The fifth day of the fifth month in the sixth year of Jianning.
A ship floated on the calm sea, and the sailors lay listlessly on the deck, enjoying the warm sunshine and the sea breeze.
At the bow of the ship, Yuan Shu held a nautical chart and gazed into the distance. His once fair face had been tanned dark by the sun.
A few days ago, they encountered a storm. Although they survived it, it caused them to deviate from their original course. Now they have no idea where they are heading.
Looking at the completely unfamiliar sea ahead, Yuan Shu couldn't help but show a look of dejection. His first voyage at sea had resulted in such a setback, which was quite a blow to him.
"Young master, the direction is correct. Don't worry, we will definitely reach the Dog Slave Kingdom!" Ji Ling stepped forward to comfort him.
Yuan Shu turned around, a smile on his face: "How are the brothers doing?"
"Everything is fine. We still have enough supplies to last for half a year. It's just that staring at the sea every day is getting a bit boring!"
In the end, Ji Ling couldn't help but smile sheepishly and scratch the back of his head.
Yuan Shu laughed loudly: "Haha~, let the brothers hold on a little longer. After we land, I'll reward each of them with five dog slaves and their mothers and daughters to play with!"
Upon hearing this, the sailors lying on the deck immediately opened their eyes, their faces regaining their composure.
After spending this time at sea, Yuan Shu had completely abandoned his previous arrogance as a son of a powerful family. He ate and lived with these men, and his personality became quite unrestrained. The group got along very well.
These poor folks, seeing that this young master of the Yuan family could set aside his status and be so friendly to them, naturally felt extremely respectful.
And so, filled with anticipation, the group floated for a day.
The next morning, while Yuan Shu was still asleep, the cabin door was suddenly kicked open, and Ji Ling came forward with a joyful expression.
"Young master, land! We can see land!"
"What?"
Yuan Shu was slightly taken aback, then jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on his boots, and rushed to the deck.
Upon reaching the bow of the ship, following the direction pointed out by the sailors, Yuan Shu saw the horizon faintly emerging and was overjoyed.
"Haha~, thank goodness, we've finally arrived!"
Yuan Shu couldn't help but burst into laughter, embracing the sailors and shouting with abandon.
An hour later, the ship approached the shore. Yuan Shu held the nautical chart and compared it for a long time, but still couldn't figure out where they were.
For safety reasons, Yuan Shu had the ship sail along the coast for a long time before choosing a wide open spot to dock.
After disembarking, Yuan Shu glanced around and noticed several wooden frames on the beach not far away, with fishing nets hanging on them. He also saw wisps of smoke rising from the mountains to the southeast. A smile appeared on his face.
"Ji Ling, leave thirty brothers to guard the ship. The remaining one hundred and seventy men, take your weapons and come with me!"
"Yes, young master!"
Ji Ling agreed and then began to arrange manpower.
Soon, Yuan Shu and his party headed towards the mountain forest.
Before long, Yuan Shu and his men passed through the mountains and came to a hillside. At the foot of the hill was a small village with only about sixty households.
"Young master, should we just charge in and attack?"
Ji Ling licked her lips and looked excitedly at the small village.
"No!"
Yuan Shu shook his head and said solemnly, "We are new to this place and not familiar with the situation. Let's go and take a look first!"
As he spoke, Yuan Shu lifted his leg and walked towards the village, with Ji Ling and the others following closely behind.
Before long, Yuan Shu arrived in the village with 170 men armed with long swords.
"Young master, it seems that even if this place isn't the Dog Slave Kingdom, it's not too far away!"
Looking at the low houses in the village, Ji Ling couldn't help but say with a happy expression.
Yuan Shu nodded, though he didn't speak, a hint of excitement was also on his face.
The villagers also noticed the group of uninvited guests who had suddenly appeared.
The villagers were quite frightened by the sight of this group of tall, burly men.
An old village chief, accompanied by the men of the village, approached Yuan Shu and his men with respectful expressions and began to ramble on and on.
One of Yuan Shu's guides quickly translated, "Young master, he said, 'Honored guest, welcome to our place. May I ask where you are from?'"
Yuan Shu smiled warmly: "Tell them we come from the Celestial Empire, the Great Han. And ask them where this is, and where the Dog Slave Kingdom is?"
"Yes, young master!"
The guide responded and then began to communicate with the village chief.
After exchanging words for a while, the guide said, "Young master, he said that this is the northern part of the Yamatai Kingdom, and they are all under the jurisdiction of a master named Xieyutai. As for the Dog Slave Kingdom, he doesn't know where it is!"
"Northern Yamatai?"
Yuan Shu was slightly taken aback, then took out the nautical chart. However, after searching for a while, he did not find the so-called Xieyutai tribe.
It seems that all those people who crossed the sea earlier gathered in the southern part of this archipelago and had never been here before, and I am the first person to discover this place.
Thinking of this, Yuan Shu couldn't help but show an even more excited expression.
Then Yuan Shu said, “Tell him that we want to recruit the able-bodied men here to fight for our Han Dynasty.”
"If they're willing, we'll give them a generous reward; if they're not, I won't hesitate to slaughter them!"
The guide trembled slightly and quickly relayed Yuan Shu's words to the village chief.
Upon hearing this, the Japanese village chief looked up at the long swords in Ji Ling and the others' hands, and then knelt down on the ground with a thud.
In the eyes of this Japanese village chief, these giant-like strongmen were heavenly generals. To be able to fight for the heavenly generals was clearly an honor for them, so how could they not be willing?
Subsequently, led by the village chief, all four hundred villagers came out of their homes, brought out food from their homes, and warmly welcomed Yuan Shu and his entourage.
"Huh? They even have rice here?"
Yuan Shu was greatly surprised to see a bowl of rice served by a Japanese woman.
The guide beside him said, "In reply to your question, young master, as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Chinese people had contact with this place. They learned things like hemp gathering, cloth weaving, and farming from our ancestors!"
Yuan Shu laughed and said, "Ah, I see. So, if it weren't for the help of our ancestors, these people would still be savages."
“You could say that!” the guide nodded in agreement.
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow: "Then why didn't our ancestors occupy this place?"
The guide smiled and said, "Isn't it because our ancestors didn't know the value of this place and looked down on it?"
"Heh~ So, we should thank our ancestors for showing mercy and leaving us, their descendants, with these treasures!"
As he spoke, Yuan Shu couldn't help but laugh happily.
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