Chapter 445 Extra 2 (5) (Update 1)
With the experience gained on the way here, life was not so difficult for Gan Ning, Lu Meng and others on the way back.
Before, they had no idea what lay ahead, but now they could be sure that after five months of sailing, they would be able to reach their own homeland instead of continuing to face an unknown ocean.
Of course, there are still a few things that need attention.
Gan Ning and others still didn't understand what ocean currents were, but it wasn't difficult to get some clues from the direction of the water flow in their boat.
"The route we take back needs to go further north than the one we took here, so that we can go downstream and save effort. But we can't go too far north."
There were too few islands along the way, so they had to pin their hopes of obtaining fresh water on rainfall.
The road we took when we came here had frequent rain due to the high temperature, but such conditions may not exist in places further north.
Changing the waterway will inevitably involve great risks.
"At that time, we went south first and then east. Now we have to go north again after about four months of return. Otherwise, we will have to sail across the border and go to Funan or the Qin territory further west."
Gan Ning said this and looked at the sea chart in front of him thoughtfully.
When the Han Dynasty was still in existence, people's understanding of the region was that the Central Plains was wrapped in the sea. The Silk Road could connect to the "Da Qin" later known as Rome. It could also be reached by following the sea route close to the continental border and passing through various ports. The scattered islands around are all closely connected with the central continent.
But after this sea voyage, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.
They sailed for five full months across this vast sea before reaching the other side. When he continued exploring eastward from where the people of the northern peninsula communities lived, he discovered that there was another ocean with unknown boundaries.
The people here once built boats and sailed out to sea for more than ten days, but turned back after finding nothing.
What is on the other side of that ocean?
Gan Ning asked as he thought about it.
"There is another possibility," Lü Meng guessed after hearing Gan Ning's words: "We were traveling along this southern route. If we had ignored the damage caused by the floating ice on the sea and headed east from the location of Heilong Island, would we have seen something else, such as -"
"In fact, the continent we arrived at is connected to the original one in the north?"
After all, the time they stayed this time to collect species was not too long, and it was not enough to support them to continue moving further south or north towards this new land.
We can only hope for the next exploration, or -
"We can also ask General Lu to keep an eye on this when he expands Suizhou's territory to the north."
The chances of a ship getting into trouble in such cold waters are too high, so it would be better to have people try it on land first.
Lu Lingju is now stationed in Suizhou. After bringing the territories that once belonged to Buyeo and Goguryeo under the control of Dayong and making the three Han and Wa countries surrender, he might as well expand the territory a little more.
Just like Lu Yuan, as the governor of Liangzhou, in addition to recovering the Protectorate of the Western Regions, he also had to supervise the Kushan territory. Lu Lingju was young and strong, so there would be no harm in doing more work.
A more appropriate exploration for Gan Ning and his team would be to continue eastward the next time they visit that area.
Just this time in the places where these two tribes gathered, they obtained these species that are extremely useful to Dayong. If they can reach the next territory, can they get even greater gains?
When Gan Ning thought about the fact that the ship they were returning on was loaded with so many vital items, he couldn't help but have such an association.
He even wondered what it would be like if he went south, or first reached Daqin and then sailed west?
Unfortunately, these questions cannot be answered for the time being and can only be solved by HNA next time.
Although he knew that not every voyage would be as smooth as this one, the spirit of adventure prevailed and Gan Ning made up his mind that even if he had to use his harvest from this trip as an exchange, he would persuade His Majesty to launch a few more sea voyages.
After all, he has a reason for this.
Gan Ning looked at the foreigners who were returning with them on the ship, and saw that they had begun to learn the official language of Dayong with the help of the ship's medical officer. By the end of this five-month sea voyage, perhaps these people would be able to introduce their ethnic groups to His Majesty in a way they could understand.
Isn’t this another reason why going to sea is necessary?
