Of course, Sheyan would forever remember that the best quality of a superior was to honor his words. Hence, even though Taitish was exceedingly cooperative, Sheyan didn't forget to punish her in the end. The content of her punishment was to strip her naked in front of all the pirates, and hang her upside down on the mast, before viciously flogging her with sharkskin whips for five times!
To a woman, being stripped naked and hung upside down was an exceedingly intense humiliation.
Moreover, her youthful and beautiful body was flogged with five whips. One must understand, a sharkskin whips would rip off a huge chunk of flesh. The resulting pain and injury would naturally be engraved into her heart.
This was also a lesson to all pirates. Rewards and punishments were the best weapons a superior could use to safeguard his rule. Fortunately, the wellspring of life within Taitish's body was exceedingly vigorous, and her injuries rapidly healed without leaving behind any scars.
Moreover, she wasn't some unmarried maiden, what sort of things hadn't she experienced amongst the gypsies? To an old granny like her, she had already experienced things far more frightening than this degree of humiliation and punishment. Hence, her heart could bear it, and she could only grit her teeth and endure it. Regardless of how much humiliation she suffered, it was still better than having the face of an old granny at the tender age of 17.
Very quickly, Sheyan converged with the remaining crew members of the Hill Maiden. After punishing Taitish, he ordered everyone to board the ship. After witnessing such an incomparably formidable 5-masted quasi-legendary battleship, the morale of the remaining pirates was naturally boosted.
On one hand, Sheyan wanted his subordinates to familiarize themselves with the controls of this massive battleship. On the other hand, he was impatient to complete the pirate captain milestone and recruit more crew. Hence, after consulting with Ol 'Seadog, Sheyan sailed towards a nearby pirate port called Trihorn Island.
Of course, to compensate for the loss of the vikings, Sheyan had compensated them with his 3-masted ship that was originally used for logistics and transportation. Of course, that ship could also be used as a transportation tool, and could also be used to transport the goods, supplies etc. Thus, the vikings could save on transportation costs. Sheyan's 3-masted ship was originally a modified cargo ship. Hence, there wouldn't be any issues for it to transport the vikings and their goods back to their hometowns. Towards Sheyan's generosity, the vikings were rather satisfied. Both sides agreed to cooperate again in the future.
Throughout the journey, the Dingyuan gave off an exceedingly stable feeling. The winds and waves didn't seem to be able to disrupt it in the slightest. Sheyan even attempted to place a cup of water on the table. In the end, even when the waves were nearly 4 metres high, not a single drop of water splashed out from the cup. One could tell how stable the Dingyuan was!
Because the pirate port of Trihorn Island was merely a day's journey away from Port Royal, it definitely couldn't compare to a place like Tortuga. Triangular Island didn't mean that there were islands that formed a triangle. Instead, it was formed by three triangular islands.
If Tortuga's prosperity was comparable to a provincial capital, then Tri-Horn Island would be comparable to a town. Furthermore, it was a very desolate place. The only man-made buildings on the island were seven or eight houses made of stone. When Port Royal's smuggling operations were relatively smooth, this place would be a desolate and uninhabited island. Even if one landed on the island, the only thing one could do was to demolish the stone houses. However, when Port Royal loosened up slightly, this place would become a paradise for smugglers.
At present, Sheyan had his reasons for rushing to Trihorn Island. That was because he had received news that the Norrington conglomerate had defeated the Chevalle conglomerate. Moreover, Trihorn Island was merely a few hundred nautical miles away from the battlefield. With favorable winds, it would be a matter of hours.
Most crucially, if those defeated pirates didn't retreat to Trihorn Island, they would have to traverse thousands of nautical miles to Cape Bodde to replenish their fresh water. That was obviously unrealistic. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happened, Trihorn Island should be a massive marketplace. There was no lack of pirates who would sell their firearms, cannons, equipment, or even themselves after their defeat. It should be the best place for Sheyan to recruit manpower.
Although the Dingyuan had already become Sheyan's flagship, Sheyan's half-scrapped Hill Maiden was still being towed behind. If it was operated well, it could be sold for hundreds or thousands of guineas as a fishing boat. After reaching a distance of ten nautical miles away from Trihorn Island, Sheyan dispatched several pirates who belonged to Chevalle's pirate conglomerate to scout the area.
Firstly, he wanted to check if Chevalle was on the island. If that old man was around, it wouldn't be easy to poach him. Besides, the prestige of the Pirate King was still present, and Sheyan's current 'Worshipped' reputation was still unable to contend against the Pirate King.
Secondly, he wanted to obtain first-hand intelligence, and understand the general situation after the great naval battle.
