In the past, he used to fly on the 70-tonne locally built tug-in fishing boat, which is most commonly seen here. The traverser has quite a few of these ships in his hands. It is mainly used as a transport vessel, but sometimes as a patrol boat - to expel fishing boats that refuse to pay fishing taxes, to combat small groups of pirates who specialize in robbing fishermen, to protect passing merchant ships, and so on.

Recently, the "Maritime Security Month" initiated by the Liliang Department of the Maritime Affairs Department has been patrolled by ships of the Liliang Department of the Maritime Department from early morning to dusk on the dozens of kilometers of coastline between Bopu and Mayuan. This led to a number of more patrol vessels, and the vessels that were supposed to be used for transport were also transferred to patrols. In order to ensure superiority, ships are grouped to carry out tasks, with three to five ships per formation. At least one or two ships in each formation were equipped with artillery - many of which were temporarily borrowed from the Army.

The appearance of such a ship is chilly: on the deck is a temporary borrowed Army 12-pounder M1857 cannon - simply fastened to the foredeck with a rope. The artillery was surrounded by barricades filled with wet sand. The sailors were interspersed with gunners in gray uniforms seconded from the Army, and the Navy did not have so many gunners available.

"Even if you replace the patrol boat with it for the first time, you are full of praise for its seaworthiness - light, convenient, and the sail uses the wind very efficiently, no wonder Mr. Wen said that the spinnaker is the most suitable sail shape for coastal navigation.

At this time, the lookout post suddenly shouted:

"There is a situation in the direction of three o'clock!"

Le Lin hurriedly picked up the telescope hanging on her chest and looked at it, only to see that two or three nautical miles away, more than a dozen small ships were surrounding a large ship. The big ship is a large large ship common along the coast of China, and the tonnage is quite considerable, with four or five hundred tons. Le Lin was very surprised -- the Qiongzhou Strait is not a must for foreign ships, and it is unlikely that such a large foreign ship will carry out ocean-going trade. Even if this kind of ship goes to Hainan, it will rest in Shenying Port in Qiongshan County, and some will simply go directly to Yulin to anchor and rest. It will not penetrate deep into the Lingao-Chengmai ocean.

"How can there be such a big ship?" Le Lin didn't believe her eyes, and quickly adjusted the magnification to the maximum eight times the diameter:

The hull of the large ship is tilted to one side. Stranded on a sandbank, the sails still hanging, very dilapidated. But through the binoculars, you can already see that many people are climbing the big ship, and the deck of the big ship is full of people, and from time to time smoke and fire are rising.

It's a pirate robbery, and Lelin is excited—the boring patrol and capture work finally has some fresh condiment! This is a great opportunity to do something!

"Battle Alert!" He shouted.

The drummer, who had been on standby in the stern, immediately began to beat the drum in a hurry. The sailors and soldiers on the deck immediately got busy, the sergeants blew their whistles, and the sailors and sailors who were not on duty poured out from below deck.

"Left rudder, 15 degrees! Burn the wind! Lelin leaned on the railing and shouted majestically.

"15 degrees, left!" The helmsman replied to the command and turned the steering wheel - the Liliang Department of the Sea had already changed all the ships under its command with a good shape and a tonnage of more than 50 tons to rudder operation.

Immediately the flag-bearer on the stern also gave orders to the ships on both sides. The 108 and 111 that followed also began to turn their rudders.

"Put down oars number one, three, and five!!" Ruan Xiaowu shouted. Although Lelin's command is very majestic, there is no engine available for this boat, and the so-called full speed forward is to put down the three pairs of oars on the ship and shake it with manpower to increase the speed.

Ruan Xiaowu is now a full-fledged naval non-commissioned officer. After returning from the round-the-island cruise, all the participating naval cadets were promoted. Although he was only fifteen years old, he had already embellished his sleeves with a silver armband, which symbolized the rank of non-commissioned officer, and with this mark, he was clearly distinguished from the sailors on the deck. When the sailors saw him, they saluted. However, he still did not have to pay for the officers' meals, but ate the same food as the soldiers.

