1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 600 The End of the World ([-])
On November 11, the Qi State Exploration Fleet continued eastward after staying on Bliss Island for two days.During their stay, they conducted a simple survey of the nearby area and found no local indigenous people, but there were ferocious thylacines infested and tried to attack the fleet officers and soldiers camped on the shore, and they were killed by muskets. Flee into the woods.

At noon, the deputy commander of the fleet, Lu Zusheng, carefully held the nautical astronomical clock, and then turned it on. He was relieved to see that all the hands on the dial of the clock were moving normally. He was really worried. The turbulence will cause the marine chronometer to malfunction.

The nautical astronomical clock, also known as the precision clock, was invented in the second half of the 17th century. It uses an independent and accurate nautical clock to record the time at the prime meridian, and then compares it with the noon time of the ship's location. Through the time difference and longitude difference Calculate the longitude of the ship by the relationship.

During this period, under the prompting and inspiration of Qi Tian, ​​after several years of exploration and proofreading by the Heishan Industrial Research Institute, Qi State has already produced this kind of navigational instrument that can locate the longitude of the ship in advance, and used it for actual sea navigation Among them, the navigation positioning technology of Qi's ships has been greatly improved.

Lu Zusheng squinted his eyes, kept observing the sun at noon, and checked the time of the marine astronomical clock from time to time, then took out the paper and pen, and began to calculate the longitude of the ship.

Dong Fengshan, who was standing next to him, watched Lu Zusheng's operation and felt deeply moved.Originally, I thought that sailing on the sea would be enough to gallop in the endless ocean as long as you have rich experience in sailing skills, and equipped with the compass used by the ancestors, the astrolabe passed down from the Arabs, and the quadrant passed down from the Ottomans.

But one time I heard Qi Tian chatting about the development of navigation technology, saying that there will be more and more navigation tools in the future, positioning instruments will also become more and more sophisticated, what technology content is getting higher and higher, what kind of octant and sextant will there be? , longitude, and even some that rely on the sky to indicate directions (satellite navigation) and so on, as in the legend.And these will greatly facilitate the development of the future navigation industry, and will further promote and enhance navigation technology.

Now there are many new things on the ship, he doesn't understand very well, let alone calculate the position of the ship based on the instruments like Lu Zusheng.Therefore, he decided to give more opportunities to these young people who are growing up after this exploration activity is over. They are the future of Qi.

"How?" Seeing that Lu Zusheng put away the nautical chronometer and quadrant, Dong Fengshan asked softly.

"If the Dutchman's record is accurate, we will be able to find the two big islands in about eight to ten days if we drive in this direction and at this speed," Lu Zusheng replied.

"That depends on God's blessing for us to be able to go smoothly." Dong Fengshan said with a smile: "Okay, you go to rest first, and come to replace me at night."

"Okay, I'll go back and write yesterday's logbook." Lu Zusheng didn't refuse, and turned back to the captain's room.

"August 11, sunny day.

"The fleet left Bliss Island and sailed eastward with the help of the strong westerly wind. Due to the favorable wind, the sailing speed was extremely fast. During the day, it was estimated to travel more than 120 miles. At night, for safety, it folded up a side sail, but it was estimated that it also sailed for eight miles. More than ten miles.

The morale of the officers and soldiers on the fleet was very high, and they believed that the exploration operation could be successfully completed according to the established route. At that time, what awaited everyone would be another pleasant vacation of more than a month.

November 11, sunny day.

Although the weather was excellent, the wind and waves were extremely strong, and the whole ship seemed to be thrown up into the clouds by the waves from time to time, and then smashed down hard again.The deck is already very dangerous, and the sailors and observers use ropes to tie themselves to the mast or the side of the ship to avoid falling into the water.

However, the watchman on the mast is more nervous. Every time the waves come, he will shout excitedly from above and fly up!Let many brothers on board curse endlessly.

There are no more birds flying across the sky, which shows that we are already in the depths of the sea, and there are no land or islands within hundreds of miles around.Yes, it is an ocean with endless waves and monstrous waves.

On November 11, it was cloudy.

There are a lot of dark clouds in the sky today, covering the sun, which caused a little trouble for the marine chronometer we use.But, fortunately, we also have compass, quadrant and astrolabe.After carefully checking the position of the ship, we found that our course was a bit southerly, so we reported it to the admiral and adjusted the course of the fleet.

In the afternoon, there was a sudden storm on the sea surface, and its force exceeded any wind and wave encountered so far during the entire voyage.The admiral ordered the fleet to temporarily lower all sails to slow down.

However, unfortunately, when the sail was lowered, a brother might have not fastened the bundled safety rope and was ruthlessly thrown on the side of the ship. If someone hadn't hugged him tightly, he might have fallen into the water.But the whole person has been thrown badly, unconscious.Afterwards, the ship's medical officer checked and found that the poor guy had a broken arm and a fractured ankle, which might leave him disabled.

September 11, rain.

