The World Online

Chapter 251: The Battle of Moon Island (Part 1)

On October 22, Ouyang Shuo came to Beihai County again.

During this trip, Ouyang Shuo didn't have a personal guard by his side, only the director of military affairs, Ge Hongliang, accompanied him.

At Beihai Port, the Beihai Fleet is ready to go, and all the Mengchong warships have been refitted. Ouyang Shuo took out bags of military ration pills from the storage pouch and distributed them to each battleship.

Sailors loaded barrels of fresh water, bundles of arrows, and barrels of kerosene onto battleships.

The sails of the battleships were raised one by one, and together with the sails, there were also the flag of the Lord of Shanhai County and the flag of the North Sea Fleet. The flag of the Beihai Fleet, namely the flag of the Navy of Shanhai County, replaced the volcano on the upper half of the main flag with a five-story warship, and a giant blue dragon was entrenched above the battleship.

Before the expedition, Ouyang Shuo led the whole army to worship Mazu, praying for Mazu to bless the voyage.

After the sacrificial ceremony, the fleet lined up in attack formation and officially set off from the port.

Due to the lack of main warships such as building ships, the North Sea Fleet has no flagship for the time being, so it can only temporarily choose a Mengchong fighting ship as the command ship, located in the center of the formation.

Accompanied by Pei Donglai, Ouyang Shuo boarded the command ship. Before departure, Ouyang Shuo had declared that Pei Donglai would be in charge of commanding this campaign and he would not interfere.

The Mengchong fighting ship is powered by oars. Half-height parapets are installed on the side of the ship. There are paddle holes under the two side walls. There are twelve oars on each side. Sailors row on the deck.

There are three floors of cabins above the deck, and a shed is built five feet inboard, the height of which is as high as the parapet, and parapets are set around the shed without covering. Tree banners, dental flags, and golden drums for commanding offensive and defensive advances and retreats.

Ouyang Shuo walked up to the deck, then climbed to the top of the cabin on the first floor, and came to the command seat. Pei Donglai waved the command flag, and the drummer received the order to beat the war drum. With the sound of war drums, the battleships braved the wind and waves and sailed into the sea.

Yue'er Island is more than 500 nautical miles away from Beihai Port, which is equivalent to 925 kilometers. The basic speed of the Mengchong fighting ship is 14 knots, or 14 knots per hour; when the wind is strong, it can reach 20 knots.

Warships sail at sea regardless of day and night, but the speed will be slower at night.

Under normal circumstances, the Mengchong battleship can sail 300 nautical miles a day. Therefore, it only takes less than two days to travel from Beihai Port to Yue'er Island.

Ouyang Shuo stood at the bow of the boat and looked into the distance, the endless sea, nothing but sea water, very boring. The sea breeze blows head-on, bringing a salty and wet smell.

On the deck, the sailors chanted neatly and rowed their oars vigorously.

"Junhou, let's go back to the cabin and rest!" Pei Donglai said.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, went back to his room, and practiced behind closed doors.

In the evening, the wind suddenly blew up on the sea. The [Sea God's Shelter] of Mazu Temple came into play at this time, and the Mengchong battleship was in the waves, as stable as Mount Tai, and accelerated towards Yue'er Island.

Early the next morning, Ouyang Shuo walked out of the room.

A round of orange-red sun slowly rises from the sea level, and the sun shines on the sea surface, sparkling.

Because of the help of a sea breeze last night, the voyage was extremely smooth. According to Pei Donglai's prediction, at the latest at noon today, they will be able to reach the vicinity of Yue'er Island.

The sailors got up one after another, and after a simple wash, they took a military ration pill with the fresh water they brought to ensure energy consumption for the day.

While there was still time, the experienced soldiers began to clean their weapons, and the archers began to adjust their bows. The watchman stands at the top of the cabin and observes the movement of the sea at any time.

The heavy oil and arrows were brought onto the deck, and the soldiers were in their positions, ready to fight at any time.

Near noon, a small island far away appeared in the lookout's field of vision. The watchman did not dare to neglect, waved the flag, and signaled the drummer to beat the drum.

Pei Donglai's spirit was shaken, and he ordered to form an attack formation and advance at full speed.

When the North Sea Fleet suddenly appeared outside Yue'er Island, one can imagine the shock to the Black Shark pirates. Fortunately, they didn't go out to plunder today, and all members were on the island.

Blackbeard, the leader of the black shark, received the report and immediately ordered his men to assemble and board the ship to meet the enemy.

The little Yue'er Island suddenly became flustered and busy.

When the pirates are not active, it is very boring, and there are no entertainment facilities on the island. The only place to go is the tavern on the island.

The dilapidated tavern is open 24 hours a day, and there is an endless stream of customers. Yesterday's hangover, some pirates lay directly on the wet floor of the tavern, sound asleep.

"Bang!" The door of the tavern was kicked open very roughly.

The little leader who led the team saw the drunk lying on the ground, without saying a word, he ordered someone to bring cold water and pour it directly, and shouted loudly: "Damn, get up quickly, the enemy is attacking!"

"Ah~~" The pirate uttered a scream, before he regained consciousness, he murmured: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Seeing the other party's virtue, the little boss kicked him hard and shouted angrily: "If you wake up, hurry up and go with me, don't be like a bitch."

