Daily life with the ship girl

"Yes, this port is very prosperous. I wonder how many cargo ships are handled every day. It seems that Xia Country attaches great importance to ocean trade. I just don't know which routes these merchant ships come from. It would be great if our port area could be so popular."

"Admiral, don't you dislike trouble?"

"Yes, but we have to make money even if it's troublesome, otherwise we will starve to death. By the way, you should have taken note of the route we took along the way."

"Yes, everything is recorded. You have worked hard to come out this time. I refueled the reconnaissance plane. The distance from our port to Qiyun Port is about 2,000 nautical miles. I have scouted several important islands and reefs we came to, but there are basically only some abandoned lighthouses on them. I think the reason why Miss Bai slowed down the speed at night is because those lighthouses cannot provide directions for ocean-going ships at night. Therefore, if the admiral wants to establish an ocean route between the port and Qiyun Port in the future, he must consider the repair of the lighthouses on the islands and reefs along the way."

"I see. Did you write all this down?"

"Well, thanks to Nuremberg, she recorded it. Admiral, I think you should agree to their request. If Nuremberg joins the port area, it can also relieve some of your pressure."

"Let's talk about it later." Li Ran glanced at Nuremberg, who was communicating with Hipper at the moment. He withdrew his gaze and waited for the notice to disembark.

Bismarck thought more. After reading the book "Military Wheel", she was deeply confused about one question:

"Admiral, I have actually been thinking about a question along the way. Why are humans so obsessed with regaining control of the sea?"

"Because sea control is related to the communication between us humans and between countries. But in essence, it is still humans who are eyeing the rich resources of the ocean. As long as humans want to move forward, they will never give up the ocean.

As for your insistence on regaining control of the sea, I think it's because those in power hate the deep sea fleet's attacks on merchant ships, or maybe they are afraid that their own positions will be shaken. Maybe it's the greedy nature of human beings that gave rise to the deep sea."

"Admiral, I seem to understand."

"Actually, I'm just talking nonsense. Control of the sea is too complicated to explain. What I want to do now is to solve your sister's problem. These are national affairs, the survival of mankind. To be honest, I'm not a saint or a savior. I don't have such a high level of awareness."

"Well, no matter what, I will always be with the admiral." Bismarck looked at Li Ran's profile, and she understood more and more why she became more and more dependent on and trusting of her admiral. Perhaps it was because this man was not a hypocrite who talked about benevolence and morality, nor was he a despicable villain. He was just her admiral, nothing more, and that was enough.

Bismarck would not be naive enough to hope that her admiral would be the kind of person who would always talk about regaining the dignity of mankind, nor would she want her admiral to be a coward. On the contrary, she would rather hope that her admiral would be someone who dared to speak his mind to his own ship girl. Maybe sometimes this admiral was a little fickle, maybe this admiral was sometimes a little timid, maybe this admiral sometimes had no awareness of being the chief of the port area.

However, she could see all the advantages and disadvantages in Li Ran, so she could understand what kind of person Li Ran was. And because of this understanding, she felt at ease.

Bismarck thought about it, and a smile appeared unconsciously on the corner of his mouth.

Li Ran has become accustomed to getting along with the ship girls, but every time he hears Bismarck, he is still moved. She hums a song:

"How lucky I am to meet you at the most beautiful age without any regrets or pity..."

Bismarck stood beside Li Ran. She listened to Li Ran's humming which was a little out of tune. She listened to the content of the lines and her eyes gradually brightened up.

"Um, sorry, my singing is a bit awful." Li Ran hummed for a while, then realized that his singing was awful. He quickly stopped and scratched his head a little embarrassedly:

"Bismarck, don't be angry. I won't sing next time."

"Not angry, Admiral." Bismarck shook his head slightly, then whispered:

"The lyrics are very well written, Admiral, and I am also lucky to have met you."

However, Bismarck's voice was too soft, barely audible, and Li Ran didn't hear it clearly. He was a little surprised:

"Bismarck, what did you say?"

"Nothing?" Bismarck's face flashed with disappointment, then a trace of relief, and then he regained his composure and said:

"We just got off the boat."

"Well, we're finally here. It's been three days. This ocean voyage is really not something that ordinary people can endure." Li Ran nodded and said:

"By the way, since we are here, we must buy some local specialties this time."

