As the commander of the large fleet, Colonel Schulsbeck did not know the original intention of the other commander's order. Since the entire formation turned at the same time, it was definitely not an escape.
Either they were afraid of the ferocious firepower of their own ship's gun salvos, were afraid that the entire army would be annihilated before the boarding battle, or there were other reasons, but in short, this turning order was extremely fatal, and it also allowed our side to gain a lot.
Under the bombardment of our own heavy naval guns, Zheng Jun's warships were as vulnerable as toys. They were quickly penetrated and even torn into pieces, turning into wooden planks and floating on the sea.
Apart from the roaring shelling, all that was left on the scene were the helpless cries and calls for help from the Zheng Army soldiers. However, Colonel Baker wanted the merchant ships to break through the defense line of the Zheng Army warships, and he had no time for his men to salvage these prisoners.
"Order the fleet to speed up and approach the enemy merchant ships, don't let all the prey escape!"
The merchant fleet of the Dazhan fleet approached Zheng Jun's merchant ship diagonally against the wind, while the other party sailed downwind to the northern shore. Therefore, under the desperate cover of the other party's warships, they almost gained nearly half an hour to escape.
Due to the high speed when the wind is downwind, it is impossible for the fleet to intercept all the merchant ships. Based on the current situation, Colonel Baker believes that it would be good to capture twenty or thirty ships.
Although we can only catch one tail, we should be satisfied. The main fleet only has fifteen ships. We cannot expect to do everything with these few ships. It makes no difference to daydream.
"Mr. Colonel, are we going to give up attacking these warships? Are we not going to sink their flagship?"
The captain of the "Hector", Mullen Abukar, was very puzzled by the commander's decision. He believed that the enemy warships must be dealt with first before considering attacking merchant ships.
"Their fleet has been defeated, and sinking the flagship is meaningless. All we have to do is approach those merchant ships, and after the bombardment, exit the battlefield westward. Don't forget, the fleet behind us belongs to Zheng Yiguan Main fleet!"
Baker didn't want to waste precious time on the sampan-like Zheng Army warship. What they lacked most now was time. The Zheng Army fleet behind them could catch up in two hours at most.
They had already spent half an hour. He planned to use another half hour to pack up the merchant ships, and then ordered the entire fleet to retreat to avoid a direct confrontation with Zheng Yiguan's main fleet.
The strength of the large fleet can only be used for harassment. If there is a strategic decisive battle, it will make no difference to die. How the Zheng Army squadron perished in front of them will be the same fate.
If we waste more time on the enemy warships, we may not even be able to capture a merchant ship. Even if there are good results, the target of the large fleet's attack is merchant ships, not warships.
If we only fight warships, Zheng Yiguan has thousands of warships and only has fifteen ships in his hand. How can he possibly defeat them?
Since the stern of Zheng Jun's warships had either only one engine or a large engine, its hit rate in naval battles was very low, its damage to Dutch warships was almost zero, and it did not pose much of a threat to the large fleet.
The naval gun can only be fired four times within an hour, so Baker's temporary decision is very correct. If he continues to delay, he will only watch the merchant ships as dense as a school of fish slip away from under his eyes.
"What a shame!"
Marun Abukar could only have reservations about his superiors' decision to let these prey go, but as a soldier, even a mercenary employed by the East India Company must obey his superiors' orders.
"We will still have a chance in the future! As long as the support fleet sent by Batavia can arrive in time!"
From the telescope, Baker saw that even though he was defeated, none of Zheng's warships raised the white flag and surrendered. This showed that the enemies he faced were extremely tough. Even if their combat power was inferior to his own, their courage impressed him. .
This battle is to sink as many merchant ships as possible, not warships. If you want to fight warships, it is better to wait until three months later, when the main fleet and the support fleet will converge, and you can go directly to Zheng Yiguan to settle the accounts.
This incident started because of Zheng Yiguan, and it must be resolved in the end. He could suddenly lead his army to attack the Dutch Dajuan area, and conversely, the Dutch army could also directly take his Xiamen base.
As long as there are enough warships, under the cover of heavy naval guns, and the infantry advance in coordination, Baker does not think Zheng Yiguan can save his Xiamen base for the second time.
"...Hongyi really bullied me too much!"
Zheng Zhouying was sitting on the smoking flagship stumbling on the sea, feeling extremely annoyed. However, the situation was such that he could not act arbitrarily, and the gap in strength between the two sides was still beyond his imagination.
In just one round, the dignified Zheng family fleet was defeated by Hongyi. Even if our own fleet was composed of small and medium-sized warships, it would not be so humiliating.
