Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 555 The Hunt (Part 5)

On November 7, the tropical sea breeze was thick and humid, blowing against the sails of the "Sea Falcon" and producing a continuous, low hum.

Behind it were, in order, the armed merchant ships “Shunchang”, “Pingbo”, “Shunyun-6”, the supply ship “Fengyu”, and the same “Haiyan-class” cruiser “Haicang”. The entire fleet moved in a single column formation.

This small fleet departed from Acapulco a week ago, heading south along the winding coastline of the Americas, intending to rendezvous with the raiding fleet led by Wei Yingbin and to inform him of a crucial intelligence.

The Spanish Caribbean Fleet assembled a powerful task force in Havana—comprising five main warships, ten large armed merchant ships, and several auxiliary vessels, totaling seventeen ships—intending to round the southern tip of the Americas and head to the Pacific Ocean to seek a decisive battle with the main force of the Xinhua Navy, hoping to break the Xinhua's maritime blockade in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, the Xinhua raiding fleet was heading south to Peruvian waters to carry out the mission of blockading and intercepting the Spanish treasure ship fleet in Callao.

They are likely unaware of this powerful enemy that is about to attack from the Atlantic, and if they encounter it unexpectedly, they may be caught off guard.

Once they join forces with the Peruvian squadron, they will quickly gain an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Although the Peruvian squadron might not actively join the Spanish task force in attacking the Xinhua Navy from the north, they still had a strong desire to cooperate on their doorstep to deal with the raiding fleet led by Wei Yingbin.

At that time, the raiding fleet will be in an extremely dangerous situation and may even suffer a great loss.

Therefore, the naval commander who remained in Acapulco immediately dispatched this fleet, which he had painstakingly cobbled together, to the south to provide support.

This squadron has two missions: first, to locate the raiding fleet and warn the Caribbean task force of an impending attack.

Secondly, it is to join the raiding fleet to further enhance its strength and strive to severely damage or annihilate the Peruvian squadron before the arrival of the Spanish task force, thereby weakening the enemy's overall strength and creating favorable conditions for the possible decisive battle that may follow, thus achieving the strategic goal of defeating them one by one.

With the vast ocean, locating the exact position of the raiding fleet is extremely difficult.

They could only rely on deduction, searching southward along the coastline of the American continent.

Four days ago, when they arrived at the port of Panama, unsurprisingly, the raiding fleet did not remain there.

Of course, since the fleet had arrived here, it could not remain idle. So it carried out several rounds of demonstrative shelling outside the harbor to intimidate the local Spanish garrison before continuing its voyage.

Fleet Commander and Captain of the "Sea Falcon," Major Sun Dingyuan, stood on the stern deck, holding up binoculars and scanning the surrounding sea.

The sun was scorching, the deck was burning hot, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of sea salt and sun-baked wood.

"Captain, the Manta coastline is now visible to the left front," the first mate's voice broke the long silence.

Sun Dingyuan slightly adjusted the focus of the telescope, and the outline of the dark green land in the distance gradually became clear.

Manta, this name is well-known within the Xinhua Navy, second only to Banderas Valley.

More than a decade ago, that successful raid injected the fledgling Xinhua with its first crucial initial capital, enabling it to cross the ocean to immigrate to the Ming Dynasty and purchase supplies.

"Order all ships to maintain their existing course and speed, and not to approach Manta." Sun Dingyuan's voice was calm and unwavering.

Looting the town again would have no strategic value and would only waste precious time.

"Yes, sir!" The first mate saluted, preparing to turn around and relay the order.

Suddenly, from the lookout tower atop the mainmast came the lookout's sharp, urgent shout, his voice distorted by excitement and the wind at that height: "Fleet sighted ahead! Number... nine ships! Distance approximately... six kilometers!"

The alarm sounded like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking the monotony of the voyage.

The spirits of all the naval officers and soldiers were immediately lifted. Sun Dingyuan quickly raised his binoculars again, while the first mate strode to the command post. The sailors on the deck, who had been somewhat sluggish, immediately tensed up, subconsciously glancing up at the towering mast. Then, all eyes were focused on the captain.

As far as the eye could see, there were only a few tiny, blurry dots that almost blended into the horizon.

But as the fleet moved forward and the telescopes were adjusted, those small dots gradually became clearer.

The sails of a fleet of ships!

"Can you identify the ship type?" Sun Dingyuan looked up and asked loudly.

"It's too far away, I can't see it clearly!"

“Wait… they… they seem to be turning!” The lookout’s voice was uncertain. “Yes, they are turning! Heading northwest! They’re trying to… avoid us!”

Upon hearing this, the officers immediately became excited.

Encountering a sizable fleet at this time and place is itself highly unusual.

As soon as the other side spotted them, they immediately turned and tried to avoid them, which was almost a blatant declaration of their identity—Spaniards!

"Captain, they're Spanish!" The first mate's voice was tinged with barely suppressed excitement. "They're either an ordinary merchant caravan, or... or they're from Peru!"

"From Peru"?
That's the Spanish treasure ship fleet!

"Order!" Without any hesitation, Sun Dingyuan decisively gave the order, "'Haicang' will follow my 'Haijun' and advance immediately! Raise the battle flag! Pursue the target fleet ahead with all our might!"

"The armed merchant ship convoy and the 'Fengyu' followed closely, remaining on alert and ready to provide support!"

The signalman quickly ran to the rear of the sterncastle and sent a series of flag signals to the friendly ship.

At the same time, a scarlet battle flag was quickly raised to the top of the mainmast of the "Sea Falcon," fluttering fiercely and instantly escalating the tense battle atmosphere to its extreme.

