,.
Chapter 49 Businessman’s Report 1
"We are the Fubo Coast Guard." The man's voice came in and out in the sea breeze. "You have entered our maritime guard area. Please stop the ship immediately for inspection and indicate the course, otherwise we will take all necessary measures." action--"
Van der Llan called a Chinese sailor and asked him to hear what the other party had to say. The sailor said at first that he could not understand what the other party was saying, but it was not until the other party started shouting in Cantonese vernacular that he finally understood and relayed everything to the businessman.
Vanderlande frowned and stopped the ship to check. It seemed that the Australians were very rampant in this area of the sea. He seems to be the overlord of this area of the sea. He couldn't help but think of the British who always tried to seek the status of channel hegemony in the English Channel. This made the businessman very unhappy.
"Ignore them and sail straight into the channel," he ordered the captain.
"Mr. van der Llan's ship is faster and more flexible than ours."
There are artillery on the opponent's deck. With the opponent's speed and flexibility, it is not difficult to avoid the gunfire of the big ship and use the low characteristics of the small boat to avoid the blind spot of the artillery fire. It is not difficult to get help. Many of the pirates who committed robberies in the Mediterranean also drove small boats like this, but they were able to capture large merchant ships several times larger than them. Even large sailing ships equipped with more than 30 cannons could not escape the disaster. Not to mention their cumbersome "speed boats". The eight naval guns on the ship are fine for scaring the indigenous pirates, but if they really want to go to war with such an enemy, they may not be their opponents.
Van der Lanter thought for a moment and ordered: "Let this Chinese shout that we are the Dutch East India Company's trade mission to Lingao. If they are really Australians from Lingao, ask them to pilot the ship to Lingao. When we arrive in Lingao , we are willing to accept all inspections”
The sailor yelled and yelled at these words, and after going back and forth for more than ten minutes, the other party seemed to understand what they meant. Van der Lenteron saw the bow of the dhow tilted away from the outside. After a while, a burst of smoke and fire suddenly rose from the boat. Van der Teltron, Gonzalez and others were all stunned. In their astonishment, they saw a rocket flying straight into the sky, exploding under the sky and ejecting a cloud of blue smoke.
"What does this mean?" Vanderland was shocked.
"Calling accomplices." Gonzalez was a veteran and immediately understood the meaning of the other party's sudden firing of rockets. "There must be several of their ships in this area ready to fight." He yelled nervously and pulled out his saber. .
There was a sudden commotion on the ship, and the sailors and soldiers took up their positions, ready to open fire at any moment.
Time passed minute by minute, and half an hour later, two other similar dhows appeared from the sea level. Three Type 2 single-masted patrol boats approached the "Magdeburg" in formation.
Gonzalez held a saber in one hand and a pistol in the other. His expression was tense: it could be seen that the other party had been prepared for it. Judging from their proficiency in maintaining the formation, they had done this kind of cooperation at sea countless times. If these three ships launch a pincer attack, the "Magdeburg" will be captured in an instant. Gonzalez noticed that there were 4 cannons on the enemy's deck, and there was an unknown gun on the poop. Square box - probably also a kind of artillery. In terms of the number of artillery pieces alone, the "Magdeburg" was already at a disadvantage.
The three dhows were in the shape of a triangle, loosely distributed around the "Magdeburg". The guns on the deck took off their gun jackets. Obviously, once fired, the slow and weak "Magdeburg" You don't have to wait for the enemy to rely on help, you will be beaten alive by the opponent just in the artillery battle.
Lebutrini turned pale with fright and ducked back into the poop. Even veteran soldiers like Gonzalez know that the current situation is completely controlled by the other side.
"The other party asked us to follow them. They will escort us to Lingao." The captain paid attention to the new flag hung by the other party. "What should I do?" he asked for instructions.
The businessman's lips were tightly closed. He was very unhappy with the other party's strength on the sea. But he knew this was not the time to fight for the Dutch's right to freedom of navigation on the seas any more than the company was fighting for religious freedom.
He ordered: "Hang out the flag: we will obey."
"Magdeburg" entered the Qiongzhou Strait under the "escort" of three patrol boats.
Report from Vanderland Tron, junior merchant officer of the Dutch East India Company on the Magdeburg, to Deccarpentier, Governor of Batavia.
