At that time, there were two main types of anti-infantry ammunition - grapeshots and layered sheets. Grape shells are essentially a pack of small projectiles that scatter in all directions as soon as they come out of the breech. Layered shells, on the other hand, divide these small shells into several layers, separated by thin metal plates, which can improve the density of the projectile when flying, and are especially suitable for bombardment of narrow, defenseless areas such as the bow of the ship.

The gunner, having received the order, quickly put the hook into the chamber of the gun, hooked the buckshot packet and dragged it out. Then quickly replace it with layered bullets. By this time, the two ships had approached about sixty or seventy paces. Liu Pei floated on the string of the boat and stared at the bow of the other party. I heard the gunner shouting: "Reload complete!" ”

Liu Pei stared closely at the other party's boat, estimating the distance and angle of the two boats. Just when the bow of the boat was about to slide past the bow of the opponent's boat, Liu Pei shouted: "Open the cannon!" ”

The gun in the bow of the ship was the first to fire, and dense lead erupted from the muzzle. There are also three thin pieces of iron sandwiched in the middle. Because it is a layered bullet, the density of the signature is significantly greater than that of grapeshot bomb. The gunners who opened the guns did not live up to their long and hard training, and a large piece of lead was shot in from the undefended place in the bow! The three people who passed directly through the opponent's bow gun crew were all knocked to the ground! The remaining lead flew past them and continued to fly behind, knocking down four people. There was one of the most unlucky, or rather the luckiest pirates, who had half of his head chopped off by a thin piece of iron that had been cut through at a rapid pace, and fell to the ground, his brains and blood all over the deck!

The pirates on the opposite side didn't expect the other party's artillery to hit so far and the lead was so dense! In their impression, the Tiger Cannon should be forty or fifty steps closer to the other party to be effective. Even at this distance, the density of lead in the Tiger Cannon is not so large. Because they didn't have the concept of layered shells and granular gunpowder at all, the pirates were caught off guard!

After the first cannon sounded, the ship continued to move forward. The guns that followed the stern also fired. However, the pirates were a very experienced group, so after the first cannon fired, they were lying on the deck. The second shot that led to the stern had little success. In addition to injuring two people, it was just the crackling of the cards on the opposite side and the cabin board.

However, the pirates did not understand the ferocity of the T-shaped tactic. The T-shaped tactics are good because Liu Pei's three ships can slide past their bows in turn and fire their guns one by one. So after the two cannons of the Dingyuan went off, the pirates jumped up. This made the town that followed closely behind a great deal of might! The Zhenyuan fired two shots in a row, and Liu Pei saw more than a dozen people fall to the ground, blood splattered all over the boat!

The new captain of the Jiyuan is a very smart young man. He found that when it was his turn, there was no goal in his field of vision. All the surviving pirates are in hiding! So he simply ordered the gunners to raise the guns and bombard the sails of the opposing ships with all their might.

Maybe Liu Pei's good luck finally came, after the two cannons passed, I don't know if it was the rope that hit the sail or the pirates didn't tie the sail. The foremost mainsail fell down with a "bang". This slowed down the already unfast speed of the ship by a large margin.

Liu Pei was ecstatic in his heart, and he slapped the side of the boat and shouted: "Lean over!" Lean in! Let's take the ship! Order the Zhenyuan and Jiyuan to deal with the ship behind! ”

The helmsman who received the order pressed the rudder stick, and the Dingyuan drew a huge arc on the sea surface and leaned towards the pirate ship. After receiving Liu Pei's order, the two ships in the back also quickly turned around and approached the second pirate ship.

The Dingyuan quickly approached the pirate ship opposite. Since the other party's ship was too slow, it was easy to get closer. Sailors from both sides simultaneously threw hooks at each other's boats, and then desperately tied them tightly. Both sides decided to decide the winner in hand-to-hand combat.

Pulled by the ropes, the two boats quickly approached. Then there was a "bang" and they bumped into each other. The musketeers, who had already assembled on the deck, quickly stood up and fired two rounds of muskets at the opposite ship. But the pirates on the opposite ship were already on guard, and when they saw the men raising their firearms, they took refuge. So the two rows of firearms did not do much, and only two people were killed.

