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The mast repair of the Beagle was finally completed before the sun set. Lu Ming did not break his promise, generously paid a large repair fee to those shipwrights, and then after replenishing some ammunition and artillery, the new-looking three-masted galleon "Beagle" left Tortuga Island and sailed overnight to Cap-de-France.

On 29 March, Lu Ming appointed Chen Tumu, the gunner of the East Coast Falcon, his old partner at the Fort, as the captain of the Beagle, and added him with a number of trainee sailors and alternate officers to pilot the ship. At the same time, more than 20 British pirates who had been locked in the bilge of the "Beagle" were also transferred to several houses in Cap-de-France, and Lu Ming left ten soldiers of the security team to guard them.

When everything was done, the three ships left Cap-de-France in turn, turned northwest, and headed for the coast of Florida.

Founded in 1565, St. Augustine was the first Spanish colony on the North American continent and was also the center and capital of the Spanish region of East Florida. In 1586, St. Augustine was attacked and burned by the famous pirate Drake, and the Spaniards built a fortified castle near the site and installed many cannons to defend against threats from the sea.

To this day, it is still a restricted city, with the exception of San Marcos, which is located in the Gulf of Appalachi, and Pensacola, West Florida, where ships from Havana and Veracruz are allowed to call at the port.

St. Augustine and Pensacola were the centers of Spanish rule in many colonies in the Florida region, including St. Augustine, which is the capital of Florida. The two cities are connected by sea and are connected by sea several times a week, making it a busy shipping route in this area. And with such a busy route, there is no reason not to be targeted.

"A Spanish sloop was found in the southwest, with a speed of 3 knots. Again...... lookout of the "East Coast Falcon" reported loudly. After hearing his shout, the sailors on the deck, who had been lazy just now, suddenly jumped up as if they had wound up, and the sails were hoisted, the ammunition was loaded, and the booms were turned, and soon, not only the "East Coast Eagle", but all three warships of the entire formation were ready for battle.

The Spanish sloop also noticed that something was wrong, but the heavy cargo load clearly limited their speed of escape, and the three warships easily chased after it, surrounding the Spanish sloop. There was no resistance, no bloodshed, the Spaniards had only 4 light guns and 12 sailors, so they determined the situation and calmly raised the white flag at the first time, and the army of the Republic of the East Bank immediately took over the Spanish dhow.

The hold was loaded with a large amount of cotton, which seemed to be intended for shipment to St. Augustine for initial processing and then back to the Spanish mainland for sale, as the Spaniards have always practiced. The cotton was quickly transferred to the hold of the "Beagle" for stacking, and the Spanish sloop, which was unable to withstand wind and waves and could not sail far, was regrettably ordered to sink by Lu Ming.

The Spanish sailors on board were relegated to a dinghy stocked with plenty of food and water, and left to fend for themselves. Originally, Wang Tiehammer suggested that all the captured Spanish sailors be executed, and his proposal was also agreed to by those European and indigenous sailors, but years of education made it impossible for Lu Ming to give such a cold order, and finally he decided to release these prisoners. Before letting them go, the Spanish sailors were told that "the merciful Captain Coster spared their lives". This is Lu Ming and the others agreed on a plan, I will earn the money, this black pot should be carried by the famous Captain Coaster.

Beginning on 5 April, privateer formations of the Republic of the Eastern Coast intercepted several Spanish transport ships in the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola and San Agustín. These small Spanish coastal transport ships of several tens of tons were laden with furs and cotton and transported them from Pensacola to St. Augustine, and the privateer formation of the Republic of China on the east coast of China was prosperous for a time.

On April 10, after intercepting six Spanish transport ships in succession, obtaining several thousand skins and dozens of tons of cotton, the privateer group quietly left this increasingly dangerous sea area, turned southeast, and prepared to bypass Florida Bay at the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula and then turn north to the ocean near St. Augustine. If Captain Coster hadn't lied then, his pirate fleet would have arrived off the coast of St. Augustine by now.

On 16 April, the privateer group reached the bay of Matanzas, about a few kilometres east of St. Augustine. Lu Ming stood on the gun deck of the stern of the "East Coast Eagle" and raised his binoculars to look ahead, only to see that there was a mess near the mouth of the Matanzas River at this time: a galleon sank on the side of the channel in the opposite bay, and at this time only one mast was still exposed on the sea, and a three-masted ship outside the estuary seemed to have run aground on the beach of Anastasia Island because it had hit the reef. A group of people on the beach were busy, seemingly trying to figure out how to repair the broken hull.

