The capital city was bustling with activity during the Spring Festival, with banquets and feasts happening constantly.
Lin Yun focused on her pregnancy, leaving both children primarily in Daiyu's care.
Emperor Yongzheng also enjoyed a leisurely life during the New Year.
The sea, however, was not so calm.
After leaving Brunei, the fleet continued its westward voyage.
Where the sea meets the sky, a red sun slowly sinks into the water, turning the entire sea area golden red.
Standing on the deck, gazing at the magnificent view, Yun Si felt a surge of pride, but before he could express his feelings...
"Myth brother, look over there!" Yun suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the distant sea.
Following his finger, Yun Si saw a huge "island" floating on the sea. It was pitch black, shaped like a turtle's back, and surrounded by strange bubbles.
Even more shockingly, the "island" was slowly moving!
"What is this?" Yinzhi frowned and immediately ordered someone to bring a telescope to examine it carefully.
Lan Dingyuan rushed over upon hearing the news, and his expression changed upon seeing the scene: "Could it be the legendary 'Giant Turtle'?"
The sailors on the ship were talking about it. Some said it was a sea monster, some said it was a miracle, and some even knelt down to pray.
Yun Si said in a deep voice, "Order all ships to keep their distance and send small boats to investigate."
A moment later, several daring sailors steered their small boats closer to the "island" and gently poked it with their spears, producing a metallic sound.
They mustered their courage and climbed onto the "island," only to find that its surface was smooth and hard, and it was definitely not inhabited by any living organisms.
"Report—!" The sailor rushed back, his face filled with horror. "That 'island' is made of iron, and it has strange patterns on it, like...like it was man-made!"
"An island made of iron?" Yun's eyes widened. "Could it be the work of a deity?"
Yinzhi pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered that his ninth brother had mentioned that the Consort said they might encounter a "giant Western ship." A thought struck him: "Perhaps, this is a Western ship."
Upon hearing this, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
The largest ship in the fleet, the Zhenhai, was already a behemoth, but compared to this "Iron Island," it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Just then, the "Iron Island" suddenly let out a deafening roar, then spewed out billowing black smoke, its speed suddenly increased, and it disappeared on the horizon in the blink of an eye.
The fleet was in an uproar, and the sailors were terrified.
Yinzhi forced himself to remain calm and ordered, "Continue sailing, but increase vigilance."
---
A few days later, the fleet arrived at Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).
The local customs and traditions here are completely different from those of Southeast Asian countries. The people have dark skin, the men often wear headscarves, and the women wear saris and are adorned with gold jewelry.
Even more surprisingly, there was a group of merchants with "dark skin and white teeth" at the dock. They claimed to be from "Arabia" and brought a "glass mirror" among their goods. It could reflect people's details perfectly and was a hundred times clearer than a bronze mirror.
Yun picked up a mirror, looked at his face, and exclaimed, "This thing is much better than our bronze mirrors! If we bring it back to the capital, won't all the princesses and noble ladies go crazy fighting over it?"
Yinzhi smiled slightly and gestured for the merchant to name his price. The merchant held up two fingers and said in broken Mandarin, "Twenty taels... of gold."
"What?!" Yun almost jumped up. "This broken mirror is worth twenty taels of gold?"
The merchant grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Sir, this mirror comes from the far west; there are no more than ten of them in the entire Ceylon region."
After pondering for a moment, Yinzhi ordered someone to bring a piece of Suzhou embroidered brocade: "How about exchanging this for it?"
The merchant took the brocade, stroked it for a moment, a greedy glint in his eyes, and immediately nodded to complete the deal.
---
That evening, the King of Ceylon hosted a banquet for the Qing delegation.
At the banquet, a "Celestial Scholar" dressed in a white robe showed Yun Si a strange "map".
“My lord,” the scholar said, pointing to the map, “this is the Qing Dynasty, this is Ceylon, and this is…”
His finger slid to an unknown area at the edge of the map. "It's Europe. The countries there built iron ships that could breathe fire, and chariots that could run without horses."
Yinzhi was startled, recalling the "Iron Island" he had encountered at sea, and quickly pressed for details.
The scholar shook his head and said, "I've only heard about it; I've never seen it myself."
After the banquet, Yun Si stood alone in the courtyard, gazing at the starry sky, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
"Myna, what are you thinking about?" Yun walked over, holding a coconut in her hand.
Yunsi sighed softly: "Tenth brother, we've been looking at the world from the bottom of our wells. The world is far bigger than we can imagine."
Yun scratched his head: "Who cares! Anyway, our fleet isn't bad either. Let's go back and have Fourth Brother build more big ships. We'll catch up with them sooner or later!"
Yun Si smiled, but his worries deepened.
Some things cannot be learned simply by wanting to learn them. The entire Qing Dynasty knew very little about Western knowledge, and even fewer people studied it. Although they had learned some arithmetic from their father, the Emperor, their ability to apply it was on a completely different level. The gap between them was more than an insurmountable chasm.
---
The next morning, as the fleet was preparing to set sail, a commotion suddenly broke out on the dock.
A group of ragged "Kunlun slaves" were seen being chained and driven onto a slave ship by merchants.
They were tall and muscular, but their eyes were blank, like walking corpses.
Yun frowned and asked, "Who are these people?"
A local merchant explained obsequiously, “Sir, these are slaves captured from the far south. They are very strong and perfect for mining and farming.”
Yinzhi's face darkened: "Our Great Qing has never kept slaves. Such behavior is no different from that of beasts."
The merchant retreated sheepishly.
Yinzhi immediately issued an order prohibiting anyone in the fleet from participating in the slave trade, with severe punishment for any violators.
After leaving Ceylon, the fleet continued westward.
That night, Yun Si dreamed that he was standing on a fire-breathing iron ship, sailing towards an unknown distance.
When I woke up, the east was already turning a pale white.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
