Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 97
In the vast sea, it was already the seventh day since the grain transport fleet set off.

This is March [-]st.

On the two-thousand-material flagship ship where Admiral Xia Hai was located, Shen Tongtian, who was once the bow of the Shen family's caravan in Changzhou, got up before dawn, and hurried to the top deck above the two-story cabin at the rear end of the ship.

In February, when he returned from the Japanese merchants and ran into the fleet, he was recruited to participate in the northward transportation of grain. Shen Tong only felt that in just over a month, his life was really full of ups and downs.

Now that the Shen family is close to the two major backers of the Shanghai Navy Commander and the Yinghai Envoy, they have to do their best. Therefore, when the young Yinghai Envoy asks for someone, and the head of the family talks to them in person, Shen Tong can't refuse the matter. .

However, after the initial panic, Shen Tong found that the grain transportation team that he joined almost with a sense of death became more and more the most reassuring trip he had made over the years.

Because, no matter where the fleet went, he knew he was there.

This seems like nonsense.

However, it is not!
When sailing on the sea, the most important thing is to find the way and navigate. Once a fleet loses its way in the vast ocean, the result is often disastrous.

This fleet did not have any similar problems.

Even went a lot further.

Just like at this time, on the top deck in the bright morning, Xia Hai, commander of Tianxingwei, and a group of generals and officials were waiting for the sunrise.

how so?

Or to measure the position.

There are also several engraved leaks on the deck at the same time, with different sizes and shapes.

The largest shows twelve hours.

The smallest one can even divide a quarter of an hour into more accurate 15 minutes.

These are some new timing units that Shen Tong has only recently known.

The twelve hours of each day are divided into 24 hours, and the four quarters of an hour are divided into 60 minutes.

Shen Tong also consulted Huang Jin, the eighth-rank head of the Ying Hai Division who was in charge of this matter.

Huang Jin didn't hide his secrets, so he explained it to him in detail.

Finally, it is also pointed out that the current time omissions are not accurate and can only be used as a rough reference.However, just this reference has already brought too much shock to Shen Tong.I can't help but fantasize in private, if my own fleet can learn this whole set of navigation methods, no matter the East China Sea or the South China Sea, they won't be able to go there? !

on the deck.

Shen Tong and everyone he was familiar with nodded, then kept quiet and waited patiently.Someone approached by his side, Shen Tong took a look, it was Pu Qi, a 'Kite' who was recruited together.

Both of them are self-proclaimed sailors, and they had some fantasies before. With their years of sailing experience, they were entrusted with important tasks, and even got official positions in the court, step by step.

I didn't understand until I got on the boat, I thought too much.

People are not bad at all.

Therefore, Shen Tong can only be responsible for some paperwork on the ship from the bow of the ship to now.

Pu Qi is still on the lookout.

However, because there is a very magical 'telescope' on this ship, Pu Qi's farsightedness ability does not have much advantage.

Just thinking about it, between the sea and the sky, on the eastern horizon, a golden light suddenly rose slowly.

Immediately, someone asked, "Have you written it down?"

Someone else replied: "Remember, it's 5:50."

Then, there was also a small school staring at the other two precise engravings, which also gave their own time.

Not only that, a series of observation results were sent over by fast paddle boats from some nearby ships, and finally Huang Jin, the head of the Yinghai Division, personally summarized the average time when the sun crossed the horizon: 5:49.

Shen Tong had been watching patiently and knew why it was so troublesome.

This is taking the average and reducing the error.

The time is determined, followed by a series of calculations.

Before the fleet set off, the sunrise time in Dinghai was 5:56, but at this time, the sunrise time of the fleet berth was 5:49, a difference of 7 minutes.

On the other hand, the fleet is currently moored at 33.4 degrees north latitude, which is not too far from the departure point of Dinghai at 30.1 degrees north latitude. In this area, the transversal circumference of the earth is about 6.8 miles.

Then introduce the concept of time difference, the difference of time difference every 1 minute, the horizontal distance difference is about 47 miles.

