The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Yes, this was undoubtedly a massive fleet along the eastern and southern coasts of the late Ming Dynasty.

"What is Mr. Li trying to do?"

Seeing the massive fleet on the sea, Mao Wenlong stared coldly at Chen Er, while the boy behind him drew his knife again.

"I thought Marshal Mao, who dared to launch a surprise attack on Zhenjiang with only a couple hundred men, was a hero. Would Marshal Mao dare to come and see my flagship?"

Mao Wenlong squinted and stared intently at Chen Er, while Chen Er smiled back at Mao Wenlong.

After a while, Mao Wenlong burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, do you think you can be afraid of a mere brat like you? Chenglu, Kexi, put away your knife and come with me to see what kind of trick Master Li is up to?"

I have a vague impression of Mao Chenglu, but Shang Kexi is a well-known figure, one of the most notorious traitors in Chinese history. However, Mao Wenlong didn't introduce him, and Chen Er didn't know who he was either.

They boarded Chen Er's flagship in a small boat.

Now that Chen Er is one of the big bosses, the craftsmen naturally put some thought into the modification of his flagship.

The tiger and leopard devouring the beast on top, covered in copper and inlaid with silver, were naturally adorned with many fancy decorations. But no matter how decorated, the twelve cannons on top just stood there quietly.

The bow was armed with a 150mm cannon, which was called a 24-pounder in Europe, and the stern was armed with a 100mm cannon, which was 12 poundser.

船中间的甲板上一边五门，两门120毫米口径的18磅炮，六门100毫米12磅炮，还有两门80毫米口径的10磅炮。

On a warship in the Ming Dynasty, it would be remarkable if it had a 10-pounder cannon. When Mao Wenlong and his party saw this ship full of huge cannons, they were stunned.

"This cannon... can it be fired?" It was unclear whether it was Chenglu or Kexi who asked the question. Apparently, they are now Mao Wenlong's adopted sons.

"Would General Mao be interested in taking a look?"

Chen Er smiled and turned to ask a question.

"I want to take a look."

Mao Wenlong replied with a sullen face. He had considered forcibly taking Chen Er and the others, but if these large pipes were real, then he would have to reassess Chen Er's strength.

"Plan Three Exercise," Chen Er said to the captain, gesturing for Mao Wenlong and his group to go up to the deck to watch.

They brought three target ships with them on the way, and this voyage was undoubtedly a good training opportunity, which Chen Er would not let go of.

At this time, it was very difficult to completely sink a ship in naval battles, but even so, two target ships had been destroyed and abandoned.

Mao Wenlong saw a red flag being waved a few times on the ship he was on, and then all the ships began to launch small boats.

Several large ships dare not moor too close to each other, lest the wind and waves cause collisions and damage to the ships, and the distance between them is not close at all.

Upon seeing the flag, the small boats launched by the large ships approached Chen Er's flagship, and the small boats launched by Chen Er's flagship also came to meet them.

A little while later, the small boats gathered together, and then they all went off to find their mothers again.

At this point, the large ships began to move; some ships started to raise their sails and anchor, and slowly began to move.

Mao Wenlong counted that nine ships were in motion. Once they started moving, they began to form a formation and then headed towards a ship further away.

Chen Er's flagship also started moving, but at this time Mao Wenlong and the others were all focused on those large ships, so they didn't think much of it.

Thump, thump, thump! The large ship ahead began firing its cannons. Looking at the billowing smoke, Mao Wenlong reached out to try and see more clearly.

"Here, Commander Mao, take a look with this." Chen Er reached out and handed over a monocular telescope.

"What is this?" Mao Wenlong reached out and took the brass-cased binoculars.

"Okay, here's what you do: look into your eyes and then try reaching in and out with your hand."

Chen Er held Mao Wenlong's hand and taught him how to use the binoculars.

As he extended and retracted his hand, Mao Wenlong suddenly jolted, nearly dropping the binoculars in his hand, because when he adjusted the focus, a large ship appeared before him.

After putting down the binoculars and looking at them again, Mao Wenlong looked at Chen Er with a shocked expression several times.

"This is a telescope, and it's also one of the gifts for Marshal Mao. Please accept it, Marshal Mao."

Chen Er smiled and said something to Mao Wenlong.

"This...this...how can I possibly accept this?"

He said no, but his body said otherwise. Seeing Mao Wenlong gripping the binoculars tightly, Chen Er was worried that he would deform the lens.

Regardless, Mao Wenlong was first and foremost a military general, and he naturally understood the value of something that could be used to observe enemy positions from a distance.

But he was immediately drawn to the naval exercises, looking through his binoculars at the warships and then at the target ships.

What's so interesting about nine ships ganging up on a drifting target ship? At least, no one in the fleet thought it was anything special.

The soldiers who weren't participating in target practice either did their own work or rested in the cabin. Only the officers were interested in watching, but only to see which ship had the highest hit rate.

Yes, this term is very popular in the navy now. It's not enough to just hit fast; you also have to hit accurately. How many rounds it takes to hit the target, and whether you can stay on the target after hitting it, are the goals that the navy is pursuing now.

The fixed charge, fuse, and integrated shell have been manufactured. Because the two steps of pouring and compacting the gunpowder are eliminated, the firing speed has been greatly improved.

With fixed ammunition and facilities for rapid muzzle angle adjustment, the fleet can now generally achieve three rounds of target hits at a distance of 100 to 200 meters.

Ships are mobile, and because the space on board is small, the lateral firing arc of cannons is limited when two ships pass each other, generally allowing only three shots to be fired.

The requirement of hitting the target in three rounds at a distance of about 100 meters seemed terrible to Chen Er, but it amazed Mao Wenlong and his subordinates.

Dongjiang Town also has a navy; otherwise, how could they have landed on the island? Of course, the entire Ming Dynasty's navy is the same; having a ship loaded with soldiers counts as a navy, but having a few cannons is quite something.

Even at this point, the Ming Dynasty's navy still primarily relied on boarding operations, and in their view, firing cannons on a ship in a state of constant rocking was a joke.

"General Mao, how do you think my men are firing the cannons?"

Live-fire exercises require both guns on the warship to be fired once. Turning around a huge warship is not an easy task. Sometimes, it can take up to an hour for both sides to adjust in order to get within combat range.

Mao Wenlong did not answer Chen Er's question, but instead gripped the binoculars tightly, watching the warship turn around in the distance.

From this distance, you can see the people and facilities on the warship's deck with binoculars. Apart from the different decorations—no, those ships haven't been decorated at all—they're no different from the ship Mao Wenlong is currently on.