King of Mercenaries Chapter 161

Published at 14th of June 2023 05:24:18 AM

On the boundless Atlantic Ocean, the waves rolled. On the ocean, a few small black spots are advancing with the waves ...

Columbus, wearing a mask of Zorro black cloth, sighed, then, ascended the flagship tower, using the artifact given to him by Marin-the telescope, and continued to "sneak" the eastern sea ...

This is the fifth month and 16 days of Columbus's Da Gama fleet. According to the calendar, it is now the day before Christmas.

达 The Da Gama's fleet in front has crossed the Cape of Good Hope marked by Marin on the map, and has begun to leave the Atlantic Ocean and sail eastward along the southern end of the African coast.

According to the map of the world given by Marin (without the westward outline of the Americas and the Ming Empire, only to India), Columbus knew that Da Gama's fleet was heading towards the Indian Ocean ...

Columbus had to admire the accuracy of Marin's source of information. Even in the instruction book Marin had given, the Dagama fleet would sail eastward across the Cape of Good Hope on Christmas Eve.

Originally, these five months on the Atlantic Ocean, Columbus also traced Dagama's fleet by relying on Marin's known route map. Although, Marin's maps and routes were rough and too general. For example, hydrological and wind direction data on the coasts of West Africa are incomplete. However, this map alone is worth a million dollars. Even, it's nothing.

Because, the location of India is clearly marked on this map ...

什么 Where is India? That is the origin of imported spices in Europe. Europeans use a lot of spices and spend a lot of money. According to Marin, sellers of up to 10 shillings per pound of pepper in Europe sell up to one or two fennies in India.

If according to Marin, if he opened the Indian route, he will bring great wealth. Not to mention anything else, the pepper trade alone can earn up to 60 times the profits. This is still the profit after deducting the cost of navigation, because the price of pepper in India is less than 2 Finneys per pound, which is generally 1 Finned. Even at a cost of 2 Finneys per pound (including sailing costs), there is a full 60 times the profit.

Originally, Columbus was a little dubious about the nautical map given by Marin. However, since Columbus discovered that Dagama's fleet did start to turn east around Christmas, he was convinced of Marin's judgment.

Now, Columbus is extremely certain that what Emirate of Mombasa and Emirate of Malindi must have also existed. Moreover, Marin magically requested that Columbus no longer stay in Mombasa, go directly to Malindi, and express hostility towards Mombasa. It is said that these two countries are deadly enemies, and as long as they express hostility to Mombasa, they may gain Malindi's favor. Then, in accordance with the script provided by Malin, Columbus will borrow Majid, the Arab navigator under Chief Malindi, to lead Columbus to reach India ...

Columbus even wondered whether Marin was a prophet at this moment, and he could accurately calculate the movement to the Gama fleet. However, he was unwilling to do much. As long as you can find India first, then your former shame will be washed away.

Once, Columbus discovered the barren continent and insisted that it was India. It's not that Columbus really thought it was India. Instead, if everyone knew that it was not India, his fame would plummet. Moreover, Queen Isabella I, who supported him, will turn her face. Because, when the two sides cooperated, they made it clear that Columbus was helping the queen to explore India, rather than a wild land.

If the Queen determines that it is not India, then the Queen may reclaim the title and wealth of Columbus ...

Sure enough, following the syphilis incident, when all Europe knew that the place Columbus found was not India, Queen Isabella turned her face resolutely ...

Before the Spaniards discovered Mexico and Peru with gold and silver, the New World was actually worthless compared to India. Because, the discovery of India can bring huge benefits immediately. The profits of the spice trade alone can scare people.

For the new continent discovered by Columbus, the Spaniards can only send people to plant sugar cane in the West Indies. The Queen's advance team has already passed, but reclaiming tropical islands is very troublesome. Not to mention anything else, the venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and beasts on the island can greatly threaten the advance developers. Being bitten by a poisonous insect and dying from a serious illness is just normal ...

Uh ...

Columbus took back his thoughts and continued to observe the situation of the telescope Riga Gama ...

几个月 The life at sea during these months has made Columbus feel a lot of emotion. Sailing is Columbus's greatest skill and dependence. However, what made Columbus also amazing was that more than 5 months had passed and none of the people on the ship had died of scurvy.

