Naturally, the Spanish colonists would not be kind enough to provide Atlantic navigation charts, so Wang Ji and captain Li Ji could only explore on their own.
They first sailed eastward in a straight line, but found that it was all against the current and it was impossible to cross. They had to return to Haiti Island to resupply, and then set off again, almost using the method of drawing lots to go north.
In fact, you can also go south. If you take the Ming Dynasty as your destination, the southeast voyage is even closer, and you can reach the Gulf of Guinea in Africa - the southern route of the triangular slave trade.
Wang Ji followed the Gulf Stream, headed northeast, and then connected with the North Atlantic Warm Current.
The cold wind howled, and Zhou Fei was too cold to go on the deck. She hid in the cabin and shivered: "Master, you can't go any further north. If you go any further, your whole body will freeze to ice."
Wang Ji also felt something was wrong and called a meeting with senior crew members.
Onmyoji Zhang Fang said: "I haven't seen the island these days. The sea is too windy and the ships are ups and downs. It's difficult to measure the latitude accurately with a cross."
Li Ji said: "How about you make an estimate?"
Zhang Fang smiled bitterly: "How can this be estimated out of thin air?"
Everyone was silent.
The cross instrument is the European right-angle instrument. Shen Kuo of the Northern Song Dynasty recorded a similar method in "Mengxi Bi Tan". At that time, Shen Kuo used a crossbow, but it was now improved into a cross instrument by the Onmyoji of the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the sextant and octant, the measurement requirements of the cross are more stringent. You must land on the island on a sunny day to accurately measure the longitude and latitude.
Of course, you can also measure it on a boat, but you have to wait until the weather is calm.
Even the cross instrument (right angle instrument) has not spread in Europe and is a secret of a few navigators. In addition, the ring sundial was also invented by Dutch navigators, but it is also kept secret, not even the Spanish know about it.
Li Ji turned to Wang Ji and asked: "Master, you decide, continue to follow the current, or turn around and go straight east."
After wandering in the vast sea for many days and unable to determine the longitude and latitude, Wang Ji felt panicked. But he still remained calm and said with a smile: "I am an amateur in sailing, so let Brother Li make the decision."
Li Ji said: "Then go east."
In fact, it's okay to continue following the ocean current. They will soon reach Iceland. At worst, they will go around Northern Europe and come back.
Eight days later, the lookout discovered a large number of islands, but it turned out to be the Faroe Islands in Denmark.
Some of the islands were covered with ice, so everyone carefully chose a big island to land on, but it turned out that it was completely uninhabited.
There must be people on the island, who migrated here from Northern Europe and the Irish. But the bitter cold land is definitely sparsely populated, and whether you can find it depends on luck.
I wandered around the island for two days and replenished the fresh water on the boat. I also sent people to drive a small boat and cast a net for fishing in the offshore. I managed to get some fresh fish for toothpaste, so I didn't have to eat the stomach-turning bacon for the time being.
At this moment, Wang Ji is already sixteen years old. It has been two years since he left Beijing at the age of fourteen.
The clothes I wore when I left Beijing are no longer wearable. I have grown ten centimeters in height and am now about 1.82 meters tall. I don’t know if I can continue to grow taller. The fair skin on my face has become a little dark and red from the sun.
No longer mistaken for a woman, she carries a rough and savage temperament.
"Are you still looking for someone on the island?" Li Ji asked.
Wang Ji shook his head: "No more searching, just go around the island and head east."
It takes no effort to get there even if you wear iron shoes.
Just as they were about to leave the archipelago, the lookout suddenly noticed smoke, but it was the islanders cooking, and there were several small fishing boats docked on the shore.
Wang Ji led people into the fishing village, which scared the fishermen and fled in a hurry, thinking they had encountered damn pirates.
In this poor place, the pirates have nothing to rob, so they can only use offshore boats to land and grab food.
Wang Ji and the others chased for a while and finally caught up with several fishermen.
By this time, Wang Ji had already learned Portuguese and Spanish, but the fishermen couldn't understand them.
The two sides really couldn't communicate, so Wang Ji gave some gadgets as gifts, then boarded the ship and continued sailing east. If they sailed southeast, they would reach England soon, but no one on the ship knew that.
So, they came to Norway, but it was under Danish rule in the 16th century.
This broken peninsula is also desolate. Along the coastline all the way south, you only encounter a few small fishing villages along the way.
Finally, Bergen, the largest city in Scandinavia, appeared in the observer's field of vision.
Norway is now jointly ruled by the Danish kings, and the highest official in Bergen is a count. The two parties had a warm and friendly exchange. Wang Ji gave gifts, and the count gave gifts in return. After several banquets, he sent someone to take them to Copenhagen on a ship.
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Copenhagen is the capital of the United Kingdom of Denmark and Norway.
The current king, Christian III, is 100% ruthless.
This guy's father rebelled and usurped power. He immediately led his troops to help and snatched the throne of king from his cousin. After his father died, his cousin wanted to restore the throne and got support from the church and a large number of nobles. This guy led his troops and fought.
It took two years to consolidate the throne. Then he implemented the religious reform, purged the domestic nobility by force, and confiscated church property on a large scale. His brutal methods even attracted the condemnation of Martin Luther himself.
During this period, the company was actually short of money and soldiers, so it relied on loans to hire mercenaries for help.
When Wang Ji arrived in Copenhagen, Christian III was in distress, and his rule was almost in despair. Internally, the nobles and people were hostile to him; externally, the Dutch and Germans were urging him to repay his debts. The most terrifying thing was the Spanish, who wanted to
Intervening in Denmark's internal affairs, because the daughter of the deposed former king of Denmark was the niece of the king of Spain.
When he heard that the son of the Chinese Prime Minister was coming, Christian III was overjoyed and went out of the city to the port to greet him: "Your Excellency, the great navigator Wang Ji, the son of the Chinese Prime Minister, it is a great honor for you to visit Copenhagen."
Wang Ji smiled and said: "Hello, His Majesty the King."
Christian III introduced: "This is my wife Dorothea, this is my daughter Anna, this is my son..."
The king has three sons and one daughter.
The eldest daughter Anna is 15 years old this year. The eldest son later succeeded the king. The second son later became the king of Livonia and fought a war with Ivan IV. The country was directly destroyed and the entire country was annexed by Russia.
Wang Ji changed into a cotton robe today, and also wore a large cloak, a gold crown to tie his hair, and a jade belt around his waist. He was about 1.8 meters tall and majestic.
Princess Anna only took a close look, and she suddenly fell in love with him. She blushed and saluted Wang Ji.
Christian III warmly invited Wang Ji to the city and inquired about his specific situation from time to time. Wang Ji said that he wanted to complete a round-the-world trip and chatted about various experiences along the way, which made members of the Danish royal family exclaim.
Princess Anna couldn't help but ask: "Did you really go to sea at the age of fourteen?"
Wang Ji said awesomely: "A wealthy and comfortable life will erode people's will and erase their ideals. Therefore, I decided to leave the capital of the Ming Dynasty and go to farther places. I first went to North Korea, and then to Japan.
Then we crossed thousands of miles of ocean and arrived at Yinzhou. Yinzhou is what you call the New World of America, where both Spain and Portugal have colonies. Of course, there are also many indigenous people, and I have made friends with many of them..."
Not to mention Princess Anna's eyes lit up after hearing this, even the queen was surprised because Wang Ji's life experience and experience were so bizarre.