The sea surface of the North Atlantic Ocean (North Pacific Ocean) is completely different from the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea.
The sea water is as blue as a piece of shiny silk, with layers of tumbling and surging layers. It is this silk that is unfolded and undulated by the wind. If the weather is fine, your eyes will be filled with blue light shining under the sun. There is nothing on the sea except this boundless blue. Looking around, it seems that the sight can be extended to the infinite distance... There is still the boundless sea.
It is now May of the fifteenth year of Hongwu, and there are only two exploration ships left on the vast Atlantic Ocean heading eastward, one is the Ping'an and the other is the Yong'an.
The other two expedition ships returned as planned 15 and 40 days after the fleet left Japan and sailed eastward. According to the estimated speed, the speed of the expedition fleet when sailing eastward was about 250 miles per day. The route can reach 300 miles, the route can be about 4,000 miles in 15 days, and more than 10,000 miles in 40 days!
This is four thousand miles and ten thousand miles!
The fleet followed the current on the sea and headed east. After traveling so far, they saw nothing, not to mention England and Frank, not even a shabby island... This is obviously wrong. ah! Of course we had to send a ship back to report the emergency.
Although the expedition fleet had already prepared enough rice wine, fresh water and food when it left Masuzu Port in Suruga Province, Japan, the four 3,000-koku boats were fully loaded. The rice wine and fresh water are enough to last for 100 days! But the expedition fleet cannot cover its head and walk eastward for 100 days... If no land is found after 100 days, wouldn't the four expedition ships be lost in vain?
Therefore, Zhao Lun and his naval staff formulated two "message delivery plans". The first plan was to send an expedition ship back after 15 days of traveling eastward. The second plan was to sail eastward for 40 days and then send an expedition ship back to deliver the message.
Taking into account the wind direction and current factors, it is impossible for the two expedition ships that continue to sail eastward after 40 days to return without obtaining fresh water supplies... Although the first expedition ship to return will be on board More than half of the fresh water, rice wine, and grain were distributed to the remaining three boats, allowing the remaining three boats to receive an additional 15 days of fresh water and rice wine.
But after the expedition fleet sailed westward for 40 days, they only had 75 days of fresh water and rice wine left... If they didn't return, they would have to resign themselves to fate!
So when the Fu'an turned around and returned, most of the people on the Ping'an and Yong'an cried!
This is simply a farewell! If the Ping An and Yong An sail eastward for a few more days, the fresh water and rice wine on board may not be enough for everyone to return.
If there were no islands or continental Europe ahead, everyone would have to die at sea.
Although when they joined the expedition team, they all knew that "expedition" was risky, but at that time, in order to covet huge rewards and promotions, everyone was so obsessed that they forgot about the risks.
But I never expected that the risk would come so quickly!
But everyone was trapped in two rickety boats, and it was impossible to become deserters! This is in the center of the Atlantic Ocean! Can you still swim back?
As for the whole ship's rebellion... Haha, King Lingwu has already detained everyone's family members. If they dare to rebel, they will all be exiled to the barren land of the Western Region desert!
And if they themselves are caught after rebelling, they will be killed without mercy!
For the sake of their families and their own slim chance of survival, these explorers had no choice but to keep their eyes open, bite the bullet, and continue eastward!
The watchman Wei Sheng, who is based in Suzhou, Huaibei Province, is quite open-minded. Wealth can be found in danger!
Unfortunately, he missed the troubled times, and now the world is generally at peace. He, a farmer from the Southern Dynasties (his family fled to Huainan after the Xuanhe Disaster, and later returned to his hometown to farm), even with his martial arts, he wants to It is extremely difficult to join the military as a utility... Because of the "law of joining the military in place of one's father", most of the utility quotas are taken up by the children of the soldiers. The remaining quota must be kept close to the people of Yingtian and Jiedu Road. Where can we get Wei Sheng, who was born in Zhuan Road?
That is to say, the navy recruits people regardless of their origins (how can a dignified army boy want to be in the navy?), which can give Huaidong men like Wei Sheng a way to accumulate military merit.
But the navy is not easy to mix up. First, the navy of the Song Dynasty is limited in scale, and there are naturally fewer official titles; second, there is a naval academy in the Song Dynasty, and most professional officers have a professional background; third, the navy soldiers are all mercenaries and have no chance to become If a government soldier cannot be promoted to become an officer, he should retire after serving for 15 years... This will be a waste of hard work!
Wei Sheng had been serving in the navy for several years, but he was still standing still, with no chance of promotion at all. It was really too late to retire from the army, but he bumped into an "adventure" military exploit... As long as he Participating is a great achievement. If you can discover "Europe", you will add another great achievement.
