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The wind was favorable to begin with, and many of the boats were equipped with oars, so they galloped away like galloping horses, arriving in the blink of an eye.
The rebels who were shouting "The Red Flag Gang was defeated" and "Chen Sanda was deceived by a woman" were also stunned by this wave of attacks. They wanted to turn around and fight back, but the Qingfeng Gang ships entangled on their sides would never give them a chance.
On the sea, the size of the ship can determine victory or defeat, but it cannot withstand the disparity in numbers.
The small boats rushed to the enemy ship like a swarm of mad bees, grappling with hooks and climbing with iron claws, and they boarded the ship one after another to fight for the deck.
This was the most typical pirate tactic. As pirates themselves, the rebels should have been familiar with this style of fighting and fought desperately. However, the large flag with the word "Sink" in the distance and the figure standing nonchalantly on the bow of the ship made them lose their courage.
"Those who are held hostage by the traitors will not be killed if they surrender!"
"The gang leader is here in person, why don't you surrender?!"
"The gang leader has done you all a favor!"
Although they are all slogans, these are much more heartbreaking than those made up by the rebels.
Because the Qingfeng Gang was indeed built up by Shen Feng, and he is also a boss who is clear about rewards and punishments and is quite loyal. Even if he betrays for his own selfish reasons, he will still be timid and guilty when facing the real boss.
Not to mention, the rebel leader has been saying that Shen Feng was seriously injured and would not survive. Now he is standing in front of the battle line to command the troops. Hasn't he been deceived from the beginning to the end and fell into an ambush?
For a moment, the rebel ship became increasingly chaotic. Although the outcome was not immediately decided, they were already losing the battle.
However, before they could carve out a way to escape, dozens of ships that had been secretly prepared and flying various rebel flags avoided the chaos and sailed back.
On the other side, the previous situation had been reversed. When the rebels stopped chasing the prey in front of them and instead divided their troops to attack the camp, the Red Flag Gang stopped firing and began to switch from defense to offense.
This was perfectly normal for Ma Junshi and the others. The Red Flag Gang could certainly circumnavigate the island and make a large detour to support the port, but if they did so, they would inevitably be caught up and attacked from both sides.
At this moment, the best strategy is to switch from defense to offense, weaken their military strength, or even let that detachment return for support.
However, in this case, what this group of people would have to face were the foreign ships that had set up their battle formations and had their cannons exposed.
Since you are so good at using cannons, you must understand the power of the foreign gunboats.
The thieves were right about this. Looking at the Western fleet, which was deployed in a line formation, vaguely guarded in the center and positioned for firing, Cheng Xi breathed a sigh of relief: "Let the small boats press forward from the left and right wings to disrupt their formation."
The Red Flag Gang brought eighteen large ships this time, each equipped with sufficient artillery, as well as more than thirty small boats as mobile forces.
When luring the enemy just now, all the small boats were protected behind him, but now he rushed to the front in a contrary manner, but not heading straight ahead, but like a bird spreading its wings, swooping down on the left and right wings of the enemy ship.
This behavior made the rebel leader laugh out loud: "This woman is not stupid. She knows that the barbarian boats are hard to hit, so she wants to disrupt our formation."
This was really obvious. Military Advisor Ma also laughed in agreement: "She thought we were as easy to bully as Shen Sandao. Isn't it easy to fight with a small boat?"
It wasn't difficult, since the rebels also had small boats that could raid the enemy lines. Furthermore, if the two sides engaged, the larger ships would follow closely, closing the distance and bringing them into the enemy's artillery array. Could it be that they thought a mere few dozen small boats could disrupt their own formation?
"Hit her hard! Don't let that bitch escape!" the leader shouted. "If you capture Qiu Sheng's daughter, I'll reward you and have fun with it!"
There was a burst of laughter on the boat, followed by more vicious looks. She came to help Shen Feng, and she was a woman. How could it be justified not to kill her? No matter how big the reputation was, it would be more refreshing to ride on it!
Countless small boats sailed out of the formation and rushed forward, and the rebel ships also rushed forward, but this time they were more cautious and did not change their formation, wrapping up like a huge net.
With such a formation, the speed is bound to be slow, so it is not difficult to get rid of it.
However, the allies' main camp was attacked, and their own small boats began to engage in battle, so there were few tactics left to deal with the situation.
