Because he did not dare to go all out, the voyage was only four hundred miles and took Ye Chang two and a half days in total. He set out from Dengzhou on the morning of April 11th, and on the morning of April 13th, he saw land through the telescope. The guide who was familiar with this sea area later confirmed that this was the destination of their trip, Duli Town. "Sure enough, as Shi Yilang said, we only need to know the direction and determine the sea route. From Dengzhou to Liaodong, it is only two days' journey, which is closer than Chang'an to Luoyang." Ye Ying, Ye Ting and others who went to sea for the first time were worried. After two and a half days, I finally felt relieved and cheered one by one. The two ships sailed slowly along the coast, looking for a suitable place to dock. Except for the helmsman and sailman who could not leave their posts, the sailors on the ship all rushed out. The two ships carried a total of more than 140 people, including 30 own sailors, 60 recruited sailors, and more than 50 non-sailing personnel. They had been crowded on the ship for the past few days, which was really depressing. Under the guidance of the guide, the two ships sailed northeast along the coast. After more than an hour, they saw a relatively open sea channel. The guide cheered: "This is it. Enter through this water channel. ItĄŻs Duli Town.Ą± Ye Chang ordered the sampan to be put down, and a rowing boat was put down from the ship. There were ten people on board, eight of whom were rowing, one was measuring, and one was recording. Seeing this, the guide smiled and said, "Young gentleman, you don't have to be like this. The water here is deep and wide, and your boat's draft is not deep. You can pass by without any worries." "Even so, I'm afraid there are hidden reefs." Ye Chang smiled. Ą°He is well aware of the principle that a person who travels a hundred miles is half a mile. If he hits a reef and sinks here, even if he can swim ashore, the loss will be very heavy. Moreover, he also wants to find a safe waterway for larger ships with deeper drafts to enter and exit in the future. The sampan measured quickly. After all, it was only the first time to explore the waterway. More detailed data will be added in the future. The sailboat slowly entered the waterway along with the sampan, and suddenly felt that the weather was calm and the weather was pleasant. "This place is good, this place is good," someone laughed. But it was Shanzhi. He pointed to the left side of the waterway, where a small peninsula stretched out. The peninsula itself is a mountain: "The monk wants to build a big Buddha statue on this mountain to protect the safety of the ships passing by." Although the monk is naive, he He is not stupid. As soon as he said these words, Ye Chang nodded even though he had only a mediocre understanding of Buddhism: "Since Third Brother has this intention, I will help him, but this matter is not urgent. What we need to do first is to find a person." Foothold: Duli Town is called a town. In fact, it has a small population. There are a few scattered small towns and several villages, with a total population of several thousand people. The first person who noticed Ye Chang and the others was at the mouth of the small river. In an unnamed fishing village, several families of fishermen were half-farming and half-fishing. Their fishing boats were about to return home when they noticed two sailing boats, which they regarded as "big ships". "Most of them were Han people here. It turned out that they were approaching. The people of Goguryeo were all moved inland. In the past few decades, the Han people from Shandong and Andong governorates lived here, living together with the barbarians. The guide pointed at the visitor and said, "Occasionally, merchant ships come and go here, so these people are not afraid of foreign ships." " As the guide said, the fishing boats approached and followed the two boats. Someone from a distance asked: "Did the guest come here from Dengzhou? I donĄŻt know what I want to sell, if itĄŻs Korean ginseng, I would like to be one of the guests The fishermen are poor, and occasionally businessmen come, so they come up to show their hospitality, hoping to earn some money for running errands. Ye Chang smiled and raised his head and asked: "Are you Han?" "You are Han, you are Han" "Well, you will lead the way for me, where can I get ashore?" "Lang Jun can go ashore directly to Duli. "What about outside Duli?" Ye Chang is not planning to go to Duli Town. In his opinion, since there are already buildings there, it is not the place he wants. What he wants is a blank piece of paper on which he can draw whatever he wants. A few fishermen muttered for a while, but couldn't tell where they were. Ye Chang didn't ask. He looked around and saw that there didn't seem to be any buildings due west, so he pointed there: "Where is that over there?" "Wild." Forest!" cried the fisherman. There is a large dense forest over there, stretching straight to the seaside. Ye Chang asked about the draft there and learned that the ship could dock there, so he determined his foothold. Since it is a forest, it is an unowned land with few disputes. After the ship docked, except for the waterworkers who