Chapter 20 Chapter 154 The Spirit of the Sea

In the early morning of the next day, the sun was shining brightly, the sea was calm and the wind was calm. The torrential rain and strong wind seemed to be just a nightmare from last night. After checking the losses, it was found that only the small boat was seriously damaged, and even if it was overhauled, it would be difficult to undertake ocean-going missions. The other ships had different degrees of damage, and there were water leaks that needed to be overhauled.In addition, dozens of crew members were washed into the sea by huge waves, and more than a dozen crew members were smashed and fell and needed medical treatment.

Xu Hu sent people to go ashore to explore, and found that the place where they were anchored was a barren beach, but seven or eight miles away, there was a small village of local people, most of the people here were black-skinned people, Xia Xun knew, They have entered Africa. Fei Yinglun took a few people to the village, but finally brought an Arab. It turned out that this place had been settled by Arabs a long time ago. This Arab was very enthusiastic. After accepting Xia Xun's gift, Even more enthusiastic about them. According to him, this place is called Brawa (the area around Mogadishu in Somalia on the east coast of Africa today). Xia Xun has heard of this place. The first stop was supposed to be Mugudushu (now the Bulawa area of ​​Somalia on the east coast of Africa), and the second stop was Brawa, but because of this sudden storm, we went directly to the second stop.

This place belonged to Somalia in later generations, but now it belongs to different countries.The fleet stopped here to repair the ship, recuperate the injured crew, replenish drinking water, and buy food from the locals.There is little vegetation here, and the local people specialize in fishing, and most of what they can supplement is a variety of fish. During this period, some soldiers began to feel tired and wanted to stop the voyage and turn back.In their view, they have already got money that they can't spend in their lifetime, why should they continue to move forward at the risk of shipwreck and death?

Xia Xun still insisted on moving forward, someone had to take the first step, and he had already reached this point, why did he give up?Next, more merchant ships from Ming Dynasty will come to the west one after another, and the number of official ships will be greatly reduced. At that time, the fleet will no longer have such a huge strength, and it will be more difficult to explore the sea route. At that time, the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty would probably follow the old route, land from Horumos, and go from the Middle East to the Mediterranean.Then before Europeans discover this new route, the cost of trade will increase exponentially, which is likely to make Chinese who do not like to travel far limit their trade to the Persian Gulf.

However, more and more crew members were tired of continuing to sail to more distant places. Under the pressure of his subordinates, Xu Hu approached Xia Xun and expressed his opinion to him. At this time, the stonemason was carving a huge instruction icon on the cliff. This icon was not only used as a road sign for Zheng He's fleet, but the future Ming merchant group could draw it based on this huge stone sign and the upcoming Zheng He fleet. Haitu easily followed the path that Xia Xun had walked, and embarked on a golden route. Xu Hu worriedly said to Xia Xun: "My lord, the road ahead is getting more and more dangerous. Our ships are all damaged. After repairs, I'm afraid we won't be able to continue our voyage."Furthermore, we crossed Mugudushu and came here directly. Eunuch Zheng’s fleet could not see the road signs we left behind when they arrived in Mugudushu.

At the same time, there is another difficulty. When we sail on the sea, we mainly use Polaris as the target to determine the direction, but the more we travel in this direction, the more the Polaris sinks to the ground. Now it is almost invisible. If we can’t find a new star As the leading star, you will not know where you are going, if you get lost in the vast sea Xia Xun said: Next, we will sail entirely in the offshore and move forward close to the land. In this way, whether it is a problem with the ship, the problem of supply, or the problem of navigation, it will not be a problem. Xu Hu whispered: "My lord, we have been away from the big fleet and sailed alone for too long. We have been sailing on the sea all day, especially in recent days. The food is hard, there is no alcohol, no women, and many crew members are irritable. , A fight broke out, and some people dared to openly defy the orders of their superiors. I was worried that there would be trouble.

Xia Xun pointed to the turbulent sea water, and reprimanded: Our journey is like Tang Monk's journey to the West. There are winds, flowers, snow and moons, and naturally there are monsters and ghosts.Is it only possible to have a big fish and meat all the way, a rich woman?I can't even bear a little bit of suffering! The author of Journey to the West is Wu Chengen, but he did not make up the stories of Journey to the West. He is just the collation and compilation of many stories about Monkey King. , so Xu Hu could fully understand Xia Xun's metaphor. Xia Xun turned around, stared at Xu Hu, and said seriously: What we lack is the spirit of adventure and hardship.You were originally pirates in the East China Sea, so you should be able to endure hardships more than ordinary officers and soldiers. How come you are like this now? I think your discipline is really bad!

Xu Hu blushed and explained: Duke, the brothers have never been to such a far place before. Xia Xun waved his hand and said: I don't need to explain!Xu Hu, please remember, although we pretend to be pirates, we are still officers and soldiers in our hearts. As soldiers, we must obey orders. Even if there is a mountain of knives in front of us, if I tell you to climb it, you have to climb it!There is a sea of ​​fire ahead, I tell you to jump, you have to jump too! Xu Hu said dejectedly: "Yes, the humble job obeys orders!" Xia Xun snorted coldly and said: "The wounded soldiers stay here. After the boat is repaired, tell them to drive back to Mugudushu and wait there for Eunuch Zheng's fleet to come over."The rest continue on their way, and those who violate the military order will be beheaded!If they really think of themselves as pirates, then follow the rules of pirates and hang them!

