Back to the Song Dynasty as a tyrant

Li Bao let the others go and let them take Faisal's head back.

In the middle of the night, Faisal's head was sent back to Linga Island and placed in front of Istaheli.

Istaheli's face was livid, and he roared angrily like a lion: "Song people dare to kill my people, don't they want to do business in this sea area in the future!"

No one dared to answer.

"Call everyone immediately. After dawn, I will let all Song people be buried in the sea!"

"Yes!"

The sky in the east turned pale. Tang Zijian couldn't sleep. He woke up very early. When he ran to the deck, the waves in front of him beat against the shore.

There was a man standing on the deck, Pu Luoxin.

"Master Tang."

"You can't sleep either?"

"I really can't sleep."

"what are you worried about?"

Pu Luoxin sighed, and said: "Istaheli's strength should not be underestimated, and Director Li killed his envoy again, so they must come here in anger."

"I want to ask you something."

"You can say it anyway."

"Is your food country also strong in the west?"

"That was all hundreds of years ago. Now, it has fallen, and the empire has long been torn apart, and it is no longer what it used to be."

"Are there other powers in the West?"

"Seljuk and Rome are both very strong, and Rome is what you Song people call Fushi Kingdom."

"Oh, I've read historical materials on this, and it turns out that you call it Rome."

"There are also many countries in the Christian world." Pu Luoxin looked at the western waters for a long time, then looked back at Tang Zijian and said, "If the Song Dynasty really wins this battle, the vast commerce and trade in the western waters will They can all belong to Song Dynasty."

"How big will it be?" Tang Zijian said, "Could it be that the population of the West is larger than that of Song Dynasty?"

"Maybe not as many as in the Song Dynasty, but this matter is not more than anyone else's population. Silk, ceramics and tea itself are not something that ordinary people can buy at will. There are also many nobles and rich people in the Western world. If all How much money will you earn by buying silk and ceramics from the Song Dynasty?"

"What currency do Westerners use?"

"Gold and silver."

The two were discussing, Li Bao came up from below the deck.

There are many soldiers of the Song Army around, some of them are unfurling the sails, some are preparing buckets, and some are carrying weapons.

On the mast of the main battleship, the standard bearer is waving the flag.

There were also standard bearers on other warships waving their flags.

The sun has not yet come out, and the sea water is flowing with a dark blue luster under the early morning sky.

At the harbor of Linga Island, there are many ships moored. Those are big man-eating dhows, which look like huge sharks crawling on the sea, and their shapes are vigorous and powerful.

Near the harbour, there are still several heads hanging.

Judging from the appearance of the head, it should be from the Song Dynasty.

They are Song people who do not abide by the rules of this area.

They tried to cross the fort alone to avoid these big cannibals, but they were caught by bad luck.

The big cannibals were gathering, and they took weapons and boarded the warship one after another.

Of course, there are not so many big cannibals, and some are Tianzhu people, Persians and Srivijaya people.

"Boss Li, the cannibal is on board." Tang Zijian pointed to the port ahead and said loudly.

"I saw."

At this time, some merchant ships were approaching here.

It can be seen from the hull that most of them are merchant ships of the Song people.

It is very difficult for Song people to sell their goods to the West, and most of them will come here to directly trade with the big cannibals.

These merchant ships from the Song Dynasty came here to directly trade with Istahli, just like what Liu Xiang said before.

"Officer, let's stop running after this trip. It's getting less and less profitable to do business in the South China Sea." A middle-aged man followed a young man out of the cabin.

"Uncle Fu, our family is also traveling to the South China Sea in our time, how can we just say no to it?" It was a young man who spoke.

"Officials, it was rumored that Sanfoqi will increase the sea tax, and each piece of silk will be increased to one guan. This silk can only earn two guan, and half of the money will be given to Sanfoqi. It is better to go back to the Song Dynasty to do it. This business can also be done in Japan, I heard that the business between Japan and our court has been very big in the past two years."

"Most of the people who do business with Japan are businessmen from Zhejiang and Fujian. It may be very difficult for our businessmen on Guangnan East Road to do business in Japan."

"That's better than traveling thousands of miles to come here. It takes two months to come here, and another two months to go back." Ah Fu complained.

"Stop talking, it's almost here, let me know and prepare to deliver." Su Jing said.

"Oh, it would be great if the imperial court could send troops here!" Ah Fu sighed, "In this way we will not be coerced by others..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard someone shouting on the deck: "Look, there are many ships in the port today, and they seem to be our Da Song's ships!"

Chapter 957 Linga Sea Battle (Second Change)

Ah Fu followed the voice and saw dozens of large ships in front of him.

From the shape and structure, one can recognize it as Fuchuan at a glance.

"Officer, look!"

"I saw it." Su Jing looked over, "How come there are so many of my Da Song's boats."

"Why are there so many ships suddenly appearing today?"

"Is this the caravan of a big family?"

