I am the king of the dead

Chapter 975 Disorientation and Mind Trek

In the cold season, Tang Xing stayed in this uninhabited harbor for two full months. , using the fragrant dragon's blood trees all over the ground here, the damaged masts, splints, and ship plates of ships were reinforced and repaired.

Fragrant dragon's blood tree is a kind of hardwood, with straight grain and very dense and tough wood. Its hardness is comparable to mahogany. The economic value that trembles in the human bones, it is rich in red dye, Grand Fire Deshang Red, red dye is extremely expensive.

The most commonly used red dye in Ming Dynasty is ochre, but this dye is in powder form, which has extremely poor adhesion to silk, fur, and velvet, and is not resistant to light, heat, washing, dull color, and easy to fade.

The other one is exclusively used by the royal family, which is madder. This kind of dye needs to be dyed at high temperature, and it is not affordable for ordinary people.

Fragrant dracaena, get a water-soluble red dye, with excellent adhesion, bright color, light and heat resistance, washable, and very difficult to fade, unless the clothes are thrown into water and boiled to fade.

The smell of the wood of the fragrant dragon's blood tree has a natural plant fragrance, which is fragrant and refreshing, and can also get vermilion. The juice that flows out after cutting with a knife is like bleeding, and finally got its name, Xiang·Dragon·Blood· Tree.

And this kind of tree is everywhere on this coast, full of pits and valleys, these are natural dyes, natural gun stocks, and wealth, and there are countless eunuchs on the other side of the sea. Numerous lands that need to be reclaimed complement each other.

In the past two months, Tang Xing had never seen the aborigines, but he never let up. The soldiers of Ming Dynasty maintained a high level of combat readiness to prevent the aborigines from sneaking up on them.

This morning, a sergeant hurriedly reported to Tang Xing that he found a huge footprint, which was about as long as half an adult's arm. This discovery shocked all the crew members.

Such a large human footprint must be at least one foot high.

Even the well-informed Tang Xing felt a cold sweat behind his back when faced with such footprints. Could it be true that the legend of the giant race widely circulated in western Thailand?Do those unspeakable monsters really exist?

"Commander Tang, the wind direction has changed. We can set sail tomorrow!" Sailor Fan Dexing looked at the wind vane in his hand and finally confirmed that the trade wind had changed. The fleet can be fearless.

"What's that?" Tang Xing narrowed his eyes slightly and looked into the distance, where a figure appeared.

This figure was very tall, almost as tall as Tang Xing, and the Japanese could only reach his waist.

This figure has black hair, black eyes, yellow skin, a heavy build, a square face, with red spots painted on it, yellow circles painted around the eyes, two heart-shaped white spots on the cheeks, and half of the short hair painted. It is white, and the clothes are sewn from animal skins.

The figure cautiously approached, smiling, and amiably stretching out his hands while dancing and singing, walking slowly towards the ship, while constantly sprinkled sand on his hair.

Tang Xing had some contact with the aborigines, and he knew that these gestures meant mutual friendship and mutual understanding, so Tang Xing also danced and sprinkled sand on his hair, although Tang Xing didn't understand why the sand was sprinkled Putting it on the head means friendliness, but it is indeed the custom of these people.

Soon, Tang Xing and the strong man got together and touched shoulders. Tang Xing looked down and saw the other's shoes.

The shoes he wears are very special. The leather is put on the feet first, from below the knees to the soles of the feet, and the leather is sewn into soft-soled shoes, and then big leather boots are put on the soft-soled shoes. The footprint on the ground is large.

There are no giants, but their shoes have huge footprints because of a layer of big leather boots.

As a boat master and a scholar, Fan Dexing can probably communicate with this kind of aborigine. Although he is not fluent, he still has a clear understanding of the purpose of this aborigine.

This native is the chief. When the Daming Navy was stationed, the chief already knew that there were foreigners coming here, and then he kept observing. After repeated observations, as the chief, he finally came here and wanted to talk to Daming. people contact.

The first time they met, it was an extremely friendly exchange. If it wasn't for the dyes smeared on his face, Tang Xing's appearance would not be fundamentally different from these natives. After drifting at sea for a long time, Tang Xing's skin was even darker than this chief.

The aborigine unscrewed the cowhide bag on his waist and wanted to give his most precious gift to Daming, to experience this friendship.

But Tang Xing repeatedly waved his hands and chose to refuse. This kind of water is called Ayahuasca, a kind of weird vine called 'the umbilical cord in the forest', which is wrung out. This kind of water has a strong hallucinogenic effect. , its intensity even surpassed that of the Three Treasures of Fulu, and because of this, Tang Xing named it Ayahuasca.

