Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 477 The Journey to Southeast Asia (Part 1)

"Ugh~"

"vomit"

Two days before the Yuanwang set sail, more than half of the four hundred or so people on board were seasick, especially the three hundred artillery cadets, almost half of whom collapsed and vomited violently, making the cabin smell exceptionally disgusting. This forced Wang Dayuan to order all the gun windows to be opened for ventilation.

What's even more outrageous is that Chen Youliang was also half-dead. Who would have thought that the son of a Tanka fisherman, who grew up on a boat, would get seasick?

Chen Youliang leaned over the ship's railing, looking at the vast sea in the distance. After vomiting, he weakly said, "It's different. It's different inland than on a sea voyage. I just didn't expect that such a big ship would be so turbulent at sea. I thought the bigger the ship, the more stable it should be."

Holding a porcelain bowl and some oranges, Wang Dayuan said, "His Highness once said that even the biggest ship can get seasick. You're not seasick now only because the waves aren't big enough. Besides, compared to the boundless ocean, what's the difference between this and a small boat on Poyang Lake?"

“That’s true.” Chen Youliang nodded, then pointed to the bowl of reddish-brown soup that he was handed over and asked, “What is this, sir?”

"Sugar-salt water, you're vomiting so badly, drinking some sugar-salt water can help you regain your strength. Also, eat this green tangerine, and then put the tangerine peel over your mouth and nose. Smelling the tangerine might make you feel better."

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang immediately accepted the drink, downed it in one gulp, peeled the orange, took a deep breath, and indeed felt much better. He then cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir. Do the others on the ship have some too?"

Wang Dayuan nodded. “Everyone has oranges. They were specially bought from Jiangxi before we set off. The sugar-salt water is only for those who are vomiting severely. Many people are going to sea for the first time, and seasickness is inevitable. But if it continues like this, I’m afraid they will have to tough it out. This brown sugar is not cheap. His Highness specially instructed us to buy it. Otherwise, I would not be able to bear it. General Chen should also get used to it as soon as possible.”

Chen Youliang immediately said, "It's only been two days. I'll definitely get used to it in two more days. But I've heard that Java is hot, humid, and malaria-ridden. I wonder if I'll have trouble adjusting to the local climate when I get there."

Wang Dayuan explained again, “China is located in the temperate zone with four distinct seasons, while Java is located in the tropics. They don’t have four seasons there; they only have a rainy season and a dry season. When we are in autumn and winter, it is the dry season there, just like the transition from spring to summer in Jiangxi. This time of year is relatively dry and there is not much miasma.”

"Moreover, His Highness said that if you are worried about not being able to adapt to the local water, you should not drink the local tap water. It is best to boil it and use it to make tea. It may help a lot. Besides, there is a doctor on the ship with medicine. General, you don't need to worry so much."

"That's good." Chen Youliang nodded and said, "Sir, you have many things to attend to, so you don't need to look after me. Please go and do your own thing."

Seeing that he was much better, Wang Dayuan turned and left.

That same day, Du Rui, the ship captain from the Shen family, reported to Wang Dayuan that half of his navigation map was ruined on the ship, and now he could only rewrite the navigation map. The rest of the voyage would probably have to rely on Wang Dayuan and another ship captain, Fan Yun.

This result was not too unexpected for Wang Dayuan. He had learned geography and navigation from Lu Jin and knew that with the current navigation map technology, it would almost certainly fail when used on the Yuanwang ship. Therefore, he did not pay much attention to it and simply nodded and instructed Du Run to redraw a navigation map.

Simply put, the navigation charts of this era were more like modern, user-friendly electronic navigation systems. Starting from a port, you would navigate in a certain direction at a certain degree and for a certain amount of time until you saw the next landmark, such as a mountain, a cape, or a tower on the coast. Then you would turn a certain degree and continue navigating in a straight line for a certain amount of time.

This is a set of nautical line charts drawn using four elements: landmarks, angles, sailing distance, and time. Connecting them together forms a shipping route. Its shortcomings are obvious: the landmarks and angles will not change, nor will the sailing distance. The only thing that will change is the ship's speed.

The Yuanwang ship was incredibly fast. It was autumn and winter, with prevailing northwest winds. The southward journey was almost entirely carried by favorable winds. With its sails fully open, it reached a speed of 16 knots. From Liujiagang in Taicang to the Zhoushan Islands at the entrance of Hangzhou Bay, it took less than seven hours.

According to the two captains from the Shen family, in the past, it would take at least a day and a night to sail from Liujiagang to the Zhoushan Islands on a Fujian ship. This ship is at least three times faster than the Fujian ship, so their compass map is naturally not very useful. Fortunately, the landmarks and angles on the compass map are still usable, but you have to convert the time and ship speed.

On the second day after passing Zhoushan, even the veteran sailors on board were amazed by the ship's speed. They traveled from Zhoushan to the vicinity of Zhangzhou in Fujian in just one day and one night, and Penghu Bay was already in sight. They had sailed more than 1400 li in one day and one night, while it would have taken at least four days for a Fujian ship to cover the same distance.

