Chapter 152: The Gunfire in Malacca
Once people leave their familiar environment, their temperament will often change greatly.
Especially when sailing on the sea, the sea and sky are the same color in front of you day after day, which tests people's willpower even more.
So, Yun Zhao gave Han Xiufen great authority, including the privilege to read almost all important documents in Lantian County.
This allows her to not only work as a pirate at sea, but also continue to participate spiritually in the construction of Lantian County.
Perhaps this is the sense of belonging.
When his natives and black spies brought targets that could continue to be plundered.
Han Xiufen once again took people on board.
This time she was ready to go out with all her strength, because the opponent was a fleet composed of four armed merchant ships and three cargo ships, which were ships of the Dutch East India Company.
The destination of this fleet is Taiwan.
Han Xiufen learned from the Zheng pirates that the Spanish occupied the north of Taiwan, which posed a huge threat to the Dutch who occupied the south of Taiwan and monopolized Ming and Japanese trade.
At the same time, Han Xiufen also learned from Leonie that a group of Dutch businessmen decided to become independent from Spanish rule in order to maximize their profits. The war between them had been going on for more than seventy years. .
Today, the Dutch have formed a de facto independence, called the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
This is the result that Cohen, the great director of the Dutch East India Company, Leonie's father, dreamed of.
They believed that as long as they continued to attack Spain's maritime power, the Netherlands would eventually force the Spanish Emperor Philip IV to recognize the fact of Dutch independence.
Just like the Portuguese gained independence from Spain, they, the merchants, needed to control their own destiny.
Han Xiufen also knew that three armed merchant ships of the Dutch were taken away by Han Lingshan, which led to an imbalance of power between the Dutch and the Spanish. This caravan was intended to bring Taiwan The Dutch sent supplies.
Han Xiufen did not need to report to Yun Zhao about the robbery of the Dutch. She could make a decision that was beneficial to Lantian County based on her own judgment.
This may also be a trap!
Since there is no way to make some military traps commonly used on land in the vast sea, military traps in battles at sea are often relatively simple and crude.
The most likely trap is-disguise!
When you think you are facing an ordinary armed merchant ship, when you get closer, you may find that you are facing a warship.
Four armed merchant ships are equipped with three ordinary merchant ships. This is a very common operation at sea.
So, Han Xiufen wanted to take a look.
When Han Xiufen's flagship Lantian weighed anchor, the other ten warships in Paradise Island Bay alsoWeigh anchor and hoist sail.
Every time he goes to sea, no one knows whether he will come back alive.
So, the sailors on the ship all set their sights on Paradise Island. Although this island is not big, it is the sustenance of their souls.
Leaving Paradise Island and bypassing the reef area that protected the island, the fleet finally filled up its sails and sailed toward the Strait of Malacca like an arrow.
The wind and water are smooth at this time, which is very beneficial to the battle.
After sailing for a day and night at sea, Han Xiufen summoned all the captains to his flagship.
"This time we should see what Bard can do."
On Han Xiufen's flagship, the captains of eleven ships gathered in front of Han Xiufen.
The Captain Bud she named was a black man. His skin seemed to have a layer of black oil, as smooth as black satin.
After listening to Han Xiufen's instructions, he opened his mouth and said with white teeth: "Since I am the first to fight, then, according to our practice, I will give priority to the spoils. power?”
After saying that, he looked specifically at Zhang Chuanli and Liu Mingliang.
According to the previous rules, the battleship led by these two people is usually the first to board, and the spoils of war are naturally chosen first. This time, the boss is always fair.
Captain Leonie originally wanted to compete with Bud for the starting position, but she had already stepped forward. Suddenly, she found that Zhang Chuanli and Liu Mingliang were standing there expressionlessly and did not move. It stopped.
He also gave Bud a charming look and said: "If there are gems, I hope Captain Bud can leave them to me. After all, women always lack a precious piece of jewelry."
Bud chuckled and said: "Okay, I will pull the gem necklaces off the necks of those ladies and give them to the beautiful Captain Leonie, but I want the ladies."
Han Xiufen smiled and said: "In this case, you lead the three black fish boats and go first. We will follow you. If you encounter a trap, don't be reluctant to fight and leave quickly."
Bud laughed. Said: "I have twenty 18-pound guns!"
After saying this, he greeted the three familiar black captains and left the flagship of the Lantian and returned to his battleship in a small boat.
Han Xiufen listened to the cheers on the sea and said to the other captains: "If Bud is entangled, we will rush over and help Bud capture the merchant ship. If it is a trap, Let’s rush all the way and don’t look back.”
After hearing this, the other captains laughed, because the captains of the remaining eight ships, except Leonie, All have yellow skin.
