On the contrary, Xia Zhe was extremely scared at this moment.
Themistocles is indeed amazing.
He used gold coins as hostages and caught the Athenian navy off guard.
Unexpectedly, they remained calm and retreated safely after losing only about two hundred ships.
By tomorrow, Themistocles will most likely come up with a new idea.
I'm afraid that the effectiveness of my tactic of being cautious and fearful of harming the enemy will be greatly reduced.
It's really unsafe to stay here any longer.
The right thing to do is to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, Xia Zhe hurriedly finished his dinner, organized his words in his mind, and asked Lillian to call the Prime Minister, the High Priest and Hector over.
"What? The king wants to attack the Athenian navy under the cover of night? Is this possible?" the high priest asked in surprise.
"It's indeed inappropriate. We don't know where the Athenian navy retreated to or how far away they retreated! It would be too risky to attack rashly!" Hector interjected.
"Yes. What's more, large clouds began to appear in the sky this afternoon. The starlight is very dim now, and we can't tell the direction at all during the night flight!" The Prime Minister also expressed his concern.
Hearing what the three people said, Xia Zhe laughed in his heart.
You are all right!
But I don't really want to attack the Athenian navy!
I was just looking for an excuse to escape.
"I have considered all these. Therefore, this battle needs to be unexpected, and it is not advisable to deploy too many ships. I think just my Stoby ships, plus fifty ships from Troy, will be enough to make up a hundred ships. Troy should send out clippers, the fastest ones. Is that okay?" Xia Zhe said.
"sure!"
Hector expressed his opinion immediately, but then he gave a reminder.
"But there are no stars tonight. How will we find our way after we leave the Grand Fleet?"
Determine direction?
That's not difficult, just use a compass! Didn't kindergarten kids learn that?
Xia Zhe was confused.
"The eldest prince is absolutely right. It is not suitable to sail on a night like this without any reference points. Otherwise, once we deviate from the course, we will stray into some dangerous areas! Even if we are lucky, we can get close to the Athenian fleet and achieve victory. We can't return accurately!" The prime minister nodded in agreement.
"Yes! Although I don't understand naval warfare, I know that it is not suitable to sail on a starless night!" The high priest also agreed.
You say we can’t sail?
What's going on? Could it be?
Xia Zhe was surprised and suddenly thought of a possibility.
"Wait, let me think about this. Could it be that none of you have ever used a compass?" Xia Zhe asked tentatively.
compass?
What is this?
Hearing Wang's question, the three of them shook their heads like rattles.
When sailing on the sea, in addition to heading to the lighthouses of various islands, of course you can only rely on looking at the sun and stars to determine the direction!
Where is the compass?
"You've never used a compass? Great! Since you haven't heard of it, Themistocles certainly hasn't heard of it either! Here's our chance! We have a chance to win!"
Xia Zhe became excited and thought to himself.
It turns out that in this era, there was no such thing as a compass!
As a result, the Athenian navy would never dare to act rashly on a starless night.
Chance!
This is an opportunity to completely defeat the Athenian navy!
I don't want to run away!
Just give me a magnet and an embroidery needle, and I can work miracles!
"Who among you has a needle? A needle made of iron?" Thinking of this, Xia Zhe shouted excitedly.
"A needle? An iron needle? I have one!"
"Me too!"
"Although iron tools are not yet common, needles made of iron are not rare."
All three answered in the affirmative.
Hearing this, Xia Zhe felt even happier.
Strike while the iron is hot, he immediately asked the next question.
"Where's the magnet? Does anyone have one?"
After the words were spoken, no one responded for a long time.
The Prime Minister, the High Priest, and Hector looked at each other for a long time before they all shook their heads seriously.
"Magnet? I didn't bring any magnet!"
"I didn't bring any either!"
"Who would think of bringing this thing?"
Magnets, unlike embroidery needles, have little practical value.
This time we were going to the sea to fight, not to enjoy the scenery. If no one warned us in advance, it would be difficult for anyone to carry a magnet with them for no apparent reason.
Didn’t bring it?
Hearing this, Xia Zhe's newly ignited ambition was poured with a bucket of cold water on his head.
How can you magnetize an embroidery needle and make a simple compass without a magnet?
Could it be that my grand plan will die before it even officially begins?
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Xia Zhe wanted to give orders: Collect magnets from all soldiers in the army.
He felt that one person could do without it, ten people could do without it, a hundred people could do without it...
But after asking everyone, you will definitely find a few who have the answer.
However, before he could utter a word, Lillian, who was waiting beside him, spoke timidly.
"Magnet? Aren't there a lot of them in the cabin? When you were on Tino Island, most of the black stones you collected at a high price were magnets!" Lillian said.
Black stone?
Hearing Lillian's reminder, Xia Zhe suddenly remembered.
When I first arrived on Tino Island, I couldn't find any clues to the Black King's Heart. I offered a reward for the black stone, paying a large sum of money.
In just a few days, the islanders handed over tens of thousands of them.
Later, although the King's Heart was found, Xia Zhe still had those useless black stones loaded into the flagship's cargo hold in order to conceal their whereabouts.
If what Lillian said was true, then he should have thousands of magnets on hand.
Make as many compasses as you want!
"Go and get a few quickly, and there are also a few iron needles, they will be very useful to me!" Xia Zhe hurriedly ordered.
Soon, the time to witness a miracle will come.
Recalling the popular science books he had read before, Xia Zhe began to make a simple compass in front of several people.
He first magnetized the embroidery needle by rubbing it back and forth with a magnet.
Then, pin the needle to a very thin piece of papyrus and gently place it flat in a large basin of water.
Soon, the needle tip pointed steadily in one direction.
"What direction is that? Is it north?"
Pointing in the direction of the fingertip, Xia Zhe asked loudly.
"Yes, it's the north! Before dropping anchor, I specifically asked that the bows of all warships face that direction to prevent them from getting lost!" Hector answered solemnly.
"This invention of Wang is quite crucial! Quick, try it in another position!"
Before Xia Zhe could say anything, the Prime Minister excitedly responded.
Then, he and the high priest, one holding a compass and the other holding a basin of water, ran to another cabin.
Knowing the importance of this matter, Hector, Xia Zhe and Lillian followed closely.
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