The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 77 Barrel Explosion and Secondary Detonation

Before Lin Qian could react, a column of water splashed up on the port side of the St. Anna.

The point of impact was more than 300 paces away from the Santa Ana, which was ridiculously off target.

Lin Qian felt a little more at ease. Even a skilled gunner would have a hit rate of around 10% when shooting at a ship on the sea, let alone these pirates who didn't even know how to use cannons.

In those days, artillery was a top-notch technical branch of the military.

Historically, when the Ming Dynasty purchased cannons from the Portuguese, it brought Portuguese instructors with it to Beijing.

Using artillery is something you really can't learn without being taught.

At this moment, more cannon fire came from the ship city, and the vast sea area within a five-mile radius around the Santa Ana was splashed with water droplets from the falling cannonballs.

After a round of shelling, the ship town fell silent.

The Santa Ana's cannons roared incessantly, leaving the shipyard riddled with holes and the sea filled with dust and smoke.

"Captain." A voice came from behind Lin Qian.

Lin Qian turned around and saw Zhou Xiucai and He Sai. The two were panting heavily, soaked to the bone, and their clothes clung to their bodies, making them look extremely thin.

Lin Qian stepped forward and checked their hands. Seeing that they were both intact, she was relieved and said, "It's good that you're back."

Scholar Zhou choked up and said, "I have failed the captain's trust... I..."

Lin Qian waved her hand to stop them: "With a formidable enemy at hand, we can talk about these things later. Where is the stolen silver kept? Where are the firearms and gunpowder stored?"

Just as Zhou Xiucai was about to speak, he suddenly saw flashes of light coming from the direction of the ship city, followed by the booming sound of cannons. He shouted, "Hero, be careful!"

In an instant, water jets splashed around the St. Anna, and the scattered seawater fell like a heavy rain, covering the entire deck.

The point of impact was noticeably closer this time than last time.

Lin Qian thought to herself, "These pirates are learning way too fast. I underestimated them."

Zhou Xiucai and Jose slowly straightened up. Seeing Lin Qian facing them with her back straight and no fear on her face, they couldn't help but admire her. Inspired by her, they also straightened their backs a little.

Suddenly, a deafening roar came from the ship city. The sound pierced through the clouds and shot into the sun, causing the sea and sky to tremble. The shockwave could be felt from a great distance, and the seawater was shaken up in waves.

Lin Qian was also shaken by the explosion, but she managed to keep her composure and showed no fear. She simply turned around calmly, took out her binoculars, and looked toward the ship city.

The ship city had been blown into five pieces, with raging fires burning at the cracks and thick black smoke billowing into the sky, almost forming a small mushroom cloud.

Tens of thousands of wooden chips pierced through the mushroom cloud, burning fiercely and leaving long trails of black smoke that shot out in all directions.

Within a radius of ten miles, a rain of wooden planks fell.

The pirates' guns exploded, and judging by the force of the explosion, the remaining gunpowder also detonated.

"Dangdang!"

On the deck of the Santa Ana, a half-person-high plank of wood fell down, burning fiercely on it, and smashed a hole in the deck, but fortunately no one was hit.

The crew used the sand they had prepared to extinguish the fire, then worked together to lift the plank and throw it into the sea.

Zhou Xiucai's legs went weak, and he was dumbfounded by what he saw.

Lin Qian put down her binoculars and said, "I already know where the gunpowder is. Where's the silver?"

Zhou Xiucai composed himself and pointed to Li Kuiqi's boat, saying, "They're all on the boat."

At this time, Li Kuiqi's ship had left the ship city and was heading towards the fleet in the southeast corner of the lagoon.

The remaining ships that had not yet escaped the ship city were almost entirely engulfed in flames, and the pirates on the ship city's ruins jumped into the sea to survive.

Some people also took small boats and fled out of the lagoon in all directions.

In an instant, the boat town collapsed like a tree falling and monkeys scattering, with dozens of small boats fleeing in droves.

At this time, Bai Langzai and his siblings, along with their crew, had also boarded the ship.

Seeing this, Bai Qing said, "Captain, I'll take some men and bring them back!"

Lin Qian: "Let them be. You've done a great job. Take a rest for a while."

Lin Qian commanded in a deep voice, "Raise the sails, head southeast, and fire when the enemy fleet is three hundred paces away!"

