The Southeast Pacific Ocean, which the Spaniards called the South China Sea.

On the edge of the Atacama Desert, Arica City, the driest city in the world.

The breeze is gentle and the blue water washes the sand. The yellowish desert surrounding the city contrasts sharply with the color of the water. A handful of plants add a touch of green to this yellow and blue painting.

Battleships covered the piers and docks of the harbor.

The wind whipped up the yellow sand, and some broken pieces of cloth swirled and were blown into the sky. Blood poured on the barren sand, staining it a dark red.

It's a city that hardly rains, and the only reason the port exists is because it's the port of export for the Potosi silver mines. Every year, millions of pounds worth of silver flow from here to the world.

Three days after the pirates landed, the Spanish defenders in the city were determined to surrender. This small port has as many as 800 defenders.

The Hill of Arica is the commanding height of the entire city, and the hill itself is not high, but it is large enough to overlook the Spanish defenders. The fortress had 13 bronze cannons, and the Spaniards were impermeable.

Chen Shouxu's military flag fluttered on the highest point of the hill, and under the military flag were the senior officers of the fleet.

A gust of wind and sand hit the face, and the captains all persuaded Chen Shouxuan to abandon the port.

Marmont said, "Captain Order, this year's Lima silver fleet is gone, and the Arica Castle is not of much value, so why should we stay and fight with the Spaniards." ”

Chen Shouxu looked at his captains, his eyes were extremely determined, "Gentlemen, we are going to tell all the Spaniards in the Americas with the example of Arica Castle. As long as we want to capture the castle, even without silver, there will be no examples of being spared. Dispel the Spaniards' luck mentality. ”

Some of the other captains tried to persuade them again, but in the end they stopped talking.

Chen Shouxu glanced at these captains, and his tone was a little cold, "Gentlemen, since we want to do something big, some of the previous habits must be abandoned. Arica City, I'm determined to win. ”

A series of victories made Chen Shouxu's prestige in the fleet at this time extremely high, and the captains no longer spoke out against it.

Halren and Westheim stood next to the captains, their bodies straight.

"Mr. Holrayne, I hand over to you all the Marines and the sailors who have come ashore. You can regroup it. The 24-pounder cannon on the Long Water will also be unloaded for you, and I will only want you to take Arica City in 3 days. ”

The German nodded, and said only one word, "I demand full command of ground operations." ”

"No problem, starting with me, you can give orders now." In order to establish the prestige of this German team, Chen Shouxu made a sufficient gesture.

Halren and Westheim, of course, would not have really given orders to these captains. The cooperation between the two old comrades-in-arms was very tacit, Westheim went to direct the setting of artillery positions first, and he had to arrange a detailed fire preparation plan. Holren went to regroup the sailors to fit the regular siege.

Before Holren left, Chen Shouxu said to him, "Tell the Indians and Mulatos who have joined the fleet that the fleet has prepared 50 votes for Arica City, and if you take it, the fleet will have 50 more councillors." ”

Holren's spirits lifted, and although he was a little reluctant at first, now that he has joined the pirate fleet, he and Westheim actually have the idea of making a career. Rong Ma spent his life and ended up writing his memoirs on a small island in the Caribbean, which is not a very attractive prospect. No apologies or threats are as important as Chen Shouxu's ability to provide them with a stage to show their talents. Then, as new members, Holren and Westheim must also earn their own votes in the fleet. Chen Shouxu wasn't just inspiring the Indians. The same was true of the German non-commissioned officers of the Marine Corps and the Spanish rebels who joined in southern Chile.

Although the defense of Arica City is very resolute, there is still a congenital deficiency in the fortress. The Pacific coast of the American continent was never faced with a real maritime threat, and the fortresses were neither bastions nor sufficient heavy artillery. Although the defenders were outnumbered, since they could not afford to go out of the city to fight a battle with the pirates, their prospects were predestined.

The boat gun mount was not suitable for movement on land, but fortunately the distance was not long, and the road surface of the port of Arica was hard enough. Westheim spent two days setting up three heavy artillery positions with more than 40 heavy guns of the fleet, and six 24-pounder guns and eight 18-pounder guns were the main force of the siege. The 12-pounder guns also posed a threat to the castle, and the remaining light guns were mainly used to guard artillery positions.

The shelling lasted for most of the day, the heavy artillery shattered the bricks of the fortress, and the shells flew into the small castle, causing casualties in almost every shot, and no one could stand on the walls. The Spaniards had no choice but to hide deep inside the fortress.

