At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Outside Wanhu City, in the waters of Wanhu Lake.

The water was as wide as a mirror, with more than twenty sailboats scattered on the lake. The sails were billowing in the afternoon wind, and the waves cut by the bows left long white streaks at the sterns.

This is the section where the Yokogawa River flows into Lake Manhu. The water is calm and the view is wide, making it ideal for naval training.

Chu Tianba stood on the deck of the command ship at the very front, a thick-backed machete hanging at his waist, his hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping over the brothers who were lined up on their respective ships.

"Stand firm! Spread your feet apart and lower your center of gravity!"

"The boat is rocking, so you'll sway with it; don't try to fight against the boat!"

As he spoke, he demonstrated a sideways posture to face the waves, adjusting his center of gravity slightly with the swaying of the boat, without moving his feet an inch.

"When the boat veers to the left, the center of gravity shifts to the left!"

"When the boat veers to the right, the center of gravity shifts to the right as well!"

"Don't just stand still; that's not stability, that's waiting to be thrown into the water!"

Wen Jiuyuan stood on the ship behind him, holding a long pole in his hand, teaching several new recruits how to use the long pole to stop enemy ships from approaching in close combat.

"See clearly? The pole should be aimed at the waterline of the other boat's side, then quickly insert it and use the leverage to pry it over; the small boat can be capsized by more than half."

"Don't stab someone; it's better to capsize the boat than to stab someone."

Wei Honglie sat on a low stool at the stern of the ship, holding a slightly worn paper book in his hands, recording the training progress of each ship.

Commands and responses echoed across the water...

Several small boats were simulating boarding maneuvers, gliding side by side, with soldiers pushing and parrying each other as the two boats sailed side by side.

Some people were pushed into the water, struggled a couple of times, climbed back onto the boat, shook the water off their clothes, and continued to join the next round of training.

Just as Chu Tianba announced a break, a small boat rowed from the direction of the chasm, with a sailor on lookout at the bow.

The man stood up and waved vigorously in the direction of the command ship, his voice broken and intermittent by the wind.

"A boat! A huge boat!"

Chu Tianba turned his head and looked in the direction the sailor was pointing.

Wen Jiuyuan straightened up, his long pole planted upright on the deck, his gaze following Chu Tianba's line of sight: "What kind of ship is it? From the Eastern Barbarians?"

Wei Honglie closed the book, stood up, shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted at the distance, saying firmly, "The Dongyi ships won't come from that direction; that's the direction of the upper reaches of the Heng River."

More and more sailors put down their work and stood up to look in that direction.

Soon, the silhouette of a ship appeared.

The boat moved slowly inside the tributary, like a giant beast squeezing out of a narrow waterway, its silhouette gradually pushing open the water's surface and creating a splash.

On Chu Tianba's command ship, a young soldier standing on the lookout tower suddenly shouted, "It's the Azure Dragon Flag! The Azure Dragon Flag of the Great Qian Dynasty is flying at the bow!"

The shouts carried on the wind.

People started crowding towards the ship's side, while others climbed onto the mast's crossbar to peer out!

Chu Tianba and Wen Jiuyuan exchanged a glance, their brows furrowed.

At this moment, the complete outline came into view.

When they saw that silhouette, everyone was stunned.

This is beyond their understanding of the word "ship".

The ship was wide, with an iron-gray ram protruding from the waterline at the bow.

The edges of the iron plates on the outer side of the ship are neatly arranged, making it look like a city wall pushed onto the water from a distance.

Its sails were more than ten times larger than any of the ships around it, and when the wind blew, the edges of the sails trembled slightly.

It's incredibly oppressive!

"Is it the Youlong warship that Elder Su built in Nanjing?"

Wen Jiuyuan's voice was filled with doubt.

Chu Tianba shook his head and did not answer, because he was also unsure.

"It's the Dragon Warship."

At that moment, Wei Honglie's voice came from behind the two of them.