After the fleet entered the Strait of Malacca, the speed of the ship slowed down. Although their warships had a favorable wind, they had to go straight up against the undercurrent of the Strait of Malacca.
Zhang Chuanli frowned and said to Han Xiufen: "We do not have the upper hand."
Han Xiufen said: "As long as we don't have an advantage, it seems that the enemy in front of us has laid a trap, and Bard may suffer. "
"The undercurrent is very strong, and it is difficult for our guns to aim at the enemy. "
Han Xiufen said: "So, we only have one chance when two fleets pass by each other. I want you to use all your firepower at this time. ”
“You won’t jump into gangs to fight this time? "
Leoni felt a little regretful about the order given by Han Xiufen.
"If we don't jump into gangs to fight, I don't think the enemy will give us this opportunity. "
"Since we are not sure, why don't we leave? "
Han Xiufen said calmly: "Local wars must be considered for the overall situation. ”
“Where is the overall situation? "
"Lantian! Take care everyone! ”
Han Xiufen ended the conversation concisely. Regardless of whether Leoni understood it or not, she probably didn’t understand either. Until now, Leoni still thinks that they are a group of happy independent pirates.< /p>
Everyone left the flagship and returned to their own ships. Soon, the fleet formed a column according to Han Xiufen’s instructions. All the artillery on the port side of the fleet had been prepared, and some of the artillery on the right side had been pushed over. Placed on the empty gun position on the port side.
They believed in Han Xiufen's judgment and only left themselves one preparation for a firefight.
The ship began to tilt slightly to the left. The artillery has been loaded, waiting to encounter the fleet of the Dutch East India Company.
It is not easy to encounter a fleet in the 500-mile-long Malacca Strait.
In the wide strait, Han Xiufen's twelve warships looked extremely small.
However, since their fleet entered the Strait of Malacca, they could not be seen on the sea. There were not many merchant ships, not even fishing boats. The red flag on Han Xiufen's ship was like a devil to the merchant ships in this area.
In the past, Han Xiufen was still there. She would be very interested in going to various small ports to find these fat sheep. This time, her combat goal was very clear and she spared those poor fat sheep.
She spent three days running in the strait. , still haven’t met the legendary fleet.
Han Xiufen’s face turned ugly. She felt that she had really been fooled this time, not only by the Dutch fleet, but also by the Dutch fleet. She was fooled by those natives.
It was too quiet in the strait.
The ship was almost leaving the Strait of Malacca, and she didn't even see many fishing boats. /p>
This is not normal.
“Go back! "
With Han Xiufen's order, the fleet drew a long arc on the sea, turned the bow, and began to walk back. This time, Han Xiufen's combat goal had changed. She I think those damn earth kings should be the targets of this battle.
So, I can’t find them.Captain Bud, who arrived at the fleet, began to search every bay along the way that could hide a large ship, and at the same time destroyed the new homes that the natives had just settled.
From the mouths of the captured native prisoners, Bud finally knew why he missed the battle. The fleet is now hiding in the mouth of the Malacca River.
The brave Bader rushed straight to the mouth of the Malacca River, and Han Xiufen led the other ships to follow closely behind.
Two days later, when the fleet arrived at the mouth of the Malacca River, Bader's ship encountered fierce artillery fire from the river bank before entering the tidal flats.
He hurriedly exited the mouth of the Malacca River, but found seven battleships directly in front of him, with the flag of the Dutch East India Company flying on the top of the battleships.
Seeing the fleet approaching quickly, Bader hurriedly turned around and moved closer to Han Xiufen's fleet.
He could see that what he was facing was not an ordinary armed merchant ship, but a real European warship!
Among them, the most eye-catching ones are actually the four Karak sailing ships with their sterns raised high. They are a type of sailing-type military ship with three masts and a very powerful artillery attack.
Facing this kind of old warship, Bud did not think that the four armed merchant ships converted from merchant ships he led could deal with it independently.
Han Xiufen also saw these four classical battleships through the telescope and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as the coming battleships were not Dutch battleships carrying more than 80 to 100 cannons, Han Xiufen thought that a battle would be possible.
You must know that the real battleships in Europe at this time have exceeded the imagination of the Ming people.
Those carrying more than 80 artillery pieces are first- and second-level battleships. They usually have three decks, with artillery on all three floors.
The bottom layer is heavy cannon, the middle layer is medium-sized cannon, and the upper layer is light cannon.
This kind of battleship is equipped with sixteen thirty-two-pound guns. Once the cannon is fired, one shell is enough to destroy a merchant ship.
When Bud saw the battle flag coming from the flagship, he couldn't help roaring and said to his sailors: "Tack, tack, we are going to war!"