Yuchi Jingde brought only two hundred men. The main army followed Fang Erxin's instructions and traveled by land to Jincheng to await orders. Once the silver mine was found, the Wuya warships would transport them to Wa Country.
Upon seeing Yuchi Jingde, Chai Shao finally found someone to drink with.
He had been bored to death during the few days on the ship.
Fang Er, that brat, spent his days playing cards and fishing with Chai Yue and the other two girls, leaving him, an old man, all alone.
To be force-fed dog food by his own daughter, what kind of situation was this?
However, he had only brought one attendant. For a Duke to drink with a servant was acceptable once or twice, but doing so too often would lower his status!
Therefore, he was overjoyed when he saw Yuchi Jingde.
The moment Yuchi Jingde boarded, Chai Shao hugged him tightly.
Hahahaha! Old Black! You finally remembered me!
Yuchi Jingde's dark face, whether it had turned red or not, Fang Er saw him raise his leg and deliver a knee strike, then push Chai Shao away!
He stared at Fang Er in disbelief.
What the hell! How long has it been since we last met, and when did you old geezer pick up this habit?
Chai Shao's face turned green!
What was this about?
My daughter is still standing here, can you give me some face?
Also, what do you mean by "this habit"? What habit are you referring to?
Fang Er quickly walked over.
Brother Yuchi, my father-in-law was just lamenting that he had no one to drink with. You've come at the perfect time.
After speaking, he glanced at Zhang Tian on the side.
Tell Baoyu to prepare food and wine quickly!
Baoyu, whose surname was Li, was a new recruit in the Fifth Battalion.
A couple of days ago, Fang Er had accidentally discovered that this fellow had learned cooking skills from somewhere and could make an excellent fish dish!
Even a carp, with its strong muddy smell, became utterly delicious after passing through his hands, tasting no worse than what Fang Er had eaten in high-class hotels in his previous life.
This made Fang Er feel as if he had encountered a celestial being.
His own clumsy cooking skills, compared to Li Baoyu's, were like pig slop!
Thus, Li Baoyu became Fang Er's dedicated cook thereafter.
As for the taboo of not eating carp, since they were on the Zhenyuan, and besides those surnamed Chai and Fang, who would dare to speak up?
Soon, a large table of food and wine was brought to the deck.
Liu Meng took the more than a thousand remaining Tianhuo troops from the Liaodong region, along with Yuchi Jingde's men, and distributed them among the Zhiyuan and Dingyuan.
After much toasting and exchanging of cups, Yuchi Jingde wiped some wine from his beard and pointed at Fang Er's crew cut, asking, "Brother, what did you do to your hair?"
Fang Er explained the reason for cutting his hair and then added, "Brother Yuchi, fresh water is precious on the ship, there isn't much for washing hair. In my opinion, you should cut yours too."
"It saves water, and can also prevent head lice and skin diseases. What do you say?"
Yuchi Jingde listened, pondered for a moment, and then slammed the table, "Damn it, cut it then!"
He then looked at Yuchi Baolin and said,
"Baolin! Come here and shave my head for me!"
Chai Yue, who was serving wine to everyone, quickly said, "Uncle Yuchi, Yue'er can do it."
Then she turned to find scissors.
When she returned with scissors, Yuchi Jingde smiled and said.
Hahahaha, then I'll trouble you, little Yue'er.
After saying that, he sat firmly in the chair, waiting for Chai Yue to get to work.
Chai Yue took the scissors and began snipping his hair with a *ka-cha, ka-cha, ka-cha*.
After all the loose hair was cleared, it had to be said, it was quite messy.
Fang Er gave her a thumbs-up.
Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin walked up to Chai Yue.
(﹡circ;ocirc;﹡)
Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, can you cut our hair too?
And so, the few newly long-haired men on the large ship all changed their hairstyles within a day.
Feeling the coolness on his head, Cheng Chumo kept stroking it.
ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ
So cool!
The banquet was cleared away, and Xiao Qing and Xing'er cleaned up the leftover dishes and the hair that had fallen on the deck.
Chai Shao and Yuchi Jingde took two boxes of cigars from Fang Er and then took a small boat to the Zhiyuan.
Their excuse was that they were uncomfortable being with the younger generation.
After they left, the three brothers stood shoulder to shoulder at the bow of the ship, watching the turbulent waves on the sea.
The large ship had already sailed far from the coast.
