Chapter 22

The merchant ship Wei Ran took was a steamer named black fish. It is a newly built ship in recent ten years, and it is also the first steamship in the world. But the main power is still sail, and the Ming wheel is only used as auxiliary power.

The hull size of the black fish is almost the same as that of the class II sail battleship. In fact, it was originally built with reference to the class II sail battleship. This kind of battleship can be used as a flagship in many medium-sized countries.

It's just that the Zheng family's businessmen are afraid of the imperial court. Therefore, the hull is so large, but there are not so many naval guns. Even so, there are 60 most advanced guns.

The Zheng family set out with two smaller armed merchant ships. The route is mainly the West Coast route, passing through the Bering Strait to Yokohama, Japan. Then sail along the coastline to Shanghai. Wei Ran also enjoyed the scenery of the Ming Dynasty when he entrusted a batch of goods to the municipal shipping department.

There is no lack of dignity between the prosperity of the city, and there is no lack of vigour in addition to the beauty of mountains and rivers. A galaxy of talents, Zhong Lin Yuxiu. China is worthy of its name. Wei was shocked when he saw it. Unfortunately, his cultural level was really not high and he was unable to express his feelings with corresponding words, so he often sighed.

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry all the way. I didn't have time to appreciate the style of the capital and the accompanying capital. We purchased another batch of goods in Shanghai and went straight south to Quanzhou.

Zheng's ancestral industry is in Nan'an, Fujian, very close to Quanzhou. Coincidentally, Yu's family is in Jinjiang and next to Quanzhou. But this time Zheng Hong didn't want to go back to his hometown, and Wei Ran didn't take the opportunity to ask to visit Yu's house first.

After resting in Quanzhou for three days, he sailed directly to Luzon.

Zheng Hong saw that Wei Ran seemed to have feelings for the land of Daming. At first, he thought it was the feelings of wanderers who had been away from their hometown for a long time, but he didn't feel like it when watching carefully. For a moment and a half, he didn't know why Wei Ran had both sigh, regret, shock and pride.

On the third day of sailing at sea after leaving Quanzhou, I suddenly saw four pirate ships refitted from merchant ships with skeleton flags. The speed is much faster than Zheng Hong's ship. The four ships are sandwiched from the two wings, obviously with the idea of robbery.

Zheng Hong naturally saw this in the captain's room. He rubbed his chin full of beard residue and said to the chief mate next to him, "why is it useless to hang our Zheng's flag in the South China Sea? Brother has been in charge of Nanyang's business for so many years, but the prestige of the Zheng family has fallen so fast? "

The chief mate did not dare to speak. He was sweating and stood aside with his head down.

Zheng Hong hissed and suddenly scolded angrily, "Why are you so stunned? I don't see people coming to rob! Call everyone ready to fight! It's only our Zheng family who robbed others. If I was robbed by someone, wouldn't I laugh at the big teeth of the sea hero! "

After receiving the order, the chief officer, like an amnesty, trotted all the way and yelled to get all the staff ready for battle.

In fact, it goes without saying that the sailors and crew of the Zheng family are old hands. They were ready when they saw four pirate ships coming.

They are not only shipmen, but also pirates, and they are also the best of pirates. They are more cold-blooded, cruel, cunning and experienced than ordinary pirates.

After receiving the chief officer's order, the three-layer splint gun doors on the port and starboard sides opened, and the ferocious cannon barrel stretched out, a full 60!

At this time, Zheng Hong's face was so gloomy that he wanted to drip water. As the second son of the Zheng family, he was sent to the new world to fight for his family in his early years. His personal foundation and family background, so he is in the new world.

In the past, when he led a team, at least three ships set out at the same time, which could use the fleet line-up tactics. With their Zheng family's armed strength comparable to the Navy, few pirates at sea dare to make up their mind. Usually only they rob others.

This time back to Nanyang, because this is where the Zheng family base is located, it should be extremely safe in theory. So this time, only one flagship came out without other ships. So that this unexpected encounter with pirates, it seems very passive.

Each of the four pirate ships had 30 guns, more than his flagship combined. They are at least class 5 cruisers. They are the main cruisers of European naval fleets. The cost is much more than he imagined.

An ordinary pirate ship can have 20 guns and a quota of 150 people. It can be called a large Pirate Group on the wanted notice. Any one of these four ships can exceed the highest standard of the pirate group defined by Europa.

Zheng Hong didn't believe they were ordinary pirate organizations. There must be someone behind them!

Zheng Hong, an armed merchant ship of the black fish, is a class II sail battleship. It is covered with copper skin below the waterline. Even some key parts of the surface are covered with copper skin armor.

Just to meet the needs of business, the original 90 guns were reduced to 70. The empty weight can carry more goods, with a fixed number of 750 people on board.

These four pirate ships are cruisers with smaller hull and more flexibility. However, the firepower and armor are far less than the black fish. It is very likely to be scrapped after a salvo. Moreover, their guns belong to the old cannon, and their range and power are not as powerful as the black fish cannon.

So their tactics, either guerrilla warfare, rely on mobility, constantly looking for the dead corner of the black fish's firing range and shelling. Or it's looking for a chance to engage the ship.

Wei Ran is now in the training room in the cabin. The sea is rough and bumpy. Naturally, the equipment in the training room should be specially fixed, which is very inconvenient to use.

Therefore, what Wei Ran did most was air strike training and target strike training. It happened that the ship was bumpy, so he could practice his balance ability.

At this time, I was surprised to hear the gunfire outside the cabin. It was too safe to hang the Zheng's flag all the way. Few ships dare to get too close to this ship. People at sea know that although the Zheng family are businessmen, they have never given up their old business.

Thinking of this, Wei Ran went out. Takahashi and a San who follow Wei Ran's training every day also follow up.

Takahashi followed Wei Ran and said, "the second childe carried a lot of goods on the ship. There is no spare space. He shouldn't take the initiative to rob others. Maybe someone attacked us. Master Wei, if we use splints, we'd better take weapons. "

Wei Ran turned back and said, "do you think it will meet the side war?"

"I have sailed with the ship for five years. The black fish has strong firepower and heavy armor, which is equivalent to the class II sail battleship of Europe. Apart from the army, no pirate ship dares to fight hard, so there is usually a side to side battle. "

This sentence usually has a side battle, which makes Wei burn reverie. Suddenly asked, "why do you know that the army will not attack us?"

Takahashi said strangely in his eyes, "the military discipline of the Daming army is very good. It will only rob foreign ships that do not hang the flag issued by the city shipping department, and never rob Daming ships."

Wei Ran knew he had asked a stupid question. This knowledge should be common sense here, but he didn't know it.

However, the Daming Navy will only rob foreign ships under specific conditions. Do you think he has good military discipline? This logic is a little strange, but... It doesn't seem strange.

Wei Ran ignored the question just now and said, "I've never fought with anyone at sea. What weapon is convenient?"