The Dazhan fleet has an absolute speed advantage. Whether it is downwind or headwind, the speed is faster than Zheng Jun's warships. Therefore, the fleet commander, Colonel Schulsbeck, believes that there are only two possibilities for his fleet to be forced to engage in firefights with the enemy.
First, when the enemy fleet is resting ashore for a long time, the enemy fleet suddenly comes, and this can only happen when the visibility is very low and the situation of the entire island cannot be taken into account.
Second, unless you drink too much or become seriously ill and let the deputy commander, Major Thomas Hendricks, take command of the battle, you will be able to take the initiative to fight against Zheng Yiguan's main fleet.
Under normal circumstances, Colonel Baker is very rational, and will maximize his own interests while preserving his strength, that is, he will do his best to attack the merchant ships of the Ming Empire.
It is very likely that Zheng Yiguan has already known his side's actions and sent a powerful fleet to search the sea. However, as long as his side adheres to the current tactics, he can deal with it calmly and even win in danger.
The definition of "victory" is not to defeat or even severely damage Zheng Yiguan's fleet. With such a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, it would be impossible for Admiral Maartentromp to achieve it.
The original intention of establishing the fleet was not to prepare for fleet decisive battles, but to ensure the safety of commercial routes, nothing more.
After falling out with Zheng Yiguan, all the Dajuan fleet could do was attack Zheng Jun's sea transportation lines and sink or capture as many merchant ships serving Zheng Jun as possible.
For the Dutch side, this was a "victory". Otherwise, even if Baker devoted all his resources and led the entire fleet to a decisive battle with Zheng Yiguan, the result would only be a tragic sinking of all the troops.
What can fifteen ships do?
Six of them are armed merchant ships!
In fact, even the "Hector" was an armed merchant ship. In the entire eastern waters, the East India Company did not send a real warship at all, and all used armed merchant ships to deal with the problem.
When cooperating smoothly with Zheng Yiguan, this low-cost protection model is okay. But during wartime, not only were the number of warships insufficient, but their quality was also very worrying.
It can be said that Colonel Baker is using the extremely limited forces at hand to play a game with Zheng Yiguan. Even if he loses once, the entire fleet will be severely damaged or even annihilated.
Before being driven out of the waters of the battle zone by the Zheng Jun fleet, the goal of the Dajuan fleet was to attack merchant ships with weak firepower or no artillery at all, and to retreat immediately after succeeding.
Landing is only for the purpose of transferring supplies and dining. This kind of caution is very necessary. Even sleeping is best done on a sailing warship. Being blocked by the Zheng Jun fleet on the shore means that we have no choice but to surrender.
Colonel Baker was also very scared about this, but on the surface, he tried to appear calm and confident, and could not let his men see any clues, which would greatly affect the morale of the sailors.
The purpose of going ashore is for everyone to have a decent meal. After being bumpy at sea for several days, dining ashore is also a rare enjoyment. If you have the opportunity, you can also replenish a lot of fruits and fresh water.
If you want to fight in enemy-occupied areas for a long time, you must ensure the health of the sailors. They must persist for at least three months, otherwise the situation on Taiyuan Island will be even worse.
The fleet was really unable to relieve Bolger, and Colonel Baker could only reduce the pressure on the front by attacking the Zheng Army's transportation lines.
At least one hundred merchant ships must be attacked in three months. This is the bottom line. Below this amount, the fleet may starve. If you are lucky, you can capture more than two hundred ships.
From the current point of view, the "sea operations" situation is relatively smooth, at least the captured merchant ships are basically unprepared, but as time goes by, such good opportunities will become less and less.
The weather today is very good, the visibility at sea is very high, and the wind and waves are not big, so Baker decided to extend the docking time for two hours so that he can turn the beef and mutton into bacon and load it on the warship as supplies. Such good food is worth eating. It would be a shame to abandon it before finishing it.
It wasn't until only a small part of the fiery red sun emerged above the boundary between sea and sky that Baker ordered all crew members to embark on the ship. With a mountain of military orders, the sailors could only reluctantly leave this beautiful island, unable to rest on the shore overnight.
As the fleet commander, he wanted to ensure that the entire fleet was not attacked by the enemy. Colonel Baker believed that only when the fleet arrived at Qiongzhou, the southernmost island of the Ming Empire, it was far enough away from Zheng Yiguan's hometown of Fujian to spend the night on the shore.
Since there was no intelligence source, it was impossible to know Zheng Yiguan's decision and the dynamics of the enemy forces at sea. Any small carelessness or omission could lead to a disastrous defeat for the fleet. Baker had to act as cautiously as possible.
