"Bang bang...bang bang...bang bang..." Before Hong Tao could send a command to slow down and rest to the fleet, the alarm bell on the mast was ticked again quickly. From the sound, it was probably because of the unknown ship.

"30 degrees on the port side, 3 sailboats, about 10 nautical miles away..." Soon, the lookout hand shouted out the details.

"There is a lot of left rudder behind us, and we will come up from the downwind." Although Hong Tao believed in the combat capabilities of his four ships, he was very cautious about any unknown ship on the sea. This place is not at the doorstep. Once it is attacked by someone, it will cause great losses. He still cannot afford to lose.

"5 sailboats, 10 nautical miles away, and 40" The sailboat has not completed its steering action, and the lookout hand issued a second wave of warning, and this time there are two more ships.

"Continue to observe..." Hong Tao couldn't figure out who the other party's ship was, and he could only wait for the watchman to report further.

"7 Arabian galleys, with a distance of 6 nautical miles and a course of 50. Their slurry was launched and they were turning towards us." After sailing against each other for half an hour, the lookout hand finally saw the size and shape of the other party. The function of the telescope was revealed at this time. It can allow the captain to discover the opponent dozens of minutes in advance and also know the opponent's actions in advance.

"Send a battle alarm, use dense formations to speed up and follow the flagship." When Hong Tao heard that it was an Arab galley, he knew that it was likely to fight. He had entered the sphere of influence of Arab ships. Although this place was not the Arabian Sea, they had always regarded it as their territory. Moreover, this Arab fleet had obviously been thinking about it, otherwise it would not have been paddling along the wind, and would not have adjusted its course. Isn't it great that everyone would pass by several nautical miles apart, so why should they rush towards the fleet traveling against the wind? This intention is already very obvious.

Two quarters of an hour later, the two fleets were almost opposite each other, less than a nautical mile apart. But neither side turned to avoid them. The Arab sailboats had already started paddling, and the speed of the ship was increased a little by the wind.

"Tell the Zhenzhou behind him. Let him pay attention to the other party's ships. He will chase whoever escapes. He must not let a ship run away. If necessary, he can hit the battle here. He doesn't have to worry about the battle here." Hong Tao did not pay much attention to this fleet. He has been scanning the sea in the distance with a telescope. After confirming that there were no other ships behind him, he issued a new order. Now no matter what the other party is about, Hong Tao is preparing to send these seven galleys to the bottom of the sea, and no one is allowed to escape from a boat.

The two fleets were moving towards each other on the sea and getting closer. Hong Tao already understood what the other party meant. There were metal corners on the bow of their ship, and that thing could not only break through the other party's boards, but also hook them. In this way, the Arabs on the sailboat could engage in a platoon battle. This was why their ship could not sail without supplies. There were more than 30 people on the boat more than ten meters. If they didn't walk along the shore one by one, they would all die of thirst and starve to death within three or five days.

Their wolves-like sea combat method is still very effective in this era. No one has long-range attack weapons. Even if there are crossbows on the sea, it is not easy to use. Whoever has more people and the faster the ship will take advantage. At present, it seems that these Arabs have more ships and more people, which has the upper hand.

Unfortunately, they chose the wrong target. Hong Tao's four ships looked tall, big, short, thick and wide sails, which accounted for the majority, and were more like cargo ships with large loads of weight. They were actually the overlords of the sea. They were like killer whales and sharks. The former was round and looked cute, while the latter looked fierce and extremely vicious. But if the two met, the sharks ran slowly, they had to serve as snacks for the killer whales. In some cases, quantity could not make up for the quality gap.

"Left rudder 30, starboard launch is ready to wait until they are sure to get close. Save ammunition." When the two sides were about half a kilometer apart, Hong Tao issued a new order. As the helmsman began to turn the steering wheel to the left, the sail operators on the mast also began to work hard. The Hong Yu suddenly turned on the sea, exposing the side of the hull to the galleys rushing towards him.

The Arabs were happy and shouted loudly on the deck, holding up the scimitar and anchor hook, as if they had caught their prey. They did have a reason to be happy. If the ship opposite did not turn, the sailboat would not dare to crash directly into it, and they would eventually turn slightly, otherwise the crushed one of the sailboats would be smaller tonnage. The reason they did this was to intimidate the other side's fleet. As long as the captain's psychological quality was not up to standard, the fleet would be likely to be disrupted once they turned, and the sailboats behind would have the opportunity to encircle and annihilate one of them. These Arabs were not as greedy as Hong Tao. They had never thought that it would be good to catch one or two of them. According to the tonnage of these four sailboats, the cargo on one of them was enough for everyone to eat, and let them escape the remaining ships. There were Arab brothers waiting for them in front.

