The World (7)

The fleet, outside the longest range of the ballistas, cut an obtuse angle obliquely.

Now these warships under Fang Zhenyue's command are no longer the modified version of the Fu ship when they besieged Quanzhou two years ago. Through several close collaborations with the Fujian Metropolitan Governor's Office, the Fang family, the Su family, and the Fujian Metropolitan Governor's Office have established a close partnership. The Fujian Metropolitan Governor's Office had a lot of novel sailing techniques and ship designs, but it did not have experienced navigators. The pirate leaders of the Fang and Su fleets have more than ten years of sailing experience when they are pulled out at random, but the two have no idea how to design and build new sea ships. All parties communicated with each other, and soon integrated some specious theories on the "Wen's Book of Heaven" into practice, coupled with the help of ocean-going merchants, some ship models that combined the design advantages of Eastern and Western navigation ships and could not be seen on the Chinese sea emerged one after another.

The seven warships of Fang Zhenyue's squadron are the result of the cooperation between all parties over the past few years. Since the purpose of the battle was mainly to escort ships rather than to attack land across the sea, the new warships in the Fang family's fleet were not as huge as the capital ships of the Broken Army. According to their own experience and needs, the pirates built a battleship with a length-to-width ratio of between 3.5 and 4, the tail and nose were all canceled, and the sails were hung with a front spinnaker in addition to the cable-stayed sails, which made the battleship look very beautiful, and when all the sails were deployed, there was a combination of strength and speed.

Even more special is that the shell plates of the battleship are not flat, but lapped. This made the resistance of the battleship to strikes quite large. Even if you are accidentally hit by a rock or crossbow arrow, you will not deal fatal damage. (Alcoholic's note: The effect is similar to composite armor, which is original in ancient China and was lost after the Qing Dynasty.) ）

In the eyes of several veterans at sea, the distance between ships in naval battles is inversely proportional to the accuracy of artillery hits. Therefore, their warships were seldom equipped with the heavy long-range naval guns used by the Broken Army Naval Division, but invited light guns with a range of 500 to 1,500 paces on board. This gun is lightweight, so more gun emplacements can be arranged on the side side. What's more, this gun is also much cheaper than long-range guns because of the small amount of materials, and pirates can buy equipment in large quantities.

Most of the crossbow arrows fired by the guards did not make contact with the battleship and fell into the sea. Individual crossbow arrows hit the target by chance, but did not have the power to penetrate the shell plate of the battleship. The fire dragon that was suddenly launched flew from the tail of the fleet with black smoke, flipped in the air, and plunged into the blue waves.

Fang Zhenyue shook his head disdainfully and waved the order flag. Seven warships opened fire on the target one after another. Most of the shells missed, striking high and low columns of water in front of and behind the enemy ships. But with such a high density of shells, three or five of them hit the target in each round. And as soon as it was hit by a shell, the life of the enemy ship came to an end. For old seagoing ships whose shells are mostly made of short planks, even if the shells cannot be exploded, the strong impact force is enough to make a big hole in the side of the seagoing ship. A large amount of seawater will rush in through the opening, dragging the speed of the ship to a standstill. And the stationary target has always been the favorite object of the gunners. According to naval tactics, ships would smash shells at the enemy's slowest wounded enemy ship until it was completely disposed of.

At the end of the diagonal cut, Yuan Wanhu Zhang Yu sank into the sea along with his ship. The few remaining warships did not know how to respond, and they were dazed and sank with the waves. On the water, there are Cao Ding who have fallen into the water everywhere and are waiting to be rescued. Some were already badly wounded and dying, and instinctively stretched out their arms to their comrades on board. Some were unscathed, holding a piece of stump, and looked at the white sails approaching again in the distance in the distance.

"Cut the mainmast, cut the mainmast!" I don't know who shouted. Immediately, Cao Ding rushed to the deck, cut the cable without saying a word, dropped his own wooden sail, and knocked down the mainmast in the center of the ship.

Seeing the same, several Beiyuan warships around broke their main masts one after another and laid them across the deck.

This is a sign of surrender to the opponent, as soon as the mainmast falls, the power of the battleship is almost completely lost, and only the power to be slaughtered by man.

Zhu Qing, who was standing in this formation, closed his eyes sadly.

He doesn't blame the brothers who defected, the difference in strength was too great, and if he resisted, he would only be sent to death. If they surrender in battle, the brothers who fell into the water on the ship may still have a way to live.

