Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1201
The weather can actually be a bit rough, especially at the turn of the seasons.

The Ping Navy currently has three "Haiyuding" type ships, and has trained a group of sailors who are familiar with the ships.

The three big ships were named by Shao Sheng himself: Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and Fuyuan.

Each ship carried more than [-] soldiers and some logistics supplies, and the bilge was packed to the brim, and there were even many people standing on the deck.

The southeast wind is blowing today, and it is very strong.

The wind rolled the sea water, forming huge swells, slapping the sea surface from time to time, making a huge bang, and splashing countless white water foam.

The three leading ships heaved and heaved on the sea like helpless fallen leaves.It was the first time for the Chishui Army to land on the sea that Fan He's face was pale, and his knuckles turned white as he firmly grasped all the places that could fix his body.

Zhu Liang and Zhao Zonghui, the two chief generals of the Ping Navy, walked over one after the other, and led Fan He into the cabin at the stern with a smile.

Fan He has already vomited twice, and his whole body is weak.

When Zhu Liang and Zhao Zonghui supported him, they couldn't feel the power of this land tiger at all.I can't help but sigh in my heart, no matter how brave a strong man is, once he reaches the sea and vomits all kinds of meat and vegetables, he is just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"Unexpectedly, the wind and waves in Liaohai are so big." Fan He smiled wryly after clearing the smell in his mouth after drinking two sips of water.

"It's usually not so big, and today's luck is bad." Zhu Liang gradually got used to the wind and waves at sea.

He is an old man in Xicheng, and he is familiar with Fan He, so he joked: "Knowing that Fan Jiashiro is here, Sea Dragon King is very happy."

Zhao Zonghui's expression changed.Above the sea, such jokes are not allowed.

"Take a good rest, it will take at least two days to arrive." Zhu Liang threw a blanket to Fan He and said, "It's windy at sea, if you think it's cold, use this blanket."

Before Fan He could speak, he heard a loud bang, a big wave surged in, and the fine spray swept across the entire deck. The momentum was not fading, and it poured into the cabin of the poop again, wet the tabletop and wet the blanket .

"Crash!" A nautical chart hanging on the bulkhead fell down and was gradually soaked by sea water.

"I have to go and see the soldiers." Fan He threw the wet blanket aside and got up unsteadily.

Zhu Liang had no choice but to ask two sailors to follow Fan He and take care of him at any time.

The wind and waves continued, the hull kept shaking, and the angle of inclination was very scary.

Fan He came to the deck.The bitter sea breeze poured into his mouth, making it hard to even speak.

Fan He raised his head again, and the flag on the mast was blown up, making frightening noises like crackling from time to time.

The sailors in the mast-baskets had already come down.No one would be so stupid as to look out in this weather, and be blown into the sea without paying attention, who to cry for?
"It's really interlaced like a mountain." Fan He sighed.

Sea and land are really two completely different worlds.He used to look down on Ping Haijun, but now he doesn't have such thoughts at all.The power of the ocean really cannot be countered by manpower.And the sailors who can calmly steer the ship under such sea conditions and sail with difficulty are all first-class warriors—at least Fan He dared not fight against the wind and waves at sea.

"Boom!" Another big wave came head-on, and everyone on the deck exclaimed.

The bow of the ship seemed to be supported by someone, it tilted high, and then fell heavily on the sea surface, splashing a large cloud of water.

Two sailors, one on the left and the other on the right, tightly grasped Fan He's arm.

Fan He's face turned even paler.Just now he even had the feeling of falling from a high altitude, which was really terrifying.

I heard that this is a new ship, with a thick keel and dense ribs. Probably only such a ship can go to sea for long distances, right?The deep sea far away from the land should be even more violent, and ordinary ships really can't handle it.

"Huh la la..." The drain holes on the ship have all been opened, and the sea water that has entered the deck has begun to be discharged.

Fan He suppressed the feeling of nausea, and slowly moved down the bilge weakly.

The cabin was filled with an unpleasant smell.

As soon as he entered, Fan He, who could hold back just now, immediately vomited.In the end, it was almost all dark brown stuff.He finally couldn't hold on anymore, and slowly fell limp in the cabin.

"Ah!" The two sailors sighed softly, leaning him against the bulkhead, waiting for him to recover.

No one can help you with these matters at sea.

There are people who died of seasickness, not to mention limp on the ground.They are used to the situation in the bilge.

In fact, these sergeants and warriors are not bad, but the immigrant people are even more miserable.Sailing is not something that everyone can adapt to.

A party of sailors came across the deck and entered the hold.With cleaning tools, they endured the sour smell and carefully cleaned the dirt in the bilge.When I met people who were really uncomfortable, I carried them up to the deck to take a breath of fresh air.

But honestly, that's not necessarily a good thing.When someone saw the monstrous waves outside, they almost fainted from fright.At this time, if you give him two choices, one is to continue sailing at sea, and the other is to attack the city first, he will definitely choose the latter.

The suffering at sea is not for everyone.

