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Just a dozen or so brats, and you think you can stop them?! Clearly a fat sheep, suddenly growing fangs, the thief's eyes burned red with rage, and he swung his long sword: "Follow me! Kill everyone on the boat, and I'll give you all the goods!"
Even if they lost some men, even if they couldn't take the deck for the time being, they still had the upper hand! A small merchant ship, they could be dragged to death! Already fighting with blood, and with their leader leading them, the pirates roared even louder, desperately rushing up.
For a while, the Lin family was defeated one after another, and the deck even showed signs of being captured.
At that moment, another violent collision struck. A ship collided with the massive pirate ship! In their eagerness to seize the deck, who was prepared? The ship shook, and the pirates rolled to the ground. Some even fell directly from the gangplank or the side of the ship into the sea.
What's going on? Weren't there two boats surrounded and one escaped? Where did this boat come from?
Several pirates looked at it blankly and were shocked to find that the ship that had just turned around and left the battlefield had turned back again. Could it be that they came to rescue their companions?
"Hold the spear! Throw!" Li Niu stood at the bow and shouted loudly.
With this roar, five short spears were thrown out. They were all good at spearing fish, and they killed several people on the spot with just one strike.
While the other party was stunned, two springboards were thrown over and placed on the pirate ship.
Li Niu was the first to jump onto the gangplank and rushed forward: "Kill all the thieves and take over this boat!"
This is his mission.
If there were few enemy ships, they would avoid the battle first and then attack from the front and back after the enemy came aboard.
Now that the leader of the bandits has jumped on the Lin family's boat, isn't this a good opportunity to turn the tables? They have to hurry up. If they are slow, the Lin family may not be able to hold on!
After finally getting onto the enemy's deck, before we could gain the upper hand, our own deck was taken down first.
The pirates panicked for a moment, and someone screamed, "Go back first! Don't let anyone rob our ship!"
Hearing this, many people turned around and rushed back. This merchant ship is small, and their ship is huge! If their retreat is cut off, how can they have any chance of survival?
The leader understood better. He swung his sword and attacked while shouting, "Don't panic. Take the boat first!"
At this moment, they still had the advantage in numbers. If they turned back, wouldn't they be attacked from both sides? It would be better to capture this ship in one go and then think about how to retake their own ship.
However, his roar was not heard. The deck was already in chaos. With so many pirates, commanding them was difficult enough on normal days, let alone at such a critical moment. Seeing this difficult situation, everyone wanted to escape. Who would stay on the ship and fight?
Unfortunately, Li Niu's men had already rushed over and rushed to the gangplank. Now, with people in front and behind, all armed with the same hooked spear, those who turned to seek a way out would lose their lives first.
"Why are you running? Kill them all! Don't you want to live?" The leader was so anxious that he was sweating all over and yelling.
He came here to rob money and goods, and even used a large two-masted ship, so how could he be defeated like this?!
This indiscriminate killing forced the two or three spearmen surrounding him to retreat again and again. The leader was just thinking that he could fight his way out when a gust of cold wind came from the side.
Someone! He wanted to get close! A veteran of many battles, the thief shouted loudly, turned around and slashed, but the man shrank back and dodged it just in time.
So short? A teenager?
The leader's mind raced, and he tried to throw his arm to block, but the other party thrust forward, and a short spear pierced diagonally, piercing the soft flesh under his ribs. With a "puff," the thief's body stiffened like a fish impaled on a spear, his mouth opening and closing.
Cheng Xi twisted her hand and pulled the spear out violently, blood splattering out. Avoiding the blood, she raised her voice: "Kill all the enemies on the deck!"
As soon as the order was given, several people guarding the springboard turned around and surrounded them.
Those thieves who failed to find a way back immediately cried out in pain. They were already unable to move due to being pinned down by the spears, and now their leader was dead. What else could they wait for if they didn't escape?
All of a sudden, many thieves jumped into the sea and swam towards the only remaining pirate ship.
The pressure on the deck suddenly eased. Seeing this, Cheng Xi immediately picked out a few people who were still able to fight and turned around to help Li Niu.
There were quite a few on the enemy ship at this point, and some pirates had rushed back to help the remaining pirates in a desperate fight, making the battle somewhat tense. With this new force, victory was truly secured.
The three ships fought fiercely, and the pirate ship besieging Sun Erlang began to retreat.
