1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 146 The Portuguese Surprised

The armed merchant ship "Caraglio" is a ship affiliated to the Portuguese Far East Trading Company.At the end of May, he was ordered to inspect Timor Island, with the purpose of preventing and warning the Dutch East India Company to sneak across the boundaries agreed upon by both parties.

Speaking of it, it's still a pity.Originally, the entire Spice Islands, including the Maluku Islands and Timor Island, used to be completely owned by the Portuguese family.

But the hateful Dutch have also come to the Far East since the beginning of the 17th century.When they first came, they still cautiously bought cloves, nutmeg and other spices from the local natives on some small islands in the Maluku Islands that Portugal could not take care of.But with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company, with the support of strong capital, a large number of Dutch ships flocked to the Spice Islands.

They began to squeeze and expel the Portuguese step by step.Soon, they seized Ambon, the center of the Portuguese rule in the Spice Islands, and then occupied Batavia soon after, and seriously threatened the safety of the Portuguese in Malacca.

Subsequently, the Dutch expanded from Java to Timor step by step, and squeezed the Portuguese to the eastern half of the island.Now, the entire Spice Islands are under the control of the Dutch, and they have also established a series of transportation and supply points, almost controlling the route from the Spice Islands to Malacca.

Now, the Portuguese are worried about where the Dutch will look at them next.Timor Island is the closest Portuguese stronghold to the Spice Islands (Maluku Islands). If it is squeezed out by the Dutch, then the Portuguese will have no foothold east of Malacca.

Therefore, no matter how difficult the Portuguese are and how hard it is to endure humiliation, they still must muster the greatest courage and use all their strength to defend Portugal's "sovereignty" in Timor Island, oh no, it is half of the "sovereignty" of Timor Island. "!"
"Captain, if we go any further, we may cross the border of the Dutch. I think it's time for us to return!" the first officer on board reminded the captain of the "Kalalho", Christian Nunez.

"...Well, okay, let's go back!" Christian Nunez put down the monocular, turned his head and said to his first officer: "There are too many trees on the shore, even if the Dutch come, we can't see them." To. Unless, we send someone to log in to check."

"Captain, I think we don't have the time and energy to go ashore and check one by one." The first officer shook his head and said.

"Yes!" Captain Christian Nunez shook his head with a wry smile, "If I were a Dutchman, why would I set up a camp on the shore and let us discover it? Although, this island is only a small spot on the chart , but it took us three days to inspect half of the island from Dili. This island is still very big, so big that we can't pay attention to any point of it. "

"Spices should not be produced in the south of the island. I don't think the Dutch will be interested in this place." The first officer pointed to the lush forest in the distance, "If you need wood, the Dutch have enough in Batavia. many resources."

"That's right." Captain Christian Nunez nodded, "But what the colonial authorities meant was that they were worried that the Dutch would attack us. In case, they set up a secret stronghold somewhere in the south of the island. At that time, they can attack our colonial stronghold on the island from Kupang and the southern part of the island respectively, and finally attack Dili together. Oh, God, that is really a bold plan! Isn't it?"

Timor Island, a small wharf on the Xinxiangbao Inland River.

"Xiao Shan, why is this ship... so weird?" Chen Dalang took some guards and watched as the natives began to unload cargo from a long and narrow ship. Potatoes, corn, building materials, etc., there were not many supplies, only a dozen or so tons of looks.

"The shipyard's new spaceship!" Dong Fengshan glanced back at the ship behind him, and said with a smile, "Guess how long it took me to run from Jianye City?"

"How long?" Chen Dalang asked directly, too lazy to make fun of the riddle.

"Two days and three nights!" Dong Fengshan said proudly, "If it wasn't for a certain distance, I would be able to go faster."

The "spaceship" mentioned by Dong Fengshan is the "flying shear ship" that was just launched a few days ago after nearly a month of research and construction at Hanzhou Shipyard.

The length of the ship is 15 meters, the width is only 6 meters, and the displacement is only 8 tons. The theoretical load can carry [-] to [-] tons of goods. There are paddles on both sides, which can be paddled when there is no wind.There were only four small [-]-pound to [-]-pound guns on board, and there were only [-] operators on the ship.

After the "flying shear ship" was built, it sailed for a few days in the bay near Jianye City. Dong Fengshan and his sailors drove the ship, carrying a batch of supplies, and came towards Xinxiang Fort.