Chen Jiao shouted towards the deck: "Sail southeast, wind northwest, port side with the wind, hoist the sails!"

At a command, the sailors swiftly climbed the mast and lowered the sails.

The St. Anna slowly set sail, and along the course, pirates in small boats struggled to row and avoid it. Most of those who couldn't avoid it were shot dead with muskets or crushed into the sea by the bow of the St. Anna.

"Boom!"

A muffled rumble of thunder came from the distant sea.

"Captain, it looks like it's going to rain," Chen Jiao warned.

Lin Qian looked up and saw that the sky was covered with dark clouds, and she could not see any sunlight at all. Although it was not yet noon, the sky was already like dusk.

Lin Qian then used her binoculars to look at Li Kuiqi's fleet.

In the southeast corner of the lagoon, more than a hundred boats of various sizes had gathered, spaced a certain distance apart, and the decks were filled with pirates.

Despite suffering heavy casualties from the artillery fire and having their gunpowder depot destroyed, the pirates showed no signs of panic. Instead, they formed a battle formation, displaying an air of determination to fight to the death.

In fact, the pirates were fighting with their backs against the current. The coral atolls surrounding the lagoon were only wide enough for small boats to pass through, and Li Kuiqi's fleet was simply unable to sail across the coral atolls.

Lin Qian raised his binoculars and searched continuously until he finally spotted Li Kuiqi's ship in the opposite fleet.

Li Kuiqi was standing on the deck, holding a large, ghost-headed sword, addressing the pirates around him.

"Enemy at a distance of one thousand paces!" The lookout's voice echoed from the top of the mast.

With the wind at its side, the Santa Ana was traveling at a very high speed. Before long, the lookout shouted again, "700 paces from the enemy!"

"Boom!" Another muffled thunderclap echoed in the sky.

"Captain, they've made a move!" Chen Jiao shouted, pointing at the fleet opposite them.

The fleet raised their hard sails and headed northwest, heading straight for the St. Anna.

Lin Qian immediately said, "Hard to port, sail northeast, and engage the enemy on starboard!"

Chen Jiao: "Hard to port, sail northeast, starboard to engage the enemy!"

On the stern deck, two helmsmen quickly turned the rudder wheel, their hands working together to pull the sail ropes and change the sail.

On the gun deck, Lei Sanxiang shouted, "All gunners, move to starboard... You don't know left and right, do you? This is the starboard side!"

With Lei Sanxiang's loud shout, the starboard gun door slowly opened, and the heavy gun, fully loaded, was slowly pushed out.

Lei Sanxiang approached the cannon emplacement and saw Li Kuiqi's fleet hurtling towards them like arrows, only two hundred paces away.

The artillery's range and firing arc are superb!

Lei Sanxiang was itching to get back to work, but since he hadn't heard the captain's order, he could only force himself to endure it.

A moment later, Chen Jiao shouted from the deck: "Fire!"

Lei Sanxiang immediately shouted, "Release!"

The gunners took turns bringing the match cord close to the fuse and igniting the gunpowder.

The gunpowder burned all the way into the cannon barrel, igniting the packed gunpowder. The air expanded instantly, and the explosive thrust propelled the solid iron ball out of the cannon barrel.

Thick white smoke instantly enveloped the area outside the cannon gate.

Without even checking the results, Lei Sanxiang hurriedly ordered the gunners to continue loading: "Wipe the sparks out of the breech, wipe out all the dirt!"

"Control the amount of explosives!"

"The gunpowder has been compacted!"

"Don't forget to install the gaskets!"

"The ignition powder must be poured carefully. Whoever's cannon fails to fire will risk their life to clean the breech!"

Amid Lei Sanxiang's reprimands, the gunners finished loading their weapons and pushed the gun barrels out of the gun ports.

Lei Sanxiang peered out and saw that the fleet that had been advancing with unstoppable momentum had two large ships reduced to broken planks floating on the sea. The pirates' mutilated limbs floated on the sea, crushed under the bows of the ships behind them.

The lead ship of the fleet was Li Kuiqi's ship, and he stood on the deck, holding a large sword high, looking very imposing.

Enraged, Lei Sanxiang shouted, "Release!"

The cannons fired in succession, and white smoke filled the area in front of the cannons.

At the same time, the sound of musket fire came from the upper deck.

(End of this chapter)