Ye Xun rushed to Panyu City and suddenly discovered that the Byzantine envoy was actually stranded here.
While heading south, Ye Xun was still muttering to himself, why did the Byzantine envoys not arrive as scheduled?
Encountering pirates on the road? This is impossible!
The newly built Navy of the Song Dynasty had only two ways of actual combat training: pretending to be pirates and fighting pirates. Over the past ten years, the coastal areas of the Song Dynasty had been turned into a pirate restricted area.
Nowadays, large-scale pirates are all concentrated on the coasts of Goryeo, Dongwa, Chenla, Bagan, Tianzhu and other countries, but it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false. There are only a few stragglers and water thieves left along the coast of the Song Dynasty.
Besides, how could the ship carrying the Byzantine envoy not have a frigate? How could the sporadic water thieves dare to approach?
I didn't hear that any ship was in distress along the way, so I was always puzzled that it was still stranded in Panyu City.
Ye Xun asked curiously, and then he learned that the ships escorting the Byzantine envoy from Lion Port were two armed merchant ships - the Anhua and Ningxiang, plus two frigates.
As soon as they arrived at Wanning Port on Qiongya Island for a rest, they encountered Baize Navy blowing whistles at various ports to dazzle people.
Pirates actually invaded Qin, Lian and other prefectures and counties in Yulin County, killing and injuring hundreds of soldiers and civilians! Who of the men of the Song Dynasty who were running boats on the South China Sea could swallow this bad breath!
Everyone knows that pirates in the South China Sea dare not attack the coast of the Song Dynasty even if they eat the courage of sharks and killer whales. This group of pirates that suddenly appeared must be Li Yueguo's navy in disguise.
Now that the two countries have not officially started war, the Baize Navy and the Guiche Navy do not dare to boldly attack Li Yue, so they can only use their traditional skills - pretending to be pirates.
It's just that in the past two years, the battleships of Bai Ze and Gui Che Navy have all been replaced by A, B, and C class battleships, and the rest are either frigates or cruisers. This is the only one, and everyone knows that it is the official ship of the Song Dynasty.
Teacher, I can’t pretend no matter how hard I try.
Bai Ze and Gui Che had no choice but to send out their few lock ships and three-masted sailing ships - these sailing ships were as easy to confuse as civilian ships.
But the number was not enough, so they went to various ports to recruit people - the armed merchant ships of the Song Dynasty could join voluntarily.
When the captains of the Anhua and Ningxiang heard this, they were immediately moved and must go!
Why? Because there are benefits! After you voluntarily join, Baize Navy will register you. Not only will the loot you grab be thirty-seven, you will be seven, and the navy will be three. The most important thing is that you have contributed to the Song Navy.
The Navy Bureau will issue you a privateering license.
Looting at sea is an "illegal" act. One of the main responsibilities of the official fleets of the Song Dynasty such as Baize Navy is to combat such acts. Therefore, the Navy Bureau must issue a new privateering license to prove that you are working for the imperial court and plundering is legal.
This privateering license is of great use - first of all, you have the right to self-defense, and if someone takes the initiative to rob you, you can counter-rob it and compensate for the loss; secondly, when you encounter your own ship being robbed by another force's ship, after helping to fight off the enemy, you can also
You can pursue and plunder as a "punishment"; the most important thing is that once the Song Dynasty declares a country to be a belligerent or hostile country, you can directly rob any ship of that country if you encounter it...
There are many benefits, but they are not easy to obtain - you must contribute to the official navy of the Song Dynasty, and each fleet must declare it before you can get it. Therefore, the privateering license is particularly valuable.
Now that the Song Dynasty has destroyed Xixia, Northern Liao and Dali, it has enough resources to support the South China Sea economic strategy - the Song Dynasty has become proactive, and many countries in the South China Sea region will definitely not sit still and wait for death, but will jump out to fight.
Confrontation is good. If there is confrontation, wouldn’t it mean that it is a belligerent or hostile country? Wouldn’t the privateering certificate come in handy?