"The big boss, the third boss and the fourth boss are raising the banner to ask, what should we do next?" The mast was pointed, and the centurion asked inopportunely. The title in his mouth is no longer a great general, but a return to the old habits of when he was crisscrossing the world.

"The grain ships are inside, and the warships are outside, lined up in a phalanx. Let's see if there's a chance to go to the shore together! Zhu Qing opened his eyes and commanded weakly.

The grain fleet slowly changed formation, abandoning the ships that had surrendered and were wounded, and discharged a passive fighting posture, adjusted the angle, and advanced to the northwest.

This is an unapproachable approach. There are more than 150 ships, and even if the pirates grab them one by one, it will take them more than half a day. As long as you get to the shallow water, it's the world of flat-bottomed sand boats. Most of the pirate ships have pointed bottoms and deep drafts, and even if they have artillery to help them fight, they may not be able to take advantage of more.

Moreover, this place is not far from the East Sea Port. When the Dayuan Naval Division over there heard the sound of artillery, he would soon send troops and horses to support.

"Sand boats, sand boats, and loach boats, northwest!" The exclamation of the crab once again announced that Zhu Qing's wishful thinking had failed. Standing at the bow of the boat, Zhu Qing raised his eyes and saw hundreds of small boats of various colors rushing over where the sea and sky met.

There are fortune boats in the south, flat-bottomed sand boats that are common in the northern oceans, and small loaches that are only suitable for offshore navigation. Some have seen that the color is very dark, and it is obvious that they have been driving for many years. Some of them are very new, and they look like they have just been launched.

"Haisha Gang, Liuqiu Su Family, Langli Leopard, Cross River Dragon, Drill Mountain Harrier, Zhenchang Mountain, Flying Fish Gate ......" Zhu Qing read the other party's banner in a low voice, and the more he read it, the more surprised he became. On both sides of the river, almost as many bandits and pirates as could be counted, all came, waving flags, and surrounded the grain fleet.

Several frigates could not bear it anymore and rushed towards the thieves first. After rushing out of more than 100 steps, two shells burst through the air and landed near the frigate with a whistling sound. "Boom" and "boom", two water columns surged one after another, splashing the deck of the frigate. The galloping frigate dropped its sails suddenly, stopped and did not dare to move. Chino, who led the team, was very smart, he knew that there were ships on the opposite side that were equipped with artillery, and his men showed mercy. Being able to accurately hit the front and back of one's own warship shows that people can attack at will between the two artillery landing points.

Seeing this scene, the last trace of hope in Zhu Qing's heart was completely shattered. Turning his heart down, he shouted at the mast: "Order, let the brethren be quiet and keep the phalanx!" Put the boat and wait for the old man to be in charge! ”

The centurion crab hanging from the top of the mast reluctantly passed the order. Jiangbei pirates and Jiangnan pirates have always had something to do with each other, if it was seven years ago, everyone still had a friendship to climb, maybe they thought about the same sea to make a living, and the other party would let their own horses go.

But now, ....... crab looked up and saw its own yellow water dragon flag on the top of the mast, whirring in the wind. Directly above the Jiaolong Flag, there is also a black flag with a big "Yuan" character written on it.

The whole grain fleet stopped, and more than one hundred and fifty ships were crowded into a square like a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

After a while, a small boat with a white flag and a yellow dragon flag rushed out in the center of the phalanx, and the two big leaders, Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan, wearing cloth clothes and swords at their waists, stood on the bow of the small boat.

"Big boss!" Tang Shixiong, who was transporting grain, stood on the deck and shouted uneasily. The scene from a few years ago suddenly appeared in front of me, when Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan were dressed like this and went to Yuan to ask for a date with Dong Shixuan. That date made the Haijiao Gang and Jiangbei Waterway Qunhao whitewash their identities. At the same time, it also allowed everyone's wives and children to have a stable life from now on, and no longer worry about what men do.

Although the commanders have since been accused of betraying the country and seeking glory, Zhu Da said well at that time, "We can't be thieves for generations!" ”

"The fifth, and the third and fourth are optimistic about Watergate, let's borrow a way from the old man Fang, and ask for an explanation for the sixth by the way!" Zhu Qing smiled and said kindly.

Xiao Liu refers to Zhang Yu, thinking that the sixth brother who is the bravest in the war has no bones, Tang Shixiong's heart "chuckled" and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.

"Set up a welcome queue and send someone to pick up Huang Shuijiao and Heilong!" Fang Kui put down the binoculars and ordered loudly. With the help of the telescope, he had clearly grasped the other party's every move, and even the small abacus behind Zhu Qing's move could be seen clearly.

