Please bookmark it after reading it, thank you.

The mast renovation of the Beagle finally ended before the sun sets. Lu Ming did not break his promise and generously paid a large amount of repairs to the boatmen. After replenishing some ammunition and artillery, the three-masted Beagle sailboat, which had a new look, left Tortuga Island and sailed to the French Cape overnight.

On March 29, Lu Ming appointed his old partner when he was in the fort, Chen Tumu, the gun captain of the "East Coast Eagle", as the captain of the "Beagle", and added some intern sailors and alternate officers to drive the ship. At the same time, more than 20 British pirates who were originally locked in the bottom cabin of the "Beagle" were also transferred to several houses in the corner of France. Lu Ming left ten soldiers from the security team to guard them here.

After everything was done, the three warships left the French Cape one by one, turned northwest, and headed towards the Florida coast.

St. Augustine was established in 1565. It was the first colonial site established by the Spanish in the North American continent. It was also the ruling center and capital of the Spanish in the East Florida region. In 1586, St. Augustine was attacked by the famous pirate Drake and burned. Later, the Spaniards built a solid shore defense castle near the original site and installed many cannons to prevent sea threats.

To this day, this city is still a restricted city. In addition to trading with San Marcos in Appalachian Bay and Pensacola in West Florida, the city only allows ships from Havana and Villa Cruise to harbour.

St. Augustine and Pensacola are the ruling centers of the Spanish colonies scattered in the Florida region, among which St. Augustine is the capital of Florida. These two cities are one on the left and one on the right, and are connected by sea. There are several ships traveling between the two places every week, which is considered a relatively busy route in this sea area. There is no reason why such a busy route is not targeted.

"A Spanish sloop was found in the southwest, with a speed of 3 knots. Repeat again..." The lookout hand of the "Eagle on the East Coast" reported loudly. After hearing his shouts, the lazy sailors on the deck who had just jumped up like a clockwork tightening. The sails that raised sails, the ammunition loaded ammunition, and the sail truss that turned the sails. Soon, not only the "Eagle on the East Coast" but also all three warships in the entire formation were ready for battle.

The Spanish sloop also found something wrong, but the excessive cargo capacity obviously limited their escape speed. The three warships easily chased after it and surrounded the Spanish boat. There was no resistance or bloodshed. The Spanish had only 4 light guns and 12 sailors. Therefore, after they judged the situation, they calmly raised the white flag at the first time. The army of the East Coast Republic immediately took over the Spanish small sloop transport.

The cabin was loaded with a large amount of cotton, which seemed to be ready to be transported to St. Augustine for initial processing and then transported back to Spain for sale. The Spanish have always had this habit. The cotton was quickly transferred to the cabin of the Beagle for stacking, and the Spanish sloop that was not resistant to wind and waves and could not sail far was regrettably ordered by Lu Ming to sank.

The Spanish sailors on the ship were placed on a small boat with a certain amount of food and water, and let them die. Originally, Wang Tiechhui suggested that all the captured Spanish sailors be executed, and his proposal was also approved by the European and indigenous sailors, but years of education made Lu Ming unable to issue such a cruel order. In the end, he decided to release the prisoners. Before letting them leave, these Spanish sailors were told that "the kind Captain Coaster spared their lives." This was the plan agreed upon by Lu Ming and others. I will make money. The blame should be given by the famous Captain Coaster.

Starting from April 5, the East Coast Republic privateer formation intercepted several Spanish transport ships in the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola and St. Augustine. These small Spanish coastal transport ships of dozens of tons were loaded with fur and cotton, and were transported from Pensacola to St. Augustine. The East Coast Republic privateer formation was booming for a while.

On April 10, after intercepting six Spanish transport ships in a row, obtaining thousands of furs and dozens of tons of cotton, the private formation quietly left the increasingly dangerous sea area and turned southeast, preparing to bypass Florida Bay at the southern end of the Florida Peninsula before turning north and heading to the ocean near St. Augustine. If Captain Coaster had not lied at the time, his pirate fleet would have arrived outside St. Augustine.

On April 16, the private formation arrived outside the Bay of Matanzas, about a few kilometers east of St. Augustine. Lu Ming stood on the gun deck of the stern building of the "East Coast Eagle" and raised his telescope to look forward. He saw that there was a mess near the mouth of the Matanzas River: a large sailing ship sank on the side of the channel opposite the bay, and at this time there was only one mast left on the sea surface. A three-masted sea ship outside the estuary seemed to have been stranded on the beach on Anastasia Island because of its reef. A group of people were busy on the beach, and it seemed that they were trying to repair the damaged hull.

