Chief Burg suddenly received a report from the defenders of Wei Island on the northern front, saying that a large number of enemy warships were found in the waters outside Luermen, all flying the Zheng Army flag. They could not verify the identity of the other party and could only rely on this. guess.
The scale of this fleet is extremely large. According to the visual inspection of the reconnaissance soldiers, the number will not be less than a hundred, and there are many large warships among them. Therefore, they did not let the enemy discover or actively attack, but stayed on the shore. I lurked and observed for a long time.
According to the judgment of the defenders, these Zheng Army warships should want to enter Damuan Bay from Luermen Waterway. Their purpose is very obvious, and they are likely to attack Damuan Town and Relanjia Castle.
However, due to the low water level in the Luermen Waterway most of the time, it was difficult for large warships to pass through. The Zheng Jun fleet was forced to anchor and only sent out a few small boats. The sailors placed long bamboo poles in the waterway one after another, which looked very strange. There are layers.
The defenders did not know the purpose of the other party's actions, but according to the estimation of Captain Van Dijk, the supreme commander present, the other party probably wanted to find a waterway with deeper water that could easily pass through Luermen.
This is undoubtedly stupid and ridiculous, but judging from the other party's very serious exploration actions, Zheng Jun can only achieve their goals through this method at present.
Because the Damuan Waterway on the south side was blocked by the artillery fire of Relanjia Castle, if you wanted to enter Damuan Bay or even attack the town and castle, the Zheng Army fleet must pass through the Luer Gate.
What worries Captain Van Dijk is that even if the shallow and narrow Luermen Waterway has shut out the huge Zheng Army fleet now, it will not be for long, because tomorrow night will be the semi-monthly tide.
After the high tide, the Luermen Water Channel will become extremely wide, enough for the entire enemy fleet to pass through calmly. If the opponent insists on staying until tomorrow night, it will definitely catch up with the high tide, and the consequences will be self-evident. .
The Dutch have been operating in the Danyuan area for fifteen years and have a good understanding of the nearby hydrological conditions. The Luermen Waterway seems to be an invisible pass, but in fact it opens and closes twice every month unconditionally.
If Zheng Yiguan wanted to attack the senior officials, he could just seize one of the opportunities and send his huge fleet through the Luermen waterway and rush directly to the castle of Relanja.
Berg would never be happy to see the grand spectacle of hundreds of warships bombarding the castle. Although the Castle of Geranze was indestructible, long-term shelling would also cause heavy casualties to the defenders.
The original intention of building the Castle of Geranze was to block the nearby Daguang Waterway. Even if the enemy fleet invaded in large numbers, it could only be suppressed by the firepower of the castle on the shore because it could not pass through the waterway quickly and in large numbers.
Since the artillery made in the Netherlands has excellent performance, long range and full power, there is certainly no problem in arranging such tactics.
But if the enemy uses the Luermen Waterway to sail the entire fleet into Damuan Bay, then the disadvantages of the Jelanje Castle built on the coast will be fully exposed.
Berg, like Colonel Jansen, was most worried about the loss of troops rather than the damage to the castle itself.
Every Dutch soldier was precious, and they could not be allowed to suffer massive casualties before the enemy infantry could launch a siege.
But Bolger could not stop the advancement of Zheng's fleet at the moment, let alone the occurrence of a large rising tide.
Zheng Jun arrived near the Luermen Waterway before the high tide twice a month. He was clearly well prepared and wanted to take advantage of the high tide to pass directly through this waterway and enter Damuan Bay, and then launch an attack on the town and castle.
It seems that Zheng Yiguan is indeed going to use force against the Dayuan area, and he will definitely not just stop at the level of bargaining with his own side.
It can be inferred from this that Zheng Yiguan wants to get much more than what he can give, and one hundred thousand taels of silver is far from satisfying the pirate leader's appetite.
Throwing out 500,000 taels of silver at one time might make Zheng Yiguan's heart flutter, but there is still a long way to go before he can make him retreat. Bolger believed that Zheng Yiguan would definitely not raise an army for 500,000 taels of silver this time. .
"It seems that the information provided by Mr. Keku is generally very possible. Since our defenders discovered the forward fleet sent by Zheng Yiguan in the waters of Lu'ermen, then his main fleet is most likely in Penghu, waiting for The tide is rising. If nothing goes wrong, his main fleet will arrive in the waters of Luermen before the tide rises, and then merge with the forward fleet and enter Damuan Bay together. We only have twenty-four hours at most to plan and implement all defense matters. !”
