There is a special clock room in the Ming Dynasty ship, and all the astronomical officers hide in it during battles.
The pendulum clock here is extremely huge, and it also has a second hand system. Every component is carefully polished by top craftsmen.
Different from the pendulum clock in Luoyang, Kaifeng, the pendulum clock on the ship has two symmetrical pendulums connected by springs. The escapement has also been redesigned, or most of the parts have been redesigned.
Navigation bell!
"Boom boom boom boom!"
There was a faint sound of shelling outside, but the astronomers in the clock room were chatting.
Chief Astronomer Li Nanheng stared at the hands of the nautical clock and said: "I always feel that the error of the nautical clock has become larger during this period."
Zhou Yicheng, a clockmaker on board the ship, said: "The big storm last month probably had an impact on the navigation clock."
"You've been experimenting in the East China Sea for half a year, but you haven't thought about how to deal with it?" Li Nanheng asked.
Zhou Yicheng said: "When testing the navigation clock, how dare you take the initiative to brave a big storm?"
Li Nanheng said: "You can build a machine on land, put a navigation bell on the machine and shake it vigorously to simulate a big ocean storm."
"It can't be simulated." Zhou Yicheng said angrily.
Li Nanheng said: "I estimate that since we passed the Sriwijaya Strait (Malacca), the longitude we measured has been deviated. You still need to improve this navigation clock."
"What about your moon watch? It hasn't been made yet?" Zhou Yicheng asked.
Li Nanheng shook his head and said: "It's still early, we have to complete the star map first."
If you want to use the lunar surface to determine longitude, you must have two prerequisites.
First, the moon’s trajectory must be accurately predicted.
This is the three-body problem of the earth, moon, and sun. Anyone who has read the novel "The Three-Body Problem" knows that this thing has no solution.
However, due to the huge difference in mass between the three, an approximate value can be obtained. And astronomical observations can also be used to assist. There is a cycle every eighteen years, and the earth, moon and sun will return to a similar position.
Therefore, this precondition has basically been solved.
Second, a very complete background star map is required.
This precondition is difficult to achieve, and field observations must be carried out in multiple places over a long period of time.
Therefore, it is currently impossible to measure longitude using the lunar distance method, and the only way to measure longitude is to use the marine clock time method.
The problem is that marine clocks are unreliable, and they become inaccurate after a big storm!
"Boom boom boom!"
There was another series of gunshots.
…
Decades ago, Vijayabahu resolutely raised his army, broke away from the Chola dynasty, won national independence, and unified Sri Lanka.
The king at this time is the grandson of this hero.
The man who led the troops to attack the Ming Dynasty fleet was the hero's son-in-law, named Parakarama Pahu.
Parakarama Pahu had greater influence and was a legendary hero in the history of Sri Lanka. He would reunify the country and looted India and Southeast Asian countries from time to time. Since then, many heroes have called him this name, with the suffix "II",
Three generations, four generations...
The Buddha's tooth in Sri Lanka was stolen from the Malays by his third generation.
"Rush over to the side and seize the ship!"
Parakarama Pahu drew his sword and roared angrily.
"Rush over, rush over!"
"Vijay is so brave, and his fleet was the first to pick up the ship!"
"..."
In order to protect merchant ships and transport ships near the port, the Ming warships did not blindly fly kites and bombard them.
After sinking many enemy ships, Yingxuan ordered them to take the initiative to ram them.
The first one to engage in the battle was a 2500-material battleship. Its hard and sharp bow directly knocked the enemy ship out of a large hole. But it was quickly surrounded by several enemy ships!
Those Ceylon warships won by speed, their hulls were relatively long and narrow, and they were supplemented by oar power during combat.
All are smaller than the Ming warships!
Hooks and ropes were shot out, either nailed or caught on the Ming warship. This Ming warship was bound to four enemy ships at the same time.
The sailors of the Ming Dynasty had already put on leather armor and came over with a knife to cut the rope.
The enemy ships threw arrows at the Ming warships. After a round of arrow rain, they began to prepare to join forces.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
The sailors of the Ming Dynasty raised their flintlock guns and fired, all aiming at the enemy who was about to join the gang.
"Boom boom boom!"
The eight broadside guns opened fire one after another. At this time, the distance between the ships was getting closer and closer, with only a few meters left in the middle.
A few meters away, artillery fire...
As soon as a hole was made, sawdust flew everywhere.
"Pear fireworks, light the fire!"
The swarm of bees in the Ming Dynasty had been designed, and Ju Ming named it "Heavy Rain Pear Blossom Needle" in a bad way, while the naval officers simply called it "Pear Blossom Cannon".
Each group of pear-shaped cannons has more than a hundred rockets, which are fired towards the enemy ships.
The sides of the ships of the two armies had not yet connected, and the enemy soldiers who had joined forces were still waiting for the opportunity, and were instantly stunned by Ming's firearms.
"The enemy knows magic!"
"Hide quickly!"
Ceylon Island believes in Mahayana Buddhism, and the devils and magic they talk about are naturally related to the demons in Buddhism.
Vijaya was the leader of these warships. He was originally directing the boarding battle, but suddenly he found that his soldiers retreated, and no one dared to stand in the open area of the deck.
Even his warship was hit, and three shells were engulfed in its hull.
"Follow me!"
Vijaya rushed out with a knife, grabbed the rope and prepared to lead the gang himself.
