Ang Lee stood on the command platform of the large steamship and looked up to inspect the troops and warships under his command. He was very satisfied. With such a powerful force, there was no need to worry about the pirates and the establishment of the Maritime Silk Road.
"Soldiers, do you know the purpose of our journey south?"
Ang Lee asked loudly.
"To exterminate the pirates and show the might of the Tang dynasty!"
The soldiers roared in unison.
"Good, soldiers, it's time for us to make a contribution. Go south to exterminate the pirates and show the might of the Tang dynasty!"
Ang Lee encouraged the soldiers.
"Roar …"
The soldiers' morale was high and they couldn't wait to go south to exterminate the pirates and earn enough military merits.
Ang Lee was very satisfied. He waved his hand and said loudly, "The army will go south immediately. Let's go!"
"Woo … Woo … Woo …"
After a loud bugle call, the various warships left the port one by one and headed south.
At the front were ten steamships with steam cannons. They were responsible for guiding the entire fleet, followed by Ang Lee's ship and the steamships loaded with troops. There were several steamships with steam cannons on both sides. Further behind were a Sky Army Mothership and five landing ships. The logistics supply ship was at the back, escorted by the remaining steam cannons. The entire fleet consisted of more than a hundred ships. It was quite a spectacular sight to behold.
With the compass pointing the way, Ang Lee was not worried that the fleet would get lost on the sea. As for encountering pirate ships, there was even less of a need to worry. They could be blown away with a few cannon shots.
On the deck of the ship, Ang Lee sat on a luxurious sofa and looked up at the bright starry sky above. He held a glass of high-end wine in his hand and casually took a few sips.
"Sit, everyone, please take a seat."
Because the deck was relatively large, Ang Lee was going to hold a banquet on the ship to celebrate the army's journey south.
There were three rows of seats on both sides, enough to accommodate more than fifty people at the same time. The space in the middle was also enough for singing and dancing.
The generals and officials sent by the Imperial Court were all seated. The higher the official rank, the closer to the front.
There was a small table in front of each seat. No, it was more appropriate to call it a tea table. A large amount of wine and food were placed on it for everyone to enjoy.
"Everyone, please eat and drink to your heart's content. If it's not enough, just add more."
Ang Lee was served by two beauties. A dozen dancers walked into the open space in front of him and began to dance. There were also a dozen beauties pouring wine for the officials and generals.
These were all local singers and beauties in Guangzhou....................... Generals...................
The generals and generals were all boorish people. They sat down and started eating and drinking without any reservations. They even secretly caressed the delicate hands of the beauties who were pouring wine for them. The officials were all the same. However, they had to restrain themselves a little to appear more gentlemanly.
"This wine is a tribute from the Western Regions. In the past, transportation was inconvenient, so we could only drink it in the palace. Now that the train has been connected to the various countries in the Western Regions, everyone can also drink such fine wine. Drink to your heart's content.
. "Ang Lee generously requested.
"Many thanks, Assistant Minister Li. Then we won't stand on ceremony. Haha!"
Erniu happily gulped down the wine.
"Assistant Minister Li, all the soldiers of the Sky Army will resolutely obey your command. This general will drink first."
The southern army boldly downed a cup of wine.
Ang Lee happily drank a lot of wine with everyone. The beauties also danced a lot. The entire deck was in a joyous mood.
After midnight, everyone boarded the small boats and returned to their battle stations. Only Li Feiyu and a few others remained on Ang Lee's boat.
"Big Brother, it's getting late. Rest early!"
Li Feiyu said.
"I'm too excited to sleep! Are you sleepy? "
Ang Lee smiled.
"Big Brother is right. I don't seem to be sleepy either!"
Li Feiyu awkwardly smiled.
"We have a great responsibility for opening the Maritime Silk Road to the south, but with so many soldiers, it doesn't seem very difficult to complete this mission. I'm going to make another contribution. How lonely!"
Ang Lee sighed.
"Big Brother, how can you be lonely with so many beauties accompanying you?"
Li Feiyu was dumbfounded.
Li An smiled and said, "What does it have to do with beauties? I'm talking about our opponents. Right now, we're too strong, so strong that we can't find any opponents. Every time we fight, we win easily. Isn't this very lonely?"
