Chinese New Year

Chapter 1480 Progress
On July 16th of the second year of Longhua (343), after a six-month period of reorganization and two months of actual boat handling training, the ships moored in Piaoyujin Port were ready to set sail for Liaodong.

A total of fifteen ships were dispatched, transporting 60,000 bushels of millet and wheat collected from Jizhou, along with some farm tools, seeds, cloth and other daily necessities—of course, weapons were also indispensable.

Each ship was equipped with twice the manpower, that is, thirty people, so fifteen ships had a total of four hundred and fifty people. The boatmen who drifted to Chongqing and Tianjin basically used all their main force.

If we include the fifty experienced soldiers transferred from Shamen Town, as well as a total of two hundred and eighty Hebei households and a small number of guards, the total number of people is around two thousand, which can be considered a large-scale voyage.

There was still some time before the ships set sail, so Liang Zhang, the instructor of Zhangwu County, followed the county officials to the seaside to see the fleet off.

The officials all went to talk with the Revenue Commandant and the Commandant, while Liang Zhang climbed the high river embankment and looked out to sea.

He is sixteen years old this year. He has been studying hard since childhood, constantly practicing literature and martial arts. In April, Shao Xun appointed him as the instructor of Zhangwu County, instructing him to recruit students here to prepare them for future use.

Liang Zhang originally didn't know what these students would do in the future, but he gradually came to understand.

However, he didn't care about that. He was just curious about the sea and often wondered what was on the other side, and he enjoyed it immensely.

Many seafarers have gathered at the foot of the mound, and they are giving a speech, or rather, a final instruction.

"When setting sail, one must choose to sail between major and minor flood seasons to avoid danger. If sailing during a major flood season, and the wind is strong and the current is rapid, it will be difficult to control. If one boat goes down, the other two will collide, the sterns will hit each other, and the wind and rain will attack. People will be helpless and will inevitably run aground and be unable to move."

"If you encounter a favorable wind and the sails are billowing rapidly, reduce the sails and speed, and seek shelter in a harbor for a short distance. Do not rush the journey. Why? Because if the wind continues and the sky darkens, you may lose your way and easily get lost."

"If you encounter a favorable wind and are setting sail, and suddenly the wind becomes erratic, do not hesitate. Immediately seek shelter in a harbor. Do not take chances and think you can wait for the wind to stop."

"If a sudden storm occurs and it is difficult to reach the harbor for shelter in time, one should quickly take the upwind side, drop stone anchors, and tighten the sails and mooring lines. If the ship is heavily loaded, one should frequently check the hold to prevent water from entering."

“When seeking shelter in harbors during the spring and summer, strong cables must be used and stilts driven deep into the water, as there is a risk of flooding and damage from mountain torrents.”

"Stay along the coast the whole way, and don't get separated from the group..."

The speaker's voice was loud and seemed very experienced; the people below stood in perfect unison without making a sound.

Liang Zhang listened with great interest, thinking, "Wow, there are so many intricacies to navigation!"
What is being said here is only for ordinary boatmen, to let them know what to do and when, so that they won't be caught off guard and at a loss. The sea is dangerous, and sometimes it's a matter of seizing the last chance. A slight hesitation could result in the mast being blown off, or the boat running aground and causing an accident.

For a ship captain or a higher-ranking fleet leader, there is even more to know.

Liang Zhang secretly wondered if these experiences were learned from the bloody lessons of the past. They seemed very comprehensive and well-organized. His father—His Majesty—had finally achieved results after promoting navigation for so many years.

Otherwise, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, seafaring was certainly possible, but it would be much more dangerous. Often, people would be completely unaware of the danger approaching, or when danger did occur, they would be clumsy and unsure of how to save themselves...

Impressive! Liang Zhang quietly climbed down the small mound, no longer wanting to disturb them.

******
Cao Xian, the Right Attendant of the Prince of Qi's Palace, boarded the boat with trepidation, his face extremely grim.

Several servants from his hometown of Qingzhou accompanied him, their faces also pale and filled with fear.

With a crisp bell sound, Cao Xian felt a jolt and almost fell to the ground. He hurriedly grabbed the gunwale and managed to steady himself.

Of course, they've only managed to stabilize their position temporarily.

The weather was great today, but the waves were quite large—perhaps the waves weren't actually that big, but in Cao Xian's eyes they were frighteningly large.

The boat bobbed and rocked violently, as if it were drunk. It swayed from side to side, making people stagger. After only a few miles, Cao Xian felt dizzy and nauseous.

The servant, who had served him for many years, was quick-witted and nimble-fingered. He suppressed his nausea, helped the nobleman up, and endured the foul smell as he watched Cao Xian open his blood-red mouth and vomit all the flatbread and pork he had eaten that morning into the sea.

As they continued vomiting, even the servants couldn't take it anymore. Soon, the sound of vomiting echoed along the ship's side, startling the boatmen who rushed over to steady them and prevent them from falling into the sea.

After rinsing his mouth with water and wiping his face, Cao Xian slumped onto the deck, slowly feeling his soul return to its place. He still felt nauseous and wished he could turn into a bird and fly back to the still clearly visible shore in one breath.

But he knew it was impossible. After calming himself down for a while, he carefully returned to the cabin. He first carefully checked the several large wooden crates and found that they were all locked properly. Then he ignored everything else, lay down on the carpet in a daze, his eyes unfocused and his face blank.

On deck, the shipwrights were also in poor condition.

They had mostly sailed the Yangtze River before, and even after several months of intensive training at Piaoyujin, they still couldn't be considered true seafarers. Fortunately, each ship had a few experienced sailors with some resistance to seasickness, so they were still able to maneuver the boats and head northeast.

