Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 71: Hijacking the Ship (I)

Lingding Mountain (now Nei Lingding Island) is an island in the Pearl River Delta. As the name suggests, it is a lonely mountain on the sea.

The island covers an area of ​​only a few square kilometers. The highest peak on the island is about 300 meters high. From the top, you can overlook the entire Pearl River Estuary and watch ships coming in and out from all directions.

It was evening. Two men in tight-fitting clothes stood on the top of the mountain, holding up a rare "telescope" and closely observing the vast sea ahead.

"Here they come!" The thin man suddenly exclaimed, put away the "clairvoyance" in his hand, and said to his companion with a happy face.

"Can you see it clearly?" Upon hearing this, the companion picked up a signal firework from the ground and confirmed it carefully.

"That's right, I saw our ship. And the signal flags on the ship are also hoisted! ...And that big ship!"

"Then I'll...send the signal?" The companion took out a lighter from his pocket.

"What nonsense! ... Hurry up, give the signal and notify Longtou and the others."

"Oh... okay!"

As he spoke, he lit three fireworks one by one and released them into the sky.

"Let's go down the mountain! ...Meet up with Big Dragon Head."

The two of them packed up quickly and then ran down the mountain.

At this time, after receiving the fireworks signal, more than ten large and small ships anchored on the shore of the island immediately rowed their oars and headed north against the tide.

Lingdingyang is the largest trumpet-shaped estuary outside the Pearl River. It is a weak tidal estuary with a slow current. Any merchant ships sailing from upstream will lose the push of the river water after passing through here and their speed will slow down a lot.

If they wanted to increase the speed of the ship again, they had to cross the Lingdingyang and enter the open sea, where they could take advantage of the strong sea breeze to sail across the ocean at high speed.

A few days ago, after Chen Zhongji decided to attack and seize the huge three-masted sailing ship, he chose the Lingdingyang as the place of action.

There are many small islands here, the water flow is gentle, and the ocean is wide. It is also the only way for merchant ships going out to sea from Guangzhou Port. By guarding here, there is no risk of losing the target.

In addition, there are few towns and villages on both sides of the Lingdingyang. Neither the imperial navy nor the Guangzhou Inspection Office usually patrol the sea area by boat, which makes it convenient for them to plunder.

Chen Zhongji naturally did not fall behind in the skills of maritime robbery.

In the past, I followed a group of brothers and traveled along the coast of Fujian, using many islands and reefs as strongholds and frequently raiding merchant ships. Although life was dangerous, it was also happy and free.

However, he never expected that Yan Siqi died of illness, and the entire power group immediately fell apart. After he left Dongfan in anger, he lived a rather miserable life, far less prosperous than Zheng Zhilong, Li Kuiqi and others.

Thinking about it now, I feel so unwilling!

That day, at the tavern on the dock, I heard Yang Yao talking about the big ship. At first, I was just a little envious, but I never thought of seizing the ship and robbing the money.

But in the end, Yang Yao said that there were not many sailors on this big ship, only fifty or sixty, and it was carrying a huge amount of gold and silver, which immediately made him feel a little covetous.

Although he is in a very bad state now, he still has more than a dozen boats and more than four hundred brothers. If he has the right opportunity, he can rise again, turn himself into a dragon, and achieve hegemony.

This ship is large enough to be a fortress at sea. Once it is taken over, it will surely be able to crush the many maritime forces and inflict heavy casualties.

Moreover, Yang Yao mentioned that the ship was carrying hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. If he could seize it, he would be able to enrich his capital even more.

"...Speaking of fear at Huangfeng Beach, sighing of loneliness in the Lingding Ocean!" Suddenly, someone on the boat recited a poem, attracting the attention of the pirates.

what's the situation?
We are preparing to rob, what the hell is this pretentious thing?

Chen Zhongji turned his head and glanced at the "sour scholar" with a cold look in his eyes.

"Big Dragon Head, I... I just..." Xu Wenhao was startled and spoke incoherently, "I just wanted to say a few words to enhance... the momentum of our trip..."

Chen Zhongji stared at him for a moment without saying a word, but his gloomy eyes made the other person feel an inexplicable chill.

The poem just now seems, as if, probably... cannot be used to boost momentum.

That was Prime Minister Wen's last poem! How bitter!

