Dong Si was very excited and immediately gave them the seeds in the agreed amount, along with three types of vegetables from the wooden crate and a recipe.
After all, he had brought quite a few of those "crate vegetables" with him.
It was already dark by the time he returned to the makeshift camp.
The next morning, Dong Si released a carrier pigeon to send a message to Ge Feng.
Shortly after breakfast, Sheng He brought over the families of the thirty crew members: “Ambassador Dong, these are the families of the thirty sailors.”
Dong Si nodded, looking at the gaunt commoners before him. Clearly, these people were not well-off.
This meant the crew given to him by the noble clans were likely unimportant, marginal figures.
He frowned slightly. “Why are there so few?”
There were fewer than a hundred people in total. Based on thirty households, it shouldn’t have been this sparse, no matter what.
Sheng He explained, “Some of the sailors have no families.”
Dong Si gave him a glance but didn’t push the issue. Since this was the situation, there was no point in dwelling on it.
He promptly handed over ten people skilled in farming to Sheng He: “These ten are expert farmers. They’ll teach you how to plant baby bok choy first. Once the greens are nearly grown, I’ll come back to pick them up.”
He had come prepared—not only with farming experts but also with troops from Jinyang Commandery who were mostly skilled in swimming.
Whether they could handle a ship wasn’t the priority; what mattered most was that they could swim. If nothing unexpected happened, these soldiers would eventually become naval forces.
Sheng He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He had worried Dong Si might complain, but it seemed Ambassador Dong was quite reasonable after all.
He had his men take the ten farmers into the city.
Meanwhile, Shuangjiang had over a hundred commoners escorted back to Ge Feng. She whispered instructions: “Once they reach Ge Feng, have Madam Liu examine them first.”
She was being cautious, afraid they might carry contagious diseases. Her impression of the noble clans was entirely negative.
Sheng He glanced at Shuangjiang, then turned to Dong Si: “Ambassador Dong, shall we set out now? Let’s go to the dock and check the ships.”
Due to the distance between the dock and East County Town, it wasn’t until the afternoon that Dong Si saw the cargo ships belonging to Jiang Jin’s fleet.
As he had expected, the noble clans had provided the oldest, most dilapidated ships. However, since these were their lifelines, even the worst ones had been well maintained.
When he looked at the crew the clans had assigned him, Dong Si didn’t know what to say. They were all elderly or weak, with few able-bodied men, and most were rowers.
Fortunately, he had been shrewd enough to demand at least five helmsmen.
The five helmsmen were also a poor selection—two were nearly sixty years old, and the other three were only around twenty.
Being a helmsman was no easy task. Men in their twenties typically hadn’t led a crew on a sea voyage independently yet.
Indeed, these three had just been appointed as helmsmen.
Dong Si: “...” Well, the clans had clearly upgraded these three on the spot just to satisfy his demand.
He looked at Sheng He with a contemptuous expression.
Sheng He stared out at the distant sea, inwardly feeling that the clan head had been underhanded. But everyone looked out for their own interests—the clans had to protect themselves.
Still, while the three younger men had been hastily promoted, they had indeed trained as helmsmen before, just lacking experience.
Soon, Dong Si learned their names.
The older ones were Guo Meng and Chen Mi.
The younger ones were Xiao He, Meng Shui, and Chen Bing.
Dong Si gave them a look. They seemed honest, if nervous, their heads lowered. He smiled.
“Our Lord is fair and clear in rewarding and punishing. As long as you do your duty, you will not be mistreated.
“Your families have already been taken to Ge Feng. Later, you can check the list to see if any relatives have been left out.”
Sheng He: “...” This man doesn’t trust us, does he?
Guo Meng and the other four nodded stiffly. “We will work hard and not be negligent.”
Dong Si chuckled and turned to Sheng He: “Come on, let’s go aboard and take a look.”
Sheng He nodded and led the way to the large ship, explaining as they walked: “This ship has three decks in total and is one of the largest cargo vessels in our region.”
“How much cargo can it carry?” Dong Si asked.
Sheng He’s conscience stirred slightly, and he began to explain in detail.
“Large ships like this typically carry about 1,300 dan. Medium ships can carry around 500 dan. Small ships vary, from 50 to 150 dan.”
Dong Si nodded. “And your instructors? I’ll have my soldiers start learning to sail with them.”
Sheng He called over several men and set them to teaching the Jinyang troops.
After some thought, Dong Si also assigned a few men to learn from Guo Meng and his group.
With Dong Si’s carrot-and-stick approach, Guo Meng and the others taught earnestly, answering every question.
The instructors sent by the Sheng family were more perfunctory, but under the relentless questioning of the Jinyang troops, they ended up revealing quite a bit of their core know-how.
Back in Ge Feng.
Jiang Jin looked at the note in her hand, a smile flickering across her face. Daqing Commandery was indeed willing to trade.
Just then, Ding Ying walked in: “Lord, a letter has arrived from Ambassador Dong.”
Jiang Jin took and read it, falling into thought for a moment before finally ordering: “Summon Zhou Sui, Yun Ci, Xia Chanyi, and Xie Nanxiao. There are matters to discuss.”
The four arrived quickly.
Jiang Jin handed them the letter: “The ship deal with Ze’a Commandery has been settled—three large ships, three medium ships, and ten small ones. Daqing Commandery has also expressed interest in negotiations.”
Don’t be fooled; Daqing Commandery’s twelve large ships didn’t include the medium and small vessels.
Among these large ships were two massive vessels, five-deck tower ships, and ten three-deck large ships.
These large warships typically had parapets, arrow slits, and mounted crossbows.
In addition to these twelve major warships, they had over a hundred small and medium boats.
Xie Nanxiao was puzzled: “Lord, do you intend to go to Daqing Commandery yourself for the negotiations?”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “No, Dong Si can handle it.”
She pointed to Xunfeng Island. “I want to build a base on Xunfeng Island as quickly as possible. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the ships in Ze’a Commandery.”
She hadn’t expected the talks to go so smoothly. If Ze’a Commandery could grant sixteen ships, Daqing Commandery would likely offer a similar number.
Daqing Commandery was too far from Ge Feng. Having the ships there was of little use to her.
The nearest dock to Ge Feng was in Ze’a Commandery, but after several dealings with them, she didn’t trust Ze’a.
Zhou Sui frowned. “Time is too tight. Building a base alone isn’t much of a problem, but a dock before the New Year would be very difficult.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “I know. That’s why I want to see Xunfeng Island for myself. If all else fails, we can find a suitable spot to anchor the ships.”
Ships didn’t always need a dock—if the shore had deep water nearby, they could anchor there.
Yun Ci objected: “You want to go in person? That’s too dangerous.”
Jiang Jin smiled. “Everything we’re doing right now is dangerous, isn’t it?”
She shook her head. “Besides, it’s a sea route, much safer than land travel.
“As for the noble clans of Ze’a Commandery, don’t worry. If they dared to act against me, I’d actually respect them for it.”
Zhou Sui sighed to himself. Having a bold lord could be challenging sometimes. “Then I’ll accompany you.”
