Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 19: Start
August 12, early morning.

The second snowfall since the beginning of winter finally stopped yesterday evening. The green spots that were once "left blank" have been covered by thick snow, and the entire earth is completely covered in silver.

The planned expedition, well, to be more precise, the "Grass-beating Valley" operation also began to be implemented.

Thirty time travelers and twenty Spanish sailors boarded the "Breaking Waves" one after another under the watchful eyes of a group of people who stayed behind. Then, under the instructions of several instructors, they quickly took up their posts on the ship and began to make busy preparations for departure.

"This trip to Mexico will take at most two months, at most three. By then, we'll have loaded up the base with all the necessary supplies and returned safely. You don't have to worry too much." Luo Zhenhui looked at Li Xianqing's worried expression and said with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I will bring everyone back safely. No one will be lost. We won't attack those large ports and towns. If we encounter any Spanish armed merchant ships, we will stay away. ... Haha, with the speed of our Wavebreaker, I'm afraid no ship in the world can catch us."

"Lao Luo, I won't say much. Just be careful and don't take any risks," Li Xianqing warned solemnly. "We only have a small number of people and limited capital. We can't afford to lose any soldier. Besides, this trip to Mexico to plunder supplies is also an exploration, to familiarize ourselves with the route south. As for supplies, we won't seek too much. We'll bring back as much as we can. For us right now, supplies are important, but they're far less important than people."

"Yes, I understand." Luo Zhenhui nodded, then looked at the many people left behind and said, "After we leave, you must take them with you to guard this house well and make sure no one destroys it. Those Spaniards must be kept a close eye on and must not be allowed to cause trouble or sabotage. If they make any unusual movements, we can take drastic measures to prevent future trouble."

"I know." Li Xianqing glanced at the Spaniards gathered on the shore. They all had their eyes wide open and their mouths open, looking up and down curiously at the "Wavebreaker", as if surprised by the huge size and unique shape of the ship.

"Okay, let's set off now. I won't bother you any more." Seeing that the two jibs had been slowly raised and the sails began to swell, several academy soldiers who were about to untie the ropes were looking towards him, as if waiting for him to give the order to set off.

"Take care!" Li Xianqing held Luo Zhenhui's hand and shook it vigorously, then took a step back and saluted him solemnly.

"Take care!" Luo Zhenhui also solemnly returned a military salute, then turned around, walked onto the steps, and boarded the "Breaking Waves".
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"Oh, my God, this ship is really made of iron!" A Spanish sailor stroked the smooth side of the ship and exclaimed in disbelief.

"...Yes, yes. The masts, slipway, deck, and hull of this ship are all made of iron." Another Spanish sailor exclaimed.

"Oh, God, this is incredible! This iron ship can actually float steadily on the water, as stable as our St. Louis, and the draft is not deep, there is no sign of sinking at all. ... Oh, this is simply a miracle!" A Spanish sailor lying on the side of the ship stared at the water, as if to confirm whether the ship was sinking.

"Did you see what's going on inside the slipway?" another Spanish sailor asked, his eyes twinkling. "Oh my God! They actually use large swathes of transparent glass, which makes the view inside even clearer and wider. There are also many clock-like objects arranged on the operating table, with some incomprehensible symbols displayed on them. Oh, it's amazing!"

"Hey, have you noticed..." a Spanish sailor pointed toward the shore in amazement. "Look, our ship is moving, it's moving gently. But the problem is, the sails on the ship haven't been fully deployed yet, so we can't provide any wind for the time being. ... Oh, don't look at us anymore, there's no small boat towing us ahead. ... This ship is moving on its own!"

"..."

After a group of Spanish sailors boarded the "Break the Waves", they seemed like "country bumpkins" who had never seen the world. They found everything they saw extremely strange and kept exclaiming in amazement.

Although, in appearance, the "Break the Wave" is a large three-masted sailing ship, and its length-to-width ratio is much larger than that of ordinary sailing ships, there is nothing unusual about it.

The Spanish also possessed enormous ships with a full load exceeding a thousand tons, four battledecks, and over sixty guns, truly behemoths of the sea. But once they boarded the Wavebreaker, they immediately realized it was completely different from the Spanish warships, and indeed, from any other ship in the world.

First of all, the ship was built of iron, which greatly subverted their cognition.

From ancient times to the present, all ships are made of wood, and any iron object will sink in water. This concept has long been deeply rooted in people's minds.

Today, they not only saw with their own eyes a thousand-ton giant ship built of iron, but also followed these Chinese people to operate this magical iron ship with their own hands.

In addition, they also found that the speed of this ship was much faster than their "St. Louis".

The "Wavebreaker" sailed out of the cape and entered the wide bay. The strong northwest wind blew up the three raised sails, causing the ship's speed to gradually increase.

After sailing for a distance in the bay, the "Wavebreaker" began to move in a "Z" shape, constantly catching the wind, struggling against the wind direction, and heading northwest.
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"...The opposite side should be the Olympic Peninsula in future generations, and to the southeast are some islands outside Seattle." Navigation instructor Major Wei Yingbin observed the surrounding geographical conditions through a telescope while checking the direction and coordinates with the nautical chart.

"After we gain a foothold on Qiming Island, we will get some people back from Daming. Sooner or later, we will occupy these territories!" Luo Zhenhui looked towards the south, with a strange look in his eyes.

"During this period, the entire west coast of North America was essentially unclaimed territory. Naturally, we could occupy it however we wanted," Wei Yingbin said with a smile. "If we become powerful enough in the future, we could even drive out the Spanish entrenched in Mexico and completely dominate the entire American continent."

"The British should have occupied the east coast of North America by now. I wonder if we can drive them out by then. Oh, by the way, there seem to be French people in eastern Canada."

"The French shouldn't be a concern. Over a hundred years later, when they were completely driven out of America by the British, their total population didn't exceed 100,000. The biggest threat to us in the future will be the thirteen British colonies in North America, the ancestors of the Americans. When they broke away from Britain and gained independence, their population exceeded 2.5 million, and they had a considerable economic foundation. They were definitely a formidable enemy."

"A strong enemy?" Luo Zhenhui nodded slightly, then smiled wryly as a thought struck him. "We're really thinking too far ahead. A hundred years from now, we'll be buried in the ground, our bones probably rotted away. Right now, we're just trying to survive and develop. As for expanding across the entire American continent, that'll probably take three or four generations."

"That's true." Wei Yingbin also smiled. "We are short of everything right now. We lack people, supplies, and time. After we have stabilized for a while, I think we can consider going to the mainland."

"Yes, we need to go to the mainland to take a look. It would be best if we could bring back some people to strengthen our strength."

“Development is a long and arduous journey!”

(End of this chapter)