"It is impossible for any big family to dispatch nearly [-] large ships to come here in one go, unless it is the Nanhai Trading Company."

A young man on a Song boat shouted in Cantonese: "Look at those flags!"

Everyone's eyes focused on the flags waving on the ships.

At this time, the rising sun slowly revealed the eastern coastline, reflecting the sea area in a golden and bright color.

In the morning light, flags are waving against the sea breeze.

There is one word written on those flags: Song.

At the highest point of each ship, there is another flag, which is the Nine Dragon Banner of the Chinese emperor.

The nine-pointed dragon flag was bathed in the morning light, exuding a solemn majesty.

"That's not an ordinary merchant ship!" Su Jing exclaimed, "It may be a warship of the imperial court!"

As soon as he said this, everyone on the deck was surprised.

Ah Fu shouted again: "Officer, look at the harbor."

I saw that the cannibals had all boarded the ship, their triangular sail warships were ready, and the sails were unfurled.

It was these Arabs who competed with the (Eastern) Roman Empire for sea power in the Eastern Mediterranean for nearly 500 years in the Mediterranean.

At the very beginning, the Arabs rose up in the desert, and then expanded rapidly, becoming a super empire with Tang Dynasty in the east and Mediterranean Sea in the west.

In the hundreds of years of competing with the Roman Empire for sea power, the Arab navy has been continuously tempered, and their warships and tactics have been greatly improved.

These hundreds of years are also the hundreds of years that the Arabs have crossed the East and West seas.

They transported Chinese silk and ceramics to India, the Red Sea, and even Egypt.

However, no matter how strong the glory is, there will be a moment when the curtain ends.

The Arab Empire in the 12th century has long lost its former glory. The empire was split by the Turks and Persians, and the country's situation plummeted.

Even so, the Arab warship technology and tactics are still there.

Istaheli has made a fortune in the South China Sea and has enough financial resources to maintain this huge fleet.

What is the strength of this fleet?

It can be said that even Sanfoqi, the most powerful country in the South China Sea, will not be tough with him.

An eagle circled overhead, making a shrill cry.

On the blue sea, there are four linear battleship groups, each with seven ships, straight as a line, forming the latest line array of the Song Army.

Not long after, the rising sun completely exposed the coastline, dyeing the sea surface golden, and the warships of the Song Army were also bathed in the morning light.

"Director Li, the cannibal is coming!"

"Shangguan, the enemy is approaching us!"

"Shangguan, the enemy is still four miles away from us!"

"Shangguan, the artillery is ready!"

"Report! The guns are all in place!"

"Report! The doctors are all in place!"

"Report! The crossbowmen and archers are all in place!"

"Report! The knives and axes are all in place!"

There was a sonorous and powerful sound from the Song Army warship.

Li Bao stood on the deck of the main ship and watched the group of big man-eating warships pushing towards this side.

Each warship has a huge triangular sail on it, which is a typical Arabian triangular sail warship.

It is by this kind of warship that the Arabs traverse the sea.

And in the perennial naval battles, the Arab warships became very large.

It is said that it was used to look down on the Roman warships from a high position.

"Lord, the Song people have a total of 28 warships."

Standing on the deck, Istaheli looked at the front and smiled vigorously in the gentle sea breeze: "28 warships dare to come here to provoke us. People in Song Dynasty think they are Romans, and warships can breathe fire. No!"

The flame-breathing warships he was talking about were the warships of the (Eastern) Roman Empire. During naval battles, they spewed out huge flames to burn approaching ships.

This kind of flame is called "Greek fire".

Greek fire is a kind of flame that can burn on the surface of the sea. The Romans themselves called it "sea fire" and "flowing fire".

This flame caused the Arabs to suffer a lot when they competed with it.

"Lord, the arrangement of warships of the Song people is very strange, they are arranged vertically, which is completely different from the formation we have seen before."

"Did the Song people have any naval battles in the South China Sea before?" Istaheli asked.

"There is no naval battle. Except for the Song warships landing in Champa and attacking Champa a few years ago, the Song people have never had a sea war with any country in the South China Sea."

"That's right, the Song people have absolutely no experience in naval warfare." Istaheli asserted.

What he said was accurate, the Song Army did not have experience in ocean warfare.

Li Bao is not a cautious person, but it is indeed his first time to go to sea to fight, so he is extra cautious.

"Dare to go south and come here without experience in naval warfare!"

"Then there is no challenge this time."

"Let these Song people be buried in the sea."

"..."

Istaheli ordered: "Send the order, the whole army will attack, ten warships on the left and right flanks, surround the Song army, and the rest will go in from the middle, project with trebuchets, and quickly approach the Song warships, board the ships and fight !"

"Yes!"

The big man-eating horn sounded, and the oarsmen below deck picked up the speed of the boat.

"Mr. Li, the big cannibal is quickly approaching us."

"Without my order, no one is allowed to do anything." Li Bao said.

"Yes."