Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 149 Navy and Pirates ([-])

"Gentleman from Norwich, Chartered Merchant of the East India Company, Sir William Clifford of England salutes the victors! Allow the victors to abide by ancient traditions, and in the spirit of fraternity, mercy, and mercy, allow my faithful servants Surrender to you. In praise of your virtue of tolerance, my faithful second mate, Paul Scott from Wales, will give five hundred pounds of my savings over the years as a reward. In the name of the Lord Jesus, they will lay down their arms, Abide by the rules and regulations made by the victor, and wait for your ruling." Paul Scott, the second officer of the "Lucky Jenny" whose hair was wet by the mist, was escorted by several east coast sailors, and relayed to Lu Ming William. Clifford's words.

"Tell me, pirate, where is your captain?" Lu Ming, who was wearing a light blue midshipman's spring and autumn uniform, was wearing white gloves and leaning on a saber. He looked at Paul Scott who was bowing in front of him, and asked slowly. road.

"We are not... Mr. Captain he refused to come on board with us, he said... he said that in order to take responsibility for the defeat, and the glory and pride of England, he decided... decided to go with the beloved 'Lucky Janney' Sunk." The young second officer said intermittently, and at the end, he shed weak tears.

"Are you going to commit suicide..." Lu Ming muttered to himself, turning his head to look at the "Lucky Jenny" sinking slowly tens of meters away.Deck On the poop gun deck, William Clifford and his first mate stood in front of the railing, silently watching the tall hull of the "August [-]".

When a huge wave hit, the two of Clifford and the "Lucky Janney" sank to the bottom of the sea together with their ankles soaked by sea water, leaving only a pile of debris floating on the sea surface.

Everyone looked a little absent-minded for a while, and at this moment, the former first-class staff officer of the Admiralty who went to the "Beagle" to make contact, and now the first officer of the battleship "August 78", and lieutenant Sankai returned in a transportation boat.He went straight behind Lu Ming and said in a low voice: "Commander, the results of the battle over there have been calculated. A total of 6 sailors, crew members and army soldiers died in the battle, of which 11 were officers and 82 were non-commissioned officers; 9 people, of which 15 are officers and [-] are non-commissioned officers. Also, the captured British merchant ship 'Lemon' is seriously leaking, and Guo Zili expects it to sink within a few hours, and they are currently working hard to transfer personnel and cargo."

"Including the casualties on the three of our ships, our total casualties this time reached an unprecedented 181..." Lu Ming said sadly, "The elite of the navy suffered an undue loss, I underestimated The reaction of the British. I should have thought that they would implement the fleet system. This time, I will take responsibility from the Admiralty when I go back."

Sang Kai opened his lips, as if he wanted to persuade him, but he didn't say anything.

"How is Yuri?" Lu Ming asked in a hoarse voice.

Yuri is a trainee officer and alternate navy second lieutenant on the "Beagle". For a long time, Lu Ming has been trying to transfer the first-term students of this nautical school to his own ship, but he just thought that it might not be good for him. The growth has just given up.Unexpectedly, in the previous battle, Yuri, who was acting as a grenadier, was shot in the abdomen by an arquebus from the British, and unfortunately was seriously injured. The 19mm lead bullet almost completely shredded the abdominal cavity of this Russian boy, and at this moment the boy was on his deathbed.

"It's about to die, Ji Wen, Kyle and the others are accompanying him..." Thinking of the painful and distorted face of the once tall and handsome Russian boy, Sankai couldn't help but feel a burst of embarrassment.

"Accompany me to the 'Beagle'." Lu Ming said, and San Kai nodded.

When passing by the second officer of the "Lucky Jenny" Paul Scott, Lu Ming paused and asked, "Welshman, how old are you this year? Do you have any wishes for the future?"

"I'm 20 years old, sir." Paul Scott replied, "Mr. Clifford is dead, and my life has been completely ruined. I just want to go back to my hometown, marry Anne, and..."

"Say goodbye to Annie." Lu Ming was silent for a while, then said.After speaking, he walked away without looking back.

Tim, the boatswain of the "August [-]th", looked at Paul Scott with unfriendly eyes. He has just received an order that all officers on the surrendered British armed merchant ships must be executed without exception, and must The execution was carried out by ordinary British sailors who surrendered.

The so-called "exceptions" are nothing more than a few: valuable officers who have sailed in the East, are familiar with the inside information of the British Navy, are familiar with the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Russian route, and are familiar with the Mediterranean route. These people can also be pardoned Opportunity, the premise is that they are willing to completely surrender to the East China Republic.