When they passed through Quanzhou, Fujian, they found that there were far fewer ships in Quanzhou Port, which no longer resembled the bustling commercial port it once was. There were very few merchant ships at sea, but many pirate ships. They even witnessed a pirate attack on a merchant ship.

This is not surprising. Although Lu Jin has not yet conquered Fujian, he has already controlled Jiangxi and Huguang, which are the most important inland sources of goods. Without the supply of goods from the inland, the Semu merchants in Quanzhou will naturally decline as well.

The Yuanwang had only been at sea for two days, and its supplies were still plentiful. Moreover, the ship had very few cannons, so it would be very troublesome to fight the pirates. Besides, those Semu merchants deserved to be robbed, and they also had their own missions to complete. Therefore, Wang Dayuan decided not to dock in Fujian.

It's better to avoid trouble. Their ship is fast, and as long as they're determined to escape, those pirate ships can't catch them.

However, after the Yuanwang arrived in Penghu, the ship's leadership had some disagreements, so they had to stop in Penghu for a short meeting.

The reason was this: After several days of sailing, Wang Dayuan had gained some confidence in the nautical charts, sextant, and marine chronometers that Lu Jin had given him. He had been measuring for several days in a row, and the error in latitude and longitude was no more than five li. On the open sea, a distance of five li can be seen with the naked eye. If you stand on the top of the mast and observe with a telescope, you can also spot islands and ships thirty li away. It can be said that the measurement accuracy was already very high.

So Wang Dayuan decided to take a risk and wanted to verify once again whether the nautical chart given by Lu Jin was still so accurate when sailing long distances. He wanted to sail directly from Penghu to Cam Ranh Bay in Champa (southern Vietnam).

The point of contention is that neither of the two ship captains from the Shen family, Du Rui and Fan Yun, had ever done this route before. Generally speaking, the Southeast Asian shipping routes in this era were basically along the coastline, with two routes: the eastern route and the western route.

The western route includes Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Qiongzhou (Hainan Island), Da Nang in Annam, Vung Tau (Ho Chi Minh City) in Champa, Temasek (Singapore, Malacca), Palembang, and Java.

The eastern route passes through Quanzhou, Manila (Luzon), the Sultanate of Sulu, or Brunei, then to Palembang, and finally Java—all along the coast. Wang Dayuan's planned route, however, would cross the South China Sea in a straight line, from Penghu Bay to Champa. This distance is 1700 kilometers to Cam Ranh Bay and 2000 kilometers to Vung Tau (Ho Chi Minh City). This 2000-kilometer journey would involve no land or coastline in sight, sailing entirely in the deep waters of the South China Sea. Even the two captains from the Shen family dared not attempt such a route; losing their way in the deep sea would be suicidal.

Chen Youliang had come along to broaden his horizons, so he remained silent, but Wang Dayuan retorted.

“I just measured it on the map. It’s 3400 li from Penghu to Cam Ranh Bay in Champa and 4000 li to Vung Tau. At our speed of 1420 li per day and night, it will only take us two and a half or three days to reach Champa. And the supplies on our ship can last us at least three months, so supplies are definitely not a problem.”

"As for getting lost, that's even more impossible. Even if we can't find the exact angle, there's still the sun and moon in the sky. Do you think we can't even tell east from west and north from south?"
"Even if we were to take a step back and get lost, the South China Sea is only so big. If we lock the rudder and keep sailing in one direction, no matter which way we go, the furthest distance we can travel is no more than five days before we see land again. So what exactly do you have to worry about?"

Du Rui and Fan Yun exchanged a glance and immediately cupped their hands, saying, "Your Excellency is very capable and has a royal order to carry out your command. We can go wherever you say we want, but we two have absolutely no courage to take such a risk. If we were to kill this entire ship of people, we could not bear the responsibility. So if Your Excellency insists on this, there is no need to ask us."

"Alright, so these two are just afraid of taking responsibility," Wang Dayuan nodded upon hearing this, and then said, "I understand what you're thinking, and I won't make things difficult for you. This is my decision alone, and if anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility."

Just then, Li Bin, the chief of the Nanyang intelligence station on the ship, also spoke up, "I support Governor Wang's decision. This voyage to Nanyang was originally for the new ship to test sail and prepare for sailing the sea next year. Governor Wang is also doing this to verify the nautical charts, so it is worth taking a little risk. If he doesn't even dare to take this little risk, how will he have the courage to cross the ocean next year?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dayuan nodded repeatedly, "Absolutely, absolutely, that's exactly what I meant. If we can't have a clear understanding of the nautical charts, sextant, and nautical clock, what will we do when we go to Lizhou next year?"
"It's only 6500 li from Penghu to Palembang, but more than 40,000 li from Liujiagang to Lizhou. If we don't dare to travel 6,000 li, how can we dare to go on the 40,000 li route without any supplies?"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than Li Bin spoke again, "I also support the trial voyage of the new ship to verify the nautical charts, but I have another question for you, my lord."

