Spring returns to the earth, and everything is renewed.
A few days later, Qizhou and Yongming County.
Harbour Pier.
Qizhou is located in the east of Daxuan and Yongming is located in the east of Qizhou. From here, you are the closest place to the ten countries in the East China Sea.
The previous Daxuan envoys also went out from here to sea.
Daxuan's Shipbuilding Department is also located here.
Xu Zun is now a fourth-rank official in the court. He is a local prefect, chief minister, county magistrate and other officials in Qizhou, naturally approaching to welcome him and entertaining him happily.
However, among all the accompanying officials, Xu Zun can only be regarded as the commander who went to sea this time, but he is not the one with the largest official title.
As the young tutor of the crown prince, Li Gui is ranked third rank, one rank higher than Xu Zun, so he is naturally the largest official.
In terms of qualifications, the first class in the Crown Prince's Mansion is the "Three Young Master", namely the Crown Prince's Young Master, the Crown Prince's Young Tutor and the Crown Prince's Young Guard.
According to Daxuan's convention, the Prince's Young Master is generally a member of the cabinet, and they are all those with deep knowledge and prestige.
Because the prince's young master Su Gan was old and sick, the empress dowager did not send him to participate in this trip to the East China Sea.
The prince Shaobao died in the assassination of the heavenly tribulation incident, so among the "Three Young Masters", only the prince's young master came.
However, Li Gui is nearly 60 years old this year, and he is also willing but unable to do so.
When Xu Zun and his party arrived in Yongming, he was bedridden and never came out again.
Now the only one who discusses going to sea with Xu Zun is the Crown Prince Zhan Zhang Yao and the Crown Prince guest Dan Peng.
These two people are obviously here to make a fuss. The biggest task of their trip is that when they find the prince, they can identify the prince's identity.
Therefore, all maritime matters are basically decided by Xu Zun.
"We have seen the auspicious day of the zodiac," said the Office of the Shipping Department. "The day after tomorrow is auspicious day, smooth sailing, great luck! Lord Xu...you see..."
“…”
Xu Zun was speechless and said in his heart. I haven’t figured out anything here yet. Are you just so anxious to send me away?
but……
Xu Zun glanced out the window, but saw that outside the water gate were the three ocean-going ships. There were four-story buildings built on the ship, with masts standing on it, which was spectacular.
Moreover, this kind of ship is a veritable warship, with bows, arrows and artillery all in hand. The bow is also equipped with a solid metal impact device, which can also impact enemy ships at critical moments.
With these three giant warships, you can sail across the East China Sea.
This time, each ship was equipped with sea division, helmsman, oar craftsman, oar craftsman, seafarer and soldiers, and they were all good at going to sea frequently.
It can be said that their safety is basically no problem and they are fully equipped with the conditions for setting sail.
only……
Xu Zun’s biggest question now is where to go?
Where can I find the prince?
"Everyone," Xu Zun asked in front of many local officials, "I have a problem that I haven't figured out. Didn't it mean that the survivors have been burned to death by the fire?
"So how did the news that the prince was attacked in the East China Sea be transmitted back?"
"Well..." The county magistrate of Mingzhou first glanced at the prefect of Qizhou, and then introduced, "It was all sent by merchants who traveled to and from the East China Sea."
"What?" Xu Zun frowned, "It means there is no definite news?"
"That's right," explained the prefect of Qizhou. "The prince was on a mission to the ten countries in the East China Sea. He originally planned to return for five months or six months.
"Now, just as five months have arrived, we have received unfortunate news. Some merchant ships returning from the East China Sea said that Prince Daxuan was attacked somewhere in the East China Sea, and the whereabouts of the prince himself are unknown.
"This matter is extraordinary," said the prefect of Qizhou. "After we learned the news, we immediately sent people to check with the caravans.
"But they all came from hearsay. They didn't know which country and which sea area the prince was attacked in.
"So," continued the prefect, "we quickly sent ships to the nearby islands of the countries to inquire.
"After a dozen days later, news finally came from the sea that they had found the prince's entourage and were on the way back.
"However, a few days later, we received bad news that the Clippers who were sent back to the survivors suffered a fire and had sunk into the sea. All the crews were in trouble. Alas..."
The prefect of Qizhou lamented and regretted, but from his expression, it can be seen that he also had deep doubts about the matter.
Needless to say, any individual can see the problem. It is obvious that some people do not want to convey the news of the attack on the prince back to Daxuan.
In other words, the attack on the prince may be a long-planned ambush!
Just imagine, the person who dares to ambush the prince must be not ordinary people.
Now Daxuan's court is full of turbulent and variables. For these local officials, no one wants to bother with them.
Therefore, Xu Zun could also feel that they all hoped that they would set sail sooner, and no one cared about whether they could find the prince.
"So..." Xu Zun realized the difficulty, "It means no one knows what the prince encountered in the East China Sea?"
"Mr. Xu," said the Ship Department's Office at this time, pointing to a nautical chart on the wall, "According to the original plan of the prince, at five months' time, he should have visited the ten countries and started returning.
!
"Look..." He gestured to the map with his hands and said, "This is the order of the prince's mission to the ten countries. Starting from the nearest Izumo Kingdom, he happened to circle around the East China Sea, and finally passed the southwest of the country of lemon
return.
"So, if something happens, it should be in the southwest part of the East China Sea!"
"This is not necessarily true," at this time, the prince's guest, Shan Peng, couldn't help but interrupt, "God knows when the prince was attacked?
"The East China Sea is so big. If we find the wrong place, our safety is small. If we delay understanding and saving the prince, who can bear this responsibility?"
"Yes, yes," said Zhao Yu, "If you don't get specific information, isn't this equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack?"
"It's really interesting," said Zhang Yao, the prince's secretary, angrily. "The boats are waiting to go to sea, but we don't know where we are going? Isn't this a joke?"
"It seems..." said the officer of the Ministry of Commerce, "I can only go to the nearest country first, and put the news on the table?"
Xu Zun did not speak, but stood up and walked to the chart.
It's indeed a new world!
Xu Zun looked at the map and fell into imagination. Although the east side of the Daxuan Dynasty was also vast, there was no huge island on the sea.
It's a completely unfamiliar chart...
There are only a few relatively large islands on the sea, and the others are scattered, like an archipelago.
Xu Zun already knew that there were thousands of islands on the East China Sea, only Izumo and Linghua Kingdom had larger islands. The other nine countries were basically archipelago countries and were not very large in area.
However, these ten countries have unique characteristics and have their own minerals and treasures. Therefore, they have been in trade with Daxuan for many years and have always had good relationships.
Although there was an assassination incident involving the Japanese assassin entering the palace fifteen years ago, it did not affect the relationship between Daxuan and the Ten Kingdoms of the East China Sea.
Xu Zun knew even more that the real sea is far more slim than this sea chart. If he does not have a clear goal, it will be difficult to find the prince...