Chapter 934: Charge Through
The four towering warships were drawing closer.
If it hadn't been a Gao Family Village vessel they were cornering, but an ordinary freight ship, it would have been seized long ago. But the Gao Family Village ships were fast, constantly swerving and maneuvering, using their superior speed to evade capture for what felt like an eternity.
However, the Yellow River was not the Yangtze; its channel was far narrower, offering limited room for evasive action.
The four warships pressed in, their encirclement tightening with every moment.
If even one of them managed to latch on with grappling hooks, the consequences would be dire beyond imagining.
The sailors fired desperately, but their bullets still couldn't deter the enemy from closing in.
“They're going to try a boarding action!”
“Everyone, be careful!”
Just then, a sailor cried out, “Look, upstream!”
The freight vessel’s crewmen cheered wildly, their morale soaring.
Meanwhile, the sailors on Zhai Tang's four ships also spotted the monstrous vessel approaching from upstream.
A single glance was enough to scare half their souls right out of them.
The hundred-meter-long behemoth seemed like a small, moving mountain to them.
“What kind of ship is that?!”
“My heavens, what in the devil is that thing?!”
“How could anyone build a ship so enormous?!”
“It's coming straight for us!”
“It flies the multi-colored flag—it's Tie Niaofei’s lot!”
“Aaaah!”
Zhai Tang's men were utterly petrified, their morale utterly collapsing.
Even as they scrambled in a panic, completely at a loss, the colossal ship continued its rapid charge, cutting through the waves with a speed that belied its size, moving like a nimble skiff rather than a behemoth.
“Impossible!” Zhai Tang, who had been secretly observing the scene from the shore, was also terrified. “How can such a thing exist in this world?!”
The four towering warships were thrown into disarray. Forgetting their encirclement of the flat-bottomed freight vessel, they scattered and fled downstream. The Wanli Sunshine, however, surged forward with an unstoppable, arrogant might.
“How are we going to fight?!” Zhu Piaoling, practically bouncing with excitement, leaped around the deck, showing not an ounce of fear. Commanding such a massive ship to bully smaller ones, he couldn't even perceive a hint of danger.
His dedicated guards, however, didn't share his enthusiasm. A few of them swiftly surrounded him, pulling Zhu Piaoling towards the ship’s cabin. “Master, be careful not to be wounded by flintlock rifles or stray arrows.”
Zhu Piaoling gasped, remembering then that their opponents possessed ranged weapons. He immediately clutched his head and scurried into the cabin in a fright.
“Fire!” Jiang Cheng roared.
The flintlock riflemen on the massive ship immediately opened fire on the towering warships.
Their own gunwales were significantly higher than the enemy ships’ superstructures, allowing them to rain down a barrage of flintlock fire from above. Instantly, every person on the enemy warships scrambled behind their shields, many even retreating into protected compartments.
Commander Jiang recognized their tactics immediately. These were indeed the same men who had ambushed him before. All past grievances and fresh animosities could finally be settled.
A sailor reported, “Commander Jiang, the enemy is hiding behind wooden planks. Our flintlock rifles can’t hit them.”
Jiang Cheng cast a quick, cold glance at the enemy vessels, a sneer twisting his lips. “Then we’ll use the cannons...”
“Instructor Jiang,” an officer interjected, “Mr. Bai instructed us before we set out: don’t reveal the ship’s cannons easily. Keep them hidden unless absolutely necessary. These enemies seem to be targeting us, we shouldn’t let them see all our cards.”
Jiang Cheng nodded. “Very well. Then we’ll simply ram them.”
“Ram them?” Zhu Piaoling’s head popped out of the cabin, eyes wide with delight. “Oh, I *love* watching that!”
Everyone: “...”
Zhu Piaoling pressed, “Don’t you all enjoy seeing the big one bully the small ones?”
Everyone: “...”
Alright, truth be told, everyone secretly enjoyed a little bit of that.
“Charge! Ram them!”
The Wanli Sunshine surged forward at full speed, a force no ordinary small warship could match. Its momentum was immense, cutting through the waves with an unstoppable power, its vast, incomparable hull bearing down like a mountain on one pitiful enemy warship.
The enemy soldiers on the warship were terrified. They grabbed their matchlocks and Three-Eyed Arquebuses, firing a desperate volley of “bang, bang, bang” at the Wanli Sunshine. But it was utterly futile.
Their bullets couldn’t even scratch the layers of composite material that made up the model ship’s hull, which was two hundred times thicker than it appeared.
“Boom!”
With a deafening crash, the Wanli Sunshine slammed into the side of an enemy warship.
Because of its high superstructure, the warship’s center of gravity was inherently less stable than a flat-bottomed vessel’s. Struck broadside, it immediately capsized. The sailors onboard screamed in terror, followed by a tremendous splash as the ship overturned.
The Wanli Sunshine, having successfully rammed one ship, didn’t pause. It surged towards another enemy warship, which was so terrified it looked like it wanted to sprout legs and run ashore. The crew frantically rowed...
But it was futile. The Wanli Sunshine, at full ‘combat speed,’ quickly closed the distance.
“Stay away!”
“Boom!”
The two ships collided...
Another chorus of screams and panicked shouts erupted from the ship, and the entire warship toppled sideways once more.
The sailors on board tried to jump ship to save themselves before it completely went under, but the capsizing warship acted like a giant winnowing basket, spinning and dragging them down. As these sailors hit the water, they saw the colossal ship looming overhead...
Splash!
Trapping them beneath.
Shi Kefa exclaimed, “Oh? Ramming them all into the water like that certainly feels gratifying, but we haven’t left a single living soul behind!”
Jiang Cheng cursed, “Damn it, I forgot to capture prisoners! Quick, pull them out!”
“We’ll retrieve them; you keep going.”
The flat-bottomed freight vessel drew closer, its crewmen laughing loudly as they pulled out large fishing nets.
Jiang Cheng’s massive ship, meanwhile, continued its pursuit, chasing after the remaining two enemy warships.
However, ramming two ships and then navigating around the overturned wrecks had taken considerable time. The other two enemy warships had long since fled far away. Catching them now would likely be impossible in the short term.
Shi Kefa spoke up, “Commander Jiang, it’s not wise to pursue them too far.”
Jiang Cheng understood the wisdom in that. Overzealous pursuit could easily lead to neglecting water conditions or hidden hazards. A short chase was one thing, but maintaining high speed over a long distance, darting erratically, was inviting disaster. Hit a reef, and everyone would be done for.
Enemies might be conquerable, but nature demanded respect.
He reluctantly let the two ships go, reduced speed to cruising pace, and steered back to where they had just overturned the two enemy vessels.
He saw that the flat-bottomed freight vessel had already fished several enemy soldiers out of the water. Dozens of bayonets now encircled the trembling captives.
The enemy soldiers held up their hands, not daring to resist in the slightest.
The Wanli Sunshine pulled alongside. Jiang Cheng leaned over the great ship’s rail and roared down, “Have they confessed? Who is the mastermind behind this?!”
The captain of the freight vessel looked up. “They have! The man who hired them is named Zhai Tang, one of Shanxi’s Jin merchants.”
“Zhai Tang?!” Tie Niaofei’s face contorted with fury at the name. “That vile wretch, it’s that damned scum again! That maggot in a gutter! Sooner or later, I’ll get my hands on him, flay him alive, and avenge the blood of my old brothers!”
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