Although this is a product from 1980, it is very powerful and is generally used for offshore oil exploration. Zhuang Rui's use of it to salvage a shipwreck only shows that he has deep pockets.
After being lowered into the water by a tower crane, the several-ton unmanned remotely operated vehicle immediately sank, and patterns in the seawater were displayed on the screen in front of Zhuang Rui.
This submersible is equipped with cameras at different angles, which can transmit the underwater situation to the ship in real time. It is also equipped with two sets of power units and small grab arms in the front, back, up, down, left and right directions, which can fully meet the needs of deep-sea sample collection.
After the submersible sank several tens of meters, the light on the screen became very dim. After Zhang made some operations on the remote control, the seawater immediately became bright again, because the two powerful lights on the submersible were turned on.
Schools of brightly colored ocean fish flashed across the screen from time to time, seemingly very interested in the gleaming metal object, chasing and swimming around the submersible.
Occasionally, a shark would be attracted by the light, causing the school of fish to panic. The submersible's sensing and sound transmission functions were excellent, and the sound of fish hitting the submersible could be clearly heard.
Once the omnidirectional thruster on the submersible was activated, the descent speed increased. The depth of this sea area was more than 3,000 meters. Considering that the thruster could only reach a speed of 10 knots, it would take at least two hours to reach the seabed.
However, the process was not boring at all, because the beautiful scenery and all kinds of strange fish in the deep sea were enough to dazzle Zhuang Rui and the others. If it weren't for safety concerns, Zhuang Rui would have even called his wife and children down to watch.
"Brother Zhuang, Brother Zhuang, can you hear me...?"
Just as Zhuang Rui was admiring the beautiful underwater scenery, Li Zhen's voice came through his wireless earphones.
"Received, you said..."
Zhuang Rui stood up and walked outside the platform.
"Brother Zhuang, Jack just made another call. I've located him in the Malay Archipelago, about 400 nautical miles from here. Don't worry, everything is under control..."
Li Zhen's voice came through the earphones.
"Have you verified the other party's identity?"
Zhuang Rui had no idea who was targeting him. The ship had been completely altered, and the information Jack had revealed indicated that it had become a salvage ship. Could the pirates also be thinking of hijacking his ship to salvage underwater treasures?
"No, the other party didn't use that phone except when talking to Jack, so I couldn't eavesdrop..."
Although Li Zhen was highly skilled and the ship had advanced equipment, the other party did not use that phone, so he could not find out their identity and could only monitor their coordinates and movements through satellite positioning.
"Alright, if they head in our direction, notify me immediately..."
Hearing Li Zhen's words, Zhuang Rui felt relieved. With Jack, the mole, around, at least they wouldn't catch him off guard.
Moreover, the other party is currently more than 400 nautical miles away from my location. Even if I drive at full speed, it will take at least 15 hours to reach my area.
Chapter 936 Song Dynasty Shipwreck (Part 1)
On the shore of an uninhabited island in the Malaysian archipelago, a "fishing boat" covered with fishing nets was moored. Several burly men stood guard on the boat, using binoculars to observe passing ships in the distance.
This is one of Liu Minghui's hideouts. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Since offending the Las Vegas gambling tycoon, he has set up five or six places like this in the South China Sea to temporarily hide and stay.
There is no fresh water on this island, so people usually don't come here. Liu Minghui didn't make many arrangements, but built a few wooden houses in a place out of sight at sea for people to stay in.
Although the place was very simple, sleeping on the boat all day was not a pleasant experience, especially since the small boat was rocking so much that most people couldn't stand it. Liu Minghui was not young, so he was willing to take some risks and insisted on living on the island.
From here, you can quickly reach the Strait of Malacca. Similarly, if you encounter danger, you can immediately retreat. This is already Malaysian inland waters, and if ships from other countries enter, they will be driven away by the Malaysian navy.
With Datu's help, the frigates, which usually conceal their guns and weapons, can still freely enter and exit this sea area. Of course, Hui Ge also spent a lot of money, at least several hundred thousand US dollars on that fat general with a big belly.
"Brother, why aren't we going yet? If we hurry over now, we can catch them off guard..."
The fire kept circling in front of Brother Hui. More than a week had passed since the last transaction, and it had been stuck on this small island. Liu Minghui had given a strict order that no one was allowed to leave the island without permission.
Although they had no worries about food and drink, the lack of modern entertainment facilities, and more importantly, the absence of women, made life very difficult for these energetic guys.
"Damn it, I should have robbed that merchant ship last time and brought that woman back..."
Huo Jiang licked his lips. Last time, he robbed a group of wealthy young men who were out at sea. There were two really sexy girls on board who not only offered themselves to him but also used a variety of tricks, giving all of his dozen or so brothers a good time.