There was a famous saying called 'loneliness seeks defeat'. It meant that once a person's level reached the peak, he would no longer be able to meet a worthy opponent. As such, life would become very lonely. All he would see were gazes of admiration and admiration. No one would be able to get along with him or talk to him as an equal. As such, it would naturally become extremely lonely.
At this moment, Ang Lee's navy was vastly inferior to the pirates in terms of equipment. They simply weren't on the same level. In a direct confrontation, the pirates simply weren't enough. Even if they didn't command properly, they wouldn't be defeated by the pirates. A battle without any possibility of defeat was bound to be lonely.
"Big Brother is right. It's been a long time since we've lost a battle. It's quite lonely. Why don't we lose a battle and have some fun?"
Li Feiyu said half-jokingly.
"Haha! Lose a battle and have some fun? I'd love to! However, the lives of the soldiers can't be played around with. People are destined to die if they lose the war. "
Ang Lee smiled, thinking that this proposal was quite interesting.
Looking up at the starry sky, he saw a shining Milky Way. It was very beautiful, very magnificent, and made people feel relaxed and happy.
In two days at most, the elite navy commanded by Ang Lee would arrive in the Xisha Sea and wipe out a group of pirates closest to the border of the Tang Dynasty.
Because this group of pirates was the closest to the border, they also did the most bad things. Many merchant ships of the Tang Dynasty were robbed by them just a few days after they set out. Moreover, this group of pirates was arranged in an echelon. Even if they could avoid the first round, they couldn't avoid the next few rounds. The possibility of avoiding all of them was very small. Moreover, there were so many pirates behind them. The sea merchants really couldn't afford to be hurt without connections. The cost of hiring a group of guards was too high. It could really be described as miserable.
The feeling of lying on the deck was still very good. He could look at the stars in the sky and count how many there were.
"One, two, three, four, five …"
Ang Lee was like a child. He was seriously counting the stars in the sky. Before he counted to one hundred, he unconsciously fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning, Ang Lee was still on the deck, but his body was covered with a thick layer of cotton blanket. Obviously, someone was worried that Ang Lee would catch a cold, so they deliberately put it on Ang Lee.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing that Ang Lee saw was the blue sky and countless seagulls. Obviously, there was land or an island not far away. Otherwise, it was impossible for seagulls to appear because seagulls had to rely on land to survive. Islands were necessary for the survival of seagulls.
"Alang, you're awake!"
Yun 'er came over with breakfast.
"Did you put this blanket on me?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"Last night, Alang fell asleep. I was afraid that I would wake Alang up, so I put a blanket on Alang."
Yun 'er smiled and answered casually.
"Alang is so dishonest when he's asleep. He always pushes the blanket away. Sister Yun 'er has to cover Alang with the blanket from time to time. He didn't sleep well all night."
The beauty walked over and said.
"Oh, there's such a thing. No wonder Yun 'er's eyes look a little haggard. Yun' er, come here and let Alang take a look."
Ang Lee said with concern.
"Alang, breakfast is ready. Hurry up and eat! I'm fine. "
Yun 'er said as she handed a poached egg and a plate of bean sprouts to Ang Lee.
Poached eggs were a must-have breakfast for Li An every morning. Stir-fried mung bean sprouts were a side dish. After all, the oily content of the eggs was too high. Just eating the eggs alone wasn't enough. Adding some crispy mung bean sprouts would make the effect better. From a nutritional point of view, it would also be more nutritious.
Ang Lee observed carefully and found that the corners of Yun 'er's eyes were swollen. She indeed looked like she did not sleep well.
"Yun 'er, thank you for your hard work last night. Come, sit down and eat together!"
Ang Lee said emotionally.
"Alang, I don't dare."
Yun 'er said respectfully.
"Just sit in my embrace. What's there to be afraid of?"
Ang Lee roughly pulled Yun 'er into his embrace, gently stroked the corner of Yun' er's swollen eyes, and kissed her earlobe.
"Alang, the poached egg is getting cold."
Yun 'er pursed her lips and smiled, giving off a charming charm.
"Yun 'er, open your mouth. The first bite is for you. Quickly open your mouth."
Ang Lee used his chopsticks to pick up a corner of the poached egg and gently placed it by Yun 'er's mouth, letting Yun' er eat it.
Seeing this, Yun 'er naturally had to eat. She opened her cherry lips and ate the poached egg.
