Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 457 Demon Sea

The sea is roaring.

Looking around, the entire surface of the sea seemed to be boiled, and the big waves rushed over from the distant horizon like waves one after another. Even the huge ship of 75 meters became like a toy in the bathtub at this time, and was thrown away. Throwing up and down, there was also a heavy rain in the sky, and the approaching ships could hardly be seen under the haze, and a sense of loneliness and despair rose from the heart.

No wonder there are the most legends on the sea. Under such fear and mental depression, all kinds of chaotic thoughts have emerged. Now it has entered the end of April, and the number of missing people in the entire fleet has reached hundreds. Small-scale operations and loss of functional ships There are even more than a dozen of them, and there are even soldiers who have collapsed and gone crazy. Many world-wide ocean ghost stories have been quietly circulated among the sailors, such as grieving ghosts, sea snakes, and giant octopuses, all of which popped up.

Many sailors even believed that the terrifying tentacles of the giant octopus swept away the missing crew members
If it weren't for the ships strictly following Song Qingshu's order, recalling bitterness and sweetness every morning and evening, missing relatives at home together, promising bounties, holding parties and other series of decompression measures, so that everyone would have a rush in their hearts. broken.

After suffering for more than two hours in the fierce storm, the desperate storm just passed, the long-lost sun rose from the sky, and the trembling crew members hiding under the deck also climbed out cautiously, but soon there was another The respective captains and gang leaders busily wiped the deck with mops, rags and barrels in their hands.

Fortunately, just like the bright sunshine, Yu'er and the others were also wearing a set of sailor suits, with towels tied around their heads, carrying small buckets to boost morale from ship to ship. All the girls have lost a lot of weight, their skin is also thicker, and even a few of them have collapsed several times, but only Yu'er has always been like the sun among the crowd, not only inspiring the sailors, but also encouraging them. The beautiful idol singer persisted.

The loud and clear singing came from the nearby Songjiang, and the gloomy Song Qingshu rarely showed a smile when he heard it, but then he went back gloomy again, not only him, Shi Lang, Zhang Huangyan and other naval leaders also frowned. It has been 15 days since they left the route on Zheng He's chart, and the difficulties at sea have even exceeded their imagination.

A huge nautical chart was placed on the table, holding a long pointer, Li Xiangjun, who looked like the headmistress of Orfina, pointed at the picture and analyzed it for the bosses.

"According to the astrology and sea chart, after sailing forward for about half a day, we will arrive at Li Laozi Island. This is the last of the three islands that were originally scheduled to meet with the Squadron Zhao Puying Shuai Tuo Gui. Our fresh water has already been exhausted." There are three floors left, and there is less than seven days' worth of food, if you haven't seen Zhao Yingshuai here, then..."

The rest, Li Xiangjun, didn't say anything, but everyone knew that Song Qingshu rubbed his temples sadly, and found that he had also fallen into an idealization problem during this battle.

Zhao Pu was the captain of the squadron of the material transportation team when he went north to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Song Qingshu returned to Anqing by the canal. He led five Yingtian ships, and about thirty other small supply ships stayed in the port near Xuzhou. During the many months of duel, they were not idle. Song Qingshu ordered them to deliver a large amount of supplies, especially the important weapons that Song Qingshu wanted, and hoard them to the lairs of the pirates who came to visit the pier last time.

But now, the sea is unpredictable, and anything may make a noise. According to the agreement, the two best supply points are empty, and the pirates at sea have never even seen this squadron. , This military operation with huge risks and a huge price can be said to have failed more than half.

And this Li Laozi Island is still a place that the beggars do not want to go to!
"Marshal, this Li Laozi Island is too far to the east, and according to the sea chart, once it enters the current here, you can only go to..., you can only go to that sea. If you turn back against the current, you will encounter Zheng Zhilong's fleet, the blow to us will be destroyed!"

Zhang Huangyan has never taken Zhang's military adventures, holding the sea chart, he frowned persuading him.

This time, Song Qingshu was really shaken by what he said. This ocean current is the famous Japanese warm current, also known as the Kuroshio Current. In the era without mechanical power, these ocean currents are synonymous with the routes between continents. If you want to go to Japan Or a vacation in Hawaii, it's a good way to go along here.

Now, the Songjiang Navy has been out of the Nanyang waterway for fifteen days, and has reached an extreme of countercurrent. If it wants to go southeast again, it will really have to go back to the main waterway. At that time, the speed will be greatly reduced, and it will definitely be caught by Zheng Zhilong's wolves. Qun catches up, and he really can't afford to pay for such a deck of cards in his hand.

However, as soon as Song Qingshu obtained the batch of materials, he would be [-]% sure to defeat Zheng Zhilong and achieve the goal of dominating China Sea.

A steamed large yellow croaker drenched with Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar exudes a strong fragrance, but everyone on the table has no appetite at all. Everyone is staring at Song Qingshu with frowning eyes, waiting for him to make a decision for them. Destiny, the fish is getting colder, and the time is passing by, knocking on the table, but Song Qingshu still has difficulty making a decision.

But at this time, the door of the captain's room was suddenly pushed open nervously, and Xiao Bao rushed into the room in a hurry, without even wiping the sweat on his forehead, he eagerly clasped his fists and saluted: "Master! Zheng Zhilong is catching up!"

