The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 315
A fierce light flashed in Sassanid King Ardashir's slender and deep-set eyes, and he clenched his hands tightly into a ball. The piece of wood that recorded the information of the warship from the Yue Kingdom broke into two pieces with a "snap". With this sound, the spy who was standing bent over in front of him trembled, and knelt down on the ground with a "plop".

Ardashir's breathing became thicker, which was a sign that he was going to kill someone. The secret agent fell on the ground, not daring to move, sweating profusely, and soon the loess under his body was soaked.

"Get up, let's go." Ardashir suppressed his anger from above his head, and the spy kowtowed hurriedly as if he was being pardoned, then turned around and fled as if flying.

Ardasil looked at the puddle of sweat under his feet, lowered his head in frustration, spread his palms, looked at the piece of wood that he had crushed into pieces, and muttered: "Is there really no way to find out about the Yue people?" The secret of the battleship?"

Several important ministers did not dare to say anything, and even Akaz, the younger brother most trusted by Ardashir, kept his mouth shut.From the day when the Sasanian Dynasty was established, Ardashir began to pay attention to the surrounding information. Originally, the Yue Kingdom did not enter his sight. After all, Tianzhu was far enough away, but the Yue Kingdom was still outside Tianzhu. For Sassan For Shan, the existence of the Yue Kingdom had no influence on him. Even if Alexander reached the Ganges, he only controlled the northern part of Tianzhu, and there were still large tracts of land that had not been conquered. Vietnam will never have any intersection.

However, all this was quickly broken, not because of the envoys of the Yue State—it is not unusual for the city to be closed in Taixi often has envoys from distant countries—but because the warships of the Yue people occupied the sea, However, Han merchants monopolized maritime trade. Whether it was the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf, almost overnight, almost all the goods came from Han merchants.

The first thing they feel is that the quantity of spices has decreased, but the price has risen. Although spices were already very expensive in the past, as long as they have money, it is not difficult to buy them, but it is different now. Now that they have money, they may not be able to buy them. Of course, the spices that can be bought are all high-quality spices, and you will never want to buy those cheap defective products.

Along with the spices, there are also exquisite silks, beautiful glassware and porcelain, each of which is a fine product, and each of which can make people believe that these are rare treasures. I couldn't bear to let it go anymore, so I could only obediently pay for it.Ardashir is a smart man. When many people are addicted to the exquisite goods brought by Han merchants, he has already sensed the crisis: In this way, a large amount of currency will be taken away by Han merchants, and it will not be much. Sasanian’s There will be problems in the economy.

At that time, Ardashir agreed to establish a communication business with the Yue people, and at the same time started building ships, preparing to compete with the Yue people for the right to trade at sea.The first item went well, but the second item was stranded at the beginning of its progress. The reason was that Ardashir found that even if his warship was built, he could not win the supremacy of the sea. The reason was simple. The boat is about the same. It is inherited from the Phoenician warship. No matter in terms of length, width or the number of soldiers on board, it is not the opponent of the Yue people. , even if he can recruit excellent sailors and improve his combat effectiveness, but in front of the powerful warship of Yueren, it is basically a dream for him to win.

Ardashir stopped building the ship. He had to find out what the warship of the Yueren looked like before proceeding to imitate and upgrade it. At least he had to build a warship similar to the Yueren before thinking about going to war with the Yueren. For this reason, he sent a large number of spies to contact Han merchants in various ways and contact with Vietnamese soldiers who went ashore for entertainment, hoping to get news from them.Ardasil was very surprised at the beginning. The warships of the Yue Kingdom were about fifty Han feet, equivalent to 150 cubits, which was twice as long as the Roman warships and could carry thousands of people. With weapons of this size, Yue Ren's warships have enough advantages in naval battles where collision is the main tactic.

What made Ardashir even more depressing was that he sent a large number of spies, but he couldn't find out about the weapons of the Yue people. In the end, he sent people on the warships of the Yue Kingdom, but he only saw the weapons on the medium-sized warships from a distance. The ballista, the weapons on the main warship still can't see anything, all they can see is the frame on the deck, it can be inferred that Yueren's weapons are hidden below the deck, and if they want to see the length of the weapons below the deck No matter what, it is extremely difficult, sacrificed a few of the best spies, but still got nothing.

