In the distance, dozens of pirate ships outflanked like wolves.

Chen Gui stood on the deck, looking at the big ships in the distance, his eyes were full of irrepressible greed.

The ship he was on was the largest of all the pirate ships, and after Chen Gui ordered his men to kill all the top of the three-masted sailing ship, from the owner to the men, he transformed the ship into his own ship, and the whole ship was painted a miserable white with paint, if he saw this ship sailing out of the fog in a foggy morning, he was afraid that the less daring would be scared to death directly.

The skull flag hanging on the mast is larger than that on other ships, which also highlights its special status.

Chen Gui, who looks like an ordinary Ming businessman, in his forties, with a beard on his chin, thin and thin, wearing a scribe's robe, quite elegant, who would have thought that he was the terrifying demon king who crisscrossed the southern part of the Whale Sea, killed people without blinking, and made the entire Goguryeo coast restrain children from crying at night?

In fact, his family background is not wrong, and he was born in the Liao people's family.

As the name suggests, the Liao people are naturally the Han people who live in Liaodi and Liaodong, and they belong to a special group among the Han people outside the Guan.

The entire Liaodong region is the earliest area developed outside the Guan, its people, basically since the Song and Yuan dynasties, have lived here, the origin of the ancestors is even farther away, from the Later Jin Dynasty Shi Jintang to the Liao State after ceding the sixteen states of Yanyun, is to have been living in the vast area north of Jizhen.

The Han people of Liaodong were successively notified by the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, which can be said to be their hearts are not to the Central Plains, and they have no sense of belonging to the Central Plains Dynasty. This was also true after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, they have been living with ethnic minorities for a long time, and they are also tainted with a lot of ethnic minority habits. Good liquor, good riding and shooting. Fighting, brave and ruthless, disobedient to discipline. The atmosphere of the entire Liao region can be said to be the most powerful in the Ming Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this that it is also recognized that the soldiers of the Liao land and the soldiers of the Liao land can fight. It was in Lian Zining's time and space, in the last years of Chongzhen, the heavens and the earth collapsed. The Central Plains fell, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were vulnerable, but Wu Sangui was able to build a Guanning iron cavalry in Liaodong. He took his 50,000 Guanning iron cavalry and 500,000 Liao people all the way south to conquer, and in the end, it was these Liao people who set off a three-time rebellion and turned the world upside down.

Of course, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, most of the Liao people were killed by Nurhachi and Huang Taiji. The rest became coatings, followed the Manchu Qing Dynasty into the customs, and finally those who followed Wu Sangui and left, the Liao people in the future. They all moved from Shandong and other places.

The fierceness of the Liao people can be seen, and the big clan among the Liao people. There aren't many to mess with.

They started out unclean, or they started as bandits. Wash your hands in a golden basin, or sell illicit salt. Either they bought and sold by sea, and after making a lot of money, they bought land in the countryside, hibernated, and became the gentry.

The same is true in Chen Gui's family.

His ancestors were engaged in shipping business, don't think this is clean, you know, thirty years ago, the Ming Dynasty was still forbidden to the sea! As long as you go to sea, no matter what you do, it is a death, a great sin of disobedience! It can be said that being a robber and a salt dealer is hated by the government.

However, its profits are also extremely lucrative, Chen Gui's grandfather's generation, once a year to go to sea, to North Korea, and then to Japan, just like ten years, has become the largest household in Gaizhouwei.

When he arrived at his father's generation, he was even more Xuanhe, with 100,000 acres of fertile land in Gaizhouwei, hundreds of slaves at home, thousands of tenants, and even started to do business such as ginseng and mountain goods, and his power was all over the sea and land, and it was intertwined. When he reached this realm, he was not thinking about how to make money, but thinking about increasing his social status and washing it by the way, so Chen Gui studied since he was a child, in order to have a fame, and if he failed to pass the Jinshi exam, he could lift a person! Anyway, if the family has money, it can be an official if it runs well, and when it comes, it will be different.

As a result, the sea was opened.

In the first year of opening the sea, Chen Gui's family organized a fleet to prepare to go to sea, this time it was above board, there must be someone to say when going to sea, right? But Chen Gui's father was sick again at that time, and he couldn't see the wind, and finally Chen Gui volunteered to lead the team to sea, and his father had no choice but to agree.

As a result, he never came back.

