1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 19 The Dutch

Qi Tian and Gou Zi stood quietly on the console in the middle of the ship, looking at the busy sailors on board for a while, and then turned their heads to look at the Zheng family's ships gathered on three sides.It would be a lie to say that it is not nervous. After all, the opponent's ships are much more than our own, and they are still attacking from three sides.Qi Tian tightly grasped the side of the boat with both hands, and prayed to Mantian gods and Buddhas in his heart, hoping that he could escape to heaven safely this time.

"Master Cao, the boat opposite seems to belong to a red-haired ghost." The sharp-eyed sailor shouted.

"Huh?" Cao Xiong heard it, turned around immediately, and looked over with a binoculars. Galen's big ship was covered with muzzles on both sides, "...it's the red-haired ghost! It's the red-haired ghost's ship!"

Qi Tian heard Cao Xiong's exclamation, and turned to look at Qi Continent.

"The Dutch. Many of them have red hair. We call them red-haired ghosts." Qi Dalu raised his head and looked at the opposite ship.

Oh, that should be the famous Dutch East India Company in the 17th century.It seems that during this period, the Dutch's ships spread all over the world, and they were regarded as another global maritime hegemon after Spain.

"Hurry up and put up Liu Xiang's banner!" Cao Xiong roared again, "Hang up more!...Damn it, I don't know if it will work or not."

"Captain, the three ships on the opposite side have displayed the flag of that Liu." The first mate Ozbekem turned his head and reported to the captain Kumster.

Facing Cao Xiong and his team, the armed merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company sailed over, with a displacement of more than 600 tons and equipped with more than 30 large and small artillery pieces, including fifteen 18-pound heavy artillery pieces. In Southeast Asia and the coast of China, Neither the navy nor ordinary pirates of the Ming Dynasty could match them.Ten days ago, they set off from Batavia to Formosa Island (Taiwan Island) to deliver a batch of supplies such as weapons, food and agricultural tools.But he didn't want to meet Zheng Zhilong and Cao Xiong's fleet in the South China Sea.

"Liu, he should be regarded as our ally. The governor values ​​him very much. He is a good helper for us to deal with Nicholas (Zheng Zhilong's foreign Christian name). Well, it seems that their situation is very bad. The pursuit of several ships... My first mate, let's lean over and help them."

"What should we do if... we are attacked? There are many supplies of Formosa on board, as well as the company's senior representatives..." the first mate Ozbekem asked.

"Which small boats dare to attack us?" A contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of Koumster's mouth. "This is not the coast of the Ming Dynasty. If they dare to attack us, then send them to God!...Oh, no, to hell!"

"Master Cao, the red-haired ghost seems to beckon us to come over." Lu Fuming said.

"Come closer!...Don't get too close to them." Cao Xiong ordered.

Cao Xiong and the other three boats made a bend on the sea and slowly approached the Dutch boat.

"Brother Chen, the red-haired ghost's boat is on the opposite side. Liu Xiang's men have passed by. What should we do?" On a large ship in the Zheng family's fleet, Su Laosan asked a tall and thin man.

Chen Hui stared fixedly at the ships ahead with his binoculars, and remained silent.That night, Zheng Cai ordered a group of more than a dozen ships to chase the fleeing fleet of Liu Xiang.At night, they dispersed the fleet and followed them in a fan shape at intervals of more than ten miles.In the afternoon, after receiving a firework signal from the northeast, they quickly surrounded them, and finally blocked the three ships that Liu Xiang fled here at Shenshi.I thought that if we worked harder, we could surround these three ships before nightfall, and either sink them or recruit them.But I didn't want to, I met the Dutch red-haired ghost again here.

Chen Hui quickly calculated the strength comparison between the two sides in his mind. He had 11 ships, including 6 big ships.Although the opponent only had 5 ships, the red-haired ghost's ship was a large ship, and it seemed to have stronger firepower than his own. The three ships of Liu Xiang who escaped had average combat power.If there is a battle, you can use your five small boats to entangle them, and use the remaining big boats to deal with the red-haired ghosts.In this way, we still have an advantage.

