In late February, the sea area west of Socotra Island.
The weather was clear and the sea breeze was gentle. A ketch was anchored on the sea to handle the whale that had just been caught.
As the person in charge of the whaling ship, the illegitimate son Michael patrolled the ship back and forth, lest any process go wrong.
After whaling, the most critical process is the processing of blubber.
To this end, the crew specially built an open-air stove with bricks on the deck, placed an iron pot on top, and refined the cut whale blubber into whale oil.
There is a water storage layer between the bottom of the stove and the deck to prevent high temperatures from scorching or even igniting the deck.
Michael observed it for a few minutes and then told the aborigines next to the stove, "Add more coal, the fire in the furnace is a little too small."
After half a year of study, he mastered some commonly used Socotra words, which enabled him to communicate daily and improve work efficiency.
Then, he turned his attention to the crew member who was scooping out whale oil. The man scooped out the hot oil with a long-handled ladle, put it into an iron barrel next to it for filtering, and finally poured it into a wooden barrel for sealing.
"Half a month ago, the whale we caught produced 45 barrels of whale oil. The whale we caught today is smaller and is expected to contain 40 barrels of whale oil.
According to the purchase price of Red Sea Fleet, 85 barrels of whale oil can be sold for 750 Florin.
Nearly a month has passed since we set sail, and the fresh water on the ship has already changed its smell. The crew has become agitated and it is time to consider returning."
Michael stood on the stern deck of the ship and thought. There are forty crew members. The dividends and wages this time are one hundred and eighty Florin. The supply purchase and ship maintenance cost seventy.
In other words, the net profit from this trip is 500 Florin.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the crew's exclamation, "There are sharks in the distance!"
Michael walked to the starboard side, and the hunted whale was dragged to the right side of the hull and connected to the hull with a rope. Two crew members used sharp long-handled shovels to cut the blubber, and the flowing blood continued to spread on the sea surface.
Obviously, the sharks were attracted by the smell of blood. Michael rang the ship's bell and asked the idle crew to load the only four naval guns and fire cannonballs at the sea surface.
Bang!
The sharks were getting closer and closer, and the naval guns were fired one after another. Hundreds of shotshells hit large splashes on the sea surface. The surviving sharks scattered away, giving up the upcoming feast.
Michael used a telescope to observe the sea surface. After confirming that the crisis was resolved, he asked the crew to continue working.
It takes a long time to process a whale, and the crew is divided into two parts, taking shifts in the morning and evening to extract all the whale oil as quickly as possible.
During this time, the deck was filled with the smell of blood and grease, as well as an indescribable stench. Even after the blubber was processed, the stench still existed.
Over time, Michael felt that his sense of smell was getting dull, "When you go back, you must take a hot bath."
After all the whale oil was extracted, the whaling ship began to return. Michael lacked systematic navigation training and could only stand next to the first mate and observe how the other party maneuvered the ship.
The first mate is a candidate officer of Red Sea Fleet. He stayed in Socotra Island last winter to recuperate and did not follow Red Sea Fleet back to Suez. During the recuperation period, in order to earn some extra money, he stayed on the whaling ship to help.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the lookout issued a warning. "To the northeast, a Portugal sailboat was discovered."
Michael walked to the side of the ship and observed. The distance between the two sides shortened, and the outline of the opposite side gradually became clearer. It was a large sailing ship specially used to carry cargo.
The large sailing ship sailed from east to west at a slow speed. Michael guessed that the ship was filled with cargo from India.
He asked the first mate, "There are more than twenty broadside guns on the opposite side. They have strong firepower, but poor maneuverability. The whaler is a ketch and should sail against the wind, right?"
Hearing Michael's question, the first mate nodded slightly and handed the steering wheel to the illegitimate son.
"Estimating time, the fleet will return to Socotra Island soon. I will return to the team soon. You will be responsible for steering the ship next time you hunt for whales. Now to test your learning results, use the method you just mentioned to avoid the Portugal ship."
Michael took over the steering wheel, his palms slightly sweaty. Just as he hesitated, the lookout's voice sounded again:
"Portugal merchant ship has raised all sails and is approaching at full speed."
Michael no longer hesitated, while controlling the steering wheel, he issued a series of instructions to the crew.
Relying on the flexibility of the jib, the whaling ship sailed against the wind along the sea surface in a zigzag pattern. The Portugal sailing ship tried to follow, but it carried too much cargo and was soon left behind by the whaling ship, and finally gave up the pursuit.
