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"Encounter the enemy, meet the enemy, and destroy the enemy's sentry boat first, quickly!"
As Jiang Xiaoyu shouted, the 10th Battalion's 400-ton gunboat, two bluffing ships, two sand ships, and two eagle ships, with their sails filled, formed two columns and rushed towards the two Zheng army speedboats that appeared in the southeast direction.
At this time, the northwest wind was strong, and the ships of the 10th Battalion sailed with the wind, cutting through the waves like a dragon. The waves on the bow splashed like a curtain, and the speed of the ship had reached its limit.
The enemy ship was small and light. It turned the rudder in an arc and fled quickly to the south.
At the speed at which the enemy was fleeing, it would be difficult for the 10th Battalion to catch up. Gunner Zhu Bai was eager to try and asked Jiang Xiaoyu, "General, do you want to fire?"
Jiang Xiaoyu angrily said, "Damn it, you want to be a cannonball for free? Get lost!"
Zhu Bai was scolded so badly that he had to run back to his artillery position in shame. He had been practicing live-fire shooting every day for the past two months and had even replaced the artillery, but he had never had the chance to fire at the real enemy. Zhu Bai couldn't help but feel itchy.
But the two speedboats of Zheng army were more than a mile away, and the hit rate at such a long distance was almost zero. What's more, using the red cannon to bombard the two speedboats was simply like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. No wonder Jiang Xiaoyu was so angry.
After desperately chasing for two or three miles, Jiang Xiaoyu suddenly saw through the telescope that a dense number of enemy warships had risen above the sea level and were heading towards them. Oh my God! There must be at least two hundred warships, covering the entire southern sea surface.
Jiang Xiaoyu was so frightened that he shouted: "Turn right, quickly, quickly!"
He only had seven ships, while the Zheng army had nearly two hundred ships, with sails like clouds covering the sky. If he didn't run, he would be waiting for death. Under his command, the seven warships drew an arc and fled westward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, there was a sound of artillery fire. Several shells whistled in and hit the sea surface thirty or forty feet away, stirring up a few splashes of water.
"Damn it, they're firing from two miles away. Come on, I'm not afraid of you!" Jiang Xiaoyu was furious, but the new recruits under him were shocked.
Facts have proved that firing from a distance of one or two miles away, although the hit rate is almost zero, can at least scare people and is still very effective in undermining the enemy's morale.
The Zheng army was chasing behind them. Jiang Xiaoyu only had a Fujian ship equipped with artillery, so he could only run for his life.
The left wing of the Zheng army captured a dozen Cangshan boats, which were small in size and equipped with oars. When the wind was favorable, the sails were hoisted, and when the wind died, the oars were swung. They were light and agile, and were mainly used to chase the enemy and retrieve heads.
A dozen Cangshan ships swept out from the left wing, obviously intending to encircle Jiang Xiaoyu and his men. Jiang Xiaoyu was bombarded by the artillery of the Zheng army. He had been unable to fight back and was very angry. Seeing this, he could not help but say angrily: "If a tiger does not show its power, you will think it is a sick cat. Zhu Bai, load the shotgun shells and turn the rudder..."
Under his command, the seven warships drew an arc to the left, just in time to catch the "T"-shaped cross head of the dozen or so Cangshan ships that had swept out from the left wing.
The Zheng army did not expect that a few small fish and shrimps would dare to turn and attack under the nose of the Zheng family's huge fleet, until ten tongues of fire spewed out from the port side of Jiang Xiaoyu's flagship.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ten thousand-jin falconets opened fire one after another. The sound shook the sea, and the flying bullets poured out like rain, whistling and hitting the Cangshan ship of the Zheng army, breaking many small holes in the sails. The sailors on the ship dodged in fear, and those who could not dodge in time were either pierced in the chest or shot in the head, with blood splattering and screaming.
The biggest feature of the falconet is its fast firing rate. After firing a shot, the gun can be replaced with a pre-loaded sub-gun immediately. In less than 20 seconds, it can fire again. Tongues of fire bring out a barrage of bullets all over the sky, which is really like white rain falling into the ship. Unfortunately, this kind of shotgun does not cause much damage to the hull. If the enemy hides on the inside of the ship, there will be few casualties.
After two rounds of shooting, Jiang Xiaoyu ordered to turn and flee again. The front main gun of the Zheng army roared from time to time, and the solid bullets weighing more than 20 kilograms hit the water surface with a terrifying whistling sound, stirring up water columns.
"Quick, go around Woniu Island, quick!"
The two rounds of artillery fire just now had wasted a lot of time. The Cangshan ships of the Zheng army were getting closer and closer. If they were entangled, Jiang Xiaoyu's seven warships would probably be wiped out.
The sky was gloomy, as heavy as if filled with lead. The wind was much weaker, and only small waves were rising on the sea. Jiang Xiaoyu regretted his impulsiveness just now. Although the two rounds of artillery fire boosted morale, they delayed the opportunity to escape.
In order to escape the encirclement of Zheng's army, he no longer cared about Admiral Gu Rong's words to lure the enemy to the west. Under his order, the seven warships turned right, bypassed Woniu Island and fled to the north.
