Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 180 Attack
Zhang Aping lay bored at the stern of the boat, looking at the azure sea, feeling extremely bored.

We have been out at sea for most of the day and still haven't caught anything.

It is about five or six kilometers away from the coast, located at the western end of the Qiming Strait. "Big fish (whales)" often swim into this sea area to temporarily rest or hunt.

They will take advantage of the time when the "big fish" take a breath and hunt them ruthlessly.

Zhang Aping and a dozen others were sent to the Nuu-chanuer tribe in April to learn from these ocean warriors how to hunt "big fish."

To be honest, these sailors who came from boat people had been sailing on the sea for generations, and fishing was their only means of livelihood. When they first heard the order to be assigned abroad, they were very disapproving. They didn't think they needed to learn how to cast nets to catch fish from anyone.

Moreover, we have to learn from a group of natives, which is just a joke.

However, when the manager in charge of the fishery pulled them to the dock and saw the "big fish" as big as a hill, all the fishermen immediately put away their contempt and were surprised at the clever tricks of these natives.

Damn it, such a big fish must be as heavy as dozens of cows!
These natives were able to hunt it with just a few small boats, simple wooden spears, wooden forks, tree ropes and other tools. They really had some skills.

Zhang Aping asked himself, if these boat people encountered such a "big fish", they would be absolutely helpless and would not even dare to go forward to hunt it.

If you provoke such a big fish, it will just flap around in the sea and easily overturn your boat!

What if it opens its mouth wide and swallows you in one gulp? That would be such an unfair death.

Eating fish all your life, only to be eaten by fish in the end, the thought of it makes me feel a chill all over my body.

Before this, they used small fishing boats to catch salmon in the waters near Shixing Port, and that job was easy.

It is possible that humans have never carried out large-scale fishing activities in this sea area before, resulting in an unusually rich catch here.

Especially during the fishing season, salmon swim densely in the bay. You can easily catch a fat and fresh fish with just a scoop without using a net.

It’s no secret that this salmon is delicious and meaty. Whether it’s steamed, braised, or simply boiled into a big pot of fish soup, it will definitely leave you with a "lingering aftertaste" and a "delicious taste". If you’re not careful, you might even swallow your tongue into your stomach.

Look at the thousands of people on our Qiming Island. Although they eat potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and other grains all year round, they are supplemented with large amounts of seafood and fish sashimi, which still keeps them rosy-cheeked and healthy.

Life here is much better than in the Ming Dynasty.

It was originally believed that the superiors assigned them to learn from the natives how to hunt "big fish" in order to obtain more fish meat and increase food supply.

However, I didn't expect that the committee members cared a lot about the fat on the "big fish", saying that this thing was very useful and the fish meat was secondary.

Oh, by the way, this "big fish" looks meaty, but the taste is really not that good, like overcooked venison, which requires some teeth to chew hard.

In terms of taste, it is far worse than salmon. If there are not enough spices, the meat of the "big fish" will have a distinct sour and bloody smell, and a faint smell of rust.

Hmm, not very tasty.

Hey, when did I start to dislike food?

“…@%#￥…#%#%#!”

Zhang Aping was staring at the sea in a daze when he suddenly heard a loud shout from the bow of the ship. A Nuchanul man was shouting loudly and waving a harpoon in his hand, as if reminding the people on the boat of something.

Is the “big fish” coming?

Zhang Aping stood up immediately, put his hands on his shoulders and looked in the direction the native pointed.

Ok?
What the natives discovered was not a "big fish", but two big ships!

In the glaring sunlight, two large ships with bulging sails and towering masts were coming quickly towards their small boats in a majestic and domineering manner.

Is that our ship?
Zhang Aping looked at the large ship that was getting closer and closer, feeling dazed and confused.

Logically speaking, the immigration ships would not return until September or October, and the several transport ships left behind on Qiming Island should not appear here. So where did these two large ships come from?
The Nuu-chanul people on several small boats waved their harpoons and javelins with curiosity and greeted the approaching large ships enthusiastically.

While cheering, they would look back at the new Chinese people around them from time to time, mumbling something and occasionally uttering a few Chinese words.

"Ship, your ship..."

"My tribe... look at you..."

"Your...companions..."

