open sea

Chapter 982

Deng Zilong's longing fleet, together with Zhao Shizhen, has been stranded in Tierra del Fuego for more than two months.

There are no volcanoes on the island. The name comes from the bonfire that Magellan saw the aborigines on the island.

"On the equator, the more north you go, the colder you go, and the more you go south... it sucks! It also gets colder."

Zhao Shizhen was wrapped in a thick and poorly sewn guanaco leather jacket, sucked his snot, held a clay pot of hot tea, and said to the fleet officers sitting in a circle around the charcoal brazier in the shed: "Besides, the seasons are different in the north and the south. Frozen three feet, the southern sun shines brightly; the northern sun shines brightly, the south is frozen three feet."

The fleet sent by him and Deng Zilong met on Tierra del Fuego. To be precise, he set off first and arrived at Tierra del Fuego first. When he found that he couldn't make it through, he had to go ashore; When they saw their snow-covered boat stranded on the shore, they followed to find it.

It was the wrong day for them to set sail.

The season that was supposed to turn from spring to summer, here it is from autumn to winter. Seeing the undulating mountains turn gray a little bit, they are wearing thin summer clothes, but they are getting more and more unable to withstand the cold, and the return voyage has been unable to support them. Can only go ashore to escape the long winter.

Zhao Shizhen's accompanying fleet was full of people, but behind Deng Zilong's fleet of three Dingjia fleets, only six ships were fully manned and ready for battle. In order to save luggage, the other ships were only equipped with an even number of sailors, and they were only responsible for transportation tasks. .

They had a lot of luggage, but no clothing to keep out the cold.

Fortunately, there are also aborigines on Tierra del Fuego. Although a few tribes don’t seem very smart, they are strong and friendly. Because neither Spain nor Portugal have stayed here much, and they haven’t found any gold or silver goods, so they didn’t Being enslaved and hurt, and therefore willing to help Zhao Shizhen and other people in distress.

Guanaco is a four-legged mammal widely distributed in Peru, Chile and other places. It has a tall body, powerful limbs and runs very fast. Although it has no hump, it has hooves similar to camels. This is how the Spanish called this animal, and they Their counterparts on Tierra del Fuego had thicker fur to protect against the cold.

They are almost everything of the aborigines living here. Their houses are huts with a few logs, and the skins of guanacos are pasted on them to live in; their food is the meat of guanacos, which can be eaten after roasting Their weapons are the bones of the guanaco, the sticks of the leg bones, and the arrowheads and spearheads made of the broken bones after eating the marrow.

Zhao Shizhen and the Banner Army have not been exempt so far. Except for guanacos and rabbits, they can't find other animals with thick fur to keep them warm. There are many snow-capped mountains and lakes dotted here. There is no shortage of food.

Of course, food is relatively scarce for the aborigines, and large animals like seals are difficult to kill with their bony arrows, and they are less intelligent in close combat, but this is not a problem for bird guns.

"There are three tribes on the island. The tribes in the west were driven from the northern mainland by the Westerners. The tribes in the south of the island are short and primitive. The aborigines living in the northeast are tall and strong, and they are not afraid of the cold. They only need to wear You can fish barefoot on the ice for an hour or two with a camel hide."

Zhao Shizhen said with a smile: "They live in the northeast and they are called Southerners."

To be precise, they call themselves Sekonan or Selkonan. Although they have faces similar to Mongols, they are extremely strong. The average height of adult males is five feet six inches. Any man who is painted on his body will be Half a head taller than Zhao Shizhen.

The smallest mechanical unit can only be compared with the women of the Saikonan people, and the outcome is still between five and five.

The strong physique and cold-resistant body made the officers from Beiyang plan to recruit some heroes from the Saikonan tribe.

"How is our house doing?"

Zhao Shizhen, who was severely frozen, didn’t even dare to go out of the shed for half a month. He spent all day in the house assigning this and who to assign. A thick stack of books from this trip.

Fortunately, the Beiyang Fleet has a complete military medical system, and there are medicines on board, which allowed him to save his life. Otherwise, he would not be able to keep warm or receive proper medical treatment in such a place. The land that the Spaniards call 'the end of the world' is always accompanied by glaciers.

Is it so dangerous to send a beef?

"It's almost finished, but I'm afraid these wooden courtyards won't be used anymore."

The Nanyang Military Mansion was the one who knew the most about navigation in the Ming Dynasty. Even after Beiyang was established, the captains who led the team to operate the ship had always been the old troops transferred from the Nanyang Military Mansion. captain.

Fleet admiral, no one in the three phases of the Beiyang Banner Army has been able to climb to this position, and this time is no exception.

The leader of the fleet is Sun Ao. In the past, when Chen Mu was a Qianhu in Xiangshan, Deng Zilong was another deputy Qianhu.

In terms of qualifications, this buddy is higher than Zhao Shizhen, but he is very responsible in front of the mechanics unit... People who follow Chen Mugan will always encounter opportunities and meritorious deeds, and they don't talk about seniority here.

Talk about luck.

He said: "The Saikonan people say that the glaciers will start to melt in another month, and the fleet will be able to set sail for Argentina in the Viceroyalty of Peru until September at the most. From there, the road to the north will be easy."

Speaking of Sun Ao opened the original camel leather jacket, this kind of original camel jacket from Saikou Nan people is actually a piece of long leather, like a quilt, at least in Sun Ao's eyes, it can't be regarded as clothes, and the way to wear it is also very easy. Hold the two corners open, and then wrap your arms in front of you.

He took out a small book from his pocket, rummaged through the information he needed, and said: "On the coast of Argentina, there is an abandoned town called Buenos Aires, which means the city of Mary's wind. Because the garrison was always attacked by the aborigines, we had to give up."

"They now live in Asunción, which is two thousand miles north of Shunfeng City along the river, which means Maria Feitian City... Deng Shuai means that I should leave two hundred households in Shunfeng City to survey and map the surrounding terrain."

"It will take one month to repair the courtyard and the barracks, and it will take two months to leave. These houses will be abandoned."

"It could be left to the Sekonan, but they don't want it."

Sun Ao spread his hands and said: "They don't have a village, and they don't farm land. They chase the guanacos and go wherever they want. These houses are useless to them; the land suitable for planting around here is [-] miles away recently. It is not necessary to teach its cultivation methods."

"But this is a port." Zhao Shizhen took over the words: "We were stuck here this year, and the fleet will still be stuck here in the future. Someone will always miss the time, and it will be useful if it is repaired. Put the flag here, Put the stele here, and tell the Saikonans that this is our port, and we, including the Saikonans."

As he said that, Zhao Shizhen sighed helplessly as he watched the people wrapped in camel skin quilts, and said: "When we come back next time, send someone over to teach them how to make clothes, this thing is too expensive, and it is not warm enough to ventilate around. "

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)