Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 145 Navy and Pirates ([-])

In the early morning of May 5, there was heavy fog off the Chesapeake Bay.

Lieutenant Guo Zili, the captain of the "Red Trout" escort gunship, held up binoculars in a panic, observing the sea with extremely low visibility in vain.

"The mate is back!" shouted the sailors on the deck.Guo Zili put down his binoculars and followed the sound, only to see his first officer, Second Lieutenant Ding Wei, and several sailors approaching in a traffic boat.

The sailors on the deck threw down a cable, and Ding Wei took it quickly and fixed the traffic boat, then climbed the rope ladder on the side of the ship and quickly climbed up the deck.It took him half a day to climb a rope ladder to get on and off the boat when he was first in the navy, and he fell into the sea countless times in the middle. Now that he is so proficient in his movements, he has to admit that his progress is still obvious.

"Old Chen from the 'Beagle' said he didn't see any trace of the main fleet. The wind was too strong last night, and we were blown too far off course by the strong wind. I think we may have lost our way." Ding Wei rectified Adjusting clothes, said with a little worry.

Guo Zili pursed his lips tightly and did not speak. He said after a long while: "According to the rules, I will command our two warships from now on. Hang the green follow flag and let the 'Beagle' follow closely. In addition, adjust the course and turn the rudder to the right 15 degrees, lower the foremast auxiliary sail, and advance at a cruising speed of 3 knots."

According to the rules formulated by the Ministry of the Navy, sea navigation is respected by the rank of the military.Those who have the same military rank are respected by those who were promoted to this rank first, and those who are promoted at the same time are respected by their seniority.At this time, the two warships lost contact with the main fleet, so Guo Zili, as a lieutenant who was promoted before Chen Tumu, naturally took on the command task at this time.

After the "Red Trout" hoisted the following flag, the "Beagle" responded with a semaphore.In this way, the two escort gunboats temporarily formed a two-ship formation, and sailed forward one after the other.They didn't know the location at this time, they only guessed that it was probably near the Chesapeake Bay.As for the specific direction in the Chesapeake Bay and where the main fleet is, it is unknown.

The strong wind blew all night last night, almost blowing off the mast on the ship. It was only because of the concerted efforts of all the sailors on the ship that the ship was barely saved and did not die at the bottom of the sea.However, it is clear that the "Red Trout" and "Beagle", the leading ships, have lost contact with the main fleet and lost their bearings. In addition, the thick fog on the sea is so thick that it seems that it will never be able to melt away. , everything seems to look bad.

"By the way, replace the spare artillery." Guo Zili ordered.Last night the ship was pitching up and down violently in the strong wind, and three cannons tore off the cables and fell into the sea. At this time, the sea was calm and the sea was calm, so it was time to replace the spare cannons to avoid being caught off guard in case of encountering the enemy.

Guo Zili walked around the deck twice more before returning to his captain's cabin on the poop.The orderly brought him his breakfast, bacon, sausage, vegetables, a small glass of red wine and his favorite tofu flower.Since the briquette plant was officially put into operation, the briquette made by mixing coal ash, coal gangue and peat in the waste water of the coal washing plant has been vigorously promoted in China.No, the Navy also purchased a considerable number of batches and distributed them to each ship for the sailors to bake bread, which was quite popular.

It's already 7 o'clock after breakfast.Guo Zili sat on a chair covered with bearskin, took out the chart in the drawer, and studied it carefully.This sea chart was drawn by them during their voyage last year. Since no one was sent ashore for on-the-spot surveying, it was only a rough sketch.Guo Zili poked his finger on the map and kept gesticulating. Occasionally, he picked up a glass measuring ruler produced by Henan Glass Factory on the next table to measure the map, as if he was trying to determine his position at the moment.

While recalling the previous position, while estimating the wind force and direction last night, Guo Zili calculated on the straw paper for a while, but still had no clue.While feeling depressed, the first mate Ding Wei pushed open the door and walked in: "Captain, there is a situation, you'd better come out and take a look!"

Without further ado, Guo Zili picked up the barrel-shaped military cap and put it on, then quickly walked out of the captain's cabin, stood in front of the railing on the balcony and looked in the direction designated by Ding Wei.

The tall hulls of the two ships were looming in the dense fog, and they seemed to be armed merchant ships...

"Captain, we found two ships, three-masted galleons, with a direction of 15 degrees north-east and a speed of 3 knots, heading towards us." Nick rushed to William Clifford's captain's room and shouted.

