It's 500,000 words after finishing this chapter, which is quite fulfilling. Brothers, subscribe a lot, support a lot, and smash it at me if you have a ticket, thank you.

On the night of December 6, it rained heavily on the sea.

The bean-sized raindrops hit the faces with pain, and all six ships of the escort detachment quietly turned around at a very close distance. Wearing an oilcloth poncho, Wang Tiehammer stood on the gun deck on the top floor of the bow tower, staring at the sea with wide eyes.

Visibility on the dark sea was extremely low, and the sound of the rain drowned out a lot of sounds, and Wang Tiehammer was not sure if all the ships had followed. He suddenly regretted it now, in this kind of weather, this kind of visibility on the sea, it is easy for ships to fall behind, and what it means to be left behind at this time, I am afraid everyone knows very well.

Anji also stood on the deck and watched nervously, his hands had turned a little white from the long-term clenching of the joints, which also reflected his nervous and worried heart at this time.

"Haven't seen the 'Yingzhou' yet?" Wang Tiehammer asked hoarsely, his voice shouting an imperceptible tremor. The sudden rainstorm disrupted all his plans, and in such bad weather, communication between the ships was basically impossible. In other words, the chances of a single ship being left behind are infinitely magnified on this night.

"It should be in the sea near us." An said as optimistically as possible, "Don't worry, Brother Guo's 'Red Trout' is on the right side of the 'Yingzhou', it should be fine." ”

The merchant ship "Yingzhou" was loaded with 450 tons of potatoes, as well as a large number of sailors and army soldiers, and if something happened to her, no one present could afford to take this responsibility.

Sailing in the dark is always full of surprises. Not to mention it on a rainy night with such poor visibility. Fortunately, the wind and waves on the sea were not very strong. Otherwise, God knows what will happen to the Dao.

The lights of the enemy ships tracking in the distance behind loomed in the rain. Anji counted them, and there seemed to be six lights. Nima, one more ship! There are still about twenty days to go before Cape Verde, and at this time it is already being targeted by so many ships full of malice, and the thought of it makes me feel creepy when I think about it.

The ships patiently followed, as if waiting for some opportunity. Do they have their own ships cruising in every sea? Or have they figured out our course and are going to ambush us somewhere? Anju thought wildly.

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and it is still warm near the equator in the Northern Hemisphere winter. In the distance, a bolt of lightning struck the sky. Half of the sky was illuminated, and the ships on the sea were also revealed by the blinding lightning.

"I saw the 'Yingzhou'!" Anji excitedly pointed to the sea diagonally behind him, and said to the king's hammer.

"I saw it too." Wang Tiehammer breathed a sigh of relief, put down the binoculars and smiled.

But apparently it wasn't just they who saw the "Yingzhou".

Several enemy ships that had been following them for several days also noticed that their prey had quietly changed course and had moved far away from them. Thankfully, the lightning during the rainstorm allowed them to spot their prey in time, allowing them to make adjustments in time.

Through the lightning rays that fell from time to time, as well as the changes in the position of the lights on the enemy ships, Wang Hammer found that the gang seemed to be adjusting their course.

"They are currently maintaining an average speed of three knots, and it will only take a little over an hour to catch up with us after the course adjustment." An Shu estimated the distance and relative speed between the two sides, and then reminded. "This rainstorm couldn't have come at a better time. At present, it is difficult for the ships to communicate with each other, and they can only advance according to the goals set in advance. And. The lightning also revealed our intentions, and all our efforts were in vain. ”

"Nope! Maybe this rainstorm is an opportunity! Wang Tiehammer's breathing suddenly became a little short, only to hear him speed up and say: "The enemy ships behind are all single-deck warships, and all the artillery is placed in the open air, and now I am afraid that they have become decorations in the rainstorm." ”

"You mean...... "Yasuchi also understood a little, "the 'Common Market' is a double-deck battleship, and we still have half of the guns on the lower deck that can be used!" ”

"Not bad! Before, I saw that they had many ships, and the number of artillery and sailors was not weaker than ours, and there were escort missions, so I never dared to touch them. Now that God is so face-saving and it has rained so hard, if Lao Tzu doesn't go over to get some cheapness, Lao Tzu won't be surnamed Wang! Xiao An, go and call all the officers in each region for me, and say that Lao Tzu has an order! Just go! ”

"Captain, are you going to go out now?" When the matter came to an end, he hesitated and said, "The enemy has six ships, and we have one ship, I'm afraid that we may not be able to please if we are right......"

"Carry out the order!" Wang Tiehammer raised his voice and said.

"Captain, I'm just worried about ......"