The walls were constantly loosened under shelling, and Westheim's carefully prepared fire plan was so efficient that by noon a tower had collapsed. The guns of the Spaniards counterattacked with all the muzzle fire, when a section of the wall was blown down.

Walter was draped all over his body and stepped onto his warhorse. After Holren returned to the mountain, Walter voluntarily relinquished his position as Marine Corps commander. In his words, all the infantry stuff he knew had been used up, so it was better to get back to his old ways.

The pirates captured more than 50 horses in the city, and there were many people in the fleet who could ride horses, so Walter selected some cavalry teams in the city. Although there will definitely not be a war horse all the time, Chen Shouxu still gave the preparation.

The sun shone brightly on the cuirass of the cavalry, and the remaining Spaniards opened the gates and began to break through.

Walter drew his straight sword and galloped past the cavalry. The straight sword was raised diagonally, "Behind me, up!" ”

The cavalry formed two horizontal rows, and with the same movements as their commanders, with their straight swords raised diagonally, pursued the Spanish rout. The pace wasn't fast, and the formation was well maintained.

The horse's hooves raised the yellow sand in the sky. Although there are only a few dozen people, the momentum is not weak at all.

Holrenne quickly threw in the marines and pursued the Spaniards in columns.

Chen Shouxu on Arica's Hill put away his binoculars and said to his captains with a smile on his face, "It's over, gentlemen. Next, we went into town. ”

Pursued by a combination of pirate cavalry and infantry, the Spanish army quickly broke up and became lambs to the slaughter in the desert.

The headquarters of the fortress of Arica, "Arica, Arica Forever", a wooden plank carved with the city's motto fell to the ground. Chen Shouxu held the hilt of his saber and stared at the plank for a long time. He smiled and trampled over the wooden plaque, leaving a trail of bloody sand on the soles of his boots.

The commander of the city defense army, whose face was covered in blood, was dragged in front of Chen Shouxu.

Chen Shouxu said lightly, "Hang him." ”

Seeing that someone looked surprised, Chen Shouxu said, "There's nothing strange about this. If it were us who were defeated, the Spaniards would have dealt with it in the same way. ”

The Potosí silver mine is far inland in Bolivia, more than 300 miles from Arica. With a population of more than 100,000, Potosi is the largest city in South America. There were thousands of defenders in the city who were used to suppress the miners, but at the moment these defenders were beyond the reach of Arica City, and they could only watch the pirates rage.

The pirates set fire to the city. As a punishment for the vanquished, and as a warning to those who came after them, the captives were brought aboard the ship, and a long life as coolies awaited them.

Although Arica belonged to Chile in later generations, it was the territory that Chile seized after the Saltpeter War. At this time, it was under the direct jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

After Arica, Trujillo, Guayaquil, and the seaports of Peru's vice-crown fell to the pirates. The Pacific Ocean, the Spanish lake, was now a pirate's amusement park.

Chen Shouxu cruined the fleet between Lima and Panama, and the silver fleet set sail from Potosi would stay in Lima for a short time, and Chen Shouxu wanted to try to intercept the fleet on the route between Lima and Panama.

However, it is almost impossible for a sailing fleet to intercept a particular fleet at sea unless it can effectively block the harbor or the straits through which the merchant fleet must pass. The perception and maneuverability of a sail warship is simply too limited.

Chen Shouxu's fleet was no exception, they did not intercept a fleet full of silver. As if God had played a joke, the silver slipped under the pirates' noses at some point, and they only encountered the fleet that had unloaded the silver and returned to the sea.

Looking at the 11 Galen ships loaded with European dumps, Chen Shouxu felt that it was really a chicken rib. The Spanish fleet had more than 200 cannons, and it was loaded with goods that Chen Shouxu was not interested in. In another fleet battle, the battleship will indeed win against the merchant ship, but if the battleship is damaged, it seems that the gains outweigh the losses.

Chen Shouxu convened a meeting of commanders, and he actually wanted to retreat.

Most of the captains had no opinion, and Chen Shouxu's reasons were obvious. The Spanish fleet carefully followed the coast, the formation was tight, and the pirates were not familiar with the routes. The question is only to convince the sailors. Now there are some people in the fleet who have a lot of money in their names, but there are still some new recruits who don't make much money, and they are always eager to rob the Spanish fleet.

