Two pirates worked together at the side of the ship. One of them threw a rope with a piece of wood tied to it into the sea, while the other counted the time. When the time was up, the one who released the rope would grab it, calculate the length of the rope, and shout out the order.
"Current speed: 10 knots!"
This was also the method most western ships used in the 18th century to measure their speed. Of course, there were bound to be some errors since the sea itself was moving. However, the effect wasn't too big. The method to measure absolute speed would only appear in the 20th century.
Zhang Heng, dressed in a black suit, stood on the deck, instructing the pirates to adjust the angle of the sails according to the direction of the wind. The Jackdaw had just raised the topsails on the main mast and secondary mast. Now that they were almost at full sail, the mast was under a lot of pressure. A few pirates were busy pulling the ropes back and fixing them at the stern. Zhang Heng, on the other hand, personally took the helm and adjusted the ship's draft.
After a violent jolt, the ship finally adapted to its current speed. When the ship gradually stabilized, Zhang Heng returned the helm to the sailor. The lookout continued to observe.
Carina stood by the side, watching everything quietly.
She wasn't as calm as she looked on the surface. When she was on Nassau, she asked around about Zhang Heng. She knew that he was just a passenger on a merchant ship a year ago. After that, he became a member of the Sea Lion because of his excellent marksmanship. Apparently, he wasn't used to life on the sea at that time. On his way back to Nassau, he suffered from severe seasickness and almost lost his life.
In just a short year, he went from being an ordinary sailor on the Sea Lion to being the boatswain. After that, he left the Sea Lion with a group of old men. When he returned to Nassau, he was already the captain of a pirate ship.
His rapid rise to power left people in awe. They couldn't help but wonder if he had the wisdom and experience to lead his own crew. This was also the reason why the people on Nassau looked down on the Jackdaw.
Karina had the same thought before, but when the two of them met for the first time, she changed her mind. The man in front of her was obviously different from the pirates she had met before. He had a unique charm and maturity that was far beyond his age. However, that was more of a subjective feeling in her heart.
This time, when she went out to sea with Zhang Heng, she got to see his commanding and leadership skills up close.
Zhang Heng's performance was nothing like a rookie captain who was going out to sea for the first time. He skillfully dealt with the various situations and challenges on the ship as if he had practiced it countless times.
However, after interacting with him for the past few days, the female merchant was no longer as surprised as before. In her opinion, anyone with such a self-disciplined lifestyle and attitude of continuous learning would have a hard time not succeeding.
She used to see Zhang Heng and Anne practicing their swordsmanship on the deck before dawn. She also saw Zhang Heng asking the old sailors for advice and discussing all kinds of sailing problems. When he was free, he would even read some books left behind by the former owner of the ship in the captain's room.
The Jackdaw used to be a naval warship, and there were many books on naval tactics. Other than that, there were also travel notes from various places. The latter part was Zhang Heng's favorite.
Zhang Heng's understanding of this era was from a later generation's point of view. Of course, it allowed him to stay sober. However, there were many things that he couldn't understand. These travel notes and travel notes could help him better integrate into this era. It also indirectly allowed him to understand a lot of local customs and anecdotes.
On the other hand, Zhang Heng was also reevaluating Karina. This woman was more decisive than he expected. She didn't send her subordinates to deliver the letter as promised. Instead, she chose to deliver the letter herself. Other than ensuring that nothing went wrong, she was also using this method to show her sincerity.
Although black-market merchants were an important part of Nassau, they were different from pirates. Most of them had a family and status in a civilized society. Usually, these people were only responsible for purchasing and transporting the pirates' loot. They would never participate in the process of plundering.
This way, if something were to happen, they would be able to quickly choose between them. Boarding a pirate ship like Karina was a dangerous move, and it was tantamount to tying her fate with Zhang Heng's. However, Zhang Heng had to admit that there was no other way to win his trust than what Karina was doing now.
This woman was a natural-born gambler. Perhaps she could really carve out a path for herself in Nassau, which was now under the control of the black-market alliance.
However, Karina didn't have the time to think about something so far away. As she stared at the empty sea in the distance, the anxiety on her face became more and more obvious.
It was already the 32nd day since the Jackdaw left the port. More than half of the ship's food and water had been consumed. The supply of lemon juice had also stopped. There were still some vegetables and dried fruits left, but since it was Zhang Heng's first time doing something like this, he didn't take every detail into account. The humid environment at sea caused the dried fruits and vegetables to become damp and moldy. Hence, everyone was back to the bitter days of eating biscuits and smoking fish.
Even so, the remaining food and water could only last them for another 20 days. In other words, the Jackdaw was not far from returning to Nassau.
Zhang Heng felt a little helpless. Reality wasn't a game. Many times, even if one was fully prepared and had a lot of backup plans, there were still all sorts of unexpected situations that could happen.
Even the most outstanding pirate captain of the Caribbean Sea couldn't pat his chest and guarantee that he would return with a bountiful harvest every time he went out to sea. Although everyone understood this logic, he needed a huge victory now more than ever.
As time passed, Zhang Heng could feel the emotional changes in everyone around him. It wasn't just the newcomers who had just boarded the ship. Even the veteran sailors, including Billy and Dufresne, had become quiet. Even Karina was starting to waver.
Last night, she knocked on the captain's cabin door and confessed to Zhang Heng that she suspected that her father's betrayal had spread throughout the colony. His old friends in the customs had also betrayed him. She also said that the so-called spice ship did not exist, and that it was just a lie. It might even be a bait thrown out by the Naval Intelligence Agency.
Karina looked around nervously. "I thought about it carefully. No matter how ridiculous a ship from the Spice Islands is, it's impossible for it to sail all the way to the New World. There must be something wrong. I remember when I was young, my father mentioned that he had two enemies in Boston."
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