Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 36 Returning to the North
On February 1626, 2, it had been two months and twenty days since the "Breaking Waves" left. According to the itinerary, it should have returned to Qiming Island by now.

However, to this day, the "Breaking Waves" has not returned, causing everyone in Shixing Fort to feel worried.

Could there be any accident?
If the "Break the Wave" was lost in Mexico and all the people on board were captured by the Spanish, then the people left behind in Shixing Fort would certainly not be spared.

"That shouldn't happen!" Li Liang said confidently. "The captain is a cautious and prudent man. There's no way he'd let the Spanish take advantage of the situation and hijack the Breaker."

"Will we encounter a storm?" Wei Zhonglong asked worriedly.

"It's possible we might encounter a storm. However, given the performance of the Wavebreaker and the design of its watertight compartments, even if we encounter a force 10 gale or a force 7 or 8 sea, we won't be swept to the bottom by the huge waves. Furthermore, the captain and his crew should be sailing close to the coastline, and they have relatively detailed and mature hydrographic data for the west coast of North America. If the situation isn't favorable, they can easily take shelter in a relatively safe bay."

"Then why haven't they come back yet?" Wei Zhonglong said, turning his head to look towards the seaside.

"Maybe he will be back today." Li Liang said with a comforting smile.

As the only two representatives of the cadets in the decision-making committee, he not only has to help the political commissar deal with various trivial matters, big and small, in Shixing Fort, but also has to do psychological counseling for the cadets.

Standing on a desolate island, looking around, there is no one living anywhere.

Endless forest.

The boundless sea.

There just aren't too many humans.

After the "Break the Waves" left, there were only about fifty people left in Shixing Fort. Even if the nearby Native Americans were included, there were only about three hundred people, which was less than the population of a village in later generations.

Just take a walk outside and you will encounter more animals than people.

There was no electricity, no internet, and no entertainment. Everyone could only rely on bragging and chatting with each other to pass the boring and depressing days.

Companions that I wasn’t very familiar with before, now I know exactly what color cats and dogs they have at home, what hobbies their first love has, and what embarrassing things they did in elementary school.

The situation is fine during the day. There is never-ending work, which gives people less opportunity to think about random things.

However, in the evening, after a quick meal, when Shixing Fort fell into darkness and silence, thoughts immediately flooded into his brain like a tide.

Longing, nostalgia, loneliness, solitude, sadness...all kinds of emotions mixed together.

He was a carefree person. After joking about hip-hop, he fell asleep.

People with delicate minds are always worried and unable to sleep.

Those who are emotionally unstable will shed tears secretly, unable to hide their sadness.

Although everyone is a soldier, they are actually ordinary people with ordinary emotions and ordinary needs.

Not everyone who comes to this time and space will immediately become an omnipotent and emotionless "Long Aotian".

We are just a group of ordinary "runners".
-
"Turn right!"

"Head southeast!"

"Full sail!"

"Full speed!"

"..."

Just when the people in Shixing Fort were worried about the "Breaking Waves", it had already rounded the top cape in the northwest of the Olympia Peninsula, began to change course, sailed into the Qiming Strait (now the San Juan Strait), and sped towards Shixing Fort.

I'll be home soon!
The strong northwest wind blew the three huge sails into inflated shapes, causing the speed of the Wavebreaker to quickly soar to twelve knots, thirteen knots, and fourteen knots. The lush greenery and thick ink on the coast flew by quickly, frame by frame, like a movie scene.

"If we continue at this speed, we will arrive at Shixing Fort around seven in the evening." Acting Captain Wei Yingbin put down the telescope in his hand and let out a long breath.

"We're finally here." The expression on the face of navigation instructor Captain Kuang Xu was obviously relaxed, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Before the "Break the Wave" set sail, it was fully equipped and crewed, with a total of 62 people including cadets and Spanish sailors. Because of the favorable winds and sailing, it took only 16 days to reach the coast of Mexico.

In such a short time, all the personnel were able to land and attack the Mexican town safely without any injuries, not even sick sailors.