You know, before he led the team to the New World, but many sailors died of scurvy ...

The sailors' bodies are generally very good, and those with poor constitutions cannot do the work. In general, sailors rarely get minor illnesses like colds. Even occasionally, you can carry it by your strong body. Therefore, the death of sailors is usually caused by scurvy or starvation, either due to shipwreck, or due to fighting with pirates and internal fighting.

But more than 5 months have passed, because Marin forced each crew member to soak in a mysterious herbal medicine every day, so none of the crew members suffered from scurvy.

In this regard, Columbus almost admired Marin. But he also knew what kind of secret it was. With this method, the safety of navigation will be greatly increased. As long as it does not encounter the enemy or a huge storm, the safety of the crew is greatly guaranteed.

Furthermore, Columbus was amazed by the freshwater preservation methods Marin had specifically requested. Because after putting the fresh water in an oak barrel and cooking in a large pot, then plugging the cork and sealing the mud, the fresh water has indeed been kept for a long time.

Before, a bucket of fresh water would deteriorate and odor in six or seven days. However, the fresh water stored by this method did not smell or smell for 5 months. Of course, after opening the sealing mud and cork, you must drink it within a few days, otherwise it will stink.

Columbus did not know that this was the most primitive way of making cans. Although, the sealing of the sealing mud can not keep up with paraffin or beeswax. However, it is much better than simply not using a cork to seal.

According to Marin's understanding, because the cork is breathable, it cannot meet the requirements of sealing. After the sealing wax is applied, the charge can be closed. Of course, sealing wax is too expensive, because the wax of this era is basically beeswax, so it is more expensive. Unlike later generations, paraffin is extracted from petroleum and has a large output, so it is not expensive.

If you store fresh water every time you use a piece of beeswax, the cost will be a bit high. After all, this saves fresh water that is often used and consumes a lot of it. For precious goods, like spices or wine, it's pretty much the same.

使用 Using the slime seal, as long as the slime is dried to harden, the sealing effect is also good. For example, the batch of fresh water that Columbus replenished in the Canary Islands has not been broken for 5 months. However, it is almost broken. In addition, there are several buckets of bad fresh water that have started to deteriorate. Because, after all, the sealing mud is not as good as beeswax.

So Columbus decided to go to the Natal area in the “cheatbook” given by Marin at a distance to find a freshwater estuary and replenish freshwater.

Moreover, the solar cooker provided by Marin is also very effective. Now, with the solar cooker, the sailors on the boat are drinking hot water. When the sun is on, everyone cooks with boiling water in a solar stove. On rainy days, use the firewood that the sailors picked up on the shore to boil rice. Therefore, the crew members who put on them are not as hard as Columbus was when exploring the new continent, UU reading www.uukanshu. com can only eat cold food and pickled food, but can eat hot food.

As for the telescope, there is no need to talk about it. Now, Columbus can let the fleet hang more than 20 kilometers behind the Da Gama fleet, and can bite the Da Gama fleet wherever it goes.

The Dagama's fleet still uses the old way to let the sailors climb up the mast and observe the distance with the naked eye ...

相比 Compared with this, Columbus was able to use telescopes to see the shadow of the mast of the Da Gama fleet to determine the whereabouts of the Da Gama fleet. Da Gama's sailors, however, did not look so well, unable to find the Columbus fleet more than twenty kilometers behind.

I said again, Da Gama had never thought that there would be someone in the back of their fleet ...

Because Portugal's exploration of India is also confidential this time, only the royal family and some important figures in Portugal know. Therefore, Da Gamma never thought that his fleet would be tracked.

Even if he was lost temporarily, Columbus was not afraid because Marin provided a more accurate route direction. Just follow the route map and continue to chase forward.

You must know that Da Gama discovered India and appeared repeatedly in textbooks in later generations. Marin remembered the route map of Da Gama. The details may not be known, and the hydrology and wind direction may not be known, but the direction of the route is generally accurate.

So Columbus, who had a telescope, leaned on the Atlantic Ocean and Da Gama's fleet to hide from the cat, relying on the telescope and the route map, from the Portuguese coast to the Cape of Good Hope. Columbus is now chasing the Da Gama fleet, sailing east, and preparing to enter the marginal Indian Ocean ...

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