With one merit and one great merit, you can become an official, and you can also get the rank of corporal - the rank of navy is harder to get than that of the army, but if you get the rank of corporal, you will definitely be awarded the rank of officer.
If the distance between Japan and "Europe" exceeds a 40-day voyage, then the military merit of discovering "Europe" can be doubled! If the voyage exceeds 60 days, then the military merit of discovering "Europe" is worth three great merits... This is a three-level upgrade! This official position is very big. Even if you don’t join the army in the future, you can still find a lucrative position in the local area. That will honor your ancestors!
How could Wei Sheng, who only wanted to gain wealth through military service, miss such a good thing? If he misses this opportunity, his life will probably be wasted.
He didn't care whether the fresh water and rice wine on the ship could support the return trip... Now that the Peace had left Japan for 63 days, as long as he could find "Europe", he would go for it.
As long as you get to "Europe", are you worried that you won't have drinks for the return flight? There is a lot of silk and silk on the boat!
So when he climbed into the observation basket along the main mast today, Wei Sheng was in better spirits than yesterday. He didn't feel desperate at all. Instead, he opened his eyes wider and rounder, holding up the telescope and looking over and over from the front. I swept back and forth on the sea... But after sweeping for most of the day, there was nothing but sea water on the sea. In addition to blue sky and white clouds, there were only some unknown seabirds in the sky.
No, there are seabirds!
Where there are seabirds…there is land!
Wei Sheng blinked heavily, and when he looked again, it turned out to be a seabird!
He quickly put away the telescope, then took out a hammer and struck a bronze bell hanging in the observation basket.
"Dangdangdangdang..."
A long-lost piercing bell suddenly rang on the Ping An, and then the same bell rang again on the Yong'an - the lookout soldiers on the Yong'an also saw the birds in the sky.
Sheng Xin, the capital commander of the expedition fleet, was taking a nap in his cabin. He worked an extra night shift last night, so he was a little tired. Because the water flow and wind speed had slowed down significantly the night before, he used a star board to measure the height of Polaris ten times last night. Each time the results showed that the Ping An and Yong An were still sailing eastward. It should not have deviated from the course... But the problem is that it has been 63 days. The Ping An and Yong An have traveled eastward for thousands of miles. Why haven't they discovered Europe yet?
Is this earth neither a ball nor a bowl? But even if the earth is flat, it has to come to an end, right?
Don’t you know what the end of the earth looks like? Will there be a dam to hold back the sea water? Will there be gods?
While I was thinking wildly, I heard the sound of bells and the cheers of the crew!
Is this...discovering Europe?
Sheng Xin immediately wanted to wake up, and then thought of the European continent!
He suddenly jumped up from his bed, and without even having time to put on some clothes, he rushed out with his bare arms.
When he got to the deck, he heard a group of sailors shouting: "Birds, birds... so many birds!"
It turned out that a bird was discovered! It should be a European bird! I don’t know if I’m fat or not? How to bake it to make it delicious?
Thinking of this, why did Sheng Xin rush to the back deck of the Ping An? He saw Yang Yao, the mate (first mate) of the Ping An, watching birds with a telescope, so he went up to him and asked him for the telescope, "Po Yang Wu, lend me the telescope." I will envoy you."
Yang Yao heard Sheng Xin's voice and hurriedly handed over the telescope, grinning and saying: "Du Tong, there are birds in the sky... There must be land nearby, we have to live!"
Sheng Xin held up the telescope and looked at the birds while smiling: "More than just surviving? This is a great achievement!"
Yang Yao smiled and said: "This European continent is too far away from our Song Dynasty... It has been sailing at sea for 63 days. Including the distance to Japan, it is almost 20,000 miles, right?"
As Sheng Xin spoke, he pointed the telescope forward again, trying hard to find traces of land on the vast sea.
Although he was full of words just now, he was not completely sure in his heart... Just because there are birds in the sky does not mean that there is a mainland ahead. What if it is an island?
Sheng Xin's search lasted the whole day. At dusk, he found no trace of the mainland, but he did find a few groups of birds... This meant that there was at least a big island nearby!
A big island is better than nothing, right? At least everyone can survive.
Just when Sheng Xin started to feel a little disappointed, the harsh bell sounded again from the observation basket.
"Dangdangdang..."
Then the lookout soldiers shouted in surprise: "Land... land... I see land! A large piece of land!"
Land was finally discovered! It's still a big area... It's probably the European continent that you can't find no matter how much you look for it!
Sheng Xinda breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes were sore, and he almost shed tears.
Wei Sheng, who was in the lookout basket, was about to cry!
This is his second layup today. Last time he found seabirds, and this time he found a huge seaport... Maybe the strait should be the English Channel?