Chen Gui's fleet encountered pirates, and they were not ordinary pirates, but the largest group of pirates in the Liaohai Sea and near Korea at that time, and the composition of this pirate was extremely complex, including Mingguo, Goguryeo, Fusang, and even Westerners. They robbed the ship of its goods, killed all the old, weak, sick and disabled, and brought all the ships back to their nests as trophies, while all the able-bodied men and women became slaves and objects of desire.

Among them are Chen Gui and his wife who has just been married for three months.

Then you can think about his tragic experience, the family was completely ruined because of the robbery of this batch of goods, from a wealthy family to a penniless overnight, and the old father was angry after hearing the news. He was reduced from a noble rich son to a slave, doing the most despicable and bitter work, and being insulted and bullied. Watching the filthy pirates with the smell of fish ravaging his wife, and listening to his wife's miserable wails, he didn't dare to move, or even dare to have any dissatisfaction.

And those pirates love nothing more than his women in front of him.

These encounters are enough to make a determined person collapse and become a madman, or he is willing to sink into this life and become a wreck, and anyone who can survive must be a person with big scheming and a big city.

Five years, a full five years, such a hellish day is over, and Chen Gui has changed from a gentle and elegant scholar to a ruthless, murderous pirate, scumbag.

He was respectful to the pirates, without the slightest dissatisfaction, and seemed to have completely resigned himself to his fate.

After all, he was a man of letters, and he was also outstanding among pirates, and soon put him in charge of errands such as accounts, and became a confidant of the big boss. In addition, his head is flexible, and he can come up with some bad ideas from time to time, and he is slowly appreciated. has become a figure like a military advisor, and it also has a lot of status.

The bandits at this time. It's been a sea change compared to five years ago. In five years, it is enough to make the original pirates dead, and many newcomers have been added, and even the current boss is the second leader at the beginning. As for the boss, when he secretly disguised himself and went home to go to the grave of his wife, the local government arrested him and took him to Beijing City to be cut with a thousand cuts. As for why the government was able to capture his location so accurately, it was naturally the credit of the second master.

Many pirates have forgotten that story, and even more don't know it. But Chen Gui can't forget that miserable day in his life, the day when his family, family, and all the good things were completely lost.

He began to encircle his subordinates, and his power gradually grew, and finally ten years after joining the gang, he returned from a robbery and had a big feast. When everyone was drunk, they suddenly got into trouble.

In that fire, the great master was hacked to death, and the pirates loyal to him were tied to stones and sunk into the sea. And those who have killed him, the pirates who have insulted him, who have bullied his wife. All of them were tied to the mast, and one by one they were cut into a skeleton of bones.

Ten years of dark encounters were enough to make him dark and insane.

Although the Chen family is still there. But Chen Gui can't go home anymore, once he gets on land. Waiting for him is the prison. Since then, the pirate has changed his surname to Chen, and Chen Gui calls himself the Ghost King.

He is as cunning as a fox, deep in thought, do not provoke what should not be provoked, never let go of what should be provoked, after becoming the leader for more than ten years, he has annexed dozens of smaller bandits, with more than 200 warships and more than 4,000 pirates, which is much larger than the scale that Chiyo knows.

Later, after his power became greater, he even sent wives to merchant ships and counted money on the ground, which shows his shrewdness.

And this time the encounter between him and Wu Yijun's fleet was not prepared in advance, but coincided with the meeting.

There are few people who beg for a living in this sea area who don't know the ghost king, but no one knows where his lair is. This person was extremely cautious, and in order to avoid the encirclement and suppression of the Daming Sailor and the Goguryeo Sailor, he directly moved his nest to Ezo Island in Fuso.

The so-called Ezo Island, which was later Hokkaido Island, was not strictly speaking part of the scope of Fuso, and Fuso at this time only thought that it had three islands. At this time, there were no other inhabitants here, only many natives, called Ainu, who were still in the period of primitive tribal alliances, and were extremely backward, and the Fuso people disparagingly called them Ezo.

In fact, until the Tokugawa shogunate, there was no Ezo Island on the map of Japan, and it was not until the late 19th century that the Japanese landed on Ezo Island, killed all the natives on it, and occupied the island. At this time, legally speaking, Ezo Island belonged to the Central Plains Dynasty - they were attached to the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, Hokkaido Island is simply an ownerless wasteland, Chen Gui came here, it can be regarded as a prestige, not only has a stable base, but even captured many Ezo people, built a small city on the land, and reclaimed the land around it, planting food, and there is some meaning of occupying the mountain as the king.

