That night, Li Su received the situation when Cai'er and Hu Yuyi met, but he had already handed over this matter to Cai'er to deal with himself, after all, people always have to grow up, and Cai'er also needs to go through this level, and there may be more women around Li Zhi in the future, so she must learn to adapt, although this seems a little cruel to later generations, but for people in this era, it is a very normal thing.

After reading the information about Cai'er and Li Zhi, Li Su did not rest, but came to the front hall, where a person was waiting for his summons.

Speaking of which, Li Su was really busy during this time, first of all, on the other side of the Strait of Malacca, the strength of Moluoyou and other countries was greatly damaged, and it was a good time for him to take the opportunity to occupy it, so he naturally would not let it go, some time ago he had collected 50,000 troops, and there were also twenty warships, together with the sea and land armies of the Lion City, they had swept all the countries along the Strait of Malacca, and took the entire strait into their own hands.

The only thing to worry about is that the remnants of the Moluo You and other countries hid in the rainforest in the middle of Jinzhou, and from time to time they would come out to harass them, although they couldn't have much impact, but they were disgusting like a group of cockroaches. It's a pity that Li Su has no extra strength for the time being, and Jinzhou is much larger than Luzon, and the population is several times that of Luzon, plus the rainforest on the island is all over the place, even the Linyi army does not dare to go too deep, so Li Su has no way to take the natives in the middle of Jinzhou for the time being, but the coast of Malacca is also under Li Su's management, and several fortresses have been built, and these forts are not something that the natives can conquer.

In addition to Malacca, the construction of Ceylon is also in full swing, after several months of exploration. On the basis of the original gem mines on the island of Ceylon, many people have discovered huge reserves of gem mines. This discovery once again set off a wave of Taobao fever in Taiwan and southern Datang, and countless people with dreams of making a fortune took boats together. Traveling across the ocean to Ceylon, then hiring a few locals to search for gem mines, there is little hope of them, but everyone is convinced that the next gem mine will be discovered by themselves.

The emergence of gem mines greatly boosted the local economy of Ceylon, and the number of Han Chinese also skyrocketed on the island, soon increasing to tens of thousands. Under the guidance of Li Su, some discerning people found that Ceylon is mountainous, and it is full of clouds and mist all year round, which is very suitable for the cultivation of tea trees, so many people have begun to buy land in Ceylon and open up tea gardens to grow tea.

The tea exported by the Tang Dynasty is mainly supplied to countries such as Persia, Dashi and even Rome, and Ceylon Island is located on this sea communication artery, so if it can produce tea here, it will definitely sell well. After all, shipping costs alone save a lot of money, but this may have a big impact on Datang's tea-making industry.

The affairs of Malacca and Ceylon have involved Li Su's great energy, although with the assistance of Lu Qing, Wang An and others. But there are some things that he still has to deal with personally. In addition, after Li Zhen and Li Yun landed on the Tianzhu Continent, they faced the siege of several surrounding countries, although Li Yu knew that with the strength in the hands of Li Zhen and Li Yun. It was easy to deal with the coalition forces of these small countries, but the supplies in the hands of the two of them needed him to supply them from the rear. For example, grain, grass, ordnance, horses, etc., all had to be transported by him in a fleet. So he was so busy during this time that he couldn't get out of his body, and even meeting an important person had to be arranged in the evening.

In the main hall of the Qi Palace, a middle-aged man wearing a cyan robe stood in the hall, this middle-aged man looked like a teaching gentleman, but his complexion was a little dark, and it was also a little rough, but it was very similar to the skin color of the crew of the perennial running boat, and on the chest of this middle-aged man, there was a gold medallion, on which was carved a big ship, which was advancing in the storm, looking extremely exquisite and expressive.

Anyone who saw the medal on the middle-aged man's chest would surely exclaim, because this medal was the coveted gold pioneering medal for all captains, and even all boaters, and this medal represented the highest honor in ocean exploration, and only three or four people had ever received such a medal.

In addition, this kind of medal not only represents a supreme honor, but also represents huge benefits, such as you can enter the palace at any time to meet Li Su, in addition to seeing the official and not worshipping, being convicted and not punished, and the holder of the medal in the purchase of goods, as long as it is an industry that cooperates with the palace, will give huge discounts, and even when I transport goods, there is also tax-free treatment, which can be said to be a good thing for fame and fortune.

The first person to receive the Gold Pioneer Medal was Lu Qing, and the most recent person to receive it was Lu Wan, who led the fleet organized by the Slave Society to find the southern Australian continent. And the middle-aged man standing in the main hall today is Lu Wan, who was born as a pirate, and he took advantage of the privilege of the gold pioneer medal to specially ask to see Li Su, which seems to have a very important matter.

