In the past, he always took the 70-ton locally built fishing tow boat, which is the most common here. Travelers own many of these boats, which are mainly used as transport ships, and sometimes also serve as patrol boats - to expel arrests and refuse to pay fishing taxes.
fishing boats, fight against small groups of pirates who specialize in robbing fishermen, protect passing merchant ships, etc.
Recently, the Ministry of Maritime Power launched the "Maritime Security Improvement Month". From early morning to dusk, ships of the Ministry of Maritime Power patrol the dozens of kilometers of coastline between Bopu and Ma Niao at all times. This has led to an increase in the number of patrol ships. Originally, the number of patrol ships has increased.
The ships used for transportation have also been transferred to patrol. In order to ensure that they can outnumber the others, the ships are organized into groups to perform tasks, with three to five ships in each group. At least one or two ships in each group are equipped with artillery - quite a few.
The artillery was temporarily borrowed from the Army.
The appearance of this kind of ship is quite shabby: on the deck is a temporarily borrowed Army 12-pound M1857 cannon, which is simply fixed to the front deck with ropes. The cannon is surrounded by a battery of straw bags filled with wet sand.
Among the sailors were gunners in gray uniforms borrowed from the army. The navy did not have so many gunners available.
"It would be nice to replace all the patrol boats with boats like the 101." Lelin took it out to sea for the first time and was full of praise for its sailing performance - it is light and convenient, and the sails use wind power very efficiently.
No wonder Mr. Wen said that the spinnaker is the most suitable sail shape for coastal navigation.
At this time, the lookout post suddenly shouted:
"There's a situation at three o'clock!"
Le Lin quickly picked up the telescope hanging on her chest and looked around. She saw a dozen small ships surrounding a large ship two or three nautical miles away. The big ship was a large Guangdong ship common along the coast of China, and its tonnage was quite impressive.
, with a total of four to five hundred tons. Lelin was very surprised - the Qiongzhou Strait is not a must for foreign ships, and it is unlikely to see such large foreign ships carrying out ocean trade. Even if such ships go to Hainan, they are in Qiongshan County
Rest in Shenying Port, and some simply go directly to Yulin to anchor and rest. They will not go deep into the Lingao-Chengmai ocean.
"How could there be such a big ship?" Le Lin didn't believe her eyes and quickly adjusted the magnification to the maximum eight times:
The hull of the big ship tilted to one side and ran aground on the sandbank. The sails were still hanging and were very damaged. But through the telescope, many people could be seen climbing on the big ship. There were crowds of people on the deck of the big ship, and from time to time there were
There was smoke and fire.
This is pirates robbing, Le Lin suddenly became excited - the boring patrol and capture work finally has some fresh spices! This is a good opportunity to do something big!
"Battle alert!" he shouted.
The drummer who had been on standby on the poop immediately started beating the drums rapidly. The sailors and soldiers on the deck immediately became busy. The sergeants blew their whistles, and the off-duty sailors and marines also poured out from below the deck.
"Left rudder, 15 degrees! Full speed ahead!" Le Lin shouted majestically while holding on to the railing.
"15 degrees, left!" the helmsman replied to the command and turned the steering wheel - the Maritime Power Department has changed all its ships with good shape and a tonnage of more than 50 tons to wheel-rudder operation.
Immediately, the flaggers on the poop also issued orders to the ships on both sides. The following 108 and 111 also began to turn the rudder.
"Put down oars No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5!!" Ruan Xiaowu shouted. Although Lelin's command was very majestic, the boat had no engine available. The so-called full speed forward meant putting down the three pairs of oars on the boat.
Go ahead and use manual shaking to increase the speed.
Ruan Xiaowu is now a serious naval cadet. After returning from the voyage around the island, all the participating naval cadets were promoted. Although he is only fifteen years old, he has already worn silver on his sleeves to symbolize the rank of cadets.
With this mark on his sleeve, he has a clear distinction in status from the sailors on the deck. The sailors saluted him when they saw him. However, he still did not need to pay the officer's meal fee, but ate the same meal as the soldiers.
