Hong'er and Zhuzi were woken up and hurried to the cab. Zhao Chengwen and Dong Jin also came to the cab after hearing the news.
Because it is a steam engine ship, the driver's cab is placed on the front bridge.
Hong'er looked at the three large ships of the Dragon and Tiger Navy in front of her and felt very disgusted. Although she had arrived in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, she still had to fight with these guys with ulterior motives.
"Don't think about anything else. These people won't negotiate with us. They must be intercepting us," Hong'er said.
Zhao Chengwen said: "Could it be a routine inspection? After all, we are a merchant ship returning from Jiannu. Besides, since we are leaving so fast, I am afraid that no news will reach Ningyuan from Shenyang."
"You forgot about the carrier pigeons. If they release the carrier pigeons, they will definitely be much faster than us." Hong'er said. "Don't have any illusions. Distribute weapons to everyone and prepare to fight."
Dong Jin asked: "We are a merchant ship and we have no artillery. If we really fight, we will suffer big losses. Can the armor of this ship block the artillery?"
Captain Li Anshi said: "I'm afraid not. The armor of this ship is only three millimeters. Although it is an annealed carburized steel plate, it can only protect against matchlock guns. If it is a Guangdong turtle dove gun, an Japanese large tube, or a Franco machine The heavy arquebuses are a bit uncertain at close range. The artillery is useless at all.”
Hong'er said: "They are here for Liu Xingzuo's family. This matter is very secretive. Apart from taking away the family members, they will not leave anyone alive. If we don't resist, we will die. You see how this battle is fought, we There is no way out."
Now that the words have been said, if there is anything else to say, then prepare to fight.
But there are no cannons on the ship, so it will definitely not be possible to shoot at them.
Zhu Zhu asked: "Captain Li, our ship is fast, can we rush through it?"
"There is some trouble. The first two ships are very close to us now. If we rush over, we can only pass between the two ships, and we will be flanked by artillery on both sides. It is very dangerous. But the third ship is still far away, and we have a chance. Bypass."
Zhu Zhu thought for a moment and said: "Then stop the ship to show that we are an unarmed merchant ship and accept their inspection. They will definitely clamp our ship on both sides, fix it with hook locks, and then jump in to occupy our ship." "
This is the most routine operation. Modern coast police also rely on help to check.
Everyone nodded, this is a solution.
It would be easier if two ships sandwiched the steamer. They are all elites, and they also have incendiary bombs and explosive packets. They also have a lot of revolvers. If there is a fight, who will eat whom?
Dong Jin said: "This is a good idea. We will show weakness first and stop the ship for them to inspect. Once they secure the three ships together, we will rush forward and capture the two ships."
Zhu Zhu asked: "If we take these two ships and advance at full speed, how many knots can we make?"
Captain Li understood immediately upon hearing this that Zhuzi planned to use these two boats as shields for the left and right sides of the ship and lead them forward together.
In this way, the remaining ship did not dare to fire. Even if it fired, it was not afraid. It was blocked by their own ship.
Naval battles in this era were basically boarding battles.
Although in the Ming Dynasty, there were artillery bombardment tactics at sea. It was the side of the ship firing at the side of the ship.
When the two sides' artillery fired at each other, because the accuracy of artillery in this era was so poor and the range was so short, the firepower density was too small to hit. The artillery was generally arranged on the side of the ship.
If the two ships are controlled on both sides, the other side will not be able to bombard them head-to-head. Because there is only one cannon on the bow. And the head-on projection of the other side's ship is very small, making it almost difficult to hit.
Captain Li said: "Our sailors know how to use artillery, and we can use these two cannons to attack the opponent. We have an advantage if we have more cannons. If we turn the steam engine power to the maximum, we can completely move the two Fu ships.
.This ship is equipped with two triple-expansion steam engines. The total horsepower can reach 700 horsepower. There is no problem in running five knots."
Special operations ships have to consider various dangers because they are designed to operate deep behind enemy lines. If there is only one engine, if it breaks down, it will be ruined. So it must be a dual-engine configuration.
Dong Jin said: "Our servants also know how to use cannons. We have all been trained."
Zhao Chengwen said: "Although our people at the Tianjin Station don't know how to use cannons, we can use muskets and can also fight hand-to-hand."
Zhu Zhu did some calculations and found that after excluding the casualties from last night's battle, Zhu Zhu's men were all thirty, and Hong'er's men still had ten who could go into battle. There were still twenty-five servants. Shenyang Station had been purged of six traitors.
, there are still seventy people. A rough calculation, there are still one hundred and thirty-five people.
Zhu Zhu said: "After a while, they dropped the steel hooks and ropes and secured our ship. I took my men and thirty people from Shenyang Station to attack the battleship on the left. Dong Jin, you take your men.
With forty people from the Shenyang Station, attack the battleship on the right. Hong'er, you and your people will stay behind as a reserve force."
Hong'er nodded and agreed. Among her people, there are still some special talents, which are not cost-effective to waste in this kind of battle.
Zhu Zhu continued: "Ask Captain Li and the sailors to come forward and deal with them. We will hide in the material tarpaulin behind the side of the ship. When they are fixed, we will first throw grenades and then rush over."
Several people expressed their understanding.
At this time, the blessing ships in front were already approaching. Two of them were flanking on the left and right. The other one was farther away. It can be seen that these Longwu Navy people are still more cautious.
He Kegang stood on the bow of the ship, observing the merchant ship in the distance with the monocular telescope given to him by Donglin's upper management. This ship was so strange.
Not only does it look short and fat, it also has a round head and round tail. The upper part of the deck is covered with a semi-circular roof. It looks like a silkworm cocoon.
Generally speaking, most of the covered ships are inland river ships, such as the ships on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, there are many of them.
But why did this ship end up on the sea? There are only two masts, front and rear, and there is a black iron chimney in the middle. Is there a fire for cooking? There is a kitchen below.
He Kegang's ships all flew the flag of the imperial navy. They openly carried out the blockade of Jiannu in Liaodong Bay. They were local snakes, and all merchant ships coming and going had to pay homage to them before they could pass.
This is also a common unspoken rule among the Ming Navy.
Moreover, in theory, merchants from the Ming Dynasty were prohibited from trading with Jian slaves, and would be treated as collaborators if caught. However, there are exceptions to everything in this world, and everything can be negotiated and accommodated.
As long as you pay the tax, that is, send someone to Longhu Navy Yamen on Juehua Island (Chrysanthemum Island) across the sea from Ningyuan City Pier and pay the money to buy the road. You will be given a flag. As long as you hang this flag, you will not Be checked.
"Are you sure that this is the only boat that came out of the Liao River from last night to today?" He Kegang asked.
"My lord, my humble position is confirmed." Deng Changchun replied.
After receiving the message from the carrier pigeon in the middle of the night last night, He Kegang immediately took the Sanchongshan fortune ship and went out to sea. The ones carrying out the blockade mission at the mouth of the Liaohe River in the past few days were the Lantau Island and Xiqishan.
After He Kegang met them in the early morning, he waited here.
He Kegang said in his heart, then he didn't run away, it was this ship that robbed Liu Xingzuo's family members from Shenyang.
He was also a little curious in his heart, wondering who could actually have such an ability to pull someone out of a tiger's mouth and get someone out of Shenyang, which was heavily garrisoned.
"Let them lower the sails and stop the ship for inspection. They don't even have a flag, so they dare to come out for smuggling. Today, I will take the court's laws and regulations seriously."