Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 24 Inland Sea

Laden with sugar and tobacco in Taniria, the Skua was chopping the waves toward Veneta, her bow causing a huge splash, and the waves parted to the sides, leaving a faint trail on the stern, It seems that there is only this lonely ship left in the world

  The entire hull of the Skua swayed left and right with the rhythm of the sea, and the higher the height, the greater the swing. At the top of the mast, the sway even exceeded the width of the hull.

Winters looked up at the sailor who had been begging him for a drink the other day, climbing the rigging up the mast. The sailor had no protection, but was as agile as a monkey, and climbed to the top of the mast in a few strokes. place.

   "It seems that I don't have the talent to work on the ship. I can't do this job." Andre said, looking at the sailor working at high altitudes, tremblingly.

   "I don't have the ability." Winters watched the sailor climb to such a height that his hands and feet were numb: "What are you going up for?"

   "Tie up all the sails, and we have to head into the wind for the next route, using only jibs and bowsails." The first mate of the Skua enthusiastically gave Andre and Winters a little bit of sailing knowledge.

  Cenas Bay is docile in temperament because it is embraced by land on the west side and sheltered by the Tani Islands on the east side, and there are usually no strong winds or waves.

  The terrain of the entire Confederate country is high in the west and low in the east, and the river water flowing down from the highlands in the west enters the sea from here, forming many flat and fertile estuary deltas on the coastline. Guitu City and Hailan City are located on typical alluvial plains.

   Therefore, in order to be able to sail into shallow seas and estuaries, ships sailing in these seas generally do not have a deep draft.

  Skua is neither an ocean-going vessel nor an offshore vessel. She belongs to a "hybrid" breed. It is a typical pragmatism product that is designed to be used for its own use.

  The Skua has a shallow bottom like an offshore ship, but it has a keel that can withstand the wind and waves. In pursuit of speed, the Skua installed three masts on the small ship, and greedily equipped both square sails and jibs.

   "Upwind means we're going against the wind?" With the sailing expert nearby, Winters just had a question he always wanted to ask.

   "The boat does not say that it is against the wind or against the wind. We call this situation the wind, and the next step is to go against the wind." The first mate reminded the language taboo on the boat.

   "Okay, upwind. But I don't understand why the boat can go upwind?" This question puzzled Winters.

   "It's actually very simple." The first mate gestured to Winters: "Turn the boat to the wind and the sails to the wind, and the boat will go forward diagonally."

   "Then why on earth is it possible to move forward with the boat and sail at an angle to the wind?" That's what Winters really wanted to know.

"Uh..." This question really stopped the first officer: "I don't know about this... I just know that I can walk diagonally into the wind by doing this, but I really don't know why, and I haven't thought about it. "

   "Then it seems that you are also a spellcaster." Winters said with a smile: "You can also use a power that you can't explain yourself."

   The passengers who took the ship from Guito to Hailan were also breathing on the deck, standing behind Winters. Hearing what Winters said, one of the men secretly looked Winters up and down.

   "What is a spellcaster?"

   "It's a magician."

   "Haha, if I were a magician, I would conjure myself more gold than I could spend in my life."

   "If you can make gold at will, the gold will be worthless."

   The chatter between the two was interrupted by a rush of bells, and the lookout at the top of the mast called out "Forty degrees to port! Sails! Forty degrees to port! Sails!"

   The chief mate heard a boat on the port side and ran to the forecastle, and Winters followed.

   "I didn't see anything." Winters squinted and saw only the sea and the sky.

"When the lookout on the mast can see the other's mast, we can't see anything from this position. We can't see the other's mast until the lookout can see the hull." The first mate added: "Look It's a good thing if it's not, it means that the other party is also walking around us."

  The captain of the Skua also arrived at the forecastle at this time. The captain is a rich middle-aged man, and it is rare for a man at sea to have such a round face.

   "Forty degrees to port, the lookout saw the sails." The chief mate briefly reported the situation.

   "The other party has the upper wind." The fat captain didn't hesitate, and immediately ordered the helmsman: "Turn to the wind! Adjust the jib!"

  The helmsman immediately steered to the right, the Skua began to lean to the left, and the hull made a crunching sound of wood under pressure. An arcing track was left on the water, and the Skua turned to a downwind course.

"Let's give up a little position first, then return to the original course, and keep a little distance from the other side." The fat captain respected these army officers. Seeing that Winters and Andre were unclear, he explained it casually: " If the other party is not malicious, they will also distance themselves from us worrying about our intentions."

   These words made both Winters and Andre look sideways.

"Malignant? Could it be possible that there are still pirates in the Inner Sea?" Andre couldn't believe it. Cenas Bay can be said to be the Union's bath tub, fish pond, and back garden, commonly known as the "Inner Sea". Are there pirates?

"It doesn't have to be pirates, after all, this is a very busy route." The fat captain's tone sounded quite relaxed: "But pirates always exist, and because of the prosperity of inland shipping, there are still many pirates. "

   He smiled: "Besides, isn't the Alliance Navy originally a group of pirates? If you help me rob other people's ships, the Skua will be a pirate ship."

   "Has anyone robbed a boat like the Skua?"

   "The Skua is not small. Smaller ships have been robbed, and pirates are robbing light ships. Large ships have many sailors, and pirates are not easy to start with, but they are safer."

   "But there must be naval warships patrolling the Inner Sea, right?"

"There are not many pure warships in the navy. They are all branded commercial ships like the Skua. Shipbuilding has to pay off!" The fat captain began to explain business to Winters and Andre: "A ship has earned back. The cost of building a ship is not a loss for the shipowner, but the net profit after deduction of wages and maintenance. The money after the return is the real money earned by the shipowner. To build a warship that does not carry cargo is pure investment. It's a loss-making business like a board."

   "Isn't the navy going to suppress pirates?" In Winters' opinion, if there are bandits, wouldn't the suppression be over? The army's standing army is not much, but it does not delay the army's fight against organized robbery gangs.

"Merchant ships have weapons. Armed merchant ships are pirates with evil intentions. If they run the ship honestly, they are merchants, and they are not clean." The fat captain liked these fledgling young men very much. , the league can't control it."

   "The Alliance also let the pirates sell their stolen goods in the mainland?" The news is really explosive.

"It's not in the alliance, it's in Taniria. Pirates rob things and sell the stolen goods in Taniria. This is a very mature process." The fat captain showed a meaningful smile: "I am the cargo. There might be stolen goods in there, who knows? There are pirates and there are cheap sources, right?

   "Then... what if you were robbed?" Winters and Andre were dumbfounded by the fat captain's concept of mutual benefit and symbiosis with pirates.

  The fat captain replied calmly: "It's fine if you don't get robbed. Don't worry too much, it's not that easy to encounter pirates."

   "Dang! Dang! Dang!" The lookout rang the bell again, and announced hoarsely: "The direction of the stern! The hull!"

  The people on the deck rushed to the **** again. This time, they saw the sails.

   (end of this chapter)