In early January 1452, Suez.
The sun was warm and the streets were filled with dust and fog. Andronikos went to the shipyard to visit a ketch that was about to be completed.
The components of the sailboat come from local shipyards. They arrive at Pelusium by boat and are then transported by land to Suez in the south, which is time-consuming, laborious and extremely costly.
Initially, the idea of Admiralty was to build a Cruiser. After many discussions, it was decided to build a smaller and less difficult ketch.
This ship is called Long-Haired Rabbit and is equipped with sixteen doors Six-Pounder Cannon. It has a shallow draft, strong maneuverability, and good seaworthiness in a headwind environment.
Andronikos walked around the hull and met a young naval captain. He was thin and spoke with a Macedonia accent.
"Your Highness, my name is Samuel, and I was appointed by Admiralty as captain Long-Haired Rabbit. The crew has just settled into the barracks in the city. Do you need me to notify them to come over?"
"No need." Andronikos walked out of the shipyard and walked along the port to inquire about the subsequent sailing plan.
Samuel: "We collected Arabian charts and navigation information. Massawa Port from Suez to Abyssinia is a total length of 1,200 miles and takes 15 to 20 days.
For this voyage, we are equipped with three Copts guides. They have served as crew members of Arabian merchant ships and have been to Massawa. There is no need to worry about the sailboat getting lost.
In terms of safety, the ship has sufficient firepower to defeat pirate ships encountered along the way."
He cast his gaze at the Arabian sailboats parked in the harbor with a rather contemptuous look. These triangular sailboats were not as big as Long-Haired Rabbit and carried only 20 to 30 people.
The naval battle was about artillery fire. The Arab sailing ships did not have artillery. Their long-range weapons were crossbows and a very small number of muskets. They were no match for Long-Haired Rabbit.
As the dust blew by, he narrowed his eyes and felt an inexplicable excitement in his heart.
"In the Mediterranean Sea, Long-Haired Rabbit is not qualified to join Order of Battle, and can only engage in dirty work such as patrolling, doing miscellaneous tasks, communicating, and anti-smuggling.
Now with the Red Sea, everything is different. When we face the dhow, it is like the Battleship of the Mediterranean Sea bullies the ordinary sailboat."
Samuel graduated from the Military Academy only two years ago and missed the Rome--Venice war. He eagerly hoped to encounter a few pirate ships and accumulate more military exploits.
Andronikos noticed the young man's eagerness to try, and let out an inaudible sigh, worried that this guy would affect this Foreign Affairs event.
However, he has no idea of replacing Samuel.
Today's young officers are all the same. Under the influence of Vitus, they shout and kill all day long. Another captain might be even more militant than Samuel.
On January 5, the hull of Long-Haired Rabbit was declared completed.
The craftsmen checked the bottom of the ship for the last time to confirm that everything was intact, and then opened the gate of Dry Dock. Cold seawater continued to pour in, the water level gradually rose, and the ship's hull, originally supported by wooden piles, slowly floated up.
During this period, Andronikos stood not far away, praying for the safety of the sailboat and its crew.
The newly launched sailboat lacks masts, rigging, and cannons, and needs to be assembled at the open-air dock.
Later, the sailboat must undergo sea trials. On the one hand, it is checked whether the hull structure is normal. On the other hand, the crew gradually becomes familiar with the performance of the new ship.
Andronikos asked, "How long will it take?"
Samuel gives a deadline: February 1st.
Andronikos had adapted to the dry climate of North Africa, so it didn't matter if he waited another twenty days. However, an accident changed his mind.
January 10th, morning.
A strong northwest wind was blowing outside, the dust was thick, and the visibility was extremely low. Andronikos stayed in the room reading a book, and was very amused by a copy of Manga.
"Haha, no wonder many people like to watch Manga."
Manga is a recently popular product of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was first serialized in "Golden Horn News" and was enthusiastically sought after by the public. Subsequently, the artist found a printing workshop and printed his Manga into a book. Within half a year, he earned thousands of Florin.
Andronikos I heard that many Manga stalls have appeared on Constantinople, and customers can spend a whole day watching Copper Coin, which has become a new way of entertainment.
Bang!
The next moment, a plump figure knocked open the door, then rushed towards Andronikos, hugged Patriarch, who was over fifty years old, and cried loudly.
"Brother, help me say something nice to Vitus. I don't want to go to Africa."