Your Excellency:
In compliance with the orders of Your Excellency and our master, I commanded the cutter "Magdeburg" to Lingao on the coast of Guangdong, China. To establish trade relations with the maritime group that occupies the local area and calls themselves Australians.
God willing, we had a very smooth sailing. On Monday, February 3, we encountered an Australian naval warship at the entrance to a narrow strait. These are small warships that look very similar to the coastal schooners we often see in the English Channel. But it's more beautiful and faster than those boats. Cannons were mounted on each ship. Sailors are well trained.
The commander in charge of these three warships asked us to stop the ship for inspection. I immediately refused. In the name of the prince and company, the commander did not insist on his request, but asked us to sail with his fleet to Lingao. Because the Qiongzhou Strait belongs to the area controlled by the Australians - they call it the "maritime security zone", ships without permission cannot sail in this strait. Ships entering the strait for the first time must be escorted to Lingao to explain their intention.
Our ship, escorted by three warships, arrived at Bobu Port in Lingao that afternoon. Bobu Port is a beautiful new town. It is said that there are 1,000 households. There are also two companies of infantry and some artillery stationed there. The port is very neatly built.
What is particularly worth mentioning is that there is a huge stone trestle in the bay, the size of which is unimaginable. The stone trestle is built of lime and stone. Its top is neatly built and its width can accommodate 10 cavalry in parallel. The base part deeper into the sea is wider. The sailors and soldiers on our ship were amazed at this. Some people say that this trestle is not completely artificial, but is built on natural piles of stones. Even so, the project is nothing short of miraculous.
There are at least ten cranes standing on the entire stone trestle. Some are made of wood, and some are made entirely of steel. I was very impressed by their sturdiness and magnificence. But the most peculiar thing is that only a small part of these cranes use human or animal power. Most cranes are driven by a complex set of machines, and the machines themselves run on some kind of firepower machine that we cannot understand - because we see I saw craftsmen pouring coal into the furnace continuously.
In addition to the stone trestle, there are many piers along the port. There are such cranes on every pier, and chimneys emitting black and white smoke can be seen everywhere. There are many ships anchored in the bay, most of them Junk ships, but there are also some European-style ships. Opposite the stone trestle, we saw the rumored big iron ship. Its size is truly astonishing. The largest ships in Europe, neither the British nor ours, had anything so huge. Unfortunately, we cannot get closer to observe the ship - because it is a restricted area, and even locals from Lingao cannot go near the ship without the written permission of the Australians. The Australians call it the "holy ship" - its meaning is unknown.
All the houses in the port are built of stone or brick, with good hooks and wide streets. Before we dropped anchor, we saw a group of soldiers on the dock, all equipped with muskets. In appearance, they resembled a European army more than an Asian one. One of the leading officers, and his three companions. They are all sent by what the Australians call the "Bopu Port Director". The port director did not show up because he was unwell, but he assigned customs officials to entertain us and take care of us as much as possible.
When the "Magdeburg" entered the port, we fired three gun salutes to salute the city, and the other party immediately fired a gun salute in return. We dropped anchor at the quarantine anchorage under the guidance of the battleship. At this time, a customs official boarded the ship immediately. He had clear orders: We should be quarantined on the ship for 20 days. No one is allowed to log in during this period. During this period, the ship will still have to be handled by them.
The customs officer asked us about our purpose of coming here, the number of people on board, and the type of cargo. I reported our mission truthfully. The other party showed great interest. But he said before that we have to go into quarantine
They then sent a small party on board the Magdeburg, the dress and conduct of which I think worthy of mention in the report.
All the members of the team wore a burqa-like jumpsuit of natural cloth color, covering their entire body under the robe. They wore monk-like hoods with holes only for the eyes. But the robe does not hang down the legs, but has trouser legs. The trouser legs were tied into a kind of yellow high boots that seemed to be made of leather. The boots were made very awkwardly and wide and looked ill-fitting.
The sleeves, trouser legs, and all openings were tightly tied with strips of cloth. Even the eyes have glasses made of glass. They all exude a strange smell, which is very irritating to the nasal cavity. It reminded me of cities where plagues had occurred - which made me very worried. After repeatedly asking if there was a plague in the city, they assured them that it was just a preventive measure. ,.
