Seventy. Robbery (continued)

  On the vast and boundless ocean, two Japanese unique "Ankaku" ships were towing their extremely deep draft hulls against the wind, their slow pace shuttling through the endless blue waves, like a dying old man stumbling and withering.

  The Atakebune was a type of large sailing ship that emerged in the late Sengoku period, which was essentially a slow-moving coastal vessel not suitable for long-distance navigation. However, due to Japan's backward shipbuilding industry and the relatively short distance between Ryukyu and Satsuma, as well as the fact that Atakebunes had a larger cargo capacity, they inevitably became the main force in foreign trade.

  At the end of November, on the vast ocean, the huge fireball in the sky was powerless to stop the northern wind's rampage. Except for a few sailors who had to stay outside to manipulate the sails, everyone else on the two Anjia ships was comfortably huddled inside the cabin-like structure on the upper deck, drinking and warming themselves by the fire, completely treating the treacherous ocean as if it were a tranquil path in their own backyard.

  However, the Japanese seem to have reason to think so, after all, since the Divine Wind helped Japan destroy the invading Mongolian army, the Japanese have not been threatened at sea, even in the more than 70 years ago, the conquest of Korea, a larger naval defeat also did not happen.

  ??

  "Lord Matsushima, we have already passed Amami Oshima." The sailor reported to the samurai lord in front of him, with a gust of cold wind blowing through the door. Although the Satsuma clan would dominate the Japanese Navy for many years to come, at this moment, the sailors who had surrendered from the pirates were naturally no match for the officials sent by the domain's old government. "We will arrive at Bofutsu in four more days."

  "Good!" Matsudaira Izu no Kami Gorōzaemon, who was holding a handsome young man and moving his hands up and down, felt like he had the power of a daimyō at this moment. "You must be tired, come on in, pour some sake for Kanpachi." The young man quickly found a sake cup for Mizuno Tadakuni. "This is Taiwanese cane sugar wine, it's said that the Dutch really like it, here, have a drink to warm yourself up."

  The boatman took a big gulp of the sweet potato wine that cost less than two coins, and as the spicy flavor spread throughout his mouth, he narrowed his eyes: "Indeed, it's quite unique, but I still think the Qing wine from Fangjin is better."

  "As long as we get back to the domain, this trip's profit will be enough for us to drink for ten years." Matsushima said with a smile. It was harder to believe that the sailors didn't smuggle private goods than it was to believe the sun rises in the west. However, considering he would also get a large share of the profit, he chose not to point this out deliberately.

  "It's not like that." The boatman sighed, "Those who labor with their minds govern others, those who labor with their strength are governed by others. Although they toil and struggle along the way, in the end, the old men, the officials, the supervisors, the patrolmen, and the magistrates all come to take a cut, and the big shots are always on someone else's side." "If we can get four or five strings of cash, it's already a blessing from Amitabha."

  Matsumoto smiled but didn't speak, however the attentive water bearer noticed that he was absent-mindedly gazing at the peach-blossom-like youth on the other side. Knowing that this lord had something he couldn't hold back, the water bearer immediately understood and stood up: "My lord, please rest assured, I'll come to report again after passing the Tsukimi-no-shima island."

  The boatman pushed open the screen door and saw through the paper screen door that two figures were already entwined together, and he also heard the sound of kissing. He curled his lip and cursed a sentence of "lustful ghost", then walked out of the house shape. However, when he was about to go downstairs, he casually glanced around and suddenly exclaimed: "Barbarian ship, great red barbarian ship!"

  Apart from the two who were still in the cabin, making out with each other, all the boatmen who heard his shout came out of their hiding places and looked around. Sure enough, a fleet of red barbarian ships with red upper sails and blue lower sails appeared behind them. Although they were sailing against the wind, the barbarian ships, which were shaped like the Chinese character for "eight", were clearly much faster than theirs. One of them, with a triangular sail, was catching up at an astonishing speed.

  "It's okay, not a pirate ship, it should be a Dutch ship going to Nagasaki for trade." Seeing the triangular sailboat with one mast passing by the side of the Ataka ship, the sailor couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. At this time, the two square-sail ships were also slowly approaching. "Show them the Sanbaton flag and tell these Dutch people to behave themselves."

  It seemed that the Shimazu family crest had been spotted, and suddenly two Western-style ships emitted bursts of smoke, followed by a loud rumbling sound that spread rapidly through the air. The boatmen were shocked, but soon discovered that there was only cannon fire without any splashing water, and knowing some Western etiquette, he finally put his mind at ease.

  But he was relieved, Matsushima rushed out with his pants on: "What was that sound just now? Who released the big tube?"

  The sailor looked at Matsushima's lower body with a contemptuous gaze, but his mouth explained: "Just now the order to raise the family flag was given, and Lan Yi must have seen it and is firing a salute."

  Matsushima let out a breath, and only then thought to fasten his trousers. By the time he had finished, two junks larger than the Daianjiya were approaching. Looking at the busy figures on their decks, Matsushima said with relish: "These Ryūkyū ships are really big, aren't they? If our domain could build ships like this too, that would be great."

  "Ran Yi? With an envious gaze, Song Dao's eyes were fixed on the opponent's ship, and he suddenly looked at the head of the waterman beside him with a puzzled expression: "When did the Lan Yi ship change its flag?"