Even if Dao Min secretly used a boat to go to the shore and notified the Ming Empire's defenders and even Zheng Yiguan's subordinates, it would be impossible to catch up with his own fleet when the Zheng army's fleet arrived.
From the beginning of the war to the present, Colonel Baker believed that the performance of the fleet he commanded was perfect and impeccable. As long as he could persist like this, all members of the fleet might survive until the war.
After ten o'clock the next morning, Baker decided to return from the open sea to the waterway between Waiping Island and Nan'ao Island to intercept merchant ships sailing from Guanggu to Fukien.
This is a golden waterway. As long as the sea is calm, all merchant ships passing by can be discovered and easily captured. It can be said to be a good place for robbery.
"Report! Enemy warships were found ten nautical miles to the port side of the ship. There are at least fifty in number!"
Just when Baker was about to lead his men to continue their efforts, he suddenly received a report from the lookout on the observation deck. Since the masts of Dutch warships are generally much higher than those of Zheng Jun warships, they can detect them before the enemy and quickly provide information on the enemy's situation.
"Order the fleet to turn southwest immediately and retreat at full speed!"
It is impossible for merchant ships to form a horizontal formation and sail toward one's own fleet. The other party's only identity is a warship, and it wants to take revenge on the driver. Colonel Baker knows very well about this. Their previous actions have already aroused Zheng Yiguan's suspicion. Annoyed.
Inadvertently, Baker made a fatal mistake, which was to bring the fleet too close to Nan'ao Island. In this way, passing merchant ships could be intercepted, but the potential threat was that enemy troops sailing from the north of Nan'ao Island might not be detected at a long distance. Battleship.
But it was still too late to make a remedial decision. At least we could use the advantage of speed to get rid of the pursuers behind us, and use the headwind to withdraw from this dangerous water.
"Damn Hongyi! You actually turned around and ran away! I'm afraid of your grandpa!"
Zheng Zhifeng saw the Dutch fleet that was turning rapidly through the telescope, which meant that the other party had discovered his warships and had no intention of fighting with him at all. They were just a group of rats who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
After leaving Damuan Island, Zheng Zhifeng originally planned to return to Kinmen to listen to his brother Zheng Zhilan's report before deciding how to lead the fleet to encircle and suppress the enemy.
However, in Penghu, I met two merchant ship owners who had escaped from death. The two of them told Zheng Zhifeng all about their experiences, especially the approximate location where they saw the Hongyi battleship.
Located east of Dongshan Island, in the waters near "Dagan Island" and "Xiaogan Island", Zheng Zhifeng gave up the idea of returning to Kinmen. Before the time was too long, the Hongyi fleet should not go too far. He immediately led the fleet westward.
However, after arriving, no target was found, so Zheng Zhifeng ordered the fleet to dock at Dongshan Island to rest for one night. The next day, they set up a horizontal formation at sea and tried a dragnet-style search.
If the Hongyi warship appears in this area of water and attacks our own merchant ships passing by, then it will definitely be caught. The result is indeed as expected.
Zheng Zhifeng owns thirty-six large warships, including two imitation Hongyi warships, eight sealing ships, six black-tailed ships, twenty big bird ships, and sixty-two medium-sized ships. of Guangzhou, a total of ninety-eight warships.
The problem is that Hongyi's reaction is very fast. Although the two sides are very close, the Hongyi fleet completed the turn in a quarter of an hour and began to flee westward. The Zhengjun fleet was slower and couldn't use its strength.
If you slow down by one hour per hour, one day later, the stern of the opponent's ship will disappear from your sight. Two days later, Hongyi's warship will appear in another place and continue to attack passing merchant ships.
Zheng Zhifeng was very anxious about this, but there was no good solution for the time being. The slow speed was a real gap that neither firepower nor morale could make up for.
Even so, Zheng Zhifeng was determined to drive them some distance away, at least to drive the Hongyi out of the sea east of Guangdong to ensure the safety of merchant ships in the past few days.
Although Zheng Zhifeng also knew the terrifying combat power of the Hongyi battleship, he knew better that the other party would not dare to confront the fleet he led, otherwise his vitality would be severely damaged and he would no longer be able to attack merchant ships.
It's just that this is so close but so out of reach, which really makes Zheng Zhifeng very angry. But Hongyi's warship is faster than his own, so they insist on running away. They can't stop them even if they want to, so they can only watch helplessly. That’s all.
Zheng Zhifeng silently prayed in her heart that Hongyi's boat would hit the rocks while she was running away. Even if there was only one boat, she would not be considered empty-handed.
Due to the limitations of local port conditions, Dutch warships generally have a very shallow draft. Unless there is a reef close to the sea, it is difficult to run aground.
