This was a tragic voyage, and hundreds of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were sleeping in the sea areas they passed.
Big waves, strong winds, sea animals, sargassum, bad weather, insufficient supplies, illnesses during the voyage... there are many, many things that can kill people.
Luo Guanying's face was covered with whiskers, and he walked up and down the deck with bare feet. He shouted to Liang Dafang, who was playing with the star board: "Tell me, have you gone the wrong way? Count the time, count the days." Counting the sea distance, we should have seen the mainland anyway. Tell the truth, have we veered off course?"
Liang Dafang rolled his eyes at Luo Guanying, weighed a small piece of wood in his hand and said, "As a layman, don't question what an insider says. It's unnecessary. If you talk too much, you'll get into trouble."
"I'm the captain!"
"so what?"
"My brother-in-law is Emperor Jianwen..."
"so what?"
Luo Guanying was of no use to Liang Dafang.
Liang Dafang was born in Qintianjian and further studied at Guozijian Mathematics College. He is a real mathematical talent. He can accurately calculate the total of more than a thousand entries using only mental arithmetic, and he also has strong memory ability.
Zhu Yunwen personally met Liang Dafang, and Yang Shiqi thought highly of him. When he originally chose the star board and the astronomical talents, neither the Qin Tian Jian nor the Imperial Academy wanted to release him, but Liang Dafang wanted to go to sea and took the initiative to ask for help. thing.
"Liang Dafang said there is no problem with the course, so there must be no problem. As long as we go all the way west, we will definitely reach South America."
Zhao Shiyu knew that Liang Dafang was not generous at all, but rather petty and withdrawn. He was a settler and did not buy other people's accounts, but he did have the ability.
Su An said to Luo Guanying who was a little anxious: "How can it be so easy to sail thousands of miles? Just be patient and don't be impatient."
How can Luo Guanying settle down?
It's already May 10th, and we've been sailing for forty or fifty days. It's time to see some shadows of the mainland. The supplies on the ship are getting less and less, and even the fresh water reserves have been strictly allocated. Each sergeant can only drink one bowl of water every day, just one bowl of water!
Who would have thought that everyone is guarding their own bowl of water like a treasure, and no one dares to drink it all in one breath. This is a guy who can extend his life!
Due to the lack of water, the sergeant had trouble even eating. In addition to the long-term lack of drinking water, even going to the toilet was painful. Although Zhao Shiyu was very energetic when he hummed, he still screamed when he squatted.
Fortunately, the morale of the military is stable. Everyone knows the mission on their shoulders and is ready to sacrifice.
Ma Huan originally wanted to record the interesting things about the voyage, but the reality is that there are not many interesting things to say about just drifting on the sea without docking or countries along the way.
After writing and writing, Ma Huan began to write the voyage log, how long Zhao Shiyu lay asleep, Luo Guanying scolded himself a few words, who Su An kicked, and he yawned a few times...
Boring days, boring diaries, and even people become lifeless.
“Let’s order some fish.”
Luo Guanying looked at the sea and saw fish emerging from time to time, and couldn't help but say.
Zhao Shiyu sighed: "How to eat fish? I vomited after eating the tasteless dried fish."
It’s not that there is no salt on the treasure ship, but people are more likely to be thirsty after eating salt. In order to avoid severe thirst, the sergeants are automatically reducing their salt intake and only eat a few salty things every day.
“There’s always something to do.”
Luo Guanying also knew that fishing online was not the best choice, but everyone was bored and how could they not do something.
Zhao Shiyu took a few fishing rods, handed them to Luo Guanying, and then shouted loudly: "Luo Guanying said that there will be a fishing competition now. Whoever catches the heaviest fish will go to the palace to steal a jar of wine and give it to him after he returns!"
"Wine from the palace?"
The sergeants suddenly became interested.
No one doubts Luo Guanying's ability. After all, he is Concubine Shu's younger brother. He has entered the palace not once or twice, so it must not be difficult to order good wine and get out.
Seeing that everyone was energetic, Luo Guanying smiled and agreed: "No problem, come on, whoever wants to drink the wine in the palace, let's compete."
Su An, Wang Zhen, Wang Gang and others picked up the fishing rods one after another.
Zhao Shiyu was not to be outdone. After hanging the bait, he swung the fishing rod and threw it out.
The treasure ship was fully hung with sails. Although the wind was not strong, the ship was still moving forward.
Luo Guanying didn't like fishing. This method was too boring, but he couldn't think of any other way to boost his morale, so he had to fish quietly and brag to the sergeants that he would definitely catch a big fish.
Not long after, a sergeant caught a fish, which was only as big as a palm. The speechless sergeant threw the fish back into the sea.
Luo Guanying felt that the fishing rod sank slightly, and the fish charm sank even more. He quickly collected the fishing rod, which was a little heavy. As he exerted force, a silver-gray fish nearly two feet tall flew out of the sea.
"Good luck!"
Zhao Shiyu couldn't help but be a little envious, this fish was not too small.
Luo Guanying took back the fishing rod, looked at the lively fish on the deck, and said with a smile: "This fish is so strange, it even has orange stripes. Do you think it can be eaten by any chance?"
Zhao Shiyu, Ma Huan and others gathered around, the fish kept tumbling and water drops kept throwing out.
Ma Huan felt his lips become cold, then he stuck out his tongue and licked it. He couldn't help but froze, and shouted to Luo Guanying who was about to catch the fish: "Don't move!"
Luo Guanying looked at this usually gentle guy and wondered why he was so crazy.
