The affairs of Xingzhou County were settled, and the fleet prepared to set off again.
Before setting off, Ouyang Shuo made a special trip back to Shanhai City. The reason was that Ouyang Shuo had not used the first recruitment opportunity of the hidden building, General Selection Platform, that Gaia had rewarded him with.
It was good that the [General Selection Platform] could select a historical general who was below the God level, but as for which general to recruit, he still had to think hard.
After much thought, Ouyang Shuo decided to recruit another naval general.
Naval warfare had never been mainstream in ancient China. Famous naval generals were rare compared to other famous generals. Ouyang Shuo liked the three generals, Zhou Yu, Yu Dayou, and Zheng Chenggong.
As Zhou Yu was the protagonist of the next battle, the Battle of Red Cliffs, Ouyang Shuo could not recruit him and could only give up. Zheng Chenggong had a deep grudge with the Jiaozhou fleet commander, Shi Lang, so it was not suitable to recruit him.
After many choices, only Yu Dayou was left.
In the General Selection Platform, a white light flashed, and a middle-aged general appeared. He had a broad face and a beard, and his face had a worried look. He was the Ming Dynasty naval general, Yu Dayou.
"General Yu Dayou greets my lord!" Yu Dayou bowed.
"General, please rise!"
Ouyang Shuo smiled and checked Yu Dayou's attributes.
Name: Yu Dayou (Emperor-level)
Title: One of the ten ancient naval generals of China
Dynasty: Ming Dynasty
Identity: General of Shanhai City
Occupation: Special-class general
Loyalty: 75 points
[Commander]: 86 [Strength]: 85 [Intelligence]: 70 [Politics]: 60
Specialty: Bandit Extermination (Against Wokou pirates or Japanese navy, increases cannon range and power by 30, increases warship speed by 35, warship defense by 30, navy morale by 35)
Classic: Advanced Study of the Art of War
[Cultivation Method]: Sword Scripture
Weapon: Jingchu Longsword
Evaluation: Dayou is a man of integrity, and regards himself as an ancient hero. In war, he strategizes first before fighting, and is not greedy for quick success. He is indebted to his subordinates, and has made great contributions, and is famous in the south. He is loyal to his country, and has made great contributions in his old age.
Yu Dayou is a man of integrity, and regards the ancient heroes as his role model. When he used troops, he would first strategize and then fight. He had a broad vision and was not greedy for quick results. His spirit of loyalty to his country was as strong as ever. Wherever he went, he made great contributions.
It was precisely because he used heroes as a role model that Yu Dayou not only wrote a military work like "A Study of the Art of War", but also a martial art work like "The Book of Swords".
When mentioning the Sword Scripture, ordinary people would think that it was a book of sword techniques. In fact, the Sword Scripture was a book written by Yu Dayou on rod techniques.
Speaking of Yu Dayou's rod technique, it was quite related to the Shaolin Temple that had yet to appear in the wilderness.
In the 40th year of Jiajing, Yu Dayou, who was proficient in Jingchu's long sword, received an order to go on an expedition to the south. He specially went to the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song to watch the monk's staff technique. The result was disappointing, he thought that the Shaolin Temple's martial arts had lost the true formula of the ancient people.
At the request of the Shaolin Temple's Abbot, Yu Dayou took the young and brave Zong Qing and Pu Cong, two people, along with him to the south, entering and exiting the camp. From time to time he taught Pu Cong the 'Yin and Yang Transformation Formula', and also taught him the 'Wisdom Awareness Ring'.
Three years later, the two monks returned to the Shaolin Temple and passed on their teachings to the disciples of the temple.
Thirteen years later, Zong Qing met Yu Dayou again and told him that Pu Cong had become a strange creature. But when he returned to the temple, he passed on the 'Sword Scripture' and 'Zen Precepts'. Among the monks, there were nearly a hundred who learned the most.
From this, it can be seen that the Shaolin rod technique actually benefited from Yu Dayou.
Of course, martial arts was only a side branch. What Yu Dayou was really good at was fighting on the water, especially against the Wokou. In order to discuss Yu Dayou's achievements, one has to mention the Ming Dynasty's Wokou.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Some Japanese samurai came to the coastal areas of China, and the Ming Dynasty's Wokou started as early as the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. During the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty's power declined, and the court was ruled by treacherous officials. Japan was also in constant war, and the Ming Dynasty's Wokou reached its peak.
Due to the further development of the commodity economy, foreign trade was already quite developed. The sea trade along the coast was also profitable, but because of the Ming Dynasty's' Sea Prohibition ', foreign trade was strictly prohibited.
China's tea, porcelain, and silk could all be sold for a good price overseas. It was said that the price of silk could be ten times higher in Southeast Asia. As a result, some China's merchants and pirates, such as Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, began to collude with the Wokou in order to make a fortune. They formed a maritime smuggling ring, and this caused the Wokou to become more and more serious.
These merchants also became part of the 'Wokou'. This was how the 'Ming History: Nippon Records' said, "Roughly three out of ten Wokou, and seven out of ten from the Wokou" came into being.
Because of this, a group of famous anti-Japanese generals were born.
Among them, the most famous was naturally Qi Jiguang, who was hailed as a national hero.
