The location of the robbery was on the ocean less than thirty miles away from Okura Island. A speedboat happened to pass by that area and saw it. It immediately rushed to Okura Castle to report the news.
Before "Wanjintang" could react to the matter, people on the coast soon discovered that the entire ocean around Okura Island was covered with dense black spots, all of which were "Black Dragon Palace" The pirate ship. This time the Dragon Palace tribe came out in full force, and hundreds of warships including the giant shark warship came!
These hundreds of pirate ships have laid a dragnet, and in just one day, they have cut off all routes between Okura Island and the outside world. No ship can sail out of the island, and ships outside the island cannot get closer to Okura Island. Cangdao.
The purpose of deporting a fleet of such a large scale and blatantly blocking the sea was obviously not just to rob the cargo ships traveling to and from Okura Island. The purpose of the "Black Dragon King" was actually very clear, which was to capture the entire Okura Castle. .
"Wanjindo" and "Black Dragon Palace" have fought many times in the past, but this has never happened before for "Black Dragon Palace" to send a fleet directly to attack Okura Castle.[
In the battle on the sea, the giant shark battleships of the "Black Dragon Palace" may have the advantage, but the Okura city wall is high and the pond is deep. There are hundreds of Hongyi cannons, and it is definitely not possible to fight with the cannons on the battleships alone. If the "Black Dragon Palace" attacks from the front, it is undoubtedly not a wise move.
However, this was only the situation in the past, but the situation is different now, because Okura Castle is now at its weakest.
The lord of the city, Sima Zhufeng, was dead. Xiong Bailing rebelled out of the city and took away his elite war department "Dazhen Department". One of the three elders in the sect was killed and two were injured. Sima Rulan himself was also injured. In this way, " Both the masters in the sect and the remaining disciples of "Wanjintang" have been weakened a lot, and the overall strength is less than half of what it was before.
For the pirates of the "Black Dragon Palace", there is no more favorable time than now to attack Okura Castle!
Facing the battleships covering the ocean and the menacing Ryugu tribesmen, it is natural for everyone in Okura City to panic. The pirates of the "Black Ryugu" have always been famous for their cruelty and leaving no one alive. Among sailors, According to their rumors, these people are simply different from demons and ghosts. If they were allowed to attack the city, it goes without saying that all the residents' properties would be plundered. What awaited the people in Okura City would definitely be a massacre. .
And this out-of-this-world city, which was built with tens of thousands of dollars and painstakingly managed for more than ten years, is now prosperous and prosperous, may not be able to escape the fate of being destroyed in one day!
Okura Castle today is facing a huge crisis that has never been seen before!
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Outside the city lord's palace, the apricot-yellow flag of "Wanjin Hall" was still fluttering in the wind.
In the open space under the flagpole, hundreds of people from the city gathered. They came to the city lord's mansion to inquire about the news, but they were all stopped outside by the gang members guarding the gate.
In the meeting hall inside the gate of the city lord's palace, there are hundreds of people, but they are the bosses of various merchant shipping companies in the city. Not only Chinese businessmen, but also the principals of various shipping companies from Western countries are among them. Although the hall is not small , but it was still difficult to accommodate these many people, so some people had to stand on the steps outside the hall.
Hua Bushi was also among the crowd, but he was squeezed into a corner of the meeting hall. Hai Hongzhu was beside him, holding hands with him, but the young master's eyes were directed at Sima who was sitting at the Eight Immortals table in the center of the hall. Rulan.
In just a few days, this 18-year-old girl has become obviously more haggard, her face is pale, and she has a look of exhaustion. Only her eyes are still firm and bright. In this hall where most people are anxious and noisy, Inside, she seemed calm and composed.
In fact, Sima Rulan's heart was not as calm as her appearance. She was devastated by her father's death, and the internal injuries she suffered were still in pain, which she had to grit her teeth to endure.
But Sima Rulan knew that as the person in charge of the "Wanjin Hall" and the eldest lady in charge of the city lord of Okura City, if she could not act calmly and calmly, the disciples of the "Wanjin Hall" and the businessmen in the city would The people will be even more frightened and bewildered, and the city will be even more difficult to defend.
The responsibility of the entire city may be too heavy for her who has never been in trouble, but Sima Rulan has made up her mind to inherit her father's ideals and shoulder the important responsibility of the rise and fall of Okura City. She must not back down. , this may be her destiny in this life!
Now was the time when she needed help the most, but there were not many people who could really give her a helping hand. Sima Rulan glanced at the corner of the room with her beautiful eyes, as if inadvertently, where Hua Bushi was standing. There, he was originally looking this way, but at this moment he immediately looked away, avoiding meeting her eyes.
A sense of disappointment passed through Sima Rulan's heart. What was that guy thinking? Was he resenting himself for not forgiving Cao Muyun, or was he afraid that looking into his eyes in public would attract gossip from others? ?
