Chapter 298 Don’t Forget Your Basics
But calling it a pirate ship seems a bit wrong.
While following them from Yizhou to Xuzhou, Gan Ning also learned something from their conversation. These young people who were studying in Leping Academy would successively serve under Qiao Yan after completing this practice in Xuzhou.
Even if he does not hold a specific official position in the court, he is still considered a direct subordinate of the Grand Marshal of the current dynasty.
This cannot be called a pirate ship, but a quasi-official ship.
But when Gan Ning thought of this, he felt that he was indeed a little stupid.
Whether it was a quasi-official ship or not had nothing to do with the situation he was facing right now.
Even with the support of the Grand Marshal, you can't just turn the Huai River ferry into a sea vessel!
Don’t look too far back. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, there were records of seven sea patrols. He repeatedly tried to sail from Donglai to search for sea immortals. He also opened up routes from Liaodong to the mouth of the Bailun River and the Xuwen-Hepu route. Looking more recently, during the reign of Emperor Xiaohuan, envoys from the Qin Dynasty came from the sea and brought with them a batch of rare treasures.
HNA remains mysterious and extremely dangerous.
Gan Ning is good at appearing and disappearing among the white waves on the river with ever-changing whirlpools, but it does not mean that he can adapt so well when the place is changed from river to sea.
He is a brocade sail pirate, not a four-masted sail pirate!
But he was already here, and had been brought by this group of young people to see the big ship, so he still had to hold on to some unrealistic hope. After all, the possibility of turning around and running away at this time was not very high.
So when Lü Lingju asked him about this boat, he replied: "Are you going to imitate Emperor Xiaowu who built a tower ship in Kunming Lake and flew across Hongze Lake with the navy?"
Hongze Lake is located in the Huaihe River Basin, which is also the place where Tao Qian, the former governor of Xuzhou, lost his life. It is understandable that the ships here were built larger, because Emperor Wu of Han did such a thing anyway.
He dug a pool with a radius of 40 miles southwest of Chang'an City, and stored tower ships in it for training purposes. The last and largest tower ship was ten feet high without the flags, and was shaped like a hut.
It was precisely because of the large-scale development of tower ships at this time that tower ships became a general term for warships, and naval generals were named tower ship generals from then on.
If this explanation is given, Gan Ning will still find it makes sense.
However, just as he finished speaking, Taishi Ci on the other side looked at him as if he was a fool and said, "If it is as you said, why should we build the ship in Hailing instead of Hongze Lake?"
If it was just a small boat, it would still be possible to transport it this way, but if it was a large ship of this size, it would obviously have to sail out from the nearby Yangtze River waterway and transport it by land...
Not to mention whether it is too difficult, just the level of conspicuousness is not much different from telling everyone openly.
Gan Ning still did not give up and asked: "So you want to use the tower ships to approach the river and intimidate Jiangdong?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Lingju, who had already climbed onto the boat, poked his head out from the side of the boat and shouted at him from above: "Gan Xingba! Why can't you be more ambitious! If you want to prove that the navy of the south is stronger than that of the north, of course you have to fight across the sea to show your heroic qualities."
"Our target is Gongsun Du from Liaodong."
At this time, in the shipyard, all the shipbuilding workers who had been sent from Yizhou and Chang'an, as well as those who were recruited locally and strictly controlled, had been evacuated from here one after another, leaving only the visitors.
When Lu Lingju said this, an echo rang out among the surrounding rooftops, making Gan Ning feel very annoyed.
Gongsun Du?
What's the point of beating Gongsun Du?
This is much more unreliable than what they said about going to attack Ryukyu!
If you set out from Donglai to Liaodong via the Bohai Sea, you may still get lost halfway, not to mention that you have to set out from Xuzhou, sail on the East China Sea first, and then enter the Bohai Sea!
Gan Ning looked at the figure on the boat who was exploring the ship's condition with great interest, and became very suspicious. Was it really a coincidence that he heard the conversation between Lu Lingju and Lu Yi at that time, or was he tricked by the provocation of these two little devils?
If they really thought that the navy in the south was not so powerful, how could they have thought of building ships here and sending the navy across the sea to the north to fight Gongsun Du!