Zheng Zhilong sent Zheng Xing to lead 20 warships to pursue. Jiang Xiaoyu had seven warships and 500 men and horses, which was a big piece of meat.
Because they were sailing against the wind, everyone was not going very fast. Zheng Xing ordered the front main gun to fire continuously, hoping to further affect Jiang Xiaoyu's speed.
The two sides were chasing each other desperately at a distance of one mile, and both wished their warships could fly, but the more anxious they were, the slower their speed seemed.
Anxious, Jiang Xiaoyu bypassed Woniu Island and fled northward for four or five miles. In front of him were two small islands with high peaks and lush forests. The waterway between the two islands was only one mile wide.
Jiang Xiaoyu ordered to pass through the gap between the two mountains, hoping that this kind of terrain would scare off the pursuers and make them dare not pursue him any further. However, Zheng Xing continued to pursue him while firing artillery shells.
From time to time, shells landed near the ships, stirring up columns of water, which was quite scary. Just after passing two small islands, we saw clouds and sails covering the sky and huge ships breaking the waves in the northwest. A huge fleet stretched two miles and came towards us.
At first sight, Jiang Xiaoyu thought it was the enemy and was shocked. Then he looked again and found that it was the North Sea Fleet that had lost contact with him before. There were more than 200 warships, and the black muzzles of their guns were pointed at him from a distance, which made his scalp numb.
"It's the North Sea Fleet. Send out flag signals quickly to tell them that there are pursuers behind us. Quick!" Jiang Xiaoyu was surprised and happy, and a little hysterical.
In fact, there was no need for flag signals. Di Zhongxing knew there were enemies when he heard the occasional cannon fire. His thirty-six giant ships were lined up in a row, cutting diagonally towards the channel between the two islands. Jiang Xiaoyu hurriedly turned around the island to the west to get out of the way.
As soon as Zheng Xing’s twenty warships chased out of the channel between the two islands, they saw enemy ships approaching like clouds. Zheng Ju, who was experienced in naval battles, was not surprised, but immediately realized that this was a good opportunity. As long as they could delay the Qin army for a while, Zheng Zhilong’s follow-up army would soon be able to outflank them... ..
At this time, the clouds broke through a line, the shadows of the mountains turned into the sea, and half of the sky was dim. Countless Qin warships came out of the shadows and approached the pirate ship. The vanguard commanded by Liu Zhongqin opened fire first and rushed towards the Zheng army with the wind.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The starboard 1,000-jin falconet guns opened fire one after another, and bullets flew like rain, whistling all over the sky. A full hundred solid bullets hit Zheng Xing's fleet with an amazing momentum. Unfortunately, a Cangshan ship on Zheng Xing's left was hit on the bow. Bang! With a loud bang, the bow of the Cangshan ship was shattered, wood chips flew everywhere, and the Zheng soldiers on the ship screamed...
"Turn rudder, fire back with the starboard artillery, and go up like a mountain to entangle the enemy..." Zheng Xing shouted. He only had three gunboats, and the rest were small warships. Under his command, the three gunboats turned west along Jiang Xiaoyu's track, facing the Qin warships with their starboard sides, and fired back fiercely.
The remaining dozen or so small warships braved the rain of bullets and rushed straight towards the Qin army's gunboats. For a moment, there was continuous artillery fire between the two islands, and the sound of killing was like a tide, shaking the earth and the sky, and the sea was boiling.
On the Zheng warships that rushed towards the Qin gunboats, the Zheng soldiers squatted on the side of the ship and fired continuously with rifles stolen from the Dutch. This rifle had rifling, and although it was difficult to load, it had a long range and great power. Hundreds of guns fired at the same time, the sound shook the sea, and the flying bullets fell into the water like rain.
Soldiers on Liu Zhongqin's ship were shot from time to time, and the deck was stained with blood. He couldn't help but get furious. The other side's dozen or so small ships dared to rush over so arrogantly. It was clear that they did not take the Qin Navy seriously. This was intolerable.
He immediately adjusted his course and plowed straight towards Zheng's small ships. His Fu ship was as tall as a building, and was pressed down by the wind. If the Zheng's small ships were hit, they would surely be destroyed.
However, Zheng's warships were small and light, making it difficult to hit them. In addition, Zheng's sailors were very skilled in sailing and steering. Not only did Liu Zhongqin's giant ship fail to hit the enemy, but it was approached from both sides. The giant ship's artillery could not shoot diagonally downward, so it could only use muskets to fire continuously from a high position.
There was a constant bang of gunfire and smoke filled the air. The Zheng army was made up of desperate criminals who had lived on the sea for many years and were extremely brave. They kept approaching the Qin army's giant ships under the rain of bullets. Once they were caught by the enemy, it would be extremely dangerous.
Liu Zhongqin, whose nickname was Hunjianglong in the past, sneered: "Come on, come on if you are not afraid of death, Wei Shisan, get ready, let the enemy have a taste of our power!"
"Yes, General!"
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.(To be continued..)
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