The two warring sides stopped approaching each other, and on the sea, more than 200 ships, large and small, formed a large circle, wrapping the grain fleet in the center. Several flocks of white gulls flew through the sky, they had never seen such a big battle, they were too frightened to land and beg for food, and flapped their wings and fled quickly into the distance.

Two decks, double broadside, thirty-two gun holes on one side. Zhu Qing finally saw the true shape of the opponent's battleship clearly, and his feet on the gangway became more tired.

This is a design he has never thought of, with the speed and agility of this shape, with the dense artillery, it is not difficult to destroy a sea ship in a single light. And there are nearly forty such ships in the Fang family's fleet. Forty ships are more than a thousand cannons, even if the Great Yuan Naval Division can rush over, they will not get any bargain in front of the Fang family.

Fang Kui didn't speak, and let Zhu Qing slowly climb up the gangway and see the battleship he was taking clearly. After receiving the information sent back by Fang Kui, the Fang family's fleet almost poured out. On the surface, it seemed to be extremely grandiose, but only core leaders like Fang Kui and Fang Zhenyue knew that there were no more than fifteen battleships full of artillery, and the rest were either only three or five small cannons on each one, or there was nothing behind the portholes.

It's not because the Fang family is reluctant to spend money to buy more artillery to arm their own fleet, but because everyone's livelihood has changed. The Fang family's main business now is ocean trade between Goryeo and Japan, and the work of escorting other merchant ships has taken a back seat because of the thin profits. As for the old business of robbing merchant ships, he had to stop because he hindered the face of the captive army.

No matter how long the gangway is, there is a time when the climb is finished. Zhu Qing stepped on the deck with both feet, immediately clasped his fists and saluted, and greeted according to the rules of the rivers and lakes: "Fang San's master don't come to harm." I haven't seen you for many years, and the demeanor of the leopard in the waves has not diminished back then, which really makes our Huang Shuijiao brothers admire! ”

"General Zhu has tormented the old man. I am a reckless man, how can I afford such a salute from the general of Zhenguo. Fang Kui, the leopard in the waves, returned the salute with a smile, and said politely in his mouth, but he denied Zhu Qing's identity in the rivers and lakes in one sentence.

touched a soft nail, and Zhu Qing was not annoyed. In the past few years of officialdom, he has already exercised his self-cultivation, smiled, and continued: "Where did Brother Leopard come from, although my Huang Shuijiao has entered the officialdom, my heart is still at sea, and I still remember the good brothers who rode the wind and waves together!" Although there is a life on the water, it is divided into north and south, but the water of the world is connected......"

"Yes, the waters of the world are connected. At that time, there was a big hero in the northern waterway, nicknamed Huang Shuijiao, who was chased and killed from Chongming Island to Goryeo, and he didn't say a word of service. The world has been in turmoil all these years, if General Zhu encounters this person, please show mercy to his subordinates, don't cut off his head and give a reward to the Tartars! Fang Kui, the leopard in the waves, stopped Zhu Qing's words, sighed and mocked.

"You!" Zhang Xuan, who was following Zhu Qing, jumped out of the tens of thousands of households, took a few steps forward, and wanted to scold back, but suddenly thought that his brother had a request at this moment, and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and said: "Why do you want to humiliate my brothers like this, everyone eats at sea, don't look at the friendship of the past, and please also read the incense of the ancestor and let me wait for a way out." My six brothers Huang Shuiyang will definitely make incense offerings during the New Year's festival in the future, and they will never dare to forget the benefits of today's three masters. ”

Pirate rules, peers are forbidden to kill them all. When two groups of pirates meet, if there is a conflict, the weaker side can leave with three or four percent of their possessions. When we meet again in the future, our opponents will return the same way. This is a rule that has been passed down in the East China Sea since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the reason why Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan still came to negotiate with a cheeky face after the other party showed the black shark flag was that the Fang family would not break the attention of the pirate rules.

If Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan thought that they were official ships or caravans at this time, Fang Kui and the leaders would naturally be able to snatch them away. If you hold on to the identity of a pirate, it is equivalent to taking possession, and there is hope that more than sixty percent of the food will be kept.

If you keep more than sixty percent of the grain, you can keep the official positions of several big leaders. The Great Yuan Dynasty transported grain by sea, which was a strategy jointly proposed by Boyan and Zhu Qing. The carrying capacity of a sea ship is equivalent to 40 to 60 horse-drawn carriages, and the volume of transportation at one time is large, and the consumption is less than 20% of that of land transportation. Therefore, even if the 200,000 stone of grain was withheld by the Fang family, it was only transported to the north of 120,000 stone, and the grain transported was much more surplus than it was also transported by land. Everyone made up a reason for encountering wind and waves at sea, which was reasonable in front of Kublai Khan.

