Chapter 134: Pursuit at Sea

The next morning, An Dalang and Boris arrived at the dock with five squads, a total of sixty guards, and boarded the ships in turn, ready to set off.

Zhao Zizhong sent them to the dock and kept instructing. An Dalang's head was big, accompanied by a smiling face, and he couldn't stop nodding in agreement.

Boris laughed secretly in his heart, whoever makes you okay will brag, which makes the boss very uneasy, now you should be honest.

Zhao Zi finished training An Dalang and said a lot of things to Boris. The main thing is to put safety first, and not to take risks casually.

Boris pretended to be humble and kept agreeing. At this time, Guo Jintao came over to ask for instructions on whether to start the boat. Only then did Zhao Zizhong let Boris go and let them go.

The two hurriedly climbed onto the boat and ordered the sails to be hoisted and set sail. Guo Jintao came over with a smile and said, "Da Lang, Boris, how can you thank me?" I've saved you. ”

An Dalang laughed, patted Guo Jintao's shoulder and said, "Old Guo, thank you very much, I'll invite you to drink when I go back, let's not get drunk and don't return!" ”

Guo Jintao said: "That's a good feeling, we really haven't drunk alone, I'll invite you." I was in Mingzhou when you got married, and I didn't send you a congratulatory gift. ”

Boris said: "Don't grind, just a drink, what to fight for!" I'll please. Let's take a closer look at where to find pirates. ”

Guo Jintao smiled slightly, "What are you studying, Lao Tzu has been working in Mingzhou for more than 20 years, and he can smell the stench of pirates with his eyes closed, don't you know these things?" ”

An Dalang was surprised, "Lao Guo, do you really know where the pirates are?" Tell us about it. ”

Guo Jintao nodded. "As far as I know, there are no big pirates in this area, only a few uninhabited creatures, probably hiding on some uninhabited islands in the northeast. Their strength is weak, and they have been cleared by the Mingzhou Navy Master several times before, and they are just some fish that have slipped through the net. ”

Boris said: "Isn't that just right, it's suitable for us to practice." ”

A few people laughed, and An Dalang said: "Lao Guo, you are an expert on the sea." It's up to you, you command the fleet, go in search of pirates. If found, our escort team will be responsible for picking them up. ”

Guo Jintao agreed, and commanded the fleet to turn and head northeast.

An Dalang found Ding Shuisheng and asked him to pass down the order to let the guards train the operation of the bed crossbow, and not let the guards be idle.

The guards lifted the tarpaulin covering the bed crossbow, and under the command of Ding Shuisheng, began to wind and fire repeatedly. Thick sticks and bamboo poles fly into the sea, plunge headlong into the sea, and then float on the surface of the sea.

An Dalang held a telescope and observed the training of the three warships. Boris watched curiously as the sailors were busy, constantly changing the angle of the sails to keep the ship moving at high speed.

After more than an hour of training like this, the guards were exhausted and moved much slower. An Dalang ordered everyone to rest, and the guards all sat on the deck, gasping for air.

After resting for more than twenty minutes, An Dalang ordered to continue training. The guards struggled to get up and began to wind the bed crossbows.

Boris felt a little bored, he found Guo Jintao, pulled him and asked, "Old Guo, why haven't you found the pirate yet?" ”

Guo Jintao said with a smile: "Don't worry, this vast sea is not so easy to find the target, we have to be patient." ”

The training lasted until noon, and after eating, everyone sat on the deck to rest. An Dalang began to brag about his past achievements, and the bluffing guards were stunned, and many people admired An Dalang.

Boris laughed beside him, he took the telescope and looked boredly at the sea, the sea was empty, only a few seabirds flew with the fleet, and from time to time they dived to the surface and picked up a fish.

Suddenly, he saw two black dots appear in the distance in the north, he continued to observe, the black dots were getting bigger and bigger, they should be two boats, he adjusted the focus of the telescope, and saw the two boats heading south one after the other.

The ship in front was large, a merchant ship, with a deep draft on the side and five masts on the deck, on which five hard sails were hung. The boat in the back is much smaller, with only three hard sails, the hull is a little old, and there are many patches on the sails, which looks tattered.

The ships behind were faster, as if they were chasing the merchant ships in front. He ran to Guo Jintao, handed him the binoculars, pointed to the north and said, "Old Guo, look at it, something seems to be wrong." ”

Guo Jintao had used a telescope before and knew that this was Zhao Zizhong's artifact. He took it cautiously and took the binoculars to observe.

After a while, he put down his binoculars and said happily: "Mr. Bao, we are lucky, it is likely that we have encountered a pirate ship." ”

Boris was delighted, "Then we'll catch up and pack up the pirates!" ”

Guo Jintao immediately issued an order, asked the sailors to raise the flag, and ordered the three warships to speed up and outflank the two ships.

The sailor walked to the stern of the ship and waved the flag to the two ships behind. Boris ran to An Dalang's side and said loudly: "Da Lang, don't talk in vain, I saw the pirate ship, let everyone prepare for battle immediately!" ”

An Dalang was stunned, and then said excitedly: "Where is it?" ”

"Look north."

