Chapter 469: The starting point of 1488 AD, the shouts and songs of the new sea route!
"boom!!..."
A deafening roar suddenly exploded, and the Caravel sailboat was shaking violently! The majestic waves swept across the deck, pushing the entire sailboat into the bottom of the water, leaving only three pointed masts. Two people cut the ropes.
The sailor was not fastened securely, and he was instantly swept away by the waves without even having time to hum.
Bruno felt light all over, his whole body was submerged in the water, and he floated up from the deck. He closed his eyes, held his breath, and grabbed the cable tightly, even his fingernails were dug into his flesh. The raging waves rolled him several times.
, failed to sweep him away. After more than ten seconds, the peak of the huge wave regretfully left, letting out a terrible sigh.
"Buzz...bang!"
Huge waves cascaded endlessly. The Caravel sailboat was like a toy in the hands of a giant. It was first pressed into the water, and then lifted up by the waves. Finally, the bow of the boat suddenly rose out of the water, and then crashed down again, making a heart-wrenching sound.
Buzzing.
"...Click!"
The waves and wind surged, and the tail mast of the sailboat was overstressed and suddenly broke! Then, the broken tail mast and the sail were swept away by the wake of the huge wave. A sailor who was tied to the mast cable let out a half-desperate cry and was caught.
As soon as the monstrous wave rushed over, he disappeared instantly.
Under the majestic power of nature, mortals are just ants struggling in vain, desperately waiting for the ruthless judgment of fate!
After the huge wave passed, Bruno hit the deck heavily. He was shaking all over and couldn't straighten up. His hair was scattered and he was in a mess. Even the captain's hat was swept away. After a while, he reluctantly raised his head.
, looking around. It was just an unprepared huge wave, and three sailors were missing on the ship, and even the stern mast disappeared. And this was the beginning of the storm!
"O Lord!...kill...the murderous wave!"
Bruno trembled and groaned in pain, despairing of his next fate. The dim black clouds blocked his vision, and the rapid rainstorm formed a curtain of water, making it difficult to see even the flagship within a few hundred meters. A moment later, amid the roaring thunder,
He regained some consciousness and shouted with all his strength.
"Lower the sails! Quick!..."
Quartermaster Mattim gritted his teeth and rushed out from the rear deck where he was hiding. He stepped on the water on the deck and came to the main mast in two steps. The huge wave had just passed, and it would take time for the next huge wave to form. The ship's hull temporarily remained
Slow down.
"Hey!..."
Mattim held the dagger tightly and slashed hard several times, finally cutting off the cable holding the sail!
"boom!"
The huge sail was filled with water, and fell straight down, close to Mattim's head, and hit the wet deck with a "bang" sound. Several sailors rushed over at the same time, furling the main mast sail, and died.
It was tied to the boat. If the main sail was lost, there would be no spare on the boat. Soon, the sail of the foremast was also lowered by Haroldo.
When all the sails were lowered, the Caravel became slightly more stable and was no longer affected by the wind, but only fluctuated with the waves.
"call!"
Bruno took a long breath. He knelt on the deck and raised his head. There were only layers of black clouds in front of him, and no light could be seen.
"O merciful Lord! Please protect your devout people and give me the light to illuminate my soul!..."
After praying for a moment, the surrounding storm remained unchanged, as if the doomsday judgment would never end. Not far away, there was another terrible sound of waves.
"Buzz...Boom!..."
Bruno looked up and saw another terrifying huge wave rising in front of him, rising to a height of more than ten meters in a moment. The sailors on the ship looked frightened and tied themselves to the cables frantically, then fell to the ground.
Hold on tight to the board.
"Ah!...Lord, please..."
"Boom...boom!..."
The strong wind roared day and night, and the heavy rain continued all day long. The turbulent waves carried the Portuguese exploration fleet, shaking violently, while sailing uncontrollably to the south. Lightning bolts fell from time to time, illuminating the rising waves and outlining the
The scene of doomsday. And every time a huge wave comes and submerges a small sailing ship, it means a test of life and death!
The terrible storm lasted for nearly five days before it fell behind the fleet. Then, the wind and waves temporarily slowed down, and everyone saved their lives. The clouds relaxed slightly, revealing a bit of skylight.
Bunoru came out of the deck cabin where he was hiding, and looked at the storm that was still raging more than ten miles away, with almost no color in his face. During these five days, the ship bumped day and night, up and down, left and right, and was submerged by big waves from time to time.
, pressed into the sea. Even an old seal like him was vomiting to the point of blackness and had no appetite at all.
