Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 554 The Hunt (Part 4)

The sharp whistle, like a dagger, instantly pierced the night sky over the sea.

Upon hearing the news, Captain Mao Yongshun of the "Haichang" rushed to the scene and quickly took over command of the ship.

While watching the surging fire ships through his binoculars, he rapidly issued a series of commands, transforming the cruiser from a sleeping behemoth into a taut warrior in a very short time.

Footsteps thundered on the deck as sailors rushed to their battle stations.

The gunners ripped off the tarpaulin covering the gun barrel, and the loader was already in position with the heavy solid shot.

The air was instantly filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and a sense of impending battle.

"Full right rudder!"

"Raise the side sail!"

"Avoid the fire ship head-on!" Mao Yongshun's voice was calm yet loud, ensuring his order reached every executor.

"Order the gunnery officer to prepare the starboard guns!"

"Fire the chain shot, aim at the sails of the fire ship!"

"Slow down those damned fire ships!"

The massive hull of the "Haichang" began to turn with difficulty, and the sails and cables made a teeth-grinding creaking sound under the enormous stress.

At the same time, the cannons on the starboard side roared for the first time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several chain bullets spun and tore through the air as they hurtled toward the fire ship.

Their aim was not ideal in the pitching ship and dim light, and most of them fell into the sea, stirring up high columns of water.

However, one of the fire ships was lucky enough to hit the mast, tearing the fragile canvas instantly and causing the ship to slow down noticeably.

But even more fire ships continued to rush in.

The Spanish objective seemed very clear: not only to inflict damage on Xinhua ships, but also to force the Xinhua fleet to disperse and change course, thereby disrupting their battle formation and creating a breakout channel for their main fleet to follow.

The two leading fire ships had already approached the port side of the "Haichang", and the scorching heat wave hit them in the face. They could even smell the burning smell of wood.

Flames leaped and crackled, trying to lick the hull of the "Haichang".

"Longhands! Hold them off, don't let them get close!" the boatswain yelled hoarsely.

Several strong sailors immediately grabbed the long poles with iron-tipped ends that had been prepared beforehand and struggled to hold back the approaching fire ship.

They exerted all their strength, wrestling fiercely against the fire ships.

One of the fire ships was successfully pushed off course and drifted sideways at an angle.

But another ship crashed heavily near the stern of the "Haichang" with a loud bang, and the flying sparks and burning wood instantly ignited the bulwark and a section of cable!
Damage control!

"Fire on the port side!" A piercing cry rang out.

A fire brigade that had been waiting quickly arrived. Instead of carrying wooden buckets full of water, they carried a hand-operated water pump with a piston and a long copper pipe. Another person quickly threw the inlet into the sea, and the two of them held the nozzle wrapped in leather.

"Increase the pressure! Increase the pressure!"

"Quickly!...Pump the water!"

Within moments, a powerful jet of water suddenly shot out, directly hitting the most fiercely burning bulwark.

When the scorching flames meet the cold water, they hiss and emit a large plume of white steam.

The other sailors used wet felt to pat out the remaining sparks of fire.

The entire firefighting process was efficient and rapid, even with a mechanical rhythm. In just a few minutes, the fire was completely brought under control and gradually extinguished.

Not far away, the other three Xinhua patrol ships, "Haiyan", "Haiyu" and "Haiyan", all encountered similar situations.

They also evaded danger with astonishing maneuverability and dealt with the few fires that successfully approached and ignited using the same efficient methods.

The Spanish fire attack tactics, which they had high hopes for and which were expected to cause great chaos, proved to have little effect against this well-trained fleet equipped with novel fire-resistant gear.

Of the fifteen fire ships, only three caused brief trouble, which was quickly resolved.

The rest of the fire ships were either destroyed or pushed away, or drifted far away, burned out, and sank into the sea.

Colonel Cruz, commander of the Peruvian squadron, standing on the bridge of the flagship "San Felipe," saw this scene through his binoculars and could hardly believe his eyes.

He anticipated that the fire attack might not be entirely successful, but he never expected the enemy to handle it so easily, as if it were just a routine exercise.

“Oh God… these new Chinese… what kind of war monsters are they?” he muttered to himself, a chill creeping into his heart.

The failure of the fire attack meant that Plan A had failed.

But the arrow has already left the bow; there's no turning back.

"Signal! All troops, charge! In the name of God and the King, charge out!" Colonel Cruz ordered, his expression showing a do-or-die determination and courage.

The mournful sound of horns rang out from the Spanish fleet.

Led by three large galleons, the Peruvian squadron, providing cover for the massive treasure fleet behind them, began to take advantage of the brief chaos caused by the Xinhua fleet's evasion of the fire attack and made every effort to break through to the northwest.