Being tightly guarded, unable to get aboard no matter how hard they tried, and seeing the ship about to be occupied, how could they not escape now? The person in charge of the ship was quite decisive, turning around and leaving without even waiting for his companions.
The cries of those struggling in the waves were quickly drowned out by the sound of the waves and cheers.
His hands were stained with blood, and he could barely hold the spear. Lin Meng held his knees and gasped for breath, his ears buzzing and his vision blurry. However, this time was different from the last time. They did not fail, they survived!
"We won! We won!"
I don't know who shouted first, but soon cheers echoed on the three ships.
They actually managed to capture an enemy ship, a brig that was larger than their own merchant ship. This was undoubtedly a great victory!
Hearing the deafening cheers, Lin Meng could no longer control his emotions and wiped the tears from his face with his hands.
Dad, did you see that? We can defeat the pirates and protect the Lin family's ship!
Li Niu was drenched in sweat, his clothes stained with blood. He ripped open his coat and laughed wildly, "I actually won! I'm still as powerful as I was back then!"
How many enemies had they killed? Ten? Twenty? There were at least fifty or sixty on this ship. Even if he were ten years younger, he would never have won such a victory!
These are not cowardly merchants, but vicious pirates. They can actually kill people and seize ships. How can this not be a great victory?
Li Niu glanced around and saw the figure standing by the rudder. He immediately strode over and said, "Brother Cheng, I'm really impressed this time. Your method is so effective!"
That's right, Cheng Xi had planned the enemy's formation. He had strategies for dealing with not only two ships, one large and one small, but also one and three enemy ships.
As for more than three enemy ships, the main thing is to find a way to escape, as you cannot win by fighting head-on.
After encountering the enemy, they first gave orders with the sound of a gong, and the other two captains responded with the agreed gong sound. This was how the Lin and Sun families' ships stayed behind to fight, while the Li family escaped first.
This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Cheng Xi not only formulated a battle strategy, but also led his men to withstand an army three times his own.
Li Niu couldn't guarantee that his ship would be able to do the same. Most of the Lin family's crew were young people. They only trained for half a month longer than them, so how could they be so powerful?
Only at this moment did Li Niu finally give in. Without the benefactor of the Lin family, they might not be able to deal with such a powerful enemy even if they went out to sea.
Now not only have we suffered no losses, but we have also captured a ship. Isn't everyone happy?
Facing the excited crowd, Cheng Xi calmly shook his head: "The enemy has escaped on a ship, and may have already returned to report the news. We must not relax until we reach home. Send people to search the cabin in groups of three, and not miss a single enemy."
This calmness brought Li Niu back to his senses. Yes, although they won a battle, they only intercepted one enemy ship. The other ship was unscathed and might have already returned to report the news.
If we don’t pack up and set sail now, are we going to stay and celebrate?
Li Niu didn't dare delay and immediately arranged for his men to search the cabin. Cheng Xi returned to the Lin family's boat and asked Lin Meng: "How many people were injured? Did anyone die?"
"No one died, but four people were seriously injured." Lin Meng's face looked a little ugly.
The four men were indeed seriously injured, and when the enemy rushed forward, at least a dozen people rushed over. They had to defend the gangplank while surrounding and killing the enemies who rushed onto the deck. The situation was very tense for a while.
Fortunately, Cheng Xi was always behind and was able to make up the enemy at any time, which stabilized the situation. Otherwise, the boat would have been captured by the enemy long ago.
"Where are the seriously injured? I'll go and take a look. Please make arrangements for the lightly injured as well, and bandage them together later." Cheng Xi started to treat the wounded without saying a word.
She has learned battlefield first aid and is good at stopping bleeding, setting bones and bandaging, and is very effective in treating injuries caused by cold weapons.
The Lin family suffered heavy losses this time, with four people seriously injured and everyone slightly injured. Fortunately, no one died.
It was a great fortune for a group of new recruits to survive such an intense battle. After this battle, they were no longer ignorant fishermen, but soldiers capable of fighting on the battlefield, which was also a good thing for the Lin family.
After treating the wounded, the Sun family's boat also came over. Cheng Xi then used the gangway to go to the Sun and Li families' boats respectively to help treat the wounded.
At this time, the captured ship was cleaned up, and three more pirates were found and thrown directly into the sea.
There wasn't much cargo on the ship, but there was plenty of water. Perhaps because they had just set sail, there was also some fresh cooked meat, enough to feed a dozen people for a few days.
