We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The fleet slowed down and moved forward slowly. During this time, small boats kept shuttling between them, transporting people to the Dingyuan.

Li Sheng and his brothers and backbone members.

Captain of many warships.

Representatives sent by various tribes in Yizhou.

Even the unlikable Fu Liang.

All the core figures with official positions in the fleet gathered in the cabin of the Dingyuan.

Everyone was unaware of the situation and their eyes were looking at the figure not far away who was staring at the sea in a trance.

Li Che considers himself a democratic leader, at least he listens to any opinions of his subordinates.

But on this matter alone, there is no room for negotiation.

Luzon must be conquered and the sweet potatoes must be obtained.

Bringing sweet potatoes back to Daqing can feed tens of millions of people. As long as the imperial court is not corrupt to the core, no one will die of hunger.

Compared to this, the lives of those people on Luzon Island are nothing!

"Your Highness." Ying Bu stepped forward, "Everyone is here."

Li Che turned his head and saw the Saker Falcon leaping from the railing and landing on his shoulder.

He couldn't help but laugh. If he added an eye patch to his look and replaced the Saker Falcon with a parrot, he would become a standard stereotypical medieval pirate.

It just so happens that next I have to do something that only pirates would do.

Li Che came in front of everyone, put his hands on the sea chart, and asked first: "Where are we now?"

Li Sheng immediately replied, "Your Highness, we have caught up with the southeast monsoon. If all goes well, we will be able to see the outer islands this afternoon and reach Luzon Island tomorrow."

Li Che nodded, understanding what was going on, then walked to the table and sat down.

"The situation has changed. We can't sail to Luzon so brazenly."

"Your Highness means..."

"Luzon Island has been occupied by the Portuguese. They number about two thousand people. There may also be indigenous troops, but the exact number is unknown."

"As for those pirates, they're just Portuguese refugees who've escaped. They use the most dilapidated ships and don't have any good weapons. The real Portuguese army has guns and cannons. Although I don't know their exact combat effectiveness, it's probably not much worse than ours."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Li Sheng even asked, "Your Highness, why do we have to go to war with them? Can't we just trade with them like we did in Yizhou?"

Li Che shook his head: "The Portuguese have something in their hands that they won't give to us, and I must get it!"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, completely unable to understand what kind of divine object could make their own prince care so much about it.

Everyone knows that Li Che loves his soldiers like his own sons. Unless the circumstances are special, he would never lead a fleet to fight such a risky battle.

Li Che also saw their doubts and said, "It's a kind of food called sweet potato."

"food?"

Li Sheng and others were full of confusion.

"food!"

Hu Qiang's eyes lit up.

Li Che nodded. "This kind of food has a very high yield and can feed countless people. I thought I had to go to America to get it, but I didn't expect to come across it here. As the saying goes, if you don't accept what God gives you, you will suffer for it. This is God's will, and we can't let it go."

"May I ask Your Highness, what is the production of sweet potatoes?" a naval officer asked.

Li Che said solemnly, "At least ten times more than Daqing's staple food."

"hiss--"

Everyone took a deep breath.

"It's not picky about soil; it can be grown in both dry land and mountainous areas!"

"hiss--"

Everyone relapsed.

"Sweet potatoes can also be used to produce starch, sugar and wine, and the inedible parts can be fed to livestock."

"hiss--"

Everyone inhaled again and again.

"Grab it! You must grab it!" Li Sheng's eyes turned red.

Born as a scholar, he was not ignorant of grains. After living with pirates for so many years, he had seen the poverty of the people and naturally knew the significance of bringing this high-yield grain back to Daqing.

Being able to prevent the people of the world from starving is a matter of infinite merit, enough for the people of the world to build a shrine for them, and after their death they will be famous in history books, and they may even be canonized as minor gods.

Others had almost the same idea. The farming gene of the Chinese people was deeply rooted in their souls, and even men who had traveled the sea could not escape it.

"We need a plan." Fu Liang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

Li Che looked at him in surprise. This guy has become much more honest since he set sail.

He actively cooperated every time when supplies were replenished and never mentioned any problems.

This man is one of the best naval commanders of Feng State. If he could understand something, Li Che would be willing to use him.

"General Fu, do you have any advice?" Li Che asked.

Fu Liang nodded. "Our army has the advantage of artillery, but we are outnumbered. Among our 4,000 crew members, there are 1,000 craftsmen and sailors. While the enemy only has 2,000 men, they also have indigenous troops. They are more familiar with the terrain and will cause considerable trouble for our army."

"We should play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, making the most of our artillery, using shipboard fire to pin down the enemy's main force. At the same time, we should send a surprise force ashore in small boats to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's hinterland. Perhaps we can achieve victory in one fell swoop."

Li Che nodded slightly.

After all, he is a general who conquered the world with his cheap father. He does have some vision, but his personality is a bit bad.

He is a bit like Lan Yu. If he were a monarch who was not tolerant, he would be beheaded sooner or later.

Seeing that everyone was silent but no one objected, Li Che understood that everyone agreed with Fu Liang's idea.

"That's decided then." Li Che immediately made the decision, "But we can't just go over there like this. We need to practice artillery tactics first. Let's see how you perform today!!"

The captains of the warships lowered their heads in shame.

Li Che sighed, but he couldn't really blame them.

The captains were mostly pirates and naval officers. They had never seen a cannon before and had only received half a month of intensive training in the Dongfeng Camp.

It's already good enough to be able to fire the cannon in the right direction in the first battle.

"Have the navigator find an uninhabited island, dock there for three days of training, and then head to Luzon Island three days later."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

"As for artillery training..." Li Che's gaze swept across the generals and finally fell on Fu Liang.

"General Fu will be in charge. I will also go there to provide guidance and help the gunners master the technique as soon as possible."

Fu Liang was shocked: "General..."

"Why, General Fu is unwilling to help me with this?" Li Che looked at him with a faint smile.

Fu Liang was startled, then a look of guilt appeared on his face. He knelt on one knee and said, "I am willing to serve Your Highness!"

"Not bad, very energetic!" Li Che reached out and helped him up, "But don't kneel next time. My country doesn't practice kneeling."

“Here…”