The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 356 The Great Sage Heavenly King's Immortal Ship

The envoy's confident words left Lady Gong completely bewildered.

She certainly had great confidence in the True Lord; after all, he was the Prime Minister of Heaven, the highest-ranking official there, and the technology he provided was undoubtedly the best. But this envoy before her was far too confident.

Just then, Yue Wenxuan spoke up: "The shipbuilding technique you mentioned refers to vehicles and boats, right?"

"Huh? So you know about our vehicles and ships?" The envoy was a little surprised.

Gong Erniangzi: "What are carriages and boats?"

The messenger said, "The ship is brought from the celestial realm by the Great Sage Heavenly King. It is over thirty zhang long, over four zhang wide, has five stories, and is over ten zhang high. It can carry a thousand soldiers."

"Huh?" Gong Er Niangzi was startled; the size was beyond her common sense.

Yue Wenxuan thought to himself: This data is the same as what I found in the history books.

Historical records do indeed state that the cart and boat were over thirty zhang long!
However, Yue Wenxuan didn't quite believe this history book when he saw it.

Thirty-odd zhang is 110 meters long. What does this length mean? Hundreds of years later, during the Age of Exploration, the Spanish galleon, once known as the king of the sea, was only thirty-odd meters long.

Centuries later, the main warship of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet, the battleship Dingyuan, was only 94.5 meters long.

With the technology of around 1131, Yue Wenxuan simply couldn't believe that a 110-meter-long ship could be built. What was used to make the keel? Could wood support such a long hull without it falling apart?

Or did high-strength steel already exist in the Song Dynasty? Titanium alloy? Mithril? Ortho-metal? Vibranium? Superalloy Z?

Yue Wenxuan once regarded it as "nonsense in historical records," but it complemented the phrase "a single cannon shot destroyed dozens of miles of land."

At this point, Gong Er Niangzi couldn't help but argue with the messenger: "Your ship is so big, it feels like you're just bragging."

The envoy's face flushed red: "Bragging? No, I'm not bragging! Our vehicles and ships are this big."

Gong Erniangzi: "At this size, sails are useless, right? The boat is as tall as a five-story building, so oars aren't even needed. How does it move?"

The envoy snorted and said, "The ship is equipped with rotating paddle wheels on both sides and at the stern. The axle is located at the bottom of the cabin. Our sailors step on the paddle wheels inside the cabin, and the paddle wheels turn, allowing them to move forward and backward freely."

Gong Erniangzi: "Huh?"

The envoy continued, “Our ships are equipped with steel plates on both sides, which can withstand arrows and are not afraid of fire attacks. The ships are equipped with battering rams, which are more than 10 zhang long, with huge stones on top, a winch at the bottom, and a rope at the top. When an enemy ship approaches, pulling the rope will send stones flying and hitting the ship, causing great damage. In addition, the ships are also equipped with throwing weapons such as wooden crows, harpoons, and crossbows, as well as long weapons, making it difficult for enemy ships to get close.”

Gong Er Niangzi realized that the ship was equipped with a catapult, and it was a counterweight catapult that could be launched by simply pulling a rope.

What the hell is this? The more I listen, the more something seems off. It sounds like you've stolen the counterweight catapult from the True Lord's sect and installed it on your ship?

At this point, Yue Wenxuan was almost laughing out loud. The vehicle and boat were indeed described in a fantastical way, but the more he listened, the more something seemed off. It was a hodgepodge, not like a proper boat.

However, now is not the time to criticize the ship; we need to listen to the other party's demands.

Yue Wenxuan waved his hand, telling Gong Erniangzi not to worry about whether the ship was real or just a hoax. He then changed the subject and asked, "Since the Great Sage Heavenly King is willing to share his shipbuilding techniques with us, there must be high conditions, right? Tell us your requirements."

The envoy's spirits lifted. Finally, the other side had stopped arguing about the ship and was starting to negotiate! Hey! They had taken a step forward.

He put on a serious face: "Our Chu Kingdom has only one request, which is that after the Northern Song Dynasty can build ships and carts, it can send troops along the Grand Canal to attack the Southern Song Dynasty and join forces with our Chu Kingdom to wipe out the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, we can divide the Southern Song Dynasty's territory in half."

Gong Erniangzi: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan almost burst out laughing again; this was truly hilarious.

The Jin dynasty allied with the Southern Song to attack the Northern Song, but the Chu state wanted to ally with the Northern Song to attack the Southern Song. What kind of mess is this?

Everyone's got their own agenda!
Gong Erniangzi secretly glanced sideways, stealing a look at Yue Wenxuan's expression.

But Yue Wenxuan didn't think much about it, and didn't even bother to think about it. He flatly refused: "This request is something that the Northern Song Dynasty cannot agree to."

Envoy: "Huh? This... such a good suggestion, why not agree? Strategically speaking..."

Yue Wenxuan interrupted him, saying, “Although you call yourselves the State of Chu, you know perfectly well what your true nature is. My Northern Song Dynasty is the legitimate successor to the Song Dynasty. The difference between us and the Southern Song Dynasty is not a conflict of enemies, but a conflict over the fate of our nation. If my Northern Song Dynasty were to join forces with your State of Chu to deal with the Southern Song Dynasty, and then try to divide up our territory afterward, what kind of nonsense would that be? The territory of the Southern Song Dynasty is also the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, which is also the territory of my Northern Song Dynasty. How can I share my own land with outsiders?”

messenger:"!"

Yue Wenxuan: "In the end, you are of no use except for undermining national unity."

The messenger's face darkened.

He understood; they looked down on the State of Chu.

The envoy was slightly angry: "You regard my Chu Kingdom as a thief? Aren't you, the Northern Song Dynasty, a bunch of thieves too? You found some fake prince from somewhere, pretending to be the legitimate ruler of the Song Dynasty, and you actually think you're the rightful heir?"

Yue Wenxuan: "You guys can't even find a fake prince to impersonate, that's even more low-class."

messenger:"……"

Unexpectedly, the other party was so shameless as to openly admit that the prince was an imposter.

The envoy had originally planned to debate with Yue Wenxuan about whether the prince was real or not, but the other party admitted it directly, leaving him momentarily speechless.

The envoy angrily flung his hand away, intending to leave...

Yue Wenxuan said, "Don't rush off, I haven't finished speaking yet."

The envoy said, "You look down on my Chu Kingdom, do you expect me to stand here and listen to your insults? If you want to keep me here, cut off my head."

Yue Wenxuan: "There's no need to chop off your head, I just wanted to have a chat. Do you know? Your Chu Kingdom is already facing a great calamity."

The envoy said, "Hmph! My Chu Kingdom is at the height of its power, and has repeatedly defeated the Southern Song army at Dongting Lake. The Southern Song navy is no match for our forces. How could we be facing such a calamity?"

Yue Wenxuan: "The enemy is always inside."

messenger:"?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Great Sage Heavenly King, your lifestyle has started to go wrong lately, hasn't it?"

Upon hearing this, the messenger's body stiffened for a mere second.

Yue Wenxuan chuckled and said, "The Great Sage Heavenly King's clothing, food, housing and transportation are all extremely luxurious. Even his bed is inlaid with gold and jade. Don't tell me that you, as his envoy, are completely unaware of this."

The messenger's body began to harden!

Clearly, all the muscles in his body are straining; this is a state of anger.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "The Great Sage Heavenly King's life is getting better every day, but his soldiers and the people under his rule are suffering. Oh dear, this is very dangerous. Come, let me tell his fortune..."

After saying that, Yue Wenxuan struck a pose as if he were calculating something with his fingers...

(End of this chapter)