The sea breeze in the Western Mediterranean Sea flew past, and the flags of the Barbary pirates flew. The frigates that had stranded the reefs had become the stronghold of pirates, with dozens of pirates stationed here.

"There are 24 artillery guns in total. They seem to be completely cast in iron. Do they have reliable performance? They won't suddenly explode when shooting?"

"The Orientals are really rich. The shells they use are about 12 or 24 pounds of solid shells, and there are still many ammunition reserves on the ship. There are also the standards of these iron cannons, almost exactly the same, as if cast from a mold. And these strange muskets..."

The pirates counted the artillery seized from the frigate and found that the artillery on the frigate was relatively new and seemed to have not taken a few years.

This is a new ship, and the artillery and decoration on the warships have no trace of old age.

The pirates even wanted to transport the brand new and exquisite-looking artillery on the warship to land. However, the artillery was heavy and was half fixed on the tackle. The pirates were difficult to transfer the artillery for a while. They also had to rely on this batch of artillery to build a sea turret to assist in the defense of Algiers.

In addition to artillery, the food on the frigate is also good for pirates to defend.

The pirates on the two pirate ships that escaped from the joint fleet blockade were regarded as heroes, and Muratpasha even personally paid a bounty for them. Although the pirates who escaped were still confused and did not know which force the warship of the joint fleet that blocked Algiers was.

"It seems that they are not invincible! As long as we Algiers stick to winter, or the empire's navy comes to support us, we Barbary pirates can still traverse the Mediterranean in the future!"

Muratpasha was in a good mood because of the first battle.

Amur was given 20 slaves and some gold and silver as rewards by Pasha for commanding pirates to seize the stranded frigate, which made many pirates jealous.

Compared to the lively pirates, the morale of the United Fleet was a little low because of the loss of a frigate.

"We... our captain died while fighting pirates... Some were captured, and more people died in battle..." The frigate sailors who fell into the water and fled were taken to the ironclad ship to report the details of the fall of the frigate to the senior officers.

"In the future, any officer of our Fourth Fleet must strictly obey the command of the flagship when receiving the signal of the flagship and do not be greedy for merit and make progress! This failure is to teach our Fourth Fleet a lesson! Our Fourth Fleet is the latest, and both warships and artillery are the latest. Even the most advanced ironclad ships in the local area are personally placed under the jurisdiction of our Fourth Fleet by the military leader! Initially excellent weapons and warships should be our advantage, but they will also make us arrogant and arrogant, and think about making achievements quickly!"

"This lesson tells us that no matter how good the weapons are, they must have a calm mind, otherwise even the pirates' small sailboat will not be able to beat! You will remember my words firmly in my heart! Do you know?!"

Sun Xu summoned the captains of all the ships of the Fourth Fleet and scolded him.

The Fourth Fleet's warships were excellent and could have avoided such losses. This time it was a complete man-made disaster, not that the warships and weapons were not advanced enough.

"Record this matter truthfully in the fleet's log. All officers and soldiers who join our Fourth Fleet in the future must remember this matter and avoid making similar mistakes again." Sun Xu turned to the adjutant and said.

Sir Pennington and other nobles and officers of the Royal Navy witnessed Sun Xu's reprimand for his subordinates, and found that the captains of the Fourth Fleet did not dare to breathe, and stood upright.

"This is the permanent navy, which is very different from the sailors we temporarily recruited. They are more like real soldiers. Perhaps our Royal Navy needs to build a permanent fleet. Most of our current sailors and even officers are recruited at the beginning of the war. They are not trained enough, and even temporarily call for a large number of armed merchant ships to strengthen our momentum." Sir Pennington was a little envious of the Fourth Fleet.

The Fourth Fleet is a regular naval fleet. The officers and soldiers receive monthly military pay. There is only one thing, and there is practice of naval combat skills.

On the contrary, Britain was not a permanent army. The nobles served as naval officers. Many sailors originally worked on merchant ships, even fishermen. They were temporarily hired to drive warships during the war, and their wages were settled on the shore. Very few people could barely be called professional soldiers.

"The scale of the war is getting bigger and bigger, and the number of mobilizations is increasing. It is no longer the Middle Ages. His Majesty the King wants to form a real standing army and a standing navy, a standing army similar to the ancient Roman legion. If you want to compare it, it may be like these people in front of you. They have a complete set of command and logistics system. Except for technical workers and servitude, everyone is a professional soldier. But there are too many people hindering His Majesty the King, and no one is willing to pay taxes to establish a strong standing army. They stubbornly believe that this is His Majesty the King in order to strengthen his rule." As the most loyal minister of Charles I, the Earl of Strafford tried to impress the naval officers mainly as Sir Pennington to obtain the support of the naval officers for the king.

"The regular naval expenses are amazing, unless it is a powerful empire," said Sir Pennington.

While the two of them were talking in a low voice, Sun Xu walked over and said to them: "We plan to select a small team, take a sailboat captured from the pirates while they are covered by the night to cover the frigate occupied by the pirates, and use a fireboat to burn it. If it is regarded as a turret by the other party, it will increase the difficulty of us seizing the other party's turret."

The fourth fleet, which suffered setbacks, lost a frigate, but the stranded frigate was not allowed to be used as a turret against its own people by pirates.

The officers selected a 37-man team to operate the captured two small pirate galleys near the stranded frigate. One was a fireboat equipped with gunpowder and fire, and the other was a ship used by the squad to escape.

The task of this squad was extremely difficult. They had to learn to operate the pirates' galleys in a short period of time and set fire to the frigate captured by the enemy at the risk of their lives.
Chapter completed!