Chapter 984: Zhoushan
Dao Ke's heart seized with terror.
He had been exposed, and that could only mean certain death. His sole thought was to flee.
Then he heard Li Daoxuan chuckle, "I'm offering you a chance to escape right now. You can jump immediately into the water and swim away. If I don't catch you, you live. If I do bring you back, I'll forgive you for this attempted escape, and you will not be harmed."
Dao Ke's heart leaped with joy. *Oh? Is this man trying to show off?*
This was a golden opportunity. To allow him one escape attempt, no questions asked—he’d be a fool not to take it. *Did he even know where they were? This was the edge of the Zhoushan Archipelago, with its treacherous currents, hidden reefs, and strange rock formations.*
*If I just dove into the water, held my breath, and swam far, then carefully surfaced behind a reef for air, and then dove down again into the distance, he wouldn't necessarily be able to catch me.*
Dao Ke called out loudly, "Is that a firm promise? So many people are listening here. If you don't keep your word, you'll lose face in front of your subordinates."
Li Daoxuan smiled, "Of course, it's a promise."
Dao Ke replied, "Good!"
Leaping from the bow, he twisted his body in mid-air like a dolphin, executing a beautiful dive that entered the water cleanly, barely making a ripple.
The smaller the splash, the deeper one penetrated the water, the better one could evade the eyes of those on the surface.
Dao Ke held his breath and swam toward a nearby reef.
As he swam, he thought to himself, *How will he try to catch me? Send ships to scatter and search? Blockade the nearby sea? Hmph, no matter what method, I have a way...*
Just as he was thinking this, he heard another "splash" behind him. Someone had jumped into the water after him.
Dao Ke turned his head to look. *Oh! That fellow called the Heavenly Lord actually jumped into the water himself and is coming after me!*
*How preposterous!*
*You want to compete with me in swimming?*
Dao Ke gave a powerful kick with his legs, like a mermaid flicking its tail, and his speed shot up dramatically.
*At this speed, few could keep up with me, hahaha!*
He looked back. *Damn it, how is that person catching up? He’s getting closer?*
And the most unbelievable thing was, the man wasn't moving his limbs at all, maintaining a perfectly straight posture, propelling himself forward like a fish.
*This is impossible!*
*Humans can't swim like that!*
Dao Ke felt a pang of panic. He thrashed with all his limbs, swimming desperately.
But it was no use. Soon, Li Daoxuan caught up.
He didn't reach out to grab him. Instead, he swam alongside Dao Ke, matching his pace, propelling himself forward in parallel. And as he swam, he spoke, "Keep it up, swim faster! For that dive you just made, I'd give you a 9.8! I only docked 0.2 points for the splash on entry."
Dao Ke didn't understand this "decimal point" nonsense. He wanted to retort, "What kind of ghost are you?" but he couldn't speak underwater. He couldn't even talk back, so he could only desperately continue swimming forward.
Then he discovered Li Daoxuan was circling him.
Like a fish, he circled him, one turn to the left, then one to the right. The speed was unbelievable. And every now and then, he would mock him, "You haven't surfaced for air yet? You're an amazing underwater swimmer!"
Dao Ke finally couldn't hold back and cursed loudly, "Blub blub blub!"
He was out of breath!
He quickly thrashed with all his limbs and swam toward the surface.
With a "whoosh," he burst out of the water and greedily gulped a large breath of air.
After a moment's deliberation, his not-so-clever mind coming to a conclusion, Dao Ke gave up on escaping. He sighed, "I can't escape. Your swimming prowess is truly admirable."
Since he had surrendered obediently, Li Daoxuan didn't make an example of him.
Returning to the ship, he dispatched the sailors to land.
Soon, the entire Zhoushan pirate stronghold fell into the hands of Gao Family Village.
This location was none other than the site of what would later become Zhoushan Dinghai Port.
A stretch of coastline to the east of the harbor was the location of what would later become the "Zhejiang Kailing Shipyard."
Li Daoxuan had only seen this place in news reports before. Now, standing here himself, gazing at the deep-water port, and then at the site of the shipyard across from it, he didn't need to rack his brains. He could simply copy the layout from his own era.
He was just a shut-in, certainly not as capable as the experts of later generations. Since those experts had chosen to build a military port and shipyard here, there must be a good reason for it. All he had to do was follow their lead.
He didn't need to concern himself with trivial matters; he only needed to give broad directions.
He waved Jiang Cheng over. "First, pacify all the pirates on the island. Those who surrender will be taken in as labor reform prisoners; those who resist will be shot without exception. Then, I will have Gao Family Village send more ships. They will bring Blue Hats and corresponding supplies and production technology."
"In this area—here, here, and here—you will build a military port."
"And in this direction, reserve an empty plot of land to be used for a shipyard."
"The labor reform camp will be located behind the military port."
Li Daoxuan outlined the major directives, and Jiang Cheng accepted the orders.
The people of Gao Family Village had a comprehensive method for handling labor reform prisoners and were extremely adept at it. It didn't take long before the pirates, under the barrels of muskets, were building a massive labor reform camp for themselves.
At this time, Gao Family Village's supplies and Blue Hats hadn't arrived yet, and there was no rush to construct the military port. First, they dispatched the more astute members of the militia's sailors to give them ideological and political lessons...
And while these groups were being reshaped.
Back in Gao Family Village itself...
Young Master Bai was packing his luggage. A large group of graduate students, Blue Hats, and technical specialists were all doing the same.
Madam Bai, now over forty years old, hurriedly burst into Young Master Bai's room, her eyes filled with tears. "My son, do you truly have to go yourself? For such a matter, you don't need to go in person. Just sending your expertise would be enough."
Young Master Bai shook his head resolutely. "Mother," he said, "a steam-powered behemoth is no simple thing. It presents many technical challenges. While I have previously built small steamships for river use, I have never yet constructed a giant ship for sea travel. If I do not go myself, should any problems arise during construction, the workers would find it difficult to contact me immediately. The back-and-forth communication would waste too much time."
Madam Bai's face was mournful. "It's too dangerous! That's a desolate island, isolated far out at sea..."
Young Master Bai replied, "The militia will be there, and the Heavenly Lord's avatar will also be present. What is there to fear? Oh, and this time, Wang Zheng will be going too."
Madam Bai blinked. "Oh? Wang Zheng is going too? What will he be doing there?"
Young Master Bai explained, "Wang Zheng is skilled in mechanics. He used the blueprints provided by the Heavenly Lord to build a chronometer, for determining latitude and longitude at sea. He's accompanying us this time, to test whether his chronometer is truly functional aboard the ship."
Madam Bai let out a long sigh. "Alright then! My son has grown up and is going out into the world to make his mark. As a mother, I can only wholeheartedly wish you triumph in your endeavors."
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