"There are ships!" the sailor at the lookout suddenly shouted: "Many ships!"
Hun Jianglong Li Jun's face sank. As the temporary bow of the ship, of course he knew what these words meant.
"What's so strange about boats?" Shi Qian, who was standing beside him, stroked his beard and said, "Don't we have many boats... I'll go up and take a look!"
Before Li Jun could explain, Shi Qian quickly climbed up to the observation deck.
Shi Qian went to sea for the first time, so of course he would not know what it really meant if he observed many ships coming from his direction at sea.
The sea is vast and vast, unlike driving on a land official road. Sooner or later, you will encounter other carriages.
Although everyone was almost sailing on the same route, the fleet had always maintained a certain distance from each other, one to prevent misunderstandings, and the other to prevent accidental collisions.
There are only two types of ships that actively approach you. The former are those who have a problem and come to seek help or get closer to seek shelter, while the latter are simply pirates coming towards their own fleet.
Now it takes less than a day to leave Mingzhou Port. The former situation is absolutely rare, while the possibility of the latter situation is quite high.
Estimating the distance from Mingzhou Port, Li Jun couldn't help but frowned. There were indeed many pirates entrenched in the archipelago on the right front, but his fleet's route had been deliberately detoured. Why did these pirates attack uncharacteristically?
"Could it be that it deviated from the planned course?" Li Jun also doubted this, but if so, then he should be able to see the shadow of Zhoushan Islands.
Moreover, the Zhoushan Islands are always shrouded in clouds and fog all year round, making them very easy to spot. Li Jun didn’t think he would be mistaken.
At this time, Shi Qian, the flea on the drum, had already slipped down from the mainmast. Based on yesterday's experience, Shi Qian deliberately slowed down the speed of his descent this time, and the pain between his legs was finally not so hot.
"There are dozens of ships, large and small." Shi Qian lowered his voice: "It seems that the one who came here is evil...the other party has no flag."
Dozens?
Li Jun touched his chin. This number was no longer the size of ordinary pirates, but more like two or three groups of pirates combined in one place.
No wonder, without this level of quantity, it would not be enough to surround the fleet.
For a large ship like the one Li Jun was standing on, ordinary small ships could be completely ignored and would be smashed into pieces if they hit it directly. However, as pirates, the other party had flexible ship maneuvers and would not just wait for him to get on board.
It is precisely because of this wolf pack tactic that pirates are also called sea wolves.
As a last resort, Li Jun quickly walked to Ximen Qing's room. It was probably because someone in Mingzhou had spread the news about the envoy's fleet that he attracted these sea wolves.
Without interests, sea wolves will not act together, but will guard against each other. On the sea, there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends, only eternal interests.
Li Jun took a deep breath and started knocking on the door. He heard that Lord Ximen and a maid were inside. Unless this happened, Li Jun would not dare to disturb them.
I heard that the maid has been in this room since last night.
The door opened in response, and to Li Jun's surprise, Ximen Qing's clothes were well put on, and there was nothing like the scene he had imagined...and the maid was gone, and there was only a woman wearing a plain cotton robe sitting there.
At the table, he has an extraordinary demeanor.
"Sanniang, you rest here now."
When Ximen Qing saw Li Jun's appearance, he knew something was wrong. He told Sang Sanniang and came out, closing the door behind him.
"What's wrong?"
Ximen Qing asked directly without any nonsense; Li Jun also briefly and comprehensively explained the situation at hand. After hearing this, Ximen Qing immediately said: "Notify other ships, and by the way, surround Sun Junming and Zheng Qing's ships, and don't let them have any trouble."
An opportunity that slipped away.”
Hun Jianglong Li Jun's expression was stern. He didn't expect that the Ximen gangster would so quickly identify the suspect who leaked the news... In fact, the envoy fleet was making a lot of noise in the port, and there were many people who could pass on the news.
Come.
The Sea Wolves also have some spies in Mingzhou Port.
"The official fleet is something that most people don't dare to mess with. Even if it were, it wouldn't come so quickly. After all, it's not possible to get several groups of sea wolves together in such a short time."
Ximen Qing seemed to notice Li Jun's doubts and quickly explained: "Go and inform."
Li Jun nodded and turned around. It is naturally most convenient to communicate with each ship through semaphores. Each ship has a sailor responsible for liaison to observe the news coming from the main ship.
Ximen Qing walked quickly to the deck, where many people had gathered. Ximen Qing glanced at him and shouted: "Where is the scar-faced tiger!"
"arrive!"
Liu Renzhong raised his right hand and walked out of the crowd: "What are your orders, sir?"
"All blood soldiers are ready to fight." Ximen Qing ordered: "Listen to Li Jun's command and concentrate your strength."
"Yes!" Liu Renzhong was shocked and straightened his back.
...
...
"There is a situation."
Although Sun Junming and Zheng Qing's ships were lower, they discovered the situation not long after.
"So many ships have come!" Sun Junming couldn't describe his joy: "At least three maritime overlords in this area have come! Brother, send the order, let's withdraw!"
