Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 392 Mission

  Zhu Hou caught the radish, hung it neatly on the horse's neck, and then took Liu Jin to the west.

   Just looking at the west, Zhu Houzhao still has awe in his eyes.

   But in the end, he gritted his teeth, swung his whip, and rode his horse all the way without any hesitation.

  …

   On a vast ocean that seemed to have no end in sight, for more than a month, the ship followed the ocean current and headed west.

  The bottom of the scum of the world Wang Bushi is covered with moss, and various shellfish are adsorbed on the bottom of the ship. When in Ceylon, the ship was repaired.

In fact, the Ceylons didn't seem to be friendly to Ming's fleet. Fortunately, Xu Jing took out some silk and exchanged it with them, and then recruited some Ceylons to serve for them. They even bought a sea-going ship .

   On the way, they encountered a group of pirates. Qianhu Yang Jian and others opened fire, and with the sound of the blunderbuss, the pirates suddenly turned pale with fright and fled away.

  Wang Xizuo proudly told the people on board that Daming's firecrackers were not very good. If these pirates insisted on plundering, they might be able to bring certain casualties to Daming's fleet.

He vaguely said that this was due to the Portuguese. Once the pirates encountered the Portuguese muskets, they immediately dropped their helmets and armor. This made them have a deep fear of muskets. Fired the guns, they actually thought it was the Portuguese fleet that was haunted.

Xu Jing knew more and more things. Although he also knew that Wang Xizuo's words were half-truths and half-truths, he gradually understood Wang Xizuo's intentions. Wang Xizuo hoped to follow the Ming Dynasty official fleet. , to inquire about some news, it is best to follow Xu Jing back to the voyage, and finally follow Xu Jing to land in Daming to get first-hand information.

  Wang Xizuo is a man with great ambitions.

  What he coveted was the porcelain and silk in the ship.

Of course, just relying on this little porcelain and silk is not enough to tempt him. He wants to go to the land of silk and the country of porcelain to have a look and find out the details of Daming. interested.

  No matter what, at least knowing the intention of this person, it might as well have the same goal, both hope that one day, Xu Jing can return to his homeland, while Wang Xizuo can land in Daming.

  Thus, Xu Jing's attitude towards Wang Xizuo became better and better. They patted each other's shoulders, and Xu Jing could already fluently call Wang Xizuo a good brother in Portuguese.

  Wang Xizuo has integrated into the large group, he is quite familiar with this sea area, which saves the fleet a lot of trouble.

   Even, in order to allow everyone to return safely to resist the restless sea weather from the Indian Ocean, Wang Xiwei pointed out some important flaws on the ship keenly.

  Xu Jing and his relationship became more intimate, and the first thing he did when he got up was to shout loudly: "Where is my dear and faithful friend Wang Xizuo?"

   With such a roar, Wang Xizuo appeared, and the two smiled at each other, holding hands, and began to chat enthusiastically with each other.

They have endless topics to talk about. Xu Jing will talk about silk, gold, and tea, while Wang Xizuo will tell Xu Jing that they are a group of poor people who have circumvented the Cape of Good Hope and the entire Kunlun State mainland. People, they are here to spread their teachings—in the words of Daming, it is their way of sages, they are brilliant and loving, they are a group of international friends who never care about personal gains and losses, and traveled thousands of miles to Luzon. .

He will occasionally talk about the situation of the Fora machine. For him, it is no big deal. Even if he drinks alcohol and gets excited, he starts to complain loudly, saying that the scum of the world is not suitable for oceangoing at all. Sailing, the structure of the hull is very problematic, and there are many unreasonable things. Every time he said it, Xu Jing secretly took out his small book while persuading him to drink.

  Human beings from two different countries at the east and west ends are on such a ship named after the scum of the world. They meet unexpectedly, just like the great love stories in all dramas, and countless sparks begin to be born.

  Although Wang Bushi, the scum of the world, made some improvements under Wang Xizuo's suggestion and repaired it in Ceylon, Wang Xizuo was still very worried about it, and he suggested returning to the voyage.

Even including all the crew members, after seven or eight people died of dysentery, a few others suffered from certain strange diseases, and an unlucky guy accidentally fell off the ship, never again After being rescued, every crew member missed their homeland even more.

If it weren't for Xu Jing, who would always walk from the bow to the stern, comforting them again and again, telling them that after returning, it would be a great contribution, and only by sailing forward, could they reach what the fleet of the Sanbao **** could reach. The farthest point they have reached, from now on, I can guarantee that they will have a lot of glory and wealth in the future, and there is no airs of editing at all, but treat everyone kindly, even if this person is just the cook on the boat.

