It is not easy for ants to learn to move and live on walnut boats, and to control the navigation of the boats. This goes against the ants' natural fear of water.
But advanced creatures, especially intelligent creatures, have the ability to go against their nature for the sake of profit.
For example, after terrestrial animals left the ocean and landed on land, after hundreds of millions of years of evolution, many species have lost the ability to move freely in the water, but under some special circumstances, they can still go into the water.
Japanese macaques like to soak in hot springs in winter. Staying in them for a long time to keep warm is an essential skill for them to survive the cold winter. If it were not for the hot springs, it is estimated that the Japanese macaque population would not be so large, and many individuals would die in the winter.
Pigs, dogs and other animals can swim when needed, such as when looking for food or escaping from danger. Their swimming skills are innate and do not need to be learned.
The most typical one is the domestic cat. It is true that domestic cats hate water. After all, their ancestors are desert cats, and their fear of water is always in their genes. Many poop scrapers have the painful experience of bathing cats.
However, domestic cats are also born with the ability to swim, and can adapt to water against their instincts when needed, subverting many people's impression that "cats can't swim".
Relatives of domestic cats such as fishing cats and Turkish Lake Van cats are even good swimmers, proving that cats are not insulated from water.
Species like fishing cats have even evolved specifically. They live in areas with rich freshwater resources such as rivers, streams, and wetlands below 1,500 meters above sea level. Their main food is fish, with as many as 10 species, and they also hunt for food. Other aquatic organisms, such as crabs, frogs, etc. Fishing cats have semi-webbed toes that create greater friction in the water, helping them move freely in the water.
However, the reason why many mammals are naturally afraid of water but can learn to swim without a teacher when they have to is also due to their body structure. Except for a few species such as apes, most mammals have their limbs under the trunk, their nostrils can be raised above the water, and they have a certain body fat ratio. As long as they move in a suitable posture, they can float on the water and breathe freely.
Insects such as ants have a much poorer body structure when it comes to adapting to water. The body density of ants is relatively high. If there is not a layer of oil on the body surface that can use the surface tension of the water film, the ants will easily sink as soon as they enter the water.
In addition, the breathing habit of ants is the stomata, which are located on the sides of the body and are easily immersed in water once they enter the water. Although the stomata cannot breathe independently and will not directly inhale water into the body and cause suffocation, over time, air exchange between the body and the outside cannot be carried out. This kind of chronic suffocation is still the culprit of the death of ants who fall into the water.
Insects that can live in water either breathe underwater like dragon lice, or float on the water like water spiders.
Therefore, the protagonist does not expect the ants to swim in the water. He hopes that the troops can move skillfully on the walnut boat fleet and then engage in ground combat after arriving at the destination.
Lambert's 4th Corps was trained according to this principle.
A walnut boat with a high sail was moored on the shore of a calm bay. The shore has been repaired. Some small pebbles that ants can move have been built into a short pier. A dry and straight pier. One end of the branch is fixed to the dock on the shore, and the other end extends into the water.
The walnut boat stopped at the branch, which is the plank road of the pier.
The walnut boat is firmly tied to the plank road with ropes, and a rope bridge, also made of ropes, is connected diagonally to the plank road from the entrance under the canopy on the top of the walnut boat.
A group of ants formed a column, moved forward on the plank road, then climbed onto the walnut boat through the rope bridge and entered the interior of the walnut boat.
Although the water in this inlet is calm, the small waves and wind still make the walnut boat swing up and down within the fixed range of the rope. The ants climbing the rope bridge must overcome this swing and get into the safety of the walnut boat as quickly as possible.
There are always a few unlucky ants who will accidentally fall into the water. At this time, a group of ants on the shore will work together to lift the long dry grass stems. Under the guidance of the flying knight, they will extend the grass stems to the position of the fallen person and assist. Those who fell into the water came ashore.
A walnut ship can carry a small group of warriors. When all the warriors board the ship, three bees, controlled by three flying knights, come to the walnut ship and land on its surface. With the assistance of the ants on the ship, the bees Attach to walnut boat with reins.
Two flying knights will then climb into the safety of the walnut boat, leaving only one flying knight to control the bee in the middle.
At this time, the auxiliary ants on the trestle will untie the ropes and rope bridges that fix the ship. The ants on the ship will take the ropes and rope bridges back into the ship and fix them on two short wooden sticks, waiting for next use.
The flying knight led the three bees to move in one direction, pulling the ship off the plank road and moving slowly in the gentle harbor in the water.
The power the bees can provide is limited and can only power ships in relatively calm waters or when there is little resistance. The size of the walnut boat is also limited and cannot be towed by more bees.
Therefore, when the wind is against the walnut boat, the walnut boat can only anchor to the shore and stop moving forward. When the wind is favorable, the small sail above the walnut boat can be stretched with a rope to provide some extra power.
This walnut boat specially used for training continuously trains squads of soldiers one after another in the inlet. During this period, some casualties due to drowning will inevitably occur, but the overall situation is controllable. The soldiers under Rambotu also gradually adapted to working and living on the constantly ups and downs of the ship.
After all, the conditions for searching the walnut boat are much better than when the parasitic ants huddled together and threw them into the lake.
When the walnut boat fleet is formed and a large number of walnut boats are connected together, their safety and stability will be much stronger than a single walnut boat, and the ants will have a more comfortable environment.
After training in the calm inlet, each team took turns sailing into the big lake for adaptive training. The wind and waves were stronger here. On apparently quiet days, the waves rushing to the shore were as high as three or four walnuts.
This is equivalent to an ordinary human fishing boat facing huge waves of 20 to 30 meters high.
Such huge waves threw the walnut boat up and down from time to time. The ants could only hide inside the boat and did not go out. Fortunately, the ants did not have a natural reaction of vomiting, otherwise the inside of the boat would have been a mess.
The most embarrassing ones are the Flying Knight and the Bee. They must try to avoid the huge waves, otherwise they may be knocked into the water and die if they are not careful, and at the same time they must try to pull the walnut boat to the depths of the lake.
As long as the walnut boat is a few meters away from the shore, the water will calm down instantly and this is a safe zone.
