In the blink of an eye, it was almost the end of the month, and a group of people and three boats had been floating on the sea for more than half a month.
Xu Zhiqiong did not mind that the time was long. In addition to catching fish and shrimps, he could also practice martial arts with his senior sister. He had to practice every day, but he still felt that the days passed a little faster.
On this day, the two of them caught some kingfish. Yuchilan set up a pot, fried the fish one by one, and gave them all to Xu Zhiqiong.
She knew that Xu Zhiqiong loved to eat kingfish, and she was reluctant to take a bite of it. Xu Zhiqiong ate it, but how could his senior sister watch it? He peeled off the fish meat piece by piece and fed it to the senior sister's mouth.
Yuchilan blushed: "You can eat it, senior sister doesn't like fish."
"That won't work. Senior sister won't eat it, and I won't eat it either."
"Then I'll take one. You, you don't have to feed me. I'll take one myself."
"No, you have to feed me!"
Liang Yuyao shouted from behind: "You are not ashamed, Li Xuefei, why don't you care about your subordinates who are not doing their jobs properly?"
Yuchi Lan quickly stood up and saluted Liang Yuyao.
Xu Zhiqiong took the opportunity to stuff the fish meat into his senior sister's mouth, clapped his hands and said, "Why don't you do your job properly? The two of us are here watching the enemy every day. Do you know how hard it is?"
Liang Yuyao said angrily: "There is nothing visible except water on this sea. Where is the enemy?"
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said: "This is because you don't understand. There are strong men on the ground and bandits on the sea. If you encounter pirates, you will not be prepared in advance..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the sea worm Song Jinglong ordering someone to blow the horn.
There is really an enemy!
Xu Zhiqiong jumped to the observation tower in a few steps. Song Jinglong looked into the distance with a very nervous expression.
Following his gaze, Xu Zhiqiong saw a sea ship heading towards this compartment.
Not one, but seven warships stacked together. At first, they couldn't be distinguished. But when they got closer, the seven ships quickly dispersed, surrounding Daxuan's three ships in the center.
"Expert!" Song Jinglong was quite surprised.
"Do you know the origin?"
"Look at the shape of the ship, it's from Tunu!"
Xu Zhiqiong shouted towards the observation tower: "Every battalion is ready to fight!"
Yu Shan led the Wuwei Battalion to rush onto the deck, and Song Jinglong ordered the sailors on the three ships to prepare their crossbows and stone carts.
The envoys in green clothes and the envoys in red sent Liang Yuyao into the cabin, the Onmyoji master prepared the magic circle, and the Mohist craftsmen prepared the mechanism.
If they really wanted to stand firm and fight, Song Jinglong really wasn't afraid of them. Daxuan's weapons were sophisticated, they could hit far and accurately, and they could shoot at each other from a long distance, so they had an absolute advantage.
What he was most worried about was the boarding battle.
Tunu's warship is rough in workmanship, but it has two advantages that should not be underestimated.
First, the boat is fast. There are a lot of oars on the Tunu boat, so it can sprint at full speed over short distances.
Second, the ship's bow is hard and Tunu's weapons are weak. The best way to fight at sea is to ram into it head-on.
It sounds silly, but this tactic is actually very effective. The bow of Tunu's ship is not only very hard, but also has spikes, nails and spears on it. Even if it is hit by a Tunu warship, Daxuan's warship will be damaged.
Possible to sink.
There were only two warships and one flagship in the fleet. They were too large and difficult to deal with Tunu's warships. Song Jinglong gritted his teeth and said: "If I had known that I would encounter Tunu, I should have brought a few more small boats."
Hai Chang Chong is a careful general and should not be unprepared beforehand.
Xu Zhiqiong asked: "Are there usually Tu slaves on this sea?"
Song Jinglong said: "I have been to Yelang Kingdom six times, but I have never seen Tu Nu here."
"How far is Tunu from here?"
Song Jinglong said: "It will take at least two months of sailing."
Xu Zhiqiong looked at Tunu's warship and felt that the size was less than half of the Xuanguo warship.
"Can this kind of boat carry two months' worth of water and rice?"
"It can't be carried!" Song Jinglong was very sure, "The reason why I didn't guard against them is because there shouldn't be Tunu on this sea road!"
Xu Zhiqiong fell into deep thought, and the Tunu people didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack.
