Seeing that at the end of the year, although it is still winter, the monsoon has weakened, and in normal times, there should not be many large ships heading south, but in the sea area south of Dongshan Island, you can still see tall ships heading south. Unlike the stubby ships of the past, these ships were similar to the broad ships, with slender shapes, relying on stiff cloth sails on two or three tall masts, eating enough wind and not slowing down.

Outside of these large ship channels, two thin white waves, one in front and one behind, glide lightly across the fleet like smart live dolphins. Before the waves, there were two two-masted boats. In fact, this ship is not small, about four or five hundred materials, and it was already a big ship ten years ago. But in the area of Fujian and Guangdong, there are thousands of materials on sea ships at every turn, and there are many coal and rice ships with more than 2,000 materials running in the sea area from Tunan to Siam, so this kind of small fast boat is not conspicuous at all.

Although the ship was inconspicuous, the big ship did not dare to slack off, and long flags of red and blue were raised on the stern mast. The red background is embroidered with the logo of the Dragon King Buyu, and the blue background is "Fu He Jia Liu", Yongxing Bing Er" and other white characters like registration numbers.

"Coupled with Kunding, Zhangsheng and other firms, these are the ships of Zhangzhou Haimao Company.

On the helm of the two fast boats, the customs inspector closed the account books and nodded to Luo Wugui, the captain of the "Linan 18" battleship, indicating that there was no problem with the ships.

Luo Wugui was in his early forties, thin and capable, with a bronze star on his shoulder in a blue-clothed uniform, and he was a right lieutenant, and he asked suspiciously:

"I see that their waterline is very low, and most of them are carrying goods such as iron, lead or porcelain salt, not like going to Guangzhou or Qiongzhou, but more like going to Luzon.

The customs inspector stared at him and said with a smile: "You were transferred from Guangdong, right?" ”

Luo Wugui frowned, his team had indeed just been transferred from the Hong Kong base. Since February this year, the tide of naval expansion has been in full swing, and new sea turtle and sea turtle-class ships have come out like dumplings, and many sea carp-class small ships have also been built.

It was originally to prepare for war, but it didn't want the South Seas to remain calm, which caused another problem, and the battleships that had already formed the army had nothing to do except training. Xiao Sheng, who was appointed as the chief of the navy of the commander-in-chief in the middle of the year, was a shopkeeper who was a picker, and felt that it was really not a matter to be so idle, so he looked for work for his subordinates, hoping to train while doing things.

It just so happened that the customs under the division was looking for the emperor to fight in the ring, saying that the navy had pulled away all their water patrol talents. The emperor was in the middle, and the navy took on the task of anti-smuggling in the open sea, which could not only earn some extra money from the customs, but also patrol the sea area. Naturally, there is no need to dispatch large ships for this matter, and the sea carp class is enough to be competent.

When the customs inspector said this, Luo Wugui understood in his heart that Fujian maritime merchants had a private transaction with the customs. Previously, the emperor and General Xiao repeatedly emphasized that the focus of Nanyang was on Funan and Boni, and at the same time, the navy had not yet been expanded, so it was not appropriate to start a war with France and Spain. Therefore, the maritime trade route from Fujian maritime merchants to Manila, Yinghua will not interfere for the time being.

The domestic sea trade routes to Cochin, Quang Nam, Funan, Khmer, Siam and even Batavia and Malacca were monopolized by the Nanyang Company. Domestic maritime trade, on the other hand, is directly managed by the customs. Now the customs let the Fujian maritime merchants go to Luzon, although there was no conflict with the Nanyang Company, but they circled another piece of land and extended their hands to Luzon.

The inspector patted Luo Wugui on the shoulder: "Let's not move, people will also send it to the door." I'm afraid you don't know that many of the proprietors of Zhangzhou Maritime Trade Company are Fuzhou Quanzhou maritime businessmen, and even Shi Shiji's people. ”

Luo Wugui was speechless, this is indeed a reality, because whether it is Nanyang Company or the banner of Yinghua, it is very easy to use.

From Fujian to Luzon, but there have always been pirates, mainly Moro people, Chinese, the current Bai Yanding, the former Bai Yanzi also moved there. Joining the Anglo-Chinese Maritime Trading Company, ships can fly the Anglo-Chinese commercial flag, which is a great deterrent to pirates.

Of course, for Fujian maritime merchants, this flag is more significant, because it means that they do not have to be tied to Shi Shiji and get involved in the war between the north and the south.

The inspector continued: "The Spaniards are happy to see the peace of the sea, although the hanging of our flag means that we are reaching out for this trade route, and they are not happy about it. But after all, it is not a head-on conflict, and these ships will drop our commercial flag when they enter Manila Bay, and it will not be too irritating to the Spaniards. Even if the official family knows this, I am afraid that they know it and pretend not to see it. "Luo Wuguixin said, your customs and Nanyang Company are all the way, what is the difference between Zheng Yiguan and Zheng Yiguan, who sold flags in the past? Seeing that his face was still uncertain, the inspector laughed and said, "Isn't our customs still able to sell flags thanks to the blessing of your navy?" Besides, didn't the money you earned also go to you? ”

Luo Wugui's face softened slightly, this is true...... Just when the inspector put his arm around Luo Wugui's shoulders and whispered to him how much extra filial piety the Zhangzhou Maritime Trade Fair would give him on this trip, the lookout post at the top of the mast suddenly sounded an alarm.

Five big boats! No flag, coming from the south, it seems to be trying to stop the fleet.

