I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 468 All the way east

These six ships are all sail-powered ships. Although the Royal Group now has steam-powered ships, the technology is still not mature enough, and the supply of fuel along the way is also a big problem, so they still use sail-powered ships for exploration.

The expedition fleet sailed directly to Japan, and the Japanese daimyo warmly entertained them. However, when they heard that this fleet was not here to do business, but to find the Far East, they all thought that this was the fleet of Emperor Zhengde going to the sea to look for elixirs.
After replenishing some fresh water at a port, the expedition fleet headed north along the coastline of Japan. In addition to the sea breeze, they were also pushed north by the warm current in the sea. This warm current was later called the Japan Warm Current, and the Japanese called it the Kuroshio.

"Are we at the location?" Chen Lang and Wu Liangchen looked closely at the young men and said.

These young men are the navigators on the ship and have been sailing for four or five years. He is using the sextant on the ship to calculate the longitude and latitude.
Several navigators quickly wrote and drew on paper with charcoal pencils, and then exchanged a few words in a low voice. The leading navigator said, "We are here! We have passed the 35th parallel north."

"It has been crossed! What then?" Wu Liangchen said anxiously.

"Let's go a little further north!" Chen Lang said firmly.

Wu Liangchen nodded silently
The fleet continued to sail northward for an hour, and suddenly found that the direction of the ocean current had changed, and the direction of the ocean current became eastward.
They immediately headed east, and everything went smoothly along the way.
"The nautical chart your highness gave us is correct. We really encountered an eastward ocean current," Chen Lang said excitedly.

Wu Liangshan was also very excited. The morale of the entire fleet was greatly boosted, and everyone had more confidence in this voyage.
What the expedition fleet encountered was the North Pacific Warm Current and the Westerly Drift.

The North Pacific Warm Current, also known as the North Pacific Westerly Drift, is a continuation of the Kuroshio (Japan Warm Current), and is also mixed with some water from the Oyashio (Kuril Cold Current). It connects with the Kuroshio at 140-160°E and 35°N. The warm current is between 35°N and 42°N, flows eastward, and extends from the eastern waters of Honshu Island, Japan to the coast of Oregon, USA. The warm current is located at the junction of tropical water and polar water, and has a wide transition zone.

Knowledge about ocean currents is part of high school geography textbooks, so Zhu Houxuan also dabbled in it. This knowledge is only basic knowledge in later generations, but it is extremely valuable in this era.

After leaving Japan, we encountered a storm, but the farther we sailed from Japan, the calmer the sea seemed to become.

Even if they followed the ocean current, they still had to investigate various situations. All the crew members were unsure and had to grope their way through everything slowly.

There were no big islands along the way, and it was impossible to encounter Hawaii on this route. The occasional discovery of small islands and reefs was enough to excite the crew. It seemed that they were the only fleet on the boundless sea, and this endless sea always made people panic.

As long as there is fresh water on the island, Chen Lang will let the crew members drive the boats and take turns to go ashore to get water. The crew members assigned to the task of getting water will not complain, but will set off happily, just to be able to step on the solid land, and their legs will become weak from sitting on the boat.
One month after leaving Japan, the fleet finally had patients, but it was not related to scurvy.
Two months after leaving Japan, some crew members started to go crazy. They weren't really crazy, but just a little bit neurotic and their behavior was a little bit abnormal.

In fact, Zhu Houxuan also anticipated that the sailors on long voyages would have mental problems. He brought various chess and cards to each ship, and also created several board games of later generations. There was even a storyteller from the propaganda department on each ship.
The storyteller was responsible for telling stories to the crew members who were resting, and also taught them to read and educate them.
Traditional storytelling books such as "The Complete Biography of Yue Fei" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as well as a series of new storytelling books developed by the Royal Group were all told to entertain the crew.
These measures have greatly alleviated the mental problems of the crew, but they can only alleviate them and cannot completely eliminate them.
Three months after leaving Japan, even the storytellers became listless and listless, and they had no energy to tell stories. Most of the crew members became irritable and often fought over trivial matters. The three months on the ship were not only suffocating and boring, but the deep sea and the unknown ahead were also causing pressure on the crew members. Many people began to feel a faint fear in their hearts, and this feeling forced them to become mentally abnormal. Fighting was just a way to vent their emotions and pressure.
Chen Lang and Wu Liangchen had no better solution, so they just ordered the captains of each ship to do their best to appease the crew.
Moreover, they began to encounter a severe storm, and all six sailboats were damaged to varying degrees. Three unlucky men fell into the sea and were swept away in the strong winds and waves, and dozens of crew members were hit and bruised.

Food and fresh water were still sufficient at this time. In addition to weapons, the ship was full of food and drink. This was specifically instructed by Zhu Houxuan, as he was afraid that the crew would end up eating leather belts like Magellan in history.

Four months after leaving Japan, everyone, including Chen Lang and Wu Liangchen, began to panic.

Because there was still food left, but not enough drinking water, and they hadn't encountered an island with fresh water for a long time.

Everybody was hoping for a storm, so that at least they could get some rain, but the storm never came!

The distiller on the ship was also running at full capacity. There were people guarding it to add water and coal twelve hours a day, but the amount of distilled fresh water was still limited. There were more than a hundred people on a ship, and it was not enough.
During these four months, the ship implemented a fresh water control system, and the control became more strict later. Fresh water could only be used for drinking, not for washing. You can imagine that everyone had not taken a bath for several months. The smell was very touching. This was also one of the reasons why the crew was in a bad mental state.
Moreover, the direction of the ocean currents was also changing and was no longer carrying them eastward.

Chen Lang and Wu Liangchen were greatly encouraged by the observer's reminder and immediately made a decision. No matter how the sea flows, they should just sail eastward, because His Royal Highness King Jing wanted him to find the Far East Continent.

In fact, this was also within their expectations, because Zhu Houxuan marked this point on the nautical chart he gave them.
The North Atlantic warm current will split into two branches after reaching the North American continent: one branch flows northward along the Gulf of Alaska and the coast of the Aleutian Peninsula, called the Alaska Current; the other branch flows southward along the state of California and the Baja California Peninsula, called the California Current.

The change in the direction of the ocean currents indicated that they were approaching the New World.
"There's an island ahead!"

On the 117th day after leaving Japan, the observer holding the telescope shouted.

The fleet accelerated and sailed over, and as a result, they saw a big island in front of the small island.

No, not a big island, but a continent!

If it were named according to later place names, it should be called San Francisco.

(End of this chapter)