In the early hours of the morning, we lost sight of Fengxing 1, probably because last night's storm blew it out of our sight.What worries the admiral is that it is raining, and the continuous wind and waves and dense rain columns may make it extremely difficult for us to find our companions.

Hope it's all right.

In the afternoon, the rain stopped and the air was fresh and pleasant. The officers and soldiers who had been tense for a day gradually relaxed.There were even a few sailors who saw many fish swimming near the boat, cast down their fishing nets, and killed a few of them.However, in this driving state and weather, I am afraid it is very unsuitable for them to make a delicious fish soup.

November 11, sunny day.

Today's wind and waves are obviously much smaller. Compared with the previous days, it can be regarded as calm, which makes the officers and soldiers on board smile for a long time.

It is worth noting that in the evening, the Vigil Star is located on the west side of the handle, and at dawn it is close to the northeast of the handle.It seems that overnight the bearing has shifted to the third parallel to the south again.Immediately, he adjusted his direction at night and headed northwest.

Surprisingly, in the middle of the night we found a little light in the sea, and yes, we were pretty sure, it was a light, not a star.This means that the place with the lights may be our companion "Fengxing No. 1" who has been separated for nearly two days.It remained so close to us that we signaled lights from time to time on board.

Hope they find us too!

On November 11, it was cloudy.

Thankfully, we have finally joined "Fengxing No. 1". In this endless ocean, having more companions will make us feel at ease with each other.

In order to celebrate, the admiral made an exception and allowed the officers and soldiers to drink half a pot of wine, and at the same time brought dozens of cans of precious fruit for everyone to enjoy.

November 11, sunny day.

Today, the admiral severely punished the three sailors, because the three did not follow the regulations on the ship to eat and chew dried lemons every day, but secretly threw them into the sea.

In fact, these three guys really don't know what is good or what is bad. Taking and chewing dried lemons is to supplement the lack of elements in our body.Oh, what are the elements, they probably don't understand either.But the king once taught us the knowledge about human medicine. When we lack certain substances in our body, it will cause various diseases.

Sailing on the sea, because there is no consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, it will lead to a lack of vitamins in the body (actually, I didn’t understand what vitamins are at the time), causing fatigue, general fatigue, mental depression, and gum swelling and bleeding, which can also be caused by gums and Alveolar necrosis leads to loose teeth, loss of teeth, bone and joint muscle pain and other adverse physical reactions.

And this kind of symptom, the old sailors have had it before.But since ten years ago, according to the king's order, after eating dried lemons, bean sprouts, and fruits every day when sailing at sea, these symptoms have not occurred at all.This regulation has become the biggest secret among the officers and soldiers of our Qi State Navy, and it is generally not leaked to other forces, especially the Dutch.

The three guys who didn't like lemon slices were each whipped twice by the admiral, and then they were punished to clean the deck for a week.Looking at their aggrieved eyes, I think the punishment is a little light, and it's time to throw them into the sea to sober up.

November 11, rainy day.

Too bad it was raining again, and entering the cabin was an unspeakably suffocating, strong sour smell.Of course, the living environment of dozens of sailors must not be very good. The number of sick people on board increased to six, and except for the one who broke his limbs, the rest had fever.However, the medical officer said that they all had a common cold and fever, not a terrible infectious disease.

The waves are still rolling violently, as if they are never tired. The atmosphere of the officers and soldiers on board today is a bit depressing. After all, it has been six days since we left Bliss Island, and we still can’t see a piece of land or island.

When the admiral asked me to report the mileage every day, the actual mileage would be underreported, so that the sailors on the ship would not become panicked due to the long voyage.I think it is very wise for the admiral to do this, because more than half of the sailors on board are novices who have only been on board for a year.

On November 11, it was cloudy and rainy.

Heading due east, the voyage is about 320 miles.It was a day, dark and rainy.

The sailors on the ship found a lot of green seaweed floating on the surface of the sea. They thought that these grasses came from the land. Based on this, they estimated that there must be land or islands nearby.

According to the Dutch nautical charts and data, and comparing the location of our fleet, I think the fleet is close to the two large islands marked on the map of the Admiral.

November 11, sunny day.

The green grass seen on the sea today is more than yesterday, and it is very similar to the aquatic plants in the river.The sailors even caught a crab in the grass and handed it to the admiral for examination.

The admiral said that all this is indeed a sign that the land is approaching.When the officers and soldiers of the fleet heard this, their morale was greatly boosted, and everyone was overjoyed.The two exploration ships are scrambling to be the first to see land.

On November 11, it was cloudy.

Today, the wind and waves are getting bigger again, as if it is testing our patience and determination when we are about to land.

At noon the lookout on the mast shouted that land was in sight.When all the officers and soldiers heard this, they climbed onto the mast and the rigging to watch, and they also asserted with one voice that they had indeed seen land.

Land plant rushes were also found around the ship, and even a few reeds and sticks, which made it clear that we were about to reach an unknown land.

Here we come, about to conquer a new world.

(End of this chapter)