Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 579: Godfather
Gan Ning first led the navy from Danzhou to Yizhou. Then a large number of ocean-going navy returned and stayed in Yizhou to train new ships on the spot. Gan Ning took a small group of people, boarded the new ship, and returned to the port outside Jinling with the harvest of this trip.
The news that the ocean-going navy had returned "in time" quickly spread throughout the State of Chu, but...there is no wall that is impenetrable.
Although they had changed to new ships, they were both from Danzhou and Yizhou, and the number of people was obviously wrong.
The so-called "emergency training" as an excuse is obviously untenable - at least it's impossible that there is not even time to come back and take a look?
Therefore, the news about "the ocean-going navy suffered heavy losses" became popular for a while.
The major private newspapers also played an active role at this time. While analyzing current affairs, they also guided and calmed the public sentiment. As for other princes... most of them focused on watching and investigating, especially the Wei State, which was in conflict with the Chu State at sea!
The mood at home was soon calmed down. In addition to the credit of the official report, it was also because Gan Ning's voyage did achieve some results.
Brought back several cabins of gold—real gold, not brass!
There were also various "treasures" named by Bai Tu - sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, cotton... and many rubber trees and cinchona trees that were brought back with their roots wrapped in soil...
If we look at it from a utilitarian perspective, the gold brought back alone is worth the money, enough to even pay for the pension for "most of the injuries" and the training costs, with some left over.
What's more, there are all kinds of magical crops...
Bai Tu was very honest. He ordered people to write the estimated yield of crops such as corn after breeding into various official bulletins, and promised to promote them within three years.
He also talked about the advantages of cotton as a filling for winter clothes, and also reported its estimated production and functions truthfully.
There is also quinine from the cinchona tree, which has a miraculous effect on malaria...
It can be said that Bai Tu is rarely so "honest". He popularizes to the public in advance the planned products that have not yet been realized and could obviously be kept secret for a period of time!
It was precisely these "magical objects" that made the Chu people gradually accept the conclusion that "this is an exploration with great profits."
only……
In the past, the princes' spies were very sensitive to information about the State of Chu, especially when there were new inventions or new crops. They would flock to it this time, they treated the "earth-shaking discoveries" of the State of Chu as nothing.
Whether it was the State of Wei, the Duke of Qi, or the Duke of Zheng, they all showed disdain for these great discoveries and had no intention of delving into them, as if to say: Just be happy...
After all, from their perspective, Chu’s propaganda was either to appease the people, or... Bai Tu was suffering from hysteria!
What good things have happened to you?
It's used for both making a living and keeping warm... Why don't you say that the fairy island overseas can produce heavenly soldiers and generals?
This is actually exactly Bai Tu’s purpose. To be more precise... it was Jia Xu’s suggestion!
The only officials of Chu who truly knew that all of this was true, apart from Gan Ning and the ocean-going navy, were the Grand Secretaries in the palace.
As for the others, whether it is the Ministry of Engineering, the Ministry of Agricultural Sciences or the Medical College, they only know that the part they are responsible for is true.
Although the court officials all promoted it as "true", I'm afraid there were doubts behind the scenes...
This trick of pretending to be real was naturally Jia Xu's idea.
As expected, Cao Cao and Liu Bei did not believe this truth. Even wise men like Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, Sima Yi, etc., still had a doubt in their hearts - could it be that part of it was true, but the Chu State exaggerated it in its propaganda?
However, in the end, no one took it too seriously. After all, at present, it will take more than one or two years to transform these into hard power.
On the contrary, just as Jia Xu thought, with Gan Ning's return and the Chu State's unreliable "boasting", outsiders basically concluded that the ocean-going navy had suffered "heavy losses"!
Even though he still had doubts in his heart and thought it might be a false strategy of the Chu State, after receiving further intelligence that only 8,000 navy men had returned and most of the ships were missing, his doubts were completely dispelled.
After all, these are the facts...
Unless they can accurately detect that 30% of the 8,000 people are generals, and their military appearance and military spirit are intact, they will not be able to realize that the losses of the ocean-going navy are not as severe as they imagined.
However, the spies they were able to place were obviously not capable of seeing the entire picture!
Therefore, in the eyes of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Bai Tu's so-called emergency training in Yizhou was more like isolating the remaining ocean-going navy that had returned in order to prevent the spread of panic.
This made them even more convinced of the weakness of the Chu navy!
Not to mention that Liu Bei had already received the imperial edict to support the Western Liang Army , after Cao Cao learned the news, the entire Wei fleet became bolder in Bohai Sea.
After all this, Xiahou Juan became depressed. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that although Wei State did not border Chu State, it was likely that Wei State would have to fight a war with Chu State soon...
This can only be avoided if the State of Chu takes the initiative to withdraw from Bohai or even from Tanzhou!
However, this did not affect Bai Tu's attitude towards Xiahou Juan. Not long ago, when Gan Ning came back and had a banquet with Bai Tu, Bai Tu asked his daughter "Bai Ningning" to recognize Gan Ning as her godfather.
Firstly, little Ningning seems to like flowery clothes very much and is very close to the flamboyant Gan Ning. Secondly... Bai Ningning's name cannot be explained, and Gan Ning does not accept the explanation of "this is because I miss you".
So Bai Tu simply asked Xiao Ningning to recognize him as her adoptive father, and Gan Ning finally had nothing to say...
But the giggling little Ningning naturally had no idea that her godfather was about to go and have some fun with her grandparents and uncles whom she had never met!
Gan Ning even teased little Ningning deliberately, saying, "Hahaha, I won't let you recognize me as your foster father in vain. After a few months, I will invite all your grandparents and uncles over!"
It was rare for a princess to recognize someone as her adoptive father, especially for someone of Gan Ning's identity... If it were any other prince, there would have been a huge uproar in the court, and people would have speculated that Bai Tu wanted to "depose the eldest and establish the youngest" and support a certain prince.
But the princess' words...
Although the State of Chu advocated gender equality, people still did not consider women as heirs. At most, they just let others know again that the King of Chu and Lady Xiahou had a good relationship.
At the same time, naval training and the construction of small warships and warships became the top priorities of the Chu State in the next few months. In Hanzhong and Badong, they only managed to stabilize their position.
Because the weather was getting colder, and the climate in Bohai was not suitable for fighting in winter, Chu and Wei maintained their last peace...
