"Boom, boom, boom..." Another wave of shells came.
The surrounding seawater was hit by the enemy's artillery shells, creating thick water columns.
There were even timid sailors who were so frightened that they squatted on the deck with their heads in their hands like ostriches.
Only Zhu Conghai acted like a madman. After loading the propellant, he stuffed the projectile inside.
He even aimed straight ahead for a while.
"Monkey, you light the fire."
The monkey has a small stature, hence his nickname, but he is very agile and courageous.
He can also be regarded as an old sailor beside Zhu Conghai.
Among the sailors who followed Zhu Conghai to the deck, Monkey was the calmest.
Hearing Zhu Conghai greet him, Monkey took out a lighter and lit a fuse several centimeters long inserted into the fire door at the rear of the artillery.
"Bang..."
The "Monkey King" finally launched its first counterattack.
Although this counterattack seemed so ridiculous to the Japanese warships behind.
"Hahaha, it's so interesting. This merchant ship is shelling us."
On the "Beagle", Captain Dupuy laughed heartily, and the "Monkey King"'s counterattack made the monotonous hunting activity seem less boring.
This kind of small cannon on a merchant ship is fine for self-defense when facing an island, but it is ridiculous to use it against warships.
"Captain, they can't hold on much longer. We can consider looking for our next prey. Where do you think we should go next?" asked the first mate on the side.
"The next step is to go to the Hawaiian Islands, which are the crossroads of the entire Pacific route, and there must be many ships passing by," Dupuy said.
He had been to the Hawaiian Islands many times before.
In fact, for many years in the past, the Kingdom of Hawaii was a vassal state of the Great Empire.
But I don't know when they started to turn to the Renaissance Army.
And the power of the Great Empire was completely squeezed out from here.
Perhaps because this place is of little significance to the Great Empire, the Empire has never retaliated against the Renaissance Army for this matter.
But now he, Dupuy, wants to let these islanders, who are no more advanced than monkeys, know that the Great Empire is back.
"Captain, if we go to the Hawaiian Islands, our supplies may be a little tight."
"Haha, don't worry about the supply problem. Which one of these merchant ships has no supplies? Next time we catch a merchant ship, don't rush to sink it. Move the supplies off it first," Dupuy said.
The first mate secretly thought in his mind that this was just like pirates, but he remembered the history of the Daying fleet and held back what he was about to say.
The shell fired by Zhu Conghai's small cannon exploded into a small spray of water far away from the ship.
The monkey was trying to persuade the captain not to make such fearless resistance.
It would be safer to hide in the cabin.
But Zhu Conghai seemed to be stunned.
He started to reload the cannon again.
I am also prepared to continue to fight against the Japanese warships like this.
"Boom..." Another shell hit the "Monkey King".
This time the shell hit the deck directly, and the shock wave knocked Zhu Conghai down.
Fortunately, the distance was a bit far, otherwise this person would be gone. Zhu Conghai coughed up a mouthful of blood from his throat and crawled towards the cannonball that had just rolled to the ground.
"Captain, it's important to save your life. Don't worry about running out of firewood if you keep the green hills." The monkey was young after all. Although he was knocked down, he got up immediately.
"Let me go. If you dare to destroy my ship, I will fight with them." Zhu Conghai's mind was indeed not clear at this time.
This shelling opened a large hole in the middle of the plywood.
The bad news is that the cables of several sails were broken. The speed of a clipper ship originally depends on the large wind area of its sails.
As soon as there was a problem with the sail, the ship's speed immediately dropped.
The "Monkey King" now became a monkey waiting to be slaughtered.
The sound of the "Beagle's" bombardment was heard more than ten nautical miles away.
This made the Nanyang Navy, which was about to miss the "Monkey King", hear it.
The sea routes are not as clear as the roads on land.
Especially in this era when there is no way to accurately locate.
Ships heading towards each other on the same route seem to have to rely on fate to bump into each other.
"Commander, the gunfire came from the direction of seven o'clock. Judging from the sound, there are not many ships on the other side."
Du Desheng, the newly appointed commander of the Nanyang Navy, is listening to reports from his subordinates.
Du Desheng has always been Liu Dahai's deputy.
In fact, he is not young anymore, after Liu Dahai returned to the military headquarters to take charge.
Du Desheng took over the management of the Nanyang Navy.