The massive sails were raised to their maximum height, the bow cleaving through the waves, attempting to force its way through the blockade by virtue of its numbers and the element of surprise.

However, the Xinhua Fleet reacted even faster.

The "Haichang" was the first to complete the turn, its massive hull drawing a graceful white arc across the sea, regaining the windward position.

The other three Xinhua warships on duty also rushed over from the side, attempting to block the Spanish ships that were preparing to break through the encirclement.

The battle quickly escalated to a fever pitch.

The wreckage of the fireship was still burning on the sea, providing a strange and dim light for both sides in the battle.

However, the entire battlefield remained shrouded in darkness. The warships on both sides could only rely on the intense flashes of light from the enemy's cannons, the faint identification lanterns on the masts, and the faint starlight cast by the Southern Cross to distinguish friend from foe, and then quickly aim and fire.

From the very beginning, the naval battle devolved into an extremely noisy yet intense close-quarters melee.

"boom!"

The "Haichang" fired its first salvo from its port side guns, targeting the Spanish Galen "Annunciation," which was charging just 150 meters to its left.

At such close range, the mixed barrage of chain shot and solid shot achieved a terrifying effect.

The foremast of the Annunciation was hit and slowly fell like a broken reed, the huge canvas covering the deck, immediately causing chaos and slowing it down.

Another solid shot luckily penetrated its side gun deck, causing a muffled thud and a faint scream.

But the Spanish counterattack was equally fierce.

Several shells whistled through the air, and a heavy iron ball grazed the stern of the "Haichang," tearing apart the exquisite wood carvings and leaving a gruesome gash.

Wood chips flew like rain as several sailors screamed and collapsed on the deck.

"Keep your distance! Use our maneuverability to circle around them!" Pan Zhongwen shouted to the helmsman.

The Xinhua cruiser's slender hull and excellent mechanical sail design played a decisive role at this moment.

Like a group of agile black sharks, they constantly darted about, avoiding the heavy frontal assaults of the Spanish warships and targeting their flanks and sterns, where there were fewer cannons and the armor was weaker. The "Haiyan" and "Haiyu" worked in perfect coordination, the two ships sandwiching another Spanish warship, the "San Jaco".

The crossfire left the "St. James" struggling to keep up, and the deck was a mess.

However, just as they were about to deliver the fatal blow, two Spanish armed merchant ships bravely stepped forward, taking the brunt of the gunfire and temporarily covering the retreat of the "San James".

The entire sea surface was completely boiling.

The cannons roared continuously, each salvo sounding like the roar of a giant beast, making people's chests tingle.

The smoke was so thick it couldn't dissipate, mixing with the night fog and severely obstructing visibility.

The air was filled with the sulfurous smell of burning gunpowder, the burnt smell of wood, and a faint smell of blood.

Commands, shouts, the cries of the wounded, the cracking of timber, and the tearing of canvas mingled together, echoing across the entire ocean.

As time went on, more lights appeared in the direction of San Lorenzo Island—the main support ships of the Xinhua Fleet were rushing over at full speed.

Their figures gradually became clearer in the night, as if more hunters had joined the hunt.

Colonel Cruise was extremely anxious upon seeing this.

He knew that if he were entangled by more Xinhua warships, his treasure ship, which had little weaponry, would surely face annihilation.

We must stop the new Chinese and force the treasure ship to evacuate quickly.

As long as they keep their distance and take advantage of the cover of night, they can have a chance to survive.

Now, every minute of delay increases the risk of total annihilation.

"Send the signal and order the treasure fleet not to linger! Scatter! Send as many ships as you can!" he shouted.

"dispersion!"

"full speed!"

"In the name of God, charge out!"

This mixed fleet, consisting of heavy treasure ships and surviving warships, suddenly broke apart like a school of startled fish, fleeing desperately in all directions to the northwest.

They knew that it was futile to compete with the Xinhua Fleet in terms of firepower and battle formation. Their only chance of survival lay in the impenetrable darkness of the night and the brief chaos brought about by the sacrifice of some of their comrades.

Several large galleons, led by the "San Felipe", deliberately rammed their ships sideways and, disregarding their own safety, used their broadside guns to intercept the Xinhua Fleet.

"Fire!" the Spanish gunners roared at the top of their lungs.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The flashes of the cannons briefly tore through the darkness time and time again, like the gasps of a dying beast. This was both to slow down the enemy and to further obscure the sea with fire and smoke, creating an opportunity for the treasure ships behind to escape.

Meanwhile, the massive treasure ships took the opportunity to raise all their sails to their limit, clumsily but resolutely cutting into the darkness, relying on their familiarity with the sea to quickly escape towards what they considered a safe zone.

The gold and silver on the ship seemed to become a heavy curse, and also the driving force behind the strongest desire to escape.