It's not that Ardashir didn't want to kill people. He had already killed a dozen people, but it still didn't work. This meant that it wasn't that these spies were incompetent, but that the Yue people were really tight-lipped.

Thinking of this, Ardashir became very angry. Without the secret of the Yue people's warship, he would not be able to compete with the Yue people on the sea, and he would not be able to regain the right to trade at sea.He may be able to rule the roost on land, but without sea trade, Sassan is like a weaned child, who may grow up, but certainly not very strong.

Ardashir was very angry, but he was not an impulsive person. He knew that he could not turn against the Yue people until he had enough strength. Otherwise, once the Yue people cut off the trade route from the sea, Sassan would soon die It will be in trouble, not to mention fighting against Rome, even survival will be affected to a certain extent.

What's even more frightening is that if the Yue people and the Romans join hands, it will definitely be a big obstacle to his great cause of rebuilding the Persian Empire.

Ardasil pondered for a long time, and after discussing with the High Priest of the Jacko Sect, he decided to temporarily accept the mediation of the Yueren, and to further establish a good relationship with the Yueren, to see if he could take the opportunity to learn about the situation of the Yueren warships, and then try to plan.

Ardasil personally wrote a beautifully worded letter to Sun Shao, praising Sun Shao's kindness, and then expressed his eagerness to meet Sun Shao at sea, and at the same time sent two good horses to show his respect.

……

Lu Xun stroked his beard with one hand and held up a book in the other. He read by bright candlelight. Maybe it was because he used his eyes too much. Books have always been famous for their "paper as white as cotton, characters as big as money".The potbellied Sun Xiuying sat opposite, looking at her husband who had turned black, she was full of joy: "Are you going to leave this time?"

"I don't know." Lu Xun stretched out his finger, dipped some saliva on his lips, turned a page of the book, glanced over the page, glanced at the smiling Sun Xiuying, and twitched the corner of his mouth: "How about Temucheng? I don’t think it’s as good as Yangon, let alone New Wucheng.”

New Wu City is a city built by Lu Xun at the southern foot of the Himalayas. Like Sun Shao's summer palace, it has a very mild climate.Sun Xiuying took Lu Kang there every summer to escape the heat, and the child in her belly was conceived last year.

"The new Wucheng is good, but it's too deserted. Except for the soldiers, there are still soldiers, so there's no bustling in the special pastoral city." Sun Xiuying said with a smile: "Do you think Kang'er is the same, as soon as he returns to the special pasture city, he likes it so much , I don’t want to come back to kindergarten these days.”

"What can I learn in kindergarten? Let him come back tomorrow, and I will teach myself." Lu Xun said disapprovingly, "I don't know about Zhou Gongjin's daughter's knowledge? I read the "New Classic of Mountains and Seas" written by her every issue. The writing is just average."

"You have a high level of vision, so why don't you write a book for me to read?" Sun Xiuying smiled. Although her tone was dissatisfied, she was sweet in her heart. Of course, she felt that Lu Xun's level was better than Zhou Yu's. If Lu Xun was willing to teach him personally Lu Kang's reading is of course the best.

"I don't have that much time to spare." Lu Xun put down his book and rubbed his eyes.Sun Xiuying hurriedly got up and moved over, knelt down behind Lu Xun, and stretched out her hands to rub his shoulders. Lu Xun held her hand behind his back and persuaded, "Just let the maidservant come. You are pregnant, so why bother."

"No!" Sun Xiuying said angrily, "I just won't let those barbarians and Japanese girls touch you, and you don't even think about taking them as concubines. If you want to take concubines, I'll find some women from good families for you."

"Who wants to take a concubine?" Lu Xun smiled and let go of his hand.Sun Xiuying gently pinched his shoulder socket, happiness was revealed from her eyes undisguised.Lu Xun is the mountain in her eyes, she must firmly surround this mountain, and cannot let other women go around.Thinking of this, she blamed her younger brother, Sun Shao, for coming up with such a bad idea and encouraging men to take concubines. Now, as long as men in Yue country have some skills, they will marry one or two concubines.Lu Xun didn't mention it, but seeing other people's families giving birth one after another, she was actually very anxious. After giving birth to Lu Kang five years ago, she never got pregnant. In a hurry.