It is not enough for the small countries in the Western Regions to come to the Central Plains to pay homage. If we can get the countries on the other side of the sea to come by ship, wouldn’t it be an achievement that will be recorded in history forever!
In order to enable these people to communicate smoothly before they returned to Middle-earth, Gan Ning even prepared to teach them personally.
However, his action was directly opposed by his subordinates, led by Lu Meng.
That’s the Shu dialect!
It would be fine to let these people feel his accent from time to time, but is it appropriate to teach a Gentile like this?
In this sailing atmosphere of waiting for one person to teach and one to learn, while the rest of them tried their best to pull it back, and looking after the potatoes on the boat every day, the return voyage seemed to have passed by unknowingly.
When the land border appeared in front of them, Gan Ning stood at the bow and looked in that direction, feeling a sense of trance, not sure whether it should be considered homesickness.
They...are back?
After being away from the Central Plains for a year and a half, they finally withstood the storm and came back?
But they soon realized that they were too happy too soon.
As the distance shortened, the land became a number of scattered archipelagos near the coast. They had been to this place before when they sailed eastward, and they had to continue sailing north for a while before reaching the border.
Fortunately, after sailing for more than half a month, they finally returned to the mouth of the Yangtze River by estimating the distance based on the nautical chart.
Not only did they feel dazed after being away from the Central Plains for so long, but when those dozens of large ships appeared in the eyes of the coastal patrol guards, the soldiers almost suspected that they were having illusions.
Seeing that those large ships did not dock directly in the dock, but just as they had instructed before setting out, after attracting the attention of people along the coast, they turned around and headed towards Jiangxin Island. Only then did they realize, as if awakened from a dream, that these were indeed the soldiers who had sailed far away and returned!
They were not destroyed by the wind and waves on the sea. Instead, after a voyage of one and a half years, they announced their return to the people of Xu and Yang states in a victorious manner!
Of course, it means returning victoriously.
"I saw General Gan, he hung his piece of brocade sail on the sail!"
As soon as this voice came out, everyone along the shore burst into laughter.
It must be said that if other people had experienced such a long sea voyage adventure, they would have thought of finding a place to rest as soon as possible. It would be hard not to feel boring to see only the sea all day long. However, Gan Ning did not forget his reputation as the Jinfan Pirate at this time, and was able to make a comeback.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, go and inform the Lord!"
Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao received the news of Gan Ning's return almost at the same time.
Before they arrived here, medical officers from the two states' coasts had already rushed to the island as instructed before they left, and checked the physical conditions of the sailors one by one, and took those who were in good health off the island after disinfecting them with strong alcohol.
The ship and its cargo will need to undergo a more detailed inspection before they can be released.
The medical book written by Hua Tuo in the Western Regions mentioned many diseases that entered China from abroad. It is believed that the conditions of Gan Ning and others returning from the open sea would not be much different. In order to prevent any situation where joy turns to sorrow, no matter how detailed it is, it is not too much.
Zhang Zhao, who was closer, had just arrived when he heard Gan Ning standing on the shore admonishing, "Be careful! The potatoes I planted are still on the boat. Don't let me only bring back the dried or poisoned ones to Your Majesty."
Then Zhang Zhao heard Lü Meng ask, "What's the poisonous one? Did you bring back the wild one?"
Gan Ning’s subsequent silence made Zhang Zhao feel that these people’s overseas voyage might be far more exciting than he had imagined.
But the most urgent task was not to listen to them talk about their adventures in the past year and a half, but to send the news of their safe return and even great gains to Chang'an as quickly as possible, maybe even before the first day of the first month of the sixth year of Yuan Zhao.
After all the cargo on the ship was carefully unloaded, it was sent to Chang'an by the caravan of the Mi family from the East China Sea.
Also in the carriage were Gan Ning, Lu Meng and others.
Gan Ning was indeed deeply resentful about the fact that he could not ride a horse and could only take a car.
"Just because I haven't ridden a horse for more than a year and a half, you can't think I can't ride a horse, right?"
