The sea breeze blew mightily, and the moonlight was cold and dim. Clouds gathered in the sky, leaving only a few stars. Several petrels hovered in the night sky, overlooking the boundless sea, surrounding three anchored sailboats, like some mysterious omen.
The flagship of the "San Cristobal", flying the flag of the Kingdom of Portugal, was docked between the two ships. According to Captain Dias's instructions, for the sake of navigation safety, the expedition fleet usually does not sail at night. The night was quiet and deep. Dozens of crew members on the ship were crowded in the smelly cabin, and most of them were already asleep. On the wet deck, only a few sailors on duty were left, as well as the navigator Pero de Arenquel.
Perot stood tall and strong, with an old-fashioned face. He stood under the long mast, holding a long iron compass and a wooden protractor in his hands. He raised his head, stared at the stars in the sky, and waited patiently for a long time. It wasn't until the clouds cleared a little, revealing the shining four stars of the Southern Cross, that he acted quickly and climbed up the mast nimbly.
After a while, Perot stood firmly on the observation tower. He wrapped the rope of the mast around his arm and carefully observed the bright stars Gamma and Alpha of the Southern Cross. Then, he imagined making a line that passed through the γ and α stars of the Southern Cross, and then continued to extend southward until the length was about 4.5 times the distance between the two stars, leaving an imaginary point in the night sky. This point is the estimated position of the South Celestial Pole!
Then, Perot opened his eyes wide, raised his head and remained motionless, not daring to move at all. He took out a measuring compass and pointed one leg toward the horizontal and the other toward the imaginary South Celestial Pole. Then, he fixed the compass, took out the protractor, and measured it carefully for a while. The angle measured at this time is the southern latitude of the fleet.
"About 32 degrees south latitude..."
Perot wrote down the number secretly. Then he raised the protractor again and measured it several times. The numbers he obtained were all between 31 and 33 degrees south latitude. After confirming the number, he didn't stay any longer. He just glanced at the east where the fleet was anchored, the endless southern continent, and slid down from the mast.
The night deepened, and the deck was quiet. The sailors on duty bowed their heads respectfully when they saw Captain Perot. Perot nodded slightly without saying anything.
In ocean voyages, the navigator is responsible for guiding the direction and determining the latitude, and his position is very important. These methods of measuring directions are by no means something ordinary sailors can master. They must be literate and able to count and receive professional navigation training. In the Kingdom of Portugal, those who can serve as navigators are usually from a navigation academy or are descendants of sailing nobles. Naturally, they are not the same type of people as ordinary sailors from the lower class.
After a while, Perot passed the inspection of the guards and came to the captain's cabin at the stern of the ship. He knocked lightly on the door a few times.
"Praise the Lord! Dear Captain, Captain Perot sends his regards!"
"Yeah. Come in!"
Perot lowered his head, carefully pushed open the wooden door, and walked into the captain's cabin.
Captain Diaz sat up from the bed while sleeping in his clothes. He held the dagger in his hand and hung the dagger on his waist, and spoke calmly.
"How about it?"
"Dear Captain, I just measured the latitude and observed the weather. The fleet is located between 31-33 degrees south latitude, and the wind direction is southwest. There are clouds gathering in the night sky, and there may be wind and rain..."
"31-33 degrees south latitude..."
Hearing this, Dias was silent and thinking in his heart. After a while, he asked in a deep voice.
"How's the morale on the ship?"
"The morale of the sailors..."
Perrault hesitated for a moment, then spoke frankly.
"It's not very good. We have been at sea for two months since we set off from Cape Cross, only occasionally going ashore to hunt seals and replenish fresh water. The southern continent to the east stretches endlessly, and has been a desolate desert for two months, even There are no local indigenous people in sight... The crew secretly spread rumors that the desert in the southern continent is endless, and I am afraid that I will never find an end in my lifetime!"
"Um..."
Diaz nodded, silently clenched the dagger, and asked seemingly calmly.
"Are there any sailors in tandem? Is there anyone gathering secretly? Is there anything unusual about the quartermaster in charge of weapons?"
