On the Chaoyang, the gun jackets of the No. 1 and No. 2 ballistas have been lifted - after some improvements, the two pieces of cowhide fixed on the turntable have become the standard configuration of the Eight Ox crossbows, and Chu Fan named them gun clothes; Usually, the two pieces of cowhide are put together and buckled together with the hook on the cowhide, which can well prevent the erosion of the eight oxen crossbow by the waves; In wartime, the hook is unhooked, and the ballista is revealed.

Both ballistae were already wound - the bowstrings were kept more carefully to protect them from moisture, and they were usually packed in wooden boxes lined with thick oiled paper, and only before the start of the war.

In front of the No. 1 ballista, two winders were blushing and wrenching their rocker arms to wind the ballista, while the loader was picking up the ballista shells from below deck - the Ba Niu ballista crew consisted of four people, one gunner for sighting, one loader for loading, and two winders for winding.

The gunner of the No. 1 ballista is surnamed Ge and his name is Ge Erbao, but most of his comrades in the army call him Erbao Egg, and there are not many people who call him by his big name.

Erbaodan is 19 this year, a native of Shenyang, and is the second batch of veterans to join the Fuliao Army, and has participated in the battle against bandits; Because he was sensitive to numbers, he was picked by Zhang Ziyu and became the first batch of gunners of the Eight Bull Crossbow - in the first battle against the Liujia cavalry, it was he who pulled the trigger.

At this moment he was holding a ruler to measure the length of the shadow of the Galen ship, and after measuring it, he calculated the height of the Galen ship according to a simple sundial beside him; Then the distance between the Chaoyang and the Galen ship was measured by the ranging Wangshan - this ranging Wangshan was invented by Zhang Ziyu, and on a 20-centimeter-long bronze guide rail, there was a sliding bronze door with a height of 5 centimeters. Three thin copper wires were drawn horizontally on the door; By matching the height of the target with the copper wire on the door, the distance between the two can be calculated by the scale on the rail.

"How?"

Seeing Erbaodan bowing his head and writing something on the white lacquered wooden board in his hand, Chu Fan, who was standing next to the ballista, couldn't help but ask a little anxiously-he had already seen the golden phoenix flag fluttering high in the clairvoyant mirror. Although I don't know the details, it is basically certain that Yan Ruxue is on the Cangshan Iron that is being chased!

"Report to the son, after the actual measurement, the other party is 1100 meters away from us!" Erbao Dan stood up and replied loudly.

"Good!" Chu Fan nodded and said, "You calculate the angle and height of the kilometer range as soon as possible...... That's right. Don't shoot directly at the Galen ship, aim at the sea between the Galen ship and Cangshan Iron...... With high-explosive shells! ”

“…… Be! Erbaodan was stunned for a moment before he replied loudly - he was a little strange, why didn't he attack the Galen ship directly? However, the rigorous training of the Fuliao army had already made him accustomed to obeying orders. Even if you don't understand this order, you have to do it.

After checking the comparison table of range and shooting angle compiled by Zhang Ziyu, Erbaodan quickly reported a number of parameters for shooting: including elevation angle and bearing, crossbow gear, lead length, and so on.

After the winder and loader were busy for a while, after adjusting the Eight Bull Crossbow according to the parameters reported by Erbao Egg, Er Bao Dan personally pulled the trigger. The long crossbow bolt came out with a bright fire****. Far away, a volley exploded between the two ships a kilometer away.

The entire shooting process was carried out in full accordance with the just-compiled "Eight Bull Ballista Drill Manual", which took just over 2 minutes.

However, Chu Fan's mind at the moment was obviously not on watching the operation of the two treasure eggs, and his eyes never left the lens of the clairvoyant.

The explosion of the ballista apparently caused panic on the ship: in the footage, the bow of the Galen ship visibly swayed a few times, while the people on deck were also scurrying, busily adjusting the soft sails in various parts as if to turn; On the side facing Chaoyang, more than a dozen gun windows were opened. The black hole of the eighteen-pounder cannon was exposed.

Chu Fan saw it right, Galen's ship was now in a mess: almost all the sailors thought that the top priority now was to adjust the ship's direction. In order to give full play to the broadside firepower - the Galen was heading directly to the southeast at this time, while the Chaoyang was heading more than 10 degrees south-east, and the two sides formed an angle of about 30 degrees.

But Shimazu Jiuxiong was already carried away by lust at this time, and resolutely refused to give up the "prey" that was about to arrive, so he even became furious and cut off the heads of two kneeling subordinates!

The two heads shook the whole ship, and finally Galen's ship calmed down again, and continued to chase Cangshan Tie along the original course.

Of course, Shimazu Jiuo had not lost his mind from the burning of desire, and he also ordered the gunners on the side to move the eighteen-pounder gun and turn in the direction of the Chaoyang.

On the lower deck of the Galen, the thin, withered sailors of the Japanese kingdom scolded and swore with all their strength, moving the heavy eighteen-pounder barrels.

"Whoosh!"

At this moment, the bolts fired from the Ballista II of the Chaoyang swept over the Galen and plunged headlong into the sea on the other side - this time the lead was not well lengthened, and it did not cause an explosion until it entered the sea.

But the thick bolts of the crossbow arrows and the sizzling sound of the fuses burning still made the sailors break out in a cold sweat, and they subconsciously accelerated the speed of adjusting the barrels.

When the two ships approached a distance of 800 meters, the first shell on the Galen ship was finally discharged.

"Tom!"

Just as the first cannon was discharged, on the No. 2 Fu boat behind the Galen ship, Chen Xinji also gave his order: his ship, the two subordinate Haicang ships and a small Anzhai ship turned south!

Ever since he saw the winged Chaoyang, Chen Xinji knew that this was Chu Fan's ship - of course he didn't know that Chu Fan was on board.

His hatred for Chu Fan is not below the Six Families, he always counts He Jianxin's death on Chu Fan's head, and even thinks that Chu Fan is responsible for his break with the Six Families!

Therefore, when he saw that there was one of Chu Fan's ships, he did not hesitate to prepare to completely annihilate or even capture the other party alive - he knew that Chu Fan's ship would inevitably retreat in the direction of Niu Dao in the west, so he ordered his men to go south in advance, trying to block the other party's retreat.

As for Shimazu Hisao, he was not worried at all - the only red-haired galleon of the Shimazu family was this Galen, with a total of 24 eighteen-pound guns, a large number of arquebuses, and a full crew of 97 sailors.

When the ship suffers at the hands of Galen, and thinks of escaping, it will find that its way back has been cut off by itself!

When the time comes, we will attack from both sides and see how this strange ship can escape!

And the eldest aunt is like snow, Chen Xinji has already thought that it is not a problem, after cleaning up Chu Fan's ship, with the speed of Galen's ship, how can he catch up with Cangshan Tie! (To be continued.) )