However, Wu Yijun and the fleet of the Tachibana family happened to be discovered by the patrol ship he sent and hurriedly reported back.

Chen Gui hurriedly came with someone.

In the distance, the tall silhouettes of the Zhenshan and the Tachibana ironclad ship can be seen clearly even without a clairvoyant, and the footsteps behind him came, and a big man strode to Chen Gui's side, but this person is a Westerner, with high cheekbones, high nose bridge, deep eye sockets, in his thirties, he looks quite handsome, his body is extremely tall, his feet are almost about two meters, and he is also extremely thick, and his arms are thicker than Chen Gui's waist. A messy head of Burgundy-red hair means that this 'red hair' is most likely of Dutch descent.

In stark contrast to his size was his clothes, which were a tight-fitting linen shirt with a black coat over it, cleanly washed, with no blood or dirt on it, and neatly buttoned on his clothes. He wore a pair of brown trousers, thick white stockings of the British sailor's style on his calves, and his hair was neatly combed and clean.

He stood firmly by Chen Gui's side, with his left hand on his waist and a sailor knife in his right hand, the whole person was elegant and calm. Circumstances aside, where is this a pirate? is clearly an elegant aristocratic gentleman. A naval officer in command.

And that's exactly what happened.

Bergkamp's experience is somewhat similar to that of Chen Gui, who came from an aristocratic family in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His father was one of the seventeen powerful gentlemen in the Parliament of Seventy, who ruled the Netherlands. But. He was only the youngest son of his father and had no right to inherit the title. When his father asked him to choose between a 37 percent stake in one of Amsterdam's largest banks and a sturdy ship with a crew of 130 well-trained men, he decided to do the latter.

He then became the captain of an armed merchant ship.

His ships traveled between the Netherlands and the New World, just as new shipping routes were on the rise and countless European gold miners poured into the Americas, a paradise of gold, bringing back hundreds of thousands of gold dollars worth of profits with each voyage.

Of course. And with that comes the risks that linger.

At this time, in the Atlantic, pirates were enemies, enemy fleets were enemies, and merchants were enemies. These armed merchant ships are honest merchants when they encounter the army, and they will not mind making a cameo appearance as a pirate when they meet a merchant who is weaker than themselves, and they will not sit idly by when they meet a real pirate.

But Bergkamp was an outlier, a devout Puritans. Abide by the principle in your heart - only rob, not kill.

If he hadn't even done the robbery, his lawless crew would have tied him to the mast and dried him as soon as possible.

It's just that I often walk by the river, how can I not get my shoes wet. Five years ago, Bergkamp's ship had been robbed by a British ship less than three hours after it had left English Seafood. An armed merchant ship.

Maybe it's a good man, or maybe it's for Bergkamp's powerful daddy's sake. The captain did not kill him, just as there was a lack of sailors on his ship. Just let these people do the odd jobs on their own ships. And his ship, not to the New World, but to the East.

Oriental spices and porcelain were more lucrative than the precious metals and slaves of the New World, and of course, more dangerous, not only farther and more prone to the terrible storms of the Indian Ocean, but also countless Oriental pirates.

But Bergkamp was lucky, after a few months of sailing, the big ship successfully arrived in the Far East after paying a sum of money to the South China Pirate King, had already crossed the island of Taiwan and grabbed a Japanese ship transporting sugar, so the captain decided to change the route, first go to the Hizen port in Fuso to sell this ship of sugar at a high price, and then go to the Ming country of Tianjin.

And then he was out of luck.

He ran into Chen Gui, the goods were looted, the leaders of the ship were killed, and the ship became Chen Gui's current ship. Bergkamp and his sailors, however, were spared a catastrophe because of their status as prisoners, but they still did not change their fate, but just changed their masters.

And when he was a prisoner for two months and was about to starve to death, Bergkamp inadvertently showed his high attainments in the HNA and his talent for commanding sailors, so to speak, he was more qualified than any of Chen Gui's leaders, and he could also play the role of navigator at critical times.

So miraculously, this Dutch gentleman became Chen Gui's deputy.

However, a blue-shirted Confucian and a Dutch aristocratic pirate combination are really as awkward as they are.

"Chief, do you see those big ships? I don't think we're their opponents. ”

Bergkamp's mouth is pure Ming Chinese, which is also one of his gains in recent years.

