Chapter 167

The twenty-fourth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

In the imperial palace.

Yan attended the morning court as usual, and after handling state affairs.

Looked at the messenger returning from the east coast and frowned: "Still no news?"

The messenger was respectful: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have not heard any news about the Explorer."

Yan sighed.

It had been a full year.

Sometimes he even suspected...

Whether the Explorer had encountered some shipwreck.

But...

To ensure successful exploration.

When he formed the Explorer long-voyage fleet, he mobilized twelve steamships.

Even if they encountered a shipwreck, it wouldn't be a total loss.

"Could it be... the scope of the earth is really wider than what is marked on the map?"

Yan turned around.

Looked at the map behind him.

Outside the land of the Great Yan Kingdom, there was a vast ocean.

If calculated according to the boundaries explored before...

One year was enough to go back and forth!

Now the Explorer had not returned for a long time.

Obviously.

They had broken through the boundary and were still sailing east!

Thinking of this.

He pondered slightly and ordered people to take the world map behind him...

Redraw it!

Near the originally determined pentagonal boundary, countless unknown areas were added!

The twenty-fifth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

At this time, three years had passed since the Explorer set off.

But news of the Explorer...

Still hadn't been sent back.

"How big is the scope of the earth?"

Yan thought about this question every day.

So big that the Explorer fleet had been sailing for three years without any news!

You know.

They were walking in a straight line!

"Is there still no news from the east coast?"

He turned around and looked at the messenger beside him.

The messenger smiled bitterly and replied: "Still none, I send people to check three times every day; if the Explorer returns, I will definitely notify Your Majesty immediately."

Yan nodded silently.

Over these three years.

As he grew older, he had less arrogance and recklessness.

More maturity and steadiness.

After being knocked by the deity...

He no longer blindly boasted and thought he knew everything.

At least on the matter of the truth of the earth.

His Explorer long-voyage fleet had explored for three years without getting results.

The last day of the twenty-fifth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

After the morning court.

Yan asked as usual: "Is there any news from the east coast?"

The messenger shook his head: "Still haven't seen any fleet returning."

Yan showed a disappointed expression again.

However...

Not long after.

From the west of the Great Yan Kingdom, an eight-hundred-mile urgent report was sent to the imperial palace along the cement road.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, great joy! The Explorer... has returned!"

"Just yesterday, it landed on the west coast, and now they are all docked; in two days, they will be able to return to the palace to report!"

After Yan heard this.

He was stunned on the spot.

What's the situation?

He ordered the Explorer fleet to go east, how did it return from the opposite direction?

"Could it be that this fleet violated my edict and turned back halfway?"

He frowned, with anger hidden in his eyebrows.

As a result...

Two days later.

The captain of the Explorer rushed back to the imperial palace.

His expression was full of excitement.

The first sentence upon meeting was: "Your Majesty! I... I have discovered a shocking secret! It turns out the world is a sphere!"

Yan: "..."

Then.

The captain of the Explorer continued to tell what he saw and heard this time:

"Three years ago, I followed Your Majesty's edict and went east all the way, spending half a year to reach the easternmost part of the sea area explored before."

"As a result, I found that going east all the way... it was still a vast and endless ocean!"

"So our twelve long-voyage steamships continued to move forward; during this period, we encountered several shipwrecks and experienced countless hardships..."

"But going east all the way, it was still boundless seawater and a sea surface that couldn't be seen to the end!"

"Three years passed, all the crew on the Explorer were about to despair, but finally, we saw a piece of land!"

Yan heard this, and his eyes brightened instantly.

Immediately grabbed the captain's hand and asked: "Land? Besides the Great Yan Kingdom, is there land in the world?"

Having land meant there were areas he needed to conquer!

However...

The captain's next sentence made him freeze on the spot.

"At that time, we were also pleasantly surprised, but after we landed on the coast, we found... this piece of land was actually the western wilderness area where the Great Yan Kingdom is located!"

His brain crashed instantly.

What's the situation?

Heading east all the way, and returning from the west coast?

He didn't react to the principle for a while.

And the captain continued: "I can guarantee that for these three years, we have been sailing in the due east direction, absolutely no deviation! In the two days returning to the imperial palace, I thought about it and felt..."

Saying this.

He took out a ball the size of a fist.

While comparing, he said: "Going east all the way, and still being able to return from the west coast, can only prove that the area we sailed... can be drawn into a perfect circle!"