open sea

Chapter 458 Wangxia
Ma Jin didn't know whether Chen Bazhi, who was holding a heavy cannon, needed to worry. He only knew that when he commanded the fleet to be stationed in the extreme east of the mainland, he was really relieved to be able to look at the strait with his own eyes.

In April of the first year, more than [-] people came from Xiharwei on Kuwu Island, carrying food and luggage for May, in search of America on the other side of the strait. Jue was rewarded with land by the emperor and set off.

As a northern general, before departure, Ma Jin made a special trip to ask Chen Bazhi for a captain who is proficient in sailing. He made the best preparations and the worst results and sailed for six thousand miles.

Drifting at sea, at a slower speed, the boat can travel five thousand miles in one month.

But Magui did not expect that in front of their great cause of going to America, there was a stretching peninsula.

In the sailing day notes of the fleet, it is clearly recorded that Magui circled a semicircle of [-] miles in the old place of Nurgandus before arriving at the peninsula located [-] miles due east of Kuwu Island. The first hundred households in the village were named Siqianli.

Record the wrong path he took.

When he arrived at four thousand miles, Ma Jin was really excited for a while. He mistakenly thought that he had led the fleet to the Strait, so the original name of Baihusuo was Wangxia Prefecture.But when he led the fleet around the strait and continued eastward along the coast, he still couldn't find the shore that he planned to go north.

It wasn't until he continued to travel thousands of miles that Ma Gui got into the cabin like a madman and tossed the charts, finally admitted that he had gone the wrong way, and immediately sent two small fleets back to Wangxiazhou, and sailed westward from Wangxiazhou again. Kuwu Island, let the new fleet measure the route distance and name it again.

Along the long coastline, there are scattered Jurchen fishing and hunting villages. When the court ruled Nurgan Dusi, all the tribes north of Nuergan Mountain were collectively called Beishan Jurchen.

Although their ancestors had paid tribute to the imperial court with seafood, for the Majin fleet, every time they landed, it was like luck. Sometimes, the tribes along the way were willing to exchange food for some decorations or spices, and sometimes they rode reindeer to get food. Raise the bow and spear as if to deal with the robbers.

There is no way, if it is not necessary, Ma Jin, who has been worn out by the voyage, is not willing to dock, let alone waste time with these savage Jurchens, but his fleet is short of food, and it is too wasteful for him to take four thousand miles of detours. Lots of food and time.

If they don't replenish water and food on the spot, they will be in a dilemma where they can't find the strait and can't go back to Kuwu Island.

Stop and go along the way, release two small boats to stand guard along the coast every few hundred miles, wait for the follow-up fleet, set up two hundred households, and when he really reaches the end of the mainland, there are only more than [-] people left in the fleet .

The cold wind in Xi Boer was biting, and the wolf-fur cloak wrapped in hemp brocade disembarked was still shivering from the cold, and he stepped on the frozen seashore. He looked at the smoke in the forest in the distance and asked Ni Shangzhong: "Why did the Jurchens To call the object of our voyage a cybor?"

"Mongol in the previous dynasty? Maybe someone came at that time."

Ni Shangzhong has a strong body. As the former captain of the ship, he occasionally took on the task of breaking the thin ice during the voyage. Making a creaking sound in the snow, he said, "It's good to have hot water. The last time I washed up was in August!"

Kuwu Island has always been severely cold. The local Jurchen tribe said that it is only warm for five months a year, so they set off in April, which is relatively warm. However, they did not expect to make a big circle to the north, and the subsequent weather has always been like winter in Nanyangwei.

After entering August, the weather is normal, like the winter in Wanquandusi, which is also Ni Shangzhong's hometown.

Now it is October, and the land and woods along the coast are covered with ankle-deep snow, and they can no longer go eastward. Ni Shangzhong looked over their warships to the northeast sea with a telescope, and said: "Then You can faintly see the island, general, it should be here."

Since September, the sea surface they passed has begun to show signs of ice, and it has become more serious as they sail in the northeast direction, and they will collide with broken ice from time to time. The bow of Ni Shangzhong's ship has been cracked in many collisions, and the ship is close to being destroyed. .

In fact, Ma Jin did not reach the destination, he just realized that the next road could no longer rely on the ship, so he stopped the ship and docked, otherwise he originally wanted to go around the north of the North Sea to confirm that he had really arrived at the mainland the end.

Running four thousand miles in vain, really made Ma Jin suffer enough.

Those warriors who were wrapped up like bears were not cold, but the flag soldiers who disembarked earlier were froze. Even with winter clothes, they were still unbearably cold.

The whiteness in front of him made Ma Jin's eyes hurt, and he said, "I'm afraid I'm going to spend the winter here, but I don't know how long the winter will be here."

When the fleet was still on the road, the Beishan Jurchen who was closest to Wangxia Prefecture said in a language that only savage Jurchen could understand that the sea going east only thawed for three months a year.

It is very likely that they will stay here until June and July next year before leaving.

The captain of the Fujian captain who was seconded from Wudao was wrapped in a wolf-skin jacket over his armor and looked at the warship distressedly. He imitated the appearance of the northern soldiers and put his hands in his sleeves.

Even the northern soldiers who are accustomed to the wind and snow on the frontier are shivering from the cold when they come here. Except for the flag soldiers who are ordered to run far away to set up guards or receive orders to transport and log, the others have already curled up and sat back to back. , face buried in knees to escape the cold.

When the sailors on the stern boat came down, Ma Gui, who was looking for the horses, stared straight at him... the boat with North Korean soldiers was at the end of the team. Korean military uniforms.

Chen Mu of this Great Ming Flying Team has spent a lot of money, not to mention the winter clothes directly ordered from the frontier army. The flag army is equipped with relatively cheap deer fur and sheep fur, and the generals are wolf fur, leather boots and quilts. Even each small flag is equipped with a lighter made by Nanyang Wei.

But these Korean soldiers didn't wear cloaks, deer fur and sheep fur, only red and blue battle jackets, and rarely helmets on their heads. Even the leading young general Yi Sun-shin just tied his forehead and his teeth were clenched from the cold. With a pale complexion, he tried his best to show a restrained appearance in the Ming army, and each of them came in a file with bows and arrows in hand.

"Why don't you wear fur robes, people will freeze to death in this weather!"

Ma Gui's question did not make Li Sunchen feel intimidated. He raised the bow and arrow in his hand and said, "This place is much colder than North Korea, but it is not enough to freeze people to death. winter."

"Since I surrendered to Chen Shuai's family, I am deeply disturbed that the salary is higher than others without making an inch of merit; when I follow the general across the strait, it will not be too late for me to wear fur robes. Now let me wait for you to hunt Bar."

"I heard that there are deer in Beishan Jurchen's land, so there should be deer here too."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)