There is also an extra sleeve strip on his navy uniform - the "Commemorative Sleeve Strip of the First Voyage Around the Island". Everyone who participated in this voyage has one. Ruan Xiaowu felt that his coat originally looked awkward.
The little coat looks so majestic now. He often wears it neatly. When he was on vacation, he walked in Dongmen City and looked at the bustling crowds around him. He felt that these people were very rustic - he had forgotten what he looked like.
Arrived at Lingao.
Today he is the duty officer on board No. 101. He is responsible for the second morning shift, which is the shift from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. As soon as the battle alarm sounded, Ruan Xiaowu's throat tightened - there was going to be a war.
Yes! And he’s fighting pirates!
As a child from a fisherman's family, Ruan Xiaowu is no stranger to pirates. Small groups of pirates are unable to rob large ships, so they attack single fishing boats that are unable to resist, and it is common for them to steal the catch. The most terrifying thing is
Pirates often force fishermen to join their gangs, and sometimes they even take them and their boats with them. Especially when the pirates are about to fight with each other or face encirclement and suppression by the government and the army, this kind of forced joining is very effective.
will reach its peak. Several relatives of Ruan Xiaowu encountered such misfortunes: they either lost their lives or damaged their ships. In the end, Ruan Xiaowu's father was also captured and became a pirate. During an encirclement and suppression by the army, the ship was destroyed.
He destroyed many people and eventually made his whole family homeless. Therefore, he had a special hatred for pirates, which was classified as "extremely firm" in the file, and he was developed by the Political Security Administration into a member of the "Ten Men" in the navy.
Driven by the sailors taking turns rocking the oars, the speed of the patrol fleet increased to 5 knots.
Le Lin ordered, "Fire as a warning!"
The deck gun immediately emitted a puff of white smoke, and the deafening sound of the gunfire echoed on the sea. But the pirate ships surrounding the ship seemed unmoved. Lelin saw through the telescope that someone was hurriedly coming from the ship.
Things were being carried on the boat, while some people were playing with long tube objects like firearms on the deck of the boat.
Because the Crossing Group is also the dominant force in the local area, small groups of pirates are generally unwilling to engage in direct combat with them. Lelin has many times encountered situations where the enemy simply ran away without exchanging fire. If he set sail 3 to 4 nautical miles away, he would
The fleet cannot catch up. But looking at the appearance of the enemy in front of them, it seems that they have no intention of running away.
Le Lin estimated that the distance was still one and a half nautical miles. The range of the 12-pound cannon was sufficient, but it was inaccurate. There was no difference between hitting it or not.
Perhaps the cargo on the ship had not been plundered, or perhaps they saw that there were only three ships coming. Some of the small boats surrounding the big ship suddenly turned around and rushed toward the fleet menacingly.
"The enemy has signs of attack." Ruan Xiaowu shouted, "Get ready to attack!"
"You are very brave, or the loot is large enough." Le Lin saw through the telescope that several ships were continuing to unload cargo. It seemed that the enemy was prepared to keep their loot at all costs.
"It looks like there's going to be a battle." Lelin was filled with adrenaline and shouted: "Wear armor!"
The orderly beside him quickly brought his stab-proof vest, kneepads, helmet and anti-cut chain gloves from the stern cabin and helped him put them on. Lelin took the imitation US Navy command knife that was handed over at the end and pulled it out.
He came out in high spirits:
"Command all ships to prepare for battle!"
The red triangular battle flag was raised, and the combatants on each ship took their positions. The soldiers began to load ammunition for their rifles, and the sailors used iron cans to lift the ready-to-fire gunpowder from the bottom to the deck - no gunpowder was left next to the artillery during the battle.
On the artillery position, the artillery was loaded with gunpowder, the transmitter tube was installed, and the artillery shells were placed next to the secondary gunner. The shooter loaded the heavy bullet tray on the "typewriter" and locked it, loading it and ready to go. The rifles of the sailors
There is no bayonet - it cannot be used with a bayonet on the ship. Instead, it is a Navy Type 1629 machete - which is imitated from the famous Rwandan banana machete of the year and is equipped in small batches for naval ships.
