Luo Zhong was a good sailor, and Song Sichen knew that, otherwise he would not have been allowed to be the captain of the "White Oriole". Luo Zhong and Peng San had been getting along well these past two days.
With his praise like this, Song Sichen knew that Peng San must have some abilities, so he nodded and said: "Okay, all the sailors on board the White Oriole will obey Mr. Peng San's orders!"
When Peng San saw Song Sichen agreeing, he smiled and said, "Okay, since you are all willing to listen to my instructions, I will show my hand so that you can see what Peng San is capable of!"
He stretched out his hand to straighten the hem of his clothes, straightened the hem of the wrinkled shirt, and walked to the helm. He was short in stature and very ugly in appearance. Coupled with the appearance of a villain who succeeded, Song Sichen
Almost immediately I regretted that I should not have agreed to obey this guy's orders.
Peng San coughed slightly, turned to Luo Zhong and said: "Captain Luo, are there any artillery and ammunition on board the White Oriole?"
Luo Zhong replied: "Mr. Peng San, there are ten Franco iron cannons in the cabin of this ship, as well as some gunpowder and copper bullets, but the number is too small, and the firepower is not enough to fight the pirate ship."
Peng Sandao: "Who told you to fight against the pirate ship? Ask your men to drag out all these artillery and ammunition and throw them into the sea!"
Before Luo Zhong could answer, Taoist Master Zhengde said: "Although these artillery pieces are not many, when those pirate ships approach, we can at least resist one or two. If we throw them all into the sea, wouldn't it ruin the possibility of resistance?"
Peng San raised his eyebrows, glanced at Taoist Zhengde, and said: "What do you know? Just listen to my instructions. Not only must you throw away those artillery pieces, but also the tables, chairs, furniture, various utensils, and everything on this ship."
Everything that can be dismantled must be thrown into the sea, and nothing can be left except a little fresh water and dry food!"
When he said this, Luo Zhong already understood and said: "It turns out that sir wants to throw away the weight to make the boat go faster. Luo Zhong will do it now!" Peng San curled his lips and said: "That's okay.
Needless to say! Now everyone takes action together, the sooner the better, throw away all the useless things!"
The "White Oriole" is originally an extremely luxurious ship. The tables, chairs and beds in the cabins are all made of mahogany and are rare and fine furniture. But at this time, everyone could not care about these many things and started to work together.
, tore them all out of the cabin and threw them into the sea. There were many martial arts masters among the people. Their skills and strength were great, so it was easy to dismantle the furniture.
The ten iron cannons weighing hundreds of kilograms were also dragged out from under the cabin and thrown into the sea. The pots, pans, utensils, and even vegetables and food carried on the ship were also thrown away without leaving a trace.
Peng San stood on the deck and watched all the debris being thrown into the sea. It wasn't until more than ten barrels of wine stored in the back cabin were also taken out and thrown into the sea that his face showed a trace of reluctance.
look.
In less than a cup of hot tea, all the movable objects on the "White Oriole" had been thrown into the sea. The draft of the ship's hull became shallower, and the speed of travel was indeed increased than before.
When everyone returned to the deck, they saw Peng San picking up a rope and hanging it from the side of the ship into the water, as if he was measuring something.
Cao Muyun said: "Now that everything that can be thrown has been thrown away, is it possible for us to get rid of the pirate ship behind it?"
Peng San said "Yeah", retracted the rope, and said: "Previously, our boat speed was about three times, and now it is just over four times, which is not bad at all. But the speed of the three loach boats behind is at least five times." What's more, it's much faster than us."
Cao Muyun said: "In this case, wouldn't we still be overtaken by them?"
Peng San said: "Of course, the 'White Oriole' has such a big hull and is not driven by the wind. How can it outrun the speedboat behind it? Just now we would have been overtaken after just a few moments of escaping. Now, probably If we can delay it for two hours, they can catch up."
Song Sichen looked anxious and said, "It's only an hour too long, and we still can't escape in the end. What should we do?"
Peng San didn't answer. He only looked up at the sky with a pair of triangular eyes, but he didn't know what he was looking at.
Cao Muyun said: "Steward Song, please be patient. If my younger brother guessed correctly, Mr. Peng San ordered us to throw away the heavy weight and gain an hour. I think there must be a purpose, right?"
He smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Peng San, why don't you tell us your plan and save everyone from getting angry?"
Peng San rolled his eyelids and said: "I have plans, but whether it succeeds or not depends on luck. You will know when the time comes."
He looked at the setting sun that was about to sink into the sea, and said: "It is now the third hour of Youshi. As long as we can delay till Haishi before they catch up, we will have a chance to escape."
After hearing this, Song Sichen perked up and said, "It turns out that sir had a plan for a long time, but I have worried you for nothing."
