Chapter 449: Splitting the Force

As for the most crucial prize, the American silver, after Sun Xiao’s sample count of one of the chests, it was calculated that the royal subsidy on the San Luis should be 130,000 pesos.

“The intelligence department gave us a figure of 232,569 pesos, which means that almost half is on the San Raimundo,” Sun Xiao said.

“We should try to capture that ship!” Zhou Weisen felt it wasn’t enough.

“Patience,” Lin Chuanqing said. “We have to consider that it’s July, the peak season for typhoons. If we continue to stay in this area, we are very likely to encounter a storm.”

Although intercepting the San Raimundo would be a perfect end to the entire Hunger operation, encountering a typhoon and losing any ship would be a huge blow.

Lin Chuanqing was very familiar with the sea and knew that the probability of encountering a typhoon in the Philippine Sea in the summer was extremely high. With their fleet, it would be difficult to escape unscathed if they encountered a typhoon.

But for Zhou Weisen, this was a bit too little. If such a large operation ended with only one ship and 130,000 pesos, it would inevitably provide an excuse for some elders who disliked the Homestead Faction and the North American branch to attack them.

“I think we should try again,” Zhou Weisen said. “At least get the silver from the second ship. Since they were separated six days ago, the San Raimundo should be arriving in a few days.”

“Little Zhou, you haven’t sailed the seas. You don’t know how terrible a typhoon is. We don’t have satellite cloud images or weather forecasts now. Waiting in this godforsaken place in the Philippine Sea this season is almost like suicide!” Lin Chuanqing habitually touched his hair. “Whether it’s the 901 or the H800, encountering a typhoon in these narrow waters full of reefs will definitely result in the loss of ships and lives.”

The two couldn’t help but argue about this. Zhou Weisen believed that with the weather radar on the Feiyun, they could effectively provide early warning for the formation. Lin Chuanqing was worried that if they encountered a typhoon, they would not only lose the silver but also their pants, and even their lives.

Among the elders, Sun Xiao was of two minds, his heart filled with contradictions. As a representative of the Planning Commission, he of course hoped to capture as much as possible, but he was also concerned about safety. As for Lü Yang, his youthful adventurous nature made him firmly stand on Zhou Weisen’s side.

In the end, Zhou Weisen’s proposal prevailed. The formation decided to continue waiting for the San Raimundo. However, to reduce the risk, Lin Chuanqing suggested splitting the force.

“Today’s battle was unexpectedly smooth. One 901 is perfectly capable of dealing with a galleon. I suggest that the Daishuang take the silver and prisoners and leave first. The Haifeng will tow the San Luis. The Nongchao and the Feiyun can stay behind to wait for the next ship. Just getting the silver is enough. We don’t need to care about the ship.”

“If we can take it, we should try to take it,” Sun Xiao quickly added. “I took a preliminary look today. There are a lot of goods on the galleon, which would be a huge extra income for us.”

“What about the coal on the Haifeng? The Nongchao will need to refuel on its return trip. It would be better to let the Daishuang tow the San Luis back.”

“No, that would be very troublesome for the Daishuang if it encounters an enemy. If it has to engage in combat, it would have to abandon the San Luis. The Nongchao is now fully fueled, which is enough for maneuvering and the return journey. Besides, the return journey is downwind. Even without coal, it can sail back with its sails.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Zhou Weisen agreed. “Let’s leave some provisions and ammunition as well, to have a good margin.”

Lü Yang hadn’t had his fill. In today’s battle, although the Nongchao had followed the flagship and fired many shots, because it was following and couldn’t fully utilize its firepower, it had mostly been a bystander.

He really wanted to continue to hunt the next ship, but Lin Chuanqing was the formation commander, so there was no possibility of him returning first. As the captain, he couldn’t request to stay behind alone, so he sighed and expressed his obedience to the order.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll adjust the cargo tomorrow, and then let the Daishuang and the Haifeng go back first.”

The main task the next day was to move the silver chests from the Nongchao to the Daishuang. The marines and sailors worked like dogs for most of the day. Taking advantage of this time, Sun Xiao, witnessed by Zhou Weisen and others, opened the luggage obtained from the stern cabin.

The stern cabin often stored the most valuable wealth on the ship: the ship’s funds, the private cargo carried by the senior crew—often high-priced goods. Some captains would also hide the wealth they had accumulated during their voyages in the captain’s cabin in the stern.

As for the gorgeously dressed, high-status female captive, she would obviously also be carrying a large amount of valuable luggage.

Sure enough, these chests did not disappoint the Planning Commission. Several iron-bound oak chests were filled with silver and gold coins. Although not comparable to the silver from the Americas, this alone was a considerable fortune.

