The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25 Steering Lock

Lin Qian sat in the small boat, gazing at Manila Harbor.

By the light from the beacon tower, four similar small boats could be vaguely seen following behind them.

Each small boat carried ten people, each with an oar, rowing the boat swiftly.

Under the cover of darkness, they silently made their way straight to the harbor.

The small boat rowed until it stopped in front of a huge iron cable.

This is the main anchor chain of the Manila Galleon.

"I'll say it again, once you're on board, you're not allowed to take any torches."

No one answered; all the crew members stared intently at Lin Qian.

Lin Qian's gaze slowly swept over each crew member, and she said slowly, "Our illustrious name begins here, and today you all bear witness to it! Board the ship!"

Bai Langzai was the first to climb onto the anchor chain and quickly ascended upwards.

Then the crowd filed forward, following closely behind.

When the anchor chain reached the top, it was still two meters away from the ship's side. Bai Langzai took off the grab hook from his waist, threw it onto the ship's side, and then climbed up by grabbing the rope.

The boatmen usually operate the sail locks at sea, and climbing the ropes is as easy as eating and drinking. They climb up without any hindrance.

Shortly after Bai Langzai boarded the ship, a soft "plop" was heard on the deck, followed by a thud as something fell onto the deck.

"Who goes there?" came the shouts of Spanish guards from the deck.

Then came screams.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" a guard shouted in terror.

With a loud bang, the matchlock gun fired.

Then came the sounds of clashing weapons and shouts of killing, mixed with several screams and the muffled thuds of swords piercing flesh.

The shouts of battle from the Manila Galleon quickly alerted the port guards.

The guards picked up their weapons and gathered at the side of the ship.

When they arrived at the ship, they found that the gangway connecting the ship's side and the dock had been chopped off with axes by Lin Qian's men and thrown into the sea.

Unable to board the ship, the guards could only aim their muskets from the deck.

The gunwales of the Manila Galleon were too high, so the guards could barely hit anything when they fired upwards. Even when someone approached the gunwales, the light was too dim, and they couldn't distinguish friend from foe, so they dared not fire easily.

The guards couldn't shoot at the crew members who were climbing up the anchor chain.

Because the Manila Galleon has two main anchors, Lin Qian chose the anchor chain furthest from the pier to board the ship, using the hull of the sailboat to block the guards' line of sight.

For a time, the port guards were unable to help in any way and could only watch helplessly from the side of the pier.

……

By the time Lin Qian climbed onto the deck, the battle was basically over.

The bodies of more than a dozen Spanish guards were scattered across the deck, and torches were kicked into the sea.

White Wave Boy was wiping his knife with the clothes of a corpse.

Lei Sanxiang picked up the matchlock guns and distributed them to the crew.

A wounded Spaniard, clutching his arm, knelt on the deck with two steel knives against his neck, repeatedly saying, "I surrender, I am bleeding, please treat me."

Lin Qian glanced at him. This man was naked, his white flesh exposed to the night sky. He didn't seem like a guard, which was rather strange. She asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm just an ordinary sailor."

It was obviously a lie. After the large sailing ship docked, no one was allowed to live on board except for the guards. Lin Qian said indifferently, "Kill him."

They were speaking Spanish, and the crew members with knives stared at each other in bewilderment.

The naked Spaniard panicked and cried out, "No, no... My name is José, I'm just a passenger, spare my life! I'm a nobleman, my family will pay the ransom..."

The fact that this person could disregard the rules and stay on the ship indicated that his identity was indeed somewhat special. Lin Qian decided to spare his life for the time being and casually asked, "Do you know where the wheelhouse is?"

The Spaniard looked at Lin Qian with a look of utter disbelief: "How do you know about the control room?"

The rudder compartment is the compartment where the rudder shaft is located. When a ship turns, the helmsman turns the rudder wheel, which drives the rudder shaft to rotate, causing the rudder blades to move left and right, thus achieving the turn.

Only large vessels like galleons and Manila galleons have a rudder cabin.

Because it directly affects navigational safety, the entrance to the rudder compartment is kept strictly confidential, hidden behind various decorations and furniture, just like a secret room on a ship.

