Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 174 Encountering Pirates

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Silva breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed dramatically, "Thank God, we escaped those vicious pirates!"

Li Fei snorted: "Not necessarily, it's only truly safe once we reach the shore."

Silva shrugged and spread his hands: "Captain, you're always so careful."

After the fleet had sailed for about an hour, the coast of Guangdong had disappeared from the horizon, and the two groups of pirates who had been fighting had long since vanished from sight. Apart from the sound of the waves, the world was completely silent.

Li Fei went to the stern and gazed into the distance in the direction he had come from.

Boerhu stood beside him and asked, "Are you worried about Liu Xiang and Zhu Cailao's men?"

Li Fei nodded: "If their forces are evenly matched, then we are safe. But when we passed by there, I saw that there were two more ships flying the Liu flag, and they had the upper hand. Zhu Cai's men could only hold out for an hour at most."

Boerchu had no doubt about his judgment: "So the outcome has already been decided?"

"Yes. If Liu Xiang's men haven't been seriously injured, they will definitely catch up. We have ten brand-new Guang ships here, how could the pirates let us go so easily?"

"Should we then send out the notices and prepare accordingly?"

"Let's not notify them for now to avoid causing panic. Let's just play it by ear." Li Fei hoped his judgment was wrong.

But fate had other plans. An hour later, several dark dots appeared on the horizon, moving faster than the fleet and gradually approaching.

The sailor on lookout shouted a warning: "A ship is chasing us!"

A commotion broke out on the ship. Silva clutched his forehead in pain and groaned dramatically, "Captain, could you please not be so right?"

There were four or five pursuing ships, and as they drew closer, the large "Liu" character on their flags became faintly visible.

The people on the "Bofu" were alright, but the captain and sailors on the Guangdong ship began to panic. In the waters off Guangdong, nine or eight out of ten flags with the character "Liu" belonged to Liu Xiang, the biggest pirate leader in Guangdong. It would be strange if they weren't panicking when they were being chased by his men.

"Whether to fight or retreat, we need to make a decision, Master." In this urgent situation, Borchu used his old title again.

Li Fei fell into deep thought: If he were to engage in battle, a small boat against five pirate ships, while also protecting ten unarmed civilian vessels, would inevitably be surrounded and annihilated. The "Bofu" had few sailors, and if the pirates closed in for boarding action, it would be at a complete disadvantage, leaving not even bones behind. If he retreated, he would have to abandon the ten slower Guangdong ships, but if he did that, could he still stay in the Qiongzhou camp after deserting the battle?

The pirate ship was getting closer and closer, only a few nautical miles away from the last ship. At their respective speeds, they would catch up in about two incense sticks' time.

There was no time to think it over. Li Fei decisively ordered, "Send someone to inform everyone on the Guang ships to escape to the first Guang ship and abandon the other nine ships!"

Bor was startled. Abandoning nine ships and letting the pirates take them would buy them time to escape, but what was the point of saving just one ship? He advised, "Young master, since you're going to make a tough decision, why not just get rid of all ten ships? We won't even go back to Qiongzhou Camp. The world is vast; there's nowhere we can't go."

Li Fei took a deep breath: "Boerhu, you are an eagle soaring over the grasslands. Are you afraid of fighting? We can't desert our posts over trivial matters. Go and relay the orders."