"...Ship...Captain..."
Sweat instantly broke out on Navigator Perot's head.
"I didn't see the sailors in tandem, and everything was normal with the quartermaster... On this voyage, we didn't go deep into the devil's land, and few people were cursed... There was also plenty of food and water on the ship, and the sailors just had some complaints. ..”
"Yes, Not Bad."
Dias nodded slightly, his expression softening slightly.
Before this voyage, he carefully questioned the crew members who participated in the last exploration, and learned that the biggest cause of the rebellion was that people went deep into the devil's land, contracted the devil's curse, and died of illness in large numbers.
Therefore, on this voyage, he did not stay long in the evil Congo River Basin, but went straight south along the coast. Another square-sail supply ship was filled with non-perishable light wine, dry cheese, dry bread and salted fish. Now it seems that although the morale on the ship is not high, it can be maintained.
"Perrault, it's past midnight. Today is Epiphany, right?"
"Yes, Captain. Today is January 6, the 1488th day since the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the Lord's first appearance to the Gentiles after he was born as a human being..."
"Very good. On the day of Epiphany, our Lord recognized for the first time that he was the incarnation of God. Let the priest on board the ship preside over a grand and solemn prayer! Then, according to tradition, the fleet docked for a day's rest and distributed storage Let’s have a celebratory party with light wine and food!”
"Ah! Praise be to you, my captain! Your generosity and kindness are like the glory of the Lord."
Captain Perot saluted respectfully. With this prayer and celebration, the morale of the crew should be restored.
"Yes. God bless us! We will definitely be able to go to the East!"
"...God bless you!"
Early the next morning, Captain Diaz summoned the crew and announced the good news for celebrating Epiphany. The sailors cheered and then swarmed onto the nearby beach like wild horses running loose.
"Bang! Bang!..."
Projectiles flew, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the huge body collapsed. The elite sailors set up their matchlocks and hunted the powerful elephant seals mercilessly.
These elephant seals are almost all over the surrounding beaches, scattered everywhere. They are the dominant species on the local coast and have not been threatened by predators for tens of thousands of years and do not know how to hide from humans.
Then, with familiarity, the sailors dismembered the seal's body, skinned it for meat, and scraped out the oil. Piles of bonfires were immediately raised, the fragrance of barbecue was immediately diffused, and the previously clear sea surface was stained with blood red.
"Praise the Lord! He has given us meat and wine."
Dias sat on the dry rock, slowly, drinking light wine and tasting the roasted seal meat presented by Bruno.
"Hmm...it tastes a lot like venison, with a strong smell of blood...yes, Bruno, you're on board!"
Bruno stood aside respectfully, bowing his head. The crew had just hunted a seal, and he baked two pieces with his own hands, then hurriedly ran over and presented them to the respected royal knight, expedition captain Dias.
"It's just a fly in the ointment, no spices are added... If there was a little bit of pepper, or a few slices of thyme, the taste would be awesome!..."
"Well..."
Hearing this, Bruno lowered his head and looked troubled. These spices are almost as valuable as gold in the kingdom, and he, an ordinary noble knight, can afford them. The only time he tasted spices in his life was in the land of the devil, in the court of the King of Congo...
"Ha ha!"
Seeing Bruno's embarrassment, Dias laughed. He reached out and patted Bruno on the shoulder.
"Bruno, as long as our voyage goes smoothly and we can discover the eastern sea route and find Elder John's country, when we return to the kingdom, every captain will be heavily rewarded! Not only will you be able to increase your title by one level, but you will also receive up to 1,000 Du. Carter’s reward! When the time comes, you can just eat a portion of spices every day and there will be no problem at all!”
"1,000 ducats!"
Upon hearing this number, Bruno held his breath for a moment, with strong greed and desire on his face.
You know, one ducat is equivalent to one kingdom gold coin, which is about 3-4 grams. And 1,000 ducats is 3-4 kilograms of gold, plus the premium for minting! This large amount of money was enough for him to buy a big house in Lisbon. From then on, he was qualified to participate in the banquets of the nobles...