The Xinhua Fleet, which was being reinforced, arrived at the battlefield one after another, and in the pitch-black night, they tried their best to intercept every Spanish ship they could see.

On the bridge of the "Haichang" ship, Mao Yongshun's binoculars were practically dripping with moisture.

With extremely poor visibility, the enemy ships' outlines blended into the dark seawater, and the only way to make a judgment was by the occasional flashes of their guns and the blurry silhouettes of their sails.

"Attention! Maintain distance, hunt freely!"

"Prioritize attacking large targets attempting to break out!"

"Be careful to identify friendly ships and avoid damaging them!"

At this moment, the Xinhua patrol ship's maneuverability and rapid gun reloading advantages were fully demonstrated.

The "Sea Fish" cut between two Spanish armed merchant ships that were accelerating like a ghost.

Its starboard guns had just completed a salvo, leaving the gun deck of the merchant ship on the port side in ruins. The port gunners had already reloaded and roared again almost the instant the ship grazed the merchant ship on the right.

"Boom! Boom!"

At such close range, the power of the grapeshot was terrifying. The deck of the merchant ship on the right was instantly washed with blood, and the screams even drowned out the echo of the cannon fire.

The "Haiyan" (Seagull) used its smaller tonnage and higher speed to keep a tight hold on a treasure ship that was trying to escape by taking advantage of the loss of a friendly ship.

It was like a plaster, stuck tightly to the rear side of the treasure ship—this angle was undoubtedly the weakest point of the treasure ship's firepower.

Chain bullets whistled out again and again, precisely tearing at the treasure ship's massive sails.

The loud crack of the canvas tearing was clearly audible, and the treasure ship slowed down at a visible pace, eventually drifting helplessly on the sea like a giant bird with broken wings, awaiting its tragic fate.

However, the darkness of night is an obstacle to fairness.

The interception and pursuit were not smooth sailing; the darkness brought great trouble and danger.

While pursuing a damaged Spanish galleon, a Xinhua frigate named "Poseidon" encountered a brief exchange of fire with its ally, the "Haiyan," which was also encircling the Spanish vessel, due to obstructed visibility caused by thick smoke.

"Fire!" The gunnery officer of the "Poseidon" saw the blurry silhouette of the ship and the flashing lights to his side and gave the order to attack.

Several solid shot whistled out, and fortunately, most of them landed in the sea, but two hit the bow mast of the "Haiyan" ship, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Stop shooting! Stop shooting!"

"It's the 'Haiyan'! It's one of our own!" The lookout's sharp shout almost distorted his voice.

The officers and men of both ships broke out in a cold sweat. They quickly identified the targets using the urgent light signals, and then, somewhat frustrated, resumed the pursuit.

On the sea, enemy and friendly ships were mixed together, making it impossible to accurately distinguish them even at very close range.

The battle turned into countless small-scale skirmishes and pursuits that broke out suddenly and ended quickly.

The sound of cannons rang out sporadically and densely from all directions, and the flashes of fire were so intense that it was impossible to judge the overall situation of the battle.

The intense chase and intermittent firefights lasted all night.

As the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, the deep blue night gradually faded, and visibility on the sea slowly improved, the sea, which had been turbulent all night, finally regained a moment of tranquility.

The smoke from the battle had not completely dissipated, floating on the sea like a thin veil, mixed with the morning mist.

The seawater was filled with broken wood, tattered canvas, and other unidentifiable floating debris.

The pungent smell of sulfur and burning was still strong in the air.

After a night of fierce fighting, the Xinhua Fleet, thanks to its superior ship performance and well-trained officers and soldiers, ultimately achieved considerable success.

After taking inventory, the Xinhua Fleet successfully intercepted, sank, and captured five Spanish ships attempting to break out.

Three of the ships were treasure ships carrying gold, silver and other supplies, while the other two were warships of the Peruvian squadron tasked with escorting the ships, including the "Annunciation," whose foremast was broken at the beginning and which capsized at sea due to its severe damage.

However, more than half of the treasure ships, along with a few warships from the Peruvian squadron, including Colonel Cruz's flagship, the San Felipe, managed to break through the blockade under the cover of darkness and the chaos of battle, disappearing into the sea before dawn.

The enormous price they paid ultimately preserved a portion of the "bloodline" of the Spanish kingdom from its colonies.

On the deck of the fleet flagship "Haiyan", Wei Yingbin gazed at the vast sea in the distance, his expression calm and unreadable.

Although a tactical victory was achieved, the Spanish fleet was defeated and several ships were captured, but the fact that more than half of the treasure ships escaped, especially under the cover of night right under their noses, undoubtedly added a touch of regret to the victory.
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(End of this chapter)