"You won't die without women, Fifth Brother. Keep your cool. This time, if we don't make a move, we won't do it at all, but if we do, we'll take them all. After we finish this job, we'll run away and have all the women we need."
Hui Ge glared at Huo Jiang with a gloomy expression. For some reason, he had a bad feeling, but he couldn't explain why.
Normally, even if the other side has more people, their unarmed crew is no different from a flock of lambs to the slaughter.
After thinking for a moment, Hui turned to Bai Zhishan, the person in the organization who had been in contact with Jack, and said, "Third brother, contact Jack again and ask if there are any weapons on the ship. Also, find out how long they plan to stay in that area..."
"Yes, elder brother..."
The third brother picked up the phone and dialed immediately. After a while, he put down the phone and said with a beaming smile, "Big brother, good news! Although there are more than ten security guards on their ship, they all have electric batons and don't even have a handgun. There's nothing to be afraid of them... As for how long they'll be at sea, the staff said they're salvaging a sunken ship, which will take at least a week..."
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Hui Ge's tense expression finally relaxed.
"I'm sure. In this sweltering heat, those security guards are only wearing light clothing. You can spot them at a glance if they have weapons. Jack's been at sea for so many years, he has a good eye..."
The third brother glanced at Hui Ge and cautiously continued, "But eldest brother, that kid said that once we get the money from the Zhuang family, we'll give him ten million..."
"Bullshit! I was risking my life, and he was just making phone calls, thinking about splitting the money?"
Hui Ge didn't say anything, but Huo Jiang jumped up. If Jack were here right now, Huo Jiang would definitely snap his neck.
"Extorting that guy surnamed Zhuang? Heh heh, I'm afraid we won't live to enjoy that..."
Upon hearing this, Hui sneered and said, "Promise him, I'll give him a hundred million, as long as he's alive to take it..."
As soon as Hui-ge said that, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
I've seen greedy people, but I've never seen anyone so greedy and stupid. Brother Hui has no problem taking money from these people who live on the edge, but he's afraid that the gun in his hand might accidentally go off.
Hui had inquired about Zhuang Rui's background and knew that he had a deep connection in mainland China. If it weren't for the tempting sum of money, Hui wouldn't have wanted to provoke such a person.
However, now that the feud has been established, Hui-ge will definitely not give Zhuang Rui a way out after he seizes the ship. Anyway, he will leave after finishing this job. Even if Zhuang Rui has a powerful background, he can't possibly go to Africa to hunt him down, can he?
"Alright, stop laughing, everyone. Go do what you were supposed to do..."
Hui Ge's expression hardened, and the laughter in the room abruptly stopped.
"Hey, brother, why aren't we leaving yet? What if someone else gets there first? We'll have worked for nothing!"
Upon hearing Liu Minghui's words, Huo Jiang immediately became anxious. He had long been fed up with this desolate place.
Moreover, there are at least three other pirate groups in Malacca, not just them. If they are targeted by others, it will be difficult to strike again.
"Get some rest, we'll leave tomorrow afternoon..."
Liu Minghui waved his hand, sat down on the recliner, and closed his eyes. Seeing their boss's expression, everyone knew that Brother Hui wouldn't change his mind, and they all left dejectedly.
Liu Minghui's decision to set off again tomorrow was based on his own considerations. He didn't believe that such a large merchant ship wouldn't have an automatic weapon on board. A direct assault was absolutely not advisable.
That's why Brother Hui decided to set sail tomorrow afternoon. When they arrive at the waters where Zhuang Rui is, it will be morning, which is also the time when the crew is most relaxed. So, he will lower the small boat, sneak up onto the ship, and catch Zhuang Rui and the others off guard.
As for what Huo Jiang said about someone else getting there first, Hui Ge didn't care much, because for a ship this big, most pirate organizations wouldn't dare to act rashly without thorough prior tracking and investigation.
There have been similar incidents before. A national exploration team was conducting research in international waters when they were attacked by a group of pirates. However, the exploration team was protected by a platoon of soldiers, who easily defeated the ignorant pirates, nearly wiping them out.
Since then, the pirates of Malacca have learned their lesson. They generally won't recklessly hijack or attack ships whose backgrounds they don't know. Even when they do, it's only merchant ships whose identities they know well and whom they've been tailing for several days.
"So beautiful..."
Sitting in front of the big screen, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
As the submersible descended, it had now reached a depth of over 1,800 meters in the deep sea. Zhuang Rui had originally thought that there would be far fewer fish in the deep sea, but the reality was quite the opposite of what he had imagined.
Although the depth has reached 1,800 meters, schools of fish dart back and forth in the sea. Some are covered with colorful stripes, some have a tuft of red feathers on their heads, some have round eyes and are covered with spines, and when they puff up, they are as round as a ball.
