The northeast wind blew from starboard, and the Changshui sailed in a crosswind. Chen Shouxu did not choose to sail along the island chain of the Lesser Antilles and the Leeward Islands as he did when he came. He used Jamaica directly as the first turning point of his voyage.

The Long Water's ropeline, while more complex than the existing Galen, is not a game-changer. Most of the rigging applications were reassemblies and modifications of existing vessels, and sailors quickly adapted to the basic sail handling. The main task remaining is to master the various sail combinations to cope with different sea conditions, wind speeds and directions, and then quickly complete the tactical maneuvering of the vessel.

In terms of weapons, excluding the small bulwark swing guns, the Changshui has 15 guns on a single side and a single projection of 192 pounds, which is really a formidable battleship. But for him to exert his full combat effectiveness, a crew of more than 200 people is needed. What Chen Shouxu lacks now is people, and there are only more than 130 people on the Changshui now, and the shortage is very serious.

After setting sail, Chen Shouxu divided the crew into two shifts and took turns to perform duties on board, including himself, 24 hours a day. You can only sleep for a maximum of 4 hours at a time, and you will work shifts when the time comes.

Each duty time is divided into two sections, and the crew practice ship maneuvering and gunnery respectively, and the training is very intense.

The Changshui is not much different from other sailing ships, Chen Shouxu now attaches the most importance to gunnery, he bought a lot of ammunition in Curacao, and took advantage of the sailing time to train, but after a few days, the effect is still very poor, which makes him very dissatisfied.

The sound of the cannonballs was messy, and the trajectory of the shells was messy. Chen Shouxu called Gardner and Elliot up to the stern. These two were the two veteran gunners he had brought from the Banshee to the Tempest.

Chen Shouxu couldn't help but be angry, "We got such a powerful warship as the Changshui, but now the thing that restricts the combat power is the artillery technique, how did you two train?" We can't even give full play to one-tenth of the combat effectiveness of the Changshui. ”

Gardner was also aggrieved, "Captain. At the time of the Tempest, we started with only 4 guns, and eventually increased to 8 guns. Elliot and I were in charge of each side, and we had time to bring a few new men with us to learn slowly during the battle. Now there are 32 more cannons on the Changshui at once, and it's still the two of us, so we can't teach it at all. ”

Elliot also said on the side, "Captain, we don't have enough manpower for a 32-gun battleship. Most of the people were busy navigating the boat. Even the artillery crew could not be fixed, and this training was too difficult. ”

Before getting the Changshui, the Storm and the Revenge were replenished several times, and the total was only more than 150 people. Now the 3 ships add up to these 200 people, and thanks to the previous two storms, many merchant ships were stranded in Curacao, and Chen Shouxu was able to recruit these people by all means. But now the three ships in the fleet are still in a state of serious shortage.

Chen Shouxu knew that there were many difficulties objectively, but time was not waiting for anyone, he was really anxious, "Now there is a shortage of manpower in various positions, and we can only solve it slowly." But the two of you must come up with a way to increase the instant combat power of the Changshui. ”

Gardner and Elliot glanced at each other, gritted his teeth and said, "Captain, if you really want to improve your combat power in a short time, you can only follow the method on the warship." ”

Chen Shouxu was a little surprised, these two senior gunners took the same share as the captain in the distribution of spoils, which showed their status among pirates. Now even they have proposed to refer to the method of warships, and it seems that with the increase in manpower, these old pirates are not so particular about some things after their status has improved.

"What is the approach of a warship?" Chen Shouxu asked.

Elliot was calmer, and he said, "Captain, according to the method of the warship, the changes are not small, I think you should call the commanders of the ships to discuss."

"That makes sense," Chen Shouxu stroked his chin and ordered Lei Jia, "hang the signal flag, stop sailing in the wind, and summon the officers of all ships to the flagship." ”

When the sailboat is unable to anchor in the open sea, it is necessary to turn the bow of the ship to the wind, but not to the wind, in order to complete the maneuver of the grounding. A positive windward ride can blow the boat backwards, and reversing at high speed can damage the rudder. Therefore, it is necessary to sail the bow into the no-sail area of the wind direction, that is, near the 6 compass points on the left and right of the wind direction, and turn the sail truss by adjusting the sails on the three masts, so that the sail truss of the foremast and the sail truss of the mainmast form an inverted figure-eight, and cooperate with the rudder, so that the wind force of each sail cancels each other out and achieves the effect of stopping the ship. This is one of the most important maneuvers of a cross-sail battleship in battle.

