Taongi Atoll, Bikini Atoll and other islands north of the Marshall Islands, as well as the Manila galleon route, have been spotted by the Spaniards. But because it was impossible to accurately locate the island in the sea, it could not be found after the ship left. These atolls were later used as sites for nuclear testing.

Bikini Island is near 11 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, and there are several reef islands not far away, which is still some distance from the southern limit of the navigation area set by Chen Shouxu, and it is also the southernmost point of this transpacific voyage. Whichever atoll he found, Chen decided to rest here for a week.

At 10 a.m. on the third day, the lookout spotted an island shadow on the port side of the battleship. As soon as the Changshui horn sounded, the whole fleet was notified to follow the turn.

These coral reefs stand in the open ocean and not only provide shelter for marine life, but also save the lives of many shipwrecked seafarers. But many times, the reef itself is one of the causes of ship casualties. Hidden reefs can destroy a powerful warship in an instant.

Chen Shouxu was still cautious, because the atoll was much larger than Tawongji, and Chen Shouxu sent two dhows to check it out. The fleet was 3 nautical miles away, moving slowly along the southwestern side of the island.

The atolls are really large, Chen Shouxu has seen more than 20 large and small islands, the length of the atoll is 20 nautical miles, the width is more than 15 nautical miles, and the central lagoon is very vast.

Although large areas of the atoll lie below the surface of the sea, the sea is shallow and cannot be passed through by warships. However, this structure also keeps most of the waves out of the atoll, and the tip of the atoll, which sticks out to the northeast, crushes the waves of the trade winds head-on like a fist.

The Tempest found a gap on the western side of the atoll, lowered two dinghys, and probed the channel with a plumb in front of the ship. Soon after, the Tempest sent someone to report to the flagship that the channel was deep enough for a sloop to pass through. But the sides are too narrow and it is not advisable for cruisers to sail in.

Chen Shouxu asked Roberts to sail the Storm into the lagoon first to reconnoiter the inner side of the atoll, while the rest of the warships continued along the island chain. After sailing 10 nautical miles in several hours, rounding the southern side of the atoll, the fleet finally found a channel deep enough and wide enough, piloted by dhows, and sailed into the lagoon one by one.

The Tempest had been waiting there for a long time, and they had already discovered the southern channel.

The Storm joined the Long Water, and Roberts boarded the flagship deck.

"Commander, after I entered the lagoon, I briefly reconnoitred the atoll, and the island in the southeast is the largest in the atoll."

Chen Shouxu walked up to the stern, pulled out the binoculars, and looked in the direction Roberts pointed.

It is an L-shaped island, more than 4 nautical miles long, and the width is not clear, but it is expected to be only a few hundred meters at most. The area is enough to accommodate the personnel of the entire fleet. The island is lush and green, and there are rows of coconut palms behind the beach, just the kind of plants that Chen Shouxu wants to see.

"Turn southeast, and we'll lean over." Chen Shouxu ordered.

"Commander, I just discovered that the island is inhabited."

When you get closer, you can clearly see the canoes moored on the shore, and there are some simple wooden houses on the island.

"Reaffirm to the full fleet the provisions for engagement with the natives." Chen Shouxu reminded Harris.

Sailing towards the Pacific Ocean, the fleet inevitably came into contact with the locals. Chen Shouxu set a set of rules for the fleet to avoid possible confusion.

1. The fleet shall foster as far as possible the friendship of the natives and treat them by peaceful means as far as possible;

(ii) Each ship shall be exchanged with the natives only by designated persons for food, fruits and other native products;

3. Every man who goes ashore must take care of his weapons or tools;

4. It is forbidden to steal or sell any kind of reserve materials on board;

5. Iron, or anything of iron, cloth of any kind, or other useful necessity, cannot be exchanged for anything else, but only food;

6. Coercion of women is prohibited.

Women are also a cause for the collapse of morale and discipline in the army, and Chen Shouxuan decided to strangle this symptom at the source. The distribution of women must be an organized action, and the population of these small islands, when you think about it, cannot meet the needs. Everything is not unequal but uneven, and if you want to grab a woman, you have to have a civil war, so you can simply ban it.

After the fleet was anchored, the warships sent armed men to land. There were more than thirty natives with rudimentary weapons on the shore, and two hundred soldiers armed to the teeth on the side of the fleet, which was completely disproportionate.

However, the soldiers who landed first obeyed the rules of the fleet, did not shoot, and while they were still on the longboat, they waved trinkets and corned beef that could be used as bricks, and greeted the natives loudly, showing goodwill to the natives.

