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Chapter 1224 The Fish Has Entered the Nest 2
When talking about faith, Setel became a little excited, because he originally had a Buddhist faith, including his brother, father and all the tribesmen.

But after entering the new school, he gradually came into contact with another set of arguments that denied the existence of gods and Buddhas. During that time, he was very troubled and didn't know who to believe. Until he saw the answer with his own eyes!

One year, there was an epidemic near Guihua City. Those who were infected suffered from vomiting and diarrhea for many days and eventually died of exhaustion. There was no cure. This was not the first time that an epidemic had broken out on the grassland. According to the elders in the tribe, this was because someone had made a big mistake and was punished by the gods, who sent demons to cause trouble.

This disease cannot be cured by mortal medicine. Only by burning incense and worshipping Buddha in temples and performing rituals to exorcise evil spirits, and being sincere enough to move the heavens, the plague will be eliminated without a trace. However, those who have committed serious sins and are not sincere will die of the disease.

Unfortunately, some lamas from the largest temple in the city were also infected, including the abbot. Many wealthy families believed that the evil spirit was too strong and needed to donate more money and materials, and perform rituals to resolve it.

But after several days of torture, the evil spirit was not eliminated, and people who went to the temple to pray for blessings also fell ill. So there was a rumor that the Han emperor was disrespectful to the gods and Buddhas, which angered the gods and caused the disaster.

But the teachers in the new school do not tell students this. They say there are many tiny bugs in the world that are invisible to the naked eye called bacteria and viruses. Some are harmless, while some are very bad.

Once bad bacteria and viruses enter the human body and reproduce in large numbers, people will get sick. The specific disease depends on the type of bacteria and virus. It is also relatively easy to treat. Just prescribe the right medicine to kill the bad bacteria and viruses and the disease will be cured.

Who was right? The young Settle couldn't really tell, but what happened next made it clear to him. The people who continued to burn incense and kowtow continued to get sick, and it seemed to have no effect, while the incidence rate in the areas taken over by the army dropped significantly.

When the doctor from the Taoist temple arrived with medicine, many sick people were cured, including the abbot and lamas of the temple. Unfortunately, Settle's two best friends left school because they listened to their family's advice and eventually died of illness.

It was because of this that Setel developed a deep hatred for gods and Buddhas. If his friend's family had not believed in gods and Buddhas and allowed them to continue staying in school, he most likely would not have died.

Many years later, when Settle was admitted to the Royal Academy, he finally saw the appearance of bacteria clearly using a machine called a microscope in a European teacher's laboratory.

Although the teacher said that the virus was too small to be seen with a microscope, he already believed it. There were no gods or Buddhas in the world. All human suffering, disease, and famine had nothing to do with gods, so there was no need to ask for anyone's forgiveness.

"The general's ship is bigger, but it can run at the speed of full sail with half sail. Is there an oarsman hiding in the cabin?" Mather naturally disagreed with atheism, but he did not dare to argue, so he had to change the subject.

Since he boarded the sailboat in the Galapagos Islands, he couldn't understand many things. For example, the longitude and latitude on the nautical chart, the Ming Navy could go anywhere on the sea with dozens of crisscrossing lines, and would not get lost even if they had never been there before.

This skill alone made him, who had followed his grandfather fishing since childhood and later became a French naval officer, admire him very much. You know, every year, many ships and sailors return home because they get lost at sea.

Another thing that puzzled him was the sails. The material and shape of the sails used on the Ming Navy warships were indeed different from those on pirate ships, and even the French and Spanish navies, but not by much. However, the speed of the Ming warships was much faster than that of the pirate ships. Under the premise of the same wind force, sea conditions and direction, they only needed to raise half the sail to maintain a similar speed. Once they entered the full headwind state, the gap would be even greater.

Could it be that a few more crossbeams would have such a big effect? ​​The answer is probably no. So the most common perception comes to mind: there are rowing oars in the Mediterranean, so could these two Ming Navy warships also be rowing oars? It's just that they used a more clever way to hide the oars.

"You were once a sailor, but it seems the French navy isn't that good. How do you install oars in the bottom hold? Won't seawater get in? There's no need to guess, the secret to the ship's speed lies in the sails.

Do you see that the canvas has an arc shape after being stretched tight by the crossbeams and ropes? That is the key. It is called the Principle of Flight, invented by our Majesty. The details are related to geometry, algebra and aerodynamics. You must not have studied them systematically, so you don't understand them very well.

Roughly speaking, when air flows through a curved object at high speed, one side is faster and the other side is slower, which creates a pressure difference. The pressure difference is force, and the force acting on the boat is the driving force. With the same area of ​​sails, the difference between taut and loose sails when facing the wind can be one-third to one-quarter of the force.

Don't you understand? Don't expect me to explain it clearly. If I had the ability, I would be a teacher. After the war, when you have received His Majesty's pardon and can join the navy, there will naturally be people who understand it better. If you don't understand it by then, you will be in trouble. If you fail the exam, you will have no job, and if you don't have a job, you will have no money to earn!"

Finally, he met a colleague, even though he was a navy officer, and Settle wanted to show him how good he was. Unfortunately, what he understood in his heart and what he said clearly were not the same level. The more he talked, the more issues were involved, and he finally had to give up his education career.

"Will your emperor forgive us?"

Mercer really didn't understand, but there was one thing he was very concerned about, and that was the future. Being a pirate was not about giving up and living day by day, but about really being unable to survive. If there was a chance to return to normal life, most pirates would be happy.

"Tsk, you are surprised by what you have seen before! I have good news for you. The admiral and many senior officers of the Ming Empire were pirates. In their heyday, they had hundreds of ships and thousands of crew members. They attacked cities and villages, killed people and robbed goods, and committed all kinds of evil, but they were still subdued by your majesty.

You only have two small broken boats and dozens of minions. You have to pay to go ashore to drink in the tavern. How dare you be afraid when you encounter the regular army who will turn around and run away?
Don't worry, as long as you can lure the Spanish fleet to the vicinity of the islands, I can't guarantee that you will be able to join the navy, but after studying for a few years, it will be 100% certain that you will find a job on a merchant ship.

If this doesn't come true, I will support you. Going to the grassland to herd sheep, let alone dozens of people, even hundreds of people would not be too much for my brother. It is true that the income is not as much as going out to sea, but it is safe on land. If you work hard for a few years, you can have your own grassland and sheep, and marrying a wife and starting a family is not a problem.

Oh, yes, I have to make it clear in advance that you may not be able to marry a local wife, but it is guaranteed that you will be able to buy one in Southeast Asia. I will help you pick out a young, beautiful and capable woman. You cannot choose a woman from Annan or Luzon, as she is too expensive; a woman from Ayutthaya or Thanlyin is not suitable either, as she is too dark; a woman from Korea is good, as she is cheap and affordable, and hardworking.

(End of this chapter)