******
The bad weather lasted a good half a day, and then disappeared, just as it had appeared without warning.

The unpredictable weather at sea has always been one of the risks of sailing.

Zhu Liang sent someone to climb into the mast basket and watch from afar.

The two warships Zhenyuan and Fuyuan followed closely behind and did not get separated.

Farther away, some masts and sails could be vaguely seen, which were other ships of the Ping Navy.

The lookout stared wide-eyed, searched the entire sea carefully, and then reported a data: "Seventeen ships."

Zhu nodded.A few ships were missing, most of which were blown away by the sea wind, which is a common thing.Fortunately, the Liaohai Sea is just a big bathtub, and the sea conditions are not particularly complicated. After adjusting these ships, most of them can find the right course and catch up slowly—if it does not sink.

"After we go back, we have to ask the court to allocate money to replace all the old ships." Zhu Liang said.

"It must be changed." Zhao Zonghui nodded in agreement.

In the bad weather just now, the swell rushed in from the side, and the damage to the hull was very obvious.If the hull design is not good, the keel is not strong enough, and the ribs are not tight enough, a few more strokes will cause the boat to fall apart.

Some people may think that this kind of big storm comes and goes quickly, and they may not necessarily encounter it.But those who have sailed for a long time know that severe weather has accompanied them throughout their careers.If you don't meet this time, you won't be able to escape next time. Sooner or later, you will meet.

In the early Tang Dynasty, when envoys sent to Silla and Japan, the merchant ships often encountered bad weather, the fleet was blown away, and the ships lost their way and sank. Twelve out of ten boats were lost, more than five thousand shi of Pinlu's army rations were lost, and all boatmen died."

This is still in the big bathtub of the Liaohai Sea, and it is also in the coastal waters of Cangzhou. When encountering a sudden strong wind, "one out of ten" ships sank, which can be seen.

This may be an important reason why ancient sea transport could not replace water transport.

You ship ten times, and you succeed seven or eight times, but as long as you fail once or twice, a bunch of people will stand up and ask you to abolish the shipping policy.

Their reasons are not entirely untenable.

This is not high-margin commodity trading.More than half of the ten merchant ships sank, and after the rest sailed back to the port, they still made a lot of money, because the profit was ten times or even dozens of times.

In the case of a grain transport ship, even if it loses [-]%, the rest will reach its destination safely. This gap is still a headache.What's more, there are strong winds and waves at sea. No matter how well the moisture-proof work is done, the loss of grain in the cabin is still very alarming, far exceeding that of inland water transport.

There is no other way to solve this problem than to develop better ships.It succeeds when the ships are good enough to conduct routine trade across oceans, and the attrition of the sea is tolerable.

But in this case, obviously not, unless you are willing to ignore those losses and regard them as acceptable.

"Follow the flag, slow down, and straighten the formation. You command, and I'll go down to the hold to have a look." Zhu Liang handed over command of the fleet to Zhao Zonghui, and then went to the hold.

The cabin was still gloomy.

The weak warriors lay or sat, their eyes glazed over and their faces pale.

Seawater seeped in from the gaps and holes, flowing wantonly in the cabin.Every time it is contaminated with bilge dirt, it changes color and smell.

"The sewage is overflowing, alas." Zhu Liang sighed softly, and called a team of sailors to clean up the bilge.

After the sailors came in, Zhu Liang didn't bother to look any further, and went back to the upper deck.

The weather will be fine, and the sailors fetch seawater in wooden barrels and clean the deck repeatedly.

The watchman in the mast basket changed again, staring at the sea with wide eyes.

Zhu Liang had communicated with Zhao Zonghui before, and he felt that the fleet might be off course.At present, it can only be said that the general direction is correct, but it is hard to say how much it has yaw.

They have tried their best.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the shipping business of the Yuanhai towns has been in decline, and the relevant talents cannot be said to be completely out of stock, but they are still very weak.

What they are doing now is more of a restorative work of expanding the fleet and cultivating relevant talents.What's more, even before the Anshi Rebellion, yaw was a common occurrence.Maybe you sailed successfully this time, but next time, the same ship and the same sailors may get lost, which is normal.

The fleet sailed slowly like this, and another day and night passed, until everyone seemed a little anxious, Zhu Liang suddenly heard a few bird calls, and he was overjoyed.

There are seabirds, which means that it is not far from land.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the lookout in the mast basket shouted: "I see the coast!"

With a stride, Zhu Liang rushed to the railing, raised his head and looked into the distance.

As far as the eye could see, a crooked "black line" appeared faintly.

As the distance gets closer, the "black line" becomes clearer.Obviously, it was the outline of the land.

"Notify the good news." Zhu Liang waved his hand and ordered happily.

After a while, there were enthusiastic cheers inside and outside the deck.

As a man of the sea, he always takes every voyage seriously as if it were his last.Every successful landing is a happy event worth celebrating.Therefore, after landing, they often need food, alcohol and women to comfort and numb themselves, so that they can regain their energy and courage to go to sea before the next voyage.

This time, it was a success.

(End of this chapter)