Many caring people can understand this, so since last year, privateering licenses have become more and more popular.
Adrian Lopez, the head of the mission, was confused after hearing the explanations from the captains of the Anhua and Ningxiang, but he became interested when he learned that the two captains were going to be "recruited" to participate in a war.
After returning to Byzantium, John Aksukh's (Yue Zhuoqun) assistant Isaac Fornicis made wild claims about the Song Dynasty, which was the most powerful in the world. Lopez did not believe it.
It’s just that Aksukh was a good friend of Prince John Komnenos since he was a child. The prince trusted him very much and believed that he would not deceive him in his personal letter. It was also at the insistence of the prince that His Majesty Emperor Alexius I sent Eliro
The formal envoy headed by Pace went to the Song Dynasty to negotiate trade and jointly deal with the Turks.
Now that he had the opportunity to see the actual combat level of the Song Navy, Lopez proposed to follow him to watch the battle. The two captains were stubborn and asked Lopez to sign a "life and death certificate" and let him go.
Lopez only brought two bodyguards with him, and then entrusted the deputy envoy and other members of the mission to the frigate to take them to Panyu City. He followed the Anhua and Ningxiang to the waters of Li Yueguo.
After sailing northwest for a day, there were more than ten ships gathered on the sea, all two or three-masted sailing ships of more than 500 tons and equipped with at least 20 or more 150-caliber naval guns.
The fleet stayed on the sea for half a day and one night. On the third day, more ships arrived, including twelve lock ships and three-masted sailing ships from Bai Ze and Guiche Navy. They were once owned by the two navy.
The main ship. Now because of its excellent condition, it is left as a training ship and a cruise ship.
They are the main force of this "pirate fleet" consisting of more than 40 armed merchant ships. All captains went to the temporary flagship, the three-masted sailing ship Feiwu, for a meeting to obtain combat instructions, temporary numbers and other combat information.
Lopez was aboard the Ningxiang. He transferred to this armed merchant ship from Goa Port in Tianzhu. At that time, it and seven other ships were transporting a batch of goods from Tianzhu back to the Song Dynasty.
Along the way, Lopez got to know the captain, first mate, boatswain, helmsman, navigator, surveyor and others very well, and he also learned about the cargo carried on the ship - a batch of Uzi iron ingots that were first refined using Tianzhu's secret method.
, as well as rhinoceros horns, ivory, and jade. These goods were transferred to several other ships that were not eligible for recruitment at Wanning Port, and together with the frigates, they were transported to their destination-Panyu Port.
After Captain Liu Sixiong returned, Lopez asked in blunt Mandarin: "Captain Liu, when are we going to fight?"
"The fight starts tomorrow!" Liu Sixiong responded in a good mood, and then called the first mate and others together.
"We are assigned to the left team, and the target is Guangning Port..." Balabala said, and Liu Sixiong confessed: "Now we are the sixth left team of the Ghost Faced Pirate Fleet, don't make a mistake! Okay, let's start the layout now."
With the order given, everyone got busy.
Someone put away the Song-character flag on the mast, the flag of the Nanhai Shunfeng Shipping Company, and the Dragon King flag, and hoisted a ghost-faced flag with a green face and fangs.
Someone painted the words "Ningxiang" on both sides of the bow and stern, as well as the serial number below, with white paint. The sailor told Lopez, who was helping, that the paint would fall off after being exposed to wind and waves for half a month.
Then someone used a brush to write the words "Left No. 6" on the white paint. The font was crooked, and it looked like it was just for a few days.
Someone is cleaning the barrel of the gun and sorting out the gunpowder and projectiles.
Some people began to sharpen knives and spear points, string bows and crossbows, and arrange arrows. The captain, first mate and other senior crew members began to polish their short muskets.
Lopez watched the people on the ship making various pre-war preparations, busy and orderly, and couldn't help but think: Seeing them making pre-war preparations so skillfully, are they merchant ships or warships?
You are a genius, remember in one second: Red Oasis: This chapter has been completed!