The ship retreated ten miles away. Zhang Yanling and others kept observing the movements of the Japanese pirates. Seeing that there was no movement from the Japanese pirates, they expected that they had not discovered their own side.
When it got dark, the big ship dropped a big anchor and anchored on the sea. At night, the lights on the whole ship were not exposed to avoid being discovered. More than ten small boats were lowered from the big ship and wandered on the dark sea nearby to keep watch.
in case.
The cabin was a little depressing at night, so Zhang Yanling came to the deck to chat with Chen Shiyi, Wang Hong and others. Naturally, the topic couldn't be separated from the Japanese pirates at sea.
Wang Hong was very familiar with these anecdotes, and he spoke them clearly and logically.
"These Japanese pirates have been around since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. At first, there was civil strife among the Japanese, and the north and the south were divided into governments. The large and small forces of the Japanese country attacked each other. When Emperor Taizu Gao unified our country in the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese country was fighting internally.
The Japanese kings and nobles were defeated and fled to the islands with their families and warriors. The Japanese countries were close to our country, the Ming Dynasty, so they often attacked the coastal areas of our country, the Ming Dynasty. This is the so-called Japanese trouble."
Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded. What Wang Hong said was accurate. Zhang Yanling knew some of the history of the Japanese country. When the Ming Dynasty was founded, it was the time of turmoil in the Northern and Southern Dynasties of the Japanese country. There were many shogunates, and the feudal princes were fighting among themselves. Many Japanese people wandered on the islands, and even
Landing in the Ming Dynasty, taking advantage of the fact that the Ming Dynasty had not been established for a long time and the maritime power was weak, they robbed homes and homes, causing disaster.
"However, most of these Japanese pirates nowadays are not Japanese. They are pirates who robbed homes and homes, pretending to be Japanese and plundering at sea." Wang Hong continued.
Chen Shi said: "That's not right. What are these people robbing? Our Minghai Sea is banned. People don't go to the sea. Who are they robbing? Drink sea water and eat the northwest wind?"
Zhang Yanling laughed. Wang Hong also laughed.
Chen Shi scratched his head and said, "What? Did I say the wrong thing again?"
"That's true. This is the truth. But you also followed me to Guangzhou. Don't you know that the Ming Dynasty's sea ban policy is actually in name only. It may be a sea ban for the common people, but for some smuggling merchants, it's a sea ban.
They can't stop their idea of making money through smuggling. In our Ming Dynasty, imported goods have always been sold all over the world, which is the result of smuggling by merchants." Zhang Yanling said.
"Master Guo is saying that these people make a living by robbing these smuggled merchant ships? How dare the merchants go out to sea knowing that there are Japanese pirates roaming the sea?" Chen Shi asked.
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Brother Chen, you haven't made any progress, you don't like to use your brain. How did Master Lu do the investigation in Guangzhou? Don't you know?"
Chen Shiyi said: "They colluded with the Fo Langji people... to drive away wolves and devour tigers... Oops, I understand. Does the Duke of the State mean that these merchants are colluding with the Japanese pirates? These guys are all raised by them.
Living?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded: "You are finally partly right, but not all of it."
Chen Shi said: "Don't be dissatisfied with your job. It's a long night, so you might as well tell us."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "You have to say it. The imperial court re-established the Shipping Department. Since I am in charge of the Shipping Department, I naturally have to understand it clearly. When I was in the capital, I did a lot of research, and I know what is going on here.
.I originally thought that the only smugglers were Mr. Lu from Guangdong and the mysterious figure behind him. But in fact, there are sea trade smuggling activities all along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, and each of them is organized into gangs."
Chen Shiyi widened his eyes and said, "Is there still such a situation?"
Zhang Yanling continued in a deep voice: "Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Bohai, Fujian, and Guangdong have a lot of smuggling activities, and they form their own gangs. In order to monopolize the profits of smuggling sea goods, they will provide money to support the Japanese bandits at sea. You know
Japanese bandits also
If they are not a group, they will work hard for whoever gives them money. The Japanese bandits rob the ships of other gangs. By attacking others, they can monopolize the benefits of maritime trade. Therefore, not only will the Japanese bandits at sea not
If you die of hunger, you will live a nourished life."
"Damn it, that's what it is. These big businessmen are so cowardly. They actually raise bandits to cause trouble." Chen Shi cursed.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Brother Chen, it's not the first day you know these things, why are you so excited? But where there are interests, there are those who dare to take risks. Let me tell you, this time the sea ban is lifted and the shipping department is reopened, I
But I have offended a lot of people. You see, these businessmen are definitely going to cause trouble."
"They dare to cause trouble? The Duke will arrest them all and kill them," Chen Shiyi said angrily.
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said: "What are you talking about? Killing people easily is not a good idea. Do you want me to be the target of thousands of people? Besides, these guys will not do anything openly. They
If they jump out, it would be easy to handle. What I am most worried about is that they will use the Japanese bandits under their control to launch harassment and then accuse them of opening the sea ban. Once this happens frequently, someone will definitely attack the policy of opening the sea ban.
, that’s the trouble.”
Wang Hong said in surprise: "Oh, Lord, we must be on guard against this. If they do this, it will be really difficult."
Zhang Yanling sneered and said: "It is difficult to deal with difficulties, but I am not afraid of them. So I am in a hurry to build a ship, not to open a sea route, but to destroy these Japanese bandits first. If these guys are not solved, there will be trouble in the future.
