The Rise of the European Emperor

It is not very urgent to transform the 250-level armed merchant ship into a galley. The most urgent thing at present is to transform one or two British pirate ships to take revenge on the Portuguese.

For some reason, Marin was very interested in the transformation of the pirate ship. So, he came to Emden Shipyard in person to participate in the transformation of the British Cork sailing ship.

The British Kirk sailing ship is basically the same as the German Kirk sailing ship, because the Kirk sailing ship was originally learned by the British from the Hanseatic League. Therefore, it is not difficult for Marin to get the Kirk sailboat.

In the dock, a more than 200-ton Kirk sailing ship is resting on the bracket. The water in the dock has been drained so that craftsmen can make modifications.

Since it is a pirate ship, speed is naturally the priority. Therefore, Marin waved his hand directly and said:

"Increase the height of the mast and use a larger area of ​​high-strength sisal sail!"

This is the simplest decision. For a sailboat, the larger the sail area, the faster the natural speed. In addition, Marin pointed to the bow and stern of the ship and said:

"The mast at the stern is changed to a triangular sail to take advantage of the wind from the side!"

This is the consistent practice of fully equipped sailboats later, so as to improve the utilization rate of wind. In addition, this is also a preparation for intercepting Portuguese transport ships.

Because the Portuguese merchant ship must go north along the coast of Africa when returning home. On the north-south route, the wind is often from the side, and there is very little tailwind.

Therefore, it is actually more appropriate to use a triangular sail on the route of Portuguese merchant ships returning home. So Marin continued to order:

"The two masts in front are also ready to be replaced with large triangle sails..." If the wind is really coming from the side, it is the most correct way to use all the triangle sails.

In fact, the North Sea has a better topsail than a jib. However, the North Sea State is keeping the upper edge gaff sails secret, and this advanced sail is only allowed in the no man's land in the Atlantic Ocean. In areas with a lot of people, they have to be replaced with ordinary sails.

Moreover, this time the pirate ship is to be disguised as a British pirate, so naturally such advanced things cannot be used. In addition, Marin did not want the Portuguese to learn this kind of sail.

Therefore, Marin can only still use the old-fashioned sails. However, the area has increased a lot, and the material has also been replaced with a reinforced sail with sisal as the ribs.

In addition, the stern part is also equipped with a very convenient steering wheel system to facilitate the rapid steering of the ship.

...

The next step is the hull part, because the time is tight, there must be no time to adjust the keel and thicken the side. Therefore, Marin directly adopted a simple and crude method-nailed the hull of the ship with tinplate, and nailed three layers in total...

The three layers of white iron skin may still be difficult to withstand the heavy shells of the Lizard Cannon. After all, the impact of that kind of shell would easily smash the side structure under the protection of the iron sheet to pieces. However, there is no problem with the Franc cannon used to resist the Portuguese.

Portuguese merchant ships are generally equipped with Fran cannons. Only on the main battleship will the 12-pound main gun be installed. For general merchant ships, it is almost enough to equip a few more three-pound Fran cannons, at most 6-pound class.

In this way, as long as three layers of tinplate are nailed to the side, there is no need to fear the attack of small-caliber artillery on Portuguese merchant ships.

In this way, the modification of the ship is basically completed. Next, the craftsmen only need to use the same method to continue to modify several Kirk sailboats.

Then, Marin went to pick someone...

...

In order to pretend to be a pirate, Marin really asked Kohler to order the North Sea spy in London to recruit a group of reliable people with pirate experience to join the pirate ship.

These old pirates are familiar with the methods of British pirates, and they act in their true colors without any pretense. The sailors under Marin just need to cooperate with them and imitate their behavior.

Among them, a middle-aged pirate leader named Jack aroused Marin's strong interest. Because, Marin actually discovered that this guy looks a lot like Captain Jack in "Pirates of the Caribbean". However, his name is not Jack Sparrow, but Jack Vickers.

But Marin doesn't care so much, and they are pretending to be pirates this time, so they don't need to use their real names. So, Marin waved his hand:

"In this way, during the robbery, you will pretend to be the captain. From now on, your name will be Jack Sparrow, and everyone will also call you 'Captain Jack'. It is such a happy decision!"

Jack Vickers looked confused—why did he even change his surname?

But thinking of pretending to be a pirate this time, he figured it out, it would be best not to use his life. After all, Anglo-Portuguese relations are good. If he used his real name and was sued by Portugal to London, he would be wanted in England.

Now that there is Captain Jack, there must be a corresponding ship. So, Marin happily decided—this first pirate ship is called "Black Pearl"...

"Captain Jack" and a group of hired English pirates looked at Marin dumbfounded, but after thinking about it, they still accepted it. There is no way, Marin is their employer, and he is still a king. They are better than others, and they can do whatever they say. They can only accept it and have no confidence to refute.

Since it is the "Black Pearl", it should be black. Therefore, Marin directly asked people to paint the whole ship black, and even the white iron sheet was painted with black paint, making the whole ship look black.

However, in terms of firepower configuration, Marin cannot learn from the "Black Pearl" and use 32 6-pound guns. Moreover, the small Kirk ship of more than 200 tons does not have so many gun positions. In particular, there is no lower artillery deck.

Therefore, Marin can only adapt to the situation. According to the characteristics of the high ends of the Kirk sailboat, which has a forecastle and a poop, a cannon is installed in the bow and stern of the ship, both of which are 12 pounds.

Pirates often do not fight head-to-head at sea, because merchant ships often do not have the courage to be tough with pirate ships. Therefore, in battles at sea, merchant ships often flee in front and pirate ships chase behind. Therefore, a main gun at the bow is necessary, and the side guns are basically useless.

Of course, the pirate ship also has unlucky times, for example, encountering a warship... At this time, the pirate ship needs to rely on speed to escape. At this time, it is best to have a cannon at the stern to stop the pursuit of the warship...

Therefore, pirate ships often do not need to arrange any artillery on the side, only the artillery at the bow and the artillery at the stern are enough. As for the side guns, they will only be used when the navies of the two countries are just facing the front. Because the purpose of the navies of the two countries is to eliminate their opponents, and they will not run away easily. With more side cannons, it is often more advantageous, and it is easy to sink the opponent.

But the purpose of pirate ships is to rob, not to sink merchant ships. Therefore, broadside guns are not needed. If the merchant ship is sunk, who will they take?

Therefore, Marin did not arrange a row of guns on the side of the "Black Pearl", but only symbolically deployed three or four rear-mounted Francois cannons. This kind of Franc cannon is more used to scare the people on the merchant ship with a few shots after paralleling the merchant ship, rather than sinking the merchant ship.

After the ship was refitted, Marin patted Jack Vickers on the shoulder and said with a smile:

"Okay, Captain Jack, let's take your men to practice at sea!"

...