December 1680 in the Western calendar.
Now the northern region is covered with thousands of miles of ice and thousands of miles of snow, but on the Maluku Sea near the equator, it is still a scorching summer scene. Even the sea breeze blows on you, and you don’t feel much coolness. , only the kind of hot flashes that make people unable to lift their spirits at all.
Small islands are dotted here and there on the waterway of more than twenty sailing warships and armed Galen ships flying golden iris flags on a white background. Each small island is covered with lush green jungles, white beaches, and full of vitality. Several of the islands have the most unique water and soil, which nourishes the best nutmeg in the world and is also rich in pepper.
Before Westerners arrived in this sea area, it was a very busy waterway. Every winter, countless Chinese sailing ships would carry silk, porcelain, cotton, tea, ironware, and various daily necessities from China. They went south along the coast of Guangdong and Fujian, passed through the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea and entered the Maluku Sea to find islands called "Spice Islands" by Chinese and Arab merchants, and exchanged the Chinese goods they had transported thousands of miles away from Maluku. The spices of the Rugu Islands and the Banda Islands to the south.
But now, this sea area has become a spice restricted area monopolized by the Dutch East India Company. Only a few local fishing boats can be seen occasionally on the sea. Oh, and there are also gunboats of the Dutch East India Company responsible for security patrols.
When this fleet flying the golden iris flag on a white background broke into the Maluku Sea, it encountered two two-masted gunboats with a displacement of 200 tons!
The Maluku Sea and the Banda Sea in the south are waters firmly guarded by the fleet of the Dutch East India Company. A squadron including five armed Galen ships and six gunboats is permanently stationed in the Maluku Islands. The islands of Ternate and Tidore.
Any large ship that enters these waters without the permission of the Dutch East India Company will be expelled, seized, or even sunk by the Maluku and Banda fleets of the East India Company's navy. It is said that there has been no such incident in more than 20 years. Exception...unless it goes undetected!
However, there seems to be an exception today. Facing the menacing coming of a first-class battleship, six fourth-class battleships, fifteen armed Galen ships, and two two-hundred-ton two-masted gunboats, they actually gave up.
One of them turned around and ran away, but the other one did not run away, but followed far behind the twenty-two white-backed golden iris Citi schooners hung with Bourbon dynasties, probably for surveillance, right?
Everything is under control!
The twenty-two ships flying the French flag are not afraid of this small Dutch gunboat at all - this is the French army of the little Louis XIV, can they be afraid of the Dutch? So he ignored the following boat and headed straight for Ternalte Island.
The Dutch gunboat that turned around and ran away did not run too far, but ran back to Ternate Island to seek help from John van der Leyen, who was now the governor of the Spice Islands.
This John van der Leyen is also an old man who has been in Nanyang for many years. When Zheng Chenggong attacked Taiyuan Island, he led a Dutch fleet composed of 12 ships to rescue him.
However, the Batavia Council at the time felt that if Zheng Chenggong had not invaded as intelligence indicated, it would be a waste to send 12 ships to the coast of China in vain, so they decided to attack Macau instead.
So when Van der Leyen arrived at Da Yuan Island and saw that Zheng Chenggong had not come, he asked the Da Yuan Council to send an envoy to Xiamen to ask Zheng Chenggong. Of course Zheng Chenggong denied it!
Van der Leyen actually believed it and left 4 ships and 600 soldiers without officers on Daguan Island. He took the 2 ships and accompanying officers back to Batavia, and took the rest Ships were sent to various places to do business.
As a result, Zheng Chenggong did not respect military ethics and sent troops to attack Taiyuan Island after Van der Leyen left. However, the four warships he left on Taiyuan Island sank and escaped, and the 600 army troops were also wiped out (including those captured were all released by Zheng Chenggong).
Later, the Batavia Council found someone to take the blame. Because he was a Swede, the governor of Taimen Island took the main responsibility and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was imprisoned in the Banda Islands until 1674, when his family gathered together. He was redeemed for tens of thousands of guilders.
And Vander Leyen also lost his plan to be promoted to become the governor of Batavia, and got the nickname "Stubborn John". He was sent to a colony under the East India Company to be the governor. Not long ago, he was transferred to Tel. If Nat Island becomes the governor of the lucrative Spice Islands, if nothing happens, by the end of his term, he will be able to return to Amsterdam with a fortune of several million guilders to enjoy his life.
It makes me happy just thinking about it!
But at this moment, the accident happened!
Just as Mr. Vander Leyen was shirtless, lying lazily on a deck chair, he was looking at the quantity list of cloves, pepper, and nutmeg that had just been sent to the warehouse, and thinking about what he could do. How much oil and water can be obtained from it? Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps, and then one of his captains, Cornesley, shouted: "Governor, no, the French are coming!"
As soon as Mr. Vander Leyen heard "the French are coming", he immediately became a little nervous... What are the French coming for?
He quickly got up from the recliner, without even putting on a shirt, and rushed into his office from his private lounge shirtless.
