Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 176 A great victory

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The pirates, seeing the sinking ship and the whirlpool it created swallowing their companions who had jumped overboard, were terrified and shouted, "Don't fire! We're jumping!"

Pirates from ship after ship jumped into the sea. Seeing that the "Bofu" really didn't attack them, they relaxed and desperately paddled in the opposite direction. Swimming to survive on the vast ocean wasn't a good idea, but it was better than being riddled with bullets by cannons.

Most of the pirates on the nine ships jumped into the sea, but several dozen pirates on one of the ships hesitated. One of them said, "This duck-tailed ship is extremely cunning. Maybe if we all jump, he'll take back the Guang ship and then attack us. If we stay in the cabin, they'll be hesitant to act, and we might still have a chance." It must be said that this small leader guessed Li Fei's true intentions. With only a few dozen men on the "Bofu," it would be impossible to take back the Guang ship through hand-to-hand combat, even if all the men were killed. The only option was to use the intimidation of cannons as a tactic.

Seeing that the pirates on the ship were hesitant to jump into the water, Li Fei frowned. His original intention was to recapture all the Guang ships without bloodshed, but if he worried about damaging the ships and allowed these pirates to stay on board, the pirates in the sea might follow suit and climb back onto the ships, then all his efforts would be in vain.

At this point, some of the quick-thinking pirates in the water stopped swimming and peered over their necks to observe the commotion.

"Use solid shot to hit this Guang ship," Li Fei ordered. "Don't hit below the waterline, raise the muzzle a little."

With a few loud "booms," heavy solid shot whistled and slammed into the ship, making the pirates hiding in the cabin feel the whole ship tremble.

"You bastard, you actually did it for real, you even dared to destroy your own new ship?" the squad leader yelled.

"They've opened fire, let's jump into the water, boss," the subordinate advised.

"No, wait a bit longer. Maybe it's just a scare tactic. I don't think they'd have the heart to sink such a brand-new ship!"

Seeing that the rats weren't leaving their holes and the people on the sea were still observing, Li Fei said in a deep voice, "Fire all cannons at once!"

After receiving the order, the gunners abandoned their free firing, loaded the shells, and simultaneously lit the fuses under the command of the gunner.

With a series of loud booms, the six Caron cannons roared in unison, and the powerful recoil caused the ship to tilt to one side. Some sailors lost their footing and slipped on the deck.

Six solid shot slammed into the hull, sides, and cabins, sending wood chips flying. The pirates inside felt as if the ship was about to fall apart and break into pieces at any moment.

Everyone panicked. Forget everything else, they rushed out of the cabin, covering their heads, and jumped into the sea. If the ship really sank, staying on board would be certain death; jumping into the sea offered a glimmer of hope.

Seeing everyone jump into the sea, Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief. If the other side had persisted, he would have had no choice but to sink the Guang ship. It wasn't too late yet. Although it had been hit by several solid shot, it hadn't been seriously damaged and could still be used after being towed back for repairs.