The battle ashore was also extremely simple, encountering no resistance. After five days of plundering, the crew of the Breaker returned, all filled with joy at having returned with a full haul. Before their arrival, the Spanish sailors had some concerns, fearing the Chinese would use them as cannon fodder, forcing them to forcibly capture a coastal port and, at the cost of heavy casualties, ensure the successful completion of the looting operation.

However, they never expected that the Chinese were extremely cautious and careful in their looting behavior. Not only did they avoid important port towns with certain defensive capabilities, but they also landed in coordination with them, launched a surprise attack at night, and cooperated with each other to capture the remote town in one fell swoop.

It is really hard to imagine that they could run over 4,000 kilometers and rob an entire town without losing a single person.

The supplies obtained are enough to supply everyone for more than half a year.

Moreover, during the looting process, many Spanish sailors also stole and secretly hid a lot of gold, silver and coins.

Of course, after returning to Qiming Island, these gold and silver coins may not be used at all.

However, who can guarantee that these gold and silver will not bring significant economic benefits to oneself in the future?
Even if it is passed on to future generations, it would still be a considerable fortune, wouldn't it?

Uh, never mind whether we have descendants in the future.

People always have to have some hope.

The "Breaker" did not stay long off the coast of Mexico. After loading the looted materials and personnel onto the ship, it immediately weighed anchor and set sail, heading far north.

Because of the headwind and the fact that the ship was fully loaded, the return journey was relatively slow. The ship had to constantly adjust the sails and course at sea, and adopted the traditional method of "sailing against the waves" to move forward with difficulty.

After sailing for more than 20 days, the Wavebreaker finally reached San Diego Bay, with two-thirds of the journey still to go.

In order to avoid the storm, the "Break the Wave" stayed here for several days, during which time it conducted a barter trade with the local Indians and replenished some daily necessities.

After setting sail again, misfortunes followed one after another.

On January 1, a Spanish sailor fell into the sea while adjusting the sails on the mast without wearing a safety belt (at this time, there was no concept of safety belts on sailboats).

Falling into the sea from a mast forty or fifty meters high, there was almost no chance of survival. All the crew members just expressed their condolences and continued to move forward.

On January 1, a small town resident fell ill with a high fever and persistent diarrhea. He lost consciousness within a few days and died after several days.

On January 1, townspeople and sailors on board fell ill one after another, suspected of being infected with cholera.

In the following days, the number of sick people increased from four to eleven, immediately causing panic on the ship.

Captain Luo Zhenhui immediately ordered that all sick personnel and contacts be isolated in two separate cabins, with no entry or exit allowed, food or drink isolated, and excrement sealed.

On February 2, three more sailors fell ill, two of whom were time travelers.

On February 2, Captain Luo Zhenhui unfortunately fell ill and suffered from diarrhea and vomiting, obviously infected with cholera.

Navigation instructor Major Wei Yingbin immediately took over command of the ship and served as acting captain.

Faced with this situation, it is obviously not possible to rely on each patient's own immunity to cope with the disease.

In particular, Captain Luo Zhenhui was unfortunately infected. If an accident happened, it would cause chaos and unrest to the entire team.

Therefore, Wei Yingbin had to give the patients the berberine, montmorillonite powder and other therapeutic drugs that the military medical officer Captain Dong Xinping had prepared in advance for everyone.

You know, the reserves of these medicines are already limited. Under extreme circumstances, the time travelers will naturally be reluctant to use them.

After more than ten patients took the medicine, their diarrhea and vomiting symptoms eased slightly the next day, and their condition seemed to be improving.

But for some reason, the three time travelers, including Captain Luo Zhenhui, took medicine for three consecutive days, but their symptoms did not subside and they were unable to move.

Surprisingly, there is a certain degree of drug resistance!
In desperation, he could only continue to give medication to the three people.

Fortunately, after six days of taking the medicine, the three people finally got rid of their serious condition, their diarrhea and vomiting stopped, and their body temperature, pulse and blood pressure gradually returned to normal.

Now, they are about to get home, and everyone's worries are relieved.

At 6 p.m., the "Breaking Waves" approached Shixing Harbor.

But when everyone looked towards the shore, they were all stunned.

Why is it so dark on the shore?
Where has the lush and dense jungle of the past gone?
(End of this chapter)