On the calm sea, Liu Ming often felt that the ship was not moving at all, as if it was just stopping quietly on the boundless water. Perhaps because there were almost no obvious reference objects around, the nearby ships also maintained almost the same speed, and it looked more like they were still when they watched.

Only by paying attention to the drums and sails above the deck or carefully observing the sea water below can one feel the ship sailing forward.

These are all the senses of laymen; in fact, the soldiers on the ship can still estimate the speed, even if the treasure ship seems to have not moved.

Liu Ming also learned a little bit, which is to release a float from the boat and let the float continuously pull out a long rope from the stern; and then when using hourglass to test, you can calculate the length of the rope to be dragged out during a period of time.

At present, the fleet's speed is also measured, maintaining a speed of 110,000 feet per hour. However, the direction of the formation is not a straight line.

After all the sails of the treasure ship are raised, they will still be slower than other ships. So Liu Ming can see that every time, the soldiers and sailors will drive long oars to increase the speed of the treasure ship to maintain a distance from the surrounding ships.

The long oars of the Dabao ship are located on both sides and at the tail. When sailors operate, the tail end of the oars moves like propellers, much faster than using ordinary wooden pulp rowing. These structures are mechanisms invented by people in long-term experience.

In addition, there are tools to measure the distance of the ship on the command building. By observing the height of the stern building of nearby ships through a mechanism, the distance can be roughly estimated. Then, by measuring the azimuth angle and the distance of the ship in a certain direction, the distance can be more accurately verified.

Liu Ming has experienced several changes in his feelings over the past month.

The initial amazement and novelty no longer exist. Every day, he was inevitably tired of watching the almost unchanged scene. Later, he experienced the torture of boredom, and even had hallucinations on sunny days, which were more random than usual. However, over time, the ship was full of supplies and smoothly as usual. Liu Ming gradually began to get used to it, and returned to his calmness and indifference...

At the end of June, the weather changed a little. When Liu Ming returned to the bedroom before nightfall, he obviously felt that the hull was undulating. However, the generals on the boat told him not to worry. With the experience over the years, Liu Ming was very confident about the sturdy and stable treasure ship. He went to bed with confidence.

What's more, according to the military's notice, the fleet's recent location is between Guangdong and Fujian; everyone is still within the borders of the Ming Dynasty, which will also make people feel inexplicably at ease.

Liu Ming was awakened by his body rolling. He opened his eyes in a daze and suddenly saw the surroundings spinning! A lantern hanging on the top of the cabin was shaking and flickering, as if it would be extinguished at any time.

Liu Ming was startled and quickly sat up from the bed, then put on his clothes and shoes.

At this moment, a soldier opened the door, held it on the door panel, and clasped his fists to Liu Ming in a strange posture. Liu Ming asked, "What happened?"

The military officer said: "The fleet encountered a great storm, and the sails of all ships had fallen. Envoy Liu did not need to worry too much."

Liu Ming looked for the surrounding areas and said, "I will go to the command building to take a look."

The soldier advised: "Envoy Liu should not go out. There is a pillar there, so let's hold it and wait."

Liu Ming could no longer stand firm, so he agreed with the sergeant and climbed to the wooden pillar in a embarrassed posture. The sergeant obviously had more than once experience going out to sea. His figure was very flexible, like a monkey, and quickly reached the place where the lantern was hung. He reached out and lifted the lampshade, and the lights inside were immediately blown out by the strong wind.

The surroundings were in darkness.

The voice of the sergeant just now came: "I'm afraid that the lantern will fall and catch fire."

Liu Ming responded, hugged the pillar beside him tightly, and had nowhere to go.

The hull was getting bigger and bigger, and Liu Ming was almost unable to stand firm while holding the pillar, so he had to sit on the floor. Suddenly, he felt his body lighter and lighter, and his whole body seemed to be floating out. He hurriedly grabbed the wooden pillar.

Then the whole boat seemed to make a huge "crash" noise, and the surroundings were twitching, and various things seemed to be bumping around.

"Boom!" With a loud bang, Liu Ming was shocked. He felt that the hull seemed to fall from the air to the ground! In the huge noise, he seemed to hear the sound of the wood breaking.

A sense of fear only then did he realize it and enveloped Liu Ming's heart, as if a chill came to the soles of his feet.

"Envoy Liu! Envoy Liu..." the soldier shouted loudly in a worried voice.

After a while, Liu Ming came to his senses and replied, "I'm here, brother, you're fine?"

In the darkness, the soldiers made a long sigh. Only then did Liu Ming feel that his body was already splashed by sea water. No wonder he felt the chill just now.

