open sea

Chapter 514
The wind and snow whizzed towards him.

The cowhide straight seam boots, which are more bulky than the northern Xinjiang military boots, stepped on the ice. The bottom of the thousand layers of cloth was frozen by the melted ice and snow, and then it was frozen and cracked during the march. They all rely on a few simple iron nails on the front soles of the feet to prevent slipping. , revealing the appearance of inner felt boots.

For the ordinary Ming army, such double-layer boots are against the law. Usually, cowhide straight seam boots can only be worn when they are on duty. Otherwise, they can only wear leather tie. Shoes and boots should be wrapped in linen.

The owner of the boots was wrapped up thickly from the inside out, with a cotton coat covered with a cotton armor, and a cotton jacket over the armor. A bow with a reverse arc was pinned to the back of the waist, and several long and thick feathered arrows were stuck in the quiver. Felt cloth and backpack, holding the bird gun used as an ice stick, walked forward step by step along the queue.

On the boundless glaciers, like bears of various colors, they migrate slowly and sluggishly.

At the head of this line of less than a hundred people, the flag officer holding the flag strenuously walked forward while supporting the flagpole. His exposed eyelashes and eyebrows were already covered with a layer of frost, his eyes were tightly closed, and the surrounding skin was frostbitten red. There are three layers of cotton cloth wrapped between the helmet and the neck. At this time, the face towel has been frozen and icicles are falling down, and he spits out heavy breaths from the gap with his breath.

What made it difficult for him to walk was the flag inlaid with dragon horns that still fluttered and condensed into ice.

The wind and snow made the big dogs running sideways dragging the sleds lose their life, arching their shoulders high and dragging the heavy baggage on the sleds step by step to walk with the team.

This team is full of military officials of the third and fifth ranks wrapped in fox fur and wolf fur. In fact, this is a team composed of most of the banner officers, and the lowest ranks are all with seventh-rank salaries, but they appear in Wangxia Prefecture at this time Edom, the endless land of jealousy.

Ma Jin raised his left hand to stop, and an order came from under the frozen face towel, "Put the flag, make water, how far is it?"

A team of more than a hundred people gathered in one place, someone brought the sled dogs over, put the fire rack on the ice to make a fire and made water on the spot, put the ice bags on the fire rack one by one to wait for the warmth, and in a blink of an eye, they rose up seven times on the ice. Eight stoves, more than a dozen people gathered in one place, no one had the desire to talk about the world, marched for several days, even the god's eyepiece was frozen and cracked, no one's brain was still working.

The flag officer who is good at planning took out the map, rules, and compass from his rucksack with difficulty, knelt on the ice and observed for a long time, and determined the direction according to the latitude and longitude of the sky. Inserted in the ice, then clumsily leans over to the fire and hugs a sled dog to keep warm.

The baggage officer checked the rest of the baggage, squinted his eyes and looked at the notes, and reported to Ma Jin: "As of yesterday, we have traveled 47 miles. The direction is correct, and it should not be far away. The baggage we have taken is still three days old. Let us rest for a while and send someone to drive away." Let the dog go to the back to get the baggage."

Ma Jin exhaled deeply, shivered, curled up hard, nodded and did not speak.

All he wanted to do now was to slap himself.

This trip started from last year. Last year they traveled to Wangxia Prefecture. Because the ice-covered coast could not go any further, they assembled troops at the easternmost point of the mainland and survived the long winter.

After the ice and snow melted and the ship was roughly repaired, they sailed east to explore. In a few months, dozens of masters were lost, three Fuchuan and one warship were sunk, and several ships were protruded in the east and south of the sea. The islands, relying on these large islands, are preparing to continue exploring eastward. Both Majin and Magui believe that they are getting closer to America.

Maybe next year, the imperial court will be able to find overseas the land that Nanyang Minister Chen Mu said is not inferior to China.

Make meritorious deeds, immortal achievements.

At your fingertips.

Even in June of this year, in the letter sent by Nanyang Military Mansion Gao Gong, the Spanish emperor sent a chart of the route to South Asia and Spain as a token of alliance sincerity. To the south, relying on ocean currents and islands, it crosses the ocean to reach Mexico.

They can go eastward according to the route and sea chart, and the Ming people are very close to setting foot on the New World.

It’s just that Ma Jin and Ma Gui are not reconciled, because of Chen Mu’s words, they were delayed for two years between Kuwu Island and Wangxia Prefecture. Exploration arrives in America.

At this time, the Nanyang Military Government sent a chart and assigned another route from thousands of miles away. They were not reconciled.

Impatience breeds risk, and risk is the greatest risk.

Before the snowstorm arrived, they set off from the island two hundred miles east of Wangxia Prefecture. They originally planned to sail for only three days. It was prepared for the real setting foot on America, and they knew that just this time, they would definitely find America!

In three days, at a normal speed, they can sail hundreds of miles in three days. Could it be that America can be farther than this distance?
Accidents come at such times, when the cold night freezes the hands of the watchmen on the mast, and when most people wake up in the morning, their warships are frozen on the sea, and the sea water under their feet has been frozen hard, and they have fallen into true isolation. No help.

The long winter lasted for seven or eight months, and they did not carry enough water and food to survive this period. They knew the distance to walk back to Wangxiazhou on foot, which was close to [-] miles.

Continue to the east, looking for the mirage of America, no one knows how far.

Everyone seems to have countless choices in front of them, but when things come to an end, they realize that there is actually only one way, and there is no choice at all.

Put your life on the line and continue eastward.

Someone died, someone went crazy, someone went blind.

As for the loss of fingers, toes, ears, the list goes on and on.

After they had traveled tens of miles, there were only about [-] people left who could continue to move forward. They divided into several groups and marched back and forth, crossing the ice sea with difficulty, heading for a place they didn't know they could reach.

No faith, no faith to keep them going to America, only one thing is clear in everyone's heart, they can't go back to the Gap.

In the rear, the wounded Bannermen stayed on board and were ordered to slowly dismantle the ship so that the Bannermen looking for America could burn it for warmth.

In the icy and snowy place where hope was lost, Ma Jin saw a figure carrying a flag on a sled in the wind and snow, and four white dogs galloped forward with their tongues out. , with frozen waves and mountains ahead, we see land! America!"

The shouting accompanied by the cold wind poured into the ears. At that moment, Ma Jin thought that he had been suffering from the cold for many days and had hallucinations. Many flag officers also thought that they had been frozen, and some even laughed meaninglessly.

It wasn't until the Bannerman shouted three times that the sled dogs rushed to the fire to keep warm, and the dog's hot breath hit his face, did Ma Jin stand up slowly and ask a long question.

"It's here, so close?"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)