In the evening, the night gradually fell, and a few stars suddenly appeared in the east. As the number of stars gradually increased, the ships on the sea quietly merged into the silent night. From the ship, the distant shore was seen shining like stars in the wind.
The flickering candlelight was feeble, and compared with the starlight in the night sky, it felt quite lonely.
It's a starry night.
After dinner, Qian Wubing felt a little uncomfortable, weak and even had a fever. However, when Tang Yin reported softly outside the cabin door, he still suppressed his tiredness and walked out of the cabin.
Walked out.
Tonight on the flagship, the imprisoned boatmen from the Yuan Shui Division will personally practice the star-pulling technique in front of him, and then compare their measurement results with the results of the last measurement, in order to express his gratitude to Qian Wubing.
, prove their innocence.
Star-pulling is not such a mysterious and mysterious skill, and it is not only used by the officials of the Qintian Prison. In fact, not only the navy, but also the ships of the big families who often go to sea generally have people who can use the Star-pulling Technique.
Warlock, this is a technology that can determine one's position on the vast sea by relying on the stars in the sky. The method of measurement is not difficult. What is difficult is that after the measurement result is obtained, the calculation process, that is, this process, makes this
This technology has become unfathomable in the eyes of ordinary people.
Due to the forbidden sea, in fact, except for those ships that often went to Fuso and Ryukyu, most of the ships of the Ming Dynasty had just one Sinan on board. Everyone just wandered around in front of the door of the Ming Dynasty. Even if they got lost, they could get lost.
Where to go, even Si Nan really can't count on it. Depending on the rising and setting of the sun, you can always judge the general direction. When the time comes, just drive in the direction you estimate in your mind. It will be ten and a half months after all.
See land.
However, the Sihai fleet originally planned to sail to the Western Ocean. With such ambitions, it was natural that it was necessary to equip the ship with a Sinan and a star guide. However, the star guide was not really used except for preparing a guide when setting off from Tamsui.
In addition to the star map, I used it once when I left Champa. Now it seems that being so cautious at the beginning has its benefits.
There was already a long table on the deck, and the boatmen who had been imprisoned for two days were standing near the table, watching Qian Wubing walking towards this side.
There were papers, pens, calculation chips, and a stack of star-shooting boards of different sizes on the boat. It was a pile of ebony wooden boards ranging from small to large, with one finger to twelve fingers on them, with different specifications.
Each of the starboards has fine carvings, which are as detailed as every inch.
"Let's get started!" Qian Wubing walked over and someone brought a chair to him. He sat down and said tiredly.
All the boatmen, you looked at me, and I looked at you. Finally, my eyes fell on a middle-aged man. The man had a rough appearance. At first glance, he didn't really want to tinker with these delicate things, but he looked like a warrior with a knife and a gun.
Seeing everyone's eyes turning towards him, he smiled bitterly: "I'll do it, why did you say that I was the one who held the star last time?"
He walked in front of the table, picked up a moderate star board, and made the bottom of the star board parallel to the junction of the sea and the sky under the starlight. At this moment, the moonlight was bright, and the junction of the sea and the sky was clearly visible, but it was not.
What a difficult thing.
Then, he kept the star board parallel and gently turned the wooden board to look for the star he wanted to lead. He gently pulled the line of sight on the star board in front of his eyes, and then he followed the star board.
Silk thread, carefully measuring the height of the stars on the star board.
"Eight fingers!" He said softly, and the boatman beside him immediately handed him a larger star board marked with eight fingers from a pile of star boards. Then, he repeated what he had just said.
During the process, at this time, except for the huge hull of the ship, which was slightly swaying with the sea water, no one on the entire deck made any movement.
"Seven to four, no, seven to five!" He narrowed his eyes and said.
As he determined the height of the star, some of the boatmen who were punished were good at calculation. They immediately picked up the pen and paper on the table and began to calculate. The star board determined the height of the star. The star board determined the height of the star.
It is easy to calculate the angle between the top and the sea surface. Comparing the calculated results with the measured results before departure, it is easy to figure out how far away the person measuring is from the last time and what the direction is.
After some intense calculations, the results came out. Together with the results of the last measurement in Champa and the documents prepared before departure in Tamsui, they were handed over to Qian Wubing!
Qian Wubing looked at Tang Yin beside him. Tang Yin understood and reached out to take it. Qian Wubing's meaning was very clear. Aren't you amazing? If you can check such a small thing, I don't have to do it myself.
You just have to do it!
Tang Yin first held the paper and looked at it intently. Unknowingly, he had walked to the edge of the pen and paper calculation chips on the table. The boatmen got out of the way and watched with some anticipation as Tang Yin suddenly picked up the calculation chips and then picked up the brush to check the calculations.
with their results.
After a while, Tang Yin put down the result in his hand and nodded towards Qian Wubing. If the star chart in the backup file is correct, the star chart of the city occupation is also correct, and today's measurement results are even more correct.
.
"I have wronged everyone these past two days!" Qian Wubing saw Tang Yin's gesture and said slowly: "In extraordinary times, extraordinary actions are taken. You are all members of the fleet, and you all know that this deviation from the course is very harmful to the ship.
What a big deal it is for the team, I won’t say it in a pretentious way! After returning home, it’s all about running errands. If anyone feels resentful because of this, it’s because they don’t understand the general situation!”
"Little ones don't dare!"
He waved his hand: "Since there is no problem with the star-pulling technique, I want to know where the problem lies! You all should go back!"
The boatmen left the flagship with happy faces, and the deck became much empty in the blink of an eye.
Tang Yin looked at Qian Wubing. With just a nod from him, Qian Wubing made such a decision. He was quite excited. Does this mean that Commander Qian cares about me? How could he be so relieved if he wasn't a confidant?
.However, he has no clue as to what caused the fleet to deviate from its route. Mr. Qian, does he really know?
"Si Nan!" Qian Wubing seemed to know what he was thinking, and smiled a little tiredly: "If even the star-pulling technique is sure to be OK, then the only problem is that there is something wrong with Si Nan who is guiding the fleet, and it's not
Not one or two Sinan, but all of them, had a problem, and it was on a certain section of the way we came here!"
He had a conjecture in his mind, but he would definitely not tell it to Tang Yin. As for verifying this conjecture, it was very simple. On the way back, just walk along the way he came from. However, he had to do it every day.
Using the star-finding technique to determine the direction, he thought he would soon be able to find the sea area where all Sinan would be confused.
He stood up, holding the star board on the table, and imitating the appearance of the man just now, he put it in front of his eyes and slowly turned it. As he turned, the star board in his hand moved to the point facing the port.
In one direction, at this moment, in the small holes of the star board, he saw several piles of fire, burning brightly!