...

Donghai, Langya County.

On the beach outside Langya County, ten brand new huge sea boats have been completed, tens of thousands of craftsmen and civilians are intensively carrying out final renovations, and a large amount of food, clothing and medicinal materials are constantly being transported onto the ship.

In a hidden bay dozens of miles northeast of the beach, there is also a huge sea ship that has been built. However, this sea ship is different from the ten large sea ships. It has pointed tips and three masts, and there are no oar holes at the bottom of the bilge, so the entire hull is completely closed.

At this time, there were thousands of people on the construction site, and there were craftsmen and soldiers back and forth.

The ship was fixed in the dock with more than ten thick cables. The swinging arms on both sides were still lifting heavy cannons on the ship. The boxes of gunpowder and food were constantly lifted up, and then carried into the bottom of the bilge for storage.

The construction of this big ship was very hasty, with less than fifty days in total. However, after Chen Xu spent a lot of money, all the craftsmen and civilians were excited as if they were injected with chicken blood. They were building this big ship almost day and night. The total number of craftsmen and civilians used exceeded 1,000 people, and almost every day they surrounded the big ship like ants. So in this time when it seemed unlikely that the construction was successful, the big ship was completed almost as scheduled.

The gaps are filled with waterproof materials mixed with tung oil and lime and twine, and polishing and applying tung oil. Almost every process is rushing. Except for the three most critical parts of keel, mast, and waterproofing, the three most critical parts are fine, such as the deck and inner cabin, there is almost no decoration, all of which are rough wooden boards and even directly made of logs. Moreover, several lifeboats that should have been hung on the side of the ship are tied directly on the deck with ropes, so the appearance of the large ship looks quite sensible, but as long as you climb on the boat, everything will be terrible.

But Chen Xu couldn't care about it anymore.

Because under his advice, the magistrate of Langya County had told Lu Sheng and others three times that the sea ship had not been built yet, and in the end, it left nearly two months for Chen Xu to build the large ship. Now it has to speed up the completion. Even the inner cabin and deck have not even been installed urgently, so as to test the waters and sail once to verify that the large ship does not leak water.

Two days later, Lu Sheng and a group of alchemists would go to Langya Shipyard to receive ten large sea boats and prepare to go out to sea, and Chen Xu must also ensure that he can keep up and bring the water back smoothly.

As for how long the big ship can last, it is not his consideration. He just needs to be able to come and go safely this time.

When he saw Shui Qingrou last time, even though Chen Xu had ten thousand thoughts and reasons that he was unwilling to give in to Huangshi Gong, he knew that Huangshi Gong was a ruthless man. He knew from the last time he broke the monkey Wukong's neck in Xia Pi, so he could only give in temporarily.

People in this era are very barbaric, from emperors and ministers to ordinary people. Fighting between civilians is commonplace, and burying people is similar to burying stones. People like Huangshigong, who are even more disdainful of ordinary people, including Yu Wuya. When it comes to killing people, they are like eating and drinking water, they completely regard human life as if they are a mustard. Moreover, this is related to the life and death of hundreds of disciples of the Mo family. If Huangshigong is forced to the corner, he will definitely kill Shu Qingrou, which is absolutely unbearable for Chen Xu.

As long as people are there, everything is easy to say. If people are gone, there will be nothing left.

This time, Chen Xu had to bring Shui Qingrou back no matter what. If Huangshi Gong went back on his word again, even if he chased him all the way to Japan, he would definitely try his best to kill him at all costs.

In two days, ten sea boats from Langya Shipyard were out of dock and entered the sea.

The ten ships were filled with items that were enough for thousands of people to eat and drink for two years. In addition, the five hundred boys and girls who were looking for again among the people. Under the leadership of Mo Tu and Taoist priests led by Lu Sheng, Han Zhong and others, this huge sea ship broke through the waves and went to the depths of the East China Sea again.

"Marty, those alchemists have set out!" The guards who had been monitoring Lu Sheng and others' movements near the shipyard came to report quickly.

"Set out!" Chen Xu stood on the deck of the bow of the ship and shouted.