Obviously, this Paul Scott is not like someone who can be pardoned.

The British sailors and officers on several small boats climbed onto the deck of the "August [-]" one by one according to the requirements of the people on the east coast, and then they were firmly tied up with hemp rope by the wolf-like sailors and thrown away. on the side.

Sitting on the traffic boat, Lu Ming silently looked at these numb-faced British people, and sighed softly.Many of these British people may have only a few hours left to live. The war is so cruel, why I always can't see it.

The damage to the Beagle was severe.

Lu Ming and Sang Kai climbed onto the deck and took a cursory look.It was seen that the lower and middle sails of the mainmast were damaged in large areas, the mizzen jib was also seriously damaged, and the bowsprit was completely interrupted by a shell; the bow gun deck was hit by no less than ten shells, and the kitchen The walls of the ship and the sailors' lounge were battered; the captain's cabin on the second floor of the stern building and the bridge on the third floor were also hit many times, and the facilities were severely damaged; three of the 24 artillery pieces were destroyed and had to be overhauled before they could be destroyed again. Use; there are broken iron pieces and steel nails embedded everywhere on the walls and decks, showing the fierceness of the previous battle...

A burial at sea was being held on the deck of the Beagle.

Sailors are the children of the sea, and their destination is naturally the sea.

The cleaned up corpses were neatly placed on the deck. Soldiers put on brand-new navy uniforms for their comrades-in-arms and brothers, and then gently put the corpses into the barra with the super sound of the priests on board. Inside a thin-skinned coffin made of Nasong.Due to the large number of soldiers who died in battle, several ship repairers on the ship used spare ship materials to temporarily make a batch of coffins to hold the corpses.

The surviving sailors and soldiers stood side by side on the deck, and the musicians played a low-pitched dirge.A few sailors walked past everyone one by one with a merit box in their hands. Everyone who passed by would take out more or less coins from their pockets and throw them into the merit box. It is used for the pensions of the brothers' families.

The sailor paused as usual when he walked in front of Lu Ming and Sang Kai. Sang Kai took out two five-yuan coins from his pocket and put them in the merit box; while Lu Ming took out two golden coins from his pocket. The French Grand Aiju gold coin (valued at 66 yuan) was put in gently.

The sailor was stunned for a moment, and then bowed to thank: "Your Excellency Commander, you are really a kind and generous officer. The omniscient and omnipotent Supreme Lord will bless you."

"They fought to the last moment for the benefit of the republic, and we living people should pay them the highest respect. Although there are state pensions, as their supreme commander, I must do something for them." Lu Ming waved He waved his hand, motioning the sailors to continue collecting donations.

After the fundraising was over, amidst the farewell cannon fired by the gunners, the solemn sailors nailed the lid of the coffin, and then slowly slid the coffin into the sea from the side of the ship.

After all, Yuri still failed to survive. When the lead bullet hit him, it rolled in his abdomen, completely depriving him of any possibility of survival.After seeing Lu Ming for the last time, this young officer candidate and intern at the nautical school closed his eyes unwillingly.

Lu Ming, who accompanied Yuri through the final journey, had frost on his face. This was the first student under him who died in battle.He felt great affection for each student at the Nautical School, and the loss of each would cause him great sorrow, which only increased his distaste for the Englishmen.

After a hasty meeting with Chen Tumu, the captain of the "Beagle", Lu Ming returned to his ship in the transport boat again.

The captured British sailors and officers on the "Lemon" have been sent to the "August [-]" by transport boats. What awaits them is a very different fate of joy and sorrow.

Tim, the boatswain from Holland, brought a piece of paper listing the names of some English officers who, after interrogation, did not meet the criteria for "pardon".Of course, the rest are those who have clearly expressed their surrender and are willing to serve the East Coast Republic. The names listed on these papers are naturally of little value.

Lu Ming scanned casually, and saw that the young man named Paul Scott was ranked first.He didn't continue to look closely, and directly drew a big circle with a pen, encircling all the names, then threw the pen and went back to the captain's room.

Tim held the pen and paper blankly and looked at San Kai.

"What are you looking at? Don't you know what the commander-in-chief means? Execute them all!" Sankai raised his eyebrows and said, "Go and execute it, remember to let those British sailors and captives do it. Anyone who is unwilling to do it will also be executed. This is called 'voting a certificate', you know? Do it quickly, alternate second lieutenant."

Tim saluted, then turned around and left.

Soon, there was a commotion among the British officers on the deck: some cursed loudly, some cried softly, some begged for mercy loudly, and some prayed wholeheartedly.

But all of this can't change their fate.

(End of this chapter)