A split headache!

This was the first feeling when Li Mingxun woke up. In the battle of Macau, the club not only solved his worries, but also made a fortune. A large-scale celebration banquet was indispensable. Li Mingxun was filled with too much wine to sleep all day. He opened his eyes and looked at the sunset projecting in the window to the west, cursing: "Damn it, damn it, waste a whole day!"

The door was opened, Li Beiji walked in and brought sobering soup. Li Mingxun took it and drank it. Hearing the lively cheers and firecrackers outside the door, he asked, "What happened outside, why is it so noisy?"

"Sir, it's the Narwhal that has entered the port. People have never seen such a beautiful warship. The port is already boiling." Li Beiji said with emotion.

Lee Mingxun glanced at him and said, "Then why are you still standing here?"

Li Beiji didn't know why Li Mingxun asked this question. Mune stood there. Li Mingxun suddenly cursed: "Simmons is making such a clumsy Iberian joke again. He didn't tell you, have I appointed you as the captain of the Narwhal?"

Li Beiji was stunned for a moment, and Li Mingxun was wearing boots and said, "You are stupid too. If there was no such thing, then what would they congratulate you last night?"

"Is it true?" Li Beiji asked.

Li Mingxun shook his head helplessly: "Follow me to the dock, I want to see if this cruise ship built for a heavy gunboat is worth the price."

The Narwhale is a very beautiful warship. It has a slender hull and elegant body. The long bow mast piercing forward complements its ship's name. Its yellow and black stripes are painted above the waterline, and expensive white materials are used below the waterline, which looks even more noble.

What can be compared with this is the cost of the Narwhal. The cost of this ship can completely build a heavy gunboat of the same level as the White Shark. You know, it is a main ship with more than 40 heavy guns, while the Narwhal only has thirty-six guns. Among them, only the main gun deck has six eighteen-pound cannons and twenty twelve-pound long cannons on the deck that can be compared with the main ship. The six six-pound cannons on the upper deck and two nine-pound cannons on the front and rear cannons are not enough to meet the firepower of the main ship.

This narwhal uses keels, ribs, boards, masts, and other standards, which are the same as the sixty heavy gunboats orcas. Their hull is 48 meters long and the width of the ship is 9:5, making its length-width ratio exceed 5. This is also the main reason why the Narwhal can exceed 11 sections. This is already the highest speed that the main ship can reach. This ship is also equipped with three masts, with a canvas area of ​​more than 3,000 square meters. The cypress keel, teak hull, and pine spliced ​​masts have a full load displacement of 750 tons, which is flush with the White Shark. It is second only to the two 1,100-ton heavy gunboats, the orca and the fin whale, and represents the highest level of community shipbuilding.

Speed ​​is the soul of the Narwhal. The core principle of its design is that it can beat me and run me, and run me and cannot beat me. Break the handover and escort are its main responsibilities. When necessary, with the combination of the eighteen-pound cannon and the twelve-pound cannon on the artillery deck, you can also participate in a battle line duel.

In fact, with the displacement of the Narwhal, it is possible to pile more and heavier artillery, but in order to ensure continuous combat capability, firepower must be reduced appropriately. Speaking of which, no matter how it is piled up, the Narwhal, which only has one layer of artillery deck, cannot deal with heavy gunboats, and it is better to save space to store more supplies. The ship has a total of 280 crew members, including eight officers, six interns and thirty Marines on board.

"What a beautiful warship, I really want to own a narwhal!" Pilong stood at the dock and sighed constantly. Li Mingxun heard Pilong's words and said, "Don't sigh, Pilong, follow me on the boat and take a look. This ship has something to do with you."

"Are you going to sell me this ship? I am willing to take out 80% of it, no, take out all my money." Pilong shouted excitedly.

Li Mingxun had no choice but to shake his head when he was daydreaming, walked on the Narwhale on his own, and walked around the boat, and looked around every corner. The Narwhale was launched in April and underwent trial voyage for more than two months. During the Battle of Macau, it was being renovated on the dock, so he did not participate in the war.

