On the third day after the great defeat in Shen'ao Bay, the Pena was the only survivor of the mighty Portuguese pirate fleet, which was still tenaciously fleeing to the north.

Chen Huaixiu's fleet and the 104th ship that came to support them kept chasing them, but the effect was not very good. After entering the Taiwan Strait, the sea surface was severely bumpy, which greatly reduced the accuracy of long-range shots. If they pressed forward, they would be tantamount to suicide, so they could only follow far behind and continue to consume the enemy through continuous harassment, causing it to continue to bleed, and finally surrender like the Gareles when they were at their wits' end.

Three more days passed, and the Pena still did not surrender.

But their situation was already very bad. Not only were two masts broken and the hull leaking badly, but the bottom warehouse where drinking water was stored was also hit by several cannon shots. Most of the wooden barrels were exploded, resulting in heavy losses of fresh water and beer.

The ship was seriously overcrowded. If it was not controlled, the water supply would be cut off in a minute. Captain Silva had to order a quota for water supply. Combatants could get a glass of beer or a glass of water every day. Non-combatants could only get half a glass of beer or half a glass of water to quench their thirst. As for which one, it depended on what was in the wooden barrel when it was their turn.

Passengers such as Lin Daoquan, Zeng Yiben, Jiaohuo Lao and Zhu Liangbao are naturally non-combatants.

The sea lords stared in amazement at the yellow liquid with thick white foam in the wooden cup.

"Why does it taste like urine? Can I drink this stuff?" Zhu Liangbao sniffed it and frowned.

"You'll know after you try it." Hu Jiao's lips were peeling from the dryness. He couldn't wait to take a sip, then his face changed drastically and he almost spit it out. But he didn't spit it out. Instead, he swallowed the wine, wiped his mouth and cursed: "Sarenmu, it's so smelly, it tastes like urine!"

"Then why are you still drinking?" everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"What's the big deal? I was so thirsty at sea, and I drank urine before." Pepper said calmly, "I didn't waste a single drop in these few days."

"That makes sense, we are just being pretentious!" The sea lords felt that it made sense. They had not eaten or drunk anything in the past few days, and if they didn't eat or drink anymore, someone would die.

They all frowned and ate the dry and hard black bread with the cup of "urine". That was the food distributed at the same time as the water.

They knew that Domingo's Portuguese officers and Lin Hongzhong must have eaten better than this. But the sea owners were all people who knew the times. They were living under someone else's roof, so it was good enough. If they didn't open their eyes and asked for food and drink, they might be thrown into the sea.

"It's so disgusting! I didn't expect there are things in the world that are more disgusting than steamed bread." Zhu Liangbao couldn't help but complain.

"Eat quickly, the pursuers are coming again." Zeng Yiben reminded in a muffled voice. He had been paying attention to the sea and found that no matter how the Pena dodged, it could not get rid of the pursuers behind it.

"Come on, brothers, let's improve ourselves." Lin Daoqian took out a wet cloth bag from his arms and poured the contents onto the ground.

There were a dozen long, sticky, grayish-white slug-like things, and they were still wriggling.

"Damn, shipworms. This is a good thing. Where did it come from?" The sea masters naturally recognized this thing and picked it up and put it into their mouths to eat it raw. Shipworms are high-protein food and can be eaten raw. However, if they were not extremely hungry, no one would touch this thing because it is too disgusting.

Six years ago, Lin Daoqian and his men drifted on the sea, and they survived by eating shipworms. This is called path dependence. While eating until his mouth was full of maggots, he said vaguely: "I looked around and found that the ship was completely ripped and there were broken hulls everywhere. These things were pulled off the hull."

"Can you hold on?" everyone asked with concern.

"It won't sink in a short time." Lin Daoqian frowned and said, "The red-haired devils are quite good at plugging leaks, but they can't shake off the pursuers, and they will suffer."

"Yes." The sea lords lay down depressed, regretting one after another: "It would have been better to surrender directly at that time. It would have been better than being in a state of neither human nor ghost now."

"It's no use talking about that. Just hold on." Zeng Yiben is indeed an expert in failure. He is very strong inside. "When the wind turns north, it shouldn't be a problem to get out of this predicament."

"Hmm..." The sea lords stopped talking and had to save their energy to hold on for a few more days.

~~

In comparison, their enemies were in much better condition.

Chen Huaixiu's fleet is composed of armed merchant ships. Its biggest advantage is that it can carry a large amount of supplies. Not only is it enough for the crew of the fleet, but it can also support the marine officers and soldiers of the 104th ship.

With sufficient supplies, the soldiers' food is naturally guaranteed.

According to the "Coast Guard Regulations", in order to ensure the physical strength of the soldiers during wartime, meals are provided on board throughout the day. Each team can take meals at any time depending on the combat situation, and there is no limit on the quantity or frequency.

The ship has a special cooking team that works from morning till night to prepare various foods for the officers and soldiers. Although there are no fresh vegetables and meat, they can still rely on long-lasting ingredients such as white radish, carrots, winter melon, yam, mushrooms, fungus, etc., accompanied by various sausages, pickled meats, and canned meats and vegetables to provide the officers and soldiers with a different menu every day.

