The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 114 Snowflakes Falling in the Corridor
October of the first year of the Taichang reign.

Heavy snow in Beijing.

The corridors and offices of the Ministry of War.

Several officials were moving among the documents, organizing reports from various places.

Inside the lobby, red charcoal had been lit, making the room warm and cozy.

Since August, except for Liaodong, there have been far fewer reports from other places, making the work of those in charge much less busy.

Meanwhile, the officials of various departments have been busy investigating the Red Pill Case and the Palace Transfer Case, and the disputes in front of the palace have not stopped. They have no time to attend to the trivial matters in their departments, which makes the officials feel a rare moment of comfort. They are reading the reports and discussing where to go for a drink in the evening.

"A new Huaiyang cuisine restaurant just opened in the west of the city. We're done with our shifts tonight, how about we get together?"

"That's good. It's rare to have peace in Liaodong and no pirates causing trouble in the southeast. We have some free time in the evening."

"With the national mourning period just over, isn't this a bit too ostentatious?"

"Don't worry, the restaurant has a courtyard where sedan chairs are parked, so no one will be able to see us. Besides, the officials and censors in the palace have been making such a fuss these past few days, they don't have the time to care about us."

Someone interjected, "I heard that a few days ago, Imperial Censor Feng submitted another memorial, denouncing the Grand Secretary for rewarding traitors and misleading the country, a crime akin to regicide. This matter is causing quite a stir."

"How could the Grand Secretary, who has always been a wise and experienced strategist, do such a thing?"

"What mature and wise minister? I heard that a few days ago, the Grand Secretary and the officials of the Censorate had a heated debate in front of the Emperor, which has caused the officials to turn their anger towards the Grand Secretary."

"Could it be that he is intentionally diverting the attention of the court officials from Consort Li's side?"

A senior official cautioned, "That's going too far. Everyone should be careful with their words!"

There was silence in the corridor for a moment.

All that could be heard was the crackling of the red charcoal.

After a while, one of them opened an official document, glanced at it, and exclaimed, "Another report of merit from Liaodong! Ever since Yuan Jinglue took office, Liaodong has been reporting merits one after another. It seems that the Tartars' fate is sealed, and the pacification of Liaodong is just around the corner."

Someone said, "If it were still like before, reporting a dozen or so heads as a reward wouldn't be very meaningful."

The official in charge, holding the report, said, "No. This is a great achievement; eighty-seven enemy soldiers were killed in battle!"

Upon hearing this, the other officials all wore expressions of joy.

"What? Read it quickly, read it quickly!" someone urged impatiently.

Although corruption was rampant among Ming Dynasty officials, as the chief official of the Ministry of War, he still enjoyed hearing reports of victories.

The official holding the memorial cleared his throat and said loudly: "Your subject, Yuan Yingtai, respectfully submits this memorial, appointed by imperial decree to oversee military affairs in Liaodong and other areas, and concurrently serving as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate:"

On September 21st, a scout from the surrendered barbarians reported that more than two hundred Jurchen cavalry had invaded our Sancha'er and other places...

I have selected three hundred of the strongest and most capable newly surrendered barbarian soldiers to form the vanguard and charge into battle. The newly surrendered barbarian soldiers, grateful and eager to repay their kindness, are especially courageous and at the forefront…

Eighty-seven Jurchen barbarians were killed in battle...

All minor achievements in suppressing the enemy should be documented in writing and reported to the emperor immediately.

"Excellent!" someone clapped and laughed. "It is truly a blessing for the nation to have Yuan Jinglue in Liaodong!"

One of the officials asked, "Who are the newly annexed barbarian people mentioned in the report?"

The official holding the petition explained: "They are just surrendered Mongol soldiers. Since the beginning of autumn this year, the Mongol tribes have suffered from severe famine, and many have entered the pass to beg for food. They have been recruited and employed by General Yuan."

At the time, some argued that accepting too many surrenders might be a covert use by the enemy. Now it seems these concerns were unfounded. Yuan Jinglue truly had the insight to judge people!

The officials chatted and laughed, praising Yuan Yingtai.

Finally, someone said, "This is a great achievement and should be submitted to the relevant officials for approval and implementation."

The official holding the petition said, "That's right." He then placed the petition in a red basket on the table, to be delivered to the Assistant Director of the Military Selection Department the next day.

