The two pirates on the side of the ship cooperated. One of them threw the rope with wooden chips tied at the front end into the sea, and the other was in charge of timing. road.
"The current speed is 10 knots!"
This is also the method used by most western ships to measure the speed of the ship in the 18th century. Of course, there must be some errors, because the sea itself is also flowing, but the impact is not too great, and the method of measuring absolute speed will have to wait until the 20th century. will appear.
Zhang Heng was dressed in black and stood on the deck, instructing the pirates to adjust the angle of the sails according to the wind direction. The Jackdaw just raised the topsails on the mainmast and secondmast. It was very large, and several pirates were busy pulling back the back rope and fixing it to the stern, while Zhang Heng was at the helm himself, adjusting the draft of the bow.
After a violent jolt, the ship finally got used to the current speed. When it gradually stabilized, Zhang Heng returned the rudder to the previous sailors and ordered the lookouts to continue to observe.
Karina stood aside, silently watching all this.
Her heart is not as calm as it appears on the surface. When she was on the island before, she asked someone to learn about Zhang Heng. She knew that the latter was just a passenger on a merchant ship a year ago, and later became a sea lion with his excellent marksmanship. It is said that he was not used to life at sea at that time, and he was so seasick on the way back to Nassau that he almost lost his life.
However, in just one year, he changed from an inconspicuous ordinary sailor on the Sea Lion to the captain of the sail, and then left the Sea Lion with a group of old people. When he returned to Nassau, he was already the captain of a pirate ship.
Such a rapid rise makes people wonder whether he has enough wisdom and experience to lead his crew, which is why the Jackdaw is generally looked down upon on the island.
Karina had this idea before, but she changed her mind when the two met for the first time. The man in front of her was obviously different from the pirates she had met before. The maturity of the age and the unique charm, but that is more of a subjective feeling in the heart
But this time when she went to sea with Zhang Heng, she actually saw the other party's command and leadership skills at close range.
Zhang Heng's performance was not at all like a rookie captain who went to sea for the first time. He skillfully dealt with various situations and challenges on board, as if he had practiced countless times.
However, after getting along these days, the businesswoman is not as surprised as before. In her opinion, no matter who has such a self-disciplined living habit and an attitude of continuous learning, it is very difficult to fail.
Karina once saw Zhang Heng and Annie practicing swords on the deck before dawn, and often saw Zhang Heng asking and discussing various navigation issues with the old sailors on board. In the captain's room, I read some books left by the original owner.
The predecessor of the Jackdaw was originally a naval battleship, and there are many naval-related tactical classics in it. In addition, there are some travel notes from various places, especially the latter part, which Zhang Heng likes to read the most.
His understanding of this era is more from the perspective of a later generation, which can certainly keep him awake, but there are also many places that he cannot understand. These experiences and travel notes can help him better integrate into this era , It also let him indirectly understand a lot of customs and anecdotes.
On the other hand, Zhang Heng is also re-evaluating Karina. This woman is more decisive than he imagined. She did not send her subordinates as agreed, but chose to deliver the letter herself. In addition to ensuring nothing goes wrong, she is also using this A way to show their sincerity of cooperation.
Although black market merchants are an important part of Nassau, they are different from pirates after all. Most people have identities and families in a civilized society. Participate in the looting process.
In this way, they can quickly choose themselves in the event of an accident. It is very dangerous to directly board a pirate ship like Karina, which is equivalent to completely binding their own fate with Zhang Heng. Without admitting it, there is no way to win her trust more than what Karina is doing now.
This woman is a natural gambler, maybe she can really fight her own way in Nassau, which is almost controlled by the Black Merchants Alliance.
But now Karina didn't think about such distant things, and the anxiety in her expression became more and more obvious when she looked at the empty horizon in the distance.
It is now the 32nd day after the Jackdaw left port, most of the water and food on board have been consumed, and the supply of lemon juice has also been stopped. There are still some dried vegetables and fruits left, but because it is the first time to do this Zhang Heng couldn't take all the details into consideration for this kind of thing. The humid environment at sea made the dried fruits and vegetables damp and moldy quickly, so everyone returned to the hard-working days of eating biscuits and smoking fish.
Even so, the remaining food and water are only enough to last for another 20 days. In other words, the Jackdaw is not far away from returning to the voyage.
Zhang Heng is also a little helpless. The reality is not playing games. In many cases, even if you are fully prepared and have prepared many backup plans, you may still face various unexpected situations.
Even the best pirate captain in the entire Caribbean Sea can't be confident that he will return with a full load every time he goes to sea. However, although everyone understands this truth, he really needs a big fight now more than ever. win.
As time went by, Zhang Heng could feel the emotional changes of everyone around him. Not only the newcomers who had just boarded the ship, but also all the old sailors including Billy and Dufresne became taciturn. Karina has been shaken.
She quietly knocked on the door of the captain's cabin last night, and confessed to Zhang Heng that she suspected that the story of her father had spread throughout the colony, and that his former friends in the customs had also betrayed him. It doesn't exist, it's just a fabricated lie, maybe even a bait thrown by the Office of Naval Intelligence.
The businesswoman looked around nervously, and said in a low voice, "I thought about it again. No matter how outrageous the ship from the Spice Islands is, it is impossible to go to the New World. There must be something wrong with it. I remember my father mentioned it when I was young. He seems to have two enemies in Boston."
Zhang Heng had no choice but to go to the kitchen to get a bottle of rum and let Karina drink it, "You said it yourself, this news is so outrageous, if it's a trap, shouldn't it be more reasonable?"