open sea

Chapter 393
Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of Officials who had been in the prime minister for more than [-] years, died of illness. Although the late emperor's funeral was in progress, the affairs of the court were not in any disorder. In Guangdong, Chen Mu wrote two more congratulatory messages with humble and gentle words.

Zhang Han, Minister of the Ministry of Officials in Beijing.

Minister of the Ministry of War in Beijing, Tan Lun.

This is about the limit that Zhang Han's official career can go.

When the imperial court came to the transition from old to new, Chen Mu stayed in the Nanyang Chen Mansion for a few days, feeling the changes he had brought to the world, and guessed that Mr. Gao Ge would come to play with him soon.

The undercurrent in the capital is surging, just like the Pacific Ocean.

In this vast ocean named by Magellan in the equatorial windless belt, a fleet led by General Lin Manjue and Zeng Xishun of the Cantonese battalion was approaching Guam.

On the flagship of the fleet, the five-hundred-year-old Shark, the deputy chief, Zeng Xishun, quickly walked across the deck with his sword, and said to Lin Manjue, who was looking into the distance with a telescope at the bow: "Brother, isn't it far away?"

The more than 400 soldiers in this fleet used to be village braves. They were villagers at the junction of Guangdong, Huguang, and Fujian provinces.Lin Manjue and Chen Laidao's general Lin Dayuan belonged to the same clan. They killed bandits in the local area and made great military exploits, so they were transferred to Chen Lin's command.

Well, Chen Lin, who hasn't taken the martial arts exam and is not a military household, even if he was born as a villager, naturally he would like to see these fellows who came out of the same wild way.

In the past in Pingyuan County, Lin Manjue was the head of the village. Since Wang Hua, the county magistrate, ordered the local villager to form a stronghold to protect himself, the Lin clan built towers and enclosed houses in the local area, just like a small castle. Cannons, but when they heard about the bandits, they attacked when they were few, and defended when they were many, and they often crossed the border to attack bandits.

The scale of clan fights in the south has always been very large. The first time Qi Jiguang recruited Yiwu mine soldiers was to watch a fight from a distance. The ferocity shocked Qi Shuai, who killed the Japanese without batting an eyelid.

Lin Manjue is similar. They are even better than Yiwu miners in the use of firearms. The reason why Chen Lin assembled a general team is because he eliminated all the old and weak women and children under Qianchang's command, and let them stay in the place. He marched south.

However, local soldiers also have their disadvantages. They are not afraid of fighting, but they are afraid of going to sea when they have little exposure to the world.

After floating at sea for more than a month, the battalion soldiers were panicked.

Lin Manjue was also flustered. He looked at the simple and clear sea chart towards the complex in the cabin more than once at night, wondering if he was going in the wrong direction... He had never seen such a sea, and he could not see any land after walking for a whole month.

"It should not be far away. From tomorrow on, let the brothers on the boat be careful and stop fishing." Lin Manjue was quite uncertain when he said this. A little bit off, it can be hundreds of miles away from here, he put down the binoculars, and asked in a deep voice: "How far does this boat travel in a day?"

"The wind is too weak, so the boat doesn't dare to spread its sails, and it won't sail." Zeng Xishun counted with his fingers, and said, "Between one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles a day?"

People in the Ming Dynasty measured the speed of a ship in the same way as in the Eastern Wu Dynasty in the ancient Three Kingdoms period. People dropped wood chips at the bow, and then ran to the stern. People run fast, and they can't make more calls.

Day and night are ten watches, and the normal speed of one watch is sixty miles. Overseas, due to wind and waves, it is often slower than one watch. Moreover, Lin Manjue is afraid of getting lost and dare not spread the sails.

"It should be coming soon. Go east for three days. If you can't see Guam, go north for three days. If you can't see Guam, go south for six days. If it doesn't work, you have to go back."