Suddenly, a water column appeared on the sea, startling Fang Er!
ʘʚʘ Huh?
A whale?
And this whale was directly in front of the Zhenyuan.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie and headed for the engine room at full speed.
Looking at the walkie-talkie, Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin had identical expressions.
(♡ര‿ര)
Fang Er felt a shiver down his spine. He took out two walkie-talkies and handed one set to each of them, along with a solar charger.
Hide them well, or they'll be snatched away.
Cheng Chumo was indifferent, as his father wasn't there.
Yuchi Baolin cautiously scanned his surroundings.
ᕙ(`▿acute;)ᕗ Old Black isn't here either, Chai took him to the Zhiyuan!
Quick, quick, Big Brother, teach your brother how to use this!
Fang Er, while watching the large ship rapidly approach the whale, explained the usage of the walkie-talkie to the two.
This thing is simple, as long as you don't mess with the frequency, the two learned quickly.
They even chose codenames for themselves.
Cheng Chumo: Ground control to Major Tom, this is Ground control, do you copy, over!
Yuchi Baolin: Ground control, Ground control, this is Major Tom, received, over!
(･᷄ὢ･᷅) Hmm?
These codenames sound familiar?
There was no time to ponder this, as the whale was now less than a hundred meters away from the Zhenyuan. Fang Er, standing at the bow, could clearly see its appearance underwater.
This whale was about fourteen to fifteen meters long. Its massive head was its identification.
This was a sperm whale!
He patted Cheng Chumo, who was engrossed in the walkie-talkie.
Brother, see that giant creature?
Cheng Chumo looked up curiously and then exclaimed, "Kun?"
Yuchi Baolin also looked over.
Holy crap! It's so big!
Fang Er was a little bewildered. Was this thing called Kun at this time?
The Kun is so big, it can't be cooked in one pot?
(◕vforall;v◕)
This creature is a type of whale, called a sperm whale.
Have you heard of ambergris?
Fang Er asked.
Yuchi Baolin shook his head.
Cheng Chumo said, "My mother's health hasn't been good in recent years. The Emperor once bestowed a small piece, about the size of a yolk, and said it was a tribute from the King of Nanyue, and extremely precious, one qian of ambergris for one tael of gold!"
Fang Er pointed at the sperm whale.
Ambergris is found in the intestines of this sperm whale.
Cheng Chumo's eyes lit up.
It's so big! How much ambergris can there be!
Wait, it's found in its intestines??
Big Brother, are you saying that ambergris is this thing's poop?
Cheng Chumo looked at Fang Er incredulously.
Fang Er slapped him on the back of the head.
Who said it was poop? Do you know about gallstones and bezoars!
It's something that can't be digested, left in the stomach to be ground and ground, and slowly, it becomes a treasure!
Alright, as long as it's not poop.
Cheng Chumo said sheepishly, "Uh, Big Brother, shall we do some business?"
Yuchi Baolin also became interested. This was money!
Big Brother, shall we go for it?
Two greedy dogs who only saw money!
But I like it!
Let's do it!
While they were talking, the large ship was less than fifty meters away from the sperm whale.
This sperm whale, who knew how long it had been diving in the sea, was still spouting water.
As if it had noticed the Zhenyuan approaching at high speed, it merely swayed its body slightly and ignored it.
As the ruler of the ocean, when had it ever been afraid?
Fang Er took out his walkie-talkie.
Zhiyuan! Dingyuan, this is Zhenyuan, do you copy! Over!
Before leaving Chang'an, walkie-talkies had already been distributed to these two ships and were kept by the master craftsmen on board.
Liu Meng, who had just taken command of the Dingyuan, was listening to the master craftsman explain how to use the walkie-talkie, which the captain had given him, when he heard Fang Er's call and quickly responded using the operation method he had just learned.
Zhenyuan, this is Dingyuan, please speak, over!
Zhenyuan, this is Zhiyuan, please speak, over!
Chai Shao's voice came from the Zhiyuan.
When the Wuya warships were launched, he had wanted to ask Fang Er for these, but there were too many people at the time. He hadn't expected that this brat would equip every ship with them.
The leisurely sperm whale, completely unaware of the impending danger, was merely annoyed by the Zhenyuan approaching it.
ps, I'm on a business trip and typing on my phone, it's really uncomfortable. I'll correct any errors slowly.