In early autumn, the South China Sea is still a little hot, but fortunately, the breeze is gentle, and people are comfortable standing on the deck and are reluctant to leave. Xiong Jing on the stern didn't care about the comfort of the autumn wind, his eyes were fixed on a few small things.

The first one resembles a candlestick, but this candlestick has an arm that extends horizontally and at an angle of 90 degrees, and a fan is inlaid between the arm and the candelabra column, and the edge of the fan is full of scales, and a thin balsa wood board is hung between the pillar and the arm. Because of the breeze, the planks are not vertical, but at an angle to the pillars, and the thin wooden rods that are hard connected to the planks indicate the scale on the edge of the fan.

This is a Hooker anemometer. Simple, straightforward, using the gravimetric principle to measure wind speed. Next to it is a common wind cup anemometer. The three cups are at an angle of 120 degrees on the horizontal plane, and once the wind blows, the cups will rotate in the horizontal plane. Just like the wheel, the bearing at the rotating connection of the wind cup also rotates, and this rotation will drive the gear at the lower end, and the gear is connected to the pointer, and the rotation at different speeds will have different readings.

Moreover, the entire anemometer can also show the wind direction. The arrow-like weather vane is pressed horizontally to the upper end of the anemometer, and the tail of the vane resembles the thin plate of the Hook anemometer, which is only stable when facing the wind direction. Once the sheet is stationary in the wind, the arrow at the other end indicates the direction of the wind. Of course, it is also possible that the direction will be reversed, with 180 degrees and 0 degrees both sideways winds.

Next to the cup anemometer is a third anemometer that looks exactly the same, but this anemometer does not measure speed by gears. Because the involute cannot be calculated, the gear will be worn out naturally after working for a long time, the transmission efficiency will change, and the proportional value between the speed and the reading will also change, resulting in inaccurate reading.

Therefore, the first anemometer abandons the gear transmission, and the principle is the same as that of a hand-cranked generator. The bearing at the wind cup drives the coil to rotate in the magnetic field of the natural magnet, and the magnetic flux changes to produce an induced electromotive force, which is output with DC voltage, and the current strength pulls the ammeter magnetic needle. It's just that this is not an ammeter after all, the ammeter coil is stationary, and the coil of the anemometer rotates at high speed, and the paint on the rotating gold wire will break, and finally the twine on the painted gold wire can protect the insulating paint.

"How fast is the wind?" While Xiong Jing was watching, the young commander Hong Mu asked.

"Tell the Chief: 3.3 for A, 4.5 for B, and 2 for C." The three anemometers are not calibrated and the wind speeds are completely different.

"The direction of the wind?" Hongmu asked again.

"The wind is one hundred and sixty-five degrees." It was still a southerly wind, and the entire fleet, including the newly launched clipper Suzaku, had all dropped its mainsail. Now pushing the boat southward is the slow coastal current, which is only about two knots.

"The wind hasn't reversed yet." Xiong Jing's gaze turned back from the anemometer and smiled at Hong Mou.

"Tell the king," the king of Minyue, Wu Zhu, stood next to Xiong Jing. "As a rule, the wind should reverse in a few days."

When the monsoon along the East Asian coast turns, it is generally clear. The south wind turns to the north wind, and the coastal area of Fujian is generally in September of the Gregorian calendar; The north turns southerly, generally after March of the Gregorian calendar, the north wind weakens (there will be occasional southerly wind weather during the period), and the real stable south wind will not be until May to July of the Gregorian calendar - just like the north wind gradually moving south, the south wind is also pushed north one by one, and the southerly wind reaches the northernmost North China in July and August.

The monsoon situation in later generations was similar to that of this era, with the only difference being the calendar. Xiong Jing is not worried about when the north wind will turn. The reason why the fleet went south early was to buy more time for the Red Ocean Fleet.

The so-called Red Ocean Fleet is the Westward Fleet. It is said that the fleet is really swollen and fat, and there are only two ships in the entire fleet, a new ship of the Shao Si Ming class, and a first ship of the gluttonous () class. Needless to say, the Gluttonous Class is a sailing cargo ship, 35 meters long, 29 meters keel, 9.8 meters wide, with a displacement of about 520 tons and a cargo capacity of 400 tons.

The route from East Asia to the Americas is certain, and the time is also certain, but the route to India and West Asia is very uncertain. Xiong Jing only knew the general monsoon conditions and the general route, and he was not familiar with the storms in the Bay of Bengal. Therefore, in order to gain more time, the Red Ocean Fleet set out from Zhufang along the coastal current and headed for Panyu in the southernmost part without waiting for the monsoon to turn. After replenishing the last batch of freshwater vegetables in Panyu, the fleet will sail directly to the South Seas under the blowing of the monsoon.

Because the exact latitude of Singapore was not known, the voyage was dangerous. The fleet is likely to get lost in the numerous islands of the South Ocean, or lose itself in the Indian Ocean without land. Although the first batch of students of the aviation school have been honed in sea voyages from last year to this year, and they are becoming more and more accustomed to sea voyages where they cannot see land, Xiong Jing is still worried that they will have accidents.

Sextants, barometers, magnetic compasses, the most accurate maps (there are inevitably many errors in drawing maps from memory, and these errors cannot be ignored), anemometers, ......, in short, as long as the nautical instruments that can be made are equipped with the Red Ocean Fleet. The mountain ghosts and gluttons were also filled with supplies from various clans, and even some fresh water was filled with tinplate cans to prevent the freshwater tank from seeping into the seawater or the water from rotting.

In addition to these preparations, the envoys of the king of Luoyue, the king of Ou and Anyang, were waiting in Panyu. They all brought with them a few Viet Nam who were regular voyagers, and if they got lost, they might be able to point the way. No matter how bad it is, you can also communicate with the natives on the Nanyang Islands; If you're lucky, you might be able to meet a Malay sailor in a canoe chopping through the waves.

"Please go back to the cabin and take a break." Xiong Jing didn't answer Su Wuzhu's words, just nodded. Chang Jiang thought he was tired and asked him to go back to the cabin.

"Not necessarily." The sun was blazing overhead, and the stern dhorn was blown up by the south wind blowing in the bow direction, and the edge of the sail shook and thumped from time to time. "I knew this was the case, and I should take the Vermilion Bird to Panyu first."

Sailing against the wind is too slow, and although the Suzaku can really sail against the wind, it can only put the sails down for the sake of the entire fleet. Xiong Jing said this, and the people around him couldn't help laughing. As a landlord, Wu Wuzhu said: "If the king wants to change boats, he can also." There is an island to the south of the hundred, which can be exchanged for the Suzaku. ”

Minyue Dingdu Yueqian Mountain (now Changle), south of Ouyue to Yueqian Mountain, more than 2,000 miles south of Yueqian Mountain are the ruling range of Minyue. But unlike Su Wuzhu's previous boasting, his father Mu Mu is not dead, he is only acting as the governor of Minyue, and he is not the real king of Minyue. When Xiong Jing arrived at Yueqian Mountain, Su Mu came to meet him.

Chu and Yue united, and the elders of Baiyue and Chu Chen discussed matters in the same dynasty, which was a good move for the Yue people. Now Xiong Jing wants to open up the south and sail to India in the south of Middle-earth, and Zhuyue also fully supports this. The Chu people are not Yue people, they have never liked the south, they are afraid of snakes, they are afraid of heat and miasma, and they don't want to go south of Wuling. The places that sail to India are all in the south of Panyu, and these places are also garrisoned by the Yue people, and they take the downwind boat of the Chu people to expand the land south, why not?