With the establishment of the First and Second Fleets, the Nanyang Navy has basically been reduced to a second-tier fleet.
His main task is cruising on the Pacific route.
There are also supplies and inspections of important islands on the route.
The Renaissance Army has built bases on many islands, some of which are stationed with garrison troops, some with communication base stations, and some with scientific research units.
These people live on an isolated island and most of their supplies require external supplies.
Originally, Du Desheng should have been relegated to the second line given his age.
But Nanyang Navy also plays an important role as a practical school for young naval officers. It has always been the navy's training base and the cradle of naval talents.
Basically, newly graduated naval school cadets have to go to Nanyang Navy for a period of internship.
In addition to the original cruisers and light cruisers, the current Nanyang Navy also has some modified sailing battleships.
Of course, with the increase in production capacity, Dong Shuheng equipped them with several Jianghe-class frigates to serve as high-speed reconnaissance and liaison ships for the fleet.
Du Desheng had seniority and was kind-hearted, and was deeply loved by the young officers in the fleet.
He is both the commander of the Navy and the principal.
"Let the frigates 'Lianghe' and 'Fenhe' go and check." Du Desheng thought of the telegrams sent from China. Recently, many merchant ships running the Pacific route have lost contact.
There was an ominous premonition in his heart.
The two frigates, which were originally moving at cruising speed, immediately accelerated and left the formation after receiving the order.
Because the entire Nanyang Navy formation contains some old warships, the formation moves very slowly.
The frigate has never been able to gain speed before.
This time Du Desheng took the fleet to Hawaii, which happened to coincide with the birthday of the king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Under the king's warm invitation, the fleet stayed in Hawaii for two more days.
Otherwise, they would have encountered the "Monkey King" long ago.
Of course, you might miss it at sea.
On the other side, the "Monkey King" has fallen into despair.
The warships of the Republic of China are approaching quickly.
It seems they stopped shelling because Captain Dupuy hoped to get some supplies from the Monkey King.
Because they were preparing to head north to the Hawaiian Islands.
Zhu Conghai was dragged into the cabin by the monkey.
Otherwise, by now, he would have become a dead soul under the enemy's bomb.
The crew had already distributed the muskets stored in the cabin.
Due to Zhu Conghai's poor mental state at this time, the first mate took over the command of the merchant ship.
They planned to hold on to the cabin and then negotiate the terms of surrender with the Yin army.
They are just a group of sailors making a living at sea.
He works for a living at sea all year round, and then spends the money he earns in taverns in the port and on the bellies of those Fuso women.
If possible, who wants to throw away his life?
The only person left above the deck is the monkey.
After forcing Zhu Conghai into the cabin.
The monkey volunteered to stay on the deck to observe the enemy's situation, and he asked the others to hide in the cabin.
I originally thought that I would be blown up by the enemy soon.
But the bombardment of the Yin ship stopped, perhaps because the "Monkey King" had slowed down and became a piece of fish on the Yin ship's chopping board.
Monkey was already disheartened. Perhaps the captain was wrong to place all his hopes on the Renaissance Army.
This is the boundless Pacific Ocean. Even the navy of the Renaissance Army cannot make a magic weapon come from the sky.
They are not the "timely rain" in the story.
This time the "Monkey King" was in trouble.
At this moment, two pillars of smoke floated farther away from the Korean warship.
The monkey recognized at a glance that this was definitely not the smoke column on an ordinary freighter.
Ordinary freighters will not use expensive anthracite.
This color of smoke column can only be used by battleships.
It's a battleship of the Renaissance Army!
It must be.
We are saved!
Hope was rekindled in the monkey's heart.
But now I can only see the smoke column.
The monkey did not tell the crew that he was waiting for the smoke column to continue approaching.
He could see the smoke column approaching at high speed with his naked eyes.
It will soon be known whether the savior has arrived.
Finally, two silver-gray battleships entered the monkey's field of vision.
That's right, it's a Jianghe-class frigate.
What attracts the monkey’s attention most is the red-background golden dragon flag on the battleship.
saved!
The excitement in the monkey's heart was beyond words.
"The Renaissance Army is coming!"
"The Renaissance Army is coming!"
The monkey shouted at the top of his lungs.
The sailors in the cabin heard the monkey's cry and cautiously poked their heads out one by one.
"It's really a battleship of the Renaissance Navy."
"We are saved!"
