Chapter 45

It was late at night. The summer sea breeze was unusually refreshing. Ji Wen, dressed in a sky-blue naval uniform, strolled on the deck, as the "Eagle of the East" was about to set sail secretly. This time, their target was a place marked as "Horse Island" on the sea chart. No one knew why it was called "Horse Island," perhaps because there were many horses on the island?

"The captain, the food, fresh water, gunpowder, cannonballs, and building materials are all ready. Please sign for them," a voice from nearby called out. It was the official from the supply department at the dock.

"Um, the numbers are correct. Thank you for your hard work," Lu Ming verified some of the figures, signed his name, and then thanked the dock official.

"Hehe, I wish you a smooth journey. Good luck, we're counting on you to beat the Spaniards," the dock official smiled and encouraged them.

"Then, until we meet again." After bidding farewell to the dock official, Lu Ming led the last group of students from the navigation school and boarded the "Eagle of the East" in formation.

Ji Wen quickly stood at attention, his eyes following Lu Ming. All the crew members had gathered on the dock. Lu Ming walked over and shook hands with each one. This long voyage to Horse Island was fraught with risks, and everyone was in the same boat, sharing the unspoken understanding.

Fifteen minutes later, the "Eagle of the East," carrying 18 crew members, 30 students from the navigation school, 90 gunners, 47 army brothers, and 50 Charuia construction workers, silently sailed out of the port, heading southwest.

...

The cold sea breeze blew across the deck of the "Eagle of the East."

Fabian Klinger, carrying his 32-乙 type flintlock rifle, patrolled the deck, accompanied by his neighbor Hans. This time, to support the navy, the five production teams of the development detachment had each contributed a group of militiamen to form a temporary first platoon, under the command of Captain Lu Ming of the "Eagle of the East." Both Fabian and his neighbor Hans were among the selected personnel, and they were assigned to the same tent. Due to his excellent performance in training, Fabian even became the tent leader.

The waves in the South Atlantic were quite rough. Fabian, while trying to steady himself, chatted with Hans: "Before we left, I just bought 10 acres of land. Each acre cost only 5 yuan, and it's all cultivated land we've worked on. In about a month, we can start planting. This time, I plan to plant five acres of wheat and the rest with potatoes. Oh, buying wheat seeds will cost a lot of money."

"You spent all your enlistment and settlement fees on buying land?" Hans looked at Fabian in surprise and then laughed self-deprecatingly, "I bought a few bottles of wine and a piece of British wool, which cost me most of my money."

"You're really extravagant. British wool is so expensive. Why not buy the machine-made cloth from the East Shore Company? It's only half the price of British goods," Fabian said, knowing that his neighbor was still single and spent money freely, he tried to advise him.

Hans waved his hand, "The machine-made cloth from the East Shore Company is a blend of cotton and wool, and the quality isn't very good. British wool is much prettier. You know, I just like beautiful things."

The two chatted for a while. Just as they were about to turn and start the next patrol, a shout came from the mainmast lookout: "To the right front, a three-masted sailing ship has been spotted! Attention, to the right front, an unidentified ship has been spotted!" He then pulled a rope connected to a bell on the mast.

As the bell rang, the sailors immediately became tense, shouting and calling out to each other.

Lu Ming raised his telescope and observed the front from the bridge. At the horizon to the right front, a tall mast appeared, followed by a second and a third...

"Spaniards!" First Officer Julien de Aubry, holding a telescope, identified the enemy from the flag of lions, castles, and crowns flying on the mainmast of the other ship.

"Enemy! Close in, prepare for battle! Julien, go command the sailors!" Lu Ming ordered after calming down a bit.

Julien left the bridge, observed the position of the other ship again on the wooden walkway, and then shouted, "Raise the auxiliary sails!"

"Understood! Raise the auxiliary sails!"

"Gun captain! Load the forward guns!" Lu Ming ordered after repeatedly confirming the distance between the two ships through the telescope.

"Understood, load the forward guns!"

"Lookout, raise the naval flag!"

"Understood! Raise the naval flag!" A triangular flag with a double-sworded eagle slowly rose from the mainmast.

"The other ship seems to be a supply ship," Lu Ming said with a smile to Captain John Stone, who was beside him. "We have good luck."

