Chapter 229 A Bold Plan

Zhang Heng interrogated the captain, first mate, boatswain and others on the Miranda separately to prevent collusion in confessions, and then corroborated the answers of several people with each other, thus ensuring the reliability of the information collected.

As a result, half an hour later, he got some unexpected news, so he called Billy, Annie and others together again, and also asked for the chief carpenter on the ship.

"You want to return to Parrot Island?" Billy was startled by Zhang Heng's bold idea.

"According to the information we just received from the prisoners, there is only one naval warship left on Parrot Island, the Kent. This is when their defense force is at its weakest." Zhang Heng said, "We may take this opportunity to seize the island. Rescue the survivors on board, and...recover the gold we left there."

"How to do it? With the current situation of the Jackdaw, it can't support a complete battle. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to go to such trouble. We have to rely on the terrain of Pearl Island to deal with the Miranda. When we get to Parrot Island, there will be no The terrain will allow us to take advantage of it. This will most likely be a tough battle with no tricks, and we have almost no chance of winning." Although Billy was also interested in the idea of ​​rescuing the pirates on the island and getting back the gold, after thinking about it, he still felt that this The stakes are too high.

Zhang Heng did not answer the helmsman's question, but turned to look at Guy, the chief carpenter on the ship, "If we have enough materials, how long will it take for us to repair the ship to a state where it can fight again?"

The latter was stunned when he heard this, "If there is no shortage of materials and everyone helps together, it can be completed in six days, no, five days."

"But where does the material come from?" Dufresne asked.

Zhang Heng pointed to the Miranda that ran aground not far away and said, "Let's dismantle it and use it as materials."

Guy's eyes lit up and he nodded immediately, "That's a good idea, but it will take two more days."

"There is no problem with time. The navy sent five out of six ships to chase us, but we killed one. Now there are four ships left. They agreed to return to Parrot Island in two weeks to deal with the remaining ships on the island. Pirates, only one day has passed now, we have spent seven days repairing the ship, and the remaining time is enough for us to return to Parrot Island and fight another battle."

When Billy heard this, he couldn't help but feel excited. The Navy couldn't be said to be relying on them. After all, it was not easy for the Jackdaw to persist to Nassau in its condition. No one would have thought that they would dare to They fought back halfway, so leaving only one ship on Parrot Island was enough to guard a group of pirates who had lost their ships and supplies.

Zhang Heng's plan does sound bold at first, but it is not unachievable if you think about it carefully. Although killing the Miranda made everyone feel bad and got enough food and fresh water, it could not make up for their time. Losses incurred at sea.

This time the pirates in Nassau were deceived by the navy. Not only did they lose both men and ships, but the gold they had worked so hard to snatch from the Spanish treasure ship also benefited the navy. If they can get the gold back, they can rescue the island at the same time. Only the survivors can be called a true counterattack.

"I think this battle plan will work, and we can start preparing for the next battle."

…………

Soon, the crew on the beach knew Zhang Heng's plan to counterattack Parrot Island. The subsequent crew meeting was unanimously approved without any doubt. It was about the dignity of the Nassau pirates and the ownership of the five thousand pounds of gold. No one had time. After resting, he immediately went back to the repair work.

It was rare to have so many manpower available, so Guy decided to take advantage of this opportunity to conduct a comprehensive cleaning of the Jackdaw's hull, removing conches, seaweed and other debris adsorbed on the deck during the voyage. This would also It can increase the sailing speed of the Jackdaw by another half knot to prepare for the tough battle ahead.

But just when everyone was in full swing, Zhang Heng, the captain, disappeared.

When Annie found Zhang Heng, the latter was sitting alone behind a rock, watching the sunset in the distance gradually sinking into the sea.

He was about two hundred yards away from the crowd sitting in front of the fire, which made him look like a person from another world.

Annie found a piece of sand to sit down next to Zhang Heng, and handed over the wine bottle in her hand, "The repair work is going very smoothly. It will be almost completed tomorrow morning. Guy said that the repaired Jackdaw will Stronger than before.”

"Very good, we have been on this island for a long time, and it's almost time to set off again." Zhang Heng took the bottle and took a sip, and then Annie took the bottle from Zhang Heng's hand. When I came back, I took a sip myself.

"Really, how are you, are you okay?"

"Um?"

"Aren't you going to talk about the storm before? The crew all said it was a miracle and that we were protected by the sea goddess Thetis, but you and I both know that is not true. I listened to Seth with you. Story, did you climb up the mast to carve that name on it? What was her name, Betty?"

"Oh, don't worry, I won't let the Jackdaw follow in the footsteps of that Clark ship," Zhang Heng said, "I just... can't remember the last time I watched the sunset so quietly."

Zhang Heng did use the shell in the previous critical moment. He himself had no experience of bitterness and hatred, nor was he a so-called angry youth, so in the end he had to use a trick to bring himself into the literary work. , he chose Jean Valjean, the protagonist of "Les Misérables", the unlucky man who was imprisoned for nineteen years for stealing bread to help his poor sister raise seven children. Because of a series of previous encounters until he met Miri Until his death, he had a strong anger towards the world in which he lived.

This somewhat chicken-stealing method finally worked. Not only did Zhang Heng successfully summon a storm to help the Jackdaw successfully escape, but he also had his first contact with the ancient Celtic god who called himself Betty.

Only then did Zhang Heng realize that the other party didn't look for him before, not because he didn't have the time or to create a sense of mystery, but simply because the latter was too weak. After seducing Seth on the boat, he no longer had the strength to show up until Zhang Heng Taking over the shell, carving her name on the mast again, and providing a lot of rage gave her a small amount of her strength back.

According to her own words, her strength is no longer what it used to be. Not only is it not as strong as it was in its heyday more than a thousand years ago, but even a hundred years ago, she was much stronger on the Clark ship than she is now. This is also The reason why Zhang Heng couldn't really control the storm like the captain of the Clark ship, speed up the voyage, or even use it to attack the enemy, was that the best Zhang Heng could do now was to prevent the storm from harming the Jackdaw.