"They're too big, and our ship is too small," he said, "which means we'd have to climb more than fifteen feet to capture them, and that's enough for them to stab us to death like fish." ”

Chen Gui looked at him and smiled slightly: "You're right, these three ships are not something we can deal with." ”

He pointed to the ironclad ship and said, "You see, that ship is the symbol of the Tachibana family on Kyushu Island, and they relied on this ironclad ship to suppress several other forces on Kyushu Island and crush them to death!" When the ships of those forces saw the ironclad ship, they fled from a distance. Not only are there those tough samurai of the Tachibana family, but they are also equipped with a full twenty cannons! ”

"That's artillery!" Chen Gui licked his lips, and his eyes showed undisguised greed: "We don't even have a single artillery, all the ways to fight." It's all close to the broadside battle. ”

"Look at the big ship, the biggest one. It was the banner of Wu Yibo, which was the most powerful in our country. There is no one of the most capable generals, he has close to 100,000 elite troops under his command, and he has just recently conquered a country. Still! A contemptuous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "At sea, I don't buy his account." ”

"Okay, that's a mistake, that ship is the most powerful ship among the Ming Sailors, better than the one we are sitting on now. Our most powerful ship is dozens of times larger, and although there are no artillery on this horse clipper, there are a lot of giant crossbows, and there are weapons such as slapsticks, and if we fight in close combat, we will be beaten miserably. And the British warship, although I don't have any information about it here, but it doesn't seem to be easy to mess with. ”

"There are many of us, but we want to rob their boats. It's simply beyond our means. ”

"So." He concluded: "The most important thing we should do now is to pay for the losses and quickly grab one or two cargo ships." When you see it, take it and withdraw quickly. Or even withdraw now. ”

"That's right!"

Bergkamp replied, and said in his heart, don't you understand?

"But Bergkamp." Chen Gui suddenly asked, "Do you know what it means to us if we snatch those three ships?" ”

Bergkamp was stunned. "It will make us stronger." ”

Then he shook his head and denied himself: "No." No, this reason is not enough to constitute your motivation. You have always been a cautious person. ”

"You're right, I've always been a cautious person." Chen Gui smiled slightly: "But this military department means that I have no ambitions." ”

His voice suddenly rose up: "One ironclad ship is enough to suppress those daimyo of Kyushu Island, what if it is to add a horse clipper?" That's not enough! And what about a four-masted Western gunboat? What about such a powerful force? Is it enough? With these ships, we are no longer pirates, but ......"

He took a deep breath: "A regular navy that is stronger than any of the maritime forces of the Fuso daimyo!" ”

He stared at Bergkamp and said word by word: "With these three big ships, we can not only conquer those Ezo people and control the entire Ezo Island, but even go south to Fuso Island, occupy a place on it, and claim the king!" ”

Bergkamp looked at him in disbelief and exclaimed, "Why? ”

"Because piracy is not a lifelong business." Chen Gui's whole person suddenly became calm, and he patted Bergkamp gently: "People, after all, have to be down-to-earth and take root." ”

As he spoke, he turned and walked backwards.

"The problem is that we can't beat them?" Bergkamp shouted as he craned his neck from behind.

"Don't worry, I have my own way."

Chen Guitou didn't reply.

Thirty-three pirate ships approached the combined fleet at a rapid pace, and from high in the sky, they looked like a fragmented arrow, drawing snow-white tracks on the calm sea.

Soon, it was already within the range of 1,500 meters.

This is far from an effective combat distance, in fact, even if the navy of this era is an artillery battle, it has to be shortened to about 200 meters, and accuracy can only be guaranteed at this distance in the sea where the ships are constantly floating and shaking.

On the Zhenshan, Chen Yu stood on the side of the ship, leaning against the female wall, squinting at the pirate ship in the distance, and secretly calculating the distance in his heart.

On his side, there were more than 20 bed crossbows, similar to large wooden beds, more than three meters wide and four meters long, all made of stout wooden nails, a stout main shaft in the middle, two thigh-thick secondary shafts on both sides, from front to back, seven large bows more than one person long were fixed on it, the bowstrings were tightly collapsed, and there were complex brackets connected below, and there were winch ropes and other things on both sides.

On the bow, there was a huge crossbow arrow, one and a half meters long, the arm was thick, and the whole body was black, obviously covered with iron, and the arrow was a round iron ball without a blade.

Next to each bed crossbow, there are several soldiers preparing to operate.

1,200 meters.

Chen Yu pursed his lips.

A thousand meters!

"Aim for Lao Tzu! Hit hard! (To be continued.) )