In the past, he always took a locally built towing fishing boat of 70 tons, which is the most common here. [Full text reading] Travelers have many such ships in their hands. Mainly used as a transport ship, sometimes it also serves as a patrol ship - to expel fishing boats that refuse to pay fishing taxes, to combat small groups of pirates who specialize in robbing fishermen, to protect passing merchant ships, etc.
During the "Maritime Security Improvement Month" launched by the Ministry of Maritime Power recently, ships from the Ministry of Maritime Power patrolled the dozens of kilometers of coastline between Bopu and Ma Niao at all times from early morning to dusk. This has led to an increase in the number of patrol ships, and ships originally used for transportation have also been transferred to patrol. In order to ensure that the majority can defeat the weak, the ships are organized into groups to perform tasks, with each formation having three to five ships. At least one or two ships in each formation are equipped with artillery - many of the artillery are temporarily borrowed from the Army.
The appearance of this kind of ship is quite shabby: on the deck is a temporarily borrowed 12-pound 1857 cannon from the Sixth Army - simply fixed to the front deck with a rope. A battery of straw filled with wet sand was used to surround the cannon. Among the sailors were gunners in gray uniforms borrowed from the Sixth Army. The navy did not have so many gunners available.
"It would be nice to replace all the patrol boats with 1o1 boats." 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 is a large Guangdong ship commonly seen along the coast of China. The tonnage is quite considerable, with a total of four to five hundred tons. Lelin was very surprised - the Qiongzhou Strait is not a must-pass for foreign ships, and it is unlikely to see such large foreign ships carrying out ocean-going trade. Even when such ships arrive in Hainan, they rest at Shenying Port in Qiongshan County, and some even go directly to Yulin to rest. It will not go deep into the Lingao-Chengmai ocean.
"How could there be such a big ship?" Le Lin didn't believe her eyes, so she quickly adjusted the magnification to the maximum eight times:
The ship's hull tilted to one side. Stranded on the sandbank, the sail is still hanging and it is very damaged. But through the telescope, it could be seen that many people were climbing onto the big ship. There were crowds of people on the deck of the big ship, and smoke and fire were rising from time to time.
This is pirates robbing, Le Lin suddenly became excited - the boring patrol and capture work finally had some fresh spices! This is a great opportunity to do something big!
"Battle alert!" he shouted.
The drummer who had been waiting on the poop immediately started beating the drum rapidly. The sailors and soldiers on the deck immediately became busy. The sergeants blew their whistles, and the sailors and marines who were not on duty also poured out from below the deck.
"Left rudder, 15 degrees! Full forward!" Lelin 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 steering operation.
Immediately, the flaggers on the poop also issued orders to the ships on both sides. The following 1o8 and 111 also began to turn the rudder.
"Put down oars No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5!!" Ruan Xiaowu shouted. Although Le Lin's command was very majestic, the boat had no motive available. The so-called full forward motion was to lower the three pairs of oars on the boat and use human power to shake it to increase the speed.
Ruan Xiaowu is now a serious naval officer. After returning from the circumnavigation of the island, all participating naval cadets were promoted. Although he was only fifteen years old, he had already put on his sleeves a silver sleeve ribbon symbolizing the rank of a cadet. With this mark, he had a clear distinction in status from the sailors on the deck. The sailors saluted when they saw him. However, he still does not need to pay the officer's meal fee, but eats the same food as the soldiers.
There is 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 small double-breasted jacket, which originally looked awkward, now looked so majestic. He often dressed neatly and walked in Dongmen City during his vacation. Looking at the bustling crowds around him, he felt that these people were very rustic - he had forgotten what he looked like when he came to Lingao.
Today he is the duty star officer on board 1o1. Responsible for the second morning shift. That is the class from 4 am to 8 am. As soon as the battle alarm sounded, Ruan Xiaowu's throat tightened - there was going to be a war! And he’s fighting pirates!
As a child from a fishing family, Ruan Xiaowu is no stranger to pirates. When small groups of pirates are unable to rob large ships, 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 that pirates often force fishermen to join their gangs, and sometimes even take them and their boats with them. Especially when pirates have to fight with each other or face encirclement and suppression by the government and army, this kind of forced recruitment will reach its peak. Several of Ruan Xiaowu's relatives encountered such a disaster: they did not lose their lives. It just damages the ship. In the end, Ruan Xiaowu's father was also captured and became a pirate. During a siege by the government army, his ship was destroyed and everyone died, and the whole family was eventually displaced. Therefore, he had a special hatred for pirates, which was classified as "extremely firm" in the files, and he was designated as a member of the "Ten Men" in the navy by the General Administration of Political Security.
Driven by the sailors who took 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 gun echoed on the sea. But the pirate ships surrounding the ship seemed unmoved. Le Lin saw through the telescope that some people were hurriedly carrying things from the big ship to the small boat, while others were playing with long tube objects like firearms on the deck of the small boat.
Because the Time Travel Group is also a dominant force in the local area, small groups of pirates are generally unwilling to engage in direct combat with them. Le Lin encountered situations many times where the enemy simply ran away without exchanging fire. If he sets sail 3 to 4 nautical miles away, his fleet will not be able to catch up. But looking at the appearance of the enemy in front of him, he didn't seem to be planning to run 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 not accurate. There is no difference between fighting or not fighting.
Perhaps the goods 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. Shouted: "Wear armor!"