It can be said that Hongyi gave Zheng Zhouying a very vivid and impressive teaching lesson using the three-stage attack at sea, and the tuition fee was the battleship in his hand.
To defeat this arrogant teacher, Zheng Zhouying believed that he needed at least twenty large ships, plus hundreds of small ships, to have a chance of winning.
And this idea at the moment is just a thought in a daze, not to mention that even Zheng Zhouying's life was left after the other party changed his decision, otherwise the smoking flagship would have been sent to the bottom of the sea after a salvo. fish.
If Zheng Zhouying knew that in the eyes of the other party, the value of his flagship was not as good as a merchant ship, he would be so angry that his veins would pop and his teeth would be gnashing.
This fiasco was so complete that there was no possibility of a comeback. But as long as there was one life left and one could return to Xiamen, one would have to borrow a boat from his father or even his uncle to take revenge. The humiliation of this time would be tenfold in the future. Return it to Hongyi.
On the bloodstained deck, there were many wounded people lying with their skin torn and even their arms broken. Even if the seriously injured people did not die on the spot, they could only lie down and wait for death.
Zheng Zhouying was filled with tears, his eyes were red from crying, and he deliberately turned his head away, unwilling to see such a desolate scene. This was all caused by his decision, and he felt extremely guilty.
But all around him on the sea were his men calling for help, but he was unable to do anything. This was a torturous torture, and the hatred it brought would surely grow day by day.
"Boom boom boom..."
However, it took a while for the opponent's order to move the target to be executed. During this period, Zheng Zhouying's flagship was still attacked by the opponent's small-caliber naval guns.
Water columns more than ten feet high continued to rise suddenly from the sea, and the sea water fell on the deck, but it did not make the sailors on the ship feel cool at all.
At this time, it was useless to rush to get angry. The only red barbarian cannon in the whole ship was still deployed at the bow. Facing the unscrupulous red barbarians, they could not be dealt with by the red barbarian cannon. This really made everyone feel extremely angry. .
In such a fierce battle, Zheng Zhouying's men did not lack courage, but this battleship lacked the heavy naval guns that could give Hongyi a head-on attack.
The Faji is less powerful than the Hongyi cannon and has a lower rate of fire than the Folang machine. It is fine for threatening merchant ships or hitting targets on the shore. But when it comes to a decisive battle of life and death at sea, it is simply a ridiculous display.
Using it to attack the opponent's battleship will not only scratch the surface but also add a seemingly domineering white smoke to the sea, that's all.
The missiles on Zheng Jun's battleship did not have much effect this time, and they did not cause much damage to the Hongyi battleship. Zheng Zhouying couldn't help but feel frustrated that although he had sacrificed his life to achieve his ambition, his ambition was unfulfilled.
His fleet fought tooth and nail to block the Hongyi fleet from approaching the merchant ships. However, after a bloody and bitter battle, not even a single enemy ship was sunk, and his own side suffered heavy casualties.
Before the war started, Zheng Zhouying thought that the entire fleet could be exchanged for at least five or six enemy ships. However, after actual combat testing, it was difficult to get what he wanted even if he invested all this capital.
Hongyi's smallest warship is much more powerful than his own flagship, not to mention the big ship at the head. It can almost fight one against ten, making it invincible in naval battles. Only the warships that uncle imitated Hongyi can compete with. A battle.
"Aim at the enemy merchant ships and shoot indiscriminately!"
Seeing that the Zheng Army fleet behind him was getting closer and closer, Baker no longer planned to chase these fat sheep against the wind. He could only take advantage of the fact that the two fleets were facing each other and use broadside firepower to blast away.
Staying and fighting for a long time can expand the results of the battle, but when the enemy fleet behind them approaches, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave even if I want to, so it's better to accept it as soon as possible.
Both the 24-pounder cannon and the 18-pounder cannon had been loaded, and they roared like thunder one after another. Continuous white smoke rose again from the sea, and the shells rushed out of the series of fires and headed straight for the target.
Due to the escort strategy, most of Zheng Jun's merchant ships were not equipped with naval guns. They were unable to counterattack Hongyi's bombardment and could only be passively beaten. The only thing they could do was to use their speed advantage to maneuver and avoid at sea.
However, under the extremely fierce broadside fire attack from the Hongyi warship, five or six merchant ships were soon hit and exploded. The fragile hulls could not withstand the heavy artillery attack.
The explosion was not caused by the detonation of the gunpowder barrel, but the planks of the ship's hull were directly blown into pieces by the high-speed cannonballs. Zheng Jun's merchant ships were not built for naval warfare, and they could not compete with Hong Yi's armed merchant ships.
Some merchant ships were unable to parry after only two shells. The holes in which they were hit began to flood with water, causing them to tilt. In the end, the sailors had to abandon the ship and flee for their lives.
