From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 808

The study room of the Xunnan Palace has become Zhou Yuan's temporary command post. On the wall hangs a detailed map of the many islands and sea areas in the South China Sea. This map comes from the exploration of Chaozhou merchants for many years, and also from the masterpiece of the envoys sent by Emperor Shengzu to the West. It is the most reference map of the South China Sea so far.

Zhou Yuan has almost mastered this map and can even draw it silently, because he has read it countless times and how often.

Guan Lu is his best helper.

"Chu Feifan is back, looking very embarrassed, with one bullet in the shoulder and one in the thigh. It is said that he almost died in the sea."

"But the intelligence he brought back is crucial. A battleship and a cruiser of Macau are both parked on the south bank and have not left."

"There are sentries along the coast of Macau, and the defense is very strict. And it is obviously a special season. The Portuguese guards don't even smoke opium."

Zhou Yuan nodded slowly and said, "Let Chu Feifan have a good rest. If he needs money, you can give him some."

Guan Lu said, "Miss Li went to see him, He acted very grateful, but he must have resentment in his heart. ”

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "He was originally a thief. If he wants to clear himself, he always has to go through some things."

"Don't think that he blames me now, but he may not hate me in the future. He may even be grateful to me."

Speaking of this, his face became serious and he said in a deep voice: "It's June 24th. There should be pigeons coming from Fuzhou Prefecture, right?"

Guan Lu nodded and said: "Xie Shidun and Ouyang Gong, who led the self-reliance ship and the self-confidence ship respectively, have completed their tasks brilliantly and put the Dutch on the four sides. battleships, and led them back to Dongfan Island. "

"The price was that the fleet of the Fujian and Guangdong Navy gathered at the Fuzhou dock and was about to attack, suffered a devastating blow. The Fujian and Guangdong Navy's years of accumulation, after the failure of the Guangdong Sea War, was completely exhausted. "

"The people of Fuzhou Prefecture suffered a huge blow. The people said that the foreigners were invincible, and the fear in their hearts was more than anger. "

"The Navy Commander and the four generals wrote to express that many generals and soldiers of the Fujian and Guangdong Navy saw the warships burned with their own eyes, and they were in great pain. They requested to participate in the decisive battle and fight the foreigners. "

Speaking of this , Guan Lu whispered: "Sir, the blood of a nation is hard-won. Once it is lost, it will take a long time to find it back."

"Recovering the Central Plains, bombarding the Eastern Tartar, flattening the grassland, Fenglangjuxu and the defense of Shenjing, so many great victories finally awakened the blood of the nation."

"But this is the south after all, after all, it is on the coast, Fenglangjuxu does not have much impact on them."

"To be honest, a big victory is needed here. The people of Fujian and Guangdong have been longing for a big victory for too long."

Zhou Yuan nodded slowly.

He looked at the map and pondered for a long time before saying, "The mission of the Self-reliance and Confidence ships has been completed. The Hengyong and Hengpan ships should have confronted McPherson's warships, but I don't know if they opened fire."

"But since Chu Feifan also saw battleships and cruisers last night, the two battleships and one cruiser sent by McPherson cannot take down the Hengyong and Hengpan ships. Even if they open fire, there will not be much hindrance."

"The Chaozhou merchants' fleet is still heading south. Tomorrow morning, it should reach the waters south of Haojing and continue to head south."

"It's time for a decisive battle!"

Zhou Yuan raised his head He came and said in a deep voice: "Tomorrow, the prisoners will be handed over. The Henggao and Hengfeng ships will be dispatched to bombard Haojing and destroy McPherson."

Guan Lu said: "Does Xiangzhou need to prepare anything?"

Zhou Yuan said: "Let Zhang Tao and Luo Yunhe prepare, let the people of Xiangzhou gather at the dock, but not enter the area covered by the artillery fire."

"It's been two years. I, Zhou Yuan, should give them justice, and the court of the Great Jin should give them justice."

Guan Lu was also a little excited, and immediately said: "Then I will arrange it now!"

"Wait!"

Zhou Yuan suddenly stood up, picked up a pen, and drew a twisted line on the map.

He seemed to have been thinking for a long time before making such a decision.

So much so that his tone became deep, resolute, and desperate.

"Send a pigeon to the Fuzhou Treasure Shipyard, ordering the Hengli, Hengshi, Zizun, and Ziqiang ships to go out along this line, go to this area, and lie in wait."

"This is the highest order, requiring them to set out at full speed immediately after receiving the order without delay or hesitation and reach the designated area."

Guan Lu said seriously: "I understand! I will do it right away!"

Zhou Yuan said: "Did Li He send a letter?"

Guan Lu smiled and said: "I have been keeping in touch. The feedback from the other side is very good. It means that they are training soldiers according to the adults' orders and have made good progress."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and said:"Guan Lu, do you think we can win the Second Guangdong Sea War?"

Guan Lu said: "I believe in your control and judgment of the war. We may encounter setbacks, but we...will definitely win the final victory."

Zhou Yuan nodded slowly and said in a deep voice: "Yes, our nation has always been plagued by disasters and encountered countless setbacks."

"But we have never really fallen."

At this point, Zhou Yuan's eyes also burst into murderous intent.

The people were frustrated, the soldiers were frustrated, and everyone had fire in their hearts, and they all wanted to burn this ocean.

Isn't he Zhou Yuan the same?

As a leader, everyone's shame is his shame, and everyone's hatred is his hatred.

He is respected and should bear more.

...

The glass is filled with wine. Under the sunlight, it shows a ruby-like halo, crystal clear, and full of liquid clarity.

McPherson shook the glass gently, then took a sip and squinted his eyes and said, "It tastes really good. It's a wonderful thing to drink such a refreshing wine in the hot summer."

Beside him, the strong man was wearing armor, with brown hair draped, but his expression was very serious.

He whispered, "Governor, it's been two or three days, and we haven't even fired a shot. Are we going to watch the fleet of Chaozhou merchants go to the South Seas to dump?"

McPherson was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Pedro, such a beautiful afternoon, how can you say such a spoilsport? Shouldn't we talk about elegance now? I heard that you don't have a female companion? Do you need me to arrange one for you?"

Pedro said in a deep voice, "No need, Governor, I'm not here for fun."

McPherson said, "I understand, His Majesty the King sent You came here to do something, to bring back some gold, silver and precious items."

"So you certainly don't want the Chaozhou merchant fleet to slip away from under your nose."

Speaking of this, McPherson paused and smiled: "But, the king's knight, you are too impatient."

He raised the wine glass and whispered: "Just like this glass of wine, we have to select the best grape varieties for planting, then pick the best grapes, squeeze the fruit, ferment the juice, and seal it for a long time, and finally we can have such a delicious drink. "." "If the fermentation time is too short, the taste will not be too good, and you can even diarrhea." "Don't be impatient, the knight, I have said that you need to be patient." "" As a knight of the king, you come here, there is a proud heart. "" And what I want to teach you is not as simple as you think. There are many ways to make money, and it is not necessary to fight.