But there was obviously not much meaning in saying this at this time. Thinking of the unreliability of this long-distance voyage goal, even though Gan Ning was aware that he was used to being willful and frivolous, he still couldn't help but turn to Jia Xu's direction.
In this team, this person is not only a teacher, but also looks mature and steady, so he has to give a definite answer.
"Mr. Wenhe, is this what you mean? Is it too difficult to choose such a goal for students? The wind and waves on the sea are ever-changing and the direction is uncertain. How can we ensure that we can arrive in Liaodong smoothly instead of drifting on the sea from now on?"
Jia Xu calmly replied: "This is not my intention, but yours."
Gan Ning was about to ask again when Zhuge Liang, who was standing next to Jia Xu, added, "Gongsun Du of Liaodong thinks he is far away from the Central Plains and wants to be the king of Liaodong. If we don't attack him, he will sooner or later join forces with Goguryeo, Buyeo and Wuhuan and establish his own regime. If we let him become powerful, even if we defeat Yuan Shao and recover the Central Plains, it will be difficult to recover Liaodong as soon as possible. It is better to take advantage of his rebellious intentions, build chariots, equip him with feathered cavalry, and conspire with his subordinates to confer him a title of nobility, so as to shock and capture him. Perhaps he can still help us."
I don’t know if it was Gan Ning’s illusion, but when Zhuge Liang talked about becoming the king of Liaodong, establishing his own regime, and building chariots, he felt that the other party was not talking about Gongsun Du, but Liu Yan.
But looking at the calm expression of this mature young man, it seemed that he didn't mean anything.
Just when he was somewhat convinced by this reason, he heard Lu Lingju's voice coming from above, "This must be the compass car on the ship. If you still get lost like this, you should go home and work as soon as possible."
The compass car on the ship?
Gan Ning's eyelids jumped and he looked in the direction of the sound. He saw Lu Yi, who was still staying on the side of the ship, pointing out the way to get on the ship.
He sighed and took the rope ladder thrown towards him.
It really cannot be blamed on him that he was so easily persuaded by such an absurd cross-sea plan. If there is anything to blame, it is the unanimous performance of these shrewd children, which made him feel that the Northern Expedition against Gongsun Du was a must, and that it was an action that he had to do and was not impossible to do.
Of course, he didn't know that after he boarded the ship, Taishi Ci asked Zhuge Liang, "When did Gongsun Du build a chariot, assemble feathered cavalry, and seek to be granted a title of nobility?"
Due to geographical conditions, none of the spies that Qiao Yan sent to various places actually reached Liaodong.
Modern Liaodong is famous for its black soil, but it is still a sparsely populated area. If someone who is not originally from this place suddenly appears, the possibility of not arousing suspicion is very low.
Therefore, from the first year of Jian'an to the present day, news from Liaodong and its vassal states has rarely reached the Central Plains.
Taishi Ci thought about the situation when he and Bing Yuan had just left Liaodong. It seemed to be different from what Zhuge Liang told Gan Ning?
Zhuge Liang replied: "This is a different time. In the past, because Your Majesty was still in Youzhou, Gongsun Zan had to migrate to Liaoxi, where his clan was located, and became a close neighbor of Gongsun Du. With tigers and wolves around, and an unjust reputation, Gongsun Du had to protect himself and accumulate strength first."
"Now that Gongsun Zan has advanced to Yuyang and is confronting General Wenyuan at Juyongguan, Gongsun Du has had a chance to catch his breath. The situation has changed, and his development in Liaodong is much smoother than in his early years."
"I heard that he started out as a minor official in Xuantu County. Because his old name was the same as the son of the former Xuantu prefect, he was favored by the prefect and had the opportunity to study. He eventually became the prefect. Such a person either knows the hardships of the lower class, or is tempted by wealth and fame."
"When he first became the governor of Liaodong, although he made Liaodong stable as General Ziyi said, and made it a place where scholars could escape disasters, he whipped Xiangping County Magistrate Gongsun Zhao to death in the street because of an argument. Because the Liaodong noble family Tian did him little favors during their dealings with him, he exterminated more than ten families. It was probably the latter."
