Except for the nautical clock and the lunar distance watch, is there no way to measure longitude? The answer is that there really isn't, at least Hong Tao doesn't know. By looking at the angles of the stars and the sun, you can only measure latitude, not longitude. This is also the reason why when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, he could only advance along the coastline of the continental shelf again and again, and even if he hit the reef and sank many ships, he still did not dare to sail directly.

But Zheng He's sailing method is basically impossible to replicate, who has the capital to build hundreds of big ships and set sail with tens of thousands of people? Walk for a day and stop at the shore for a day, go ashore and sweep when there is no food or fresh water, and leave you some pilgrimage objects when you are happy, and destroy your city directly if you are not happy, and leave after robbing, all of which are businessless businesses. This kind of thing can only be done by the state, or it is used regardless of the cost, and it basically has no reference value for the development of business. Zheng He did not open up a useful route, and the purpose of spending most of the treasury was just to let people know that there was a country in the east that was very rich, rich enough to throw it into the sea, and did nothing serious. Compared with Magellan and Columbus, the judgment was made. This is also the inevitable difference between activities for political purposes and activities for economic purposes, and what is not profitable cannot be sustained or developed.

Hong Tao's voyage this time is more than 1,200 kilometers, in order to mark the coastline along the way, and in order to have markers to observe, he did not use the way of direct sailing, but like Zheng He, it belongs to the yellow croaker, slippery! First turn around the east side of Hainan Island, stay closer to the coastline during the day, and stay away from the coastline 50 kilometers away before dark to avoid encountering reefs or small islands.

Five days later, the Explorer finally arrived at the mouth of the Pearl River and saw Hong Kong Island, but unfortunately the current Hong Kong Island is lush and green, except for a small pier and a small village, there are more rows of boats of the Tan family. However, this small village is indeed called Hong Kong Village, and most of the more than 10 families living in it are employees of maritime merchants, and this village is a port of call. Ships carrying spices from Nanfan often take a break here before entering Guangzhou to unload their cargo, or sail east to Quanzhou, Zhejiang, and other places.

Guangzhou, which is not in the Song Dynasty, does not know how many ships there are! The Pearl River Estuary was full of ships waiting to enter Guangzhou to unload, large and small, Hong Tao even saw a five-mast Dafu ship, with a displacement of at least 500 tons, and the stern was more than 10 meters high. Compared with others, the Explorer is as big as the rudder, and the top of the mast can't reach the ship.

"Lord...... Is this the capital of the Great Song Dynasty? Carl had also turned into a turtle, and his whole body was shrunk in the cabin, so he poked out his head and kept looking into the mouth of the Pearl River.

"This is Guangzhou, a port in the south of the Great Song Dynasty, and there should be more prosperous cities in the north, do you want to go in and have a look?" Hong Tao is actually quite excited, but he must pretend to be casual, otherwise he will not be able to show his tall image.

"Captain, are we going to Guangzhou City or to the Lianpai boat?" Bo Jiao was not much better than Karl, he just didn't hide in the cabin, but squatted in the bow of the boat, pulling the front sail and swallowing saliva.

"We're not going anywhere, it's time to go back! On the way back, the two of you take turns to lead the way, and whoever makes a mistake in the measurement will wash the deck! Both people are wrong, two people wash together! Hong Tao said as he turned the steering wheel, allowing the sailboat to make a semicircle on the mouth of the Pearl River, and then sailed towards the open sea.

"Why? Let's go in and watch for an hour! When Carl heard Hong Tao's order, he immediately got out of the cabin and asked questions.

"There is no reason on the ship, what the captain says is God's will, and you can't ask the captain to explain to you why! When you become a captain, you should also remember that you are not obliged to explain to the crew why you made your decision, you only have one responsibility, which is to bring the ship, cargo and crew to their destination safely! This time I made an exception and explained to you why I couldn't go ashore, because I couldn't make sure you were safe. You and I are not from the Great Song Dynasty, but we don't understand the source, in case someone asks you, what do you say? Ah Jiao is a Tan people, do you think that in Guangzhou City, Tan people can wander around at will? "Hong Tao wanted to enter the city of Guangzhou to have a look than Carl and Bo Jiao, but reason told him that curiosity killed the cat! If you really want to come, then let Luo Youde accompany you, the bigger the city, the stricter the rules, there is no need to get into trouble because of curiosity, you have more business to do.

"......" Carl asked Hong Tao what he said, and at the same time remembered his own identity, and immediately lost his temper.

"Uncle...... Captain's ...... If we have money and a big ship in the future, can we come to Guangzhou City casually? Bo Jiao still reluctantly glanced back at the Pearl River Estuary, and asked the doubts in his heart with expectation.

