Of the twelve ships, there are only ten left, and two of them can't even be found, looking at the ten captains Qianhu, Zhang Xianzhong's face is a little ugly.

People who plan to eat the sea for the rest of their lives return their lives to the sea in advance, there is nothing remarkable, and if they retreat because of this and stop exploring, that is the truly terrible thing.

Just like the old Qin people, the old Qin people are not afraid of death, what they are afraid of is that there is no opponent, once there is no opponent, the old Qin people will no longer be the old Qin people.

Now these ten captains and thousands of households are all high and low, and their positions and status in the future will be much higher than now, if these people are afraid in their hearts......

paced back and forth in the cabin for a few steps, and after the ten captains had finished discussing in a low voice, Zhang Xianzhong spoke: "Let Lao Tzu comfort you, Lao Tzu won't, Lao Tzu can't learn the behavior of the ladies, and when you return to Hong Kong in the future, you can go to the prison army to comfort you."

Now, Lao Tzu wants to know what the situation of the fleet is, if it sails forward according to the original plan, how long can it sail, and when it must return, if nothing else, Lao Tzu doesn't want to hear a word. ”

The captain of the supply ship USS Bear Lake stood up with a thud and shouted, "Report! ”

Zhang Xianzhong's face finally looked better, as long as these people no longer had the same expression as a dead mother just now, then things would not be bad: "Speak!" ”

Zhu Jisheng, the captain of the supply ship Bear Lake, said loudly: "Report, the four supply ships of our department, after statistics, the loss of materials is a quarter, and the remaining materials plus the vegetables and fruits grown by each ship can be used for the fleet to continue sailing forward for twenty days!" If you don't find land or a place to resupply within twenty days, you must return! Report the end of the competition! ”

Shi Shengzu, the captain of Zhang Xianzhong's flag battle and the most powerful treasure ship, also stood up and said: "Report! Of the ten warships of our division, two were sunk, and the remaining ten were slight, and the loss of weapons and equipment was slight, which did not affect the operation! ”

Hearing that there was no big problem in terms of force, the faces of the remaining thousands of households were not so ugly, but Zhang Xianzhong's face was even more ugly: "In other words, the original plan for a sixty-day voyage will soon be invalidated?" Just because there are no supplies? ”

Zhu Jisheng said: "Report! It's not the reason for the supplies, if the rationing system is implemented, the supplies plus the ships grow their own vegetables and fruits, at least it can be supported for another ten days! ”

Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand and said, "Okay, Lao Tzu knows it's because of the water, but there's nowhere else to get water?" I don't believe it!

See if there are any islands nearby, if you can get water, replenish it and move on! Now Lao Tzu wants to confirm a problem! ”

Staring at the top ten captains, Zhang Xianzhong's gaze scanned back and forth on the faces of several people: "Do you remember how you patted your chest and promised Lao Tzu when you left the port!" ”

Seeing that the eyes of several people finally began to shine, Zhang Xianzhong said: "Very good!" It seems that you have also remembered it, as a sword in the hands of the Holy Son of Heaven, to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty, although you have not regretted a hundred deaths! This is an oath you made personally, and I hope you don't forget! Now, get out of here! ”

The ten captains each saluted Zhang Xianzhong and then said goodbye and returned to the ship, but Zhang Xianzhong took the chart and drew it.

It's still too careless.

Originally, I thought that Da Ming had an invincible fleet in the world, and it was enough to send any enemy to the bottom of the sea to feed the Dragon King, but after all calculations, I didn't expect that there would be a problem with the fleet's fresh water because of a hurricane.

As for turning seawater into drinkable seawater, the North Sea Fleet can't do it at present, the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet can't do it either, and the great sages and powers of the Royal Academy can't do it either.

Since it can't be done, we have to find a way to replenish fresh water, otherwise, there will be no way to sail far, and if we want to go to sea in the future, we must take this problem into account.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xianzhong simply wrote in the logbook: "On July 16, the 17th year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, a hurricane was encountered at sea, and the loss of the fleet was still within the scope of bearing.

However, it should be noted that when going on a long voyage in the future, the supply ships should be divided into two parts, one in front and one behind, so as to prevent the whole fleet from having to return after one of them has problems. ”

After thinking about it, Zhang Xianzhong wrote down all the other precautions that could be thought of, and only after writing it did he solemnly put away the logbook.