   Otherwise, Xu Jing would have been thrown overboard to feed the fish.

  Finally, Xu Jing also fell ill.

He felt weak all over, his head was hot and hot, but his body was very cold. In the cabin, wrapped in a thick quilt, he still felt uncomfortably cold, but he could only grit his teeth and dare not tell the truth about his condition. anyone!

  Because he knows better than anyone else that once everyone knows that he is also sick, all the confidence of the entire fleet will most likely be wiped away.

With persistence, Bai Ri greeted everyone on the boat calmly, including the other party's parents, wife and children. Even though he was dizzy, Xu Jing still told them intimately that in a short while, a new land was found, you guys There will be a good life, and then you can go home with countless wealth and official positions in the court to enjoy the blessings. This is a guarantee from a man, and each of them will carry a basket. gold and silver.

  But at night, he was wrapped in a quilt again, and the only support was the muddy and hot fresh water.

Putting on a quilt, he sat in front of the desk in the cabin where his waist was almost upright and his head was on his head. He struggled to hold a pen, took a deep breath, and wrote: "On February 26, the 14th year of Hongzhi, the fleet left Seventeen days have passed since the port of Ceylon, and the weather is calm. The isolated island we met the day before yesterday had no fresh water, which is a pity. Fortunately, the fresh water on board the boat can last for seven days. Wang Xizuo believes that within three days, we will definitely find a place for us Supply islands..."

  He was writing seriously, when suddenly, his hand trembled...

In this daze, he shivered again. He seemed to see, not far from him, the mentor was standing there. The mentor saw him, opened his arms towards him, and the lips protruded. What a gentle smile, just like a saint, and then slowly walked towards him in the haze, then gently stroked his head and smiled at him.

In an instant, Xu Jing smiled like a madman facing the void, and then he choked up again, tears fell down, and he uttered weird syllables, maybe because of excitement, maybe It's because of choking.

  The figure of the mentor gradually disappeared, but the smile towards him was deeply imprinted in Xu Jing's mind.

Xu Jing sniffed his nose, he was no longer the handsome and spotless young master, he wiped his nose with his sleeve fiercely, ignored the filth of the cuff, but picked up the pen again, the crying look on his face was like a child, But he didn't dare to make a sound, so it was like a baby whimpering.

He tried his best to hold the pen, and even under the high fever, he still wrote crooked words tremblingly: "I may die of this disease soon, and if I die, there will be internal strife in the ship, and the scum of the world will never be able to return to its homeland." , or be buried in the belly of a fish, or be separated from the homeland forever. I haven’t seen my teacher for one hundred and fifty-nine days, I... miss it very much, my teacher once taught that the most important thing in life is to be happy, I... I..."

  He wanted to say that he would definitely be happy, but the tears that he had endured with great difficulty burst out again, and tears flowed down his face again.

The loneliness at sea is unimaginable, from suffering to numbness, and then from numbness to even more suffering, endless despair, and occasionally seeing a glimmer of hope, this hope is like a ray of light, but always Fleeting!

Every thought of returning to the voyage, the longer the voyage, has a fatal attraction to Xu Jing. He even wanted to blurt out countless times, let's go back, we have actually completed our mission. Teacher, I miss them all the time, I want to know if they are doing well at the moment, and I want to know... whether they are also sick.

But... In the end, he gritted his teeth and held on, because in his mind, he would always think of that sentence—go west all the way, and explore a little more to the west, so that a new path can be opened up, and only a little bit less walking can be made for Daming detour.

He couldn't bear it anymore, dropped his pen, wrapped himself in the quilt weakly, and lay on his back on the couch, still shivering from the cold all over. He leaned on the cabin deck and started coughing, looking at the people in the cabin angrily. A small oil lamp, and then a wry smile, maybe... I really can't hold on anymore.

  …

   the next day.

  Dawn is just emerging, and the sun is slowly emerging from the horizon of the farthest horizon, while the scum of the world is still heading west.

  In Xu Jing's cabin, as usual, his hearty voice came: "Where is my dear and faithful lifelong friend Wang Xizuo?"

   After a while, Wang Xizuo appeared with a smile on his face.

The two people who hadn't washed for several months grinned each other, their teeth were full of tartar and black and yellow, but they hugged each other intimately, kissed each other with Francine etiquette, and felt each other's love temperature.

   "It's a new day." Wang Xizuo sighed.

   "Yes!" Xu Jing's face turned blue and he looked weak, but at this moment he looked at the west from a distance, and said word by word: "A new day!"

  (end of this chapter)