Chapter 407: Sextant and Latitude and Longitude

The next day.

The Naval Academy.

Zhang Yazi stood nervously on the platform in front of the Naval Academy.

Below were one hundred and fifty students selected from the Navy soldiers, preparing to be trained as captains, first mates, and other officers.

At this moment, although Zhang Yazi had changed into the new clothes Xu Ke had bought for him, he still could not help but feel nervous seeing so many people.

Zhao Xu and Mi Wen were also on the platform.

Mi Wen looked Zhang Yazi over with great interest.

Having heard from Yan Wang that Zhang Yazi had sailed a ship alone from Gaoli back to Yanzhou, he was determined to have this man.

"This is a new student, named Zhang Yazi. From now on, you are all brothers," Mi Wen introduced.

Following that, he recounted the story of Zhang Yazi returning to Yanzhou from Gaoli.

The gazes the students directed at Zhang Yazi changed instantly.

Many of these students were from fishing backgrounds; they naturally understood the difficulty of sailing on the open sea.

Pointing to a spot for Zhang Yazi to sit, Zhao Xu said at this time: "Soldiers are raised for a thousand days to be used for a single moment. Soon, your Navy will have an important mission. What this mission is cannot be said for now, but it will require you to pilot the Warships built in Fanyang to destroy the enemy's warships."

Mi Wen nodded.

When he arrived, Yan Wang had already told him the upcoming plan.

He had only one feeling, and that was excitement.

The recruitment of Navy soldiers had long since ended, and the first batch he had personally recruited had been training on warships in the lake for three or four months.

Now they had also been training in combat and artillery operation at the South Camp.

Whether in combat or artillery operation, they were quite proficient, just waiting to board the ships.

He had originally thought this matter would have to wait until the end of the year.

But he had not expected that because of the Northern Expedition, it had been moved up by more than three months.

"We are going to war." The students caught the message implied in Yan Wang's words, and a burst of whispering broke out immediately.

"During this period, this King has taught you some basic things, such as how to judge ocean currents based on the season, and also Flag Language, to facilitate command at sea. But for you, the most important thing is still how to operate the Warships. Now, go back and pack up; you will head to Fanyang this afternoon," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness." The students all stood up.

After bowing to Yan Wang, they left the room in an orderly fashion.

At this time, Zhao Xu said to Mi Wen, "You lead the students to Fanyang first. This King has some things to attend to, and will go later."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A smile appeared on Mi Wen's dark face.

During this time, he had been training with the students at the South Camp, and had been tanned as black as charcoal.

However, he was looking more and more like an officer.

Leaving the Naval Academy, Zhao Xu went straight back to the Prince's Mansion.

In the study, he drew up a blueprint.

The object on this blueprint looked like a pair of compasses with two legs spread apart, but with an arc-shaped metal scale connecting the two legs.

At the top of the compasses was a short Monocular.

This object was none other than the legendary navigation artifact of the Age of Discovery: the Sextant.

This kind of thing appeared in the early 18th century, around 1730.

Afterwards, ships sailing at sea could use the Sextant to determine their Latitude and Longitude, judging their position on the sea.

This time, Zhang Yazi had indeed crossed Bohai Bay alone, but his route had still deviated quite a bit.

Relying on this level of navigation, it was impossible to sail to a specific location with precision.

Therefore, this time, besides having the students go to Fanyang to operate the Warships, his priority was to have the students master the Sextant.

However, because the Warships were originally scheduled to be delivered at the end of the year, he had not yet had the Armory Bureau build the Sextant.

Next, he would go to the Armory Bureau.

After drawing the structural diagram of the Sextant, Zhao Xu also drew a nautical chart.

This chart was covered in horizontal and vertical lines; these were the Latitude and Longitude lines.

Only by using standard Latitude and Longitude lines could the Sextant be effective; otherwise, even if measured, one could not compare the location.

If the Navy students mastered these two things, it would be equivalent to their navigation technology leaping directly to the level of the post-18th century.

His Warships would not need to sail along the coast to reach any location they wanted to go.

After all, before there were satellites in the sky, warships all relied on this method to find their routes.

After drawing the two diagrams, Zhao Xu took the Sextant diagram to the Armory Bureau and had Wang Ying give it to the craftsmen to manufacture.

With the Armory Bureau having precision measuring tools, building such an object was not a difficult task.

And most importantly, the Monocular technology in Yanzhou was already mature.

Lacking any single link, this Sextant could not be built.

Now that both were available, it was naturally simple.

"Once it is built, have it sent to Fanyang," Zhao Xu instructed Wang Ying.

Before the Sextant, he still had to teach the students how to calculate angles, so Wang Ying actually had plenty of time.

After giving these instructions, Zhao Xu returned to the Prince's Mansion.

The next day, he went to Fanyang.

Learning the purpose of Zhao Xu's visit, Chen Shou was slightly taken aback.

"Not going to let it dry?" Chen Shou asked in surprise, feeling very disappointed.

Building this kind of Warship for the first time, he always hoped for perfection.

Having learned the reason, he could only accept it helplessly; after all, compared to the warships, the survival of Yan Wang was more important.

"In early October, I must lead troops to Qin Pass; there is not that much time left. Although they cannot be air-dried naturally, you should build some stoves in the Dry Dock to bake them," Zhao Xu said.

In fact, it is not just the people of the Grassland who like to fight in the autumn; the dynasties of the Central Plains also generally fight in the autumn and winter.

The people of the Grassland are indeed favored by the high autumn skies and fat horses, and the Warhorse fears the heat.

But the dynasties of the Central Plains must also harvest rice after entering the autumn season.

Such large-scale warfare utilizes countless manpower and material resources.

Only after the autumn harvest can people be free, and there will also be sufficient grain and fodder.

Therefore, the date set by Zhao Heng for the three-pronged attack on Liang was the fifth of the tenth month, the twenty-third year of Taihe, the fifth of the tenth month.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chen Shou said; this was also a last resort when warship production was urgently needed.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu said to Mi Wen, "Let's go, I will introduce the warships to you."

Now, the main bodies of the warships have all been completed.

Only some miscellaneous structures remain, such as the railings on the decks.

Now, twelve massive warships lie in the Dry Dock, which can be described as quite spectacular.

The Sailing Warship is divided into five classes; a First-rate Sailing Warship has a crew of over eight hundred and carries over one hundred pieces of Artillery.

A Second-rate Warship has a crew of over six hundred and carries about ninety pieces of Artillery.

A Third-rate Warship carries about eighty pieces of Artillery and has a crew of about five hundred.

A Fourth-rate Warship has a crew of over three hundred and carries about fifty pieces of Artillery.

A Fifth-rate Warship has a crew of over two hundred and carries about thirty pieces of Artillery.

Among these five classes of warships, the most commonly used is the Third-rate Warship.

The firepower of this type of warship is more formidable than lower-class warships, yet it is more agile than higher-class warships.

The type he had Chen Shou build was this kind of Third-rate Sailing Warship.

It is seventy-five meters long, sixteen meters wide, carries eighty-two pieces of Artillery, and has a crew of five hundred.

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