"Start sails, unzip cables~"

With Zhang Cang's order, a group of boatmen shouted horns to push the winch. Amid the creaking sound, the giant sails supported by crossbars on three sides slowly rose, and soon shaking in the northwest wind of early autumn. Under the push of the wind, the ship began to leave the dock.

"Turn right rudder thirty degrees~"

"Turn right rudder thirty degrees~"

"The main sail is north~"

"The main sail is north~"

"The rudder leans to the left for fifteen degrees~"

"The rudder leans to the left for fifteen degrees~"

...

As Zhang Cang, who was standing at the bow of the ship, held a guide compass developed by the Academy of Sciences, issued orders, Hu Kuan, who operated the rudder and the shipman who was on the side of the main sail, continued to correct the rudder and the main rudder. After leaving the dock for two or three miles in the bay, the sailboat finally slowly corrected its course and left the exit of the bay.

After autumn, the sea is no longer as violent and turbulent as the summer season. The blue sea and blue sky are shimmering, and the vast sea seems to have never been so quiet.

On the lookout, two large-diameter telescopes searched for the entire sea under the swing of two craftsmen.

These two telescopes can observe the situation twenty miles away, which is almost the farthest distance that can be observed by sea navigation. However, although these two telescopes can see a long distance, they are not cast and polished enough, and even if they see the target twenty miles away, they are very blurred, but this is enough for Chen Xu.

Chen Xu stood on the top of the cabin on the highest deck, holding a monocular lens and constantly searching for the intersection of Dongfang Haitian. Yu Wuya and Xia Zijin, who were carrying swords, stood beside him. Monkey Wukong climbed to the top of the main mast ten feet high, sat on the top and screamed with his ears and heads scratching, and was so excited.

It had been half an hour since I left the bay, but I saw only some islands near the sea, and I didn’t see the shadows of the ten sea ships that left early.

However, Chen Xu was not worried. The sea boat controlled by Lu Sheng and others needed to be paddled by boatmen, and the speed was not fast. He had roughly estimated that the last time he took the boat, and the speed would not exceed seven kilometers per hour. It was more than one hundred miles from Langya to that island. It was about forty kilometers. It took at least six hours to go back and forth, which is twelve hours.

The sailboat he made according to his interpretation is about the same size as the seaboat Lu Sheng and others rode on, but because it adopts a pointed and pointed bottom structure, the draft depth is more than three meters and the center of gravity sinks, which not only makes the large ship sail more smoothly, but also has a smaller resistance to the water flow than the flatbed. In addition, the wind is sufficient at this time and it happens to be northwest wind, so the speed is much faster than the paddleboard, and the speed is significantly improved. Judging from time, Chen Xu estimated that the speed is about ten kilometers.

This is the data obtained under the command of a group of half-baked craftsmen and boatmen who do not know how to control sailboats. If it is a group of sailors who are skilled in controlling sailboats, the speed can be increased a lot.

Because this sailboat is too short to build, there are many problems. Especially the sails, they are almost all designed according to Chen Xu's drawings, and use hard sails with cross bars. Because the canvas material is not good, three layers of burlap are used, but the density of the support rods is still needed, otherwise the wind is too strong and it will probably be torn apart. However, Chen Xu's purpose is not to voyage around the world. Even if he chases to Japan, as long as the course is good and there is no storm, it will only take ten days at most.

However, Chen Xu was wondering how Huangshigong knew the chart leading to Yingzhou.

Huang Shigong claimed that he had a chart to go to Yingzhou, and the legend of Yingzhou was unpredictable. It was recorded in the books left by Shanhai Jing and Liezi. However, Chen Xu, who knew about the knowledge of earth geography, would not agree that there was Yingzhou Fairy Mountain overseas, and there was only one Japan called Japan.

In other words, later generations linked Japan with the legendary Yingzhou of China. Many people in Japan believed that their ancestors were Xu Fu and others who traveled east to find Yingzhou Fairy Mountain. However, this does not mean that there were no one on the Japanese island earlier, but they just lived a relatively primitive life. The biggest possibility is that after Xu Fu and others arrived, they brought the advanced technology and higher civilization of the Qin Dynasty, which allowed Japan to develop and rise quickly.

