Although it is only March, the sun on the Atlantic Ocean is already scorching hot.
Deputy General Zhang Lang took the water bag and handed it to Zhang Yu: "General Zhang, take a sip. We still have a long way to go, and we can't save what we shouldn't."
Zhang Yu licked his chapped lips with his tongue and pushed away the water bag: "I'm not thirsty yet, let the sergeants drink first. How many sergeants are injured, hasn't Zhao Miaozi finished his work yet?"
Zhang Lang opened the water bag and insisted on handing it to Zhang Yu: "Zhao Miaozi has treated the sergeant's injuries and is currently checking some lightly injured sergeants. They will be here soon. Take a sip first. Although our fresh water reserves are not It’s a lot, but if you stick to it for a month, there’s still no problem, not to mention that you’re supplementing it with distilled seawater every day.”
Zhang Yu took the water bag, raised his head and took a sip before putting it down. He looked at the calm sea and said, "Let Kang Zhe and Liang Si come over. I need to know the status of the other treasure ship's sergeant."
Zhang Lang turned around, ordered the ship to lower its sails, and raised a flag, allowing Captain Kang Zhe and Vice Captain Liang Si of another treasure ship to board the flagship in a small boat. The two Dafu ships that originally sailed along are no longer there, along with the sergeants.
Kang Zhe and Liang Si couldn't help but worry when they saw Zhang Yu's haggard face and shortness of breath. They called Zhao Miaozi who came over to show Zhang Yu. As soon as Zhao Miaozi stepped forward, he was stopped by Zhang Yu: "Just stay there." , since we are all here, let’s talk directly. Of the two great fortune ships, one encountered a sea monster and the other encountered a deep-sea whirlpool. We lost a lot of brothers. Are the remaining sergeants shaken?"
Zhang Lang was a little sad, and Kang Zhe couldn't help but feel sad.
Although the Dafu ship was strong and could withstand ordinary storms and waves, it could not withstand the repeated collisions of three large sea beasts. In the end, the ship was smashed to pieces. Although they used firearms and eight cow crossbows to fight back, it was still dark at the time. , The field of vision was limited, and it was impossible to counterattack accurately. The poor and brave sergeant of Ming Dynasty sank into the sea.
Yesterday's deep-sea whirlpool almost destroyed the entire small fleet. If the medium-sized treasure ships and Dabao ships were not large and strong, they would have been trapped in the whirlpool and unable to extricate themselves.
But even so, the power of the vortex still caused the treasure ship to lose power. For a time, even the rudder blades could not be operated. Under the action of the strong water flow, many sergeants became unstable and crashed into the cargo, cabins and sides of the ship. More than half of them were injured, and another The big fortune ship was even more unfortunate. It was sucked into the whirlpool and disappeared without even a chance to struggle.
The danger level of this voyage far exceeds previous voyages.
In the Southern and Western Oceans, even in the most dangerous times, the naval fleet can keep most of the crew safe, but it can no longer be done. The Atlantic Ocean is so treacherous and dangerous that the entire ship can be damaged at every turn.
The Dafu Ship is no longer suitable for such a long voyage. Although it has experienced the test of the sea, it is difficult for the Dafu Ship to survive in the face of sudden dangers.
Kang Zhe and Liang Si were equally sad about their brothers leaving forever, but their eyes were full of determination, without any wavering or flinching.
Liang Si said bluntly: "Although we lost many brothers and many people were injured, General Zhang can rest assured that all the brothers on the ship have only one belief, and that is to go to South America. They know the significance of this voyage and know that Everyone understands what the mission is, even if you sacrifice here, it is great!"
Kangzhe nodded solemnly: "No one will feel useless for sacrificing for a great mission. As long as we have one breath left, we will not give up. Let us follow the wind and the ocean current and keep marching until we complete our mission and return to the Ming Dynasty!" "
Zhang Yu looked at Kang Zhe and Liang Si, walked to the side of the ship, and looked at another treasure ship not far away. He saw the sergeant on the ship standing proudly, with a lookout hand climbing high on the mast, looking around with a telescope. The sailors were looking around. Busy as they were returning the cables, the shipwrights were also tinkering and repairing the damaged positions.
No one showed fear or cowardice. They were all busy. It seemed that they were so busy that they forgot about other things and only remembered their mission.
The soldiers of Ming Dynasty are all good!
Zhang Yu touched his beard and said to Kang Zhe and Liang Si with satisfaction: "You are all famous men. Go back and tell all the sergeants that our dead brothers are eager for us to successfully reach South America and return to the Ming Dynasty. We cannot let them down." !”
"Take orders!"
Kang Zhe and Liang Si agreed solemnly.
Zhang Yu said nothing more. The military morale was stable, and that was enough.
The vast deep blue sea looked like an arc from a distance. This made Zhang Yu feel a little dazed. He said to Zhang Lang and others on the side: "Have you noticed that the sea surface does not seem to be a flat surface, but more like an arc?" Mian, why is this?"
Zhang Lang also discovered this, but couldn't explain it.
Zhao Miaozi squinted his eyes and said, "When I was in the Imperial College, I heard a sensational statement."
"The Imperial College always has some fresh opinions, so you might as well come and listen."
Zhang Yu respected the Imperial Academy quite a lot.
