Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 468
Yuan Xi stood at the bow of the boat, facing the cold and pungent sea breeze, like a ruthless slap in the winter, blowing hot on his face.

There was another reason why he didn't tell Lu Xunming.

As a person who knows the technology of later generations, many of his ideas are either too advanced or unfeasible for this era. Some ideas that may seem absurd are more suitable for this era.

How to select the weapon technology that promotes the productivity of this era and changes the battlefield situation of this era can only be done by him personally going to the battlefield and thinking about it personally.

Especially the water battle is the key to Yuan Xi's future development strategy, so he must plan in advance to test whether his ideas are feasible.

The waves rushed in, the ship bumped a bit, the two guards on the deck slipped and hit the side of the ship hard, they couldn't stand up straight for a while, and were laughed at by the people beside them.

Although some of them are proficient in water skills, swimming is different from riding a boat, so some people feel dizzy after boarding the boat, and it may take a while to get used to it.

Yuan Xi was used to it. He looked sideways at Lu Lingqi, who had a pale face, and said jokingly, "Wenhou Hunv, it turns out she's also seasick."

Lu Lingqi hated her teeth so much that she couldn't help throwing up within two hours of boarding the boat. After finally getting used to it, the wind and waves on the sea became stronger again, making her stomach feel as if it was overwhelmed.

Suppressing the discomfort, she clung to the side of the boat and said, "How can you fight with such a stormy sea?"

"And if you fall into the water, I'm afraid it will be difficult to save your life?"

Yuan Xi nodded in agreement, "Indeed, if you say that there is still a chance of life if you fall into the water on the river, the battle at sea is extremely dangerous, and it is flattering to say that you are close to death."

"Especially in winter when the sea is cold, people will freeze to death within a few moments after falling."

Lu Lingqi was thoughtful, "So if the two sides are fighting at sea, I'm afraid it will be life and death, and neither side will have a way out?"

Yuan Xi replied: "It can be said that."

"Surrender immediately when the situation is not good, maybe you can save your life, but unless the enemy has a good reputation, they will usually fight to the end."

"After all, it is much easier to kill prisoners at sea. If you throw them into the sea, no one will know afterwards."

Lu Lingqi stared at Yuan Xi suspiciously, "You said it so vividly, have you ever done such a thing?"

Yuan Xi was sweating profusely, and quickly argued: "Where, I'm also hearsay."

Suddenly, the watchman on the mast blew his whistle, and the shrill sound spread throughout the deck, and the soldiers below the deck rushed up one after another holding their halberds.

This long halberd is not only much longer than those used on land, but also has been specially modified. There is also an iron bar of equal length fixed along the shaft of the halberd, which prevents it from being chopped off by the enemy.

At that time, in water battles, long-distance battles were bows and arrows, and close-range battles involved either jumping on the opposite ship or stabbing with long weapons. At this time, the size of the ship played a decisive role.

A big ship means high, so you can hit high and hit low, and it is difficult for the opponent to jump on the bow of your own ship. If the ship is small, it will be at a great disadvantage.

Seeing that the soldiers were a little flustered, Yuan Xi said: "Don't run around, hide your weapons under the side of the boat, don't be seen by the other side, each find a place that can cover their bodies, and stabilize their bodies!"

Although these soldiers had undergone training, many of them were going out to sea for the first time. When they first heard the signal of encountering an enemy, they were a little confused. Now when they heard Yuan Xi's words, they came to their senses. They held their breaths and calmed down gradually.

Even if the emperor went out to fight in person, it would be too shameful for people like himself to behave badly!
Seeing everyone's reaction, Yuan Xi nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this is the benefit of the general supervising the formation. These soldiers can't become fat with one bite, and now they can calm down quickly, which is already a pretty good performance.

But as the other side approached, everyone realized that it was a false alarm. It turned out to be a ferry boat for people fleeing from Qingzhou to Liaodong.

When they saw the logo of the Zhen family caravan, they showed expressions of relief, and some even waved their hands in this direction.

When Yuan Xi saw it, he couldn't help laughing, seeing that no matter whether it was soldiers or common people, everyone was terrified when they crossed the ocean.

The boats on both sides lowered their half sails, slowed down, shouted a few words to each other, confirmed the direction of each other, then pulled up the sails, and went their separate ways.

The reason for this is that in this era, the nautical compass did not appear, and navigation received many restrictions. If you want to identify the direction, you must either get close to the land to prevent getting lost, or confirm it according to the sun and astrology.

The compass appeared in China very early, so-called Si Nan, which was first used for geomantic omen. Its shape is a spoon, which is acceptable on land, but very inconvenient at sea.

Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Lunheng Shiying Pian" said: "Sinan's spoon, thrown on the ground, is its guide."

According to the research of later generations, the transformation from Sinan to compass and from spoon to needle may have been completed during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and was perfected in the Tang Dynasty. This may have something to do with the development of the navigation industry in Wu before.

The principle of the compass is not complicated. The key is to need a piece of soil for growth, and land and sea trade is the catalyst.

