We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Li Che knew that he had made a mistake.

They were so busy moving the artillery onto the warship that they forgot about the issue of shooting accuracy.

Although the artillerymen on the ship were elite gunners from the Dongfeng Brigade, they had no experience in naval warfare and were still using the land artillery method.

Compared with land battles, the distance between the two sides in naval battles is generally farther. Coupled with the impact of wind and waves on the stability of the ship, the difficulty of aiming naval guns is much higher than that of land battle guns.

He should have ordered the entire fleet to block the enemy's route and then launch a salvo, instead of bombarding them indiscriminately and wasting all the shells in the sea.

Moreover, firing so hastily would only scare the pirate ship and make it run even faster.

"Alas..." Li Che put down the telescope and said to Li Sheng beside him, "I'm afraid it's difficult. These pirates are about to run out of shooting range."

Li Sheng, however, was not discouraged at all, his eyes sparkled:

"That's great! The artillery has played a strong role in dispersing the enemy. This thing is truly extraordinary!"

Li Sheng had never seen such a way of fighting.

In the past, when fighting on Poyang Lake, the only attack method was to charge forward with large ships, and then use poles, rams, and bows and crossbows to hit the enemy when they got close.

There is no weapon like artillery that can hit people from hundreds of meters away.

Li Che looked at him helplessly: "The Fengguo Navy cannot passively take a beating, it must take the initiative to attack."

Li Sheng smiled lightly: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I have already made arrangements!"

Li Che was stunned for a moment, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a loud bang from the front.

He quickly picked up the telescope and looked, but saw that the pirate ship at the back was stopped in place with a small fire ship stuck on its side.

"This..." A look of surprise appeared on Li Che's face.

"I'm not an expert in artillery warfare, so I can only resort to the old-fashioned method," Li Sheng explained. "Those fireships left the fleet early and circled close to the enemy ships, and the artillery just happened to drive them here."

"Where are the soldiers who piloted the fire ships?"

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Those who can pilot a fire ship are all excellent watermen. They jumped into the sea long before the collision."

Li Che nodded and heard another loud noise.

Looking up, I saw that the pirate ship was hit by the fire ship and stopped in place. It was unable to avoid the cannonballs and was eventually hit.

The stern of the ship was blown to pieces, and wood chips flew everywhere.

After one cannon hit the ship, many gunners seemed to have found a soft target and aimed at the ship.

The sound of cannons rang out, and round after round of artillery fire descended, instantly turning the pirate ship into a sieve.

Some unlucky pirates were hit by cannonballs and died on the spot, their flesh and blood mangled and screams heard everywhere.

Seeing this scene, Li Che was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "Stop the bombardment, stop the bombardment! Damn it, leave a living pirate for this king!"

However, communication on the sea was extremely difficult. Although the Dingyuan stopped bombing immediately, other warships were still attacking.

The Fengtian Army fleet's artillery was extremely powerful and had a very long range. Not long after, Li Che saw the pirate ship slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea.

The pirate fleet did not give Li Che more opportunities and had already escaped. Shells kept falling on the sea behind them, splashing water.

In less than half an hour, the Fengtian Army's first naval battle ended.

Li Che looked at the empty sea, feeling mixed emotions.

How should I put it... I won, but it's just as good as not winning.

It was a far cry from the thrilling naval battle he had imagined. The enemy didn't dare to fight back from beginning to end. It felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Li Che sighed and decided to find time to train the gunners and standardize the tactics.

"Drive the boat over and see if you can get a few alive." Li Che turned around and instructed, "I'll go wait on the deck. I'll leave this place to you."

Li Sheng cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

Coming to the deck, the Dingyuan sailed on the waves towards the direction where the pirate ship sank.

Soon, they entered the sea area.

There were only wreckage of the ship floating on the sea, and the air was filled with the faint smell of gunpowder and blood.

Most of the pirate crew members were eaten by fish, and it is likely that not even a complete body was left.

Li Che stood at the bow of the Dingyuan, looking at the tragic scene before him, without a trace of pity on his face.

What good can being a pirate do?

They burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Now they are dead, so they are dead.

Do you really think every pirate is King Luffy? They use the name of pirates but actually do the work of adventurers.

"There's someone over there!" A sharp-eyed crew member suddenly pointed to the sea.

Li Che immediately looked over there.

Sure enough, on a piece of driftwood, a pirate was holding on to it tightly, struggling up and down in the waves.

"Quick! Pull him out!" Li Che ordered.

The sailors immediately took action. Seven or eight people who were good at swimming jumped into the sea with a "splash, splash". The flag bearer signaled the small boat to go and meet them.

The pirate showed obvious fear, fearing that he would be swallowed by the waves, and also afraid of being caught by this group of people of unknown origin who were using terrible firearms.

Before he could be scared for too long, a sailor skillfully threw out a huge fishing net and covered him.

The surrounding sailors rushed forward, subdued him in no time, and carried him onto the small boat.

When the pirate was escorted to the Dingyuan, everyone who saw his appearance could not help but gasp.

"What the hell?"

"Look at his hair, it's actually red!"

"Bah! There's no such thing as a red-haired person in the world! I think he was shot by a cannon, his brains are blown out!"

"You've never fought in a war, idiot. Your brain is white when it comes out of the pump!"

"Erhu, I think he looks a bit like your second uncle."

"Fuck your star percentage, you look like your second uncle!"

The crew members talked about it and were amazed.

"Hiss—" Even Hu Qiang put down the dried fish in his hand, "Your Highness! This is a monster!"

Li Che also looked at the pirate with surprise.

The people of Fengguo have dealt with many foreign races, whether they are Mohe, Koreans, Khitans, or the Ami people on Iju Island.

These foreigners are all typical Asians, with only slight differences in their facial features.

But the person in front of him had red hair and blue eyes, a slender figure, pale skin, a hooked nose, and thin lips...

But he is a foreigner!