Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 161 Wolves ([-])

On the night of December 12, there was heavy rain on the sea.

The heavy raindrops hit people's faces sorely, and all six ships of the escort squadron turned quietly within a very short distance.Wearing an oilcloth poncho, Wang Tiechui stood on the top gun deck of the forecastle, staring at the sea with wide eyes.

Visibility was extremely low on the pitch-black sea, and the sound of rushing rain covered up many sounds. Wang Tiechui was not sure if all the ships had followed.He suddenly regretted it now. In this kind of weather and on the sea with this kind of visibility, it is easy for ships to fall behind. I am afraid that everyone knows what it means to fall behind at this time.

An Chu also stood on the deck and watched nervously, his hands were a little white due to the long-term clenching of the joints, and this also reflected his nervous and worried heart at this time.

"Have you seen the 'Yingzhou' yet?" Wang Tiehammer asked hoarsely, his voice shivering with an imperceptible tremor.The sudden rainstorm disrupted all his plans. In such bad weather, the communication between the ships has basically become impossible.In other words, the probability of a single ship falling behind was infinitely magnified on this night.

"It should be on the sea near us." An Chu said as optimistically as possible, "Don't worry, Brother Guo's 'Red Trout' is on the right side of the 'Yingzhou', so it should be fine."

The merchant ship "Yingzhou" was loaded with 450 tons of potatoes, as well as a large number of sailors and army soldiers. If something happened to her, everyone present would not be able to bear the responsibility.

Sailing in the dark is always full of unexpected factors, not to mention rainy nights with such poor visibility.Fortunately, the sea was not very stormy, otherwise God knows what would have happened.

The lights on the enemy ships following in the distance behind were faintly visible in the rain. An Chu counted, and there seemed to be six lights.Nima, there is another boat!There are still about 20 days of voyage from Cape Verde. At this time, so many ships full of malicious intent have already been targeted. An Chu feels a chill when he thinks about it.

The ships followed patiently, as if waiting for an opportunity.Don't they have their own ships cruising in every sea area?Or maybe they have calculated our route and are going to ambush us somewhere?An Chu thought wildly.

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and it is still warm near the equator in winter in the northern hemisphere.A bolt of lightning struck down from the distant sky, illuminating half of the sky, and the ships on the sea surface were undoubtedly revealed under the dazzling light of lightning.

"I saw the 'Yingzhou'!" An Chu excitedly pointed to the sea behind him, and said to Wang Tiehammer.

"I saw it too." Wang Tiehammer breathed a sigh of relief, put down the binoculars and smiled.

But obviously they were not the only ones who saw the "Yingzhou".

Several enemy ships that followed for several days also found that their prey had quietly changed their course, and had moved away from them for a long distance.Fortunately, the lightning in the torrential rain allowed them to discover the traces of their prey in time, allowing them to make timely adjustments.

Through the light of lightning falling from time to time, and the change of the position of the lights on the enemy ship, Wang Tiehammer found that this group of people seemed to be adjusting their course.

"They are currently maintaining an average speed of 3 knots, and it will take about an hour to catch up with us after the course adjustment is completed." An Chu estimated the distance and relative speed between the two sides, and then reminded, "This The rainstorm came at an inopportune time. At present, it is difficult for the ships to communicate, and they can only proceed according to the goals set in advance. Moreover, the lightning also exposed our intentions, and all our efforts have become futile."

"No! This torrential rain may be an opportunity!" Wang Tiehammer's breathing suddenly became a little short, and he sped up his speech and said: "The enemy ships behind are all single-deck warships, and the artillery is all open-air. The ones that were put on display may have become decorations in the rainstorm now."

"You mean..." An Chu finally understood, "The 'Common Market' is a double-decked battleship, and we still have half of the artillery on the lower deck to function!"

"That's right! I saw that they had a lot of ships, and the number of artillery and sailors was probably not weaker than ours. In addition, there were escort missions, so I never dared to touch them. Now that God is giving me face, it's raining so hard, If I don’t go to take advantage of it, my surname won’t be Wang! Xiao An, go and call all the officers from all regions, and tell me that I have orders! Go!”

"Captain, are we going to dispatch now?" An Chu hesitated again when the matter came to an end, and he said hesitantly: "The enemy has six ships, and we only have one ship. I'll definitely be able to please you..."

"Follow the order!" Wang Tiehammer said in a raised voice.

"Captain, I'm just worried..."

"You're still talking nonsense!" Wang Tiechui kicked over suddenly, and cursed: "Are you scared? Are you scared?! Paralyzed, don't look at you as the founder of the country, believe it or not, I will still kill you!" Slashed you!"

