Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1081 A Thousand Sails Overwhelm the Sea (Part [-])
Soldiers are expensive and fast. Although the highest and most pragmatic people, down to the ordinary members of Annan who sent troops, did not think that the Burmese side could know in advance that Annan would have the courage to bypass the entire Malay Peninsula to attack southern Burma, but Huang Zhiting still did not agree. Willing to delay even one more day.

Therefore, after the military parade exercise on this day, on the second day after consulting Gao Jing about the recent sea conditions, he decided to set sail immediately. More than 126 fleet crew members and [-] troops, totaling more than [-] troops, took [-] large ships from Golden Harbor. Departure, the goal is straight to Malacca.

Thousands of sails cover the sea, thousands of miles of waves.

Huang Zhiting herself, together with Gao Jing, is on board the "Lang Son", the flagship of the Annan Squadron of the Jinghua Nanyang Fleet, which has only been in service for half a year.

The Lang Son was originally named to commemorate the first major victory over Lang Son in the Battle of Annan. It just so happened that the commander-in-chief of this battle was Huang Zhiting. Everyone in the fleet felt that the omen was very good, especially the Lang Son. The sailors were even more excited.

In fact, the navy may be the most "superstitious" branch of arms, which has been the case in ancient and modern China and abroad.Because fighting at sea is not like fighting on land, the influence of luck is particularly huge. Not to mention that a gust of wind may determine the direction of the battle, sometimes even a wave can affect the outcome, so no matter at home or abroad, there are various "superstitions" that are not the same Thought.

For example, in Chinese history, especially before modern times, there were very few navy generals surnamed Chen. Down to the sailors, they all felt that it was unlucky to scream.

It was not the first time for Huang Zhiting to go out to sea and take a boat, but it was the first time for her to go out to sea with Gao Jing, and it was the first time for her to observe the command of a boat at sea up close.

At first, she thought it was a very busy job. After all, the entire fleet has more than 100 large ships. When she left the port, she stood on the bridge and looked around, and found that even a professional port like Jingang was almost blocked. Even though it was on the sea, it always reminded her of the words "covering the sky and blocking out the sun".

But she never expected that after arriving at sea, Gao Jing didn't seem to be particularly busy. He usually just responded to reports from other ships—these reports were almost all reported in the form of semaphore, and the language sounded like Exceptionally simple and straightforward.

It is the captain of the Lang Son who really controls the navigation of the ship, and the pilot ship is the one who controls the entire route.

As for Lang Son and the other three second-class cruisers, they have always been located in the very center of the fleet. The four ships formed a diamond-shaped formation, and Lang Son was the sharp front corner of the rhombus.

After three days and three nights of sailing, on the morning of the fourth day, Huang Zhiting, who woke up very early, found that Gao Jing had finally entered the "working state" and started to get busy.

However, his busyness is also rather strange, actually writing at his desk.

Or to be precise, it is to record the sea state and sea state reports mainly sent by the pilot ship.

This situation was beyond Huang Zhiting's expectation, she stepped forward to see what Gao Jing was up to.

At this time, Gao Jing was sitting behind a large fixed table. On the table were many manuscripts, pictures, and albums. Each stack was pressed by a paperweight to prevent it from being blown away by the waves or the sea wind.

Huang Zhiting stepped forward and asked curiously, "Commander Gao, are you studying?"

Gao Jing raised her head in surprise, seeing that it was Huang Zhiting, she didn't feel a little surprised, and said with concern: "Du Tong feels unwell at sea? There are various medicines to suppress sea disease..."

Huang Zhiting smiled and shook her head: "I don't get seasick, I just want to see what you're up to... Senior High School Cheng said that you are an expert in sailing, so let me ask you for advice."

"Don't you dare?" Gao Jing had already stood up at this time, and personally moved a chair for Huang Zhiting to ask her to sit down, and then said: "Actually, sailing on the sea is nothing more than practice makes perfect, just like reading, 'Reading a hundred times , its meaning is self-evident', sailing on the sea eats experience."

He smiled and picked up a few pages of paper, handed them to Huang Zhiting, and said: "Please take a look, these things are divided into several categories, the most important of which are the logbooks sent by the captains of the ships. At the same time, try to check everything to see if there are any abnormalities that need attention. Among them, the logbook of the pilot ship is the most important, because the small ones must use it as a model to write down the logbook of the entire fleet and draw pictures to record the course. "

Huang Zhiting was a little surprised: "Do you have to watch it every day?"

"Of course, I have to watch it every day, and I have to record it every day." Gao Jing said: "Dutong, the sea is different from the land. Sometimes the boat sails continuously for a long time, and you can't see anything except the sea and the sky. Where I have been and how far I am from my goal, for someone who has never been to sea, I am afraid that I am at a loss.

But for people who sail all year round, they can have a number in their hearts, but this is not enough. For the captain or even the commander of the fleet, it is necessary to record in detail when the ship or the fleet has turned, accelerated, decelerated, and turned around. , Serpentine advance and other actions, as well as the wind direction and ocean currents at that time, not to mention if there are islands, reefs, etc., they must be clearly recorded, and they must not be sloppy at all. "

"Are these records for the purpose of predicting risks in advance or choosing a safe course when going here next time?"

"Yes, but it's more than that." Gao Jing said: "There are still many differences between the sea and the land. For example, the land road is fixed. You walk this way in spring, and you walk in winter. This road is amazing. In spring, the roadside grows grass and flowers, and in winter, it is covered with ice and snow, but this road is always there and will not be moved elsewhere.

But it is different at sea. In different seasons and months, the wind direction and ocean currents will also be different, and the sailing route at sea will also need to change accordingly.One is to make better use of wind and ocean currents to save time, and the other is to avoid different risks at different times to ensure safety.A slight change in region, month, etc., may make a big difference. "

Huang Zhiting asked: "Does the change of region and month have a great influence?"

Gao Jing nodded seriously and said: "Of course, if you sail in the north, you have to be careful of ice floes in winter, and there are also storms caused by cold and warm winds from the north and south. But when sailing in the south, you need to pay more attention to the heat flow in spring and summer. Dangers such as storms, dragons spit water (tornadoes), and sea eyes are all different. These things require extensive experience to avoid or deal with.”

Huang Zhiting frowned and said, "Doesn't that mean that if we come here in spring, if we come back in autumn, the sea conditions may be completely different?"

"It must be different, and it may even be very different." Gao Jing said decisively: "In the Nanyang region, the weather in spring and autumn is not very different, but the wind direction is quite different. Maybe, but at least the ocean currents change."

Huang Zhiting thought to herself: This is really much more complicated than fighting on land, no wonder Gao Lang was so cautious, he only let me set off after gathering such a huge fleet.

However, when she thought that Gao Yushi was so careful, and one of the most important points was that she was worried about her safety on this trip, she couldn't help showing a smile on the corner of her mouth.

Gao Jing didn't understand the meaning of Deputy Huang Dutong's smile, and thought she was affirming her work, and immediately said: "But you don't have to worry about it, the Nanyang Fleet went south to Malacca not once or twice. They are mainly merchants, and they don’t travel too far. Generally, they only stop at the city of Malacca, but we have recruited some sea veterans in Malacca and surrounding areas in advance. There are even a few who have even been to Dashi, and this time we have brought a lot of such guides, and I am confident that the army will be sent to Bagu safely, and will be brought back to Annan at any time."

Huang Zhiting praised a few words, and then changed the subject: "Just now you mentioned Malacca, but you reminded me that Senior High School Cheng has been worried about the Folang Jiren in Malacca, fearing that they would hinder our operation... Do you think that the Folang Jiren Will you do this? Or, in case of a fight with the Frang machine, are you confident that you can deal with it?"

Gao Jing seemed to have expected Huang Zhiting to ask this question a long time ago, or he had already thought about this question countless times. In short, when Huang Zhiting asked, he immediately replied: "According to the master's instructions, for the Franc machine in Malacca People, our Nanyang Fleet has always regarded it as the number one imaginary enemy, so we have never stopped monitoring the Franc robot fleet and ships in Malacca. As for the small ones, it can be as long as one month or as short as half a month. I will definitely receive a report on the size of the Malacca Flang robot fleet, etc. The last report in my hand is the situation in Malacca city 23 days ago."

Huang Zhiting was surprised and said: "With such an intensive investigation, aren't you afraid that Francois will become suspicious?"

Gao Jing said with a smile: "Don't forget, the Folangji people are not natives of Nanyang. They came from the far west. Compared with the natives, the number of them is actually very small. Therefore, their expenses in Malacca need the help of the natives, especially the problem of food and drink, which gives us enough opportunities to inquire about various news at close range.”

Huang Zhiting was a little surprised and asked: "Jinghua still controls some natives in Malacca?"

"Jinghua has such a large trade scale, of course there is a business firm in Malacca, and many small countries in the Nanyang region were vassals of the Ming Dynasty a long time ago. In the local area, how can those local people compare, most of them are wealthy businessmen and celebrities, at least they are well-off, and it is normal for some native people to work under their hands.

That being the case, when I went to Nanyang in Jinghua, I naturally got in touch with these people very quickly, and gradually controlled some of them, so that I could use the natives to find out information about the Frangji people... By the way, the Flangji people are very concerned about other people. The control of fleet information itself is not strict, especially those sailors, who are mostly sluts, and it is actually quite easy to obtain some seemingly unimportant information from them. "

This is somewhat beyond Huang Zhiting's expectations, but it is actually a true portrayal of the European maritime powers in this era, because European colonists in this era are basically few good people except for a few missionaries. Gao Jing used " To describe the Portuguese sailors as "slutty people" is already very euphemistic because of the fact that Huang Zhiting is a girl after all.

For this group of people, perhaps the best adjective should be scum.

Since they are all "loafers", of course Huang Zhiting will not ask in detail, but just slightly nodded and asked: "Then what is the strength of the Frangji people in Malacca now?"

This time Gao Jing turned serious and said: "Dutong, before answering this question, we'd better divide the names of Franchi into Portuguese and Spanish or Castilian according to the master. people."

"Oh, alright."

Gao Jing then said: "The Frangji people we usually talk about, that is, those who currently control Malacca, are the Portuguese. These people are currently - the smallest is 23 days ago - there are only four warships in the city of Malacca, And three of them are armed transport ships. As for their merchant ships, there are not many left in Malacca, a total of eleven. Among them, three were seriously injured and are being repaired in the port, and two were slightly injured. The injuries do not appear to be serious and may not affect possible operations."

Huang Zhiting said happily: "Doesn't that mean...the Portuguese can only use twelve ships at most? Our fleet is ten times their size. Even if we really want to fight this battle, we are sure to win it, right? "

Gao Jing said seriously: "If there are only Portuguese in Malacca, that's for sure, and I think they will not dare to fight as long as they see the size of our fleet. But there are two unknown factors right now..."

He paused, and said: "First of all, although the Portuguese are not very strong in Nanyang, they are very strong in Goa-oh, Goa is located in Tianzhu, which is the largest port of Portugal in the East. The base has a governor, and the status of the governor is much higher than that of the governor of Malacca. If we have a war between Malacca and Portugal, I don’t know if Goa will choose to fight aggressively.”

Huang Zhiting frowned and said, "Suppose they come - can we win?"

Gao Jing shook his head and said, "Sorry, Dutong, we only know that the Portuguese fleet in Goa is far larger than that in Malacca, but we still don't know anything about the specific situation, so I can't answer this question."

Huang Zhiting was silent for a while, then asked again: "Then what about another unknown factor? Another Goa?"

"Of course there is no other Goa." Gao Jing smiled wryly: "But the king of Spain is now also the king of Portugal, so the Spanish fleet on the Luzon side may also become a helper for the Portuguese. About a month and a half ago, Xiao I got news from Luzon, saying that a Spanish fleet happened to sail to Luzon from a place called Mexico. This fleet... I heard that it was supposed to send money to the Spaniards in Luzon, but the fleet The scale is very large, there are at least forty large Galen ships."
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(End of this chapter)