Xu Hu was startled, and hurriedly bowed his head and said: Yes!Obedience! By the seaside, after hearing Xu Hu convey Xia Xun's order, Fei Yinglun raised his injured arm as if he had won the lottery, and shouted happily in the Shandong accent he had just learned: I'm injured!I want to go back to the wooden bones! Fuck you! Xu Hu kicked him, and said angrily: Anyone can go but you can't, I will hang you for disobedience! The sea route is really getting more and more difficult. After Xia Xun's fleet continued on their way, they entered a more dangerous and unpredictable sea area.

This sea area is full of turbulent waves, a typical windless three-foot wave environment, and sometimes there will be huge waves standing upright like a cliff in the front, and slowly pushing in like a hillside behind. This kind of slowness is only relative to the hugeness of the ocean. Yes, when the five or six feet high wave crashed down like a city wall, it was as if the earth and the sky were collapsing. Sometimes the polar winds cause swirling waves. If the swirling waves are superimposed with the oncoming huge waves, the situation will be even worse. A ship in the fleet disappeared under such huge waves.

When the huge waves rushed over the sky and covered the earth, and then gradually annihilated into a ball of foam, the big ship that Ren Juying was on disappeared without a trace. One's treasure, and the greatest material guarantee of the entire fleet: food and water. Although food and drinking water were allocated to each ship, the ship Ren Juying carried the most food and drinking water. After this ship disappeared, the entire fleet fell into a dilemma. They have continued to sail for more than half a month. The land is gradually becoming barren. At this time, no matter whether you turn around or continue forward, it is a desperate sea, and there is not much food left. Xia Xun didn't know that in that big storm, they had already circled the Cape of Good Hope. The place where they were anchored at this time was uninhabited. rise. Probably no one has ever been here in history, so there are abundant fish resources on the seashore, food is not worrying, and drinking water can also be obtained by using seawater separation method, but the drinking water obtained in this way is too little, so they have to take advantage of the rain. When it accumulates rainwater. The problem was that they had nothing to eat but fish, no fruits and vegetables to eat, and many were already showing symptoms of scurvy.They are now caught in a dilemma, staying here to wait for the words of Zheng He's fleet, but because they were blown by the wind and waves, it is impossible to predict whether Zheng He will come or not.Can go forward, do not know when is the end. The death of more than 200 people on Ren Juying's large ship had a particularly serious blow to morale. Some people not only openly resisted the orders of their superiors because of their irritability and despair, they even blatantly robbed the drinking water or food allocated to others. In the vastness of the world, people's sense of awe is weakened. If this behavior continues to be indulged, it may soon turn into a mutiny.In the current situation, once a mutiny occurs, the result will be the death of everyone.Therefore, Xia Xun had to take severe measures to hang those who blatantly disobeyed the military order on the mast to restrain the morale of the army. The road of exploration is always full of risks, and sacrifices must be made, but now Xia Xun doesn't know whether his decision is correct. Perhaps it would have been better to stop advancing at Prawa and wait for Zheng He's fleet?Owning those huge ships will be more secure at sea, and the risk is much smaller than going on the road with these few ships. However, that would be tantamount to declaring that his mission of finding Emperor Jianwen had failed. Would Zheng He think it was worthwhile to continue this long journey?After all, in their view, they have sailed to the far end of the sky, and everyone along the way told them that this is the end of the sky and there is no road ahead. Xia Xun sighed softly and looked at Tang Sai'er who was sleeping on his lap.Tang Sai'er suffered from mild scurvy, was lethargic and lethargic, and had a general weakness. She had such a lively and active personality, but now she was sleepy all day long, and her little face was so pale that it made people feel distressed. Xia Xun was very anxious. The current situation of the fleet was caused by his decision, and his psychological pressure can be imagined.Su Ying walked over gently, and handed a grilled fish to Xia Xun's hand, Xia Xun said softly: "Ying'er, did you tell me I was wrong?" At this time, Xia Xun was haggard, ragged, with disheveled hair, and his beard hadn't been trimmed for a long time. Su Ying held his hand distressedly, and said in a low voice: No matter whether we have gone the wrong way, now we will die if we turn back, or wait for death if we stay, we can only move forward!I don't believe it, the sea has no end!I don't believe it, this place is full of deserts! Xia Xun's eyes lit up, and Su Ying said softly: "Cheer up!"Didn't you say that the places that will take us will take a long way?This is just one of our training sessions!If you don't endure hardships, how can you train good soldiers! good!If the mentally weak cannot even bear these hardships, how will they take root and live in a distant foreign land in the future? Xia Xun put Tang Sai'er into Su Ying's arms, stood up, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Go on!"This time I just went straight to the dark!