The actual situation was indeed as the Arabs wished. The first sailboat that started was afraid, it turned, and the time for turning was too late. This posture could just make the corner hit its big belly. Then you don’t have to be polite, don’t have to wait to disrupt the other party’s fleet. It’s the first one. Who made its captain a waste?

"Allah... Allah... Allah... Boom... Ahhh..." Seeing the large sailboat less than a hundred meters ahead, the Arabs on the first galley began to praise their gods. But after just shouting twice, they suddenly found that several black spots fell in the sky, getting bigger and bigger, several fell into the sea, some fell on the deck, and one suddenly exploded in the air.

"Boom...boom...boom..." Before everyone could figure out what was going on, there were another series of explosions on the deck and the sea. The sailboat was instantly covered by iron sheets and blood flying around the black smoke and flames. The paddlers who were paddling on the side of the boat were blown down. Not only did they lose the power of the paddle, but the paddle inserted into the water also became the rudder, forcing the ship to slow down, and made a sharp turn to the right, which also turned horizontally towards the sailboat.

"Right 10... Starboard is ready to launch." Hong Tao didn't care about the other party's first ship. He pushed the helmsman away and went into battle himself. While turning the helmsman to the right, he shouted a new order. That was for other crew members to hear. Such a fun thing, he couldn't wait to command the helmsman anymore. It would be better to do it yourself.

The two fleets on the sea came head-on. If you look carefully, the four sailboats sailing from north to south facing the wind paddled an S-shaped track to the left before the confrontation, while the seven sailboats charging from south to north facing the wind have already come across because the first one was fireballed, and they can only dodge to both sides. It is better to dodge to the west side, but the one who flashes to the east side is immediately shot by grenades.

This time, it was not those light crossbow arrows. After the 150 mm diameter hollow iron ball exploded, there was no good place within five or six meters. No matter the human hull sails, they would be hit by the broken cast iron sheets inside. Some grenades did not fly out after the explosion, and were replaced by a black and sticky thing. The thing caught fire wherever it stuck. And you should not plan to put out the fire, because the blow had just passed, and before you could see the situation, the next ship came again, and the iron ball thrown over was more accurate. Who made you lose motivation?

"Cut off the fuse a little more, it is best to let the grenade explode in the air..." Hong Tao held the rudder, not forgetting to take a look at the explosion effect. At this time, he felt like he was playing the flying game on an old arcade, surrounded by enemy spacecraft, and his ship had to pass through them and attack them. The gunner on the deck was his own weapon. Not only did he have to operate the sailboat to avoid the slurry ships, but he also had to find the most suitable angle of bomb drop for the gunners, and he had to change the type of ammunition when he took the time.

Soon, the Hong Yu passed the formation of the slurry ship from beginning to end, attacking three ships in total, and the four left were a little far away. But it didn't matter. Now the Hong Yu was taking the lead in turning the rudder against the wind to the right. As long as the bow is adjusted, the sailing ship will be smooth. Even if the oarsmen on the four slurry ships are tired of breaking their shorts, they will not be able to escape. By then, they will not even have a chance to escape.

"Send flags, from left to right, one person in order, one by one, and one by one by one by one," while taking the lead in turning, Hong Tao was not idle, and first allocated the remaining four targets to avoid chasing them in a while.

The disadvantage of charging from the limelight is revealed at this time. Don’t think of turning around and attacking, you can only escape, because once you turn around, you are going against the wind. Before you turn around, you have already rushed over with the wind. How can you turn awkward? The four galleys didn’t even want to turn around and continue fighting. They are not warships, but merchant ships. They are used to taking advantage of them. Suddenly they meet an opponent who is more cruel than them. There is only one word. Escape

Unfortunately, even the slurry sailboat could not run through the sailing warship with sails. The 10-knot speed slurry deflectors could maintain ten minutes and twenty minutes, which could not last for an hour. In fact, it was not that long, half of their physical strength was spent on the sprint just now, and they were caught up by the sailboat in less than two quarters of an hour. This time, Hong Tao was useless to even grenades, and directly pushed it against the buttocks of the slurry ship with the bow of the slurry ship, pushed it to the side, and then crushed it directly. When the remaining three sailboats saw the movement of the flagship, they immediately understood what Hong Tao meant. This is not wasting a single ammunition. Let's take it too. It depends on who can push the other party to run for a while and then crush them. The ability to be continued.
Chapter completed!