King of German Mercenaries

Da Vinci finally made a sextant, and its efficiency is much happier than the last time he made a clockwork musket. It's no wonder that Da Vinci was a little perfunctory last time, but this time he worked hard for his little lover.

So, within a short period of time, Leonardo da Vinci successfully developed what Marin called the sextant. Not only that, Da Vinci also wrote a set of operation tables and look-up tables. When measuring latitude, you only need to measure the angle between the sun and the sea level, and you can directly obtain the latitude data according to the look-up table. Of course, if the angle is not an integer, it can be calculated according to the formula. It should be noted that this look-up table is related to the season and is related to the height of the sun. Such a thing, of course, was completed by Marin and Da Vinci together. Because Da Vinci's concept of the height of the sun is still very vague, Marin, who has not studied geography in middle school, is sure. Therefore, most of the calendar comparison tables in the look-up table came from Marin's hands.

In this way, as long as the captain is good at mathematics, he can easily calculate the latitude according to the comparison table. As for longitude, it's a little trickier. Although Leonardo da Vinci and Italian watchmakers developed clockwork clocks with good central accuracy, there are still some problems with accuracy. Therefore, Marin asked them to test the clockwork error repeatedly. At noon every day, the time is checked once to record the error. Then, when you are sailing, you can judge the exact time based on the average error.

The reason why the error is recorded every day is actually to select the navigation clock with the most stable error. The error is stable, indicating that this clock has the highest accuracy. As long as you add or subtract a fixed error at noon every day, you can easily achieve school time. And if the error is unstable, the error is 10 minutes today, and the error is 20 minutes tomorrow. Such a species cannot be used to calculate the time.

When at sea, the captain can arrange for someone to adjust the error once a day to maintain the accuracy of the time. Then, from the time difference, the longitude can be easily calculated.

As for how to calculate longitude? This is easier. As long as the time of the nautical clock is accurate, during the voyage, when the sun is in the middle position at noon, and the accurate time obtained from the average error of multiple nautical clocks, the current position and the standard of Aurich time can be easily determined. jet lag.

The circumference of the earth is 40,000 kilometers, and it is divided into 24 time zones. That is, each time zone is 1666.667 kilometers long. The difference between the current position and Aurich is a few hours, which is a few 1666.667 kilometers. Marin didn't tell Amerigo the circumference of the Earth, but told him that the difference in lateral distance was 1666.67 kilometers in one hour. Then, just follow this principle to calculate. As for more, he didn't tell Amerigo. After all, he didn't intend to let him sail around the world, so why would he know so much?

After selecting the ten clocks with the most stable errors, Marin called Amerigo over and asked Leonardo to teach him how to use the sextant and the algorithm for latitude. Marin, on the other hand, told him the algorithm for the lateral distance.

In fact, because Magellan has not yet circumnavigated the globe, the concept of latitude is not yet clear to everyone. But Amerigo was an excellent captain and a half-ass astronomer. So, it is not difficult to teach him.

Anyway, Marin only asked him to use a sextant to calculate the latitude and lateral distance of each node on the route. Then, record it in the logbook.

At that time, based on the lateral distance, Marin can easily calculate what the longitude is. With longitude and latitude data, plus the use of a sextant. The next captain, as long as he understands the calculation of longitude and lateral distance, can easily correct his course and reach his destination.

After Marin and Da Vinci taught Amerigo to use the sextant and how to calculate the lateral distance (longitude), a few days later, there was good news from Thorencher - two 250-class ships. Armed merchant ships are also ready. The two ships, by convention, were named 2503 and 2504...

The reason why it was made so fast,

It is because of the previous experience. In addition, Marin is very strong in material supply, and there is no such thing as halfway. In addition, the craftsmen are also skilled, so it is naturally easy to do.

It's just that Marin actually kept his hands when he was making a Class 250 armed merchant ship and did not hand over the technology of high-temperature steam processing of the ship's ribs to the Thorencher Shipyard. Therefore, when the Thorencher shipyard made the ribs of the ship, they still used the old method of sawing the very wide wood into an arc, which was a waste of wood. At this point, the cost of making the frames at the Thorencher shipyard is still very high.

However, Marin also thought of a good way, which is to let the Emden shipyard send the processed ship ribs to Thorencher. This way, the Thorench shipyard doesn't have to waste so much wood. As long as they tell the Emden Shipyard the specifications and sizes of the ship's ribs, the craftsmen of the Emden Shipyard can use the steam box to process the corresponding ship's rib pattern, and then ship to Thorencher.