The natives laid down their arms one after another, and the marines presented them with some gifts. The language is completely incomprehensible, and even the "Oramen" who have been to the East Indies cannot communicate with them. "Orlamen" is the name given by seafarers to those who have been to the East Indies, and the original word orlamen is a portmanteau of Malay and Dutch, meaning people.

After the marines reported safety to the fleet command, the ships left their officers on duty, and all the others, including the sick number, moved to the island. After a long period of rough seas, some people will have a feeling of vertigo when they first step on the smooth earth. It's good to get used to it for a while.

There are only a little more than 100 inhabitants of the island. Dark brown skin with long, straight hair. 3,000 years ago, their ancestors traveled from the mainland to cross the Pacific Ocean in canoes to these tiny coral reefs. Now they also rely on canoes to communicate with neighboring reefs, and these people are natural navigators.

Chen Shouxu saw that the indigenous weapons were mainly wooden sticks and javelins made from sharpened shells. Seashells are widely used on the island, and their needles and hooks are made from shells, which are their most important means of production.

With the help of the islanders, part of the crew rowed a longboat to fish in the lagoon. With people who are familiar with fish flooding, their harvest this time should not be so ugly.

As in Taongi Atoll, a group of people go to catch seabirds. Pirates are masters of bird hunting and turtle hunting. Many times, crew members stranded on islands rely on turtle meat to survive.

In addition to coconuts, there are also breadfruit trees on the island. Any part of the breadfruit tree that is cut down will leak a slime that the islanders use to mend boats and catch seabirds. Coconut whiskers are also an important part of ships, and the anchor cables made of coconut whiskers are very strong, which is better than the coarse linen used in warships today. One of the most important things that many captains of the Dutch East India Company did when they arrived in Asia was to replace the anchor cables on the ship.

The coconuts are past the ripening season, except for a few young coconuts whose juice can be used as a drink, and those old coconuts can be eaten after being cut. Breadfruit can be harvested three times a year, with November being the last harvest of the year. The fleet just caught up. After two months of eating out of the salted meat and salted fish, the coconut and breadfruit were a real delicacy for the crew.

The soldiers who came ashore set up tents out of canvas and set up camp. Chen Shouxu sent a company of Marines to set up another camp at the western end of the island, where there was a wider shipping lane. The island's shipping lanes are all facing south, which makes Chen Shouxu more reassured. This is because threatening ships are more likely to come from the trade winds to the north.

The waves in the lagoon are much smaller than those in the open sea, making it a good anchorage.

After calculations, Chen Shouxu determined the location of the fleet, Langlapu Atoll, not the Bikini Atoll he originally wanted to find. There are also two smaller atolls on the east and west sides of Langlapu Atoll, the Langerek Atoll and the Eringenae Atoll, where the distant shadow of the island can be seen from the mast on a good day.

November is the rainy season for the atolls, and when you dig a few meters down, you get sweet fresh water. The sailors were cheering.

Both men and women on the island are shirtless. Women would wear a straw skirt around their waist.

The island's coconut and breadfruit can cure patients with suspected scurvy, and even the crew members who are not sick can rely on fruit and fresh fish and bird meat to recover.

Robert was in trouble catching birds, a very fierce bird with a large wingspan, and in order to protect the nest, these birds constantly swooped down on the soldiers, attacked them with their wings and feet, and then bombarded the soldiers with their guano, and some would spit on the soldiers from the half-digested sea fish. The bird-hunting soldiers were very embarrassed, and Robert, probably in a hurry, grabbed a heavy arquebus, loaded it with a small lead and sprayed it at the birds. Shooting down three on the spot, Robert blew off the smoke from the muzzle of the gun and seemed to be very satisfied.

But his shot also frightened the natives around him, and they fell to their stomachs almost at the same time, almost as if they had been hit. Chen Shouxu reluctantly pulled up the leader of the island, he pulled out his dagger and gave it to him, apologizing for his rough hands and feet.

The indigenous chiefs were delighted and entertained the captains in the evening with grilled fish, coconuts and breadfruit. The fleet's reserves of beer and wine had long since run out, and it had been dealing with rum for water for all this time. Chen Shouxu was happy and took out his personal reserve of spirits, the natives were not interested in wine, and the wine was shared by the captains. During the meal, the chief lay down in his seat, and his women cut the food and fed it to his mouth, as if he were treated like a king, which made the captains a little envious.

After a night of partying, Chen Shouxu discovered the tragedy the next day. The sailors' stomachs may not have adapted to the new menu, most of them had diarrhea, and the soldiers crouched on the beach and moaned, and the scene was spectacular for a while. Chen Shouxu was angry and funny, and the doctor said that the problem was not big to let Chen Shouxu relax.

After pulling for a day, the colic of the sailors disappeared, and everyone regained their good mood.