Next were the treasures from the New World: emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and pearls from the Caribbean islands; silver bars, gold bars, and gold chains; various pieces of jewelry inlaid with various gems. Although the quantity was not large, they were priceless.

As for the large quantities of magnificent clothing embroidered with gold and silver thread, high-grade fabrics woven from feathers and cotton yarn, high-grade woolens, and silks, they were not even worth mentioning.

Sun Xiao counted, registered, and packed without stopping, working for a whole day before everything was registered. The treasure obtained from the stern cabin alone amounted to 25,000 pesos in silver coins and 2,000 escudos in gold coins. There were also over 100 silver bars and 20 gold bars. Zhou Weisen estimated that most of the silver and gold bars were illegally smuggled out of New Spain, as they had no markings on them.

“If I’m not mistaken, this isn’t all the treasure. A considerable portion should still be stored in the cargo hold of the San Luis. After we get back and translate the cargo manifest and other documents, we’ll have a very clear list. The other goods are not of much use to us and can only be resold.”

After counting and packing, this batch of treasure was also loaded onto the Daishuang. After all the commotion, there were still over 200 prisoners who had not been buried at sea. They were taken aboard the Haifeng and locked in the emptied coal bunkers.

The Daishuang transferred some of its supplies and ammunition to the flagship that was staying behind. To facilitate landing, a rowing boat from the San Luis was also left behind. Then, it and the Haifeng, with the light southeast wind, set their full sails and towed the San Luis, which had lost one of its masts, away to the north.

The Nongchao remained on standby, while the Feiyun continued to sail ahead, searching for the San Raimundo. Since the two ships had been separated six days ago, this ship would appear at the entrance of the strait in another five or six days.

So the Feiyun continued its radar search east of the strait, while the Nongchao slowly sailed west along the San Bernardino Strait, surveying the channel along the way.

The next morning, when Zhou Weisen wanted to check the surrounding weather conditions, he found that the weather radar was broken. The navigation radar, which was also used as a surface search radar, was still working. After cursing for a while, Zhou Weisen could do nothing. After all, it had not been turned on for three years. Although they had tried their best to maintain it, the rarely used weather radar on the Feiyun could only be left to fate. It was already lucky that some of its parts hadn’t been dismantled to repair other radars.

Zhou Weisen woke up Lin Chuanqing, who had just gone to sleep after his night watch, and told him the situation.

“I was afraid this would happen! This is not safe now. If the weather changes, we’re done for!” Lin Chuanqing, with dark circles under his eyes, was very unhappy.

“It should be fine. Didn’t the historical records say that Manila didn’t suffer any disastrous weather at this time? This timeline seems to be quite by the book so far, and there haven’t been any major butterfly effects.”

“It’s always better to be safe. I think our area of activity should not be on the open sea anymore. Let’s move back to the eastern entrance of the strait. The San Raimundo shouldn’t be able to escape. At night, we can just anchor near the coast. Anyway, the radar can give us a few hours of interception warning time, which is no problem.”

“Alright, should we send a telegram to inform Lingao first?”

“Of course.”

Both Lingao and the returning Daishuang received the telegram. Everyone was somewhat uneasy. The Executive Committee sent a telegram, suggesting that if they found the weather changing, they should not continue to wait for the Manila galleon and should return immediately. Lin Chuanqing felt that this was not good and immediately proposed a meeting to discuss the situation.

That night, the four elders held a meeting on the Feiyun and decided to return immediately. It was very unwise to continue to stay here after losing the weather radar, their last early warning system.

That night, Lin Chuanqing noticed some scattered cirrus clouds on the southern horizon. He couldn’t help but frown. The next morning, Zhou Weisen on the Feiyun felt that something was wrong. The clouds had increased, the wind had strengthened to about force 4, and the wind direction had changed from the southeast wind, which had not changed much for more than ten days, to an east-southeast wind.

“Could it be a typhoon?” he couldn’t help but worry. After a brief meeting with Lin Chuanqing, the two decided to return immediately. If the wind strengthened further in the afternoon, they would seek shelter in a bay near Samar Island.

Before noon, the wind had already reached nearly force 6, blowing long whitecaps. Lin Chuanqing judged that a typhoon had formed and was rapidly approaching this area—they were now under the influence of the typhoon’s outer periphery.

With the average speed of 9 knots of the Feiyun and the Nongchao, it was impossible to escape the typhoon circle before the typhoon arrived—the typhoon’s speed was at least twenty or thirty kilometers per hour, and sometimes could reach two hundred kilometers. Now, they could only find a sheltered place to take refuge.

The formation rounded the northern cape of Samar Island and anchored in a bay on a coast facing northwest, with the two ships 200 meters apart. Fortunately, the wind was from the east, so the waves at the anchorage were not large.