His soldiers are already in a panic. If they go on like this, something will happen. Moreover, their ship's rations are only two months away, and the windy day is coming. If there is any accident, more than 400 people will be buried in the ocean. superior.

From Chenlai Island to the southernmost tip of Luzon, and then turned to the east, they have sailed for about six thousand miles, and they can't see anything in all directions, only the blue sky and blue sea. As the voyage gets farther, they can't even see sea birds. For sailors, the most terrifying thing is the unknown.

"It's okay, brothers, don't panic at night. Chen Shuai is really powerful. The fishing gear behind the small shark boat is complete. I caught a green dragon playing in the water. It weighs more than 200 catties. The big grain boat has already started cooking soup."

The green dragon playing in the water is not a snake, but a sea turtle with green hairs on its limbs, head, carapace, plastron and tail, which is extremely rare.

"If you encounter this thing again, don't slaughter it. Put it in the ballast at the bottom of the ship, and go back and dedicate it to the commander." Lin Manjue looked to the east with a gloomy expression, and cursed suppressedly, "I don't know if I can find it in his mother's Xiyi. Do they... still have fragrance?"

"Yes, yes, and you want to open an altar to worship Master Taoist?"

"Bye bye, before going to sea, General Deng gave a divination, saying that there is no danger." Lin Manjue scratched his forehead, wiped his face and said: "This kind of deadly work, nine boats can go back three, I am Lin Sanerxiang Not in vain!"

Lin Manjue actually hoped that he would not be able to find Guam. He would be punished if he lost his way back, but if he found it, he would have to wait for an opportunity to go to the island to find out the enemy's situation. Chasing north, working hard.

He didn't want to find Guam, but after he found it, he had to go to the island where his duty was, otherwise he would be unwilling.

This is because he is afraid, but not afraid of death. He has led his people to fight and kill bandits for more than ten years, and he has never been afraid of death.He brought these young men from Pingyuan County. When the time comes, the village Wengwo will ask him for a baby. He is more afraid of facing those elders with shame than guns, swords and guns.

After a while, Chen Mu, a woodcarving that lost his divinity, was placed on the bow of the boat. Now Minguang goes to sea to worship this. In fact, few people know the origin of the Dragon and Tiger Xuantan Zhenjun, and most people have never seen it. After Chen Mu, let alone the current standard wood carvings, even if Chen Mu came by himself, he might not be able to recognize them. People worship them as the God of Wealth and Sea God, which has become one of the coastal beliefs.

The believers of the True Lord of the Dragon and Tiger Profound Altar are mainly military businessmen, and the storybook began to spread, and gradually seized the incense of the Tianfei Temple.

Lin Manjue led the sailors on the ship to worship three times and bow nine times in a solemn manner. It was strange to say that less than half an hour after worshiping the statue, the soldiers on the watchtower with binoculars shouted loudly: "Boss, ship! Red Fork Boat!"

In the past, the coastal Ming army called the big black ships with two decks in Portuguese and Yi called plywood ships, but now their own shark ships generally have two or three decks, and their own ships are actually plywood ships. There are either red crosses or red cross Burgundy cross sail flags on the warships, so sailors used to refer to Xiyi ships as red cross ships.

This exclamation shocked Lin Manjue at the bow of the ship. He pulled out the binoculars and looked at his eyes. He saw two ships, one large and one small, sailing southward towards them in the distance. He asked loudly: Two?"

"Only two ships, nothing else!"

"Catch up, let's play with the cannon, the big ship is useless, sink it and follow the small boat to make a nest!" Lin Manjue, bearded and haired, rushed into the cabin like a gust of wind, and stuffed the leather backpack into the arms of the deputy chief, Zeng Xishun, Said: "You have nothing to eat, green hair bastard. Take a small boat to the Bingqi grain ship. There is enough food and grass for you to return to Chen. There is a star map in the bag. Be sure to hand it over to the commander--set up the flags in line array, fill the sails, check Artillery, prepare to go to war, drink the green dragon and play water tonight!"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)