Under the scorching sun and blue sky, the beautiful South China Sea is as calm as a mirror.

At noon, Deng Haonan took Captain Lin Feng, Lieutenant Xue Muhua and other officers and soldiers of the Wutang Navigation Hall, as well as the trainee disciples of the Naval Department to the deck to observe the latitude and longitude.

There were no sophisticated sextants in this era, only simple astrolabes or quadrants.

However, based on the knowledge of later generations, Deng Haonan invented a simple and effective observation method to teach the disciples of the martial arts hall who did not have a high level of knowledge.

Deng Haonan's method is to use a shadow projected onto a scale with a stick, and the position of the shadow end indicates the height of the sun, so that the latitude can be calculated. Voyagers achieve the best results when the deck is stable on calm seas, combined with the use of a simple quadrant. The altitude of the sun is observed separately and the latitude of the ship is calculated. At this time, the longitude at sea could not be accurately measured, and it was necessary to use an inference algorithm. However, Deng Haonan knew the situation in the South China Sea well in later generations, and knew that the longitude and latitude were perpendicular, so he used the guò reverse deduction method to calculate the latitude and longitude one by one and mark them on the chart.

At a quarter past noon, the officer on duty reported the time to the captain of the ship, Lieutenant Xue Muhua, and then the deck bell struck 12, and the sail captain blew the whistle, "Lunch begins."

Looking at the blue sea and blue sky, Deng Haonan was a little shaken in his judgment.

According to his calculations, at this time, the Uh-Buddha Immortal should be able to be seen ahead. However, looking around, where is her shadow?

"Wangdou reports the situation!"

"One qiē is normal!"

On the high mast, the scout on duty replied loudly.

"Keep an eye on it! Enemy ships are nearby! ”

Captain Lin Feng believed Deng Haonan's judgment, he knew that Deng Haonan went to the South China Sea for the first time, but seeing Deng Haonan's familiarity with the South China Sea, he was like an old captain with decades of experience, so he admired his principal even more.

After some advice, Lin Feng came to Deng Haonan's side, shook his head helplessly, and said, "It may be that the Buddha Immortal did not search left and right in a large area, so it went far!" ”

Lin Feng's speculation is possible, and Deng Haonan is noncommittal.

It's just that Deng Haonan knows that the navigation technology at this time is still very limited. This route was the only waterway to Manila drawn by Ming merchants, and it was only after the Dutch stole the number of jù from this route that the Ming merchants blocked their trade with Manila.

In this era, it was quite difficult to explore a viable route, and the money for the expedition was astronomical. Magellan and Columbus were but the surviving victors of thousands of explorers, and the routes they found were the main reasons for the rise of Spain and Portugal.

All countries regard route secrets as first-class secrets and will never tell outsiders. It took more than 20 years for the Dutch navy and seamen to explore the Spanish routes and plunder Spanish merchant ships around the world.

Although the British navy defeated the Spanish Armada, until today, forty years later, the British navy and maritime merchants have not been able to find out all the world routes of the Spaniards and the Dutch, so all the profits from sea plunder have been taken away by the Dutch. It was not until January of this year, when the Mayflower landed on the American continent with more than 100 Puritans, that Britain began to colonize overseas.

The huge trade profits between East and West have been one of the driving forces behind the rise of European naval powers. Whichever country controls the trade between the East and the West, which country can make huge profits in a short period of time, and then embark on the road to becoming a strong country.

It is very difficult to find the route, because it is too difficult to obtain reference objects and geographical coordinates when navigating in the sea, coupled with the backwardness of navigation instruments, as well as the fear of climate and geography in the unknown sea, so this waterway is the only route to Manila for Daming maritime merchants, which is the only way to pass. The Dutch must have been near this route, but the route was wide, and they probably cruised nearby.

"Fifteen miles ahead on the left, I've found a ship!"

The sudden shout of the scout on duty immediately startled the boat, but Huzi became excited.

Hurriedly climbed the rope ladder and went to the bucket to observe with clairvoyance.

After a while, Huzi put down his clairie and said, "It's the Pallas!" ”

※※※

The Pallas soon spotted Deng Haonan's ship and slowed down. At the same time, the sailors on the Pallas watchtower waved flags to inform Deng Haonan to come over.

Half an hour later, Deng Haonan's ship was sailing parallel to the Pallas.

Deng Haonan talked to Lieutenant John on the opposite side of the ship, and thanked John and the other 300 sailors for the Pallas coming back to rescue last night.

"Boss!" Lieutenant John shouted, "Uh, the Buddha is twelve nautical miles ahead of us on the left, and is looking for you?" ”

What do you want! Deng Haonan was struggling to find the Buddha Immortal, but he didn't expect that the Pallas had been quietly following the Buddha Immortal last night.

"Boss!" Lieutenant John induced: "Last night we saw the Uh-Buddha Immortal chasing a ship and beating it all the way until dawn. Later, I found out that it was a small sailboat, I guess it must have been you, it's really funny! ”

It turned out that the Buddha Immortal really thought that the small sailing ship was Deng Haonan's ship, so it chased and fought all the way. It's a pity that the cannonball hit rate in the dark is pitiful, and the chance of hitting a fast sailboat is even lower. Rear Admiral Fan Weite was worried about Deng Haonan's deception, thinking that Deng Haonan was using his own ship as bait, and the Pallas was hiding nearby in ambush, so he didn't dare to get too close, but only shelled from a distance, so that it was strange that he could hit?

When he saw that the target of the night's assault was a small galleon, Rear Admiral Van Witt fainted and woke up vowing to take revenge.

It's just a little trick to carve insects! Deng Haonan smiled slightly, and immediately told Lieutenant John about his plan. John was an old pirate, and at first glance he shook his head. After listening to all the plans, he nodded and gave Deng Haonan a thumbs up.

※※※

At three o'clock in the afternoon (changed to modern time to facilitate the reading of book lovers), the Buddha Immortal appeared in Deng Haonan's sight.

At this time, Deng Haonan's side occupied the upper hand, and the Buddha Immortal turned left and right in front, but it just couldn't get rid of it.

Deng Haonan ordered the ship to follow the stern direction of the Erfoxian at all times, while the Pallas assisted, and whenever the Erfoxian wanted to make a turn, he would bombard it with its broadside guns. Due to the firepower that remained in the Pallas's "T" position during the Great Turn, the Uhfoxian had to retract.

At the beginning, Deng Haonan was in a cold sweat on his back, because he didn't expect that the maneuverability of the Buddha Immortal was also so good, if it wasn't for the assistance of the Pallas on the side, as long as the Buddha Immortal made a sharp turn, Deng Haonan would be in danger.

Soon, Deng Haonan's warship was getting closer and closer to the stern of the Erfoxian, and when it was two miles away, Deng Haonan had already ordered the cannon to be fired.

~~~~~~~★★★★★~~~~~~~

This book will be on the shelves on October 1st, and the update will be doubled after it is put on the shelves, with 10,000 words per day, and I hope friends will support this book a lot. There is a monthly pass reward for the first month of the new book's release, so please show your friends a lot of love, let the cruiser also get a monthly pass reward, and bow to thank everyone for their continued support for this book!

Don't talk nonsense, brothers and sisters, old and young masters who have passed by, smash the cruiser with the ticket in your hand, as long as he is dizzy, update a lot, add more......