After two years of cotton field recultivation and planning and construction, the cotton industry in southern Xinjiang has now returned to its heyday, and this autumn ushered in a bumper harvest. October is the cotton picking season in southern Xinjiang, and due to the severe shortage of manpower, there are still large cotton fields that have not yet been harvested in November. Half of the 800,000 acres of cotton fields spread out along both sides of the railway are as white as the vast expanse of snowfield, and the other half has been picked, leaving only rows of dry and yellowed branches to stand on the vast ridges.

The refugees in the car were shocked by the snow-white sea of cotton outside the window, and also realized that their next job was to immerse themselves in the sea of snow and join the local army of cotton peach picking.

……

Not all exiles were lucky enough to make it to the Far East, and before that they had to endure a two-week voyage on the stormy ocean. The harsh conditions on the refugee ships, the poor diet, and the moody waves at sea can interrupt the journeys of the refugees, but the greater threats than these obstacles come from their home countries, from their compatriots.

From December 1623 onwards, many pirates appeared in the Coral Sea who specialized in attacking refugee ships. The gang were not professional pirates, some of them were under the banner of an imperial trading company, and some of them were armed merchant ships from the colonies of the New World, all of whom held "privateering certificates" issued by the imperial government, and if necessary, they could become pirates and plunder enemy ships.

On December 21, New Year's Eve, the Coral Sea is calm and calm, and the bright afternoon sun shrouds the sea, shimmering golden waves. In this beautiful and peaceful atmosphere, a brig carrying more than 400 imperial refugees was fleeing at sea. At a distance of less than two nautical miles behind the sailing ship, an armed merchant ship flying the flags of the Asshan Empire and the Welnoa Traders was chasing at full speed.

The powerful Magic Crystal steam engine allowed the armed merchant ship to maintain a high speed of 20 knots, and it was easy to catch up with the pure sail-powered refugee ship in front of it, which barely maintained a speed of 8 knots.

The merchant ships carrying refugees only had a 32-pounder gun installed in the bow, which had little actual combat power except to embolden the passengers.

In contrast, the chaser behind it has significantly more firepower. A row of 16 24-pounder guns on each side of the armed merchant ship were loaded with ammunition and were waiting to catch up with the refugee boat and open fire on the fleeing prey.

Time passed minute by minute, and no matter how desperately the refugee boat ran wildly, it could not narrow the distance between it and the pursuers, but got closer and closer.

The captain of the armed merchant ship was obviously a veteran of this business, and after a visual inspection of the distance between the two sides, he calmly ordered:

"Right full rudder! Right car into one! Left car into three! ”

With the roar of the twin-engine magic guide steam engine, the armed merchant ship completed a beautiful "T" horizontal swing on the blue sea, with the left side facing the stern of the refugee ship, less than half a nautical mile away.

"Port fire!"

The gunnery received the captain's order and immediately waved the red flag.

"Port fire!"

All the gunners activated the magic crystal naval cannon together, and a string of electric lights lit up on the port side, and ten 24-pound shells flew out with a roar, crossing arcs in the air, and falling on both sides of the stern of the refugee ship one after another, and columns of water rose into the sky.

None of the 10 shells hit was a surprise for the first round of test firing, and the captain's aim was not to sink the refugee ship, but to force the other side to surrender.

On the terrace of the bridge of the armed merchant ship, the captain looked at the refugee ship through a telescope and saw the chaos on the deck, the frightened refugees running around like ants on a hot pot, and some people picked up empty barrels, jumped off the deck with all their might, and floated away in the waves.

This panicked and chaotic scene was exactly what the captain expected, and the corners of his lips couldn't help but smile. With one more round of intimidating shelling, the sailboat and the refugees on board would be his trophies.

At the same time as the chase at sea, neither of the pursuers was aware of a silver cloud floating in the sky.

"Captain Maria, send a letter to Admiral Helena immediately, there is a refugee ship being pursued by pirates, please come to the rescue of the North Sea Fleet."

In the cockpit of the "Destiny", Major Yelena skillfully manipulated the airship to track the pirate ship, and casually reported the detailed coordinates of the current sea area.

Behind the beautiful captain of the beautiful girl, who is sending a message with a "magic intercom" is a female giant eagle standing up with a royal blue ribbon tied around her neck, which is none other than Yelena's partner, Captain Maria Gangyu, commander of the "Destiny" carrier-based aviation group.

Captain Maria finished sending the letter and couldn't help but ask Yelena: "Why did the armed merchant ship below fly the flag of the Empire, but instead pursued and killed the refugee ship that also came from the Assanian Empire?" ”

"It's not all about the money!" Yelena sneered, "These armed merchant ships are actually no different from pirates, when they saw the unguarded refugee ships, they immediately rushed up to plunder, kidnapped the refugees with the ships to the New World colonies, and sold them to the local manor owners to earn bloody gold coins. ”

"Isn't the Imperial Government already announcing the abolition of slavery, how can anyone dare to openly trade slaves?" Mary asked, confused.

"The imperial government only abolished slavery and serfdom in the empire itself, and in the colonies of the New World, this decree may not be applicable, and besides, the emperor is far away, and the lord of the manor in the colony does not care about this, and he does not still sell and keep slaves." Yelena made no secret of her contempt for the imperial government.

"Major, that armed merchant ship has no anti-aircraft firepower, we can solve this little trouble on our own, there is no need to ask Admiral Helena for help." Maria Steelfeather observes the armed merchant ship through the porthole of the force field, and is convinced that the Destiny's carrier-based air force can be capsized with a single round of bombardment.

"It's not hard to get rid of pirates, it's hard to rescue refugees." Yelena pointed to the sea, "You see, the sails of the refugee ship have been ignited by artillery fire, and the refugees on board have to jump into the sea to survive, and our airship is too small to accommodate too many refugees who have fallen into the water, and in the end we have to rely on warships to rescue them." ”

Maria Steel Feather nodded, her eyes looking in the direction of the Golden Horn, her eyes showing anxiety.

At this time, the chase on the sea is coming to an end. The second round of shelling by armed merchant ships yielded good results, with three shells hitting the deck of the refugee ship, one of which hit the stern mast. The thick mast broke on the spot and fell with a bang, and the canvas burst into flames.

The craters on the deck were horrific and shrouded in fire and smoke, wounded sailors groaned in pain, frightened refugees ran around crying, and from time to time someone picked up a barrel or driftwood and jumped into the sea, leaving their fate in the hands of moody waves.