Yang Yuanqing and Chang Fanqi stood side by side at the bow, issuing timely commands based on reports from the soldiers in the lookout. Before entering the channel, the ship had to turn slightly to starboard to avoid the jagged, fanglike tips of the reef. Yang Yuanqing extended his arm, and the crew continually adjusted their course according to his gestures.
A faint shudder ran through the hull. Yang Yuanqing immediately realized that the ship was too heavy and sitting too deep in the water: its bottom had already touched the top of the reef beneath the channel. Chang Fanqi also heard the hull striking rock and sprang to his feet. The scraping continued, now reaching the stern. Yang Yuanqing ordered the crew to throw some of their grain into the sea, but the situation still failed to improve. They had to retain enough food and fresh water to survive.
"Throw the Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannons overboard!" Chang Fanqi shouted. It was a painful decision, but they had no choice. Unless they lightened the ship quickly, their warship could run aground at the lagoon entrance at any moment. Worse still, the reef could snap the rudder under its mounting strain.
After they entered the channel, the waves grew noticeably smaller, but the sense of danger only intensified. The sailors measuring the depth kept reporting figures that made everyone's hearts pound. Only after six Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannons had been thrown off the flagship did its draft improve significantly. Yang Yuanqing ordered the warships behind them to shed as much weight as possible and enter the lagoon cautiously. Once all the ships were inside, a count revealed that only fourteen remained. Their losses in Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannons were even more devastating: of the original fifty, only fifteen remained. In such foul weather, however,