Zhao Miaozi chuckled and said: "It is said that the sky is round and the earth is round, but some remarks from the Imperial College have subverted the previous understanding. They said that not only the sky is round, but also the earth is round."
Zhang Lang chuckled, shook his head and said: "The earth is round? How did such ridiculous words appear in the Imperial College? I heard that there is the most powerful school, but now it sounds like it is just flashy."
Zhang Yu frowned: "We know that the sky is round, just like a pot lid, but is it too exaggerated to say that the earth is round? If the earth is round, don't we live on a sphere? If so, how can we not Falling into the sky?"
Zhao Miaozi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, this kind of statement is indeed weird. But the theory of the Imperial College is not groundless. Their basis is Zhao Youqin's "New Book of Gexiang"."
"Zhao Youqin? I seem to have heard this name somewhere."
Zhang Yu thought.
Zhao Miaozi said with a smile: "This Zhao Youqin is the thirteenth descendant of Zhao Guangyi. He lived in the Yuan Dynasty. During the Hongwu period, Mr. Song Liansong also wrote a preface to his "New Book of Gexiang"."
Zhang Yu was suddenly stunned and asked: "What does this "New Book of Gexiang" have to do with the round earth?"
Zhao Miaozi saw that there was nothing else to do, so he eloquently said: "Don't we have a telescope now? It is said that it was made by the emperor. When someone asked the emperor, the emperor said that it was influenced by the "New Book of Gexiang". That book does record the discussion of small hole imaging, light, distance and field of view. The Imperial College conducted experiments and proved that the content described in the "New Book of Gexiang" is correct."
Zhang Lang looked at the telescope under Zhang Yu's neck. Could it be that such a magical existence was related to Zhao Youqin? But what does this have to do with the round earth?
Zhao Miaozi saw the doubts of Zhang Yu, Zhang Lang and others, and said with a smile: "Many of the discussions in "The New Book of Gexiang" are correct, but there is a passage in it that clearly puts forward the theory of a round earth. It attracted the attention of the entire Imperial College."
】
"oh?"
Zhang Yu was very curious.
Zhao Miaozi cleared his throat: "I have also read the "New Book of Gexiang", and I still remember the discussion in it. Listen to it: Although the earth is round, there is no roundness for hundreds of miles or dozens of miles. The human eye cannot focus on it. Qu. Try boating in the rivers and lakes, but you will see bulges wherever the boat goes. When the water comes, you can't see its head, and when the water goes away, you can't see its tail."
"The Dongting is so vast that if the sun and moon appear and disappear in it, the distant mountains are all under the ring and will not be an obstacle. Measuring the height of the North Pole above the ground, as well as the morning and evening of the lunar eclipse in the east and west, all the earth is round, and the earth's dimensions should be The proof of heaven…”
Zhang Yu was a little shocked, and Zhang Lang was also stunned.
If he were on land, Zhang Yu would definitely refute Zhao Youqin's remarks. He could continue long voyages and travel on the sea, which is indeed what Zhao Youqin said. If you don't believe it, you look up and see that on the unobstructed sea, there is indeed a "circle" in the distance, which seems to prove that the ground is not square, but circular.
Zhao Miaozi sighed: "In fact, there are many bases behind every theory of the Imperial Academy. Even for the theory of the round earth, some supervisors have translated many previous arguments. For example, Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty recorded in the "Annotation of the Armillary Sphere" that 'the Hun The sky is like a chicken's egg, and the earth is like the yolk of an egg. It is solitary inside that the sky is big and the earth is small."
"Even Zengzi in the Spring and Autumn Period once asked, if the sky is round and the earth is square, then the four corners are not covered (covered, covered)? Also, Guo Shoujing of the Yuan Dynasty discovered the difference in longitude and latitude when making the "Time-giving Calendar", and also This proves that the earth is not flat..."
Zhang Yu nodded repeatedly: "The theories of the Imperial College are all well-founded. This is a good thing. Although we cannot understand the theory of a round earth, from the perspective of the Navy, the theory of a round earth is obviously more in line with our observations. However, how to explain our lives? On the sphere, but not falling into the void?"
Zhao Miaozi shook his head: "I left the Imperial College too early and I don't know the subsequent debates or whether the matter has been finalized. But as far as I know, the Imperial College has no definite knowledge and will continue to study it until we return. After that, it’s hard to say that there have been results.”
Zhang Lang thought of something and suddenly asked: "Does the Emperor support the theory of a round earth?"
Zhang Yu also looked at Zhao Miaozi, wanting to know this. As long as Zhu Yunwen identified it, it must be right.
Zhao Miaozi said helplessly: "The emperor has neither objection nor support for the theory of a round earth. He seems to appreciate this argument and hopes to prove everything with evidence. There are already supervisors from the Imperial College to investigate solar and lunar eclipses in various places. The time difference proves that the earth is at least not flat."
Zhang Yu looked at the sea and took a deep breath of sea breeze: "Perhaps, the emperor has already seen through everything, but it is just too shocking, so he allowed the Imperial College to argue first. An emperor who can know the existence of South America cannot possibly not know that the earth is round. It’s Fang.”
Zhang Lang, Zhao Miaozi and others nodded solemnly.
No one knows where Zhu Yunwen got the news about the existence of South America, and no one knows where he got those magical crops, but what he saw and heard during the voyage told everyone that Zhu Yunwen could see through thousands of miles at a glance, and he was A prophetic emperor...