"But Admiral, we don't have any money?" Bismarck said helplessly.

"Oh, I forgot about it because I was in such a hurry to come out." Li Ran slapped his head.

"Admiral, if you don't mind, I can lend you some money." Nuremberg was just about to call Li Ran and Bismarck to get off the ship together, and happened to hear the conversation between the two.

Li Ran felt a little embarrassed, but after thinking about it, he decided that it was more important to buy a gift for his ship girl. He nodded a little embarrassedly and said:

"Thank you very much. I will return it to you as soon as I return to Xiguang Island. Bismarck, please write me an IOU."

"No need to write." Nuremberg waved his hand quickly, then handed a strange black card to Li Ran.

At first glance, Li Ran thought it was a black gold merchant card, but after a closer look, it turned out not to be a black card issued by the Free Trade Alliance, with cloud patterns on it. Then he heard Nuremberg say:

"This is a diamond-level Freedom Cloud Card. It contains hundreds of thousands of Ocean Coins. It should be enough for the Admiral to buy some local specialties."

"This is too much." Li Ran was a little confused. What kind of person is Nuremberg? He is so rich, even richer than himself.

Bismarck was also shocked.

"Admiral, please use it first. Now, let's get off the boat. Miss Bai and the others are getting impatient waiting."

Nuremberg said as he handed the Freedom Cloud Card to Bismarck, and then got off the boat before Li Ran and Bismarck could react.

"Now, I'm afraid I owe her another favor." Li Ran looked at the black card in Bismarck's hand and said helplessly.

Bismarck also felt that the card was heavy. She blamed herself for not thinking carefully enough about this trip, which put the admiral in a dilemma. She gritted her teeth and said:

"How about I give it back to her?"

"No need. At worst, we can spend less this time. The port area should still have more than 10,000 Ocean Coins. As long as it's within this limit, there will be no problem. Let's go. I haven't seen so many seaport cities. This time I must take a good look around."

"Admiral, don't forget the purpose of our visit."

"I know~"

Chapter 159: Arrival at the Governor's Mansion

The moment he stepped onto Xiaguo Wharf, Li Ran had an illusion of dreaming, because he felt like he had returned to World War II. There were not many high-tech products here. There were quaint Chinese buildings on both sides of the street, and there were some tin cars on the road. In the early morning, many stores were still closed.

Li Ran strolled along the bluestone streets. After leaving the dock, he felt as if he had walked into Britain in the 1920s and 1930s.

It seems that the technological level of this world is roughly the same as that of Earth during World War II. No wonder after the emergence of the deep sea, the maritime power of various countries fell into the hands of others.

"Admiral?" Bismarck looked at Li Ran who had been silent all the way and felt a little strange.

"What's the matter?" Li Ran came back to his senses and looked at Bismarck.

"Are you worried?"

"It's okay. By the way, where are we going?"

"do not know."

"I'll go ask." Li Ran frowned. He and Bai Nuoyan had already left the dock for a long distance. He walked to Bai Nuoyan:

"Where are we going?"

Bai Nuoyan came to her senses when she heard Li Ran's question and quickly explained:

"The Governor's Mansion, the Governor's Mansion of the Far East Theater. Look at my memory, I forgot to tell you that the Governor's Mansion of the Far East Theater is separate from the Governor's Mansion. The Governor's Mansion of the Far East Theater is in the Polaris Islands not far southwest of Qiyun Port, but we just missed it when we came south."

"Isn't the Governor's Office located in the garrison?" Li Ran was a little surprised.

"No, the governor is the marshal of a war zone after all. If the governor's office is set up in the garrison, the governor will be annoyed to death. If it were you, would you like someone to disturb your life with the ship girl every other day?"

"That's true, but doesn't it say that the admiral cannot interfere in national politics or military affairs?"

"That's right. The Governor's Office of the Far East War Zone was set up in Qiyun Port not because of the Governor's original intention, but because of a special request from the Xia Kingdom's royal family. You don't know the nickname of Qiyun Port yet, right?"

"What nickname?"

"Pearl of the Far East, this is the only special port among the seven war zones where ship girls can enter and exit freely. Other countries have strict control over seaport cities, and only Qiyun Port is an exception. This is also a place where the Xia Kingdom's royal family is quite unique."