Andronikos calmed down and realized that the fat man was his sixth brother Demetrius. His tone became helpless, "You are already here Africa. Ahem, let go of me first, I'm going to be out of breath."
Immediately afterwards, several more figures walked into the house.
The leader is Demetrius's wife, with a cold face, followed by two men and one woman, all of whom are Demetrius's illegitimate children.
Through the window, Andronikos found dozens of people standing in the courtyard. After careful questioning, some of them were close associates of Demetrius, and some businessmen had close contacts with Demetrius and were assigned to Suez.
"How many people were moved this time?"
Demetrius: "Two hundred and thirty people, including some family members. This is simply unfair. Why can Theodore and Thomas enjoy themselves as much as they want, but I have to be exiled? And Vitus himself is not clean, I heard..."
After hearing many rumors of doubtful authenticity, Andronikos looked helpless and advised his brother to find a place to rest, and he was willing to write another letter of apology.
In the next few days, Demetrius seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, pestering Andronikos all day long, sometimes talking to him about the bad things Thomas had done, and sometimes feeling sorry for himself.
As time passed, Andronikos couldn't stand Demetrius's entanglement. He often walked back and forth on the dock, looking at the blue sea in the south, hoping that Long-Haired Rabbit would return as soon as possible.
On January 25, the sea trial of the sailboat ended. Andronikos came to the pier and asked, "Is it ready to go?"
Samuel shook his head, claiming that there was a problem with some of the sail ropes and that he needed help from a shipwright to adjust them.
"When can we leave?"
As Patriarch's tone became stern, Samuel looked confused and thought to himself, "Why should he set off in a hurry? During this period, the north of the Red Sea has been blowing from the northwest. If we set off a few days late, it won't delay the wind direction. As for rushing me like this?"
Reluctantly, Samuel shortened the time to rest ashore and promised to go to sea in three days.
This move triggered complaints from eighty-six crew members (including twelve Marines members), but there was no way. Samuel would rather offend his men than dare to offend this prominent man.
January 28, early morning.
In the cool breeze, Andronikos took his ten attendants onto the deck. The crew was busy carrying supplies. The heartbroken Demetrius family stood at the dock and looked at Andronikos with an almost pleading look.
According to Admiralty's plan, after the ship transports the mission to Massawa, it needs to continue exploring south to find a habitable and relatively friendly coast.
After confirming the location, the ship returned to Massawa and brought the delegation back to Suez.
Later, the ship sent Demetrius and others to the predetermined coast to build a small port as Rome's outpost on the coast of East Africa.
Demetrius had an expectation that the moment he stepped on the deck, he would never come back.
"I should have gone into exile abroad, such as Italy, France, and Netherlands. Even if I went to a cold and humid island like England, it would be better than the current situation."
While he was talking to himself, the sailboat raised its sails, put away its heavy anchor, and gradually sailed away from the Suez port.
On the stern deck of the ship, Andronikos looked at his brother's figure, feeling relieved but at the same time feeling uncontrollable sadness.
"Don't blame me. Constantine and I have been begging for mercy, but there is nothing we can do. You have gone too far."
With the help of the howling northwest wind, the sailboat sailed southward at a high speed of twelve knots. The scenery on both sides of the river was monotonous and boring, with rolling mountains, no settlements, no farmland, only unchanging desert.
The sea surface is blue and clear, and you can see corals and reefs on the seabed in the shallow water area. Each reef is marked on the chart and you need to be careful to avoid it.
In order to prevent running aground on the rocks, Samuel gave up sailing at night and chose a shallow water area to anchor at dusk every day.
Red Sea Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are sparsely populated, the fishing industry is very small, fish thrive freely, and the fishery resources are extremely rich.
While anchored, the crew took out their own fishing rods, walked to the side of the ship and threw hooks into the sea as a pastime.
Samuel did not stop this behavior. Fresh meat can provide richer nutrition, improve the food, and vent the excess energy of the crew to prevent them from causing trouble.
Click!
A fishing rod not far away broke, causing several crew members to burst into laughter. Samuel walked to the side of the ship and took a look at the Spanish mackerel not far away and sighed:
"This is not because the quality of your fishing rod is poor, but because Red Sea fish are not caught enough, and their size is often larger than that along the Mediterranean Sea coast. The size of the fish is too large, and the fishing rod cannot bear it. You should replace it with a fishing net, or take a fishing line as thick as possible, fix one end of the fishing line to the side of the boat, and tie a strong fishhook to the other end. This is the way to catch big fish."