On March 1, the whaling ship returned to Suq Harbor.
Michael settled the bonus to the restless crew members. Then, he found Militia Company and ordered Militia to move the whale meat to the dock for smoking.
The blubber occupies a limited space, and the remaining space in the cabin is used to store whale meat and whale bones. On the way back, the whale meat is initially marinated with coarse salt to slow down its decay rate. Next, the whale meat must be thoroughly smoked to make long-term preserved whale meat jerky.
The smokehouse is located near the pier. It is a low wooden house. The walls are blackened and shiny by the smoke. Militia uses iron hooks to fix the whale tongue and thick rib meat and hang them on the beams.
Militia lit the firewood, gray-black smoke spread upwards, and oil slowly oozed from the surface of the whale meat, then dripped onto the pile of firewood below, making a soft "hiss" sound.
Michael ordered an aboriginal officer, "Move the whale oil to the castle warehouse. You arrange for people to take turns to be on duty and process all the whale meat as soon as possible. They will be the next meat for the company. Remember to be more considerate."
"Yes, company commander."
The affairs at the dock came to an end, and Michael returned to the castle to resume his duties.
It's still the same here, with soldiers from the garrison company sitting under the shacks chatting and discussing trivial matters about their hometown. Someone held Cross Pendant and prayed quietly, hoping that the emperor would pardon him and let him return to his hometown.
Michael was too lazy to waste time with these people. He walked to the top of the main building, where Demetrius was basking in the sun and talking to himself in front of nothing.
"Father, the harvest this time is as follows..."
After reading the entire list, Michael didn't get any reply. He stretched out his hand and waved it twice in front of Demetrius's eyes, but the other party still didn't respond.
The situation is getting more and more serious.
Five minutes later, Michael called for a priest to come over for treatment. The priest used a thermometer to measure Demetrius's body temperature, then observed his pupils and pulse, and recorded it in the booklet he carried with him.
Michael was confused. "What kind of disease is this? I always thought he was just mentally ill, but I didn't expect it to be like this."
Priest: "The local medical school has conducted research that a person who suddenly suffers a major mental shock may cause this kind of mental weakness, but no suitable treatment has been found.
I have read "Adrian Medical Journal"'s report on the British King Henry VI. He is only thirty-one years old this year. After losing the territory of the Europe continent, he was slandered by the nobles and the people, which caused mental illness and long-term silence.
Coincidentally, his maternal grandfather was Dharma King Charles VI (1368~1422). Charles VI was called the "Mad King", and his symptoms were more dangerous. Sometimes he would draw his sword and kill his followers, and sometimes he would yell at Court, thinking that his body was made of glass and would break when touched..."
The priest said a lot, but it was actually of no use.
The only suggestion is to let Demetrius get more rest and others not to stimulate his emotions with bad news.
Michael sighed, "I have been whaling during this period, and the profits have been good. I have solved Socotra Island's Finance problem. If there is really bad news, it should come from the country, or foreign enemies are invading."
On March 3rd, Red Sea Fleet came to Socotra Island and brought a new batch of immigrants and supplies.
Michael directed Militia to transport the whale oil harvested from three sea voyages to the dock, totaling 200 barrels of whale oil, as well as whale bones, dye (resin from the dragon's blood tree), Frankincense, with a total value of 2,700 Florin.
"Well, I didn't expect that the whale resources here are so rich." Samuel asked the crew to pry open a wooden barrel, observe the light yellow whale oil inside, and judge that it is of high quality and is considered a top-notch luxury product in the country.
As far as he knows, the number of whales in the Mediterranean Sea is very small, and the whale oil of Rome comes from the whaling industry of Atlantic Ocean. The goods are sold to Constantinople through layers of resale, resulting in the price of whale oil in Constantinople being much higher than that in Lisbon and other places.
Samuel has some speculation: In the future, Admiralty will sell one or more European-style sailing boats to Socotra Island to promote the development of the local whaling industry and meet the growing whale oil gap in the country.
However, this kind of thing is not his turn to worry about for the time being.
He asked Michael to move the goods back to the castle warehouse, "The fleet needs to reconnoiter White Sheep's coastal movements and wait until we complete the task before bringing this batch of goods back to the mainland."
After a few days of rest, Samuel commanded three warships to leave Socotra Island and sail north with the help of Arab navigation information.
On March 20, the fleet arrived at Gulf of Oman (the bay outside Persian Gulf).