There was also an additional sleeve on his naval uniform, the "First Circumnavigation Commemorative Armband," which was one for all those who participated in the voyage. Ruan Xiaowu felt that his original set of cardigans was awkward, but now he looks so majestic. He was often neatly dressed, and when he was on vacation, he strolled through Dongmen City, looking at the bustling crowd around him, and felt that these people were very earthy - he had forgotten what he looked like when he came to Lingao.

Today he was on duty on the second morning shift. That is, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. As soon as the battle alarm sounded, Ruan Xiaowu's throat tightened - there was going to be a war! And it's a war with pirates!

As a child of a fisherman's family, Nguyen Xiaowu is no stranger to pirates. It is not uncommon for small groups of pirates to take on a single fishing boat that is unable to resist when they are unable to rob large ships, and to steal the catch. The most terrible thing is that the pirates often force the fishermen to join the group, and sometimes they simply carry them with their men and boats. Especially when the pirates have to fight each other and face the encirclement and suppression of the official army, this kind of forced entry will reach its peak. Several relatives of Ruan Xiaowu encountered such a disaster: it was not that they lost their lives. It's the ship's loss. Zuihou Ruan Xiaowu's father was also arrested as a pirate, and the ship was destroyed and killed in an encirclement and suppression by the official army, and the whole family was eventually displaced. As a result, he had a special hatred for pirates, and was "extremely firm" in the archives, and was developed by the General Administration of Political Security to become a member of the "Group of Ten" in the navy.

With the propulsion of sailors rocking oars in shifts, the speed of the patrol flotilla increased to 5 knots.

Lelin ordered, "Shoot the gun!" ”

Immediately a puff of white smoke rose from the deck guns, and the deafening sound of guns echoed across the sea. But the pirate ships surrounding the big ship seemed unmoved. Through the binoculars, Lelin saw that some people were frantically carrying things from the big boat to the small boat, and some people were fiddling with long pipes like firearms on the deck of the small boat.

Because the Crossing Group is also a hegemon in the local area, small groups of pirates are generally reluctant to engage them directly. On many occasions, Lelin encountered situations where the enemy did not exchange fire at all and ran away. If he sails 3~4 nautical miles away, his fleet will not be able to catch up. But looking at the appearance of the enemy in front of him, it seems that he does not intend to run away.

Lelin estimated that there was still a nautical mile and a half away, and the range of the 12-pounder cannon was enough, but it was not enough. There is no difference between fighting in the past and not fighting.

Maybe the cargo on the ship has not yet been snatched, or maybe it is because there are only three ships coming, and some of the small boats surrounding the big ship suddenly turned their bows and rushed towards the fleet with great momentum.

"There are signs of an attack by the enemy." Ruan Xiaowu shouted, "Prepare to attack!" ”

"It's quite bold, or the loot is big enough." Lelin saw through the binoculars that several ships were still unloading, and it seemed that the enemy was ready to save his spoils at all costs.

"Looks like it's going to be a fight." Lereen is running adrenaline-pumping. Shouted: "Armor! ”

The orderly beside him hurriedly brought his stab-proof vest, knee pads, steel helmet, and cut-resistant chain gloves from the aft cabin and waited for him to put them on. Le Lin took the imitation U.S. Navy command knife handed over by Zuihou, and pulled it out with a high-spirited look:

"Order the ships and prepare for battle!"

The red triangular battle flag was raised, and the fighters of each ship took their positions. The soldiers began to reload their rifles, and the sailors carried the pending gunpowder from the bilge to the deck with iron cans - no gunpowder was left next to the guns during the battle. On the gun emplacements, the guns were loaded with gunpowder, the hair tubes were installed, and the shells were placed next to the deputy gunner. The shooter loads the heavy cartridge plate on the "typewriter" and locks it, and loads it ready to fire. The marines' rifles did not have bayonets, which could not be wielded on ships, but were replaced by the Navy's Type 1629 machetes, which were modeled after the famous Rwandan banana machetes, and were used in small quantities for naval vessels.