In addition to the food prepared by the kitchen team, officers and soldiers will also receive a "combat power pack" every day, which contains 10 pieces of fruit candies, 10 square pieces of beef cubes, and 20 cigarettes to replenish energy and refresh themselves.

Tobacco strips are made by cutting tobacco leaves into strips, twisting them into ropes, soaking them in white wine for a day, and then taking them out and drying them. Since smoking and drinking are prohibited on ships, tobacco strips were developed as a substitute for these two addictions. When officers and soldiers feel sleepy and tired during the voyage, or have a craving for smoking or drinking, they put a strip in their mouths and chew it. It has the taste of both tobacco and alcohol, and it can also refresh the mind, which is better than nothing.

However, the tobacco must be spit into the spittoon. If it is spit on the deck, the consequences will be very serious. The soldier will be punished to clean the warship for a day with a spittoon hanging around his neck.

Of course, that is in peacetime. In wartime, all rules are temporarily suspended. The key is to save time and concentrate on fighting. It is even okay to pee on a gun position.

It is precisely because of such food supplies that the coast guard officers and soldiers were able to maintain high physical strength, energy and morale for a long time, and they were able to wear the Portuguese to death!

~~

But perhaps there is always a way out. Just as the Pena was about to run out of options and follow in the footsteps of the Galeras, the wind direction suddenly changed.

Seeing that the northeast wind had finally arrived, Domingo and Lin Hongzhong couldn't help but hug each other and cry, thanking God for his blessing.

Colonel Silva didn't dare to act on his own now, as he had never been to this sea area before, so he politely asked Domingo to command the return voyage.

Domingo knew that he would be doomed if he returned, so how could he still have the mood to fight with him? He nodded and asked Lin Hongzhong where he was now.

"We passed through Tamsui the day before yesterday, and we are now in the area of ​​Yishan Island." Lin Hongzhong pointed to the small coastal island northwest of Taiwan Island on the nautical chart.

"My God, we are already more than a thousand miles away from Nan'ao Island?" Domingo was surprised.

"One thousand three hundred miles." Lin Hongzhong nodded, otherwise they wouldn't have run out of ammunition and food and been at the end of their rope.

"Return to Macau?" Silva asked.

"Another eight hundred miles." Lin Hongzhong said.

"That's two thousand one hundred miles." Domingo murmured, "Even if everything goes smoothly, it will take at least ten days."

"The Pena is leaking badly and there's a risk of it capsizing if it goes too fast, so we have to be prepared for fifteen to twenty days," Silva reminded.

"We have been cut off from water and food. We will definitely not be able to hold out for ten days, let alone half a month or twenty days." Domingo rubbed his messy hair anxiously and said, "We must find a way to replenish supplies. It would be best if we can repair the ship. This way, we can bring everyone on board back to Macau instead of bringing back a ship full of corpses!"

"..." The three of them fell silent. Normally, they could complete the supply by robbing once on the shore, but the enemy was following them everywhere, so how could they dare to stop the boat and dock? Wouldn't that be courting death?

Just when they were at a loss, a soldier outside reported that Lin Daoquan wanted to see them.

"Xiawei!" Lin Hongzhong heard this and immediately thought of Lin Daoqian's lair. Domingo's eyes lit up and he slapped his forehead and said, "Yes, how could I forget him!"

Then he ordered loudly: "Please invite General Lin in."

Lin Daoqian was so skinny from hunger that he entered the luxurious restaurant and saw white bread, stewed fish, bacon soup and sliced ​​ham on the table. His eyes immediately lit up and he didn't even bother to sit down, but started to eat like crazy.

Seeing how hungry he was, Lin Hongzhong felt bad for him and quickly asked someone to prepare some more food. Although even the Portuguese sailors were already starving, the noble officers were still able to eat well.

After Lin Daoquan's stomach was so full that he could no longer eat, Domingo asked him if he could go to Xiawei to replenish supplies and repair the ship.

"Burp, that's why I came here." Lin Daoqian burped and sighed, "I guess you don't have anywhere else to go. Okay, let's go to my place. But I have a few conditions."

"Speaking."

"First, I want to live well and eat well these days." Lin Daoqian raised three fingers and said, "Second, you must abide by my rules when you get to my place. You cannot bring weapons ashore, and you cannot allow soldiers to rob. Third, all supplies must be paid for at double the price."

"No problem." Domingo agreed immediately and asked, "Is your place safe?"

"Of course it's safe." Lin Daoqian said calmly: "Xiawei is the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. Even if Zhao has the courage, he won't dare to harass us."

"Yes, that's true." Lin Hongzhong nodded and said, "General Lin is a guerrilla general of the imperial court. He should be safe there."

"Then let's go to Xiawei!" Domingo nodded heavily and made up his mind. In fact, he had no choice...

~~

On the return trip, the wind was smooth and the ship finally picked up speed. The 104th ship and Chen Huaixiu's fleet were powerless to stop them. They could only watch the Pena break through the blockade and then follow from a distance.

Behind.

Seven days later, the Pena sailed into Shimowei Port and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After the ship docked, Lin Daoquan immediately ordered his men to bring food and drinks on board and help repair the warship.

When the large group of people got on board, he suddenly changed his attitude and ordered everyone to be arrested!