In the past, he tried every possible means to avoid detection, fearing that the navy would find out that the major families had formed a fleet to go to sea for smuggling. Now, he prayed to God and prayed to the Buddha, hoping that the navy would get wind of the news and chase him to rescue him from the desperate situation.
Things in the world are unpredictable and often contradictory...
Xiao Cuo stood on the deck and looked at the sea that was gradually moving away, his eyes were red and his heart was like an ice cellar.
Going offshore, the expected victory after encountering pirates did not come as expected. Not only that, but watching those ferocious pirates raise their weapons and kill the private soldiers raised by major families one by one and then throw them into the sea, Xiao Cuo was already
numbness.
The screams penetrated the wind and rain and poured into the ears. The broken limbs dyed the entire sea water red. Countless ships were circling and entangled on the sea, like a hell on earth...
It is a hell for the Jiangnan gentry.
Bao Xi stood behind Xiao Cuo, his hands and feet cold.
Witnessing a massacre in progress, he felt only a trace of joy in his heart. Fortunately, he had given the order to retreat immediately. Otherwise, he would have been entangled by the pirate ship in the formation at this time. He was afraid that he would have no way to go to the sky or the earth.
Dead soldiers and sailors are generally slaughtered like pigs and dogs and thrown into the sea, becoming carrion wrapped in the bellies of fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs...
"They're coming!"
A sharp shout from behind frightened Xiao Cuo and Bao Xi. They quickly looked around and saw several sharp-nosed and pointed-bottomed clippers with their sails fully hoisted. They braved the pouring rain to leave the chaotic battlefield and cut through the waves towards the direction of the chaotic battlefield.
They are chasing after each other!
Xiao Cuo was so frightened that he almost stopped breathing. Before he could recover, Bao Xi beside him was already shouting crazily: "Hurry up the sail, speed up the sail, get rid of them quickly!"
The old sailor ran from the stern of the ship, wiped the rain off his face, and said loudly: "The sail has been fully hoisted, and now the speed has almost reached the limit. If we go faster, we don't need the enemy to catch up, and a wave can capsize our ship."
!”
On the sea, you can't run as fast as you want.
If you want to maximize your speed, you must first run with the wind, even against the wind, but never with a crosswind, because the waves surge in the direction of the wind. Once the ship is sealed, the waves will come from the side. If the speed is too fast,
Encountering a large wave can capsize the entire ship.
Now their ship is running against the wind. There is no way, because this is the only direction towards the nearest land. If the wind is favorable, it will run farther and farther away from the land, and sooner or later the pirates will catch up...
But where do these gentlemen care about this?
The bloody massacre in front of them had already frightened them out of their courage, and now they didn't even have the courage to look back. They just hoped that the ship would grow two legs and quickly stay away from those devil-like pirates!
Wang Qi, who was always young and energetic, couldn't suppress his panic at this time. He jumped up and pushed the old sailor into a somersault and fell to the deck. He yelled: "I don't care whether the boat capsizes or not. Now you can kill me immediately."
The speed of the boat increases the fastest, otherwise I will kill you now!"
Xie Wenhua on the other side was so frightened that his legs were so weak that it seemed as if the ship was moving through the wind and waves. The turbulence made him feel dizzy and seasick, and he couldn't even speak.
Xiao Cuo agreed with Wang Qi's words for the first time and said loudly: "It doesn't matter whether the boat capsizes or not. Are we going to wait for the pirates to catch up and kill us one by one to feed the fish? Raise the sails and speed up!"
What else could the old sailor say?
He could only get up and run to the stern of the ship, instructing the sailors to raise the sails to the maximum. The strong wind blew the sails to fullness, and the ship's speed increased instantly. It was like a bereaved dog on the sea, sailing desperately towards the land. The wolf
Running wildly.
A moment later, under the gaze of the pirate ship that was chasing closely behind, a big wave came from the side. The high wave was more than ten feet higher than the side of the ship, and it poured in like a mountain!
"boom!"
The violent waves were raging by, and except for a pile of broken wood chips on the sea, was there still any trace of a ship?
"Quick, quick, step over. There must be some important people on the boat. If you catch them alive, you can ask for a ransom. Those aristocratic families have a lot of money, and they will definitely make a lot of money!"
The pursuing pirate ship braved the wind and waves to approach the sunken ship. The pirates on board jumped into the sea one after another, searching for traces of survivors.
On the battlefield not far away, the victory of a great battle has been decided, and the massacre has gradually come to an end.
The blood dyed the sea surface red, was diluted by the rising wind and waves, and gradually dissipated...