As the orders from officers of all ranks were given, the deck and cabins immediately erupted in a cacophony of noise and excitement.

Although the gunners had not yet received orders to load ammunition, they had already taken their positions and were checking the cannons and ammunition. The sailors, on the orders of the navigator, were constantly adjusting the angle of the sails, trying to catch every bit of sea breeze that could increase speed.

On the other side, the "Haicang" reacted almost simultaneously, raising its battle flag as well. Its slender hull began to accelerate noticeably, forming a pincer attack with the "Haijun" in perfect harmony, cutting through the blue sea from left and right, and swooping towards the northwest.

Like black sharks that have smelled blood, the two Xinhua patrol ships cleaved through the white waves with their bows, their speed increasing rapidly, gradually widening the gap between themselves and the slower armed merchant ships and supply ships behind them.

Sun Dingyuan kept his binoculars up his head, staring intently at the fleet that was trying to escape.

The distance was gradually closing, and the other person's outline was becoming clearer and clearer.

"Captain, confirmed! It's a large galleon! The flag is a diagonal cross, it's Spanish!" the lookout reported again, his voice full of certainty.

At this moment, details of the opposing fleet gradually came into Sun Dingyuan's view through his telescope.

The ships were bulky, with seemingly deep waterlines, and their sails were typical of Spanish galleons.

That's right, they're Spaniards!
"Speed ​​up! Catch up with them..." Sun Dingyuan shouted the order.

Even if these ships were not the mainstay of the Peruvian treasure fleet, they must have been a Spanish transport fleet of immense value.

If we can intercept this fleet, whether it's to obtain intelligence, disrupt the Spanish supply lines, or seize their silver shipments, it will be crucial to the overall war situation of Xinhua.

The "Haicang" and "Haijun" sailed to their maximum extent, leaving two clear white trails on the sea as they gave chase.

The sea breeze whistled past my ears, and the sails taut in the wind made a buzzing sound.

On the sea, a bizarre and somewhat comical scene unfolded: two slender Xinhua warships, like two lone warriors, launched a relentless charge against a Spanish fleet that far outnumbered them.

The latter, despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage, had no courage to turn around and fight back. They simply frantically billowed their sails and clumsily fled northwest.

However, their bulky hulls had a very deep draft, clearly indicating they were fully loaded with cargo, which severely hampered their speed, making the entire fleet appear chaotic and sluggish.

The Spaniards' intentions seem quite clear: they do not want to get too "entangled" with the new Chinese immigrants.

Perhaps they knew their firepower was inferior to the enemy's, or perhaps the cargo on the ship was too valuable to be lost.

Their only hope seemed to be to delay, pinning their hopes on the slowly setting sun and anticipating the arrival of night.

At that time, the boundless darkness would become their best means of concealment.

However, time did not seem to be on the Spanish side.

The excellent seafaring performance of the "Haiyan-class" cruisers was on full display at this moment. Their slender hulls reduced the resistance when breaking through the waves, and their carefully designed mechanical sails could more effectively capture the wind.

The distance between the two warships and the Spanish fleet was decreasing at a visible rate.

In contrast, the Spanish fleet appeared somewhat sluggish, especially the large, particularly bulky sailing ships, whose waterlines were sunken and clearly heavily loaded, severely slowing their speed.

Gradually, the lookout could clearly distinguish the figures of people running frantically on the deck of the Spanish ships, and even see the splashes of water from the barrels and debris that had been pushed into the sea to reduce weight.

They can't escape!

The Spaniards probably realized that at this speed they couldn't shake off the two "sharks" behind them, let alone last until nightfall.

The two armed warships broke away from the convoy and then struggled to draw a huge arc on the sea, their hulls tilting slightly from the sharp turn, before finally stubbornly turning their bows around.

Instead of turning their backs to the pursuers, they slowly turned their heavy broadsides toward the oncoming Xinhua warships, like two generals covering the rear, resolutely blocking the path of the "Sea Falcon" and "Haicang" in an attempt to intercept the Xinhua pursuers and buy time for the seven cargo-laden companions behind them to escape.

This scene instantly changed the course of the chase.

"Heh, it's finally starting to look decent," Sun Dingyuan said in a low voice.

"Signal the 'Haicang'!" He lowered his binoculars. "Have them maneuver to port, bypass the enemy ships blocking their path, and continue pursuing those big guys! Our ship will flank them from the right flank, drawing enemy fire and covering their movements."

This was a bold order to split forces, intending to use their own speed and maneuverability to ignore the two roadblocks and head straight for the truly valuable target.

The "Haicang" responded quickly, turning left and drawing a larger arc in preparation to bypass the Spanish warships' interception.

The two Spanish warships had clearly also realized the intentions of the new Chinese.

They began clumsily adjusting their positions, attempting to block the "Haicang's" detour route with their broadside guns, while simultaneously aiming their main guns at the approaching "Haijun."

Four warships engaged in a silent tactical battle on the sea, their formations constantly shifting and changing.

The sails billowed, the waves lapped against the hull, and the distance between the two ships continued to shrink slowly but steadily.

They were so close that they could see the ropes wrapped around the other's mast and the patches on the canvas.

On the deck of the Spanish warship, sailors were busy at work, officers were waving their sabers, and even the gun barrels and gunners could be vaguely seen swaying inside the gun ports.

The gun ports of the "Sea Falcon" and "Haicang" were all open, and the gunners held their breath, the flintlock ropes suspended, waiting for the order to fire.

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the noise of the sails billowing and the crashing of the waves.

The final showdown seems to be just around the corner.
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(End of this chapter)