"Dear Royal Knight, I will definitely listen to you on this voyage!..."
"Um."
Looking at Bruno's expression, Dias nodded with satisfaction. Then, he looked solemn and asked in a deep voice.
"Bruno, what's the situation on your ship now?"
"Dear Royal Knight, everything is safe on my ship. On this journey south, I only exhausted a few captured hard-working sailors. Without the curse of the devil, the morale of the official sailors is pretty good!"
"Ah, very good!"
Diaz's expression remained unchanged. In the great voyages, hard labor sailors were usually poor people, fishermen or natives who were captured. They were not allowed to own weapons and were doing the hardest work. They were not considered human beings at all. Only formal sailors, who are often exposed to weapons and can launch rebellions, can be considered to have reached the lowest standard of human beings...
"Let's go, the priest's prayers are about to begin!"
The two asked and answered questions and chatted for a while. Diaz stood up and, escorted by the guards, walked towards the priest not far away.
The priest on board tied two wooden sticks and erected a simple cross. Soon, a group of sailors gathered around the cross, and then, under the leadership of the priest, clasped their hands and lowered their heads.
The priest spoke first and praised devoutly.
"Lord, please open my mouth!"
"My mouth will praise you!"
Everyone agreed in unison.
"On this day, our Lord Christ was born for us... Please come and worship!"
The priest announced loudly, and Dias was the first to kneel down and worship the cross in front of him.
"Glory to You, Lord! As it was in the beginning, so it is today, and forever!..."
Then hundreds of sailors knelt down and worshiped.
"Lord, glory be to you!...forever!..."
"From sunrise to sunset, let us sing to Christ... You existed before the ages, but you were born for us in time..."
The priest raised his head, looked at the sun in the clouds, and sang hymns and psalms. He had been trained by the church, his expression was solemn, and his singing voice was low and gentle, until he suddenly sang loudly at the last praise.
"...Praise you, merciful Lord! May your name be exalted, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!... I ask you to illuminate you with the true light of your glory. Hearts of believers, redeem our sins!...I pray to the Lord, may the Almighty Lord bless us, protect us from disasters, and lead us to a new route, Amen!..."
"I pray to the Lord. May the Almighty Lord bless us, protect us from disasters, and lead us to a new route. Amen!"
Everyone repeated it in unison, with excited expressions and longing expressions on their faces. Bruno raised his eyes and peeked, only to see Captain Dias actually shed tears devoutly on his face. His heart trembled, he quickly lowered his head, quietly dipped in some saliva, and wet the corners of his eyes.
After the prayer, the solemn atmosphere relaxed. Dias wiped his tears, stood up, and looked around at everyone. His eyes paused for a moment on Bruno's face, nodded imperceptibly, and then announced loudly.
"Praise the Lord! We have a day of rest today, no need to board the ship and set sail. Play the wooden flute, play the harmonica, distribute food and light wine...sing as much as you want tonight!"
"Praise the Lord! Praise the captain!"
The sailors roared with joy, and everyone looked happy. Soon, the melodious sound of the harmonica sounded among the crowd, and the clear sound of the wooden flute floated along the coast. After only two or three glasses of water and wine, the sailors' faces turned red and they roared and sang the songs of their hometown.
"The dawn sleeps, embracing the harbor and love,
The moonlight is gentle, caressing the dancing waves,
Like the sun leaving its borders,
It's like we left our distant hometown...
"
Bruno sang and danced, enjoying an indulgent time with the quartermaster Mattim. Only at this moment, singing with many sailors, could he feel truly relaxed and at ease.
Diaz was still sitting high on the rock, crossing his legs and looking at the sailors singing and dancing. There was a smile on his lips, and a touch of longing appeared on his face, which was then suppressed by a hard heart. Then, he stopped looking and just turned his head, looking towards the southern sky, looking for unknown hope. In the distant sky, thick clouds gathered, like a dark curtain pressing on the sky, lingering for a long time.
"That is..."
Dias stood up suddenly. He stared at the southern sea and sky, deep in thought.
