Ming Zuo

Chapter 651
"Deputy Minister E Honglue said that in his hometown, the sea is very violent. In order to ensure the safety of the ship and break through the wind and waves, the ship must be built very slender. Now it seems that these Western warships are not only good for sailing in the wind and waves , and the speed is not comparable to my Chinese sailboat."

After a small battle, the staff officers of the new army immediately had a discussion.

This view has been raised given that the ships of the Zheng Group were simply unable to catch up to the Dutch warships.

Zuo Hua knocked on the table, solemnly.

"This is why the commander-in-chief insisted on the construction of the Galen warship. Stones from other mountains can be used to attack jade. No matter what time we are, we must not be blindly arrogant. I really think that China has everything, and foreign domains are no match for us. When you see good things in others, you must study hard. Only in this way can we continue to improve.”

These words were said at this time, and all the staff officers remembered them deeply.

Zuo Hua was originally a domineering person, but he had one advantage.

That is the blind worship of Zuo Menggeng.

Whatever Zuo Menggeng said, he would do.

Always regard Zuo Menggeng's words as an imperial decree.

Zuo Menggeng said that Westerners have great things to learn, and he will keep this in mind.

After joining the navy, he completely let go of his airs and continued to learn naval warfare knowledge from E Honglue and others.

As for the other staff officers, a timing like today is needed to complete this transformation.

"Hong Xu's ship was not equipped with bronze cannons, so it did not cause any damage to the Western warships in the battle just now. The Dutch were not prepared, and they will definitely suffer a lot in the subsequent battles."

Bronze artillery has long been tested for its damage effect on today's warships.

The Dutch still think that the artillery used by Zheng Chenggong is still the same guy as them.

When the war really breaks out, I believe it will definitely surprise the Dutch.

On August [-], the Dutch fleet went to Xiamen again to attack.

This time Zheng Zhilong stopped watching from the sidelines.

After receiving the news, he immediately mobilized his entire army to besiege Kinmen Island from the left and right sides.

"General Zheng, that Dutch warship has been placed on order, why don't we mess with him?"

Zuo Hua had nothing to do. When observing the battlefield, he found that a Dutch warship was not with the entire fleet, but was cruising alone on the sea.

Zheng Zhihu took out the binoculars and couldn't help pondering after seeing it for himself.

He was very clear about the big brother's intentions.

Zheng Zhilong didn't want to fight the Dutchman to the death and lose both sides.

That would only benefit the imperial court, and the Zheng family's foundation might be destroyed in one fell swoop.

This is also the reason why Zheng Zhilong and the Dutch messenger have been in constant communication and petty fights for more than a month, but there is no real fight.

But this situation made Zheng Zhihu very aggrieved.

Although the Dutch did not go to war with the Zheng family, every time they plundered the coast, they lost their hometown elders.

Fujian people have a strong sense of hometown.

Seeing so many villagers die and a lot of wealth being robbed by the Dutch, Zheng Zhihu actually complained to his elder brother in his heart.

At this moment Zuo Hua pushed them on, and saw that the Dutch warship never left, as if teasing them.

This gave Zheng Zhihu an idea.

Fighting with the Dutch will definitely make Zheng Zhilong angry.But it shouldn't be a problem to just hit a Dutch warship to vent your anger.

"Hmph, let General Zuo see how my son of the Zheng family fights today."

Zheng Zhihu made up his mind.

A moment later, the horns on the flagship were repeated.

The other ships that were on standby quickly dispersed left and right, and outflanked the Dutch warship.

The single Dutch battleship is Vesp.

The captain's name is Van der Veers, a down-and-out nobleman.

He spent money to bribe the Governor of the East India Company in Batavia, so he won the post of captain of the Vesp.

The Vesp appeared here because it received an order from Hans Putmans to monitor the Zheng fleet coming from the west.

For this order, van der Wiers was quite reluctant.

Although Ming people's warships are not very good, but there are a lot of them.

Only relying on the Vesp to fight alone, if it is really surrounded, I am afraid that it will be a disaster.

It is said that after the savage Ming people caught the enemy, they would cut off the enemy's head.

God!

He is a pious citizen, if his head is cut off, how can he go to heaven?
Seeing Zheng Zhihu leading a large number of warships appear, Van der Wiers was always nervous.

When he saw Zheng's warship rushing towards him, he quickly gave the order without saying a word.

"Retreat quickly, go east, and join the main force."

As a sea coachman, the Dutch did a prosperous business.I'm willing to do anything, but I don't want to die.

Before Van der Wells' order was issued, the sailors on the ship had already turned the rudder and turned the sail first.

Van der Wells thought that his subordinates were well-trained.

"Look, how powerful our lads are! I can guarantee that there is no warship in the world that can be as efficient as ours."

The escape of the Vesp boosted Zheng's morale.

When even seven fire boats jumped out of the crowd, relying on the lightness of the hull and full sails, there were manual oars, and they were approaching the Vevisp more and more quickly.

"These damned Ming people must want to set fire again. Fire the cannon and sink all these ants!"

The gunner received the order and quickly aimed the muzzle at the oncoming fireboat.

Under repeated blows from dozens of artillery pieces, all seven fireships sank soon.

This time, the follow-up Zheng's ships never dared to chase again.

Looking at the struggling and howling sailors on the sea, and the floating wood fragments everywhere, Zheng Zhihu almost gritted his teeth.

However, Zuo Hua was still in a strange mood.

"The soldiers of the Zheng family are really brave, willing to take the lead, and never retreat. With the Zheng family in the sea of ​​Daming, why worry about peace?"

Zheng Zhihu's hand was already on the handle of the knife.

He vowed that one day he would throw this nasty one-eyed dragon into the sea to feed the fish.

"General Zuo, I have seen it, but I don't know when to show my brothers?"

Zuo Hua is proud of himself.

"It depends on whether God rewards the face or not."

No one thought that the opportunity came so quickly.

Three nights later, a sentinel boat rushed back to the camp.

"Go and invite General Zuo to come."

When Zuo Hua arrived, Zheng Zhihu began to recover the scene.

"A Dutch merchant ship went to Dongying. As expected, it should be selling the looted property. I have always known that General Zuo is brave and mighty. I wonder if you can help my fellow Fujianese to get back these properties?"

Zuo Hua was silent.

Of course he understood what Zheng Zhihu was thinking.

But he decided to stay in Fujian, isn't it just to master the skills of naval warfare?

Let him fight the main fleet of the Dutch, he is not yet capable of that.

How about a single ship?
Zuo Hua quickly made up his mind.

"If we can send General Hong to help, then things can be done."

(End of this chapter)