On the boundless Atlantic Ocean, waves rolled. On the ocean, several small black dots advanced in the ups and downs with the waves...

Columbus, wearing Zorro's black cloth mask, sighed, and then climbed the flagship tower, using the artifact given to him by Marin, a telescope, to continue to "snatch" the sea in the east...

This is the fifth month and 16th day of Columbus's Gama fleet. According to the calendar, it is now the day before Christmas.

The fleet of Da Gama ahead had crossed the Cape of Good Hope marked by Marin on the map, and began to leave the Atlantic Ocean and sail eastward along the southern end of the African coast.

According to the world map given by Marin (there is no sign of the westward outline of America and the Ming Empire, only to India), Columbus knew that Dagama's fleet was heading towards the Indian Ocean...

Columbus had to admire Marin's accurate information source. Even in the instruction manual given to him, Marin indicated that the Dagama fleet would sail eastward across the Cape of Good Hope on Christmas Eve.

Originally, in the Atlantic Ocean for more than five months, Columbus also relied on Marin's know-how route map to track Da Gama's fleet. Although the map and route given by Marin were rough and too general. For example, the hydrological and wind direction information on the coast of West Africa was incomplete. However, this map alone was worth ten thousand yuan. Even if it was ten thousand yuan, it would be ten thousand yuan.

Because, this map clearly marks the location of India...

Where is India? It is the origin of imported spices from Europe. Europeans use very large amounts of spices and spend a lot of money. According to Marin, pepper prices in Europe cost more than 10 shillings per pound, up to one or two Finneys are sold in India. The value gap is more than 60 times.

If Marin said, as long as the Indian route is opened, it will bring great wealth. Not to mention, the pepper trade alone can make a huge profit of up to 60 times. This is still the profit after deducting the cost of sailing, because the price of pepper in India is less than 2 per pound, which is generally 1 per pound. Even at the cost of 2 per pound (including navigation costs), there is a profit of 60 times.

Originally, Columbus was a little skeptical about the navigation map given by Marin. However, since Columbus discovered that Da Gama's fleet had indeed begun to turn east around Christmas, he had firmly believed in Marin's judgment.

Now, Columbus is extremely sure that the emirates of Mombasa and the emirates of Malindi must also exist. Moreover, Malin magically demanded that Columbus should not stay in Mombasa, go directly to Malindi, and express his hostility to Mombasa. It is said that these two countries are mortal enemies, and as long as they express their hostility to Mombasa, they may gain Malindi's favor. Then, according to the script requirements provided by Malin, Columbus will borrow Majid, the Arab navigator under Chief Malindi, to lead Columbus to arrive in India...

Columbus even doubted whether Marin was a prophet, and could accurately calculate the movements of the Gamma fleet. However, he was not willing to be troubled. As long as he could discover India first, his former shame would be washed away.

Once, Columbus discovered the Wild Continent and insisted that it was India. This is not that Columbus really thought it was India. But, if everyone knew that it was not India, his reputation would plummet. Moreover, the Spanish Queen Isabella I, who once sponsored him, would also turn against him. Because, when the two sides made it clear that Columbus helped the Queen explore India, not the Wild Continent.

If the Queen is sure that it is not India, then Columbus's title and wealth, the Queen may take back...

Sure enough, after the syphilis incident, when Europe knew that the place where Columbus discovered was not India, Queen Isabella decisively turned her back on her face...

Before the Spanish discovered Mexico and Peru, which had gold and silver, the New World was actually worthless compared to India. Because, discovering India can immediately bring huge benefits. The profits of the spice trade alone can scare people.

As for the new continent discovered by Columbus, the Spaniards can only send people to the West Indies to plant sugarcane. The Queen's advance team has been sent over, but it is very troublesome to reclaim tropical islands. Not to mention other things, the poisonous snakes, poisonous insects, and beasts on the islands can greatly threaten the advance developers. Being bitten by poisonous insects and being seriously ill is just a common thing...

...

Columbus withdrew his drifting thoughts and continued to observe the situation of the Rida Gama fleet in the telescope...