An eunuch was once ordered to drink this kind of ayahuasca, and then moved wildly towards a tree, and saw a huge half-man, half-horse monster with horns. Of course, this native began to have diarrhea, pulling out a lot of There are few parasites in the stomach, this kind of ayahuasca is also found on the ship, and it is mainly used to treat diseases.

Fan Dexing and the aborigines had an inappropriate exchange, and it was only then that Tang Xing knew the intention of the other party's visit.

First, the aborigines have observed for a long time and know that the Daming Ocean Navy is just a passer-by, so they hope to be allowed to let their tribe use the camp left by the Daming Navy. The camp of the Daming Navy is a hard camp. , Living in these hard villages is a heaven-sent home.

Second, the natives hope that the Daming Navy can sow seeds, that is, sow seeds between people. Because of the high degree of isolation, there are a lot of deformities here. I hope these strong and powerful men can leave offspring and let the tribe multiply. go down.

Thirdly, these are not asking for nothing, they will send their food crops and servants in exchange, Tang Xing is not interested in the servants, Tang Xing is really interested in food crops!
After some complicated negotiations, the Japanese ran to sow the seeds excitedly. The sowing place was neither in the enemy's tribe nor in Daming's camp, but chose a beach.

The Daming Navy maintained a high level of vigilance. The Daming Navy still did not trust these natives. They would not go, nor would they allow those women to enter the camp, and they had no interest in participating in this kind of open-air communication.

Because of the backwardness of productivity, the women here also have to participate in hunting. They will cut off two ounces of meat from their chests, so that they can draw bows and shoot arrows.

Daming once had a conflict with a tribe. Although it ended in a complete victory for Ming, the navy of Daming was always wary of these tribes from top to bottom.

The bow and arrow materials here are good, but the technology is extremely backward, even the recurve bow of the Mughals can't break the defense of the Mingguang armor, let alone this kind of small broken arrow.

On the second day of June in the 14th year of Jingtai, the Daming navy took a lot of seeds and started to set sail. The Japanese people all returned to the ship within the specified time. The Japanese people knew that although there are groups of wives and concubines here, this is a backward wild world. , they are not attached to life here.

The specific environment determines the norms of morality. Ethics and morality are clay in the hands, which can be manipulated at will. The living environment of the indigenous people determines that in the order of the Ming Dynasty, it is just a barren land. Living here, there is no civilization at all. .

Is there really a way for Xiangnan to bypass the mainland and return to Daming?
This question troubled everyone on board, including Tang Xing, a natural navigator. Tang Xing was confused for the first time, because all the way to the south was a stretch of land that seemed to have no end.

Sailing is an extremely boring and boring thing. It is easy to be led astray by some vague and wrong information. Many times, people will fall down at the last moment before victory.

At the moment when victory was in sight, even Tang Xing's vision of seeing everything in the ocean was covered with a layer of mist, making this man who was determined to explore the mysteries of freedom in the sky, even on the eve of the moment of victory, still accepting the pain. Torture and merciless trials.

There was no shortage of water and food. Fan Dexing even learned some native words. There were more than a dozen strong men on board. These giant feet were gifts from the previous chief.

Then, when Tang Xingdu was going to return to the voyage, return to Wojing Island again, cross the stormy Atlantic Ocean to return to the City of Liberty, and then return to Daming, the border of extinction appeared.

The border of extinction is the place where the archipelago appears. As an experienced navigator, Tang Xing knows very well that once the border of extinction appears, it means that the Daming Navy has found a waterway to continue westward.

"East longitude 149°, south latitude 52° is a navigable strait in front of you. The wind is force eleven and there are ice floes drifting by. Commander Tang, what is your name?" Fan Dexing obtained the precise coordinates and asked the fleet's general The conductor gave this place a name that belongs to Daming.

Tang Xing looked at the piles of bonfire marks left by the natives, and said with a smile, "Let's call it the Tierra del Fuego."

Fan Dexing said helplessly: "Commander Tang's naming is as boring as ever."

"You are not convinced, you choose something nicer!" Tang Xing patted the table. This scholar actually mocked him for having no ink in his stomach. He is the one who talks and laughs with Li Binyan!
Fan Dexing said very confidently: "If you want me to say that the archipelago of this extinct land is called Tangxing Island, the strait that runs through it is called Tangxing Strait!"

Tang Xing kicked Fan Dexing fiercely on the buttocks, and said with a sneer: "I went around in circles, just to flatter you, right?"

Fan Dexing said quite confidently: "No, no, no, I think it should be named like this! Whoever passes here in the future must say, Commander Tang blesses you."

"Commander Tang led us to find it. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for us to pass through the terrifying sea area. You know, the sea area where the compass can't guide the direction will make the ship stray on the endless sea."

