One salute after another shook the port of Ostia, and by the time the seven salutes were over, the people in the harbor were still in a state of dizziness. If it weren't for the white smoke drifting through the wide outer harbor, people would never have believed that the thunder came from a ship. Everyone was stunned, including Fabius, who was also on the stern deck, and Hasdruba, who was also in the port of Ostia.

"What is this?" Fabius was startled by the sound of the cannon, and when he saw that the red was standing casually, he had no choice but to stand.

"Artillery." Red replied. By this time, the Roman warships had dragged the Chaos out of the outer harbor, and except for the Wren, which would stay here to wait for the remaining shippers and sailors of the Wugu Captain fleet to be ransomed, the rest of the warships and cargo ships were leaving the harbor one after another.

"Raise the flag, spread the sails." One after the other, the three-headed phoenix flag slowly rose to the top of the mainmast, fluttering in the cool summer breeze of the Mediterranean. The sails tied to the crossbars lowered like a waterfall, the masts creaked, and the Chaos moved quickly.

Hasdruba knew the power of the Chuni warship, and it was not until the last sail was gone that he ordered his galleys to set sail. Unexpectedly, several five-oared warships blocked his way.

"For your safety, the Senate does not think you should leave the port at this time." On the deck of the five-oared warship stood a Roman officer, who had ordered the warship to stop Hasdruba's way.

"This is rude!" Because the galleon had to fight the wind, even if it was at the same speed, it was slower than the galleys, and Hasdruba was about to rush back to New Carthage to report the news, but the Romans actually stopped him.

"It's for your safety." The crow cranes on the two five-oared warships were nailed directly to the galleys on which Hasdruba was riding, and the Roman soldiers on the warships rushed to the deck one after the other, and in the midst of Hasdruba's protests, the galleys quickly turned their bows and sailed into the inner harbor of Ostia.

As he entered the inner harbor from the outer harbor, Quintus, dressed in Toga's robes, was still standing on the side shore of the narrow waterway. He couldn't laugh at the sight of Hasdruba's angry curses on deck.

"I am an envoy of Carthage, this is an insult to Carthage, do you want to provoke a war?" Seeing Quintus standing on the shore with a smile on his face, Hasdruba instantly understood why he had been detained by the Romans. The two looked at each other for a long time, until the galley was dragged into the inner military harbor.

Unbeknownst to the Red, Hasdruba had been forcibly detained by the Romans, and Fabius did not speak of it until he was about to reach the exit of the Channel seven days later. "Because of it?" Red Mo looked at the Romans in surprise and felt that this was not the work of a gentleman.

"It's also for his safety." Fabius knew it wasn't an act of candor. It wasn't his idea. "The Senate fears that you will be in a foreign war ...... the harbor after you sail out of the port of Ostia. I'll admit it, it's an excuse. ”

Fabius knew that such an act was dishonorable and simply admitted it. He continued: "My friend, perhaps you should raise the Roman flag and my coat of arms to let the Punics know that there is a Roman senator on board......

"Not necessarily." The Red Turtle had already figured out how to pass through the strait, which was about 30 miles wide. When Fabius saw that he looked to the west, he realized that the sun was setting, and that it was precisely evening when the fleet arrived at the Pillar of Hera.

"Please return to the chamber." The red mob shouted left and right, and in another hour night fell, and the fleet would pass through the strait in the night. There was a certain risk in this matter, the Carthaginian warship had arrows and crossbows, and it would be very dangerous if Fabius remained on the stern deck.

Fabius was invited down the stern to watch the red sunset and pray prayed. As soon as it crosses the strait, the fleet will be able to cross the green ocean and approach the coast of Dongzhou, which will take about a month. It is estimated that it will also take a month for the coast of Dongzhou to move south. After that, the fleet will not stop at Nanyangdi, and will go home directly by the westerly wind at 40 degrees south latitude. If you are lucky, you will be able to reach the island south of the gorge island near the waste island on the 20th, and catch the tail of the southwest monsoon and rush to Panyu Port.

Of course, these are hypotheticals, and perhaps the fleet failed to cross the strait tonight and sank in the Mediterranean.

As the night fell, the lights of the entire fleet were controlled, and no fire was allowed. The sea before the moon appeared was pitch black, with only the whirring of the sails and the undulation of the waves. Half an hour later, the stars appeared in the blue sky. The moon that had risen early was now standing out in the sky, and the cold light was shining on the endless sea.

Under the effect of yaw force, the Chaos rolled rhythmically, and this slight roll was comfortable, but it made the Romans, who were not used to sailing, vomit and seasick. Fabius was anxious to go up to the stern deck in the middle of the night as the fleet crossed the strait, and he fell asleep after a while. It wasn't until the middle of the night that he was awakened by the shouts and thunderous sounds of the outdoor artillery crews.

"Put!" Outside the door is the artillery fire deck, and above the artillery deck is the main deck. Fabius lived in the dining room directly below the stern, and Red had a folding bed made for him instead of the sailors' hammocks.

