Most of the people living on the island were fishermen, and they were completely unprepared for the sudden arrival of the Dutch fleet. The fishing boats and fishermen were unable to resist the heavily armed warships and sailors. The leading troops sent by Colonel Baker quickly took control of the landing site.
As the commander of the fleet, Colonel Baker felt that they could get along well with the islanders and that his troops would soon leave the shore, so he was very merciful and did not escalate the situation. He just rented a place for free as a resting place and slaughterhouse.
These two ships of cattle and two ships of sheep were purchased by Zheng Yiguan to feed his pirate army. Now they have been robbed by his own side. Baker believes that they must be digested immediately, otherwise bringing these merchant ships will slow down the entire fleet. speed.
There were also many butchers on board the ship, which made the Dutch soldiers very satisfied. They didn't have to do it themselves. Even the cooks could get ready-made beef and mutton, add seasonings and then roast them.
Except for the two Zheng warships that were sunk, the remaining five were merchant ships. Deputy Commander Major Thomas Hendricks asked them to unload all valuable cargo and load it onto their own armed merchant ships, and then let them leave. .
Unlike the army, the navy does not kill people indiscriminately most of the time. It attacks any target with great purpose. Baker's fleet is not even willing to light its cannons if it is not necessary.
There are three conditions for implementing a break-up engagement. The first is to ensure that one's own fleet will not be caught by the enemy's main fleet. The second is to ensure the integrity of the battleship and the health of the crew. The last step is to rob the enemy's transport ships as much as possible.
Baker believes that even if the two sides are at war, his fleet can play a role similar to that of a "civilized bandit", also for the sake of retreat.
If Zheng Yiguan really encounters Zheng Yiguan's main fleet at sea or is even captured by it, Baker is also worried that after Zheng Yiguan learns of his own bad behavior, he and his sailors will suffer bloody revenge from the other party.
Before the support fleet sent by Batavia arrives, they will have to deal with the Zheng fleet at sea for three months. Colonel Baker does not want to offend the maritime overlord of the Eastern world too much.
Considering the weak strength of his own fleet, he did not want to have a head-on confrontation with the Zheng fleet, but the entire East India Company was involved in this battlefield, and whether it was active or forced, they had to deal with it, but only when the enemy could within acceptable limits.
If you are lucky, you can achieve good results. Maybe you can become Sir Drake of the Netherlands and be promoted to rear admiral. Baker has no hope, because the commander of the home fleet is the vice admiral, and the commander of the squadron is the navy. Major General.
The right way is to implement this virtual naval captain. If that doesn't work, it is also a good choice to retire with a big job. In short, you must take advantage of this opportunity to make enough money, otherwise the risk will be in vain.
This month's harvest should be good, but as the war expands and the news spreads, more and more maritime merchants in the Ming Empire learn that after they hear the news, by next month, business on the sea will not be easy. .
Merchant ships setting sail from Xiamen will be protected by a large number of Zheng Army warships. Attacking rashly is not a good choice. In view of our own limited strength, the current goal is to rob single merchant ships. It is really impossible to consider other methods. .
While the fleet commander was planning for the future, the sailors in the fleet thought that they had caught up with the good times. Bolger gave them double their salaries, and they could distribute the looted materials themselves. This condition couldn't be better. .
The financial situation of many sailors is beyond their means. Paupers who are not in debt are the object of envy. It is common to be burdened with debts. Only when you reach the officer level can you live a better life.
Therefore, ordinary sailors are very enthusiastic about robbery, while officers are acting under orders. It is better to grab some valuable property. It doesn't matter if they can't grab it. Anyway, Bolger will give them generous subsidies.
The rules at sea are that the captain gets 20%, the officers get 30%, and the remaining 50% goes to the sailors. Even if everyone worked together to steal a ship of watermelons from the Ming Empire not long ago, they must be distributed according to the rules.
But the commander, deputy commander, and captains of each ship cannot eat so much beef and mutton. If they cannot be turned into shelf-stable bacon in time, they will all be eaten by ordinary sailors.
After many days of wandering at sea, although the fighting time was not long, everyone still hoped to go ashore to relax and have a meal.
Especially if you can have a barbecue meal, if there are enough condiments, roast beef and roast whole lamb are the ideal meals for many people.
