Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1560 - 1101: Upper Country Sea Ship Technology, Chinese Fore-and-Aft Rig

"Bodhisattva! How many times have I taught you all? Even if you had a wooden head, you should've gotten it by now! Why is it still like mud gluing your brain, not understanding anything!... Watch my hands, like this, then like this, and finally like this!... Turn with force, adjust the sail direction, face towards the southwest..."

"The wind now is a south wind, south wind! The wind is blowing from south to north! We're heading north, the sail needs to face the south wind, turn slightly east, can't face directly! Tang-style vertical sails should be slightly angled into the wind, just by this small angle... But now we are sailing east, the sail needs to turn greatly towards the east, with a large angle... only leave half, half facing the south wind! Then we can borrow the force split from the south wind, heading east!..." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Oh heavens! The main sail is adjusted well, now look at the ship's direction! The sails at the bow and stern also need adjusting, make the bow face east, don't let the ship slide north... The hull should lean, pressing towards the north, that's correct! Use this leaning force to shed the north-bound force, leaving only the east-bound force..."

"Chief Divine! Just as I was saying, the wind direction changed again, coming from the southwest, so the east-bound force we can borrow is naturally even greater!... Therefore, the sail needs further adjustment to make the ship sail faster... How to adjust? Try it yourselves... What?! Why are you still adjusting westward? Borrow the east force, not shed it! You're only making it slower with these adjustments... What the heck! Why are you adjusting northward? Then the bow will press north and gradually turn northward!… Damn it! You've adjusted directly north, completely facing the south wind, the bow hasn't timely adjusted... With such a strong wind, the bow and sail will twist the force, potentially capsizing the ship!... Wrong, you're all wrong, a bunch of fools!!..."

Under the main mast of the Ocean Shielding Ship, Sail Maker Park Sun-pan was demonstrating while angrily gesturing, expertly manipulating the complex rigging, continuously showing the adjustments of the main sail. He taught vigorously several times, then let the surrounding Unanga sailors attempt the operation. Moments later, he jumped in fury, shouting at a circle of strong and dull-witted, kindly looking tall sailors who didn't comprehend his words.

"Blockhead! Truly a bunch of dense wheat! Wasting such large stature, not developing any sense!... Blockhead! I've taught you for a month, you haven't remembered, such foolish apprentices, I must whip you with sticks to make it stick!"

"Park, the Lord Priest of the Jiao People is here!"

Monk Soldier Watanabe stood beside, arms crossed, covering his left hand's four fingers, lazily watching the joke. But as his peripheral vision caught sight, he immediately alerted Park Sun-pan. Then he turned, respectfully saluting Scholar Mikki. After over half a year of diligent study, he could remarkably utter a slightly clumsy Mexica greeting.

"Praise the Chief Divine! I salute you, honorable Lord Priest!"

"Ah? Ai Gu! Bigger than the sky Priest Sir, this humble one bows to you!... Praise the... Weiqi Radish!"

"Praise the Chief Divine! May the Chief Divine protect us, and this Wind God's sea ship! No need to kneel, rise, all of you!"

"Ah! Sir, how can you salute the humble ones? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Scholar Mikki chuckled and returned the salute, letting Sail Maker Park Sun-pan pull him up by hand, making him honestly feel a bit flattered. Though the warriors of Jiao People were undoubtedly fierce in battle, their nobles treated him very courteously. Such encounters with noble courtesy made him somewhat uneasy, somewhat secretly delighted, yet unsure how to respond... Park Sun-pan thought for a moment, then gripped the Sun Gold Amulet around his neck, sincerely prayed a phrase, and sneaked a glance at Mikki.

"Praise the Chief Divine! The Chief Divine is greatly good!... Sir, why have you come? Did this humble one disturb your rest? I'll shut up now..."

"Ah? Me, come, rest?... Oh! I came to see how you teach them to maneuver the sails, how to utilize wind force..."

Listening to Park Sun-pan's voice with several stammering Mexica phrases, and observing his constantly gesturing hands, Scholar Mikki blinked his eyes, roughly guessing the meaning. He smiled and nodded, then carefully observed the ship's three masts and the long sails spreading and rotating against the wind.

The prominent main mast in front, approximately sixteen or seventeen meters high. The bow and stern masts were much shorter, the stern mast slightly shorter leaning, the bow mast halved in height, tilting forward. Hanging on the main mast was a broad vertical sail, while the bow and stern were the same fan-like vertical sails. Based on the mast heights, the size and form of these three sails were clearly varied.

