Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5088 Going in the wrong direction
Di Renjie was reluctant to help Junmai, and said hurriedly, "Before we set off, the commander told us not to be afraid of hardships, and not to rush through the sights. We should take in the mountains, seas, and land, and take in the local customs, so as to develop our own worldview. This opportunity to observe the war up close is really rare, and it will be of great benefit to our travels."

If I bring up the Grand Marshal, I don’t believe you won’t surrender!

Sure enough, when Fang Jun was mentioned, Xi Junmai looked hesitant and looked at Di Renjie helplessly: "You are really cunning, you know where my weakness is... Okay, I will send a warship to take you to observe the battle, but we have an agreement in advance, you can only watch from a distance, you cannot make any comments, come back after watching, and you are not allowed to land on the island!"

The two were overjoyed and promised in unison: "We will just watch from a distance and will never leave the warship!"

When the two of them said goodbye and went back, the other students who were traveling with them were extremely excited when they heard about it. As a result, when they came to buy from the trainee the next day, there were more than ten people traveling with them...

Xi Jun is overwhelmed when buying one.

These are all the pride of the academy. If anything goes wrong, how will he explain to the Marshal?
But looking at the eager eyes of the students, he finally couldn't bear to refuse, so he just drove the captain who was originally sent off the ship, dressed himself, and personally took the students to observe the battle...

It was a fine day. As the ship sailed on the sea, we could see white clouds and a clear sky. Several ships were lined up with white sails. The bows of the ships cut through the jade-like sea, and the sterns left trails of white wakes. Dolphins jumped out of the water from time to time on both sides of the ships, chasing and playing. The gray-black backs of sharks could also be seen under the transparent sea water.

Vegetation-covered islands are scattered on the sea, shaped like hills and pearl chains.

The shape and structure of a warship are completely different from those of a merchant ship. The former pursues speed and flexibility to facilitate naval battles, while the latter pays more attention to carrying capacity, so the warship is faster. After a few days, it has caught up with Zhang Liang who set out earlier.

However, Xi Junmai had no intention of boarding the ship to meet him. When the two ships met, he sent someone to jump over the side of the ship to inform Zhang Liang of the purpose of his trip, then slowed down the ship and fell far behind.

……

After the messenger left, Gongsun Jie said angrily: "This Xi Junmai is not worthy of being a human being. We went to fight desperately, but he actually brought the students of the academy to watch us. Does he treat us as monkeys? This is too much!"

Zhang Liang was also dissatisfied and said with a sullen face: "Don't worry about it. Pass the order down, light a fire, cook, and make preparations. We will start the attack as soon as we arrive at the port in the afternoon and complete the landing before sunset!"

"Here!"

Gongsun Jie took the order and went to the mast to raise the flag and send out the signal.

Cheng Gongying was a little worried: "Why don't we rest for a night and attack calmly tomorrow morning? The so-called 'Witch Tribe' is just a few natives, savages who eat raw meat and drink blood. There is no way they can stop our well-equipped soldiers."

It was almost noon, and according to the guide, it would take another two hours to reach the island, which meant that the attack time was only a little over an hour. After dark, it was difficult to see, which was extremely disadvantageous for fighting in unfamiliar areas. Not only would it lead to accidental casualties, but it might even cause the attack to fail, which was not worth the loss.

Zhang Liang said decisively: "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Our ships are faster than the ships that the 'Witch Tribe' used to tip off the islanders. So right now the islanders have no idea we're coming. We should catch them by surprise and attack them when they are unprepared. This is the only way to achieve the greatest results and minimize casualties. But if we delay and stop, the islanders will be prepared, and reinforcements will come from all over the place. It may turn into a tough battle, and things will change suddenly."

It was natural that the savages on the island could not stop the 500 fierce soldiers under his command who were armed to the teeth. However, no war would proceed exactly as planned before the war, and various accidents would always occur.

As a commander, even when victory is certain, you must be cautious, give your all and deliver a fatal blow.

Never be careless, as arrogant soldiers will eventually be defeated.

Cheng Gongying did not dare to say much. Although he was Zhang Liang's counselor, he mostly served as an aide to handle trivial matters. When it came to leading troops in battle, he was not confident enough to manipulate Zhang Liang.

Although he has a bad reputation in recent years and has been ostracized in the court, it is undeniable that Zhang Liang is still the most skilled military officer among the generals of the Tang Dynasty...

……

The lookout on the bucket saw the flag signals from the fleet ahead and passed the message to Xi Junmai.

Xi Junmai also ordered a fire to be lit and a meal to be prepared. He explained to Di Renjie and Xue Yuanchao, "The Duke of Yun may want to fight a quick battle and not give the Wu Clan time to mobilize reinforcements. Or he may want to complete the landing first, then take root in the port and attack the reinforcements... In any case, the battle will begin in the afternoon, so we should hurry up and eat."

The two of them naturally obeyed everything.