All the crew members feel like they are suffering on the edge of hell every moment! Even if they hide in the cabin, they cannot feel at ease at all, let alone sleep peacefully. Because, in such a terrible storm, once the ship capsizes, no one can
It's a dead end!
"Quick! Scoop out all the water in the cabin!"
Bunoru didn't have time to sigh, so he immediately shouted an order. The sailors mustered up their remaining strength, like whitened corpses, and struggled to carry the barrels and scoop water from the cabin.
Yesterday afternoon, the lower side of the ship on the right side was hit hard by something unknown, and then a large gap opened. Everyone on the ship was dead. Carpenter Ivo held a piece of wood and rushed forward. He struggled to block the gap.
, but seawater still poured into the boat. Afterwards, everyone hurriedly worked anxiously all night before finally managing to repair the damage.
"Fortunately, my boat comes from Captain Diogo. It is made of solid fir and is not too old..."
Bunoru felt happy in his heart. He boarded the deck, stood up, and tried hard to find other ships under the dim sky. The waves in the past few days were surging in one direction. As long as the sails were lowered, the ships would not move.
It will drift too far.
Everyone looked at the dull sea, searching in vain for half a day, but found nothing. It was not until noon, when the sky light penetrated the clouds and the field of vision was slightly wider, that a Caravel sailboat suddenly appeared in front of Bunoru. And in Cara
Next to the Weir sailboat, there was a dilapidated square-sail supply ship.
"It's the flagship of the fleet, the 'San Cristobal'!...The supply ship is also there!"
Brunolu looked carefully and saw that the flagship was parked a few miles away and seemed to be in pretty good condition. The three masts remained intact, and even the main sail had not completely dropped, but was close to the deck and kept at a very low height.
"This is..."
He was stunned, and then looked at the undulating flagship for a while, and then discovered the key. It turned out that the main sail was furled in half and lowered to a certain height, so that the ship could be lifted as much as possible in the rough waves without being completely engulfed.
"Captain Dias' sailing skills are indeed... admirable..."
After a long while, Bunoru sighed quietly. Captain Dias was born into a noble family and must have the most precious maritime inheritance. He has experienced many years at sea and has rich experience, which is definitely not comparable to that of an illegitimate son of a nobleman. And these precious inheritances are different from those of him, an illegitimate son of a nobleman.
Experience, at a critical moment, determines your life or death!
"Boss, the flagship, come... closer!"
Harold looked at him for a moment, then hurried to Bunoru's side. His voice was hoarse, and his whole body had lost weight, but he looked more capable.
"Eh?...The flagship has a semaphore!"
Hearing this, Bruno widened his eyes and looked at the approaching flagship.
"Raise the sails and continue southward!!"
"Raise the sails and continue southward!!"
"Foda-se! Crazy, crazy! Dias is a devil!"
After seeing the signal clearly, Bruno was instantly furious. He beat the deck angrily and roared.
"Continue going south?! We just passed through a storm area, and if we go south, it's still a storm!"
However, the flagship only gave them orders and did not give them a choice. Soon, the flagship stopped approaching, turned the ship's bow again, and then raised the sail.
"Foda-se!"
Bruno lamented in despair. He turned to look to the north, and the storm he passed through before was still continuing. He looked to the south again, and the new storm was shining with lightning. Caught between the two storms, what choice did the fleet have?
The new captain stretched out his hand helplessly, felt the still strong northwest wind, and had no choice but to give the order again.
"Raise the sails and keep heading south! ... Don't tie it too tight, be ready to lower the sails at any time! ... Lord, devil, whoever you are, please protect me ... as long as I survive
, I will definitely give you a sacrifice!..."
Of course, only Bruno himself can hear these last two sentences.
One day later, the three Portuguese expedition ships filled up their sails and rushed into the southern storm again under the strong wind. This time, the terrible storm lasted for seven days, and huge waves like mountains also appeared one after another. By the time
The fleet rushed out of the storm again. Everyone was exhausted and collapsed on the deck like a dying salted fish. Compared with half a month ago, at least a quarter of the sailors on each ship disappeared.
one!
"Foda-se!...Thirteen days, a hellish voyage that lasted for a full thirteen days!"
Bruno was sore all over, lying on the deck, looking at the long-lost clear sky. The sun fell from the pure blue sky, shining on his vampire-like pale face, as if it was a gift from God...or maybe it was from the devil.
gift...
"Foda-se! Tenho saudades! I miss my long-lost hometown!... If there is another storm, we will all go to hell!..."
