When the first ray of morning light fell, the roar of artillery also shattered the calm of the sea.
The first to fire was the spice ship Happiness in the distance. The last hope in their hearts was shattered after they saw the black flag raised on the Jackdaw opposite.
In order to ensure the safety of the cargo as much as possible, the Happiness chose a relatively unpopular route and did a good job of keeping the route secret. It has been safe for more than a month since it left the port, and it was about to sail through the most pirate-infested area. I was in dangerous areas frequently, but I didn’t expect that I still fell short in the end.
After daybreak, they were finally able to see clearly the appearance of the Jackdaw opposite them. Although they had been mentally prepared to a certain extent, when they confirmed that the ship they had been dealing with all night was indeed a warship, everyone's faces still couldn't help but express their feelings. A look of despair emerged.
The tragedy that happened in Charleston two months ago has already spread among the colonies. Two governors and a senior naval admiral died tragically on the same night. At the same time, the city of Charleston was also violently bombarded. This is probably the worst attack by the Empire in recent years. It was the most serious loss suffered in the New World. In addition, there were also rumors that the navy also lost a frigate that night, but compared with what happened before, not many people paid attention.
Now that they saw the Jackdaw in front of them, everyone on the Happiness couldn't help but think of this rumor.
The only thing worse than encountering a group of pirates is encountering a group of pirates in a battleship.
However, any man who can beg for food in this sea area is not a coward. He knows that his side is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of firepower, but no one is willing to surrender like this.
What's more, the value of the cargo on the ship was enough for them to fight for it once, so the twelve artillery pieces on the Happiness launched an attack on the approaching Jackdaw without hesitation.
As a result, most of the shells in the first round of attack failed, and only one shot flew past the side of the ship. A new gunner next to him suddenly became nervous and asked the figure in black not far away, "Captain, do we want to fight back?"
"Wait a little longer." Zhang Heng looked at the Xingfu in the distance and shook his head.
Now the Jackdaw has just entered the opponent's firing range. Although it is theoretically possible to fire back, the hit rate will definitely not be too high, and the power of the shells will be insufficient if it is too far away. With the firepower of the Jackdaw, as long as If the distance is close enough, the target can be stunned in one round and avoid turning into a long tug-of-war.
However, in this way, you need to withstand several waves of attacks from the opponent first, but with the strength of the Jackdaw, this is not a big trouble.
Soon, the second wave of attacks from the Happiness arrived. Based on the previous test firing, the impact point of the shells this time was obviously much more accurate. It can be seen that the gunners on the opposite side should also be very experienced. Three of the shells hit the side of the ship. Another one hit the sail, but it was not serious at all, which made the pirates heave a sigh of relief.
But the third wave of attacks was not so pleasant. At this time, the Jackdaw was not far away from the Happiness, and one could even see the figures on the opposite side. The shells falling from the sky made several holes on the deck, and another one It happened to fall on a place on the ship that was not protected by iron sheets, and seawater immediately poured into the lowest cabin. Upon seeing this, the carpenter on the ship immediately picked up his tools and rushed down to repair it.
At this time, the number of requests for cannon fire gradually increased on the ship, and even Billy couldn't help but look at Zhang Heng, but the latter remained silent.
Although Zhang Heng has participated in many battles on the Sea Lion, this is the first time he has personally led a naval battle. It was different from how he felt before. At that time, he basically only needed to protect himself, wait for opportunities to deal with nearby threats, and if he had enough energy, he could save some companions in distress, which would be considered as overfulfilling the task.
Except for the need to pay attention to the situation on the field when snatching the Scarbury, most of the time his vision is limited to places not far around him. This is similar to his action pattern in the Soviet-Finnish War, but now he But he was commanding an entire ship, and what he needed to think about became how to win a battle with the minimum cost.
The firepower of the Jackdaw is undoubtedly far superior to that of the Happiness on the opposite side, but the level of the gunners is exactly the opposite. This will be more obvious when shooting at long distances, but as the distance gets closer, the accuracy of the two sides becomes worse. The gap will also be narrowed. After all, as long as you are close enough, it will be difficult for a novice to miss.
That's why Zhang Heng chose to brave the artillery fire and rush to the Happiness. However, when the fourth wave of attacks fell on the deck, people began to be injured one after another. Zhang Heng himself was scratched on the arm by a flying piece of wood, but his face remained the same. There was no expression on his face, and he continued to observe the movements on the Happiness with his binoculars. Until he saw the gunner on the opposite side quickly filling the cannon barrel with shells and preparing for the next salvo, Zhang Heng finally issued a new order.
"Lower sail and slow down, full right rudder."
The pirates had been waiting for this sentence for too long. After hearing this, they immediately furloughed the sails on the ship as quickly as possible. The Jackdaw avoided a new round of attacks by suddenly slowing down. At the same time, the ship's hull also started to swing. Eventually it became a state parallel to that of Xingfu.
Although some sailboats of this era were also equipped with bow and stern guns, they were mostly used in emergencies. The firepower output mainly relied on the side guns. Therefore, before launching an attack, you need to turn the hull sideways to the target. This is why Zhang Heng must let the Jackdaw get close enough before fighting back.
Because once entering a state of war, it is very difficult to adjust the distance.
The pirates had been unilaterally bombarded by artillery fire from the Happiness. When Zhang Heng gave the order, the gunners immediately responded with the most violent counterattack. The artillery on the ship fired together, although nearly half of the shells fell. into the water, but the rest caused considerable damage to the Xingfu.
One of the 24-pound shells luckily hit the Lucky's jib, which broke off and hit the deck, crushing two sailors to death. The sails above also covered three cannons.
After seeing the power of the cannons on the Jackdaw, the sailors on the Happiness were already in a panic. Although some people were still trying to fight back, they were soon overwhelmed by the overwhelming cannonballs. If Zhang Heng hadn't specifically warned The gunners on the ship were asked to raise the angle, fearing that the Happiness would suffer heavy damage after the second salvo.
The battle went as expected. After two rounds of artillery fire, the opponent obviously realized that continuing to fight would only increase casualties. Although they were still unwilling to accept it, they could only choose to surrender at the first opportunity.
Zhang Heng was not as excited as the others on the ship because he knew that the most dangerous moment would come next. According to Karina's information, there were thirty sailors on the Happiness. What was even more troublesome was that there were also a group of hitchhikers. There are about twenty naval cadets, all of whom are strong young men.
Together, these people outnumbered the pirates on the Jackdaw.