"Oh." Li Ran seemed to understand, after all, he was not a native of this world, and he didn't know much about these customs and national conditions.

Bai Nuoyan also felt a little emotional. She hadn't been to the Far East for a few years. After all, Sihai Trading Company was in a hurry at that time. Not to mention expanding the business, even preserving the industry was very precarious. She thought about it and then said:

"We will cross this Qiyun South Street and arrive at the Far East Governor's Office. I haven't been here for a long time, and it has changed a lot. You don't know, if you came here a few years ago, it was very chaotic, with gangs and boat gangs fighting each other.

At that time, the Xia royal family was overwhelmed by the deep-sea attacks on coastal cities, and Qiyun Port was a forgotten place.

However, since the status of the Far East Governor was recognized by the whole world, Qiyun Port has also jumped from the world's dirtiest and most chaotic port to the most prosperous and beautiful city in the Far East."

"So it's called the Pearl of the Far East?" Li Ran thought of the Magic City unconsciously. He felt as if he was in another world.

Bai Nuoyan turned around, looked at the tallest building in the entire port city, and said:

"Yes, Pearl of the Far East, you should have noticed the tallest navigation lighthouse at the dock just now, right?"

"I really didn't notice it." Li Ran scratched his head, then followed Bai Nuoyan's gaze and found a towering navigation lighthouse with a striking bright white tower.

Bai Nuoyan looked at the towering navigation lighthouse that looked like a giant, and she said with emotion:

"This is the world's first navigation lighthouse that does not require manual operation. It is called the Qiyun Lighthouse. It was built after the Governor of the Far East came to Qiyun Port. I heard that the light source core is made of cheaper lard, which replaced the whale oil commonly used in navigation lighthouses before. It can be said that a lot of costs have been saved.

It’s just a pity that in the century after the emergence of the deep-sea fleet, many lighthouses responsible for navigating merchant ships at night were destroyed by the deep sea, so we saw so many remains of navigation lighthouses on islands and reefs in dangerous waters along the way.”

Li Ran seemed to be thinking about something. He thought for a while and said:

"I see. I was just talking to Bismarck about this. However, these navigation lighthouses are the eyes of maritime trade at night."

Bai Nuoyan retracted her gaze, then walked forward, saying, "Yes, in the years when I was doing business, I heard many tragedies of merchant ships that were not attacked by deep sea, but because they did not have the guidance of navigation lighthouses at night, they deviated from the established routes and ran aground and lost people. However, now the status of ship girls has been gradually recognized by countries around the world, and there are no strict restrictions on ship girls entering the territories of various countries as before, so the losses of sea merchants have also been reduced a lot under the escort of ship girls.

However, the problem of navigation lighthouses has not been solved. After all, there are no garrisons between many sea areas. Even if lighthouses are built on some islands and reefs, if no one maintains them regularly, they may be destroyed by deep-sea attacks one day. This has become a headache for all countries. "

"There's nothing we can do. Not everyone has the determination to defend every inch of territory." Li Ran said, thinking of how admirable the soldiers of the Republic were in defending the country on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

Unfortunately, this is not the Earth. This world is a world with deep sea and ship girls that cannot be viewed from a scientific perspective. Li Ran thought about it and felt that it would be a bit stupid to send people to those uninhabited islands and reefs if countries could not even preserve their navy.

"Yes, humanity is in a very difficult situation now. Although the scale of ocean trade is very large now, this kind of ocean trade line is actually very fragile. Someone once did a survey, which found that the accident rate of maritime merchants in the sea areas with and without garrisons is more than ten times different. It can be said that if there is no escort of ship girls in the ocean trade now, eight out of ten fleets will never return." Bai Nuoyan said, feeling a little disappointed. After all, many guys of Sihai Trading Company also died in deep-sea attacks on caravans.

Li Ran couldn't help but be silent.

"Let's not talk about these depressing topics. Look, if we cross the street, the building opposite is the Governor-General's Office of the Far East." Bai Nuoyan calmed herself down and said to Li Ran.

Li Ran followed Bai Nuoyan's gaze and saw a building with a very elegant construction style. It looked like a court. He asked:

"Why do I feel that this Governor's Palace looks like a court?"