Since the boat he was driving was of a completely different type from the previous ones, Dong Fengshan and the other sailors were also exploring the control skills while driving.On the first day, relying on the strong southeast wind in the north of Hanzhou, the speed of the boat was very fast, with an average speed of more than ten knots.

At night, Dong Fengshan lowered a sail and slowed down the speed of the boat. Even so, the speed reached six knots.

When they arrived at Xinxiang Castle, the entire voyage only took two days and three nights, which was shortened by half compared to before.

"When we return to Jianye City this time, we will remodel it at the shipyard. Maybe next time we will sail directly to Batavia." Dong Fengshan said with a smile: "One is to test the long-distance sailing of this ship. Second, Hanzhou is going to try whether he can go to Batavia via the northwest slash.”

Taking the northwest slant to Batavia means that the ship will stay away from the coastlines of Timor Island and Java Island, and plunge into Batavia obliquely, relying entirely on the supplies on board and observing the sky to identify the direction.Although a quarter of the journey can be saved, the requirements for the driving and handling personnel on board are very high.

But the "flying shear ship" is far faster than other types of ships. Even if it goes wrong, it doesn't take much time to turn back to the correct direction.

At dawn the next day, Dong Fengshan shipped [-] pieces of teak wood in Xinxiangbao, and prepared to return to Jianye City.

"Captain, I found a...strange boat ahead!" The lookout suddenly shouted.

Captain Christian Nunez was observing the coastline of Timor Island with a binoculars. When he heard the report from the lookout, he immediately turned his head and looked ahead.

Sure enough, a "slender" boat appeared two kilometers in front of the right front of the armed merchant ship "Kalaro", and it was trying to raise its sails and prepare to sail south.

"Turn and follow." Captain Christian Nunez ordered loudly: "Before it accelerates, catch up and capture it!"

The "Calalho" immediately turned around and rushed towards the "slender" boat.

2 kilometers, 1.5 kilometers, 1 kilometer, 700 meters... Seeing that the "Calalho" is about to approach the boat.

At this time, the situation on the small boat can already be seen with the naked eye, and it seems that someone is still paddling.At this time, several of its sails have been gradually raised.

A moment, oh my God, just a moment, really, and the little boat scrambled.The distance that was shortened before was opened again in a short period of time.And, as time went on, that boat seemed to get faster and faster.In less than 10 minutes, it turned into a small spot.Finally, it gradually disappeared out of the sight of the "Calaglio".

it ran!
All the Portuguese sailors on the "Calalho" were dumbfounded.They swore that they had never seen such a fast boat before.The speed must have exceeded ten knots, perhaps higher.

However, the fastest speed of the armed merchant ship "Calaglio" is only six knots, and it can only be achieved when the cabin is empty.

"Captain, are we... still chasing him?" a sailor asked stupidly.

Captain Tichlisian Nunez put down his binoculars, stared blankly at the questioning sailor, and shook his head blankly.I can't even see the shadow, where can I go after it?
"Captain, they are heading south!" The sailor reminded him "kindly".

Well, it went south, I saw it.so what?
"It seems that only a few dozen years ago, the Dutch went there a few times to explore the south. ... However, I heard that there are only deserted islands or mainlands."

"Could it be, where did that boat come from?"

"What is it doing here?"

"Who are the people in the south?"

"..."

Captain Tichlisian Nunez listened to the sailors' discussions, and felt the same doubts as them, and he was also unable to answer those questions.

Yeah, what the hell is that boat doing here?explore?Or trade?

Or, eyeing our Timor Island?
The Portuguese stopped for a long time full of astonishment and doubts, and finally turned around and headed for Dili.These questions should be left to those big men to ponder.

Dong Fengshan and his men drove the experimental "flying shear boat" to draw a beautiful arc on the sea, and carefully returned to Xinxiangbao.

"Just now I found a big ship, it's not from the Dutch. I guess it's most likely from the Portuguese in the north of the island. You guys should be vigilant in the near future." Chen Dalang was wondering why Dong Fengshan, who had just left, suddenly came back again. When he said that, he was also surprised.

"Did they find us?"

"I don't know if you found out. We just came out of the river mouth and drove close to the coastline for a while. We were about to adjust our direction. Before the sails were opened, we were seen by others. If our boat didn't run fast, maybe Let them capture my brother?"

"Then I have to repair my defenses in the past few days, so as not to be beaten by others."

"This time, I accidentally let someone bump into us. I have to go back and report to Commander Yu and Chief Manager to see what their opinions are. ... You have to set up those small cannons on the wall, just in case one!"

(End of this chapter)