Peng San said: "There are still more than two hours before Hai Shi. If we want to delay it until then, it won't be so easy. Everyone has to work harder."
He walked to Luo Zhong in front of the steering wheel in a few steps and said, "I will steer the ship, and you and the sailors will pull the sails and follow my instructions!"
Captain Luo Zhong had deep trust in Peng San and immediately put down the steering wheel and called to the sailors on the deck to control the sails.
Peng San turned to Cao Muyun and others and said: "Ask all your strong men to go down to the bottom of the cabin and take turns paddling with the sailors. You must row with all your strength and not stop for a moment!"
There are more than ten oars on each side of the bilge of the "White Oriole". Although everyone on the boat knows nothing about driving a boat, rowing is not difficult and can be learned once it is learned. Moreover, they are all martial arts practitioners. , the strength in his hands is much stronger than that of those sailors, and he has an advantage in paddling.
In the blink of an eye, everyone on the boat was ordered by Peng San. Even the Taoist priests at the "Shangqing Gate" had to obey the order and went down to the bottom cabin to paddle. On the deck, there were only four principals and Song Sichen and Wu. people.
Although Peng San was short in stature and had a rough appearance, he seemed to be more energetic as soon as he stood at the steering wheel. He was very skilled in turning the steering wheel, and he kept giving orders to instruct Luo Zhong and others to adjust the sails. .
After this action, the speed of the "White Oriole" actually accelerated a lot. The large pirate ship behind it had been pulled away some distance, but the three loach ships still could not get rid of it.
At this time, the big pirate ship "White Oriole" was about eight or nine miles away, and about five or six miles away from the three small boats. The three loach ships had spread out and formed a horn shape. The southwest rear of the "No. 1" was chasing after them, probably with the intention of outflanking and encircling them.
Cao Muyun said: "Our speed has improved greatly. I think they will not be able to catch up before Haishi."
Peng San shook his head and said: "That's not necessarily the case! These loach boats are equipped with artillery. As long as they come within three miles, they will fire cannons. If our boat is hit by water seepage, everyone will be finished."
The setting sun finally disappeared from the sea, night fell, and the sky became dark. This pursuit and escape game had been going on for an hour, and the three pirate ships behind them had already approached about four miles away.
As if to prove Peng San's words, I saw the nearest loach boat flashing with fire, and more than ten cannonballs roared in and fell into the sea diagonally behind the "White Oriole", splashing a whole row of two shells.
Three feet high water splash!
These cannonballs are round copper bullets with a diameter of half a foot. They are extremely powerful when flying from several miles away. If they land on the ship, the wooden hull of the "White Oriole" will definitely not be able to withstand it, and it will inevitably be penetrated.
.Everyone on the boat was horrified when they saw this situation.
Peng San said nonchalantly: "Don't worry, the Hongyi artillery can hit three miles at most. They are just firing now to demonstrate to us. They really want to hit our ship, but they are still far away!"
The cannons on the pirate ship fired several more rounds in succession. As expected, as Peng San said, the place where the cannonball hit the water was far away from the "White Oriole". The most recent one was a hundred feet away, so it did not pose a threat.
After several rounds of volleys, the pirate ship stopped firing its artillery, and just chased after the "White Oriole". It was already half of the Xu hour, and half an hour later it would be the Hai hour.
According to what Peng San said before, as long as he is not overtaken until Haishi, he has a chance to escape. However, looking at the current situation, except that the three loach boats are getting closer, there is no difference from before.
I really can't guess what this rough-looking man will be able to do.
Cao Muyun and Hua Bushi looked calm and didn't seem to be anxious at all. However, Nangong Qi could no longer bear it. He was about to ask questions when he heard Peng San say: "Now you go and paddle in the bottom cabin."
All the masters were called up, and the sailors on the boat continued to row, so that everyone could rest for a while and regain their strength."
Song Sichen's expression changed and he said, "Is Mr. Peng San planning to engage in a close battle with the pirate ship?"
Peng San said: "Yes, we need to kill a loach boat as quickly as possible in an instant, and then use the favorable wind to break through, and we can escape in one fell swoop."
Song Sichen said: "But those three pirate ships will attack with artillery before we get close. Besides, they have blocked our direction of traveling with the wind. How can we rush through?"
At this time, the wind direction on the sea was from the northeast, and the "White Oriole" was heading east. The pursuing loach boat was located in the southwest, and the three ships spread out, forcing the "White Oriole" to sail eastward.
It is difficult to rely on the power of sails. In fact, the "Blue Shark Group" may have already planned this pursuit strategy early on. They are veterans of robbing merchant ships at sea, so they know how to force their prey into a headwind position and then use sea loaches.
The boat's human power has the advantage of faster speed and is approaching for hunting.
After hearing Song Sichen's words, Peng San smiled "hehe" and said, "Don't worry about this, I have my own way. Just do what I tell you!"