Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 111 White Sand Island

In the vast Pacific Ocean, there are countless islands scattered around, like shining pearls inlaid on the blue sea.

During the turbulent Age of Exploration, brave and fearless explorers, after one arduous voyage after another, marked one unknown island after another on the nautical charts, presenting them to the world.

Located in the central Pacific Ocean, there is a Y-shaped coral atoll with its bottom pointing to the southeast, forming a lagoon. There are also two independent small islands around it, with a total area of ​​only a few square kilometers.

The northwest of the atoll is open, with only coral reefs forming the lagoon, which is surrounded by deep water.

These small islands are located in the northeast trade wind belt, and easterly or northeasterly winds blow half of the year.

The waves, driven by the strong wind, beat violently against the northeast coast; however, the atoll was large enough to protect the leeward south coast from the impact of the waves.

Well, these small islands were later named Wake Island and are known as the "stepping stones" of the Pacific Ocean.

It was first discovered by a Spanish expedition in 1568, but was abandoned because it had no valuable minerals and no residents.

In 1796, British Captain William Wick visited the island and named it after him.

However, the island fell into obscurity and was unknown to the world.

On March 1629, 3, two three-masted sailing ships were quietly anchored in the south of the atoll, between the two small islands. The beach was covered with white coral sand, and there were scattered sailors playing around.

Along the coastline, there are jagged coral reefs and large boulders.

"After a thorough inspection, the Breaking Wave is not seriously damaged. Aside from a large dent in the bow and a significant amount of paint peeling, the overall structure of the ship is intact and will not affect normal navigation."

A small boat approached, and the captain of the Zhengtu, She Zhiliang (formerly the mechanical and electrical instructor of the Polang), jumped from the boat into the water near the shore, causing a splash.

Then, he waded a few steps onto the beach, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Wei Yingbin with a smile, "But, next time, if it's absolutely necessary, it's best not to use the tactic of ramming two ships. What if the enemy ship is built of extremely thick oak or directly covered with a layer of armor? I'm afraid it will be very bad!"

More than a month ago, the "Breaking Waves" fought with five Spanish armed merchant ships for half a day, and finally, with a decisive attitude, it rammed and sank a Spanish armed ship that was blocking its way, and barely broke out of the encirclement.

Afterwards, the "Wavebreaker" raised all its sails and, with its superior speed, quickly escaped the pursuit of the remaining four Spanish armed ships and escaped into the depths of the vast ocean.

Half a month ago, the "Break the Wave" arrived at Wake Island ahead of schedule and after waiting for more than ten days, it finally reunited with the "Journey" which arrived late at the island.

"No way!" Wei Yingbin shook his head and said, "Faced with the siege of five Spanish armed ships, if we were to be stopped, with dozens of cannons bombarding us, and then boarding us, how could we possibly withstand it? Besides, after over a year, our new crew members are still not very familiar with ship operation and lack a certain level of tacit understanding."

"Especially since we had never experienced such intense naval combat, many people panicked when the Spanish pursued us, and many crew members made frequent operational errors. I think we need to strengthen necessary naval combat drills in the future, rather than simply maneuvering sailboats at sea."

"You know, one day in the future, we will definitely have to fight the Spanish face to face. Only in this way can we lay the foundation for our peaceful development."

"We need to strengthen naval warfare drills, but few of us have experience with sailing ship combat." She Zhiliang nodded and said, "And Harvey and his crew have only sailed a few times across the Pacific and have never engaged in large-scale naval battles with European navies or pirates. Therefore, none of us have any experience with sailing ship combat during this period. We can only slowly explore and summarize on our own."

"However, if we rely entirely on our own exploration, it would be like working in isolation, and it might not be very useful in actual combat."

"What you mean is..." Wei Yingbin's heart moved.

"Remember the little tip that smuggler Pedro mentioned to us?"

"Which suggestion?"

"He said that if possible, they should attack Spanish-organized trans-Pacific trade ships to reduce the supply of Eastern goods to the Americas."