As for the improvement of the compass, the Zhen family caravan has an absolute advantage.

When Yuan Xi met Zhen Yao in Haixi earlier, he mentioned that the magnet could be polished into a needle to point out the direction. If it is combined with other methods to distinguish the direction, ocean sailing will be much safer.

According to the method proposed by Yuan Xi, Zhen Yao went back to find a craftsman for trial production, and indeed made a compass suitable for navigation. Since then, the trade speed of the Zhen family caravan at sea has been greatly accelerated.

The only thing that worried Yuan Xi was the missing ships of the Zhen family caravan. If the compass on them was obtained by Qingzhou pirates, it would be troublesome.

Of course, there may be another hidden danger, but Yuan Xi is not sure.

If the Qingzhou pirates had that item in their hands, there was a very high probability that Yuan Tan knew about the robbery of the Zhen family merchant ship.

Seeing a boat carrying refugees approaching, Yuan Xi asked, "Where did you come from and where are you going?"

Several of them saw Yuan Xi's extraordinary demeanor, and one of the leaders said: "We all escaped from Qingzhou."

Yuan Xiqi asked, "Is there a war in Qingzhou?"

The man smiled wryly and said, "I didn't really fight much, but thieves and thieves have sprung up, and the governor of Qingzhou has imposed violent taxes and increased taxes in the past two years. Everyone can't survive, so they want to go to Liaodong to have a look."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "Liaodong is bitterly cold, I'm afraid it's not as comfortable as Qingzhou."

The man looked helpless: "At least there is no tyranny. Now the officers and soldiers are plundering so hard that even food is a problem. At least let people live."

Yuan Xi was silent. He suddenly remembered that after Yuan Tan got Qingzhou, the people of Qingzhou were happy for Yuan Tan's victory at first because of the generosity of Yuan's family. .

Yuan Xi thought that most likely Yuan Tan recruited many rebels who were originally thieves and rogues during the process of suppressing the Taishan bandits. The crowds are proof of that.

This is also a wake-up call for Yuan Xi. After incorporating the remnants of Gongsun Zan, he must pay close attention to rectifying military discipline, so as not to lose popular support in Youzhou.

Yuan Tan's behavior in this way sent a lot of talents to the Gongsun family, and many Qingzhou celebrities went to serve Gongsundu.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi shook his head. He realized that Yuan Shao shed Yuan Tan and chose Yuan Shang. It was really not a simple matter of personal likes and dislikes. , There is indeed a shortcoming in governing internal affairs.

Several large ships of the Zhen family caravan sailed slowly towards Donglai in the cold winter wind. On the land dozens of miles away, there was only a blurry coastline hanging in the sky.

The ship traveled for a day and a night, bypassed the port of Huangxian County in Donglai, and found no abnormal movement until it was near Zhifu Island. This made Yuan Xi, who had been alert all night, a little depressed. It was the Qingzhou pirates who had gone home for the New Year, and they still saw themselves. Caravan problem?
After another half day, when they arrived near the nightless port in the northeast of the peninsula, several floating corpses floating in the sea, as well as entrenched fish schools, aroused Yuan Xi's vigilance.

These people should have died not long ago before attracting schools of fish!

Sure enough, dozens of ships of various sizes sailed out of the Nightless Port, and they were speeding towards Yuan Xi's fleet of five or six ships. Yuan Xi saw this and ordered: "Set sail and go northeast." .”

He thought to himself that this is all at Beihai port, and the pirates are still so blatant, Qingzhou is really in a mess.

The helmsman turned desperately and headed towards Liaodong. According to the agreement, the Gongsundu family's ship was within half a day's journey of Yuan Xi. If Yuan Xi was in danger, he could sail in that direction and seek rescue!

A few hours later, Yuan Xi's fleet saw Gongsun's fleet, but the opposite side was engaged in a fierce battle, surrounded by more than a dozen large pirate ships!

Yuan Xi's face became serious, the Gongsun's ship was obviously ambushed and attacked!

In all likelihood, there were spies in the Gongsun fleet that leaked their whereabouts. In this era when it was extremely difficult to obtain information, spies almost became the most convenient and effective means.

He looked at the stern of the boat, and saw dozens of boats trailing behind, still chasing after him, thinking that this is really an enemy.

But although the situation was bad, it was not unexpected. He said to Lu Xun who had caught up, "It's Lai Boyan."

Lu Xun took the order to let the soldiers hide below the deck, and the sailors on the deck each tied their waists to the boat with ropes.

Then Lu Xun gave an order, and the sailors at each bow pulled the mechanism, and the original wooden bow fell directly into the sea.

Then what was exposed was a huge and sharp iron horn shining with cold light!

Lu Xun raised his hands high, "Full sails, each mark hits the ship!"

The pirate ships surrounding Gongsun's fleet and shooting arrows saw that the people on board were so suppressed that they couldn't lift their heads. They were about to board the ship, but they saw several large ships appearing behind them, coming towards their side at high speed!
(End of this chapter)