were repairing the ship, everyone else got off the ship. Both the waterworkers and craftsmen were doing one thing, which was logging. They need to unload all the materials on the ship in the shortest possible time, which requires a gantry crane, and currently they can only use wood to make a simple gantry crane. Ye Chang summoned the fishermen to inquire. Although they are fishermen, they have been to many places when they went to sea. At least they are familiar with the situation near Duli Town. The total population of Duli Town and nearby villages is only more than 4,000 people. However, Qingnipu further to the northeast has a larger population. The town and villagers have a population of about 10,000 people. these fishermenThe place I visited, that is, with Duli Town as the center and a range of sixty or seventy miles to the north, although it nominally belonged to the Jili Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty, as the Andong Protectorate continued to move westward, the Tang Dynasty only had control over this area. Limited to canonizing local natives as officials, the real control power is almost nonexistent. However, Duli Town is dominated by Han people, so when they heard that Ye Chang was an official of the Tang Dynasty, the fishermen were immediately in awe, and bowed down one by one: "Unexpectedly, I saw my Han official again I don't know Mr. Lang. Are you coming here as an envoy to Bohai County or to Silla? "In the past, Han officials came here mostly to assume the responsibility of ambassadors. Ye Chang heard this and said with a smile: "No, I am here to build a port. The overseas fairy mountains are to the east of Japan, so the imperial court intends to build a port here as a base to find overseas fairy mountains. If you want to build a port, you need manpower. Since you are locals, are you willing to serve the court? "The fisherman looked a little confused. , they lived here from the Central Plains, and although they had respect for the imperial court, as the main labor force in the family, if they came to build some port, how would they provide food for the young and old in the family? Ye Chang naturally understood what they were thinking, and then said: "Of course, I won't let you work in vain. You will be paid according to your work every day, and you will be given money and rice. What do you think?" Those fishermen still hesitated, and Ye Chang didn't either. Anxiously, he said again: "You help me recruit people from left and right, and I will pay you for recruiting people." This sentence impressed several fishermen, and they all agreed. Ye Chang also asked people to buy some of the seafood they caught. , and sent them away. However, it wasn't until the second day that anyone came to Ye Chang's construction site to watch the excitement. On the third day, a brave person agreed to help, but only for half a day. After the brave person received his daily wages, on the fifth More and more people are coming every day. The population in the capital was small, and by the tenth day, only about forty people came to help after hearing the news, far less than the number Ye Chang needed. At this time, a shack that could shelter from wind and rain was finally erected, the simple dock was completely built, and the materials on the ship were unloaded into the warehouse. "On the next trip, we can bring the people from Shenxi to prepare for contact. In addition, we must send a caravan to Bohai Country to recruit people along the way. We have also inquired about the situation in Liaodong in the past few days. "Yes." Ye Chang gathered the main personnel together and said: "Master Shanzhi, you and Ye Ting will lead the caravan to Bohai Country. Be careful along the way." Shanzhi was stunned: "Me?" "Bohai Country believes in Buddhism. If you go there, you will definitely gain something." Ye Chang said with a smile. Nowadays, Liaodong is almost completely unmanaged. All localities and ministries are doing their own thing, but they are only nominally under the control of the Tang Dynasty. Although this brought trouble to the caravan, it also brought benefits to Ye Chang's big plan. There were refugees everywhere, which meant that he could recruit people freely. "Second brother and I are staying here to supervise the construction of the port and accommodation, and be prepared for any accidents. Su Chuji, you and Ye Ying have returned to Dengzhou. We have sent people to urge you before we came. I think Luoyang and Xiuwu The manpower on the side will arrive soon. You go back and transport people if they come. In the future, people will transport supplies. "Ye Chang will have to move at least a thousand people here in the early stage. It is naturally impossible for so many people to come here at the same time. , so they were broken up into a group of about 200 people. They would go to Dengzhou in batches, and then take a boat from Dengzhou to Duli Town. There are few people in the capital and the land is narrow, so it is impossible to have so much food, so Ye Chang needs to transport food for at least a year himself. He was having a meeting inside, and five Wu Dahai brothers were also gathered outside. Wu Dajiao complained: "I thought I was here to be a plumber, but I didn't expect