Just sprinkling sea salt is not enough, adding some spices makes a huge difference, especially with pepper, the flavor of the barbecue becomes even more mouth-watering.
Each ship has loaded a lot of red wine, and now they are all transported to the shore. They are drinking red wine, eating barbecue, and enjoying the sea breeze. This day is extremely comfortable and leisurely.
"What should we do if Zheng Yiguan leads his main fleet to pursue us?"
After making arrangements on the shore, Colonel Baker also came to the beach to take a short rest and have a delicious meal, but Major Hendricks was still very worried about the future of the fleet.
"If they come with few warships, we will attack them. Otherwise, we will retreat to Qiongzhou of the Ming Empire, find an island there to take shelter, and then attack the merchant ships of the Ming Empire that pass by."
Colonel Baker thought of a countermeasure before setting sail from Da Yuan Island. He connected Xiamen, Da Yuan, and Qiongzhou into a triangle, and the fleet moved within this range.
Dajuan is currently the most dangerous place, as it is full of Zheng Jun's warships.
Qiongzhou is the safest place and can be used as a safe haven.
Xiamen is Zheng Yiguan's hometown, and it can be said that risks and opportunities coexist.
But Baker would not rashly lead a fleet to raid Xiamen unless absolutely necessary.
He has not yet planned to die together with Zheng Yiguan, and the capabilities of the large fleet are simply not capable of doing so.
Nine warships plus six armed merchant ships faced the Zheng Army fleet with thousands of warships. All they could do was attack the opponent's merchant ships.
If you can double the size of your own fleet, for example, obtain ten warships similar to the "Hector", you may still have a chance to challenge the enemy fleet.
In terms of current strength, being able to attack the merchant ships of the Ming Empire without being captured by Zheng Yiguan's fleet would be a quite successful military operation.
It is actually very dangerous to stay on Waiping Island at the intersection of the Fujian and Guangdong waters. It is not far from Xiamen. Baker relies on the speed advantage of his own warships to be confident.
Placing the fleet here can also block merchant ships going from Guangguang to Fukien. Waiping Island echoes Nan'ao Island. As long as merchant ships pass through this waterway, they will be discovered by our own warships.
Only attacking two or three merchant ships a day could accumulate to more than 200 ships in three months. Zheng Yiguan must not be able to afford such losses.
If Zheng Yiguan ordered merchant ships to go to sea during wartime, then Baker planned to send sailors ashore to attack towns along the coast of the Ming Empire.
The British did this in the Guanggu area, and finally shook hands with the Ming Empire and made peace. They also implemented the same tactics. It will be seen how Zheng Yiguan will deal with it.
This was a backup tactic. Abandoning the battleship and letting the sailors ashore when there were no horses was a risky move in itself, and Colonel Baker did not intend to do so.
Being able to capture and sink two hundred merchant ships is a very remarkable result, even among the entire Dutch naval admirals, it is considered outstanding.
"...Zheng Yiguan may be letting his fleet search for us at sea!"
Eating delicious beef and drinking some red wine, this did not alleviate Major Hendricks' worries about the future. As the war continued, every attack at sea meant that he was one step closer to danger.
Zheng Yiguan can completely use his large fleet to carry out a dragnet-style roundup at sea. It is impossible for his own fleet to attack the merchant ships of the Ming Empire in the strait waters.
"Our fleet only has fifteen ships, but it can contain one hundred, two hundred, or even three hundred Zheng Jun's warships. This is considered to have achieved the strategic goal. If you want to fight with them, you can wait until three In a few months, we will have a round with the support fleet sent by Batavia. Our strength will be greatly improved, and I am afraid it will not be less than fifty ships. They will not be able to catch up with or defeat our warships, so we can do whatever we want. Attack Zheng Jun’s warships.”
Colonel Baker added in his mind that if those fools in the Batavia Council really valued the Dajuan area, they should not have sent more than a dozen ships, at least forty or fifty, to attack Zheng Yi. Officials implement effective deterrence.
If you want this extremely ambitious guy to stop his desire for the Danyuan area, you have to defeat his fleet at sea. Baker believes that in the decisive battle, the size of our fleet should not be less than fifty ships, and it is best to reach Seventy ships.
The battleships in Zheng Jun's fleet are not the Ming-style boats that I remember. Their tonnage is almost the same as that of Dutch warships, and some warships are even larger. The difference is only in speed and artillery performance.
