This expedition was not announced to the world. It was decided to set off the next day and go all the way down the river. Logically speaking, the news should not have reached here so quickly.
But this Zhou Jianbo happened to know about it and led his troops to wait here. It looked like he knew about it in advance.
Zhou Jianbo saw Li Changfeng's doubts and explained with a smile: "Your Highness, when you sent people to collect accounts from the Japanese pirates and passed by here, the general knew about it. Later, your people rested here when they returned and learned that the Japanese pirates deliberately defaulted on the accounts.
The general knows that with your temper, His Highness, you will definitely go out to fight in person, so I am waiting here."
After hearing his explanation, Li Changfeng was shocked.
Talent!
Definitely a talent!
He had no contact with Zhou Jianbo, so being able to analyze these things from clues can be said to be extremely intelligent.
Li Changfeng couldn't help but admire: "General Zhou's thoughtfulness is simply breathtaking!"
Zhou Jianbo bowed humbly: "Your Highness, you are ridiculous. The general is just very angry at the Japanese pirates. After learning that you built the armored warship, he has been looking forward to one day conquering the Japanese pirates, so he has been paying attention to this matter!"
What he said is true.
But there was one thing he didn't say.
After such a long period of observation, he has secretly concluded that Li Changfeng will definitely inherit the throne in the future and become the future emperor of Daqian.
He has always been ambitious, but he has lived in the South China Sea for a long time and has no chance to display his ambitions, so he has always wanted to leave a good impression on Li Changfeng early so that he will have the opportunity to make contributions in the future.
His goal was achieved, and Li Changfeng admired him very much.
"You do have a good heart."
Zhou Jianbo naturally would not miss this opportunity and quickly said: "Your Highness, I am willing to do my best!"
Li Changfeng shook his head: "This prince...well, I am going to collect accounts, not to go on an expedition. I have no plans to mobilize the local garrison, and my father has not given me such power."
"ah?"
Zhou Jianbo was stunned for a moment, glanced at the soldier who was in his early 1000s behind Li Changfeng, and said in surprise: "Your Highness, have you brought the artillery musketeer Lei?"
"Smart." Li Changfeng smiled, "Not only that, he also brought a hot air balloon."
Zhou Jianbo suddenly understood, nodded and said: "In this case, as long as there is no landing operation, and the armored warships are enough to crush the Japanese pirates, there is no need for the assistance of the general."
"That's right."
Li Changfeng nodded, admiring Zhou Jianbo even more. Every word he said hit the point.
"Then I wish your highness a great victory!"
Zhou Jianbo bowed his hands to Li Changfeng, his eyes full of regret.
Li Changfeng's thoughts moved and he suddenly smiled and said: "My father has not given me the power to mobilize the army, but there is no problem for me to find a few people who are familiar with naval warfare and the Daqian sea to go with the ship."
Zhou Jianbo was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed and quickly knelt down to pay homage: "Thank you so much, His Highness the Ninth Prince!"
"Okay, get up, take a few of your smarter men, and accompany me on the expedition."
After saying that, Li Changfeng left for the armored warship.
Zhou Jianbo kowtowed seriously towards his back.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
He understood that Li Changfeng was cultivating him.
Judging from the current rapid development pace of Daqian, a powerful navy will be established sooner or later.
This navy will inevitably be equipped with powerful weapons such as artillery to control the country. Li Changfeng perfectly proved this today.
If he follows Li Changfeng on an expedition, he will definitely become the general who is most familiar with the application of armored warships and artillery in naval battles. In the future, when the navy is established, he will definitely be reused.
If he performed well enough this time, as long as Li Changfeng said a word in front of Emperor Qianwu, it would not be impossible for him to directly become the commander-in-chief of the navy.
He was right.
Li Changfeng indeed considered it this way.
Ocean trade is a very important part of his business plan, and it is impossible without strong maritime power.
He even thought about starting a real age of exploration, colonizing other backward countries in the world, and providing a steady stream of blood transfusions to Daqian.
Just like some countries in previous lives, they allowed their people to live a life of high welfare.
After boarding the armored warship, Li Changfeng carefully inspected the inside and outside. Although the details were much worse than what he had imagined, it was pretty good in this world to have reached such a level.
Then I tried the power, which was enough to beat the mainstream sailboats in the world.
Li Jianye got busy, running ammunition and installing artillery.
The soldiers under Zhou Jianbo helped prepare fresh water and other supplies necessary for survival.
Only Li Changfeng didn't have to do anything. Under everyone's surprised and envious eyes, he took Chunni to the deck and looked out at the sea.
"It looks spectacular, doesn't it?"
"Um."
Chunni nodded, looking slightly excited.
Li Changfeng said with some humor: "When we leave the coast completely and look at the endless sea all around, it will be even more visually impactful."
Chunni said nothing, but there was a look of expectation in her eyes.
"By the way, you haven't eaten seafood, have you?"
"seafood?"
Chunni turned around with a puzzled look on her face.
Li Changfeng looked forward to it: "That's because I haven't eaten it before. I'll let you eat it after you go to sea. It has a very unique taste."
He secretly planned in his mind that in order to make Hudilao more competitive, he planned to build a seafood hot pot.
People in this world, even those who live by the sea, don't eat seafood very much, and they don't know how to eat it.
The Daqian coastline is so vast and the seafood is so rich, it would be a waste not to use it.
He planned to defeat the Japanese pirates this time and then return to Beijing to talk to Emperor Qianwu about lifting the maritime ban and developing the fishing industry, which would not only provide an additional source of food, but also provide more income for the coastal people.
It took a day to prepare.
On the second day, as the whistle sounded, five steel behemoths set sail and sailed in the direction of the Japanese pirates.
…
Chitō Ito was the naval admiral of the Japanese pirate country. He commanded a navy of 100,000 Japanese pirates and held a pivotal position in the Japanese pirate country.
Now the Japanese pirates are invading Goryeo. All the land forces were sent there by his warships, and the plundered resources were also transported to the Japanese pirates from Goryeo.
When the geese are plucked, Chitō Ito reaps the benefits and lives a comfortable life.
On this day, another batch of gold and silver jewelry stolen from the Goryeo Kingdom was put on his warship and was about to be transported to the Japanese pirates' country.
Chitō Ito boarded the ship as usual to check it out, waiting for the opportunity to search for benefits.
Just when he was feeling proud about getting a fist-sized ruby, his subordinates suddenly let out bursts of exclamations.
"Oh my God, what is that?!"
"Is it a ship? How could there be such a big ship?!"
"That's too fast!"
"No, those five boats rushed towards us!"
"..."
"Baga!"
Chitō Ito was furious, drew his whip and turned around to punish the shouting subordinates, but was stunned by the warship in the distance.