Volume 5: The Gathering of Storms Chapter 302: Missing a little
Riding the wind and waves…
The day had already dawned, and order had been restored on the warship, gradually becoming orderly.
At this moment, under the command of Xiao Zhennan, the sailors began to clean the deck, put supplies in place, repair the sails, prepare cooking utensils, and start cooking.
Ani transformed herself into a ship's doctor, treating the wounds of every injured soldier and providing bandages and treatment.
Han Feier's gunshot wound had also been treated by Annie, who cleaned out the ammunition residue and applied ointment.
The good news is that through a simple inventory, the warship has reached the standard for long-distance voyages, and because the crew is much smaller than expected, the material reserves are sufficient to sustain voyages for at least half a year.
However, the Yongming naval battle consumed too many weapons and ammunition, and if another large-scale naval battle occurred, the ammunition would be exhausted.
However, Xu Zun was not too worried. After all, they went to the East China Sea to find people, not to fight.
The sea breeze blows on my face, and it is very cool.
Maybe it was because we were in the deep sea, but there were almost no birds flying on the surface of the sea. All we could see was a large group of jellyfish swarming in the water below the boat...
"To be honest," Zhao Yu lay on the bow with a bitter expression on his face, "This is my first time going out to sea! I didn't expect the sea to be like this..."
"What kind?" Xu Zun asked.
"Well... a little scary," Zhao Yu answered, feeling it, "and a little exciting, too big..."
Xu Zun then remembered that Zhao Yu was not good at water and could not swim. Huo Anu kicked him into the river and he almost drowned.
"The scenery on the sea is as beautiful as a painting. I wanted to compose a poem to give to the world." Xu Zun suddenly composed a poem, "But I am not educated. I can only say that my Cao Lang is so big!"
"..." Zhao Yu suddenly felt like he was burning, and he couldn't see his master clearly.
However, Zhao Yuchu's innate stubbornness finally made him give a thumbs up and praise, "Good poem!"
A "good poem" also amused Xu Zun.
"Sir, sir..." Zhao Yu just remembered the important matter and asked, "We considered everything last night, but you still missed something, right?"
"Missed one point?" Xu Zun was puzzled, "Not three points?"
Zhao Yu naturally didn’t understand Xu Zun’s joke, and immediately said seriously: “Sir, let’s forget about the people in the Prince’s Mansion!
"It means that there is no one on the ship who knows the prince!
"You just told me to find someone to paint a portrait of the prince last night, but I haven't had time to finish it yet..."
"Hehe..." Xu Zun smiled faintly, took out a piece of drawing paper from his sleeve, and said, "Go and pass it around to everyone, so that everyone can remember the person in the portrait!"
"ah?"
Zhao Yu was surprised and quickly took the drawing paper. He opened it and saw a picture of a handsome young man on it.
There is a mole on the lower right corner of the boy's lip.
"Sir, you are truly a genius!" Zhao Yu was full of admiration. "So you already have a portrait?"
"Yes," Xu Zun said, "I asked Chief Steward Cai to find a court painter to paint this. In addition, Crown Prince Li Xun suffers from an eye disease, and his right eye twitches habitually."
"Okay," Zhao Yu nodded, "I'll tell everyone on the ship right away."
After saying this, Zhao Yu took the portrait and was about to leave.
"Old Zhao," Xu Zun asked, "what do you know about this country of lemons?"
"Lan Meng?" Zhao Yu scratched his head. "I'm not sure about this. You should ask Mr. Xiao and his wife! Hey?"
After he finished speaking, Zhao Yu came back to his senses and hurriedly asked in a low voice: "What's wrong? Don't you feel something is wrong again?"
"nothing……"
Xu Zun shook his head. He had a vague feeling last night that when the three words "Lengmeng Country" were mentioned, the expressions of Xiao Zhennan and his wife were a little strange.
According to my own knowledge, the Lemon Country is located in the southeast corner of the East China Sea. It is a relatively mysterious ocean island country and there is very little information about them.
However, since this country is among the ten countries in the East China Sea that the Daxuan delegation is visiting, there should be nothing wrong with it, right?
To be honest, Xu Zun felt that there was still a chance of finding news about the prince from the Kingdom of Luomeng, because for these small countries in the East China Sea, Prince Daxuan's mission to the ten countries of the East China Sea was a top priority.
If they had not waited for the Daxuan delegation to arrive, they would have sent out ships to investigate and they should have known something.
Even if we could find out where the prince was attacked, it would be considered a gain.
Zhao Yu was quick-witted and knew Xu Zun's character very well, but he still misunderstood him and assured Xu Zun:
“Sir, although I am not very familiar with these two people, I can guarantee that there is no problem with them.
“First, they are people invited by our Zhao family. This alone is enough to reassure us.
"Secondly, these two owed my Zhao family a favor. Otherwise, they would not have followed us to the dock last night!"
oh……
Xu Zun knew that the Zhao family of Liaozhou had always been known for their well-informed intelligence. Since the person was invited by them, there was naturally no need to doubt him.
"Old Zhao," Xu Zun asked casually, thinking of something, "You always like to rank people. In your opinion, how would the skills of Xiao and his wife rank in comparison to my Daxuan?"
"Well, you're putting me in a difficult position," Zhao Yu said, "These two have been active overseas for many years, and they are not particularly famous.
"Judging from yesterday's performance," he commented seriously, "Hero Xiao is better than Huo Anu and I, but Heroine Han is a little inferior."
"Hmm... I see."
Xu Zun nodded. He knew that Zhao Yu was being euphemistic. In fact, Xiao Zhennan and his wife could not even make it onto the list.
"Kuniang..." Zhao Yu looked into the distance, and after not seeing Kuniang's figure, he asked Xu Zun, "Is she okay?"
"It should be fine." Xu Zun replied, but he noticed something was wrong with Zhao Yu and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just thought of the iron coffin!" Zhao Yu said mysteriously, "No wonder only an iron coffin can be used to lock up Ku Niang!"
Xu Zun realized that Zhao Yu must be remembering what happened last night when Ku Niang inserted her finger into the side of the boat.
He had just heard the soldiers talking about how the Daxuan warship was equipped with protective plates on both sides of the hull. The protective plates were made of cypress wood soaked in tung oil and were as hard as iron. Even axes and chisels might not be able to break them open.
So, the scene last night was really like seeing a ghost.
Until this point, everyone felt uncomfortable just by mentioning Ku Niang, let alone seeing her.
"There are always people who are better than you," Zhao Yu said thoughtfully, "I feel more and more that if Ku Niang and Yue Jinglei were to fight, Yue Jinglei's chances of winning would be slim!"
"Alright," Xu Zun didn't want to expand the matter of Ku Niang any further, so he said, "First, show everyone the portrait of the prince.
"Then, you will be responsible for the personnel work on our ship. Find out the details of everyone and prepare a detailed list as soon as possible."
"No way?" Zhao Yu said, "Aren't you too cautious? Is there something fishy going on among these people?"
"Go ahead and do it," Xu Zun said seriously, "regardless of whether there is any trick or not, it's better to know the situation..."
…