Tang Xing said confidently: "This strait has a name, it's called Binyan Strait. Look at its winding extension, doesn't it look like the twists and turns in Li Binyan's big belly? In the future, anyone who passes by here will Every ship should shout three times, Li Binyan bless you!"

"You read a lot, make up a story to make people believe it is true, you know, there are many inexplicable rules at sea, even if you don't know why, you must abide by them."

The Binyan Strait is narrow and tortuous, the narrowest part of the entrance is less than [-] feet. The rocky banks on both sides of the strait are steep and towering into the clouds. Countless huge glaciers hang on the rock walls. The scene is very spectacular. In the sea, there will be a loud noise like thunder.

Fan Dexing thought that Tang Xing would name this strait the Thunder Strait, and Bin Yan's strait is of course also good.

Fan Dexing immediately formed a story in his mind. It was a rather clichéd story. The ship was in distress here. It was Songjiang Governor Li Binyan who held the chair against the falling glacier, which allowed the fleet to pass smoothly. Strange story, that is naturally how the legend came about.

"Your story is good, why don't you add more content, such as entrusting a dream to slay the Dragon King at night?" Tang Xing smiled and added.

In the words of Fan Dexing and Tang Xing, the rudiment of this story has become complete, a strange story that combines various myths and legends.

It’s about the Daming Navy who couldn’t find the way back and was extremely confused. Tang Commander Meng Li Binyan, Li Binyan came from the emptiness, smashed Fuego Island with one sword to open the waterway for Daming, and cut the wild dragon king Pingbo with two swords. The story of breaking the Dragon King's ice method, protecting the fleet through the strait, and returning to Daming was created.

This story cannot be said to be reasonable, it can only be said to be outrageous.

But it has perfectly established a nautical symbol, and since then, this landmark has a cultural foundation.

The most feared thing on the sea is getting lost, not only losing the direction, but also losing the mind. Such legendary stories can also be regarded as symbols, which can make people have an illusory idea as hope when they are desperate.

This expectation is probably the dawn that pierces the darkness of the dawn at the most desperate time. It seems insignificant, but it can warm the heart.

Under the command of the commander-in-chief, the two ships broke away from the fleet and began to explore forward. By the evening of the fourth day, the two ships brought back good news.

The exploration ship fired a cannon to the flagship to express its congratulations. This is an agreed signal, which means that it is possible to pass, and the opposite is the endless sea. Start firing shots at the sky, once, twice, three times, the artillery roared, and the echoes in the valley vibrated.

The fleet sailed slowly into the strait. The cliffs on both sides of the strait were deathly silent, and the light was dim, which seemed a bit gloomy and creepy.

There has never been a fleet of ships here, and there has never been a ship passing by. No one has ever arrived. The black hills on the shore, the dark clouds in the sky, and the air in the strait are very dull. A leaf boat on the underworld.

The strait was dark at night, but you could see the flickering fire, the bonfire of the aborigines, which shot through the cliff and into the ship's window.

Therefore, it is not without reason that Tang Xing named this place the Tierra del Fuego. It is these flames that prevent the fleet from thinking that they are sailing outside the world.

The aborigines here don't know how to keep fire, so they can only burn dry grass and branches day and night, and these fire lights have become a guide during the boring journey.

"We have been driving for two days, and the depth of the sea has not changed. At least with the tools on board, we can't measure the bottom depth. The coast extends continuously, and the waterway is not interrupted. Instead, it extends to a long distance in twists and turns. The water is still salty, which proves that It's not a river, but a strait, so this leads to another ocean, and our longitude is slowly changing." Fan Dehang reported the logbook as usual, as a boat master, he needs to judge whether he is driving on the sea or on the river.

In the early morning of the next day, when the dawn light fell, the Deming Ocean Fleet successfully passed through the strait full of sea breeze, glaciers and hidden reefs, arrived at the calm ocean, and ran into a drifting duck head-on.

Tang Xing ordered people to salvage the drifting duck. Looking at the drifting duck that had lost half of its head, there were tears in his eyes.

Although there are still tens of thousands of miles away from home, this inconspicuous duck told everyone that they and Daming were already inextricably linked.

……

At sea, it is not only the direction that is easy to get lost, but also people's hearts. Those weird legends are not credible, but they can be used as an excuse for people to do evil. ——Li Binyan, Chief Assistant of Ming Dynasty and Governor of Songjiang.

　During this period of time, I read a lot of logbooks of the Great Voyage Age and found a lot of interesting things, such as the siren (a kind of sea monster in mythology) who confuses and kills everyone on board with singing. The excuse of internal strife, sailing on the sea, and the extremely boring sailing life will break people's hearts, and the sirens are just monsters of people's hearts.Ask for a monthly ticket, woo! ! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)