What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 261 The Empress is shocked! Is this Su Mo's escape route?

The fishermen's eyes lit up instantly when they saw the loose silver coins Su Mo took out.

It's almost Chinese New Year, and the fishermen are still busy at sea. What are they doing it for? Isn't it all for money?

Su Mo is just that kind of simple and unpretentious person.

Problems that can be solved with money should not be wasted time or words.

The saying "don't flaunt your wealth" applies to ordinary people, but Su Mo's strength speaks for itself, so he's not afraid of fishermen causing trouble.

If this small amount of silver were to attract a powerful sorcerer or martial arts master to rob him, Su Mo would accept it!

After all, it's rare to see such a poor but powerful sorcerer and grandmaster.

The old fisherman looked at the silver, then at Su Mo, and then at Zhang Xuzu and the others behind Su Mo.

Su Mo was dressed as a young scholar, with delicate skin and tender flesh, while the other two, who were older, were dressed in a wealthy manner.

Three wealthy and powerful young men, accompanied by two old servants, went out for a sightseeing trip.

He finally reached out and took the silver from Su Mo. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Shenluo Bay is only seven or eight miles away from here. I can take a few people there."

"However, I must remind you all."

“The road to Shenluo Bay is extremely difficult to travel. There are rocks everywhere, the waves are surging, and there are many hidden reefs. There are also terrifying sea monsters and ferocious sharks lurking in it. Ships cannot get close.”

"If you accidentally fall into the sea, you will definitely die."

He paused, then raised his slightly cloudy old eyes to look at Su Mo: "Are you gentlemen sure you want to go to Shenluo Bay?"

Judging from how tightly he gripped the silver as he spoke, it was clear that even if Su Mo didn't go, he wouldn't return the silver to Su Mo.

Su Mo smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, sir. We will be careful."

Seeing Su Mo's words, the old fisherman could only nod. He then beckoned to the middle-aged fisherman next to him, who was dark-skinned, shirtless, and had a strong physique: "Take your harpoon and come with me."

After saying that, he turned to Su Mo and explained, "This is my son."

“The coastal areas are not safe, and I dare not travel alone at night. I have called my son along so that we can look after each other.”

Su Mo smiled and said, "Father-in-law, you are very prudent. I have learned a lot from you!"

The old fisherman's gaze fell on the large horses that Su Mo and the others were leading, and he said, "These large horses can't make it to Shenluo Bay."

Chen Zhong thought for a moment and said, "Second Uncle can stay and watch the horses."

Su Mo thought to himself that although these fishermen seemed xenophobic, they didn't seem vicious.

Although Dawu was poor, it was at the height of the dynasty's power, and the imperial court still had some influence. A fishing village with a solid foundation would certainly not dare to commit evil openly.

“Alright!” Su Mo looked at Chen Qian, “Third Uncle, you stay too.”

The old fisherman described Shenluo Bay as so dangerous, with sea monsters and giant sharks lurking in the water. Chen Qian only had a rudimentary understanding of martial arts, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle any unexpected events.

Shenluo Bay is indeed as the old fisherman said.

It's only a few miles from the fishing village.

We passed through a mangrove forest, then walked across a long stretch of sand, and then through shallow water-covered reefs and mudflats.

A bay shaped like a conch shell came into Su Mo's view.

The mudflats in front of them were relatively flat, but beyond that lay a deep, rocky area with jagged, wolf-tooth-like rocks.

The reefs that emerge from the water resemble interlocking wolf fangs or sharp thorns on a conch shell, forming a perilous path leading to Shenluo Bay.

The giant waves kept crashing against the rocks, causing them to grow all kinds of algae, making them incredibly slippery.

The various shellfish attached to it resemble sharp knives stuck into the rocks; if you step on it barefoot, you could easily cut your feet.

The old fisherman stopped, a look of fear flashing in his eyes, and pointed into the distance at the dark, gloomy bay with its surging waves: "Young man, this is the Divine Conch Bay you are looking for."

"Just follow this rocky path..."

