Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

"Master! If we drive up there, we'll just run into the cannon!" Pang San hurriedly grabbed Chi Honghai's arm.

"Don't worry, you won't crash. Drive over there!"

With sails hoisted high and oars churning the water vigorously, the entire ship lurched diagonally forward.

Since the gunners had all been systematically trained by Instructor Lang, they were quite proficient in aiming at targets while the ship was moving at high speed.

Throughout the process, Chi Honghai and Instructor Lang's boats constantly adjusted the angle of the cannons to fire.

As for the official's centipede boats, due to the enemy's high-speed movement with the wind and the acceleration of the oars, the enemy rushed past before the cannons could even be aimed at the ship after it had just turned around.

For a moment, both ships were busy adjusting the direction of their cannons.

At the same time, since Chi Honghai pulled it from an angle, once it reached a certain angle, the two centipede ships that were originally side by side would definitely have their view blocked by friendly forces.

When this happens, the fleet commander will usually try to pull the ship away directly or have friendly ships avoid it.

In short, don't block the line of fire.

And that's exactly what the government ships did. The ship on the inner side chose to move outward, which meant turning more than half a body length, wasting a lot of time.

Chi Honghai seized the opportunity and performed a sea drift.

He ordered the ships to turn sharply to port and head towards the two centipede-shaped boats.

The sudden, rapid turn caused a huge shift in the ship's center of gravity, but it had no effect on Chi Honghai's crew.

Just by turning around, they seized the right angle to launch a new round of bombardment.

This round of shelling was at a closer distance and covered a larger area. Even solid shells caused considerable casualties to the enemy after one round.

As the two ships charged forward one after the other, Chi Honghai ordered the shells to be replaced with explosive shells instead of solid shot.

This means that the next round of shelling will be close-range firing.

At this moment, the gun deck below was operating in an orderly manner. The commander shouted orders to change the shells, holding a hemp rope whip in his hand. However, he did not lash the backs of the men, but instead whipped the gun bodies, making a "crackling" sound.

Inside the deck, the gunners and their assistants moved the boxes containing exploding shells to the side and pried them open with shovels or something else.

Those who were far from the deck would even take the shells out of the boxes and roll them down the deck like bowling balls to the required location, where their deputy would catch them and load them.

Everyone moved swiftly and decisively, and fueled by adrenaline, they were able to change shells even faster than in the usual simulations.

After receiving news that the reloading was complete, Chi Honghai stared intently at the two centipede-shaped ships in front of him.

At this moment, the enemy had already rearranged themselves, waiting for him to drive over and engage in a firefight.

He stretched out his hand, palm open, and looked at the distance between the bow of his boat and the other boat, while also getting a clear look at each other's faces and clothing.

The crew members on deck grabbed their fire starters and leaned against the side of the ship, ready to fire. The small breech-loading cannons were also adjusted to the right angle, awaiting the master's orders.

Time ticked by, and the bow of the ship moved forward inch by inch.

When the bow of the ship is almost at the bow of the other ship.

"Master..." Pang San reminded him, as if he wanted the master to prepare to fire, but seeing the master's focused expression, he took back what he wanted to say.

The two sides were less than 50 meters apart. No matter who bombarded whom, those on the deck would suffer the consequences.

But just before the bow of the ship was about to enter the enemy's line of sight, Chi Honghai suddenly gave an order, instructing the flag bearers to simultaneously tell the rear: Slow down drastically! Slow down drastically! Slow down drastically!

The two ships slowed down considerably due to the opposing force of the sails.

As for the official ships, their assessment was that at this speed, they could fire their cannons one after another shortly after the bow arrived, thus covering the entire hull of the enemy ship.

But this extreme deceleration turned the opponent's originally accurate judgment into a misjudgment.

A few seconds later, as the cannon fire from the opposite side rang out one after another, the cannonballs spewed from the ship crashed into the sea.

At this moment, Chi Honghai's ship slowly swayed into the shelling range.

Looking from the deck, the officers and soldiers on the other deck all seemed somewhat fearful.

After all, if your cannon misses, you're the only one who'll suffer!

"Bang bang bang!"

A new round of shelling began, with exploding shells hitting the enemy ship at short distances and creating a large hole in the middle deck, where the guns were fired.

Looking through the opening, one could clearly see the other side frantically carrying shells, the commander wildly whipping the shells, and the carnage inside the compartment filled with flying blood and flesh.

The breech-loading muskets and rifles on the ship also began firing at the people on the opposite deck.

After exchanging attacks for a round or two on their respective decks, the two sides passed each other.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of artillery fire rang out from behind, and the crisp sound of shells shattering wooden planks reached our ears again, only this time the screams mixed in with the sound were even clearer.

However, while you might escape the first one, the second one won't be so easy to avoid.

Before it was fully loaded, the ship sailed up to the second one.

As the cannon fire rang out, wood chips flew all over Chi Honghai. Due to the shelling, some unsecured items on and off the deck began to slide down the deck.

Many people were injured or killed in this round of shelling. Some of the sliding gun barrels or cargo boxes smashed directly onto people, and although the flesh and blood were not blown apart, they were still blurred.

The severe scraping and squeezing exposed the flesh and bone of the lower leg. After finally managing to move the thing pressing down on the leg, they found some bone fragments on the ground.

These damages are common occurrences in naval warfare. For those who had been pirates or had previously participated in raiding official ships, their experience prepared them mentally, preventing them from losing their composure.

But for those who had just transitioned from farmers to pirates, it was a different story.

This scene was no less terrifying than being hacked to pieces in the village, and perhaps even more so.

After all, the unlucky ones were sent flying into the sea along with the shells. The slightly luckier ones were taken by solid shells, leaving only their bodies. However, even if they were lucky enough not to die immediately, whether they could survive afterward and what their life would be like were all painful experiences, so they could hardly be considered lucky.

After the lower deck was reloaded with shells, it also opened fire in return.

The same cruelty was repeated on the enemy's decks and below. The explosion of the exploding shells even caused shells inside the enemy's hold to explode. Although the solid shot did not explode, the solid shot scattered after being hit, which did cause several injuries.

The two ships drew closer and closer.

Fearing that the next round of shelling would injure the master, Pang San forcibly dragged him to a place he thought was safe to hide in.

"Sir, look, Qingjiang's boat and that cargo ship have hooked up!"