Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 340: Chapter 329 Setting Sail

The month of March ushers in rising temperatures and the onset of spring plowing preparations.

At the same time, the Tenglong Guard merchant ship is also about to set sail for Jiangnan.

On this day, Yang Zhenshan once again arrived at the dock.

On the docks, a large quantity of goods was already being loaded onto the ships, provided by various merchants.

Such as dried goods, supplied by the Lu family, the Yang Family, and the Sky Blue Sword Sect.

Another example is medicinal herbs, provided by the Hengdao Sect, Sky Blue Sword Sect, and Jing’an Shang family.

As for the sources of fur, they varied with contributions from each family.

As for the Snake Pattern Jade Stones, they were supplied by the Zhang family of Liao’an.

These goods were all purchased in the name of the government office, and after being sold in Jiangnan, all the proceeds would go to the government office.

Watching the bustling dock, Yang Zhenshan asked Yu Tonghai, “Is everything ready?”

“Yes, everything is prepared. We can set sail tomorrow morning!” Yu Tonghai replied.

This sea voyage would see the Tenglong Guard deploying seventeen battleships and eight merchant ships.

The battleships consisted of one Da Fu Ship, two Hai Cang Ships, four patrol ships, and ten Eagle Ships.

The battleships would also carry some goods, and together with the eight merchant ships, the total value of goods transported was around eighty thousand taels of Silver. If all were sold, a profit of about twenty thousand taels of Silver could be made.

The profit margin was not high, which was normal since the goods were being transported to Jiangnan, and the actual profit was essentially the freight cost saved compared to land transportation.

The most profitable part of maritime trade naturally comes from foreign trade. Circulating internally within Da Rong would only yield a convenient earning with no substantial profit.

However, this was, after all, the Tenglong Guard’s first time at sea, and the primary goal was to accumulate experience, with making money being secondary.

For this voyage, Yu Tonghai was the overall leader responsible for coordinating all affairs, with Sun Cheng as the manager, assisting Yu Tonghai in managing the fleet, handling the loading and trading of merchandise, and other matters.

Yu Tonghai excelled in naval battles, but he was not deeply versed in maritime trade and needed Sun Cheng’s assistance.

Sun Cheng had spent his life at sea, knowing the ocean better than Yu Tonghai.

Truth be told, Sun Cheng was the talent Yang Zhenshan valued most.

Despite his age and being a commoner, he was familiar with all maritime routes of the coastal dynasties surrounding Da Rong, and he had a deep understanding of the powers within the Northeast and East South Sea Domain, making him widely knowledgeable and experienced.

Apart from Yu Tonghai and Sun Cheng, Yang Zhenshan and Wu Chongzhe would also join the voyage to learn.

That’s right, Yang Zhenshan would accompany the fleet to Jiangnan this time, joining with a learning attitude. Although he had acquired much knowledge about sailing during this period, he remained a “land duck” who had never truly been out to sea.

This would be not only the Tenglong Guard Navy’s first voyage but also Yang Zhenshan’s.

The sailing distance from the Tenglong Guard to Jiangnan was roughly over three thousand li, and the average speed of a sea ship in this world was about sixty li per hour, reaching eighty li with a tailwind or possibly around forty li against it.

On average, that’s around sixty li per hour, which means one could travel about fourteen hundred li in a day. A round trip, including the time for loading and unloading goods, would take about eight to ten days.

Of course, this is under favorable conditions; if unlucky, one might end up adrift on the high seas, unable to return.

Yang Zhenshan inspected the dock for a while, then returned to the Tenglong Guard to arrange affairs within the government office.

In truth, there wasn’t much to arrange since everything in the Guardian Department was now on track, and his absence for a month wouldn’t make a difference.

A night passed without incident, and the next morning, as dawn just began to break.

Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi got up, with Yu Qingyi draping a thick fur coat over Yang Zhenshan.

“Come back early, or Ming Zhao will miss you!” Yu Qingyi whispered softly.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, “Will my wife miss me?”

Yu Qingyi rolled her eyes at him.

Yang Zhenshan wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a strong kiss on her delicate cheek.

“I will miss my wife!”

“Ha ha~~”

“Stop it, Qingxia and the others are still outside!” Yu Qingyi said shyly.

Yang Zhenshan composed himself and straightened his sleeves, “It’s getting late; I should be going. Please take care of the house!”

“Sure!”

Yu Qingyi nodded.

Without further ado, they exited the bedroom one after the other.

Being a daughter of the worldly society, Yu Qingyi didn’t indulge in lengthy farewells or show too much sentimentality. Although she wished for Yang Zhenshan’s prompt return, she wouldn’t outwardly express it.

“Greetings to the master!”

Upon leaving the bedroom, Qingxia, Red Cloud, Nanny Song, and other maids and old nurses bowed to greet them. Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Take good care of the madam while I am away!”

“Yes!” The maids and nurses responded obediently.

Yang Zhenshan gave Yu Qingyi another nod and then strode out the door resolutely.

Outside the main gate, twenty personal followers and Yang Mingcheng with a group of guards were already waiting.

The twenty personal followers would accompany him to sea, while Yang Mingcheng and others were only there to escort them to the docks. After they boarded the ship, their horses would be led back.

“Let’s go!”

Yang Zhenshan mounted his horse and rode magnificently toward the docks.

In March, Liaodong was still very cold, especially in the early morning. The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse, with the cold wind raging. Even though Yang Zhenshan was wearing a fur coat, he could not withstand the bitter cold.