Although it is possible to achieve the effect of stopping the ship by putting all the sails away, then the boat loses power and it is very dangerous to go with the current. Moreover, if the crossbeams at the height of each mast are not lowered, the sailors need to climb onto the trusses, step on the footline and endure the sea breeze to collect the sails, which is relatively long and prone to accidents for the 40-meter-high mast of the Changshui. Therefore, this method of stopping sailing against the wind is usually adopted, and as long as the boom is turned again, the ship can quickly recover its sailing power.

The crew scrambled to adjust the sails using the swivels of each truss, and the bottom truss sails on both sides of the foremast mainmast had to be tied to the windward sail footyards. Chen Shouxu looked at their unfamiliar movements and sighed, the sailing of the cross-sail battleship was too complicated. Including himself, the crew is still unfamiliar with the performance of the ship, so they can only train slowly and develop their senses.

The Changshui finally completed the maneuver to stop sailing against the wind, the Tempest and the Revenge leaned over to take overboard, and the two schooners were simple to handle. The officers soon boarded the Changshui, and the sailors who had just finished sailing were lying down or sitting on the deck.

In the officer's cabin in the stern, on the table built with the rudder shaft cover, Chen Shouxu convened a meeting of officers. The captains sat around the round table, and the others sat behind the captains. Unlike ordinary fleets, this officer meeting was not only the captain, but also Chen Shouxu summoned other military commanders.

Chen Shouxu said, "The Changshui is the main force of our fleet at present, but you have all seen it just now, a simple windward maneuver will take a long time. ”

"Obviously, the Changshui is still some way from being able to form a fighting force," Sterling said. "Stirling is not a captain, he is now the first officer of the Long Water, and the second commander of the fleet at the moment.

Chen Shouxu nodded, "That's right, but everyone knows that the purpose of our trip is to fight the Spaniards, and we don't have much time left, so let's come up with ideas." ”

Roberts didn't speak, he was now the captain of the Tempest. Due to the lack of manpower, Chen Shouxu gathered the crew of the Storm and the Revenge, combined with the newly recruited sailors and the liberated Spanish slaves, and reorganized the crew. He was also transferred to captain of the Tempest.

Roberts's original Revenge was handed over to Collingwood, a new Englishman in Curacao who had previously served as the first mate of a Dutch merchant ship.

Collingwood said, "It's actually okay to sail, and when we sail from Curacao to the Bahamas, we're getting the sailors familiar with the boat's performance." I don't think there are many veteran sailors in our fleet, and this problem should be solved as long as we can recruit some more people to replenish the manpower. ”

The Captain Collingwood was paid by Chen Shouxu to the West India Company, and after joining the pirates, he showed his abundant energy and excellent seafaring ability in just over a month, and was appointed captain of the Revenge, the smallest in the fleet.

"There are no shortcuts to sailing, you can only train slowly." Chen Shouxu also agreed, he looked at Sterling and said, "What I'm most worried about now is artillery. ”

Sterling chuckled, "With the exception of the Blue Banshee, all the pirate ships I've seen have poor shooting discipline. Occasionally, there will be some good gunners, who can achieve good results with a single shot, but the shooting of the whole ship can hardly be called excellent. ”

"We have to solve this problem." Chen Shouxu said, "At least we must walk on the right path, this shooting method is too chaotic now." ”

"If the gunnery of Chiron's fleet can be at the level of the average Spanish Navy, with our current situation, there is no chance of winning." Collingwood had only been in the fleet for a long time, and he had never seen gold and silver treasures, so he was going to fight the Spaniards, and he was not very happy. In fact, there are many people who think the same way as him.

Chen Shouxu glanced at Collingwood, and his tone was unquestionable, "This battle must be fought, and we must win." If they lose to Chiron, then the Pirates of the Caribbean will have to flee far away from the Spaniards. Not only will everyone have no profit at that time, but they will also worry about their lives at any time. So we have to concentrate on defeating the Spaniards while they still have the strength to do so. ”

In fact, Chen Shouxu's words are more far-fetched. Collingwood chuckled and said no more, all of which were big things to say to the sailors.