"Such a ship, daring to fly such a large blue dragon flag, can only be the Great Qian Wandering Dragon Warship forged by Elder Su in Jinling City."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianba was overjoyed and extremely excited: "Yes, that should be right."

Then, Ye Qingzhou appeared at the bow of the ship and raised his arms to shout at them.

"Brothers, we have returned."

That sound was thrilling.

Upon seeing Ye Qingzhou's figure, the naval officers and soldiers confirmed that this was indeed a warship of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Immediately, the army erupted in discussion.

"My God, this warship is huge."

"Yes, I've never seen such a large warship before. It's truly awe-inspiring."

"Is this the kind of behemoth that Elder Su built in Nanjing?"

"We are the Great Qian Navy, which means we can sail east across the seas in these warships and crush the Eastern Barbarians?"

"With such massive warships, how can the Eastern Barbarians possibly defend themselves?"

"The thought of being able to ride on such a warship and kill the Dongyi people fills me with immense joy."

Chu Tianba and Wen Jiuyuan exchanged a smile, their expressions filled with excitement.

"Old Su never disappoints," Wen Jiuyuan murmured. "With such warships, crushing the Eastern Barbarians is just around the corner."

……

"Hey, brothers, can you hear me?"

"Brother Chu, Second Brother Wen..."

At this moment, Ye Qingzhou's voice came from not far in front of the bow of the ship.

He was standing below the mainsail barge, holding the cable in one hand and waving the other in Chu Tianba's direction.

He sidestepped a horizontal bar, stepped onto the narrow footboard on the outside of the ship, and leaped out. Using the edge of the wave pushed by the ship, he pushed off and landed on the deck where Chu Tianba was after three consecutive dips in the water.

Chu Tianba and the others were overjoyed and quickly walked towards Ye Qingzhou.

"Qingzhou! Is Elder Su on the boat?"

Ye Qingzhou steadied himself, wiped the water off his face, and smiled, "Old Master Su and the Prince are both on the boat."

"Old Su asked me to tell my two brothers that the Eastern Yi bandits have returned, and they are probably already at Zhenhai Pass."

"We are ordered to assemble immediately, take up our weapons, and head to Zhenhaiguan."

Wen Jiuyuan interjected, "How many Eastern Barbarian bandits have come?"

"At least 30,000 men and 20 warships," Ye Qingzhou said.

Chu Tianba sneered, "You've come at the perfect time. The brothers have been training for so long, they're eager to have a real fight."

Ye Qingzhou didn't say much, but pointed to the Youlong warship: "Elder Su ordered that five thousand men board the Youlong warship and five thousand men travel on the old-style warships, and depart together."

Upon hearing Elder Su's order, Chu Tianba nodded solemnly.

Then he turned to the messenger behind him and shouted, "Pass down the order: halt training!"

"Count the number of people on each ship! Five thousand people will board the Youlong warship, and five thousand will remain on the old ships. Complete the transfer within half an incense stick's time!"

Once the order was given, the water surface immediately became bustling with activity.

The sailors on each ship began to gather their weapons.

Ten old-style warships approached the Youlong warship from different directions. Ropes were thrown down from the sides of the ships, pulled taut along the hull, and secured to the mooring bollards, forming a gradually taking shape transfer passage.

Five thousand sailors boarded the Youlong warship using rope ladders and springboards.

The rest of the crew stayed on the old ship, began to furl the sails, check the equipment, and prepare to set sail.

Soon, the ten old-fashioned warships spread out to both sides in a wing-shaped formation, with appropriate spacing between them.

"Set off!"

Su Mu stood at the bow of the Youlong warship and gave orders.

The sound spread from the Youlong warship, and the soldiers of the Daqian navy raised their arms and shouted.

"Follow Elder Su and slay the Eastern barbarian bandits."

Then, the bugle call from the Youlong warship rang out over the Wanhu waters, short and loud.

The sails of the Youlong warship billowed, and the ship began to accelerate.

Behind them, ten old-fashioned warships followed in a flanking formation, maintaining a distance while keeping their speed and direction stable.

Thus began the first operation of the Great Qian Navy.