There was an Arab merchant ship floating on the sea ahead. When the other party saw this unfamiliar fleet, their first reaction was to run away.
Samuel chose to follow this merchant ship. After half an hour of chasing, a seaport town appeared in the southwest, with the flag of the ruler Oman flying above it.
Rome had no conflict of interest with the other party, so Samuel did not plunder the harbor, but sent two Longboat ashore to purchase fresh water and grain from the locals.
Soon, local officials arrived, and Samuel took the opportunity to inquire about the information from him, "Where has White Sheep Army advanced?"
The official lowered his head and looked at the map in Samuel's hand, pointing to the port about two hundred miles west of Hormuz. "The merchant ship brought news yesterday that White Sheep Army has surrounded this place, and a war is about to break out between the two sides."
At noon, the fleet set off again and entered Persian Gulf two hours later.
The sea conditions inside the bay are calm, and the ship's hull shakes very little when sailing. The land on both sides is barren and barren. On the left is the brown-yellow coast of Arabian Peninsula, with no green vegetation visible. On the right is the coast of Persia, with rolling mountains, looming in the dust.
On March 23, hundreds of Arabian dhows appeared on the sea ahead. The two fleets flew the flags of White Sheep and Timur respectively, and slowly approached each other.
Among them, the bows of some White Sheep ships are equipped with small artillery. Such artillery has insufficient destructive power and can only kill and wound personnel, but cannot destroy the hull.
After a brief exchange of fire, the fleets of both sides began to come into contact. Galley, which had a collision angle, tried to ram the enemy ship. The more common tactic was a boarding battle. Soldiers from both sides hooked the enemy ship with grappling hooks, and then fought with swords.
Samuel thought of Battle of the Masts in history.
In 655 AD, in the southwest waters of Anatolia, a decisive battle broke out between the Arab fleet and the Rome fleet. The former had two hundred warships and the latter had five hundred.
Roman Navy had a numerical advantage, and the sailors had more sailing experience. However, the Arab fleet exploited its strengths and avoided weaknesses, took the initiative to entangle with the Rome fleet, and used close combat to defeat the Rome fleet.
"This is the fifteenth century, and this ancient tactic has become obsolete."
Samuel speculated in his heart that if Rome dispatched ten Cruiser, both warring parties could be sent to the sea to feed fish without losing any warships.
As time goes by, the war in the sea ahead becomes increasingly bloody and chaotic.
Most of the battleships on both sides were entangled together, and some of the crew members were wearing armor and crowded on the deck, desperately slashing their swords at each other. The archers at the rear were shooting arrows wildly. At every moment, someone fell into the sea, and the blood stained a large area of the nearby sea red.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the naval battle came to an end. The White Sheep fleet took the lead in withdrawing from the battlefield and gave up the blockade of the port. The Timur fleet did not pursue it and chose to transport supplies and personnel to the dock.
At this moment, Samuel finally dispatched, and the three two-masted warships sailed to the northwest, using broadside artillery to bombard the retreating White Sheep fleet.
The Six-Pounder Cannon loaded on the battleship is not powerful enough, and its damage to large and medium-sized ships is limited. The shells cannot break open the opposite hull at once, and must hit several times.
"Malaka!"
Samuel uses a flag to notify two friendly ships to attack damaged ships or small ships first and cause as much damage as possible.
The White Sheep fleet has gone through a tough battle and has thirty-two warships left, which occupies an absolute numerical advantage. The disadvantage is that the crew's physical strength is severely depleted. It is difficult for Galley to catch up with the three Rome warships, and they can only fall into a passive situation of being beaten.
As dusk approached, the White Sheep fleet fled back to the port, losing four medium-sized warships and nine small warships during the escape.
Samuel was in a good mood after easily earning a military exploit. He ordered to pick up more than 60 prisoners of war who had fallen into the water, and then retreated eastward.
When passing Strait of Hormuz, the fleet encountered a large sailing ship Portugal. There was no conflict between the two sides and they maintained a distance of thousands of steps throughout the process.
"This Portugal ship is going to enter Persian Gulf for reconnaissance? From now on, this sea area will become more and more lively."
Currently, Red Sea Fleet's only enemy is White Sheep, which maintains neutral relations with Portugal and Arab merchant ships.
During the voyage, Samuel always maintained restraint and did not take the initiative to attack Arab merchant ships. Such groups acted as Trade's transit function. A considerable number of merchant ships were destined to transport Suez. Looting them was equivalent to harming Rome's own interests.