No matter whether or not you can discover what the end of heaven and earth is like in the future, this logbook alone is a very precious thing, and its value is definitely higher than that of a treasure ship.

Just like the eunuch of the North Sea Fleet said, no matter what kind of situation he is facing at any time, as long as he does not surrender and beg on the battlefield, as long as he can let the soldiers come back alive in the rest of the time, the ships and materials do not matter, and the losses of the Ming Dynasty will rise.

But this is just the eunuch of the prison army, in addition to the South China Sea Fleet, the root of the three major fleets of the Ming Dynasty is to start from pirates, the East China Sea Fleet, the North Sea Fleet and several fleets that are being formed are all landlubbers on land, and they are more important than their lives for warships, and they often cherish their lives at the expense of ships, even if they are scolded countless times by the eunuchs of the prison army, they are all unrepentant.

After sailing forward for another twenty days, Zhang Xianzhong's fleet had to turn around and return - half of the supplies were already over, and the remaining supplies were only enough to support the return, and there was no surplus.

Zhang Xianzhong slammed the table hatefully.

There was still no shadow of the continent marked in the charts provided by the Francs, and it seemed that it would be difficult to find the large island by sailing east through the Sakhalin base, or that more supplies and a longer voyage would be required.

Zhang Xianzhong is not worried about the supply problem, after all, he has found a lot of small islands along the way, and he can make those small islands into supply bases first, and then let the fleet set off after the supplies of the supply base are fully prepared.

The problem is the soldiers.

The problem lies in the sense of insignificance and helplessness generated by long-term sea voyages, especially in the face of hurricanes and waves, the kind of power that is almost heaven and earth can overwhelm people.

At the very least, after going back this time, the soldiers of the entire fleet, including themselves, must have a good rest for a while before they can think about the next voyage, otherwise they will not be able to stand it mentally.

If you take a longer break, and then take into account the climate, the next time you go to sea will probably be between April and May in the eighteenth year of Chongzhen.

But just in time for the marriage of the emperor's eldest son - Sakhalin Island, the base of the North Sea Fleet, is in the fief of the Liao King of the Great Prince, can the North Sea Fleet go to sea directly and ignore it?

It's a bit of a headache to think about.

The fleet was better when it returned, and did not encounter the hurricane like when it came, but was a little unfazed, until the fleet sent out to explore the surrounding area reported that it had found land.

The whole fleet sailed in a northerly direction for a while, only to realize that it was not appropriate to say that it was land, and that it should be an archipelago to be the correct one.

But looking at the archipelago in front of them, Zhang Xianzhong and the others were a little numb.

It's just a September day, and the sea near this island has already begun to freeze? Is it so cold in September?

After staring at him for a long time, Zhang Xianzhong said: "We can stay here for about five or six days, whether we find it or not, we have to retreat."

Although I can't understand you idiots, I don't want you to die in vain. Now you can talk about what is in your heart. ”

Zhang Kewang bowed down and said: "Father, when we set sail, we already prepared a lot of winter clothes on the ship, and now we can use them, why don't you let my son lead people to explore the island?" ”

Zhang Xianzhong hummed and asked, "How many people do you plan to bring?" ”

Zhang Kewang said: "Just take a thousand households and tidy up a thousand households, even if there are wild people on the island, there is no need to worry." ”

Seeing that no one else raised any objections, Zhang Xianzhong nodded: "Be careful about this trip, you can hardly count on the fire gun in this weather, and you probably have to rely on the sword."

If you meet a wild man, don't fight with them, if not, just explore it, and we'll come back next time. ”

Zhang Kewang nodded, and ordered a small boat from a thousand households to approach the shore.

After about half an hour, the ice on the sea surface was so thick that it could not be broken, Zhang Kewang and others tried to abandon the ship, and after stepping on the ice, they found that the ice was extremely thick, and there was no problem for more than 1,000 people to stand on the ice together.

After waving his hand to the people on the boat, Zhang Kewang and the others walked towards the island one foot deeper and one foot shallow.

Gasping heavily, Zhang Kewang wiped the sweat on his head with thick gloves, kicked the snowdrift with his foot, looked at the gray stone and smiled: "Damn, finally got to the shore." ”

The soldiers of a thousand households who followed behind Zhang Kewang all laughed - stepping on the ice, I was really a little worried, or stepping on the land, as long as I was down-to-earth, I was not afraid of any enemy!

