Chapter 378: Arrival

The fleet, cleaving through the waves at high speed, quickly closed in on the five pirate ships that were slowly trying to escape, pulling the distance between both sides into visual range.

In the bridge of the Green Island frigate leading the fleet, a middle-aged man wearing a blue Navy training uniform with an Ensign rank on his shoulder was carefully observing through binoculars.

This man had a square face, large ears, and an honest, simple look; his posture was ramrod straight and his military bearing was strict — clearly a regular officer. What outsiders didn't know, however, was that this honest-looking man's previous profession had been a pirate who killed without blinking.

This man was called Cao Hu, formerly a Pirate Leader of one gang. Back when Zheng Zhilong disappeared and Li Kuiqi's group split internally, Cao Hu, through his old connection Xu Xinsu's introduction, went north to Fuzhou to defect to the Official Army.

After being granted Recruitment and Amnesty by the Great General Cao, Cao Hu lost his Retainers and ships, receiving only the official rank of Outer Garrison Commander.

After this, having observed the annihilation of Li Kuiqi's group on site, Cao Hu was sent to the Navy training base in Dayuan along with some other leaders who had surrendered and defected.

The painful life of a cadet caused many to develop thoughts of quitting — the culture and military discipline classes weren't a big problem for the young men, but for adult pirates who were habitually undisciplined and whose worldviews had long been fixed, it was a bloody process of scraping bones and scaling flesh. The phrase "thoroughly remolding oneself" is easy to say, but terribly hard to do.

More and more people dropped out one after another; this even included the famous Du Dewei and Hu Ba brothers among the cadets — when they discovered that being an official in the new society wasn't so enviable and that the most awesome people were actually capitalists, they took the silver from selling their belongings and became bosses.

In the end, the pirate officers who could persist until the commissioning day were not even half of the original number. Cao Hu's smooth graduation in the midst of this actually surprised everyone somewhat — despite his honest-looking face, back in the Pirate Gang, Cao Hu had been a notoriously cunning and slippery character.

After formal commissioning, these former Pirate Leaders gained a new life; they once again possessed Retainers and ships. Of course, the new Retainers were all regularly trained soldiers who could be rotated at any time — there were no more "big brothers" or "little brothers."

After the eight-month short-term training course ended, these officers who had come to the profession late began rotating through various posts in the Navy. As for the road ahead, that would depend on their own efforts: those who performed excellently would gain the opportunity for further study, finding their own place in the Empire's future great naval Construction.

Cao Hu currently held the post of First Mate on the Green Island Frigate — this was his third rotated position since graduation.

As the fleet advanced at high speed, the distance between friend and foe was pulled much closer with every passing Minute. And now, through the lenses of Cao Hu's eight-power Zeiss binoculars, the figures on those ships opposite were already quite clear; he could even make out the face of a certain person jumping and shouting.

"So it's Group Head Fish — I didn't expect to see an old friend again today." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Cao Hu's mouth. He then lowered his binoculars, turned his head, and said to another officer beside him: "Captain, confirmed they are pirates under Liu Xiang's command without a doubt. I recognize that leader."

The officer standing beside him also lowered his binoculars at the same moment: "Mm, we've been recognized too — the other side is lowering their Recognition Flag."

The speaker was short, dressed in a standard officer's uniform. Although this man was young, the colorful Qualification Badges on his chest represented military seniority far exceeding Cao Hu's... Comrade Mao Wujian, who had been granted an Imperial Bestowal of Name.

Once Comrade Mao Wujian confirmed the opponent's pirate identity, he immediately gave the order: "Signal the flagship to confirm the opponent's pirate identity and request authorization to open fire."

The signalman broadcast the coded message into the camouflage-colored hand mic. One Minute later, the order came down from the flagship: "Permission to open fire granted."

Four nimble Escort Ships promptly detached from the Troops. After forming a battle line, under radio Command, a white line soon chased down the pirate ships with the wind. At the same time, the Escort Ships began switching to their second form: engine power increased, black smoke rose, and the sails were lowered halfway — they were about to arrive at Guangzhou City, so there was no need to consider Supply issues anymore.

Just as the four warships began nimbly turning against the headwind, Group Head Fish, who had been cursing moments before, suddenly shut his mouth. Clinging tightly to the mast, watching the enemy that had already charged within a 200-Meter distance, a scene buried deep in his Memory came back to life: half a year ago, countless brothers who refused to believe in bad omens had been sent to the seabed to feed the fish by these Strange Ships that ignored Wind Direction and moved like sharp arrows.

Group Head Fish knew, based on experience, that the opponent would fire their Cannons very soon. Sure enough, just as he thought of this One Point, four ranging shots came from the opposite side.

Since the Taijiang-class Frigates only had a displacement of 150 tons, the ships carried only four 6-pounder Cannons. However, these four Cannons had a fast Rate of Fire and fierce firepower; within 500 Meters they could completely punch through the single-layer hull of a Chinese-style sailing ship, making them sharp weapons against old-style Pirates.

The four shells entered the water very close to the target, sending up tall splashes. Knowing full well that a rain of shells was about to come crashing down, Group Head Fish no longer hesitated. He first craned his neck to gaze at the sandbank islands Downstream on the river surface, then let out a long sigh, released the mast, and plunged headfirst into the river water.

At the exact moment he entered the water, the naval gun group, having corrected their Shooting parameters, began Rapid Fire. The naval guns, totaling 16, used a Rate of Fire of 2–4 rounds per Minute to Smash a rain of shells onto the five pirate ships.

