Therefore, it is not possible to classify them definitively. Nor can we say with great precision what flags the pirates of the Caribbean Sea put on their masts, and what flags the pirates of the Mediterranean hauled. Anyone who tries to determine which pirates will fly which flags will be utterly disappointed.

Waldes pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe it's the betrayer—the Dutch people are deliberately disguised as pirates to attack us?" ”

The captain shook his head and said, "Is this necessary?" Here, except for us, we are the Dutch, and if they want to attack, they will attack directly, so why disguise themselves as pirates? ”

"You have a point. But if it's not the Dutch, then who's coming? ”

The captain said, "I guess they must be Dutch!" The only thing that puzzled me was why they came from the north. ”

"We don't care so much, let's set sail and get ready for battle!" But first we have to see what their intentions are. It's best if you can negotiate. ”

The captain drew a cross on his chest and said, "May God bless you." ”

Valdes had always dreamed of being able to become a true nobleman. Unfortunately, it is difficult to achieve this goal at home. That's why he came to the far east, trying to join the aristocracy through his military exploits. After all, everyone says that the East is the birthplace of wealth.

Today it seemed like Waldes had come to chance. If he can keep the Spanish colonial stronghold in Taipei, perhaps he will be canonized as a nobleman by His Majesty the King. Although he thought it would be difficult to defeat the Dutch, he had the advantage of strength today. Because the captain reported that they had only five ships. And you have six ships.

If he can successfully annihilate this Dutch fleet, wouldn't he be one step closer to becoming a nobleman? Thinking of this, Valdes was actually a little excited! He immediately said to the captain: "Mr. Alvardo, please gather all the ships at once, and we will go out to drive out these damned traitors!" Six-on-five, we have the advantage. ”

Alvardo saluted, immediately agreed, and turned to go out. Sanchez sorted out his meter, slung a long sword at his waist and headed straight for the docks.

When Waldes sailed out to sea with six ships, he found that the ships on the opposite side were already very close. Sánchez looked through a telescope at the bow of the ship and did spot a skull flag flying on the mast. He was amazed, and he couldn't understand why these Dutch people would play such a pointless trick.

When the two sides got closer to each other, Valdes, who was holding a telescope, said in surprise: "Mr. Alvardo, it seems that the sailors on these ships are not Dutch!" They are all dark-haired and look dressed

It seems to be a sailor from the Ming people? ”

Captain Alvardo was also watching each other with a telescope. "You're right, Mr. Sanchez," he agreed. But how did the Ming people know how to make our ships? And it looks like the volume of the ships seems to be a little larger than ours! ”

It is not surprising that Liu Pei's ships are larger than theirs. Because Liu Pei's shipbuilding drawings were made according to the drawings of the late sail era. After generations of changes, the ships of the Navy are naturally getting bigger and bigger! By the time the level of the battleship in the later stage is completely finalized, the battleships built in the later stage will naturally be much larger than the early models!

Valdes put down the binoculars and said, "It's okay. We also have a battleship in our fleet. And judging by their appearance, they should all be armed merchant ships. We have an advantage in terms of ships. We'll figure everything out when we catch some captives! Truth be told, if these barbarians are going to build our ships, it's a bad thing for us! ”

In the era of sail warships, don't look at the name of the battleship that appears the most. And everyone is talking about how many guns and how many sailors did so-and-so battleship have? But in reality, it is armed merchant ships with single-deck artillery that are most used by various countries.

In particular, the wars against the colonies were mostly fought by armed merchant ships. Only a small number of battleships participated. Because the cost of a battleship with multiple layers and artillery decks was too high, it could not afford to transport cargo. The economic benefits are too low.

Armed merchant ships with single-deck artillery do not have this problem. There is not only an artillery deck for attack or self-defense, but also for the heavy responsibility of transporting goods. So they were the main forces on the sea at that time.

Unless there is a large-scale war between countries, it is generally sufficient to disperse a small number of warships to various colonies and act together with armed merchant ships. Even in the event of a large-scale naval battle, the state hires or conscripts a large number of armed merchant ships to participate in the battle. There is no other problem here, just a question of economic efficiency.

The two fleets turned two kilometers closer to each other, trying to gain the upper hand. Gaining the upper hand isn't just about speeding up your boat. The biggest reason was that the quality of gunpowder at that time was too low, and once the fire was fired, the smoke produced was extremely thick and condensed. Those who are in the limelight will be able to see the situation on the battlefield more clearly. And those who are in the limelight are naturally difficult to discern their targets in the smoke. So before the war, everyone will go around each other in circles and desperately try to seize the upper hand.

When the distance between the two sides approached 1,8900 meters, the Second Fleet took the lead in firing its guns. The rumbling sound of cannon startled both Valdes and Alvardo! Because the airtightness of the smoothbore gun was not good at this time, although the firing range of the artillery was about two miles, the actual combat distance between the two sides was several hundred

meters only. The more aggressive captains will even close to within 200 meters to shoot.

So although the two were initially taken aback, they didn't care. If you fire a cannon two miles away, even if you have the range, you will not dare to compliment people with accuracy. If you can shoot, it's all up to luck, and it's normal to miss. Sure enough, the opponent's first round of artillery all missed! And the shells landed at a great distance from the ships of Alvardo!

Alvardo pouted indifferently and said, "Mr. Sanchez, it seems that the level of these people is like this!" The shell fell so far, who can the cannon hit? ”

Valdes also nodded and said, "That's right, it seems that the shooting level of these Ming people is really poor." It is absolutely impossible for our soldiers to hit such a result! ”

Captain Alvardo said relaxedly, "yes, they're too far away. It seems that those gunners are novices. ”

Captain Alvado's words reminded Valdes. He pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Alvado, do you think it's possible that these Ming people have just gotten the blueprints of our ships and cannons?" These ships were just built by them for sea trials? ”

Captain Alvardo picked up his binoculars again and looked at them carefully for a long time before saying, "It's possible!" It seems to be jerky to look at their movements. ”

Valdes eagerly grabbed the captain's arm and said, "Captain, now immediately catch up and annihilate these Ming people!" ”

Captain Alvado said strangely, "Why do you want to do this?" Won't it be long to get rid of them? They don't threaten us! ”

Valdes said very quickly, "Because of these ships! These Ming people have mastered our shipbuilding technology! We have to torture these Ming people to find out where they got their shipbuilding technology? You must know that this is the sea near Myeongkoku! If the Ming people also mastered the same shipbuilding and cannon casting technology as us, do you think about it, how much of a threat they would pose to our trade? If we let them develop, maybe one day our trade routes will be snatched away by them! ”

Captain Alvado said in horror, "You're right, sir! The Ming people must not be allowed to master the latest shipbuilding technology! Just let them continue to sail offshore with their wrecked ships! Let's catch up immediately! ”

At this moment, the artillery on the opposing fleet fired again. Although the shells landed a little closer to their ship, they were still outrageous!

Alvardo glanced at the place where the shells landed again and said, "Mr. Valdes, you are a wise man!" It's so much better than those stupid, silver-coin nobles with their brains! They didn't know about the sheer size of the Ming Kingdom and the sheer size of the population! If the Ming people really mastered the advanced shipbuilding technology and cannon casting technology, maybe we would lose this sea! ”