Chapter 1045: Zheng Zhihu Arrives
While the capital region was ablaze with conflict, Li Daoxuan himself was aboard the Wanli Sunshine.
At this moment, the sea was calm and tranquil. The Wanli Sunshine drifted gently across the water, moving at its slowest speed.
The Water-Specialized Heavenly Lord stood at the bow, inhaling the faintly briny sea air. A sense of exhilaration filled him.
His true self was cooped up at home every day, and the concrete jungle of the modern city felt so stifling. Experiencing a brief "trip" out on the sea through his co-sensing avatar was a wonderful way to lift his spirits.
Li Daoxuan turned his head, casting a glance at Wang Zheng, who stood nearby.
Wang Zheng was busy manipulating a large instrument: a chronometer.
Among Gao Family Village's three scientific luminaries, Song Yingxing focused on civilian technology applications, producing inventions aimed at the common people, dabbling in a bit of everything across all trades.
Bai Gongzi’s research, on the other hand, gravitated towards steam engines. In recent years, everything he developed was related to them.
Wang Zheng, however, excelled in all kinds of machinery.
Therefore, Li Daoxuan directly entrusted him with the blueprints for the most crucial navigational tool, the chronometer, for him to research and replicate.
Wang Zheng did not disappoint. He had successfully constructed the chronometer.
This voyage of the Wanli Sunshine was specifically to test the accuracy of his chronometer.
After fiddling with the device for a good while, Wang Zheng turned to Li Daoxuan and said, "Heavenly Lord, my calculations indicate our current position is 122.44 degrees East longitude, 30.01 degrees North latitude. I wonder if it’s accurate."
Li Daoxuan glanced westward at Mount Putuo, barely visible on the distant horizon. He immediately switched his view outside the box, opened Baidu Maps, and used the coordinate picker to check the longitude and latitude of the sea east of Mount Putuo.
Bingo!
It matched the coordinates Wang Zheng had reported.
Co-sensing back into the box, he smiled and nodded to Wang Zheng: "The coordinates you reported are correct. The error is no more than five li."
On the vast expanse of the ocean, an error within five li was remarkably accurate. It was infinitely more precise than the positions provided by the labor reform pirate navigators, who relied solely on sightings of the sun.
Wang Zheng was overjoyed!
Having joined Gao Family Village years ago, he had striven diligently in his research, yet had never truly invented anything substantial. Seeing Song Yingxing and Bai Gongzi repeatedly achieve great feats and earn the Heavenly Lord’s praise, his eyes had practically turned red with envy.
Now, he had finally created something noteworthy, contributing his effort to the Heavenly Lord’s cause.
Wang Zheng burst into hearty laughter: "It's finally a success! Hahahahaha! May the Heavenly Lord bless us, may all gods and buddhas bless us, Amitābha, Immeasurable Fortune, Hallelujah... I’ve finally succeeded! Now, our ships can finally venture deep into the great ocean!"
Li Daoxuan was also quite pleased.
Although Gao Family Village had already occupied Zhoushan Island, they had never actively launched attacks against Liu Xiang's pirates or Western pirates.
There were two reasons for this. First, the personnel issue. Gao Family Village only had "river sailors," not "sea sailors." Sending a group of sailors who had only ever navigated the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers to sail the vast ocean would be sending these humble folk to their deaths, an absolutely unacceptable gamble.
Second, there was no reliable method for sea navigation at the moment. Relying on labor reform pirate navigators to determine position by observing the sun was a foolish approach. Western navigators had lost countless lives at sea precisely because of this.
To address these two issues, they had been working tirelessly.
They were diligently recruiting and training "sea sailors." Every day, training ships sailed out of Zhoushan Dinghai Port, circling the waters outside to develop the sailors' ability to adapt to the open sea.
As for the navigation problem, all hopes rested on Wang Zheng's chronometer.
Now that the chronometer's development was successful, Gao Family Village's navy could attempt to venture further from Zhoushan Island, advancing towards the great sea routes.
Just as he was pondering this...
A junk ship approached in the distance.
The ship signaled to the Wanli Sunshine with flags.
Shi Lang slid down from the lookout post, calling out to Li Daoxuan, "Heavenly Lord! A Ming navy ship is approaching, requesting to speak with us."
Li Daoxuan uttered, "Oh? A navy ship? Let them approach, let's chat."
Soon, the opposing navy junk ship drew closer.
As the junk ship pulled up to the Wanli Sunshine, it immediately seemed dwarfed in comparison.
On the other ship's deck, a sturdy, agile man looked up at the Wanli Sunshine's hull, a clear expression of envy in his eyes.
Shi Lang tossed down a rope ladder to him: "Come aboard."
The agile man then gripped the rope ladder with both hands and began to climb. His movements were swift and agile, ascending the ladder with remarkable speed. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, he was on the Wanli Sunshine's deck. He even deliberately tapped his heel against the deck, clearly trying to discern the material of the massive ship.
Shi Lang, seeing through his small action, let out a wry chuckle: "Don't bother trying. It's not wood, and the materials of this ship are beyond mortal comprehension."
The agile man paused, a little embarrassed. He clasped his hands in greeting to Shi Lang: "Young man, you're quite young to be out making a living at sea, aren't you?"
Shi Lang replied, "I'm already fifteen this year. That's not small."
The agile man chuckled softly: "Who is the captain of this ship? Who should I speak with?"
Shi Lang, with a hint of pride, declared, "I am the captain!"
It turned out that Jiang Cheng was now stationed at Zhoushan Dinghai Port and rarely ventured out to sea with the ships. Thus, Shi Lang had been appointed the captain of the Wanli Sunshine.
The agile man was greatly surprised. A mere boy, a captain? He thought, 'Surely I don't have to discuss serious matters with this child?'
Fortunately, Shi Lang immediately added, "Although I am the captain, you are lucky today. The Heavenly Lord is currently aboard. If you have any important matters to discuss, you can speak with the Heavenly Lord."
The agile man followed Shi Lang's gaze and saw the Water-Specialized Heavenly Lord smiling at him.
The agile man quickly strode before Li Daoxuan, clasped his hands in a respectful salute, and introduced himself: "My name is Zheng Zhihu. I am the second brother of Zheng Zhilong, the Coastal Defense Guerrilla General. The brothers at sea call me 'Python Two.'"
Li Daoxuan let out a sound of surprise, his interest piqued: "Zheng Zhilong's brother, Zheng Zhihu? Excellent, excellent. A true pair of 'Dragon and Tiger' brothers."
Zheng Zhihu chuckled twice: "More than just Dragon and Tiger, we also have a younger brother named Zheng Zhifeng."
"A brother?" Li Daoxuan found the name a bit incongruous: "Shouldn't that be a girl's name?"
Zheng Zhihu chuckled, gracefully sidestepping the topic: "May I ask your esteemed name? And what is your official position at court?"
His question clearly indicated that he considered Li Daoxuan to be a member of the imperial court. It seemed Zheng Zhilong had already received intelligence that the people of Zhoushan were "the Emperor's people."
Li Daoxuan secretly chuckled to himself: "Since you're under that impression, I might as well play along."
He deliberately stroked the smooth chin of his silicone avatar, grinning mischievously: "Look at this face of mine. What kind of person do you think I am?"
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