The corridor fell silent again.

Outside, the wind and snow intensified, the gale howled through the corridors, and large snowflakes pounded against the windowpanes with a soft thud.

Even the red charcoal couldn't ward off the chill outside the window, and a steward who lived near the doors and windows got up and rubbed his hands together.

The old clerk said to the official outside the hall, "Bring another basin of fresh charcoal."

The person in charge, rubbing his hands, said, "Isn't it a bit wasteful to replace the old charcoal with new charcoal before it has even burned out completely?"

The elderly official said, "Only when the body is warm can the mind be clear, and one can better serve the court. A little charcoal is nothing to waste."

Soon after, the official brought in fresh charcoal, which was burning brightly red. The room became warm and cozy again shortly after it was brought in.

After rubbing his hands together, the person in charge sat down and continued to review the official documents.

Some people lamented, "It's only the beginning of winter, and the weather is already so cold. I wonder how many poor people will freeze to death by spring."

The elderly official said, "The winters of recent years have mostly been this bitterly cold, so it's hard to say whether it's good or bad."

"Oh? Winter is so cold, is that a good thing?"

The elderly steward looked up and said, “Of course. It’s only the beginning of winter, and the capital has already seen such heavy snow. It will only get worse in Liaodong. If more Jurchens can freeze to death, that would be a good thing.”

Someone chimed in, "If you ask me, without this harsh winter, there would have been no surrendered Mongol soldiers. Even if Yuan Jinglue had still managed to kill over eighty enemy soldiers in this battle, he would have still suffered many casualties among the Ming generals."

As for the common people freezing to death or suffering from frostbite, that's the Ministry of Revenue's concern. As officials in the Ministry of War, our primary concern should naturally be military affairs.

“That makes sense.” The other officials all nodded in agreement.

"Oh, what's going on today? Another report of merit has arrived."

These words immediately drew the attention of everyone in charge in the room: "Still from Liaodong?"

"No, this one came from the south."

"South?" The officials were momentarily stunned.

There's no war in the south either.

"It was for suppressing pirates; the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi forwarded it to us."

The official in charge looked through the layers of approvals one by one and saw that the document contained the comments of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Governor of Fujian. The document was actually written by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Nan'ao.

The elderly official stroked his beard and pondered, "The deputy commander of Nan'ao? I remember a month ago, he already submitted a report of merit, saying that he had wiped out a notorious pirate surnamed Li."

"Indeed, the previous memorial was just submitted to the cabinet and hasn't even been sent back to the local authorities yet, and you've already achieved another success?"

The officials in charge of the Ministry of War were clearly skeptical of the report, as they knew to some extent what kind of people the Southeast Navy was.

The deputy commander of Nan'ao this time wiped out a group of pirates named Li Zhong.

This gang of pirates had just robbed a wealthy family in Huangyan and were fleeing south with a ship full of treasure. When they passed through Nan'ao Island, they were intercepted and killed by troops sent by the deputy commander-in-chief.

Fifty-eight were beheaded, and three pirate ships and a box of valuables from a wealthy family's mansion were captured. The rest sank to the bottom of the sea during the battle.

The heads and valuables mentioned in the report were all inspected by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

It's practically a done deal.

The officials examined the document several times and found no problems.

That year, the old official sighed, "In the north there was General Yuan, and in the south there was General Ma. I never thought that our Great Ming Dynasty would produce another figure like Commander Yu."

Holding the document, the official looked around and said, "If my colleagues have no objections, I will approve it."

The people in charge around him nodded in agreement.

Just then, a voice interrupted them.

"Wait a minute."

The officials looked over and saw that it was the official who was leaning against the wall. He was also holding a report in his hand and said with a wry smile, "Strange, strange, another report of merit."

"Where can we find more military achievements? In Liaodong or the southeast?"

"Southeast. The commander of Haimen Garrison has wiped out a group of pirates off the coast of eastern Zhejiang."

Haimenwei?
The officers were surprised, as the troops under the command of the deputy commander of Nan'ao were at least relatively bad.

The troops under the command of the Haimen Guard Commander were the most corrupt garrison soldiers in the Ming Dynasty.

When did the garrison troops become capable of suppressing pirates?