There is a 7-minute time difference at the moment, which is equivalent to the horizontal distance between the fleet and Dinghai, which is about 330 miles.This means that the fleet's current distance from the coastline, of course, is the coastline of Dinghai, which is about 330 miles.

Shen Tong knows that there may be an error of up to tens of miles.However, Shen Tong also understood that it was very rare to be able to obtain such a result through calculation.

On the other hand, the latitude difference between the current location and Dinghai is 3.3 degrees, and each degree is about 220 miles, which means that they have traveled 720 miles north in the past seven days.

According to another calculation data, the latitude of Jiaozhou Prefecture is 36.3 degrees, minus 30.1 degrees of Dinghai County, the result is 6.2 degrees, so the vertical distance between the two sides is about 1360 miles.

This in turn means that the fleet has completed half of the journey by sea within seven days of departure.

Not only that, Shen Tong also knew that the latitude of Yancheng County, Huai'an Prefecture is 33.6 degrees, and the vertical distance from the current location is only 0.2 degrees. This is another lighthouse port that the fleet can turn to and dock on the way.

Therefore, it only needs to go north for more than 40 miles, and another batch of navy will leave the fleet and rush to Yancheng to guard the lighthouse on the shore.

Every day, I know where I am, how far I have traveled, how far I have to reach the next goal, and how far I am from the final destination.

know know know!

Such a voyage, everyone knows what they should know, how can it make people feel uneasy in such a state!

No wind today.

Usually, in this uncertain state, the fleet will usually park patiently and wait for the wind direction.

This is the safest way.

However, the location was confirmed again in the early morning, and after discussing with the chiefs, Xia Hai decided that the entire fleet would sail.After all, there is enough food and water, and there is no need to save manpower. Coupled with the slow ocean current heading northwest, the goal today is not high. Just go north 50 miles and pass Yancheng.

No one in the fleet has any objections, after all, they all want to arrive in Shandong as soon as possible.

What's more, it is still psychological.

The intermittent southeast wind a few days ago has allowed everyone to pass half of the voyage safely. It is really quite safe. The whole fleet has 318 large and small ships. In the past seven days, except for one mast broken and the other six leaking to varying degrees, we had to follow the assignment. The 3000 soldiers stationed in various places landed ahead of time, and none of the other ships capsized.

Casualties, until now, are miraculously zero!
Many of them were veteran boatmen who had transported food for the Yuan court. These days, they wished to worship various sea gods several times a day, because this kind of peace had never been encountered before.

It must be the blessings of the gods!
……

Shandong, Jiaozhou.

Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jiaozhou Guards, and He Huai, the prefect of Jiaozhou, received the news from the post on the fifth day after the fleet set off. Therefore, in these two days, they were sent to Shandong for more than a month. Hehuai, who was overjoyed to be promoted to a magistrate, has almost become a watchman's stone on the port of Jiaozhou.

Mao Xiang also came to the port more than once to look out.

When the food didn't come again, Mr. He was very worried that he would be caught and cooked by a group of hungry people who were getting more and more hungry.

Speaking of which, during the Battle of Shandong, when the Northern Expeditionary Army hit Le'an for the first time, the Shandong Peninsula area, which was basically cut off from the westward land route, surrendered one after another.However, unable to bear the chaos of soldiers, hungry people and the current spring famine, the eastern Shandong area is even less food-sufficient than the western Luxi, which has experienced the flames of war.

why?
Because Lu Xi is already empty.

In Jinan, most of the people were expelled to the north in advance because of the Yuan court's policy of clearing the country, and a small number of people left behind also collapsed with the army's pressure.In the end, what used to be an important town in Shandong with a population of 30 million fell into the hands of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and it was almost an empty city.

This is the case in Jinan, and some other areas in West Luxi can be imagined.

If people are gone, there will be no famine.

Lu Dong is different.

People are still there, not only that, but also a large number of refugees from Luxi who escaped from the famine and came here in chaos.