"The current situation is favorable to him, which will undoubtedly encourage his greed and cunning spirit."
Taishi Ci listened attentively. Thinking of the situation of the local tyrants in Liaodong, he felt that it was indeed what Zhuge Liang said. However, he saw that the young man changed his calm judgment and said in a leisurely tone: "Of course, the above are just inferences before meeting Gongsun Kang. It's good enough if it can be used to convince Gan Xingba."
Zhuge Liang's calm look could be translated as it didn't matter if his inference was wrong, because it wouldn't change their goal of intimidating Gongsun Du as Qiao Yan said.
"..." Taishi Ci was silent for a while, then said, "I'll go aboard and take a look at the compass chariot, too."
Thank God, he was not like Gan Ning, who was fooled.
But if we have to say, what Zhuge Liang said was not a blind inference.
Since the battle between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan at the end of the Guangxi period, which ended with Liu Yu withdrawing from Youzhou and ascending the throne in Chang'an, Gongsun Du realized that this might be his chance.
The power he developed in Liaodong over the years finally had the possibility to continue to take off after getting rid of powerful enemies.
Although the position of Marquis of Liaodong was bestowed on Tadun of Wuhuan by the court of Yecheng, this guy's power was far less than before after he suffered heavy casualties in Yuyang.
Therefore, relying on the people that Gongsun Du had won over by enforcing harsh laws in Liaodong, and relying on the talents that Liaodong had attracted as a place to take refuge, Gongsun Du first sent troops to conquer Fuyu, and then married a daughter of his clan to Fuyu's ruler Wei Choutai, thus forming an alliance.
According to the current power disparity between the foreign tribes on the border and the Han Dynasty, and Gongsun Du's move of using force first and courtesy later, the initiative in this alliance naturally lies in Gongsun Du's hands.
This happened in the first year of Jian'an.
Then in the second year of Jian'an, Gongsun Du joined forces with Wei Choutai to continue expanding eastward and attack Goguryeo.
In this battle to show off his power, Gongsun Du, who was from Xuantu and had served as an official in Xuantu County, knew Goguryeo very well.
Even though the Goguryeo people were described in Han records as "vicious, strong, accustomed to fighting, and fond of looting", the Goguryeo leader Bogu still fled in embarrassment and was forced to surrender to Liaodong.
In the autumn of the second year of Jian'an, Gongsun Du attacked the Fushan bandits, and Bo Gu was forced to send troops to help him.
Because of this expansion, Gongsun Du not only grew in strength, but also in his growing ambition!
You know, it was also in this year that Qiao Yan was busy with internal affairs because of the various strange celestial phenomena in Chang'an, while Yuan Shao was launching a public opinion offensive while learning from the knowledge brought back from Chang'an.
Gongsun Zan, who was closest to him, and Zhang Liao launched exploratory attacks from time to time in Yuyang Shanggu, looking for the opponent's weaknesses.
Neither side has the extra energy to pay attention to him.
How comfortable he feels.
Outside the country, the ruler of Buyeo became his nephew-in-law, and the ruler of Goguryeo let his subordinates serve as representatives to show his submission to him. In the country, due to the deaths of Gongsun Zhao, Tian Shao and others, no one dared to question his origin and current leadership position.
Although Liaodong is a cold and bitter place, and does not have the luxurious conditions like Liu Yan of Yizhou to build himself a ceremonial carriage of a thousand chariots, but because the order of the Han court collapsed, Gongsun Du was like a fiefdom prince in Liaodong, and he did not care and built himself a formation such as the Luanlu Nine Tassels and the Maotou Feathered Cavalry.
This year, when the country was in a state of panic due to drought, the climate in Liaodong was not very different from that in early years. On the contrary, Gongsun Du felt that he had adapted well to it.
Therefore, just when Zhuge Liang made some inferences to Taishi Ci based on Gongsun Du's performance, Gongsun Du and his subordinates stood in front of a huge rock.
This is Yanli Village in Xiangping County, a vassal state of Liaodong.
The former county magistrate of Xiangping County was Gongsun Zhao, who was killed by Gongsun Du. Now he is temporarily succeeded by Gongsun Du's son Gongsun Kang.