The autographed letter provided by Philip Cocu can only be used as indirect proof that Zheng Yiguan attacked the Dajuan area, while the shocking discovery of the defenders is direct evidence, which is already an obvious threat signal.
If the defenders don't become vigilant and seize the time to arrange various defense work, I'm afraid they will face an unprecedented catastrophe.
Colonel Jansen believed that there was not much time left for his side. If Zheng Yiguan's fleet rushed to the castle of Relanze in one go, would the defenders be able to withstand the enemy's powerful attack of thousands of cannons? It's hard to say.
"We are facing an unprecedented severe situation. If Zheng Yiguan's fleet comes out in full force to attack us, Relanjia Castle will be our last line of defense. If this place is lost, then we will have nowhere to go and we will all be reduced to We are prisoners of Zheng Yiguan, so we must stick to this place no matter what. Even if we lose the town and Rewufeilu Village, we cannot give up here."
Bolger did not want to escape to Batavia, where he would be criticized and severely punished by the Senate. He also didn't want to become Zheng Yiguan's prisoner of war. If he was released, the headquarters would also make him a scapegoat.
The only way out is to hold on to the Castle of Geranze until reinforcements arrive. This will take at least three months, almost a hundred days. There is no doubt that this will be a very difficult period.
Thinking of the large fleet owned by Zheng Yiguan, Berg felt for the first time the idea that the Castle of Geranzia might really be undefendable.
Even he couldn't believe that he would think so, but it did exist, because the threat from the enemy was so great that it was unimaginable.
During the Native War, no bastion was besieged by tens of thousands of troops and thousands of cannons carried by hundreds of warships.
More importantly, when the enemy besieged the Castle of Geranze, the defenders did not receive any reinforcements for a long time. Only a small force commanded by Colonel Schulsbeck The fleet can only help a little.
That guy Baker may be a bit arrogant and arrogant at ordinary times, but he still has a good way of commanding the fleet, especially naval battles, which is very professional and rigorous.
If he hadn't requested that the fleet leave the port early, I'm afraid the entire fleet would have been blocked by Zheng Yiguan's fleet in Damuan Bay and the enemy forces would have gathered and annihilated the port.
The ten warships on our side are indeed large ships, but unfortunately the opponent's numerical advantage is too obvious. The large fleet has no chance of winning at all. To avoid its edge, leaving the port early is the best option.
But Bolger did not expect Baker's fleet to achieve such brilliant results behind the enemy's rear. The cunning and cunning Zheng Yiguan would definitely leave some warships to guard his home base to prevent his own side from sneak attacks.
The captain's fleet was able to persist until it merged with the support fleet sent by the Batavia headquarters, and was not annihilated by Zheng Yiguan's fleet before that, which was considered a great success for them.
As for the important task of holding on to the castle of Geranze, we still have to rely on the entire garrison and a thousand men in the town. If we rely solely on the garrison to defend, we may not be able to withstand the crazy attack of this group of pirates.
"I'm wondering whether we should bring back all the Rewufeilu Stronghold for defense. If the Relanja Castle is captured by the enemy, what's the use of holding the Rewufeilu Stronghold on the island at the end of the northern line?"
Yang Sen knew very well that if Zheng Yiguan really planned to launch a full-scale attack on the senior officials, his ultimate goal would still be to capture Relanzhe Castle, and Rewufei Luzhai could only be regarded as a peripheral stronghold.
As a bridgehead, the scale and defense capabilities of Rewu Feilu Village on the last island of the northern line are much lower than those of Relanjia Castle.
As long as the enemy continues to attack it with fleet salvos, the castle will probably be captured in less than half a month.
Because the garrison only had five companies of about 260 men, even if the deputy regimental commander Major Brian Barber tried his best, he could not quickly treat the large number of wounded soldiers caused by the shelling.
If Zheng Yiguan decided to pull out this stronghold first, and the enemy fleet really poured ten to twenty thousand cannonballs into the Rebefelu Stronghold, then Jansen could almost foresee the fate of this castle.
With only a 20% hit rate, at least 2,000 artillery shells will hit Rewufei Luzhai. If every ten artillery shells can injure one defender, then by the end of the battle, the defenders will have no strength left. Not much left.
By then, the enemy would be able to easily capture the castle by sending thousands of soldiers. Using five companies of troops to delay the enemy for less than a week was obviously a loss-making deal for Jansen.
"If we withdraw, how long can we extend our stay here?"
After hearing the other party's plan, Bolger was also a little moved. Among the three castles under his control, it would be difficult to get reinforcements once the Rebefelu Stronghold was besieged by the enemy after the war started.