They formed their formation and stopped outside the range of the stone carts and crossbows, seemingly waiting for Xuan Guo's warships to make the first move.
Song Jinglong did not dare to act easily. He was not sure which direction Tunu would attack from. If he moved even slightly, it would be difficult to turn back.
In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed, and the two sides remained in a stalemate on the sea.
If this stalemate continues, it will be extremely detrimental to Daxuan. Tunu can eat, chat, and watch the scenery on the boat. They are the attacking party and they only need to wait for the right opportunity to attack.
The soldiers of Daxuan must always be on alert and cannot be negligent for a moment in any direction.
Whether it is a person or an army, being on high alert is a huge drain.
If this consumption continues, it will probably be only a matter of time before the three warships are rammed and sunk by Tunu.
Fortunately, Song Jinglong had experienced many battles and quickly formulated countermeasures.
"There are two ways. One is to let two warships cover the left and right sides, with the flagship in the center, and rush out. If the Tunu warship collides, then join the warships on the left and right wings to protect the flagship with all your strength."
Xu Zhiqiong said: "After rushing out, can you get rid of Tu Nu?"
"You can't get rid of them within an hour, but you can definitely get rid of them within a day. Half of the Tunu warship relies on sails and half on oars. It sails for half a day and must rest."
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head. This method was too costly. Not to mention the loss of two warships, if the other side acted decisively, the flagship might not be able to be saved.
"Another way is to have the Onmyoji directly arrange the formation and send the sergeants to the enemy warships. As long as they can seize two enemy warships, they will be sure to break through."
Yu Shan's Wuwei Army can fight, and so can Song Jinglong's sailors. The key is how many troops there are on Tu Nu's warship, and it is impossible for the Onmyoji to teleport all the soldiers there.
If you kill the sergeant but fail to capture the opponent's warship, you will be left waiting to die.
At the time of the dilemma, Hong Zuchang stepped onto the deck and said to Xu Zhiqiong: "Don't be alarmed, Lord Yun. These people are habitual thieves on this sea. Maybe they have become thief after seeing Xuan Guo's ships. If I know
On the ship, they still have to give you some thin noodles."
What does this mean? How much more face do the pirates want to give you? Have you met an acquaintance?
When you meet someone you know on the street, it's normal to say hello.
Meeting an acquaintance at sea is harder than finding a familiar mouse in the capital.
He said these people were habitual thieves, but why did Song Jinglong know nothing about them?
Xu Zhiqiong did not question it rashly and let's see what Hong Zuchang planned.
Hong Zuchang asked Song Jinglong for a small boat, and four boatmen paddled him to Tunu's warship.
Half a day later, towards dusk, Hong Zuchang came back.
Judging from the look on his face, his conversation with this group of pirates was not going well.
"This group of pirates has been out of business for a month," Hong Zongchang sighed. "If we don't leave something behind, I'm afraid we won't be able to escape today."
Leave something behind.
Xu Zhiqiong nodded slightly: "Doctor Hong, do you think it would be appropriate for us to leave something behind? Is money okay?"
"Not only the silver, they only allowed us to take away one ship. The gold and silver on this ship were so fine that we had to keep all the food and clothing.
The ordnance on the ship must also be left behind, and even the sergeants’ swords cannot be taken away.”
"If we leave all the weapons and weapons behind, why don't we let others slaughter us?"
Hong Zuchang said: "Marquis Yun, you still can't trust me? This country is only three days' voyage away from me, a land of thousands of chariots. Such pirates would never dare to break their promise to me."
Song Jinglong looked at Xu Zhiqiong and shook his head slightly from time to time. After spending half his life fighting at sea, there was no way he would give his life to pirates.
Xu Zhiqiong sighed and said: "For the current plan, we can only listen to Doctor Hong's instructions."
Song Jinglong stopped Xu Zhiqiong and said: "Marquis Yun, this matter should be handled with caution and the generals of each battalion should be called to discuss it together."
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said: "There is nothing else to discuss. The matter is over. Hurry up and gather the sergeants, pack your bags, choose a better warship, and leave here as soon as possible."
While talking, Xu Zhiqiong kept looking into Song Jinglong's eyes.
The corners of Song Jinglong's eyes trembled, and he heard Xu Zhiqiong's voice in his mind.