However, Sima Rulan still tried her best to calm down and nodded to Yao Yuanxiao beside her.[
Yao Yuanxiao understood, took a step forward and said loudly: "Dear shopkeepers, bosses are invited! Our city lord's palace invites you to come today because we have important matters to discuss with you. Yesterday, the fleet transporting food to the island was robbed, and now The routes out of Okura Island on all sides have been blocked by pirate ships. According to the speedboat dispatched by the church, at least 180 ships have left the 'Black Dragon Palace' this time, including five giant shark battleships. , I think they will attack our Okura Castle soon."
Although everyone in the meeting hall already knew about the Dragon Palace tribe's siege on the island, Yao Yuanxiao's announcement of the number of ships from the "Black Dragon Palace" that came to attack still caused a panic among these businessmen. You must know that nowadays There are only about a hundred ships in Cangcheng, and most of them are unarmed cargo ships. There are only fifty or sixty ships equipped with artillery that can fight in battle, and there are no super battleships like the Giant Shark at all. of warships.
The opponent sent 180 warships, which alone was more than three times the number of warships in Okura Castle. In terms of actual combat power, it was probably more than four to five times more.
Yao Yuanxiao waited for the crowd's discussion to calm down, and then said: "Okura City was originally built by our 'Wanjin Hall', and it is our responsibility to protect the safety of this city. However, this time the enemy is too strong, and only with the help of 'Wanjin Hall' It is too difficult for one sect to defend this city, so we summoned everyone to come together and discuss strategies to deal with the enemy."
The crowd in the hall was noisy again. A middle-aged man with a long beard wearing a sapphire blue silk shirt said: "Is the number of pirate ships mentioned by Elder Yao accurate? In the past, the 'Black Dragon Palace' robbed merchant ships on the ocean, at most. We only sent five or six warships, how come there are so many 180 warships coming this time?"
This middle-aged man with a long beard is none other than Gu Zhengyuan, the owner of "Xinglong Village". He ran away from Wangxi Tower a few days ago. This owner of Gu Village can be said to have narrowly escaped death, and the original chamber of commerce alliance has also withdrawn. The group finally broke up, but after all, he had some influence among the many Chinese businessmen in Okura City, so he took the lead in asking questions at this time.
Yao Yuanxiao did not answer, but a man standing behind him said: "I drove a small boat to explore the sea yesterday. There were more than 180 warships from the Black Dragon Palace, only a few more. It is absolutely certain It's something! Usually they rob merchant ships, of course they don't need a few warships, but now they want to attack our Okura City, how can they dare to come if they don't have one or two hundred ships!"
This man is of medium build, very stocky, wearing a smart suit, and has a short knife in his belt. His face is dark and rough, and with his full beard, his whole face is like the bottom of a pot. This man Gu Zhengyuan is... I also found out that he was the helmsman of "Wanjin Hall" named Fu Ao.
Fu Ao added: "But you don't have to worry. We, Wanjintang, have more than thirty warships, and each of your fleets has at least twenty or thirty escort ships. It should be impossible to defend the port of our Okura City. question!"
Gu Zhengyuan said: "Is Captain Fu's statement a little too optimistic? As far as Gu knows, in a battle on the ocean, the most important thing is the strength of the ship and the power of the artillery. Not only are the warships of the 'Black Dragon Palace' several times more than ours, there are also many warships on board." The firepower of their cannons is also much stronger than that of our ships. How can we withstand it in the event of a battle?"
Fu Ao said: "If we go to the open sea to fight, we will certainly not be able to defeat it, but Okura Port is a concave bay. We have dozens of ships, and it is enough to guard the channel into the bay. The 'Black Dragon Palace' ship No matter how many there are, it will be in vain if they can't rush in. In addition, the hundreds of red cannons on the forts on both sides of the gorge can have stronger firepower than those pirate ships. As long as the Dragon Palace tribe dares to come, they will not be able to disobey them! "
Gu Zhengyuan said: "According to what Master Fu said, we might be able to hold on for a while if we defend according to danger. However, this group of pirates surrounded the island and blocked the outward waterway. We can only stay in the city. Not only can we no longer do business, but , even oil, rice and food will eventually run out, what should we do?"
Yao Yuanxiao coughed lightly and said: "I'm not worried about grain and rice at the moment. Our Okura City has always had quite a reserve. Although the grain transport fleet recently coming to the island was robbed by pirates, the grain stored in the city should still be enough to survive. In the past three or four months, if the big storm at sea had not affected transportation a few days ago, there would have been more grain in the city."
Gu Zhengyuan said: "Even if the food is enough for three or four months, if the 'Black Dragon Palace' keeps surrounding the island, won't I still be trapped to death in the end?"
Fu Ao said: "In the battle at sea, the situation is constantly changing. In three or four months, we can think of another way. Moreover, the 'Black Dragon Palace' is coming in force this time, and the consumption of these many ships is also a lot. It’s still uncertain whether we can besiege the island for three or four months, so why should we worry about that!”