The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14 Gale
"We can't change the sail!" Chen Jiao said hurriedly.

Lei Sanxiang also shouted, "Brother Lin, the enemy ships are to the north, we should escape to the south!"

Lin Qian shouted, "Change the sail!" and turned the rudder to the right.

At this time, the wind was blowing from the northeast at sea. When they sailed south, the wind was tailwind, and when they sailed east, the wind was headwind.

Changing the sail means turning the sail to adapt to a new wind angle. This is a delicate matter, and the sailor must coordinate with the helmsman to turn the sail at the same time.

If you turn the rudder in advance without changing the sail, you are likely to be blown to the side.

Lin Qian's early change of course was essentially forcing Liao Shou to change the sail.

Liaoshou hesitated for a moment, and changed the sails a little late. The ship tilted a bit by the strong wind, and the mast made a tooth-grinding creak. All the sailors on the deck rolled to the port side, and for a moment they were in a very messy situation.

On the contrary, Catherine, who was firmly tied to the mast, was unharmed and laughed loudly.

"Sixth brother, have you gone mad?" Chen Jiao roared.

"Just watch, brother," Lin Qian said calmly. "If I say anything more, it might damage our brotherly bond."

His words carried a veiled threat, which Chen Jiao understood. He immediately snorted coldly and remained silent.

After a short while, the lookout shouted, "Enemy ship is turning southeast, to port aft."

The Fujian ship made a right-angle turn, while the St. Philip intercepted at an angle. Their ship was already fast and the distance was short. Half an hour later, they were less than five miles away from the Fujian ship.

After another meal, there were less than three miles left.

By this time, it was completely dark.

The sea was high and the wind was strong, with muffled thunder faintly heard in the sky.

Lei Sanxiang took out his matchlock gun and kept blowing on the matchlock to light it, while the other boatmen also took out their weapons.

Bai Langzai, carrying a Japanese sword, stood guard beside Lin Qian.

Catherine's view was blocked by the sterncastle, so she couldn't see the St. Philip, but she could tell what had happened from the crew's reactions.

"Pirates, surrender to the great Spanish navy, and you will not be hanged, I promise."

“I, Catherine Fajardo de Mendoza, solemnly promise that as long as you surrender, I will send you back to your homes.”

Unfortunately, none of the boatmen could understand what she was saying.

Catherine could only stammer in Chinese, "Surrender... surrender quickly..."

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

A cannon shot rang out in the distance, and moments later, a column of water shot into the sky from a few hundred paces away from the Fujian ship.

As the water jets fell, seawater drifted in with the wind, and a cold, salty rain fell on the Fujian ship.

Lin Qian looked back and saw that the St. Philip was less than two miles away from them, and they could already see the densely packed soldiers on the other side's deck.

At this point, the St. Philip's hull was directly behind the Fujian ship, but it did not turn due east and continued to sail southeast.

It was visible to the naked eye that all the gun ports on the starboard side of the St. Philip were open, revealing deep, dark cannon muzzles.

“They are demonstrating,” Chen Jiao mumbled.

Lin Qian smiled slightly: "No, it's just a bluff. They can't catch up with us anymore."

Chen Jiao smiled wryly, clearly not believing Lin Qian's words.

Half an hour later, the lights of the St. Philip were noticeably farther away.

The angle between the heading and the wind direction of a Western-style square sailing ship must not be less than sixty degrees; otherwise, it can only sail in a zigzag pattern.

Just like the St. Philip now, they sailed northeast for a distance before turning southeast.

The Chinese-style hard sails of Fujian ships allow for sailing against the wind at a small angle, and changing sails is also simpler.

It is significantly more efficient than Western-style square sailing ships when sailing against the wind.

Lin Qian decided to turn east precisely because she was well aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Just as Lin Qian had said, the lights of the St. Philip flickered between the port and starboard sides of the Fujian ship, but no matter what they did, they could not catch up with it and instead got further and further away.

The lights of the St. Philip became increasingly blurry on the sea until they disappeared into the darkness.

When the lookout announced, "The enemy ships have retreated," all the crew members cheered.

