Chapter 88: Backstab! One Shot from the Cannon and the Chrysanthemum Is Not Protected?

Hoo—!

A gale blows ceaselessly through the accumulated silt of history. The fleets from both sides that braved the “Money King Shooting Tide” have ridden the winds and waves, positioning themselves in battle arrays across the vast sea-like expanse of the river.

Few small boats remain in these waters now. Those that have arrived here are at least equipped with small and large cannons and have crews of over two hundred, being 200-ton or larger warships.

“Command: Divide the fleet, I am the flagship and vanguard, expand into line formation!”

The wokou side likewise splits into three. The pseudo-wokou leader Pu Shouxian commands a 500-ton flagship, personally leading the main force; the eight big ship heads Dong Old Man with “Monkey Play” and Tie Suo Pan with “Money Maker” each take command of their respective 500-ton flagships, directing mixed fleets of wokou and Great Zhao personnel.

This formation is obviously much more orderly than the chaotic battles of the small warships at the beginning.

The regulations of the Great Zhao hard-sail warships basically originate from that battle that decided the country's fate, the Poyang Lake War.

One side, the vassal lord Chen Jiusi, hails from the nine surnames fisherman boats—Chen, Qian, Lin, Li, Yuan, Sun, Ye, He, Xu—called Ke Fish Old, like the boat people, are of lowly status.

Based on the secret scrolls and Daoist books passed down in his hands, he forged the “Block the River”, “Topple the Mountain”, “Mix the River Dragon”, “River Sea Giant” these four prototype giant vessels, then continuously evolved them to this day.

Without them, the Great Zhao probably would not have produced treasure ship fleets of 2000 tons or more at will.

Now that the treasure ship blueprints have been completely lost, the largest native warships in the nearshore regions are basically these 500-ton warships in the hands of the big ship heads.

Length 12 zhang 2 chi 5 cun (about 38 meters), width 3 zhang (about 9.3 meters), construction cost 1000 taels of silver, personnel complement 160.

Firepower configurations differ: the more cannons purchased from Western countries, the stronger the firepower.

After modification, they usually have two decks, can mount 12-pound cannons eight, 6-pound cannons fourteen, along with several hundred child cannons, thousand-jin Frank cannons, etc.

Of course, on the flagships of the eight big ship heads, the four treasures—dragon eye, lion head, tail wing, squid fish—always include some top-grade ones, and one cannot determine victory solely by the number of cannons.

The wokou and gentry-allied forces are indeed strong in troops and horses, but compared to the two original wind-sail warships in the opposing formation, they appear rather inferior.

The Five Peaks Flag acquired some elite warships from the Dutch East Borneo Company, but it does not mean that the Twenty-four Generals and Thirty-six Fierce lack such powerful weapons.

Like Huang Yuan Zhou, who himself has shallow seniority, ranks at the bottom, can only rely on his father's legacy to join the Twenty-four Generals, in total only managed to secure one.

The flagship “Sea Snail” and Wang Cheng’s “Green Robe” are both fifth-level cruisers.

The other two Twenty-four Generals originally guarding the Moon Harbor are similarly so; Mao Haifeng of the “Black Qilin” took the pretext of organizing a counteroffensive, transferring the other two big ship heads and several wind-sail warships away from the Moon Harbor.

Otherwise, even now the number of officers of the Five Peaks Flag holds superiority, and firepower absolutely dominates.

Under absolute power suppression, this great battle could not even be initiated.

“Command: Fleet all battle-ready, with me as center, expand into inverted moon formation!”

With Huang Yuan Zhou’s “Sea Snail” wind-sail warship in the center, Han Zechang’s “Han Da Fu” 500-ton warship on the left, Pu Shouxian’s “Eight Treasures” wind-sail warship on the right, along with the main warships, they formed a grand formation.

Under the six flagships, the main fleet consists of 400-ton warships.

Two masts are erected on the ship, the length from bow to stern totals 9 zhang 4 chi (about 29 meters), the width in the middle 1 zhang 9 chi 5 cun (about 6 meters).

Construction cost approximately 428 taels per ship, crew about 100, gunpowder 52 jin, equipped with hit rods that can strike enemy ships to injure personnel and destroy equipment.

Such warships can operate along the coast or enter inland rivers, but they lack the ability for ocean voyages.

The remaining 200-ton warships are merely cannon fodder.

Pu Shouxian grips a brass telescope, scanning the entire field with a cold smile, issuing commands:

“Hah, in riverine water warfare, the 400-ton warships can serve as enormous flagships, but on the sea they can only be dagger guards for wind-sail warships.

Even with greater numbers, they cannot withstand the giant ships firing their full broadside cannons.

As long as we break the Five Peaks Flag’s ‘Sea Snail’ and kill Huang Yuan Zhou and his godmother, the other warships can only have their necks submitted to the slaughter.”

Command: Each warship gradually slow down, slowly send the Sea Snail to the front.

Pu Shouxian, Dong Old Man, Tie Suo Pan attract enemy attention, coordinate with my actions.”

Soon, because Pu Shouxian’s “Eight Treasures” and his 400-ton warships deliberately lowered their speed, causing the originally rear in the middle, wings ahead “inverted moon formation” to gradually become a goose-like formation with the middle ahead.

The former is suitable for surrounding enemy ships with superior numbers, the latter for executing piercing and beheading tactics.

The wokou fleets divided into three groups, upon receiving Pu Shouxian’s message, also seemed to react one beat slow.

They did not proactively seize this obvious gap but continued “rigidly” executing the initial formation.

With their own big ship heads’ backstab firmly in place, the opponent had no chance to counterattack.

As the “Sea Snail” continuously advanced, gradually exposing its stern to the view of the “Eight Treasures” and Pu Shouxian.