"Single column, seize the upper hand!" As a naval enthusiast, Lelin still unswervingly followed the Royal Navy's usual practice of seizing the upper hand and launching an attack.
"Hold on! Don't fire without an order." Le Lin's hands and feet were cold and she almost gave the order in Cantonese.
At this time, the opponent's ship was like firecrackers, with messy crackling sounds, and many streams of white smoke rising in the fleet. Le Lin had seen this habit of using firearms before they reached the range many times.
Including the soldiers trained by the Cross-Travel Group themselves, they originally had this habit. It seems that firearms are used to strengthen their courage. In order to overcome this problem, the army and navy invested a lot of energy in training.
"Five chains away!" the observer continuously reported the enemy's position.
"Sign up and ask 108 and 111 to follow the flagship."
Once entering the battle, Le Lin's so-called command is meaningless. Like all naval commanders before the invention of radio, after entering the battle, the actions of each ship completely rely on the judgment of their respective captains. There is no market for the brawlers in the Admiralty.
Yes, it is the world of the formation faction.
At a distance of three chains, the 101 patrol boat fired a solid shell. The shell flew over the undulating boats on the sea, landed on the sea and raised a water column. A naval gunner using a rangefinder immediately measured the distance to the impact point.
The gunner immediately corrected the gun elevation.
Immediately afterwards, the other two ships also opened fire. One sampan was hit, and fragments of planks flew several feet high.
"Good fight, keep up the fire!"
The fleet cut across the pirate fleet and adopted T-shaped formation tactics. In addition to the 12-pound cannons on the three patrol ships, including the 1-pound eagle cannon used to kill personnel and the navy's rifles, they aimed at these large and small ships.
There was a burst of fierce shooting from the ship, and the sea was shrouded in smoke. From time to time, the flash of firearms could be seen.
All the artillery on the patrol ships have been switched to shotgun fire. According to the Navy's experience in several battles, shotguns are more lethal against small groups of pirates along the coast of the mainland at a distance of 50 to 100 meters - these poor pirates
Almost all of their ships were made of ordinary wood, with limited thickness. They could not withstand shotgun fire at all. And their habit of gathering on the deck and waiting for opportunities to jump into gangs also gave them the opportunity to use shotgun blasts to cleanse the deck.
"Full right rudder, adjust the course to 11 o'clock and try again!" The smoke on the deck had dissipated. Lelin was careful not to get too close to the enemy ship, and turned around to grab the "T" again.
The operational flexibility of the 101 boat was fully demonstrated during this turn. The jib fell to the windward position within a few minutes, pushing the patrol boat to turn rapidly. The hull of the boat tilted sharply at one point, and the waves hit Lelin's face.
superior.
In contrast, the turning of the two tugboats was much slower. It took more than ten minutes for the three ships to complete the U-turn formation again.
The smoke has dissipated. In the chaotic exchange of fire just now, the three ships barely received any substantial damage. Only the large and small holes in the sails proved that the pirates' counterattack firepower was also quite rapid. But the pirates
The losses were obviously greater. Several long sampans began to sink, while other larger ships were littered with corpses and suffered heavy casualties.
The surviving pirates jumped into the water one after another, preparing to swim to other ships in their queue. However, the people on other ships now knew how powerful the enemy was, and they just wanted to escape by themselves. How could they want to rescue these accomplices! So a rope
They didn't even throw them down to rescue them on the ship. The pirates opened fire randomly while turning the helm and escaping. The pirates who were carrying goods on the ship didn't have time to get down to the ship, so their accomplices cut the ropes and escaped on their own. The abandoned ones
People were shouting on the deck, and some people jumped down desperately, trying to escape by swimming, but ended up falling to death on the sandbar. The surroundings of the ship became chaotic.
The patrol boat's second round of firing began again. This time, a chain bomb fired by the 101 boat hit the mast of a sloop, immediately losing its power and floating in front of them, crowded with people on it.
It is a suitable target to win people.
"'Typewriter' fire!" Le Lin had long wanted to test the power of this new weapon.
