According to the records of the Ming Dynasty's naval fleet's two voyages to the West, as well as the knowledge collected by civil and military officials from the south, the court has already gained some climate experience. The sea east of the Strait of Malacca is generally affected by the monsoon, with southwesterly winds prevailing from the seventh month to the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and northeasterly winds prevailing from the first month to the fourth month.
If the naval fleet is just sailing, the most favorable time to sail in the South China Sea is undoubtedly from January to April because of the favorable winds.
However, the main fleet had to land and fight in at least two places when it set out this time. Therefore, the ministers suggested that the southern expedition should be carried out between December and March.
From October to the first month of each year, it is the cool season in the dry season in the South China Sea. There is less r
A few days later, Zhu Gaoxu met Liu Ming again, and this time he took the initiative to summon Liu Ming.Hearing the sound of kowtow and praise coming from outside the Rouyi Palace, Zhu Gaoxu picked up the memorial on the desk, the book he had just thrown on it in anger. Hearing the eunuch's response that Liu Ming was allowed to meet the emperor, Zhu Gaoxu turned around and looked at the eunuchs and palace maids around him, and they consciously retreated.Liu Ming entered and knelt down on the brick floor and kowtowed again."Stand up," Zhu Gaoxu said expressionlessly. He had suppressed his anger and his tone was calm.When Liu Ming stood up, Zhu Gaoxu handed him the memorial.Liu Ming bent down and took it with both hands, then flipped it open to read. His face quickly turned very ugly, and he lowered his head. He quietly wiped his forehead with his sleeve. I don't know if it was because of the hot weather or because he was nervous.This m
After the decision to march south was made in the court, the various government offices had already begun to make arrangements and preparations. By October of this year, the Ming navy fleet would arrive at the Saigon port of Zhenla as planned; however, the northern sea route was not favorable, and the remaining time was not ample.Nearly 30,000 naval officers, sailors and other personnel were being mobilized from Liujiagang to the capital. After a short training at the parade ground, the officers and soldiers were ready to set sail.The army entered the city from the outer Jinchuan Gate, passed through the Hongwu Gate, the main gate of the imperial city, and then went out of the Zhengyang Gate to the military camp at the Daxiaochang. Officials arranged a ceremonial guard at the Hongwu Gate, and when the army passed through, the emperor would inspect the navy.Zhu Gaoxu rode in a sedan chair through the Qianbu Corridor and arrived at Hongwu Gate. As soon as h
Summer rainstorms come and go quickly. The noisy sound of rain has disappeared, the world has returned to tranquility, and only the silent drizzle is left in the sky, fluttering in the breeze.Outside Hongwu Gate, a procession of carriages and horses gradually appeared, and a huge procession of ceremonial guards took to the streets. The Jinyiwei generals, the escort cavalry, and the civil and military officials all came out of the city. The large group of people and horses headed south to Zhengyang Gate.The streets and buildings were very wet after the heavy rain, and water had accumulated on the road surface, flowing into the gutters and drainage canals like streams. Horse hooves stepped on the brick floor, splashing water everywhere.Emperor Zhu Gaoxu did not ride in a carriage, but rode a horse surrounded by people of all kinds. Eunuch Wang Jinghong, as a close attendant, also rode a horse.Wang Jinghong was a high-ranking eunuch. He not only often
There are dozens of generals in the Ming Navy, and there is no problem in selecting them. They are all experienced generals in the naval fleet. At present, there is still a lack of a general to take charge of the overall situation to assist the envoy Wang Jinghong and make tactical decisions. This kind of person is even more needed during landing operations.When appointing generals, they are usually recommended by the most respected ministers in the court, and then the emperor makes the decision.But Zhu Gaoxu sometimes does not let others recommend him, but directly selects people himself, and this time it was the same.When the imperial court hearing in the morning was about to end, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly called the name "Chen Xuan". For a while, it seemed that most people had immediately guessed what was going on. The most important event of the Gein court recently was the deployment of the navy to the south; and Chen Xuan had served as a naval general many
Everything was ready, and the Ming navy fleet set sail in May.Most of the ships set out from Taicang, east of the capital, and only a small number of them set out from Longjiang Port. After all the ships are out to sea, the entire army will form a large fleet of 200 large and small ships. When they are on the move, the fleet will occupy a wide area of about 20 miles in radius.The officials from the Ministry of War picked a good day, with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.Liu Ming and his companions performed some etiquette on the shore, bidding farewell to the emperor and his court colleagues who had come to see them off in person. Then they boarded a small boat and followed the soldiers to row the boat towards a treasure ship.The magnificent treasure ship on the river was extremely dazzling in the sun. The solid hull looked as stable as a mountain, and the hull was very thick and solid; the only shortcoming of this large flagship-level treasure
On the calm sea, Liu Ming felt most of the time that the boat was not moving at all, as if it was just quietly resting on the boundless water. This was probably because there were almost no obvious reference points around, and the nearby ships also maintained almost the same speed, so it looked more like it was stationary.Only by paying attention to the bulging sails above the deck or carefully observing the water below can people feel that the ship is moving forward.These are all laymen's perceptions; in fact, the soldiers on the ship can still estimate the speed, even if the treasure ship seems to be not moving.Liu Ming also had a rough understanding of it. The method was to release a buoy from the boat, and let the buoy continuously drag a long rope from the stern; then use an hourglass to measure the time, and then calculate the length of the rope dragged during the voyage over a period of time.The fleet's speed has been measured, and it is app
"Here we come." Tang Jing's voice said.Liu Ming subconsciously wanted to ask what was coming, but he felt as if something was blocked in his throat, and finally he couldn't make a sound. Besides, the questions were probably unnecessary, because the ups and downs of the ship's hull and the rough waves outside the stern had already told people what was coming.Tang Jing's previous guess was correct. After a storm, the treasure ship arrived in the "eye of the storm", and the wind and waves only calmed down slightly for a while. The second storm is coming.After a while, amidst the roar of the huge wind and waves, shouting came from a wooden hole upstairs. Then a head leaned on the top of the cabin and shouted, "Big waves, five degrees to the left, one hundred and twenty feet!"The voice of the reporter was very decisive. Although it was impossible for people to measure the distance accurately and they could only estimate it with their eyes, they still re
The bright sunshine suddenly penetrated Liu Ming's eyes and penetrated into his mind. He felt an inexplicable panic and fear, and his body subconsciously struggled to find a place to hide. At this time, a man with a goatee and a robe came over and said, "Master Liu, you are awake."Liu Ming leaned against the bulkhead, avoiding the sun, and it took him a while to calm down. He quickly remembered that he was on a treasure ship and was on a voyage, but he couldn't remember why he was lying here. Pain in his forehead and pain in his limbs also followed.He looked back at the cabin and found that there were some people lying around, with cloth bandages on different parts of their bodies. He also quickly understood that this was the hospital building on the treasure ship."Goatee" handed over a cup of water, and Liu Ming immediately took the iron cup and drank."Slow down, slow down."Liu Ming drank a glass of water and asked , "What's wrong with me?"