With this smiling tiger's city scheming, he couldn't help but become excited, urging the gunners:

“Load the starboard guns, fire when I command.”

However, at this moment, the “Green Robe” whose form was hidden by the big clam also came behind his butt.

Wang Cheng, leaning on the white-headed eagle A Ji, issued orders one after another in an orderly manner:

“Lower the sails, slow down.”

“First main sail, second, third, you first combat, in advance lower the three nearest main sails to the deck.

In the coming battle, pay attention to the flammable items on the open deck to avoid causing fires.”

“Starboard guns each begin loading.”

“Helmsman, the warship adjust left three compass points, always maintain the left side perpendicular to the ‘Eight Treasures’ stern.”

Compass points are the 32 equal divisions of the 360-degree circle, each point equivalent to 11.25 degrees, adjusting three compass points changes the warship's heading by about 33.75 degrees.

Whenever the warship needs to avoid unfavorable wind direction, seize the upwind position, maintain sail efficiency, it needs micro-adjust heading.

The adjustment range of three points can effectively change the heading without causing the sail surface to suddenly lose wind and lead to the warship losing control.

This is something that cannot be learned by studying books behind closed doors forever.

Wang Cheng had originally bought the navigation techniques of the big clam and the wokou sailors, and without any effort, they all became old sea dogs.

“Yes, all of this is due to my own efforts!

As an armed merchant, I work hard to ‘trade’ with my opponents.”

Then, the entire battlefield fell into a strange silence, everyone opened their pocket watches, silently waiting for their optimal attack position.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

The only three wind-sail warships on the field gradually formed a “sandwich”.

Like when walking at night, a person is followed by a hanging boot ghost, the ghost followed by a ghost-catching daoist, the three parties' actions almost identical.

A quarter hour later, Pu Shouxian who had not heard a string of acceleration commands for Huang Yuan Zhou finally struck first, shouting loudly:

“It’s now, full left rudder!!!”

The “Eight Treasures” behind the “Sea Snail” by a considerable distance turned its rudder at a large angle, with the help of several treasures on the ship almost directly crossing the river surface.

Pointing the sinister muzzle of the starboard broadside cannons at the unprepared stern of the former.

“Fire!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannon fire thunders, the “Eight Treasures” as it passes the stern of the “Sea Snail”, the lined shipboard cannons fire one after another, sending scorching iron cannonballs precisely into the opponent's stern building.

“Hit!”

“They are finished.”

“From now on the Moon Harbor is ours, hahaha.”

But just as the “Eight Treasures” crew cheered and celebrated,

Hoo—!

A river wind with a slight fishy smell blows over the severely damaged “Sea Snail”.

The crew on the “Eight Treasures” couldn't help rubbing their eyes, only to confirm there was no wind-sail warship there? Only empty black river water!

Then a huge clam with crystal and jade color floated up from underwater, its shell opened, inside sitting a beautiful woman with outstanding bearing.

Her hair combed in the style of a married woman, wearing a water-unwetting silk robe, adorned with various luxurious pearl ornaments, full of pearl light and treasure aura.

It was the ancestral “Clam Girl” descendant of the Huang family, “Clam Girl” Shui Rou.

Although clams and river snails are originally weak, they frequently appear in various folk tales, and under the influence of all beings' wishes, the clam girls as soft-bodied animals are even easier to transform than dragon girls.

Strictly speaking, this clam girl is the real “Sea City General” of the Five Peaks Flag's Twenty-four Generals.

While the Huang family father and son wearing the “Sea City General” title are at most mere decorations on the clam girl's thigh.

The clam girl Shui Rou still looks like an old smoker, she took a puff of the brass pipe in her hand, exhaling colorful sea mist, curling the lips of Pu Shouxian:

“When did you have the illusion that I didn't use illusions?”

Standing at the rear deck watching the outcome, Pu Shouxian finally couldn't maintain the fake smile on his face, coldly asking:

“Shui Rou! Why do you guard against me? Where did I reveal a flaw, who is the traitor?

Moreover, I know you are here with your sea clam, how could I not guard against your sea mist?

I had long swallowed a ‘Miasma Avoiding Pill’, absolutely impossible to be affected by mere sea mist!”

Pu Shouxian, who used a series of schemes to kill many East Sea big ship heads, is steady in action, indeed impossible to make such a low-level error.

The clam girl Shui Rou did not directly answer his question, but instead smilingly took out a leaf, covering one eye, reciting a passage from the War State classic “Hai Guan Zi · Heavenly Rules”:

“Obtaining the mantis to serve the cicada by shielding with a leaf, can hide. Then under the tree looking up to take the leaf, the mantis holding the leaf to serve the cicada, to pluck it.

Exactly: One leaf obscures the eye, not seeing the Tai Mountain; two beans塞 the ear, not hearing the thunder!”

All positions in the three bureaus who want to practice invisibility techniques need to seek such leaves that hide the mantis.

But how many people know that the俗语 “one leaf obscures the eye, not seeing the Tai Mountain” is secretly related to “the mantis catches the cicada, yellow bird behind”?

The leaf in the clam girl's hand was the “One Leaf Obscures Eye” treasure of the government, specially invited from Shen Yuting's treasure house beforehand to deal with Pu Shouxian.

Paired with “Two Beans塞 the Ear”, it can form a set, combined with the clam girl's sea mist, its power is far beyond ordinary invisibility and illusion techniques, and not breakable by the miasma avoiding pill.

At this time, Pu Shouxian figured out the truth, but suddenly laughed three times:

“Hahaha, you have treasures but are stupid as pigs, miss the heavenly gift opportunity.

I laugh at the sea city without scheme, few wisdom.”