The smuggled steam freighter is a coastal ship type, and the voyage is basically along the coastline, roughly kept within the range of 2~3 kilometers from the coastline, with a draft of 4.2 meters when the cargo ship is heavily loaded, and a draft of 1.9 meters when it is unloaded, it is basically impossible to run aground.

After sailing for more than two hours, the lookout post on the mast of the ship suddenly rang the bronze bell, which was an alarm for the discovery of the enemy's situation, and the sailors on board suddenly became nervous.

Zhu Fengchen also rushed out of the cabin in a hurry, still holding a leftover flatbread in his hand, and asked loudly while chewing; "What's wrong...... What did you find? ”

"Chief, there are three dhows moored in the harbor ahead, flying the flag of the Spaniards, probably not coming for us."

"Inform the engine room boilers to pressurize, accelerate out of this area, and prepare the aft compartment gun emplacements for battle."

"Yes, sir!"

After the order was given, the sailors on the steam freighter quickly got busy.

A group of 20 or so sturdy sailors quickly ran to the stern and uncovered the thick canvas covering the guns, revealing two shiny 18-pounder Colt breech guns, the black muzzles pointing straight to the rear.

In this era, it was not uncommon for cargo ships to be equipped with artillery, and some cargo ships were also equipped with more than a dozen guns.

But it is indeed rare to be equipped with such advanced and sharp artillery.

This is a smuggling ship of the action team under the General Security Bureau, and it is not fragrant to see that the Spanish merchant ships occasionally make cameo appearances as robbers, and give some welfare to the brothers?

Looking around the naval ships of South American countries, there are only a handful of Colt breech guns, and it can be said that except for the two 1,500-ton steam ironclad frigates imported from Paraguay, none of them are others, and they are basically bronze guns or steel hoop guns.

With such a sharp weapon, Zhu Fengchen did not panic at all, but just ordered the steamers to speed out of the area, not because he was afraid of the Spaniards.

The other party's three dhows are obviously troop carriers, and even if they win, they have nothing to fish, so why bother making more trouble?

Just a few minutes later

The steam freighter began to accelerate visibly with the naked eye, and Zhu Fengchen looked into the distance with a monocular in his hand, only to see the Spaniards in the harbor pointing at the freighter and shouting, and the sail cable of one of the dhows had climbed to the top of the mast and untied the rope of the mainsail.

The mainsail "clattered" and drooped, quickly filling up and the sea breeze swelled, and then the hull began to move under the adjustment of the sailors, as if it was ready to chase a steam freighter.

The other two dhows were still moored in place, and through the binoculars they could be seen ferrying the boats full of soldiers, apparently as the Spanish soldiers had returned from their mission, where they were bumped into by a steam freighter.

Luck is bad enough!

The telescope stretched into the distance, and you could faintly see the smoke rising from the depths of the lush forest, but there was no fire to be seen from here, let alone any shouts of killing.

According to Zhu Fengchen's heart, he felt it;

It should have been the Spaniards who got the news from some source, arrived here on a sail troop carrier to raid the rebel camp, or the villages and towns that sheltered the rebels, and now they should have returned from the mission.

According to the cruel urine of the Spanish colonial army, it is estimated that there will be no life in this village and town.

"Boss, they're catching up."

"Keep the course, dare to catch up, and give them a good taste, so that the brethren will copy the guys." Zhu Fengchen ordered in a cold voice.

He took out his gold pocket watch and looked at the time, it was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, and two and a half hours before dark, and the steam freighter sailed straight outside the mouth of the small harbor where the Spanish dhow was moored, and did not turn around or detour, but sped away.

The dhow behind him was the first to respond, drawing a semicircle on the surface of the sea, adjusting its sails and slowly accelerating to catch up, with a difference of about 5 kilometers between the two.

In this way, it is estimated that there is no escape.

The steam iron-hulled freighter is mainly economical, with a maximum speed of about 12.5 knots and an economic speed of 7~8 knots, and the speed of the empty ship can be slightly faster, but it is somewhat difficult to get rid of the dhow that is known for its flexibility.

Despite the fact that these Spanish armed sloops were about 260 tons, they were often equipped with 12 to 16 guns and carried nearly 200 sailors or soldiers.

In the case of 3~4 winds in coastal areas, it can easily run to more than 15 knots, which is also the confidence of the Spaniards to dare to catch up.

"What a special food trouble!" Zhu Fengchen frowned and scolded, and then shouted loudly; "Raise the skull flag to show your identity, and you're welcome to chase after it."

"Yes, sir."

The black skull flag was raised casually by his subordinates, which was to warn the other party that our ship was armed, and that we should not know each other.

The Caribbean is a warm sea with ancient pirate traditions, where the British, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese were all regulars, and later the Americans and the Caribbean were added, and it is difficult to pinpoint the origin of ships that do not fly the flag of their home port.

Ordinary unidentified ships that raise the pirate flag are not easy to mess with.

I didn't expect it

The Spanish sloop behind him did not hesitate, but sent a containment signal to the other two Spanish sloopers anchored in the bay, and even adjusted its own sails to catch up quickly.

See this scenario

Zhu Fengchen didn't have anything to say, just told the crew to prepare for battle.