The steward by the window smiled bitterly, "Perhaps the commander used his own troops, but that's not the strangest thing. The strangest thing is that the group of pirates surnamed Sun that he wiped out is also said to be the culprits who robbed the wealthy families of Huangyan."

"Are they from the same large client?"

"They are from the same large client."

The officials looked at each other, then put the two documents together and looked at them.

Indeed, the process of the extermination and the number of people beheaded were completely different; they were not the same group of pirates, and there was no double reporting.

However, both reports clearly stated that the pirates they had wiped out were the real culprits who plundered the Lin family mansion in Huangyan County.

Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed something amiss.

The report from the deputy commander of Nan'ao only contained physical evidence and severed heads; there wasn't a single living prisoner to testify.

On the contrary, the report from the commander of Haimen Guard consisted entirely of testimonies from prisoners, with not a single item of stolen goods from the Lin family.

If it were said that two groups of pirates committed the crime together, the report from the Haimenwei (sea gate guard) clearly states that the pirate prisoners admitted to doing it themselves and that no one else was involved.

Could it be that they're acting out of loyalty and protecting each other?

"I would like to ask my colleagues, how should this proposal be written?" the official in charge asked with a troubled expression after receiving the document.

No one spoke.

After a moment, someone said, "In my opinion, we should make a copy for each of them, send the copy from Haimenwei back to Nan'ao, and send the copy from Nan'ao Island back to Haimenwei. Let them discuss it and then send the report up."

The elderly official said, "Let's proceed this way. Don't sign the petition yet. Post both copies of the petition in yellow paper and let the officials decide."

……

When snow falls in the capital.

On the sea off Fujian and Guangdong, Nan'ao Island is still a scene of late autumn.

The daily temperature hovers around ten degrees Celsius, not enough to freeze a person to death.

Inside the captain's cabin of the Saint Anna, Lin Qian sat at the oval table, holding a cup of hot tea, listening to Zhou Xiucai report on the matter of dragging the wealthy into the scheme.

"Captain, as you instructed, my seventh brother and I have already contacted Master Hu. Master Hu plans to book a shipment to Macau to test the waters. If the journey goes smoothly, he will book the ship regularly in the future."

Lin Qian blew on the cool air, took a sip of tea, and said, "He didn't suspect you, did he?"

"My seventh brother and I went to the clerks in the neighboring county and bought fake household registrations and travel permits. We also bribed several village elders to vouch for us. He didn't suspect our identities, but..."

Lin Qian took the teapot and refilled Zhou Xiucai's empty cup with tea: "Just say what you have to say."

Zhou Xiucai put his index and middle fingers together next to the teacup, tapped the table three times with his fingertips, and said, "Hu Dong wants a sum of money as a deposit. If there is an accident at sea, this money will be used to compensate him for his principal."

"How many?"

"Ten thousand taels."

"Give it to him." Lin Qian said without changing her expression.

What he wanted was to bind Hu Dongzhu with benefits, to give him money directly, so that it would be easier to threaten him later.

Moreover, the northwest monsoon is currently stable, and the journey from Nan'ao Island to Macau is very safe as the ship sails along the coast.

Even if Master Hu reneges on his promise, Lin Qian will simply be able to repeat the plundering of the Lin family mansion once more.

The pirates' silver wasn't so easy to take.

Lin Qian's quick agreement surprised Zhou Xiucai: "Aren't you going to haggle?"

Lin Qian took a sip of tea: "There's no need. This silver is just being stored in a different place. There are also a few pieces of porcelain from Naozhou Island in the storeroom. Take them with you and send them to him."

"it is good."

Just then, someone knocked on the door and came in.

"Helmsman, Jose's ship is back."

"Go and have a look."

After a while, a Haicang boat and two Cangshan boats docked at Houjiang Bay.

Jose jumped from the ship's side onto the pier, ran up to Lin Qian, and said, "Helmsman."

Lin Qian patted his arm warmly: "Was the journey peaceful?"

José laughed and said, "With three large ships traveling together, we have a smooth journey with favorable winds and currents, and other ships are avoiding us like the plague."

"That's good." Jose added, "Captain, I've inquired about the matters you entrusted to me. There are no watchmakers in Macau, but the councilor has promised to help find one. As for coffee, the councilor has never heard of it either, but he has also promised to ask the captain who is returning to Europe to inquire about it."

"it is good."