Even larger electric eels swam past the submersible, looking like giant pythons on the screen, with lengths of over ten meters.
Rare fish swimming past the submersible from time to time in the sea would elicit gasps of surprise from the people in the room.
Although these workers had conducted deep-sea operations before, they had all been in waters a few hundred meters deep. This was their first time salvaging a shipwreck in waters more than two thousand meters deep.
"Is this...is this the bottom of the sea?"
Suddenly, the scenery on the screen changed. In the originally clear seawater, a flat riverbed appeared. Wherever the light reached, it was like a desert, with fine white sand as far as the eye could see.
Zhang, being very experienced, glanced at the riverbed and said, "We should have reached the seabed. Mr. Zhuang, which direction should we go now?"
Unlike the beautiful seabed in shallow waters, the deep sea is so barren due to the immense pressure and lack of sunlight that there are no coral reefs or other marine life on its surface.
Some deep-sea fish were swimming around, but as you could see on the screen, these fish seemed to be very afraid of the light, unlike the fish in the shallow sea that gathered around the light.
Zhuang Rui sensed the location of the sunken ship and said, "Turn on all the headlights and head to the right..."
About two hundred meters to the right of the submersible, there was a shipwreck. Although Zhuang Rui could not see it directly, he could sense from the rich spiritual energy that there must be many valuable items on board.
At the front of the submersible robot, there are six large lights. Previously, only two were turned on to save power, but now all of them are on, and the seabed has become bright.
As the submersible turned, the thrusters at the rear stirred up sand from the seabed, making the screen appear cloudy. Zhuang Rui said, "No, we can't see clearly like this. Raise a little, don't skim along the seabed..."
After Zhang operated the submersible for a while, it rose a few meters and advanced a distance. The seawater became clear again, but the lights could only see a distance of about 10 or 20 meters ahead. No one knew whether there was a shipwreck.
"Look, there seems to be a shadow ahead..."
About 10 minutes later, a staff member who was staring intently at the screen suddenly shouted loudly. Sure enough, there was a dark shadow in the distance directly in front of the submersible.
"A ship, a shipwreck." As the submersible drew closer, everyone could clearly see a wooden boat about twenty meters long appear in the field of vision of the monitoring device on the submersible robot.
"It's a shipwreck from our country, a shipwreck from the Song Dynasty..."
As the only professional in the room, Zhuang Rui's archaeological knowledge was not wasted; he immediately determined the ship's age based on its shape.
Chapter 937 Song Dynasty Shipwreck (Part 2)
China has a long history of navigation, with records dating back to the Qin Dynasty. Xu Fu once tricked Qin Shi Huang into going to sea to find immortals, claiming that the ship he was on could hold three thousand children and girls. This is a bit far-fetched. If such a giant ship could have been built back then, Qin Shi Huang would have swept across the world long ago.
However, it is undeniable that China already had ocean-going shipbuilding technology during the Qin Dynasty, and during the Eastern Wu period of the Three Kingdoms, there are records that large ships were over 20 zhang long and 3 zhang high above the water. The largest multi-story ships could carry 3,000 people, and the smallest could carry 80 horses.
Although the description is somewhat exaggerated, it shows the advanced shipbuilding technology at the time. Even if it was shrunk tenfold, a multi-story ship that could accommodate 300 people and 8 horses was still quite large.
After the Silk Road was opened during the Tang Dynasty, maritime trade increased. There is a record that describes how large Tang Dynasty ships, due to their size and deep draft, could not enter Basra Port and had to be transferred to smaller ships in India. This record is highly credible.
Of course, it's possible that the port of Basra was built too simply at the time, but Tang Dynasty's maritime technology was definitely among the top three in the world at that time.
Zhuang Rui's claim that this was a shipwreck from the Song Dynasty is based on two main points.
The first reason is that the commerce of the Song Dynasty was even more advanced than that of the Tang Dynasty. Maritime technology had also been further improved. Moreover, the Silk Road was cut off at that time, and the lucrative trade returns continuously stimulated Song Dynasty merchants to develop trade.
The Chinese have always possessed a spirit of adventure. During the Song Dynasty, under relatively lenient national policies, many people continuously attempted to open up new sea routes. However, opening new sea routes was extremely arduous and dangerous; while profits could be gained, the risk of perishing at sea was ever-present.
The opening of new sea routes inevitably comes at a heavy price: shipwrecks. Many adventurous merchants and cargo ships will sink at sea during the opening of new sea routes. The more developed the commerce and trade, the more shipwrecks will occur. The Song Dynasty fits this description.
During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu, the only emperor in Chinese history to have come from an extremely poor background, wanted to restore a simple agricultural society where people could "hear the sounds of chickens and dogs from one neighboring village to another, but never visit each other until they die of old age."