The crew began to busily move the shell boxes out, open them one by one, and then began to load the shells with trigger fuses, shake the handle to adjust the muzzle, and prepare for the battle.

From the heart

The secret operations of the General Security Service are not to be kept quiet, they are people who walk in the shadows, and this hastily encountered battle at sea can be avoided if it can be avoided.

But in the face of the pursuit of the Spanish armed warships, there were not many options that the steam smuggling freighters could do.

The two sides chased and fled on the sea, behind the first Spanish sloop, and the other two also chased up one after another, and they opened a distance of 6~7 kilometers between each other, cleaving the waves all the way.

After chasing for more than an hour at sea, the Spanish sloop, which was the first to catch up, was more than 2 kilometers away, and was the first to fire a shot, and a jet-black iron ball landed about five or six hundred meters behind the steam cargo ship, splashing high water.

This cannon was a stern warning, and if an ordinary cargo ship had been frightened to the teeth, it would have been weak.

Slowed down, obediently waited for the capture of the Spanish armed warships in the rear, and did not dare to resist anymore.

At this time, Zhu Fengchen raised his eyebrows, and the nameless fire in his heart "banged" up.

He commanded the sailors in a loud voice, saying; "Guys, how much do the Spaniards look down on us? Then be prepared to surprise them! Cover our artillery with canvas, put away the skull flag, change it to the Brazilian flag, slow down and let us meet these Spaniards. ”

"Yes, sir."

The sailors moved very neatly, they held back a smile and acted according to the commander's orders, covered the two guns at the foot of the bed with canvas, slowed down visibly with the naked eye, and raised the Brazilian flag again.

This was done in order to confuse the Spaniards.

More than 10 minutes later

The Spanish sloop puffed up its sails and chased after it violently, and the distance between the two sides was close to about 1 kilometer, and the Spanish soldiers on the bow were densely packed with guns and shouting, with a fierce look on their faces.

Zhu Fengchen looked at the sailors who couldn't bear it anymore, and said calmly; "Don't worry, guys, when they get closer to within 500 yards, aim and fire at me, and give them a taste of the power of advanced artillery."

Although the Spanish sloop was equipped with 12~16 guns, there were only 6~7 guns on each side, one gun in the bow and bow, and the one that had just fired was the bow gun.

To exert full firepower, it is necessary to be parallel to the pursuing ship or to expose the broadside.

Seeing the enemy chasing closer and closer, from 800 meters, 700 meters to more than 600 meters...... More than 500 meters......

Zhu Fengchen suddenly ordered, said; "Speed up with all your might, open the gun jacket and fire me hard, so that these Spaniards can taste the power."

The sailors had long been ready and immediately moved at the sound of the order.

There was still a process for the steam freighter to accelerate, and it took at least a few minutes for the sailors at the stern to lift the cover, stuff the cannonballs into the barrels with neat movements, and swing the handles to aim at the pursuing Spanish schooners behind.

At this time, the Spanish soldiers who were standing on the boatman shouting had also seen that the muzzle of the black hole was aimed at them, and the guy sitting on the bow of the ship was so frightened that he fell directly backwards, and the other Spanish soldiers screamed in horror; "Oh my God, it's the artillery......"

Before they could react, they heard two loud "booms", and two shells, one in front and one in the back, smashed into the Spanish warship and exploded, exploding a large orange-red ball of fire.

At a distance of just over 450 meters, a shell from the front hit the stern, and the yellow ammonium nitrate explosive loaded with 18-pound shells exploded violently, and the stump of the Spaniard near the stern flew sideways, and the violent air wave generated by the explosion pushed the debris to fly sideways, emptying a large area of soldiers around it again, and bleeding all over the ground.

The shell made a hole in the stern of the ship the size of half a door, and the explosion caused a violent burn, causing an even greater disaster.

The shell from behind hit the bow directly, and in the orange-red flames of the explosion, at least a dozen sailors in the bow were swept into the sky by the strong shock wave, and a large piece of the bow of the Spanish sloop was blown off, and the bow gun was also blown into scrap metal.

It was as if the Spanish schooner had been punched so hard that its course was crooked.

The sailors on the steam freighter were unforgiving, and after quickly cleaning the chambers, they loaded two more shells, aimed at the hull of the Spanish schooner that was already tilting over, and fired two more shots at the "boom ......."

In the midst of a violent explosion

The Spanish sloop snapped with a tooth-wrenching sound, the tall mainsail collapsed, and as many as 10 soldiers fell overboard in the explosion.

"Alright, stop shelling." Zhu Fengchen ordered.

The steam-iron-hulled freighter was slowly accelerating, and he stood at the stern of the ship and watched coldly as the blazing Spanish sloop had tilted badly, revealing half of the bottom of the ship in the direction of the mainmast toppling, and the Spanish soldiers on board jumped into the sea like dumplings, which was simply the scene of disaster.

With such a tragic example, there was no need to worry that the two Spanish schooners behind would chase after them, they had not yet been so bold, and this little encounter at sea was declared over.

The steam freighter sailed farther and farther away, and soon disappeared as the sea and the sky met......

(End of chapter)