"Captain Lu doesn't have to be polite, please take a seat!" When Li Su came in, he saw Lu Wan standing there, and immediately smiled. All those who received the Gold Pioneer Medal were given the title of captain, which was equivalent to an honorific title, except for Lu Qing, who preferred to be called General Lu by others because he was a general in the army.

"Your Highness!" It was not the first time Lu Wan had seen Li Su, when he returned from Australia, Li Su attended their celebration banquet, and Li Su attached great importance to them, so Lu Wan was not too nervous, and he took two steps back and sat down.

"It's been a few years since the last time you said goodbye, and I heard that you have quit the Slave Society, and you have rarely run at sea during this time?" Li Su suddenly asked.

When Lu Wan and their fleet came back, the entire exploration fleet was immediately disbanded, and some crew members made a fortune, such as the curly hair who found the dog's head gold, and now he is a rich man at home, and some crew members changed careers to do something else, such as Feng Shijie became a big mine owner in Luzon, of course, most of the crew members still stayed in the slave association and continued to live a life of risk and money, but Lu Wan broke away from the slave hunting association soon after, and this matter was told to him by Yanbei, but everyone has their own ambitions, and Li Su didn't care too much, It wasn't until I saw Lu Wan again today that I remembered what happened at the beginning.

Lu Wan didn't expect His Royal Highness King Qi to remember what happened a few years ago, which made him feel flattered, and he stood up again and said: "Your Highness Qiqi, after Lu came back, he found that he still had many deficiencies, such as surveying, mastering the performance of new ships, and even some reserves of nautical knowledge. So then I came to Keelung, and then entered the Navigation Academy to learn all aspects of knowledge, after the first few years of learning, I bought a few boats, mainly to take the route from Taiwan to Australia, while helping people transport goods, while practicing the knowledge learned! ”

Li Su was greatly moved when he heard this, he really didn't expect that Lu Wan, who was already a top captain, was not satisfied, and even re-studied as a student, so what motivated him to work so hard? Is it just to perfect one's sailing skills?

"Captain Lu, are you preparing for something by putting so much effort into learning nautical knowledge?" Li Su finally asked the doubts in his heart.

Lu Wan didn't hide it after hearing this, he took a step forward and bowed down and said: "Your Highness is wise, since I returned from exploring new routes last time, I have found out how small our previous horizons were, although we stumbled upon Australia, but in the map released by Your Highness, there are still many places that we have not reached, such as North and South America in the far east!" ”

Hearing Lu Wan say this, Li Su was finally moved again, and he finally understood Lu Wan's intention to work so hard, and immediately stood up and said, "Do you want to go to America?" ”

"Yes, Your Highness, in addition to studying and sailing, the grass people have been trying to find a route to the Americas in addition to studying and sailing, and with the help of the Navigation Academy, we have discovered that on the northern coast of Luzon, there is an ocean current that runs eastward, and on both sides of this current, there are two currents that go against this current, from which we deduce that this current is likely to be the equatorial current that crosses the Pacific Ocean, and if it follows this current eastward, it is likely to reach the Americas in the far east!" Lu Wan said excitedly.

In recent years, he has spared no effort in order to find a route to the Americas, and even donated his family wealth, in order to be able to fulfill his wish, if he can discover Australia on the basis of discovering a richer America, then he will definitely become a miracle in the history of navigation, and become the idol of countless latecomers.

Looking at Lu Wan with an excited face in front of him, Li Su was a little undecided, in later life, he only knew some knowledge of ocean currents in geography class, but it was very vague, and he didn't know whether the equatorial ocean currents that Lu Wan said could lead to the Americas. However, Li Su knew one thing, if Lu Wan really wanted to reach the Americas, he was afraid that he would encounter countless difficulties and obstacles, even dozens of times more difficult than when they arrived in Australia, and they might even die in the sea.

"Do you really want to go to the Americas?" Li Su once again confirmed that Lu Wan was a rare seafaring talent, and if it was not necessary, Li Su really didn't want the other party to take risks.

"Your Highness, since the grass people came back from Australia, they have regarded the Americas as their only goal in life, so I also ask Your Highness to fulfill it!" Lu Wan said with great certainty. If you want to go to the Americas, you must have a good ship and a good crew, which is not something he can support alone, so he thought of asking Li Su for help, and with the official background, he can also persuade more people to go with him. (To be continued......)