"Station Chief Li, please speak."

Li Bin immediately said, "Your Highness has asked me to investigate the situation in various parts of Southeast Asia. If we don't take the eastern route this time, we won't be able to establish bases in Manila and Brunei. What will happen to my mission then? I still need to stay in Palembang. If we take the eastern route on the return trip, I won't be able to go to Brunei and Manila."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dayuan immediately said, "That's easy. Anyway, it's already been verified that our ship is fast enough. At worst, I'll take you around Southeast Asia a bit more. I'll make sure you can personally set up businesses in various places. That'll be fine. It'll just take a little more time."

“Very well then.” Li Bin immediately agreed. He didn’t care how the ship sailed, as long as he could complete his mission.

Seeing that no one objected anymore, Chen Youliang finally spoke up and asked, "When will we be able to return to Jiankang?"

Wang Dayuan did some mental calculations and said, "At most, it will be delayed by another month. We will definitely be able to go back before March next year."

Chen Youliang then said, "Then I agree, let's do it this way."

Finally, everyone reached a consensus and agreed to accompany Wang Dayuan on the adventure. They carefully measured the angle with a compass and set sail again from Penghu Bay, plunging into the depths of the South China Sea. In the deep sea where there was no coastline or land visible on either side, they sailed straight toward Cam Ranh Bay in Champa.

Shen's two captains, Du Rui and Fan Yun, were initially a little scared, but after seeing the Dongsha Islands off the coast of Guangdong the next day, their confidence was greatly boosted. This showed that their sailing angle was correct and consistent with Wang Dayuan's calculations, and that Lu Jin's nautical chart was also accurate enough.

The next day, the Yuanwang ship sailed past the west side of the Zhongsha Islands again, which strengthened everyone's confidence. After sailing southwest for half a day, they saw land and coastline, which relieved everyone. When they arrived at the port, they found out that they had indeed arrived in Champa.

However, the place names in Champa in the 14th century were different from those in modern times. The Jinlan Bay marked by Lu Jin was still called Bin Tong Long at this time. While everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Wang Dayuan also ordered them to dock for rest. This was their first port call since setting sail. Just then, Li Bin brought the intelligence agency personnel ashore and opened a trading company in Bin Tong Long under the guise of merchants to sell goods.

The local merchants and officials were seeing such a tall and strange ship as the Yuanwang for the first time. When they learned that the merchants were from China, they were very enthusiastic. Some merchants came forward to recommend their local specialties, while others asked Li Bin what goods he had brought and their prices. Even Bin Tonglong's officials came to inquire about news from China. The official even thoughtfully found a local Chinese person to act as a translator.

As a result, Li Bin brought them big news, giving a general overview of the current situation in China. The Yuan Dynasty was about to collapse, and the newly risen King of Chu had already conquered most of the country. He would soon drive out the Yuan barbarians and reunify China. They were the Jiangnan maritime merchants under the King of Chu's rule.

When Bin Tonglong's officials learned of this news, they were greatly shocked. They immediately invited Li Bin and his entourage to be honored guests, inquired about the situation in China in detail, and finally invited them to visit the capital of Champa, saying that it would be even better if they could meet the King of Champa.

The capital of Champa was not in the Mekong Delta, but near Da Nang, called Indrapura. The Mekong Delta was still part of Cambodia, and the capital of Champa was quite far to the north. Bin Tong Long was south of Da Nang. If Li Bin really wanted to go to the capital of Champa, he would have to turn around and travel a considerable distance north. Therefore, he did not agree.

Bin Tonglong's officials lamented the loss and invited him to make a trip to Champa on his return journey. They suggested that he could act as a go-between, leading the Champa envoy to pay homage to the Chu Dynasty of China. Champa was willing to become a vassal state of the Chu. If this could be accomplished, Li Bin, as a merchant, would surely achieve great merit.

This statement immediately surprised Li Bin, Chen Youliang, Wang Dayuan and others, who did not expect Champa to be so proactive.

After the three dismissed the outsiders, Li Bin spoke privately, “Before setting sail, His Highness told me that Champa has been at war with Annam, and both countries want to annex each other’s territory. If Champa can become a vassal state of China first, the two countries can form an alliance and attack Annam from the north and south. I guess that’s why they are so proactive.”

Chen Youliang and Wang Dayuan exchanged a glance before Chen Youliang said, "This is a strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones. However, from what Your Highness said before, it seems that he really wants to attack Annam. In that case, we can hand over Champa and make it a vassal state. This way, when we attack Annam in the future, we can also send a large army from Champa to attack Annam. In this way, we can launch a feint attack from the east and a pincer movement, which Annam will definitely not be able to anticipate."

"I think this can be done."

(End of this chapter)