The orderly beside him quickly brought his stab-proof vest, knee pads, steel helmet and cut-proof chain gloves from the stern cabin and helped him put them on. Le Lin took the imitation U.S. Navy command knife that was finally handed over, pulled it out and said with great enthusiasm:
"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 gunpowder onto the deck from the bottom - no gunpowder was left next to the artillery in battle. On the artillery position, the artillery pieces were loaded with gunpowder, the firing tubes were installed, and the artillery shells were placed beside the assistant gunner. The shooter loaded the heavy bullet plate into the "typewriter" and locked it, loading it and waiting. The rifles of the sailors did not have bayonets - they could not be used with bayonets on the ship. They were replaced by navy type 1629 machetes - which were imitated from the famous Rwandan banana machetes of the year and were equipped in small batches for navy 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 taking the initiative to attack.
"Hold on! Don't fire without an order." Le Lin's hands and feet were cold, and she almost ordered again in Cantonese.
At this time, the opponent's ship was like firecrackers, with messy crackling sounds, and many streams of white smoke rose up in the fleet. Le Lin has seen this habit of using firearms before reaching the range many times, including the soldiers trained by the Cross-Travel Group. It seems that firearms are used to embolden courage. In order to overcome this problem, the Navy has invested 6 A lot of energy goes into training.
"Five chains away!" The observer continued to report the enemy's position.
"Sign up and tell 1o8 and 111 to follow the flagship."
Once entering the battle, Lelin's so-called command has no meaning. Like all naval commanders before wireless warfare, he relied entirely on the judgment of his respective captains for the actions of each ship after entering the battle. There is no market for the brawling faction in the Navy Department, it is the world of the formation faction.
At a distance of 3 chains, the 1o1 patrol boat fired a solid shell, and the shell flew over the heaving boats on the sea. It fell on the sea and raised a water column. A naval gunner using a rangefinder immediately measured the distance to the point of impact. The gunner immediately corrected the gun elevation.
Immediately afterwards, the other two ships also opened fire. A sampan was hit, and fragments of planks flew several feet high.
"Good fight, keep up the fire!"
The fleet crossed in front of the pirate fleet and adopted the tactic of grabbing a T-shaped formation. In addition to the 12-pound guns on the three patrol boats, including the 1-pound eagle cannon used to kill personnel, and the navy's rifles, they fired fiercely at these large and small ships, and the sea was shrouded in smoke. From time to time, the flash of a firearm can be seen.
All the artillery on the patrol ship have been switched to shotgun fire. According to the navy's experience in several battles, at a distance of 500 to 100 meters, shotgun shells are more lethal against small groups of pirates along the coast of the mainland - the ships of these poor pirates are almost all made of ordinary wood. , the thickness is limited. It couldn't withstand shotgun fire at all. And their habit of gathering on the deck and waiting for opportunities to jump into gangs and fight also gave them the opportunity to use shotguns to wash the deck with blood.
"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 1o1 boat was fully demonstrated in this turn. The jib fell to the windward state within a few minutes, pushing the patrol boat to turn sharply. The boat tilted sharply, and the waves hit Lelin's face.
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 had dissipated. In the chaotic exchange of fire just now, the three ships hardly received any substantial damage. Only the large and small holes in the sails proved that the pirates' counterattack firepower was also quite fast. But the pirates' 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 and prepared to swim to other ships in their queue. But the people on other boats now know how powerful the enemy is, and they just want to escape on their own, so they don't want to rescue these accomplices! Therefore, no ropes were thrown down to help them get on the ship. The pirates opened fire randomly while turning the helm and escaping. The pirates who were carrying cargo on the big ship had no time to get down to the ship, so their accomplices cut the ropes and escaped on their own. . The abandoned men were shouting on the deck. Someone jumped down desperately, trying to escape by swimming, but ended up falling to death on the sandbar. There was chaos around the ship.
The patrol boat's second round of firing began again. This time, a chain bomb fired by the 1o1 ship hit the mast of a sloop, immediately losing its power and floating in front of them. It was crowded with people. It was a suitable target.
"'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 firing lever.
The violent vibration when the typewriter fired almost made Le Lin fall over, and the bridge was immediately enveloped in a large amount of smoke. The sound of gunfire was deafening.
The recoil of the typewriter was very strong and the muzzle of the gun shook violently. It roared horribly, and a long muzzle flash puffed out through the smoke. Bullets swept across the deck. People's heads, limbs and various parts of the body were torn apart by 14mm lead bullets, 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 to continue operating.
"Shoot the sampan at 4 o'clock." Le Lin ordered. Four or five sampans were moving oars and quickly escaping to the coast. He wanted to observe the shooting accuracy of the "typewriter". Judging from the violent vibration just now, the accuracy might be worrying.
Sure enough, the bullets fired by the "typewriter" were indeed "strafing", and the first few shots missed the boat far away. However, once the adjustment was in place and the power was satisfactory, the boat was hit by water and sank under strafing fire. After a few minutes, 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 two "machine gunners" had their faces blackened 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" had only knocked out ten bullet discs. The barrel of a Mini rifle can be fired fifteen or six times in a row without any problem, and it will not get so hot.
Like previous maritime encounters, this battle ended in a rout, and the pirates dispersed when the situation was unfavorable. Le Lin did not dare to distract the team and pursue fiercely, so she only led the team to pursue the largest brig. Artillery fire finally forced him to drop his 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 gasping for help.
But what he was most concerned about was the large 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 board the sandbank to see if there were still enemies hiding on the sandbank. The sandbank was littered with various boxes, baskets and other things, some of which had been scattered, and the goods inside were revealed, most of which were Valuable goods such as porcelain and 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 took care of the people cleaning the battlefield, packing up the goods for shipment, picking up the ships floating on the sea one by one, repairing the ones that were valuable, and towing them back with a tow rope. If there is no value, just scuttle it.
Ruan Xiaowu had 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. "Be first in everything" means Basic principles of officer education across the group. The men climbed up one by one.
On the broad deck of the Daguang ship, there were traces of a fierce battle. There were bloodstains and corpses everywhere, as well as cargo scattered during transportation. ! ~!