By the time they arrived at the docks, the warships and merchant ships were all ready to set sail, simply awaiting their departure.

Without much ado, Yang Zhenshan briefly spoke a couple of words to Yang Mingcheng, and then, surrounded by Yu Tonghai, Sun Cheng, and others, boarded the Da Fu Ship.

Following that, shouts of commands rang out as the shipworkers raised the sails and adjusted the course, with ships slowly leaving the docks one by one.

The speed during departure was somewhat slow, taking almost half an hour, before the Da Fu Ship carrying Yang Zhenshan finally left the dock. However, the speed of the ship quickly picked up, and Yang Zhenshan, standing at the bow, felt that they must be traveling at over thirty kilometers per hour.

It was still March, and the prevailing wind in Da Rong’s northeast sea domain was from the northwest, which meant they would have a smooth sailing journey with the wind at their back.

Over twenty large ships were spread around in the vast expanse of sea, evoking a sense of pride in Yang Zhenshan’s heart, and a number of verses from his previous life came to mind.

“The wind blows white waves that roll up like light smoke, the vast sea is open for the sails in conquest.”

“Thousands of acres of waves shake the sky, the vast immensity purifies the heart.”

…

Well, actually not that many, Yang Zhenshan could barely remember these two lines.

“Sir, it’s chilly outside. You can rest in the cabin for a while!” After confirming that all the ships had caught up, Sun Cheng approached from behind Yang Zhenshan and spoke.

Yang Zhenshan turned around and smiled, “That sounds good, old Sun, join me for a chat!”

“Hehe, if you please, sir!” Sun Cheng still presented himself with great humility.

The Da Fu Ship, massive as a building, served as the main battleship for the Navy, not only was the ship fully equipped, but it was also decorated quite luxuriously.

The ship had three floors: the topmost was an open terrace for lookout, the third floor housed the captain’s quarters, the second floor was a space for rest, and the bottom floor led to the ship’s hold.

The ship’s hold had three levels: the lowest was filled with ballast stones, the second was for storing supplies like fresh water and food, and the top level was the living area for soldiers and shipworkers.

Yang Zhenshan did not bother with Yu Tonghai, who was commanding the fleet on the third level, and instead, accompanied by Sun Cheng, went to the second-floor lounge.

This lounge was quite spacious, with four or five rooms for sleeping, a tea room, and a study room.

As the main vessel, this place was initially for the rest of the commanding officers, and now that Yang Zhenshan was on board, he naturally occupied this lounge.

When Yang Zhenshan entered the lounge, his personal followers had already prepared some tea.

“Come, sit down and talk!”

“Thank you, sir!”

As the two sat down, Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “Can you tell me about the forces on the high seas?”

“Which aspects would you like to know about, sir?” asked Sun Cheng.

There were many forces on the high sea, and their composition was rather complicated.

Yang Zhenshan pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s start with the forces within the Liao Sea.”

The Liao Sea was the sea area to the east of the Liaodong Region.

“There aren’t too many forces in the Liao Sea. To the west lies Da Rong, to the north is the Li Sheng Dynasty, and to the east is the neighboring Desheng Dynasty. The only remarkable place within this range is the sea area around Black Mountain Island,” said Sun Cheng.

“Black Mountain Island?” Yang Zhenshan’s expression subtly changed.

“Mhm!” Sun Cheng stood up, retrieved a sea chart from a nearby cabinet, and unfolded it, “Please take a look, sir; this is Black Mountain Island.”

The sea chart was simple, but from it, many islands within the Liao Sea region were visible.

Black Mountain Island was roughly located to the south of the Li Sheng Dynasty, quite far from the Liaodong Region, and closer to the side of the Desheng Dynasty.

“What’s special about Black Mountain Island?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

“Black Mountain Island used to be unremarkable, but about a decade or so ago, a band of pirates suddenly appeared there. These pirates were extremely brutal; they weren’t just robbing ships but also killing people, and they were incredibly powerful,” explained Sun Cheng.

“Nowadays, merchant ships in the Liao Sea have reached an understanding—if they encounter Black Mountain Island pirates, they’d abandon their ships. Abandoning the ship would provide a slight chance of survival, for those who remain on board would find only death.”

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re saying that the pirates on Black Mountain Island appeared about a decade ago?”

“Not entirely accurate. Around Black Mountain Island, there are over thirty large and small islands. There used to be pirates entrenched there before, but those pirates were weaker and somewhat honorable in their conduct, typically only robbing ships, sparing lives.”

“Roughly from a decade ago, for some unknown reasons, their behavior changed. Every merchant ship that encountered them was almost doomed, though they seemed to rarely take action, striking only two or three times a year.”

“In recent years, the shipping route from the Li Sheng Dynasty to the Desheng Dynasty changed as everyone deliberately sailed around Black Mountain Island. Thus, the number of merchant ships they robbed and killed became fewer.”

Yang Zhenshan’s gaze flickered as his mind was filled with myriad thoughts. He found Black Mountain Island peculiar, but couldn’t pinpoint the oddity.

“About three years ago, the Li Sheng Dynasty even dispatched the Navy to attack Black Mountain Island, but they ended up retreating in a disastrous defeat! Since then, Black Mountain Island has gained even more notoriety,” Sun Cheng continued.

“They could defeat the Navy of the Li Sheng Dynasty?” Yang Zhenshan was even more surprised.

Although the Li Sheng Dynasty was just a minor dynasty compared to Da Rong, and could be described as weak, it was still a dynasty nonetheless.