Ordinary crew members wouldn't even know the location of the entrance, let alone the existence of a rudder compartment.

Historically, the hijacking of the Manila galleon by Han Chinese has only occurred once. That attempt failed because they could not find the rudder cabin, could not remove the rudder lock, and were unable to steer the ship, thus losing their ability to turn.

Back when the ship docked in Manila, Lin Qian had already figured out most of the secrets of the ship by constantly talking with the Spanish sailors.

Based on the position of the steering wheel, it can be guessed that the entrance to the steering compartment is most likely in the sterncastle. Even if a captive cannot be caught to lead the way, the entrance can be found by simply cutting open the sterncastle deck.

But since José, who was naked, knew where the control room was, it would be much easier to have him lead the way.

Lin Qian gestured for him to lead the way, and at the same time instructed Bai Langzai: "Take a few good men and go check the cabin."

Bai Langzai nodded and led six men down to the cannon deck.

As he walked, Jose said, "Could you help me stop the bleeding? I feel like I'm going to faint."

Lin Qian pressed the tip of the knife against his back: "Stop pretending, the little bit of bleeding you've lost won't harm your body."

With a knife pointed at his throat, José walked much faster, making his way into the stern tower.

The first floor of the stern building is a conference room and officers' mess.

Upon entering, Lin Qian felt her eyes light up.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the most advanced ship in the world today; the interior design and furniture are extremely exquisite, making it feel more like a European palace than a ship.

José lifted a rug and pointed to the floor beneath it, saying, "Right here."

Lin Qian gave a signal to a crew member, who stepped forward, used a knife to pry open a gap in the floor, and then used his hands to pull the floor up, revealing the entrance to a cabin.

"Please go first," Lin Qian said to Jose.

José said with a pained expression, "I can't climb down with this arm."

Lin Qian didn't reply. Her hand holding the knife moved slightly forward, and Jose, with the knife tip pressed against him, was forced to crawl down the ladder to the entrance of the cabin.

Then Lin Qian and the rest of the crew went down. The cabin was pitch black, and the crew used flint to light the candles on the wall.

The faint light illuminated the extremely small control cabin.

The rudder cabin is small, only enough to accommodate four or five people standing, but it is very deep, about four or five meters high, and extends almost all the way to the bottom deck.

Inside the rudder compartment, besides the ladder, there was only a huge straight log, which was the transmission rod between the rudder wheel and the rudder blade—the rudder shaft.

The rudder shaft is embedded in the stern frame, and from the outside it appears to be wrapped in two rows of thick wooden planks.

A through hole was provided at the bottom of the rudder shaft and the stern frame, through which a cast iron rod as thick as a baby's arm was inserted, with irregularly shaped heptagonal bolts tightly screwed at both ends of the rod.

This is a rudder lock, specifically designed to prevent ship hijacking.

Without removing it, the rudder shaft cannot turn, and the ship cannot turn.

“Once the large sailing ship docks, the wrench will be transported to the governor’s mansion. Without a special wrench, this cannot be removed,” Jose explained, pointing to the heptagonal bolts on both sides of the rudder lock, having discerned Lin Qian’s intention.

The rudder lock may look like just a black iron bar, but in this era, it is an absolute cutting-edge technology.

Firstly, it has a threaded structure that fits perfectly with the rudder shaft and stern frame, and has nuts at both ends, which can withstand a lateral pulling force of five or six tons.

It would be impossible to pry it open by hand with a crowbar.

The teak planks surrounding the rudder lock are extremely thick. Although this type of wood is not as hard as ironwood, it is still one of the hardest woods available.

Removing the rudder lock by chopping teak planks is extremely time-consuming and can damage the axle structure, leaving the boat unable to turn. If you're unlucky, the stern frame may also be damaged, and there's even a possibility of the boat taking on water and sinking.

The design philosophy of the anti-rudder lock is that brute force will destroy it.

Lin Qian stared at the rudder lock, lost in thought. While marveling at the wisdom of the Spanish in their more than 100 years of maritime exploration, countless solutions for breaking it flashed through his mind, which he then rejected one by one. At this moment, he felt somewhat helpless.

Even though he was usually calm, sweat gradually began to seep from his forehead.

(End of this chapter)