The people of Yanlishe discovered a large stone, about several meters long, with three small stones underneath as the foundation, which looked like a crown.
The head of the village told Gongsun Kang that this stone looked very much like the crown stone of Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty. The name of the place Yanli was the same as the name of Gongsun Yan, the father of Gongsun Du. This was clearly a good omen.
When Gongsun Kang heard this, it seemed to be true, so he immediately reported the matter to his father.
Gongsun Du did not think that this was because the people of Xiangping County were afraid that he would be angry with them because of the former county magistrate, so they created a false impression to deceive him. He touched the stone and said to his followers: "If the Han Dynasty is about to end, I will work with you to make him king."1
If the Han Dynasty's royal family were to decline and perish due to these continuous natural disasters and internal strife between the East and the West, it would be time for him and his subordinates to plot for the throne!
These words really express the utmost vigor and enthusiasm.
"Sometimes I envy the warmth of Liaodong." Qiao Yan was originally discussing with Guo Jia and Xun You whether the plan to march into Liaodong was safe, but perhaps because she had been busy with the well irrigation in Guanzhong and the construction of a place to accommodate refugees proposed by Xun Yu in recent days, she changed the subject.
Although that place is cold in winter, it is not without its advantages. At least at the turn of April and May, due to the influence of the Little Ice Age climate, the temperature in Liaodong is far from enough for locust eggs to hatch.
Although the same was true for Liangzhou, Liangzhou was only a part of her jurisdiction and had its own troubles. However, Liaodong, where Gongsun Du was entrenched, was almost all of his territory.
A place where there is no possibility of locust plague.
It sounds strangely happy.
According to the reports Qiao Yan received, traces of locust nymphs had already appeared in the fields in various parts of Guanzhong, and the stage of carrying out extermination operations had begun.
Guo Jia coughed and said, "My Lord, what you said sounds..."
You deserve a beating.
She envied the temperature in Liaodong, and people from other places envied the orderly disaster response in Guanzhong.
Yuan Shao was more fortunate than ever that his instinctive vigilance against his great enemy Qiao Yan had enabled him to speculate on the disaster early on and respond in time.
Even though he was not as well prepared as Qiao Yan, from food to well digging tools, he was at least not caught off guard.
At most, he was too busy to take care of him. His good strategist Tian Feng, who had brought him a lot of intelligence, was brought to Qiao Yan after Qiao Yan's words and took up the position of joining the Chang'an Shangshu Tai.
By this calculation, in less than three years, Tian Feng's position in the Chang'an court was already higher than when he was under Yuan Shao.
Tian Feng showed no abnormality on his face, but he secretly complained in his heart that there might not be anything more ridiculous in the world.
What is the Shangshutai?
That is the core area of the current dynasty’s internal affairs!
He was promoted to this position from a worker in a farm implement factory, and no one thought there was anything wrong with it. They even regarded him as a role model for workers, right?
"I promised Zi Gu before that if you can make a contribution in this Hongwenguan assessment, I will seek an official position for you in the court, so that you can bring your family here to enjoy the happiness of family life. Liu Zichu and Fa Xiaozhi, who have been selected, are both outstanding talents of the time, so it is natural that I should fulfill this promise."
Qiao Yan paused, and then said: "Besides, since you have achieved real results, you should also be rewarded with gold and silver. However, considering the current special situation, I would like to give you this reward in a different way, which may be more appropriate."
Hearing Qiao Yan's confident tone, Tian Feng had a bad feeling for some reason.
He followed Qiao Yan into the courtyard and saw a familiar object lying on the ground. It was a palm-leaf fan file used for digging wells.
This palm-leaf fan file is slightly different from the others. There are a few words engraved on the file handle, which reads "given by Yuanfeng to the village for digging wells."
Qiao Yan pointed at the item and said, "I intend to send this item to Jizhou along with the news of Zi Gu's promotion. When Zi Gu's family comes, this file can still benefit the village to show that I have not forgotten my roots—"
"What do you think?"
A thousand-pound piece of iron is really a valuable gift nowadays!
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