Bai Nuoyan smiled, then tidied up her hair that was messed up by the wind, and said:

"You guessed it right. Qiyun Port belongs to Qixia Province, one of the 16 provinces of Xia State. Qixia Province is rich in the world-famous Qixia granite. Have you seen that building? It's called Caixia Building. Its exterior is made of high-quality granite from Qixia Province, and the roof is covered with red tiles.

Originally this was the seat of the provincial court and provincial government of Qixia Province. However, because it was too close to the ocean and was attacked by the deep sea several times, the Xia royal family moved the provincial capital inland for safety reasons. Later, when the Governor-General of the Far East took office, the Xia royal family used this building as the office of the Governor-General and sent people to repair and renovate it.

Even the world-renowned architectural magazine "Immortal Aesthetics" said that "The Far East Governor's Palace is solemn and elegant, beautiful and solid. Under the sunset glow of Qixia Province, it is like a paradise on earth. It is the most famous representative of classical architecture in the world and a must-go dating destination for couples."

By the way, I also looked up some information about the Governor's Office. I heard that in order to build this building, the Xia royal family specially opened up several quarries near Qiyun Mountain in Qixia Province, and built many kilns in the north of Qiyun Port to burn bricks and tiles for building the building.

You can see that the planning and design of the building's surroundings are also very decent. The building faces north and south, and there are 6 roads radiating from left to right in front of the building. The south is right opposite to Qiyun South Street where we are standing now, and with Qiyun South Street as the axis, the surrounding roads are symmetrical.

By the way, if you want to build a port area for the garrison in the future, you can also ask this governor for advice. He is an architectural genius. I heard that half of the Governor's Mansion was built by him personally, and this matter has become a great story in the world."

Although Bai Nuoyan comes from a merchant family, she has excellent family education and she herself is very knowledgeable. This is why she has always been respected as a girl on the sea. When talking about the Far East Governor's Mansion, she can talk endlessly.

Li Ran was not annoyed. After all, this was part of the authentic customs and practices of this world. He looked at the exquisite and elegant building and said with some envy:

"If I have money in the future, I will definitely build the Dawn Tutelary Fort into the most beautiful one."

"Then I am looking forward to it." Bai Nuoyan chuckled and said:

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's go. It's customary for the admiral to pay a visit to the governor first after arriving at Qiyun Port."

"Oh, so that's how it is. I was wondering why you came here instead of going straight to your father. So there is such a rule?"

"It's not really a rule. This is a custom only in Qiyun Port. Other places don't have so many rules."

"Well, let's go. There are a lot of people here. But we are not wearing admiral uniforms. Can we go in?"

"Aren't you bringing Bismarck with you? If you have the ship girl with you, there will be no one else besides the admiral, and your soul frequency band has been accepted by the admiral's world network. As long as you state your identity, someone in the Governor's Office will naturally verify the authenticity of your identity. You don't have to worry about this."

Li Ran nodded, then followed Bai Nuoyan's footsteps to the square outside the Governor's Mansion. There were many people feeding pigeons in the square in the early morning, and as time passed, more and more people came to the square.

He looked at Bismarck without saying a word, and thought he had ignored her, but when he saw her gentle face, he became curious:

"What are you looking at?"

"Admiral, that's a ship girl, she's very cute."

"KanColle?" Li Ran looked carefully and only saw a few little newspaper boys.

"She's gone. Maybe we'll meet again in the future." Bismarck's expression softened a little. She felt that she would not make a mistake. Although she had never been to this place, she had an impression of all the ship girls of Country G deep in her memory. The one just now must be her.

"Well, let's go." Although Li Ran was curious, he didn't ask too many questions. After all, there were so many ship girls here, and it was not surprising that Bismarck knew a few of them.

Chapter 160: Meeting is Lucky

Li Ran followed Bai Nuoyan's footsteps and crossed the square. He looked at the increasing number of people around him with interest. They were dressed in different clothes. There were many traditional clothes similar to those of China, such as Hanfu, cheongsam, etc., and there were also many foreigners wearing other clothes. He said with some emotion:

“This is truly an international city.”

Bai Nuoyan was also very emotional.

"You are right. Qiyun City, where Qiyun Port is located, is not only the first ocean city in the Far East, but also one of the ten most famous international port cities in the world. Its prosperity is no less than that of the Port of Nile in New England, and the scale of its ocean trade is second only to the Port of Rodleste in the Atlantic Blue Cost Empire.