"Nationality?" said Clifford, putting on his own gown.

"Unknown," Nick said. "They didn't fly any flags to identify them."

"Everyone, get ready for battle!" Clifford said as he holstered his pistol and held his sword in his hand as he walked out.

"Captain, this place is near the coast of Virginia. Could these two ships be pirate ships? Or Spanish ships?" Nick asked after him.

Clifford held up the binoculars for a few minutes, then turned to Nick and said, "These are two Spanish-style sailboats. They seem to be lost. They don't fly any flags. It's dangerous! Signal, Get all ships ready for battle."

"Captain, they have at least [-] artillery pieces. Moreover, there may be reinforcements. Should we be more cautious?" Nick asked with some concern.

"Of course, I will order whether to attack at the right time." Clifford glanced at the sea confidently, and said: "Even if they have reinforcements, they will not be able to find this place for a while, and we have ten ships. If the opportunity If it is appropriate, we will decisively surround them. They are wandering off the coast of Virginia, and they are probably not very good people. What happened last year is likely to be done by them."

After seeing the movement of Clifford's flagship "Lucky Janney", some ships that were following behind began to raise their sails and gather their formation in a very tacit understanding.Although they are merchants, if they are on a deserted sea and the target is a non-British ship, they don't mind being a pirate.

"Captain, they are adjusting their course and seem to want to get away from us!" Nick raised his voice and reminded.

"Are the children ready?" Captain Clifford put down the binoculars and asked blankly.

Nick Brick looked at a large group of sailors on the deck holding swords, arquebuses, flintlock guns and other messy weapons, and then at the gunners on the gun positions who were waiting for the firing order. Nodding, he replied: "Everyone is ready, I hope the goods on these two ships will not disappoint us too much."

"Okay, let's make a quick decision. Capture these two ships as much as possible. All the officers and sailors on the other ship will be executed, and one should not be left behind. Well, raise the red battle flag and surround them! The gunners are ready to load chain bullets and grape bullets. This time, we are determined not to allow anyone to run away!" Clifford slammed down his right hand, and said with a grim expression.

The "Lucky Janney" took the lead and turned to the northeast. The distance between the two sides was only a short 100 meters, which can be said to have arrived in an instant.The Prosperity, the Tobacco Merchant Maurice, and the Flying Bird, the Clothes Merchant Hill, followed closely behind, and the other ships were also trying to adjust their course and prepare for the battle.

The decks of all the ships were full of chaos at this time, and the officers shouted orders; the hawser yelled and turned the yard; ;Jump to help the sailors run around, take positions in various positions on the ship, and prepare for battle; a big battle is about to break out.

At the same time, the "Red Trout" and the "Beagle" finally confirmed the fact that the two sides were about to enter a state of combat.Due to the dense fog, Lieutenant Guo Zili only saw two enemy ships. After hesitating for a few seconds, he was conservative by nature and chose to fight.There is no other reason for this, it's just because the distance between the two sides is too close, and it's too late to retreat, and the blame can only be blamed on this damn fog.

At this time, if we remove the fog on the battlefield and overlook the sea area where the two sides gather from the sky, we can clearly see that the three British ships at the forefront have already formed formation, and the finished characters are facing due north and east. The two frigates of the First Fleet of the Shore Republic surrounded them; behind them, due to the thick fog and limited communication distance, more British ships had apparently just received orders, and they were scrambling to adjust their course and mobilize their sailors. , Do all the preparations before the battle.

And their opponents—the two escort gunboats commanded by Lieutenant Guo Zili were sailing southwest at this time. With the wind, they increased their speed to 5 knots, and it seemed that they were going to go to the left side of the "Prosperity" Broadside artillery attack.

This tactic was all too familiar to the English, and Clifford grinned.At that time, the British fleet defeated the invincible Spanish Armada with this kind of non-contact artillery attack. Now the people on the east coast want to fight like this. There are still several British armed merchant ships on the foggy sea.

"Boom! Boom!" At a distance of 100 meters, the 12 large and small cannons on the port side of the "Red Trout" that bore the brunt took the lead. There was a river of blood on the top of the deck, and the red-hot steel ruthlessly tore the bodies of these brave sailors who were bare-chested.

After the large-caliber naval guns were fired, the remaining six 6-pound and 12-pound steel guns aimed at the gun positions on the British deck, and slammed six rusty solid iron balls at a very close distance. Shot it.

(End of this chapter)