"Single column, seize the upper hand!" As a naval enthusiast, Le Lin still unswervingly followed the consistent practice of the Royal Navy, seized the upper hand and took the initiative to attack.

"Steady! No fire is allowed without an order. Le Lin's hands and feet were cold, and she almost gave orders in Cantonese again.

At this time, the other party's ships were like firecrackers, and there was a chaotic crackling sound, and many puffs of white smoke rose in the fleet. This habit of using firearms before reaching the firing range, Le Lin has seen it many times, including the soldiers who trained themselves through the group, and it seems that firearms are used to strengthen courage, and in order to overcome this problem, the army and navy have invested a lot of energy in training.

"Five chains away!" Observers constantly report the location of the enemy.

"Flag slogan, call 108 and 111 to follow the flagship operation."

Once in battle, Lelin's so-called command doesn't mean much. Like all naval commanders before the invention of radio, he relied entirely on the judgment of their respective captains to act once they were in battle. In the Admiralty, there is no market for the brawler faction, and it is the world of the formation faction.

At a distance of 3 chains, the 101 patrol boat fired a solid shell, and the shell flew over the undulating ship of the sea. It falls on the surface of the sea and rises into the water. A naval gunner, using a rangefinder, immediately measured the distance to the landing point. The gunner immediately corrected the elevation angle of the gun.

Immediately afterwards, two other ships followed suit. One of the sampans was hit, and the fragments of the planks flew several feet high.

"Well hit, keep the firepower up!"

The fleet cross-cut in front of the pirate fleet and used the tactic of grabbing the T-shape. In addition to the 12-pounder guns on the three patrol boats, including the 1-pounder eagle guns for anti-personnel use and the rifles of the mariners, there was a burst of heavy fire at these large and small ships, and the sea was covered in smoke. From time to time, flashes of fire can be seen.

The guns on patrol ships have all switched to shotgun fire. Judging from the experience of several battles in the navy, at a distance of 50~100 meters, it is more lethal to deal with small groups of pirates along the coast of the mainland - the ships of these poor pirates are almost all made of ordinary wood and have a limited thickness. It can't withstand the shotgun fire at all. And their habit of congregating on the deck and waiting for an opportunity to jump into the gang also gives the opportunity to wash the deck with shotguns.

"Full right rudder, adjust to 11 o'clock course and do it again!" The smoke on the deck had cleared, and Le Lin was careful not to get too close to the enemy ship, and turned around to grab the T-head again.

The maneuvering agility of the 101 was evident in this turn, as the jib fell into the windward state within minutes, pushing the patrol boat into sharp turns. The hull of the boat tilted violently at one point, and the waves hit Lelin's face.

In contrast, the turn of the two tugboats was much more sluggish, and it took more than ten minutes for the three boats to complete their U-turn formation again.

The smoke had already dispersed, and in the chaotic exchange of fire just now, the three ships had hardly received any substantial damage, only the large and small holes in the sails proved that the pirates' counterattack fire was also quite rapid. But the losses of the pirates were clearly greater. Several of the long sampans began to sink, while others were littered with dead and heavy casualties.

The surviving pirates jumped into the water, ready to swim to the other ships in their ranks. But the people on the other ships now know the strength of the enemy, and they only want to escape by themselves, where do they want to rescue these accomplices! So they didn't throw down a single rope to get them aboard, and the pirates opened fire indiscriminately, and at the same time turned the rudder and fled, and the pirates carrying the goods on the big ship did not have time to get off the ship, so the accomplices cut the ropes and fled on their own. The outcasts shouted on deck. Someone jumped off desperately and tried to escape by swimming in the water, only to fall to his death on the sandbar. There was chaos around the big ship.

The second round of firing of the patrol flotilla began again. This time, a chain bullet fired by the 101 ship hit the mast of a sloop, immediately causing it to lose power and float in front of their eyes, crowded with people, just a suitable target,

"'Typewriter' fires!" Lelin had long wanted to try the power of this new weapon.

