Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 1058 Terrible Storm
India is a very lucky country.

From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the Central Dynasty failed to conquer the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and India and China were thus separated.If you can't conquer the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, you can't attack India. Even if you conquer the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, you can't attack India. This is India's geographical advantage.As for the direction of Yunnan, which has relatively better geographical conditions, it is blocked by Myanmar, which has high mountains and lush forests and a hot climate. It is also impossible to implement large-scale military operations in this direction.During the war between the Qing Dynasty and Myanmar, the Qing army transferred more than ten thousand Qingrui from the northeast to give Myanmar a look, but soon after the army arrived in Myanmar, a disease broke out, causing countless casualties. The army cannot fight because the geographical conditions are not on China's side.It is also not feasible to invade India through Burma, and then only send troops by sea, which is feasible, but navigation technology and army supplies are big problems. It is unthinkable for a fleet to cross the ocean and fight overseas for several years, but it is more practical to cross the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to fight people.Basically, for all the above reasons, India has always been partial to the South Asian subcontinent. When there is a strong enemy, it will be beaten. If there is no strong enemy, it will sing, dance, play in the mud, drink cow urine, and live happily.

But it is different now. After Daming absorbed the western navigation technology and experience, the navigation technology developed rapidly, giving them the ability to go on expeditions across oceans.Now Yang Menglong is leading this huge fleet across the South China Sea and through the Strait of Malacca.

It was a long voyage, and it took two months just to cross the South China Sea and cross the Strait of Malacca.Although the soldiers of the Ming army on board were able to endure hardships and had no shortage of food and water, they were still bored by the long-term drifting at sea.There is no way, it is already mid-May, the temperature is gradually rising, the cabin is unbearably hot, and there are too many soldiers crammed into each ship. No matter how sufficient the fresh water reserves on the ship are, it will not be enough to give them. There was no way to take a shower, so everyone had to endure it. Over time, everyone was covered in dirt, and the cabin was filled with the stench of sweat and various rotting garbage, which was unbearable.For ordinary soldiers, the most wonderful enjoyment is to go to the deck to relax. However, this is a very luxurious enjoyment. There are too many people, and everyone has a limited time to go to the deck to relax every day.The Ming soldiers who had had enough simply gave up treatment and stripped down to just a pair of underpants. If it weren't for the strict supervision of officers and the fact that there were female soldiers in the army, they probably wouldn't even want to have underpants.The painful life at sea drives every soldier crazy, and the ambition to make achievements has been temporarily put aside. What everyone is most concerned about now is: when will this hard life end?
As the commander-in-chief of the army, Yang Menglong's treatment is naturally much better than that of ordinary soldiers. His fresh water supply is sufficient, and he can take a bath every day. He doesn't have to be a salted fish like ordinary soldiers.But even so, he still complained endlessly, and vomited bitterness to Catherine in public: "I finally understand why not many people are willing to engage in this industry even though they know that the sea trade is extremely profitable. His grandma, this kind of life is Have people ever lived!"

Catherine gave him a blank look, and said embarrassingly: "Come on, my marshal, in my opinion, you don't look like you are on an expedition, but rather like a journey!"

Yang Menglong was a little curious: "How do you say that?"

Catherine said: "Besides you, which other country's sailors have so much fresh water and delicious food at sea, and even eat fruits and fresh vegetables? You are not satisfied with this, and you are trying to annoy me right?"

Yang Menglong scratched his head and fell silent.

No matter how rich the Ming army was, it was impossible for them to take a boat full of fruits to eat. Most of the time they ate canned fruits. As for the vegetables, there were only bean sprouts. He felt like throwing up after eating this stuff , but in the eyes of European sailors, this is a rare delicacy...

Alas, I really don't know whether to scold the local tyrants of the Ming army or the Europeans for being ignorant.

The fleet sailed along the route of Zheng He's voyages to the West, and obtained some supplies from several countries along the way. There was no shortage of supplies, but the sea was so boring that Yang Menglong dreamed of going ashore as soon as possible.No, he dug out the chart again, looked at it, and muttered to himself while looking at it: "How long will it take to reach India, I'm almost so idle."

Catherine said, "Come on, come on!"

———She acted as the leading party in this expedition. Who asked her to run this route many times, and she is very familiar with the situation in India?
Yang Menglong complained: "Every time you say it's too soon, it's never true!"

Catherine simply ignored him, and turned her eyes to the cannons covered with thick guncoats.

I really hope that I can arrive in India as soon as possible... When I arrive in India, I can see the power of these cannons...

Zhaji Chongweng looked up at the sky, just in time to see a group of dark clouds floating over.He exclaimed in surprise: "It's going to rain, it's going to rain!"

Yang Menglong looked up and was happy: "It's finally going to rain, and I can finally cool off!"

Catherine's complexion changed slightly, and she nervously observed the sky. The more she observed, the more nervous she became, and she blurted out, "No, a storm is coming!"