Another bolt of lightning fell, and An Chu, who was kicked over on the deck, couldn't help trembling when he saw the half-drawn command saber from Wang Tiehui's waist.The bright knife light was so dazzling, An Chu quickly got up and began to shuttle around the deck to gather the officers.

The officers were quickly called up.After listening to Wang Tiechui's order, these people had different expressions, but they all expressed firm obedience to the order.

The rain continued to fall, and the enemy ships continued to approach in the dark. The fastest one was only more than 900 meters away from the "Red Trout" that landed at the rear. Maybe the captain of this ship wanted to catch some fish in the dark It's cheap.

Then, it's up to you!Wang Tiehammer selected the target.

"If you don't die, you won't die! I'm just betting on this, and you're out of luck!" Wang Tiechui muttered to himself, then suddenly raised his voice, and shouted: "Full right rudder, turn backward, target: right Enemy ships in the rear. Lean in and face the enemy with broadside artillery! Be careful, only fire after entering 400 meters!"

The bosun who heard the order began to walk to each mast to give the order. The sailors silently pushed the heavy sail yard, and some began to lower some sails so as not to affect the speed of the ship when the wind was headed.The gunner stood on the upper deck on the starboard side, leaning on the railing, looking for the enemy ship with wide eyes.

It took only 10 minutes for the "Common Market" to turn successfully and began to drift quietly towards the enemy ship at a speed of 1 knot.The enemy ship, limited by bad weather, had only discovered the Common Market's attempt only a few minutes before.Prior to this, the two ships had narrowed the distance between the two sides to about 4 meters at a relative speed of 500 knots.

At a distance of 500 meters, it is already impossible to make any evasive actions, and it would be foolish to turn to escape at this time.The captain of the opponent was also a sensible person, so he simply drove the ship straight over, as if intending to entangle the "Common Market" to buy time for the other ships behind to besiege.

But he apparently forgot one thing.

“轰！轰！”细密的雨幕也无法阻止“共同市场”号右舷二层甲板舷窗处绽开的橘红色火焰。十四门大口径火炮在一瞬间齐射的壮观景象震撼了整个战场，32磅、24磅、18磅、12磅的实心铁球在400多米的距离上呼啸着飞进了对面的敌船之中。

The gunners on the second deck of the "Common Market" shot at a level close to that in training, sending various types of shells into the opponent's hull at a rate of one to two rounds per minute.It couldn't be seen clearly in the night. Under the command of the gunner, the gunners fired seven or eight rounds of salvo in one breath, and then started free fire.

The destructive power of long-barreled, large-caliber naval guns is amazing, especially when the two sides are only 400 meters away from each other in a straight line.

The opponent's ship hadn't gotten much closer, and it had already eaten dozens of shells. The ship was full of pierced holes, broken planks, and groaning wounded. The whole ship was like a flower under a storm. The lingering little daisy.

距离拉近到了100米，“共同市场”号的炮手们给一些18磅、12磅火炮的炮筒内换上了葡萄弹和链弹，32磅、24磅火炮仍然瞄准水线部位用实心铁球猛轰。

There were bursts of noisy sounds from the other ship, as if there were orders and curses.

Wang Tiechui snorted heavily, and the officers and sailors on the opposing ship were speaking in English. It really was John Bull!

The two ships passed by, and the 14 cannons of the "Common Market" fired a final salvo, completely smashing the hapless British pirate ship.Then he drew a beautiful arc and went directly to the rear of the ship. Using the port side gun, he fired a demonstrative salvo at several enemy ships that were watching from a distance.

Seeing this, these single-deck warships, which had lost most of their combat capabilities in the heavy rain, turned around one after another, scattered like birds and beasts, and completely abandoned the battered ship of their own.

The "Common Market" came back quickly, and Wang Tiehammer saw that the bow of the ship seemed to have a deep draft through the occasional lightning, and the stern was slightly raised. It was obvious that the bow was leaking.

"Hahaha..." Wang Tiechui laughed heartily, "Let me give you another ride."

As his words fell, the fourteen guns on the port side of the "Common Market" fired another spectacular salvo. A large number of heavy artillery shells completely tore apart the waterline of the three-masted sail Galen, and the turbulent The sea rushed into the hold, and the desperate sailors jumped into the sea without hesitation.

Moments later, the 400-ton barque sank quickly to the bottom of the sea.There was only a pile of broken boards floating on the sea surface, which proved that there seemed to be a huge sailing ship on the sea here a moment ago.

A few wet mice squatted on the broken wooden planks, squatting, looking desolately at the dark night sky...

(End of this chapter)