"Later, we'll engage in boarding battle. We all need to push forward and not shrink back." Chen Zhongji ignored the impoverished scholar and glanced at the pirates on the ship. "We'll seize the ship and the silver, and everyone will have a share. When we return to the island, we'll drink and eat meat to our heart's content, and we'll also have fun with the captured women. If anyone dares to desert and sell our brothers' lives to the enemy, don't blame me for being ruthless and using your head as a sacrifice!"

"Don't worry, Dragon Head! Later, none of the brothers will be soft-hearted. We will seize that ship and rob them of their gold and silver!"

"Longtou, our heads are already hanging on the waistband of our pants. If we meet a fat sheep, why don't we just grab the knife and go at it? Who would care about life?"

"That's right. Let's rob that big ship and kill all the people on it. Then we can divide the gold and silver with big scales, eat meat and wine in big bowls, and live happily for a while!"

"..."

"Dragon Head..." Xu Wenhao also wanted to show his loyalty and courage, but after holding it in for a long time, he couldn't say a single harsh word.

"Huh?" Chen Zhongji glared at him.

You do have some ability to come up with ideas and plan a strategy before taking action.

Could it be that we are about to start robbing the boat, and you still want to recite me some poems that are not very appropriate to the situation?
If you dare to be impatient again, believe it or not, I will sink you into the sea!
"Dragon Head, when we seize the ship later, we should avoid... killing too many people."

"What do you mean?" Chen Zhongji narrowed his eyes slightly, and the gloominess on his face deepened.

"Longtou, if we kill everyone, no one will help us operate the big ship!" Xu Wenhao said in a low voice.

"Uh..." Chen Zhongji was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Well, you've thought it through."

"Brothers, later, when we seize the ship at night, if the enemy kneels and surrenders, spare their lives! ... But don't kill them all!"

"Yes, Big Dragon Head!"

The pirates responded with a roar, their eyes fixed on the large ship that was getting closer and closer, and they gripped the swords, axes and forks in their hands a little tighter.
-
"coming!"

More than 30 crew members and more than 40 young and strong immigrants had gathered on the deck of the "Breaking Waves", all holding firearms and swords, holding the railings of the ship, watching the more than ten large and small ships approaching in front of them.

The other side came with great force. With the help of the setting sun, they could vaguely see many pirates with guns and knives gathered on the ship. They seemed to be shouting and clamoring loudly, preparing to intercept the big ship they were on.

Despite this, the sails were wide open and the ship was moving in a "Z" shape on the ocean, catching the weak wind in the bay and pushing the ship forward.

However, the speed of the entire ship was not fast, only about two knots. Facing the interception of more than ten pirate ships, it was unlikely that it could use its huge hull to quickly break out of the enemy's blockade, and it was very likely that it would be followed closely by these pirates.

At that time, you will inevitably face a situation where the pirates will attack the ship like ants after boarding it, climbing up from all sides, and then a boarding battle will occur.

The location and time chosen by the other party were also very tricky.

In the Lingdingyang, at dusk, the pirates could take advantage of the cover of darkness and the obstruction of vision to launch an attack, thus making the crew of the "Breaking Waves" unable to cope and forcing them to engage in a hand-to-hand combat.

The Ming pirates of this period were not like the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period, who were only equipped with daggers, Japanese swords, spears and heavy swords, supplemented by a small number of muskets.

The famous pirates Li Dan, Yan Siqi, and the later "Shi Ba Zhi" were all equipped with a large number of firearms such as Portuguese cannons and dove guns. In terms of military strength, they were no weaker than the Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish.

Especially the future "Pirate King" of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong, whose maritime armed forces were so feared by even the Dutch that they did not dare to underestimate him.

The Zheng family's fleet included warships purchased or captured, as well as ships built by the family themselves. In terms of shipbuilding technology, the Zheng family also actively absorbed the Dutch's experience in craftsmanship and developed many new warships.

At this time, Zheng's fleet already had a warship equipped with thirty heavy guns, which had extremely strong lethality.

Under Zheng Zhilong's rule, there was a preliminary and complete arms production line, a workshop specializing in the production of firearms, and many Portuguese craftsmen were hired, and the country basically achieved self-reliance in weapons and equipment.

Therefore, if the "Break the Wave" was surrounded by a group of pirates, it would not necessarily allow the pirates to rob the ship, but there would still be some casualties.

Any loss of personnel or damage to the hull is something the "Breaking Waves" cannot bear.

In this way, we cannot allow these vicious pirates to force the ship to stop, let alone let them get close and climb up on board.

"Load the shotgun shells and prepare to fire!"
-
(End of this chapter)