The pirate ship was shot. The pirates were shocked by the Nova's firepower, and their faces turned pale. But they quickly reacted. The pirates howled, took out the long oars on the ship, and stood on the deck.
Use the long oar to speed up the boat and continue to rush towards Nova.
The pirate ship was an empty ship and very light. With the help of the downwind sail power and the oar power, the pirate ship rushed very fast, at least seven or eight knots.
However, Li Zhi's Nova ran faster. At this time, the boatmen fired up the steam engine boiler with all their strength, making the ship faster than usual, reaching a speed of almost nine knots. After sailing west for a while, the Nova moved out of the sea.
The pirate ship was left behind for more than a mile.
Seeing that the distance had been widened, the helmsman of the Nova turned another full starboard rudder to the north.
The Nova's paddle wheel also assists in turning: if the ship wants to turn right quickly, the transmission device of the right paddle wheel is stopped and the rudder is turned at the same time. In this way, the left paddle wheel and stern rudder can work together to turn the ship quickly.
The same goes for turning to the right or left. With the help of the paddle wheel, the Nova can turn much faster than a ship that relies solely on the stern rudder.
The second helmsman, that is, the deputy helmsman raised the flag next to the helmsman and directed the boatman next to the paddle wheel to operate the transmission device of the paddle wheel. The bow of the ship quickly turned to the north, pointing the starboard side of the Nova towards the pirate ship to the east.
The nine cannons on the starboard side took aim for a while, and then opened fire when the pirate ship caught up to 200 steps, or 300 meters.
The nine cannons spit out tongues of flame and made a loud sound. Li Zhi felt the whole ship shake, tilted to the left, and accidentally fell on the ship's board.
The manager quickly came up and helped Li Zhi up.
Nine cannonballs were fired at the pirate ship. This time, two cannonballs hit the bow of the enemy ship, breaking the wood into pieces. Another piece of wood chips flew from the bow of the pirate ship, as if it had exploded.
When the sawdust gradually dispersed, Li Zhi discovered that the entire bow of the pirate ship was gone.
The entire bow of the ship was smashed by solid bullets and became tattered, and the inner deck of the pirate ship was exposed. As the waves rose and fell, seawater poured into the exposed bow from time to time. The pirates panicked.
They didn't dare to paddle and charge again. The pirate leader on the boat yelled, and more than a dozen pirates ran to the bow of the boat and used wooden basins to scoop water out of the boat, fearing that too much water would leak and the boat would sink.
Li Zhi believed that his cannon could sink the pirate ship in just a few more shots.
These pirates were all desperate desperadoes. Taking advantage of the fact that there were more than 200 people on their ship and the light sail of the ship allowed it to run very fast, they wanted to rush to the Nova and join in a hand-to-hand fight. But after being shot twice, the pirates'
The leader finally discovered that the Nova was different, and realized that he could not catch up with the Nova no matter what, and would not be able to rush up to engage in a battle.
The pirate leader didn't understand that this strange ship without sails, loaded with cargo, could run faster than the pirate ship that rowed with all its strength without cargo. Is this magic? But there was one thing that the pirate leader understood:
The artillery on both sides of the Nova can quickly sink this pirate ship.
The pirate ship did not dare to pursue the Nova anymore and turned around to escape to the east.
However, Li Zhi was not willing to let these pirates go, so the Nova also pursued them eastward.
It didn't take long for the Nova to catch up 300 meters behind the pirate ship again. The ship turned south and aimed its port cannon at the pirate ship.
Nine shells were fired, and another hit the pirate ship, making a big hole in the stern of the escaping pirate ship.
There was a panic on the pirate ship. Apparently someone was killed by cannonballs in the poop, or stabbed to death by wood splinters blown up by the shells. The pirate leader ran to the poop to have a look, and decisively lowered the flag when he returned to the deck.
Lowering the flag means that these pirates have surrendered.
The pirates knew they could not escape from Li Zhi's grasp, so they surrendered resolutely. Some pirates were already on the mast, reefing the sails, preparing to stop the ship and surrender completely.
The pirates, who had been so aggressive just now, completely surrendered under the power of steam engines and cannons.
Li Zhi was afraid that the pirates would act slippery, so he let the cannon fire another round.
Two more shells hit the pirate ship. One shell hit the poop and made a big hole two meters above the waterline. If the shell had been lower, it would have sunk the ship.
.Another cannonball hit the rear mast of the pirate ship, breaking the mast. The huge sail folded down, and it was unknown how many pirates on the deck were killed.
The entire pirate ship was beaten into tatters, where was the majesty it had just now?
The pirates were so frightened that no one dared to stand anymore. They all knelt on the deck and begged for a way out.
Seeing the pirates kneeling down and surrendering, the sailors and boatmen on the Nova were jubilant. This was their first victory at sea. Although they only defeated one ship of pirates, it had a memorable significance.
Li Zhi thought for a while and said: "Aim the cannon at the pirate ship to deter the pirates. The first row of sailors, the second squad, and the third squad went up on the small sampan to collect all the pirates' valuable things, and then
The pirates are all tied up."
The Nova slowly stopped more than 300 meters south of the pirate ship, and aimed its nine cannons on the port side at the pirate ship. If the pirates were slippery, Li Zhi was ready to sink the pirate ship at any time. Fifteen
The sailors boarded the pirate ship in two small sampans and began to collect loot.
Li Zhi walked into the captain's room on the poop, poured two cups of tea, and brought it out. One cup was given to the helmsman who performed well, and he drank the other slowly while waiting for the fifteen sailors to finish their work on the pirate ship.
"The helmsman performed well. What is your name and how many years have you been at the helm?"
"Grand Governor, my name is Xiao Tong. I have been at the helm for four years."
Li Zhi nodded and said: "Xiao Tong, I will reward you thirty taels of silver for your good performance this time. You can teach more apprentices who learn to steer from you these days. If you teach two apprentices, I will give you another thirty taels."
Silver is rewarded with money.”
Xiao Tong was very happy and said: "Thank you very much, Commander-in-Chief!"
"This is what you deserve."
After waiting for an hour, two squads of soldiers finally searched the pirate ship, tied up all the pirates, and carried two large boxes back to the Nova. The small sampan stopped at the side of the Nova and took the big boxes
Tie it up with a rope and let the sailors on the Nova pull it up.
Li Zhi walked to the side of the ship and opened two large boxes. He saw that there were about a hundred taels of gold and several thousand taels of various pieces of silver inside.
Li Zhi spat: "These pirates are so poor."
After thinking about it, Li Zhi turned around and shouted to the sailors: "Eighty artillerymen, each will be rewarded with ten taels of silver!"
The gunners were in jubilation and high-fived each other.
The squad leader of the second squad of the first platoon of sailors who climbed aboard asked Li Zhi: "Captain Commander, these pirates are Japanese pirates. I can't understand a word they are babbling. How should I deal with them?"
Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "If we had been defeated by these Japanese pirates just now, we would all be dead. We cannot be soft-hearted towards these Japanese pirates! Sink the Japanese pirate ships! Let them sink into the sea to feed the fish!"