"You're!" Wang Tiehammer kicked it suddenly, and scolded: "Are you afraid? Are you scared?! Paralyzed, don't look at you as a deputy to the National People's Congress, believe it or not, Lao Tzu still slashed you with a knife! ”

Another bolt of lightning fell, and An, who was kicked over on the deck, looked at the command knife that had been pulled out of Wang Tiezhu's waist in half, and his heart couldn't help but tremble. The snow bright knife light was so glaring, and Anji quickly got up and began to shuttle around the deck to gather officers.

The officers were quickly called. After listening to Wang Tiezhu's order, these people had different expressions, but they all expressed their resolute obedience to the order.

The rain continued to fall, and the enemy ships continued to approach in the dark, and the fastest one was only more than 900 meters away from the "Red Trout" that had fallen behind the most ground, and perhaps the captain of this ship wanted to take advantage of the darkness to get some money.

Well, it's you! Wang Tiehammer chose the target.

"If you don't die, you won't die! Lao Tzu will bet on this, you are unlucky! Wang Tiehammer muttered to himself, then raised his voice abruptly, and shouted: "Right full rudder, turn backwards, target: right rear enemy ship." Lean over, the broadside guns against the enemy! Note that the cannon is only allowed to fire after entering 400 meters! ”

Hearing the order, the boatswain began to walk to the various masts to give orders, the sailors silently pushed the bulky booms, and some began to lower some of the sails so as not to affect the speed of the ship in the event of a headwind. The gunner stood on the upper deck on the starboard side, holding on to the railing, his eyes wide for the enemy ship.

It took only ten minutes for the "Common Market" to turn successfully and begin to drift quietly towards the enemy ship at a speed of 1 knot. The enemy ships were limited to bad weather and only a few minutes ago had just discovered the attempt of the "Common Market". Prior to this, the two ships had already narrowed the distance between the two sides to about 500 meters at a relative speed of 4 knots.

At a distance of five hundred meters, it is no longer possible to make any evasive moves, and it would be foolish to turn and flee at this time. The captain of the opposing ship was also a sensible man, so he simply drove the ship straight over, as if intending to entangle the "Common Market" in order to buy time for the other ships behind him to besiege him.

But he apparently forgot a little.

"Boom! Rumble! The fine rain curtain could not stop the orange-red flames from blooming from the porthole of the second deck on the starboard side of the Common Market. The spectacular sight of 14 large-caliber guns firing in an instant, shook the entire battlefield, and solid iron balls of 32-, 24-, 18-, and 12-pounds roared into the enemy ships on the opposite side at a distance of more than 400 meters.

The gunners on the second deck of the "Common Market" played at a level close to that of training, sending various types of shells into the hull of the opposing ship at a rate of one or two rounds a minute. It was also impossible to see in the night, and the gunners, under the command of the gunner, fired seven or eight volleys in one breath before they began to fire freely.

The destructive power of long-barreled, large-caliber naval guns is staggering, especially when the two sides are only 400 meters apart in a straight line.

The enemy ship had barely closed the distance before it had eaten dozens of shells, and the ship was full of pierced holes, broken planks, and groaning wounded, and the whole ship was like a small daisy struggling to survive the storm.

The distance was reduced to 100 meters, and the gunners of the "Common Market" replaced the barrels of some 18-pounder and 12-pounder guns with grape shells and chain shells, while the 32-pounder and 24-pounder guns were still aiming at the waterline and bombarding them with solid iron balls.

There was a cacophony of voices from the other ship, as if there were orders and curses.

Wang Tiehammer snorted heavily, and the officers and sailors on the opposing ship were speaking in English, and it was really John Bull!

The two ships passed by, and the 14 guns of the "Common Market" fired the last salvo, completely destroying the hapless British corsair. Then he made a beautiful arc, went directly to the rear of the ship, and fired a demonstrative salvo with the port gun at several enemy ships watching from a distance behind.

Seeing this, these single-deck warships, which had lost most of their combat capability in the heavy rain, turned around one after another, scattered, and completely abandoned their own ship, which had been beaten all over the body.

The "Common Market" was soon back in the circle, and through the occasional flash of lightning, Wang saw that the bow of the ship seemed to have a deep draft, and the stern was slightly cocked, and it was obvious that the bow was leaking.

"Haha......" Wang Tiehammer laughed heartily, "let Lao Tzu give you another ride." ”

As his words fell, the fourteen guns on the port side of the "Common Market" fired another spectacular salvo, and a large number of heavy shells completely tore the waterline through which the three-masted sail Galen pierced, and the raging waters rushed into the bilge, and the desperate sailors jumped into the sea without hesitation.

Moments later, the 400-ton three-masted galleon sank quickly to the bottom of the sea. All that remains is a pile of broken planks still floating on the surface of the sea, proving that a huge sailing ship seemed to have existed on the surface of the sea a moment ago.

A few wet rats chirped and crouched on the broken wooden planks, staring desolate at the dark night sky...... (To be continued......)