"Would a butcher who hadn't slaughtered a pig for a year turn his knife against himself?"
The medical officer accompanying him could only explain patiently, saying that they were worried that he might not be able to acclimate to the climate there as he had just returned to the Central Plains. If something went wrong before he met His Majesty, no one would be able to explain.
Gan Ning did not refute this arrangement, just like he did not remember to drive the boat directly into the dock in his excitement on the way back. He could not help but mutter, "I am the one who is not used to the climate outside. The food in the Central Plains is profound and extensive. I only regret that I don't have two more mouths to make up for all the food I missed in the past year and a half."
Or they are better at home...
Even though the places along the way were not as prosperous as the imperial capital Chang'an, to Gan Ning who was leaning out of the car window to look at them, they all looked very familiar.
It has been nearly five years since Your Majesty ascended the throne.
Even though Yanzhou, which they passed through, had been affected by the war in the first year of Yuan Zhao, at this time there was no trace of any signs of war.
The sound of good fortune coming at the turn of the new year fills thousands of households in the prefectures and counties, making it hard to imagine that sixteen years ago, this place was one of the hardest-hit areas by the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
What made Gan Ning almost jump out of the car was that when they passed through Luoyang, although they had not entered the ancient capital, when they were about to pass through Hangu Pass, they saw that where the three words "Hangu Pass" should have been engraved on the pass, there was actually a banner with words welcoming them who had returned from the voyage.
The news received earlier allowed the people in Chang'an to wait in front of the pass in time when the train convoy passed through Tongguan, and they extended a warm welcome to these pioneers who had made such a pioneering feat.
All the anxiety and confusion that I had felt during the long voyage and the bewilderment of being in a foreign country completely disappeared at this moment.
When Gan Ning got off the car, he saw their Majesty riding on Zhu Tan waiting at the end of the crowd.
As he got closer, he heard Qiao Yan dismount from his horse and walk towards him and say, "Welcome home."
This sentence has an indescribable meaning far more than just saying that his journey was hard.
But Gan Ning probably didn't know that the success of this voyage and his plan to continue sailing eastward from that overseas continent also had extraordinary significance for Qiao Yan.
As the power she held grew, the bargaining chips she could offer also gradually increased. However, she did not choose to exchange seeds directly with the farming system. Instead, she relied on this sea voyage to put the spread of these species on the right track step by step, which was a respect for this land.
Now, when the potatoes, rubber, sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, peanuts and other items brought back by Gan Ning were placed in front of her one by one, a feeling of being in another world emerged in her heart.
"His Majesty?"
Seeing that Qiao Yan seemed a little absent-minded, Gan Ning spoke hesitantly, not knowing whether he should repeat the introduction of the various species he had mentioned earlier.
Thinking that His Majesty would not make such a low-level mistake given his memory, he suppressed the thought.
Fortunately, Qiao Yan quickly regained his composure and said to him, "It is getting late today. Tomorrow during the court meeting, we will formally commend the two generals and the other soldiers who returned from the voyage, and we will also formally hand these things over to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue for disposal."
Gan Ning's thoughts were already drifting to tomorrow's award, and he didn't react at all to whether there was any problem with the name of the Ministry of Revenue that Qiao Yan suddenly mentioned in contrast to the Ministry of Works.
Just as he was asking people to remove the things placed in front of him, he heard Qiao Yan say, "Leave the red fruit behind. I'll let the imperial physician consider it again."
Gan Ning had no suspicion, so he naturally didn't know that when Qiao Yan brought the item back to the palace, he did not hand it over to the imperial physician for disposal, but instead issued an order.
"Put the pot on and cut the mutton and send it over."
God knows how long it has been since she last tasted chili!
The author has something to say:
Gan Ning: Your Majesty is too cautious. We need to study this matter.
Qiao Qiao: Ahhhh, there is spicy hotpot to eat.
(Dog head)(Dog head)(Dog head)
There will be a tomato pot someday.
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