In the middle of the vast sea, a nameless island that had been lonely for countless years welcomed a large group of guests tonight.
"Your Highness, there's a small island up ahead. Should we approach it?"
In the southern direction of the small island, there was an unusually large fleet of ships. There were at least a thousand of them. Their sails fluttered in the wind, whistling as they faced the sea breeze. On the deck of the largest ship at the front of the fleet, a soldier bowed to a middle-aged man.
"Mm, let's approach it first. Have the sick soldiers rest on the island for the night. At the same time, send someone up to see if there's any fresh water or fresh fruit!"
The middle-aged man was none other than Li Xiaogong, and this fleet was the Great Tang fleet that had sailed south for more than four months.
In truth, this fleet had begun to return ten-some days ago, and the closer it got to the Great Tang, the faster it moved. Everyone couldn't suppress their homesickness, and after drifting for so long, quite a few people in the fleet had fallen ill. Most of them were dizziness and vomiting. Although it wasn't fatal, it was still a major problem if dragged on for too long.
Thus, in the last few days, the fleet had begun to sail at night under the moonlight. As they entered the inland waters, they would often encounter small islands. Li Xiaogong would also order his soldiers to collect fresh water and fruit from these islands. With more than four months of experience at sea, he was well aware of the importance of these things. They could save lives at sea!
As for whether or not there was fresh water on these islands, it was naturally possible. On some larger islands, there would be precipitation (whether in the form of rain or snow) that would form ponds. However, not all large islands had such ponds. This was a matter of probability.
"Yes! Your Highness! "
The soldier bowed and then climbed onto the mast to signal the fleet behind him. The massive fleet began to slowly approach the island.
But to everyone's surprise, not far behind the fleet, there were thirty-some small boats following.
"Boss, they have so many people. Why are we following them?"
(Of course, they weren't speaking in Chinese.)
On the leading boat, a sloppy man asked the scar-faced man in front of him.
The scar-faced man spat and viciously said, "Bah! So what if they have more people? Once they're asleep on the shore, we'll steal a few of their merchant ships and strike it rich! After following us for so many days, we can't let our brothers work for nothing! "
The sloppy man looked at the fleet in front of him and swallowed his saliva in fear. He said weakly, "Boss, this seems to be a caravan from the Great Tang. If we make a move and anger the Great Tang Emperor, how can we be a match for them?"
"Baka ~!"
The scar-faced man slapped the sloppy man's head, and then he heard him angrily say, "Coward ~! Even if the Great Tang Emperor has a magnificent army, what can he do to us if we hide in the sea? Tell the brothers to buck up and listen to my instructions later. After we finish this job, we can go back to eat and drink and look for beautiful girls ~! "
"Hi ~!"
The sloppy man saw that Scarface was angry and quickly went to inform the rest of the crew.
Scarface stood at the bow of the ship and looked at the big ships in front of him. With a greedy face, he muttered to himself, "With these big ships, who on this sea can be a match for me, Nakamura Kawa Yuto? Hahahaha! "
…
"Your Highness, there is a lot of fresh water and coconuts on the island. There is also a cave. Do you want to go in and rest for a night?"
After the fleet docked, Li Xiaogong first sent a group of people to the island to check. After a while, a soldier came to report.
"Send the sick soldiers ashore to rest first. Then, let the envoys follow me into the cave ~!"
Li Xiaogong thought for a while and said.
This time, he not only brought back a full ship of goods but also the envoys from the Nanyang countries. Compared to when he went, the size of their fleet was now a little bigger.
"Yes! Your Highness ~! "
The soldier quickly went to pass the order. Then, he heard Li Xiaogong say, "Wait! Pass down the order. There must be at least four guards on each ship and at least ten guards on the big ships! "
In this vast dark night, Li Xiaogong had to be careful. He did not want any accidents to happen when they were so close to the Great Tang border.
"Yes! Your Highness ~! "
Seeing that Li Xiaogong had nothing else to say, the soldier went to make the arrangements.
Li Xiaogong jumped off the big ship and took a small wooden boat ashore.
"Oh ~! Finally, I can step on the ground ~! "
After a while, a few people with dark skin and different clothes came up. Obviously, they were envoys from other countries. One of them had a big beard and a big mole on his cheek. He stood on the island and sighed happily. After all, sailing the ocean was not a small challenge for many people. Only those who had drifted on the sea could feel how happy it was to stand on the ground.
"Your Highness, how long will it take to reach the Great Tang Empire ~?"
The bearded man sighed for a while, then caught up with Li Xiaogong and asked.
Naturally, someone translated for Li Xiaogong. After listening, Li Xiaogong said, "Envoy, don't worry. In less than half a month, the fleet will reach the capital Chang 'an!"
The bearded man immediately said happily, "Haha ~! Great ~! I can finally see the Celestial Empire ~! "
… … …
"Did you see that ~? The army ashore, their big ships can't get close to the shore. Our chance is here ~! "
At the rear of the fleet, Scarface said excitedly to his men.
"Hehe ~! Boss is wise ~! "
The sloppy man was bitter in his heart, but his mouth was full of praise.
"Go ~! Leave a small number of people to watch the ships. The rest of you, follow me to dive onto their big ships. Be nimble ~! "
Coincidentally, at this moment, a dark cloud covered the moon in the sky. Seeing this, Scarface immediately ordered.
"… Yes, Boss ~!"
After a while, under Scarface's lead, more than a hundred men in black took off their clothes, quietly went into the water, and swam toward the few big ships at the back of the Great Tang fleet.
"We should be able to reach Chang 'an in a few days. I wonder how Hao' er and Yaya are doing?"
On a large merchant ship, there were four soldiers yawning and seven or eight civilian workers, including Meng Wenhao's father. Meng Wenhao's father looked at the bonfire on the island, but his heart drifted back to Chang 'an thousands of miles away.
Under the moonlight, a few black shadows silently climbed up the ship's ladder and quietly climbed onto the deck.
Puchi ~!
The four black shadows raised their swords at the same time, and the four soldiers on the ship immediately fell to the ground. The leader made a gesture, and they approached the other side of the deck.
… … …
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