The lookout post of Penghu Fortress saw the billowing black smoke rising from the naval battle here, and responded quickly, sending a large number of warships to come quickly. Colonel Santiago saw that reinforcements were coming, and encouraged the remaining soldiers to attack Black Pearl again.
, the Spaniards with high morale swarmed in.
Liu Ziguang remained motionless until the enemy rushed forward and shouted: "Let go!" The soldiers standing in the first row pulled the triggers at the same time, and the iron sand ejected from more than twenty muskets knocked the Spaniard to pieces.
, and then Liu Ziguang shouted: "Second row, release!" The second row of guns fired in response. The thick smoke rising from the black powder blocked people's sight, but the miserable screams of the enemies on the opposite side who were hit could still be heard.
The soldiers in the third row stopped aiming and used the Zhuge Liannu in their hands to carry out covering strikes on the opposite side of the thick smoke.
"Follow me!" Liu Ziguang shouted. He had just spotted a guy wearing a three-cornered hat and golden tassel epaulettes on the enemy ship directing the battle. He seemed to be the enemy commander. If he could be captured as a hostage
It still has some effect.
A group of soldiers followed Liu Ziguang into the smoke and climbed onto the enemy ship along the rope. After a bloody battle, they finally captured Santiago alive. When Liu Ziguang, who was covered in blood, carried Santiago back to the Black Pearl, Dugu Wen's eyes
She was stunned. She had never seen such a powerful warrior in her entire life. People around her always treated her with submissiveness and respect. Even the generals in the imperial court were like docile little sheep in front of her. Suddenly someone was so rude.
Dugu Wen was very interested in treating her.
"Hey, what's your name?" Dugu Wen tightened the blanket around her body, put her head out of the window and shouted to Liu Ziguang.
Liu Ziguang ignored her at all, threw Santiago to the ground, and ordered: "Quickly sail the boat and get out of the battle."
Although the Black Pearl was hit by countless shells and arrows, it was not damaged at all. As long as the steam engine was started, the strong power could escape before Spanish reinforcements arrived.
"Sir, the steam engine is broken!" A sweaty soldier crawled out of the bottom cabin and reported. His body and face were black with coal. He was the man sent by Liu Ziguang to monitor the group of stokers, Ming soldiers and pirates.
Although they were allies for the time being, there was still a gap between them. The pirates never gave up their attempt to recapture the Black Pearl, so a small battle broke out in the boiler room. Although not many people died, the boiler pipe was damaged.
It fell, and steam sprayed everywhere. As for the sails and masts, they had long been thrown into the sea. Now the Black Pearl has become a target ship with no maneuverability. Several tied-up pirate stokers were escorted aboard.
The deck was covered in blood, and the officers and soldiers put their knives on the necks of the saboteurs and tried to behead them.
The group of people who were fighting side by side just now quickly divided into two camps. The pirates who had obtained weapons would certainly not allow the Ming army to kill their companions in front of their eyes. The swords and guns were suddenly exchanged on the deck, and the battle was about to break out.
The Spanish reinforcements were about to arrive, but not only was the ship damaged, but the pirates were no longer obedient. It would not be difficult to kill these pirates, but then there would be no one to help fight the war or burn the boilers and sail the ship.
, Liu Ziguang immediately decided, drew a knife and cut the ropes on several stokers, pushed them into the pirates' team, then turned around and jumped to a high place to lecture loudly:
"Put down your weapons. We are all Han Chinese. We will wait until we defeat the Spaniards to discuss any grievances. I promise here that as long as we can escape, we will never hold you accountable. When we reach a safe place, we will have access to the road and go our separate ways."
On the other hand, the Black Pearl still belongs to you."
The pirates made a noise, but no one came out to answer. After a few battles, almost all the backbones were dead, and most of the ones left now were ordinary stokers and gunners.
"Listen to him, the Spaniards we have to deal with first." Dugu Wen came out of the cabin at some point and stood next to Liu Ziguang and spoke.
Now that their bosses have spoken, the pirates immediately put down their swords and guns and followed Liu Ziguang's arrangements. Some went to repair the boilers, while others loaded the cannonballs and organized their weapons. If the boilers could not be repaired in time, they would have to die here.
"Thank you." Liu Ziguang said briefly to Dugu Wen. If she hadn't appeared in time, a commotion would have been inevitable. Dugu Wen lowered her head and whispered: "It's nothing." She was waiting for Liu Ziguang to continue speaking, but after waiting for a long time, she didn't show up.
When she spoke, she looked up and saw that she had already run away to command the defense and had no time to pay attention to her.