There was no suitable sandbar in the lagoon to turn the hull and repair the gunwales, so they had to go with it. There was also not enough time for the ship maggots to drill into the keel and ribs. Remove all the sails of the battleship for cleaning.

Blacksmiths set up wrought iron furnaces on the island, repaired iron parts, and made nails for repairing ships. The temptation of iron tools to the natives was great, and Chen Shouxu could only mark a forbidden area and let the soldiers guard the blacksmith shop. But a few days later, he found that some iron nails and other gadgets had entered the hands of the natives. It is only possible that the sailors exchanged with them privately, and it is difficult to completely ban such behavior. Chen Shouxu had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

Fresh fruit, bird broth, and fish all brought the sick man to his senses, and the soldiers' faces flushed. A week later, it rained again. The soldiers also had a reluctance to give up on land, and Chen Shouxu decided to stay for another three days.

By the time it set sail, the entire fleet had been completely renewed. The gray canvas returned to its original color, and the soldiers' clothes, though old, were clean. The spirit and morale of the fleet have risen to a new level.

Not only did his soldiers eat up the coconuts and breadfruit of the entire atoll, but in the last few days they sent schooners to chop down the fruit from the two neighboring atolls and bring it back.

As a token of gratitude, Chen Shouxu finally left a lot of salted meat, cowhides, and iron tools for the islanders. On December 1, the weather cleared, and the Changshui once again hoisted the blue sailing flag. The fleet sailed out of the lagoon, swerved downwind, and set sail to the west-northwest.

Now that you've rested at Langlapu Atoll, there's no need to go back to Bikini Atoll. The fleet sailed directly to Guam, the easternmost territory of the Metropolitan Governorate of the Philippines.

After more than two months of sailing, the Chinese on the flagship have been integrated into the fleet. Chen Shouxu did not give them special preferential treatment, and ordinary sailors, no matter what race, as long as they were official members of the fleet, were treated the same.

Chen Shouxu found Cai Yuanding, "You have been in the East for a long time, are you familiar with this Guam?" ”

"I haven't been to Guam, but I've heard from the old sailors that the Gan Lai have a strong military base in Guam."

"How powerful?"

"They built a two-story fort with a breastwork outside it, and a garrison of 40 men was stationed."

Chen Shouxu sneered, "40 people, will it be strong?" ”

"My lord, in the East and West two oceans. Whether it is Gan Lian Lao or Hongmaoyi, as long as there are dozens of people guarding the fort, unless the imperial court sends a large army, few people can take it down. ”

Also, there is a large battery with a large palm, and there are more than ten or twenty large and small cannons, which is really difficult for ordinary natives to gnaw.

"Tell me more about this base in Guam."

"Yes, sir. The Stakeholders stocked up on their bases in Guam, and the defenders of Guam gave directions to the galleons, lighting beacons to warn the fleet if they strayed from the course. Every year, Manila's galleons returning from Acapulco also stopped in Guam for a few days to replenish the soldiers with meat, silk, wine, weapons and ammunition, and other necessities. ”

Cai Yuanding glanced at Chen Shouxu carefully, "My lord, starting from Guam, the voyage to Cavite is the most dangerous part of the galleon. Once off the coast of the Philippines, there will be a lot of pirates who come to see you, and they are waiting on the route behind Guam. After entering the inland sea of the Philippine Island, it is even more dangerous, and there are many sailing ships of Sulu pirates hidden in the hidden harbor. Guam's defenders alerted the galleon if they spotted pirates. They lit two clouds of black smoke, which meant that the route was safe, and more than four clouds of black smoke meant that there was a pirate brigade. ”

Chen Shouxu laughed, "Then how much black smoke should they light up when they see my fleet, 20 regiments?" ”

The Manila galleons are heavy in tonnage, tall in buildings, and well armed, but it is difficult for ordinary pirates to threaten the ship itself. Most of the several times in history when the Manila galleon was wrecked had some external causes, such as the ship itself had been injured on the rocks. A senior pirate once blocked a galleon that was running aground in Guam and was repairing its planks.

If serious artillery battles were to be fought, Rogers, the Governor of the Bahamas in the days of Blackbeard Teach, tried. When they returned, they reported that the five-pounder cannon was a tickle, and it was difficult to board the ship. Rogers himself also crippled his leg in a battle with the Manila galleon. Of course, this is also related to the poor condition of the crew after a transoceanic voyage. Manila sailing ships are, after all, homegrown operations.

Here, it was not the Europeans who posed a greater threat to the Manila sailing ships, but the Sulu people on the island of Mindanao (Mindanao), who had been fighting with the Spaniards for a hundred years.