The diplomatic mission's fleet sailed from the Pearl River into the South China Sea.
The dragon flag of the Song Dynasty above covered the sky and the sun.
As an official diplomatic mission, all kinds of preparations were naturally complete for this voyage.
For voyages, there are experienced sailors and guides.
In terms of logistical supplies, there are clothes for all seasons to keep warm, and food includes various types of pickled meats, pickled vegetables, and tea to supplement the necessary nutrients.
In terms of weapons and equipment, they have a large number of muskets and artillery, and the ammunition reserves are extremely abundant, so it is not a big problem to destroy a few small countries in the Middle East.
More than one hundred ships of various types were spread out in a triangular cone shape.
In the front were ironclad ships leading the way, with the Pearl River navy providing support on the left and right wings, and in the middle were the escorted ships of the diplomatic mission.
If a general familiar with military affairs takes a closer look at the entire formation, he will find that this is not a defensive formation at all.
But it’s an offensive formation!
The Song Dynasty Navy is full of martial virtues. Even when protecting a delegation of envoys, they never think about defense, but instead destroy all enemies they see!
During the Song Dynasty, navigation between China and the West was already very smooth, with a variety of routes to choose from.
They sailed steadily southwestward along the Guangzhou coastline at an average speed of 6 kilometers per hour, and lighthouses were built on the islands along the coastline to provide guidance.
This is because the speed was slowed down in order to protect the diplomatic mission.
Otherwise, with a tailwind, the boat can reach a speed of 6 knots, or 10 kilometers per hour, at full speed.
For example, Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty could maintain a speed of 10,000 nautical miles per day when he sailed to the West, which is equivalent to traveling 200 kilometers per day, with a speed of more than 8 kilometers per hour.
The Song Dynasty's fleet was recruited entirely by experienced sailors and guides who were able to expertly master the patterns of trade winds and ocean currents on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean and the entire Indian Ocean, and to make full use of them.
Therefore, the voyage was naturally smooth.
It was late spring in March, the weather was clear and the South China Sea was cloudless. After one night, they arrived at the waters of Hailing Island, south of Yangjiang City in later generations, by the afternoon of the next day, a distance of about 160 nautical miles.
The biggest feature of sea transportation is that it can travel day and night. At night, if there are no clouds in the sky and the moon is bright, you can navigate by following the stars.
But if there are too many dark clouds in the sky and your vision is blocked, you can rely on the compass and drive slower.
In this way, the ship can sail for 24 hours without stopping.
The South China Sea is like their own backyard, whether for the Jinghai Navy, the Pearl River Navy, or the recruited crew members and sailors.
The fleet sailed along the route as if they were familiar with it, with almost no obstacles.
On the contrary, the more than 100 members of the diplomatic mission and the 2,000 musketeers dispatched from Guangzhou were like outsiders. They were full of novelty in the first two days and looked around on the deck to enjoy the scenery.
After that, things became boring. Those who played chess played chess, those who played cards played cards, and the whole life was boring at sea.
The good thing is that the entertainment culture in Song Dynasty is relatively rich nowadays. Although there are no computers, mobile phones or wifi, all kinds of games, chess and cards are popular. Occasionally, you can catch some sea fish to relieve the boring life.
By the afternoon of the third day, they passed Maoming and arrived in Xuwen County.
Generally, sea merchants would take two routes here. One route is to cross the Qiongzhou Strait and go to Jiangnan Prefecture in Vietnam first, where they would trade Vietnamese specialties, and then go south along the coastline to Champa.
The other route is to go directly south, circle half of Hainan Island, from Haikou to Sanya, and then continue south to Vijaya, the capital of Champa.
Tan Wenxue and his group don't need to go to Yuechao.
Because the many envoys sent out by the court each had their own goals and went their own way and did not interfere with each other.
Later, the court would send another team to travel southwest by land to Dali, Viet Cho, Bagan, Hariphunchai, Angkor, Pegu, Alayu, Sina, Polo and other countries.
These places are Yunnan, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and other places in later generations of my country.
There are some landlocked countries there, and it would be completely inconvenient for the diplomatic missions to the Middle East to travel by sea.
Therefore, the delegation directly chose the second option, and their first stop was Champa.
Soon on the fourth night, they had traveled more than 100 nautical miles and spent four and a half days, with a total journey of more than 800 kilometers. Starting from Guangzhou, they traveled about 180 kilometers a day and arrived at Zhuyazhou, which is Sanya.
This is the southernmost tip of the present Song Dynasty territory. Although the Jinghai Army has military bases in Mayit Island and Puluozhong, which are the Philippines and Singapore, it is not Han territory after all.
In order to become a Han territory in the future, a large number of immigrants will be needed. Therefore, it can be said that after moving south from Hainan Island, they officially went overseas.
The capital of Champa was called Vijaya, which was later the Thai Binh Province of Vietnam. It is about 400 kilometers away from Sanya. Under normal circumstances, it takes 67 days to travel from Guangzhou to Vijaya, the capital of Champa.
The diplomatic mission was also proceeding very smoothly.
Although there was a strong wind along the way, it was a southeast wind, which provided continuous power to the ship. It did not rain and the weather was very clear, with high visibility at night.
Therefore, the fleet did not stop in Sanya. After bypassing Hainan Island, it headed straight towards Vijaya.
But on the fifth day, something strange happened.
In the early morning, Tan Wenxue and others were awakened by the sound of a horn.
There was a sudden panic in the cabin. Many officials of the diplomatic corps got out of their beds, quickly put on their clothes, and ran to the deck.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
"Why is there a horn sound? Did we encounter pirates?"
"Go and have a look."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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