Chapter 10

The fishy and salty sea breeze blows, and I look up at the endless clear water in the ocean, and then listen to the "gulls, gulls" chirping from the white seabirds constantly hovering on the sea boat. On this sunny morning, Samarkand, a big food merchant standing on the front deck of his ocean boat, was in a really good mood.

He became the first merchant to sail far away during the trade winds this year. The origin of his good mood is not only that his trip to sea this morning was smoother than before. The goods had been inspected as early as yesterday. There were no more exploiters in the past, nor the "thieves" who took the opportunity to take advantage of the inspection. The young people from the customs temple left a very good impression on Samarkand. Compared with those in the past, they were so polite and efficient.

It was so high, and this was very attractive to this acute merchant. This morning, everything was indeed as the governor said on the same day. After paying the prescribed maritime tax normally, the fleet was not harassed anymore and sailed away from the port smoothly. What made the Dashi Maritime Merchant even more happy was that as the first fleet to sail fare, he received the governor's personal farewell. His warm smile and sincere blessing made Samarkand, who felt very proud, feel better.

"Diul, please help me get a cup of three pulp!" said, smiling and saying to the captain standing beside him, "Samarkand feels that it would be a great regret if he can't have a cup of wine."

"The lowly Persians can actually make such good wine!" After praising the fine wine in their hands in their own unique way, Samarkand, who was standing in a cup, turned his head and looked at the smaller and smaller land behind him.

Frankly speaking, he likes this city, he likes this huge country. It is this ever-warming and humid city that makes him, the slave who risked his life to escape, a maritime merchant in Fujia. It is also here that he has spent the best years of his life. There are no strict rules and regulations here, and he only needs to have Allah in his heart. There are no pagans here, and countless people of different skin colors can live in peace. He can see the Silla people, Linyi people, Zhenla people,

The Indians... Of course, there are the damn Persians, and all this is unimaginable in his hometown; there are also silks as exquisite as clouds in the sky, and there are also shiny porcelains that can bring him endless wealth. Yes, what attracts him even more is the variety of delicious food. As a truly rich man, Samarkand found a city that suits him the most, which is why he chose to settle in foreign countries and never return to his hometown.

"Whose ship is this? Why is it getting closer and closer?" The captain's words on his side interrupted Samarkand's reverie. He turned his head nervously and looked at it. What he saw was a fleet of six ships, which were sailing towards him at a constant speed.

Samarkand's nervousness was officially over after seeing the unique flag flying on the mast of the fleet. After a smile, he sipped the nectar in his hand gently, and then he said relaxedly: "Hi! Diur, don't be so nervous. They are the ships of the Customs Temple Guards. I invited them here at a high price. Oh! Don't you know! I really should have told you earlier that they are subordinates of the young official who came to see him off in the morning, so you don't have to worry so much, but frankly speaking, their flag is so beautiful!"

Looking up and looking at the flag embroidered with a shield and a single-hook spear of Tang Ting soldiers, Dior had to admit that it was so powerful that it was so powerful that it was fluttering fiercely in the sea breeze. However, he immediately focused his eyes on the fleet that was gradually approaching, and one of his hands had already grasped the rope behind him to call the alarm bell.

As it turned out, Diur's nervousness was unnecessary. As Samarkand said, the ships were ten feet away from the merchant ship, and they divided into two wings and turned to guard them and continued to move forward. The sailors on the ship even waved to Diur and others in a friendly manner.

"Oh! Diul, look, I'm right! There's no need to be nervous anymore. I think you can completely loosen the right hand holding the rope." Samarkand, who was completely relieved, drank the remaining wine in one gulp and said to his captain with a smile, but Diul's face showed that his thoughts were not the case at all.

"May Allah bless us!" After praying in a low voice, Diul, a pale face, said: "Dear Lord Samarkand, are you sure they are the guard ships of the Customs Temple? Can you really be sure?"

Seeing his unusual appearance, Samarkand also felt nervous and immediately said seriously: "Yes, I can be sure that this flag is unbiased from what the governor described. Moreover, these people are very friendly to us. Damn, what happened? Diur, tell me what happened!"

"This is a pirate, damn it. We have invited a group of pirates as guards!" He stared at the huge figure on the bow of the left guard's ship. Diur roared in depression, his voice sounded so hoarse.

"Pirate", Samarkand's heart suddenly tightened, and then a "bang" sounded. The silver wine cup in his hand that was valuable and exquisitely shaped hit the hollow deck, making a slightly dull echo. The next moment, he had already walked quickly to the captain and grabbed his clothes and said, "Diul, you are talking nonsense. They are guard ships. They will protect us from leaving the South China Sea safely. How could they be pirates?Diul, tell me, you are talking nonsense, you are talking nonsense!"

"Did you see that damn tall man? It's him who took someone to rob my merchant ship last time. If I hadn't been rescued by someone, I would have been feeding fish in the sea. He killed more than a hundred brothers of mine, I would never remember it wrong!" The blood-red eyes showed Diur's hatred, but the hoarse voice and trembling tone revealed the incomparable fear in his heart.

"Oh! My Allah..." After finally confirming this fact, Samarkand suddenly felt dark before his eyes, and then he turned to the side. However, the silver wine cup that fell on the deck still radiated the silver-white light under the sunlight, with indescribable brilliance and beauty...

This is a strange voyage, and it is also the most depressing voyage.