Catherine listened to the cheers around her, filled with regret, her deep brown eyes blazing with hatred as she stared intently at Lin Qian behind the ship's helm. Unfortunately, it wasn't time to let her guard down yet.

By this time, the wind on the sea was getting stronger and stronger, the waves were getting several feet high, and large raindrops suddenly started to fall.

The wind direction suddenly shifted from northeast to northwest.

Suddenly, the world was filled with the sounds of wind, waves, and rain hitting the sea. The deafening noises were deafening and awe-inspiring.

"It seems...it seems like the Dragon King of the Sea has turned over..." one of the boatmen whispered.

The faces of the crowd were filled with terror, even more so than when they were being chased by the Spanish.

"Third Granny is taking people in..." Bai Langzai's face turned ashen, and the Tanka people on the boat knelt down and kept kowtowing to the sea.

“You damned pirate, you coward, are you scared now?” Catherine’s face was completely pale, her lips trembled incessantly, but she still continued to mock her.

Rumble!
A rumbling thunder came from the horizon, echoing throughout the vast wilderness.

The ocean surface was boiling; waves that were just a few feet high rose more than ten feet high in an instant.

The pitch-black waves, illuminated by lightning, resembled the mouth of a giant whale.

"It's a whirlwind..." Even Chen Jiao, who was experienced in many things, was trembling all over at this moment.

"Windstorm" is the Ming Dynasty's name for a typhoon. Although it is a natural phenomenon, the people of the Ming Dynasty are superstitious and believe in gods and Buddhas. Those who sail at sea are even more superstitious and cautious. Upon seeing this strange phenomenon, they were immediately terrified.

The wind and waves rose too quickly, and all the boatmen panicked and knelt down to kowtow to the sea.

"Head due south, winds are blowing to starboard, turn the rudder and change sails!" Lin Qian shouted in the midst of the raging storm.

No one took action.

Lin Qian wiped the rain off her face and cursed, "If you don't want to die, get up from the ground! I'll lead you out! Change the sails!"

Hearing Lin Qian's shouts, the brothers found their backbone and beat and scolded Liao Shou until he got up to change the sail.

"No, the speed is too fast, lower the sails halfway!" Lin Qian shouted.

The sailors, soaked to the bone, struggled to lower the sails on the slippery deck.

"It's still too fast, lower it again!" Lin Qian said again.

At this time, the wind was fierce, with a force of at least level 13. If the speed was too fast, it would be easy to plunge into the waves and cause the ship to be destroyed and people to die.

"Ah!" A man slipped and was blown off the starboard side by the gale, letting out a shrill scream, before being swallowed by the dark, surging sea in an instant.

"Tie yourselves up tightly with ropes!" Lin Qian shouted, while simultaneously using a piece of cable to tie herself to the rudder.

The wind intensified, and raindrops pelted the face like knives, stinging the skin and forcing the eyes to squint, making it almost impossible to see.

Boom!

The lightning struck, hitting the sea not far away, and the air was filled with tiny, spiderweb-like arcs of electricity.

By the light of the electric current, the boatmen saw five or six twisted black pillars standing between the sea and the sky on the distant sea.

Boom!

Another arc of lightning flashed, and the black pillar in the distance twisted and turned, gradually merging into one, about a hundred feet high and more than ten feet thick, truly like a pillar supporting the sky.

If Mount Buzhou truly existed in this world, it would be no different.

The surrounding seawater converges around the black pillar, winding its way up to the sky.

"It's a waterspout," someone exclaimed in a low voice.

"May the Third Grandmother protect me..."

"Mazu, save me..."

“I sought…the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears…” Catherine closed her eyes, her chest heaving, and prayed incessantly, her words interrupted by the seawater and rain splashing on her face.

"Lower your bodies and hold on tight!" Lin Qian roared.

Before his eyes, a giant wave surged forth, as if the entire ocean were hanging upside down in front of the ship.

Fortunately, the Fujian-style ship was not fast, and it was gradually lifted to the top by the waves, after which the ship gradually tilted downwards.

Then, a terrifying scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.

(End of this chapter)