When the boat was on the sea, they naturally used local ingredients to cook. Several warships lowered their sails near an uninhabited island. Several soldiers quickly took off their clothes and jumped into the sea with a "plop". They dived into the sea and disappeared. Someone else took a net bag and paddled in the sea water on the other side of the boat. A large fish with a light red color and sparse blue-green spots on its side was caught. The fish was very beautiful and more than a foot long.

After a while, a few more sea fish came into the net.

By the time the cooks had cleaned up the fish and either steamed or stewed them, several soldiers had already emerged from the sea and were pulled onto the boat by their comrades. Each of them had a catch, whether it was a colorful, swaying lobster or a soft, squirming octopus...

After a delicious seafood dinner, the warship accelerated again. At about the end of noon or the beginning of noon, the sun had already set, shining on the sea, making the water sparkle and sparkle with golden light. Turning from a channel that could only be seen from a few islands, a piece of land suddenly jumped out from the sea level within sight.

Di Renjie looked at the endless land on both sides, and was dumbfounded: "Is this an island? It's too big!"

Xi Junmai had never been here before. He checked the compass and looked around: "Haven't I seen the sea chart before? This island is long and narrow, running northeast and southwest. It is a thousand miles long and less than a hundred miles wide. We are now on the south side of the island, which just happens to be right in front of us. It looks naturally long and magnificent."

Xue Yuanchao shook his head repeatedly: "Even so, it's still very big!"

It's a thousand miles long from east to west, and it can be called an "island"?!

Xi Jinping laughed and said, "Luzon is more than ten times bigger than this island. But it is still an island!"

As we all know, anything that is separated from the mainland and floats on the sea can be called an island.

Di Renjie sighed: "The world is so big that there are all kinds of wonders."

He stared at the island for a while, then turned to look at the endless sea in the south: "I wonder if I can reach the end of the sea if I go straight south from here without stopping?"

Speaking of this, Xi Junmai smiled and said, "Have you read the story of 'Going in the opposite direction'?"

Di Renjie was surprised and said, "Of course I have read that the shaft of the cart points south and the ruts point north, which means that if you go against the grain, you will never achieve your goal. Does General Xi have any other explanation?"

"The Marshal once told us that story. At the end, he said, 'Nothing in the world is absolute.' No truth can be applied to the whole world. A truth that is proven in a certain situation may not work in another situation. For example, 'going in the wrong direction.' If the shaft of the cart is pointing south and the tracks are pointing north, will it really be impossible for you to reach your destination? Not necessarily."

"not necessarily?"

Xue Yuanchao's eyes widened: "How can we reach our destination if we go the other way? Won't we just go further and further away?"

Xi Junmai looked around, took out a coconut from a nearby basket, pierced two small holes in the coconut with a dagger, and asked, "How do I get from one point to the other?"

Xue Yuanchao took the dagger and drew a straight line between the two small holes: "That's the way to go."

Xi Junmai laughed and said, "So, you think if you go the other way, you can't reach the other point?"

Xue Yuanchao felt something was wrong, but he didn't know what was wrong and his mind was a little confused.

Di Renjie, who was standing by, exclaimed: "But this coconut is a ball. How can it be the same as the earth under our feet?"

Xi Junmai first used a dagger to draw a line between two points in the opposite direction, proving that he could reach his destination by walking in the opposite direction. Then he raised his eyebrows and asked, "I just said that 'nothing is absolute in the world'. You have never seen the whole earth, so how do you know whether it is flat or a sphere?"

As for the question of whether the earth is flat or round, there has actually been some debate in the academy, but neither has been proven.

Di Renjie shook his head and said, "Since 'nothing in the world is absolute', how can we say that the earth is definitely round?"

Xi Junmai pointed to a line of islands stretching out on the sea level in the distance and said: "At first we were far away. Did you see that island?"

The two of them shook their heads.

Xi Junmai continued, "Then at a certain moment, the island suddenly appeared in sight, is that right?"

The two thought about it and nodded.

Xi Junmai held up the coconut and said, "Doesn't this prove that the earth is round? When the distance is far, the view is blocked due to the angle, so the island cannot be seen. But when the distance is close and the angle becomes smaller, it can be seen naturally."

"..."

The two emperors were confused, and the logic was correct, but was it really the case?

We are standing on a "ball"? !

Xue Yuanchao exclaimed: "If the earth is really a ball, and we are standing on the front, then won't the people below fall into the sky?"

Di Renjie: “…”

He looked down at the deck below him, then looked up at the sky.

Maybe the people standing on the other side of the ball at this moment also think that they are on the front side, and I am on the back side now, so will I fall into the sky? !

"boom!"

A dull explosion in the distance woke the two men from their contemplation and confusion. Looking up, they saw that Zhang Liang's fleet had arrived at a sheltered port and was launching a landing battle, while a cloud of smoke rose from the land of the port.

Xi Junmai's face was gloomy: "Duke Yun actually hid the Sky-shaking Bomb?"