qin Huaidao didn't care, and said to a member of the village guard beside him: "Except for food, all the other vehicles are pulled in." ”

The other party nodded and hurriedly went to give the order.

Soon, large cars with tight shields pulled in.

Qin Huaidao inspected the room, and instructed the guards to carry a large box from the carriage, carefully carried it into one of the rooms, and put them together, the movements were very steady and careful, for fear of breaking them.

Yu Chi Baolin asked curiously, "Brother Qin, what's in here?" ”

"Good things, used on sea boats, you will know later." Qin Huaidao couldn't explain to the other party what a steam engine was, and motioned for everyone to bring in the box containing silver, as well as hot air balloons, explosive packets and new weapons secretly built in Chashan, all of which were packed in boxes and sealed tightly, and could not be seen from the outside, and told the two teams to guard the village, and no one was allowed to approach except himself.

This time, Qin Huaidao went out with five teams to protect the village, all of which were carefully selected and trustworthy.

In order to clean up the widows, Qin Huaidao made a bloody investment.

The box was unloaded and put away, Qin Huaidao put his mind at ease, and followed Yu Chi Baolin to the hall house, Yu Chi Baolin introduced his henchmen to Qin Huaidao, they are all children of the family who have been with relatives for many years, and the most unfortunate is also the general who has been with him for many years.

After some greetings, Qin Huaidao asked about some daily affairs, but it was not complicated, that is, to organize everyone to make salt around the field, and the accumulation must be the number of people back to Chang'an.

After a long talk, Qin Huaidao said with a smile: "Everyone has worked hard, I will personally cook a few dishes to reward everyone." ”

"Don't, don't worry about me waiting for the wind, how can I make you hard." Yu Chi Baolin hurriedly said.

"Okay, I guess you don't know the whole seafood, let the chef follow, by the way, learn something, where is the kitchen?" Qin Huaidao refused.

Yu Chi Baolin did not insist, and led people to the kitchen not far away.

After the operation, braised conger eel, steamed sea crabs, shrimps, stewed sea fish, etc., were put on the table one by one, and then the liquor was brought in, and a group of people were addicted to eating, and they were full of gratitude to Qin Huaidao.

The dignified protector cooks for everyone, and this honor is higher than the sky.

After the meal, Qin Huaidao led the people to the low-lying place selected before and observed carefully.

Yu Chi Baolin also sent a hundred strong men over, and asked curiously: "Brother Qin, the manpower is ready, what to do, give an order." ”

Qin Huaidao pointed to the lowest part of the terrain and said: "It is five zhang wide, five zhang deep, and it runs to the sea. ”

"It's a big project, it takes time, why don't you rush it overnight? Just pay more. Yu Chi Baolin proposed, I don't understand why such a big ditch was dug and seawater was brought in, this is a man-made river, right?

"You arrange it, build sheds on both sides to protect from the sun and rain, not too high, you can work together, what do you need to find me, by the way, you also need a lot of clay, the fine sand is simple, the beach is everywhere, I will let people collect this." Qin Huaidao added indifferently.

"Okay, I'll arrange it, the clay was not used to build a house at the beginning, I know where it is, let people dig it." Yu Chi Baolin agreed and turned to leave.

At the sound of the order, everyone went up to dig, but they didn't know what to do, and no one dared to ask.

The wooden boat can be put under the wood to roll into the sea, Qin Huaidao is ready to build an ironclad ship, it is too heavy, it can't be lifted, and it needs to test the water, there must be a harbor for testing, and it can also be driven directly into the sea in the future, but it is too troublesome to explain, Qin Huaidao is too happy not to explain, and he stepped forward to command, and drew a boundary line for everyone to avoid deformation and deviation.

The Zhuang guards hurriedly dispersed around Qin Huaidao, guarding carefully.

When the common people saw the extraordinary team of protecting the village, they guessed that Qin Huaidao's identity was not simple, and they did what they said, no one asked more, and no one refuted or questioned.

After a while, the scene turned into a large construction site, and everyone was digging in full swing.