"The Spaniards' batteries have fallen." Wang Tiezhu also held up the binoculars and said, "Well, I counted, there are about 12 gun positions in total. Twelve heavy coastal guns, although the density is not comparable to that of Orient Harbor, but it is also the best protection measure in Florida and even in the neighboring 'Gualai' (1) area. No wonder these pirates are going to lose two ships here, hey, the battery is empty, what the hell is going on with these pirates? Why didn't you control the turret? Isn't anyone willing to stay and watch the wind and guard the door, and rush all inside to be happy? No, you can still hear the sound of cannons coming from inside, and you should still be fighting. ”

"I think it's probably because the Spaniards destroyed the guns before the fall of the battery, making them no longer available to pirates. Moreover, St. Augustine had already suffered a loss, and her defenses must be more than that. There should be some castles and turrets in there, and I don't think it's realistic for these pirates to take them down so easily. Lu Ming said, "Now, the key question is what attitude we have to face the two warring sides." That is, what is our position? ”

"Position? Isn't our position to rob the Spaniards......" Wang Tiehammer chewed on Lu Ming's words, and after a while, he said in surprise: "Do you want to rob these pirates?" What kind of robbery do pirates have, even if they have some ill-gotten gains, the amount is far worse than the city in front of them that the Spaniards have been running for decades. As long as you break St. Augustine, I think the income will not be less than 500,000 pesos, which is the real big head. ”

"Then this money is also the money of the pirates, what does it have to do with us? Do you think the pirates will allow us to make a fortune with them after breaking St. Augustine? Lu Ming asked rhetorically, "I think they will try to eliminate us as soon as possible, and then they will sit down and share the spoils with peace of mind." They don't really trust people like us who don't come from an unknown background. Okay, let's take a look at the situation first, and see if Captain Coster is good or General Florida in Spain is good. ”

The three battleships of the privateer group cautiously bypassed the wrecks on the north side of the channel and sailed into the wide Matanzas River. On the sparkling river, at this time, a large area of gunpowder smoke was filled, and five three-masted galleons lined up in front of the Spanish castle at once, and all dropped their tail anchors. Thirty or forty large and small bronze, brass, and iron cannons kept spraying blazing shells against the walls of the Spanish fortress.

More than half of the neighborhood of St. Augustine had been overrun by pirates, and the Spanish residents of the neighborhood had retreated to the castle. Under the cover of the houses in the neighborhood, these pirates braved the fire and bullets of the Spaniards, pulled their cannons closer and stubbornly fired at the Spaniards. The two sides came and went, and the scene was extremely intense for a while.

Under the cover of the dense gunpowder smoke that filled the river, the three warships of the privateer formation of the Republic of the East Bank that had quietly sailed into the river could no longer cover their bodies at this time. The Spaniards and pirates spotted them at about the same time, but as the battle was raging and neither side could pull away, they had to let it go.

Of course, Captain Coaster did not let his guard down, and his seat ship "Lucky" and another nearby pirate ship, the "Black Bread", pulled up the tail anchor at the same time, and the guns on the port side also began to charge. While doing this, he first sent his lieutenant in a transport boat with a white flag, intent on negotiating something.

Lu Ming carefully observed the battlefield in front of him at this time, the Spaniards abandoned the entire outer block, and all retreated to the fortified castle, relying on the thick city wall and seven or eight artillery pieces to resist stubbornly. After the pirates had successfully plundered two-thirds of the neighborhood of St. Augustine, they were still not satisfied, and tried in vain to take the fortified castle of the Spaniards.

On the streets of St. Augustine, more than 600 pirates organized several offensives, but they were all repulsed. The Spaniards in the castle resisted stubbornly, knowing exactly what fate awaited them after the destruction of the city, and the corpses of their compatriots lying on the streets reminded them all the time.

"The pirates don't have a good time, and this castle can't be taken." Lu Ming made a judgment at the first time.

Wang Tiehammer nodded. "Even the old people and children in the castle have gone into battle, plus some of the defenders in the first place, it is a bit whimsical for the pirates to take the castle with these few hundred people. It's better to accept it when you see it, and leave quickly with the money you have already grabbed. So, our choice is already obvious? ”

"Raise the signal flag and fire on the nearest pirate ship!" Lu Ming decisively gave the order.

(1) Gualai region: The Spanish name for the area of Georgia and North and South Carolina in the United States today is named after the mission area of the Franciscan Order.

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