Bounded by the Cape of Good Hope, the southern half of the African continent is divided into east and west, with East Africa bordering the Indian Ocean and West Africa on the South Atlantic.

West Africa is bounded by Lake Chad in the east, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Gulf of Guinea in the south, and the Sahara Desert in the north. At this time, most of West Africa was desert and was regarded as a "bonanza" for the Western powers.

In the "Age of Discovery" of the Western Ocean, which began to rise during the Ming Dynasty of China, West Africa was once famous for the Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast. The criminal slave trade was manipulated by Westerners here, and they were sold to the New World to serve as labor in the land reclamation. To this day, the vast majority of the dark-skinned population wandering around the country are the descendants of slaves who were trafficked from "West Africa" at this stage.

Therefore, the history of the rise of the New World is a "history of blood and tears" in West Africa.

Alex Harry, a former black writer in the United States, wrote the family history novel "Roots" in 1976, which tells the story of a black "Kunta Kent" who was taken captive by white slave traders from the west coast of Africa to North America as a slave.

The book spans a long time, from his childhood life as a free man in Africa, to his and his descendants' suffering under slavery in the United States, and, of course, the family's experience after they were freed.

This novel was a huge sensation in the 70s of the last century, and I have seen the original book and many versions of the film and television works, and these have provided most of my knowledge and understanding of West Africa in this life.

Heading north along the Atlantic coast of "West Africa", I stood on the side of the ship on the right side of the flagship and watched over land. Most of the sight is tropical and rainforest, with occasional deserts in between. There are many animals that walk through the forest, but few humans are seen.

We set out from the Cape of Good Hope six days ago, passed through Lüderitz, and after a brief resupply at Walvis Bay, we continued north. In particular, we also heard in the bar of Walvis Bay that just five days ago, there was a "female captain of the Oriental who had never seen a beautiful costume even in the elders" who had stopped here and followed the footsteps of someone who continued north!

Five days! This is already a long time to ponder. Five days at sea, if it goes well, you can cross half of West Africa, but if it doesn't go well, maybe you can't even get out of the Niger River!

And this information also shows that at least Huamei is still safe in the near future! In the vast sea, the chance of the two fleets wanting to meet is extremely small, Hua Mei was born in a martial arts family, presumably the basic strategy is there, so she will not be so helpless.

I asked Mavi to open the nautical chart and take a closer look at the terrain of northern West Africa. The sea is generally flat, but there are many small islands dotted on the sea, and it is extremely easy to hide your whereabouts. Tracking down enemies here is difficult! It's huge! It's huge!

Two days later, we arrived at the port of Luanda without any news, but that meant that the situation was just around the corner! At the same time, it also shows that the situation can be worse than I imagined!

So in Luanda, I did two things: first, I sent a small boat back to Sofala to inform them of the current situation and ask them to provide backup at the right time; Second, the battle was strengthened again, and a lot of raw materials were purchased and provided to Halleha for preparation.

Sailing again and continuing north, this day was driving in the waters off Brazzaville when something suddenly drifted in front of me! At the shouts of the lookouts, we ran together to the left side of the boat and watched as the things crossed the side of the ship.

"It's the wreckage of the hull"! Mavi shouted in a deep voice: "There are shell holes on it!" There were battles upstream! ”

Yes, I know this too! The ocean current flows from north to south, and judging by the density of the wreckage of the ship, the place of the battle should not be far from here!

"What are the big islands and reefs to the north?" I said in a loud voice.

"Half a day's further north is São Tomé with Principe next to it! There are more than a dozen small islands next to it," Arashi's voice came from the captain's room.

Sao Tome and Principe? My memory is the Portuguese colony, could it be that Portugal was also involved in this dispute?

My eyes are getting more and more confused!

The wind is blowing! The dark clouds in the sky began to roll, from west to east, in our direction!

"It's going to rain a lot!" Mavi raised his head to the sky and said, "Captain, I suggest sending it to the port in the port of San Tome, we can't survive such a storm!"

The wind blew my hair to the back of my head, and I had short hair in my previous life, but in this life I changed my hairstyle. Not because the hobby has changed, but because in ancient times, short hair belonged to only one kind of person - the prisoner!

Anyone with status should comb their hair into a bun according to the rules, this is the rule.

After leaving Daming, my hairstyle has always been more casual, changing according to the occasion, and recently it has been unrestrained and casual in the back of my head.

Today's wind is so strong, I don't know where the rope that only blows my hair is flying! Looking at the sky, I nodded and asked, "Where is the nearest port?"

Mavi thought for a moment and replied, "The nearest one is probably Sao Tome." However, if you consider the direction of the current, it is the fastest way to return to Luanda! ”

I groaned for a moment, shook my head, and said, "If you go back to Luanda, the cycle is too long. If you return, the situation is unpredictable. Rush to São Tomé! Resupply to the port of São Tomé! ”

In the present situation, this was also the most appropriate choice, and my will was immediately carried out, and the fleet accelerated to full speed in the direction of due north!

The dark clouds are getting lower and lower, and the golden snake-like lightning has begun to hover overhead! A lightning "snap" hit the sea not far away, stirring up bursts of electric sparks to scatter! While the scalp of the person watching is numb, it seems to have a buzzing sound!

