On the stern, Yan Changwu coped with it easily and commanded the Southeast Ship steadily.

Speaking of which, he conscientiously conducted the "subject examination" and really had real talent and learning, plus he was a smart person, and his command ability had already passed the test.

"Collect one mid-mast sail, and another sail!" He saw that the wind was getting stronger, and then gave another command.

The sailors complied, and the South-East headed quickly southward.

"As long as the wind stays the same, let the boat be as windy as possible." Yan Changwu instructed his subordinates, and then asked in English: "Mr. David, how many points is it in the wind, is it five o'clock?" ”

He asked about his navigator, who turned out to be a blond-haired foreigner, Mr. Davy, an Englishman, who had been employed as an expert in the British fleet on this visit.

When Yan Dashao saw David, he felt that he had seen the right eye.

Mr. David is a big nobleman, his family is a small estate, his grandfather and father have shares in the East India Company, Mr. David is not very old, he is not yet a lieutenant of thirty years old (this is the benefit of family background, ordinary people cannot rise to such an official rank at his age), his appearance is personable, he can handle anything, he is proficient in Western swordsmanship, boxing, gunfighting, and cannonball, and he can also do French poetry (the British are at war with the French here, and there are a lot of people in Haffa over there, which is more fashionable than the French, Some Englishmen think that Paris is the magic capital and very lively, while London is just a country place and very boring), and even better is that he is a master of navigation, and he has sailed to Africa to see the scenery in his teens.

To tell the truth, Mr. David didn't look down on the small rural place of Southeast Mansion, and when Yan Changwu went to recruit experts that afternoon, Mr. David wanted to see the excitement, but... Everyone looked at the right eye at once (didn't the two of them want to get back-to-back?) ), became a foreign expert in the Southeast Province, and served as the chief navigator of the Southeast.

"I suspect that it will be six o'clock, Mazu will be beautiful and send us a good wind!" Mr. David actually knew Mazu, and he spoke very smoothly.

(Compass point: A circle of 360 degrees is divided into 32 compass points, and one compass point is 11.25 degrees)

"Here, I'll steer! You command! Yan Changwu said, he took over the helmsman's steering wheel.

Although it did not comply with the operating procedures, the helmsman obediently obeyed the order and left the helm position.

Putting your hand on the steering wheel and feeling the powerful force coming over you is also an individual effort, and the handling of that period was not as easy to drive as the cars of later generations.

The Southeast's oak rudder blades are 1.5 metres wide and 9 metres high, controlled by a 7.2 metre long tiller on the lower gun deck, and the helmsman can control the rudder direction on the aft deck with ropes and pulleys.

"Turn the boat downwind and turn right at seven o'clock compass!" David was concise and to the point, the sailors were busy, and Yan Changwu was at the helm, and the ship turned sharply under his steering.

"Helm position restored!" David shouted as he watched the gusts of wind pass.

Yan Changwu grabbed the tiller hard to turn the direction of the ship back, and really felt the pulse of the ship's vitality: the tiller trembled in his palm, a force was transmitted from the rudder, the breeze blew on his cheek, and every time he turned the tiller, the "Southeast" responded flexibly and drove very smoothly.

"It's a good boat!" Yan Changwu praised with satisfaction.

What are Porsches and Ferraris, but I am operating a 1,500-ton ship!

"A good ship indeed!" David agreed: "In our UK, it's second to none! ”

He ordered: "Sail south-east, south-south." ”

He kept giving orders, and gradually adjusted the big ship to be more windy, the sails were wide open, the sails were bulging, Yan Changwu looked up, and found that the bow cable was very tight, and the sails on the front mast began to tremble, so he asked the sailors to loosen some of them.

The Southeast cleaved the waves all the way, and behind her, the battleships followed closely!

"The target ahead is about to arrive!" The lookout sailor from the mast shouted.

Yan Changwu, who temporarily acted as the helmsman, handed over the rudder and took the telescope to observe.

The black reef that stands in the center of the sea is surrounded by a large circle painted with red tung oil, with a cross in the middle.

Artillery training began.

Yan Changwu put David in charge, and he went down to the lowest gun deck, where Yan Donglai was ready.

24-pounder cannon!

The members of each artillery squad were a little nervous, because this was personally commanded by Yan Changwu, although it had been simulated many times before coming, but the effect had yet to be checked.

Their guns were tightly tied to the gun emplacements in strict accordance with the operating procedures, and one end of each winch was attached to the deck wall, and it did not shift in the wind and waves.

This is a must, if they are allowed to roll casually, the ship will be full of wounded: each cannon weighs two tons!

"Release the gun"!

Yan Changwu ordered, first the first artillery squad action, they untied the pulley chain tied to the cannon body, and untied the rope that was tied strongly, and the heavy cannon body shook uneasily with the wind and waves, and immediately someone grabbed the pulleys on both sides of the cannon body (the other end was connected to the deck wall), controlled it, and did not let it be naughty, otherwise this two-ton big guy, even if it was a high pet to pick up the iron pulley, it would not be able to pick it.

"Flatten the gun."

At first, the muzzle was upward, and one stout gunner pushed the winch rod under the thick tail and pried it up vigorously, while the other shoved a wooden wedge into the rear gun body a little below the barrel and fixed the barrel in a position of horizontal direct fire.

"Artillery in position!"

Lead the gun to the open porthole, pull the pulley to drag the gun to move, point the muzzle to the porthole, pull towards the porthole, and remove the plug at the muzzle.

"Load gunpowder!"

At that time, breech guns were used, and the breech guns were constructed like a closed tube, and the closed end was first filled with gunpowder (usually a bag wrapped in silk), and the gunpowder was filled with a stick like a large match, like pounding garlic, and then a cannonball was stuffed through the muzzle.

At the closed end, there is a small hole (fire door) on the side, which leads to the gunpowder, inserts a fuse, ignites it, and transmits it to the gunpowder, and the gunpowder explodes, and the ball is blown out.

"Stick out the muzzle!"

The people in the back fixed the cannon body, some pushed the cannon, and the person on the side pulled the pulley chain hard, and the other end was attached to the cannon body, so that the muzzle of the cannon was extended.

"Install the fuse!"

The gunner first used a firing needle to stuff the cannon barrel from the firing door, punctured the flannel cloth wrapped in the gunpowder in the cannon barrel, and stuffed a fuse into the gunpowder bag.

"Aim!"

Yan Changwu carefully looked out of the porthole through the sights on the artillery, and at this time, David guided the big ship around the reef, anticipating the amount of advance, Yan Changwu ordered: "Open the gun!" ”

The gunner lit the torch to the fuse, and it rattled, and the fire flashed, and more than several pounds of solid gunpowder exploded in the chamber, sending the cannonball the size of a grapefruit.

The shells hit the reef accurately.

The hit rate is good, but the timing is far from it.

"How much time?" Yan Changwu asked Yan Donglai, who pinched the bell.

"Four minutes and eleven seconds!"

"That's good!" Yan Changwu laughed at himself: "If we hit the enemy with one shot, the enemy can return us with four shots!" (The British fired one shell a minute)

"Let's practice!" He said fiercely: "The first three artillery squads with the best results of the day enjoy the officers' meals, and the three worst artillery squads are responsible for mopping the floor!" ”