Berg felt that Jansen’s idea was not to be cowardly, but to make every effort to ensure the safety of the Castle of Geranze. Instead of wasting five companies of soldiers on the island at the end of the northern line, it would be better to transfer them back as soon as possible to help prevent the heat. Lanzer Castle and Utrecht Castle.
The defensive capabilities of Geranze Castle are very strong and will be impossible to conquer for a while, but it is difficult to say that the Utrecht Castle is located on the top of the sand dunes. To defend this small and small bunker, a steady stream of troops must be sent. Only continuous vitality will do.
"We have twenty-two companies at one time, and each company can be converted into three days of defense time, which adds up to about two months. This does not allow us to hold on until reinforcements arrive, so we must sign a warning in the town. Thousands of men assist in the defense and let them buy us another twenty days to a month. Only in this way can we hope to see reinforcements. Otherwise, the defenders alone may be wiped out within two months. Got it!"
Jansen was very pessimistic about the prospects of this war. Faced with Zheng Yiguan's aggressive attack, the number of troops used for defense was seriously insufficient, only one-third of what he thought was the capacity.
Even if there were only 2,000 soldiers, Jansen was sure to hold on for three months, but now that he only had 1,000 men, the hope of holding on for three months seemed very slim.
Now is the hottest time. Once the defenders are injured by naval guns, it means that the wounds may become infected and suppurate, resulting in a complete loss of combat effectiveness.
Jansen originally thought it was ridiculous that Bolger pinned his hopes on the storm and dismissed it. Now it seems that only an extremely violent storm can destroy Zheng Yiguan's fleet and dispel his ambitions in the Dayuan area.
The Menggu fleet once went on an expedition to the Japanese country, but encountered a strong storm while crossing the sea, causing serious damage to the fleet, which allowed the Japanese country to avoid being conquered by the Menggu Empire. If God bless the Netherlands, they may be able to do this at the right time.
"Then have you decided to bring back all the defenders of Rewufeilu Village?"
Bolger didn't know much about military defense issues, but he also knew that important strongholds like Rewu Feilu Village should be defended by troops, but it seemed that he couldn't defend it because of the limited troops, and he felt in a dilemma.
"If I get your support, of course I hope so. If Zheng Yiguan wants to occupy the entire Dangang, he must capture the Relanja Castle, and the Rebofeilu Stronghold is not of much use to him at all. It will be very useful to us, But our troops are limited and we cannot successfully defend at all. Zheng Yiguan could lose five thousand soldiers to capture Rewufeilu Village, but we cannot afford to lose even five companies of soldiers. So if you are determined not to let Relan cover If the castle is lost, it is best to shrink all the troops here to hold on here and support the Utrecht Castle overhead. Otherwise, our five companies of soldiers in Rebefelu Village will become the firepower of Zheng Yiguan's fleet. Sacrifice!”
The original idea of the two men was that Zheng Yiguan's fleet could not pass through the Lu'ermen Waterway, so the enemy would first go ashore from the northern end of the island to attack Rewufeilu Village.
In the process of attacking the fort, there is a possibility of encountering a violent storm, which will directly destroy the enemy infantry on the island. It will also cause Zheng Yiguan's fleet to suffer heavy losses and be forced to give up the attack on the generals.
But now, before the storm comes, Zheng Yiguan's fleet will take advantage of the high tide to pass through the Luer Gate and approach the Relanja Castle, completely disrupting his previous tactical deployment.
Once the enemy chooses to bypass the last island on the northern line and directly attack Relanjia Castle, Rewufei Luzhai will become a useless stronghold that can be defended or evacuated.
If you give up voluntarily, you will be giving this place to the enemy for free. If you continue to hold on, it will not be as effective as it should be. If the enemy turns around and attacks the fort, the defenders will not be able to hold on for a long time.
Now, both of them realize that their side is about to face the worst of many bad predictions. The Luermen Water Channel has not blocked the enemy fleet, the high tide may be tomorrow night, and the much-anticipated storm is still on the way...
What a ridiculous idea it is to pin all your hopes on the storm. If it spreads, it will make people at the Batavia headquarters think that all the defenders are a bunch of losers and as timid as rats.
"Well, if we try our best to hold on to the Castle of Geranze, and if we are lucky, we may be able to usher in at least three powerful storms within three months. Assuming that a storm can arrive here every thirty days, we should be able to To a certain extent, we can curb the offensive momentum of Zheng Yiguan’s troops and buy us enough breathing time.”
A strong storm can last for about three or four days. It is a good idea to use this time to repair. Moreover, the defenders can also get plenty of rainwater to avoid a decrease in the defenders' combat effectiveness due to lack of water in the castle.