However, according to many historians on the earth in later generations, the flat-bottomed sea ships that Daqin relies on manpower to paddle cannot withstand the huge currents and winds of the Pacific Ocean, and the possibility of reaching Japan is very small. The biggest possibility is that Xu Fu will arrive in South Korea first. And according to the direction, if he sails from Qingdao to the east, it is South Korea. Even if he deviates from southeast, the biggest possibility is to reach Jeju Island. Once he crosses Jeju Island, he sails out of the Bohai Bay and enters the Japanese Strait. The wind and waves in the Japanese Strait are not something that ordinary flat-bottomed sea ships can resist. If the course continues to deviate to the southeast, it may not be able to reach Japan at all. Instead, he will be taken along the Japanese Strait by the Pacific current to unknown places. Once he falls into the vast Pacific Ocean, he will really become a god and disappear.

Therefore, is the Yingzhou mentioned by Huangshi Gong Japan, South Korea or Jeju Island? Chen Xu is very confused.

Once Huangshi Gong leaves early, if the target is Japan, it is very likely that he will never be found without a trace by the Pacific current.

Therefore, Chen Xu had to gently bring back the water between Huangshigong's departure. As for chasing Yingzhou, Chen Xu was just scaring Huangshigong. Damn the vast sea, there were hundreds or thousands of islands near South Korea and Japan, and it was unlikely that they would find each other one by one for a lifetime.

Because in this era, South Korea and Japan are still deserted and there are not many savages, let alone deserted islands along the coast.

One hour later, the sailing ship had left Langya far behind and could not see any shadow. According to the judgment of the shipper and Mo Tu who led the way, he had now sailed halfway from the island.

The sea was still extremely calm, and the sails on three sides swayed in the sea breeze, and the thick sail ropes pulled the rudder and winch straight and made a crunching sound.

All the craftsmen and boatmen were very excited. They had never ridden such a stable ship and could hardly feel too much bump. More than a hundred young men holding muskets stood calmly and seriously or sat on the deck to check and organize muskets and guns, many of them also practiced shooting movements repeatedly on the shooting holes.

"I saw those big ships~"

Suddenly, the craftsman who was standing on the watchtower and observing roared excitedly.

"Where is it?" Chen Xu quickly asked loudly.

The craftsman gestured with his hands and said, "About ten degrees east to the south, twenty miles away!"

Chen Xu raised the monocular lens in his hand and searched for the direction pointed by the craftsman, but he still saw nothing. He simply climbed the rope ladder to the watchtower and looked at the large telescope. Sure enough, he quickly found the sea boat of Lu Sheng and others in front of him.

call!

Chen Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he was a little worried that Huangshi Gong would gently transfer the water to the place in advance, but as long as he kept up with these ten large sea boats, he would definitely find Huangshi Gong, because many of the old sea boats of Huangshi Gong and others were already in ruins, and several of them were completely useless. He had to use these new sea boats to go out to sea.

"Revise the course, ten degrees southeast~"

"Revise the course, ten degrees southeast~"

"Turn left rudder ten degrees~"

"Turn left rudder ten degrees~"

"Salt half a sail~"

"Salt half a sail~"

As a series of commands were passed on, the sailboat slowly turned around and followed Lu Sheng's ship as it was moving quickly. The main sail in the center also dropped by half, and the speed of the ship gradually decreased.

This distance cannot be seen by the naked eye no matter what, and it must be standing high enough. Chen Xu was not worried that the sea boat ahead would find that he had followed him.

After falling far behind the fleet of Lu Sheng and others, after nearly two hours of sailing, a small island in front gradually appeared in the telescope. The large ships of Lu Sheng and others in front were also close to the island. Through the telescope, there were already sixteen large ships on the beach outside the camp where Huang Shigong and others gathered. The beach was densely packed with people. They ran back and forth to carry goods, probably preparing to pack up and leave.

"Mr. Marquis, what should I do next?"

Zhang Cang took the compass and came to the top of the cabin to ask.

"Get close to the island and let Huangshi Gong know that we have arrived!" Chen Xu thought for a while and said.
Chapter completed!