Yu Dayou, who was from the same generation, spent almost his entire life fighting against the Wokou. His military exploits were illustrious, and the 'Yu Family Army' that he led could even scare the enemy into retreating. Together with Qi Jiguang, they were known as the 'Dragon of Yu and Tiger of Yu'. Together, they wiped out the Wokou that had been a threat for many years, as well as the fake Wokou that took advantage of the chaos.
What was rare was that although Yu Dayou had a lot of military exploits, he was often impeached and dismissed from his position. Many times, his military exploits were falsely claimed by others. However, Yu Dayou never cared about it, and continued to fight the Wokou with all his might.
Such a great general was really rare.
…
On the same day, Ouyang Shuo announced Yu Dayou's appointment.
He appointed Yu Dayou as the admiral of the Cliff Mountain Fleet, and gave him the rank of 'Zhenhai General'. As a result, out of the four major fleets of the Nanyang Navy, only the North Bay Fleet, which was established earlier, was left without a admiral.
Logically speaking, Yu Dayou was best at dealing with the Wokou, and his specialty [Bandit Eradication] was specially designed to deal with the Japanese navy. However, the sea around Japan was too far away from Shanhai City, and it was out of his reach.
Therefore, Ouyang Shuo could only appoint Yu Dayou as the admiral of the Cliff Mountain Fleet, and then decide what to do next. Ouyang Shuo believed that the day the navy would set sail for Japan would not be far away.
10th of May, Xing Zhou Port.
The ocean fleet had finished resupplying, and once again embarked on their journey.
From Xing Zhou Port, the fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca, and then crossed the Gretel Strait, and entered the Indian Ocean. After that was the true boundless ocean.
In the boundless ocean, without the [Star Traction Technique], they might not even be able to grasp the direction.
As they had been delayed in Southeast Asia for nearly a month, the ocean fleet had to enter the Red Sea before the end of summer. Therefore, Ouyang Shuo had no intention of dealing with India and the other countries.
The ocean fleet stopped in Sri Lanka, south of India, for two days. After resupplying, they set off again. Their next stop was Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
Ouyang Shuo planned to directly cross the Mandeb Strait and enter the Red Sea after resupplying in Somalia.
The voyage from the Strait of Malacca to the Mandeb Strait was the longest in the entire ocean voyage. Even in real life, it was six to seven thousand kilometers.
If the game was ten times larger, it would be even more unimaginable.
With the speed of ancient ships, it would take at least three months to complete the journey.
If the entire journey was calculated, a round trip from England to China would take at least a year. Based on the game's ten years of calculations, it was basically impossible to achieve intercontinental trade because the cost was too high.
In real life, a round trip would only take two months.
Gaia clearly had no intention of making things difficult for the players. In fact, after the fleet entered the international waters, they would enter the 'Express Passage'. It would only take twenty days to cross the Indian Ocean. It was extremely magical.
…
On the tenth of June, the ocean fleet successfully arrived in Somalia and docked at the port of Berbera.
The port of Berbera was located on the northwest coast of Somalia, on the southwest side of the Gulf of Aden. It was adjacent to the port of Djibouti on the south coast of the Gulf of Aden. It was the largest port in northern Somalia.
When talking about Somalia, one had to mention the Somali pirates.
The Somali pirates generally referred to the pirates who robbed or kidnapped people in the Gulf of Aden. They were a group of criminals who specialized in robbing passing ships in the waters around Somalia.
The Gulf of Aden was located between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It was the throat of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. It was strategically important.
Countless ships came to the Gulf of Aden every day.
At the same time, the narrow sea routes in the Somali waters made it an ideal place for pirates to operate.
With such favorable timing and geographical location, it was natural for pirate organizations to emerge. In real life, the Somali pirates had long disappeared after being attacked by various countries. In the game, Gaia reenacted this period of history.
Therefore, the moment the ocean fleet entered the Gulf of Aden, Ouyang Shuo reminded Zheng He to be vigilant at all times. Strangely, the fleet didn't encounter any pirate attacks until they reached the shore.
"Could it be that the pirates didn't dare to approach us because we're a warship?" Zheng He speculated.
Ouyang Shuo didn't deny it. "I can't rule out that possibility. Even so, we still can't let our guard down. After resupplying, the fleet will immediately set off and try to cross the Red Sea in one go. "
"Yes, sir!"
Zheng He received the order and began to arrange for supplies.
Zheng He was naturally familiar with how to resupply, so Ouyang Shuo didn't need to worry about it.
After staying on the ship for so long, Ouyang Shuo also felt a little bored. After the fleet reached the shore, he brought a small team of guards and got off the ship, ready to take a stroll at the port.
The Port of Barbera was in the northern part of Somalia. It was a distribution center and commercial center for farm and livestock products. Every year, a large number of farmers drove their livestock to the market, and most of the country's livestock exports passed through the port.
As soon as they entered the port, they could see farmers and merchants driving their livestock everywhere.
The port was dirty, the roads were full of potholes, the livestock feces scattered everywhere, and the noisy shouts. The Port of Barbera in front of them was really not a suitable place to relax.
Ouyang Shuo walked for less than ten minutes and wanted to return to the ship. The smell in the air was too unpleasant.
"Marquis, there's a tavern over there!" Chen Dameng had sharp eyes.
Ouyang Shuo looked up and saw a three-story wooden house with a sign of a wine glass hanging on the door. Before he got close, he heard a burst of noise. It was undoubtedly a tavern.
"Let's go and have a drink!"
Ouyang Shuo's heart skipped a beat. Other than drinking, taverns were also places to gather information.
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