"Let's go!" Chen Hui ordered decisively, "The other side fires, let's fight together!"

"Yes!" Su Laosan responded immediately.

"Captain, they are approaching!" The second officer reported to Captain Kumster.

"Shoot them a warning!" Kumster ordered.

"Obey, my captain!"

"Boom! Boom!" Two shells landed on the sea near Zheng's fleet, causing two waves of spray.

"Brother, they fired!"

"Damn it, you really dare to fight!...Fire back!"

"Boom! Boom!..." Several shells were fired from the Zheng family's fleet and struck near the Dutch ship.

"They...those small boats dare to fight back!" Kumster exclaimed in surprise.

"captain?"

"Order all the artillery to fire! Sink them all!... Let them know that this is not their bay!"

"Third uncle, they are fighting!" Qi Dalu said, "What should we do?"

"Follow those small boats and go around in circles first!... Wait and see, if the red-haired ghost gains the upper hand, we will try harder." Cao Xiong ordered.

Qi Tian felt a little conflicted in his heart at this time. In terms of national feelings, he certainly hoped that the Zheng family fleet could beat the Dutch colonists hard.But as a fugitive, he hoped that the Dutch would win to get out of the predicament.

Relying on their powerful firepower, the Dutch kept trying to increase the distance, trying to bombard the approaching ships of the Zheng family with long-range heavy artillery.

"Brother, the red-haired ghost's cannon can hit him far away, our cannon can't reach him."

"Made, lean over, lean over!...their boat is bigger, not as flexible as us!"

The six large ships of the Zheng family worked hard to adjust their sails, and slowly approached the Dutch ship.

"Boom! Boom!..." A few chain bombs hit a Zheng family ship, breaking the masts all at once, and suddenly, the ship without its sails lay across the sea.

The Dutch saw the opportunity and immediately concentrated all their artillery fire on the almost stationary target.

After three rounds of salvo, the stalled ship was hit by several shells on the waterline, breaking several large holes, and the turbulent seawater immediately poured in.The sailors on the ship hurriedly jumped into the sea. After a while, the ship turned around, dumped, and then sank into the water.

"Fuck him!..." The Zheng family's fleet immediately turned red, braved the gunfire, and desperately approached the Dutch ship.

"Hit them hard! Take revenge for the brothers!..." Finally, two ships of the Zheng family approached the Dutch ship by about two or three hundred steps, and artillery bombarded the Dutch ship immediately.

"Ah!..." With several screams, a projectile hit a Dutch ship, and the flying sawdust wiped two of the sailors down on the deck.

"Turn around and keep the distance!" On the Dutch ship, the first officer shouted desperately, "Try to use the flank artillery!"

"Boom! Boom!..." The other two Haicang boats of the Zheng family also approached, and they started beating the Dutch boat with their companions.

"Oh, God! . . . They're madmen! Fearless madmen!" murmured Kumster.He looked at the Zheng family's ship, and it was clear that the bow and the midship had been hit by many shells, and the sailors on it were killed or injured, at least twenty or thirty, but the other party had no intention of evading, and approached them desperately. shooting.

"Boom! Boom!..." Another row of shells flew towards the Dutch ship, and several of them hit the midship, smashing the console and knocking down several sailors.

"Captain, I think we have to retreat!" said the first mate Ozbekem. "Our purpose is not to fight against Nikolai's fleet, but to transport supplies to Formosa. In addition, there are There's a senior representative of the company, and you certainly don't want anything to happen to him, sir."

"..." Kumster looked at his first mate and was silent for a while, "I think your suggestion is right. Even if we sink them all, we will have to pay a heavy price. Hang up the signal flag, we retreat."

The two Dutch ships fired two salvos at the Zheng family's fleet approaching them, smashing the stern of one of the ships and killing or injuring more than a dozen sailors.Then, adjust the sails and retreat to the southwest.

(End of this chapter)