Five Minutes — in just a short five Minutes, the several pirate ships were already battered and broken, and the world instantly fell silent.

The ship decks were now littered everywhere with dead men; blood mixed with the filthy water on the deck surfaces into a coffee color. The Recognition Flag, lowered halfway, drifted lifelessly in the wind. Ropes, debris, severed limbs, and some half-dead pirates Constantly rolled back and forth on the swaying decks.

The victors' next actions were very practiced, for they had done the same thing many times before: first the warships fully lowered their sails, then used Propeller power to slowly draw close to the pirate ships. The next moment, the sailors fired two volleys from the ship's sides, sending every object still wriggling within visual range into a state of stillness.

Next, several grappling hooks were thrown over, and then the team specifically Responsible For boarding slid down the ropes onto the pirate ships.

According to the emergency boarding plan, the team's First Moment upon boarding was to first seal and nail down the hatch covers, to prevent anyone from suddenly charging up from below. After controlling the deck, the team members first briefly inspected the condition of the several ships, then adjusted the sails and took the helm, restoring the ships' heading.

The several pirate ships all had varying degrees of damage. The other few Fast Ships of small tonnage were passable, but the Largest single Bird Ship, having suffered concentrated fire, was severely damaged, with several places on the hull leaking water.

So two Youguang-class Destroyers with a displacement of 500 tons also came alongside, using the Motor Sailboats' excellent propulsion systems to hover on the river surface and began using steel cables to tow the spoils of war.

The Battle took only five Minutes, but the follow-up operations took a full hour: these several spoils of war were very important — excellent tools for propaganda — so they absolutely had to be towed away.

After everything was tidied up, the Fast Fleet finally formally entered the Pearl River. However, because of the drag, the fleet could no longer be called fast at this point.

On the Pearl River's surface, which was far wider than in Later Generations, the fleet steadily moved upstream at a speed of five Knots. Because they had hydrological data measured in advance by ships sent from the Guangdong Station Previously, the fleet suffered no delays along the way and soon sighted Humen Island, known as the Lock and Key of the Pearl River and the Gateway to the Southern Lands.

Humen Island and the two river sandbanks, Upper Hengdang and Lower Hengdang, faced each other from a distance — they were the key positions controlling the Pearl River. Not only were there Forts on them, but also Water Forts and warships; the court was perfectly clear about this place's importance.

However, this was of No Use. Throughout history, the Humen Fort had been breached by outsiders many times; from the Late Ming court to the late Qing court, whenever the national power declined, these fortresses became empty shells, breaking at a single poke.

And what the Transmigrators now saw through their binoculars was the same scene: dilapidated Forts and old Frankish Cannons, equally old warships, and sailors wearing tattered uniforms...

All the Transmigrators who saw this scene, including the Native Navy officers under their command, quickly reached an unspoken Consensus: if they wanted to capture this place, it would probably only take a few rounds of precise broadsides, and then they could send in the landing force.

As soon as the fleet came within visual range of Humen Fortress, patrol boats were quickly dispatched from the Water Forts to parley — before the fleet's Departure, official documents had already been sent to Guangzhou by fast horse, so the local garrison knew about the recent sailing ships coming to Guangzhou. Moreover, the garrison had just spotted the fleet's flags, so they hurriedly sent out patrol boats.

After exchanging a few sentences across the bows using flag signals, megaphones, and shouts, the patrol boats signaled the Water Forts with flags. The next moment, several more Fast Ships surged out of Humen Fortress. Some of them darted directly into the crisscrossing water systems on both sides of the Pearl River, likely taking shortcuts to report to Guangzhou City; the Remaining all came to the Circumference of the fleet, playing the role of escort motorcycles.

The rest of the voyage was very smooth. The fleet proceeded all the way upstream; after passing famous sections like Shizi Ocean, Wuyong, and Huangpu, the fleet finally arrived at this journey's terminal — the confluence of three rivers south of Guangzhou City, the famous Scenic Spot: White Goose Pond.

With its wide river surface, misty expanses, and beautiful scenery, White Goose Pond's night view was extremely lovely; "Goose Pond Night Moon" was later One of the Eight Sights of Guangzhou. Several of the Transmigrators who had once worked in Guangzhou as losers had seen the Government's holiday fireworks display at White Goose Pond.

And in the 17th Century, White Goose Pond was no less bustling than in Later Generations: the broad lake surface was everywhere filled with ornately carved pleasure boats and the private leisure barges of wealthy families, the faint sound of music drifting over. Meanwhile, nimble fruit boats, grain boats, meat and poultry boats, and singing-girl boats darted about chaotically, completely disregarding traffic rules just like the delivery vehicles of Later Generations.

And thanks to the Blessing of those big-mouthed soldiers on the patrol boats that had run ahead to report, the news that the Guest Army from Fujian had seized five pirate ships in one stroke at the Pearl River Estuary had now spread with lightning speed throughout White Goose Pond.

And so the greatest embarrassment since the Fast Fleet's formation occurred: the moment the fleet appeared at White Goose Pond, it was surrounded by a great swarm of large and small pleasure boats. Prostitutes dressed in red and green, young masters clad in silks, along with madams, pimps, singing girls, and official wives peeping from behind beaded curtains on private leisure barges... the scene was for a time extremely awkward, nearly scaring Fleet Commander Wang Bo into dialing 110.