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Text Chapter 598 The fleet returns

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    On the sea several hundred miles east of Luzon Island, a fleet of seven medium-sized ships was sailing rapidly in the direction of Luzon Island. On the leader of the America 1, Lu Wan stood on the bow of the ship very excitedly.  , holding a telescope and looking ahead. Although Luzon Island cannot be seen yet, it does not affect his excitement at all.

    After leaving the Americas, after more than two months of sailing, the American Exploration Fleet finally arrived in the waters not far from Luzon again. This made the entire fleet rejoice, and many crew members even tried to hold on to their thin bodies.  Like Lu Wan, he held his hands on the side of the boat and looked toward the west. Many people were even moved to tears.

    When they left the newly discovered Hawaii, they were very optimistic that the return journey would be much easier, and that with smooth sailing, they could return to Taiwan early.  But apparently they were overly optimistic.

    As the fleet moved forward, Lu Wan and the others were surprised to find that they encountered the same problem as before, that is, there were almost no islands along the way, and a large amount of fresh water and food were consumed on the ship. In the end, they had to reduce the rations.  Even some of the corn seeds carried on the ship were parted for consumption.

    But even so, the food in the fleet is still very scarce. In addition, the medicine in the fleet has been exhausted, and there is no way to replenish it along the way. Therefore, the crew members in the fleet are suffering from hunger and illness. Until now  Dozens of people have died as a result.

    What¡¯s even worse is that just a dozen days ago, the America IV in the fleet hit a reef. As a result, a large hole was opened in the bow and the keel was damaged beyond repair.  In the end, America IV had to be abandoned, and the crew and supplies were transferred to other ships.

    But even in such a bad situation.  Lu Wan still protected the various crop seeds brought from America very well, although in the end he separated some of them for consumption.  However, a considerable part of each type of seeds was left behind for breeding when they returned to Taiwan. This also put Lu Wan under tremendous pressure. After all, many crew members were tortured by hunger and had long been greedy for the edible seeds on the ship, and even  There have also been incidents of crew members stealing seeds.

    For this kind of theft, Lu Wan naturally punishes them severely. After all, the ship is not out of ammunition and food, although hunger is torture.  However, these seeds can bring huge changes to the Tang Dynasty and Taiwan, and may save the lives of countless people in the future, so there must be no mistakes.

    But now Lu Wan has finally come to an end. As Luzon Island approaches, the crew on the ship has finally regained most of their sanity. Many of them are even imagining what kind of courtesy they will encounter when they return to Taiwan?  In this case, the unbearable hunger seemed to become less important.

    "Captain, don't look any further. At the current speed. We won't be able to reach Luzon until tonight, but after dark, we can't go any further. After all, there are many reefs around Luzon Island. The channel also needs to be looked at.  Not sure, I can only wait until tomorrow morning to dock!" On the bow of America 1, Feng Shijie held a wooden sea bowl in his hand.  He walked over with brisk steps.

    Now Feng Shijie looks dark and thin, wearing only a pair of cow-nose shorts.  His upper body was bare, revealing two rows of thin ribs, and his shaved hair had grown out again.  It's not very long, and it lacks care. It looks messy, and the eye sockets and cheeks are deeply sunken. It seems that he is also suffering from hunger.

    Lu Wan also felt that his eyes were a little tired at this time. After hearing Feng Shijie's words, he turned around and said with a smile: "Shijie, what is that in your hand? Why does it smell so good to me?"

    When Feng Shijie heard this, he laughed, stretched out his hand to put the sea bowl into Lu Wan's hand and said: "This is the fresh fish just caught today, and then the kitchen made fish soup, ready for everyone to have a good meal of cooked food.  If you have the strength to control the ship, don¡¯t let anything happen again when you get to Luzon!¡±

    Lu Wan felt a little hot when he took it in his hand. When he lowered his head, he saw that it was indeed fish soup. However, he had forgotten the taste of fish soup after not drinking it for a long time. But then he asked in surprise: "Why is the kitchen turned on?  , hasn¡¯t the fuel on the ship been used up long ago?¡±

    Food for the ocean-going fleet is a big problem. Generally, the ship carries a large amount of dry food, such as dry and hard bread, stone-like bacon, large barrels of pickles, etc.  When Lu Wan and his fleet left Taiwan, they still had a lot of coal on board. The crew could occasionally have a cooked meal, but it later ran out. If they encountered an island, they could store some firewood, but the firewood was not durable.  The firewood is usually used up within a few days. For example, when they came back from America, the firewood they brought on the ship had long been used up, and they had not encountered any islands, so the firewood on the ship had been out for a long time.

