The sky stretches out its soft blue wings to embrace the island, and the waves hit the beach, as if gently patting and caressing it.
"I heard that the war is over for now, so we should be allowed to go home, right?" Fatty Zhao took a step back on the soft sand to prevent the tide from getting his boots wet.
Zhang Zongbao held a shell in his hand, throwing it up and catching it, then suddenly swung his arm hard and threw the shell far away.
Looking at the barely visible splashes of water, Zhang Zongbao chuckled and said, "I guess that's about right. The emperor doesn't want to kill us, nor does he expect us to actually charge into battle."
Zhang Junneng folded his arms across his chest, looked at the rolling waves in the distance, nodded deeply, and said, "I feel that with more training, it is not impossible for me to become a general."
Fatty Zhao curled his lips and said, "Come on, you looked worse than me on the boat."
Zhang Junneng glanced at Fatty Zhao and said, "Seasickness is nothing. I'm much better now, aren't I?"
"Much better, definitely much better." Zhang Zongbao nodded in agreement, "You can even stand and enjoy the breeze on the boat. I really admire you."
Not far away, several people were walking along the shore, carrying baskets on their backs, picking up oysters, shrimps, snails and other things on the beach, and occasionally some stranded fish.
With clear laughter, the two girls jumped left and right, blocking a escaping crab and finally caught it alive.
Yeah?! Fatty Zhao thought he looked familiar and walked over to him.
"Ha, you are on this island too!" Fatty Zhao recognized the person and raised his hand to greet him, but he forgot the person's name.
The girl named Yingzi blinked her big eyes and recognized the fat soldier. She smiled and nodded and said, "It's you. Our whole family moved to the island. It's been more than half a month!"
Fatty Zhao calculated the time and thought, "Hmm, it's about time." He asked, "So you're not leaving anymore and will just settle down on this island?"
"That's right!" Yingzi adjusted the basket and said, "Who knows when the government army will be able to destroy the Jiannu and recapture Liaodong?"
Fatty Zhao scratched his head, nodded in agreement, and said, "How can we live on an island? Can we farm?"
Yingzi said, "We have some land, and we need to learn how to sail and fish. With the government's relief, we shouldn't starve to death, right?"
As she spoke, the girl turned sideways to let the fat man see the basket and said with a smile: "Look, I have learned how to pick up seafood from the sea."
Guanglu Island is located in the western part of the Changshan Islands in the northern Yellow Sea. With a land area of more than 30 square kilometers, it is the largest island in the Changshan Islands.
Although the island has fertile soil and abundant fresh water resources, the sudden influx of tens of thousands of Liao people made the small amount of land far from enough.
"Yingzi," a girl nearby pointed to a small reef. "Go over there and take a look. Maybe there are oysters there!"
Yingzi bowed hastily and ran over with her companions. Soon, cheerful laughter rang out.
Not long after, Yingzi came back and handed Fatty Zhao an oyster she had knocked off the reef, saying with a smile, "Master Jun, have one. It's very fresh."
Fat Zhao hesitated for a moment, looked at the girl's hands that were red and cracked from the cold, and still took it, subconsciously reaching out to take out the silver.
"I don't want your money!" Yingzi smiled happily, turned around and ran away.
Fatty Zhao smiled bitterly, picked up the oyster and put it into his mouth. The taste was originally fresh and sweet, but it tasted a bit bitter.
"Hey, Master Zhao, when did you hook up with him?" Zhang Zongbao walked over, put his hand on the fat man's back with a grin, and raised an eyebrow at the distant figure. "She has a nice figure, comparable to the girls in Yingfenlou!"
Fatty Zhao suddenly shook off his friend's arm, glared at Zhang Zongbao fiercely, and walked away, cursing loudly as he walked: "Get lost... and stay away from me from now on. What the hell is this?"
Zhang Zongbao was stunned by the scolding. He looked at the fat man as he walked away stupidly, and spread his hands helplessly at Zhang Junneng who was looking at him.
More than twenty large and small ships sailed on the sea, attracting a lot of attention, including that of Mao Wenlong and several of his generals.
Guanglu Island was originally occupied by Dengzhen. After the Liaonan harassment campaign ended, Shen Yourong led his troops back to Denglai and temporarily gave the island to the Dongjiang Army.
Mao Wenlong knew something about the replacement of the Governor of Denglai and the succession of the imperial tutor Yuan Keli.
Although various signs showed that the imperial court valued the Dongjiang Army, he was not entirely sure, and was even more uneasy because of Wang Huazhen's downfall.
After all, Wang Huazhen was his benefactor. He reported the Zhenjiang victory to Wang Huazhen, but did not report it to the governor Xiong Tingbi. This should be considered as an offense to Xiong Tingbi.
Now that Wang Huazhen is guilty, Xiong Tingbi is both the governor and the military governor, and it can be said that he has monopolized military and political power. It is not easy to deal with him.
He hoped that the Dongjiang Army could be assigned to Dengzhen instead of being under the command of Xiong Tingbi in Liaodong.
In a state of anxiety, Mao Wenlong and others looked at the dozen or so huge ships parked in the open sea. Some of them were of very strange shapes that they had never seen before.
Mao Wenlong and others certainly did not recognize that these strangely shaped ships were Chinese sailing ships engaged in ocean trade. They were called "junks" in foreign literature. They were well-made and huge in size.
Lin Huazhong and Yang Tiansheng stood on the deck, looking at the soldiers and civilians on the island with great curiosity.
One of them was a sea merchant from Jinjiang, Quanzhou, and the other was a sea merchant from Haicheng, Fujian. They were sent by Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, to go to the capital to meet the emperor, and received a mission to carry the court's envoys to Korea and Japan.
The benefits are definitely huge. The two of them still feel like they are in a dream when they think about meeting the emperor in the palace. They are so excited that they can hardly control themselves when they think about it.
The fleet was mainly composed of transport ships of the Tianjin Navy. In addition to food supplies, they also carried imperial envoys who came to announce the imperial edict and award silver to Mao Wenlong.
In the Liaonan harassment war, Dengzhen, Jinzhen and Dongjiang armies made considerable gains. How to distribute the gains and how to write the victory report were naturally discussed.
Small and medium-sized ships arrived at the port to unload their cargo, and the island's soldiers and civilians, beaming with joy as if they were expecting a rain, came to help with the loading and unloading. Someone had already reported this to Mao Wenlong, who set up an altar to welcome the imperial envoy.
With a nervous mood, Mao Wenlong hurriedly made arrangements and led all the generals to kneel down to receive the order.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Chengyuan Emperor proclaims... Mao Wenlong was loyal to the emperor, brave in serving his country, attacked the enemy in Zhenjiang, provided relief to the Liao people, and harassed and contained the enemy... This is my decree."
Mao Wenlong was so surprised that he forgot to kowtow and express his gratitude after the "imperial decree" was completed.
After the envoy finished reading the imperial edict, he saw that Mao Wenlong did not kowtow, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face.
"General——" Chen Jisheng, who was kneeling at the side, reminded in a low voice.
Mao Wenlong finally woke up from his dream and kowtowed heavily, his voice trembling: "I respectfully pray for the peace of heaven. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"
"May your Majesty rest in peace."
Mao Wenlong kowtowed again and said, "Thank you for the grace of God. Long live the Lord, long live the Lord, long, long live the Lord!"
"Heaven's grace is immense."
Mao Wenlong kowtowed again: "I will forever serve you and say goodbye. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"
"It is necessary to be strict and honest."
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