"The Spaniard's turret has fallen." Wang Tiechhui also held the telescope and said, "Well, I counted, there are about 12 artillery positions in total. Twelve shore defense heavy artillery, although the density is not as high as that of Dongfang Harbor, it is also the best protective measure in Florida and even the adjacent 'Guarai' area. No wonder these pirates are going to lose two ships here. Hey, there is no one on the turret. What's going on with these pirates? Why didn't they control the turret? Isn't anyone willing to stay and Wang Feng to drive the door inside and go to have fun? It shouldn't be that there can be faint sounds of cannons heard inside, and they should be in the battle."

"I think it's probably because the Spaniards destroyed these artillery before the fall of the turrets, which made them no longer available to pirates. Moreover, St. Augustine has suffered a loss once, and her defense facilities must be more than these. There should be some castles and turrets inside. I don't think it's realistic to kill these pirates so easily." Lu Ming said, "Now, the key question is, what are our attitudes to face the two sides in the war. In other words, what is our position?"

"State? Isn't our position just robbing the Spaniards..." Wang Tiech chewed Lu Ming's words, and then said in surprise after a while: "Do you want to rob these pirates? What are the pirates who have robbed the head? Even if they have some ill-gotten wealth, the amount is far worse than the city in front of them that the Spaniards have been running for decades. As long as I break Saint Augustine, I think the income will not be less than 500,000 pesos, this is the real big head."

"Then this money is also the money of the pirates. What does it have to do with us? Do you think the pirates will allow us to make a fortune with them after breaking St. Augustine?" Lu Ming asked back, "I think they will try to destroy us as soon as possible, and then sit down and share the spoils. For guys like us who have unknown origins, they will not really trust them. Okay, let's take a look at the situation first, and see if Captain Coaster is powerful or the Spanish Florida General is powerful."

The three private formations carefully bypassed the wreck on the north side of the channel and sailed into the wide Matanzas River. On the shimmering river surface, large swaths of gunpowder were filled with large smoke. Five three-masted sailboats lined up at one time facing the Spanish castle and fell down their tail anchors. Thirty or forty bronze cannons, brass cannons, and iron cannons kept spraying out hot shells, hitting the walls of the Spanish fortress.

More than half of the entire Saint Augustine block has been occupied by pirates, and all the Spanish residents in the block retreated into the castle to hold on. The pirates who rushed ashore in small boats took advantage of the cover of the houses in the block to pull the cannons close by, and tenaciously fired against the Spaniards. The scene was extremely intense for a while.

With the protection of thick smoke spreading over the river, the three private warships of the East Coast Republic, which quietly sailed into the river, could no longer hide their bodies. The Spaniards and the pirates discovered them almost at the same time, but because of the fierce battle, neither side could pull away, so they could only let them go.

Of course, Captain Coaster did not relax his vigilance. His ship "Lucky" and another nearby pirate ship "Black Bread" pulled out their tail anchors at the same time, and the guns on the port side also started to load medicine. While doing this, he first sent his deputy to come over with a white flag and took a traffic boat, intending to negotiate something.

Lu Ming carefully observed the battlefield in front of him. The Spaniards gave up the entire outer block and retreated into the solid castle. They relied on the thick walls to resist tenaciously. After the pirates successfully robbed two-thirds of the block of St. Augustine, they were still not satisfied and tried to take down the solid castle of the Spaniards.

On the streets of St. Augustine, more than 600 pirates organized several offensives, but they were all repelled. The Spanish in the castle resisted tenaciously. They knew clearly what fate would be waiting for them after the city was broken. The bodies of compatriots lying all over the street reminded them all the time.

"The pirates have no chance, so I can't get this castle." Lu Ming made a judgment immediately.

Wang Tiech nodded. "Even the old men and children in the castle are in battle. In addition, some of the defenders originally had, the pirates were a little whimsical about trying to capture the castle with these hundreds of people. It would be better to stop when you see it, and quickly leave with the money you have already snatched. So, our choice is already very obvious?"

"Rise the signal flag and fire at the pirate ship closest to us!" Lu Ming gave the order decisively.
Chapter completed!