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

Chapter 833 A sudden change occurs
The ancestors of the Chinese people were indeed the most hardworking and intelligent people. As for the current China, even without Zhu Su's intervention, whether in all walks of life, economy or culture, it is still an all-round crushing force compared with the barbarians in the world.

For example, compared with the Ming Dynasty, which was able to build thousands of tons of treasure ships and sail thousands of miles, other civilizations living under the same blue sky seemed quite primitive: unlike the magnificent, sturdy and reliable treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty, most of the ships of the "Four Barbarians" seemed quite crudely made. For example, the ship under Geng Datou's seat was considered a rare large ship among the Western Barbarians and the South Seas. It was made of large wood directly sawed into squares, and the joints were connected with iron sheets. Compared with the treasure ships, it was not sturdy at all.

Moreover, the Chinese people had already figured out the technology of using tung oil, hemp tendons and other materials to fill the gaps and prevent the sea from invading. Most of these ships were just roughly filled with hay and grass ash, and their sails and rudders were also very simple. The treasure ship fleet of the Ming Dynasty was equipped with universal sails and triangular sails, while these ships still used primitive one-way sails, which could not sail against the wind or against the wind, but only with the wind. In case of headwind or against the wind, they could only lower the sails and row the oars. Therefore, the navigation of these ships was very dependent on wind signals.

Chen Zuyi was fleeing in a hurry, so there was no suitable wind signal. The boat that Geng Datou was riding was also powered by oars. Rowing is a job that requires strict discipline and consistent behavior. If there is no coordination, it is common for the boat to go in circles and lose control. When the foreign believers who were responsible for rowing saw the Ming army's large ships chasing them, they panicked and lost their composure, causing the boat to lose control and face the Ming army's artillery shells. This is reasonable.

It was a blessing that it didn't sink immediately.

Fu Puxin, with an ugly face, could only confess his crime to Chen Zuyi. Chen Zuyi's face was gloomy, but now the situation was critical and it was not the time to pursue the blame. Besides, manpower was precious, and he could not really sit idly by and watch Geng Datou's entire ship of people buried in the blue waves. He could only hold his nose and let Fu Puxin rescue the people from the sinking ship to his own boat first, while ordering his confidant: "Quick, stop Ming Gouzi."

"The flamethrower, hurry up and cover the rear!"

The flamethrower fleets of Chen Zuyi's confidants on both wings were ordered to break away from the team and head towards Li Jinglong's treasure fleet. Most of these flamethrower ships were narrow and small, and their purpose was to quickly approach the enemy ships and spray fierce flaming oil to burn them, which was quite difficult to deal with.

"Meet the enemy! Meet the enemy! Don't let the enemy set the ship on fire!"

There was no need for Li Jinglong's ship to signal with flags. Seeing the bandits sending out speedboats, the Ming navy officers and soldiers had already started racing against time to turn the ships sideways. Li Jinglong knew the power of the fierce fire oil. Even with the treasure ship being thick and solid, it might not be able to withstand such flames. So as soon as the treasure ship turned sideways, he hurriedly ordered the cannonballs to be fired, making sure to sink it before the fire-breathing ship got close.

The treasure ship had many more gun muzzles when it was turned sideways, not to mention that Li Jinglong was putting all his effort into it this time. He fired valuable shells like they were free, and the roar of the artillery fire almost never stopped. The cost of the first wave of shells alone would probably be enough to build dozens of flamethrower ships like Chen Zuyi's.

If Chang Mao were here, he would definitely feel heartbroken by such a money-burning strategy.

It is indeed not easy to use a cannon to kill a mosquito, but it is also impossible to withstand the terrifying number of shells. A large wave of shells was thrown down, and there were always one or two flamethrower ships that were hit by shells. Moreover, as the flamethrower ships got closer and closer, the Ming side even switched to shrapnel shells like the tiger squat cannon. Under the spray of shrapnel, more flamethrower ships were hit, and clusters of fire instantly ignited on the sea.

The fire-breathing ship was carrying oil. Once the ship was hit by a shell, the oil exploded and the ship often became a purgatory on the sea. The fire-breathing ships that were lucky enough to get close to the treasure ship also aimed their nozzles at the hull of the treasure ship, but they were often bombarded by the bows and grenades on the treasure ship. For a moment, under the setting sun, this piece of sea that should have been blue and peaceful suddenly became a Shura hell.

Chen Zuyi's face turned pale and blue. After the fire-breathing ship was sunk, the oil floating on the sea surface could often burn for a while. What stood between him and the Ming navy was this strange wall of fire burning on the sea surface. He didn't know how much of his looting experience he had lost in this wall of fire, but now he didn't care about it anymore, and just kept urging his men: "Hurry up! Hurry up! Row for me!"

He had no choice but to panic, because behind him was not only a sea of ​​fire and hell, but also a Shura who could rush out of the sea of ​​fire at any time and completely destroy him.

His ship was a Ming Dynasty-made two-masted clipper, not only had the latest universal sails of the Ming Dynasty, not only had sails on it, but also had more masts than ordinary ships. This was the ship that Chen Zuyi built for himself at all costs. With this ship that could travel as fast as the wind on the sea, he, Chen Zuyi, had avoided countless situations that should have led to his death.

Now, this speedboat has exerted its full speed, passing many of his subordinates' ships like an arrow shot from a bow. Even so, Chen Zuyi still felt like a thorn in his side. He kept looking back with the telescope, and urged: "Faster, faster..."

Behind him, a Ming treasure ship, like an evil beast from the underworld, brazenly sailed out from the dying sea of ​​fire, with flames still raging on its sails... Chen Zuyi was so frightened when he saw it that his voice became shrill, like a drake: "Quick, quick, quick..."

"Get out of the way, let me do it!" Fu Puxin pushed away a South China Sea pirate who was rowing the boat, took the oar himself, and began to row vigorously. Seeing this, Geng Datou rolled his eyes and hurriedly urged the South China Sea pirates to take turns rowing.

Chen Zuyi saw this and said nothing. After several escapes today, the pirates who were originally responsible for rowing the boats were already exhausted and panting. It should have been a long time ago that someone else should be rowing the boats, but he was so panicked that he forgot about it.

The pirates from the South Seas around Chen Zuyi filled in beside the oars, and the pirates who were originally responsible for rowing the oars sat on the ground sweating profusely as soon as they left their posts. It's no wonder that after a group of people were replaced to row the oars, the ship really went faster.

"You are very good." Chen Zuyi's face lightened up a little, and he praised Geng Datou in his busy schedule. Geng Datou was flattered and said with a fist: "King Chen Hai, you are too kind, I just..." The rest of the words gradually faded.

"What?" Chen Zuyi didn't hear clearly, nor did he think much about it. He subconsciously wanted to get closer, but unexpectedly, Geng Datou staggered, as if his feet were unstable, and suddenly fell towards Chen Zuyi.

(End of this chapter)