Knowing that the son of the Yi girl can't compete with her son for the inheritance, it is in her interest, but she still hopes that Lu Xun can have a few more real descendants of the Han people, not those bastards.Although the laws of Yue State did not explicitly say so, everyone knew that these bastards would definitely not be able to be compared with the real descendants of the Han people in the future.In the face of the interests of the Lu family and her own favor, she finally chose the former.

"Father!" Lu Kang, who was wearing a double bun, ran in from the outside and stood panting under the hall, his face was flushed red. He looked at Lu Xun and pointed to the door, wanting to say something, but only focused on Zhang Da. Mouth gasped, did not say it.

"What's going on, such a gaffe?" Lu Xun sullenly sullenly.

"My... Your Majesty is here." Lu Kang was taken aback, the joy on his face disappeared, he stood up straight, his hands neatly arched in front of his chest, like a petty scholar-bureaucrat.Lu Xun's expression eased just now. When he heard that it was Sun Shao who came, he couldn't help being surprised. He was about to stand up to meet him, but after thinking about it, he sat back down again. He just straightened up, turned around and said to Sun Xiuying: "Madam, your majesty is here." Alright, you avoid it."

Sun Xiuying hesitated to speak, she wanted to say that her brother was here, so there was nothing to avoid, but Lu Xun had such a temper, so she could only follow along, got up and pulled Lu Kang to go into the inner room.

"Hey, third sister, why did you run away when you saw me? Is it convenient for you to have such a big belly?" Sun Shao, dressed in casual clothes, rushed into the main hall with a stride, supported Sun Xiuying and smiled, "Why, take me away?" Are you an outsider?"

Sun Xiuying helplessly winked at Lu Xun who was sitting upright, and whispered: "You talk first, and then my sister invites you to dinner."

"Hahaha..." Sun Shaosong let go of Sun Xiuying, flicked his front, and sat down across from Lu Xun with a big red face, and said with a smile, "Brother-in-law is such a big family rule, is it possible that Kang'er was the most praised by the teacher in the kindergarten, and compared with him , Those few in my family are simply wild monkeys."

Without changing his expression, Lu Xun tidied his clothes, and bowed respectfully: "General Wu, Foreign Minister Xun, pay homage to His Royal Highness the King of Yue."

Sun Shao was taken aback for a moment, and the smile on his face froze.Sun Xiuying, who had already reached the back wall, also sighed silently when she heard this, stood for a while, and then quietly left.

Sun Shao looked at Lu Xun who was lying on the ground, was silent for a moment, then smiled again, and without asking Lu Xun to get up, he raised his hand and said, "Jingfeng, come in, and make the coffee first, your uncle is still waiting for you." I have to kneel for a while, he has many rules."

Lu Kai came in with a set of coffee-making utensils in his hand, looked at Lu Xun who was kneeling on the ground, and said no to him, no no to no, finally he had no choice but to bow while holding the utensils, without making a sound, he walked aside, Light the fire and make coffee.Sun Shao didn't say a word, watching Lu Kai busy, as if he forgot that Lu Xun was still kneeling aside, until Lu Kai finished making the fragrant coffee, he took a cup first, and then motioned to the sweaty Lu Kai to give it to him. Lu Xun took a cup to go.

Lu Kai gave a silent wry smile, walked up to Lu Xun with a cup of coffee on a white Yuzhang porcelain plate, knelt down on the ground, and said softly, "Uncle, the king gave you coffee."

Lu Xun was already kneeling until his legs were numb, his waist was sore, his hands were trembling uncontrollably, but he refused to let it go, and thanked him sternly: "Thank you for your gift." Then he straightened up, took the coffee, and just Some couldn't handle it, and almost splashed on him, but fortunately Lu Kai held it up in time.

Sun Shao sipped the coffee with relish, watched Lu Xun take a small sip elegantly, and said with a soft smile, "General Lu, how does it taste?"

"Excellent." Lu Xun took a sip of coffee, and his pale face suddenly recovered. He took a breath, and praised: "It must be a new high-quality product." When he was fighting in Tianzhu , because he often stays up late to read documents, and drinking coffee to refresh himself is already essential. This is one of the few habits he has changed.

