The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 119 Deep in the North Atlantic ([-])

The entire North Atlantic area has strong winds all year round, especially in autumn and winter.In autumn, tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic transform into strong extratropical cyclones, bringing strong winds to the northern North Atlantic. Some strong extratropical cyclones can also cross the Atlantic, bringing strong winds and heavy precipitation to northwest Europe.In winter, extratropical cyclones intensify, and cold fronts from the Arctic frequently move south, bringing strong winds exceeding level 10 to most of the North Atlantic.

On November 1725, 11, on the stormy ocean, more than ten ships were arranged in two loose rows, heaving and undulating violently.All the ships had their main sails lowered, and several sidemasts were only half-sailed, drifting with the current as the strong sea wind blew.

At this time of year, it is already early winter, with a biting cold wind and a cold dampness.Several officers on guard duty were wrapped in thick woolen military coats, holding telescopes to observe the rolling sea.

"It's been four days and no prey has been found. Are the English people all huddled on their shabby island and don't dare to go to sea?" Shao Xiangsheng, the captain (lieutenant) Renyong of the Navy, put down the telescope, rubbed his hands vigorously, and then He raised his head and looked at the observation post on the mainmast, "Hey, Lao Hu is probably frozen up there, right? There hasn't been any movement for such a long time."

"Sir, do you need to call him?" Zhou Hengdao, the second lieutenant of the accompanying army, also looked towards the lookout post on the mainmast.

The wind up there is much stronger than on the deck. Could it really freeze people to death?
Just when the two were suspicious, they saw the lookout whistle on the mainmast suddenly wave a flag, and a sharp whistle sounded. Then a head poked out and roared loudly to the deck.

"Ships found! ... The number is about nine, ... the direction is southwest! ... The distance is about ten kilometers!"

"Ship found! Direction southwest, ten kilometers away."

"Order the bilge to start the steam engine and burn the boiler!"

"Turn the helm and sail southwest!"

"Raise both side sails, the angle is 25 degrees!"

"Gunnery crew prepare for battle!"

"..."

Several other warships also discovered the prey one after another, and then the flagship continuously sent out flags, ordering the ships in the fleet to prepare to intercept the target.For a time, the entire sea area was filled with a thick aura of murder. On the huge waves, everyone began to turn and pounced toward the southwest with a very wide fan-shaped surface.

An hour later, seven steam-rigged warships took the lead in approaching the merchant fleet, then blocked the opponent's forward direction, and began to threaten it with force, ordering the opponent to lower the sails, stop the ship, and voluntarily surrender to the Qi fleet. .

Unexpectedly, the fleet of nine merchant ships showed no signs of panic. Some crew members even stood on the bow of the ship, waving flagpoles as if to identify themselves.

"They seem to be Spanish?" Shao Xiangsheng said with some uncertainty, holding up the binoculars: "The diagonal cross flag with a white background should be the logo of the Kingdom of Spain, right?"

"Could it be an English merchant ship pretending to be one?...In the past few months, among the many merchant ships intercepted, English people have been found flying the flag of another country, trying to get through."

"It's hard to say. However, the waves on the sea are so strong that we won't be able to send someone over to check for a while!"

"If there are mistakes, we will not let them go! Control them first, and then board the ship for inspection after the wind and waves subside."

"..."

Just when several sail warships were unable to determine the merchant ship's ownership and started a confrontation with it, the sail warships from behind arrived one after another and formed a loose arc, forming a semi-surrounding situation for the entire merchant fleet.

After a stalemate for more than an hour, the sailing battleship "Shaohao" puffed out thick smoke and cautiously approached the merchant ship, preparing to meet the other party to check their true identity.All the warships exposed their black muzzles and were on alert, covering the "Shaohao" as it approached for inspection.

Leonardo Ferreira, the captain of the "Selia", watched as the sailors pulled several Qi navy officers and soldiers from the side, and then greeted them with a smile.

"Our fleet all belongs to the Kingdom of Spain. Under the order of His Majesty the King, we set off from Havana and prepared to return to the home port of Cadiz." Captain Leonardo Ferreira handed a document in his hand to the leader The Qi officer solemnly said: "In view of the traditional friendly relations between our two countries, your navy intercepting us for no reason is an extremely rude and offensive act." Shao Xiangsheng handed the document to the Hispanic interpreter next to him. Xi Chengsong, an officer and naval aide, asked him to identify the authenticity of the document.