For those former pirates who used to roar on the sea, robbed ships and killed people, this time the change of duty as a guard was like a wolf protecting the fat and tender lamb, making them very strange. Without intense strings or stimulating killing, these stout men with dark skin seemed at a loss and lay lazily on the deck. They discovered the sunshine for the first time that it was so wonderful. Unconsciously, many people were already asleep, but they didn't know who it was, muttering in their warm sleep: "Damn, don't worry, I will definitely come back safely this time!"

However, unlike the relaxed and leisurely side of the house, the protected merchant ship was filled with suffocating mist. During the long journey, with every moon setting and sunrise, Samarkand was tortured by the mood of endless fear. Many times, he almost couldn't help but rush out and shouted loudly, calling for the robbery and killing that would come sooner or later to come, and it would be better to end the endless torture, but he always returned sadly at the step out of the cabin door. He hated the pirates who brought all this, and he even hated Diur, why did he recognize these damn guys so by chance? In his increasingly thin body and his endless suspicion that he had not taken action, this damn journey finally ended.

When Samarkand, with a dumb eyes, confirmed that the damn pirates had completed their guard mission and had returned, his fragile and tense nerves could not stand the sudden relaxation, and he fainted without any precursors. When he came from his sleep two days later, he found that his fleet was splitting the purest agate-like sea surface in the same bright weather and continued to march eastward...

… … ……………………………………

While Samarkand was kneeling down on the deck with tears in his face, thanking Allah, the main hall of the Guangzhou Governor's Mansion welcomed a special guest.

"This is Aunt Yu!" Looking at the beautiful beauty of high nose and deep eyes in front of her who was similar to her age, Cui Po could not connect her with the title of "Aunt Yu".

While Cui Po was looking at "Auntie Yu", the woman with her braided hair hanging down and her gold and silver jewelry was also surprised. What she didn't expect was that the "dog official" who had been cursed by her many times and was extremely vicious was actually younger than the one described in the information, and... even from the perspective of her clan, he was so beautiful!

"I don't know... The aunt is here in Guangzhou. I am negligent and neglected, really neglected!", he said this title awkwardly, and Cui Po smiled and greeted.

"How dare the little girl not come if she treats her like Lord Cui!" "Auntie Yu" who grew up in the Tang court since she was a child. She spoke aloud in her official language, and even the title was not different.

Although this method has never been used incorrectly, Cui Po couldn't help but blushed slightly in the face of such a woman's sarcastic words. However, before she could speak, the woman opposite said directly: "Mr. Cui doesn't need to be blocked. Please tell me directly, what's wrong with forcing the little woman to come here?"

Seeing that she made it clear, Cui Po felt relaxed and did not go around the corner at the moment. After holding a cup to invite tea, he said bluntly: "I accept the imperial order and form an ocean-going fleet. Unfortunately, this shipbuilding technique is so lacking. I can't ask the aunt to help." At this point, seeing that Aunt Yu was not surprised at all, Lord Jun said in his heart: "This woman is not simple!" Afterwards, he continued to say: "In return, I will allow Aunt Aunt to exclusively handle the supply of goods from Yangzhou, Huainan Road to Wenzhou, Wenzhou, Dongjiangnan Road. I don't know what the aunt wants?"

When he heard the conditions issued by Cui Po, Aunt Yu's expression remained unchanged, but she couldn't help but exclaim. She used to do a sea-climbing trade in Yangzhou, which had made her a famous businessman. This time, there were six states and exclusive business. The wealth contained in this was really too tempting.

After pondering for a while, the beautiful aunt Yu looked up and smiled, "I heard that Lord Yu is the top scorer in the first place, and his uncle is the current prime minister. Even the wife he married is the treasure granddaughter of Mr. Guo. He has become a fourth-rank official just after the twentieth crown, and is even more favored by the emperor. I wonder if these are true or not?"

"Your Majesty is trustworthy. This is the honor and favor of the minister. Only in this way, I am sure to win the ocean fleet!" I don't know what her purpose is, Cui Po's brief answer and then stopped talking. Jinghou she continued to speak.

"In this way, as long as the adult can agree to the young woman's condition, not only will the young woman give up the shipbuilding skills, but she can also personally supervise the large ships and train watermen for the adults. The trade charts drawn by the ancestors sacrificed countless lives, and the waterway maps were also presented. The six palaces in Yangzhou will never be touched," said the slightly green eyes, staring at Cui Po, and Aunt Yu said almost word by word.

A heart-to-heart thoughts rolled, Cui Po said lightly: "Please speak!"

"I would also like to ask Lord Cui to write to the court to urge troops to restore the country of Persia." At this point, Aunt Yu's eyes were getting brighter and brighter, and the two slender palms couldn't help but hold them tightly.

Upon hearing this, Cui Po felt cold and said, "Are you a descendant of King Dobbastan?"

"That's right," Aunt Yu replied faintly. There was indescribable pride and sadness in his voice.

Upon hearing this, Cui Po couldn't help sighing again. King Dobas was the last royal family of Persia. Because the country was destroyed by the Great Food, he had no choice but to lead the remaining people to survive in the remote Sistan area of ​​the country. He had condemned the envoys to Tang several times in the fifth and fourteenth years of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao period and presented the goods to the Tang Dynasty. He thought it was friendly, but he was destroyed by the Great Food soon. Unexpectedly, this descendant actually took refuge in the Tang Dynasty and was even more worried about the matter of restoring the country.
Chapter completed!