"what?"

Song Qingshu turned his head in disbelief.

In fact, the begging army often stays on purpose, waiting for Zheng Jun to catch up, otherwise, who will seduce?Once they ran back to Fujian, it would be embarrassing for him to dive into the Pacific Ocean foolishly, but it didn't mean that Song Qingshu was willing to see this huge fleet sticking to his ass anytime and anywhere, especially now.

This is a Y-junction of ocean currents, a fork of the highway on the sea. It was originally planned that if Zheng Zhilong continued to chase, he would need two hours to get here. At that time, the Songjiang Navy had already made a decision, whether to continue eastward, or It turned back northwest along the ocean current.

But now, Zheng Jun appeared two hours earlier than he expected. Seeing the flag bearers on the bird's nest kept waving flags and looking at the black spots on the horizon with binoculars, Song Qingshu shook his head regretfully.

Underestimate the heroes of the world!
With Zheng He's charts and the secret channels contributed by those pirates, Song Qingshu thought he was the master of this sea, but he forgot that Zheng Zhilong's biggest trade income was not from Southeast Asia, but from trade with Japan. It is almost beyond the range of the East China Sea, and it is not far from Japan. Although it is not on the main trade route with Japan, it does not mean that Zheng Zhilong does not know.

Now it seems that Zheng Zhilong not only knows, but also knows clearly. Judging from the direction of his fleet, it is not going straight to the Songjiang navy fleet, but to the west. He is waiting for the begging army to change direction, just to take a shortcut to intercept the flow Song Qingshu's fleet will come to a decisive battle.

"Come on! My generals have no choice but to move on to the northeast!" Reluctantly putting down the binoculars, Song Qingshu looked at Shi Lang, and Zhang Huangyan shrugged.

.........

In terms of speed, Zheng Jun is really not the opponent of the begging army fleet. Although he has a large number of small boats, he can explode and accelerate. After a long time, this kind of sailing ship has long endurance, and Song Qingshu would rather waste time at the beginning, and also learn from Western perfect blueprints. , in order to make his battleship integrate speed and stability.

After an hour of chasing battle, Zheng Zhilong's giant treasure ship was thrown a few blocks away again, far away.

As the flagship, Songjiang led the team at the forefront, while Haiquan, as a large ship, was in the middle of the left wing, and the shelter inside was given up to small functional ships. Zhang Huangyan originally ran with the entire fleet, but this time he retreated, but died. Lai on the Haiquan, seeing the dolphins constantly emerging from the side of the boat, his face as thin as a sausage turned into a bitter gourd.

With this expression, Song Qingshu felt that his mouth was astringent. He gnawed on the canned fish with his mouth crooked, while persuading him helplessly: "Cangshui, after a few hours, you can be in Li Laozi Island has been replenished, and when the time comes, you can eat as much braised pork as you like!"

"It's not a can!"

Song Qingshu made a joke, Zhang Huangyan also continued a few sentences, and Song Qingshu laughed dryly.But this guy didn't laugh at all, he still looked like he was crying for his father and mother, and asked Song Qingshu with a mournful face, "Master! What if Captain Zhao Pu is not in Li Laozi Island, what shall we do!"

"Can't you think in a better direction? Come on, don't pull your face anymore, it really doesn't work, at worst, let's go around the country of Wa, from the Tsushima Strait where the country attacked North Korea in the Korean War, and then go back to the Yangtze River Well, at worst, the time will be delayed a little longer, and the supply along the way is enough to rob the Japanese country, his mother, just let the Japanese pirates come to us to rob? This time we will also be a Han bandit!"

Song Qingshu said it bluntly, but this result, he is actually the last thing he wants to see, once again, not to mention the risk, the most terrible thing is time, if he is away for half a year, who knows what will happen to the court?Especially for such a long time, Caiwei and the others have to worry to death, and Song Qingshu even missed the big day of his heir's birth.

"Hey, that's all I have to do!"

Before setting off, I don't know how many times I planned at home, but in the end, when there was still a miscalculation, Zhang Huangyan also sighed annoyed and helplessly.

The setting sun slanted on the sea, dyeing the sails golden. After marching for half a day, the final destination was Li Laozi Island.

It is said to be an island, but in fact it looks like an uninhabited and towering Lazi stone mountain from a distance. It seems that there is not even a green grass on it, and it is very hidden. That's why the pirate Li Laozi set up his lair here to rob the caravans traveling to and from Japan. From time to time, he went to Wa Island to grab some things. After all, his Han Kou career was much earlier than Song Qingshu planned.

However, looking through the binoculars, the area on the map is still empty, not to mention the large-scale fleet of the squadron, there is not even a ghost shadow, holding the binoculars, Song Qingshu's heart is getting heavier and heavier.

It seemed that this trip to Japan for self-service murder and robbery was really unavoidable.

But when Song Qingshu was depressed, Zhang Huangyan suddenly shouted with great excitement.

"Look there, Commander! It's the flag of our begging army!"

With a sudden jump in his nerves, Song Qingshu hastily raised his binoculars, and the word "begging for living" with blood-red wheat ears on a white background was floating on the top of the towering Lazishi Mountain!

Song Qingshu felt a sense of having found an organization.

(End of this chapter)