September 12, 1673 AD, morning.
Kinmen North Bay.
On the calm sea, nine huge battleships were burning, and the smoke pillars rushed into the sky. The scene was very spectacular. Surrounding these nine burning battleships, there was also a circle of battleships watching the show... all battleships from the Ming Dynasty and the United States, among which was Zheng Jing's flagship Fengyang battleship.
In addition to these large ships, there were also many caravels and sampans plying back and forth on the sea. One of the caravels was speeding towards the Fengyang from a nearby beach. Looking at that beach, it was incredible. There were at least 2,000 people crowded there, and there were a few white flags fluttering in the wind.
Flying a white flag means surrender... The current Ming Dynasty navy was handed over by the Dutch and Portuguese. Of course they knew what flying a white flag meant, so they didn't fire artillery. A caravel was also sent to inquire about the situation, and now the caravel has brought an enemy envoy back to Fengyang.
Zheng Jing and a dozen senior officials from the Eastern Fleet and the United States Fleet were now standing in a row on the deck of the Fengyang, grandly welcoming the Dutch officer who came to surrender on behalf of the French, Dutch, and Spanish combined fleets.
What? The enemy came to surrender, but the Ming Dynasty was so grand?
Of course, who is it? Davy Jones! The general advisor of the Naval Academy back then, he was also the Earl of Kenan in the Ming Dynasty!
Most of the current senior generals of the Ming Navy are students of David Jones! Without the strict requirements of the Dutch instructors headed by David Jones, this group of Ming navy generals would not be at the level they are today.
The mentor is here, can everyone not line up to welcome him?
Where has the virtue of respecting teachers gone?
Besides, most of the officers of the Ming Navy came from southeastern maritime merchants... Maritime merchants, part-time pirates, basically seek money. If not for wealth, who would be a pirate? Under normal circumstances, it is very rare for someone who catches a competitor to directly kill the fish and feed it to the fish. They always allow the other party to redeem the fish with money!
There are more than 2,000 people here. How can they be exchanged for hundreds of thousands or millions?
This is all extra money for the fleet... Moreover, France, the Netherlands, and Spain still have strong naval capabilities. The main fleet has stolen the chicken from the wolf's den this time, but these three countries can still use privateering when they return. If the ship acts as a pirate, the navy and sailors here in the Ming Dynasty will inevitably be arrested.
So these more than 2,000 prisoners can be exchanged... and they can be exchanged at that time.
As for the fact that they surrendered after burning 9 warships, Zheng Jing didn't care at all... Anyway, these ships were sunk by his fleet!
There is no difference between sinking and capturing (this is the era of explosive bombs, and the captured warships are usually full of holes and are of no use), and the Ming Navy has no shortage of warships!
Even if it is missing...you can buy it from the shipyard run by Zheng Zhilong!
"Instructor Dai, you are shocked!" Zheng Jing saw David Jones, who had turned into an old man, boarding the deck of the Fengyang. He quickly took two steps forward, raised his hand to David Jones, and smiled. He comforted him and said: "Victory and defeat are common matters for soldiers. The instructor does not need to worry about it. The students have already arranged a banquet to suppress the shock. Please come and invite me."
Davy Jones smiled bitterly, "In war, you don't treat guests to a meal... Where are the enemy's prisoners who treat them to a meal first?" But having said that, I am indeed a little hungry.
Since you're hungry, let's eat. It's better to eat than to eat, right?
In the luxurious officer's room of the Fengyang, Zheng Jing and a dozen naval admirals had already accompanied David Jones, who had come to surrender, to the table.
When the food and drinks were served one after another, Zheng Jing poured wine for David Jones and asked, "Teacher, who is leading the Battle of Kinmen this time? France, the Netherlands, or Spain?"
Davy Jones thought to himself: Are you, a little pirate, looking for ransom?
"Now the leader of the Catholic countries in Europe is France. Although we in the United Provinces of the Netherlands believe in Protestantism, we also recognize France's leadership."
The nominal leaders of the European Catholic camp (Catholic Church) have always been the Pope and the Emperor (HRE), but now the French Sun King has the intention of riding on the necks of the Pope and the Emperor to show off his power.
Everyone was a little disappointed to hear that France was the leader... France is poor!
"But..." David Jones changed the topic, "But Pope Clement X has issued a decree calling on European Catholics to join the holy battle to defend New France and New Spain... ...It was also decided to build the city of New Rome at the entrance to the Mississippi River as the fundamental place of Catholicism on the Great Plains of North America.”
In fact, Louis XIV was still very shrewd - if he was not shrewd, he would not be the Sun King. Historically, he also obtained the throne of Spain. Although he did not do it himself, the Spanish Bourbon dynasty still exists in the 21st century!
The King of Spain in the 21st century is still named Bourbon, and he is a descendant of Louis XIV!
The American war led by Louis XIV was also carefully planned by him.
Although France took the lead and declared how many troops it would send, in fact, what it committed to the American battlefield was nine battleships and an army of more than 10,000 people. Among them, the army is still placed on the territory of New France. In fact, it can also be seen as France's move to strengthen the colony of New Spain.
Moreover, the military expenses for sending troops are sponsored by the Holy See!
In addition, the Holy See also invested more than 2 million gold louis to build the new city of Rome on the territory of New France.
Although this city of New Rome nominally belongs to the Holy See, it is the territory of the Pope in New France!
But the Pope only had priests in the New World, and Louis XIV had an army of more than 10,000 people...Who will belong to the new Rome in the future? Isn't it obvious?
"That's the Pope taking the lead!" Zheng Jing laughed, "The European powers have always been led by the Holy Roman Emperor... This responsibility belongs to the Pope!"
This pot must belong to the Pope, because the Holy See is rich!
Zheng Jing smiled and said: "Teacher, don't worry... Our Ming Empire is a country of benevolence and righteousness and will not kill prisoners. Of course we welcome you to surrender and can guarantee your safety." and the safety of your belongings. By the way, you burned the boat in a hurry, and took all your belongings out?"
"I brought them all with me," Davy Jones nodded. "The French don't know that we Dutchmen all disembarked with our belongings."
"That's enough!" Zheng Jing nodded and said with a smile, "Many Spaniards were captured in the South Bay, and some Dutch were captured in the Zhongwan... Together with you, it's almost the same. There can be four to five thousand people. It is difficult to arrange it here in Kinmen Bay. We will arrange a boat to take you to the Gulf of America later. There are many small islands there with a very comfortable climate and many products. I will arrange an island for you to live in first. When you get there After that, you can write a letter to report that you are safe (and ask for money).”
David Jones sighed. It seemed that the whole army was really annihilated in the battle at Kinmen Bay... No, it wasn't necessarily the whole army. There were still some mortar guns at the Kinmen Fortress. I don’t know if any of them slipped through the net?
Someone must go back and report... The main force of the Ming Navy is here. It seems that the Ming Dynasty is going to fight in America!
Not to mention, there are indeed some fish that slip through the net!
Barbossa, who had been fighting the Ming army all night under the Kinmen Fortress, took most of his men and took advantage of the low tide to escape on a mortar boat before the sky was completely bright.
Although four of the eight clipper ships blocking the Golden Gate Strait immediately launched a pursuit, several ships eventually ran away, one of which was Major General Barbosa's ride.
After sailing on the sea for a day and night, the mortar ship he was on encountered a landing fleet carrying a large number of New Spain's army that was wandering off the coast of California. He also reported to the commander of the landing fleet that the coalition fleet encountered a large number of Ming fleets in Kinmen Bay and was completely annihilated...
