The warships of the South China Sea sailed into the southern port of the Ryukyus one after another, and the warships were like tall fortresses, mooring the harbor to the brim.

The coast of the port area is about three miles long, and there is an atoll in the outer harbor that pulls the strong wind and waves, and the water in the inner harbor appears deep and calm, which is a natural harbor. Not far from the shore, a new trestle is stretching out into the sea. On the hill in the distance were several half-finished artillery forts, the outer walls of which were being repaired according to the drawings. This is a fort on the sea-facing side. The port area was surrounded by hilly terrain, and around the coastal plain, the abrupt mountains were surrounded by walls, and the Han army also built several artillery forts on the mountains. Ascend the high fort can overlook the port area, spider web-like roads, trenches, the inner and outer forts and the port are connected, the firing boundaries of each gun position overlap with each other, and after loading the heavy artillery made by Shu, a complete defense system based on heavy artillery will be formed here.

The afterglow of the setting sun reflects the mountains and mountains, and the residual glow is like blood, which has a magnificent charm.

The sky gradually turned from blue to gloomy, the waves rippled slightly, and the masts of the ships were scattered, scattering bronze brilliance.

There were more than 80 warships of the South China Sea Joint Naval Division, less than 10,000 sailors, and more than 1,200 cast-iron cannons, which consumed more than 7,000 catties of gunpowder in a single salvo. The casting of these expensive iron cannons, the establishment of supporting iron-smelting yards, shipyards, and powder depots in various ports, and the live-fire drills of the naval fleets every few days were so costly that the household department and the baggage division were eager to cut it down at once. Each warship was the result of the wealth of the Song and Xia dynasties, and each one was a fierce beast of the sea armed with steel and gunpowder. Under Zhao Xingde's gaze, the sailors of the South China Sea have been tempered from a plate of loose sand, and they are about to prove their bravery in the rough sea, proving its value with blood and wealth.

After the roll call of the warships, the boats began to be lowered from the side of the ships, and the sailors could take turns to rest ashore for a few days, and the next time they left the port, it might not be ten days and half a month to dock. The voices on the dock gradually became noisy, Zhao Xingde closed the notebook of the Governor of the Navy, and entered the iron box, which was coated with a thick layer of wax. In the iron box, there are not only various personal records of Zhao Xingde, but also the merits of officers and soldiers. If the ship sinks and the soldiers die with the ship, their exploits will remain.

He stood up, but there was a knock outside the door, Zhao Xingde frowned, sat down again, and shouted, "Come in." ”

"Lord Dudu," Feng Mi saw that the Shuai case was empty, and bowed down and said, "Excuse me." ”

"Nothing." Zhao Xingde waved his hand and said casually, "If there is something, you can say it." ”

The sailors of the Han army were hurriedly jumping onto the dock, and under the crimson sunset, on the trestle stood a mother holding a child, a beautiful woman dressing up in the mirror, and a young woman in a worried mood. Most of the sailors' families were not here, and they also crowded on the side of the ship to watch the women on the docks, laughing and showing envy. Feng Minian was not married, and he was a decent person, so he did not understand the attraction between this kind of ship and port for a while.

"That's what the ships will talk about sooner or later." Feng Mi handed over an official document with both hands.

"So fast?" Zhao Xingde glanced at it, nodded and said, "You don't have to rush like this, it's the same in two days." ”

Although he heeded Feng Mi's advice and did not set a precedent for the general to interfere in the Qing discussions, he still asked the ships to report to him the topics discussed every day. Feng Mi, as the envoy of the Jiedu Secret Pavilion, copied the topics and points of discussion in the newspapers of the ship school officials every day. Zhao Xingde was just subconsciously reluctant to let go completely at first, but later he could feel many sparks of thought from these boring words. He even looked forward to stepping down from the military in the future and participating in such discussions as he had done before.

Zhao Xingde put the documents into the file, Feng Mi had not yet retired, and he couldn't help but show a different color.

"There is a topic that is not in the report," Feng Mi bowed and said, "However, I would like to ask Lord Zhao for advice." ”

"You sit down first." Zhao Xingde nodded, and said in a misty voice: "Say, what's the matter?" ”

Feng Mi sat down, the gaze of the opposite side fell on him, he unconsciously straightened his waist and put his hands on his knees.

"When I was talking, Commander Du said something that caused a lot of waves." Feng Mi said in a deep voice, the matter involved Du Fujiao, he hesitated for a moment, recalled the old man's indifferent expression, and slowly said the truth of the matter. Zhao Xingde's face was calm, and he nodded while listening. After Feng Mi finished speaking, he asked bluntly: "I want to know, what do you think?" ”

"He's right." Zhao Xingde replied with a natural expression: "We are robes, friends, and we can entrust each other with life and death." Although there is a difference in our ranks, we all have our own way, and I do not regard him as a subordinate, nor do he attach himself to me. The same is true for the rest of the generals. He looked at Feng Mi and said word by word, "Zhao is a handsome man and commands 100,000 people." However, I don't have a general, I don't have a private soldier, and the people around me are just robes, friends, and maybe allies. ”