There are not many frames used in general merchant ships. A ship with a keel of 24 meters needs only 33 pairs of frames. For a 250-level armed merchant ship, because the keel length is only 20 meters, only 27 pairs of ship ribs are required. After using high-temperature steam box processing, the cost of ship ribs is much lower, not complicated, and does not waste wood. As long as the processed ship rib is air-dried again, it can be taken back and nailed to the keel. After the skeleton is completed, the outside can be covered with planks. Then, it's just paint and paint or something...

In fact, the materials for the 2503 and 2504 ships were prepared early in the morning. Therefore, this shipbuilding saves a lot of material preparation time. As a result, the Thorencher shipyard was able to build and launch both ships in just four months. Because, the most difficult to machine ribs in ships, in fact, the last time 2501 and 2502 were made, they were machined together. Therefore, the shipbuilding this time is very fast.

And the 500-ton warships that Marin asked Emden Shipyard to build are not so fast. Among them, bending the ribs of the boat with a high-temperature steam box saves money, but it is time-consuming. Not the processing time, but the drying time after processing...

Shipbuilding wood should not be wet. Therefore, the wood for shipbuilding is all wood that has been air-dried for a year or two. Earmarin had artisans smoke the ribs of the boat using high-temperature steam for several hours, and the previous efforts to dry were in vain. Therefore, after the rib is processed and formed, it has to be re-dried for several months.

In other words, it would take months to wait until the ribs of the boat were nailed to the keel. No wonder ancient shipbuilding took a year at every turn...

Marin thought for a while, this was too time-consuming. So he simply ordered another large batch of lumber, and had the Emden shipyard craftsmen machine an extra batch of spare ribs. This way, there is no need to re-fumigate and process the boat's ribs until the next time the boat is built. After all, it is a waste of time to air dry the newly machined rib for several months. If the processing time of the frame of the ship is excluded, and the keel and planks are prepared, a ship can be built in three or four months.

Thinking of this, Marin's heart is very hot. It seems that logging in the Americas is still very promising. If a large amount of wood is prepared in the Americas, it is then intensively processed into combined keels and ship ribs. In the case of all materials, as long as there are enough craftsmen, it is possible to explode a ship like a soldier...

So, when Amerigo adjusted the crew and prepared all the supplies, Malin specifically grabbed him and asked him to modify the route...

Seeing that Marin took out a map with the outline of the east coast of North America, Amerigo was a little confused:

"Lord Count, is this?"

"This is the coastline map of the eastern coast of the Savage Continent..."

"This... is this true? Someone has explored the wild continent before?" Amerigo was taken aback. You know, now Europeans only know some of the islands in the Caribbean that Columbus explored...

"My teacher Einstein Daxian has been to these places..."

"The count, your request is..."

"After you've explored Grenada, go north along the Windward Islands. When you reach Barbuda, turn northwest and go first to the Bahamas, where Columbus first discovered... Remember, don't continue north on Barbuda, there It's the Bermuda Devil's Triangle..."

"Bermuda... the Devil's Triangle..." Amerigo shivered a little, a little frightened.

"Well, this huge sea is very dangerous. My teacher said that there are devils under the sea and will devour ships. He even heard the devil's howl... Moreover, the seaweed in this sea is large and long, It's easy to get entangled in the boat. My teacher said that those seaweeds may be driven by the devil to drag the boat and people into Haiti..." Marin said mysteriously.

Ameligo was a little taken aback, though, he didn't quite believe in the devil. But the huge seaweed made him a little scared. Because, if the seaweed is long enough, it can indeed entangle the boat. In inland areas, it is not uncommon for boats to become entangled in algae. But it's okay for the boat to get tangled in river algae. Because, people can abandon ship and go ashore for help.

However, in the middle of the vast sea, if the boat is entangled by seaweed, it will really "make the day unreliable, and the earth should not respond". Therefore, Amerigo nodded sharply, indicating that he would not die.

Then, Marin continued to point out:

"When you arrive in the Bahamas, sail northwest and you'll come across real land. This is the Florida peninsula of the wild continent, and you go north along the peninsula, about 40 degrees 43 minutes north latitude, and you'll arrive at New York—ahem, New York. It hasn't appeared yet..." Marin then remembered that none of the place names he marked had appeared...

But it doesn't matter, he continues to talk...

"When you arrive in New York, continue along the coast to the northeast. Then, you will see two small islands...the one closer to the land, called Martha's Vineyard, and the other called Nantucket... This time the first The second task is to discover these two islands..."

"Lord Count, why don't you send troops to occupy such a large land? Why do you only need two small islands?" Americo asked inexplicably.