"...Spaniards!" Zhang Aping suddenly woke up and shouted loudly: "Run, run to the shore! ... Those are Spanish barbarians!"

“…The barbarians are coming to kill us!”

As he shouted, he pulled a few Nuchanul people who were watching foolishly, asking them to immediately take up the oars in the cabin and row together to escape to the shore.

The Chinese people scattered on several small boats were also immediately alarmed when they heard Zhang Aping's call. Damn it, how did the Spanish get here?
Over the years, the immigrants on the island have to carry out large-scale military training every winter. The instructors have all used the Spaniards as their imaginary enemies and trained them hard, making them strengthen their muscles and wield swords and sticks, and shoot muskets with crackling sounds. They even often conduct simulated confrontation drills. At the end of the day, almost everyone has a bruised and swollen face and looks very embarrassed.

After the autumn harvest last year, an army of about 200 people was formed. They conducted training exercises every day, and the sound of gunfire could be heard from time to time.

Before the temperature completely froze, the committee mobilized more than 400 strong laborers to build some coastal defense artillery positions in the port and several nearby hills, and continuously carried newly cast cannons to various gun positions.

The entire Qiming Island is mobilizing so many people to become soldiers and constantly strengthening its own defense capabilities. Isn't it just to prevent the Spanish barbarians from coming to attack one day?
It is said that these barbarians were extremely brutal and domineering, claiming that this vast and fertile land was their territory and would not allow anyone to invade it.

Damn it, isn’t this land all unowned?
As for Qiming Island, there are not many people. If you count carefully, you will find that there are more reindeer and wild wolves roaming around than people.

Can you imagine?
In some sparsely populated outlying settlements, if you open the door early in the morning, you may even encounter a black bear foraging for food strolling outside the yard.

There is such a large piece of empty land, with neither you Spaniards settling there nor your Spanish government and army present. How can you say it is your territory!

The officials of our New Continent Huaxia Decision-Making Committee have been instilling in us that all of the New Continent continent, including Qiming Island, will be our territory in the future.

This is the will of heaven. This vast and fertile land will surely be ruled by us, the Chinese people of Xinzhou.

Of course, now we have a small population and need to lie dormant for a while, constantly increase immigration, and have children. Once we have the strength, we will have enough confidence to occupy any territory we want without hesitation.

But unexpectedly, the Spanish barbarians found this place so quickly.

Now trouble has come, we have to fight with them!

The four or five small boats, like a school of frightened fish, quickly scattered and fled under the pursuit of the two Spanish ships, rowing quickly towards the shore.

As long as we get to land and hide in the woods, the Spaniards will definitely not be able to catch us.

After the storm has died down, we still need to find a way to return to Shixing Port to report the news.

While paddling hard, Zhang Aping turned his head to look behind him.

A large Spanish ship was following closely behind, and with the help of strong wind, it was getting closer.

Oh no, I’m afraid I can’t escape!

With so many targets, how could the Spanish ship find and chase their small boat?

Damn it, they were still a long way from the shore. They paddled with all their strength in their arms, but they still couldn't shake off the Spanish ship.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a cannon roared behind him, which scared Zhang Aping so much that he shuddered and subconsciously shrank his head.

Damn it, they even used cannons to attack us!

"thump!"

The shell landed in the sea on the right, causing a huge splash.

"Faster, faster, faster!..." Zhang Aping shouted hoarsely at several Nuchanul people who were paddling.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two more cannon shots rang out, and the Spaniards were trying to intimidate the fleeing boats into stopping immediately and becoming their prisoners.

Although the Spaniards could not be sure whether the fishermen on these small boats were members of the pirate gang, as long as they captured these people, they would be able to torture them out of a lot of important information.

Even if they are just local Indians, we can still get some necessary supplies through them.

Of course, we can also get some "benefits" for the crew members.

So, fellow villagers, don’t run away!

"boom"

"Crack!"

A large Spanish ship finally caught up with a small boat when it was about to approach the coast, and then rammed into it without slowing down at all.

The seven or eight natives on the boat immediately fell into the water.

"...Catch as many alive as possible."

There was a burst of shouts from the Spanish ship, and many sailors, some holding muskets and some holding javelins, lay on both sides of the ship, staring at the sea.

(End of this chapter)