"The entire fleet sank?"
Meng Ruliu couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stared blankly for a while before looking at the soldier kneeling on the ground: "You're the only one who came back?"
The soldier said, "General, I deserve to die. But if I don't come back alive, I'm afraid no one will be able to tell you what happened at sea."
Meng Ruliu calmed herself down and said, "Tell me what happened to you again. I need to see His Majesty immediately."
The day after Su Wan disappeared, many fishermen along the coast rushed to report to the local government that they had seen a giant eagle snatch a woman and fly her out to sea. At the time, none of them recognized her as the Empress until the government posted a notice and everyone realized that she was the Empress.
Su Wan held an extraordinary position in the hearts of the people of the Great Jin Dynasty. Everyone knew that Su Wan had facilitated the peace talks between the Great Jin and the Western Rong, and that she had helped the Jin army win the Jin-Chu War. Many fishermen spontaneously set sail in their boats, attempting to find Su Wan's whereabouts. However, their boats could not withstand the wind and waves, and they could only operate along the coast, all returning empty-handed.
Upon learning of the situation, Meng Ruliu immediately contacted the admiral of the Great Jin Navy and ordered the fleet to prepare to depart.
The Great Jin Dynasty had no enemy states at sea to deal with, so the entire fleet was merely symbolic. There were five large ships capable of long-distance voyages and more than ten smaller ships, mainly used to handle minor matters such as fishermen's maritime disputes.
The naval admiral, who had nothing to do all day, was surprised to find himself in a major situation upon his arrival. Upon receiving the military order to rescue the Empress, he immediately patted his chest and guaranteed that he would find her and bring her back safely.
Meng Ruliu reported the situation to Wei Jingzhuo. Wei Jingzhuo, knowing that Su Wan might be on some island, immediately issued an imperial edict to the naval commander, saying that as long as the Empress was found, the naval commander would be granted a hereditary marquis title and a fiefdom.
The naval admiral was full of confidence and personally led five large ships, each with one hundred soldiers and fully loaded with supplies, to set sail. These large ships were rowed by the sailors below deck, and their speed was not fast. In calm weather, they could travel about fifty miles a day.
Meng Ruliu was still worried, so he gathered large ships available from the people and organized a fleet, led by a captain surnamed Wang, and set off the next day.
The sergeant said, “We sailed east for two days without seeing any islands. The admiral thought we were going the wrong way and had just ordered us to turn around when we encountered that giant eagle.”
Meng Ruliu asked, "And then? It attacked you as soon as it saw you?"
The sergeant nodded and said, "The giant eagle flew over and snapped our sail with a single talon. We shot it with arrows, but it wasn't afraid at all. It then tore a big hole in our ship's side, which we couldn't plug. The other ships couldn't escape either and sank very quickly. I clung to a piece of wood and drifted for a day and a night. Luckily, I ran into Captain Wang's fleet, which rescued me."
When Captain Wang heard that the giant eagle had easily destroyed five large ships, he was so frightened that he dared not go any further and turned back.
This seemingly cowardly move was precisely the right one. If the following fleet had also tried to charge forward, they would surely have been sunk by the giant eagle as well. Then no one would have known what happened at sea.
Meng Ruliu dismissed the soldiers to rest and hurriedly went to the palace to report the events to Wei Jingzhuo.
Wei Jingzhuo said, "The giant eagle cannot rest on the sea surface, so there must be islands nearby."
Meng Ruliu said, "Your Majesty is right, and I think so too. But the giant eagle is guarding there, and our ships cannot get close at all."
Wei Jingzhuo looked up at the sky and sighed, "Awan is imprisoned by the giant eagle, but I cannot rescue her."
He swayed twice and fell backward.
Lin Qingfeng, who was standing guard beside Wei Jingzhuo, quickly stepped forward to support him. Meng Ruliu was startled and hurriedly went to call the imperial physician.
Lin Qingfeng helped Wei Jingzhuo to bed, but Wei Jingzhuo remained unconscious. The imperial physician and Granny Cui arrived shortly afterward, and the imperial physician took Wei Jingzhuo's pulse.
"Imperial Physician, how is His Majesty?" Granny Cui asked anxiously.
The imperial physician raised his hand, pondered for a moment, and said, "His Majesty has not eaten anything these past few days, only drinking some water. Even someone made of iron couldn't withstand that. He's really just holding on by sheer willpower. I can prescribe medicine for His Majesty, but medicine can't replace food; he needs to eat."
Granny Cui wiped away her tears and said, "Your Majesty, why are you doing this? How can you save the Empress if you don't eat?"
Before long, the Prime Minister learned of Wei Jingzhuo's collapse and rushed over.
Meng Ruliu said to the Prime Minister, "The Empress is imprisoned on a small island by a giant eagle, but our current ships are simply unable to pass through that barrier."
The Prime Minister said, "Since that giant eagle is a monster born from a family of divine healers, ordinary ships certainly cannot withstand it. If the entire ship is covered with iron plates, perhaps the giant eagle will not be able to tear it apart."
Meng Ruliu was anxious and quickly summoned the official in charge of ship construction to inquire about the construction schedule.
The official said with difficulty, "General, we do have ships on hand. We can just use the flagship of the fleet that we brought back and cover it with iron plates. However, it is impossible to complete in a short time."
Meng Ruliu asked, "How long will it take to issue the General's order to summon all shipbuilding craftsmen in the country to complete this task immediately?"
The official said, “General, I know you are anxious. We are just as eager as you are to rescue the Empress as soon as possible. However, building a ship cannot be done by having more people. There is only so much scaffolding, and no matter how many people there are, they simply cannot stand on it. If we had five hundred of the best craftsmen, I am confident that we could complete the task within three months.”
Meng Ruliu said, "Three months is almost New Year's Day, why does it take so long?"
The official said, "General, this is already the limit of shipbuilding. Normally, it takes us at least three years to build a seagoing vessel."
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