Matt Solko's request of "gentlemen versus gentlemen" was completely beyond Wei Qingmu's expectations and exceeded his authorization.
This is no joke! Matt Solko was the governor-general of the East India Company. He proposed that "gentlemen versus gentlemen" was actually a fight.
This is an ancient and almost forgotten rule of war - both sides agree on a time and place to fight to determine the outcome.
But Wei Qingmu was just a consul under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty. How could he respond to Matsolko's request for a war?
So after getting Matt Solko's guarantee to lift martial law, Wei Qingmu took Matt Solko with him and left Bada on a fast ship of a "one official party" trading house. Via, sailing towards the port of Macau, which is more than 6,000 miles away.
Macau Port has now "returned ahead of schedule" and is now an autonomous commercial city under Guangzhou Prefecture. The General Affairs Department of the Ming Dynasty also set up a post station in Macau. After Wei Qingmu arrived in Macau, he could express Matsolko's letter of challenge to Laoshan Palace in Yingtian Mansion through the General Affairs Department's post station.
Just five days after Wei Qingmu left Batavia Port, a new bombardment gunboat from Europe, the "United Provincial Congress", slowly docked at the dock of Batavia Port.
After the Kagoshima Bay Great War six years ago, the Ming Dynasty, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, three countries with relatively strong financial resources and shipbuilding capabilities, all immediately started plans to upgrade their naval battleships.
The new bombardment gunship obtained by the Ming Dynasty Navy is the "Yingtianfu" class bombardment battleship with a load capacity of about 800 tons. The British Navy received the "Guo Guogong" class bombardment battleship with a load capacity of about 1,000 tons, while the Dutch Navy received a "Guo Guogong" class bombardment battleship with a load capacity of about 950 tons. tons of "United Provincial Council" class bombardment battleship.
Arriving in Batavia in early November 1663 was the "Union Provincial Council", the first ship of the "Union Provincial Council" class battleship. Accompanying this brand-new battleship to Batavia were Rear Admiral Cornelis van Tropp, commander of the Dutch East India Fleet, and Bruce van Diemen, the special envoy of the East India Company's board of directors.
It needs to be explained that the so-called Dutch East India Fleet is actually a marginal concept. It can be interpreted as both the East India Company fleet and the East India Fleet of the Dutch Republic... The reason why such a thing happened A name because the Dutch Grand Speaker de Wit believes that the Dutch Republic needs to maintain a "flexible deterrent" in the East.
"Flexible deterrence?"
In the fortress of Batavia, Governor Matt Solko read the autographed letter from De Wit brought by Bruce Van Diemen, and his brows were already knitted together.
"Bruce, can you explain what a flexible deterrent is?" Matt Solko asked.
Bruce Van Diemen smiled and said: "It means that it can not only act as a deterrent to the Celestial Empire, but also be able to negotiate peace with the Celestial Empire at any time and conclude a favorable treaty...as beneficial as possible!"
"this......"
Rear Admiral Cornelis Van Tropp, who was tall, with a majestic rectangular face and gray hair hanging down his shoulders, took over the topic and said to Matsolko: "Governor, the situation in Europe is very unfavorable. ...Philip of Spain has been seriously ill and his health is worrying. Louis XIV of France is aggressive and has established a huge new army. It is very likely that he will attack Spain after the death of Philip IV The Netherlands. And the British Charles Cromwell is cautious and conservative, and seems unwilling to participate in the struggle for hegemony on the European continent, let alone discuss with us the issue of containing France!"
"It sounds really scary..." Matt Solko's face turned a little ugly, "It seems we need the Orange family again!"
"John!" Major General Tropp whispered, "Don't mention them... William III of the Orange family is only 14 years old this year. What can we expect?"
This is really going to be a disaster!
William III, the "hero of national defense" who saved the Netherlands in the Franco-Dutch War, is only 14 years old now... And in France, there are now many stars, including Prince Condé and Viscount Durenne of Turenne. Ni, François de Créquy, and an upcoming Vauban!
How could a teenager defeat so many talented people?
"What can we do?" Matsolko said, "Apart from the Orange family, who else can resist the French? If one day they really annex the Spanish Netherlands!"
"The Speaker will not let that happen, so... we must end the disputes in the East as soon as possible, and then focus on dealing with the difficult situation in Europe!"
"End it as soon as possible..." Matt Solko frowned, seemingly lost in thought.
"Is it difficult?" Bruce Van Diemen himself is Dongfangtong. "The Ming Emperor must have great ambitions, right?"
"He wants to rule the Strait of Malacca!" Matsolko said, "The Ming Dynasty's consul in Batavia just brought me the Ming Emperor's request a few days ago... He can leave it alone for the time being. Java and the Spice Islands, but refused to let go of the Malacca Peninsula and Sumatra.”
Dimen shook his head: "If the Ming Dynasty takes over the Malacca Peninsula and Sumatra, the lifeline of the East India Company will be in the hands of the Chinese!"
Major General Tropp said: "The Grand Chancellor has anticipated the difficult situation, so he asked me to lead the United Provincial Council to Batavia... This is a 950-ton bombardment battleship! Equipment There are 40-pound cannons with astonishing destructive power! Later, the Dutch Provincial Council and the Zeeland Provincial Council will arrive. Like the United Provincial Council, they are 950-ton bombardment gunships!
These three bombardment gunboats joining the East India Fleet should be able to scare the Chinese, right? "
Matsolko shook his head: "They also have bombardment gunboats...which are also large ships with a carrying capacity of more than 800 tons! And there are more than one!"
The Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding technology is still inferior to that of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The tonnage, firepower, and speed of the Yingtianfu are not comparable to the "Guo Guogong" class and the "United Provincial Council" class.
However, the scale of the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding industry was larger than that of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the Ming court's financial resources were also stronger. Therefore, the number of "Yingtianfu" class built was greater than that of the "Guoguogong" class and the "Union Provincial Council" class combined. many.
Moreover, it is impossible for all the Dutch and British battleships to hang out in the Pacific. Their main battlefields are still in Europe.
"We also have many medium-sized and light warships and armed merchant ships," Tropp said. "If they are modified, they can also be used as bombardment gunships..."
"There is no need to refit." Matt Solko suddenly interrupted Major General Tropp, "Because I have already issued a letter of challenge to the navy of the Ming Dynasty emperor, agreeing to have a decisive battle next fall!"
"Next fall... there's still time!" Tropp thought for a while, "How about the shipyard here in Batavia? Can it complete the transformation of 100 ships?"
"No, don't change it." Matt Solko shook his head.
"If you don't change? Then how can we defeat the Chinese?" Major General Tropp asked.
"We will not engage in a decisive battle at sea with them!" Matsolko said, "because there is no chance of winning!"
"Then you still want to fight?" Bruce Van Diemen asked.
"Got to make an appointment..." Matt Solko said, "It's a ploy!"
"Plot?" Tropp asked, "What plot?"
Matsolko smiled and said: "A strategy to draw the attention of the Chinese to the sea... If they think we will have a decisive battle on the sea east of Malacca, then they will definitely go around Deploy ships and concentrate them in ports around Ca Mau, while suspending land attacks.
And we can take the opportunity to take action on land on the Malacca Peninsula and in the Indian Ocean! "
"Taking action in the Indian Ocean?" Bruce Van Diemen asked, "What kind of action?"
"Of course we need to take actions that can delay or break the momentum of the Ming army's march south!"
"How to do?"
"Bruce," Matsolko looked at Bruce Dimen, "it seems like you have to work hard again... I want to invite you to visit Shalian! Shalian in Myanmar!"
