Chapter 1

Silver eagles don't need incubation. Just keep them in a place that isn't too cold and where they can get sunlight every day. According to Asad, the four silver eagle eggs presented to Tan Weishi should hatch within ten days at most. As for how to raise silver eagles, after explaining for half a day without making any progress, Asad simply gifted one of his followers to Tan Weishi as well. As for the four Afghan hounds, they became Tan Weishi's cherished treasures. The little hounds, only a little over a month old, were full of energy. Even on the constantly swaying deck of the ship, they didn't change at all. They wandered around Tan Weishi, showing great enthusiasm for their new owner. Although Asad liked to keep hounds, he didn't have much time to build close relationships with them because he was busy with various things all day long. Therefore, this litter of little fellows was quickly conquered by Tan Weishi.

When the two Lan River-class ships fired six "Mars Bullets" at the pirate fleet on Ice Shark Island, Tan Weishi was holding a little hound in her arms, looking around curiously on the deck. The little hound seemed a little bored in Tan Weishi's arms, vigorously tearing at Tan Weishi's sleeve with its weak teeth, occasionally biting Tan Weishi's hand. The little hound couldn't make Tan Weishi feel pain, at most just a little itchy. Tan Weishi would lovingly pat the little fellow's head to respond to the little hound's curiosity.

"Ye Tao... Brother-in-law... Why didn't you tell me earlier that naval battles are so boring? If I had known, I wouldn't have come." Tan Weishi said to Ye Tao, who was standing beside her carefully watching the battle with a telescope, with some dejection.

"Dare you say I didn't tell you?" Ye Tao said with a pouting mouth, helplessly.

Naval battles were indeed a bit boring. It was a bit of a luxury to use one Cang River-class ship and two Lan River-class ships to attack the pirates on Ice Shark Island, who only had a dozen small boats. And not far away, two Lan River-class ships were still watching eagerly.

Even the two armed merchant ships that Asad brought excitedly joined the joint fleet of the Seven Seas Trading Company and Yicheng Navy after learning about the Crescent Island's anti-piracy operation, and were now rushing from the rear of the pirate fleet with their sails full. The Persian-style armed merchant ships had slender hulls, curved bows, and sharp underwater rams, making them more suitable for ramming and boarding operations than the Lan River-class and Cang River-class ships. Moreover, Asad's elite Persian warriors were people who could easily become狂热 (kuangre) in battle, and these people were very enthusiastic about being able to participate in a sure-win naval battle to stretch their bodies.

With such a lineup, Ye Tao had already reminded Tan Weishi and Tan Weiran that the battle would inevitably be boring. Tan Weiran was currently on a Lan River-class ship that was launching the main attack, watching the naval battle up close and personally experiencing the atmosphere of the battle. The pirate fleet lacked long-range attack methods, and twelve inner court guards were enough to ensure Tan Weiran's safety in any situation. As for Tan Weishi and Ye Tao, they were watching the entire battle from the distant Cang River-class ship. Ye Tao also had to assess the power of those "Mars Bullets", but for Tan Weishi, it was completely like watching a play. She could see fireballs flying out from the Lan River-class ships, hitting the pirate ships or falling into the sea. And at such a distance, she didn't have to see clearly that naval battles were actually very bloody. The miserable cries of those pirates covered in fire couldn't reach here either.

"Okay, it's my fault," Tan Weishi said, pouting. That little bit of unhappiness was quickly licked away by the wet tongue of the little hound that approached her head. "If I had known, I would have gone to that ship with my second brother. At least it's closer, and I can see more clearly."

"Can you please stop making trouble? If I really let you board that ship, I'll be in trouble when we get back to Danyang," Ye Tao said with a wry smile.

He was very satisfied with the power of the Mars Bullets, and the Dongping Navy officers and soldiers on the Cang River-class ship were also very surprised. Many people said that after hearing about the excellent safety of the Mars Bullets, they would ask Min Yue to consider switching to Mars Bullets. The accuracy, rate of fire, and range of the crossbow cannons also made them quietly ask Ye Tao if he could get some for them to play with. They brought a total of twenty弩炮 (nu pao - crossbow cannons) this time, with three equipped on each of the four Lan River-class ships, and four equipped on each of the two Cang River-class ships. The fact that they haven't had a chance to fire yet has made the officers and soldiers on the Cang River-class ship they are on very depressed. It was really too boring.

"Princess, Master Ye, please return to the cabin."

The soldier watching from the crow's nest at the top of the mast discovered a fleet in the distance, with what appeared to be twelve to sixteen ships. Judging by the arrangement of the sails and the speed of the ships, they were clearly warships. The captain of this Cang River-class ship signaled to his comrades in the battle while asking Tan Weishi and Ye Tao to enter the cabin to take shelter. He couldn't afford to take responsibility if anything went wrong.

"Four Flying Fish-class ships, six Silver Carp-class ships, two Whale-class ships... flying the Black Eagle flag," the lookout shouted loudly. "It's the Black Eagle Gang, prepare for battle!"

"Captain, the Lan River-class ship where Old Man Qi is located has lowered its command flag... What do you think?" A soldier on the deck asked hesitantly.

