Su Chen smiled and said: "Why do you think I rushed to Guangzhou in such a hurry?"
"Now is the peak season of typhoons. To cross the South China Sea at this time is to seek death, even if you sail along the Indochina Peninsula!"
"The storm we got from Fuzhou last time was just a matter of luck. If we had set off a day earlier and encountered it halfway, nothing might have happened!"
"Besides, given the current situation of the navy, both its combat capability and long-distance navigation capability are still too weak. It is estimated that it cannot even defeat Srivijaya near Malacca."
Liu Rengui said with a wry smile: "The commander-in-chief wants to continue training the navy, which is fine in the East China Sea. Why come all the way to Guangzhou?"
Su Chen shook his head: "Our final battle areas are in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and near the Dashi Peninsula. We face too many unknown situations. The East China Sea is not suitable."
"I think Hangzhou Bay and Lingding Ocean are more suitable. Hangzhou Bay is the back garden of Jiangnan aristocratic families, so I'd better choose here."
Outside the Pearl River Estuary, there are islands and tidal flats floating in the sea everywhere in the Lingding Ocean, and beyond that is the vast South China Sea.
Here, whether it is conducting gunboat bombardment, fleet coordination, or seizing the road to seize the beach, you can find a suitable sea area for exercises.
Moreover, the waters of Guangzhou during this period were also sparsely populated.
"This time I was given live-fire training. We brought enough gunpowder and shells, and a batch of supplies will be delivered a month later."
"I will follow you throughout this training and pick out some unqualified personnel. You should all take me seriously!"
Su Chen looked at the officers and said: "As long as you can't die after practicing, you can practice to death for me!"
Over the next month or so, Su Chen completely turned Lingdingyang into a training base for the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty, with constant sound of artillery fire both inside and outside the Pearl River Estuary.
Su Chen also invited Feng Ang to the ship in the name of asking him to give guidance to the naval officers.
Feng Ang accompanied Su Chen, and Li Chengqian stood on the deck, looking at the artillery not far away, the waves and water columns caused by the bombs, and their legs were shaking like chaff.
"Gong Guogong, what do you think of the combat effectiveness of the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty?"
"The ship is strong, the guns are powerful, and the power is shocking!"
Su Chen smiled: "Do you think the navy can protect the peace of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Yes! Definitely! Anyone who wants to challenge the power of the navy will be turned into powder!"
Feng Ang's legs were shaking and his heart was trembling: That's enough. I'm over sixty years old and I can't stand being scared like this by you!
Coax! Coax! Coax!
The gunboat fired a burst of gunfire at a small island, directly smashing the rocks beside the island that had stood in the wind and waves for countless years.
At this time, a dozen pirate ships suddenly rushed out and rushed towards one of the frigates.
They were real pirates, raised by a powerful family in Lingnan, and they often committed mischief on the Lingding Ocean.
Su Chen sent the navy to force them to surrender with great difficulty, captured them alive, and killed some of them, which were left behind.
Then Su Chen gave them a task: as long as they can cause damage to any ship in the fleet, their lives can be spared, or they will be beheaded like the pirates yesterday!
The pirates rushed straight towards one of the frigates, fanning out halfway, preparing to outflank them.
The other ships ignored him and had no intention of coming to rescue him.
Seeing the pirate ship rushing towards him, the frigate also adjusted its direction and also rushed towards the pirate ship.
Just when the pirate ship was less than 300 steps away from the frigate, the sound of cannons on the frigate rang out.
The range of this kind of bowl-mouth gun is less than 500 meters, and its accuracy is extremely high.
But it can't stand in large numbers. There are dozens of bowl-mouth blunderbuss, but only three or five will hit.
The pirate ship on the left front of the frigate hit the bow directly, causing sawdust to fly!
Not to mention leaving a big hole, the entire bow of the ship was deformed, and half of the ship was in a mess. Sea water immediately poured in, and the pirate ship began to sink.
A pirate ship next to it was also hit on the side of the ship, and the ship began to tilt to one side, and it would not be long before it rolled over.
The frigate slightly adjusted its direction during the impact and passed between the two pirate ships on the right front.
Just as the three ships passed each other, the second burst of cannons sounded, this time it was very bloody!
the second time.
The musket has been replaced with shotgun!
The cannon was fired while passing between two pirate ships. At such a close distance, countless steel balls ejected from the muzzle directly covered the two pirate ships in a fan shape!
The two pirate ships were immediately riddled with holes. Not to mention the pirates on board, it was a luxury to even hope for a complete corpse.
Feng An saw several standing pirates on the pirate ship, and they were beaten into a ball of blood mist and fell into the sea!
After an interlude, the frigate had arrived behind the pirate ship, and then began to chase the pirate ship and bombard it.
Several small trebuchets also continued to throw gunpowder bombs at the pirate ships. Although the hit rate was horribly low,
However, even if those bombs fall around the pirate ship, the water jets and waves caused by the explosion will also greatly affect the stability and speed of the pirate ship, not to mention threatening the courage of the pirates.
After another pirate ship was blown to pieces, the remaining pirate ships began to flee for their lives. At this time, other surrounding warships opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After more than a dozen pirate ships were blown to pieces in an instant, Su Chen clapped his hands and said to himself: "We can't find an equal training opponent, and the fleet's strength is improving very slowly!"
Feng An didn't even dare to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead!
"Hey, forget it!"
"Gong Guo! The sound of cannons outside is noisy. Let's go to the cabin to talk. I have a few questions to ask Duke Geng."
"...Don't dare!... Lord Protector, please!"
Arriving at the cabin, Su Chen poured Feng An a glass of wine.
"Gong Guogong! In recent months, have many large ships from China come to Panyu for trading?"
Feng An took a sip of wine and tried to calm down his heart that was about to jump out of his chest.
"That's right! Hasn't the Protector already obtained the records of the Shipping Department?"
"That thing is useless! They won't be crowded on top of what I want to see?
I heard that those big ships did a lot of big business with the Li people under the rule of Duke Geng!"
Feng Ang was breaking out in a cold sweat: "Duke Protector, although these slang tribes are under my rule, doing business with the Central Plains people is decided by their tribal leaders, and I have nothing to do with it!"
Su Chen waved his hand: "I didn't ask the Protector to stop them. I'm just curious about what kind of deal they made."
"Duke Guo Guo, you know that all ethnic groups in Lingnan are very fond of materials from the Central Plains. Those cloths, silks, iron and bronze wares, ceramics, etc. are very popular in Lingnan."
"I know all this, but what I don't know is what those Li tribesmen use to trade with the Central Plains people. Duke Geng should know."
Feng Ang replied tremblingly: "It's just some items made of rattan, rattan armor, Teng Dun and so on."
