Chapter 682: Chase at sea

After leaving the European continent for only one day, when the sky was dark, official Hong Xi was awakened, and someone patted his cabin door and shouted, "Sir, sir!"

"What's the matter!" Hong Xiguan asked as he got up, putting on his clothes.

"Found six boats following us behind!" the man shouted.

"Oh!" Hong Xiguan replied, put on his clothes, and went out quickly.

He went up to the stern tower on the open-air deck, and the nautical long Kong Cheng handed him the telescope. Kong Cheng was on the early morning shift, and his eyes were a little blood red.

Official Hong Xi opened the telescope and looked at the back of the ship.

Six boats!

The three sloops and the three brigs, all plywood boats of Hong Maofan, followed them with an ominous atmosphere.

The distance was still far, and the quality of the telescope at that time was not good enough, and the situation of the opponent's personnel and the hull could not be clearly seen.

The Chinese formation sailed another distance, and the other side followed suit. It was obvious that they were pirates.

The officers all got on the deck, and the deputy chief of navigator Shi Lang was active. He eagerly said, "Hit them!"

Without saying anything, the deputy captain Chen Qiu immediately called the two Marines to come forward and listen to the order, and then said to Shi Lang: "You beat them!"

Shi Lang fainted immediately, and Hong Xiguan said, "Keep going!"

The long chase began. It was a donkey or a horse, and it was pulled out for a while.

The officers and soldiers of the Southeast Ship skillfully manipulated the sails and rushed forward. Sometimes the wind blew the ship and the waves held the bottom of the ship, giving it a feeling of jumping.

Putting it aside, if there is no training, you can't run at such a high speed.

Of the six opposing boats, four of them are getting closer to the formation needs little by little, showing that Hong Maofan's control skills are not bad, so Hong Xiguan thought.

They were the ancestors of playing splint boats, and the Southeast Army also played splint boats. In addition to the cleverness of the Chinese, they were also diligent. They seemed to play like a game, but if you really want to meet an expert, it's still a bit self-defeating.

Ships during the sailing period are troublesome enough to adjust and control according to the wind at any time. If you rely on the wind to eat, there will be high winds, small winds, and downwinds and headwinds. Sometimes there is no wind at all. The commanding officer’s skills and sailors are absolutely important. Our business capabilities must not be sloppy!

As he narrowed the distance, Hong Xiguan looked at the incoming ship through his telescope and laughed blankly. He understood the clue.

The other three single-masted ships, similar to the sixth-tier cruise ship of Southeast Mansion, had a streamlined hull, with the bow tower removed, and there was no tall stern tower. The height of the ship was a bit low, which should be one less layer.

The top of the Class VI cruise ship is the weather deck. The first layer below the deck is the gun deck, which is mainly equipped with artillery for warfare. It is also the residence of the crew. The next layer is the warehouse deck, which is the cargo hold, which is relatively low. It is short, and people have to bow their heads when they enter, mainly for storing supplies. The bottom layer is the bottom compartment, where bulky things such as ballast gravel, water cans, wine cans, and projectiles are placed. Gunpowder cans generally cannot be placed in the bottom compartment. , There is the wettest place, easy to get the gunpowder damp.

If there is no cargo compartment isolation, things placed in the bottom compartment are easily damp, and food cannot be used, but putting food on the gun deck will affect the battle.

In addition, cruise ships pay attention to self-sustaining power and must be supported by materials, so cargo holds are very necessary.

Obviously, the other party's sloop is not so particular about it. After one layer of cargo holds is missing, the height is lowered, and it can be rowed with a large oar.

When there is no wind, everyone stops, and they can row the boat with oars, so they naturally get closer.

However, there is a separate brig without a big oar, which can be chased, which shows the commanding level of the captain!

The brigs were also streamlined. At the time when the ship was changing, many galen boats with big bottoms (stern towers) were running on the ocean. The streamlined boats were used by the navies of the Hongmaofan countries, and they were used by civilians. , There is a suspicion of bad intentions.

Looking at the four menacing ships, Hong Xiguan narrowed his eyes and ordered: "Keep on running!"

It is not a good time for combat, because there are two brigs behind the four ships, which have not completely opened the distance.

Then run, the other party is working very hard, getting closer and closer to the three southeast ships, you can see that there are many red hairs on the ship, and there are also a few brown and black races!

At the beginning of the afternoon, everyone was close enough to see with the naked eye, and the other party's wild laughter came!

The two brigs that were left behind in the distance have become smaller, and they can't be chased even if it's dark!

"Wait!" Hong Xiguan looked at the direction of the wind.

Now they are downwind, and the boat runs happily, but for the southeast ship that advocates combat, they don’t like tailwind, because when they turn back to fight, they become headwind, and the muzzle is raised, so they have to use chain bullets to destroy the enemy’s mast. With sails, you can't enjoy the enjoyment of **** to the bulwark of the enemy ship.

Although there are more enemies than ours, the trained Chinese officers and soldiers are not afraid.

They are bandits and we are soldiers. How can the army be afraid of pirates!

...

Of the four pirate ships that were chased, three of the three-masted ships carried the shark flag, the bull head flag and the sea eagle flag. As for the brig, the skull flag was used.

They marched in a line through the wind and waves, and the brig was a little behind.

On the open deck of the sloop with the shark flag, stood a strong and fierce red-haired man. This man was the captain Dick. This man was an Englishman who specialized in the robbery of treasure ships and cargo ships returning from South America from Spain. Things. The pirate next to him is a cyclops, heavier than Dick, like a giant Tarzan. He is a Nordic, but he is called Hercules (Hercules in Greek mythology). He holds a big axe in his hand and looks. Going up with a bit of weight, he lifted the weight and slapped his thick palm with the ax face lightly, looking impatient.

This time the visiting fleet from the Southeast Mansion arrived in Europe. Soon there was a rumor that the Chinese were rich in illegal businesses in Europe, which immediately attracted the serious attention of the pirates!

They even dared to rob the treasure ship of the Spanish Kingdom, and why did they dare not attack the yellow race fleet~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Since the Chinese officers and soldiers did not deliberately keep secrets, all pirate groups knew that they were going to travel around the world. , But I don’t know where I crossed the Atlantic. Apparently Dick won the jackpot.

Of course, it's another matter to eat or not to eat.

Dick used his binoculars to observe the situation on both sides, and suddenly he shouted: "Ship gun, launch!"

"Boom! Boom!" After two artillery sounds, two shells hit the Yasha XII ship in the middle of the Chinese formation.

One became a near-missing bullet, hitting the port side of the Yasha XII, and hitting a thick water column, bursting a large group of sprays, showering the nearby Chinese all over.

Another cannonball flew over the heads of the Chinese officers and soldiers in the stern tower. The wind was like a knife, and everyone lowered their heads together to see the cannonball punched a hole in the canvas.

Hao Sizhong's pupils contracted: "18-pounder!"

The battle finally broke out!

(=)