After the pirate ship was solved, the six Ming warships immediately gathered together to report casualties and damage to the warships.

As a result, because the Ming naval guns had a huge advantage, the pirate ships were sunk outside the range of their artillery, and the Ming army was not injured, but they just consumed some shells.

Zheng Jian was overjoyed when he received the report and immediately ordered the fleet to continue to move forward in Southampton.

The voyage of more than 40 days was very hard, but the Ming army soldiers were not lonely.

In order to make the soldiers easier on a long-distance voyage, Zheng Jian and Baihu discussed it and decided that they could use the Japanese beauties on the ship in moderation.

Because of the high salary, almost all these Japanese beauties were recruited, and the Ming Dynasty did not force them.

After getting on board, they saw the tall and mighty soldiers, and they had already been moved by their hearts. After a long voyage, they were also very painful.

When the Ming army soldiers entered the cabin, they were very cooperative and basically no one resisted.

This time, Zheng Jian and Bai Hu also made an exception and found two Japanese beauties to accompany them. This way, they have been much more relaxed and happy along the way.

Of course, they have strict requirements for soldiers, at most once every three days. They cannot mingle with Japanese beauties for a long time, and they cannot lose their usual training at all.

As for the contraceptive measures of these Japanese beauties, they don’t need to worry. Before leaving, Zhu Youjian gave them a lot of medicines and condoms.

What’s funny is that these soldiers only let Japanese beauties take medicine. After they found that those condoms could be promoted, they all used them in front of their babies, so they were not willing to use them.

Because the voyage was prepared very well, there were a lot of medicines, food, fruits, canned meat, canned fruits, etc.

The supply of the docking halfway is almost always supplemented with fresh meat and vegetables.

It is easy to do things with money. As for security issues, there is no need to worry about it. Small countries along the coast are not opponents of this fleet at all. The Ming Dynasty can scare them to death.

When it was hundreds of nautical miles away from Southampton, the entire fleet and the personnel they were still there, and no dead person existed. This was definitely a miracle during the Ming Dynasty.

You should know that at that time, many long-distance fleets in Europe lost almost half of their crew members when they arrived at such a long distance.

Among the most famous sailors in Europe, the four most famous ones are:

Diaz, who discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.

Da Gama, who arrived in India in 1489.

Columbus, who discovered the New World in 1492.

Magellan, who completed the global voyage in 1522.

There is no doubt that they have made significant contributions to the development of Europe and even mankind.

But behind these glamorous achievements, we must also pay attention to the death of sailors.

For example, when Magellan set out, he took away 270 people, but when he came back, he was only 18 people left, and he even died on the way.

George Anson took 1,854 people out, but only 188 people came back.

Such a mortality rate was indeed high at that time, but even if it was considered the average mortality rate, it was as high as 40%.

In other words, in the Age of Navigation, as long as Europeans get on the ship, they will basically be in a life of death.

More than half a century before European navigators explored the sea.

Zheng He, the great navigator from China, led the fleet of the Ming Empire across the Indian Ocean and arrived on the east coast of Africa.

Compared with the high mortality rate of European fleets, Zheng He's fleet is surprisingly safe.

It is also navigation, why is the gap between the East and the West so big?

The largest flagship of Zheng He's fleet was 44 feet long and 18 feet wide. It was the largest seaship in the world at that time.

Converting to today's unit of length, Zheng He's flagship length is about 152 meters and is 62 meters wide! What is the concept of data?

You should know that my country's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, has a length and width of 304.5 meters and 75 meters respectively.

In other words, Zheng He's treasure ship is almost half an aircraft carrier! When sailing on the sea, the bigger the ship, the stronger the ability to withstand wind and waves.

Columbus' ships are only 24.5 meters long and only 6 meters wide.

The two ships are connected at the head and tail, which is not as wide as Zheng He's treasure ship.

For Zheng He, Columbus's small boat with a tonnage of only one percent of his own is nothing more than a lifeboat.

Magellan completed the global voyage. It is said that his ship should be quite large? But the displacement of the flagship "Trinida" is only 110 tons. What does this mean?

Zheng He's "Dafu" treasure ship has a displacement of "five thousand materials", which is converted into 2,500 tons.

There is a common saying in our country:

"People are iron rice and steel, and they are hungry if they don't eat for a meal."

What to eat on the sea is important, because you cannot produce it yourself, so you can only rely on the reserves on the ship to maintain your needs.

But when it comes to eating, Chinese people are definitely the most talented in the world.

Because there is no nation or country in the world that can eat more varieties and more than China.

A book called "Dream of Tokyo" records in detail various delicacies from the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming Dynasty, Chinese recipes became more abundant.

Therefore, the food Zheng He brought on the boat was quite rich.

For example, pork, mutton, chicken and other meat products, eggplant, gourd, winter melon, cucumber and other vegetables.

In addition, there are tropical fruits such as durian and mango in tropical areas, and scurvy is rarely seen.

In contrast, European sailors ate bread that had been gnawed by rubberworms.

This kind of bread is not common today, it is a soft bread, but a bread that is so hard that it can burp off teeth.

Until the 18th century, the Royal Navy of the British Empire and soldiers launched a mutiny because they had poor food.

In addition to eating well, the identities of crew members on both sides were also completely different. Zheng He's fleet was all officers and soldiers of the Ming Empire and belonged to the government's organization.

With such an identity, they will consciously be loyal to the emperor and obey Zheng He.

The sailors on the European fleet include street gangsters, declining nobles, debt-ridden poor, prison-breaking criminals, etc.

After all, for them, going to sea is a speculative act. They can make a fortune by reaching the new world alive and make a fortune without losing money if they die.

Therefore, in terms of crew members, European sailors lag far behind the Ming officers and soldiers.

In terms of division of labor, Zheng He's fleet has a clear division of labor.

The so-called "the sea is sailing by the helmsman". When in the South China Sea and its surrounding waters, Zheng He used experienced Chinese to take the helm.

After entering the Indian Ocean, Zheng He took the helm with Arabs who were more familiar with the sea conditions.

And the European fleet is basically in charge of the helm.

In terms of the purpose of going to sea, both sides are not at the same level.

Some of Zheng He's purpose of voyage to the West was to find Emperor Jianwen, some of whom promoted national prestige, while Europe was a real speculation on going overseas.

Because of this, the size of the fleets on both sides is not the same order of magnitude at all.

Columbus had only three ships and 87 people for the first time to go out to sea; Magellan had five ships and 270 people.

As a result, Columbus' stronghold in the Americas was demolished by the Indians, and Magellan himself was even hacked to death by the natives. Dagama's four ships went out and accidentally sent a "three-kill" when he encountered a storm.

When Zheng He went to the West, he brought 62 treasure ships and 27,800 soldiers in one breath, which was a number that small countries along the route could not even imagine.

In fact, Zheng He's fleet also encountered troubles, such as pirates and indigenous conflicts.

The State of Java once killed 140 Zheng He's soldiers by chance. Before Zheng He could make a statement, the King of Java immediately knelt down and apologized, willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty forever.

From then on, every year, it traveled thousands of miles to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, Zheng He might have destroyed the country with an order.

For example, pirates were either completely wiped out by Zheng He, or they were captured and executed like the "pirate king" Chen Zuyi.

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!