That's when you can see the difference between an old pirate and a new sailor. As soon as the sound of firecrackers stopped, and the swords and axes stood up, the pirates on the opposite ship had already jumped to kill them! They actually took the lead in killing Liu Pei's ship! Fortunately, the pirate ship was fired six times in a row, killing and wounding many sailors. Otherwise, they rushed over so suddenly, Liu Pei and they really wouldn't be able to resist it.

Hand-to-hand combat is bloody. And the narrow confines of the ship only intensified the level of blood. In one shot, a few people fell on both sides! Two of the housekeepers were cut down, and four were cut down on the pirate side. Although the pirates suffered relatively large losses, they successfully opened the gap and gained a foothold on the Dingyuan.

Liu Pei was already squatting behind the insert near the cabin. A pirate jumped past him. Liu Pei stabbed him in the stomach while he was not on a firm footing, and the pirate screamed and fell into the sea, probably not surviving.

Without waiting for Liu Pei to give an order, the musketeers had already taken out their bayonets from their waists and stuck them on the muzzle of their guns, and rushed over with a roar. Their actions were a surprise to the pirates! The pirates had the impression that it took a long time to reload after the firebolt was fired once, so the pirates used the firebolt to throw it on the deck after the battle, and then pulled out their swords and axes to fight. No one paid attention to the firebolt at all. What I didn't expect was that the people on the opposite boat were unruly and actually installed short knives on the firecrackers! So suddenly, the four people who had just resisted the attack of the family side by side were all stabbed with bayonets and fell to the deck screaming.

Liu Pei stood up and was about to rush up, but was stopped by the two family members behind him and said, "Family master, you can't go up!" ”

At this moment, I heard a loud roar, and a card was thrown from the opposite ship. The cards are all huge planks more than two feet square and more than two inches thick! Such a heavy guy was thrown over, and there were really few people who could resist it. Four people were knocked to the ground by card inserts! The guy who was directly hit by the card at the front spit blood directly on the deck and didn't know if he was alive or dead!

With the cards that were thrown over, a strong man with a knife and stick jumped over from the opposite boat. He was followed by seven or eight pirates. This group of people should be the elite of the other party's ship. The pirates who lived at sea all year round were very accustomed to the fighting on their ships. The shaking of the ship had no effect on them, and it was even beneficial. Not only can they stabilize their bodies, but they can also seize the moment when their bodies shake and fight back.

Knife stick, the genus of big sticks. The head of the stick is added to the knife, which can be hit and stabbed, and it was created when the Ming general Qi Jiguang commanded the troops to suppress the thistle. Qi Jiguang's "Miscellaneous Notes on Military Training: Knife and Stick Solution": "This is a big stick." But adding a sharp blade is like a solution, which is different from its name, and it is convenient to stab. The handle is like a stick, and the blade is five inches long, which is shorter and better. The wooden handle is slightly edged under the blade, and the hurried pawn and the night use it to know where the blade is going.

Especially the big man who rushed to the front, his knife and stick were very heavy. Often two or three strokes can knock off a family member. One will die in his hands if he is not careful. The man in front of him just flickered, and the knife in his hand was smashed away by the big man's knife stick, and he was knocked on the head by the knife stick when he retreated. When he landed, his brain burst and he died! Fortunately, the firecrackers parried together with several firecrackers and barely stopped this strong man.

At this time, the pirates who got on the ship had the arrow attack of the strong man, and quickly gained a firm foothold on the ship again. A dozen more pirates roared and rushed up from behind. Moreover, there are three archers on the mast of the pirate ship who can't stop shooting arrows, so that the family members take care of one or the other. So the family had to retreat step by step under the onslaught of the pirates. This is still a blessing that several of the musketeers on the pirate ship have died in the previous shelling, and if a few more muskets come over, the situation will be even more dangerous!

In a few breaths, two dozen pirates rushed onto the deck. For a while, the situation was precarious! Even the men in the bow artillery crew saw that the situation was not right, so they all picked up their swords and axes and rushed forward! But they were still divided into two parts, bow and stern, by pirates.