'Boom——! The artillery fire was incessant, and the whole gunboat was trembling, and Chinchius excitedly said: "Punics, Punics!" ”

The lights of the entire fleet were controlled, but the ports of Carthage on both sides of the strait were not controlled. They received information that the Chuni were still loading supplies to sea in Ostia. By the bright lights of the harbor, the fleet quickly determined the course and sailed into the strait at night, just like the Greek Paffy did more than a hundred years ago.

Unfortunately, the Carthaginians were not unguarded, and there were constant patrols in the strait. Three-oared warships were quickly dispatched in the harbor, and the Chaos class gunboats began to rain cannonballs on both sides. Choking on the smoke and coughing violently, Fabius ran to the upper deck only to find that the homage cannon was spewing terrible flames. It turned out to be a terrible weapon.

The Romans were dressed differently from the Chu, and they were accustomed to wearing a loose robe. Seeing Fabius running onto the deck, Red shouted, "Someone! "Someone sent Fabius off the deck.

However, during the interval of the artillery fire, Fabius was already shouting to the pursuing Carthaginian warship: "I am Fabius, the senator of the Roman Senate, if you want to provoke a war......"

Fabius continued to shout, and with a 'whew', a crossbow bolt came in the direction in which he was speaking, and the crossbow bolt did not hit him, but hit the freeboard. 'Bang', the tail of the arrow nailed to freeboard trembled.

"Ahh The cry of a young man was heard over the sea, followed by the shouts of more Carthaginian soldiers. In the sea under the bright moon, dozens of warships outflanked the two wings of the fleet at a faster speed.

Gunboats could withstand the impact of battleships, and cargo ships could hardly do this. Seeing this, the red man reluctantly ordered: "The horizontal team intercepts." ”

"The general has an order, and the horizontal team will intercept it!" The indicative lights were quickly lit at the top of the mainmast, and the order was urgently communicated by the lights on the stern. One of the remaining three gunboats followed the Chaos to intercept one wing of the pursuing Carthaginian warship, while the other two cut laterally to the other wing. One of the two columns was a gluttonous-class cargo ship led by the Grebe, and the other was four Chaos-class gunboats. The gunboats intercepted the Carthaginians laterally, and the Grebes scrambled through the strait with several cargo ships with winged sails hoisted.

"The enemy boat hit me! The enemy boat hit me! As soon as the gunboat struck horizontally, its speed dropped sharply, and the Carthaginian warship, which had already outpaced the gunboat, got closer and closer, and the lookout on the mast who saw this scene shouted warning.

Unfortunately, the warning was useless, and the two three-oared warships hit the port side of the Chaos one after the other, and under the violent impact, the whole ship of the Chaos shifted several feet, and the sailors who had already held on to the things still fell to the left side. The ribs that had been specially reinforced on the side were broken, and the sea water rushed into the bilge.

"Put!" The Carthaginian soldiers on the boat were about to board the ship to take over the broadside battle, when the cannon commander who came to his senses shouted and opened fire. Shotguns burst out, and the deck of the battleship was bloody.

"Put!" Twenty-four guns did not fire a salvo, and the gunners opened fire again when they saw other Carthaginian warships swarming in. However, the artillery could not stop the boat from approaching, and some hooks were thrown onto the deck while the shells were reloaded.

"Broadside battles too." The boatman on deck shouted loudly.

"Put!" The speed of reloading was already at its best, and in just over a minute, the guns roared again, and the Carthaginian soldiers who were dragging ropes on the ships to climb the deck were killed and wounded. After two volleys, there was no living thing around the Chaos except for the sinking tri-oared warship. Blocked by these warships, the rest of the warships could not ram.

Red had long guessed that the encounter would be like this. The Carthaginian warships could not break through the gunboat's side, they could only knock out cracks, and then there was nothing they could do. It's a pity that this time the red man obviously underestimated the enemy, and just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the screams of the lookout soldiers came from the mast again: "Cannon! ”

"Cannon?" No one understood what he meant, until a flash of fire flickered not far away, and a cannonball whistled. The shell pierced the freeboard, shattered one corner of the rudder and crossed the deck.

Red was stunned, he didn't expect that Carthage also had artillery, and more importantly, he didn't expect the Carthaginians to use artillery. The boat officials and sailors were also very surprised by this, only the Chu army had artillery, why did the enemy also have artillery? It was only when the second warning sounded from the mast that they lay on the ground and dodged urgently.

"Sink this boat." Hong's face was instantly grim, and he didn't know if this was the Chu army artillery captured by the Carthaginians - there were twelve ten-pound cannons in the Wugou Commander's fleet, or if it was Carthage's own imitation of artillery.

"The general has an order, sink the cannon boat." Ignoring the fact that there were already unmanned warships around to protect her, the Chaos slowly turned, and the muzzle of the cannon gradually turned at the two warships that had opened their guns. At this time, the fire at the front of the warship reappeared, and the cannonballs whistled past the deck again.

"Put!" Red Mulberry drank. The thunder roared, and the twelve guns on the side fired furiously at the two guns.