The drunk man was kicked in pain, and then he came to his senses, got up with a grunt, followed behind his captain, and walked out of the tavern. While walking, he did not forget to ask: "Captain, who attacked us?"

"It doesn't matter who he is, just kill him." In fact, the little boss himself didn't know who the enemy was.

"Well, I don't want to live if I dare to hit our Black Shark's idea." Jiu was bold, and he was right.

Such scenes were staged all over the island. The squad leaders came out in full force, gathered their subordinates, brought their weapons, and rushed to the pier to assemble.

On the pier, Blackbeard boarded the command ship and listened to further reports from his subordinates.

"Boss, the flag raised by the enemy should be Beihai County, which we have been monitoring before."

Blackbeard frowned, "How many warships does the opponent have?"

"Twenty-five ships, all of which are Mengchong battleships." The pirates already knew something about the North Sea Fleet.

"It's not a good person!" Of course, Blackbeard knew the power of the Mengchong Battleship.

"so what should I do now?"

"What should I do? Cold salad!" Blackbeard looked murderous.

"Get ready to meet the enemy, we can't afford to lose this battle. Tell the brothers, if you don't want to be punished, fight to the death!" Blackbeard gave an order.

"yes!"

*************

Under Pei Donglai's command, the Beihai Fleet spread out to form a fan and moved forward rapidly. No matter how the enemy deploys, they will be placed in the fan-interwoven firepower strike net.

Torches were set up on both sides of the ship's side.

The archer pours heavy oil on the arrow and ignites it on the torch, and it immediately turns into a rocket.

Pei Donglai stared closely at the enemy's warship, and waved the flag vigorously when the enemy came within range.

With an order, the drums of war sounded.

A wave of arrow rain shot up into the sky, flashing across the clear sky with bursts of fire.

The rocket shot precisely at the pirate ship, and bursts of flames immediately burst out.

Blackbeard was horrified and ordered to put out the fire urgently.

Unfortunately, it was too late, wave after wave of rockets weaved into a net of fire, under the hood. Although the pirate ship has been fire-resistant, it is still too much to deal with the continuous rockets.

If the rocket hits the sail, the sail will immediately burn; if it hits the cabin, it will catch fire; if it hits the deck, it will start to smoke;

The pirates on fire ran around the deck in a panic. The pirates around, as if seeing the god of plague, avoided it. In the end, the unlucky guy jumped into the sea in a panic, but saved his life.

One after another, the warships started to catch fire, billowing thick smoke, and rising up, which was spectacular.

The pirates were busy putting out the fire, unable to launch a counterattack, and could only hasten their own demise.

In the flames, the pirates began to jump into the sea to escape.

Blackbeard got on the small sampan and paddled towards the island with great effort. The naval battle is about to collapse, and he can only hope to organize a defense line on the island to resist the enemy.

Pei Donglai knew that although the opponent's warship was burned, the pirates still had their vitality, and most of them were soaked in the sea, struggling to swim towards the island.

Pei Donglai made a decisive decision and ordered to stop firing rockets and use ordinary arrows instead. At the same time, the target of the shooting was changed from a warship to a pirate in the sea.

Archers no longer need to pour fuel on their fire, and their efficiency is doubled immediately. A denser rain of arrows poured down towards the sea area where the pirate ship was located.

Because pirates are all soaked in the sea, only half of their heads are exposed. The archers had no way to aim, so they simply formed a rain of arrows to launch a large area of ​​destruction, not seeking precise shooting, but only suppressing firepower.

The arrow streaked across the sky, then fell straight into the sea, and shot into the water with the momentum of thunder, splashing waves one after another. If the spray was bloody, it meant a pirate had been shot.

Being shot in the middle of the sea, the pirates had little chance of surviving. Once hit by an arrow, even if it is not shot in the vital part, it will be exhausted due to bleeding, and eventually drowned in the sea.

There were streaks of blood floating in the nearby sea area. Gradually, the blood color began to develop into one piece, gradually dyeing the seawater into bright red. The corpses of pirates floated on the sea, telling endless desolation.

In the flames soaring into the sky, the pirate ships groaned in pain and sank one after another.

The sinking of the pirate ship brought waves and eddies. Some pirates who were too close to the ship were unfortunately involved in the vortex and were dragged into the depths of the ocean along with the pirate ship.

The war went smoothly as expected, and the fierce fire oil once again made great achievements.

When the North Sea Fleet approached the pirate ships, there were very few pirate ships left that could still float on the sea, all alone, occasionally bringing up a few puffs of thick smoke.

Pei Donglai has rich experience in naval battles, so he ordered the warships not to get too close, and be careful not to be overturned by the vortex. He ordered to bypass this piece of sea purgatory and continue to advance towards Yue'er Island.

When the Mengchong battleship sailed through this sea area, the pirates who were still struggling in the sea called for help.

"Help~~~" the pirate cried out in a pleading voice.

As a general of Shanhai County, Pei Donglai is naturally aware of the consistent policy of the princes and marquises. Those who can be captured will be resolutely not killed; those who can be recruited will be resolutely not given up.

Therefore, he ordered the pirates to be brought on board with ropes and tied up with ropes.

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