Suddenly, a burst of cheers broke out on the bow deck. Samuel walked over and saw a crew member with a red face, holding the fishing rod tightly with both hands, and leaning back slightly.
Samuel took out the telescope, and his vision suddenly became clear. The brown sea fish was huge, at least fifty pounds. If it continued like this, the fishing rod would break.
The nearby crew members also noticed this phenomenon, and someone suggested. "It's getting dark, let's give it a shot so that the brothers can have a full meal."
Samuel observed that the fish caught by everyone were either too small or of poor meat quality. After struggling for half a minute, he accepted the crew member's suggestion.
"You're only allowed to fire two shots. If you don't hit, forget it."
Wow~
The crew made strange noises, quickly loaded the two stern cannons, then aimed at the grouper that jumped out of the water from time to time, ignited and fired.
Bang! Bang!
Dozens of lead bullets were fired at the sea surface intensively. The grouper died and its blood stained the nearby sea surface red.
The crew members pulled the fishing line and slowly dragged the fish toward the side of the ship. The first mate dropped a long iron hook, hooked the grouper's gills, and tried to lift it out of the water.
As the sun set, the sea surface was dyed brilliant orange. Someone pointed at the dorsal fin approaching rapidly in the distance and shouted, "Shark! Just a few more shots to kill this beast."
The sea fish has been dragged onto the deck, and Samuel stopped this boring behavior.
The life of the artillery barrel is limited. If you let this practice go unchecked and the artillery is scrapped early, how can you explain it to Admiralty?
"Hurry up and cook the fish and go to bed when you are full."
According to personal habits, the chef removed the internal organs and fish heads, leaving only the fish meat. He cooked two large pots full of Fish Soup. Andronikos and filled a bowl with it. He found that the fish meat was delicious, far more than the Salt Beef soup.
"I hope Demetrius can enjoy fresh catch every day while Africa is in exile."
In the early morning of the next day, the sailboat put away its anchor and continued sailing south. After leaving Suez Bay, the sea became wider, and the scenery on the shore was still a long stretch of yellow sand, without any life in sight.
As we go further south, the temperature gradually rises. The sailors take off their obstructive coats and wear a breathable Flax blouse.
The guide of Copts told the crew that the area south of the Red Sea is hot all year round and has a dry climate.
If you continue sailing south and bypass the desert, you will see a large area of green land, but the local climate is reversed from that of the known world. July is winter and December is summer.
Samuel replied, "You don't have to worry, we won't go that far."
On February 15, the ship arrived at the southern part of the Red Sea, where there are many deserted islands. Samuel slowed down the ship and sailed towards Massawa Port marked on the map.
The core area of the Abyssinian Kingdom is on the inland plateau, and there is a small stretch of coastline in the northeast. Massawa Port is their most important external window.
The port has a special topography and consists of Gelael Peninsula and three islands. The peninsula is the administrative center and Massawa Island is the commercial center, which mainly berths foreign merchant ships.
Long-Haired Rabbit drove slowly towards the peninsula, which was heavily guarded, with the green, yellow and red flag of the Abyssinian Kingdom flying over the stone wall.
After the ship stopped, hundreds of black soldiers had gathered at the dock, holding spears in their right hands and shields in their left hands. Due to the hot weather, the soldiers did not wear armor, but wore loose cotton tops and cotton trousers.
Andronikos walked off the trestle and showed his identity to everyone.
During this period, Arabic was the common language along the coast of the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.
Therefore, Andronikos brought two civil servants who knew Arabic to translate his Greek into Arabic.
"I am the third brother of the Emperor Andronikos·Palaiologos, Antioch Patriarch, Vitus. I was ordered to go on a mission Abyssinian Kingdom..."
The moment he said "Vitus", some soldiers whispered to each other, as if they had heard of this name.
The weather was extremely hot, and Andronikos stood upright, letting the sweat drip down his face. After a long time, he finally waited for the local Governor, who repeatedly confirmed the identity of the envoy, and then took the visitor to the fortress in the center of the city.
Last autumn, Abyssinia heard about Mamluk's war and got more information about Vitus.
Recently, the kingdom is also preparing to send people to Sinai Peninsula to purchase the legendary "Greek fire". In half a month, the mission will set off.