In this case, Cheng Xi discussed with the three captains and decided that she would stay on the new ship, and then transfer a few sailors from each ship to start the ship first.
With this ship, their fleet now has four ships, including a large brig. The pirates would not dare to advance easily without several times the number of troops.
After this victory with minimal casualties and great gains, everyone followed Cheng Xi's advice. Soon, everything was arranged and the fleet set sail again.
I don’t know whether the escaping enemy ship was too slow to send back any news, or whether the pirates felt that this bone was too tough and there was no need to send more people to die.
They encountered no more enemies during the rest of their voyage. Even when a pirate ship spotted them from afar, it didn't approach. Thus, they sailed smoothly, bypassing the most dangerous Luoling Island and returning to Xiaziwo.
They had arrived home, but the voyage wasn't over yet. The Sun and Li families' ships had to continue east to Panyu to sell all the goods they had brought back, while the Lin family had to quickly unload a shipload of rice and sell it nearby.
Of course, some people must be arranged to repair the looted ships and erase all traces left by the pirates.
Without a word, Cheng Xi took a box of pepper and two young men from the Lin family and boarded the Sun family's boat, following them to Panyu. No one else was surprised by this decision.
Of course, the pepper had to be shipped to Panyu for sale. Such a valuable commodity could only be handled by Brother Cheng himself. Furthermore, after returning from Panyu, they still had to go to Hepu. Everyone was extremely respectful to Cheng Xi, who had been instrumental in getting the rice price discount.
Xiaziwo was only a two-day sail from Panyu, and the boat docked early on the third day. Unlike Hepu, Panyu was surrounded by more islands, densely populated by ships, and had many private ports where ships could dock.
They arrived at one of them, not the real Panyu Port.
After the ship dropped anchor, Cheng Xi said, "I want to go to Panyu to check out the market."
This suggestion wasn't surprising. The private ports were a hodgepodge of traders, often driving down prices. A sought-after commodity like pepper was obviously more profitable to sell in a major city.
Sun Erlang said without pretense: "It will probably take us three or four days to return. Brother Cheng, please feel free to do as you please. If necessary, I can arrange for two more brothers to accompany you."
During that naval battle, there were many injured people on the Sun family’s ship, and it was all thanks to Cheng Xi’s timely treatment. Sun Erlang naturally had to be grateful for this favor.
Cheng Xi declined the other party's kindness, took the two young men from the Lin family ashore, rented a donkey cart and headed straight for Panyu.
Compared to the private port, the real Panyu City was a completely different scene. The official road was bustling with traffic, mostly transporting goods, but also horse-drawn carriages on the way.
The porters and coolies looked skinny and tired, with pale faces, while the merchants, all dressed in silk and satin, drove by as if no one was around.
Even if the imperial court implemented a maritime ban, tribute ships had to dock in Panyu, not to mention the large and small merchants and private ships that gathered there. It is no wonder that such a port trading city could be nurtured.
After paying the city gate fee and bribing the guards at the gate, they were let into the city without any inspection.
The address Lu Jian gave was not remote, and it took only half an hour to find the place. Cheng Xi asked the Lin family to wait outside and went in with the letter.
This is a small grocery store, but it has a wide variety of goods. Cheng Xi didn't ask any more questions and said to the clerk, "Excuse me, is Shopkeeper Yang here? I came from Hepu and I need to see you for something."
Hearing the word "Hepu", the waiter immediately looked at Cheng Xi with vigilance. Seeing that he was a handsome young man, he said, "Sir, please wait a moment."
Looking at the figure hurriedly leaving, Cheng Xi knew that he had found the right place.
A moment later, the door curtain was raised again, and a young man walked over. "I am the shopkeeper here. May I ask if you are here on the orders of Master Lu?"
The shopkeeper was younger than she had imagined. More importantly, there was a strange aura about him. He didn't look like a businessman, but rather had the sharpness of a fighter.
But the problem is, he doesn't look like a soldier, so his identity is worth investigating. Cheng Xi nodded calmly: "That's right, Master Lu asked me to pass on a letter."
She handed the wooden box over. The young man took it, examined the mud seal, and then said with a smile, "Thank you for taking the trouble to make this trip. Does Master Lu have any other instructions?"
"He asked me to bring a reply letter." Cheng Xi said simply.
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