Ma Huan knelt directly on the deck, held the fish down, lowered his head and bit it...
"I said Ma Huan, don't you think so? The fish hasn't been killed yet and you are going to be hungry. There is plenty of food in the cabin..."
Zhao Shiyu frowned.
Luo Guanying quickly shouted: "Military doctor, military doctor, Ma Huan is crazy!"
Ma Huan dropped the fish, took a few mouthfuls, and looked at Luo Guanying. His eyes were full of tears, and his mouth was trembling and he was speechless. Su An and others looked at Ma Huan in confusion. Xie Ju, the ship's military doctor, ran over with a medicine box, but was pushed away by Ma Huan.
Luo Guanying was a little unsure about what happened to Ma Huan, and said cautiously: "Then what, this fish belongs to you, no one will snatch it for you, I will go fishing again..."
Ma Huan raised his arms, wiped away his tears violently, pushed Luo Guanying and others away, threw the rope ladder out of the treasure ship, and was about to disembark under the surprised eyes of everyone.
Luo Guanying grabbed Ma Huan and shouted: "You are crazy, this is the sea, who knows if there is any danger in the water!"
Ma Huan broke free from Luo Guanying's hand and said resolutely: "Wait for me, I'm going to verify something."
Luo Guanying and everyone watched Ma Huan descend along the rope ladder and along the side of the ship. When they were near the sea, Ma Huan took out a water bag, filled a little sea water, and then climbed onto the treasure ship.
"You took the risk just to get some seawater?"
Luo Guanying was very angry.
Ma Huan opened the water bag, raised his head and took a big sip. Luo Guanying snatched the water bag away and yelled angrily: "You are crazy, you can't drink sea water! Thank you, give Ma Huan a doctor!"
Xie Ju hurriedly stepped forward. Ma Huan took a step back and shouted: "Luo Guanying, you have a taste of the sea water here, you have a taste! We, we seem to be almost there!"
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned for a while.
Luo Guanying looked deeply at Ma Huan and then at the water bag in his hand. He raised his hand and took a sip. The sea water in his mouth was not very salty and not very bitter. It was very much like fresh water, but when he felt it carefully, it felt like fresh water. It's not pure fresh water, it seems to be fresh water mixed with a little bit of sea water.
Try another sip!
Luo Guanying tasted it carefully. Yes, it was just fresh water mixed with a little sea water. It definitely didn't taste like pure sea water.
"There's fresh water here, there's fresh water around here!"
Luo Guanying scratched his neck.
Zhao Shiyu was so excited that he wanted to cry. Su An quickly ran to the side of the ship and watched carefully. Wang Zhen lowered his head and cried with trembling all over. The sergeants were even more excited.
freshwater!
There is fresh water nearby!
Luo Guanying was very puzzled. This is the sea. There are no islands or continents beyond the horizon. Where can the fresh water come from?
Shouldn't fresh water exist on islands or mainlands?
How can there be fresh water in sea water?
"Is this water drinkable?"
Wang Gang asked.
Luo Guanying nodded and shook his head: "There is nothing wrong with drinking it, but whether it can be drunk depends on the distillation. If there is not much residue after distillation, it may be used as an emergency water source."
"Brothers, get some water!"
When Wang Gang heard this, he immediately started shouting.
Not being able to drink enough water for a long time is very painful. When he arrived on the island, Wang Gang's first thought was to drink water until he could hold up his stomach.
"This fish looks very much like the salmon the emperor mentioned."
Liang Dafang came over and looked at the fish still jumping on the deck.
Luo Guanying shook his head: "But the emperor didn't say that salmon has orange stripes. How can you prove that it is salmon?"
Liang Dafang took out a knife from the waist of a sergeant, squatted down, and slashed the knife, and the fish was divided into two halves. He picked up half of the fish, pointed at the orange-red fish meat, and said, "Look, this is salmon, you don't need it." Now that we’ve got water, we’ve probably reached the mouth of the sea.”
Luo Guanying's Adam's apple moved, and the other sergeants stopped moving and looked at Luo Guanying.
The estuary? !
It’s not like I’ve never been at the mouth of the Yangtze River, but the sea water is salty when I can’t see the mainland. But here, we can't see the mainland. If there really is a continent, wouldn't it be at least a hundred miles away?
salmon!
Adulterated sea water!
Luo Guanying knew that what Liang Dafang said was the most likely explanation.
"Su An, Wang Zhen, what the hell are you still doing on the treasure ship? Go and launch the Great Fortune Ship! Brothers, prepare to set sail, the mainland is probably just ahead!"
Luo Guanying arranged solemnly.
Su An and Wang Zhen took their sergeants and took the small boat back to the Dafu boat hanging behind the treasure ship. Then they untied the ropes, broke away from the treasure ship's pull, and marched on the left and right sides of the two treasure ships!
The four ships lined up in a row, about three miles apart, and sailed vigorously toward the west.
The resistance was a bit strong, and the current from west to east seemed to have been changed by some force and became from east to west.
Luo Guanying was very excited and Zhao Shiyu was very nervous.
The greater the resistance of the water flow, the more it means that hope is right in front of you. It must be a huge river that pours countless river water into the sea to create such a scene!
New World, Ming Dynasty is coming!
ps:
As the New Year approaches, there are more and more things at home. We need to go shopping, visit relatives, have dinner parties, and spend time with our families. There is too little time to spare for coding.
The supplementary update may have to be postponed later or later in the year. Jingxue strives to maintain two updates first. We ask for your understanding.