"Shenluo Bay has always been a forbidden area for fishermen. My son and I can only lead the way here. Please make yourselves at home."

After saying that, without waiting for Su Mo's reply, they gave their son a look and left without looking back.

It's better that the fisherman is gone.

Su Mo originally only intended for him to lead the way to the vicinity of Shenluo Bay.

We found a relatively high rock and looked out towards Shenluo Bay.

As you can see, the sea is full of jagged reefs, with towering waves crashing against the shore during high tide and turbulent undercurrents during low tide. No wonder the old fisherman said that no boat can get close.

Su Mo could even vaguely see many triangular fish fins moving through the waves.

Judging from the huge black shadow underwater, it was five or six meters long. I don't know if the sharks in this world are larger, or if they are all the most ferocious great white shark species!
Su Mo observed carefully for a long time. Under the dim moonlight, the entire Shenluo Bay seemed to be hiding an unsettling atmosphere.

The 600-ton warship mentioned by the system was nowhere to be seen.

Su Mo couldn't help but become suspicious.

Logically speaking, a 600-ton ancient warship would be at least 50 meters long and over 10 meters high.

Although the bay is large, there are not many things to cover it. How could such a huge creature not be seen?
He couldn't resist bringing up the system panel to check the logs.

That's right.

The system said to collect it at Shenluowan, Wanghai County!
But where are the warships?
Just as Su Mo was filled with doubt, Zhang Xuzu's expression suddenly changed, and he pointed: "Lord Su, look!"

……

Hundreds of meters away, Empress Leng Liuxi and Nangong Sheyue had also gotten off the carriage and secretly followed Su Mo to the outside of Shenluo Bay.

With their strength, let alone hiding hundreds of meters away, even if they were right next to each other, Su Mo and the others probably wouldn't be able to detect their whereabouts.

Seeing Su Mo climb to a high place and look into the distance, the Empress became suspicious and puzzled.

"How did Su Mo end up in this bay?"

"This bay has fierce and dangerous waves; it is not a suitable place for shipbuilding!"

Nangong Sheyue didn't know how to reply.

I thought that Su Mo had already made arrangements in Wanghai County, built a shipyard, and even built a seagoing vessel, which is why he came here at the end of the year and was confident that he could transport the oil back to the capital within three months.

But now it seems that's not the case at all.

Even if Su Mo secretly built a shipyard, he would not choose to operate in such a dangerous sea area.

Just as Nangong Sheyue was about to speak, his eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed to the distant sea, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, look!"

The Empress looked in the direction Nangong Sheyue pointed, and her phoenix eyebrows suddenly twitched!
A black dot appeared on the distant horizon.

The black spot grew rapidly.

Under the moonlight, it turned out to be a strange sea vessel with an odd design, quite different from the ships of the Great Wu!
On the ships, sails billowed in the wind propelled the warships forward.

The sails were made of cloth, not the stiff sails used on ordinary large ships!

Driven by the strong winds, the warships sped toward the mudflats.

The Empress was increasingly shocked.

This warship was probably twenty zhang long and three or four zhang high.

Although they didn't look as big as the ships on the Xima River, the Empress knew that those ships were all show and no substance. They were fine sailing on the calm Xima River, but if they were in the open sea, they would probably fall apart after being hit by a few giant waves!
This enormous warship bobbed up and down on the waves with an air of complete composure, its speed far exceeding that of those multi-story ships; it was clearly built specifically for sailing the high seas!
"Is this the seagoing vessel that Su Mo is going to build?"

Even the Empress couldn't help but show a look of surprise and doubt, her phoenix eyes half-closed as she stared intently at the approaching warship!
A single warship, devoid of any magical energy fluctuations, traversed the sea as if it were flat ground, creating a powerful sense of awe!
If it were ten ships, a hundred ships...

Nangong Sheyue was at a loss for words!
Where did Su Mo get his warship?
Nangong Sheyue thought she had investigated Su Mo's situation thoroughly, but now she realized that what she had found out was probably just the tip of the iceberg of Su Mo's hidden secrets!
She felt increasingly that Su Mo was mysterious and unpredictable, and took a deep breath: "Your Majesty... could this be a warship sent by Su Xianzi's sect?"

