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?"
According to the calendar, it was now the turn of summer and autumn, but the weather in the capital didn't seem to be much cooler than in midsummer.Zhu Gaoxu felt the heat early in the morning when he sat on the throne in Fengtian Gate. Perhaps it was because of his neat clothes. Since he was holding court, the ministers below made various suggestions, all of which were related to the recent disasters in various places.In the past few days, urgent reports have been received from Jiangxi and Zhejiang about floods; the coastal areas of Fujian have been hit by hurricanes, and the number of houses collapsed and the number of casualties among people and animals is incalculable. This is a time of trouble.The Minister of Personnel Jian Yi requested an imperial decree and ordered officials to issue official reports, advocating that officials from all regions cultivate virtue and observe etiquette. He also sent censors to the provincial inspection offices in Jiang
Zhu Gaoxu didn't do much all day long, but he felt particularly tired at dusk. Perhaps he was in an impetuous mood and had too many thoughts, which wasted a lot of energy in a useless way.There is no news about the navy.It is normal. Things that happen thousands of miles away cannot be reported back to the capital in a short while. He left the court and returned to the harem. When leaving the Rouyi Hall, he did not forget to tell the eunuch Wang Gui, "No matter what time it is, if there is news about the navy, report to me immediately."Wang Gui hugged the fly whisk and bowed in agreement.Today Zhu Gaoxu should go to see Yao Ji. He followed the order and ordered the eunuch carrying the sedan chair to go to the Xianfei Palace.The main building of Xianfei Palace is similar to other palaces in East Sixth Palace and West Sixth Palace. It's just that some of the small pavilions, corridors, flowers, grass, rocks, etc. are different; each concubine
At dawn in the early morning, Yao Ji, neatly dressed, had sent Zhu Gaoxu to the gate of Xianfei Palace. The heavy rain last night didn't last long, but it started to rain again one after another. In the morning, the brick floor was still very wet. Zhu Gaoxu saw that the hem of Yao Ji's long skirt was already wet.A large sedan chair was waiting outside the door, with some eunuchs holding simple ceremonial objects in front and behind, as well as palace maids carrying lanterns.A lantern was moving towards this side quickly. Zhu Gaoxu waited for a while, and then saw that the person coming was the eunuch Wang Gui. Wang Gui hurriedly walked to Zhu Gaoxu, bowed, and handed something to him with both hands. Wang Jinghong's memorial.Wang Gui stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, when the memorial was brought into the city, the gates had not yet been opened. Because it was urgent, someone was sent in a basket. The official on duty at the Tongzhe
Liu Ming stood outside the city gate, looking at the confluence of the two Pearl Rivers. He saw many huge ships anchored on the nearby river. The weather was very good, with sunny days for several consecutive days. Guangzhou was very hot, and it was completely impossible to feel that this was the autumn climate. The ships on the water in the distance were covered with a layer of light yellow under the afternoon sun, which seemed to be even more gorgeous.At this time, he heard the general Tang Jing beside him speaking. Tang Jing's voice said, "With the status of General Liu, you can go south to the Pearl River Estuary camp and listen to the central army's intentions. What exactly does the central army plan to do?"So Liu Ming stopped looking into the distance and turned to look at Tang Jing. Suddenly, a strong smell of alcohol hit him in the face.A group of civil and military officials who came to Guangzhou Prefecture to repair the ship attended a banquet t
The artisans accompanying the army and the artisans mobilized by the Guangdong Provincial Administration Office worked day and night to repair the warships. The ships anchored in the Pearl River were not seriously damaged, with most of the damage to the masts, decks and ship buildings; and those ships with damaged hulls and frames could no longer continue to go on the expedition.After the ships were roughly repaired, the naval teams left the Pearl River Estuary one after another and re-formed on the sea.The original deployment of the navy was to stop at Songtaiwei and Da Nang in Annan for repairs and supplies after leaving the Ming territory. Now that they had been delayed in Guangzhou for a long time, the central army decided to only make a short stop in Da Nang to replenish fresh water and other supplies, and then immediately headed straight for Zhenla Saigon Port.The huge fleet, like a huge fleet covering the sea, sailed along the sea route not far fro