Almost an hour later, Zhang Kewang and the others, who were wearing white cloaks, looked at the scene in front of them with some confusion.

There are barbarians, not too many of them, but these barbarians are definitely not ordinary, they actually use wolves to pull carts?

Zhang Kewang turned his head to look at Zou Yueguang, and said in a low voice: "By the way, who used a wolf to pull a cart?" Didn't you say that you can't become a sperm? ”

Zou Yueguang was also a little confused: "I haven't heard of it, such a big wolf is much bigger than what we have seen before, if you bite the big mouth, this bone will not be broken?" ”

Turning his head to look at the somewhat confused soldiers, Zhang Kewang said unwillingly: "Don't be fucking stupid, what if it's a dog?" Who says a dog can't look like a wolf? Have you forgotten, didn't Amin and Mang Gurtai give us Mao Shuai two big dogs like calves?

That big dog is a little fierce, but anyway, that thing is still a dog, maybe these are the same in front of you? ”

Zou Yueguang shook his head and said: "Young General, be careful that there is no big mistake, if those things are dogs, it is okay to say, if they are really wolves, it is estimated that even if some of us kill all the people in front of us, I don't know how many there are in the future." We can't outrun the wolves! ”

Zhang Kewang snorted hatefully, waved his hand and ran away with the entire Qianhusuo - the ghost knows whether those people are driving wolves or dogs, if it's a dog, it's okay to say, if it's a wolf, if it's not good, it will poke a hornet's nest, or the dog's life matters.

Because the distance was still far away, and Zhang Kewang and the others used binoculars to observe, because they were not worried about being discovered by the people on the island, they quickly walked towards the way they came.

Zhang Xianzhong was very surprised that Zhang Kewang and the others would come back so quickly - he originally thought that it would take five or six days, and he had already notified the fleet to prepare for a few days of frugality, but Zhang Kewang and the others actually came back?

Looking at Zhang Xianzhong's somewhat gloomy face, Zhang Kewang bowed down and said, "Father, it's not that the child doesn't want to explore it anymore, it's really weird on this island." ”

Zhang Xianzhong snorted coldly and said: "Of course it's weird, it's only been September, it's already become this bird, can it be weird?" Tell me, are there barbarians on the island? Or is there something amazing? ”

Zhang Kewang said: "It's strange to say.

The barbarians on the island seem to be normal, although they are also red-haired and green-eyed, but they are similar to the white slaves sent from Beishan.

But these barbarians actually drive wolves! A person drove a sled, and there were more than ten wolves pulling the sled in front of him, and there was no chaos, and no wolf dared to bite.

The son saw with his own eyes, and a man stopped to feed the wolves, and those wolves were as well-behaved as dogs, which was incredible? ”

After finishing speaking, Zhang Kewang also pointed at Zou Yueguang: "Zou Qianhu also saw it with his own eyes, and he saw the ten hundred households together, but his son is not talking nonsense!" ”

Zou Yueguang also bowed down and said: "Dashuai, those savages can indeed drive a large number of wolves, and the biggest wolf is almost the size of a calf!" ”

Zhang Xianzhong frowned and said, "Return!" Write down this island, come early in the spring of the next year, and bring more people, Lao Tzu really doesn't believe it, who dares to play with wolves! Even if there were, Lao Tzu didn't believe that they could still resist the bombardment! ”

Regarding the news that Zhang Kewang reported back, Zhang Xianzhong did not doubt it, saying that someone can drive the wolf, that is, someone can really drive the wolf - this so-called wolf is most likely a dog.

But now the fleet does not have many supplies, and the environment and topography of this island are not clear, and even the number of wild people on the island is not clear, so it is better to return first and come back when it is ready.

With the news that Zhang Xianzhong brought back, the entire North Sea Fleet was boiling!

It's not a big deal to lose two battleships, Da Ming has money, just rebuild, and find a large piece of land, and it is land inhabited by savages, which is very important!

As for the savages who can play with wolves, no one cares at all - as long as there is a reorganized guard, equipped with enough artillery and ammunition supplies, it is definitely not difficult to snatch a piece of territory from the barbarians.

PS: The first update of the 4000-word chapter. Later updates are a bit later.