Water Margin people

"It will take several years before the canal opens. I'm afraid it will be difficult for this ship to come through!"

Liang Hongyu said.

"I have heard from His Majesty that if we follow the coast all the way and travel 40,000 to 50,000 miles, we can reach that place!"

Ruan Li said.

"This straight line is only about three hundred miles!"

Liang Hongyu asked in surprise. She knew the route of the canal very well. The canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea was at most three hundred miles long, but it took a detour of forty to fifty thousand miles, and it was only more than twenty thousand miles back to the Central Plains!

"Your Majesty mentioned it once. I don't know the situation, but since Your Majesty cares so much about this canal, there shouldn't be any problem!"

Ruan Li spoke up and said that they firmly believed in the emperor's words.

"No wonder, this canal is so important!"

Liang Hongyu nodded repeatedly.

"Well, it means that this sea route will take a long time to explore. We are short of manpower now. Otherwise, how can our Qi ships stop these foreign races wandering around in the Mediterranean?"

Ruan Li looked at the sea and spoke helplessly.

Liang Hongyu felt helpless when she saw the warships that were converted from merchant ships in the port. Western shipbuilding technology was too poor and these ships could only be used as makeshift ones.

"General Liang, I'm going!"

Ruan Li clasped his fists and bowed to Liang Hongyu, then took his men to the port, and the modified warship left quickly.

"Order to close the port, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"

Liang Hongyu gave orders to the generals around her that her main task was to control the port.

The ships dispersed after leaving the port, while the merchant ships wandering in the outer sea were still gathered together in a daze. On one of the large merchant ships, a group of captains were gathering for a meeting.

"It's not a good idea for us to keep floating like this. I heard that a serious outbreak of the Black Death has occurred in Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, and more than 100,000 people have died!"

"What's that? I don't know how many people died in Italy!"

“There are some in Provence, too!”

"There are some in England and France, too!"

“There are also many Muwahids in the south!”

……

The captains began to exchange their information.

"Hey, now the Red Sea is the only side of the Mediterranean coast that has no fish, but now they won't let us get close!"

Everyone was looking towards the south, which was the area controlled by the State of Qi, the only pure land along the entire Mediterranean coast.

This is also why all merchant ships are stationed in this sea area. Only here can they feel safe and not afraid of the ubiquitous Black Death.

"I encountered a ghost ship a few days ago, and everyone on board was dead! The ship had just gone to Byzantium for supplies not long ago!"

An older captain spoke up.

"What? All dead?"

The others' faces changed drastically and they asked quickly.

"Yes, I know that captain. The ship was drifting randomly on the sea. I didn't dare to get close. I just shouted from a distance for a long time, but no one answered. They must be dead!"

The old captain sighed and said.

"We are running low on supplies! What should we do?"

Some captains were getting anxious. They had been drifting on the sea for a long time and the fresh water and food on the ship were almost used up.

"Does anyone know where it's safe?"

Everyone looked at each other, wanting to find a safe place to resupply.

"It's only Qi State. How about we talk to them?"

Someone spoke.

"We want to talk, but they don't want to talk! Now they have even closed the port!"

Everyone looked sad; they were truly homeless now.

The Qi fleet was advancing quietly.

"All these ships are gathered together?"

Ruan Li frowned as he listened to his subordinates' report.

"Yes, there are currently more than a dozen ships of all sizes gathered together, seemingly plotting something!"

An officer spoke up. "Conspiracy? You think too highly of them! They are just huddling together for warmth. Now they have nowhere to go. It's not easy to survive on a single ship in this sea."

Ruan Li said.

"General, what should we do? Just kill them?"

The officers all looked at Ruan Li, waiting for his order.

"No, surround them first!"

Ruan Li thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Yes!"

Although the officers were puzzled, they still followed the order and went to their respective ships.

……

"There's a ship approaching!"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Lots of boats!"

On the masts of a number of merchant ships, the sailors on guard pointed around and shouted.

"who?"

The captains then looked around and found that many ships were surrounding them. They looked like Mediterranean merchant ships.

"Where do all these merchant ships come from? From the Holy Roman Empire? From Byzantium?"

The captains began to wonder who the visitors were. With so many ships, only the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire had the strength to do so.

"Get back to the ship!"

A group of captains pulled the ropes and swung towards their own ships.

"Boom boom boom!"

A burst of artillery fire rang out, and the merchant ships didn't know which direction to escape.

"Stop everything! Anyone who runs away will die!"

Ruan Li shouted with a loud speaker on the boat, and his voice reached the merchant ship. All the ships did not dare to move, as they knew that this was a warship from Qi.

The Qi fleet directly surrounded these merchant ships, with the black muzzles of the guns on the decks pointing at the merchant ships. The captains, who had seen the horror of cannons, did not dare to move, as they could not escape the range of the cannons at sea.

"It's Qi's ship! People from Qi are coming!"

At this time, the captains also realized who the visitor was. The only country that could possess cannons was Qi.

"What are you doing in the sea off the territory of Qi?"

Ruan Li shouted as he looked at a merchant ship in front of him.

"General, we simply have nowhere else to go, and we have no intention of approaching Qi territory!"

The captain immediately explained that they were in the open sea and it was not an invasion of Qi's territory.

"You probably don't have much supplies, right?"

Ruan Li looked at the man and asked.

"General, we are willing to pay for some food and water!"

The captain said immediately.

"I can give you the things, but you need to tell me the information you know. I will provide you with supplies based on the information you provide."

Ruan Li looked at those people and said.

"Thank you, General. We dare not hide it!"

The others shouted with joy.

Ruan Li did not approach these merchant ships, but just asked questions from a distance. The captains were all vying to answer, hoping to exchange more supplies.

"Very good! I will put the supplies you want on the boat, you can take them yourself."

"It's free this time. Please help spread the word that any ship that wants supplies can come over. As long as you provide valuable information, I will sell you supplies. You can also wait on the reef island over there!"

Ruan Li shouted to those people, and then the horn sounded, and the ship slowly left.

"Really gone?"

The captains didn't dare to believe it. They thought the Qi army would massacre them, but the Qi army just surrounded them, questioned them some questions and then left.

(End of this chapter)