After taking a glance at Ye Tao, who pushed the unwilling Tan Weishi into the closed bridge and hurriedly ran towards the bottom cabin himself, the captain smiled wryly. The bottom cabin stored a pile of things that Ye Tao insisted on bringing, including his weapons and armor. Ye Tao obviously wouldn't stand by and watch. And now, Ye Tao, who has a position in the Ministry of War and is also an official responsible for reviewing documents for both armies, has the highest military rank in the entire battlefield.

Old Man Qi really doesn't let people rest easy, still thinking about making Ye Tao famous at this time. "Raise the command flag!" the captain shouted.

As soon as the scarlet command flag was raised, the captain, named Ou Zhen, quickly discovered that the Black Eagle Gang's fleet had clearly reduced its speed.

"The old man is playing me!" Ou Zhen immediately understood that Qi Zhentao lowered the command flag not because he wanted to make Ye Tao famous, but because he wanted the Yicheng Navy to take the blame.

The Black Eagle Gang's sphere of influence extends from Chunnan and Dongping all the way to Beiliao, covering almost the entire coastline, and can be considered the largest pirate group no matter what. Usually, the Black Eagle Gang only robs some small and medium-sized merchants with no background. They generally don't touch those powerful sea merchants and merchant groups who also have official friends. Even if they rob them, they will return the ships and goods. Then, in return, the robbed party will pay some "ransom" at its discretion. It can't be said that the Black Eagle Gang is rich, but it is also impossible for them to be poor. Occasionally, they will also do some targeted things for some "partners" with good relationships. Compared with the sea merchants and navy of Dongping, the Black Eagle Gang has closer relations with the large sea merchants of Chunnan. Even their relationship with Beiliao, whose maritime power is relatively weak, is better than with Dongping. From Chunnan, the Black Eagle Gang can obtain a considerable share of tribute from the sea merchants' trade, and for Beiliao, which cannot break through Dongping's maritime blockade, they can only purchase some special goods through the Black Eagle Gang. As for Dongping, although maritime trade is gradually catching up with Chunnan, Dongping, which has a strong military tradition, was so tough in desperately suppressing pirates even when it was initially so weak that it was not even enough to protect its own coastline. After working hard to develop a series of excellent ship types such as the Cang River-class and Lan River-class ships, equipping them with a large number of神臂弓 (shen bi gong - divine arm crossbows), catapults, and fire oil bombs, and training a powerful navy force, it completely turned the tables and has never given the Black Eagle Gang any good looks.

In recent years, the Black Eagle Gang has always adopted the strategy of "can't afford to provoke, can't I hide?" towards the navy stationed in several ports along the coast of Dongping. Wherever there is a Dongping navy, the Black Eagle Gang will definitely retreat. The Silver Carp-class, Flying Fish-class, and Whale-class warships used by this Black Eagle Gang fleet were all replaced by the Chunnan Navy after they switched to pirated Lan River-class and Cang River-class ships manufactured according to the drawings provided by Dongping these years. They were first bought by large sea merchants who had a good relationship with the Chunnan Navy, and then resold to the Black Eagle Gang. It was precisely because they received such a great favor from the Chunnan sea merchants that the Black Eagle Gang dispatched such an elite fleet to rescue Ice Shark Island when they learned that the Seven Seas Trading Company was going to attack Ice Shark Island, in order to suppress the Seven Seas Trading Company by all means.

However, the behemoth Cang River-class ship raised its command flag and stood between the Black Eagle Gang and the battle group outside Ice Shark Island, which made the Black Eagle Gang have to carefully consider their options. Indeed, the Black Eagle Gang had fought with several navies in Dongping, and it could be said that they had won and lost against each other. But the Black Eagle Gang also understood very well that it was extremely troublesome to provoke the Dongping Navy for no reason.

Leading this fleet of the Black Eagle Gang is Jiang Fangzhou, the hall master of the Tiger Shark Hall of the Black Eagle Gang. Jiang Fangzhou, who is in charge of all the combat power of the Black Eagle Gang, is the third-in-command of the Black Eagle Gang. He was originally triumphant in personally leading the team to flaunt his power in front of the Seven Seas Trading Company, but he didn't expect to run into the Dongping Navy. His repeated "Motherfucker" fully demonstrated his current mood.

"Third Master, what's going on? Should we fight or not?" A gang member asked cautiously.

"The fleet disperses, I'll go negotiate. Damn it, how could Ice Shark Island, with just a few broken boats, have provoked the Cang River-class ship of the Dongping Navy," Jiang Fangzhou said viciously.

"Third Master, it's not just the Cang River-class ship, look over there... four Lan River-class ships, flying the flag of the Seven Seas Trading Company, God knows what's going on. And over there, those two ships don't look like they're from Dongping," another gang member kindly reminded.

Jiang Fangzhou really looked at the two armed merchant ships in the distance, whose sails were all black, and only managed to find the equally black flags on the top of the masts. When he saw the white crescent moon and star pattern on the black flags, his face changed suddenly. "His grandma's, why did the Samir family's ships run here to attack Ice Shark Island? Are the Samir family and the Seven Seas Trading Company colluding?"