Lin Qian didn't actually expect An Pangzi to know about coffee. When it was introduced to Europe, it was once considered by the church to be Satan's drink, and its spread was quite tortuous.

It would be enough if you could help me find out.

Lin Qian looked at the Haicang ship that was unloading cargo and said, "Let's get down to business. How many firearms did you buy this time?"

Jose pulled a list from his pocket: "Please take a look, Captain."

The list is written in Spanish.

Jose explained from the side, "As instructed by the captain, we bought four Siren cannons. We also bought twenty-four rapid-fire cannons, which are what the Ming Dynasty called 'Frangipani cannons.' We bought one hundred muskets, and the rest were gunpowder, cannonballs, bullets, and other supplies."

Lin Qian saw that on the list, the price of each Siren cannon was one thousand taels, and each solid iron shot from the Siren cannon cost two taels of silver.

War is indeed a money-devouring behemoth.

Seeing Lin Qian staring at the list without saying a word, Jose explained, "I inquired at the Bucharau Cannon Foundry in Macau, and Andre's price isn't too high."

Macau doesn't produce minerals, so buying copper from Japan alone is incredibly expensive. They also have to buy coal and iron from the Ming Dynasty, and the wages of the artisans at Macau's arsenal and the cost of auxiliary materials are also substantial.

Lin Qian understood that no matter how high the cost of artillery was, it couldn't exceed the profit. In the arms trade, a gross profit margin of 50% was considered a fair price.

Without the ability to produce them domestically, it's impossible to get a cheap price for firearms from anyone, as long as the quality of the weapons is acceptable.

Lin Qian put the list away and said, "Let's check the goods first."

Jose ordered his men to fetch a box of muskets first.

A moment later, two boatmen approached with a wooden box and placed it on the beach.

Jose ordered his men to open it with a crowbar, and found it filled with sawdust and wood shavings, among which lay three matchlock guns, each about three feet long.

The barrel is slender and forged from wrought iron, with a walnut handguard covering it, and the entire gun looks brand new.

Lin Qian casually picked one out and examined it carefully. She found the gun to be cool to the touch and could feel the grain of walnut wood as she rubbed it.

The musket slipped from Lin Qian's hand; she weighed it in her hand and estimated it to be between ten and fifteen pounds.

This was much lighter than the Spanish arquebuses currently used on ships.

At least when firing a Portuguese matchlock musket, it could be held with both hands, eliminating the need for a support at the front of the barrel.

Thanks to its lightweight design, the Portuguese matchlock musket was better suited for aiming and firing in naval battles.

Lin Qian rested the butt of the gun on her shoulder, her eyes fixed on a seagull in the distance through the sights.

Then, pull the trigger.

On the breech, a metal hook fell, hitting the medicine pool squarely.

If the gun is loaded with gunpowder and bullets, the metal hook will hold the fuse, ignite the priming powder, detonate the propellant in the chamber, and fire the bullet.

However, the gun is currently unloaded.

The seagulls swaggered away.

Lin Qian put the gun down and placed it back in the wooden box.

The boatmen have brought over a new wooden crate, which is particularly heavy and requires six people to lift it by ropes.

The box was also larger than the box containing the matchlock gun, about five to six feet in size.

The boatmen placed the wooden crates on the beach, kicking up a cloud of sand as they fell.

Pry open the wooden box, and among the wood shavings, something gleams with a cold, yellowish-green luster.

Lin Qian stepped forward and saw a bronze cannon barrel lying in the box.

The cannon barrel is about five feet long, the cannon body is about the thickness of a calf, and it gradually narrows at the front end, with a muzzle of about three inches.

The cannon barrel is smooth all over, with a pair of cannon ears on each side.

Most notably, there is an open concave notch on the belly of this cannon.

This is the Portuguese rapid-fire cannon, also known as the famous Franco cannon.

This is the mother gun of the Franco machine gun.

Jose ordered his men to fetch the musket.

After a while, a boatman brought over a box of guns.

The box was opened, and three small guns lay among the wood shavings.

The cannon was shaped like a bamboo joint, and its size was just similar to the concave shape of the mother cannon.

The gun has an open end and a closed end, with a hole for drawing the powder.