Because it was extremely hot in the tropics, the doors and windows of the office were open. Cornesley didn't know how to knock on the door, so he rushed in and saw a half-length governor. He didn't know how to wait for the governor to change. He shouted anxiously: "Governor, the French fleet is coming. There are twenty-two warships!"
"What? What? Twenty-two battleships? How come there are so many?" Vander Leyen couldn't believe his ears. "Didn't you say there were only five or six battleships? How did it become twenty-two?" Already? What do the French want to do?"
"Does that need to be said? You must want to occupy the Spice Islands!" Cornesly stamped his feet, "Governor, prepare for war quickly! It will be too late if it is later!"
"Prepare for war?" Vander Leyen rolled his eyelids, "Those are twenty-two battleships of the French Navy, right. Is the Royal Sun here?"
"The leader seems to be this battleship. It looks so big!"
"It's over, it's over." Van der Leyen was so anxious that he almost spun around. After spinning for a while, he suddenly stopped and turned around to ask Cornesly, "By the way, did those French warships fire on your Egret?" ?”
"No, that's not the case. As soon as I saw them, I ran back to report to you."
"Then did they send a fourth-level ship to pursue it?"
"nor"
"Then that means they are not necessarily here to attack!" Van der Leyen wiped the sweat from his forehead, "The Republic of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of France have signed a peace treaty. The war is over. Louis XIV has not The reason to send a fleet halfway around the world to attack Ternate. What’s on Ternate?”
"There's nutmeg and pepper here, and cloves in the Banda Islands to the south!" Cornesly replied.
"But they can't control the Maluku Islands and the Banda Islands. It's impossible for Louis XIV's navy to cross the Indian Ocean and enter the East Indies during the war!" Van der Leyen said, "And England has already formed an alliance with us. We The navies of the two countries are enough to trap the French navy in Europe!”
There is some truth in what he said. Logically speaking, the French should not raid the Maluku Islands and Banda Islands. It makes no sense at all!
"Governor, what should we do now?" Cornesly, the captain of the Egret gunboat, asked.
"You go to sea immediately!"
"Go to Batavia for help?"
"No, go and ask the French why they are here." Van der Leyen said, "This can avoid misunderstandings!"
Cornesley felt something was wrong when he heard this, and quickly reminded: "Governor, if the French want to seize our island, I'm afraid they won't tell us the truth, right?"
Van der Leyen said to Cornesly in a very positive tone: "No, the French have chivalry. They are different from the despicable Easterners and will never fight without declaring war!" Captain Ernesley, go quickly, I'm waiting for good news from you."
"Okay." Cornesly could only nod, "I'll go right away."
"We are buying spices, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. It is too expensive to buy in Europe. His Majesty the King heard that these spices come from the Spice Island in the East Indies, so he ordered us to stop by and buy some on the way back. You Don’t worry, we will pay!”
On board the Royal Sun (Liaodong), the Ming Dynasty Navy's Cotang Tanko military officer was talking nonsense to the captain of a Dutch gunboat without a red face and a heartbeat.
This French knight usually tells lies - he has to praise Louis XIV for his handsome appearance, which is a lie! And Cotentin is one of the best!
"Buying spices?" Cornesly didn't know what to say to the French noble general who looked like a knight in front of him.
Spices are a monopoly
"What?" Cotentin asked with a smile, "We all know that the Netherlands advocates free trade the most."
"General," Cornesly had no choice but to say, "this free trade also includes the freedom not to sell. We, the Dutch East India Company, have the freedom not to sell spices!"
"No, you didn't!" Cotentin's face darkened, "Freedom needs to be defended with blood and fire! I followed the order of the King of France and came to the Spice Islands to purchase cheap and high-quality products for the French people at fair prices. of spices. If your East India Company wants to deprive the French Navy of the right to freely purchase spices in the Spice Islands, then we French are ready to defend our freedom with blood and fire! What about you?"
"We." Cornesly has made his position clear, and naturally he will not continue to offend those French people who have deviated understandings of free trade. "I can't decide on this matter. I must ask the Governor for instructions."
Cotentin nodded: "Okay, you go and ask for instructions! It's getting late. Can my fleet dock at the port of Ternate Island? I also want to add some food and fresh water."
"This is definitely not possible!" Cornesly objected quickly, "Termate Island is just a small island, we can't take risks, please understand."
"Well" Cotentin thought for a while, "Then the big fleet will not dock. I will only send two armed merchant ships to dock with silver. If your governor is in touch, sell us two shiploads of spices and we will leave immediately. !”
This matter, of course, does not comply with the free trade regulations of the Spice Islands. But the French fleet now has an overwhelming advantage!
They may not rob Ternate Island, but even if the French did forced trade, William III would have to swallow this bad breath. He couldn't forcefully buy dozens of tons of nutmeg, pepper, and cloves for Louis XIV, then tear up the peace treaty and start a war, right?
Even if William III wanted to do this, the Dutch Grand Council would not agree.
Thinking of this, Cornesly nodded: "Okay, just two ships and the remaining 20 ships must stay away from Ternate Island and cannot approach Tidore Island."