Therefore, the identity that was ashamed to admit in front of people in the past has now become a talisman for Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan, no matter how Fang Kui uses words to squeeze it, the two will never give up the banner of Huang Shuijiao.

"How dare we insult the generals of Dayuan. The two of you naturally pretend to be Huang Shuijiao and Black Dragon, so let me ask you, what did the old man of the Northern Waterway say when Dajin recruited An? ”

Qu Lao was Zhu Qing's previous chief of the northern waterways, and in that year, he attacked Dengzhou at night in response to the Song Dynasty sailors, and burned hundreds of warships secretly built by the Dajin Kingdom in order to defeat the Song Dynasty in the harbor. When he was alive, the heroes of the northern waterways were so powerful that all the sailors did not dare to provoke him. Dajin Guo was helpless and sent important ministers to recruit An. And the old man Qu choked back all the words of the envoy with the words of 'the blue sky above his head and the sea under his feet'.

"Blue sky above your head, sea under your feet!" Zhu Qing replied in a muttered manner. Orthodox Confucianism has the saying that "under the whole world, it is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister", which is also the reason for countless heroes in the rivers and lakes to comfort themselves when they accept Zhao'an for thousands of years. And the words 'blue sky on your head, the sea under your feet' completely vetoed it. Those who do not have an inch of land under their feet are, of course, the most comfortable people in the world, and no one is qualified to accept them as subordinates.

"I, we are also looking for a way out for more than 30,000 brothers, hundreds of thousands of old and weak women and children!" Zhang Xuan saw that Zhu Qing was short of breath, gritted his teeth, and defended his brother.

"If you find a way out, you can help the aliens slaughter their own people. Find a way to survive and bend your noble knees? Fang Kui asked loudly, his voice full of anger, "What a way to live, for the sake of your hundreds of thousands of old and weak women and children, I will let millions of people in Jiangnan die under the butcher's knife." What a way to live, for your 30,000 brothers to have a stable meal, let me have a bloody life?" The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he pointed at Zhang and Zhu and scolded: "You two don't mention Huang Shuijiao again, Huang Shuijiao died in the battle with the Mongols, and he is just a walking corpse named Zhu Qing who is alive!" ”

"Fang, Fang San is in charge, you, how can you say this, say that!" Zhang Xuan stammered. I wanted to say a few words to save face, but I couldn't find half a suitable word, I stammered for a long time, and finally held back a sentence, "He, his Zhao family is not, unkind, his anger is exhausted, blame, no wonder others!" ”

"Who said that the world belongs to the Zhao family, and the rise and fall is only his family's business? The Zhao family is exhausted, and your brother can lure the wolf into the house and act for the tiger? Who gave your brother the power to betray his compatriots! The Zhao family is exhausted, is the anger of tens of millions of people in Jiangnan exhausted? Why did you let them die with their families? The court is mediocre, how can it be used as a reason to betray the country? ”

"Da Yuan ......" Zhang Xuanwu wanted to argue strongly, but Zhu Qing pulled his clothes and stopped the conversation.

With a wry smile, Zhu Qing clasped his fists at Fang Kui and saluted, "What the leopard in the waves taught is that Zhu Qing has been taught again!" ”

"If you think you are Huang Shuijiao, take down the Dayuan banner and follow me with the fleet, Fujian needs food." Fang Kui was also a little tired after scolding, shook his head, and said with a sigh. "If you are Zhang Qing, the general of the Tartars, take down the Yellow Water Jiaolong Banner and fight me to the death. Don't use the smell of Tartar to insult the name of our water brothers. As for the reinforcements from the East Sea Port, don't wait, the Teaching Brigade of the Broken Army has long paid attention to it, and with General Miao Chun here, they can't leave the port! ”

Huang Shui Jiao Dragon Flag, Zhu Qing raised his head and glanced at his fleet again. A few hours ago, when the flag was hoisted again, the cheers of his brothers were still ringing in his ears.

"Taught!" Zhu Qing bowed and bowed, didn't say anything more, and walked down the gangway with Zhang Xuan. Sail the boat to your own fleet.

Dong Wenxuan's righteousness of recruiting peace, Boyan's kindness, and Kublai Khan's virtue of undressing and pushing food all appeared in front of him one by one.

On the sea, there are tens of thousands of pairs of eyes, quietly waiting for him to make a decision.

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