"How are we going to ambush them?" Another bald captain asked. "All we know is the approximate route of the treasure ship. We can hide our ship behind the island, but when the treasure ship passes by the island, how will we know how far it is from us? If it's more than half a nautical mile away from us, we won't be able to ambush it."
Most of the captains agreed with what he said.
"That's why we need a decoy," Black Prince Sam said. Black Prince Sam said, "We can't hide all our ships behind the island. Someone has to take the initiative to attack the treasure ship and lure it to our ambush spot behind the island." "That's right.
"What if it's just a warship?" The captain of the Warrior asked. "You said that it has two warships around it, right?"
"In that case, we'll take out the warships first, then turn around and take down the treasure ship. Without the protection of the warships, we can easily surround it without worrying about being attacked one by one," Black Prince Sam said.
"For this, we need two ships to act as bait. If it's one ship, it's likely that only one warship will come after us. If it's two ships, the enemy will have to send out two warships as well. That's the only way to ensure our success. Besides, there's a high chance that the treasure ship will move together with us."
No one objected to Black Prince Sam's suggestion. However, when it came to choosing the bait, everyone fell silent.
The risk of being a bait was undoubtedly the highest in this operation. The two pirate ships that acted as bait would have to face the firepower of two warships and a treasure ship. Moreover, no one could help them before they arrived at their original location. In other words, they had to face all the risks before the siege began.
Black Prince Sam said, "I hope that I can be the bait, but my Quidah is strong in armor and ram. It doesn't have an advantage in speed. Although the treasure ship isn't fast, the two warships are very mobile. Therefore, we need two ships that are fast enough and have experienced captains. That's why we need two ships that are fast enough and have experienced captains. That's the only way we can make it to the designated location. Considering the risks involved, I propose to change the distribution of the spoils. The two ships that act as bait can get half of the spoils compared to the other four ships. Does everyone agree?"
After a brief moment of hesitation, the six captains in the room, including Black Prince Sam, raised their hands.
"Very well. Do we have volunteers now?"
"Count me in." After a while, a man with thin cheeks and sunken eyes spoke. Since Zhang Heng entered the captain's cabin, he had been sitting there like a block of wood. Other than responding when it was time to vote, he had not spoken a word.
However, no one was surprised when he spoke.
Full Swordfish Brook was the fastest ship in Nassau. His Swordfish had been modified, sacrificing part of its firepower and armor in exchange for the fastest speed in the entire Caribbean Sea. He became famous for robbing four passing merchant ships in less than a day. That was how he got his nickname.
His piloting skills were also excellent, probably on par with Hutcheson's.
Therefore, this mission was very suitable for him. However, one ship was obviously not enough, especially since the Swordfish's firepower was relatively weak. There were only 31 nine-pounder cannons on board, and it might not be able to attract the attention of two warships.
"There's still one more spot. Is there anyone who is willing?" Black Prince Sam asked again.
This time, he waited for half a minute, but no one said anything. None of the captains in this room were cowards, but that didn't mean they would take unnecessary risks just to prove their courage.
As a matter of fact, a person who could lead a ship and make a name for himself in these waters and survive battles big and small could never be a reckless person. Perhaps some people looked brave on the outside, but they were able to remain calm during critical moments. When Black Prince Sam proposed to increase the loot by half, everyone silently weighed the pros and cons in their hearts.
For Brook, since he owned the fastest three-masted sailboat in the entire Caribbean Sea, the benefits of being the bait outweighed the risks.
For the others, however, a 50% increase in loot might not be enough for them to take such a huge risk.
"If that's the case, we can only use the old way." Black Prince Sam took out five silver coins from his pouch. "Let's draw lots. I will mark one of the coins, and the person who gets the silver coin will be the bait with Brook."
This method couldn't pick the fastest ship, but since no one wanted to be the bait, it was indeed the fairest solution.
Although the silver coins minted in this era were roughly the same in shape, there were still many differences in the details due to the minting techniques of the time. So, Black Prince Sam marked the silver coin behind everyone's back and threw it back into his pouch. After that, he let everyone choose one by one, and the last one was his.
After everyone had chosen the silver coin, Black Prince Sam asked again, "Who got the silver coin with two scratches on the back?"
Everyone flipped the silver coin in their hands to the back, and Black Prince Sam took out the last silver coin from his pouch. Zhang Heng's expression changed.
Zhang Heng's expression changed, and he tossed the silver coin back to Black Prince Sam.
The latter raised the silver coin and announced, "The other ship in charge of the bait is the Jackdaw. Any questions?"
"We'll talk about the rest when we arrive at Parrot Island." Seeing that the results of the discussion were out, the captains didn't stay on the Quidah any longer and left the captain's cabin.
Black Prince Sam rolled up the nautical chart on the table and called out to Zhang Heng, who was the last to leave. "How was it? Was the mission difficult?"
Zhang Heng shook his head. His Jackdaw was a warship designed for combat, and his sailing skills had been upgraded to Lv.2. Other than Brook and his Swordfish, no one else was more suitable for this mission. Before this, Zhang Heng didn't think it was necessary to take the risk for an extra half of the loot. However, since the result of the draw was like this, he wouldn't reject it.
If the Jackdaw were to turn around and return to Nassau now, his reputation would be tarnished. No one would want to work with him in the future.
"Alright then. We'll meet again on Parrot Island."
…
Four days passed in the blink of an eye. On Parrot Island, Zhang Heng met up with the other five captains and finalized their battle plan.
After that, he and Brook left the island with their respective crews. They were about half a nautical mile away from each other, lowered their sails, and quietly waited for their prey to arrive.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
