Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 832 Who is the gangster?
The sea is vast.

Chen Zuyi's leaving his lair and appearing in Dawan was also an opportunity for Daming. Tigers in the mountains were intimidating, but if they came down to the plains, without the cover of the mountains and forests, they would be killed by a burst of crossbows. The same was true for Chen Zuyi, the vicious shark from the South China Sea.

Tang He and Zhu Su naturally did their best to hunt down Chen Zuyi. Tang He wanted to make contributions to his family, while Zhu Su received orders from Zhu to completely occupy the Nanyang Sea Route and cut off the route from the West to the East. Tang He ordered the coastal navy to intercept, and Zhu Su naturally urged the Nanyang Navy to pursue the gang of thieves relentlessly.

The Ming navy lacked commanders, and the warships of the Nanyang navy were mostly new gunboats. The only commander with command experience was Zhu Su himself, besides Li Jinglong. So Zhu Su sent Chang Mao to chase the bandits, and appointed Li Jinglong as his deputy commander. Now, the two had received a report from the Quanzhou navy, confirming that Chen Zuyi's fleet was not far ahead.

Upon hearing the news, Li Jinglong could no longer sit still. He drove the treasure ship that had experienced hundreds of battles with him, abandoned Chang Mao's main force, and sailed straight for them.

"Young Master, if we lose this battle again, we, the Caoguo Mansion, will not be able to face His Majesty and His Highness again." The steward Li Gui beside Li Jinglong looked quite worried. "Why not gather the main force of the Zhengguo Duke first, and then make plans..."

"Chen Zuyi is a cunning villain. If he meets Duke Zheng, I don't know where he will flee to." Li Jinglong shook his head, but there was a fierce look in his eyes. "...Besides, if the credit is also given to Duke Zheng's Mansion, where will our Cao's Mansion put its face?"

"Besides..." Li Jinglong pulled Li Gui closer to him mysteriously and said to him, "I heard a piece of news from those White Lotus prisoners."

"The leader of the White Lotus sect named Fu has gold!"

"Gold?" Li Gui's eyes also lit up.

"It is said that the gold mining ship of the Western Yi was captured by that guy." Li Jinglong said. When he mentioned gold, his pupils dilated and his breathing became heavier. "Why do you think I am so anxious?"

"If we can rob this gold, our Caoguo Mansion..."

The previous defeats not only destroyed the Tamkang Port that was vigorously managed by the Caoguo Mansion, but also the many shells that hit the sea became the death warrant of the Caoguo Mansion’s treasury... There might still be a chance to gain military merit, but now that His Majesty has strictly prohibited the nobles from oppressing the people, how can there be so many ways to get all this gold and silver back?

In order to make up for the deficit, Li Jinglong was really worried. Now that he had heard the news, how could he not strive to be the first?

"But..." Li Gui's heart was also beating fast, but when he thought of the young master's ability, he still felt very worried. "Young master, even so, we should be careful."

"What if this chicken-stealing fails..."

"I know." Li Jinglong nodded, and then blinked cunningly: "I'll just bombard him from a distance with artillery, is that okay?"

"This fleet is now under the name of Duke Zheng's Mansion... If the Ministry of War and the Baoyuan Bureau want to claim the expenses for the shells, they have to ask the Chang family..."

"Hahahaha!"

Li Jinglong laughed heartily. If he didn't have to worry about the cost of artillery shells, what else would he have to worry about when fighting a naval battle? Li Gui's mouth twitched, and he was ashamed of the young master's rogueness. But he used to be a mountain lord, so this shame only lingered in his heart and then was thrown out of his mind.

Yes, if they didn't have to worry about the consumption of shells and just stopped and fired cannons from a distance, who could be the opponent of the Ming treasure ships?
He then felt relieved.

Li Jinglong braved the waves and followed the path pointed out by the officers and soldiers of the Quanzhou Navy. Facts have proved that people's luck is always better when they are at the end of their rope. Under the stimulation of gold, Li Jinglong, who was already so poor that his eyes turned red, actually found Chen Zuyi's fleet. In the sight tube, Li Jinglong saw the sails of Chen Zuyi's ship in front.

"Hurry, full sail! The thief is right in front!" Young Master Li shouted anxiously, and rushed to the deck, as if he could catch up with the thief in front of him faster by just relying on his two feet.

In front, Chen Zuyi also saw the silhouette of the Ming army's treasure ship through the telescope. He was already a frightened bird, and he was so scared that he hurriedly said to Fu Puxin: "Hurry, Brother Fu!"

"Let your men stop these Ming army warships!"

Fu Puxin followed his instructions and gave the order, which was passed to Geng Datou. Geng Datou on the warship in the rear responded with a roar, and then commanded the foreign people to meet the Ming army's warships.

"Quick, fire!" Li Gui said hastily. "Don't let the thieves get close to you!"

The artillery at the bow fired two shots first, and the two shells slowly drew two parabolas and headed towards the White Lotus Sect's ship. In fact, if the treasure ship wanted to fight the enemy, it should have turned the hull sideways. After all, most of the cannons were installed on both sides of the hull, and the probability of hitting the enemy ship would be higher if multiple cannons were fired at the same time.

There were only two cannons on the bow, and generally speaking, they were only used for occasional purposes. Firing at sea was not accurate, and the chance of hitting an enemy ship with only two cannons in the vast sea was extremely small.

The same was true for the two shells. Although the artillerymen on the ship were trained, they could see that the two shells were off target before they hit the sea. The helmsman on the ship was ready to turn the rudder and sideways the ship.

Unexpectedly, the pirate ship suddenly changed direction and hit the cannonball right on target.

"This?" The helmsman was stunned, and so was the artilleryman. In this world, there are actually thieves who are heading for the cannonballs? Only Young Master Li Jinglong was overjoyed when he saw this. The pirate ship that was hit by the cannon had already started to flee, which meant that he didn't have to waste time fighting the enemy. He hurriedly continued to give orders: "Quick! Quick! Chase after him! Don't let this thief Chen get away!"

On the other side, Fu Puxin rescued Geng Datou who had returned for help.

"Brother Geng, you..." Fu Puxin's face was very ugly. "Why did you go to face the artillery shells of the Ming army?"

"Boss, this... oh!" Geng Datou's fat face looked very annoyed. He gritted his teeth in hatred: "It's all because of those barbarians who rowed the oars. They are useless!"

"They were quite good at training on weekdays, but when the Ming army's artillery shells came, they became confused."

"The ship lost balance for a moment and happened to hit a Ming army cannonball. Seeing that the ship was damaged and would soon sink into the sea, I had no choice but to bring my brothers back to change ships."

(End of this chapter)