After a brief moment, the scouting pirates returned. Panting heavily, they scrambled to knock on the door of the captain's cabin.
"Cap, cap 'n!! Let's hurry over. Chevalle is heavily injured and unconscious, his eldest son has been captured alive by Norrington. Disagreements have arisen within the pirate conglomerate, and multiple fights have broken out. Now is the time to recruit manpower. "
Although Sheyan was almost certain that Chevalle wasn't on the island, he was still extremely delighted after hearing this news. He immediately ordered his crew to advance at full speed. One had to admit, when Sheyan's newly plundered Dingyuan slowly sailed into Trihorn Island, its incomparably unique and colossal design, and the fluttering black pirate flag on its mast, was rather impactful.
Indeed, Trihorn Island was a scene of chaos. Although Chevalle's pirate conglomerate was massive, their organization was rather loose. During their victory, they were a loose alliance with weak cohesiveness. Relying on the might of Chevalle's two 7-masted ships and eight 5-masted ships, they were barely able to unite. However, once their core conglomerate lost its might, they would inevitably sink into a predicament of monkeys scattering when the tree falls.
After the Dingyuan docked, it instantly attracted the attention of many people. At present, Sheyan continued concealing himself behind the scenes and didn't reveal himself. Instead, he dispatched his subordinates from Chevalle's pirate conglomerate to scout for information and obtain first hand information.
He believed that once he revealed himself, or even if he didn't, many would apply to join him. Instead, Sheyan sternly instructed those pirates – although they could talk about their fathers, mothers and wives, they mustn't divulge too much about the affairs of the ship! If not, they would be punished with the family law!
At present, the pirates on the ship were practically worshipping Sheyan's words as though they were gods. Naturally, they didn't dare to utter half a word in front of others. Thus, this piqued the curiosity of those pirates. After summarizing the intelligence gathered by the pirates, Sheyan shockingly discovered that this place actually sold the previously mentioned incomparably advanced high-beam cannons!
In actual fact, although such high technology items were hard to obtain, money was omnipotent. The difficulty of purchasing one or two cannons through the black market wasn't as great as one would imagine. Instead, it would be rather challenging to reequip a fleet on a large scale.
At present, many pirates anchored on Trihorn Island felt that their future was bleak. With Norrington as the representative of the British navy, they were too domineering. Hence, they decided to wash their hands of the gold basin. Furthermore, when their captains perished in battle, the morale of their subordinates waned and they sold off their loot. Thus, in summary, there were actually a total of 38 high-beam high-beam cannons for sale on Trihorn Island. These cannons were purchased from dozens of sellers in great numbers. Moreover, due to the urgency to cash in, the prices of these cannons were much cheaper than auctions.
When Sheyan heard this report, he didn't hesitate to order the purchase! At present, the Dingyuan was an exceptionally sturdy ship. Sheyan had even heard some pirates refer to it as the 'Unsinkable Floating Island'. Naturally, it would be greatly advantageous in cannon battles. As the saying goes, a sturdy ship and sharp cannons would be the future trend!
Judging from the present situation, it was apparent that they were unable to obtain a speed advantage in this competition with the Black Pearl. Therefore, from another perspective, they could consider reducing the enemy's speed. Utilizing more 'Hinge Cannonballs' to attack the Black Pearl's masts and sails to slow down its speed, before thinking of ways to prevent the enemy from boarding. This could also be considered as another method. Of course, the requirements for the cannoneers were exceedingly high.
After spending roughly 30,000 pounds of capital, Sheyan acquired 17 high-beam cannons. After pondering for a while, Sheyan constructed four cannons into a cannon array. Then, he informed Carpenter Spike of the principle of the sliding rail system, allowing him to research it. Thus, if nothing unexpected happened, the 17 high-beam cannons could simultaneously bombard multiple directions!
Although the addition of new equipment was a good thing, a new problem was exposed. Although the might of the high-beam cannons was formidable, they required more manpower to operate. Because Sheyan's previous considerations were focused on boarding battles, the talents he gathered were also leaning towards that direction. Thus, what he lacked now was an outstanding cannoneer.
Moreover, unlike a sailor, an outstanding cannoneer would have to rely on experience to reload. Adjusting the position of each cannon during an intense battle, without the assistance of a computer for long distance shooting, it could be said that the slightest difference could lead to a thousand miles of error. Even if two cannons were placed side by side, their firing parameters and ammunition loading would be different. Thus, at present, a good cannoneer could only command 2-3 cannons in battle. Therefore, the more talents in this aspect, the better. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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