Two specially trained sailors held the shoulder rest and pulled the launch lever.

The violent vibration of the typewriter when it fired almost made Lelin fall on her heels, and immediately the bridge was covered in a large amount of smoke. The gunfire was deafening.

The recoil of the typewriter is very high, and the muzzle of the gun shakes badly. It let out a terrible roar, long muzzle flames spewing through the smoke. Bullets swept across the deck, shredding heads, limbs, and parts of the body with 14mm buckshot and throwing them in all directions, even the smoke turning pink - it was a massacre.

There was no need to deal with it with artillery or anything else, and after the typewriter had poured three rounds at it, the ship floated lifelessly on the water, and there was no living person in sight.

The machine gunners replaced the fourth cartridge plate, by which time the entire "typewriter" had become very hot, and the muzzle of the gun was smoking, and the machine gunners had to put on thick gloves in order to continue the operation.

"Shoot the sampan in the direction of 4 o'clock." Lelin ordered. Four or five sampans were moving their oars and quickly fleeing towards the shore, and he wanted to observe the accuracy of the "typewriters," which was probably worrying from the violent shaking just now.

Sure enough, the bullets fired by the "typewriter" were indeed "strafing", and the first few rounds deviated from the dinghy far away. However, once the adjustment was in place, the power was satisfactory, and the dinghy was hit into the water and sank under the strafing fire. After a few minutes, the wooden handles of the multi-barreled guns became hot to grip, and the shooting stopped

"It's fierce." Lelin wiped the sweat from her head, the two "machine gunners" had been blackened with gunpowder, and the entire barrel was smoking, and there was a smell of burning.

"I don't think I had a lot of bullets." Le Lin looked at it, and the "typewriter" only knocked out ten bullet plates. The barrel of the Minnie rifle was no problem firing fifteen or sixteen times in a row in battle, and it would not heat up to such a degree.

The battle, like previous encounters at sea, was a crushing battle, and the pirates dispersed when the situation was unfavorable. Lelin did not dare to disperse the team in pursuit, and only led the team to pursue the largest brig among them. The artillery fire finally forced him to surrender, and sixty or seventy prisoners were captured. Still, about half of the ships escaped.

Even so, the sea around the sandbar has been turned into a Shura field. The sea is littered with wreckage, shipwrecks and floating corpses. Lelin's formation salvaged dozens of pirates from the surrounding sea, who were still calling for help.

But what he was most concerned about was the big ship that ran aground on the sandbar. What is the origin of this ship that suddenly appeared in the Qiongzhou Strait?

To be cautious, he personally led a ship to guard the area, and sent another 111 ships back to Bopu to report to the engineer to see if there was any possibility that the ship could float - if so, the harvest would be great.

Le Lin sent people to land on the sandbar to see if there was still the enemy's concealment on the sandbank, which was littered with all kinds of boxes, baskets and other things, some of which had been scattered, and Lou out the goods inside, most of which were precious goods such as porcelain and silk, as well as baskets of medicinal materials. This should be a typical ocean-going ship for trade in the South Seas.

"Ruan Xiaowu, you immediately organize twenty sailors and sailors," Le Lin ordered, "Prepare the equipment and get ready to board the ship!" ”

"Yes!" Ruan Xiaowu saluted and hurried to prepare the hook and rope for boarding.

Here, Le Lin took care of the people to clean up the battlefield, sorted out the goods and loaded them on the ship, picked up the ships that were still floating on the sea one by one, and repaired them a little if they were useful, and dragged them back with a tow rope. If there is no value, it will be directly scuttled

Ruan Xiaowu carried a machete on his back, grabbed a pistol from his waist, spit into his palm, jumped forward, grabbed a thick rope hanging from the side of the ship, and climbed up first. One by one, the men climbed up.

On the wide deck of the ship, there were traces of fierce battles, blood stains and corpses everywhere, as well as cargo scattered during transportation.

[зZcｎ.]