"It was sent by the Romans. It is wild coffee from Axum (the ancient country of Ethiopia). It is said that it can only produce a few pounds a year." Sun Shao put down his cup and said with a smirk: "I know you are good at coffee, so I specially sent it to you. Come share with you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Lu Xun was still calm and calm.

"You're welcome, it's only this one time anyway." Sun Shao waved his hand with a smile: "The quantity is limited, I can only ask you to taste it."

Lu Xun frowned slightly, but his expression was a little regretful. He had already felt the uniqueness of this coffee after tasting it just now, but unexpectedly, he could only taste it once.It's just that he has a lot of kung fu in cultivating his character, and at a thought, he suddenly felt that he had committed a greedy thought, so he quickly reflected on it in his heart.

Sun Shao saw his expression, just smiled lightly, but didn't point it out.He gently put the thin cup on the case, and was silent for a moment: "Does the general know where these porcelain cups come from and who supervised them?"

Lu Xun shook his head. Although it was not the first time for him to use such exquisite porcelain cups, he also knew that these porcelains came from Wu country, but he didn't know where they came from, let alone who supervised the production. , Who supervised the production has nothing to do with him.

"It was supervised by Zigao." Sun Shao sighed faintly: "Zigao wrote a letter the day before yesterday, saying that he finally had some experience in making porcelain, and he is preparing to write a book "Yuzhang Porcelain Art", which will describe the process of porcelain in detail. Burning technology, now I am going to write 30 volumes, one volume a year, and finish it in [-] years."

Lu Xun raised his head in astonishment, and looked directly at Sun Shao: "Why?"

"When people are alive, they always have to find something to do." Sun Shao picked up his coffee cup again, and while drinking, he looked at Lu Xun: "Does General Lu have any similar plans?"

Lu Xun looked at Sun Shao blankly, not knowing what Sun Shao meant.Sun Shao looked at him for a while, smiled, shook his hand, and winked at Lu Kai.Lu Kai hurried out of the hall, took a brocade box from Lang Guan who was waiting in the hall, then returned to the hall, knelt on the ground, opened the brocade box, took out a roll of silk books from it, spread it on the ground, and slowly unfolded it.Lu Xun squinted his eyes, looked at the silk book that was gradually opened, and stared at it for a moment, then let out a soft breath: "The map of the four kingdoms of Rome, Sassanid, Guishuang, and Han?"

"Exactly." Lu Kai glanced at Lu Xun with admiration. When he first saw the map, he was stunned for a long time. There are many people who know the approximate location of the four countries, but they are so familiar with their relative positions. Clear but very limited.Sun Shao should know about it, and Chen Hai, Cui Qian, and Yue Hai, who often escorted to the Red Sea, should also know about it, but Lu Xun has never been in contact with similar information, and he can tell it at a glance, which can only show that he is usually familiar with these things. Did a lot of prep work.

Sun Shao put away his smile and said seriously: "King Sasan accepted my mediation and is willing to sit down and negotiate with the four countries. This is not in line with his usual disposition. If something goes wrong, it is a demon. I must be prepared to respond." Prepare. As you know, I never place my hopes on the shoulders of outsiders."

He looked at Lu Xun, and bit the word "outsider" very hard. Lu Xun raised his eyebrows and immediately understood what Sun Shao meant, but he didn't make a sound, as if he didn't hear anything, but just looked at the map intently.

Sun Shao was a little disappointed, he had explained the situation so clearly, Lu Xun was still stubborn, did you really think I couldn't find another person to preside over this matter?That's right, Cui Qian and the others can charge forward, and it's okay to sit on one side, but things like this caught between Sasanian and Rome are not something they can handle, but this does not mean that the Yue Kingdom cannot find suitable talents , people like Shen Xuan and Zhang Wen are more suitable candidates. The reason why he chose Lu Xun is because he knows that he is still a gem that is far from shining as it should be, so he must be given a chance. Of course, in this It is also inevitable because compared to other people, he believes in Lu Xun who is related to him.

But Lu Xun didn't appreciate it, so we have to talk about it. It is really impossible for him to entrust this task to the shoulders of an outsider.

　Sorry for the lateness!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)