    After hearing this, Feng Shijie smiled and said, "We're about to dock soon. Many of the crew's clothes are in ruins. In addition, there are some broken barrels and wooden shelves in the warehouse.  These things have arrivedIt was thrown away before, so it is better to burn it as firewood now and cook a hot meal for everyone.  "

    "Hahaha~, you are really good at utilizing waste!" Lu Wan laughed, then he held the fish soup in both hands and drank it. Not only was there a lack of food on the ship, but the seasonings were also used up, so in addition to salt, the fish soup contained  Nothing else was added, but now it was a rare treat to have a sip of hot soup, so Lu Wan also drank it extremely sweetly.

    At this time, the ship's kitchen also began to welcome the crew to eat. In addition to fish soup, there were also fried fish and cornmeal. The fish was freshly caught, and the cornmeal was the last food found on the ship. And before eating, the crew  We have been told that except for those seeds and plant seedlings that are absolutely inedible, this is the last food on the ship. If you want to eat, you have to work hard. When you get to Luzon, you can eat whatever you want!

    As a result, this naturally aroused great enthusiasm among the crew members. After having a rare meal, each of them put their greatest enthusiasm into their work. This also made the ship more flexible and even increased its speed.  Some, by night, Luzon is already in sight.

    Unfortunately, Lu Wan and the others did not find the port, and it was already dark, so they could not see the channel at all, so they could only stop and rest for one night. At dawn the next morning, the crew members in the fleet were hungry and started again.  After setting sail, it took nearly two hours to finally reach the shore, and then everyone went ashore to rest while hunting and gathering food.

    After eating a delicious game on Luzon Island, Lu Wan took out a detailed map of the Luzon Islands, and then found a small port closest to them. After a day and a half of sailing, they finally arrived at this island called Ba  The small port of Lyle has more than 5,000 residents, of which only a few hundred Han Chinese, and the rest are mostly local natives. In addition, a navy with two medium-sized warships is stationed, and Lu  Their return was naturally warmly welcomed by the city lord and naval admirals. At the same time, they also reported the news to the capital Manila as quickly as possible.

    Yan Bei is still in charge of Luzon. After hearing the news about the return of the American exploration fleet, he was also extremely surprised. Lu Wan and the others have been away for a year and a half, and there is no news. Many people have already speculated.  This exploration failed, and even Li Min was a little discouraged. He was already planning to hold a collective funeral for the entire fleet. Unexpectedly, at this juncture, Lu Wan and the others finally came back.

    At that moment, Yan Bei immediately sent someone to report the good news to Taiwan. In addition, he also rushed to Baler in person. Speaking of Baler, it was said to be north and east of Manila. It was not very far by land, but it would take more than half of it to go by sea.  Islands, so Yan Bei ignored the bumps on the land and rushed to Baler in a carriage.

    In addition, the news of Lu Wan's return was also learned by some well-informed businessmen. As soon as these shrewd guys heard the news, they immediately dropped the business at hand and, like Yan Bei, rushed to Baler overnight. Some even  They also hope to see the people in the fleet before Yan Bei, so that they can grab some benefits, otherwise they will not have a chance when Yan Bei, the governor, arrives.

    Profit is indeed a universal catalyst. Several businessmen did rush to Baler before Yanbei. Then these people immediately contacted the fleet, hoping to purchase some special products brought by the fleet from the Americas. Of course, if the fleet  If the team is willing to sell some American crops, they are also willing to pay a sky-high price for them.

    This exploration of the Americas was funded by Li Min and some big businessmen, so everything brought by the fleet should belong to the sponsors behind it. Therefore, the transactions privately proposed by these businessmen to the fleet were simply poaching Li Min.  and other funders.

    Fortunately, Lu Wan was still aware of this, so he ignored these businessmen who were blatantly poaching. He even locked all the crew members on the ship and did not allow them to have contact with outsiders. The main reason was that he was worried that individual crew members would not be able to stand these businessmen.  Temptation to do something unwise.

    It was Lu Wan's caution that when Yan Bei arrived, the interior of the entire fleet was still as it was when it first landed, and the various crop seeds and seedlings he brought were also in good condition. This made Yan Bei  Finally he breathed a sigh of relief.  Immediately afterwards, Yanbei mobilized another army to protect the fleet, registered everything on the fleet, and then rushed the list to Taiwan.

    And when Li Min received this list, the brows that had been anxious during this period finally relaxed a little.  Since the rebellion in Java Island, he has been receiving bad news, and the situation in Java Island has become increasingly chaotic, which makes him feel a little troubled. He has been worried about this for several days, and now he finally has something that makes him feel good.  The news of improvement came.  (To be continued)
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