"Shi Yi, have you really decided? You can't come back in Europe for at least three years?" Zhao Yan asked Hu Yanqing, who had just arrived here with a serious look on his face.

"Don't worry, since I arrived here from the grassland, I naturally had already made up my mind. Although the place I was going this time was farther away, there were some new challenges waiting for me. In contrast, there were really no enemies around our Song Dynasty that could interest me. Even the Jurchens were just turtles in the jar, waiting to be slaughtered by us one day. Although this was a good thing for the Song Dynasty, it was really boring for people like me." Hu Yanqing said with a calm expression on his face.

Hu Yanqing looked like a very wise and calm general, but in fact, he was essentially a war madman. Only on the battlefield can he feel the meaning of his life. Therefore, since he graduated from military academy, he has been fighting everywhere. After the war in the north was temporarily over, he came to the south. When the war in the north started again, he ran back. Now the threats from the entire north have almost been eliminated. He was worried that there would be no war to fight in the future, but he did not expect that the court would go to Europe in Europe. So when he heard about this from Zhao Zongwu, he agreed to go to Europe with Zhao Jia without hesitation.

Seeing Hu Yanqing's expression so firm, Zhao Yan finally showed a gratified smile. Hu Yanqing was not only a student, but also a member of the Hu Yan family. There was absolutely no problem with loyalty, and there was no need to say about his ability. Among the young and strong sects in the army, Hu Yanqing's ability can definitely be ranked in the top three. With him assisting Zhao Jia to Europe, Zhao Yan can finally feel at ease.

A few days later, Zhao Jia, Hu Yanqing and others were finally ready, and then boarded a warship at Guangzhou Port to prepare for sailing. The Song Dynasty did not deliberately promote this expedition to Europe, so there were not many people who knew about it. However, on the day the fleet set off, Zhao Yan, Xu Yuan and others all rushed to the port to see them off. Among them, Zhao Yan looked at Zhao Jia standing on the bow of the ship, and his eyes couldn't help but feel a little wet. After all, his son would take several years to go there, and there were risks everywhere on the sea, which made him a little worried. Fortunately, Cao Ying did not come, otherwise he would definitely cry.

Compared to Zhao Yan's worries, although Zhao Jia on the bow was a little sad, she was more excited because he had dreamed of circling all over the world since he was a child. His biggest goal was to drive a sea boat around the earth. Although their purpose this time was only Europe, they also bypassed half of the earth. This was also an extremely unforgettable sailing experience for him, and he could also accumulate some valuable experience, so he was very much looking forward to this voyage.

As the warship slowly started, Zhao Jia was even more excited. This time, all the main warships left from Guangzhou were the navy. As for some other supply ships, they had already set out from here to Africa. These supply ships still used sail power. After all, the use of steamships was still somewhat restricted, and they could only transport materials to Africa. At that time, the supply ships were given supplies from there, and then left with the warships to Europe.

Seeing the crowd on the dock getting smaller and smaller, but no matter how far he walked, Zhao Jia could see that his father, who was standing in front, still waved to him. This made him cry. It was not until the end when the dock was finally blocked by sea level that he returned to the cabin with Agnes.

After leaving Guangzhou, Zhao Jia and his warships sailed to the South Ocean along the route. This route is also the busiest route in the Song Dynasty. The ships coming and going are like fish swimming in the sea. Many of them are steam boats. Zhao Jia made a rough statistics on these ships and found that the number of steam boats has exceeded half. In addition, he also knew that the number of steam boats increases by astonishingly every year. It is estimated that the steam boats will completely replace sailing ships in less than a few years.

"Brother Jia, what are you looking at?" Zhao Jia, who was standing on the deck considering the popularity of steamboats, suddenly heard someone behind him. When he turned his head to look, he found that Hu Yanqing was standing behind him with a smile on his face. Speaking of which, Hu Yanqing was his father's student, so the two were considered brothers. However, Hu Yanqing was Hu Yanping's cousin, and he was one generation higher than him, so he usually regarded Hu Yanqing as an elder.

"Uncle Qing, I'm thinking about the problem of steamships. Nearly half of civilian ships are using steamships. In addition, the design of our navy's steam warship has also been completed. I heard that several sample ships have been built and are now being tested. As long as the test is completed, it can be manufactured in large quantities and the navy's warships can be uniformly updated and replaced." Zhao Jia said with a smile.