The fleet sailed silently, from day to night, then back to day, and back to night, in a continuous cycle.

Four or five days later, Cao Xian finally recovered and walked out of the cabin filled with a sour smell. He first disembarked to check the supplies, and then looked at the dozens of civilians sitting at the bottom of the cabin.

They included men, women, and children, and were lying haphazardly, almost too weak to get up.

Cao Xian frowned, turned to a servant and said, "Go and borrow some cleaning supplies to clean the bottom of the hold."

"Seventh Master, what should we do with these people?" the servant asked.

"Let's get them up on the deck for some fresh air. It's no wonder something bad happened if they're always holed up at the bottom of the ship. Last night—" Cao Xian sighed. One person had already died last night and been thrown into the sea.

No one knew how he died, and the boatmen didn't care how he died; it was as if it were commonplace. They simply carried the body overboard and threw it overboard.

His family cried and screamed, but it was no use; that's the rule at sea. Let alone the dead, even a sick person risks being thrown overboard.

This is no joke. Being kind to the sick could very well be cruel to other healthy people. The confined space on a ship would be extremely dangerous should an infectious disease outbreak occur.

Everything has a reason, and everything is learned through blood and tears.

Of course, it depends on the person. If it were someone like Cao Xian, unless he was truly dead from illness, as long as he still had a breath left, he would never be thrown into the sea.

After the servant left, he quickly returned and reported, "Seventh Brother, Old Man Zhang said we'll be at Lilinkou soon. We can go ashore and rest for a few days. Just hang in there a little longer."

Cao Xian nodded silently and said nothing more.

******
"Splash..." The oars parted the water and sailed into the depths of the swamp.

The surrounding area was filled with overflowing swamps. As the Liao River flowed through it, the riverbed became very indistinct, with almost no fixed riverbed visible and overflowing areas everywhere.

In this watery land, several higher sandbars can be seen, each with a dozen or more wooden houses built for people to live in.

In the middle of the wooden houses, there is often a tall watchtower where people stand and look around.

This is Lilinkou (the area around present-day Yingkou City), backed by the Liao River and facing the sea, surrounded by hundreds of miles of swamps, making it an extremely harsh environment.

The few remaining high grounds were put to use. People built dikes and embankments, cultivated farmland, and grazed livestock. However, the scale was very limited because King Yu of Yan did not attach much importance to this area, even though his navy had crossed through here into the heart of Liaodong and Xuantu during the last campaign against Liaodong.

The large ships remained anchored near the estuary, while smaller boats approached the sandbar one by one, unloading their cargo and handing it over to an official named Pang Yao who had been waiting there for some time.

Cao Xian stepped onto the firm grass immediately. Looking back at the fleet of ships faintly visible at sea, he almost shed tears. It had been too difficult.

Just then, he noticed Pang Yao looking at him with a smile. He immediately came to his senses and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Magistrate Pang."

"It's alright." Pang Yao waved his hand and said, "First-timers at sea are all like this; I've seen quite a few."

"Oh? People used to come to Linkou?" Cao Xian asked.

“Some came from Wudi, some from Liaoxi,” Pang Yao replied, instructing his attendants to hand over the goods.

"Wudi is fine, but Liaoxi is so close, why did you take a boat here?"

"Some items are too bulky to be transported by land; they can only be transported by ship."

"for example--"

"For example, water mills and wool looms."

"Shouldn't it have been transported to Lushun? Why did it come to Linkou?"

"Xiangping, Xinchang, Anshi, Wen, and Jujiu counties are far from Lushun, so one must pass through here."

"I see." Cao Xian nodded, then sighed, "The Prince of Yan is indeed ambitious. Liaodong has plenty of water, which is very useful for millstones. It also has plenty of wool, which can be used for looms."

"In order to keep Suotou under control, we need to find them something to do anyway," Pang Yao laughed loudly.

"I've heard that many Xianbei chieftains have started building manors?" Cao Xian asked again.

“That’s good,” Pang Yao replied. “His Majesty allocated land to them, taught them the three-crop rotation technique, and also found a way to purchase plow horses from Zuoguo Garden. This place is too desolate. If you go towards Xiangping, you can see it. After a bean field, there is a wheat field, and then a pasture. It’s a pity that the alfalfa in Guangchengze is not growing well here. I don’t know why. A while ago, His Highness was offering a reward for anyone who could cultivate alfalfa in Liaodong.”

"One region's water and soil nurture its people, and so do its plants," Cao Xian said. "In the past, Your Majesty introduced alfalfa from Qin Prefecture, but it didn't turn out very well at first. Liaodong is even more bitterly cold, so perhaps we should wait a little longer and let the alfalfa adapt to this land."

“That makes sense.” Pang Yao nodded, then pointed to the rows of houses in the distance and said, “The wooden houses are simple, please forgive us. The storeroom has enough food for two thousand people for five days. You can fetch water and cook your own meals.”

"Thank you." Cao Xian bowed deeply.

Pang Yao quickly helped him up and said, "The Prince of Qi is my lord's close relative, so it is only right that we help each other. In the future, our two families will have to watch out for each other. The Liaodong region is so vast that it is difficult to manage with just the Yan vassal state. If the Yan and Qi vassal states work together, there will be no disadvantages."

Cao Xian agreed wholeheartedly, so he stopped being coy and led his servants and some of the people ashore to rest.

A few days later, they will head south again, sailing along the western coastline of Liaodong Kingdom, delivering goods to Pingguo and Beifeng counties once each, before heading straight for Lushun.

(End of this chapter)