The waves did not stop, and they would come again after a while. The wind whistled, almost making people unable to breathe. Sometimes Liu Ming could not hear the shouts of the soldiers in the same cabin.

The terrible thing caught people off guard. Liu Ming realized that he and the people on the entire boat seemed to be dead prisoners on the execution ground and could only wait for the verdict of fate. He could not do anything, but torment with the wooden pillar next to him; like a drowning person, holding a life-saving straw to death.

The storm is too big, and the huge treasure ship is also floating in the wind and rain. Occasionally, Liu Ming felt that death was near, but there was a trace of luck in his heart.

I don’t know how long it took, but the wind suddenly became smaller, and the hull was undulating gradually. There were crying for help and shouting outside.

Liu Ming exhaled a long breath and sighed: "I just walked away from the gates of hell!"

He slowly touched the cabin door and walked out. The vague light outside finally allowed him to see the environment clearly. He hurried to the wooden stairs. At this time, a general recognized Liu Ming and shouted: "Envoy Liu, Commander Tang is not on top, he is in the helm building below."

So Liu Ming turned around and walked downstairs. The people came and went in the helm. Tang Jing's voice came quickly: "Don't rush to send it to the medical building, tie the injured person to the pillars and railings!"

Liu Ming followed the sound. Tang Jing also noticed Liu Ming, but said nothing, just looked at Liu Ming and nodded.

"Send someone up and ask the command building to light all the glass lamps and beat the drum to warn them, so that other ships will not hit you by chance." Tang Jing shouted at a sergeant.

"Get order!" The sergeant clasped his fists and responded, turned around and ran out.

Tang Jing kept holding the helm with his palm, and he had no intention of leaving half a step. Why didn't he go to the command building? It was logical that there should be a person in charge of the helm on the ship, and the commander should be in charge of the overall situation in the command building. Liu Ming was not sure of the reason, but when he saw that Tang Jing couldn't pull away, he tactfully did not ask more questions.

Liu Ming looked at Tang Jing's face and felt that the general suddenly became very strange at this time.

Tang Jing is a man with dark skin and strong skin. Sometimes he is cynical, sometimes listless, and sometimes generous and happy. But at this moment, Tang Jing's face is very serious and focused, and the vertical lines between his eyebrows are clearly visible.

His eyes were bright and bright, as if he was a little sad, but he was absolutely not afraid at all. After Tang Jing issued the order, he was staring at the dark sea outside the helm building and pondering. He was not like a martial artist, but more like a minister who wanted to use the scenery to express his emotions and was full of strategies.

Liu Ming approached and stood next to the rudder. He did not say anything to disturb Tang Jing, but just followed Tang Jing's gaze and watched the scene outside. But there was almost nothing outside, and the light was very dim. There was no moon in the sky, let alone half a star.

After a little while, Liu Ming's eyes adapted and could see the nearby sea clearly. The waves were no longer big, and the sea rolling with countless wrinkles looked pitch black, as if the sea was filled with ink. The dense sea waves made people feel inexplicably afraid, and the dark and hideous thing seemed to be rolling up from hell.

"The ship has turned around, and now we are floating northeast." Tang Jing said actively.

Liu Ming's heartbeat was still very fast, but when he saw the storm decrease, all he had left was fear. He turned around and said, "Aren't the fleet going south?"

Tang Jing said: "The wind blows north, and the prodigal son is also moving north. Now that the sails have all descended, the treasure ship can only drift with the wind. Float along the direction of the wind and waves, let the rudder be behind, so that it can turn faster."

He also gestured for a while and tried to explain how the stern of the boat controlled the steering of the hull, but he couldn't explain it clearly. However, Liu Ming was very sensitive to the "reason" and immediately understood, perhaps like a lever.

"It's really rare to see such a big storm. We are not very lucky." Tang Jing said again.

Liu Mingsong sighed, "Fortunately, there is no danger."

"Who said that?" Tang Jing said in surprise.

Liu Ming was even more surprised and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Eye of the Wind." Tang Jing said coldly.

He turned his head to look at Liu Ming, and then said, "If I read it correctly, we are currently in the middle of the storm, so the wind is weak for the time being. To completely pass through the storm area, we have to experience a strong storm."

Liu Ming was stunned and couldn't speak.

Tang Jing said calmly: "The next thing is the most dangerous. The hull may have suffered some damage, and inexperienced people will take it lightly because of insufficient preparation. Most sea boats escaped the first big wave and died in the last wave!"

"Where are other ships?" Liu Ming asked.

Tang Jing said: "I don't know very well, I may be nearby or some of them may be lost. The formation is not important now, so don't let the ship capsize first, and then I will talk about it after the storm."
Chapter completed!