  The sailor was also stunned, the VOC flag of the Dutch East India Company was a symbol known to every woman and child in Kyushu, but he hadn't noticed it earlier. Now that Matsushima mentioned it, he realized that not only were the four foreign characters gone from the center of the white field, but even the white between the red and blue had vanished without a trace.

  "We've been deceived, it's not the Lan Yi, it's pirates!" But before the sailors could even comprehend what was happening, the opposing ship, which had already drawn very close, once again emitted bursts of smoke, but unlike last time, eight water columns shot up into the air along with the cannon fire - this time they were actually firing!

  "Hurry up and counterattack!" The boatman shouted loudly, but even if they hid in the general's cabin and between the iron cannons, what could they do? At a distance of over 200 steps, not to mention that the Shimazu people who used the wooden bow couldn't shoot at the opponent, even the lead bullets shot from the iron cannon that was invincible at close range were ineffective, and they could only watch as the opponent poured cannon fire on their heads.

  "Damn it, missed again!" However, the Japanese side was still in a state of panic. Ma Ying and Karl, who were commanding the Feilong and Flying Eagle respectively, were furious. "How did you aim? Tell the helmsman to try again and get closer." From 500 yards, they fired at 300 yards, and finally, a 3-inch (12-pound) cannon shell landed on the Japanese flagship, causing destruction and chaos. The cries of the dead and wounded were even louder than the sound of the cannons. "Good shot, do it again!"

  Unfortunately, they can't catch up, as the Flying Eagle and Flying Dragon have already passed the Samoan ship's bow. To hit them now would require a turnabout maneuver. As they watched their formidable opponents disappear into the distance, the Japanese breathed a sigh of relief. Still puzzled by the sudden attack on Matsushima, Commander Kurooka ordered the bosun to inspect for damage and casualties, but before he could act, the lookout shouted again.

  This time it was the Knight's turn to come first, turning into a favorable wind, the Knight cut through the waves, rushing and killing, until the moment of passing by, three shells came one after another, one of which ignited the sail of the Matsushima ship, and another shook off the bow of the ship. But that's not all, the Knight, who quickly reloaded, shot again when he was about to pass by a Anqing ship, this time hitting even more accurately, and soon black smoke rose from the Anqing ship.

  "Switch to chain shot!" Chen ordered the gunner to change ammunition, and at the same time, the Knight quickly turned around, taking advantage of the good maneuverability of the sailing ship. Before the Flying Eagle and Flying Dragon launched their second attack, the Knight had already caught up with the Japanese ship again. "This time we'll break all their masts!" Chen encouraged his men, waiting for the Flying Dragon and Flying Eagle to finish reloading before closing in. "Avenge our injured brothers!"

  The sealed chain shot's wax melted rapidly at high temperatures, and the three flying chain shots approached the enemy ship like a meteor hammer, sweeping away all obstacles in front of it with a loud crash, breaking the upper section of the mast into two pieces before its final kinetic energy dissipated. As a result, the sails of one of the two Japanese ships on the sea were burned to ashes, and the mast of the other was also broken, forcing the Japanese, who could not borrow any wind power, to start using manpower to row forward. However, how could the Japanese allow the Tongziying water soldiers, who were biting back like a pack of wolves, to succeed? Soon, the ships switched to canister shot and approached for close-range shooting, almost every cannonball breaking more than a dozen long oars, and after repeated attacks, the enemy ship was completely unable to move.

  "Sir," Xie Bao asked Ma Ying, who was of the same age. "The Flying Eagle has signaled to inquire, is it time to board the ship?"

  "What's the hurry, a cornered beast will still fight." Ma Ying said this not because she was cautious. "Tell Chu Jin and Chen Yi not to be stingy with artillery shells, give Yu Hong a good pounding, even if it means we have to abandon everything on the ship, but those bastards won't live to see another day."

  The bombardment continued, and since they had already approached to about one hundred steps, the three warships that hit the target simultaneously raised their sails, while countless grapeshot poured onto the Anjia ship, quickly turning two ships into coffins floating on the sea.

  Seeing the sea surface stained red with blood and flames, and the sharks gathering from afar, Karl became restless. He rowed a small boat to the Feilong number: "Ma! This is extreme waste. I heard that a black slave can be sold for twenty-five rials in Taiwan. These Japanese should also be able to sell for a good price."

  "Card teaching, black slaves are black slaves, Japanese people are Japanese people, can't be mixed up." However, Ma Ying still gave the other party a face. "Signal to the knights and flying eagles that they can stop shelling, send someone on board to search, but remember, if you encounter resistance, kill without mercy."

  Treading on the deck filled with blood and water, the young sailor carefully searched each cabin. However, it was not just the hull that had been battered by cannon fire - the bizarre corpses made the young sailors vomit. But there were survivors, and almost every one of them tried to resist. Yet, in front of the soldiers clad in chainmail and sharkskin armor, their family heirloom swords became a joke. As for the outcome of their resistance, there was only one possibility.

  ??

  "We've struck it rich." Finally, a silver mountain suddenly appeared before the eyes of the soldiers. Fortunately, these young and juvenile soldiers had not been sufficiently corrupted, so for now they just cheered and shouted.

  ??

  "It should be the Satsuma domain exchanging Japanese gold for Ryukyu silver." Ma Ying judged so, Japan's gold and silver price ratio is 1:4, while internationally it is usually 1:10. Just this one item can earn Satsuma double the profit, but unfortunately, this time Zheng was too clever. "Hurry up and transport it back, the Anshi ship is about to sink."

  ??”