The bow of the armed Galen ship Bredmond from the United Provinces of the Netherlands plowed a snow-white wave on the deep blue Bohai Sea, and its track was straight to the west. The sailors on the deck were conducting gunnery drills on both sides of the ship. Following the commands issued by the officers of the East India Company Navy, the gunners nervously adjusted the firing angle and loaded the practice ammunition repeatedly.
Hans Putsmann, the commander of the East India Company's China Expeditionary Fleet, and two dark-skinned Orientals wearing gorgeous silk robes, stood on the stern deck of the ship and watched the sailors and gunners with interest for a while. training, and then turned his attention to the undulating waters of the Bohai Sea. The east wind is blowing on the sea now, and the speed of the Bradmond, which is sailing along with the wind, has reached seven to eight knots, and it is quickly heading towards Tianjin Dagukou Port, the maritime gateway of the Ming Dynasty. Directly behind the Bredmond, there were three smaller armed galenic ships and ten mixed-race sailing ships with hulls similar to the Bredmond, but with Chinese-style hard sails, and six A large fortune boat or bird boat.
A total of 20 Chinese and Western sailing ships formed a mighty column, sailing all the way west to Tianjin.
In his forties, with a face tanned by the scorching sun and sea breeze and covered with rough wrinkles, Hans Putsmann, a German, finally cast his eyes on the 10 Chinese and Western clothes belonging to Zheng Zhilong. On top of the integrated armed sailboat, there seemed to be some uneasiness.
When the East India Company's fleet commander reported his work in Batavia on April 22 this year (Western calendar), he told the Governor of Batavia: "Peaceful negotiations" along the coast of China have failed, and the Chinese are still unwilling to negotiate with the Governor of Batavia. Any foreigner trades freely along the coast. Therefore, free trade cannot begin with force...it is necessary to attack the coast with artillery fire and swords in order to obtain free trade with good conditions.
The Batavia authorities also made the final decision on April 30 to launch a brutal war against China in order to gain monopoly of free trade power!
Therefore, when Putsmann left Batavia on June 2 of the Christian calendar, he obtained a large fleet consisting of an armed Galen ship, fourteen speedboats, and two flat-bottomed boats. According to the plan, Putsman will also dispatch a speedboat and three Junk ships on the sea surface of Nan'ao and the generals as guides to launch a surprise attack on the Zheng Navy anchorage in Xiamen Bay!
But when the expedition fleet led by Putsman arrived in the waters of South Australia and joined the fleet from the generals, he received three startling news.
The first news is that Zheng Zhilong's fleet has left Xiamen Bay - this pirate-turned-Ming Navy guerrilla somehow got bad luck, and his five-year-old daughter was chosen by the supreme Ming Dynasty. , became a candidate for the crown prince and his concubine!
Zheng Zhilong himself also transformed from a guerrilla in the Fujian Naval Battalion to an admiral of the Royal Navy and the director of Shanghai Shipping... an official equivalent to the commander of the Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty and the deputy minister of trade, which is already a very remarkable person. Character!
Zheng Zhilong and his fleet have also been transferred to Shanghai, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River... So far, no Dutchman has been to Shanghai, so the East India Company authorities are not familiar with it. Channels and defense conditions, it is not recommended to launch a surprise attack on Shanghai.
The second news is that the Governor of the East India Company received an autograph letter from the Ming Emperor sent by Zheng Zhilong’s envoy Han Buan—an autograph letter written in Latin!
The content is to inform the Ming Empire that it will change its previous trade policy and open the four ports of Dagukou in Hejian Prefecture, Shanghai in Songjiang Prefecture, Cangnan Mountain in Fuzhou Prefecture, and Xiangshan in Guangzhou Prefecture to foreign trade, becoming true free trade ports. Businessmen from all over the world, including those from the Netherlands, are welcome to trade.
In addition, at the end of this Latin letter, Zhu Youjian also invited the governor or fleet commander of the United East India Company, accompanied by Zheng Zhilong, to sail north to Tianjin... The Ming Emperor himself would personally accompany him. Negotiate trade, establish diplomatic relations and more!
The third news is that two Chinese pirates, Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu, who originally engaged in smuggling with the United East India Company, were recruited by the Ming Dynasty. Among them, Li Guozhu became the Fuzhou Shipping Commander and the Fujian Navy of the Imperial Navy. General, and Liu Xiang became the General of the Guangdong Navy of the Royal Navy. Originally, Putsman planned to join forces with these two pirates to attack Zheng Zhilong. But now these two guys have been dragged over by the Ming court!
After learning these three pieces of news, Hans Putsmann already knew that he could not continue to implement the original war plan to attack China's coastal areas, and there was no need to do so... The Ming Emperor also He has agreed to free trade and is prepared to negotiate with him personally.
The Emperor of Ming Dynasty has fully released his goodwill. If the United East India Company does not even talk about it and directly chooses to go to war, I am afraid it will be a life-or-death situation.
In addition, Hans Putsmann also learned from senior officials that the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is a very outstanding military strategist!
Since he ascended the throne, he has changed the previous practice of Chinese emperors governing the world from deep within the palace. He has led the army on expeditions year after year and personally recruited and trained a powerful army - this army is equipped with a large number of Spanish heavy muskets and 3-pound guns. The regimental artillery hired Portuguese military advisers, adopted tactics similar to the Spanish phalanx, and was also equipped with a pretty good light cavalry.
Relying on this well-trained new army, the Chinese emperor had repeatedly defeated the Tatars in the north and northeast of the Ming Dynasty, and easily suppressed the rebel forces in the southwest, reversing the decline the empire was facing.
Starting a war with such a powerful Eastern monarch is not a wise choice!
After weighing the pros and cons, Hans Putsmann still chose peace...at least he didn't want to start a war until he met with the Ming Emperor.
After all, meeting the Ming Emperor meant great prestige to him personally!
Because before him, not to mention the Ming Emperor, there was not even a Ming Governor (governor) or a senior executive of the United East India Company.
Moreover, Hans Putsmann could also lead his ships northward by sea to Dagukou, Tianjin - this was a route that Europeans had never traveled before!
If he can take the opportunity to find out the situation of this route and the port of Dagukou, then if the negotiations break down, he can lead the fleet to directly attack Dagukou...
But when Hans Putsmann led four armed Galen ships and speedboats (Gallen ships with smaller deadweight tonnage) loaded with gifts and commodities to join Zheng Zhilong's fleet outside Wusong Pass in Shanghai, he felt a little regretful. It's your own decision.
Because he saw 10 new-style warships that were half Chinese and half Western-style. The hulls of these 10 warships all adopted Western-style shipbuilding technology. They had strong hulls that could install 6-pound cannons, and they were also installed on the gun cabins and upper decks. With fixed gun rails, all 6-pound guns are well-cast and have good gun mounts and chains. They can use broadside guns to attack the enemy just like Western-style battleships!
Although these 10 new warships are still not comparable to the medium-sized armed Galen ships of the United East India Company, they are enough to defeat any type of speedboat in a sea battle!
And such progress is probably just the beginning... With the material and financial resources of the Chinese Empire, once it begins to develop its naval power, it may soon pose a threat to the maritime hegemony of the United East India Company!
However, choosing to go to war immediately will cause the United East India Company to suffer huge losses... The 17-member board of directors in Amsterdam values short-term profits more than long-term hegemony.
Just when Hans Putsmann was sighing because of the dilemma, Han Buan, a Chinese maritime merchant standing next to him and Zheng Zhilong's envoy, said loudly in Dutch: "Commander, Dagukou We’re almost there…I can already see the Dagukou Fort with my telescope!”