"Okay." Cotentin said, took out a purchase list and handed it to Cornesly, and then said very seriously, "This is the goods I want, the price and quantity have been written down! And I know it’s the season for spices now, so Ternate Island, as the center of the Spice Islands, must have a lot of spices!”
The two armed Galen ships sent by Cotentin were not ordinary armed Galen ships, but two armed Galen ships filled with elite warriors from Satsuma Domain, Choshu Domain, and Tosa Domain.
The captains commanding these two galenic ships were not French, but two admirals of the Ming Dynasty Navy. One was Yu Qilin, the son of Master Yu - a surprise attack on the Spice Island was an opportunity to make a great contribution!
The other one is Qiu Rong, the son of Qiu Hui, the general of Hoi An (who guards Annan Hoi An) from Zheng Jing's line. Qiu Hui was originally an anti-Qing general on the Chaozhou coast. He settled in Dahao and was conferred by the Yanping Palace as the prefect of Chaozhou. , not long after Li and his son raised their flag to Guangdong, they made him a Jiedu envoy, but he was still a member of the Zheng Jing system. His son Qiu Rong later joined the Nanyang Trading Company and was recently transferred back to the Ming Navy.
In addition to Yu Qilin and Qiu Rong, Li Zhongshan also arranged two French first mates for the two armed Galen ships—both French naval officers who were attracted by the high salary of the Ming Dynasty and became Ming Dynasty naval consultants and military academy instructors.
In addition, there were dozens of French and Macao Portuguese sailors on board. At first glance, they looked like two ordinary armed Galen ships.
With the defense force on Ternate Island, the sailors on the two armed Galenic ships should not have to worry - there are not only mercenaries from the East India Company on the island, but also the army of the Sultanate of Ternate, There's no way it could be captured by just a few hundred sailors, right?
Therefore, Van der Leyen wisely allowed the two armed Galenic ships flying the flag of King Bourbon to dock, and then met the French captains of the two Galenic ships in the Governor's Palace, after making sure that there was nothing wrong. After the question, the Spice Islands Council was immediately convened to discuss whether to sell spices.
Although this matter is against the rules of the Dutch East India Company, it is also a special situation now. The French must be coaxed away, right?
However, it cannot fully meet the requirements of the French, otherwise they will make further progress in the future!
The members of the Council met late at night in the Governor's Palace on Ternate Island, but still could not reach a consensus.
Vander Leyen, who was a little low on energy, had no choice but to announce the adjournment of the meeting, and then handed Cornesly, who was also a member of the Council, to his office, hoping to have a good discussion with him.
The two of them had just sat down, and before they had time to start discussing things, suddenly there were bursts of thunderous roars from outside!
It's thundering?
The two of them looked out of the window at the same time, only to find that the bright moon was hanging high in the sky.
"Boom boom."
Then there was another roar!
Cornesly reacted immediately, "It's the dock! Damn it, the French launched a sneak attack. We were fooled!"
Vander Leyen still didn't believe it, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. Those are French knights! How can they be the same as the cunning and cunning King Yanping?"
Yes, how could Louis XIV's people be as devoid of martial ethics as Zheng Chenggong?
Cornesly could no longer sit still. He immediately stood up and said to Vander Leyen: "Governor, please give me the command of the Governor's Palace Guards. I will take them to annihilate the French army that landed with only two soldiers." A galenic ship cannot carry many people."
"Okay! Okay, I'll give the order right away!" Vander Leyen was also a person who couldn't make up his mind. When Cornesly said this, he immediately wavered in Louis XIV's martial ethics.
This is really inappropriate!
So this was a wrong decision, because he and Cornesly never thought that so many fully armed "French Japanese soldiers" could be squeezed into a covered steamer with a load of 500 tons!
When Cornesley led two to three hundred Governor's Guards and arrived near the pier, they ran into a large group of Japanese mercenaries, numbering not a thousand but eight hundred, all carrying them on board. Rifle with bayonet. Some people also held a "small hammer"-like grenade in their hands. They screamed strangely and carried the grenade while driving the frightened natives and Dutch colonists toward the castle where the Governor's Palace was located.
They saw the Governor's escort led by Cornesri and launched an attack without saying a word. They didn't even fire volleys, they just held rifles with bayonets and lighted grenades, shouting slogans and charging towards them.
"King Louie, onboard!"
"Sun King, onboard!"
"Half a year..."
"boom……"
These are Japanese mercenaries, and they shout slogans in Japanese. Of course Cornesly couldn't quite understand it, but he still knew it was Japanese!
Cornesly knew immediately that something was wrong...Louis XIV was so ungrateful that he actually used Japanese mercenaries to seize the Dutch Spice Island.
This is simply using the other person's way to repay the other person's body! The Dutch used these brutal Japanese soldiers to attack Banda Island and then massacre them!
Is this retribution coming now?
Just as he thought of this, the Japanese soldiers in front were already shouting "Sun King, onboard" and rushed to him like a tide...
(End of chapter)