Pilong caressed the heavy cannons on the artillery deck, and his salivating appearance made Li Beiji feel a little embarrassed. After learning that Li Beiji was the captain of the Narwhal, Pilong immediately looked resentful: "How can you let such a young man be the captain? He does not have enough experience and must be a damn nepotism. I know the names of you oriental people. You priests have the same surname as this young man. Depending on your age, he must be your brother, but you two really don't look like each other. By the way, you oriental men can have many wives, and they must not be born to one mother."

"Okay, Pilong, don't make malicious guesses, otherwise I will let someone throw you into the sea and let you swim ashore by yourself. Li Beiji is not my younger brother. If it is really a personal relationship, he is half a student of me. This child is one of the few outstanding officers in the community. It is precisely because of his lack of experience that I entrust him and this narwhal to you." Li Mingxun said seriously.

Li Beiji's face changed slightly: "Sir, do you want me and this Frenchman to be pirates?"

Li Mingxun signaled him not to speak, Pi Long leaned against the side and said, "You are using the same method to treat him and carry out a battle against Spanish bacon."

Lee Mingxun nodded slightly and said, "That's right, you and Galid have their own secret port in the Sulu area, and now they have a fleet, which is already very strong, but unfortunately, you owe the club a lot of money. If you are willing to let the Narwhal join your fleet, I can give you half the discount on interest."

Pilon was helpless about this. After traveling to the Philippines last year, he and Galeid had only two ships, including Mary Rose, which was a notification ship, which could only survive in the cracks between the Spaniards. Last year, he snatched many ships, but most of them were local shabby cargo ships. They threw them at the same time, but they wanted to find trouble with the Spaniards, but they were not strong enough. Until early this year, he met David from the British East India Company in Banten. Pilon also had a privateer certificate from the British East India Company. He was originally just to sell the stolen goods, but he never thought that David gave him a chance to obtain the Blue Banshee, which had 350 tons, fourteen nine-pound cannons and six six-pound cannons.

This cruise ship comes from Pilon's home country France. It was captured by Spain during the war and fell into the hands of British merchants after auction. You should know that although the Netherlands, British East India companies have their own monopoly trading rights in the East, this right requires strength to ensure that the Dutch East India company can, but David's company does not have this ability. British merchants continue to come to the East to find high profits of spices and raw silk. In the face of this malicious competition, David chose to go to the Black Water, and the Blue Banshee became Pilon's ship.

With the Blue Banshee, Pilong was like a tiger, and successively plundered Spanish merchant ships. Finally, when the southwest monsoon broke out in April, he led a fleet of twelve ships to Budai Port. The food and slaves carried by him could not only pay off his debts, but also make a lot of money. Unfortunately, he took a fence in the Bloodhound, the Spanish cruiser. The Bloodhound was larger than the Blue Banshee, and the displacement of 400 tons was equipped with twenty-four cannons, of which 16 were eight-pound cannons. In addition to the Bloodhound, Pilong also purchased another surrendered frigate, and borrowed the society's dry dock at Budai Port to make large-scale improvements to the three ships. You must know that this was the only opportunity to provide similar services. Pilong was willing to pay the money, but not only invested all the money he earned, but also owed the society nearly 20,000 taels.

Pilong didn't care about this. He firmly believed that the expansion of strength could quickly pay off the debt, but now that Li Mingxun sent him a large cruise ship, Pilong was even happier, so he did it: "If the Narwhal accepts my full command, it is not impossible."

"Of course, the Arctic joins your fleet to learn and accept your command, but there is one thing that the crew of the community will not participate in land battles, and as long as they participate in the war, the Narwhal must also get its own profits fairly." Li Mingxun said with a smile.

"Of course, this is fair!" Pilon chose to agree.

Seeing Li Mingxun's arrangement, Pi Long said, "Your Excellency, I can feel your hatred for Spanish bacon. These guys almost had the means to break the relationship to destroy the great situation you opened up in Hong Kong. However, what I want to say is that the Bloodhound, the Blue Banshee and the Narwhal cannot make bacon take care of themselves. If you want more people to participate in the war against bacon and don't want to invest a lot, I can recommend some experienced captains to you. Last year I met many European captains in Malacca, and they are worried about not having a job."