"Train through battle!" "That's right," She Zhiliang said with a smile. "The Spanish were robbed by us once, so perhaps they'll learn their lesson and deploy armed forces on merchant ships involved in trans-Pacific trade to prevent pirate attacks. So, if we have the chance, we might as well meet them and learn how to conduct 17th-century naval warfare. With any luck, we might even be able to capture another Manila galleon, which would not only increase our income but also improve our technical and tactical skills."

"Well, that's a good idea. However, the ocean is vast, and we may not be able to accurately locate the Spanish ship. ...Hmm, we can't use up all the last bit of diesel to turn on the radar to find their location, right?"

"We can just sit back and wait!"

"Guarding the Port of Acapulco? ...Or the Port of Manila?"

"I think we can hold on to Guam. It's said that every time the Spanish went to Manila, they would make a brief stop in Guam," She Zhiliang said. "This is an opportunity for us. Besides the Manila galleons bound for the East, no other ships docked there, making it impossible for them to receive additional support."

"Of course, we can't just sit there in the waters near Guam waiting for the Spanish merchant ships to arrive. After sailing most of the way across the Pacific, everyone is exhausted. We need a few days of rest before we have enough energy to fight the Spanish. So, why don't we use Wake Island as our anchorage and make a short stop here to wait for our prey to arrive?"

"Well, your idea is good. However, if that's the case, we'll need to make some minor modifications to this island." Wei Yingbin was already tempted. "The soil here is porous, which makes it too draining. As a result, it can't hold much usable fresh water under natural conditions."

"Yes, we need to make some renovations. Let's build a leak-proof water storage tank first." She Zhiliang pointed to the large blocks of feldspar on the coast. "Luckily, we seem to have no shortage of materials, but it will take some effort."

"Hey, let me ask you, if we rest on this island in the future, will we run into the Spaniards?"

"That shouldn't be the case! I remember that Wake Island wasn't captured by the rising US Navy until the mid-19th century. Before that, neither the Spanish nor the British had even looked at it, let alone used it as a maritime base."

"Besides, this island is slightly off the North Equatorial Current, so the Spanish probably wouldn't rashly enter this waters. Besides, there's Guam just down the road with better conditions. Why would they be interested in this place?"

"That's true!" Wei Yingbin nodded. "There's nothing here. Even the necessary fresh water needs to be slowly collected and settled. Besides, there's no indigenous population. I don't think the Spanish would care about it."

"Since we're going to use this island as an anchorage, shouldn't we change its name?" She Zhiliang said with a smile. "We can't just keep using the later-day name of Wake Island, right? We need to give it a name that's distinctively Chinese."

"Did you want to change the name of this island when you passed by here last year?"

"Of course! From now on, we will rename all the islands in the Pacific Ocean, so that they will forever bear the mark of the Chinese people."

"I didn't expect you to have such a grand ambition."

"As a Marine, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I want to." Wei Yingbin's expression became resolute. "Back then, in order to break through the chain of maritime blockades, we endured decades of hardship. Wasn't it all about rushing into the vast ocean and reclaiming the maritime interests that were rightfully ours? Now that we have the opportunity, we naturally want to make up for all the regrets we once had."

"Well, comrades of our generation still need to work hard!" She Zhiliang said solemnly.

"What are you going to name this island?"

"Look at that white coral sand." She Zhiliang pointed to a stretch of pure white coral sand on the beach and said leisurely, "How about we call it White Sand Island?"

"Are the large islands in the south going to be called the Nansha Islands?"

"Hmm? ...That's not a bad idea."

"Then what will the many islands and reefs in the South China Sea be called?"

"At that time, it seemed to be called Wanli Stone Pond. ... Tsk, tsk, our Chinese ancestors were truly magnanimous. They insisted on calling such a vast South China Sea a pond."

"From now on, we can't be stingy anymore. We have to find a way to turn the Pacific Ocean into a lake. ... A lake for the Chinese!"

(End of this chapter)