"Commander, please wait for me for a day, I'm going to lead the Excellence to attack alone." Philip. Edward stood up.

Coutinho wondered, "How can one of you schooners engage in an artillery battle with a fleet?" "According to the latest information, Portugal has gained independence from Spain and João IV has been crowned king. The Portuguese captain was now at peace with himself as a pirate who plundered the Spaniards.

Several pirate captains laughed, and Captain Edward said, "I'm not going to fight an artillery battle with the Spaniards, the Spanish fleet is very rigid, and we have our way." ”

Capturing Galen with a schooner is a traditional program for Caribbean pirates, and Chen Shouxuan is actually not very familiar with pirate tactics, and he still likes the fleet to open the battle line and shell it on the side. He agreed, but admonished, "Don't be too reluctant, if you can't take it, withdraw it as soon as possible." ”

Edward blinked, "Commander, for the sake of the upcoming voyage, I would like to change to a large ship and make it more comfortable to ride." ”

The fleet is now well manned, Philip. Edward did not draw men from other ships.

When it got dark, the Excellence set sail wide and headed straight for the Spanish fleet. Under the cover of night, the Excellence slipped into the center of the Spanish fleet and quietly approached a merchant ship. The fleet was expanded several times, and Philip . Edward's Excellence is now the vessel with the highest percentage of old pirates from the Caribbean in the entire fleet. Although it has been a long time since I have returned to my old job of robbing ships, it is clear that the pirates are not unfamiliar with their craft. The pirates threw their grappling hooks, hooking onto Galen's bulwark.

Edward captured Galen with a swift boarding assault. The Spanish captain, who had drunk a lot of wine in the captain's room, called out to God, "Are you devils who have climbed up from hell?" ”

The pirates knocked the captain to the ground with the butt of their rifles and dragged him to the deck. In fact, at this time, Philip. Edward has achieved his goal. But he was still not satisfied, and he asked the captain, "Which ship in your fleet is the most valuable?" ”

The captain got up from the ground, not daring to slack off, and he pointed to a ship in the center of the fleet, "Lima." There were 32 cannons and 150 crew members. ”

Philip. Edward only thought for a short time about his first mate, Thomas Brown. Melo said, "You take 20 men away from the Excellence, remember to follow me." ”

"Where's you, Captain?"

Edward's tongue licked his lips, "Since it's dry, it's a big pen." I took 70 men to take the Lima. ”

Then he said to the captive captain, "Mr. Captain, do as I say, and cooperate with us." When the battle is over, I will return the ship to you. Otherwise, I don't know if your mother told you the story of Pirates of the Caribbean......"

The Spanish captain nodded like garlic.

The captive Galen, under the control of the pirates, quietly sailed out of the queue, accelerated past several ships, and approached the Lima. As it was a friendly ship, the Lima did not notice something strange until Edward got very close, and the whole ship was alarmed, and the sailors rushed to the gunwales and began to shoot.

The shelling of Peruvian sailors in these backyards of the Pacific Ocean was poor, and only a very small number of shells hit the target. Edward was also unconcerned about the damage to the captive ship, and after firing a salvo from his shotgun, the pirates quickly threw their grappling hooks to bring the two ships together. The pirates were agile and didn't have to build a gangplank, swing a zip line or jump over it. Wielding a scimitar and a grenade in his hands, he let out a terrifying cry. Due to their origins and nutritional problems, pirates are generally very hideous in appearance, and most of them are simply inhuman.

The Peruvian sailors, who had never encountered pirates, were terrified, and Edward's men quickly took over the deck, although they were outnumbered, but it didn't matter. The sailors on enemy ships had no fighting spirit.

Under the threat of grenades, the Lima quickly surrendered. Edward paid only five casualties, capturing a 600-ton galen and the ship's full cargo.

Determined to hold the ship under attack from Spanish convoys, Edward fulfilled his promise to destroy part of the sail line and free the previous trophies.

But the Spanish escort ships had no intention of fighting, and only symbolically oppressed them. Edward calmly sailed the Lima out of the Spanish ship.

After daybreak, Edward returned to the fleet with a nearly intact Galen. Chen Shouxu watched as the Spanish fleet on the opposite side sailed into a bay, and the muzzles of the guns rushed out to form a hedgehog formation. "Forget it, let's go to Panama. Hurry up, the Spaniards may not have time to transport all the silver. ”