What Zheng Zhifeng expected did not happen. The Hongyi sailors were even more well-trained. During the fleet's hasty retreat southward, there was no collision between the two ships.
The opponent only has fifteen ships, and he has nearly a hundred, giving him six times the advantage over Hong Yi. Although the firepower of the battleships may be inferior to Hong Yi's, they can make up for it by using their huge advantage in numbers.
Moreover, Hongyi on the opposite side must have clearly seen the size of his own side and the gap in strength between the two sides, otherwise he would not have decided to retreat immediately.
Hongyi insisted on running away, and the naval battle could not proceed as expected. Zheng Zhifeng could only temporarily decide to pursue for two days and then turn back, so as not to fall into Hongyi's plan of diverting the tiger away from the mountain.
"Report, enemy warships were found directly ahead, more than twenty in number!"
"……knew!"
Colonel Baker learned that there was actually an enemy squadron ambushing his side on the way back, and he couldn't help but become nervous. Could it be that the other side had already discovered the large fleet and planned to attack from a flank?
Now everyone in the fleet was anxious. They didn't want to be surrounded and killed by Zheng Yiguan's pirate fleet in this unfamiliar waters just a few days after harvesting.
However, as the distance between the two sides became closer and closer, Colonel Baker gradually felt relieved, because what he saw in the telescope were not a few large ships, but mostly small and medium-sized warships. Even if there were nearly forty ships, they would not be able to stand up to the large fleet. one strike.
"Order the fleet to bypass the enemy fleet from the south, form a single column, use broadside fire to attack the enemy ships, and continue to retreat southward!"
If this squadron is to be eaten, Colonel Baker will divide the fleet into two groups as before. The main fleet will be led by him, and the auxiliary fleet will be commanded by deputy commander Major Hendricks.
But now there is a large group of pursuers behind them, and they will be surrounded here if they are not careful. It seems very easy to break through the enemy's blockade. As long as they are deployed properly, they can succeed.
The distance between the front and rear of the Dutch warships was less than three hundred meters, but when sailing against the wind, there was no need to worry about the pursuers behind them rushing up and breaking up the fleet's formation.
Baker discovered that the squadron coming from west to east was not all warships, but actually contained hundreds of merchant ships. Judging from the opponent's draft, the merchant ships were all fully loaded.
Such an opportunity is too rare, but the risk factor is also very high. Once it is taken, if it cannot be retreated in time, there is a possibility of defeat and death.
"Second Young Master, Hongyi's battleship is coming!"
"Order all merchant ships to sail to the shore! All warships will follow me to stop the enemy ships!"
This fleet was not arranged intentionally by Zheng Zhifeng, but was led by Zheng Zhipeng's second son, Zheng Zhouying, who returned from Annan to buy grain. Zheng Zhipeng first asked his son to lead some of the ships back to the voyage, and then he went south to buy some food and returned later.
The prince said that he had remembered wrongly. Rubber was not produced in Nanyang. The people he sent had already met Zheng Zhipeng in Annan, so there was no need to go deep into southern Nanyang to purchase. However, he had to buy food.
All the merchant ships in Zhengzhou Ying's fleet were filled with food, and Hong Yi must not be allowed to get close, otherwise all his previous efforts would be wasted, so he decided to fight to the death and not lose his father's face because of cowardice.
But there are not many big ships under his command, and most of them are Guangzhou ships only equipped with missiles. Facing the Red Yi warships, each of which has several or dozens of Red Yi cannons, these ships of his are really a bit strange. The meaning of arm blocking the car.
It was too late to reach the shore. Hongyi still had an absolute advantage in firepower and was approaching its own side at high speed. It was impossible to fight even if it didn't want to.
"Load the ammunition and prepare to fire. Now we are defending our country and fighting the red barbarians. Even if we die, we will be honored! Send my order to sink a red barbarian warship and reward you with ten thousand taels of silver!"
Zheng Zhouying was ready to sacrifice his life for righteousness. He did not dare to abandon so many merchant ships and the food on them and flee. Otherwise, if his father found out, his legs would be broken and he would be bedridden for the rest of his life.
Even if he can get around his father, he will be extremely embarrassed by his uncle in the future. Rather than being laughed at by everyone, it is better to stand up straight and fight Hongyi.
Before, I was fearless when I worked as a pirate. Now I am about to become a general of the imperial court. How can I become greedy for life and afraid of death? How is it different from an ant?
Even if Hongyi's target is merchant ships, he must first pass his level. Zhengzhouying has forty-two battleships, which can be exchanged for at least five or six Hongyi ships...
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