Both the Empress and Nangong Sheyue believed that Su Mo was from an ancient immortal sect, a hidden sect, and a contemporary traveler from the incredibly mysterious Kunlun Ruins.

Nangong Sheyue suddenly became excited.

It seems we've finally found concrete evidence that Su Mo came from Kunlun Ruins!
Another layer of mystery surrounding Su Mo has been torn away!
The Empress nodded slightly: "That's possible!"

She suddenly sighed, "Kunlun Ruins is truly mysterious!" "Su Mo is far away in Shenjing, how did he manage to notify the people of Kunlun Ruins that a warship was needed to capture the giant Kun?"

"How did Kunlun Ruins notify Su Mo to come here to receive the warships?"

Nangong Sheyue suddenly had a thought: "Your Majesty, I feel something is amiss."

The Empress stared intently at the approaching warship, glancing at Nangong Sheyue out of the corner of her eye: "Something's not right?"

Nangong Sheyue said in a deep voice, "It has only been a few days since Han Yu stole the formula and started his own business."

"Although the location of Kunlun Ruins is unknown, it is not known to anyone and must not be too close to the coast. How could a seagoing vessel have been sent here so quickly?"

The Empress waved her hand and said calmly, "It has nothing to do with the soap!"

"Su Mo probably already had this backup plan in mind. Regardless of whether Han Li is involved or not, the ship will arrive as scheduled!"

Nangong Sheyue fell silent.

I've warned that business partner many times that he's walking on thin ice, but he's pretending not to understand!
I know perfectly well what's going on in my heart!

For some reason, Commander Zuo suddenly became sullen!

The Empress smiled faintly again: "Let me see what these visitors from Kunlun Ruins are like!"

As she spoke, she flipped her hand, and with a flash of white light, the Xuan Tian Mirror appeared before her.

The Empress poured her magical power into the Mysterious Heaven Mirror, causing the mirror's surface to ripple with mysterious light, and the image gradually became clearer.

Then, an expression of utter astonishment appeared on the Empress's pretty face.

Upon seeing this, Nangong Sheyue was startled and quickly asked, "Your Majesty, what has happened?"

The Empress frowned and slowly said, "On the ship! There's no one there!"

Upon hearing this, Nangong Sheyue's eyebrows furrowed instantly: "There's no one on the ship?"

How does this ship sail?

"Could it be a ghost ship?"

Unexpectedly, the Empress's expression suddenly turned strange: "The warship is unmanned, and I do not know how it was able to sail here, but this warship does indeed come from Kunlun Ruins!"

Nangong Sheyue frowned even more, puzzled: "May I ask, Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?"

The Empress brought her two fingers together and gently guided them, and the Mysterious Mirror flew to Nangong Sheyue's side.

Nangong Sheyue took a closer look and was instantly stunned. Even the usually composed Fengming Si Zuo Qianhu was speechless.

On the hull of the ship, the words "Su Mo Hao" were clearly written in large characters!
The characters “苏” and “号” are missing strokes, making them look rather awkward.

Nangong Sheyue had met him, and so had the Empress.

The mysterious little notebook in the secret compartment of Su Mo's study was filled with these strange characters that were missing or incomplete!

……

Su Mo never expected that the system reward would appear in this way!

No wonder he gave himself six months to claim it, completely unafraid of being discovered and taken away by others!
Once he estimated that he had arrived at Shenluo Bay, he activated the system's reward system, and a ship appeared out of nowhere and was delivered to him in this "reasonable" way!

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng swallowed hard, staring blankly at Su Mo.

Su Mo really has a huge ship!

No wonder they dared to claim they were going to sea to capture the giant Kun, while secretly raising the price of oil and fat, and plotting to give Rong Wang a good tumble!

The ships are getting closer and closer to the coast.

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng looked up at the giant warship.