This guy must have had such high prestige that the soldiers under his command actually overcame their fear and no longer blindly hid to avoid firearms.
"Bang bang bang!"
Sporadic gunshots rang out, and the Ming Dynasty sailors had finished reloading their ammunition.
Vijaya was hanging in the air while holding the rope. Because he was moving at high speed, he was not killed from several meters away. A bullet hit his thigh.
When I was shot, I didn't even feel anything.
It wasn't until he completed the jump and landed on the deck of the Ming Dynasty's ship that he felt a sharp pain in his thigh.
His legs and feet were weak, he could not stand firmly, and he fell directly onto the deck.
Several sailors rushed up and hacked at Vijaya.
Vijaya quickly rolled to dodge, and his calf and left arm had been slashed three times.
This fellow was so brave that he even stood up on his knees while rolling. He knelt down on one of his injured legs, half-crouched on his good leg, and swung his knife and hit a Ming sailor in the tibia.
"puff!"
Blood flowed from the corner of Vijaya's mouth, and he was shot in the heart.
The combat arms of the Ming Navy are divided into musketeers, pikemen and sailors.
The first two types are combat soldiers and can also land for combat. They are generally called sailors.
The latter type is an auxiliary soldier. They work as sailors most of the time. During war, they wear leather armor and carry knives to assist in combat.
Vijaya, the bravest warrior on the island of Ceylon, was besieged and killed by a spearman and several sailors.
The battle on the ship has come to an end.
Many of the enemies who jumped up and joined the ship were shot down in mid-air.
Especially the pear firecrackers, a group of hundreds of them. After being lit, they shoot wildly, and a dozen of them cover a large area in front of you.
The few enemies who can kill the Ming army's deck will soon be surrounded and killed.
"That enemy ship is sinking, cut the ropes quickly!"
"Pear flower cannon, reload rocket!"
About a quarter of an hour later, the fighting enemy ships took the initiative to retreat, and the combatants on board suffered heavy losses. Four more ships were tilting and sinking, three ship cabins were flooded and difficult to move, and more than 20 ships were defeated by the Ming Navy.
Seized.
"The little sea falcon is free to chase the enemy!"
"Great falcon formation in pursuit!"
With the flag waving wildly, the Ming ships received the order and began to chase away with sails.
The commander-in-chief Parakarama Pahu, who was located at the rear, could not understand what was happening at all. He only heard bursts of noise coming from the fighting place, and then his frontline ships were defeated.
He has never been in this situation.
Prakaramabhahu went to war when he was more than ten years old. Following his father-in-law, who unified the entire island, he went to sea to attack the fleet of the Chola Dynasty.
The Chola warships have been beaten to fear by them. Over the past few decades, hundreds of enemy ships have been captured by them alone.
In thirty years of naval combat career, he has never been defeated!
Parakarama Bahu also did an excellent job in domestic affairs. He built water conservancy projects in his own fiefdom, and his agricultural technology level was extremely high, even surpassing that of South India.
He is different from other pirates.
Pirates specialize in targeting lone merchant ships and will not touch fleets with more than ten ships.
On the contrary, Parakarama Pahu would not plunder scattered merchant ships or small fleets. He would "escort" those merchant ships to his own port, and would not buy or sell by force, but would only force them to do so.
Maritime merchants paid heavy taxes.
Therefore, more and more Arab merchants choose to dock in the northeast of Ceylon Island.
As long as you do this, you can get shelter, replenish food, and repair the ship. All you have to pay is an entry tax.
The fiefdom port of Parakarama Bahu became more and more prosperous, even surpassing the outer port of the capital. He relied on tax collection, supplies, and ship repairs to make money every day.
However, if the foreign fleet exceeds a certain number, Parakarama Pahu will take the initiative to attack.
He felt that such a large fleet was unsafe and would pose a threat to his rule. In addition, the large fleet was very wealthy, and he could make a lot of money just by grabbing a ticket.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The bow cannon of the Ming warship was fired while pursuing.
The hit rate was very low, but the enemy's morale was greatly reduced. The constant splashing of water from the shells made the Ceylonese soldiers terrified.
They were pursued from the northwest waters of Ceylon Island to the northern waters.
The Ceylon ships relied on their oars to work together and were faster than the Ming army ships with sails and no oars. They fled further and further away, and gradually they could no longer catch up.
Yingxuan had no choice but to order a return trip.
After confirming that the Ming warships had left, Parakarama Pahu carefully returned to his fiefdom port. He gathered all the ships and counted them. Thirty-eight ships were lost in this battle!
If he hadn't run fast, he would have been wiped out!
Two days later, hundreds of remnants of the army fled back.
Parakarama Pahu asked: "You also suffered a defeat?"
The officer who escaped said: "We can't beat it. The enemy's military formation is very strange. There are also weapons like thunder. We started killing people from a long distance away. When we rushed to a place dozens of steps away, the enemy's military formation was banging again."
There was smoke and smoke. There were many arrows coming, but our arrows couldn't hit them. The soldiers fell one after another. Then they were defeated. The enemy also had two to three hundred cavalry, who chased them and killed them all the way."
"Are these soldiers the only ones left?" Parakyalama Pahu asked.
The officer shook his head: "I don't know. There may be more alive, but they ran away halfway. The royal city has been surrounded by enemies. I don't know if the king will surrender."