In combat, gunpowder projectiles can be loaded into the sub-guns only, and then loaded into the main gun for firing.
In this way, the barrel of the mother gun does not directly contact the burning gunpowder, so it does not need to be cleaned frequently like a muzzle-loading gun.

Moreover, gunpowder and shells could be loaded into the gun before the battle and fired directly during the battle, saving the loading step and thus achieving rapid firing.

Of course, the breech-loading cannon also had its drawbacks. The large gap between the main gun and the cannon caused the explosive gases from the gunpowder to escape, resulting in limited range and power.

Historically, after the emergence of the red-coated cannon, the once-popular breech-loading cannon gradually declined during the Ming Dynasty.

However, that's because historically, the imperial army mainly fought on land.

At sea, as long as boarding tactics are still in use, the Franco machine gun will always have a purpose.

Jose also brought back a Siren cannon, but this cannon was too heavy and had to be moved by a wooden crane.

Simply moving it onto the beach to show Lin Qian would be a waste of labor.

Lin Qian decided that after the rest of the firearms were moved, the Siren cannons would be installed directly onto the gun deck of the Santa Ana using the Santa Ana's crane.

After inspecting the firearms, Lin Qian was very satisfied with Jose's work. She beckoned, and a crew member came over carrying a brocade box.

"Well done, here's your consulting fee for this period of time," Lin Qian said.

Jose took the brocade box and felt its weight. His heart skipped a beat. He opened it and saw eight gold ingots inside.

The golden ingots stained José's dilated pupils with gold.

Jose closed the brocade box, his smile becoming much warmer.

He then shared many of his observations and experiences in Macau with Lin Qian.

As they were talking, Lin Qian had someone bring Chen Jiao and the mute Huang over.

In a short while, Chen Jiao, the mute Huang, and his apprentice arrived at the beach.

Lin Qiandao pointed to the Haicang ship that was unloading cargo and said, "Jose brought back twenty-four Franconian cannons from Macau. I've done a simple estimate, and the Haicang ship's deck can carry six cannons each."

"Brother, while you're in the harbor, pick three ships in good condition and give them to Uncle Huang to load cannons onto."

"Yes!"

Lin Qian continued, "The remaining six breech-loading cannons are installed on the top deck of the St. Anna."

In addition, four Siren cannons were also installed on the gun deck.

It just so happens that the Santa Ana also needs maintenance, so the gun loading can be carried out at the same time as the maintenance and overhaul.

During the repairs of the St. Anna, naval defense was entrusted to the frigate Haicang, which was equipped with Franconian cannons.

"Yes," Chen Jiao replied, cupping his hands in greeting.

Lin Qian then said to Uncle Huang, "In the short term, a dry dock cannot be built, so the maintenance of the St. Anna can only be carried out at sea."

Dumb Huang gestured for a moment, picked up a tree branch, and ran to a wet beach to paint.

The others followed.

All that could be seen was that Dumb Huang had drawn a tilted spinning top.

His apprentice said, "Master said that we can use the pontoon method, placing ballast stones on one side and leaving the other side above water, so that we can repair the bottom of the ship."

Chen Jiao nodded and said, "Many pirates have used this method."

Ke Linqian shook her head: "The Ming Dynasty's Fujian ships have low freeboards and are small, so they can use this method. The St. Anna has high freeboards and a high center of gravity, so using this method would be too dangerous."

Dumb Huang then drew a sloping surface, with a square groove on it, and a boat in the groove. He then gestured to the apprentice using sign language.

The apprentice said, “Master said that we can use the beach-sitting method. We can dig a big pit in the sand, lay a slide, and drag the boat onto the slide and into the pit when the tide is high. After the tide recedes, we can repair the boat under the hull. After the repair is done, we can take advantage of the high tide to push the boat back into the sea.”

Jose exclaimed in surprise, "He just drew a picture casually and made a few random gestures, and you can understand what it means?"

The apprentice scratched his head sheepishly and explained, "My father is also mute, so I'm used to it."

Chen Jiao said, "Captain, I've never seen pirates use this method before, but I've heard that private ships in the Fujian and Guangdong areas used to do it this way, so it should work."

Lin Qian rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a moment.

The sand is soft and has slides, so as long as you are careful, you won't hurt the keel.

Compared to dry dock repairs, it is still dangerous, but within an acceptable range.