The rain is pouring down! The soybean-sized raindrops hit the deck and on the roof of the cabin, and because it was so dense that it was impossible to hear the gap between the raindrops! The waves are rolling and our fleet is churning in the angry sea, like a leaf flying!

How many times I almost sank to the bottom of the sea, and how many times I climbed to the top again! My mood goes up and down with the waves, savoring it, there are three points of fear, three points of shock, three points of excitement, and one point of excitement!

I suddenly remembered Gorky's "Petrel", and for a moment, as the ship climbed to the top of the waves, I almost felt that I could fly with just open wings!

The captain's room was very silent, and seeing everyone's different faces, I secretly sighed, experience is really the best teacher of people! Arashi and Mavi have obviously been out to sea for a long time, so they are much calmer. The kite is much more immature, and the hand that holds my sleeve tightly, can't help but tremble slightly!

I smiled silently, stretched out my hand, and patted her little hand gently, the kite was taken aback, but soon understood that I was afraid that she would be afraid, so I comforted her in this way!

She immediately grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. When I looked back at her, she gave me a smile as best she could. I knew she was mustering up all her courage, afraid that I would be worried!

I took the kite's hand and squeezed it hard, which means "I'm here". The kist's hand trembled slightly.

I turned back and asked Mavi, "How far is it to the port of São Tomé?" Mavi unfolded the chart in the violent shaking of the hull, and the lights shook and couldn't see clearly! With one hand, he pressed the base of the oil lamp on the table, so that he could clearly see the chart.

"Fifteen nautical miles to go!" Mavi replied, "Captain, there is a reef ahead, but the water level is higher after the rainstorm, so it is safer than usual!" It should be possible to pass the "!

I know that in such an environment, it is not easy for them to follow the route, and it is really difficult for a strong man to accurately identify the line! So I silently said, "May God bless us so that we can reach St. Tome smoothly!"

At this moment, the lookout outside suddenly shouted, "There seems to be a ship ahead!"

The voice was not heard well in the storm, but I heard him exclaiming! I asked in a loud voice, "In which direction?"

The lookout's voice came again: "Due north!" Lots of boats! It seems to be at war! ”

I was taken aback! Fighting in such a storm? Worried, I braved the rain and rushed to the deck to take a closer look!

Sure enough! There seem to be more than a dozen boats in front, as if they are attacking each other in positions and shapes!

But I vaguely felt that something was wrong...... After a closer look, he was immediately shocked and shouted: "Turn quickly!" No! Turn around! Turn around! It's a trap! ”

Just before everyone had time to react, the ships on the opposite side, which were originally "attacking each other", suddenly opened their firing ports, and suddenly the roar of artillery fire shook the sky!

In the wind and rain, countless bullets flew towards us!

Sure enough, it's a trap! Damn it! These guys just docked their ships in the reefs! The wind and waves will not affect them at all! In an instant, they had turned into a fixed battery, and their firepower was like rain that had just been poured down, and it was sprinkled on us without any pretense!

There were two loud "toms", and two big holes were punched out of the foredeck! In a blink of an eye, the mast was also sturdy and took a few shots!

I shouted, "Turn around!" South! Turn around and head south now! ”

The ship began to turn at high speed! However, the enemy did not seem to intend to give us this opportunity, and the shells smashed into the side of the flagship ship like a round! The lower edge of the port side has even begun to seep water!

I secretly said in my heart that the enemy's re-fire is about to come! I'm afraid I can't eat this wave!

A sense of despair wells up in my heart! Damn, I've run so far, I'm TM is this a thousand miles away? Send courier I am!

In the darkness, the muzzles of the guns on the opposite side began to flicker! I was about to shout the word "abandon ship" in my mouth, but I saw that the third ship, which had been driving on the left side of the flagship, suddenly accelerated, and was blocking between the enemy ship and our flagship!

After a series of muffled sounds, a raging fire broke out in the cabin of the No. 3 ship! But they did not intend to abandon the ship, but fired a salvo at the enemy ship before the hull broke!

"Boom!" Ship No. 3 was shot again! In the raging burning that the rain could not extinguish, the No. 3 ship finally completely lost its ability to resist!

"Abandon ship! Abandon ship! I screamed with tears in my eyes! However, the surviving officers and men on the No. 3 ship did not choose to escape, but used the enemy's artillery to fire a mutilated salvo again before the hull sank!

Cannons! The ship sinks!

I closed my eyes tightly! I can feel that the flagship has completely turned around and is now sprinting south at full speed! But the enemy ships behind them also began to anchor, and they were going to kill them all!

But I know that the possibility of rushing out is too slim! The enemy is several times more than us, and the firepower is too strong! And then the storm......

I clung to the hatch and gritted my teeth! No! I can't just give up! I shouted, "Halleha!"

The big man immediately rushed to me in the rain, and I shouted, "Throw everything down!" Don't let them chase us easily! ”

Haleha was about to make a move when Mavi suddenly shouted, "Captain! Ships No. 1 and No. 4 have countercharged the enemy! ”

Furious, I ran to the side of the boat on the right, and sure enough, the two boats had already launched a decisive charge against the enemy on their own without permission!

"Boom boom"! There was a loud noise in the enemy formation! When I heard the sound, I closed my eyes in pain!

Defeated! Completely defeated!