In fact, when he boarded the Spanish galleon at great risk, he had already confirmed in his heart that this fleet was not an English ship.Although, in his eyes, the faces of these barbarians all looked the same, they behaved unusually calmly when intercepted by their fleet. After carefully observing the shapes of the ships in this fleet, It is clearly a typical Spanish galleon built by the Havana Shipyard.

This kind of ship has a high side and a high poop. Its front deck is low, the stern is flat, and there is a protrusion at the bow, which is like the collision angle of an oar. It is also equipped with an independent gun emplacement.The sides of the hull slope inward from bottom to top and present an equilateral trapezoid shape. This outline is somewhat similar to ancient gold ingots, and this slope extends all the way to the poop.

Their ships have bowsprits, foremasts, mainmasts and mizzenmasts, with square canvas hung on them. Some very large sailing ships often have a tonnage of more than 800 tons, and usually have two mizzenmasts, which are called For the fourth mast.A square canvas is hung on the bow of the ship, and three square canvases are hung on the foremast and mainmast. They are called topsail, topmast and mainsail from top to bottom. A large square canvas is usually hung on the mizzen mast. jib.

From the appearance, the lines of the large sailing ship are very graceful, and the stern is even more surprisingly exquisite, which dwarfs its somewhat monotonous bow.The length-to-width ratio of the traditional European Clark sailing ship was about 3:1, while the length-to-width ratio of the large sailing ship of this period was 4:1. This aspect ratio gave the Spanish large sailing ship an even greater advantage in speed.

In recent decades, the Spanish government has increasingly tended to use armed galleons instead of ordinary merchant ships to transport precious metals. This arrangement is more conducive to the ruler's protection of precious commodities from the Americas, thereby reducing Risk of being plundered by pirates or hostile countries.

By the way, during this period, the Caribbean Sea was not very peaceful. It was full of pirates from various countries, including privateers from some countries who targeted their Spanish treasure ships.

"Sir, these documents stamped with the seal of the Governor of Spanish America should be authentic and reliable." Xi Chengsong handed the documents in his hand to Shao Xiangsheng and whispered: "Besides, looking at their faces, they are all Spanish. Essentially different from the English.”

After hearing this, Shao Xiangsheng nodded, returned the document to the bearded captain opposite, and then politely saluted with a military salute.

"I'm very sorry for delaying your trip. In view of the fact that Qi and England are in a state of war, in order to contain and attack the English's maritime transportation, our army has to intercept and inspect any passing ships in this sea area."

"I very much understand your country's military action to attack England." Captain Leonardo Ferreira's face softened slightly, he took the document from the opponent's hand, nodded and said: "However, your actions have made us Everyone was frightened. Yes, we almost thought we had encountered a group of despicable and cruel pirates."

"I once again apologize for the trouble our Qi Navy has caused you." Shao Xiangsheng ignored the other party's cynicism and said with a smile: "However, I want to tell you a piece of news. Your Kingdom of Spain lost control of the Kingdom of Spain more than two months ago. In order to regain Gibraltar, a fierce armed conflict broke out with England. Therefore, judging from the current situation, our two countries should be in the same camp. England is already our common enemy."

"What, our Kingdom of Spain has declared war on England?" Captain Leonardo Ferreira was surprised when he heard this.

"I don't know whether to declare war. However, your country is actually at war with England. So, when you return to the Spanish mainland, please be vigilant. As far as I know, in the North Atlantic waters, In addition to us, the English also have a large number of warships. You may also be the target of their attack."

Captain Leonardo Ferreira heard this and nodded solemnly.

After giving some gifts to the people of Qi, the Spanish fleet raised its sails one after another and sailed towards the Spanish mainland.

The people of Qi State were disappointed, sailed away in their boats, and continued to swim in the sea, looking for possible prey.

That evening, as the sun set, a storm came.The huge waves rolling on the sea became more turbulent, and fog and rain enveloped the entire sea area, making visibility very limited.

The Qi fleet immediately hoisted all sails and sailed rapidly toward the northeast in order to avoid the sudden storm.

As everyone knows, in the waters three hundred kilometers northeast of the Qi fleet, a huge fleet is sailing northwest at an extremely slow speed, faintly targeting the remote waters of the Faroe Islands.

The sails were heavily shadowed, and each ship's bow cut a bright water mark. The blowing sea breeze carried salty and clammy water vapor, and kept tapping the cheeks of the fully armed crew members.The towering mast of the ship hangs the flag of the voyage, and in the distance is a vast sea, but the fleet is persistently heading towards the countless unknown distances.

The light blue St. George flags fluttered on the tall masts, as if showing off their fearless courage to face any fierce enemy.

(End of this chapter)