Infinite. Best, let me follow the clues and find out
Come here with a few people who support him. Kill them as a warning to these guys, and they will accept the reality honestly. I am running a shipping company and will never allow smuggling. Every ship of goods must pass through the market.
Every hand of the porter will be paid with money."
Wang Hong said in a deep voice: "What the Duke said is true. I humbled myself and asked for a fight. After the Duke returned to Beijing, I led the navy brothers to sweep across the Japanese bandits from south to north and wiped out all of them."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Of course you have to do this. Within half a year, before setting off, we must clear out the Japanese bandits along the coast. If these guys are not cleared away, why are we talking about opening a sea route? However, you are not going to do it alone. Follow-up
After the armored ship is built, we will attack the Japanese bandits during the sea trial. This is also a rare opportunity to train troops."
Wang Hong and Chen Shi nodded heavily.
Zhang Yanling looked at the dark sky and said with a smile: "The person behind Mr. Lu in Guangdong is really smart. He chose to hook up with the Fo Langji people and drive all the pirates north to dominate the Guangdong trade route. No wonder.
Make a lot of money. Moreover, you can also get firearms from the Fo Langji people. I guess he has secretly made a lot of firearms and artillery. You have to write a letter to Wang Shouren about this and let him
Keep an eye on it.”
Wang Hong and Chen Shiyi seemed to understand something, but they seemed to understand nothing.
…
One night passed, and when the morning light began to shine in the east, the big ship had already begun to get busy.
Knowing that the battle was imminent, the navy began to prepare nervously and orderly. In the cabin, the artillery was slid and fixed on the rails. The soldiers moved the boxes of artillery shells into place along the slide rails.
On the deck, more than a hundred soldiers were rocking the oars in the wind, and the ironclad Star Star turned its bow on the sea, splitting a huge ripple and heading towards the sandy reef.
Zhang Yanling told his wives and concubines to stay in the cabin and went up to the deck.
"Uncover the main gun jacket. Bring the main gun shells over." Zhang Yanling shouted in a deep voice.
"Master, do you want to use the main gun?" everyone asked hurriedly.
"Of course. If the main gun is far away, you can bombard it first. One is to test the gun, and the other is out of the opponent's sight range and shoot at the ships in the lake. Use the shells to blast all the Japanese pirate ships in the lake. Destroy it so that they cannot escape by boat." Zhang Yanling shouted.
Only then did everyone understand Zhang Yanling's intention. The father-in-law wanted to eat all the Japanese pirates on the reef and not give them a chance to escape. So he destroyed the boat in the lake first. At such a distance, the main gun did not have to be close to the beach. The reef can be reached, and the Tiger Roaring Cannon can only be reached if it is close.
"Main gun ready!" Chen Shiyi shouted loudly.
More than a dozen soldiers in charge of firing the main gun shouted loudly, climbed up to the high gun carriage, and pulled off the covering oil cloth. The moment the oil cloth was lifted, a huge black cannon with a dark light appeared with its barrel raised. In front of me, the muzzle of the gun stood straight up, stretching into the air. It looked like a gun.
"Adjust the muzzle angle and prepare to calculate the shooting points." The gunner shouted loudly.
A dozen soldiers promised loudly and shook the machine shaft. The heavy gun base made a muffled sound. The lifting of the machine shaft made a numbing sound of friction between steel. The gun body rotated slowly, and the gun The mouth was slowly raised.
"Charge!"
"One round of thirty-five kilograms of explosive ammunition, load it!"
"Raise the barrel!"
During the command, the soldiers operated in an orderly manner. It is true that such a cannon is very troublesome to use, firing slowly, and the operation is a bit cumbersome. But Zhang Yanling knows that it has an irreplaceable role. On this big ship, this cannon is the King.
When the morning sun burst out and jumped out of the sea, the giant ship Star had already arrived on the sea four miles away from the nearest sand reef.
"Shoot at Zhuyuan, the distance is five miles. The angle is 45 degrees. The direction is due east..." the gunner shouted loudly.
The muzzle of the gun was slightly adjusted, and the base of the gun body was slightly rotated. The ship also began to slow down to match the firing of the artillery.
"Please protect the country by announcing that the main gun is ready, can you fire it?" the gunner shouted loudly.
Zhang Yanling stood on the ship building, holding a telescope in his hand, and shouted in a deep voice: "Fire the cannon."
The fire was ignited, and there was a sizzling smoke, emitting a dazzling firelight. It burned out quickly, spread to the small hole behind the cannon, and disappeared. Everyone had their backs on their backs, their mouths open, and they were ready. Welcome the roar brought by this giant cannon.
Boom!
The giant cannon roared. Despite being mentally and physically prepared, when the main gun roared, it was like thunder, shaking the entire ship. The ears of everyone on the deck were buzzing. Sound.
Like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, the roar of the cannon spread across the sea. In the Japanese bandit camp located on the nearby reef, the Japanese bandits who were lazily getting up were stunned and didn't know what was happening.
The next moment, fire broke out among the wooden sailboats in the lake surrounded by the sand reef. A huge explosive bomb exploded in the middle of the boat. In an instant, more than a dozen boats were ignited. The oiled sails quickly caught fire. Start burning.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack." Sharp shouts resounded through the camp, and the crowd became chaotic like a wasp that had stung a hornet's nest.
"Clean the barrel of the gun... prepare to load... the target is still the same... shoot the elements as usual... fire now!"
On the big ship, the operators of the huge cannon had already started the second bombardment according to the order.