The combat effectiveness of Dutch warships is generally higher than that of Zheng Jun warships of the same tonnage. Even armed merchant ships have the ability to engage in decisive battles with Zheng Jun warships, but this must be based on a certain number.
We can't expect every armed merchant ship to be able to fight ten ships like the "Hector". It would be good if the Batavia headquarters can send five warships similar to the "Hector". The rest will be Just small speedboats and armed merchant ships.
If even the support fleet is severely damaged by Zheng Yiguan, then the responsibility will not be on himself. Our sailors are all well-trained, and the artillery performance is also excellent. The only difference is the number of warships.
Only by maintaining a fleet of about fifty ships in the waters of the Far East can Zheng Yiguan be respected. Otherwise, the former pirate leader may turn his back on others at any time.
The only way is to use force to promote cooperation, use force to supervise cooperation, and make force the protector of commercial trade. Currently, this is the only feasible way.
"Before this, we can only rely on ourselves!"
What Major Hendricks said was a bit sour, but he was not afraid of fighting alone. At least his own fleet still had fifteen warships available.
As long as he can continue to operate at sea, Zheng Yiguan will have to dispatch a large number of warships to round up. This is the value and meaning of the existence of the large fleet.
"Thomas, there's nothing wrong with this. More people get less money, fewer people get more money, haha!"
Colonel Baker has always been serious, but at this time, he also showed a rare sense of humor. He regarded the mission as a business, which could be regarded as a joy in hardship.
The entire fleet has less than 2,000 people, and the targets of robbery are on lone merchant ships. Even if they don't succeed every day, it is easy to feed the sailors under their command.
If you switch to commanding a large fleet, the situation will be completely different. Not only must you defeat Zheng Yiguan's main fleet, but you must also prevent your own fleet from losing too much. You can imagine the difficulty.
It can be said that, to a certain extent, the profession engaged in by the members of the fleet was the profession of Zheng Yiguan before, and he was in the same industry as Drake, who was hated by the Spaniards.
Even that guy Drake is getting rich, why can't they?
At least the Ming Empire's merchant ships had very limited firepower, but their combat effectiveness was much lower than the Spanish treasure ships.
"...That's true!"
Looking at the same problem from another angle can alleviate the psychological pressure. What Colonel Baker said is not unreasonable. They are not regular troops, they are just employed by the East India Company.
If you don't make as much money as possible in your job, your retirement life will not be guaranteed. If you want to live a good life in the future, you must at least take some risks now.
Hendrix set himself a goal of two thousand silver coins, which is equivalent to six or seven years' salary. Whether he can achieve it depends on his luck.
Not only himself, but the entire fleet, from the commander, Colonel Baker, down to the ordinary sailors, set high expectations because everyone knew what they were doing.
There is no need to receive silver coins directly. Even if you get a piece of silk or a barrel of pepper, it means you can make a lot of money, and you can exchange it for silver coins when you arrive in Batavia.
As long as they continued to stay on the coastline of the Ming Empire, such things would be continuously sent to the warships. Engaging in piracy actually made money faster than trade, but it was just more risky.
"This is just a local conflict with Zheng Yiguan. It is not an all-out war between the Netherlands and the Ming Empire. As long as we do our job well, we will get what we deserve."
Colonel Baker's judgment of the current situation was very clear. The Ming Empire was at war with the Qing Dynasty in the north and had no time to pay attention to the war on the southeast coast. He wanted Zheng Yiguan to send troops to occupy the Dutch Empire.
However, Zheng Yiguan would not go all out for the Ming Empire. As long as the East India Company could severely damage its military strength, the former pirate leader would have to sit down and shake hands with the East India Company to make peace.
In the East, war is long and peace is short.
But between the East India Company and Zheng Yiguan, the situation was exactly the opposite, because the war would affect the trade income of both parties.
The East India Company was an international trading company, and military means were only a way to expand the market and were a backup option.
Zheng Yiguan was essentially a businessman engaged in overseas trade. The official position given to him by the Ming Empire was just an excuse for him to support his troops and monopolize the market.
Both sides are businessmen, so the war is destined to be short-term and unsustainable. When the war is over, the majority of the fleet can enjoy life with their respective salaries...
