Chapter 32: Pirates This time it's really a pirate
Li Jing ordered to erect a monument here and engrave it on the phosphate fertilizer mine of the Li family in Taohuawu. No one is allowed to poach. After doing this, he left the island with everyone covering their noses.
Back on the ship, this time there was nothing to delay Li Jing, and the two ships pulled their sails to the top of their sails and headed for the Zhoushan Islands as fast as they could, where they were to replenish fresh water and provisions. There were more than 50 people on each of the two boats. After the baptism of battle, the mental outlook of all people has become very different. The defeat of the Dutch gave these sailors great confidence.
For three days, the sea was calm, and a small formation of two boats glided quietly on the sea, and the newly trained flag bearers of the two boats were practicing connecting through the flag. And Li Jing played poker with his two sisters and four maids, Li Jing bought two playing cards from the light curtain, mixed them together, and explained the rules, and the seven people began to sit around the long table and play cards. Considering that the two sisters and the four maids are poor ghosts, they have a penny for each game.
But what Li Jing didn't expect was that he was now playing harder and harder, and in just three days, the two sisters could already suppress him. The two seem to know what cards each other have, or can guess what the other is going to do. Li Jing made sure that they didn't string cards after careful observation, could the twins really have telepathy? This question gave Li Jing a lot of headaches. In the end, Li Jing threw away the cards and stopped playing. Playing cards with twins is pure abuse.
At this moment, the sound of a lookout post came from the loudspeaker. "All attention, all attention, the fleet of ships found ahead, about five ships, about five ships, all of them are lucky ships, all of them are lucky ships"
Li Jing hurriedly shouted: "Stop playing, hurry up and put the rear window on the gate, this room is so well decorated, don't break it." ”
Everyone installed the three-inch thick teak planks they made before outside the rear window, and there was a three-inch gap between the planks, so that they could still see the outside. Prevent enemy shells from damaging the stern of the ship, and also prevent enemy jumpers from breaking glass into the cabin from here.
Li Jing finished it and warned the four maids and the two sisters not to run around and stay here. This time, more than 270 long and short muskets were seized, and all flintlock muskets were seized. There were ten muskets stuck in the walls of the room. When someone jumped down into the hallway, he opened the window and opened fire. The rest of the ship also closed off the aft windows and corridors.
Li Jing hurriedly walked to the bridge. Seeing that Boss Zhang was commanding, he adjusted the course. Li Jing asked, "Who is in command on the Feilai Mountain?"
"Wu Ping, don't worry, he has been my deputy for several years, no problem."
"Okay, we can rush over and try not to fight each other. If it is surrounded, we will rush to the outside line, the Phoenix is flexible and fast, the Feilai Mountain is not afraid to jump gangs, the pirates have no heavy artillery, they hold on inside, we cruise and bombard outside.
At this time, on the pirate ship, a bearded strong man was standing on the bridge of the lead ship and the largest fortune ship, and his deputy, a one-eyed dragon, was reporting to him, and found two strange fleets coming from the direction of the open sea, one was the ship of the Francoman, and the other was a ship of the Fur man, and I don't know how to get together. It was a medium-sized pirate regiment with twenty ships, and this time twelve were dispatched. Originally, he was on a busy shipping route near Zhoushan, preparing to rob merchant ships, but he didn't expect two ships to come to the open sea.
Lin Hu stood on the bridge on the back deck, looking at the two ships coming from the direction of the open sea in the distance, one of which was obviously a Dutch ship, but it was wearing a bright red flag embroidered with a phoenix with gold thread, he was sure that this flag did not belong to any force he knew, and his intuition told him that there was something wrong with this fleet, and there might be an unexpected gain. Thus determined to attack. There were seven other boats not far from him, and he felt that if his twelve Dafu boats could not be taken and two boats could be placed, he would not have to mix in the sea of Zhoushan.
Li Jing admired his foresight very much, and after the victory in Penghu, a brass communication system was also installed on the Phoenix, and the entire ship could report the situation at any time. The cloth and silk chests that contained the most important treasures and silver were exchanged for the Phoenix, and now the only thing on the Feilaishan is vegetable oil and the original armament. Three hundred muskets, half a boat. Usually in a loaded state, with more than 50 people on each of the two boats. This made the Feilai Mountain a little nervous, but the defense preparation of the Feilai Mountain has achieved the extreme of this era, even beyond the era, on the bridge of the Feilai Mountain, there are fifteen musketeers in a row, each with ten loaded muskets, fighting, directly changing guns, Li Jing is also relieved.
Soon, the pirate ship quickly closed downwind. Li Jing ordered the flags to be raised, and ten gunpowder packets of forty catties were transported to the lookout platform by boat, and when they were helped, they were lit and thrown down.
Li Jing is understaffed here, in addition to the pilot, the lookout, there are only 24 gunners, who can only operate 12 six-pounder cannons on one side, even the cooks and carpenters are used, and fifteen hired Dutchmen are also involved.
Soon, six pirate ships rushed from the side of the Phoenix and the Flying Mountain formations in close quarters, and they needed to turn around and jump into the gang. With the exception of the Great Pirates, there is generally no artillery. Unless it is Liu Xiang, Li Dan, Wang Zhi and other overlord-level figures, with hundreds or thousands of ships under their command, the big ship will be equipped with four to six cannons.
The lookout quickly reported data on the approach of the enemy's fleet. On the Phoenix, everyone in the gun compartment ran from starboard to port, and the guns on both sides were loaded in advance, and the muzzles were covered with tarpaulins to prevent moisture. Li Jing handed over the bridge to Boss Zhang's command, and ran to the gun warehouse himself, only to find that Li Wei'er, Li Xin'er and the four maids also ran.
Li Jing was furious, "What kind of mess are you coming, go back to the room, there will be a fight here in a while." ”
"We'll fire the cannon, let it go on Daddy's ship, little brother, you just leave us, manpower is so short, we can't help it." Li Weier said.
"Yes, little brother, my sister can protect you, you are the only seedling in the long house, and you have to give our Li family to inherit the ancestry."
"After a while, the bulwark of the Dutch man-made ship is thin, and a shell hits the side of the ship, and the sawdust flies, and it is disfigured when it hits the face, and you can't get married, so be obedient and go back quickly."
"Little brother, we are the children of the Li family, if we don't escape, we won't leave," Li Weier said firmly, her tone was unquestionable.
Li Jing felt a pain in his brain, turned his head to look at the four maids, and saw these four dead girls, one carrying three muskets, and a long knife hanging from his waist. These four estimates can't be returned.
"Well, the six of you are responsible for the loading of the guns on both sides, and if the guns on the port side are finished in a while, you are responsible for the loading. The boat would turn over and bombard it again with a gun on the starboard side. And then it fell over, bombarding back and forth. Got it?"
"Understood," the sixth girl replied very dryly.
At this time, the loudspeaker of the lookout post reported that the bow of the enemy ship was 100 yards away from the bow of our ship. ”
"All gunners ready," Li Jing shouted hoarsely, and the twelve gunners in charge of firing immediately raised the red-tipped iron skewers in the furnace.
When the first enemy ship emerged from the gun window, only 100 yards away, the gunners immediately adjusted the design angle and direction. By two-thirds of the way the enemy ship and the Phoenix had overlapped, the twelve guns had already been pointed at the enemy ship by the gunner's rotating gun mount and muzzle.
"Solid bullet, release" Li Jing ordered loudly.
Boom, boom, a series of fires, erupted from the gun windows of the bulwark, and twelve six-pound lead balls, spun and flew towards the lead ship of the pirate fleet.