Anyway, they were all unpowered sailing warships. No matter how they were changed, many things on them were the same. It took Li Zhilong about two hours for his men to become familiar with them. Except for not being able to fire cannons, other aspects were not much different from their warships, so they started sailing immediately.
During the process of leaving the port, Li Zhilong also discovered that this type of sail was much more advanced than theirs. Even if they encountered headwinds, after calculations, they could still move forward, which was more suitable for ocean voyages.
"Your Highness, you want to board the ship too?"
Li Zhilong said with some concern that he would take his brothers to the sea to try. This was an uncertain battle. If he took Li Xiang with him, he would be worried all the time. If something happened to Li Xiang, his whole family would be killed.
"Don't you train regularly? We're not going out to fight, we're just going on a voyage. Besides, it's sunny and windy right now, with no bad weather. What's there to worry about?"
Li Zhilong looked at the sky in the distance and found that it was indeed as Li Xiang said. According to his experience, there would be no problem with the weather recently. If they were just sailing near the coast, nothing should happen. What's more, Li Xiang had already gone up, and he couldn't pull His Highness down again.
There were a total of 150 sailors of various types on the ship, which was the standard organization. Of course, most of them should have been serving the surrounding artillery, but no one knew how to fire the cannons yet, so everyone ran to help, and in a very short time, the ship had left the port.
"It's incredibly fast, and the rudder works great. It turns much better than our Tang Dynasty warships. It's a true outlier in every way. Where did Your Highness get the blueprints? This warship is a generation ahead of ours."
Li Zhilong said happily, "If Li Xiang came to see them, they would be all wooden boats. How could there be such a big difference?" But Li Zhilong was an expert. He had just taken a walk and knew that these warships were much better than the Tang Dynasty warships. After all, they were made a thousand years later. During this thousand years, our navy warships had also developed several generations.
After a few hours, Li Zhilong's men had basically learned how to operate it. Although they were not very familiar with it, as long as they were given some time to practice, they would soon be able to master such a warship. On the way back, Li Xiang also saw many people interested in artillery. Although this was a relatively backward muzzle-loading artillery, it was definitely the best in the world in this era.
Li Xiang asked his men about the application of artillery. As long as they were exchanged from the system, they would basically use the weapons in the system. So when they went ashore, Li Xiang left forty instructors with them. In addition to teaching them how to drive a boat, these people also had to teach them how to fire artillery.
Li Xiang also tested the power of the artillery shell. It looks like a big black ball, but the gunpowder inside is quite powerful. The range is about five kilometers, and the explosive power is equivalent to three to four grenades. It is still usable.
Li Xiang directly exchanged for forty third-level warships, which could be used as training ships first. When they were almost used, Li Xiang would exchange them in large quantities. Now these points were no longer a big deal for Li Xiang. Take the recent capture of the Goguryeo capital as an example. The points were enough to form a navy. The previous points were not used at all.
When Li Xiang returned to his tent, Qin Huaiyu also returned from outside. He was terrified to learn that Li Xiang had spent the day at sea. "The general just left today, and you've already gone to sea! We can handle everything on land, but we can't mess around with this at sea. If anything goes wrong, the Emperor will have everyone in the camp slaughtered! After all, you're the grandson of the Tang Dynasty!"
"My Lord, can you please give us a chance to survive? We have just made such great contributions and have received the imperial decree of reward. We haven't even warmed up to the warmth of the imperial court yet, and you want to go sailing on the sea. Can you go sailing on the sea as you please? Eight out of ten ships can capsize. If something happens to us, it's understandable, but if something happens to you, will we all be able to survive?"
Qin Huaiyu now completely forgot about the hierarchy of seniority. Su Dingfang and Niu Jinda also rushed back from outside because they knew that Li Xiang had boarded the ship. It was really too dangerous to sail on the sea in that era.
Although Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang did not say anything, it can be seen from their expressions that they were very dissatisfied with Li Xiang's behavior. You must always understand your identity. Those ordinary people drowned, but if you drink a sip of water in the sea, maybe the situation in Chang'an City will change drastically. Who will take responsibility then?
"Alright, alright, the warships I brought out are different from what you imagined. They're not as fragile as you think. Our navy will be established soon, and then you'll understand why I dared to launch them. Let's talk about the two countries in the south. Have you contacted them?"
Li Xiang quickly found a topic to change the subject. If he didn't, he didn't know how long these three people would interrogate him. Judging from the expressions on their faces, they must have discussed this long ago.
Li Xiang had guessed this correctly. The three of them knew that the Dengzhou navy had arrived. If His Highness wanted to board the ship and sail at any time, they really could not agree to it. After all, no one could decide what happened on the sea. If a natural disaster occurred, if they could not explain their contributions to Goguryeo, their entire family would be executed.
"Things in the south aren't important. Let's talk about today's events first. Your Highness must promise us that if we really want to sail on the ship in the future, at least two of us three must accompany us. If you don't agree to this, we three won't have anything to report today."
Su Dingfang said boldly that they had been with Li Xiang for a long time and knew that he was not the kind of person who would use things to pressure others. Moreover, this matter concerned their lives and property, so they had to get Li Xiang's approval. Otherwise, they would not dare to let Li Xiang board the ship again even if they were beaten to death...
