Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 22: Fierce Fight at Sea
Everyone said, "What is there to be afraid of? When our Zhiyuan passed through the rain of shells to ram the Yoshino, who said they were afraid? No! Captain, just tell us what to do."
Lin Fei nodded and said, "Okay, my idea is to get close to the Spanish cruiser and board it by force!"
"Boarding" means jumping from one ship to another. This process is extremely dangerous. If you fail to jump onto the other ship, you will be squeezed by the two ships after falling into the water and instantly become a meat pie! "Boarding" can be said to be the oldest form of naval warfare, but in this era, warships have long used naval guns to decide the outcome, and the "boarding" combat style has withdrawn from the naval warfare stage.
Lin Fei went on to say: "Let me tell you in detail how to board a ship. As I said just now, whalers are both our disadvantage and our advantage. Warships like cruisers will relax their vigilance when they see civilian ships, so they won't be wary of us at all. We can take the opportunity to approach them and then board them."
Yu Xier shook his head and said, "Will they let us board? If we want to board, we must board! How can a warship allow another ship to board by force?"
Lin Fei said: "I have already considered this, signalman Ma Chengfeng!"
A strong man of medium build came over and answered loudly, "I'm here!"
Lin Fei said: "When you approach the Spanish cruiser, you will hang out the 'AE1 flag'! If the Spanish warship uses light signals to inquire about the situation of my ship, you will pretend not to see it. Do you understand?"
Ma Chengfeng answered loudly: "Understood!"
The "AE1 flag" that Lin Fei mentioned refers to the international maritime signal flag. This flag system was first introduced by the United Kingdom in 1857 and soon began to be used by countries around the world. This set of signal flags has 26 letter flags and 10 number flags. Different combinations of signal flags represent different meanings. "AE1" means that our ship must abandon ship. There is no life-saving equipment and rescue is urgently needed.
Lin Fei continued, "We have hoisted the AE1 flag, and the Spaniards will definitely not attack us. We will take this opportunity to get close to them and board them."
Liu Daming frowned and said, "We haven't seen the cruiser up close. If the freeboard of the cruiser is higher than ours, we won't be able to jump on it."
Lin Fei said firmly: "Don't worry, I can guarantee that the freeboard of that cruiser is definitely not as high as our Pangu."
Liu Daming said in surprise: "You haven't seen that cruiser, how do you know its freeboard is not as high as ours?"
Lin Fei had focused on the Spanish-American War in his naval history class, and was familiar with the Spanish warships of that era. He was naturally familiar with the freeboard data. All the Spanish warships in the Philippines had a lower freeboard than the Pangu when unloaded. Lin Fei did not explain much, but just said, "Just trust me, I don't have time to explain too much."
Everyone nodded, and Liu Daming shouted, "Then stop talking and get ready quickly."
Yu Xier said on the side: "Wait a moment!"
Liu Daming stared and said, "Old Foreign Fish, what do you want?"
Yu Xier said, "We never practiced boarding when we were on the Zhiyuan ! What if we can't board? Besides, there are only more than 20 people on our whaling ship, while there are at least more than 100 people on the opposing cruiser. Moreover, we have to leave people behind to control the ship. Do you think we can be a match?"
Lin Fei said: "As for whether we can jump over, I will jump first. I will tie a rope around my body and jump over first. Then I will find a way to fix the rope on the enemy ship. Everyone will follow my rope. As for whether we are opponents..." Lin Fei pulled out the Saladin Blade from his waist and said loudly: "When two people meet on a narrow road, the brave will win. Let's fight them!"
Seeing Lin Fei like this, the army was greatly encouraged, and they were ready to go. At this time, Ma Chengfeng had already hung up the signal flag, and the cruiser also appeared in front of everyone. In order to obtain better shooting accuracy, it adopted the method of dropping anchor and stopping the ship to shoot.
Lin Fei stood in the command room at the bow, looking at the waves in the sea through the transparent porthole. His mood fluctuated like these waves, because this battle was too difficult!
Lin Fei's hand touched his pocket involuntarily and he found something in it. Lin Fei reached into his pocket and a knot appeared in front of him. It was the Shimeji rope that Chiyomika gave him. Lin Fei's heart moved involuntarily.
At this moment, Ma Chengfeng shouted loudly: "Captain, the cruiser is using light signals to contact us."
Lin Fei asked hurriedly: "What did they send?"
Ma Chengfeng said: "Ask us about our nationality and the damage to our ship!"
Lin Fei said loudly: "Don't pay attention to him! Keep moving forward."
The sea breeze pushed the Pangu towards the Cuba cruiser. Lin Fei raised his head and measured the distance using the proportional method. It was 1,800 meters. He thought it was still early and he could wait a little longer.
At one thousand meters, Ma Chengfeng said, "Captain, the cruiser has sent another message, asking us to drop anchor and stop moving forward!"
Lin Fei thought for a moment and said, "Let's just ignore him."