Luo Wugui's breath suddenly changed from calm to hurricane: "Why didn't you open your eyes, and actually ran to Dongshan Island to find food?" ”

He beckoned his subordinates and said, "Send a letter to Grandma Eryuan!" Keep up! Prepare for battle! ”

Not only Luo Wugui was angry, but his subordinates were also busy cursing at the same time, it is only one hundred and eighty miles from here to Dongshan Island, which is the door of the Nanao detachment of the Navy's Nanyang Fleet, and he dares to do something to the merchant ships with the Yinghua flag at the door of his home, and he is tired of talking?

The letter flag was unfurled, and Luo Wugui, the main ship called "Big Lady" by the crew, took the wingman "Grandma Eryuan" and rushed towards the south to break the waves.

The Navy still follows the founding tradition, that is, the master-apprentice system of the cooperation of the main staff. The senior captain and the senior captain are in a formation and perform general cruising missions. Naturally, this is the navy's "passing on the band" style that was forced out by the lack of talent.

Therefore, the officers and men of the detachment gave the nicknames of the two ships of different natures to the officers and men. Titles such as "eldest brother" and "second brother" have been regarded as false and serious, and the likes of "Xianggong" and "Lady" are the mainstream, and Luo Wugui's detachment regards the two boats as everyone's inner family, so they have the nicknames of "Big Wife" and "Second Grandma".

As the distance between the two sides continues to close, the situation is becoming clearer. The other side is a five-masted ship, which looks a bit like a European plywood boat, but with hard sails, which is consistent with the idea of using hard sail sea carp boats by the Anglo-Chinese local water patrol. Looking at how there are seven or eight hundred materials, Luo Wugui subconsciously remembered the three-masted giant ship of Taiwan's Zheng family that the instructor talked about when he was studying in the Hong Kong Naval Academy.

The customs inspector on the ship turned a little pale, and he grabbed Luo Wugui's arm and said, "Why are you still rushing forward!?" Hurry up and report to the above! ”

In the eyes of this patrolman, the other party is not only large in number, but also large in size, and these two small sea carp ships in the navy are obviously not opponents.

Luo Wugui sneered: "The first time I hit the sea battle? Requite? Repay the unknown pirate and shoot a merchant ship in front of our navy's house? ”

He tensed his face, pointed to the unknown enemy ship that was close to four or five miles, and shouted loudly: "Our navy one by one"

The subordinates responded violently: "Always have the upper hand!" Indomitable! ”

The patrol man hugged his head and said in his heart that these soldiers are really crazy.

The big hand slapped him on the shoulder, and he looked up to see Luo Wugui's smiling face full of confidence: "If it is a soft sailing ship of the Europeans, it is really troublesome, but it is a hard sailing boat." ”

Then Luo Wugui beckoned: "Hold steady!" ”

The ship's mast turned, and the wind was full of it, and in the exclamation of the patrolman, who had changed his tune, two sea carp boats shot like arrows from the string, towards the hostile ship.

Of course, Luo Wugui is full of confidence, the two sea carp ships of his squad are new goods that were only launched in the middle of the year. The previous three-masted sail has been changed to a two-masted sail, which not only fully maintains the fast characteristics of the Sea Carp class, but also reduces the number of sailors. Originally, there were more than thirty sailors, but now there are less than twenty. The vacated positions will be used to load more artillery and more troops.

Let's just say that his ship has been replaced with 12 12-pound guns, and there are 8 8-pound guns on the upper deck and four flying cannons used to test the effectiveness of naval operations. In addition to carrying a group of Fubo troops, the total crew was more than 160 people. Of course, when he counted the cannon, he subconsciously ignored the "two-inch cannon" at the bow of the ship. This cannon was installed before coming to South Australia, and it was accompanied by gunners from the Foshan Manufacturing Bureau. It was larger than the army's four-pound cannon, and much smaller than the eight-pound cannon, and the barrel of the cannon was actually pitted and uneven.

But he didn't have the guts, this was a special favor list from Chief Xiao to Guan Guozhang, and he was assigned a door to each of the newly built sea carp ships, so that the people of the Foshan Manufacturing Bureau saw the cannon on the ship, and it was regarded as a heavy object used to break the waves by pressing the bow of the ship.

Another reason for his contempt for this cannon is being presented at the moment in the hands of someone in the bow of the ship.

The gunner, whose eyes were almost dazzled by the golden light, swallowed his saliva and said to the gunners of the Foshan Manufacturing Bureau: "Do you really want to shoot this thing out as a cannon?" ”

The shells in the hands of the gunners are similar to those of the flying cannon, but with a base and no tail fin. What made the surrounding gunners inhale was that the base was actually made of golden brass.

The gunner said with disdain: "I knew that you guys didn't know anything, so I didn't let you see it early in the morning." It's brass! There is half a pound of brass on one piece, which is seven or eight hundred dollars! ”

Although the Navy's salary is higher than that of the Army, it is not worth five or six shells in a month, which is an exaggeration. It is precisely because of this that the gunners are reluctant to fire the guns without incident, and they will test the guns only after going to sea.

Now, yes. The opportunity of actual combat, the gunners are nervous and excited on the other, and they will be able to see what this cannon is right away.

"Three hundred zhang!"

"Gunshot!"

Luo Wugui gave an order, and the cannon roared, which was a warning, asking the other party to drop the sail and hang the flag, identify himself, and wait for the investigation.

The other party responded with a shot, and the sound of the cannon was thick, much heavier than the sound of the four-pound cannon here.

"At least a twelve-pounder gun......"

Luo Wugui and the first mate and other subordinates also sank in their hearts, they had been specially trained to listen to artillery in the Hong Kong naval base, which was obviously the sound of European artillery, not the old-fashioned Dafa Gong and Franc machine on the Chinese side.

European artillery, European hulls, hard sails, these five big ships, where are they sacred?

A deep doubt rose in the hearts of the people.

(To be continued)