Cheers for the survivors echoed on the ship.
The old captain Zhu Conghai was also helped out of the cabin.
"Hahaha... What am I talking about? The Renaissance Army will definitely come to rescue us." Zhu Conghai said proudly, and he was no longer crazy.
Captain Dupuy on the "Beagle" also discovered the Renaissance Army warship approaching him at high speed.
"Captain, let's retreat quickly. We are no match for that kind of ironclad ship. Besides, there are still two of them." the first mate said anxiously.
But Captain Dupuy, whose hair and beard were already gray, shook his head.
"You can't escape. Didn't you see their speed? Turn around and look for the wind direction. Let's fight them."
These new ironclads were the object of Dupuy's hatred.
It was they that were to replace the sailing battleships.
I don’t see the old people crying, I only see the new people smiling.
As a loyal fan of sailing battleships, Dupuy will take his battleships to duel with these ironclad ships today.
"Captain..." The first mate was ready to persuade him again.
But Dupuy's hawk-like eyes stared at him, and the first mate was so frightened that he quickly shut his mouth.
But Dupuy soon realized the feeling of being passively beaten by Zhu Conghai just now.
The Renaissance Army is very familiar with the performance of the sail cruiser of the Yin Army. There are four such warships in the Nanyang Navy.
As soon as the battle began, the two frigates took advantage of their speed and occupied a favorable position.
Then it's a bullying style of beating that I can beat you, but you can't beat me.
To deal with old battleships, the Renaissance Army has already figured out a practical tactic.
The "Monkey King" followed and watched from a distance, watching the battleships of the Renaissance Army avenge them.
The battle ended quickly, and the men on the Beagle did not surrender.
Captain Dupuy was benevolent and finally buried himself in the sea.
At this time, a large force of the Nanyang Navy also came over.
Zhu Conghai was invited to be a guest on Du Desheng's flagship.
"Commander Du, thank you fleet for saving us." The great revenge was avenged, and Zhu Conghai had returned to normal at this time.
What happened today is enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life.
Later, a newspaper published a story called "The Monkey King vs. the Roaring Dog", which told the story of the chase at sea.
It was just that the story used an exaggerated interpretation, saying that in the end, Zhu Conghai used the self-defense artillery on the merchant ship to hit the ammunition depot on the "Beagle", sending the Korean warship to the bottom of the sea.
"Captain Zhu, it is our fault that you were attacked. I have sent people to help you repair the ship. What are your plans next?" Du Desheng asked.
"Commander Du, I will take the crew to Honolulu for repairs and then return to China. I lost several brothers this time. I plan to go back and sell the ship and pay the compensation to the brothers." Zhu Conghai said with some disappointment.
The sailors around him have been with him for a long time. They have lived together at sea for many years. He treats the sailors like his own children.
Du Desheng didn't say anything more. He simply comforted Zhu Conghai and sent him back.
He sent Zhu Conghai away and rescued the merchant ship "Monkey King".
But this matter is not over yet.
The entire South Pacific is the cruising range of the Nanyang Navy.
Now the two main fleets are fighting on the front line in the Indian Ocean.
I'm just guarding the rear. If I don't do it right, I'll be very wrong.
After a while, an intelligence officer walked in.
"How was the interrogation?" Du Desheng asked.
"Commander, all the captured Korean soldiers have been recruited. This time they have a total of more than twenty warships sneaking into the Pacific waters to conduct a raid."
"How did they get in?"
The sea lanes at both ends of the Pacific Ocean are under the control of the Great China Circle.
Originally, the Renaissance Army thought it would be able to sit back and relax.
But this time I was wrong.
To be honest, with so many merchant ships being attacked this time, the Admiralty and the Nanyang Navy must bear a great deal of responsibility.
"According to the prisoners' accounts, they took the detour around Cape Horn, and before entering Cape Horn, they resupplied in the Malvinas Islands."
"After entering the Pacific, they used the Pitcairn Islands, New Zealand and New South Wales as bases of activity."
"Commander, one thing is very important. The ships entering the Pacific this time are all old sail warships. It is said that they are to reduce the difficulty of supply."
The intelligence officer reported the information obtained and his analysis to Du Desheng.
Du Desheng looked solemn after hearing this.
Fortunately, the intelligence officer told him that the Yin Army warships had lost nearly ten warships because they had taken a detour from dangerous waters.