An Dalang ran to the side of the ship and looked north. By this time, the two ships were already visible, about the size of a matchbox.

Without waiting for an order, the guards stood up, ran to their positions, and began to wind the bed crossbow. Ding Shuisheng ordered a few guards: "Go to the cabin and bring up the real crossbow arrows, we are going to fight!" ”

Several of the guards immediately ran to the cabin, and in a short time they brought up three bundles of crossbow arrows, all of which were mounted with iron arrows, sharpened and glittering in the sunlight.

The guards untied the ropes and distributed the arrows to each bed crossbow. Everyone mounted the giant arrow on the bed crossbow, adjusted the launch angle of the bed crossbow, and began to aim.

An Dalang looked at it for a while, and asked suspiciously: "Old Bao, are you sure you are a pirate?" ”

"Lao Guo took a telescope to observe, and he said it should be a pirate."

At this time, the three sea ships changed their formation and sailed north in a zigzag shape, gradually approaching the two sea ships.

The merchant ships in front seemed to have spotted the fleet, adjusted their course, and headed towards the fleet. The boat behind began to slow down, then slowly turned, presumably to escape.

Guo Jintao kept giving orders, and the sailors worked hard to adjust the angle of the sails, and the warship gradually accelerated, quickly pursuing the suspected pirate ship.

After a while, the warship approached the merchant ship, and the people on the deck of the merchant ship cheered and waved to everyone.

Guo Jintao commanded the warship to approach the merchant ship on the opposite side, and the warship slowed down, and the two ships approached, almost thirty meters apart. Guo Jintao shouted loudly: "We are the ship of the Inspection Division, who are you?" ”

He shouted several times, and a person stood up on the opposite side and shouted: "We are maritime merchants, we have come back from trading in Japan, and the ships behind us are chasing us, probably pirates." ”

Guo Jintao shouted again: "You stop here, let's go after the pirates." ”

The man on the merchant ship opposite agreed to come down and began to set sail. Guo Jintao ordered the warship to speed up and chase the pirate ship. The sailors were desperately busy, and the ship began to speed up.

The two warships behind also caught up, and the three warships went side by side, pursuing the pirate ship in the distance.

The corsair had completed its turn and began to flee in a northeasterly direction. The speed of the three warships was very fast, and the distance between them and the pirate ship was shrinking.

Little by little, time passed. After more than an hour, the ship was less than seven hundred meters away from the pirate ship. Guo Jintao stood at the bow of the ship, holding a telescope, and kept observing the pirate ship in front of him.

He ordered the sailors to wave the flag, and asked the warships on the left and right sides to outflank the pirate ship, and the sailors received the order and began to raise the flag.

The two warships next to it began to turn and outflank the past. Guo Jintao ordered the warship to continue to speed up and chase the pirate ship.

An Dalang leaned over and asked, "Lao Guo, are you a pirate?" ”

"It's definitely a pirate, see for yourself." Guo Jintao handed the telescope to An Dalang.

An Dalang took it and looked at it, and shouted: "It's really fucking pirates, they are all holding weapons, as if they are going to fight hard." These guys are too unruly to wear tattered clothes, similar to Hanako. ”

The warship continued to accelerate, and soon came to the right rear of the pirate ship four or five hundred meters.

Boris walked over and said excitedly: "Da Lang, should we shoot with a bed crossbow?" Let the guards practice their heads? ”

An Dalang said loudly: "Okay, just do it." Everyone, listen to my orders, the bed crossbow in the bow and the bed crossbow on the port side shoot! ”

One bed crossbow at the bow and two on the port side, under the manipulation of the guards, began to adjust the angle and aimed at the pirate ship.

Ding Shuisheng saw that he was ready, and shouted loudly: "Shoot!" ”

The three guards took their sledgehammers and slammed them into the crossbow. Huge arrows shot out and flew towards the pirate ship.

Three giant arrows arced and flew in the direction of the pirate ship. But they didn't hit and fell into the sea. The nearest crossbow bolt was also more than ten meters away from the pirate ship.

Annoyed, the guards continued to begin winding the bed crossbow, ready to fire again.

Boris shook his head, "It's still not good to be on the spot, I still have to continue training." ”

Guo Jintao said with a smile: "The sea is stormy, and the warship is still shaking, so it is not so easy to hit. ”

At this time, the warships on the left and right sides were already outflanked and drove roughly parallel to the pirate ship, and then began to fire crossbow arrows at the pirate ship. But none of them hit.

While observing with a telescope, An Dalang shouted: "The pirates are scared, they are scurrying around on the ship, everyone hurry up and launch!" ”

The guards continued to fire, and the bolts flew towards the pirate ship, but still missed. But this time it landed much closer to the pirate ship, and one of its crossbow bolts almost hit the rudder.

An Dalang shouted loudly: "Who shot it?" Not bad! Keep shooting, you're about to shoot! ”