The oath-taking ceremony was very brief. That afternoon, Houyi and Xingtian were already sailing on the blue sea. In order to avoid being seen, they chose to sail slightly away from the coastline. Although they had encountered other ships during the sea trials of the two ships before, and there were people secretly spying nearby with small boats, it was no big secret that the two large ships of Bailang City were bought and modified. However, it is better to have less trouble than more. Xiao Chen is not afraid of trouble, but he hates troubles gathering together.
On the bridge of the Hou Yi, Hertz stood beside Xiao Chen and fiddled with a telescope curiously. This was a military telescope that came standard with the Tower of China, and it was a gift from Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen saw that the middle-aged man had a curious look on his face, and all his attention was focused on the telescope.
Herrez suddenly asked to come aboard when the fleet was setting sail. In addition to him, there were three old brothers. Xiao Chen certainly welcomed such an old captain, but he still had to ask him what he really thought.
Xiao Chen asked curiously, "Mr. Herrez, do you really want to follow us to the Raging Sea? Most of the sailors I recruited here are young people without families, who are going out to sea to fight for their future, but you still have your own family in Shuangfan City. Of course, I need an experienced navigator like you, but..."
Heres said: "Master Xiao Chen, I know how dangerous it is to go to the Raging Sea, but when I heard you speak at the oath-taking ceremony, I wanted to climb onto the ship and follow you! No, think about it carefully. I didn't have this idea today. I participated in your entire shipbuilding process and had this idea a long time ago. You know that the Raging Sea is a nightmare for sailors, but it is also a place that many people risk their lives to see. Which sailor didn't think about conquering that place when he was young? If you can cross the Raging Sea and reach the Western Continent, you will be the same as those legendary captains! This is the dream of all seafarers.
Although I am not a sailing expert, I have thought so. Now there is an opportunity in front of me. I have seen the methods you have used to transform the ship these days, and there is a voice in my heart saying that if such people cannot succeed in going to the Raging Sea, then no one can succeed. And I only have one chance to achieve this goal in my life, that is, to go on the ship with them. You can do anything, as long as you give me a chance to go with you.
People who travel by sea do what they say, so I came. As for my family, they have their own destiny. I give them enough money to live on, and I don’t care too much about it.”
Xiao Chen said: "Then I understand. You and your companions can serve as consultants on our ship. We can't buy a lot of your experience."
"Sir, I'm not bragging, but when it comes to knowledge and experience at sea, there are not many people in the Double Sails City area who can compare to me. Most of the old guys who have more experience than me can't go out to sea." said Herrez.
"You should also be proficient in naval warfare, right?"
Seeing Herrez was stunned, Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Your old friends are very interested in our pneumatic cannons. I paid attention to their discussions, and it sounds like they have some ideas, such as how to fire the cannon first and then board the ship, which wind direction is more advantageous for fighting, etc. They must have fought many naval battles, otherwise they would not be able to think of these things."
Jerez showed a trace of embarrassment, and he said: "Sir, on the sea, sea merchants and pirates are not so clearly divided into two types of people. I admit that I have done some business without capital, but most of the time it was the result of others provoking me. At that time, our ship was small, and we were often looked down upon and bullied, but fortunately, those old brothers and I had some skills. They often robbed our people, but in the end they were defeated by us. But I am not the kind of person who does not care about propriety. Generally, I only want money and goods, and I will not kill people. People in our southern city-states follow the rules.
But the pirates of the Sea Tribe are different. They are truly brutal pirates. Often, after merchant ships are intercepted by them, they kill all the people, or take away all their water, cut down their masts, and let them die of thirst at sea. These people are the biggest threat to merchants at sea. So our southern city-states have been fighting against the pirates of the Sea Tribe at sea. Although they are pirates, many of them are also the army of their tribe.
If you pass through the Pearl Islands, you will inevitably encounter them. To be honest, if your two ships enter the Pearl Islands, you may encounter some troubles. "
"What do you mean?"
"These two ships look like warships. Maybe those brainless guys in the sea tribe will think we are provoking them or planning to launch a surprise attack on one of their islands. They might even launch an attack on us."
"Has the relationship between the Sea Clan and the Southern City-State become so tense?"
"The sea tribe and the southern city-states are like water and fire, and have never lived in harmony." Herrez said: "The sea tribe, like the orcs, is made up of many tribes. Some tribes are friendly to us, but more tribes have conflicts with us. They are better with merchant ships. Only one out of dozens of merchant ships is robbed. In most cases, business can still be done. After all, they also need various materials produced on the mainland. But they will not be so polite to warships. They will think that we are going to rob their troops and may go to war with us."
Xiao Chen said: "As far as I know, these conflicts are not unilateral problems of the sea people. The southern city-states have also plundered the sea people, right? I heard that some noble families in the southern city-states of the kingdom have the habit of raising and trading sea slaves."
Herrez said, "You are a leader, so you naturally know that this kind of problem that has accumulated over thousands of years cannot be solved by who is right or wrong. The army of the southern city-states will plunder the sea tribes, and the sea tribes will also plunder the villages and towns on the mainland. This has been the case for the past thousands of years. However, in the past few hundred years, we have generally had the upper hand. After all, the Black Dragon Empire taught the sea tribe a big lesson when they attempted to invade the mainland. Hundreds of years have passed, and they have not yet recovered. In the naval battles of the past few years, our coalition forces of the southern city-states have been able to win about 70% of the battles."
"Are you talking about the war led by Emperor Rick against the invasion of the sea tribe in the last years of the Black Dragon Empire?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Yes, it is the Savior Rick Saint." (To be continued)