"Americo, you don't understand. Although the land is large, there are dense jungles everywhere. There are many fierce Indians in the jungles. If I rashly let you land, you will easily be shot to death by the bows and arrows of the Indians. Therefore, I asked you to find these two small islands first, in order to gain a foothold, and then use this as a springboard and base to attack the mainland..."

This was Marin's strategy. Marin thought about it for a long time, and felt that he was currently weak and had a small population, so he could not immediately colonize on a large scale.

Moreover, the premise of colonizing America is not land, but a foothold. Just like when the British colonized North America, they rashly landed directly on the land of Virginia. As a result, they fought with the Indians many times. When they were besieged, when the colonists in the British colony had no food, they were miserable to the point of cannibalism. level.

So, Marin doesn't make that mistake. He selected Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, both small islands of two or three hundred square kilometers, isolated overseas. Even if there are Indians on the island, there are few.

On these two islands, Marin can easily occupy and develop with peace of mind. For example, logging, building farms and ranches...

In short, the development of two small islands on the sea will not anger the Indian tribes on the road. Even if they are dissatisfied, they are unable to attack the island. Because the Indians are still in the era of using canoes. Marin can knock over all the Indian canoes out of any boat...

Moreover, these two islands were also carefully selected by Marin. First of all, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island are both about 200 square kilometers in area, and Bitsel Island is much larger. Such a large island can completely open up a lot of farmland.

With farmland, there is enough food to supply the colonists' needs. In this way, the colonization activities can be carried out smoothly. Moreover, the security of the two islands is very high, and there is no fear of Indian attack.

Not only that, but Nantucket Island was later a famous whaling center in the United States. It is not far from the Newfoundland fishing grounds, one of the four major fishing grounds in the world, and the fishery resources are also very rich. Therefore, many whales often appear in this generation of waters.

Marin can catch a lot of whales as long as he sends a few whaling boats here. You must know that the whaling industry has not yet emerged this year, and there are whales in the sea. As long as the whales are caught, not only a lot of whale meat, but also tons of whale oil can be obtained.

Whale meat can be made into dried salted fish, which can definitely satisfy hunger. A whale, the lightest weighing more than two tons, can obtain nearly one ton of whale meat. A ton of whale meat can feed several people for a year. Not to mention those larger whales, they are often dozens of tons. Just catching a single whale provides plenty of meat.

Also, whale oil is important. In this era of lack of vegetable oil, people can also eat whale oil. Although, whale oil does not taste good. But for the poor, it is good to have oil and water, and dare to be picky?

Not only that, whale oil can be used to light oil lamps, provide lighting, and can also be processed into candles. The highest quality candles for candlelight dinners in later generations are made from whale oil.

Moreover, the cost of making soap from whale oil is very low. In short, the whaling industry, that is very beneficial...

These two small islands can be used for both farming and raising livestock, and can also be used as a base for whaling and catching common fish... In short, it is a very perfect food supply base...

Once Marin's men had established a firm foothold on these two islands, they could use them as base camps and head to land to capture new colonies. The new colonies were first built on the seashore, so that they would not be afraid of being besieged by the Indians. Even if the Indians surround the new colony on land, the two small islands can provide enough supplies for the colony through warships, so as not to run out of food like the stupid Englishman and get to the point of cannibalism...

Before Amerigo boarded the ship, Marin took his hand and said:

"Work hard, Amerigo, when you come back this time, if you successfully discover these two places, I will make you a hereditary knight and reward you with 10,000 gold coins... You know, discovering wild islands and discovering India The meaning is different, so I canonize Columbus as a baron, you should understand?"

Amerigo nodded, of course he knew what Columbus' discovery of India meant. After all, the discovery of India has brought Marin a huge profit of millions of gold coins, and it is normal to make Columbus a baron. And this time to explore the islands of the wild continent by yourself, it will not bring any huge profits. Therefore, Marin canonized himself as a hereditary knight, which is also kind. After all, that's hereditary.

Before breaking up, Marin asked Amerigo to write a letter to the family, the purpose of which was to bring Amerigo's family to Aurich. Amerigo also understood that it was Marin who was taking hostages. Because Marin was worried that Amerigo would reveal his intelligence to others. However, this was also a practice in ancient times, and it was often used by nobles, but Amerigo didn't have any resistance.

In this way, in the eyes of Marin's expectation, Amerigo took the selected players and boarded two 250-level armed merchant ships, as well as two smaller warships captured by the original Frisian, and set foot on the ship. To explore Grenada and the twin islands of North America…