Xu Zhiqiong injected the power of imagery and yin and yang into the sound transmission card, and said to Song Jinglong: "Doctor Yelang is acting, and we will act with him, but we will not give him anything!"
Xu Zhiqiong asked Hong Zuchang: "Have those pirates said when they want us to set off?"
Hong Zuchang said: "As long as we hand over what we need to hand over, we can hit the road at any time."
Xu Zhiqiong sighed and said, "Then don't be idle. I'll pack my bags first."
As soon as she heard that the ordnance was to be handed over, Liang Yuyao rushed out of the cabin: "Xu Zhiqiong, why are you so timid? Do you really dare not fight?"
"You can't fight, Your Highness, there are difficulties here, wait for me to tell you in detail."
Xu Zhiqiong persuaded the princess and returned to his cabin. He first used the Punishing Evil Son Order to leave an anchor on the ship, then quickly went to the Punishing Evil Division and returned to the Marquis Mansion via Chengfeng Tower.
Taking Xia Hu, Yang Wu, and Chang Decai with him, Xu Zhiqiong returned to the ship. He stood at a corner of the deck, pointed at several ships around him, and whispered to Xia Hu.
Xia Hu took the tools he took from Zhong Shen, patted his conscience on Xu Zhiqiong and said: "This matter is easy to handle, but all the sins of my men belong to me!"
Xu Zhiqiong patted Xia Hu's conscience and said, "You have to worry about this matter with the officials?"
Xia Hu pinched Xu Zhiqiong: "Why don't you care? Your cultivation level is so much higher than mine, why don't you feel sorry for me!"
This girl is really good, and she never forgets to discuss business with officials.
Yang Wu noted the positions of the seven Tunu warships, pointed to the one facing the bow of the flagship, and said to Xu Zhiqiong: "Let's fight!"
Xu Zhiqiong nodded and gave Yang Wu a twin candle: "You succeeded, give me a message!"
"No need for that candle, it's too troublesome!" Yang Wu took out a stack of pictures from his arms.
Paihua is a type of plaything (toy) from Daxuan. It is very similar to playing cards. It is made of round wood pieces with a paper painting attached to it. The painting is covered with a layer of wax. It is very well made and has many games.
Sexy and collectible.
Yang Wu counted out seven paper paintings, each with a little doll painted on it, with different appearances and different expressions.
Yang Wu blew on the seven pictures, and all the little dolls in the pictures grinned and cried.
He handed these seven pictures to Xu Zhiqiong and pointed to the seven ships on the sea, which corresponded one to one with the seven pictures in Xu Zhiqiong's hand.
"Which picture shows the little baby smiling, it proves which ship is successful!"
After Yang Wu finished speaking, he arranged the magic circle, took Xia Hu and Chang Decai, and disappeared on the deck at the same time.
Xu Zhiqiong strolled towards the bow of the ship when he encountered Hong Zuchang and Song Jinglong arguing.
It turned out that dozens of pirates from Tunu came over in small boats, hoping to board Daxuan's flagship to inspect the ordnance and gold and silver.
Song Jinglong naturally couldn't let them board the ship, so he and Hong Zuchang started to argue over this.
"General Song!" Hong Zuchang shouted loudly, "You are still acting on your own initiative at a critical moment of life and death. How can you ignore the safety of everyone?"
Song Jinglong said: "I won't let the pirates board the ship just for the safety of everyone!"
Hong Zuchang said: "If you don't let the pirates board the ship, and the enemy forces rush up and sink the flagship, what will you do? You can ignore my life, but you don't even care about your princess of Xuanguo?"
Song Jinglong's face turned red and he was speechless.
When it comes to quarrels, he cannot be Hong Zuchang's opponent.
Xu Zhiqiong came up and quickly tried to persuade him: "Doctor Hong, don't be angry. General Song is also worried about the pirates not obeying the rules after boarding the ship."
Hong Zuchang shouted: "Marquis Yun, I am willing to guarantee with my life that as long as we don't conflict with these pirates, they will never dare to do anything wrong after boarding the ship!"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "You can be sure that you are guaranteeing it with your life."
Hong Zuchang was startled: "What does Marquis Yun mean by this?"
Xu Zhiqiong ignored Hong Zuchang and said to Song Jinglong: "Let the pirates board the ship. They don't dare to mess around. I will guarantee it with Doctor Hong's life!"