As Pilong said, the reason why Li Mingxun strongly sponsored Pilong's pirate fleet and put the new narwhal of the club's navy into it was to involve the power of the Philippine Spanish fleet. Although the Spaniards did not have the Macau base, they only reduced their efficiency. If they continued to send cruise ships to the Pearl River Estuary to conduct breakthrough wars, the losses caused in the long run are still immeasurable. If the pirate fleet composed of cruise ships has been to the Philippines, the Spaniards would use the fleet to chase and suppress. Like the club, their heavy gunboats could not catch up with the cruise ships and could only send cruise ships to chase. Then the most threatening force would be lifted. The cruise ships were involved. Whether the Spanish sent heavy gunboats or schooners to harass, the club had the ability to deal with it.

Li Mingxun was not interested in the European captains mentioned by Pilong. He had heard of those guys. On weekdays, he was away from Burma and Bangladesh and attacked the merchant ships there. The Dutch occupied Malacca and compressed their living space. Many people were unemployed. However, these people from time to time Pilong and Pilong had a special liking for the Spaniards, and those guys were chasing money. Once they supported their advanced ships, compared with the Spaniards with outstanding force, these guys prefer to hunt Ming cargo ships carrying high-value commodities. In the society urgently needed Nanyang grain. Now, this is tantamount to shooting themselves in the foot. Although the cargo ships are very slow, the ships that transport grain for the society must be the slowest and easiest to hijack.

Li Mingxun shook his head slightly and said to Pi Long: "Pi Long, you have to know that trust is a very funny kind of favor. I believe you do not mean trusting others."

Pilong shook his head helplessly. When Sulu Sultan had collapsed, Pilong was eager to find someone involved to help him share the pressure.

Lee Mingxun said: "Although I can't accept those pirates, I am honored to recommend a partner to you, and you will fight side by side in the future!"

Lee Mingxun clapped his hands and a strong man walked in outside. He had the blonde hair and blue eyes that English people often had, and the gully wrinkles on his face proved his rich sailing experience. Lee Beiji screamed in shock: "Mr. Taylor!"

The person who came in was Taylor, who was once the first mate of the Golden Oak, David's friend and deputy, a forty-five-year-old sailor. For those who are seeking life at sea, forty-five is already at the end of their strength. This is the case. After his contract with the British East India Company expired, the East India Company did not meet its high salary requirements. Taylor was unemployed from the British. At the beginning, he did not think this was a bad thing. He wanted to join the club. He believed that with Lee Myung-hoon and David's gang, he could easily become the captain of a main battleship of the club, and then make contributions in the war, become the fleet commander, and then rise step by step.

Taylor does have good connections in the East, but his plan was defeated by politics. Simmons, the admiral of the Navy of the community, did not want the main fleet to be split and did not support Taylor's joining. The veterans also opposed this. They believed that Simmons, the Portuguese, had already mastered the navy of the community, and could no longer allow a foreigner to occupy a high position. The veterans were more inclined to cultivate their own people. Li Beiji, the 18-year-old cruise ship captain, is an example.

Fortunately, Pilong came to Budai Port and gave Taylor hope. Pilong sold spices, sumu and other Nanyang goods at Budai Port, and even took out 1,300 strong slaves, allowing Taylor to see the high profits of the pirate industry. Not only did he see it, but also David, the senior management of the community, and many big merchants in Hong Kong. As a result, David took the lead, five merchants, including Haishuzu, contributed funds to help Taylor build a privateer fleet, and the ships were also ready-made and selected from the Portuguese fleet.

In Macau, the club captured a heavy gunboat, two medium-sized Garen, as well as frigates, notification ships, and patrol boats. Originally, Li Mingxun had high hopes for the heavy gunboat. After all, each heavy gunboat community is precious, but the facts make people feel disappointed. This battleship with a displacement of more than 800 tons and a 52 heavy guns has a total of fifteen years of age. If you want to use it, you have to demolish and rebuild it. It is better to build your own main ship if you spend this effort and resources.

The other two medium-sized Garens are good. Both of them are about 450 tons of water displacement, with thirty-five guns, three-masted sails, and the ships are not old. One of them is named the Whale Shark and joined the Navy as a training ship, while the other is named the Determination and was bought by Taylor. The other Portuguese warships, in good condition, joined the navy or transportation regiments in good condition, and the ships are not in good condition, such as the heavy gunboat, which removes the high-life artillery and all copper guns on it, and then let the Portuguese redeem it at a low price.
Chapter completed!