These few months of life at sea have made Columbus feel deeply moved. Sailing is Columbus’ greatest ability and reliance. However, what makes Columbus also feels amazing is that more than five months have passed, and no one on the ship died of scurvy.

You know, before he led the team to the New World, but many sailors died of scurvy...

Sailors are generally very good in their bodies, and those with poor physical fitness cannot do this job. Generally speaking, sailors rarely suffer from colds. Even if they occur occasionally, they can withstand it with a strong body. Therefore, the death of sailors is generally either scurvy or starving to death, or they die of a shipwreck, or they die of fighting with pirates and internal fighting.

But more than five months have passed, because Marin forced every crew member to soak in water with a mysterious herb every day, none of the crew members suffered from scurvy.

Columbus almost admired Marin for this. But he also knew what kind of secret this was. With this method, the safety of navigation will be greatly increased. As long as there is no enemy or huge storm, the safety of the crew will be greatly guaranteed.

Moreover, the freshwater preservation method specially requested by Marin also amazed Columbus. Because after putting the freshwater in an oak barrel and cooking it in a large pot, then stuffing it with cork and sealing mud, it did make the freshwater preserved for a much longer time.

In the past, a bucket of fresh water would deteriorate and smelly in six or seven days. However, the fresh water stored in this method did not smell or smell in five months. Of course, after opening the sealing mud and cork, you must drink it within a few days, otherwise it will still smell.

Columbus didn't know that this was the most primitive way to make cans. Although the sealing properties of the sealing mud were not as good as paraffin or beeswax. However, it was much better than not sealing with cork alone.

According to Marin's understanding, corks are breathable, so they cannot meet the sealing requirements. After sealing wax, they can charge and hold their breath. Of course, sealing wax is too expensive, because the waxes of this era are basically beeswax, so they are more expensive. Unlike later generations, paraffin wax is extracted from petroleum and has a large output, so it is not expensive.

If you store fresh water every time you store it, it will be a bit expensive. After all, it saves fresh water that is often used and consumes a lot. If it is a precious cargo, such as spices or wine, it is almost the same.

When using soft sludge sealing, as long as the sludge is dried and hardened, the sealing effect is also good. For example, the batch of fresh water supplemented by Columbus in the Canary Islands has been around for 5 months and has not broken. However, it is almost broken. Even a few buckets of fresh water that are not very good for sealing mud have begun to deteriorate. Because, after all, the sealing mud is not as easy to use as beeswax.

So, Columbus decided to go to the Natal area mentioned in the "Secret Guide" given by Marin, find a Tamsui River estuary and replenish the Tamsui River after a distance.

Moreover, the sun stove provided by Marin is also very effective. Now, because of the sun stove, the sailors on the boat have started to drink hot water. When there is sunshine, everyone uses the sun stove to cook. If it is rainy, they use the firewood that the sailors picked up on the shore when they dock to cook. Therefore, the crew members who wear it are not as hard as Columbus was exploring the New World, and can only eat cold food and pickled food, but can eat hot food.

As for telescopes, there is no need to talk about it. Now, Columbus can let the fleet hang more than 20 kilometers behind the Dagama fleet, and can also firmly bite the whereabouts of the Dagama fleet.

And Dagama's fleet still used ancient methods to let the sailors climb the mast and observe the distance with their naked eyes...

Compared with the two, Columbus was able to use a telescope to see the shadow of the mast of the Dagama fleet to determine the whereabouts of the Dagama fleet. However, Dagama's sailors did not have such good eyes and could not find the Columbus fleet more than 20 kilometers away behind.

Besides, Da Gama never thought that someone would follow their fleet later...

Because Portugal's exploration of India was also kept secret, only the royal family and some important figures in Portugal knew about it. Therefore, Da Gama never thought that his fleet would be followed.

Even if he lost it temporarily, Columbus was not afraid, because Marin provided a more accurate route direction. Just follow the route map and continue chasing forward.

You should know that Da Gama discovered that India had appeared repeatedly in textbooks in later generations. Marin remembered the route map of Da Gama. He may not know the details, nor did he know the hydrology and wind direction, but the route direction is generally accurate.
Chapter completed!