In the early morning of May 30, off the coast of the Chesapeake Bay, foggy.

Lieutenant Guo Zili, the captain of the frigate gunboat "Red Trout", held his binoculars in a frustrated manner, observing in vain from the extremely low visibility of the sea.

"The first mate is back!" There was a shout from the sailors on deck. Guo Zili put down the binoculars and followed the sound, only to see his first mate Second Lieutenant Ding Wei and several sailors approaching in a traffic boat.

The sailors on the deck threw down a cable, and Ding Wei quickly took it and fixed the traffic boat, and then climbed the rope ladder on the side of the ship and quickly climbed to the deck. I think that when he first became a navy, it took him half a day to climb a rope ladder on and off the ship, and he fell into the sea countless times in the middle, but now his movements are so skillful, I have to admit that his progress is still obvious.

"Lao Chen of the 'Beagle' said that he did not see any trace of the main fleet. Last night it was so windy that we were blown off course by a strong wind, and I think we probably got lost. Ding Wei straightened his clothes and said with a little worry.

Guo Zili pursed his lips tightly and did not speak, and only after a while did he say: "According to the rules, from now on, I will command our two warships." Hang the green following flag and keep the 'Beagle' close. In addition, adjust the course, turn the rudder 15 degrees to the right, lower the foremast auxiliary sail, and move forward at a cruising speed of 3 knots. ”

According to the rules established by the Admiralty, navigation at sea is based on military rank. Those who are promoted to the same rank are honored first, and those who are promoted at the same time are honored by seniority. At this time, the two warships lost contact with the main fleet, so Guo Zili, as a naval lieutenant who was promoted before Chen Tumu, naturally assumed the task of command at this time.

After the "Red Trout" hoisted the following flag. The "Beagle" replied with a flag. That's it. Two frigate gunboats temporarily formed a two-ship formation. One after the other, they drove forward. They didn't know where the road was at this time, but they guessed that it was probably near the Chesapeake Bay. As for which direction exactly in the Chesapeake Bay and where the main fleet is, it is unknown.

Last night, a strong wind blew almost all the masts of the ship, and it was only thanks to the concerted efforts of all the sailors on board that the ship was barely able to save the ship and not die at the bottom of the sea. However, it is clear that the "Red Trout" and "Beagle", which were the lead ships, lost contact with the main fleet. And the loss of bearing, coupled with the fog on the sea at the moment that seems to be so thick that it will never melt away, everything seems to be very bad.

"By the way, replace the spare artillery." Guo Zili commanded. Last night the ship was violently tossed up and down in the strong wind, and three guns tore off the cables and fell into the sea, when the sea was calm, and it was time to replace the spare guns, so as not to be caught off guard in case of encountering the enemy.

Guo Zili turned around on the deck two more times before returning to his captain's room in the stern. The orderly brought him his breakfast, bacon, grilled sausages, vegetables, a small glass of red wine, and his favorite tofu flower. Since the honeycomb coal plant was officially put into operation. Honeycomb coal, which is made from a mixture of coal ash, gangue and peat from coal washing plant wastewater, has been vigorously promoted in China. No, the Navy also procured a considerable number of batches. Distributed to each ship for the sailors to bake bread, it was quite popular.

It was already 7 o'clock after breakfast. Guo Zili sat back on a chair covered with bear skin, took out the charts in the drawer, and studied them carefully. The chart had been drawn by this time from their voyage last year, and since no one had been sent ashore to survey it, it was only a rough sketch. Guo Zili's fingers poked on the map and kept gesturing, occasionally picking up a glass measuring tape produced by Henan Glass Factory on the table next to him to measure the map, as if trying to determine his position at the moment.

While recalling the previous location and estimating the wind strength and direction last night, Guo Zili performed on the straw paper for a while, but still had no clue. was depressed, but saw the first mate Ding Wei push open the door and walked in: "Captain, if there is a situation, you'd better come out and take a look!" ”

Guo Zili didn't say a word, picked up the cylindrical military hat and put it on, then walked out of the captain's room quickly, stood in front of the railing of the porch and looked in the direction designated by Ding Wei.

The tall hulls of the two ships loomed in the thick fog, and they appeared to be armed merchant ships......

"Captain, we found two ships, the three-masted Galen galleon, headed 15 degrees east-north and at a speed of 3 knots, heading in our direction." Nick rushed to William. Clifford's captain shouted inside.

"Nationality?" Clifford said as he put on his gown.