"Not only to come to Guangzhou, but also to Quanzhou, Lin'an, all the cities that rely on the sea, we have to go, not only to go, but also to buy the best big house to live in, to go to the best restaurant to eat. Learn your skills well, and when you learn everything your uncle has taught you, this day will come! Hong Tao answered Bo Jiao's question in a very positive language, and at the same time gave him a hope, a very easy hope.

When he returned to the voyage, Hong Tao did not slip along the coastline again, he planned to sail straight south first, and after reaching 19 degrees north latitude, he would turn around and go west directly back to Zhenzhou. If you sail in this way, the range will increase to about 1,500 kilometers, and even if the speed can be increased, you will have to sail at sea for at least 4 days, and you will not be able to see any land, and you will have to rely on a sextant to determine the course.

The adventure must be a little bit, and if you catch up with the change of weather and see neither the sun nor the stars and the moon for several days in a row, then the explorer will be blind. When encountering extreme weather such as typhoons, he really became the son of the Dragon King. However, sailing and sailing, even in the 21st century, is a very risky sport, and if you don't take risks, you can sail a fart sea, and if you don't take risks, can Carl and Po Jiao learn what sailing is?

Hong Tao is not blindly adventurous, after the measurement along the way, as well as the comparison of the location of Central Port on Hong Kong Island in the later generations, although this sextant is a little wrong, but it is relatively reliable. The areas that need to be modified have been recorded by themselves, and they only need to go back and re-correct the accuracy and density of the gears, and then they can be adjusted. Relying on it to sail is still a bit guaranteed, you can't learn it just by relying on the teacher's lectures, you must let Carl and Bojiao personally operate, let them understand that life and death are between the trembling of their hands, and then they will quickly learn everything you want them to learn.

From the mouth of the Pearl River, it is a large island, which is called Wanshan Islands in later generations, and Hong Tao also came to play rock fishing. However, at this time, there are basically no people on the island, and it is a relatively dangerous sea area. Since ancient times, Lingdingyang has been a sea area infested by pirates, and it has been the same until the Republic of China, and every dynasty and generation is a pirate den. They are usually fishermen, hiding near the island while waiting for the lone boat. If the sneak attack is successful, they will kill people and steal goods, and if they fail to drill into the islands, they will not be found when the sailors come.

"Ah Jiao, stay away from those fishing boats, are they robbing the sea boats?" Hong Tao commanded the explorer to go around the islands, drawing the coordinates of the islands one by one on the chart, seeing that the sky was getting dark, as soon as he turned around from a small island, he saw several small fishing boats on the sea in front of him surrounding a 100-ton large sea boat, and the figures on it were shaking.

"That's our Tan's fishing boat......" Bo Jiao's eyes were very good, and he could see that the small wooden boats were pointy and broad-tailed without Hong Tao's reminder. This type of boat is used by the Tanka people, and is very different from the longer round-bottomed fishing boats of the native fishermen. The Tan family on Hainan Island is quite regular, and most of them are military towns, and they are not honest. It is estimated that Bo Jiao has never experienced the robbery of sea ships, and it is estimated that they have at least seen Bo Fu and Huanghai. The Tan family is usually fishermen, and if they can't survive, they are pirates, and the more they go to the coasts of Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang, the more serious they are, which is not something that Hong Tao pondered, but a record of later generations.

"Ah Jiao, there is no difference between the Tan family, the natives and the Fan people on the sea, remember my words, there are only two kinds of people on the sea, your own people and outsiders. Those who are in the same boat as you are your own people, and all other boats are outsiders, you can only trust your own people, and this is how the word "together" comes from. When your uncle and I were floating in the sea, your grandfather only threw me a rope to drag me after seeing me, and didn't let me get on the boat. In the future, if you have your own ship, you must remember not to throw the rope when you go to sea, as long as you are not sure that you can control the other party 100%, you must not let any ship or person get close to your ship, and it is correct to sink it if necessary. There is no law on the sea, whoever lives is right, and all other issues must be considered after living, do you understand what I mean? ”

Hong Tao looked into the distance with the telescope of the sextant, and the ship was finished, and some shirtless men in cropped pants were throwing corpses down the deck. Robbing at the door of the house, there will be no one left alive, even if he can save it, it will be too late, in fact, he has no intention of saving it at all, using this matter, it is true that he will have more life experience. Carl doesn't need to be taught, Du Nima has been a slave, and if he doesn't improve his memory, he belongs to the damn category of people, and he can't be saved.

"Why are they going to grab the sea boats?" Bo Jiao probably didn't fully understand Hong Tao's words, although he was already able to go out to sea to fish with his grandfather, and he also claimed to be a man from the Tan family, but after all, he was a 12-year-old child, and he grew up in a relatively closed environment on Hainan Island, and he basically didn't know much about the outside world.

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