Two specially trained sailors pressed against the shoulder stock and pulled the launch lever.
The violent vibration when the typewriter fired almost made Le Lin fall over. Immediately, the bridge was enveloped in a large amount of smoke. The sound of gunfire was deafening.
The recoil of the typewriter was very strong, and the muzzle shook violently. It made a terrible roar, and a long muzzle flash puffed out through the smoke. The bullets swept across the deck, and the human head, limbs and various parts of the body were hit by 14mm
The lead bullets tore into pieces and were thrown in all directions, and even the smoke turned pink - it was simply a massacre.
There was no need to use artillery or other things to solve it. After the typewriter poured three bullets into it, the ship floated lifelessly on the water, with no living people in sight.
The machine gunners replaced the fourth magazine. At this time, the entire "typewriter" had become very hot, and green smoke was coming out of the muzzle. The machine gunners had to put on thick gloves before they could continue to operate.
"Shoot the sampans at 4 o'clock." Le Lin ordered. There were four or five sampans moving their oars and quickly escaping to the coast. He wanted to observe the shooting accuracy of the "typewriter", but the violent vibration just now
From the looks of it, the accuracy may be worrying.
Sure enough, the bullets fired by the "typewriter" were indeed "strafing", and the first few shots missed the small boat very far away. However, once the adjustment was in place and the power was satisfactory, the small boat was hit by water and sank under the strafing fire. A few minutes later
, the wooden handle of the multi-barreled gun became too hot to hold, and the shooting stopped.
"It's really fierce." Le Lin wiped the sweat from her head. The faces of the two "machine gunners" had been smoked black by gunpowder. The entire barrel and body of the gun were emitting green smoke, and there was a burning smell.
"It doesn't seem like there were many bullets fired." Le Lin checked and found that the "typewriter" only knocked out ten bullet discs. The barrel of the Mini rifle can be fired fifteen or six times in a row without any problem, and it will not get hot.
To this point.
Like previous sea encounters, this battle ended in a rout. The pirates dispersed in a hurry when the situation was unfavorable. Le Lin did not dare to distract the team and pursued fiercely, so she only led the team to pursue the largest brig.
Artillery fire finally forced it to lower its sails and surrender, and captured sixty or seventy prisoners. Still, about half of the ship escaped.
Even so, the sea around the sandbank has turned into a Shura field. The sea is filled with various wrecks, ruined ships and floating corpses. Lelin's formation salvaged dozens of pirates from the surrounding sea who were still breathing for help.
But what he is most concerned about is the Daguang ship stranded on the sandbank. What is the origin of this ship that suddenly appeared in the Qiongzhou Strait?
To be cautious, he personally led a ship to guard here, and sent another ship 111 to report back to Bopu, asking to send engineers to check whether there was still a possibility of the ship floating - if so, this harvest could be
That's big.
Lelin sent people to land on the sandbank to see if there were any enemies hiding on the sandbank. The sandbank was littered with various boxes, baskets and the like, some of which had been scattered, revealing the goods inside, which were mostly porcelain.
There are valuable goods such as silk, as well as baskets of medicinal materials. This should be a typical ocean ship going to the Southeast Asia for trade.
"Ruan Xiaowu, you immediately organize twenty marines and sailors," Le Lin ordered, "prepare equipment and prepare to board the ship!"
"Yes!" Ruan Xiaowu saluted and hurriedly prepared the hook and rope for boarding the ship.
Here Lelin takes care of the people cleaning the battlefield, sorting out the goods for shipment, picking up the ships floating on the sea one by one, repairing them if they are valuable, and towing them back with a tow rope. If they are not valuable, just send them back.
Scuttled
Ruan Xiaowu carried a machete on his back and a Delinger pistol on his waist. He spat into the palm of his hand, jumped up, grabbed a thick rope hanging from the side of the ship, and climbed up first, "do everything first."
This is the basic principle of officer education in the Crossing Group. The subordinates climbed up one by one.
On the wide deck of the Daguang ship, there were traces of a fierce battle, with bloodstains and corpses everywhere, as well as cargo scattered during transportation.