High-pitched chants sounded on the sea, penetrating through the wind and rain, and shaking in all directions! It was the excited howl of the pirates after their victory. One cargo ship after another was plundered by them, and their huge wealth made them unable to hold back any longer.
Live in ecstasy!
*****
After the storm, night falls.
Dozens of warships clustered in the natural water harbor of an island, swaying with the waves.
In the distance, two warships with sails dyed black came quickly, looking like ghosts on the dark sea...
When it entered the harbor, the warship with black sails slowly slowed down. The sails were lowered by half, and two lanterns were raised on the top of the mast, which were particularly eye-catching in the dark night. Soon, among the fleet gathered together,
One of the ships also raised its lantern and shook it a few times according to the signal.
The warship with black sails sailed straight past...
On the flagship, candles were lit in the cabin. Fang Jun was sitting in the middle with a golden sword. Su Dingfang, Liu Renyuan, Wang Xuance and others were sitting on the left and right, discussing in low voices in front of a huge chart on the table.
"Report! The sentry spying on military intelligence from the front is back!"
The soldier shouted at the door.
Fang Jun raised his head and said, "Pass it in!"
"Here!"
Immediately afterwards, a strong-bodied captain strode into the cabin, knelt down on one knee and performed a military salute. Su Dingfang already asked: "How is the situation?"
The captain said solemnly: "If it is as expected by the Marquis, the pirates gathered in Zhonghaizhou will unite and come out in full force to rob and kill the merchant fleet and the private soldiers of various major families in the sea area fifty miles away.
The dead soldiers have all been wiped out, and all the merchant ships have been plundered and captured by pirates and have been escorted back to their hometowns."
Fang Jun glared and said, "So fast?"
Although I knew that the private soldiers of the major families would most likely be defeated by pirates, how long had it been before?
So vulnerable!
The captain said: "As soon as the two sides took over, the major families were already in chaos. Those private soldiers may not be weak on the shore, but on the sea, after only a short period of training, what about those who followed them?
Pirate rivals struggling to survive in the sea? Moreover, it was raining and windy today, and the waves on the sea were too high. The dead private soldiers could not even stand, and half of them were already dead as soon as they got to the side of the ship. They had no power to resist. Those pirates are ferocious, and there is no need for them at all.
The prisoners were hacked to death and thrown into the sea. Dozens or hundreds of sharks came following the smell of blood and gnawed at the body parts. The sea water was dyed red with blood..."
Although he had not seen it in person, when he thought of such miserable scenes, generals like Fang Jun, Su Dingfang, and Liu Renyuan, who were accustomed to seeing dead people, frowned. Wang Xuance, who was promoted from a soldier guarding the city gate, only felt a pang in his stomach.
Cramped, almost vomited...
It's too awful.
Su Dingfang had a heavy look on his face, sighed, glanced at Fang Jun, and said: "This strategy is of course effective once and for all, but... it goes against the harmony of nature to some extent."
He didn't care about dead people, not to mention that he had never seen dead people. Didn't Liu Rengui kill too many people in Linyi Kingdom and Annan, not to mention those from far away?
It's just that among those people, they are either barbarians or rebel bandits, and they will die if they die.
Now these are all real people of the Tang Dynasty...
After all, they have the same roots and species, so they can't bear it.
Liu Renyuan disagreed and said: "The smugglers are seeking their own death, and the murderers are pirates. Is it possible that they can still blame us for not going to rescue them?"
Su Dingfang shook his head and said nothing. He naturally understood the truth, but he just couldn't bear it.
Fang Jun was silent.
In fact, this tragedy was completely avoidable...
The navy has more than one spy hidden among the Jiangnan nobles. As early as when the major families were hoarding goods and deploying private soldiers, the navy had already received the news. If the merchant fleet was intercepted when it went to sea, not only could all the merchants be confiscated.
There is no cargo worth millions of dollars, and it can prevent those private sailors from being slaughtered by pirates.
However, after Fang Jun discussed with Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian, they decided on the strategy of "taking advantage of the situation".
The navy created the illusion of sailing north and allowed the merchant fleet to sail, which also gave the pirates the courage and opportunity to gather together and fight with all their strength.
The massacre was expected, and could even be said to be connived by the navy...
Without these elite private soldiers, without these cargo ships and sailing veterans, without these goods, it is equivalent to cutting off an arm of the Jiangnan nobles. Although it will not make them unable to recover, it will at least severely weaken their vitality.
The foundation is shaken.
Without the force of arms, the aristocratic families will no longer be able to threaten the stability of Jiangnan...