"Yes. Poor Spaniards." Captain John Stone also raised his telescope to observe. "Perhaps it's a ship transporting arms from Lima or Santiago."

"Boom!" One of the 12-pound cannons on the bow fired as soon as it entered its maximum range. At this distance, the shot was naturally inaccurate, and the cannonball splashed about 200 meters in front of the other ship. However, this shot clearly startled the other ship. The distance between the two ships was over 1,600 meters, and the other ship actually fired back, which was an extremely long range.

The Spanish ship began to turn into the wind, preparing to flee. It was clearly unwise for a supply ship equipped with only a few small-caliber cannons to engage a warship with a large number of long-barreled heavy cannons.

Taking advantage of the other ship's turn, the "Eagle of the East" closed the distance by a few hundred meters. The two 12-pound cannons on the bow fired repeatedly, and after several rounds, one of the shots actually hit the other ship, but it didn't cause significant damage.

"Close in, use the broadside cannons," Lu Ming ordered while observing. The other supply ship was slow, clearly much slower than the "Eagle of the East," which could sail at 8 knots with the wind. The heavy cargo and the ship's design severely limited its escape speed, and the "Eagle of the East" quickly caught up.

"Gun captain, prepare the 1-8 gun teams." The two ships were now only a few hundred meters apart, and the panicked sailors on the other ship's deck were vaguely visible.

"Fire!" Lu Ming ordered.

"Fire!" Gun captain Chen Tumu shouted on the port side gun deck.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The 8 cannons fired almost simultaneously, and the various-sized cannonballs flew the short distance of 400-500 meters, creating numerous wounds on the other ship. Some unfortunate sailors screamed and fell on the deck.

"Reset the guns! Clear the barrels, load the powder, and load the cannonballs!" The other ship's 3-pound and 4-pound cannons fired a few sparse shots at the "Eagle of the East," but Chen Tumu remained calm and ordered the reloading to continue.

"Fire!" The 8 cannons fired another round of volleys! The cold sea breeze blew away the smoke, and Chen Tumu raised his telescope. He noticed that this round of firing seemed to have achieved significant results. Two 24-pound cannonballs hit the sterncastle of the other ship, shattering the ornate windows of the captain's cabin. It was unclear how many casualties there were inside. Additionally, one of the other ship's cannons was hit, and the gun fell off its broken carriage, rolling a long distance and crushing several sailors who couldn't get out of the way, creating a gruesome scene.

"Load chain shot!" Lu Ming ordered, preparing to destroy the Spanish ship's sails to disable it and force it to surrender. However, things often don't need to be so complicated, as the other ship suddenly lowered its main sail and raised a white flag on the mast.

The Spaniards surrendered!

"Victory!" The sailors cheered enthusiastically. Although they had bullied a weakly armed supply ship, it was still a victory. Soon, two tents of army soldiers rowed over to the other ship to take control of the prize.

Fabian Klinger struggled to climb up the rope ladder onto the deck of the Spanish ship. On the deck, a dozen Spanish sailors gathered, looking anxiously at the conquerors. They couldn't resist because the enemy's cannons were still aimed at them.

"Stay there quietly, don't try to resist," Fabian said casually, taking his rifle off his back and loading it. Soon, 30 army soldiers boarded the ship. After searching and tying up the Spanish sailors, they threw them into the hold and posted a tent of armed soldiers to guard them.

Julien arrived with 15 students from the navigation school. They would now operate the Spanish supply ship.

"Wow! We're rich!" Ji Wen exclaimed, looking at the cargo hold filled with matchlock muskets, spears, short swords, breastplates, matchlock fuses, gunpowder, lead bullets, and cannonballs. "I hope there are more Spanish supply ships, otherwise, they're in big trouble."

"Ji Wen, stop daydreaming! Raise the main sail, we're leaving!" Julien ordered on the deck.

"Understood, Captain Julien!" Ji Wen responded loudly, climbed up the deck, and called his classmates to help raise the main sail.

Half an hour later, the "Eagle of the East" and the captured Spanish supply ship disappeared on the horizon. The surging waves carried away the few floating bodies, leaving only a pile of foam on the sea, as if nothing had happened.