However, the three rigid longitudinal sails, all made of bamboo, wood, and hemp materials, had no trace of cotton fabric in their construction. Observing how the sailors operated, the adjustment of the sails relied on locking devices with simple pulleys, seemingly without much effort. With just a few glances, Miki could clearly feel the complexity and ingenuity hidden within, the wisdom and knowledge contained within far surpassing that of the kingdom's oar-sailed longships.

"Oh! May the Chief Divine enlighten! ... The setup of these three masts, the form and size of the sails, and the rigging used for maneuvering all seem to be imbued with divine mysteries, making it excellent for harnessing the power of the Wind God..."

"Chief Divine as my witness! Park the Sail Maker, why are the masts and sails on this ship designed this way? And how does the material of these sails feel so hard and sturdy? How exactly do these peculiar rigid longitudinal sails work so well in both releasing and furling in headwinds? ..."

"Uh! Sir, what are you saying?... This, the mast? This, the sail? And this, the rigging?... Why is it shaped like this, this size? And why is it controlled this way?... Why?"

Hearing the Lord Priest's series of why's, and seeing Watanabe translating while gesturing, Park Sun-pan the sail maker suddenly broke into a sweat, feeling pressure like a mountain. Nervous, his knees instinctively weakened, almost kneeling down to respond. But when he saw Miki's kind expression, he barely gathered his courage to stand up and answer quietly.

"Ah! That... This... Praise the Chief Divine!... In reply, Sir! The sails hung on this ship are rigid Tang sails, inherently elongated like half-open fans!... You ask about fans? Uh, I don't have one on me... Oh oh! This fan shape is to facilitate catching the wind, but not with the wind directly, rather by a slight angle..."

"Oh oh! The horizontal sails you mentioned, those are ancient sail designs, not suitable for ocean voyages... The horizontal sails on that longship, I've seen them too, they truly are made of excellent cotton, quite grand! Just like the 'brocade sail thieves' in stories of the Three Kingdoms, they look amazing but are quite useless for sailing..."

"Ahem! My mistake, my mistake! I didn't mean it like that, Sir, you're absolutely not a thief, you're the great general leading the naval forces, oh no, you're celestial Two Classes Stars!..."

Facing Miki's inquiry, Park Sun-pan was so nervous he spoke incoherently, wishing he could slap himself twice. But glancing at the other's expression and then at Watanabe, who shook his head helplessly, he let out a long sigh. Clearly, Watanabe didn't translate his slip of the tongue, perhaps not knowing how to say it...

"Ahem! Praise the Chief Divine!... The Tang-style longitudinal sails are different from those ancient horizontal sails. Once these sails are set up, they generally don't need to be raised or lowered while sailing. Even against the wind, there's no need to drop them. Simply angle the sails slightly to the wind, aligning them into a line to avoid the headwind's influence, and perhaps even catching a bit of wind to move forward... You ask why? Why what? Why can they catch the wind?"

"This... I... well... The longitudinal sails can catch the wind, catch it at an angle! Actually, there's much wind within the wind, which can be broken into different directions. Then, using different sails and orientations, they can gather the wind and move the ship in one direction... Ah! Oh dear! I've been aboard ships for twenty years, that's just how it is!..."

Curious, Scholar Mikki blinked his eyes, continually asking question after question. Park Sun-pan struggled to answer for half an hour, sweat streaming down his forehead, not even knowing what to say.

He had been on ships since he was fifteen, adjusting sails for twenty years, knowing how to face the wind and adjust by muscle memory, ingrained to his bones! If asked how to do it, given any wind condition, he could clearly explain adjusting the three sails' balance and how to adjust the ship's bow and stern. But if asked why? His head would ache, and he couldn't articulate the logic behind it...

"Aigo! Sir! I... I... honestly don't quite understand your meaning, it's all learned hand-to-hand, passed down through generations!... When I learned, my master never taught me why, just used a stick to make me remember! ... Staying on the ship for years, dealing with the sails for so long, one knows how to adjust to different winds in the heart, just can't explain why!"

"Uh! You ask about form? ... The form of the ship's masts and sails, even including the hull design, all follow fixed rules, passed down from master to master... This model of ocean shielding ship comes from the Upper Country Ming's shipyard, as taught by Upper Country shipwrights to us... If you ask..."

"Gold Shipwright, Kim Sun-su! Come over, Sir has questions for you!... Sir, Gold Shipwright knows! He knows what the shipbuilding rules are!..."