The prow of the warship is adorned with a ferocious and terrifying giant shark figurehead, forged from fine steel, inspiring awe in all who behold it!
The ship's sides were lined with massive, sharp, barbed spears that gleamed coldly and were incredibly sharp.

The two were increasingly amazed.

Su Mo saw the ship's sails billowing, miraculously avoiding the reefs, and speeding towards the mudflats without slowing down at all. His expression changed drastically.

"not good!"

Sure enough, not long after, the warship’s massive hull suddenly shuddered.

The bow of the boat surged more than twenty meters onto the mudflats, and most of the hull was deeply embedded in the silt before it finally came to a stop!
Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng were dumbfounded.

How could such a huge warship, weighing more than 500,000 kilograms, be able to sail back to the sea after being stranded on the mudflats?
Are we waiting for high tide?

It seems even high tide won't work!
Su Mo looked at the brand-new galleon and was speechless.

Is the system just messing with itself?
He exhaled and turned to look at Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng: "This is the sea vessel I was talking about!"

"Let's get on the ship and take a look first!"

As he spoke, he pushed off the rocks with both feet, his body leaping more than ten meters into the air, and landed lightly on the bow of the boat like a large bird!

The moment his feet touched the bow of the ship, a surge of consciousness flooded into Su Mo's mind, instantly giving him mastery of the ship's handling techniques, as well as the warship's layout, structure, and so on!
Su Mo smiled bitterly.

The system's after-sales service is quite good.

I was initially worried that the sailors here wouldn't know how to operate soft sails and steer warships, but now that's no longer a problem.

I can teach them myself.

It's a real pain when a ship runs aground.

However, this way, there is no need to worry about the ship being washed away by the waves, and there is enough time to find sailors and crew to steer the ship.

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng exchanged a bewildered glance, then, following Su Mo's example, used the momentum twice to leap onto the bow of the ship, which was more than ten meters high.

Upon seeing the condition of the bow deck, the two were instantly shocked, forgetting to ask Su Mo where the ship came from.

On each side of the bow deck, five huge, strange crossbows were set up.

The giant spears we saw earlier were actually crossbow bolts from these giant crossbows!
At the end of the crossbow, a long and thick hemp rope was attached, with a winch connected to the rope.

The crossbow at the bow was twice the size of the others, with a massive barbed crossbow lance that was a full ten feet long. The arrowhead protruded from the jaws of the ferocious shark, making it look even more terrifying!
I saw the eight-ox crossbow on the ship, and the name "Su Mo" written on the side of the ship that I had seen earlier.

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated.

I had assumed that galleons would be equipped with bronze cannons.

This thing is giving Su Mo a real headache.

He didn't even want to study gunpowder, let alone muskets and cannons.

Even if there were bronze cannons, it would be impossible to bring them back to Shenjing; they could only be sunk in the sea or melted into molten copper.

Surprisingly, instead of bronze cannons, the ship was equipped with ballistae and given the ship the name "Su Mo," making it neither Chinese nor Western.

Judging from the design of the ballista, it was clearly designed specifically for catching whales.

It even comes equipped with a simple version of a human-powered hoist. As long as there are enough people, it can lift at least 100,000 kilograms of weight, making it easy to hoist whales onto the ship!
This isn't a warship, it's clearly a professional whaling vessel!

Of course, you could also call it a warship.

The warship had a total of twenty-one giant ballistae on its fore and aft decks.

Its deterrent and lethal power is beyond doubt.

Not to mention those river vessels, even if there were warships in this era that dared to go to sea, there would be very few that could match this warship!

Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng finally came to their senses, swallowed hard, and looked at Su Mo with some fear.

"Lord Su, is this... your ship?"

Where are the people on the ship?

Such a strange warship, rushing onto the mudflats in the middle of the night, with not a single person to be seen on board, was like a ghost ship, sending chills down one's spine.

Aside from their status as sons of noble families, Zhang Xuzu and Cao Feng were no different from ordinary people, so they were truly fearless!
(End of this chapter)