At this time, the sailor in charge of liaison hurried over and said a few words in Zheng Qing's ear, which made Zheng Qing's complexion change drastically.
"What?" Sun Junming shouted: "Whatever his order, let's turn the helm quickly and leave this sea!"
Zheng Qing said anxiously: "Brother Sun! Their order is to surround our ship!"
"What!"
Sun Junming was also stunned for a moment. The sea wolf had just appeared. How could Ximen Qing guess so accurately and issue the siege order?
"Get out! Get out from the side!"
At this point, Sun Junming and Zheng Qing didn't have many choices. If they didn't act immediately, they would be surrounded before half a stick of incense could be taken, and they would never get out.
The ship began to get busy. Zheng Qing grabbed the helm and ignored the warning of the sailor at the helm. He used all his strength to move it to the side. There was no time to waste at this moment.
The other ships were not surprised by this order. Sun Junming and Zheng Qing were at least nominal envoys. Lord Ximen's order was naturally to protect them. Who would have known that Sun Junming and Zheng Qing complained about this kind of "protection"
Not enough.
The fleet launched into action, and in half a moment, Li Jun had already set up a posture to face the enemy. Li Jun turned the main ship across his body and blocked it at the front. Everyone on the ship was fully armed, even the cook raised his hand.
kitchen knife.
In the era of cold weapons, water warfare was a matter of hand-to-hand combat, excluding bows and arrows, and victory was won at the cost of flesh and blood.
Facing the posture put up by the envoys, the other party did not react at all. They still approached them in an encircling posture. Small boats went back and forth, and it didn't take long for a thin encirclement to be formed.
The entire fleet of the envoy was like a slow-moving giant beast, surrounded by wolves.
Ximen Qing could already clearly see the leading ship of the other party. The pirates on the ship wielding swords were shouting something, and the five ships were slowly raising black flags to indicate their identities.
The leading ship simultaneously lowered a small boat and sailed towards Ximen Qing's ship. There were three or five people standing on it, varying in height, fat and thin, but they looked arrogant and arrogant. They seemed to have regarded the envoy's fleet as a big piece of meat.
, all you have to do is how to divide it.
"We're here to negotiate terms." Li Jun explained from the sidelines.
Ximen Qing was relieved. The sea wolf robbed passing ships and was looking for gold and silver treasures. If the goods were suitable, a lot of them would have to be taken away. If the goal could be achieved without much effort, of course everyone would be willing to give it a try.
If it was an ordinary merchant ship, it would have to agree to their conditions. It would be better to cut off the flesh than lose one's life; but Ximen Qing is not an ordinary merchant, and this fleet is not an ordinary merchant ship. They may have to mention the iron plate this time.
"I'm afraid these people who are here are the leaders of the Sea Wolf?" Ximen Qing pointed his finger casually. He didn't show any panic at all, but was extremely calm, as if the other party had come to the ship for a drink and a banquet.
"Yes, judging from the number of people, the sea wolves are temporarily gathered in two or three groups." Li Jun replied: "But even if we capture them all, those sea wolves will still attack. As soon as the leader dies, a new one will be selected immediately.
The leader came out to take command."
Ximen Qing sighed slightly: "You are worthy of the title of Sea Wolf, you really have some wolf nature."
Then he smiled slightly and said: "I'm afraid these leaders can be regarded as the overlords of this side. It doesn't matter if they meet each other."
The opponent's boat rowed as fast as an arrow, and it didn't take long before it approached Ximen Qing's boat.
"Put down the ladders and tables." Ximen Qing ordered, "Get ready to welcome the guests."
At the same time that the leader of the Sea Wolf was about to board the ship, Sun Junming and Zheng Qing were preparing to abandon the ship and escape, because their ship had been heavily surrounded and they could not escape at all.
"It's important to save your life." Sun Junming said decisively: "Brother, let's take some sailors, put down the boat and escape. Although it is some distance from the Zhoushan Islands, we can definitely reach it before sunset."
Zheng Qing was dumbfounded: "Brother Sun! What about our plan? What about this ship full of cargo? What about our ship?"
Sun Junming patted the railing and sighed: "At this stage, the plan has long been a dead end. The goods are gone and the ship is gone. As long as there is life, we can still make a comeback. If we lose our lives, there will be nothing."
..."
Zheng Qing was a little reluctant, but looking around, some sailors seemed to have hesitant expressions in their eyes. He knew these guys very well, and if he continued to stay, he might have the intention of tying them up.
Fortunately, there were still a dozen or twenty confidants. Sun Junming and Zheng Qing ordered the two boats to be put down and hurriedly rowed out of the encirclement.
These changes were seen by other ships and were difficult to intercept, because Master Ximen only ordered the ships to besieged and did not issue any further orders.
Seeing that he had broken out of the encirclement, Sun Junming felt happy. He finally escaped anyway...
At this moment, several whistles were heard in the ears, and five or six small boats emerged from nowhere, blocking their way.