Dugu Wen stamped her feet and was about to turn around and go back to the cabin to hide, but then she thought about it and stayed on the deck to help clean things and collect arrows and weapons. When the pair of living parrots and monkeys saw that the situation outside had calmed down, they also
He slipped out of his safe hiding place and wandered around in excitement, chirping.
Liu Ziguang raised his binoculars and observed that there were more than forty Spanish warships coming from Penghu, murderous and fierce. Among them were large sailing ships, and on both wings were fast steamships, forming a pincer shape.
The formation surrounded them.
Time passed by minute by second, the steam engine was still undergoing urgent repairs, and the Spanish warship had arrived within a stone's throw.
It was getting late, and the dark warships were like a group of black devils quietly surrounding the Black Pearl. No one came out to shout, and no one fired the first shot. It was just a silent stalemate. The Spaniards had obviously discovered
As many as ten patrol fleets have been destroyed, and no one dares to speak lightly about this mysterious pirate ship.
The Black Pearl was ready, but the leaking boiler could no longer provide energy for the steam cannon, and the missiles brought from the cargo ship were all used up. The remaining weapons were only bed crossbows and fire blunderbuss and swords. Liu Ziguang encouraged everyone's morale: "
If you are a man, stand up straight and don't let the Xiyi people look down on you. We have already knocked down ten of their ships, and we can earn more by killing them again."
Time passed minute by minute, and under the muzzles of many Spanish warships, every second passed as long as a year. Suddenly, a Spanish steam warship opened fire first, and the solid shells fired from the cannon hit the black sky.
A dent was immediately made in the protective iron plate on the side of the Pearl. Then other warships also launched an attack. Rockets were fired from all over the sky, illuminating the sea at night like a city at a festival.
Fortunately, the flammable equipment on the Black Pearl is very good, and the damage control system is also very complete. The cannons and rockets cannot cause too serious damage, but the intensive strikes will make people unable to lift their heads. If the enemy is allowed to attack like this,
, no matter how strong the hull is, one day it will be penetrated.
Liu Ziguang was hiding below the deck and was worried. If the enemy continued to carry out long-range strikes like this, the people on the ship would be feeding the fish without even being able to see the enemy's face. The hostages they had finally captured would not have a chance to be used. There was really no good solution at all.
Just when he was anxious to get angry, he suddenly found that the firepower hitting the ship suddenly weakened. Looking out the porthole, he saw that the Spanish warships had become a mess, the formation had broken up, several sailboats had begun to sink, and the sailors
Shouting and jumping into the water, other ships hurriedly maneuvered on the water, as if they were avoiding something, but there was no trace of any enemy ships on the water.
Could it be that the giant squid dragged them down? Liu Ziguang thought endlessly. He raised his telescope and observed the sea surface. Several more Spanish ships sank. The remaining warships dispersed in a hurry, not caring about attacking the Black Pearl.
The signal was given and they all retreated back.
Immediately afterwards, there was movement on the water in front of the Black Pearl. The huge body of a big black fish slowly rose from the water. The sea water was like a boiling pot, causing countless waves. Everyone opened their mouths in shock and stared in disbelief.
Looking at this monster of unknown origin.
The big black fish is as big as a thousand warships. When it surfaces, you can see the ferocious fangs and angry eyes on the fish's head, as well as the strange "hump" on its back, with a rope slowly rising from the hump.
A slender pole with a rolled strip of cloth unfolding in the wind, like a flag.
At the same time as the flag was raised, the lights around the "hump" were also turned on. The high-brightness light shone on the matte black "big fish", illuminating the flag clearly. There was a large thin gold character "Song" on it.
Blowing in the sea breeze.
The pirates on the Black Pearl suddenly cheered: "We are saved." But the Ming army looked at each other in confusion. Who is this mysterious big fish? How could it be an accomplice of the pirates? Only Liu Ziguang knew that it was from the Song Dynasty.
submarine.
A loud voice came from the submarine's control tower, giving orders first in Chinese and then in Spanish to the warship hiding in the distance:
"The Navy of the Song Dynasty solemnly warns you that the behavior of your fleet has harmed the interests of our country. You are limited to return to your home port within a quarter of an hour, otherwise you will bear all the consequences."
These words are very domineering and unreasonable. It is incredible that the Spaniards fighting pirates at home can harm the interests of the Song Dynasty two thousand miles away. However, the smart Spaniards are obviously not stupid enough to understand the truth.
The fact that they sank several of their ships without saying a word just now is the best warning. In this sea area, there is definitely more than one Lusong submarine. The disparity in strength is too great. The Spaniards wisely said nothing and looked dejected.
They retreated, leaving only a group of lifeboats to rescue those who fell into the water.