Yang Menglong was startled: "Storm? Damn it, the sky is still clear now, how can there be a storm?"

Catherine stomped her feet and shouted: "The sea weather in May and June is unpredictable, so what's so surprising about the sudden strong wind! Hurry up and ask the warships to lower their sails, or they will capsize!"

While he was talking, the sky had darkened, the wind had increased significantly, the sea surface was rolling uneasily, and the waves were rising. Now, no matter how stupid you are, you know that a storm is coming.Yang Menglong did not dare to neglect and quickly ordered the flags to be played.Each ship quickly lowered its sails one by one and fixed some easily movable items to prevent them from moving.As Catherine said, the sea in May and June is like a moody shrew, falling out at every turn. While the Ming fleet was busy preparing to deal with the storm, the storm had quietly struck.The sky didn't look like it was covered by dark clouds, but rather like some mischievous god poured down large buckets of ink from the clouds and then rinsed it with a mop. In a blink of an eye, it was as black as the bottom of a pot, sinking heavily to the surface of the sea. superior.Rumble--Thunder God's roar shocked everyone's eardrums. The whip of thunder tore through the dark sky and hit the top of people's heads. The dark sea surface was illuminated by the strong light of lightning, and then fell into even more darkness. In the deep darkness.

Boom—boom! ! !

The thunderous and violent sounds continued one after another, deafening, and the sky was continuously illuminated by lightning, as if the sky full of lightning had gathered here.The sky trembled with the sound of thunder, as if a furious god was standing on the clouds, throwing extremely powerful thunder and lightning one after another at the fleet that was sailing on the sea.The sea also went crazy, and the wind on the sea changed from a breeze to a squall in a short period of time, pushing the waves with terrifying force to form waves, and the group rushed towards the fleet like a charge. The roar of the waves was matched by the rumble of thunder, and the day was majestic enough to make a coward of the bravest!The powerful fleet has no ability to resist in the face of the storm, and it was smashed into pieces in the first round. Some warships were even washed up on the deck by the waves, and then poured in from every place where water can enter to form a rather spectacular small Fall!Every plank on every battleship was moaning, the sound of cracking could be heard faintly, every soldier turned pale with fright, and some even screamed: "We are finished!"

The Indian Ocean seemed determined to give them a blow. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. Even if the fleet lowered the sails immediately, the warships were still running uncontrollably on the sea. At that speed, they could not stop at all.The heavy rain was pouring down, and there was a vast expanse of white between the sky and the earth. It was impossible to distinguish the east, west, and north. Lightning was lingering in the rain curtain, and the rain also brought electric sparks. No warship could escape its blow.Yang Menglong's flagship "War Song Horn" is the largest and strongest ship in the entire fleet, but it is no different from a canoe in the face of strong winds. It is driven by the wind and speeds on the sea. The hull is violently bumped, and it is impossible to stand. stable.Everyone has to cling to the heavy object tightly, because as soon as they let go, they will immediately become rolling gourds.In the darkness, no one knew how long the storm had been blowing or how long it had been raining. Anyway, almost everyone vomited in a mess afterwards.When the wind weakened, Yang Menglong ventured onto the deck to observe the surroundings. Sadly, he found that there was no Ming warship nearby. As a naval marshal, he became a mere commander. Now the only thing he could command was the flagship.

Catherine gave him advice: "Send a signal immediately and let the nearby warships gather, otherwise you will be completely separated from your troops!"

Yang Menglong said: "Your opinion is always so correct!" Immediately ordered the signal flare.

The soldier in charge of sending the flares pulled out the box containing the flares and was about to light it when the heavy rain came again, so he could only continue to retreat into the cabin.Immediately afterwards, there was a roar from outside, the hull of the ship sank, and the salty and fishy sea water poured down. The person and the box were soaked in the sea water. You didn't need to look to know that this box of flares was Ruined.

Yang Menglong wiped off the seawater on his face, looked up at the magnificent waterfall, and felt a thousand grass-mud horses roaring past in his heart.

He later discovered that it was nothing at all to lose a box of signal flares by being drenched, because driven by the strong wind and waves, the Warsong Horn rushed towards the distance like a wild dog that had run loose. That speed is comparable to that of a flying fish!Catherine was shocked: "My God, it's over this time! Who can make it stop!"

Yang Menglong shouted: "You should prepare for the collision! Now even God doesn't have the ability to make it stop!"

Catherine hugged a pillar tightly while praying to God in her heart.

However, God said that there was nothing he could do. The Horn of Warsong didn't intend to slow down at all. It rushed all the way and slammed into a bulge of dark green!

Kara———

The sound of the hull breaking was deafening, and everything in the cabin shook violently. Many people were thrown straight out, and their heads were bruised and bloody. A scream sounded: "The hull has been smashed through! We are finished!"

(End of this chapter)