Feng Mi had a suspicious look on his face and asked, "Don't adults need loyal servants and lackeys?" ”

"Is there really a so-called loyal servant and lackey who is absolutely loyal to someone?" Zhao Xingde shook his head, opened a copy of "Spring and Autumn" casually, and said slowly: "Yi Ya cooks and offers food, in the eyes of Qi Huangong, it can be regarded as too loyal to be more loyal." But what about then? When Huan Gong starved to death, his body rotted, and mosquitoes and flies lingered, he probably knew that there was no unconditional loyalty in the world. Not to mention a person, even if it is really a dog, in many cases, it will bite its owner back. In this case, why not treat others as a gentleman from the beginning, and treat me as a gentleman, so that we can be at ease with each other, and we can start and finish well? ”

"Loyalty and righteousness still need conditions? Could it be that the righteousness of the monarch and the minister will also be conditional. Feng Mi looked at him in disbelief, "How is that different from buying and selling?" ”

"The monarch is a minister, and if the monarch is not a minister, then the minister is not a minister. It could have been thought of as an agreement. Zhao Xingde shook his head and sighed, "Although the shore of the land is not the king's land, and the whole world is not the king's minister, then, the king of the sword, the people in the same boat are all enemy countries." In the same way, the people pay taxes and obey the imperial court, which is also conditional. If the remnants of the court succeed, the people of the world will naturally rise up. This is what the "Book of Shang" says, 'Heaven sees itself as the people, and God listens to the people as it hears', this mandate of heaven, to put it bluntly, is just an agreement. If there is an agreement, it is a condition. Not only is there no such thing as unconditional loyalty, but there are no absolutes. Or, there is no absolute, this is the only absolute. ”

"Mr. Zhao," Feng Mi listened in amazement, and then he interjected: "There are exceptions, but they are not absolute. ”

"Since this sentence is not absolute, how can it be said that there is no absolute thing in the world, but it has become absolute again." Zhao Xingde shook his head. It's been a long time since he's encountered a logical paradox, and the corners of his mouth can't help but smile on the corner of his mouth, "Even so, we know that at least most of the time, everything has to be conditional." He leaned back in his chair and looked at Feng Mi and said, "In that case, why should I ask others to pretend to be unconditionally loyal." Righteous men and gentlemen disdain to pretend to be fake, and the only result of this will only make there be a lot of flattering villains around them. ”

"Then Mr. Zhao thinks," Feng Mi frowned and pondered, and asked, "What is the difference between being loyal to the society and being loyal to the world?" ”

"Everyone should have their own answers to the questions that have been unresolved for thousands of years."

The commotion outside had faded away, and most of the unworthy sailors had gone ashore. Qing Talk can be all night, but if you can't stay any longer, I'm afraid that Han Ningshuang will have to wait for a long time, and the pregnant woman, both physically and emotionally, is much more fragile than usual, even if she doesn't let the woman with eyebrows.

Zhao Xingde stood up, Feng Mi also stood up, followed him out of the study, walked from the ship's building to the side of the ship, and Zhao Xingde didn't speak.

Seeing that he was about to step on the rope ladder, Feng Mi couldn't hold it back, bowed down and said respectfully: "Please Mr. for guidance." ”

"Many things, other people's answers, can't replace your own inner thoughts and answers." 、

Zhao Xingde looked at the young officer. The reason why he was saved at the beginning was that he valued this stubbornness, and in him, Zhao Xingde seemed to see the shadow of Zhang Bing at the beginning. He looked at those burning eyes, sighed, and said in a low voice: "To be loyal to the world, you must not only take responsibility, but also see it yourself." The road is too treacherous, too steep, and you can't recover if you make a mistake, so you can only trust your eyes. Before you can see clearly, it is good to walk in the footprints of most people and be loyal to the imperial court. ”

He patted Feng Mi on the shoulder, turned around and climbed down the rope ladder, and jumped into the dinghy. The pro-soldier propped up the dinghy with the oar, and then paddled hard, the deep-water berth was not far from the trestle, and soon sent Zhao Xingde ashore, the flag officer of the Han army had already led the mount to wait in the port, Zhao Xingde whispered a few words to the pro-soldiers, and then got on the horse and followed the flag officer to the Han army Nangang camp. Han Ningshuang has recently moved from the boat to the shore because she is unwell.

Zhao Xingde often stayed in the Han army camp without his entourage and soldiers, and the generals of the navy division slowly accepted it.

Everyone knows the power of the Han gunboats, a gunboat with a double artillery deck is enough to withstand three ordinary Song warships, the gunners of the Han army are more elite and sophisticated, and the speed of firing the cannon is almost twice that of ordinary Song gunners. Zhou He and others thought that Zhao Xingde's old department on Jingdong Road had an alliance with the Han army, and the South China Sea Naval Division also had to borrow Han gunboats to patrol the sea, so it was natural for Zhao Xingde to show affection to the Han army. Only Du Fujiao and other veteran generals from Liaodong vaguely guessed the reason, and they all had an attitude of being happy to see it.

Author: There was a "Shi Tingjian" in yesterday's chapter, which was a clerical error of "Liu Zhijian", which has been corrected, sorry, sorry.