Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 597 Shenzhou Travel
On this day, Zhao Zhen was practicing martial arts with the commander of his personal army in the front parade ground.

There was a sound of horse hooves, Zhao Zhen looked up and saw two riders galloping over. Both of them were wearing red military uniforms with a white Chinese character "登" embroidered on their chests. It was obvious that they were express couriers who could travel 400 li a day.

When [Young Marquis Wen] Lu Fang, who was beside Zhao Zhen, saw this, he quickly rode his horse and called for the two men to come over here.

Noticing someone calling them, two riders on fast horses rushed over.

Lu Fang shouted, "My husband is here."

After hearing this, the two men quickly dismounted. The leader pulled the bamboo tube behind him in front of him and handed it over.

Lu Fang took it and handed it to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen opened the bamboo tube and read the letter while saying, "You must have worked hard. Go down and have a rest."

Upon hearing this, the two men followed a personal soldier to settle down.

After reading it, Zhao Zhen smiled and said to Huo Wancheng, Lu Fang and others: "I can't practice martial arts with you brothers today, so let's stop here."

After saying this, Zhao Zhen went back to the hall and asked someone to invite Wu Yong, Zhu Wu, Pei Xuan and others to come.

After the two of them read the Dengzhou document, they also laughed and said, "I never thought there would be such a good thing."

Wu Yong said: "If it weren't for the decision of Brother Ruan Xiaoer, with these eight large ships, the Dengzhou navy would be invincible on the sea from now on."

Pei Xuan smiled and said, "With such a large ship, wouldn't it be possible to go to the Three Kingdoms of Korea to trade horses and timber?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "I have also heard from Brother Sun Li, but I never thought there really is such a big ship."

It turned out that this official document was sent by Ruan Xiaoer of Dengzhou. The document only talked about one thing. Two days ago, Ruan Xiaoer and others were conducting routine exercises at sea. They saw eight large ships on the sea from afar, flying the dragon flag of the imperial court.

Ruan Xiaoer was jealous, so he mobilized all the naval vessels. Relying on their small and fast size as well as their large numbers, they blocked the enemy from the front and back, and with the help of the [Flying Divine Thunder] on board, they captured all eight ships.

After some inquiries, I found out that it was a merchant ship sent by the imperial court to cross the sea to do business with the Jin Kingdom.

The letter also described the eight ships, six of which were passenger boats, more than ten feet long, thirty feet deep and twenty-five feet wide, with sixty oarsmen and sailors on board, fully loaded with silk, tea, porcelain and other items.

The ships were made of huge beams made from whole pieces of wood, and were very strong and sturdy. One of them was hit by two cannon shots but suffered no serious damage.

The other two were even bigger, and the emperor even gave them names: one was called "Xunliu Anyi Tongji Shenzhou" and the other was called "Dingxin Lishe Huaiyuan Kangji Shenzhou". They were three times longer, wider, taller, and had three times as many tools and people as the "passenger boat". From a close look, they looked like mountains, their surfaces moving on the waves, and their decorations were magnificent.

Wu Yong said: "Sir, these things are valuable in themselves. If we send them to the north, their value will more than double."

"Why not send someone to take a look? If there is nothing useful, we can use the imperial documents to complete this business trip."

Pei Xuan also said: "I have the same idea."

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Although the Three Kingdoms of Korea are bitterly cold, they also have some unique things. It's okay to go there. But who can go?"

Pei Xuan said: "Brother Ruan Xiaoer's official document mentioned that there are seven or eight officials on the ship. This trip is not just a simple business. Xu Guanzhong, the commander of Guangji Army, is proficient in various languages. He can pretend to be an official and lead the team." "In addition, the caravan managers Du Xing and Shen Bo'er are proficient in trade. They can help."

Wu Yong said, "Sir, we need Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian to go as well, after all, there is a letter from the country. Just take the copy. If the profit is great, we can print the letter for future communication."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "That's right. Let's ask Brother Ruan Xiaoer to go with us and lead the navy, and let more people go with the caravan."

After a few more discussions, they drafted official documents and sent them to various places. Zhao Zhen naturally did not need to deal with the subsequent matters personally.

After they left, Liu Hui Niang asked, "Sir, is this Shenzhou really as big as Commander Ruan said?"

Zhao Zhen said: "I have never seen such a big boat."

Seeing Liu Huiniang's face full of longing, Zhao Zhen knew what Liu Huiniang was thinking and asked, "Hui Niang, do you want to go and take a look?"

Liu Hui Niang nodded and said, "I have never seen such a big boat. It must be as big as a mountain. When I was in Yizhou, I heard people say that there were divine boats during the reign of Emperor Shenzong. The Lingxu Zhiyuan Anji Divine Boat and the Lingfei Shunji Divine Boat were said to have a capacity of ten thousand hu. It's a pity that I have never seen one. Now that your Excellency has two newly built divine boats, I want to go and see them to increase my knowledge."

Zhao Zhen listened, thought for a moment, and said, "My lady is right. To be honest, I have seldom traveled since I pacified the Qingzhou bandits. Not to mention Dengzhou, I have never even been to Mizhou."

"Why don't we prepare and go on a tour of the eastern states with our whole family? On the one hand, we can understand the sufferings of the people, and on the other hand, we can also understand the performance of local officials, stabilize the people's hearts, and demonstrate our power and credibility."

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, isn't it too expensive? After all, we are currently building a palace, which will cost a lot of money and manpower."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "I heard that the First Emperor made five tours throughout the Qin territory. It was not just to find the elixir of immortality, but to consolidate his rule. Now I am just repeating what others have said."

"One day in the future, it will become a regular practice that even if I am not on tour, I will wait for my son to come down. This is to alert local officials, and also to let the people know who has the final say in Liangshan."

Liu Hui Niang said: "If so, we have to bring many people with us. We can't delay official business, and it will be very troublesome to deliver official documents."

Zhao Zhen said: "Don't be afraid. Since we are going to see Shenzhou this time, we will start from Liangshan and go to Dengzhou. We just need to plan the route in advance. When we go there, we will go from the north line, and when we come back, we will go from the south line. After a round, we have seen a small part of Liangshan."

"Besides, traveling with personal guards can also be considered as marching training. We can prepare food and fodder in advance at various places along the way, so we don't have to rush every day, we can just walk slowly. In this way, by the time I arrive in Dengzhou, the Shenzhou will have returned from Goryeo."

After hearing this, Liu Hui Niang nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Zhen said: "We need to discuss this matter with the scholars and others, and we need to consider who should go and who should stay."

Liu Hui Niang said, "I will talk to the sisters and hear what they think."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Go ahead. I dare not say anything else, but I am afraid that Sanniang, Liqing, and Qiao Niang will be really happy and crazy."

Liu Hui Niang smiled and said, "It's because of your favor."

After saying this, Liu Hui Niang stood up and walked out, going to the back to report to Cheng Wan'er so that she could make preparations in advance and select the accompanying personnel and equipment, in order to avoid mistakes in the backyard after Zhao Zhen discussed with Wu Yong, Pei Xuan and others.

(End of this chapter)