The officers stopped talking, and Chen Shouxu lit his pipe. In the interior space of the entire ship, only the aft cabin of the stern building is allowed to smoke. Sailors had to smoke cigarettes only on deck when they weren't on duty, and chewed tobacco when they couldn't help it in the cabin.

"I was advised to adopt the method of gunnery training on warships." Smoke rose, and Chen Shouxu's face was a little blurry.

Roberts was surprised and said, "The training method on a warship is a whole set of rewards and punishments. Those who do not do well will be whipped in serious cases. Will the sailors accept it? ”

"I'll worry about the issue of pushing in the fleet. You just have to see if it's feasible and how you can do it if it does. Chen Shouxu replied, he just needs to do the work of suppressing the thorns.

Everyone looked to Stirling, who was the gunnery commander of the fleet. Sterling thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll introduce you first." According to the naval firing discipline now prevailing in Europe, each gun crew has six members, and each gun deck has one chief and one deputy fire control officer. In medium and long-range engagements, the artillery crew is responsible for loading, and the fire controller calibrates the firing parameters of all guns, and directs the gun crew to lift and move the muzzle. Each cannon was fired by a fire control officer. The fire controller walked from the stern to the bow of the ship, firing each gun one by one. The advantage of this is that the commanders of the various artillery groups do not need to master the depth of observation skills. However, it is necessary to maintain the artillery assembly and reloading time of the whole ship above the level in order to organize a better salvo. ”

Chen Shouxu nodded, strictly speaking, the sail battleship at this time did not exist at the same time as shown in the artwork, and the salvo shelling of the battleship was actually the second fire.

Stirling continued, "The crews of each gun can fire their own guns only when the fire controller gives the order to fire freely. Usually this is used in close combat, when the enemy ship is close at hand, and each gun group can fire in combination with the rhythm of the battleship's roll. ”

For the average pirate, their shelling has always been "free fire", the level is uneven, and the hits are completely left to chance.

Collingwood said, "In a general engagement, a mid-range salvo is often followed by a close-range engagement, and the first rule is to project as many projectiles as possible at the enemy ship in a limited window of time." This involves two aspects, the first is the reloading speed of the gun crew in the burst state; The second is the feeling of the gun commander after each gun enters the state of free fire. ”

"We have no shortage of fire controllers, Gardner and Elliot are good candidates." Chen Shouxu habitually tapped the table, "Then what we have to do is two things, train the loading speed of the artillery crew and the feel of shooting at close range." ”

"Yes."

"Raheem Sterling, then please go down and compile a training program with Elliot and Gardner. Each ship shall be implemented with reference. The excellent gunners in the training can choose their own rewards of silver coins or wine, and the penultimate gunners will go to wash the deck with a Bible grindstone. ”

A biblical grinding stone is a stone about the size of the Bible that is used to scrub the deck. Washing the deck on a ship is a very hard job, and in the past, the deck of the pirate ship was small, and the problem was not obvious. Now to maintain a battleship as large as the Changshui, it is very important to keep the battleship clean, and there is no way to do it.

Sterling hesitated slightly, "There is still a lot of shortage of artillery crew......

Chen Shouxu extinguished his pipe, "Let's find a way to solve the personnel problem." At present, every artillery group must learn the basic command work when training the chief and deputy gun commanders. ”

The training program is not difficult to compile, and the European navies have ready-made regulations. The ships are familiar with these former English navies, and Chen Shouxuan's requirements are not high, and the first thing to solve is only the basic problem. After the meeting ended, it took Sterling a day to come up with an outline.

Chen Shouxu divided the six sailors into a group, each group had a team leader and gun commander, and each group was responsible for two guns, one on each side. On a ship, this is called a tablemate, which means eating at a table.

Imitating the management of an army, each sailor on board was assigned his own position. It may be that he has other posts in non-war times, but when Chen Shouxu orders the combat position, he has to run to the side of the gun position as soon as possible.

According to the general situation, in order to prevent the loss of artillery crew personnel and the decline of combat effectiveness, each artillery crew must also have spare personnel, but Chen Shouxuan is really unable to make up people now. With this configuration, and deducting the necessary sailors, the Changshui will not even have the manpower to carry shells from the ammunition depot.

According to Chen Shou's orderly deployment, the combat personnel were trained first, and the other personnel were gradually replenished.