In short, when He Huai, who just took office, recruited civilian husbands for the repair of Jiaozhou Port, the quota of 5000 people gathered [-] to [-] people at once, dragging his family and mouth, pale and emaciated.

No conditions.

Just take care of the food.

He Huai couldn't take care of it, and the food brought before was still squeezed out by the Northern Expedition Army with great difficulty.Therefore, there are 5000 people here, plus Mao Xiang, who brought only 1500 soldiers, recruited another 1500 recruits, and a total of 6500 mouths can only be raised.

After the recruitment was over, I heard that there would be a food team coming from the sea, and the gathered hungry people would not disperse, just waiting like that.

Both He Huai and Mao Xiang understood that if there were too many people starved to death, big things would happen, so they had to find ways to let these people hang their lives as much as possible. They were all released to fish.

Can't care too much.

The problem is, these boats are flat-bottomed riverboats, not suitable for entering the sea.In just over a month, 18 have already been lost due to wind and waves.

These ships are intended to be used for water transportation!

The grain from Mingzhou arrived in Jiaozhou and was transported to Jinan through the canal.

Mao Xiang can only hope that the grain ships from Mingzhou will not be too large, and that Jinling will accept He Huai's proposal to recruit more civilians to help with work and dredge the section of the canal from Jiaozhou to Jinan so that Sea ships can also enter the canal.

……

In the spring flood season, the water volume begins to be abundant on the Yellow River.

On March [-], Chang Yuchun, the deputy general of Zhenglu, opened the Nailao dam connecting the canal and the Yellow River, led the canal water army into the Yellow River, and joined the troops of Xu Da, the general of Zhenglu who came from Jinan. Swinging, pressing towards Bianliang City three hundred miles away.

Bianliang, the former capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

240 years ago, the shame of Jingkang, the southward relocation of the Song Dynasty, and the southward travel of clothes again, the once prosperous Bianliang City, like the sixteen prefectures of Youyun that had been lost for too long, have become a thing in the hearts of countless Chinese children. scar.

Ten years ago, the Han and Song courts broke through Bianliang and established their capital here, but it was short-lived.

This time, come again!

……

On the canals that are also much smoother in spring.

Having met His Majesty the Emperor, Tu Xiao, who has officially become a fifth-rank surveyor and mapping officer, took a boat with more than [-] people to the north, and they have already passed Huai'an.

This inconspicuous fleet was placed with high hopes by His Majesty the Emperor.

Among them are not only the surveying and mapping team of more than 150 people quickly formed by Tu Xiao, but also the [-] guards equipped by His Majesty the Emperor. When they arrive in Shandong, they will be broken up into pieces, disguised as caravans or refugees and go deep into the north. Capture most of the drawing guide maps.

In addition to this group of people, there are also some craftsmen and doctors.

Physicians will join the army of the Northern Expedition to promote the penicillium therapy and scalding therapy that were sent to Jinling with Tu Xiao a few days ago.For the latter, His Majesty the Emperor also allocated 1 taels of silver with the imperial pen, and asked the general to work day and night to build a batch of special tools.

At that time, there were many people who suggested that copper and iron can also be used, why expensive platinum?
The objection was dismissed by His Majesty the Emperor. Since there are better tools, how can we use torture tools to treat the frontline warriors.

In fact, Tu Xiao also knew another reason. It started from Jinling City and spread more and more. It said that silver can sterilize bacteria, and silver tableware has many benefits compared to gold, ceramics and jade, and can prolong life.

Tu Xiao knows what bacteria are, and he believes that silverware can sterilize bacteria, and he believes that it must have come from his husband.

As for the reason, Tu Xiao didn't know.

But, he believed it!
In the cabin of a [-]-material flat-bottomed boat in the middle of the fleet, Tu Xiao and some craftsmen are threading needles like women, sewing large pieces of oilcloth together.

This is a hot air balloon idea that my husband gave him before leaving Mingzhou.

Tu Xiao hopes to finish it as soon as possible, and take them to the north together, and quietly choose a deserted place in the mountains and wilderness to experiment.

