Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 185: Arson Ship

The night is deep, the stars dot the deep night sky, and a crescent moon hangs in the sky like a jade plate.

The sea was sparkling, and a breeze blew by, bringing a little coolness.

The "San Jose" was quietly anchored on the sea, as if blending into the quiet night around it.

On the ship, the faint lights swayed with the rising and falling waves, occasionally illuminating the silent and pale faces of the sailors.

In the captain's room, Calles was examining the nautical chart under the dim light, scribbling on a piece of white paper with the quill pen in his hand, his brows furrowed, his expression serious and solemn.

In the lower cabin, one could faintly hear the sounds of scolding and whipping, as well as faint groans of pain.

The sea breeze blew, carrying a salty smell, gently shaking the sails and making a rustling sound.

"How long do we need to stay here?" Mariano looked at the dark night outside, sighed, then turned his head and asked in a low voice.

"I don't know." Miguel leaned against the side of the boat and closed his eyes.

"Are all the guys on the St. Vincent going to die?"

"...Maybe." Miguel shrugged. "Even if they weren't killed by the pirates, they might be taken as slaves. ...Well, just like the Indians in the mines in Mexico, they were driven to work day and night until they died of disease or an accident."

"Can we rescue them?" Mariano felt sympathetic after hearing this.

"I guess it's difficult. Unless, by the time we gather a powerful fleet to attack the pirate stronghold, they haven't been tortured to death."

"In that case, why don't we return to Mexico immediately, report the situation here to the Governor, and then summon a fleet and soldiers to rescue them?"

"I suspect Captain Calles will need to further investigate the pirates' situation so he can provide a more detailed and comprehensive description of the situation here upon his return to Mexico. Also, our scheduled rendezvous with the 'La Dona de Charcas' is still over twenty days away, so we'll need to wait here for its arrival."

"But it's very dangerous for us to be here with only one ship," Mariano said worriedly. "These pirates have several armed ships. If they launch a surprise attack on us, we might end up like the St. Vincent and be captured."

"No," Miguel said with a smile. "I heard from the boatswain, Garza, that he learned from interrogating captured pirates that all of their armed ships were heading to the Ming Dynasty to transport immigrants. Currently, there isn't a single armed warship on the entire Pirate Island."

"But I still have a bad feeling." Mariano glanced up at the night sky again. "Those pirates won't just sit there and watch us dock near their port. They'll definitely launch a surprise attack on us."

"Just those little fishing boats and canoes?"

"What if they attack us at night?" Mariano's heart tightened as he said this, and he subconsciously looked towards the sea again.

Although the moon was bright in the sky, the view was only a few dozen meters outside the hull.

If the pirates attacked suddenly, they would not have much time to react.

"Wow!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of splashing water on the sea, which made him startled. He turned his head and looked hard at the sea in the distance.

"What did you see?" Miguel became nervous upon seeing this. He stood up from the deck and looked hard into the night.

“…” Mariano had almost half of his body leaning out of the side of the boat, his eyes wide open, staring intently.

"...Is it a big fish jumping out of the water?" Miguel watched for a long time, but didn't hear any movement. He couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, man, you're too nervous! We're more than a league away from the coast. It's unlikely they'll find us in the dark like this."

"That's probably it..." Mariano felt a little embarrassed by his own nervousness and cursed, "Oh, these damn pagan pirates! No, I heard that those pirates on the shore are a group of Ming Dynasty pirates from the East. They are all soulless and unbelievers. They all deserve to go to hell!..."

"Mariano..." Miguel suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the night sky in the distance, "I seem to hear something."

"What?" Mariano heard this and leaned over the side of the boat to listen attentively.

"It seems... there's a boat coming." Miguel was a little unsure. "Did you hear it?"

"I think... I heard it too!"

Miguel looked at Mariano and made a decision.

"There's a fire! ...Pirates are coming!"

"Pirates are attacking!"

“…Pirates are attacking!”

"...All on alert!"

As the shrill cries rang out, the entire "San Jose" suddenly became noisy and boiling.

Captain Calles, First Mate Fernandez, Boatswain Garza, and many sailors rushed out of the cabin. "Weigh anchor! ... Weigh anchor!"

"Raise the sail!"

"Hurry up! ... Hoist the sails!"

"Fireship! ..."

"Fireships! ... From the northwest, three fireships are attacking!"

"Turn! ... East by south!"

"..."

To the northwest of the "San Jose", three small boats had been set on fire and were slowly approaching them with the help of the wind.

"Damn it! Bring that pole over here!" Seeing this, the boatswain, Garza, immediately shouted, "Quick, quick, stretch out the pole and get ready to stop the fireship from approaching!"

"And all of you, quickly get buckets of water and be ready to put out the fire at any time!"

At this time, the anchor was being slowly collected, dozens of sailors were pulling the sail ropes with all their strength, and the helmsman, under the captain's order, quickly changed direction to avoid the attacking fire ships.

It must be said that the Spaniards reacted very quickly. After receiving the warning, in less than ten minutes, they slowly moved the stationary ships and began to take corresponding evasive measures.

But the speed of the fire ships was not slow either. Driven by the sea breeze, they gradually approached the "San Jose".

The flames jumped as the ship swayed, like the most ferocious predator in the dark night, moving forward relentlessly, ready to devour everything it encountered.

On the sea surface under the night sky, the firelight and the waves reflected each other, revealing the outline of the entire Spanish ship and casting a huge shadow.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a fireboat crashed into the port side of the "San Jose" and flames immediately rushed over.

Several Spanish sailors held up a long pole, pressed it against the deck, and pushed hard, trying to push it away from the ship.

“Wow! Wow!…”

Seven or eight buckets of sea water were suddenly poured over, suppressing the dancing flames and sending a few puffs of white smoke rising.

Another fireboat just missed the bow of the "San Jose" and was like a huge torch, constantly illuminating the dark sea ahead.

Another fire ship was heading towards the stern with determination, looking unstoppable.

"boom!"

There was another loud bang, and the fire ship crashed into the edge of the stern, and a ball of flame immediately rolled towards the hull.

Several sailors hurriedly picked up a bucket of water and poured it over, slightly suppressing the rising fire.

"Oh, damn! Hurry up and keep splashing!"

"Miguel, don't just stand there! Go and drag that plank over here and push this damn fire ship away!"

"Hurry up, hurry up, raise all the sails!"

“Let’s get out of here!”

As the "San Jose" slowly started moving, the two connected fireboats gradually separated from the hull, and a group of sailors used long poles and wooden boards to push the fireboats a little further away.

After many sailors put out the fire with all their strength, the parts that were set on fire by the fire ship were extinguished one by one, and everyone escaped in a panic.

This is so lucky!
Before the pirates launched the attack by setting the ship on fire, the sailors on duty immediately discovered the situation, enabling the crew on board to respond quickly and deal with the situation in a timely manner, thus avoiding catastrophic consequences.

Well, the best thing to do now is to quickly sail the ship away from this sea area and away from the port where the pirates are located.

This group of pirates is really difficult to deal with, so we need to be cautious.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

In the darkness of the night, a burst of gunfire was heard, which frightened the Spaniards and made them move faster, driving their ships towards the pitch-black southeast.

(End of this chapter)