"Unclear." "They didn't fly any flags to identify themselves. ”

"Everyone be ready for battle!" Clifford tucked his pistol into his holster, grabbed his saber in his hand, and said as he walked out.

"Captain, this is close to the waters off the coast of Virginia, could these two ships be pirate ships? Or maybe the ships of the Spaniards? Nick asked, following behind.

Clifford held up his monoculars and watched for a few minutes before turning to Nick and saying, "These are two Spanish-style sailboats, and they look like they're lost." They didn't fly any flags, which is dangerous! Signal and get all ships ready for battle. ”

"Captain, they have at least thirty or more guns. And, most likely, there are reinforcements, do we need to be a little cautious? Nick asked, a little worried.

"Of course, I'll give the order whether to attack or not when the time is right." Clifford glanced confidently at the sea, and said, "Even if they have reinforcements, they won't be able to find it for a while, and we have ten ships, and if the opportunity is right, we will resolutely surround it." They are not good people when they are wandering around the sea off the coast of Virginia, and it is likely that they did what happened last year. ”

Some of the ships that were originally following behind saw the movements of Clifford's flagship "Lucky Jenny", and they very tacitly began to raise their sails and move forward, closing their formation. They were merchants, but if they were on an uninhabited sea and dealing with a non-British ship, they would not mind being pirates.

"Captain, they're adjusting their course, and they seem to want to get away from us!" Nick raised his voice and reminded.

"Are the kids ready?" Captain Clifford lowered his binoculars and asked with a blank face.

Nick Brick looked at the large group of sailors on the deck with swords, arquebuses, flintlock pistols and other miscellaneous weapons, and then at the gunners on the gun emplacement, who were already ready to shoot, and replied, "Everyone is ready, I hope the cargo on these two ships will not disappoint us too much." ”

"Well, a quick fix. Capture as many of these two ships as possible, and all the officers and sailors on the other ship will be put to death, and none of them will be left behind. Alright, hoist the red battle flag and surround it! The gunners are ready to wind up and grapeshot, and this time they must not let people run! Clifford's right hand slammed down, and he said with a hideous expression.

Lucky Gianni took the lead and turned towards the northeast, and the distance between the two sides was only a short 100 meters, so it can be said that it was a blink of an eye. They were followed by the Prosperity of the Tobacco Merris and the Asuka of the Woolen Hill, and other ships were also trying to adjust their course and prepare for the battle.

The decks of all the ships were now full of chickens and dogs, and the officers were shouting orders; The sail runner shouted the trumpet and turned the boom; The ammunition man carries the ammunition box from the bilge to the deck and then pries open the lid; Jump to help the sailors run around and get into position in various positions on the ship, ready for battle; A big war is on the verge of breaking out.

At the same time, the "Red Trout" and the "Beagle" also finally confirmed the fact that the two sides were about to enter a combat state. Due to the thick fog, Guo Zili only saw two enemy ships, and after a slight hesitation for a few seconds, he chose to meet them by nature. There was no other reason for this, but because the distance between the two sides was so close that it was too late to retreat, and the only blame was this damn fog.

At this time, if we remove the fog from the battlefield and look down from the sky at the sea where the two sides have gathered, we can clearly see that the three ships of the British who are walking in the front have already formed a formation, and the finished characters are outflanking the two frigates of the First Fleet of the Republic on the east coast due north; Behind them, due to the heavy fog and limited communication distances, it was clear that more British ships had just received orders, and were now scrambling to adjust their course, mobilize the sailors, and make all preparations for the battle.

Their opponents, the two frigate gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Guo Zili, were sailing southwest at this time, and they raised their speed by 5 knots with a tailwind, apparently preparing to go to the left side of the "Prosperity" and attack it with their broadside guns.

This tactic is all too familiar to the British, Clifford grinned. It was this non-contact artillery attack that the British fleet had defeated the invincible Spanish Armada, and now the people on the east coast wanted to do so, and on the surface it seemed that there was no problem, but they ignored one point - that is, there were several British armed merchant ships on the foggy sea in the direction they were heading.

"Boom! Rumble! At a distance of 100 meters, the 12 large and small guns on the port side of the "Red Trout" were the first to fire, and the grapeshot shells fired by the 24-pounder guns and the explosive shells fired by the 18-pounder guns turned the deck of the "Prosperity" into a river of blood, and the blazing steel tore at the bodies of these brave sailors who were naked.

After the large-caliber naval guns were fired, the remaining six 12-pounder and 8-pounder steel guns were aimed at the gun emplacements on the British deck, and fired six rusty solid iron balls at a very close range. (To be continued......)