……

Jinling, the imperial palace.

Hearing that the first batch of grain ships were going out to sea, old Zhu Xinyue, his first reaction was to immediately call back his precious 23rd grandson.

There are too many things that require his staff here.

Moreover, after understanding the ins and outs, Lao Zhu also discovered that the child had already prepared a complete set of food transportation regulations, and after that, even without him watching, things could continue.

Think about it or decide to wait.

At least wait until the first batch of grain ships arrive in Shandong.

In addition, Lao Zhu also knew some things before.

For example, why did the 23rd grandson of my baby temporarily squeeze out 3000 soldiers and distribute them to various places along the coast, even including a large part of the 2000 personal guards he gave to the child.

Because of this, Lao Zhu was a little disappointed with Huang Chen.

This is the husband-in-law he personally selected for his niece, because Huang Chen's honesty and stability are what he likes.Now it seems that there is a lack of responsibility.

That being the case, from now on, stay in the position of Huai'an Guard Commander.

On the other hand, with the settlement of the shipping matter, Lao Zhu also began to brew another plan.

According to the "Book of Heaven", the Northern Expeditionary Army will conquer Dadu in August this year.

However, it is a pity that Emperor Yuanshun and his sons all escaped from the siege, and the Northern Yuan court continued to interfere with Ming Dynasty for decades. Even later, even in the past few generations, the Mongolian troubles could not be eradicated, and even led to Let him watch the disaster of the civil castle once.

Lao Zhu also compared another incident recorded in "Book of Heaven".

In that year, Li Zicheng broke through the city of Beijing, the emperor did not escape, and neither did the crown prince. Without a legal successor, Nanming was not able to gain a foothold in the south of the Yangtze River like the Southern Song Dynasty.

With such mutual reference and thinking, Lao Zhu decided that Emperor Yuan Shun and his son were the key.

Just like Lao Zhu felt that Wang Baobao should also be the key to this battle in Henan.Unfortunately, news reports came from the north that because of the strife within the Yuan court, Wang Baobao withdrew from Henan and is currently stationed in Taiyuan, Shanxi.

If Wang Baobao was in Henan, Lao Zhu planned to send Chang Yuchun directly, regardless of other things, he must clear up this big change that caused the Qingyang Battle in the second year of Hongwu and the defeat of the Northern Expedition in the fifth year of Hongwu.

This matter can only be postponed.

At the moment, Lao Zhu decided to focus on Dadu as his main target, and this time he must catch them all.

Speaking of which, the letter that Tu Xiao brought back from the 23rd grandson of his treasure was obviously implying that his ancestor, regardless of the western front, was mostly the key.

Lao Zhu thought it was right.

If you want to catch them all, and want to ensure that nothing goes wrong, you need to increase your troops first, so that you can besiege Dadu as much as possible and prevent Emperor Yuanshun and his son from escaping again.

To increase troops, we need food and salaries.

The sea grain road has been opened, and it is estimated that 120 million shi will be able to transport 100 million shi in two round trips in the first and second half of the year. Lao Zhu does not expect to get all of them, but as long as [-] million shi can reach Shandong, he can safely transfer at least [-] troops to the northern line.

The first batch of food ships are still on the way. Out of trust in his treasured 23rd grandson and taking precautions, Lao Zhu has already started planning this matter.

As for where did the soldiers come from?

Of course it's the South Line.

He Zhen in Guangdong has already asked to surrender, and Guangxi doesn’t even have any local warlords who can afford it. At present, there are only some recalcitrant local states and counties left on the southern front, which is a disease of scabies.

Therefore, it is not a big problem to continue to transfer elite soldiers from the southern front to the north.

Even if the southern line is not finished, Lao Zhu has already decided that as soon as the news of the first batch of grain arriving in Shandong comes, he will start to forcibly transfer it.After all, the south is doomed not to be able to make big waves. As long as the Yuan court is destroyed, it will be difficult for those local forces that are still loyal to the Yuan family to have too much resistance.

(End of this chapter)