that I was here to do hard work. I cut and move wood every day. This Ye Lang "Do you really want to settle down here?" "No matter what he wants to do, our brothers are not here to be water workers." Wu Dajiang, who has always been gloomy and silent, said: "Brother, when should we start?" Wu Dahai shook his head: "Have you seen the people around Ye Langjun? Not to mention the more than 20 men who were obviously killed in battles, that is, that monk, and that Nan Ba, Ren Sui None of us are opponents." Everyone nodded. In the past few days, everyone had seen Shan Zhi's magical power and Nan Ba's shooting. They were all very convinced. "Not to mention those two, even Su Chuuchi, their skills, whether on the boat or in the water, are not inferior to us. Even if the master is still alive, he may not be his opponent. When there are many of them, we still have to fight Be careful and don't show your flaws," Wu Dahai said again. After all, Wu Dajiang was a little unconvinced: "It's just Su Chouji and the others. It's okay to toss in the rivers and ditches, but when it comes to the sea, it's still far behind us." "Second brother, even at the sea, If you seize the boat, what will you do with these people?" "Of course they will be thrown into the water to feed the fish and turtles." "How many boats can the five of us take?" At this point, Wu Dajiang remained silent. Even if the five of them were lucky enough to be assigned to the same boat and successfully captured the boat, it would be impossible for the five of them to drive the boat quickly. The people in the other boat fought back and they againEven though it is water-friendly, it can't stand up to the large number of people on the other side. "Moreover, this ship is a treasure. You have forgotten that the telescope and compass in the hands of the gentleman are even more treasures." Wu Dahai added, "I don't know what you are thinking. After I saw the telescope, I only had one thought. This must be the treasure of the Immortal Family. It has spotted it, and even if it runs for more than ten miles, it still has to be recovered." Everyone nodded again and again, almost worshiping the telescope. Only people at sea can understand the significance of this thing. If it is combined with a compass, it can be said that no matter how far the sea is, as long as the supplies are sufficient and the ship is strong, they will be sure. "Also, after seizing the ship, where will we go? We can't go to the south. Although the boss is dead, the pursuit of us has not relaxed. Could it be that we escape to Silla? Rather than that, it would be better to be here "Brother, I'm not saying that we have to do it now, but I don't know how long it will take to be a coolie like this." Wu Dajiang complained: "Look at how strict they are in controlling their daily actions. "If they can do it, we can do it too," Wu Dahai shook his head and said, "I think this Ye Langjun is indeed a very capable man. Why can't we defeat the officers and soldiers? It's because we lack Ye Langjun is so capable. Now let's stay with him to learn a little bit, and we can also take the opportunity to make friends with the fishermen from the capital. If there is any trouble in the future, they will also be a help. "Yes, the eldest brother is right. I just think that the eldest brother really wants to be a bully and a horse for that Ye Langjun. Since the eldest brother has not forgotten the matter of revenge for the boss, I am relieved," Wu Dajiang said. "You also have to be careful. Don't get together on weekdays. Even if you are together, you should be tight-lipped." While he was talking, someone suddenly heard someone saying: "Wu Dahai, Wu Dahai." Wu Dahai was stunned and stood solemnly: "Here" "Come here, get ready with me, we are going back to Dengzhou" It was Ye Ting who called Wu Dahai. Wu Dahai followed and saw that Bian Ping was already beside Ye Ting. Wu Dahai glanced at this guy. He was a smart guy, and he was always indispensable for flattering him. "Go back to Dengzhou?" "Exactly, we have to go back faster this time, and we have to transport a batch of food and materials from Dengzhou." Ye Ting said with a smile: "You go and prepare immediately, Su Tongji said you are The best among the hydraulic workers, let me see your skills." "Yes." Wu Dahai was happy in his heart, while his brothers winked at him from behind. This is when sleepiness meets the pillow. Previously, their brothers had been following Su Chuuchi. Although they had treacherous intentions, they were suppressed by Su thick legs and did not have the courage to really do anything. But this is not the case with Ye Ting. Although Ye Ting's bravery is better than that of ordinary people, he is no better than a landlubber at sea. Of course, this is compared with the five Wu brothers. In fact, Ye Ting also worked very hard to learn sailing. This was not only his personal wish, but also Ye Chang's explanation. "How can we go back to Dengzhou in good condition?" Wu Dahai asked, leaning next to Ye Ting: "We still have enough food." Among the things they brought on the first ship, the most was food. Ye Ting glared at Wu Dahai: "As you ask, more people will come here. With only the current manpower, when can the pier be completely completed?