Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 72: Hijacking the Ship (Part )

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

When the pirate ship approached to within 40 meters of the Wave Breaker, the three cannons on the port side fired in succession.

Dense shotgun shells swept through the pirate ships rushing towards them from the left front like a hurricane. Countless lead bullets and gravel hit the slipway and deck with a crackling sound, leaving bloody holes in the crouching pirates. They fell to the ground without even a scream.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The three cannons on the starboard side also roared, still firing terrifying shotgun shells, covering several attacking pirate ships on this side and knocking over four or five pirates who were unable to dodge.

"Charge!... Get close to it!" Before the battle even started, nearly ten brothers fell under the muzzle of the cannon, which made Chen Zhongji furious.

He crouched behind the ship's wall, waving his arms and shouting loudly: "Don't stop, don't stop! It will take a long time to reload the cannons, brothers... charge!"

Damn, how can the cannons on this ship fire at an angle!

Could it be that their artillery can be moved around at will?

Within a few breaths, several leading small boats had already approached the two sides of the big ship. The experienced pirates had stood up straight, holding the grappling hooks and constantly spinning them, ready to choose a suitable angle to throw them onto the big ship.

"Oh!"

A smoking pot was thrown from the ship. Seeing this, a pirate immediately stepped forward and was about to kick the pot into the sea.

You want to throw incendiary objects, burn my ships, and disrupt the morale of my troops? I'm afraid that's not enough!
"boom!"

There was an explosion, and the pirate was immediately blown away and fell into the water.

With the sound of the explosion, debris flew everywhere. Several pirates screamed and fell onto the boat, rolling into a ball.

Hiss, what is this?
It actually exploded!
The flash of fire from the explosion not only frightened the pirates on the ship into chaos, but also exposed it very conspicuously in the dim twilight.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

A volley of gunfire rang out from the side of the ship, killing several pirates on the spot. The remaining pirates were so frightened that they fled into the cabins and did not bother to throw grappling hooks to launch a boarding attack.

As the large ship continued to drop explosive canisters, three pirate ships that attempted to board were forced to retreat. They were busy putting out the fires and treating their injured brothers, but were soon left behind and could no longer launch attacks.

However, the pirate ships were too numerous after all, and they managed to avoid the counterattack of the big ship by flexible movement. Several grappling ropes were thrown up and firmly hooked to the side of the big ship.

Several pirates, holding daggers in their mouths and holding the ropes with both hands, began to climb up with extraordinary agility.

However, when they were about to climb to the side of the ship under the cover of night, they were shocked to find a circle of barbed wire hanging from it, which made it impossible for them to start and prevented them from continuing to climb.

Oh my god, what the hell is this!
It's really... vicious and evil!
Several pirates held the ropes tightly with one hand and used the other hand to try hard to untie the hair entangled in them.

Perhaps hearing the noise below, several muskets were exposed from the side of the ship and fired at the pirates who were struggling with the barbed wire.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"what!"

"what!"

"thump!"

"thump!"

The pirate who was shot screamed, loosened the rope and fell into the water.

Several pirates who had hidden in the shadows under the hull suddenly felt their scalps tingling. They ignored their hair entangled in the wire mesh, endured the pain, and slid down the rope again.

Fuck your mother!

It hurts me so much!

The clumps of hair left on the wire mesh seemed to have peeled off my scalp, causing a burning and excruciating pain.

"Fuck him! ...I'm not going up!"

The pirate who fell onto the small boat cursed viciously with tears in his eyes.

"Can't go up? What do you mean?"

Are you kidding me? We're climbing up the rope. This isn't the first time we've used this method to board a merchant ship we want to rob!
There may be resistance and there may be obstructions, but no one has ever said that you can't climb up.

"...Damn it, they put a circle of barbed wire around the side of the ship!" "...There's no fucking place to start!"

"..."

More and more small boats gathered around, just like a group of hyenas gathering around a lion, unable to bite it but unwilling to leave, and continued to sail towards the Lingdingyang with the big ship.

At this time, Chen Zhongji, the pirate leader, was in a difficult situation.

No one expected that this large ship would have such an arrangement on the side, making it impossible for people to climb up with ropes and hooks. They could only hang under the ship in vain, but could not threaten the other party in the slightest.

From time to time, the enemy would suddenly fire volleys of gunfire at them or throw explosive tin cans at them, causing continuous casualties among the brothers.

If I continue to endure, I'm afraid that all my limited capital will be lost here.

"Set it on fire!" said a pirate hatefully.

"Burn it?" Chen Zhongji hesitated.

It would be a pity to burn such a nice ship, wouldn't it?

"Big Dragon Head, set fire to the ship to lure them to save themselves, and then you can take advantage of the opportunity to attack them!" Xu Wenhao suddenly had an idea and offered a plan at the right time.

"Bring the fire starter," Chen Zhongji ordered immediately, "and burn this ship!"

It’s a pity that we didn’t bring a few fireboats with us this time.

In order to make a living on the sea, pirate forces of all sizes are basically equipped with fireboats. They set them on fire and then, with the help of wind or water currents, rush towards the enemy quickly, destroying both themselves and the enemy.

Traditional fireships were typically wooden rowing or sailing boats loaded with flammable materials. Sailors on these boats would seize the opportunity to charge into the enemy fleet, then jump overboard just before reaching their target. Warships, on the other hand, would set fire to enemy ships, destroying their manpower or breaking their formation, burning their ships and ultimately sinking them into the sea.

For example, the Battle of Red Cliffs was an early example of the application of fireboats. The fire they ignited not only destroyed Cao Cao's army, but also set in motion hundreds of years of Chinese history.

A recent example of this in action was the Battle of Poyang Lake between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang during the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Dozens of fishing boats, loaded with gunpowder and firewood, approached the enemy ships and set fire to them in favorable winds. The strong winds and intense flames spread rapidly.

In that battle, flames soared, the lake turned red, and hundreds of Chen army's huge ships were burned. More than half of Chen's army was killed or wounded. Even Chen Youliang's two brothers and general Chen Pulue died in the fire.

This battle was not only a classic example of using fire attack, but also helped Zhu Yuanzhang lay the foundation for unifying the world.

Chen Zhongji was an experienced pirate and an expert at setting fire to the sea and defeating the enemy.

Several pirates quickly took out the fire starter, and risked being hit by the ship's volleys of gunfire, quickly lit it, and then attached it to the ship.

"Big Dragon Head..."

One pirate exclaimed in a low, trembling voice, "Big Dragon Head, this ship is made of iron! ... It can't burn!"

"Ridiculous!" Chen Zhongji shouted, "How can a ship made of iron float on the water? ... Hurry up! Burn it!"

"Big Dragon Head..."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"what!"

"what!"

The dazzling flames appeared particularly bright in the night. The people on the big ship quickly placed their muskets on the side of the ship and fired a volley of shots in the direction of the fire.

Several pirates fell to the ground, and the falling flames immediately ignited the incendiary materials and then spread throughout the ship.

In a short moment, the small boat became a bright torch on the sea, illuminating the surrounding water.

The pirate ships around them quickly rowed their oars, avoiding the sea illuminated by flames and disappearing into the darkness again.

"Boom!"

A pirate watched his brother being quickly surrounded by the fire ship, and in anger, he threw the axe in his hand hard.

There was a crisp sound of metal colliding, which sounded particularly harsh in the silent night sky.

"Big Dragon Head, that ship seems to be really made of iron..." Xu Wenhao heard the voice, looked at the huge black shadow with horror, and whispered.

(End of this chapter)