As expected, the Red Flag Gang's fleet seemed to hesitate for a moment, then split into two groups like the smaller boats, intending to attack the flanks first and avoid the central artillery array. This was exactly what Military Advisor Ma and the others had expected.
"They really have divided their forces!" Military Advisor Ma slapped his thigh, his brows brimming with joy. "Boss, quickly take the one on the right, and this battle will be easier!"
Their fleet still held the advantage in numbers, and now the small boats had engaged, blocking the larger ships. No matter how powerful their artillery was, they dared not fire recklessly, lest they injure their own men. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to pin down one wing and besiege the other? This battle was truly a satisfying one!
Dazzled by the victory that was within their grasp, the rebels no longer hesitated and began to change their formation. Like an earthworm with its tail cut off, they gave up a small half of their fleet to block the enemy's left army, while the other large half of the fleet shrank and turned around, surrounding the right-wing fleet where the enemy flagship was located.
The four Western ships that were originally located in the center of the net also changed their formation easily and happened to be sandwiched between the left and right wings. Their guns could fire from both sides, which was perfect.
Another fierce battle immediately began. On the small boats, bows and crossbows were exchanged, and the boats boarded the boats to engage in combat. The large ships watched closely and began to encircle and counter-encircle.
The rebel army wanted to wrap up the right wing that the Red Flag Gang had just separated, but the Red Flag Gang seemed to have noticed it and began to shrink and slow down their speed, ignoring their own flanks and small boats.
In this way, the artillery formations they are proud of will become even more difficult to use. Isn't it just like fish on the chopping board?
Just like a wolf attracted by a lamb, the rebels became more and more proud and quickened their pace of pursuit. In less than two quarters of an hour, the encirclement was officially formed. The Red Flag Gang had no way to retreat and began to fight back desperately.
The sound of cannons rang out, and the right wing of the Red Flag Gang shrank into a sharp cone, with ships on both sides firing fiercely at the enemy forces surrounding them.
However, the distance seemed a bit far, and the rebels' formation was also more loose, which did not have the desired effect. Perhaps feeling that they were not yet in the best attacking position, the four Western ships did not rush to open fire. Instead, under the cover of the rebels, they gradually approached the Red Flag Gang's fleet.
"Don't be afraid, the artillery fire is ineffective in this situation, charge forward!" The rebel leader shouted at the top of his lungs, with no intention of stopping at all.
Under his unremitting protection, several Western ships came closer and closer, with their black gun ports all wide open, and the soldiers holding rapiers shouted loudly, almost reaching the ears of the other side.
Cheng Xi clenched the telescope in her hand, but what she was looking at was not the Western ships, but a place farther away.
The Red Flag Gang had already delayed enough time and split up the enemy formation, now it was just a matter of waiting for the arrival of their allies.
And it has to be said that her allies this time are still very reliable.
A fleet flying the rebel flag was seen carelessly bypassing the island. It seemed to take only a moment to see the situation clearly and rushed towards the left wing of the Red Flag Gang that was blocked on the periphery.
The remaining rebels cheered. This must mean that the port was almost completely destroyed, so they had enough strength to send reinforcements! Originally, it was still a bit difficult, but once their own ships arrived, wouldn't it be easy to swallow this flank without any effort?
However, the cheers did not last long, as the rebels discovered that the newcomers were not there to help them. The ships, flying their own flags, launched a fierce attack on their backs.
"Zou is greedy and cannot be relied upon!"
"Boss Shen is fine, brothers, surrender quickly!"
"This is all the tricks of the old bastard!"
This group of "defections" were all shouting slogans for surrender, but they did not relax their hands at all, and beat the rebels who were already outnumbered and fled in panic. What was worse was that there was the left army of the Red Flag Gang in front of them. Even though the small boat was blocking the middle and could not fire, the rain of arrows did not stop.
In just a moment, the outcome of the battle here will be decided.
In the rebel group, the leader's face turned pale, and he knew very well that he had fallen into a trap.
This was not a sign of weakness, nor was it an inability to control the Qingfeng Gang's men. Rather, both sides were playing tricks on him, inducing him to divide his forces again and again, and he was being controlled layer by layer and unable to move.
Go back to rescue? The enemy is still in sight.
Try to defeat this enemy force and then escape? The situation over there is tense and they may not be able to escape.
However, before he could come up with a response, the drums started beating.
Cheng Xi put down the telescope and waved his hand gently: "Sail straight ahead with full sails and penetrate the enemy's formation!"
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