The plan for steam warships was originally proposed many years ago, and even steamships were originally intended to be used in the military. It was only because of some conceptual reasons that many naval generals did not trust steamships very much, so it was only then that they began to promote them among the people. Now the advantages of steamships have been seen by everyone, so it has become a natural thing to equip steamships in the military.

"Haha, I have also heard of the steam warship plan. However, although the steam warship is good, the sail warship will probably not be eliminated in a short period of time. For example, when we are expeditioning to Europe this time, we can only use the sail warship." Hu Yanqing said with a smile. He has been in the navy for so many years. In terms of military quality, he is not worse than ordinary naval generals.

"Uncle Qing said very much. I estimate that in the next ten or even twenty years, sail warships will still occupy a certain position in the army until we can establish a port that can supply steamships around the world. Then it will be time for steamships to completely replace sailships." Zhao Jia also spoke in agreement at this time.

Zhao Jia and Hu Yanqing don’t get along much, but they talk very well at this time. In addition, they have to cooperate to attack Europe, so there are many topics to talk about, which makes their journey less boring.

The fleet headed south to the Nanyang Sea, then crossed the Strait of Malacca and finally arrived at the Tianzhu Sea. In order to be cautious, Zhao Jia specially went to the steamship supply ports set up by Zhao Yan. It turned out that these ports did have the ability to supply steamships as their father said, which made Zhao Jia and the others finally completely relieved.

After a period of sailing, Zhao Jia and his friends arrived at the southernmost Lion Kingdom in India, which is later Sri Lanka. It is famous for its abundant gems and Buddhist teachings. There is even a piece of Buddha bone relic here. However, Zhao Jia and Hu Yanqing do not believe in Buddhism, and Agnes is only interested in local gems, so they just stayed here for two days before setting off again.

Leaving the Lion Kingdom, he went west and soon came to the African continent. Although you could see the ships of the Song Dynasty here, the number was significantly reduced because compared with other places, although the African continent has rich specialties, the customs are too barbaric. It is very difficult for black tribes on the land to communicate. The fleet is easily attacked by locals when it arrives here. However, the greater the risk, the greater the benefits. The specialties such as ivory, gold, and gems on the African continent are still very attractive. Therefore, many Song people still took risks here. However, most of the Song people who dare to do business here have the strength to protect themselves, and ordinary native tribes dare not provoke them.

There are also steamship supply ports on the African continent, some of which are settlements of the Song people here, and some are ports built by the Song people in cooperation with local native leaders. Although they are very simple, they can provide steamship supplies. The merchants have the most keen sense of smell. After discovering these ports, many Song people immediately drove steamships to do business. Anyway, the steamships were extremely fast. Even if they encountered pirates at sea, as long as they were not be besieged, they could escape at their speed and escape.

Going south along the coastline of the African continent, they checked the supply ports here and did not find any major problems. Moreover, many of these ports located in Africa are not on the African continent, but on islands near the African coastline. This is mainly because the number of natives on the island is small and it is not easy to have problems. On the contrary, although ports on the African continent are convenient for the transportation of various materials, the closer they are to the south, the more barbaric the natives on the mainland are. The influence of the Song Dynasty here is already very weak, so naturally we must avoid conflicts with these natives.

Zhao Jia and his fleet finally arrived at a supply port located at the southernmost end of the African continent. This port is located on a large island at the southern end of the African continent. In fact, it is Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world in later generations. Because there are many bisons on the island, the Song people generally called it Niudao. The name of the port is Niuta Port, because Niuta Port is located at the northernmost end of the island, and it looks like the head of Niudao.

Although Niudao is vast, it is sparsely populated. The locals on the island are only more than 10,000. In addition, the island has rich resources. There is a coal mine not far from Niuto Port. In addition, Niuto Port itself is a natural and excellent port, which can provide supplies for passing ships. Moreover, it is far away from the African continent, so there is no need to worry about being attacked by large-scale natives. Therefore, it has been selected by the Song Dynasty as one of the most important ports in Africa. The entire port is built very regularly, and a naval fleet is even stationed here to provide force protection for all ports in Africa.
Chapter completed!