On the sea.
A fleet of warships was sailing quickly.
With the development of navigation technology, navigators can now ignore seasonal wind directions and sail whenever there is wind.
However, the wind has eight directions, but the one directly overhead is the only one that cannot be driven.
But the sailboat can adjust to fight the wind, sailing straight with the wind or sailing against the wind.
Trimming is a navigation technique.
Simply put, it is to adjust the angle of the sail so that the oncoming wind blows obliquely on the sail to gain forward momentum.
On the boat in the center of the fleet, Shi Fu and Shi Lang were sitting in front of the nautical chart discussing something.
"Shi Lang," Shi Fu pointed to an area several hundred miles south of Korea's Tamra Island and said, "The most common sea area from Shanghai Port to Japan's Nagasaki Port is here."
"Isn't this a long way around?" Shi Lang was puzzled.
"For safety, it's worth taking a detour!" said Shi Fu.
Shi Lang was stunned at first, but then he understood.
The most feared thing about ocean voyages is encountering strong winds and waves.
In the worst case, the ship will be destroyed and people will die.
The safest way is to sail along the coastline.
But there is no coast on the sea, so a relatively safe way is to sail towards the island.
First, you can take shelter on the island when encountering a hurricane. Second, you can use the island to infer your location so as not to get lost.
(A compass can only indicate direction, not the way. So even with a compass, you can still get lost at sea.)
"Then...should we go to the sea south of Jeju Island and wait for the opportunity?" Shi Lang asked.
"Yes, we should just sit tight and wait!" Shi Fu stood up and walked to the bow, with his hands behind his back, saying, "The merchant ships from Shanghai Port set out nearly 20 days later than us. We should be able to set up a trap before them!"
Crash!
The waves hit the hull, making crisp and pleasant sounds.
On the sea more than 200 miles southwest of Tamra Island, the Ming army fleet was sailing at a constant speed.
The Ming army standing on high ground suddenly shouted down: "There is something going on, there is something going on in the sea to the north!"
Zheng Chenggong hurriedly found a high point, took out his clairvoyance and looked towards the north.
I saw a row of black spots appearing on the sea surface in the north. There was no doubt that it was a fleet.
Because the distance was too far, it was impossible to see the type of the enemy ship or the flag it was flying, let alone distinguish between friend and foe.
Zheng Chenggong thought for a moment, raised his clairvoyance and said, "Pass the order down, tell the artillerymen to load the gunpowder and projectiles! Also, signal the merchant ships with flags, asking them to move south."
"Yes, sir." The herald ran to the flag and began waving it.
at the same time.
The fleet coming from the north also discovered their traces.
"Report!" The soldier standing on high ground reported to Shang Kexi, "A fleet was spotted in the south, sailing from west to east."
"Fleet?" Shang Kexi was stunned. "Zheng Zhilong's merchant ships?"
wrong!
Shang Kexi shook his head.
He is now more than 200 miles southwest of Jeju Island.
Zheng Zhilong's merchant ships generally had two destinations: Nagasaki Port in Japan, or Tamra Island in Korea.
If the fleet was heading for Nagasaki Port, the route should be to start from Yuegang, bypass Dongfan (now Taiwan), and go north to Nagasaki along Ryukyu.
If you are heading to Jeju Island, you should go around Dongban, pass Nagasaki, and then head to Jeju Island.
This is done for the safety of sailing.
The second reason was to cover up the truth. After all, the trade between the Eight Banners and Zheng Zhilong violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
That is to say.
Zheng Zhilong's merchant ships appeared southeast of Tamra Island, not southwest.
Are they lost?
Shang Kexi did not jump to conclusions, but made some guesses.
After a moment, he gave the order very cautiously: "Move closer to them and see the flag clearly before speaking."
"Also," Shang Kexi added, "get the artillery ready!"
"yes!"
The Eight Banners soldiers of the Jiannu army maneuvered the warships to change their course and slowly approached Zheng Chenggong's fleet.
As the two sides got closer, the types of ships and the flags on them became clearer and clearer.
"Sir, the enemy's fleet includes both merchant ships and warships! The escorting warships are flying the Ming national flag and the Zheng flag. They must be Zheng Zhilong's men!"
"Zheng Zhilong? Are they really lost?" Shang Kexi scratched the back of his head and fell into deep thought.
If that was the case, he should give them direction.
wrong!
Shang Kexi suddenly felt something was wrong.
When Zheng Zhilong did business with the Qing Dynasty, he would not openly hang the Ming national flag and the Zheng flag.
Thinking of this, Shang Kexi ordered: "Send a patrol ship to investigate the situation, and the rest of the warships continue to follow!"
at the same time.
The Ming army also saw their flags clearly.
"Sir, come and see!" said the soldier standing on a high place, pointing into the distance.
Zheng Chenggong immediately became nervous.
This was his first escort mission, and if anything went wrong it would have a huge impact on his future career.
He held up his clairvoyance in both hands and looked in the direction the soldier pointed.
After looking at it for a while, he handed the Clairvoyance to General Hong Xu beside him and said, "General Hong, take a look too!"
Hong Xu was originally a capable general under Zheng Zhilong, known for his strict military discipline. In order to train Zheng Chenggong, Zheng Zhilong transferred him to Zheng Chenggong's command.
Hong Xu took the clairvoyance and frowned hard after reading it.
The other side flew the national flag of the Ming Dynasty and the yellow-lettered general flag. The only one who met these two conditions was Huang Fei of the Guanliao Dengjin Navy!
But the Guanliao Dengjin Navy was fighting in southern Liaoning, so how could it appear here?
Are they lost?
While they were in doubt, the other party had already sent a patrol boat to approach quickly.
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