"Open your mouth and have another bite."
Ang Lee continued to feed Yun 'er.
"Alang, I've already eaten. What are you eating?"
Yun 'er laughed.
"It's fine. Alang is happy to see you eat. You've worked hard last night. Go to sleep after eating your fill!"
Ang Lee continued to feed her.
After Yun 'er was full, Ang Lee told her to go back and have a good rest. At the same time, he asked the servants to make a new breakfast. He hadn't eaten yet?
"Big Brother, the fleet has already arrived at the south of Yazhou. The distant horizon is the southernmost port of Yazhou."
Li Feiyu pointed to the distant coastline and said.
Ang Lee looked up and saw that there was indeed a continuous coastline in the distance. That was Yazhou, which was also Hainan Island in the future. It was a very important island and was extremely important to the Tang Empire.
"Yazhou is alone in the sea. Could there be pirates?"
Ang Lee said casually.
"It is said that there are, but they are all hidden pirate eyes and ears. After all, Yazhou has the Tang Dynasty's navy and there are thousands of Tang Dynasty's soldiers on the island. The pirates don't dare to do bad things openly."
Li Feiyu said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Then we don't have to worry about this. Go down south and attack the pirate's lair. We must wipe out all the pirates in this battle. We can't let a single ship escape."
"Big Brother is right. The pirates have done so many bad things over the years. They must be severely punished."
Li Feiyu said loudly.
More than a hundred fleets continued to sail south. Because the location of the island was slightly to the west, the fleet's sailing direction was also adjusted. They were sailing southwest.
After breakfast, Ang Lee stood at the bow of the big ship and watched the big ship move forward. He felt very heroic and felt like a hero. Of course, he was a hero. No one doubted this. Almost all the people of the Tang Dynasty regarded Ang Lee as a hero.
Along the way, they met many fishermen who went out to sea to fish. There were also merchant ships returning from Nanyang to the Tang Dynasty. They were sparse and very small.
The fleet led by Ang Lee always shocked them. The fishermen and merchants on the ship always stood on the deck and looked at these behemoths in amazement.
The most distinctive feature of a steam ship was its smoking chimney, which could be seen from far away. In addition, a steam ship was also very fast, at least twice as fast as a sailboat. Chasing a sailboat was a piece of cake, but chasing against the wind was even more impressive, as one could catch up to a sailboat.
"Big Brother, at the current speed, we should be able to reach the pirate's lair before dawn tomorrow."
Li Feiyu said.
"Well, I guess the pirates still don't know that we're coming. Our ship is much faster than the pirate's fishing boats. Even if they find out that we're leaving, they won't have time to inform them. "
Ang Lee said with a faint smile.
"Big Brother, you're right. The pirates only have one day left. At dawn tomorrow, our army will make it impossible for them to escape."
Ang Lee took the map and looked at the Xisha Sea. He said, "This position should be the pirate's lair. After dawn tomorrow, as long as the wind speed and waves are suitable, the Sky Army will immediately go to this area to investigate. The gunboats will spread out and surround this area. Don't let a single pirate ship go."
"Yes, Big Brother. I'll arrange it right away."
Li Feiyu replied.
Li An stretched his body and paced back and forth on the deck of the steamship. The weather today was very good. It was a sunny day with white seagulls flying in the sky. The chirping of the seagulls made one's mood even better.
"Alang, what's that? It's so big."
As Yun 'er had gone back to sleep, the beauty was in charge of serving Ang Lee. She had been following Ang Lee. When she suddenly saw the movement on the sea, she was shocked.
Hearing this, Li An looked into the sea. Good heavens, it was actually a huge whale. Moreover, it was the largest blue whale. Its head could really scare people to death.
"Beauty, aren't you from Xinluo? How could you not have seen a whale? This is the largest blue whale in the sea! "
Li An asked with a look of surprise.
"Blue whale, this is a whale! I was sold to Chang 'an City when I was young. I've never seen a whale. "
The beauty answered truthfully and looked at the huge monster in front of her in horror.
Most of the members of the army going south were inland people. They had never seen the sea in their lives, let alone the largest whale in the sea. All of them stretched out their necks and looked at the monster in the sea curiously.
"Oh, I see. Then, enjoy it! Later, this guy will sink to the bottom of the sea. "
Ang Lee said faintly.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
