Chương 686: Zhou Yu Returns

In the autumn of the fifteenth year of Shenwu, the osmanthus flowers in Luoyang City bloomed wildly, filling every corner of the imperial city with their sweet fragrance...

Liu Ce leaned back on the dragon throne, listening to Shen Wansan report on the autumn taxes. Shen Wansan, the Minister of Revenue, kept rambling on and on about the numbers, making Liu Ce's eyelids droop and his head bob up and down, with drool almost dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Li Dequan, standing nearby, was afraid that His Majesty would fall headfirst onto the desk and smash a hole in it.

Just then, a eunuch came running in with tiny, quick steps, his shoes practically smoking, his voice filled with excitement:

"Your Majesty! Lord Zhou Yu has returned to the capital! He requested an audience outside the palace, saying that all matters concerning the navy and the distant seas have been settled!"

"Oh?" Liu Ce sat up straight with a "whoosh," his drowsiness vanishing instantly. He stood ramrod straight, more energetic than if he were attending court.

"Let him in quickly! I want to see just how much trouble Gongjin has caused me in these past five years, and whether he has embarrassed me."

The ministers in the hall instantly perked up, turning their heads to look at the hall entrance and whispering among themselves.

"Shh, they're here!"

"I heard that Lord Zhou has been at sea for several years. I wonder how tanned he is."

The palace doors creaked open, and Zhou Yu strode in.

When everyone took one look, they almost didn't recognize him.

Back then, that handsome, scholarly general, dressed in a white robe, was so refined and elegant that even among a group of military officers, he looked like a scholar who had wandered onto the wrong set. Just standing there would attract girls all over the street to throw fruit at him, and wherever he went, people would steal glances at him.

Now look at him... his skin is tanned dark, like he was pulled out of a charcoal kiln, his cheeks have a rough red from the sea breeze, stubble has sprouted on his chin, his once slender wrists have become thicker, and he has become much stronger, like a completely different person.

He walked into the hall, snapped to attention, and gave a crisp military salute, his voice booming: "Your subject Zhou Yu, having been ordered to command the three major naval forces and oversee colonial affairs, has, after five years, returned with full honors! I have not failed Your Majesty's trust!"

Liu Ce stared at him for three seconds, then burst out laughing, pointing at him and saying:

"Gongjin, I told you to be bolder and go further, not to get so tanned you're like charcoal. When you returned home, your wife didn't recognize you and chased you out with a broom, right? Did she think a dark-skinned thief had broken into the house?"

The hall erupted in laughter. The once solemn court instantly became lively. Cheng Yaojin laughed so hard that he slapped his thigh, almost knocking Qin Qiong down next to him.

Zhou Yu smiled, revealing a set of white teeth that stood out starkly against his dark face: "Your Majesty, my wife was indeed stunned at first. She came out with the hairpin, saying she thought some old fisherman had broken into the mansion and was about to call for help to catch the thief. But when she saw the seal on my waist, she stared at it for a long time before daring to recognize it. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she hugged me and cried for a while, saying, 'How did you get so tanned?

You look like a completely different person.'"

"You're quite the honest fellow," Liu Ce said with a smile, waving his hand.

"Don't stand, sit down. Tell me properly, what have you accomplished in these past five years? Don't use fancy words, speak plainly, I understand, the more straightforward the better."

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Zhou Yu sat down, took the tea handed to him by the eunuch, and gulped down a large bowl of it as if he had been thirsty for three days. After finishing, he wiped his mouth as if he had drunk a bowl of strong liquor.

He wiped his mouth, and once he started talking, he couldn't stop. His eyes were shining, as if he were talking about his own precious child.

"Let's start with the three major naval forces. The Beiyang, Dongyang, and Nanyang naval forces that His Majesty requested, along with ten thousand-ton-class steam-sail hybrid warships, have all been completed and are now in service, not one missing and not one damaged."

"Each warship is equipped with twenty heavy cannons, all of which are new smoothbore cannons produced by the Ministry of Works. They have a long range and good accuracy. When the steam power is fully activated, they can run with the wind or against the wind, and the fastest speed can reach fifteen knots."

"I led the fleet on three voyages through the Western Pacific, from Nanhai Prefecture to Liaoyang Prefecture, then to Yingzhou Province and the islands of Nanyang, making several round trips. The boilers, propellers, and gun emplacements are all in perfect working order; they're very sturdy and can withstand any wind or waves."

He chuckled as he spoke, slapping his thigh and laughing: "The first time we were deployed to Southeast Asia for training exercises, when we were firing the cannons, a group of pirates nearby, who originally wanted to rob merchant ships, were hiding behind the island waiting."

Hearing the cannon fire and seeing our iron ship approaching with smoke billowing out, we were so scared we peed our pants. We abandoned the ship and paddled our small sampan into the woods, running faster than rabbits. We didn't even bother to take the gold and silver treasures from the ship.

Now, in the Western Pacific, there are no pirates, not even large-scale bandit strongholds. Merchant ships are safer by sea than by land, and merchants now prefer sea transport—it's cheaper, faster, and less risky.

"The coastal port fortresses have all been equipped with heavy coastal defense cannons, and the fortresses are connected in a row, with all the cannons pointing towards the open sea. Let alone small groups of pirates, even if a fleet from overseas attacks, they won't be able to get ashore before being sunk by us. I dare to say with my hand on my chest... that the control of the sea in the western Pacific is now completely in the hands of our great Han! No one can touch our ships."

The military officers' eyes lit up as they listened, as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and they were all eager to fight.

Cheng Yaojin slapped his thigh, making a loud "bang" that shook the teacups on the table.

"Good heavens! Iron ships with heavy cannons, that's something! From now on, if anyone dares to mess with us, we'll just sail over and blast them to smithereens! We'll blast them until they submit! I'm going to go out to sea and show off my power too!"

Li Jing nodded repeatedly, his face full of approval, and stroked his beard as he said:

"General Zhou is a remarkable young man. It's not easy to build up the navy to this level in just five years. I admire him greatly. This speed is even faster than when we trained our troops back then."

"General Li, you flatter me." Zhou Yu waved his hand, modest as he was, but his pride was undisguised.

"It's all thanks to Your Majesty's excellent methods. I was just following them. Without Your Majesty's blueprints and strategies, I could never have created this formation even if I worked for another ten years."

He paused, then continued, "Let's talk about ocean exploration. I've made arrangements for both teams Your Majesty ordered."

"The team on the western route traveled westward along the Indian Ocean for about half a year, and finally reached the Persian Gulf. They continued southward and arrived at the East African coast."

The people there were as black as charcoal, naked, and they traded seashells, ivory, and rhinoceros horns for silk and porcelain. Some tribal chiefs even thought we were gods descended from heaven and insisted on kowtowing to us. They also wanted to marry their daughters to the fleet leader, which scared our leader so much that he sailed away that very night, saying, "I can't do this job. My wife will beat me to death when I get back."

I ordered them to build supply depots at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and along the East African coast, stockpiling grain and fresh water, and also constructing small wharves. From now on, merchant ships will no longer need to travel long distances to find resupply places, saving them a lot of trouble, and they won't have to drink seawater anymore.

"The eastern route team is even more formidable." Zhou Yu's voice rose several decibels as he spoke, leaning forward so much he almost knocked over his teacup.

"They actually crossed the ocean and reached the continent His Majesty spoke of!"

"Whoa—!"

A low gasp rippled through the hall, and the ministers sat up straight, as if listening to a divine pronouncement.