The key issue is that if they insist on waiting for the dry dock to be completed, who knows how long that will take? Even if Lin Qian can wait, the large wooden sailing ship cannot afford to wait. Ship maggots and barnacles are not afraid of cannons. If they wait any longer, the ship maggots will multiply and become even more difficult to clean up.

So Lin Qian made up her mind and said, "Let's do it this way! Uncle Huang, you're in charge of building the beach slide. Big Brother, you're in charge of allocating manpower and resources, and bringing in all the prisoners to help. If we still don't have enough manpower, we'll spend more money to hire people on the island. Everything is aimed at shortening the construction period of the St. Anna, so don't worry about the cost."

Chen Jiao and the mute Huang bowed in agreement.

With Chen Jiao overseeing the construction company, craftsmen, laborers, and building materials were mobilized very quickly.

That afternoon, three hundred prisoners were sent to dig pits, and another fifty prisoners went up the mountain to cut down trees to be used as a slide.

The mute man, Huang, will temporarily dry dock in Qing'ao Bay on the east side of the island.

This place is located east of Guolao Mountain, facing the South China Sea. The beach is flat and the surrounding area is sparsely populated, making it ideal for building a temporary dry dock.

The only drawback is that it's a bit far from Nan'ao City, and there's Guolao Mountain in between, making transportation inconvenient.

Fortunately, the forest is shallow and there are many boats, so daily food, supplies, and personnel can all be transported by sea, avoiding the hardship of crossing mountains and valleys.

The main force in building the temporary dry dock was the prisoners of war. These people were used to living in shacks, so it was not difficult for them to rebuild shacks in Qing'ao Bay.

Before construction began, Lin Qian sent people to carefully measure various data such as the length, width, draft, keel length, and bottom shape of the St. Anna, and gave them to Dumb Huang for reference.

The temporary dry dock designed by Dumb Huang has a simple structure: a rectangular pit dug into the sand.

At the bottom of the pit, a plane slightly higher than the sea surface is left, with a gentle slope between the plane and the sea surface, with a slope of about five to ten degrees.

Dig a small rectangular pit on each side of the bottom and the flat side of the pit, nail three round logs together, and half-bury them horizontally in the pit. The slope formed by two of the logs is exposed on the top, serving as keel blocks to support the gunwale and prevent the keel from being damaged by stress.

The surface of the logs was polished and coated with vegetable oil and lard for lubrication to prevent wear on the bottom of the boat.

During the period of construction of the dry dock.

The installation of breech-loading cannons on the Haicang ship is also progressing simultaneously.

Chen Jiao carefully selected three Haicang ships, and Lin Qian personally drew up the plans and designed the gun positions.

The Haicang ship has a low freeboard, making it unsuitable for setting up gun ports and gun decks. Therefore, all gun positions are arranged on the open deck.

The six cannons were located on the port and starboard sides, with the cannon barrels supported by gun mounts, which were connected to the ship's hull structure by anchoring cables.

The hull of the Haicang ship was only supported by a thin layer of wooden planks, which could not withstand the recoil of cannon fire.

Lin Qian redesigned and stabilized the hull structure, adding twelve gun mounts to the bulwark. The mounts were connected to the deck and the hull, and each Franco cannon had two recoil ropes tied to the mount to maintain stability.

At the same time, the wooden planks of the bulwark were thickened, and net bags were added inside the bulwark to hold hammocks for sailors to sleep in.

The advantage of this structure is that, in the event of naval combat, the wet hammocks and bulwarks can offer some protection against stray arrows and wood chips.

At the same time, since the crew has hammocks as berths, all the cabins that take up a lot of space on the ship can be eliminated.

The empty space was used to store gunpowder and weapons.

This was merely a stopgap measure by Lin Qian to modify the Haicang ship. Although the modified Haicang ship had significantly increased firepower, its maneuverability and speed inevitably decreased.

Its strategic role was to protect the St. Anna during combat and to use light firepower to clear enemy decks and prevent the enemy from boarding the ship.

It can be loosely classified as a frigate.

Therefore, Lin Qian named the modified Haicang ship the Seawolf-class frigate.

To make them easier to remember, Lin Qian named the three modified ships Sea Wolf One, Sea Wolf Two, and Sea Wolf Three, respectively.

The three Seawolf ships officially joined the South Australia Island pirate camp.

(End of this chapter)