After breakfast the next day, Su Chen asked Liu Rengui: "How was it?"
Does anyone want to leave?"
Liu Rengui shook his head.
"Ask everyone again, if anyone wants to leave, leave a boat for them."
After a while, after confirming that no one was leaving, Su Chen ordered the fleet to set sail!
Eighteen sailing gunboats as the main force, thirty-six frigates, and six transport ships,
There were also six oar-sailed warships,
A fleet of sixty-six warships marched southward in mighty style.
Su Chen's order is: advance at full speed, and do not stop until Fuzhou!
This 800-kilometer voyage was the first test for the fleet.
According to what was agreed yesterday, except for marines, all officers of grade eight or above must learn how to command and manage ships on the road.
Moreover, the proportion of Marine Corps officers must not exceed sixteen soldiers.
As for who can stay, that is Cheng Wuting's business.
Of course, eighth-level and lower-ranking officers, as well as ordinary crew members, are all warmly welcome as long as they are willing.
Xue Li was asked to join the seventh-rank officer,
Xue Li was confused after receiving the order, and there was no one to ask. When he didn't know what to do,
Liu Jingren found him with a dark face: "Follow me and find Cheng Laosan, our instructor is him!"
"Also, be smarter for me!"
Xue Li was even more confused!
"He brewed it. The commander tied us together. We must either pass at the same time or get out at the same time!"
"Why am I so unlucky to meet you, a loser?"
Xue Li said innocently: "It's the commander's order. It's useless for you to blame me!"
"Besides, you've been looking for trouble with me. You were caught by the commander and you're a typical example. I've suffered with you, but you still blame me?"
Liu Jingren said angrily: "Shut up!"
The fleet was sailing, the officers were busy, and everything seemed normal.
But what everyone didn't realize was that less than a hundred miles ahead of the fleet, there were two large ships moving forward at full speed.
"Control the rudder and give me the fastest speed. If Su Chen catches me, none of us will survive!"
…
In Wuxian County, Suzhou, in a mansion on the shore of Taihu Lake, several richly dressed old men were gathering together to drink tea and chat.
"Brother Lu! Are we taking too many risks this time?"
The old man surnamed Lu smiled: "Our boat is no slower than Su Chen's. They can't catch up with us in one day's journey."
"Besides, this matter is too important, so we can't do it without taking risks!"
"Looking at the world, only the cannibals can slow down Su Chen a little. I have to send them a message!"
Another old man in brocade clothes said bitterly: "Li Er, Su Chen is so heartless that a snake swallows an elephant like a snake!"
“I won’t let go of food that’s far away!”
The old man surnamed Lu sighed: "With something like this happening in the north, Brother Gu still expects Li Er and Su Chen to let Dashi go?"
"Mr. Linghu has made Li Er anxious!"
Old Man Gu also sighed: "The source is that something went wrong with the locusts last year. The Yankees are just unreliable!"
"Making us passive everywhere!"
The old man who had been silent next to him suddenly said: "I have always had doubts. Was it really a last-minute decision for Su Chen to lead the army to a feast?"
"Brother Zhang, what do you mean? Could it be that he had planned this a long time ago?"
"Impossible! Su Chen has been busy with trains in the first half of the year, and went south before finishing the finishing work. Moreover, the navy was only established at the end of last year, and there is obviously insufficient training time."
"All this shows that Li Er was frightened and hurriedly sent Su Chen to go west!"
The old man named Zhang shook his head: "I hope so!"
Old Man Lu said: "Regardless of whether it was premeditated or not, if we can find out Su Chen's true purpose this time, we will have a great harvest!"
"Li Er is so evil that he sent out Li Chengqian!"
"I hope the Big Eater can be of some use, we really need time!"
Old Man Gu complained again: "The Yankees are really useless. They asked Su Chen to get the train out so quickly. That thing is a reminder of death!"
The old men all had gloomy faces.
"Brother Lu, did Xiao tell you the specific situation of that train?
The overseas territory is vast, and that thing is of great use to us."
Old Man Lu shook his head: "We have no hope yet, unless we can get the complete drawings!"
Old Man Zhang said: "Lao Gu, don't think about that. Even if we can get the blueprints, we don't have that much steel to fill them in!"
"We'd better find a way to delay Li Er and Su Chen. At least we can have a certain ability to protect ourselves before Su Chen's fleet discovers that we are exploring overseas!"
Old Man Lu smiled and said, "There has been some progress on this!"
"There is news from the north that artillery casting has made progress. Although it is still not as powerful as Li Ershu's, it finally has some backhand power."
Old Man Gu said happily: "Finally we have some good news.
What about the gunboats?”
Old Man Lu shook his head: "It still doesn't work! We can only put two doors on the bow and stern of the ship, but Lu seems to be very confident and is testing it!"
Old Man Zhang sighed: "I hope it will be faster, our old bones can't last more than a few years,"
"Hey! I've been buried up to my neck in loess, and I can't enjoy my last few days in peace in this world!"
Old Man Lu said: "We must find a way to survive for future generations!"
"The north wants to take advantage of the situation this time. They want us to take advantage of Su Chen's fleet to be away and try to move the population as much as possible!"
Old Man Gu nodded: "This is indeed a good opportunity! There is a shortage of manpower overseas, so we must seize the time."
"By the way, are there any harvests over there in Lingnan?"
Old Man Lu shook his head: "Feng Ang is just a short-sighted coward!"
"But others, including Feng An's sons, do have some discernment!"
"The Zhu family has sent someone, let's just wait for the good news!"
Old man Zhang said: "This Feng Ang was still a figure when he was young, but the older he gets, the more short-sighted he becomes. The Central Plains family is gone, how can he still hold on to his little family fortune?"
"Forget it! We can't protect ourselves, so don't worry about others!"
Of course, Su Chen and Li Er would not know about the Jiangnan family's conspiracy. Su Chen carefully considered the various risks he might encounter on the warship.
Li Er is still in Guanzhou and has not left. It seems that he will have to stay in Guanzhou for a while.
"Hmph! It's quite convenient for everyone to go to the table and apologize now!"
Li Er casually threw a memorial into the basket behind him.
"The ministers in the court have already realized their mistakes. Your Majesty is magnanimous, so don't argue with them."
Li Er glared at Wei Zheng: "When have I ever argued with them?"
Wei Zheng: "Yes! Your Majesty's magnanimity makes me ashamed!"
"Let's not talk about these useless things. What do you think of the construction of the railway from Chang'an to Luoyang that North Korea and China are talking about?"
Wei Zheng: "Weird!"
Du Ruhui: "With bad intentions!"
Li Er glared at the two of them: "I didn't let you guess their intentions!"