The speed of the merchant ship with its mast broken is rapidly decreasing, and it will eventually become a target on the sea, being attacked at will by the opponent's naval guns. Even if the hull is intact, it can only be abandoned.
Each merchant ship is loaded with rice, at least thousands of dan, and the shipping risks are borne by the Zheng family themselves. Only when the goods arrive in Tianjin will the Ministry of Revenue pay for the purchase. The losses caused by this can be imagined.
Now that even the boat can't be saved, there's no need to worry about the rice inside being saved. In the end, it all has to be turned into free fish food.
Under favorable wind conditions, a merchant ship can travel more than three nautical miles in half an hour. This is a very considerable distance, but it is far from the range of heavy artillery.
According to the rate of fire of the Hongyi cannon, the opponent could fire at least two volleys, which made Zheng Zhouying even more distressed and unable to stop it.
If this situation continues, the navy may lose more than 20 merchant ships, nearly 20% of the total number, and the total loss will exceed one hundred thousand taels of silver, not counting the pensions for the ship owners and sailors.
For ship owners, once their ship is sunk, not only will they lose the business, but without the ship, they will not have to do business for the year. The ship is their life, and losing the ship is equivalent to losing their life. .
Although the Zheng family promised to compensate the shipowner accordingly when danger occurred when recruiting ship owners and announced the mission, Suidu was willing to return from overseas safely and did not want to receive the pension.
"Faster! Faster!"
"Fourth Master! We are facing a headwind..."
Zheng Zhifeng, who saw an artillery battle in the distance less than eight nautical miles away, could not wait to rush over to help. There is no doubt that the only one in this sea area that can make the Hongyi fleet open fire is its own fleet.
Judging from the time, Zheng Zhipeng might have returned from Annan to buy grain, and happened to bump into Hongyi's fleet. He was still staring and unable to go to help immediately, which really made Zheng Zhifeng anxious and angry, beating his chest and feet.
Even at this distance, it would take an hour for his fleet to get there. By the time he arrived at the scene of the incident, Hongyi might have already walked away, leaving him with a mess to clean up.
Zheng Zhifeng knew that his brother's fleet could not defeat the Hongyi fleet in front of him, so he rushed over to help, but he had no choice but to sail against the wind, and his own warships were slower than Hongyi's ship.
He could all imagine how tragic the scene of the incident would be. The only way to get revenge was to hope that Zheng Zhipeng could hold Hongyi back, otherwise he would really let the other party take advantage and escape. .
Shiploads of grain were sent to the bottom of the sea by Hongyi. Zheng Zhifeng was also extremely displeased, but at the moment he could only be patient and order the fleet to sail straight to Hongyi's location. There was no other way.
When the fleet arrived at the accident waters, Zheng Zhifeng discovered that the situation at the scene was almost the same as what he had imagined. The Hongyi battleship had already left the battlefield and sailed westward.
Nearby are our own warships or merchant ships that are smoking and burning. There may be more wooden debris floating than kelp. Hundreds of sailors are still soaking in the sea waiting to be salvaged.
"Fourth uncle! My nephew is incompetent and caused this disaster to the fleet!"
Zheng Zhouying, who boarded Zheng Zhifeng's flagship, finally saw his relatives. After saying this, he felt so humiliated that he burst into tears.
"Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. The heroes of the state fight against the red barbarians. He is a good man of my Zheng family!"
There was no need for the nephew to say anything. The experienced Zheng Zhifeng knew what the situation was at a glance. If Zheng Zhouying had not led the warships to block the Hongyi fleet, it would have been impossible to lose so many warships.
As long as the warships escape first, most of the losses on the sea should be merchant ships. Nowadays, there are few warships intact, which shows that they have experienced a hard battle.
"Fourth uncle is ridiculous! My nephew just wanted to protect the fleet and return home, but he had no choice but to suffer this misfortune. This time he suffered heavy losses. He can no longer see his father!"
Zhengzhou Yingzhen was afraid of being scolded by his father Zheng Zhipeng and thus grounded, so he wanted to politely ask his fourth uncle Zheng Zhifeng to intercede.
"There is no need to worry about Zhou Ying. My uncle will explain the truth to your father. This time Zhou Ying commanded well and saved most of the merchant ships. He should be rewarded."
Of course Zheng Zhifeng understood what it meant. When she saw that her nephew's little face was blackened by gunpowder smoke and his armor was also tattered, he couldn't bear it. Naturally, he was willing to do his nephew's favor. At least half of the merchant ship was left, so it was considered a good thing. Lose less and treat yourself as a win...ntent
The Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty
