Da Ming started to ascend the throne

Chapter 474 Crossing the South China Sea
Chapter 475,
The next chapter is Chapter 474, which is reversed.

The line navigation chart consumes 100 points for Zhu Youjian, which is already very cheap for him. Although it is worth [-] dragon coins, it is still super cost-effective compared to taking a long way.

Zhu Youjian and Zheng Chenggong were on the Dayu, Zhang Huangyan was on the Hongwu, Shi Lang was on the Shihuang, and Huang Fei was on the Chongzhen. Behind them were 46 iron-clad warships.

Qi Jiguang, Li Dingguo, Huang Degong, Zhou Da and others did not take the iron-clad battleship. They and their soldiers were all on the sail transport ship and followed behind the iron-clad battleship.

Naval warships do not need sailing warships to appear on the stage, they only need to recharge their energy behind, and once they are required to enter the field, these soldiers will be like tigers descending from the mountain.

Zhu Youjian and Zheng Chenggong's plan was to use iron-clad warships to bombard Batavia's city defenses, and the army on sail warships began to land in Batavia.

The fleet plans to enter the South China Sea directly from Taiwan, and then cross the entire South China Sea to reach Java. With so many warships sailing in the vast sea, it was not easy to be found at that time because of the special route problem.

No one has ever dared to take this route. The South China Sea is such a large sea area, and there are so many hidden reefs. The fleet may run aground at any time.

But this is not a problem for the Ming Fleet. The route provided by the system is absolutely safe, and it is much more accurate than the current navigation.

Where there are hidden reefs, where the currents are complicated, when there is a heavy rain, when there is a typhoon, there are all reminders, even a pig can reach Batavia safely.

It can be said with certainty that with the help of the system, the Ming Fleet crossed the South China Sea, and the voyage was much shorter than the normal route, which not only reduced losses, but also played a surprise role.

Two days later, the fleet sailed to the waters of the Nansha Islands. Zhu Youjian stepped onto the deck and took out his binoculars to look around. It was difficult to calm down for a while. This was the territorial waters of China, but most of the islands were occupied by some small countries in later generations.

Standing beside Zhu Youjian, Zheng Chenggong was even more shocked. When the emperor proposed to cross the South China Sea, he was very opposed to it, worried that the fleet would encounter accidents in the South China Sea.

In Zheng Chenggong's consciousness, the route mentioned by the emperor did not exist at all, but as the fleet penetrated into the hinterland of the South China Sea, there were no accidents along the way, and even the typhoon was avoided.

Looking at the vast sea, Zheng Chenggong couldn't help but be deeply impressed by the emperor when he thought of the miraculous prophecy:

"Your Majesty has never gone to sea, so how could he know about this convenient route? My emperor is so wise, it can be said that there is no one before. No one will come after..."

In fact, what Zheng Chenggong said was not too much. Zhu Youjian, who had a system, could really do what no one before or come after at that time.

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly, reached out and patted his shoulder and said:
"A few days ago, I saw an old man in my dream. The route was provided by him. It was not that I would make any predictions. There is still about a day's voyage from Batavia. I ordered the fleet to eat more oranges and fruits. Half a day After dinner, I hope that the next meal will be eaten in Batavia Castle."

Now Zheng Chenggong no longer has any doubts about the emperor's words, and immediately comprehended:
"According to the purpose"

When commanding a war, Zhu Youjian will not easily interfere with Zheng Chenggong's command, but Zheng Chenggong must follow Zhu Youjian's arrangement when sailing, and only Zhu Youjian knows this route.

The weather is hot, and the fresh water supplied from Taiwan will soon be undrinkable. Now the water for drinking and washing comes from seawater desalination, and ironclad warships are equipped with seawater desalination equipment.

As for asking the soldiers to eat more fruits, Zheng Chenggong didn't understand the specific reason, but he would not ask, as long as it was carried out, anyway, the emperor's words were never wrong.

When departing from Taiwan, the battleship carried a large amount of fruit, among which oranges were the most, and it was not a problem for each person to eat a few a day.

Zheng Chenggong has never been on a long-distance voyage. When we say long-distance voyage, we mean wandering at sea for several months or all year round. Of course, he does not know the great effect of fresh fruits, especially oranges, on navigation.

Today, let’s talk about the lingering nightmare of sailors in the age of great voyages: scurvy.

Scurvy, that is, vitamin C deficiency, cannot eat fresh food for a long time, especially vegetables and fruits, resulting in general weakness, muscle and joint pain, swollen and bleeding gums, and bleeding in other parts of the body, and severe cases can lead to death .

In fact, before the age of great exploration, people's understanding of scurvy was very limited.

During the Seventh Crusade, the Crusaders had symptoms of scurvy, but the doctors accompanying the army had never seen this disease, so they had to cut off the dead gums from the gums so that the patients could recover. Just eating.

With the advent of the age of great voyages, navigators often have to sail on the vast sea for several months in order to explore new worlds. The crew members who lack fresh food are naturally plagued by scurvy.

When Da Gama sailed to India, he drifted in the complex and changeable Indian Ocean for more than three months. Among the 3 crew members, about 160 died of scurvy.

When Columbus was on a voyage, he also encountered scurvy. When his fleet crossed the Atlantic, the crew members suffering from scurvy were considered to be likely to cause infection.

So they were left on a small island halfway. As a result, when Columbus returned, he found that these people had already recovered.

Therefore, the crew at the time believed that scurvy might be caused by the dirty air and deteriorating water on board, and it would be cured once it went ashore.

For more than 200 years, scurvy has been accompanied by sailors. Limited by the medical level at that time, people could not find the cause of this disease at all.

At first, the ship doctors used bloodletting therapy. They thought that the blood might be damaged, so it was good to let out the spoiled blood.However, this approach is of no help.

In the second half of the 16th century, people began to realize that the fruit could prevent and treat scurvy. The ocean-going ships of the Dutchmen Le Mer and William Skouten added 750 ripe lemons in Sierra Leone.

For longer storage, they also dry the lemons for long-term consumption.As a result, none of the sailors on this voyage suffered from scurvy.

As a result, various countries have begun to establish ocean-going supply stations, and the fleet can replenish fresh vegetables and fruits after docking.

For example, Cape Town today is a supply station established by the Dutch East India Company in the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century.After the fleet comes here, the crew can rest, treat illnesses, and supplement enough vegetables and fruits.

However, it is difficult to store fresh food on ocean voyages, and the wind and waves and bad weather at sea may also prevent the fleet from landing in time. Scurvy still afflicts the sailors, like a lingering nightmare.

More importantly, there was no sufficient medical evidence at the time to indicate the cause and treatment of scurvy—that is, not all navigators and crew members knew the important role of fresh vegetables and fruits.

In fact, the scurvy that accompanied the voyage was caused by a serious lack of vitamin C. It was not that the fruit could cure scurvy, but that the crew lacked the vitamin C in the fruit.
Of course Zhu Youjian knew the way here. The distance from Taiwan to Batavia would not cause the Ming army to suffer from scurvy, but Zhu Youjian did it just in case. He was worried that it would affect the Ming army's combat effectiveness.

Suddenly, a report from the observation post of the battleship came from the intercom:

"Report, an unknown ship is found ahead and approaching us."

(End of this chapter)