Soon the distance was only 800 meters. Ma Chengfeng shouted, "Captain, the cruiser has issued a warning. If we don't stop, they will open fire on us!"
Lin Fei gritted his teeth and thought, "I have to survive these 800 meters no matter what!" So he said, "Ignore them! Keep moving forward!"
At this moment, Lin Fei suddenly saw a puff of black smoke coming out of the rear of the cruiser, and then there was a "splash" sound from the water surface in front of the left bow, and a column of water rose up. The cruiser fired! At the same time, Ma Chengfeng shouted: "Captain, the news from the cruiser said that because our ship refused to follow their orders, they decided to open fire and sink us!"
Lin Fei's heart was moved, and he secretly cursed the Spaniards for being so cruel. We are now a fishing boat, and they are going to sink it! Lin Fei shouted, "Don't worry about them. There are only 800 meters left. If we rush through, we will win!"
Now, driven by the sea breeze, the Pangu's speed is about five knots. It takes about six minutes to travel a distance of 800 meters. During these six minutes, if the Pangu is not sunk, there will still be a glimmer of hope!
At this moment, Lin Fei only heard the whistling sound of the wind, and then a "crackling" sound came from behind him. Looking back, he saw a big hole in the mainsail . It turned out that a solid bullet fired by the Spaniards had pierced the mainsail.
Lin Fei shouted loudly: "Don't panic! Keep steady!" Pangu continued to break through the waves and headed towards the Cuba cruiser. At this moment, Lin Fei saw the chimney of the Cuba cruiser suddenly spewing out black smoke, and then moved away. Lin Fei secretly said that it was not good. Since the Cuba cruiser had weighed anchor, it would definitely not be caught up with it by wind alone.
Lin Fei grabbed the megaphone and said, "Old Yu, start the steam engine, let's catch up!"
Yu Xier replied, "Understood!" Then he led the sailors to fill the steam engine with coal. The Pangu vibrated slightly and increased its speed. At this moment, Lin Fei saw another cannon pointed at him. The muzzle suddenly spurted out black smoke. Soon, the Pangu's hull shook. Lin Fei clearly felt the hull tilt forward. A sailor shouted loudly, "Water is coming in the No. 1 watertight compartment!"
Lin Fei's heart tightened, thinking: "Except for the keel, the rest of the structure of this whaling ship is made of wood. It can't withstand the shells at all. Now the Spanish cruiser has opened fire on us. Given the condition of our hull, how many shells can we withstand from the opponent! If we rush forward, we will definitely be sunk by the cruiser!"
"If we don't charge forward, we can only retreat. But retreating won't solve the problem on the island. The cruisers will definitely continue to bombard the ammunition depot! What should we do?"
Lin Fei was just hesitating when he heard a loud "crack" from behind him. A sailor ran into the cockpit and reported loudly: "Captain, the second mast was hit!"
When Lin Fei heard this, his brows furrowed even tighter. Liu Daming said at the side: "Old Lin, hurry up and think of a solution! The Spanish warships' shells are getting more and more accurate. The Pangu can't stand being hit!"
Lin Fei was silent for a moment, then said to Liu Daming, "Maintain the speed of 12 knots, turn the rudder to the left, and turn back!"
Liu Daming understood that Lin Fei was going to retreat, and asked hurriedly: "What about the ammunition depot on the island?"
Lin Fei shook his head and said, "It's a critical moment. There's no time to explain so much! If we are still alive, I will explain it to you."
After Lin Fei finished speaking, he grabbed the megaphone used to communicate with the signal room and said, "Ma Chengfeng, send a light signal to the ship on the other side, telling them that we are Katipunan warships and we will sink them to the death!"
Ma Chengfeng's voice stopped in the megaphone and he said, "How do I pronounce Katipunan? I don't know how!"
Lin Fei said: "Then you should send us the warships that are going to defeat the Spanish, and by the way, greet the Spanish ancestors. Anyway, let the cruiser come and chase us!"
Ma Chengfeng agreed, and Liu Daming said, "I don't understand! We have to retreat, but we also want them to chase us. What does this mean?"
Lin Fei said, "Old Liu, we don't have time to explain so much now. You lead the brothers in the cab to prepare their machetes and get ready to board the ship! I will steer the ship myself."
After Lin Fei finished speaking, he took over the rudder from Liu Daming. Gradually, the Pangu turned an angle and began to sail in the direction it came from. After receiving Ma Chengfeng's signal, the Spanish cruiser began to chase the Pangu desperately, firing while chasing. The Pangu was hit by several shells in succession, and the hull began to tilt to the port side.
Lin Fei looked at the position of the cruiser behind him and said loudly: "Brothers, I'm going to take action! I will stop the ship immediately, but the cruiser cannot stop. It will continue to rush forward at its original speed. According to the relative speed of the two ships, when we stop, the cruiser will rush to our side. That will be the perfect time for us to board it!"