The new captain remained motionless, staring blankly at the unfamiliar sky. Next to him, lying next to him, were the new boatswain Haroldo, quartermaster Mattim, and carpenter Ivo. As the captains of the ship, the four of them were exhausted.
It takes all the physical strength, let alone ordinary sailors.
Fortunately, Bruno's prediction did not come into effect. The fleet has passed through the most threatening storm area. The storm subsided, and it was sunny in the next few days. At this time, the wind direction turned to the west, howling day and night, but it prevailed
the westerly belt.
The fleet had been drifting in the storm for too long. Diaz's face was pale and his expression was stern. He stood on the deck and looked at the vast sea around him. Although his expression remained unchanged, his heart was full of confusion.
"This is where?"
Dias pondered for a long time. In this unknown sea, he could never see any reference objects to make accurate judgments. But no matter what, the first priority now is to get to the shore as soon as possible and repair the severely damaged fleet.
After a few breaths, he stretched out his hand, felt the mighty west wind, and gave a stern order.
"Raise the sails and turn eastward!"
No one could disobey the captain's will, because those who dared to disobey were turned into corpses in the sea. However, after experiencing such a terrible storm, the undercurrent surged in everyone's hearts and became an unspeakable consensus. It was not easy to survive.
After passing through the storm, the feeling of surviving the disaster makes people feel weak all over, while the emotion of homesickness accumulates like a tide, waiting for the day when it explodes.
On January 29, 1488, the Portuguese exploration fleet continued eastward. With the strong westerly wind, it sailed overnight for three days and traveled at least 800 miles. However, the African continent that was supposed to appear in the east did not appear for a long time.
Captain Perrault measured the latitude, which was approximately between 37 and 39 degrees north latitude.
Diaz was confused at first, but then he thought about it, and an incredible idea suddenly came to his mind! He suppressed the suspicion in his heart and gave the order again.
"Turn the sail so that the angle between the sail and the west wind is 45 degrees, and the angle between the sail and the hull is 45 degrees! Turn the bow to the north!"
The broken Portuguese fleet then turned around and sailed north at half speed with the help of the westerly wind. But two days later, on the afternoon of February 3, the long coastline appeared again. However, this time, the coastline of the southern continent pointed horizontally.
!
"God bless you! This, this land, turns out to be in the east-west direction!"
Diaz stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the coastline stretching from east to west, and was stunned for a few breaths. Then, boundless ecstasy surged into his heart, making him tremble all over.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this moment, he clearly understood that he had finally bypassed the southernmost part of the African continent, and the route to India and Siris was right in front of him!
"O merciful Lord! Thank you for your gift! You sent angels to preach peace to the devout believers, and with your peace, you preserved our lives!... Praise you, eternal Savior! Thank you,
Bless me, I have discovered the route to the East!!"
Diaz cried with joy, knelt down on the deck and prayed loudly.
He raised his head and looked at the clear blue sky, feeling enveloped by the divine light. At this moment, he was extremely convinced that the Lord had blessed him and the Portuguese. The Pope’s will
, the royal decree issued by the king, the unfulfilled wish of my old friend is destined to be realized in his hands! And he will soon be remembered by the world of God, and even be canonized after death, and will be forever engraved in history!
“Praise the Lord, grant me grace! Exactly two thousand years after the Phoenicians first circumnavigated Africa, I will once again lead the fleet to the eastern land flowing with milk and honey, and full of gems and spices! And!
The new trade routes will be in my hands, and also in the hands of the Kingdom of Portugal!~~"
Diaz's shout was crazy, spreading in the mighty sea breeze. On the flagship "San Cristobal", the surviving crew members looked at each other, and there was some hidden thought in the eye contact.
On the coast not far away, a low Khoisan man was grazing a few lean cattle on the grassland near the sea. He heard the cry in the wind, and climbed up the hill in confusion, looking towards the sea to the south.
The sailing ship. The oldest nation in Africa finally met the youngest nation in Europe at this moment.
At this moment, the Khoisan herdsmen had no idea what was about to happen in this land that had belonged to them for generations. He just looked at it in surprise for a moment, then smiled and sang in a low voice.
"Mother of the Moon! Thank you for bringing me good luck! I saw a strange big ship with cross flowers... Where did this wizard come from, sitting on a plank of ghosts and gods, where does he want to go?
..”
At the southernmost tip of Africa, on the brilliant Sunshine Coast, desolate songs sounded melodiously, echoing the Portuguese shouts on the opposite side. It was like a friendly greeting, telling the beautiful beginning of the story, and the subsequent death, blood and tears were all hidden.
